ent-Labdane glycosides from the aquatic plant Potamogeton lucens and analytical evaluation of the lipophilic extract constituents of various Potamogeton species

Two new ent-labdane glycosides, one known furano-ent-labdane and a new hydroxylated fatty acid were isolated from the dichloromethane extract of the freshwater aquatic plant Potamogeton lucens. The new compounds were assigned the structures of beta-d-glucopyranosyl-8(17),13-ent-labdadien-16,15-olid-18-oate, 18-beta-d-glucopyranosyloxy-8(17),13-ent-labdadien-16,15-olide and 13(R)-hydroxy-octadeca-(9Z,11E,15Z)-trien-oic acid by spectroscopic means. The algicidal activity of these compounds was tested against Raphidocelis subcapitata. Based on our previous study of Potamogeton pectinatus, other constituents were identified in P. lucens by LC-UV-MS, LC-NMR and GC-MS. The lipophilic extract profiles of both species are presented. Two other species, Potamogeton perfoliatus and P. crispus, were also investigated by analytical comparison of their non-polar extracts. The distribution of ent-labdanes characterized in Potamogeton is summarized.     

ent-Labdane diterpenes from the aquatic plant Potamogeton pectinatus

Four new ent-labdane diterpenes were isolated from the freshwater aquatic plant Potamogeton pectinatus, together with two known furano-ent-labdanes. The new compounds were assigned the structures methyl-15,16-epoxy-12(R)-acetoxy- 8(17), 13(16),14-ent-labdatrien-19-oate,15,16-epoxy-12(R)-acetoxy-8(17), 13(16),14-ent-labdatrien-19-oic acid, 8(17),13-ent-labdadien-15 --> 16-lactone-19-oic acid and 16-hydroxy-8(17),13-ent-labdadien-15,16-olid-19-oic acid by spectroscopic means. Some of these labdanes showed a strong algicidal activity against Raphidocelis subcapitata.     

Microbiological transformation of two labdane diterpenes, the main constituents of Madia species, by two fungi

Microbial transformation of 13R,14R,15-trihydroxylabd-7-ene (5) and 13R,14R,15-trihydroxylabd-8(17)-ene (6) by the fungus Debaryomyces hansenii gave 1 (13R,14R,15-trihydroxy-6-oxolabd-8-ene) and 3 (7alpha,13R,14R,15-tetrahydroxy-labd-8(17)-ene), respectively. While, microbial transformation of 5 by Aspergillus niger afforded 2 (3beta,13R,14R,15-tetrahydroxy-labd-7-ene), and 13R,14R,15-trihydroxylabd-8,17-ene (6) gave 3 and 4 (3R,14R,15-3-oxotetrahydroxy-labd-7-ene). The structures of the new compounds, 1 and 2, were assigned by 1D and 2D high-field NMR spectroscopic methods. Antimicrobial activity of these compounds were tested and their MIC were determined.     

Phylogenetic and morphological diversity of novel soil cercomonad species with a description of two new genera (Nucleocercomonas and Metabolomonas)

Cercomonads are important components of microbial food webs in soils and aquatic sediments. Here, we investigated the general morphology, behaviour, life cycle and 18S rDNA phylogeny of cercomonad cultures from a German grassland soil habitat. We describe ten new species including two new genera from 23 strains. Three Cercomonas, two Eocercomonas and three Paracercomonas species are described. Based on large phylogenetic distance and distinct morphology, we erect two novel clade B genera near the root of the cercomonad tree. Nucleocercomonas nov. gen. bears a number of characters unusual for cercomonads: Its anterior flagellum is extremely long, it mostly does not glide, and in its most frequent life stage the cell body does not attach to the substratum, but produces unattached pseudopodia. Furthermore, it has a unique nucleus with a peripheral nucleolus that attaches to the nuclear envelope opposite the basal body connection. Metabolomonas nov. gen. is extremely metabolic. It is characterized by a very high beating frequency of the anterior flagellum, fast gliding, rapid changes in shape and strong cytoplasmic streams. A new genus Brevimastigomonas is erected for the previously described species Paracercomonas anaerobica. The general morphology of cercomonad species often does not correspond with their phylogenetic position: closely related species may have a very different morphology.     

