782. SALVIA INVOLUCRATA

Salvia involucrata Cav., the Rose‐leaf sage, is a species endemic to east Mexico which has been in cultivation since at least the late 18th century. It is little‐known as a native species but is widely cultivated and various cultivars and cultivated hybrids are also known. Salvia puberula Fern. is treated as belonging to S. involucrata but has been subject to different interpretations over the years.     

A new species of Acynodon (Crocodylia) from the upper cretaceous (Santonian–Campanian) of Villaggio del Pescatore,Italy

Abstract: The new species Acynodon  adriaticus is described on the basis of remains from the Santonian–Campanian of Villaggio del Pescatore (Trieste, NE Italy). This species differs in several cranial features from Acynodon  iberoccitanus, the only other Acynodon species whose cranial osteology is known in detail. The absence of maxillary and dentary caniniform teeth coupled with the presence of enlarged molariform teeth suggests that Acynodon probably fed on slowly moving hard‐shelled prey. Moreover, the new materials reveal for the first time the morphology of some postcranial elements of Acynodon: in particular, medial‐most paravertebral osteoderms that are characterized by two keels. A new cladistic phylogenetic analysis resolves the previously reported polytomy among the basal Globidonta: Acynodon is recognized as the most primitive globidontan. This genus may represent the geologically oldest known globidontan. The fact that Acynodon has been found only in Europe and that the outgroup of Globidonta, the Diplocynodontinae, is mainly known from Europe, suggests that globidontans may have originated in Europe and not in North America as previously supposed.     

Signalling requirements for Erwinia amylovora‐induced disease resistance,callose deposition and cell growth in the non‐host Arabidopsis thaliana

Erwinia amylovora is the causal agent of the fire blight disease in some plants of the Rosaceae family. The non‐host plant Arabidopsis serves as a powerful system for the dissection of mechanisms of resistance to E. amylovora. Although not yet known to mount gene‐for‐gene resistance to E. amylovora, we found that Arabidopsis activated strong defence signalling mediated by salicylic acid (SA), with kinetics and amplitude similar to that induced by the recognition of the bacterial effector avrRpm1 by the resistance protein RPM1. Genetic analysis further revealed that SA signalling, but not signalling mediated by ethylene (ET) and jasmonic acid (JA), is required for E. amylovora resistance. Erwinia amylovora induces massive callose deposition on infected leaves, which is independent of SA, ET and JA signalling and is necessary for E. amylovora resistance in Arabidopsis. We also observed tumour‐like growths on E. amylovora‐infected Arabidopsis leaves, which contain enlarged mesophyll cells with increased DNA content and are probably a result of endoreplication. The formation of such growths is largely independent of SA signalling and some E. amylovora effectors. Together, our data reveal signalling requirements for E. amylovora‐induced disease resistance, callose deposition and cell fate change in the non‐host plant Arabidopsis. Knowledge from this study could facilitate a better understanding of the mechanisms of host defence against E. amylovora and eventually improve host resistance to the pathogen.     

Novel Flavones from the Root of Phytolacca acinosa Roxb.

Two new flavones, 6,7‐methylenedioxy‐4‐hydroxypeltogynan‐7′‐one ( 1 ), cochliophilin B ( 2 ), as well as two known ones, cochliophilin A ( 3 ) and 6‐methoxy‐7‐hydroxy flavone ( 4 ), were isolated from the ethanol extract of the root of Phytolacca acinosa Roxb . Compound 1 is a flavanol framework with one δ‐lactone unit, which is rather rare in nature. The structures of the new compounds were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic (IR, MS, 1D‐ and 2D‐NMR) analyses, the absolute configuration of 1 was established by comparing experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism spectra. The structures of known compounds were fixed by comparison with literatures data. Compounds 2 and 4 showed modest inhibitory activities against BEL‐7402 cell line, with IC₅₀ values of 28.22 and 39.16 μmol/L, respectively.     

