Chemical variation in a new bromochamigrene derivative from the red seaweed Laurencia pacifica

The secondary metabolite chemistry of the red seaweed Laurencia pacifica Kylin varies geographically. The La Jolla, Calif. population (type locality) contains the sesquiterpene prepacifenol, while L. pacifica collected south of Ensenada, Mexico contains a new bromochamigrene derivative, the structure of which is described herein. Since chamigrene synthesis in Laurencia species has been demonstrated to be reasonably species-specific, L. pacifica may be a mixture of morphologically similar forms.     

Hystrichokolpoma from pleistocene sediments in Okinawa-Jima,Japan

Three species of Hystrichokolpoma (Dinophyceae) are described from lower Pleistocene sediments of Okinawa-jima in the Ryukyu-Islands, Southwest Japan. Hystrichokolpoma pacifica and H. okinawaia are new. H. pacifica is characterized by subconical to short cylindrical, large processes with rectangular or pentagonal bases, and H wokinawaia by short cylindrical to tubiform, large processes with denticulate to foliate distal extremities. The paratabulation of Hystrichokolpoma is discussed.     

Grazing and Metabolism of Euphausia pacifica in the Yellow Sea

Grazing and metabolism of Euphausia pacifica in the Yellow Sea were studied from September 2006 to August 2007. Euphausia pacifica is a selective-feeding omnivore and grazing rates among different months were monitored using a Coulter Counter and batch culture feeding experiments. Euphausia pacifica mainly grazed microzooplankton in August and September, which resulted in an increase in chlorophyll a concentration. Oxygen consumption rate of E. pacifica was 38.7–42.5 μmol O₂ g^-1 DW h^-1 in March, which was four times higher than the oxygen consumption rates in September and December. The vigorous metabolism of E. pacifica in March consumed 3.1% of body carbon daily, which is likely related to its high reproduction and grazing rate. Respiration and metabolism of E. pacifica in September and December were similar and were lower. O:N ratio of E. pacifica was the highest (17.3–23.8) in March when spawning activity occurred and when food was abundant. The energetic source of E. pacifica during September and December was mostly protein from eating a carnivorous diet, including such items as microzooplankton. Euphausia pacifica was found in cold water at the bottom of the Yellow Sea in summer and autumn and maintained a low consumption status. O:N ratios of E. pacifica in March, September, and December were negatively correlated with SSTs and no significant correlation was found between O:N ratios and chlorophyll a concentration. Seawater temperature is clearly the most important parameter influencing the metabolism of E. pacifica.     

Post-breeding densities,population sizes and lake size partitioning of loon species in western Chukotka,Russia

Loons (family Gaviidae) breed in small ponds and lakes across Arctic landscapes and are high level predators in the lake ecosystems. As such, they may serve as sentinel species, warning humans of alterations in habitat and ecosystem integrity in a region that is undergoing vast change due to climate warming. Here, we characterized the abundance and habitat use of four arctic breeding species of loons in the plains and surrounding mountains of western Chukotka, Russia. Loon surveys were conducted on foot and by boat from 2009–2015. Loon species differed in their use of the four lacustrine habitat types within the study area. In yedoma habitat, the yellow-billed loon (Gavia. adamsii) was the most abundant (0.593 birds/km²); on fluvial plain habitat, Pacific loons (G. pacifica) outnumbered other loons (0.701 birds/km²); mountain valleys were inhabited similarly by pacifica (0.354 birds/km²) and red-throated loons (G.stellata; 0.307); and maritime tundra was used only by pacifica (1.13) and Arctic loons (G. arctica; 0.553). G. adamsii was not observed in mountain valleys or maritime tundra. Mountainous portions of rivers were predominantly occupied by stellata and pacifica, and lowland rivers by stellata, pacifica and arctica. There was a significant difference in the size of lakes occupied by the four congeners. The largest loon, adamsii, occupied the largest lakes (0.69 km²), 80% larger than lakes utilized by pacifica (0.39 km²) and arctica (0.38 km²), and 35 times larger than stellata (0.02 km²). Most lakes were occupied by a single loon species (125/162, 77.2%).     

