Cytogenetics of Brazilian species of Bromeliaceae

This paper presents the mitotic chromosome numbers of 18 species of Bromeliaceae. The diploid number 2n = 50 was observed in Aechmea comata, A. caudata, A. correia‐araujoi, A. recurvata, A. marauensis, A. bicolor, A. pineliana, Hohenbergia catingae, H. blanchetti, Alcantarea imperialis, Al. nahoumi, Neoregelia tenebrosa, Nidularium lyman‐smithii, N. scheremetiewii, N. innocentii var. innocentii, and N. innocentii × Neoregelia johannis hybrid, whereas 2n = 34 was observed in Cryptanthus maritimus and C. warren‐loosei. All of the determinations presented in this study are previously unpublished, except A. comata and H. catingae. These results confirm x = 25 as the basic number for the family and x = 17 as a secondary basic number probably generated by decreasing dysploidy. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 158 , 189–193.     

Analysis of S-RNase alleles of almond (Prunus dulcis): characterization of new sequences, resolution of synonyms and evidence of intragenic recombination

Cross-compatibility relationships in almond are controlled by a gametophytically expressed incompatibility system partly mediated by stylar RNases, of which 29 have been reported. To resolve possible synonyms and to provide data for phylogenetic analysis, 21 almond S-RNase alleles were cloned and sequenced from SP (signal peptide region) or C1 (first conserved region) to C5, except for the S ₂₉ allele, which could be cloned only from SP to C1. Nineteen sequences (S ₄ , S ₆ , S ₁₁ –S ₂₂ , S ₂₅ –S ₂₉ ) were potentially new whereas S ₁₀ and S ₂₄ had previously been published but with different labels. The sequences for S ₁₆ and S ₁₇ were identical to that for S ₁ , published previously; likewise, S ₁₅ was identical to S ₅ . In addition, S ₄ and S ₂₀ were identical, as were S ₁₃ and S ₁₉ . A revised version of the standard table of almond incompatibility genotypes is presented. Several alleles had AT or GA tandem repeats in their introns. Sequences of the 23 distinct newly cloned or already published alleles were aligned. Sliding windows analysis of Ka/Ks identified regions where positive selection may operate; in contrast to the Maloideae, most of the region from the beginning of C3 to the beginning of RC4 appeared not to be under positive selection. Phylogenetic analysis indicated four pairs of alleles had ‘bootstrap’ support > 80%: S ₅ /S ₁₀ , S ₄ /S _8, S ₁₁ /S ₂₄ , and S ₃ /S ₆ . Various motifs up to 19 residues long occurred in at least two alleles, and their distributions were consistent with intragenic recombination, as were separate phylogenetic analyses of the 5′ and 3′ sections. Sequence comparison of phylogenetically related alleles indicated the significance of the region between RC4 and C5 in defining specificity.An erratum to this article can be found at     

Characterization of S tester lines in Brassica oleracea: polymorphism of restriction fragment length of SLG homologues and isoelectric points of S-locus glycoproteins

 Forty three S tester lines of Brassica oleracea were characterized using DNA and protein gel-blotting analyses. DNA gel-blot analysis of HindIII-digested genomic DNA with class-I and class-II SLG probes revealed that 40 lines could be classified as class-I S haplotypes while three lines could be classified as class-II S haplotypes. The band patterns in the S tester lines were highly polymorphic. Although the S tester lines typically showed two bands corresponding to SLG and SRK in the analysis with the class-I SLG probe, only one band was observed in the S ²⁴ homozygote. This band was identified as SRK, suggesting that this haplotype has no class-I SLG band. In the analysis using the class-II SLG probe, one plant yielded a different band pattern from the known class-II haplotypes, S ² , S ⁵ and S ¹⁵ . Unexpectedly, this plant was reciprocally cross-incompatible with the S ² haplotype. Therefore, it was designated as S ^2-b . We found an S ¹³ haplotype having a restriction fragment length polymorphism different from that of the S ¹³ homozygotes of the S tester line. These findings indicate that S homozygous lines with the same S specificity do not necessarily show the same band pattern in the DNA gel-blot analysis. Soluble stigma proteins of 32 S homozygotes were separated by isoelectric focusing and detected using anti-S ²² SLG antiserum. S haplotype-specific bands were detected in 27 S homozygotes but not in five S homozygotes, including the S ²⁴ homozygote. This is consistent with the observation that the S ²⁴ haplotype had no SLG band. Received: 13 July 1998 / Accepted: 29 September 1998     