A new species group in Megaselia,the lucifrons group,with description of a new species (Diptera,Phoridae)

With 1,400 described species, Megaselia is one of the most species-rich genera in the animal kingdom, and at the same time one of the least studied. An important obstacle to taxonomic progress is the lack of knowledge concerning the phylogenetic structure within the genus. Classification of Megaselia at the level of subgenus is incomplete although Schmitz addressed several groups of species in a series of monographs published from 1956 to 1981. Another problem is the lack of molecular phylogenetic analyses to support morphology-based conclusions. As a contribution towards addressing these problems, we here circumscribe a previously unrecognized monophyletic lineage of Megaselia consisting of species similar to Megaselia lucifrons. We base this taxonomic decision on morphological study of an extensive phorid material from Sweden, complemented by molecular analyses of select exemplars using two markers (COI and 28S). We name the clade the lucifrons species group, and show that it contains three distinct species. Our results also demonstrate that Megaselia subnitida Lundbeck, 1920, previously treated as a synonym of Megaselia lucifrons Schmitz, 1918, is a separate species, and we remove it from synonymy. The third species in the group was previously unknown; we describe it here as Megaselia albalucifrons sp. n.     

Phylogenetic analysis of Cystoisospora species at the rRNA ITS1 locus and development of a PCR-RFLP assay

The ITS1 sequences for C. suis, C. belli, C. rivolta, C. felis, and C. ohioensis-like oocysts were determined and a diagnostic PCR-RFLP assay specific for Cystosisopora species was developed. Phylogenetic analysis of ITS1 sequences of Cystosisopora species along with ITS1 sequences for Toxoplasma, Neospora, Sarcocystis and Eimeria spp. using distance, minimum evolution and parsimony-based methods confirmed previous studies, which suggested that the genus Cystoisospora does not belong to the family Eimeriidae, but should be classified together with the cyst-forming coccidia in the family Sarcocystidae.     

A revision of chamaeleonids from the Lower Miocene of the Czech Republic with description of a new species of Chamaeleo (Squamata, Chamaeleonidae)

A revision of Chamaeleo caroliquarti Moody and Ro?ek is presented. The comparisons of the holotypic left dentary with those of specimens subsequently assigned to C. caroliquarti and of the Recent species of Chamaeleo, Furcifer and Calumma is carried out. It is shown that the type dentaries of C. caroliquarti include two different morphotypes with the absence of unique features. Within the Recent chameleons, the exact determination of the individual species merely on the basis of the dentaries is impossible. The holotypic dentary of C. caroliquarti is basically identical with that of C. calyptratus. However, the same morphology of the dentary as present in C. caroliquarti is also present in other species of different genera such as Calumma globifer and Furcifer pardalis. The paratypic dentaries of C. caroliquarti have a different morphology to the holotype and are indistinguishable from that in the Recent C. chamaeleon. On the other hand, a new species of the genus Chamaeleo, C. andrusovi, is described on the basis of isolated cranial elements, which possess clear autapomorphic features. This material comes from the Lower Miocene (Ottnangian) zone MN 4 in the Dolnice locality of the Czech Republic, and it differs from Recent and fossil chameleons in the following combination of characters: (1) its typically developed strongly pustular ornamentation and its distribution on the external surfaces of the skull roofing bones; (2) the frontoparietal suture is digitiform with a well-developed, anteriorly directed mesial spine, and (3) the parietal bone narrows posteriorly at its midlength, it is not bowed dorsally and it does not contribute posteriorly to a dorsal sagittal crest. This new material expands our knowledge of the cranial anatomy of Lower Miocene chameleons.     