Migration and habitat use of the tropical eels Anguilla marmorata and A. bicolor pacifica in Vietnam

The patterns of use of marine and freshwater habitats by the tropical anguillid eels Anguilla marmorata and A. bicolor pacifica were examined by analysing the otolith strontium (Sr) and calcium (Ca) concentrations of yellow (immature) and silver (mature) stage eels collected in Vietnamese waters. In A. marmorata, the change in the Sr:Ca ratios outside the high Sr:Ca core was generally divided into three patterns: (1) typical catadromous life history pattern; (2) constant residence in brackish water; and (3) habitat shifting between sea and brackish waters with no freshwater life. In A. bicolor pacifica, no eels had a general life history as freshwater residents. The eels were also divided into three patterns: (1) constant residence in sea water; (2) constantly living in brackish water; and (3) habitat shifting from brackish to sea water with no freshwater residence. The mean Sr:Ca ratio value after recruitment to coastal waters ranged from 1.73 to 5.67 × 10^?3 (mean 3.2 × 10^?3) in A. marmorata and from 2.53 to 6.32 × 10^?3 (mean 4.3 × 10^?3) in A. bicolor pacifica. The wide range of otolith Sr:Ca ratios in both species indicated that the habitat use of these tropical eels was facultative among fresh, brackish, and marine waters during their growth phases after recruitment to coastal areas. Tropical eel species may have the same behavioural plasticity as temperate anguillid species regarding whether to enter freshwater or to remain in estuarine and marine environments.     

New species of eel cods <Emphasis Type="Italic">Muraenolepis pacifica</Emphasis> sp. nova (Muraenolepididae) from the ridge of hercules (Pacific-Antarctic Ridge)

The new species of moray cod Muraenolepis pacifica sp. nova from the Pacific ocean, i.e., the Hercules and Umanov banks (Pacific-Antarctic Rise) from the depths of 200–500 m is described. The new species closely resembles M. orangiensis, but it reliably differs from the latter by the shorter caudal part of the body, more caudal position of the insertions of dorsal and pectoral fins, longer upper jaw, and other proportions of the body. The new data about holotype M. orangiensis obtained in its X-ray study are given.     

Epibionts on the krill (Euphausia pacifica) from the E coast of Japan

Fernandez‐Leborans, G. 2011. Epibionts on the krill (Euphausia pacifica) from the E coast of Japan. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 00 : 1–10. Specimens of Euphausia pacifica collected from shallow waters of the E coast of Japan showed ciliate epibionts belonging to two suctorian species: Ephelota plana and Gymnodinioides sp. The epibionts were present in a total of 27 anatomical units of E. pacifica, in numbers fluctuating between 8 and 80 individuals per basibiont. Gymnodinioides showed the highest mean number of epibionts. The presence–absence of epibionts indicated some specificity of the species by different locations on the basibiont body, which is corroborated by the analysis of the colonization throughout the longitudinal axis of the basibiont. Ephelota plana was recorded by the first time on E. pacifica, while Gymnodinioides sp. extended its geographical area with respect to previous studies. Morphological, taxonomical features of the species and the statistical analysis of their spatial distribution on E. pacifica are included.     

Redescription ofRhinochimaera pacifica (mitsukuri) and first record ofR. africana compagno, stehmann & ebert from Japan (Chimaeriformes: Rhinochimaeridae)

Rhinochimaera pacifica is redescribed and a specimen from Tokyo Bay is designated as the neotype. A second species of the genus,R. africana, is newly recognized from Japan. A new scheme of measurements of the lateral line canals has been developed, and a comparison of proportional measurements of the snout width, eye length, and canal measurements clearly distinguishesR. pacifica andR. africana. Intraspecific variation ofR. pacifica and comparison ofR. pacifica andR. africana is discussed.Rhinochimaera pacifica has an irregular distribution in the north and south Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. This study also confirms a much wider range forR. africana than previously known and extends the range to the northern Pacific Ocean around the Japanese Archipelago.     