Pollen analysis of honeys from the northwest of Argentina: Province of Jujuy

The palynological characterisation of 157 honey samples from three northwest regions of Argentina (Prepuna, Yungas and Chaco) are presented to determine their botanical origin and species associations to be able to define their geographic origin. Samples were harvested during 2003–2011 and processed by means of melissopalynological conventional techniques. One-hundred and nine pollen types were identified. Representative pollen types with a frequency of occurrence greater than 50% in descending order of importance are: Salix humboldtiana, Allophylus edulis, Baccharis, Solanaceae, Eucalyptus, Schinus, Brassicaceae, Papilionoideae, Celtis, Scutia/Condalia-type and Parapiptadenia excelsa. The most important monofloral honeys are from the following: Salix humboldtiana, Scutia/Condalia-type, Allophylus edulis, Baccharis, Blepharocalyx salicifolius, Gleditsia amorphoides, Myrtaceae, Sicyos, Ziziphus mistol, Schinopsis-type, Agonandra excelsa, Anadenathera colubrina, Mimosa, all of them native species, and among introduced species are Eucalyptus, Citrus and Tithonia. Three apicultural zones and their corresponding pollen association indicators were determined: Zone I, Prepuna: Arquita trichocarpa, Prosopis ferox, Schinus areira, Baccharis, Buddleja and Mutisieae; Zone II, Yungas: Myrtaceae, Parapiptadenia excelsa, Baccharis, Salix humboldtiana, Allophylus edulis, Scutia/Condalia-type and Zanthoxylum coco; Zone III, transitional area Yungas-Chaco: Prosopis, Salix humboldtiana, Schinus, Anadenanthera colubrina and Allophylus edulis.     

Theoretical studies on the modes of binding of some of the derivatives of d-mannose to concanavalin A

The possible modes of binding for methyl-α-d-mannopyranoside, methyl-β-d-mannopyranoside, 2-O-methyl-α-d-mannopyranoside, methyl-2-O-methyl-α-d-mannopyranoside and methyl-α-d-N-acetylmannosamine to concanavalin A have been investigated using theoretical methods. All these sugars, except methyl-α-d-N-acetylmannosamine, reach the active site of concanavalin A with a highly restricted number of binding orientations. Present investigations suggest that the failure of methyl-α-d-N-acetylmannosamine to bind to concanavalin A is not so much due to steric factors as to repulsive electrostatic interactions. Methyl-2-O-methyl-α-d-mannopyranoside can bind to concanavalin A in one mode whereas the other sugars can bind in more than one mode. The high potency of methyl-α-d-mannopyranoside over methyl-β-d-mannopyranoside is mainly due to the possibility of hydrophobic interactions of the α-methoxy group with Leu(99) or Tyr(100) and also due to the possibility of formation of better and more hydrogen bonds with the protein. A comparison of these data with those for the d-glucopyranosides suggests that the change of the hydroxyl at the C-2 atom from equatorial to axial orientation increases the stereochemically allowed region as well as the possible binding modes. From these studies it is also suggested that the overall shape of the oligosaccharides rather than the terminal or internal mannose alone affects the binding potency of saccharides to concanavalin A.     

Analysis of the rnc locus of Coxiella burnetii

A 3.2 kb EcoRI genomic DNA fragment of Coxiella burnetii was isolated by virtue of Its ability to suppress mucoidy in Eschertchia coli. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed the presence of the genes homologous to rnc, era and recO of E. coli. Suppression of capsule synthesis, measured by β-galactosidase expression in Ion cps-lac fusion strains of E. coli, is caused by gene-dosage effects of the plasmid-borne rnc genes of either C. burnetii or E. coli. The rnc gene of C. burnetii complemented rn– E. coli hosts for lambda plaque morphology and stimulation of lambda N gene expression. We also demonstrated heterologous complementation of an E coli strain defective for the expression of Era, an essential protein in E. coli, using the plasmid-borne C. burnetii era. Under the control of the bacteriophage lambda P_L promoter, this 3.2 kb EcoRI DNA fragment directed the synthesis in E. coli of three proteins with approximate molecular masses of 35,27 and 25 kDa. Antibodies against purified E. coli Era protein cross-reacted with the 35 kDa protein of C. burnetii on Western blots.     