New species of parasitic copepods of the Genus Acusicola (Poecilostomatoida: Ergasilidae) from gill filaments of coastal and freshwater Brazilian fishes, and proposition of Acusicola rogeri n. sp. for A. tenax sensu Cressey & Collette (1970)

Four new species of Acusicola are described based on adult females found on gill filaments of several species of coastal and freshwater fishes caught in Brazilian basins. The distribution area of the genus in Brazil is significantly enlarged, since until now the previous Brazilian species had been known only from Amazonian fishes. The specimens identified as Acusicula tenax by Cressey and Collette (1970) are considered representatives of a new species, A. rogeri. A key for identification of the species of Acusicola is provided.     

Preliminary survey on putative insect vectors for Rubus stunt phytoplasmas

Phytoplasmas are cell wall‐less phytopathogenic bacteria which are associated with a disease in Rubus species known as Rubus stunt. Symptoms range from stunting, witches’ broom, small leaves, short internodes, enlarged sepals, phyllody and flower proliferation to fruit malformations. Phytoplasmas can be spread by vegetative propagation and by phloem‐feeding insect vectors. However, little is known about the spectrum and distribution of putative Rubus stunt insect vectors. In this study, a screening of putative insect vectors of Rubus stunt in raspberry plantations in southern and northern Germany was carried out during two successive years (2014 and 2015) with multiple sampling dates throughout the growing seasons. A total of 2,891 hemipteran insects were sorted, identified to family, genus or species level when possible, and a subset of 319 DNA samples containing a sum of 932 selected individuals representing all identified species, sampling locations and sampling dates were tested for phytoplasma DNA using qPCR. Altogether, eight DNA samples were positive for phytoplasma DNA, among them species from the genera Euscelidius, Macrosteles, Euscelis, Anaceratagalliaand Psammotettix. These data will form the basis for choosing and timing appropriate control measures against Rubus stunt and also for potential insect vector transmission experiments.     

Teruelia diezii gen. et sp. nov.: an early polysporangiophyte from the Lower Devonian of the Iberian Peninsula

A new basal land plant, Teruelia diezii gen. et sp. nov., is described from the shallow‐water marine deposits of the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian–Pragian) Nogueras Formation of the Iberian Peninsula (north Gondwana palaeocontinent). Teruelia is preserved as a compression fossil and consists of isotomously branched, robust stems terminated in large, fusiform, twisted sporangia. This morphology suggests that Teruelia is very probably equivalent to Aglaophyton, a permineralized early polysporangiophyte known up to now only from the Lower Devonian (early Pragian to ?earliest Emsian) Rhynie Chert in Scotland (Laurussia palaeocontinent), which represents an early terrestrial hot‐spring ecosystem. Accepted phylogenies identify Aglaophyton as sister to vascular plants. Our phylogeny‐based results identify the Aglaophyton/Teruelia biological entity (i.e. Aglaophyton anatomical characters plus Teruelia external morphology) as the most direct vascular plant precursor. It shows that at least one Rhynie Chert type plant had a much wider distribution than previously known and suggests that Aglaophyton was not restricted to hydrothermal environments, unlike other Rhynie Chert plants.     

Responses by Central‐Place Foragers to Manipulations of Brood Size: Parent Flickers Respond to Proximate Cues but do not Increase Work Rate

Manipulations of brood size measure the willingness or ability of parents to invest in offspring and different reproductive roles may lead to differences in feeding effort between the sexes. Parental investment in birds is usually assessed by quantifying feeding rates, but this provides an incomplete picture of parental effort because it fails to account for how parents collect food on the landscape. We studied northern flickers (Colaptes auratus), a woodpecker in which males provide the majority of parental care and used a repeated measures design and short‐term (24 h) brood enlargements (N = 35) and reductions (N = 27) to assess effects of treatment on feeding rates to nestlings and parental foraging behaviour. Parents of enlarged broods did not significantly increase feeding rate, resulting in a decline in nestling mass. Parents of reduced broods decreased their feeding rates by 84%, but increased per capita feeding rates, resulting in nestling mass gain. The variation in feeding rates to enlarged broods was not influenced by feather corticosterone, body condition, feather re‐growth rate or mass change between the incubation and nestling periods. Foraging pattern on the landscape remained the same during the enlarged treatment for both sexes. We conclude that flickers respond to proximate cues in brood demands, but do not increase feeding rates to enlarged broods, at least in the short term. A literature review suggested that this lack of response is atypical for short‐lived species. We hypothesize that parents in species with large home ranges and long nestling periods face energetic limitations that constrain their ability to respond to enlarged broods. We encourage future studies to assess foraging behaviour on the landscape to document important trade‐offs for parents such as predation risk and energy expenditure while feeding offspring.     

