Multiple host-ant use by the predatory social parasite <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phengaris</Emphasis> (=<Emphasis Type="Italic">Maculinea</Emphasis>) <Emphasis Type="Italic">arion</Emphasis> (Lepidoptera,Lycaenidae)

Phengaris (=Maculinea) arion is an endangered social parasite of Myrmica ants, and for a very long time was considered as specific to Myrmica sabuleti. Previous studies carried out in Poland suggested some discrepancies within this assumption, and therefore a much more intensive survey was undertaken. The host ant use of P. arion was studied at five sites in different types of biotopes in Poland, i.e. xerothermal grasslands where Thymus pulegioides was used as a larval food plant by the butterfly, and more or less sandy biotopes with Thymus serpyllum. Altogether nine Myrmica species were recorded, and considerable variation in species composition and density of nests was recorded. At four localities M. sabuleti proved to be the most common ant. A total of 529 Myrmica nests were examined, and only 20 of them contained larvae and pupae of P. arion. Host ants belonged to five different species, i.e. M. sabuleti, Myrmica scabrinodis, Myrmica schencki, Myrmica lobicornis and Myrmica hellenica. Only at one site (NE Poland) was a significant heterogeneity in parasitation rates among Myrmica species detected. M. lobicornis was the most often infested ant there, which may suggest local specialisation of the butterfly. Overall low parasitism rates may explain the vulnerability of P. arion in Central Europe but further studies are also necessary.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus anthracis</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Francisella tularensis</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Yersinia pestis</Emphasis>. The most important bacterial warfare agents — <Emphasis Type="Italic">review</Emphasis>

There are three most important bacterial causative agents of serious infections that could be misused for warfare purposes: Bacillus anthracis (the causative agent of anthrax) is the most frequently mentioned one; however, Fracisella tularensis (causing tularemia) and Yersinia pestis (the causative agent of plague) are further bacterial agents enlisted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into the category A of potential biological weapons. This review intends to summarize basic information about these bacterial agents. Military aspects of their pathogenesis and the detection techniques suitable for field use are discussed.     

Synthesis of orthogonally protected (<Emphasis Type="Italic">3R</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">4S</Emphasis>)- and (<Emphasis Type="Italic">3S</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">4S</Emphasis>)-4,5-diamino-3-hydroxypentanoic acids

Summary.  The paper describes two methods of the synthesis of ethyl (3R,4S)- and (3S,4S)-4-[(benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]-5-[(tert-butyloxycarbonyl)amino]-3-hydroxypentanoates, useful for the syntheses of edeine analogs. Differently N-protected (S)-2,3-diaminopropanoic acid was used as a substrate in both procedures. The absolute configuration of newly generated asymmetric carbon atoms C-3 in β-hydroxy-γ,δ-diamino products was assigned by means of ¹H NMR spectroscopy after their transformation into corresponding piperidin-2-ones. Received May 24, 2002 Accepted October 10, 2002 Published online December 18, 2002 Acknowledgment The authors are indebted to the Faculty of Chemistry, Technical University of Gdańsk for financial support. Authors' address: Zbigniew Czajgucki, M. Sc., Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Technical University of Gdańsk, 11/12 Narutowicza St., 80-952 Gdańsk, Poland, Fax +48 58 347 11 44, E-mail: zmczaj@wp.pl     

Genetics of the cell cycle: Adaptive modification of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">CycB</Emphasis><Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">2g</Emphasis></Superscript> mutation expression in dividing cells of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila melanogaster</Emphasis>

The effect of mutation CycB ^2g on mitosis in neural ganglia and imaginal disks was studied in third-instar larvae of Drosophila melanogaster. Chromosome condensation and segregation were shown to be impaired in dividing cells of mutant larvae. During the three-year period of maintenance of the mutation in heterozygote, frequencies of some defects decreased via cellular adaptive modification.Translated from Genetika, Vol. 41, No. 3, 2005, pp. 312–319.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Lebedeva, Trunova, Omelyanchuk.     

Interaction of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus</Emphasis> with bacteria <Emphasis Type="Italic">Campylobacter jejuni</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helicobacter pylori</Emphasis>

Interaction of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus 100NCJB with bacteria Campylobacter jejuni (strains 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) and Helicobacter pylori, strain TX30a, was confirmed. The results indicate that lytic activity of bdellovibrios both in liquid media and cells attached to a surface was observed. The potential use of the antimicrobial activity of predatory bacteria for environmental bioprotection and public health is discussed.     

Frequencies of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">DRB1</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">DQA1</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">DQB1</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">TNFA</Emphasis> alleles in immigrant population of west Siberia

Based on population analysis of the DRB1, DQA1, DQB1 and TNFA allele frequency distribution patterns, regional features of immunogenetic structure of the population of West Siberia were investigated. Statistically significant linkage disequilibrium within the HLA class II region, as well as between the TNFA and DRB1, DQA1, and DQB1 was demonstrated. Population frequency distribution patterns of two- and multilocus haplotypes were examined.     