Seasonal study of the fungal biota of the fur of dogs

During a one year period, 944 dogs from the Municipal kennel of Barcelona were examined to detect animals with suspected dermatophytosis. Only a few animals (1.8%) presented skin lesions but none of them had dermatophytosis. A representative number of dogs without visible skin lesions (n=172), selected at random, were used to carry out a seasonal study of the mycobiota of their fur. Fifteen isolates belonging to the genera Microsporum and Trichophyton were isolated from 14 of the 172 (8.1%) dogs without lesions. The identity of these fungi was Microsporum gypseum (6/15), Trichophyton terrestre (4/15), M. canis (2/15), M. cookei (2/15) and Trichophyton ajelloi (1/15) (one strain each of M. gypseum and T. ajelloi were isolated from one dog). Species of Penicillium (% prevalence=89.5%), Alternaria (86.6%), Cladosporium (84.9%), Aspergillus (77.3%), Scopulariopsis (65.7%) and Chrysosporium (64.5%) were the most prevalent. No significant differences in the fungal biota were observed with respect to age, gender, hair length or between mixed and pure breed dogs. A large number of isolates, including species belonging to the genera Beauveria, Chrysosporium, Malbranchea and Scopulariopsis, that macroscopically and/or microscopically resemble dermatophytes and may be mistaken for them, produced a red color change in Dermatophyte Test Medium. No significant seasonal difference was detected among the isolates belonging to the the most frequently encountered genera, with the exception of Scopulariopsis (higher in summer and autumn) and Chrysosporium (higher in summer). Species from other genera, with lower occurrence also presented significant differences in their seasonal distribution. Arthrinium, Aureobasidium, Chaetomium and Phoma spp. presented maximum prevalence peaks in spring, Fusarium, Paecilomyces, Phoma and Rhizopus spp. in summer and Geotrichum and Mucor spp. in autumn. The Microsporum and Trichophyton species were more frequently isolated in summer.     

Stability of the analytical solution of Penna model of biological aging

There are some analytical solutions of the Penna model of biological aging; here, we discuss the approach by Coe et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 288103, 2002), based on the concept of self-consistent solution of a master equation representing the Penna model. The equation describes transition of the population distribution at time t to next time step (t + 1). For the steady state, the population n(a, l, t) at age a and for given genome length l becomes time-independent. In this paper we discuss the stability of the analytical solution at various ranges of the model parameters—the birth rate b or mutation rate m. The map for the transition from n(a, l, t) to the next time step population distribution n(a + 1, l, t + 1) is constructed. Then the fix point (the steady state solution) brings recovery of Coe et al. results. From the analysis of the stability matrix, the Lyapunov coefficients, indicative of the stability of the solutions, are extracted. The results lead to phase diagram of the stable solutions in the space of model parameters (b, m, h), where h is the hunt rate. With increasing birth rate b, we observe critical b ₀ below which population is extinct, followed by non-zero stable single solution. Further increase in b leads to typical series of bifurcations with the cycle doubling until the chaos is reached at some b _c. Limiting cases such as those leading to the logistic model are also discussed.     

Responses of genotypes from species of Trifolium, Ornithopus, Biserrula and Hedysarum to a highly virulent race of Phytophthora clandestina and new sources of resistance