Unveiling the biotransformation mechanism of indole in a Cupriavidus sp. strain

Small RNAs (sRNAs), particularly those that act by limited base pairing with mRNAs, are part of most regulatory networks in bacteria. In many cases, the base‐pairing interaction is facilitated by the RNA chaperone Hfq. However, not all bacteria encode Hfq and some base‐pairing sRNAs do not require Hfq raising the possibility of other RNA chaperones. Candidates are proteins with homology to FinO, a factor that promotes base pairing between the FinP antisense sRNA and the traJ mRNA to control F plasmid transfer. Recent papers have shown that the Salmonella enterica FinO‐domain protein ProQ binds a large suite of sRNAs, including the RaiZ sRNA, which represses translation of the hupA mRNA, and the Legionella pneumophila protein RocC binds the RocR sRNA, which blocks expression of competence genes. Here we discuss what is known about FinO‐domain structures, including the recently solved Escherichia coli ProQ structure, as well as the RNA binding properties of this family of proteins and evidence they act as chaperones. We compare these properties with those of Hfq. We further summarize what is known about the physiological roles of FinO‐domain proteins and enumerate outstanding questions whose answers will establish whether they constitute a second major class of RNA chaperones.     

A new species of Sturisoma (Loricariidae: Loricariinae) from the Madre de Dios River basin,Peru, with a key to all congeners and comments on the type series of Sturisoma rostratum

A new species of the genus Sturisoma from the Madre de Dios River, upper Madeira, Peru, is described. The new species can be differentiated from its congeners by the following characteristics: dorsolateral stripe reaching to less than half, or only half length of caudal peduncle (v. absence of dorsolateral stripe or, if present, spanning more than half caudal‐peduncle length); premaxillary teeth longer than dentary teeth (v. dentary teeth longer); sexually mature adult males having well‐developed odontodes on the sides of the head and a broader snout (v. adult males lacking well‐developed hypertrophied odontodes or, if present, rostrum is same width as females' or immature males'); by having the ventral portion of the rostrum conspicuously darker than ventral surface of the body (v. rostrum light, with same colour as ventral portion of body, except in Sturisoma barbatum); by lacking the lateral process of the sphenotic (v. lateral process of sphenotic well‐developed, except in Sturisoma tenuirostre); a dark spot on the first three branched pectoral‐fin rays (v. brown spot absent, except in S. barbatum); and the frontal bone contributing less than half of dorsal border of the orbital ridge (v. extensive participation of the frontal, except in Sturisoma guentheri). Furthermore, the new species has 18–20 plates in the median series, which differentiates it from Sturisoma rostratum (21–22), and Sturisoma monopelte (21); and 14–15 coalescent plates, which differentiates it from S. tenuirostre (16–17). It is further differentiated from Sturisoma brevirostre by presence of an enlarged rostrum (v. rostrum not enlarged). A discussion regarding status of the type series and geographic distribution of Sturisoma rostratum is offered, and an identification key for all Sturisoma species is presented.     

Salsuginus neotropicalis n. sp. (Monogenea: Ancyrocephalinae) from the pike killifish Belonesox belizanus (Atheriniformes: Poeciliidae) from southeastern Mexico

Salsuginus neotropicalis n. sp. is described from the gills of Belonesox belizanus (Kner), the pike killifish (Poeciliidae), from the southeastern Mexico. S. neotropicalis is distinguished from all other congeners by the morphology of the haptoral sclerites, especially by the presence of a ventral bar with notably enlarged ends, and by possessing overlapping gonads. The diagnosis of Salsuginus is amended based on the position of gonads in this species. This is the first known Salsuginus species occurring in a freshwater fish from the Neotropical Region.     