Zoanthids (Cnidaria: Hexacorallia: Zoantharia) from shallow waters of the southern Chilean fjord region, with descriptions of a new genus and two new species

The taxonomy of the order Zoantharia (=Zoanthidea=Zoanthiniaria) is greatly hampered by the paucity of diagnostic morphological features. To facilitate discrimination between similar zoanthids, a combination of morphological and molecular analyses is applied here. The three most abundant zoanthid species in shallow waters of the southern Chilean fjord region are described. Comparison with other zoanthids using molecular markers reveals that two of them are new to science; these are described as Mesozoanthus fossii gen. n., sp. n. and Epizoanthus fiordicus sp. n. Their representatives grow on rocky substratum and do not live in symbiosis with demosponges. In the less abundant M. fossii, animals are greyish in colour and resemble members of Parazoanthus in growth form. Individual polyps can be up to 35 mm long. The more abundant E. fiordicus are also greyish; the polyps arise from thin stolons and reach only 12 mm in length. The third species studied is Parazoanthus elongatus McMurrich, 1904. For these three Chilean zoanthid species, in-situ photographs are presented as well as information on distribution, habitat and associated species. Establishment of the Mesozoanthus gen. n. is of particular importance to taxonomy in the chaotic suborder Macrocnemina.     

Meiothermus rufus sp. nov., a new slightly thermophilic red-pigmented species and emended description of the genus Meiothermus

Four red-pigmented isolates, with optimum growth temperatures of approximately 55–60 °C and an optimum pH for growth between 7.5 and 8.5, were recovered from hot springs in Central France. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that these organisms represented a new species of the genus Meiothermus. The new isolates could be distinguished from other strains of the species of the genus Meiothermus primarily by the glycolipid profile and fatty acid composition because these organisms lacked the hydroxy fatty acids and the glycolipid variant GL-1a found in all other isolates of the species of Meiothermus examined. On the basis of the results presented here we propose the name Meiothermus rufus for the new species, which is represented by strains CAL-4^T (=DSM 22234^T=LMG 24878^T) and CAL-12 (=DSM 22235=LMG 24879). We also propose emending the genus Meiothermus to include strains that have only one glycolipid instead of two glycolipid variants.     

Secondary metabolites from Eurotium species, Aspergillus calidoustus and A. insuetus common in Canadian homes with a review of their chemistry and biological activities

As part of studies of metabolites from fungi common in the built environment in Canadian homes, we investigated metabolites from strains of three Eurotium species, namely E. herbariorum, E. amstelodami, and E. rubrum as well as a number of isolates provisionally identified as Aspergillus ustus. The latter have been recently assigned as the new species A. insuetus and A. calidoustus. E. amstelodami produced neoechinulin A and neoechinulin B, epiheveadride, flavoglaucin, auroglaucin, and isotetrahydroauroglaucin as major metabolites. Minor metabolites included echinulin, preechinulin and neoechinulin E. E. rubrum produced all of these metabolites, but epiheveadride was detected as a minor metabolite. E. herbariorum produced cladosporin as a major metabolite, in addition to those found in E. amstelodami. This species also produced questin and neoechinulin E as minor metabolites. This is the first report of epiheveadride occurring as a natural product, and the first nonadride isolated from Eurotium species. Unlike strains from mainly infection-related samples, largely from Europe, neither ophiobolins G and H nor austins were detected in the Canadian strains of A. insuetus and A. calidoustus tested, all of which had been reported from the latter species. TMC-120 A, B, C and a sesquiterpene drimane are reported with certainty for the first time from indoor isolates, as well as two novel related methyl isoquinoline alkaloids.     

Description of a new bat species of the tribe Scotonycterini (Chiroptera,Pteropodidae) from southwestern Cameroon

The tribe Scotonycterini is currently composed of three fruit bat species of the family Pteropodidae (Mammalia, Chiroptera) characterized by white fur patches on the head, specifically around the nose and behind the eyes: Scotonycteris zenkeri, S. ophiodon and Casinycteris argynnis. Herein a new species is described, Casinycteris campomaanensis sp. nov., based on female specimen collected in 2007 near the village Nkoélon-Mvini close to the Campo-Ma’an National Park, southwestern Cameroon. It is readily distinguished from the three other species of Scotonycterini by its body size and craniodental characteristics. Molecular analyses based on the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene indicate that the new species is the sister-group to C. argynnis and that the holotype of S. ophiodon is more closely related to Casinycteris than to S. zenkeri, rendering the genus Scotonycteris paraphyletic. Based on these results, morphological characters within the tribe Scotonycterini were reassessed and a new classification is proposed, in which the new species and S. ophiodon are placed in the genus Casinycteris.     