Thirty‐six genotypes, including 15 cultivars and 10 breeding lines of Trifolium subterraneum, a single genotype of each of seven other species of Trifolium (viz. Trifolium dasyurum, Trifolium glanduliferum, Trifolium incarnatum, Trifolium michelanium, Trifolium purpureum, Trifolium spumosum and Trifolium vesiculosum), Biserrula pelecinus, Hedysarum coronarium, Ornithopus compressus and Ornithopus sativus were screened under controlled environmental conditions for resistance to root disease caused by the most pathogenic race of Phytophthora clandestina occurring in Australia, namely race 177. This is the first time any of these genera/species other than T.subterraneum has ever been screened for its response to P. clandestina. The root disease caused by P.clandestina is the first report of susceptibility to this pathogen for the seven other species of Trifolium and also for B.pelecinus, H.coronarium and O.sativus. Within T.subterraneum, a very high level of resistance was identified in cvs Denmark, Junee and Meteora [scores ≤1.5 (0–5 scale where 0 = no disease) across two separate screening tests] and in the breeding lines SL027 and SM023 (scores ≤1.3 across two separate screening tests). Six of the seven other species of Trifolium (viz. T.dasyurum, T.glanduliferum, T.incarnatum, T.michelanium, T.purpureum and T.spumosum) showed a high level of resistance (scores ≤0.8 across two separate screening tests), while T.vesiculosum showed a disease score of ≤1.2 across both screening tests. O.compressus showed no disease in either test, and O.sativus showed a disease score of ≤0.7 across both screening tests. H.coronarium was susceptible with a disease score of ≤2.8 across two separate screening tests, while B.pelecinus was highly susceptible with disease scores of 3.5 and 4.6 in these tests. The high levels of resistance identified against P.clandestina are useful sources of resistance that can be exploited commercially, either directly to minimise damage from this disease or as parents in breeding programs to develop cultivars within the genera/species tested with improved resistance to this highly pathogenic race of P.clandestina.     

Frequency of occurrence of mangrove fungi from the east coast of India

This paper describes the frequency of occurrence and biodiversity of fungi from mangroves of the Godavari and Krishna deltas, on the east coast of India. Seventy three species were identified from Godavari and 67 from the Krishna mangroves. Fifty five species were common to both sites, 18 were found only at Godavari and 12 at Krishna mangroves. Verruculina enaliawas found to be very frequent at both sites with a higher frequency of occurrence at Godavari. Eutypa bathurstensis was very frequent at Godavari but only frequent at Krishna. Cirrenalia pygmea and Cryptosphaeria mangrovei were frequent at the Godavari mangrove, but were recorded occasionally at Krishna. Decaying samples of Rhizophora and Avicennia were studied in detail. Forty three species were common to both hosts, while 22 species were recorded only from Avicennia and 20 only from Rhizophora. Verruculina enalia was the only very frequent fungus recorded on both hosts with a lower percentage occurrence (14.8%) on R. apiculata as compared to Avicennia spp. (24.3%). Eutypa bathurstensis was the next most frequent fungus on Avicennia, while Rhizophila marina was next most frequent on Rhizophora. Dactylospora haliotrepha which was recorded frequently on Rhizophorawas infrequent on Avicennia.     

Comparison of seed proteins of some representatives of the genusPisum from the point of view of their relationship comparison by disc electrophoresis

Ten taxa of the genusPisum were examined by disc electrophoresis in gels according to Davis and to Reisfeldet al. For evaluation of band patterns the Jaccard Index was applied. The results in both types of gels show thatPisum abyssinicum and especiallyP. fulvum have biochemically a relatively isolated position.Pisum elatius and its subspeciescaspicum andpalestinicum form a subgroup withP. cinereum;P. sativum var.zeylanicum and cv. Jupiter form another subgroup withP. syriacum. Our results are in good agreement with the results of Przybylskaet al. (with the exception ofP. cinereum) and also with immunoelectrophoretic analyses performed by Turkováet al. (1980), with the same exception.     

Mutants of Escherichia coli Which Block Head Formation of Lambda

Five mutants of Escherichia coli K12 (lam 24, lam 25, lam 26, lam 27 and lam 646) that block head formation of λ are described. In vitro complementation tests and electron microscopy demonstrated that in these bacteria phage tails were produced normally, whereas head formation was abnormal, aberrant head-related structures being produced. In lysates prepared from lam 24, lam 25 and lam 26, monsters and empty heads without tail were the predominant structures, whereas in lysates from lam 27 and lam 646, petit λ and empty heads were the most common structures. The five lam mutations were located in two regions on the bacterial chromosome; lam 24, lam 25 and lam 26 were near the dnaB gene and lam 27 and lam 646 near the lac gene. It was suggested that the former three mutants are new isolates that belong to GroE mutants, whereas the latter two comprise a new group of mutants. Analyses of phage mutants (ov mutants) that overcome the interference by the lam 646 mutation revealed that this mutation blocks normal expression of the gene E of λ.     