A new potentially toxic Azadinium species (Dinophyceae) from the Mediterranean Sea,A. dexteroporum sp. nov.

A new photosynthetic planktonic marine dinoflagellate, Azadinium dexteroporum sp. nov., is described from the Gulf of Naples (South Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean Sea). The plate formula of the species, Po, cp, X, 4′, 3a, 6″, 6C, 5?S, 6? and 2″″, is typical for this recently described genus. Azadinium dexteroporum is the smallest rep‐resentative of the genus (8.5 μm average length, 6.2 μm average width) and shares the presence of a small antapical spine with the type species A. spinosum and with A. polongum. However, it differs from all other Azadinium species for the markedly asymmetrical Po plate and the position of the ventral pore, which is located at the right posterior end of the Po plate. Another peculiarity of A. dexteroporum is the pronounced concavity of the second intercalary plate (2a), which appears collapsed with respect to the other plates. Phylogenetic analyses based on the large subunit 28S rDNA (D1/D2) and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS rDNA) support the attribution of A. dexteroporum to the genus Azadinium and its separation from the other known species. LC/MS‐TOF analysis shows that Azadinium dex‐teroporum produces azaspiracids in low amounts. Some of them have the same molecular weight as known compounds such as azaspiracid‐3 and ‐7 and Compound 3 from Amphidoma languida, as well as similar fragmentation patterns in some cases. This is the first finding of a species producing azapiracids in the Mediterranean Sea.     

Bothriospermum longistylum sp. nov. (Boraginaceae) from north China

Based on field investigations as well as morphological and molecular systematic studies we found a new species of Bothriospermum which can be easily distinguished from all other known congeneric species by its unlobed faucal appendages and very long styles. We conducted molecular phylogenetic analyses based on a combined dataset from nrITS, plastid rps16, trnL‐trnF and trnG‐trnS regions. The results indicated that the new species indeed belongs in Bothriospermum and that it is well separated from other congeneric clusters, but that the genus Bothriospermum is paraphyletic with Nihon and Thyrocarpus clusetered within it. As a result, Bothriospermum longistylum sp. nov. is described and illustrated here. A revised key to species of Bothriospermum and a distributional map are also presented.     

Aspidistra albiflora sp. nov. (Asparagaceae) from southwestern Guangxi,China

Aspidistra albiflora C. R. Lin, W. B. Xu & Yan Liu (Asparagaceae) is described and illustrated as a new species from limestone areas in Guangxi, China. The new species is similar to A. cerina G. Z. Li & S. C. Tang, but differs in having the perianth white by the sides, white pistils, bracts longer than the perianth, anthers only 2 mm long, pistil obconical and stigma slightly enlarged, 4–5 mm in diameter. The new species is currently only known from the type locality in southwestern Guangxi, near the border to northern Vietnam.     

A Phytoalexin-Like Flavonol Involved in the Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus)-Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. dianthi Pathosystem

The fungitoxic flavonol triglycoside, kaempferide 3‐O‐[2^G‐β‐d ‐glucopyranosyl]‐β‐rutinoside, is a constituent of the carnation cultivar ‘Novada’, known as one of the most resistant cultivar to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. dianthi, causative agent of Fusarium wilt. Due to its constitutive presence within the carnation tissues, this antifungal flavonol should be considered as a phytoanticipin; its biosynthesis, however, is stimulated by the inoculation with F. oxysporum f. sp. dianthi, just as is the rule for a typical phytoalexin. The results seem to indicate that in carnation the concentration of some preformed antifungal flavonoids may be significantly increased by a fungal presence: owing to their fungitoxic properties, these molecules could cooperate, together with the unconstitutive and postinfectional anthranilic acid‐derivative phytoalexins, to the plant defensive response against Fusarium attacks.     