Extracellular and Mixotrophic Symbiosis in the Whale-Fall Mussel Adipicola pacifica: A Trend in Evolution from Extra- to Intracellular Symbiosis

Background

Deep-sea mussels harboring chemoautotrophic symbionts from hydrothermal vents and seeps are assumed to have evolved from shallow-water asymbiotic relatives by way of biogenic reducing environments such as sunken wood and whale falls. Such symbiotic associations have been well characterized in mussels collected from vents, seeps and sunken wood but in only a few from whale falls.

Methodology/Principal Finding

Here we report symbioses in the gill tissues of two mussels, Adipicola crypta and Adipicola pacifica, collected from whale-falls on the continental shelf in the northwestern Pacific. The molecular, morphological and stable isotopic characteristics of bacterial symbionts were analyzed. A single phylotype of thioautotrophic bacteria was found in A. crypta gill tissue and two distinct phylotypes of bacteria (referred to as Symbiont A and Symbiont C) in A. pacifica. Symbiont A and the A. crypta symbiont were affiliated with thioautotrophic symbionts of bathymodiolin mussels from deep-sea reducing environments, while Symbiont C was closely related to free-living heterotrophic bacteria. The symbionts in A. crypta were intracellular within epithelial cells of the apical region of the gills and were extracellular in A. pacifica. No spatial partitioning was observed between the two phylotypes in A. pacifica in fluorescence in situ hybridization experiments. Stable isotopic analyses of carbon and sulfur indicated the chemoautotrophic nature of A. crypta and mixotrophic nature of A. pacifica. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of the host mussels showed that A. crypta constituted a monophyletic clade with other intracellular symbiotic (endosymbiotic) mussels and that A. pacifica was the sister group of all endosymbiotic mussels.

Conclusions/Significance

These results strongly suggest that the symbiosis in A. pacifica is at an earlier stage in evolution than other endosymbiotic mussels. Whale falls and other modern biogenic reducing environments may act as refugia for primal chemoautotrophic symbioses between eukaryotes and prokaryotes since the extinction of ancient large marine vertebrates.     

Studies of pacific island plants,XXX. Notes on Fijian Apocynaceae and Asclepiadaceae

In the Apocynaceae the new combinationAlstonia pacifica (Seem.) A. C. Sm. is required. In the Asclepiadaceae the genusGymnema R. Br. is found not to occur in Fiji; for the two Fijian species previously referred to it the new combinationsLeichardtia stenophylla (A. Gray) A. C. Sm. andTylophora subnuda (A. Gray) A. C. Sm. are proposed. The species ofTylophora occurring in the Fijian Region are reviewed and a new Fijian species,T. venulosa, is described.     

Winogradskyella undariae sp. nov., a member of the family Flavobacteriaceae isolated from a brown algae reservoir

A novel bacterial strain, designated WS-MY5^T, capable of degrading a variety of polysaccharides was isolated from a brown algae (Undaria pinnatifida) reservoir at Wando in the South Sea, South Korea. Strain WS-MY5^T was found to grow optimally at 30 °C, at pH 7.0–7.5 and in the presence of 2 % (w/v) NaCl. A neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain WS-MY5^T falls within the clade comprising Winogradskyella species, clustering with the type strains of Winogradskyella pacifica, Winogradskyella arenosi, Winogradskyella rapida and Winogradskyella thalassocola, with which it exhibited 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity values of 97.3–98.8 %. It exhibited sequence similarity values of 93.0–96.2 % to the type strains of the other recognized Winogradskyella species. Strain WS-MY5^T was found to contain MK-6 as the predominant menaquinone and anteiso-C_15:0, iso-C_15:0, iso-C_15:0 3-OH, iso-C_17:0 3-OH and iso-C_15:1 G as the major fatty acids. The major polar lipids of strain WS-MY5^T were identified as phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified lipids and two unidentified aminolipids. The DNA G+C content of strain WS-MY5^T was determined to be 33.2 mol% and its DNA–DNA relatedness values with the type strains of W. pacifica, W. arenosi, W. rapida and W. thalassocola were in the range 16–28 %. Differential phenotypic properties, together with its phylogenetic and genetic distinctiveness, enabled strain WS-MY5^T to be differentiated from the recognized Winogradskyella species. On the basis of the data presented here, strain WS-MY5^T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Winogradskyella, for which the name Winogradskyella undariae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is WS-MY5^T (=KCTC 32261^T=CCUG 63832^T).     