Specific Features of Fermentation of D-Xylose and D-Glucose by Xylose-Assimilating Yeasts

The ability to assimilate D-glucose and D-xylose was studied in 21 yeast species of the following genera: Candida, Kluyveromyces, Pachysolen, Pichia, and Torulopsis. All the cultures fermented D-glucose with the formation of ethanol. During the assimilation of D-xylose, ethanol was produced by P. stipitis and C. shehatae, whereas xylitol was produced by C. didensiae, C. intermediae, C. parapsilosis, C. silvanorum, C. tropicalis, K. fragilis, K. marxianus, P. guillermondii, and T. molishiama. The yeast P. tannophilus produced comparable amounts of both alcohols. The possible use of xylose-assimilating yeasts for the production of xy-litol and ethanol is discussed.     

Cytogeography of European perennial species of Cyanus (Asteraceae)

To reveal the general cytogeographical pattern of Cyanus section Protocyanus in Europe, DNA ploidy and/or chromosome numbers were newly examined for 160 populations by flow cytometry (450 plants) and/or chromosome counting (30 plants). Furthermore, previously published karyological data were revised (236 records). Our analyses confirmed chromosome counts of 2n = 22 for all newly investigated samples of the C. triumfetti group (the records for C. semidecurrens and C. ternopoliensis are new), C. diospolitanus and C. achtarovii; 2n = 44 for C. montanus and C. mollis; and 2n = 20 for C. lingulatus, C. napulifer, C. nissanus, C. orbelicus, C. thirkei, C. tuberosus and C. velenovskyi. The chromosome count of 2n = 20 is the first report for C. epirotus. The cytotype 2n = 40 was newly recorded for the Crimean endemic C. fuscomarginatus and Calabrian and Greek populations of C. graminifolius. The cytotypes 2n = 20 and 2n = 40 were confirmed for C. pindicola. For the first time triploidy (2n～3x～30) was found in C. nissanus, C. thirkei and in a newly discovered hybrid, C. epirotus × C. graminifolius. Two contrasting ecogeographical patterns emerged: cytotypes derived from the base chromosome number x = 11 (2n = 22, 44) are widespread in northern latitudes and ecologically diverse, whereas cytotypes with x = 10 (2n = 20, 30, 40) are confined to mountains in southern Europe. In general, tetraploids have smaller ranges than diploids. The new combinations Cyanus section Protocyanus (Dobrocz.) Ol?avská comb. nov. and Cyanus ternopoliensis (Dobrocz.) Ol?avská comb. nov. are provided. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013, 173 , 230–257.     

Revision of the Thelastomatoidea,Oxyurida of invertebrate hosts I. Thelastomatidae

The Family Thelastomidae (Thelastomatoidea; Oxyurida; Nematoda) is revised, genera are diagnosed and a complete list of species is given. The following genera, normally classified in the family, are not included: Linstowiella Basir is considered a member of the Pharyngodonidae and perhaps a synonym of Pharyngodon Diesing; Klossinema Lal is considered a synonym of Cephalobellus Cobb; Schubartnema Kloss is considered a taxonomic chimaera, the male corresponding to Carnoya Gilson and the female probably to Binema Basir. Two new species are proposed: Gryllophila bainae and G. klossae for material assigned to G. skrjabini (Sergiev) by Bain (1965) and Kloss (1959) respectively. The following new synonyms are proposed: Blattellicola Basir and Blatellicoloides Farooqui synonyms of Blatticola Schwenck; Basiriella Ahmed & Jabin synonym of Blattophila Cobb; Leidynema (Basiria) Farooqui synonym of Cranifera Kloss; Posterovulva Van Waerebeke synonym of Desmicola Basir; Oryctophila Van Waerebeke synonym of Johnstonia Basir; Panaesthiana Kloss synonym of Leidynemella Chitwood & Chitwood; Psilocephala Rao synonym of Cameronia Basir; Welchiella Gupta & Kaur synonym of Hammerschmidtiella Chitwood. The following new combinations are proposed: Blattophila basiri for Basiriella basiri Ahmed & Jabin, leaving Blattophila basiri Farooqui pre-occupied (and renamed B. farooquii); Cameronia psilocephala and C. aspiculata for Psilocephala psilocephala Rao and P. aspiculata Farooqui respectively; Corydiella mamba (Van Waerebeke) for Thelastoma mamba; Desmicola moramangi for Posterovulva moramangi Van Waerebeke; Johnstonia morondovae for Oryctophila morondovae; Leidynemella sphaeropoei for Oxyuris sphaeropoei Parona; Thelastoma aurangabadense, T. indica (preoccupied), T. mackenziei, T. thapari, T. unicoloris and T. welchi for Schwenkiella aurangabadense Farooqui, S. indica Rao & Rao, Suifunema mackenziei Zervos, Bulhoesia thapari Singh & Singh, Cephalobellus unicoloris Van Waerebeke and Schwenkiella welchi Farooqui, respectively.     