Review of Canadian species of the genus Mocyta Mulsant & Rey (Coleoptera,Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae), with the description of a new species and a new synonymy

Six species of the genus Mocyta Mulsant & Rey are reported from Canada: Mocyta amblystegii (Brundin), Mocyta breviuscula (Mäklin), Mocyta discreta (Casey), Mocyta fungi (Gravenhorst), Mocyta luteola (Erichson), and Mocyta sphagnorum Klimaszewski & Webster, sp. n. New provincial and state records include: Mocyta breviuscula – Saskatchewan and Oregon; Mocyta discreta – Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan; Mocyta luteola – New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Massachusetts and Minnesota; and Mocyta fungi – Saskatchewan. Mocyta sphagnorum is described from eastern Canada from specimens captured in Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. Mocyta negligens Mulsant and Rey, a native European species suspected of occurring in Canada, is excluded from the Nearctic fauna based on comparison of European types with similarly coloured Canadian specimens, which are now identified as Mocyta luteola. The European species, Mocyta gilvicollis (Scheerpeltz), is synonymized with another European nominal species, Mocyta negligens, based on examination of type material of the two species. Lectotypes are designated for Eurypronota discreta Casey, Atheta gilvicollis Scheerpeltz, Homalota luteola Erichson, Colpodota negligens Mulsant and Rey, Acrotona prudens Casey and Dolosota redundans Casey. The latter species is here synonymized with Mocyta luteola. A review of the six Nearctic species is provided, including keys to species and closely related genera, colour habitus images, images of genitalia, biological information and maps of their distributions in Canada.     

Establishment of the new genus Paranosema based on the ultrastructure and molecular phylogeny of the type species Paranosema grylli Gen. Nov., Comb. Nov. (Sokolova, Selezniov, Dolgikh, Issi 1994), from the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus Deg

The ultrastructure of the microsporidian parasite Nosema grylli, which parasitizes primarily fat body cells and haemocytes of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) is described. All observed stages (meront, meront/sporont transitional stage ("second meront"), sporont, sporoblast, and spore) are found in direct contact with the host cell cytoplasm. Nuclei are diplokaryotic during almost all stages of the life cycle, but a brief stage with one nucleus containing an abundance of electron-dense material is observed during a "second merogony." Sporogony is disporous. Mature spores are ovocylindrical in shape and measure 4.5+/-0.16micromx2.2+/-0.07 microm (n=10) on fresh smears and 3.3+/-0.06 micromx1.4+/-0.07 microm (n=10) on ultrathin sections. Spores contain 15-18 coils of an isofilar polar filament arranged in one or two layers. Comparative phylogenetic analysis using rDNA shows N. grylli to be closely related to another orthopteran microsporidian, Nosema locustae, and to Nosema whitei from the confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum. Antonospora scoticae, a parasite of the communal bee Andrena scotica, is a sister taxon to these three Nosema species. The sequence divergence and morphological traits clearly separate this group of "Nosema" parasites from the "true" Nosema clade containing Nosema bombycis. We therefore propose to change the generic name of N. grylli and its close relative N. locustae to Paranosema n. comb. We leave N. whitei in former status until more data on fine morphology of the species are obtained.     

