Nucleotide sequence of the pirital virus (family Arenaviridae) small genomic segment

Pirital virus is a newly discovered South American member of the family Arenaviridae. We determined that the complete nucleotide sequence of the small genomic segment of Pirital virus is 3393 nt long, and encodes the viral nucleoprotein (N) and glycoprotein precursor (GPC) (561 aa and 509 aa, respectively) in nonoverlapping open reading frames of opposite polarities. The N and GPC genes are separated by an intergenic region that is 80 nt long; the predicted secondary structure of this region includes a single hairpin stabilized by 11 G-C and 8 A-U base pairs. Independent analyses of N and GPC amino acid sequence data confirmed that Pirital virus is related to Pichindé virus and belongs to the lineage A of the New World (Tacaribe complex) arenaviruses. The analysis of genetic distances between Pirital virus and other arenaviruses confirmed that Pirital virus is a distinct species within the family Arenaviridae.     

Novel arenavirus sequences in Hylomyscus sp. and Mus (Nannomys) setulosus from Côte d'Ivoire: implications for evolution of arenaviruses in Africa

This study aimed to identify new arenaviruses and gather insights in the evolution of arenaviruses in Africa. During 2003 through 2005, 1,228 small mammals representing 14 different genera were trapped in 9 villages in south, east, and middle west of C?te d'Ivoire. Specimens were screened by pan-Old World arenavirus RT-PCRs targeting S and L RNA segments as well as immunofluorescence assay. Sequences of two novel tentative species of the family Arenaviridae, Menekre and Gbagroube virus, were detected in Hylomyscus sp. and Mus (Nannomys) setulosus, respectively. Arenavirus infection of Mus (Nannomys) setulosus was also demonstrated by serological testing. Lassa virus was not found, although 60% of the captured animals were Mastomys natalensis. Complete S RNA and partial L RNA sequences of the novel viruses were recovered from the rodent specimens and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Gbagroube virus is a closely related sister taxon of Lassa virus, while Menekre virus clusters with the Ippy/Mobala/Mopeia virus complex. Reconstruction of possible virus-host co-phylogeny scenarios suggests that, within the African continent, signatures of co-evolution might have been obliterated by multiple host-switching events.     

基于16S rRNA部分序列中国蝙蝠科蝙蝠系统发生分析

蝙蝠科蝙蝠遍布全世界,是蝙蝠中种类最多的一个科.尽管从形态学、胚胎学和分子生物学等方面认为蝙蝠科内长翼蝠亚科应该提升到科、鼠耳蝠属应该提升到亚科的分类地位,但是其科内的系统关系长期以来一直处于争议之中.本文对蝙蝠科11种38个标本线粒体16S rRNA部分序列进行了测序,并结合以前报道的13种(属于7科13属)蝙蝠的线粒体16S rRNA部分序列构建了系统树,结果表明:长翼蝠亚科可以提升到科的分类地位、鼠耳蝠属提升到亚科的分类地位,这与前人报道的结果一致;相对于由鼠耳蝠亚科、彩蝠亚科和管鼻蝠亚科构成的分支,蝙蝠亚科和Antrozoinae是一个并系群.蝙蝠亚科内的亲缘关系也进行了进一步的讨论.     

Arenavirus Coinfections Are Common in Snakes with Boid Inclusion Body Disease

Recently, novel arenaviruses were found in snakes with boid inclusion body disease (BIBD); these form the new genus Reptarenavirus within the family Arenaviridae. We used next-generation sequencing and de novo sequence assembly to investigate reptarenavirus isolates from our previous study. Four of the six isolates and all of the samples from snakes with BIBD contained at least two reptarenavirus species. The viruses sequenced comprise four novel reptarenavirus species and a representative of a new arenavirus genus.     

Molecular phylogeny and species delimitation in the section Longibrachiatum of Trichoderma

The phylogenetically most derived group of the genus Trichoderma - section Longibrachiatum, includes some of the most intensively studied species, such as the industrial cellulase producer T. reesei (teleomorph Hypocrea jecorina), or the facultative opportunistic human pathogens T. longibrachiatum and H. orientalis. At the same time, the phylogeny of this clade is only poorly understood. Here we used a collection of 112 strains representing all currently recognized species and isolates that were tentatively identified as members of the group, to analyze species diversity and molecular evolution. Bayesian phylogenetic analyses based on several unlinked loci in individual and concatenated datasets confirmed 13 previously described species and 3 previously recognized phylogenetic species all of which were not yet described formally. When the genealogical concordance criterion, the K/θ method and comparison of frequencies of pairwise nucleotide differences were applied to the data sample, 10 additional new phylogenetic species were recognized, seven of which consisted only of a single lineage. Our analysis thus identifies 26 putative species in section Longibrachiatum, what doubles the currently estimated taxonomic diversity of the group, and illustrates the power of combining genealogical concordance and population genetic analysis for dissecting species in a recently diverged group of fungal species.     