Estimation of genome sizes of hyperthermophiles

Genomes of various hyperthermophilic and extremely thermophilic prokaryotes were analyzed with respect to size, physical organization, and 16S rDNA copy number. Our results show that all the genomes are circular, and they are in the size range of 1.6–1.8 Mb for Pyrodictium abyssi, Methanococcus igneus, Pyrobaculum aerophilum, Archaeoglobus fulgidus, Archaeoglobus lithotrophicus, and Archaeoglobus profundus (the two bacteria Fervidobacterium islandicum and Thermosipho africanus possess genomes of 1.5-Mb size). A systematic study of all validly described species of the order Sulfolobales revealed the existence of two classes of genome size for these archaea, correlating with phylogenetic analyses. The Metallosphaera–Acidianus group, plus Sulfolobus metallicus, have genomes of ca. 1.9 Mb; the other members of the order Sulfolobales group possess genomes >2.7 Mb. The special case of Stygiolobus azoricus is discussed. Received: August 10, 1997 / Accepted: January 1, 1998     

不同种苏铁珊瑚状根内生微生物多样性及适应性研究

【目的】苏铁(Cycassp.)是珍稀濒危树种,能在干热河谷中长期稳定生存的原因可能与珊瑚状根内生微生物有密切关系。不同种苏铁在同一生境下其珊瑚状根内生微生物种类和群落组成存在怎样的差异性是本研究的科学问题。【方法】采用宏基因测序技术对四川省攀枝花公园内5种同属不同种苏铁珊瑚状根进行了分子鉴定,分析了苏铁间微生物类型、功能基因和代谢通路过程的差异性。【结果】公园内不同苏铁的珊瑚状根内生微生物的优势类群在门水平上基本相同,但相对丰度有差异性。在真菌界水平上的优势类群为担子菌门(Basidiomycota)、子囊菌门(Ascomycota)、球囊菌门(Glomeromycota)和隐真菌门(Cryptomycota),在细菌界水平上的优势类群为蓝细菌门(Cyanobacteria)、变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)、螺旋体门(Spirochaetes)和放线菌门(Actinobacteria)。不同种的苏铁在真菌界和细菌界的微生物群落相对丰度存在一定差异。蓝细菌门在篦齿苏铁、攀枝花苏铁、华南苏铁和贵州苏铁中的相对丰度远高于宽叶苏铁,而放线菌门和球囊...     

Interactions of thePolycomb group of genes with homeotic loci ofDrosophila

Summary Members of thePolycomb (Pc) group of genes are required for the correct determination of segment identity, and are thought to be negative regulators of thebithorax andAntennapedia complexes. This hypothesis has been tested molecularly for only some members of thePc group. Here, we examine the distribution ofUltrabithorax (Ubx),Antennapedia (Antp), andSex combs reduced (Scr) proteins in the epidermis, central nervous system, and midgut of embryos homozygous for mutations in tenPc group genes. We show that zygotic loss of mostPc group genes causes ectopic expression ofUbx andAntp, but that there are differences in time and tissue-specificity. FivePc group mutations lack midgut constrictions and also exhibit ectopic or suppressedUbx expression and suppression ofAntp expression. Distribution ofAntp is upset earlier than distribution ofUbx in the central nervous system of everyPc group mutant affecting both genes. Loss of the zygotic products ofPolycomb, extra sex combs, andAdditional sex combs cause ectopic expression ofScr in epidermis, and allPc group genes exceptPsc have suppressedScr expression in the nervous system. These results are discussed with respect to the function of thePc group.