Addition to the study of the genus Dusona (Hymenoptera,Ichneumonidae, Campopleginae) in Korea with description of a new species and key to the Korean species

Korean species of the genus Dusona Cameron (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae) are reviewed. Twenty seven species of Dusona are reported from South Korea, including 12 previously unrecorded species, D. bellipes (Holmgren, 1872), D. bicoloripes (Ashmead, 1906), D. chabarowski Hinz & Horstmann, 2004, D. cultrator (Gravenhorst, 1829), D. japonica (Cameron, 1906), D. mactatoides Hinz, 1994, D. scalprata Horstmann, 2004, D. sasayamae Hinz & Horstmann, 2004, D. oblitera (Holmgren, 1872), D. obtutor Hinz, 1994, D. auriculator Aubert, 1964, D. longicauda (Uchida, 1928), and a new species, D. koreana sp. n. An illustrated key to Korean species of Dusona provided.     

Morphological and molecular evidence of three species of pikes Esox spp. (Actinopterygii,Esocidae) in France,including the description of a new species

This integrative taxonomy study of French pikes compares morphological characters and molecular sequence data (mitochondrial COI and nuclear Plagl2 genes). In addition to the expected E. lucius, DNA sequences and morphology both support a new species in France, E. aquitanicus sp. nov. from the Charente to the Adour drainages. It is characterized by a color pattern of sides with narrow 1–1.5-scale-wide oblique vertical bands, conferring it a marbled coat, a snout only 0.9 times larger than the postorbital length, an anal fin basis 1.1–1.2 times larger than the caudal peduncle length, 101 to 121 lateral scales, 53 to 57 vertebrae, as well as 24 diagnostic sites in the COI gene and 3 in the Plagl2 gene. Partial COI sequences (131 bp) from modern and historical specimens indicate also the presence of E. cisalpinus and E. lucius during the 19th century in Lake Geneva. Morphological and molecular data points to a possible hybridization between E. lucius with both other local pike species, representing a risk for them. Their endangerment status should be evaluated rapidly in order to take conservation measures.     

A new species of Combretum section Ciliatipetala (Combretaceae) from southern Africa, with a key to the regional members of the section

Combretum stylesii O.Maurin, Jordaan & A.E.van Wyk, a liana or slender tree with scrambling branches from the Tugela River Valley (KwaZulu-Natal), South Africa, is described. Molecular data supports its placement in subgenus Combretum section Ciliatipetala with its closest relative Combretum edwardsii. The new species differs from C. edwardsii in having, amongst others, a single mature leaf form, leaves softly textured, with whitish hairs, often with drooping habit, shorter leaf petioles (less than 5 mm), and less complex 8-celled leaf scales. A key to the species and infraspecific taxa of section Ciliatipetala in the Flora of southern Africa region is provided.     

Revision of the genus Dercetina from Taiwan and their similar species,with description of a new species from Myanmar (Insecta,Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae)

Species of the genus Dercetina Gressitt & Kimoto, 1963 in Taiwan are revised. Dercetina azumai Gressitt and Kimoto, 1966, Dercetina itoi Kimoto, 1969, and Dercetina shirozui Kimoto, 1969 are redescribed. Dercetina chinensis (Weise, 1889), Dercetina taiwana (Chûjô, 1938), and Dercetina unifasciata (Allard, 1889) are removed from synonymy with Dercetina flavocincta (Hope, 1831). Dercetina flavocincta and Dercetina nakanei Kimoto, 1969 are transferred to the genus Arthrotus Motschulsky, 1858. Lectotypes are designated for Dercetis taiwana Chûjô, 1938, and Antipha varipennis Jacoby, 1890. The synonymies of Antipha flavofasciata Baly, 1879 and Dercetes femoralis Weise, 1922 with Arthrotus flavocincta (Hope, 1831), Antipha varipennis Jacoby, 1890 with Dercetina chinensis (Weise, 1889) are supported. A new species, Dercetina barclayi sp. n. which was confused with Dercetina flavocincta, is described from Myanmar.     

Contribution to the knowledge of the Bulgarian species of the genus Vitrea (Gastropoda,Pristilomatidae) with the description of a new species

A new species of genus Vitrea is described: Vitrea ulrichi sp. n. is the eleventh species within the genus found in Bulgaria, and the largest representative of the Bulgarian Vitrea. Some critical notes on the taxonomy of the species V. bulgarica and V. sturanyi are presented. A key is provided for the determination of the species of Vitrea found in the country.