Genetic diversity among Frankia strains nodulating members of the family Casuarinaceae in Australia revealed by PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis with crushed root nodules.

DNA extracted directly from nodules was used to assess the genetic diversity of Frankia strains symbiotically associated with two species of the genus Casuarina and two of the genus Allocasuarina naturally occurring in northeastern Australia. DNA from field-collected nodules or extracted from reference cultures of Casuarina-infective Frankia strains was used as the template in PCRs with primers targeting two DNA regions, one in the ribosomal operon and the other in the nif operon. PCR products were then analyzed by using a set of restriction endonucleases. Five distinct genetic groups were recognized on the basis of these restriction patterns. These groups were consistently associated with the host species from which the nodules originated. All isolated reference strains had similar patterns and were assigned to group 1 along with six of the eight unisolated Frankia strains from Casuarina equisetifolia in Australia. Group 2 consisted of two unisolated Frankia strains from C. equisetifolia, whereas groups 3 to 5 comprised all unisolated strains from Casuarina cunninghamiana, Allocasuarina torulosa, and Allocasuarina littoralis, respectively. These results demonstrate that, contrary to the results of previous molecular studies of isolated strains, there is genetic diversity among Frankia strains that infect members of the family Casuarinacaeae. The apparent high homogeneity of Frankia strains in these previous studies probably relates to the single host species from which the strains were obtained and the origin of these strains from areas outside the natural geographic range of members of the family Casuarinaceae, where genetic diversity could be lower than in Australia.     

Old World and clade C New World arenaviruses mimic the molecular mechanism of receptor recognition used by alpha-dystroglycan's host-derived ligands

alpha-Dystroglycan (DG) is an important cellular receptor for extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and also serves as the receptor for Old World arenaviruses Lassa fever virus (LFV) and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) and clade C New World arenaviruses. In the host cell, alpha-DG is subject to a remarkably complex pattern of O glycosylation that is crucial for its interactions with ECM proteins. Two of these unusual sugar modifications, protein O mannosylation and glycan modifications involving the putative glycosyltransferase LARGE, have recently been implicated in arenavirus binding. Considering the complexity of alpha-DG O glycosylation, our present study was aimed at the identification of the specific O-linked glycans on alpha-DG that are recognized by arenaviruses. As previously shown for LCMV, we found that protein O mannosylation of alpha-DG is crucial for the binding of arenaviruses of distinct phylogenetic origins, including LFV, Mobala virus, and clade C New World arenaviruses. In contrast to the highly conserved requirement for O mannosylation, more generic O glycans present on alpha-DG are dispensable for arenavirus binding. Despite the critical role of O-mannosyl glycans for arenavirus binding under normal conditions, the overexpression of LARGE in cells deficient in O mannosylation resulted in highly glycosylated alpha-DG that was functional as a receptor for arenaviruses. Thus, modifications by LARGE but not O-mannosyl glycans themselves are most likely the crucial structures recognized by arenaviruses. Together, the data demonstrate that arenaviruses recognize the same highly conserved O-glycan structures on alpha-DG involved in ECM protein binding, indicating a strikingly similar mechanism of receptor recognition by pathogen- and host-derived ligands.     

The genus Rostanga Bergh, 1879 (Nudibranchia: Dorididae) in the Indo-West Pacific

The genus Rostanga Bergh, 1879 is reviewed and ten species, seven of them new, are recognized from the Indo-West Pacific. They are compared with the three species of the genus known from elsewhere in the world. Most species are red or orange-red and the mantle is characterized by a dense covering of spiculate caryophyllidia. Species are characterized on aspects of the buccal armature, rhinophore club, egg-ring, developmental biology and food preferences. Each species has a specialized diet, most species restricted to one or a few sponges of the family Microcionidae.     

