Comparative Studies on the Ecophysiological Differences of Two Green Tide Macroalgae under Controlled Laboratory Conditions

Yellow Sea green tides have occurred in coastal China almost every year from 2007 to 2011. Ulva prolifera (Müller) J. Agardh has been identified as the causative macroalgal species. U. intestinalis, however, has been observed in the bloom areas, co-occurring with U. prolifera, but it has not been found to be causative. The Yellow Sea green tide has shown consistent phases of development that match corresponding environmental changes. U. prolifera, not U. intestinalis, is dominant. Our experimental design was based on these observed phenomena, and the results of our field investigation indicated a close relationship between changes in principal environmental factors (irradiance, temperature, and salinity) and the development of each phase of the bloom. These main environmental factors were simulated to allow estimation and comparison of the physiological responses of U. prolifera and U. intestinalis. Ecophysiological differences were found between these two species. (1) More photosynthetic activity and plasticity were detected in U. prolifera. (2) U. prolifera was found to be more sensitive to dynamic environments, especially harsh and changing environmental conditions. U. intestinalis was found to be more stable, probably due to the higher stress tolerance given by its antioxidant system. (3) Markedly higher nutrient absorption activity was observed in U. prolifera. Comparisons of the ecophysiological traits of these two species in this present study may foster understanding of their natural ecological processes. Specifically, U. prolifera seemed to be more engaged with the ephemeral blooms, while U. intestinalis seemed to be directed toward persistence. This also suggests that the ecological success of U. prolifera may be inextricably linked to its higher capacity for photosynthesis, nutrient absorption, and nutrient assimilation.     

两种饵料条件下点篮子鱼幼鱼酶活力及其消化道菌群比较

以点篮子鱼(Siganus guttatus)幼鱼为研究对象,分别用人工饲料和浒苔(Enteromorpha prolifera)进行饲喂,采用高通量测序技术结合生化分析方法,系统对比两种饵料对点篮子鱼(Siganus guttatus)幼鱼肝脏及消化道相关酶活力和消化道菌群的影响。结果显示,浒苔组点篮子鱼幼鱼虽然生长性能低于人工饲料组,但其淀粉酶活性更高,点篮子鱼对浒苔有良好的摄食和消化能力,浒苔足以满足点篮子鱼生长的需求;此外浒苔组点篮子鱼幼鱼消化道碱性磷酸酶、超氧化物歧化酶活性均显著高于人工饲料组,表现出了更高的免疫和抗氧化能力。在两种饵料条件下,菌群多样性随消化道延伸呈上升趋势,点篮子鱼幼鱼消化道菌群组成与饵料有关,变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)和拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)为共有优势菌门;浒苔组消化道菌群整体多样性较饲料组高,组成结构更加丰富多样,有利于鱼类的生长。研究结果表明点篮子鱼摄食浒苔具有良好的可行性基础,生态价值显著,值得深入研究与推广。     

Off limits--integrins holding boundaries in somitogenesis

Borders are essential for demarcating repeated structures such as somites during vertebrate development. Two recent articles describe roles for Integrinalpha5 and its ligand Fibronectin1 in zebrafish anterior intersomitic boundary formation and link them to Notch and Eph-Ephrin pathways in epithelialization of somite boundary cells. Together with these pathways, Integrinalpha5 and Fibronectin1 orchestrate the orderly formation of somite and later myotome borders. These studies shed light on components downstream of the periodic segmentation mechanism - the 'segmentation clock' - in somitogenesis.     

Fibronectin in rat heart: a link between cardiac myocytes and collagen

Fibronectin, a glycoprotein that binds to collagen and modifies the adhesion properties and motility of cells in culture, is present in the interstitium of rat hearts. To localize fibronectin more precisely and to assess its relationship to the myocyte and to connective tissue elements, we employed a double antibody technique to label myocardial fibronectin with electron-dense ferritin to permit an ultrastructural analysis. Fibronectin was found to be associated with collagen, and in some cases appeared to link collagen fibers. Fibronectin was also found inserted along the surfaces of cardiac myocytes, connecting these cells to perimyocytic collagen. These ultrastructural relationships imply that fibronectin is a major component of the myocardial interstitium, and may affect myocardial compliance and control the motion of myocytes during the contraction and relaxation of the heart.     