Partial Purification and Characterization of a Glycoprotein Cell Fusion Hormone from Griffithsia pacifica, a Red Alga

In filaments of the red alga Griffithsia, dead intercalary cells are replaced by the process of cell repair by cell fusion. This process is coordinated by a morphogenetic cell fusion hormone, rhodomorphin, which accelerates cell division and induces the production of a specialized repair cell. We have isolated rhodomorphin from Griffithsia pacifica Kylin and have purified it by concanavalin A affinity chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, and gel filtration chromatography. This molecule binds specifically to concanavalin A, is proteinase sensitive, and is inactivated by short treatments at temperatures of 50°C or above. It therefore appears that rhodomorphin from G. pacifica is a glycoprotein; its molecular weight, as estimated by gel filtration, is approximately 14,000.     

Age, distribution and abundance of viable resting eggs of Acartia pacifica (Copepoda: Calanoida) in Xiamen Bay, China

The distribution and abundance of viable resting eggs of copepod Acartia pacifica in Xiamen Bay, China, were determined in the laboratory by the presence of nauplii hatched from the sediments. Sediment cores to a depth of 30 cm, sliced at 1.0 cm intervals, showed that most viable resting eggs of A. pacifica occurred near the sediment surface (0-5 cm), and the number of viable eggs sharply decreased with depth of the sediment, although resting eggs remained viable as deep as 23 cm. ²¹⁰Pb analyses of the sediments indicated that the maximum age of viable eggs of A. pacifica was 20.5 years and the mean egg age was 4.3 years. The egg mortality of A. pacifica in the sediment was 0.1408 year⁻¹, or 85.92% annual egg survival, calculated by regressing ln(egg density) on the age of the sediment. The horizontal distribution of viable resting eggs ranged from 2.27×10³ to 3.85×10⁵ m⁻², with a mean value of 9.49×10⁴ m⁻². Regressions between viable eggs of A. pacifica and all fine-fraction particle size classes (at 2 μm intervals) were not significant. The accumulation of viable resting eggs that can persist for an extended period of time provided evidence for the existence of an egg bank of A. pacifica in the seabed of Xiamen Bay.     

Analysis of Chromophytic and Rhodophytic Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase Indicates Extensive Structural and Functional Similarities among Evolutionarily Diverse Algae

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco) from the algae Olisthodiscus luteus (chromophyte) and Griffithsia pacifica (rhodophyte) are remarkably similar to each other. However, both enzymes differ significantly in the structure and function when compared to Rubisco from green algae and land plants. Analysis of purified Rubisco from O. luteus and G. pacifica indicates that the size of the holoenzyme and stoichiometry of the 55 and 15 kilodalton subunit polypeptides are approximately 550 kilodaltons and eight:eight for both algae. Antigenic determinants are highly conserved between the O. luteus and G. pacifica enzymes and differ from those of the spinach subunit polypeptides. Sequence similarity between the two algal large subunits has been further confirmed by one-dimensional peptide mapping. Substrate ribulose bisphosphate has no effect on the rate of CO₂/Mg²⁺ activation of O. luteus and G. pacifica enzymes which contrasts to the extensive inhibition of spinach Rubisco activation at similar concentrations of this compound. In addition, the Michaelis constant for CO₂ and the inhibition constant for 6-phosphogluconate are similar for the O. luteus and G. pacifica catalyzed carboxylation reaction. Both values are intermediate to those observed for the tight binding spinach enzyme and weak binding prokaryotic (Rhodospirillum rubrum) enzyme. The biochemical similarities documented between O. luteus and G. pacifica may be due to a common evolutionary origin on the chromophytic and rhodophytic chloroplast but could also result from the fact that both subunit polypeptides are chloroplast DNA encoded in these algal taxa.     