A primary phosphorus‐deficient skeletal phenotype in juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar: the uncoupling of bone formation and mineralization

To understand the effect of low dietary phosphorus (P) intake on the vertebral column of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar, a primary P deficiency was induced in post‐smolts. The dietary P provision was reduced by 50% for a period of 10 weeks under controlled conditions. The animal's skeleton was subsequently analysed by radiology, histological examination, histochemical detection of minerals in bones and scales and chemical mineral analysis. This is the first account of how a primary P deficiency affects the skeleton in S. salar at the cellular and at the micro‐anatomical level. Animals that received the P‐deficient diet displayed known signs of P deficiency including reduced growth and soft, pliable opercula. Bone and scale mineral content decreased by c. 50%. On radiographs, vertebral bodies appear small, undersized and with enlarged intervertebral spaces. Contrary to the X‐ray‐based diagnosis, the histological examination revealed that vertebral bodies had a regular size and regular internal bone structures; intervertebral spaces were not enlarged. Bone matrix formation was continuous and uninterrupted, albeit without traces of mineralization. Likewise, scale growth continues with regular annuli formation, but new scale matrix remains without minerals. The 10 week long experiment generated a homogeneous osteomalacia of vertebral bodies without apparent induction of skeletal malformations. The experiment shows that bone formation and bone mineralization are, to a large degree, independent processes in the fish examined. Therefore, a deficit in mineralization must not be the only cause of the alterations of the vertebral bone structure observed in farmed S. salar. It is discussed how the observed uncoupling of bone formation and mineralization helps to better diagnose, understand and prevent P deficiency‐related malformations in farmed S. salar.     

GIANT EMBRYO encodes CYP78A13, required for proper size balance between embryo and endosperm in rice

Among angiosperms there is a high degree of variation in embryo/endosperm size in mature seeds. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism underlying size control between these neighboring tissues. Here we report the rice GIANT EMBRYO (GE) gene that is essential for controlling the size balance. The function of GE in each tissue is distinct, controlling cell size in the embryo and cell death in the endosperm. GE, which encodes CYP78A13, is predominantly expressed in the interfacing tissues of the both embryo and endosperm. GE expression is under negative feedback regulation; endogenous GE expression is upregulated in ge mutants. In contrast to the loss‐of‐function mutant with large embryo and small endosperm, GE overexpression causes a small embryo and enlarged endosperm. A complementation analysis coupled with heterofertilization showed that complementation of ge mutation in either embryo or endosperm failed to restore the wild‐type embryo/endosperm ratio. Thus, embryo and endosperm interact in determining embryo/endosperm size balance. Among genes associated with embryo/endosperm size, REDUCED EMBRYO genes, whose loss‐of‐function causes a phenotype opposite to ge, are revealed to regulate endosperm size upstream of GE. To fully understand the embryo–endosperm size control, the genetic network of the related genes should be elucidated.     

The formation of titan cells in Cryptococcus neoformans depends on the mouse strain and correlates with induction of Th2‐type responses

Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogenic yeast that can form titan cells in the lungs, which are fungal cells of abnormal enlarged size. Little is known about the factors that trigger titan cells. In particular, it is not known how the host environment influences this transition. In this work, we describe the formation of titan cells in two mouse strains, CD1 and C57BL/6J. We found that the proportion of C. neoformans titan cells was significantly higher in C57BL/6J mice than in CD1. This higher proportion of titan cells was associated with a higher dissemination of the yeasts to the brain. Histology sections demonstrated eosinophilia in infected animals, although it was significantly lower in the CD1 mice which presented infiltration of lymphocytes. Both mouse strains presented infiltration of granulocytes, but the amount of eosinophils was higher in C57BL/6J. CD1 mice showed a significant accumulation of IFN‐γ, TNF‐α and IL17, while C57BL/BL mice had an increase in the anti‐inflammatory cytokine IL‐4. IgM antibodies to the polysaccharide capsule and total IgE were more abundant in the sera from C57BL/6J, confirming that these animals present a Th2‐type response. We conclude that titan cell formation in C. neoformans depends, not only on microbe factors, but also on the host environment.