Cell surface fibronectin and oncogenic transformation

Fibronectin is a large glycoprotein at the cell surface of many different cell types; a related protein is present in plasma. Fibronectin is a dimer of 230,000-dalton subunits and also occurs in larger aggregates; it forms fibrillar networks at the cell surface, between cells and substrata and between adjacent cells, and it is not a typical membrane protein. Cell surface fibronectin is reduced in amount or absent on transformed cells and in many cases its loss correlates with acquisition of tumorigenicity and, in particular, metastatic ability. Exceptions to the correlations with transformation and tumorigenicity exist. Loss of fibronectin and the resulting reduced adhesion appear to be involved in pleiotrpoic alterations in cell behavior and may be responsible for several aspects of the transformed phenotype in vitro. Fibronectin interacts with other macromolecules (collagen/gelatin, fibrin/fibrinogen, proteoglycans) and is apparently connected to microfilaments inside the cell.     

Reproduction diversity of Enteromorpha prolifera

Enteromorpha prolifera (Muell.) J. Agardh (Chlorophyta, Ulvophyceae), which is distributed widely in the Inter-tidal zone of the ocean, is one of the most common fouling green algae. However, the present understandings of the life history of E. prolifera have been insufficient to explain their seasonal abundances. Thus it is essential to investigate how many.reproductive strategies are likely to contribute to the successful colonization and flourishing of the green alga. In the present study the reproduction diversity of E. prolifera was observed and studied systematically by culturing chopped tissues. Our results showed that there are in total seven pathways of reproduction for E. prolifera including sexual, asexual and vegetative reproduction. It was Indicated that the variety of the reproductive ways and the large quantity of reproductive cells produced and released during the reproductive season are the two key factors that facilitate colonization of E. prolifera. The reproduction of the alga E. prolifera mainly depends on asexual methods. The results presented here contribute to increasing our understanding about how the opportunistic macroalgae successfully maintain colonization and excessive growth.     

Fibronectin regulates epithelial organization during myocardial migration in zebrafish

Several genes have been implicated in heart tube formation, yet we know little about underlying cellular mechanisms. We analyzed the cellular architecture of the migrating myocardial precursors, and find that they form coherent epithelia that mature as they move medially. Mutant analyses indicate that the cardia bifida locus natter (nat) is required for the integrity of the myocardial epithelia. We positionally cloned nat and show that it encodes Fibronectin. During myocardial migration, Fibronectin is deposited at the midline between the endoderm and endocardial precursors, and laterally around the myocardial precursors. Further analyses show that Fibronectin deposition at the midline is required for the timely migration of myocardial precursors, but dispensable for the migration process itself. In the complete absence of Fibronectin, adherens junctions between myocardial precursors do not form properly, suggesting that cell-substratum interactions are required for epithelial organization. These data suggest that myocardial migration is dependent on epithelial integrity.     

An axial periodic fibrillar arrangement of antigenic determinants for fibronectin and procollagen on ascorbate treated human fibroblasts

Fibronectin and collagens are major constituents of the cell matrix of fibroblasts. Fibronectin is a 220,000 dalton glycoprotein that mediates a variety of adhesive functions of cells examined in vitro. Fibronectin is secreted in a soluble form and interacts with collagen to form extracellular filaments. Fibronectin and procollage type I were localized using the peroxidase anti-peroxidase method. Under standard culture conditions, fibronectin and procollagen were localized to non-periodic 10 nm extracellular fibrils, the cell membrane and plasma membrane vesicles. Ascorbate treatment of cells leads to a new larger fibril with a diameter of approximately 40 nm. Antibodies to fibronectin and procollagen I react to these native collagen fibrils with an axial periodicity of approximately 70 nm. Fibronectin is clearly associated with native collagen fibrils produced by ascorbate treated cells and there is an asymetric distribution or segregation of fibronectin on these collagen fibrils with a 70 nm axial repeat.     

Fibronectin promotes the elongation of microvessels during angiogenesis in vitro

Fibronectin is a component of the extracellular matrix of developing microvessels whose role in angiogensis is poorly understood. This study evaluated the effect of plasma fibronectin on angiogenesis in serum-free collagen gel culture of rat aorta. Aortic explants embedded in collagen gels generated microvascular outgrowths. Fibronectin incorporated in the collagen gel promoted a selective dose-dependent elongation of the newly formed microvessels without stimulating vascular proliferation. The fibronectin-treated microvessels were longer due to a proportional increase in the number of microvascular cells. However, fibronectin had no effect on microvascular DNA synthesis and mitotic activity. Fibronectin stimulated microvascular length also in cultures in which mitotic activity was suppressed and angiogenesis was markedly reduced by pretreating the aortic explants with mitomycin C. The synthetic peptide Gly-Arg-Asp-(GRGDS), which competes for the binding of fibronectin to its cell receptors and inhibits the adhesion of endothelial cells to substrates, arrested the elongation of developing microvessels causing regression and inhibition of angiogenesis. Conversely, Gly-Arg-Glu-(GRGES), which lacks the RGD sequence, had no inhibitory effect. These data support the hypothesis that fibronectin promotes angiogenesis and suggest that developing microvessels elongate in response to fibronectin as a result of an adhesion-dependent migratory recruitment of endothelial cells that does not require increased cell proliferation. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