Balboa (Fabaceae: Millettieae) reduced to Cracca (Robinieae)

Balboa diversifolia Liebm., known only from the type collection and hitherto of controversial affinity, is here referred to the genusCracca Benth. As the epithetdiversifolia is preoccupied inCracca, the new nameCracca pacifica is proposed. This species is morphologically most similar to the widespreadCracca caribaea.     

Type 2 Quorum Sensing Monitoring,Inhibition and Biofilm Formation in Marine Microrganisms

The quorum sensing (QS) dependent behaviour of micro-organisms, in particular expression of virulence genes, biofilm formation and dispersal, have provided impetus for investigating practical approaches to interfere with microbial QS. This study tests Halomonas pacifica and Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus, two halophilic marine micro-organism, for their AI-2 dependent QS signalling and the effect of two well-known quorum-sensing inhibitors (QSIs), patulin and penicillic acid, on biofilm formation. We report, for the first time, the successful amplification of a putative luxS gene in H. pacifica using degenerated primers and AI-2 dependent QS as well as inhibition using QSIs. Penicillic acid had a strong inhibitory effect on AI-2 induction of H. pacifica at non-growth inhibitory concentrations, while patulin has an adverse effect only at the highest concentration (25 μM). QSIs effect on biofilm forming capability was isolate specific, with maximum inhibition at 25 μM of patulin in H. pacifica. In M. hydrocarbonoclasticus, no adverse effects were noted at any tested concentration of either QSIs. Detection of bioluminescence and the presence of a putative luxS gene provide biochemical and genetic evidence for the production of a signalling molecule(s) which is the essential first step in characterizing H. pacifica QS. This study highlights the importance of AI-2 dependent QS in a marine setting, not previously reported. It further suggests that QSI compounds must be selected in the specific system in which they are to function, and they cannot easily be transferred from one QS system to another.     

Faunistic groups of carpenter-moths (Lepidoptera, Cossidae) in the fauna of Russia

An arealogical review of carpenter-moths of the fauna of Russia is presented. Southern steppe western Palaearctic species (10); steppe, southern steppe, and Central Asian semidesert species (7); and nemoral eastern Palaearctic species (6) predominate. Endemics of the Russian fauna are 6 species: Acossus victor (Yakovlev, 2004) (southern Tuva); Cossus shmakovi Yakovlev, 2004 (Tuva, Khakassia); Deserticossus volgensis (Christoph, 1893) and D. sareptensis (Rothschild, 1912) (southern Volga River Basin), Phragmataecia pacifica Yakovlev, 2007 (Daghestan), and Meharia scythica D. Komarov et Zolotuhin, 2005 (southern Volga River Basin).     

Biosynthesis of coelenterazine in the deep-sea copepod, Metridia pacifica

Coelenterazine is an imidazopyrazinone compound (3,7-dihydroimidazopyrazin-3-one structure) that is widely distributed in marine organisms and used as a luciferin for various bioluminescence reactions. We have used electrospray ionization-ion trap-mass spectrometry to investigate whether the deep-sea luminous copepod Metridia pacifica is able to synthesize coelenterazine. By feeding experiments using deuterium labeled amino acids of l-tyrosine and l-phenylalanine, we have shown that coelenterazine can be synthesized from two molecules of l-tyrosine and one molecule of l-phenylalanine in M. pacifica. This is the first demonstration that coelenterazine is biosynthesized from free l-amino acids in a marine organism.     

Salinispora pacifica sp. nov., an actinomycete from marine sediments

A polyphasic analysis was carried out to clarify the taxonomic status of four marine actinomycete strains that share a phylogenetic relationship and phenotypic characteristics with the genus Salinispora. These strains formed a distinct lineage within the Salinispora 16S rRNA and gyrB trees and were found to possess a range of phenotypic properties and DNA:DNA hybridization values that distinguished them from the type strains of the two validly named species in this genus, Salinispora tropica (CNB-440^T, ATCC BAA-916^T) and Salinispora arenicola (CNH-643^T, ATCC BAA-917^T). The combined genotypic and phenotypic data support this conclusion. It is proposed that the strains be designated as Salinispora pacifica sp. nov., the type strain of which is CNR-114^T (DSMZ YYYYT = KACC 17160^T).