The incidence of mistletoe (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Viscum album</Emphasis> ssp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">abietis</Emphasis>) on silver fir (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Abies alba</Emphasis>) in Croatia

The research on incidence of mistletoe (Viscum album ssp. abietis) on silver fir (Abies alba) was carried out in natural fir stands in Croatia. In the area of Gorski Kotar 32.8 % of the examined dominant fir trees were infected with mistletoe. The mistletoe incidence was presented according to the damage degrees of silver fir from 0 (healthy trees) to 4 (dead trees), rated by the crown defoliation and needle discoloration. With the increase of incidence, mistletoe spreads more onto more vital, i.e. less damaged trees. In the Dinaric Alps 28.6% of the examined fir trees were infected, this percentage amounting to 27.1% for the mountainous regions between the Sava and Drava rivers. The site and stand parameters (exposure, elevation, site quality, forest community and crown closure) were analysed in order to establish whether there was a correlation between these parameters and mistletoe incidence. There was a negative correlation between the elevation and mistletoe incidence. Among the compartments with a closed stands there were considerably less compartments with higher mistletoe incidence than among compartments with a sparsely closed and understocked stands. The other analysed site and stand parameters individually had no significant influence on mistletoe incidence. The correlation of silver fir mortality in 2004 and mistletoe incidence in 2002/03 was analysed, and their strong correlation was established. Mistletoe could be considered as a bioindicator of silver fir decline, and probably a significant contributor to that decline. In the areas where mistletoe incidence is great it can be presumed that silver fir is significantly damaged.     

Structural characteristics of the chloroplast <Emphasis Type="Italic">rpS16</Emphasis> intron in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Allium sativum</Emphasis> and related <Emphasis Type="Italic">Allium</Emphasis> species

The intron sequence of chloroplast rpS16 and the secondary structure of its pre-mRNA were characterized for the first time in 26 Allium sativum accessions of different ecologo-geographical origins and seven related Allium species. The boundaries and main stem-loop consensus sequences were identified for all six domains of the intron. Polymorphism was estimated for the total intron and its regions. The structural regions of the rpS16 intron proved to be heterogeneous for mutation rate and spectrum. Mutations were most abundant in domains II and IV, and transition predominated in domains I, III, V, and VI. In addition to structural elements and motifs typical for group IIB introns, several Allium-specific micro- and macrostructural mutations were revealed. A 290-bp deletion involving domains III and IV and part of domain V was observed in A. altaicum, A. fistulosum, and A. schoenoprasum. Several indels and nucleotide substitutions were found to cause a deviation of the pre-mRNA secondary structure from the consensus model of group II introns.     

Overexpression of the Chitosanase Gene in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium solani</Emphasis> via <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrobacterium</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">tumefaciens</Emphasis>-Mediated Transformation

To overexpress the chitosanase gene (csn) in F. solani, a vector based on pCAMBIA 1300 was constructed. The csn gene, which is under control of the Aspergillus nidulans gpdA promoter and A. nidulans trpC terminator, was introduced back into the F. solani genome by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation, and the herbicide-resistance gene bar from Streptomyces hygroscopicus was used as the selection marker. Transformants which showed a significant increase in chitosanase production (~2.1-fold than control) were obtained. Southern blot analysis indicated that most transformants had a single-copy T-DNA integration.     

Analysis of blastomogenic activity of mammal carcinogens in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila</Emphasis> using the <Emphasis Type="Italic">wts</Emphasis><Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">P4</Emphasis></Superscript> allele and RNA interference-induced P53 silencing

The test for somatic mutagenesis and recombination in Drosophila is one of the widely used approaches for determination of possible carcinogenic effects of chemical compounds. The use of heterozygotes for mutant tumor suppressor gene wts enables more direct evaluation of the blastomogenic effects of chemical compounds, by tumor formation in the adult flies. This study presents evaluation of the SMART effectiveness upon the use of Drosophila heterozygotes for the wts ^P4 gene, first included into the test system. The increase of the test resolution capacity compared to the literature data for the wts ^P2 allele was observed. Using wts ^P4 heterozygotes, a total of 20 carcinogenic compounds, and their slightly carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic analogs were tested. Specificity of the method was about 100%, and sensitivity depended on the type of the agent tested. The latter was absolute for the direct action carcinogens, with respect to carcinogens, requiring the metabolic activation. The sensitivity was elective and was limited by the presence of the enzymes capable of activating of these compounds. To increase the test sensitivity, the RNA interference-mediated silencing of the Drosophila p53 functional activity was successfully applied. Moreover, the frequency of wts tumor induction considerably increased both in spontaneous and induced mutagenesis conditions.