温度和盐度对浒苔生长和光合生理特性的影响

为研究海水盐度和温度对大型海藻光合生理影响的复合效应,选取浒苔（Ulva prolifera）为实验材料,探讨不同温度（22℃和15℃）和不同盐度（25和10）对浒苔的相对生长速率、色素含量、叶绿素荧光参数、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性、可溶性蛋白含量等影响。结果表明:在低温条件下,盐度对浒苔生长的影响不显著,而在正常温度条件下,盐度降低显著降低了浒苔的生长;在低盐条件下,尽管差异不显著,温度降低呈现出促进浒苔生长的趋势,但在正常盐度条件下,低温降低了浒苔的生长。相对于温度变化,盐度变化对浒苔潜在的光合效率（F_v/F_m）影响不明显,但低温低盐处理下浒苔具有较高的效光化学效率（F_v’/F_m’）、光能利用效率（α）、非光化学淬灭（NPQ）、SOD酶活性及可溶性蛋白含量。     

Ultrastructural localization of fibronectin in bone marrow of the embryonic chick and its relationship to granulopoiesis

Summary Fibronectin was immunolocated in embryonic chick bone marrow by the use of both a direct peroxidase conjugated antiserum and an indirect Streptavidin bridge technique. Fibronectin is located in the extravascular granulopoietic compartment and, to a lesser extent, in the vascular, erythropoietic compartment. There is no evidence of fibronectin being associated with blood-stromal cell interactions involving either erythropoiesis or thrombopoiesis. However, mature thrombocytes display a substantial surface coat containing fibronectin. Much of the fibronectin appears to be situated on surfaces of those fibroblastic stromal cells which support granulopoiesis. Fibronectin containing extracellular material connects surfaces of developing granulocytes with surfaces of stromal cells. Fibronectin is a surface component of granulocytes as well as nearby stromal cells. However, there appear to be fewer ferritin particles per unit of surface on granulocytic cells. Many of the ferritin particles are not clearly associated with amorphous matrix material at cell surfaces. Immunocytochemical attempts to identify laminin were unsuccessful. These studies indicate that fibronectin is situated at sites where it could mediate adhesive interaction between granulopoietic cells and their stromal cells. Furthermore, cell surface-matrix interaction involving fibronectin could mediate migration of blood cells within the extravascular spaces.     

浒苔遥感监测研究进展

浒苔大规模集聚形成的绿潮灾害是海洋生态系统主要生态环境问题之一,基于卫星遥感影像监测浒苔及其扩展动态已成为一种及时有效的手段。对国内外浒苔遥感监测方面文献进行归纳整理,认为光学遥感数据、多波段比值法是最常用的遥感数据和监测方法。对遥感监测浒苔机理进行了阐述,并对分类方法进行评价认为监督分类法解译精度不高。目前单波段阈值法和多波段比值法应用广泛,但在监测漂浮浒苔和混合象元解译存在不足。辐射传输模型法能有效提高信息解译的精度,但还处于起步阶段。遥感监测浒苔灾害的未来发展需要提高影像空间分辨率,深入研究监测方法,进行多种平台和多源遥感数据相结合,并由定性走向定量,从而建立健全遥感监测预警系统。     

Pseudosigmoidea: A new genus for a hyphomycete (ATCC 16660) formerly identified as Sigmoidea prolifera

A new hyphomycetous genus, Pseudosigmoidea, is established with a single species, P. cranei, based on ATCC 16660 previously identified as Sigmoidea prolifera. The conidial ontogeny of Pseudosigmoidea is enteroblastic, and its conidiogenesis is phialidic. On the other hand, Sigmoidea is redescribed with holoblastic conidial ontogeny and with conidiogenous cells proliferating sympodially.     

Examination of species boundaries in the Acropora cervicornis group (Scleractinia, cnidaria) using nuclear DNA sequence analyses

Although Acropora is the most species-rich genus of the scleractinian (stony) corals, only three species occur in the Caribbean: A. cervicornis, A. palmata and A. prolifera. Based on overall coral morphology, abundance and distribution patterns, it has been suggested that A. prolifera may be a hybrid between A. cervicornis and A. palmata. The species boundaries among these three morphospecies were examined using DNA sequence analyses of the nuclear Pax-C 46/47 intron and the ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS1 and ITS2) and 5.8S regions. Moderate levels of sequence variability were observed in the ITS and 5.8S sequences (up to 5.2% overall sequence difference), but variability within species was as large as between species and all three species carried similar sequences. Since this is unlikely to represent a shared ancestral polymorphism, the data suggest that introgressive hybridization occurs among the three species. For the Pax-C intron, A. cervicornis and A. palmata had very distinct allele frequencies and A. cervicornis carried a unique allele at a frequency of 0.769 (although sequence differences between alleles were small). All A. prolifera colonies examined were heterozygous for the Pax-C intron, whereas heterozygosity was only 0.286 and 0.333 for A. cervicornis and A. palmata, respectively. These data support the hypothesis that A. prolifera is the product of hybridization between two species that have a different allelic composition for the Pax-C intron, i.e. A. cervicornis and A. palmata. We therefore suggest that A. prolifera is a hybrid between A. cervicornis and A. palmata, which backcrosses with the parental species at low frequency.     

Cleavage of extracellular matrix in periodontitis: Gingipains differentially affect cell adhesion activities of fibronectin and tenascin-C

Gingipains are cysteine proteases that represent major virulence factors of the periodontopathogenic bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis. Gingipains are reported to degrade extracellular matrix (ECM) of periodontal tissues, leading to tissue destruction and apoptosis. The exact mechanism is not known, however. Fibronectin and tenascin-C are pericellular ECM glycoproteins present in periodontal tissues. Whereas fibronectin mediates fibroblast adhesion, tenascin-C binds to fibronectin and inhibits its cell-spreading activity. Using purified proteins in vitro, we asked whether fibronectin and tenascin-C are cleaved by gingipains at clinically relevant concentrations, and how fragmentation by the bacterial proteases affects their biological activity in cell adhesion. Fibronectin was cleaved into distinct fragments by all three gingipains; however, only arginine-specific HRgpA and RgpB but not lysine-specific Kgp destroyed its cell-spreading activity. This result was confirmed with recombinant cell-binding domain of fibronectin. Of the two major tenascin-C splice variants, the large but not the small was a substrate for gingipains, indicating that cleavage occurred primarily in the alternatively spliced domain. Surprisingly, cleavage of large tenascin-C variant by all three gingipains generated fragments with increased anti-adhesive activity towards intact fibronectin. Fibronectin and tenascin-C fragments were detected in gingival crevicular fluid of a subset of periodontitis patients. We conclude that cleavage by gingipains directly affects the biological activity of both fibronectin and tenascin-C in a manner that might lead to increased cell detachment and loss during periodontal disease.     

Integrinalpha5-dependent fibronectin accumulation for maintenance of somite boundaries in zebrafish embryos

Boundary formation and epithelialization are crucial processes in the morphological segmentation of vertebrate somites. By a genetic screening procedure with zebrafish, we identified two genes, integrinalpha5 (itga5) and fibronectin (fn), required for these processes. Fibronectin proteins accumulate at somite boundaries in accordance with epithelialization of the somites. Both Fibronectin accumulation and the epithelialization are dependent on itga5, which is expressed in the most medial part of somites. Although somite boundaries are initially formed, but not maintained, in the anterior trunk of the mutant embryos deficient in either gene, their maintenance is defective at all axial levels of embryos deficient for both of these genes. Therefore, Integrinalpha5-directed assembly of Fibronectin appears critical for epithelialization and boundary maintenance of somites. Furthermore, with an additional deficiency in ephrin-B2a, the segmental defect in itga5 or fn mutant embryos is expanded posteriorly, indicating that both Integrin-Fibronectin and Eph-Ephrin systems function cooperatively in maintaining somite boundaries.     

Production of fibronectin by HUH6 C15 cell line established from a human hepatoblastoma

Fibronectin was detected by indirect immunofluorescence on the cell surfaces of HUH6 C15 cells, established from a human hepatoblastoma and maintained with serum-free RPMI 1640 medium. Fibronectin synthesized by HUH6 Cl5 was purified by gelatin-Sepharose affinity chromatography and compared with human plasma fibronectin in respect to molecular weight, electrophoretic mobility and antigenicity. Fibronectin synthesized by this cell line was proved to be identical with human plasma fibronectin.     

Interaction of fibronectin with polymorphonuclear leukocytes normally and in anaphylaxis

Fibronectin is known as an opsonic glycoprotein possessing a wide range of specificity. Fibronectin interaction with neutrophils (normal ones and those obtained at peak of anaphylactic shock) was studied. Neutrophils were brought in contact with purified homologous fibronectin previously bound to gelatin-Sepharose granules. The presence of fibronectin-binding proteins on the surface of human and rabbit neutrophils was demonstrated, the binding being strongly dependent on Ca2+ and especially Mg2+ ions. "Anaphylactic" neutrophils, in contrast to normal ones, did not interact with fibronectin, which may be important for the pathogenesis of the immediate type hypersensitivity reactions.