Multilocus genetic analyses provide insight into speciation and hybridization in aquatic grasses,genus Ruppia

Aquatic plants of the genus Ruppia inhabit some of the most threatened habitats in the world, such as coastal lagoons and inland saline to brackish waters where their meadows play several key roles. The evolutionary history of this genus has been affected by the processes of hybridization, polyploidization, and vicariance, which have resulted in uncertainty regarding the number of species. In the present study, we apply microsatellite markers for the identification, genetic characterization, and detection of hybridization events among populations of putative Ruppia species found in the southern Iberian Peninsula, with the exception of a clearly distinct species, the diploid Ruppia maritima. Microsatellite markers group the populations into genetically distinct entities that are not coincident with geographical location and contain unique diagnostic alleles. These results support the interpretation of these entities as distinct species: designated here as (1) Ruppia drepanensis, (2) Ruppia cf. maritima, and (3) Ruppia cirrhosa. A fourth distinct genetic entity was identified as a putative hybrid between R. cf. maritima and R. cirrhosa because it contained a mixture of microsatellite alleles that are otherwise unique to these putative species. Hence, our analyses were able to discriminate among different genetic entities of Ruppia and, by adding multilocus nuclear markers, we confirm hybridization as an important process of speciation within the genus. In addition, careful taxonomic curation of the samples enabled us to determine the genotypic and genetic diversity and differentiation among populations of each putative Ruppia species. This will be important for identifying diversity hotspots and evaluating patterns of population genetic connectivity.     

Common Antiviral Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Epitope for Diverse Arenaviruses

Members of the Arenaviridae family have been isolated from mammalian hosts in disparate geographic locations, leading to their grouping as Old World types (i.e., lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus [LCMV], Lassa fever virus [LFV], Mopeia virus, and Mobala virus) and New World types (i.e., Junin, Machupo, Tacaribe, and Sabia viruses) (C. J. Peters, M. J. Buchmeier, P. E. Rollin, and T. G. Ksiazek, p. 1521-1551, in B. N. Fields, D. M. Knipe, and P. M. Howley [ed.], Fields virology, 3rd ed., 1996; P. J. Southern, p. 1505-1519, in B. N. Fields, D. M. Knipe, and P. M. Howley [ed.], Fields virology, 3rd ed., 1996). Several types in both groups-LFV, Junin, Machupo, and Sabia viruses-cause severe and often lethal human diseases. By sequence comparison, we noted that eight Old World and New World arenaviruses share several amino acids with the nucleoprotein (NP) that consists of amino acids (aa) 118 to 126 (NP 118-126) (RPQASGVYM) of LCMV that comprise the immunodominant cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitope for H-2(d) mice (32). This L(d)-restricted epitope constituted >97% of the total bulk CTLs produced in the specific antiviral or clonal responses of H-2(d) BALB mice. NP 118-126 of the Old World arenaviruses LFV, Mopeia virus, and LCMV and the New World arenavirus Sabia virus bound at high affinity to L(d). The primary H-2(d) CTL anti-LCMV response as well as that of a CTL clone responsive to LCMV NP 118-126 recognized target cells coated with NP 118-126 peptides derived from LCMV, LFV, and Mopeia virus but not Sabia virus, indicating that a common functional NP epitope exists among Old World arenaviruses. Use of site-specific amino acid exchanges in the NP CTL epitope among these arenaviruses identified amino acids involved in major histocompatibility complex binding and CTL recognition.     

Molecular evolution of southern North American Cyprinidae (Actinopterygii), with the description of the new genus Tampichthys from central Mexico

Most of the recognized species of the genus Dionda inhabit drainages of the Gulf of Mexico from central Mexico to central Texas, USA, and have been considered a monophyletic group based on morphological, osteological, and allozyme investigations. Phylogenetic relationships of 15 species of Dionda and 34 species from closely related genera were inferred from one mitochondrial (cytb) and three nuclear gene sequences (S7, Rhodopsin, Rag1) totaling 4487 nucleotides. Separate analyses of all four genes yield congruent phylogenies; however the 15 putative species of Dionda evaluated were never recovered as a monophyletic group when species from nine related genera were included in the analyses. Among the ingroup taxa, one well-supported and highly divergent clade is consistently recognized and consists of six recognized and three undescribed northern species currently recognized in the genus Dionda. These nine species inhabit present or past tributaries of the Rio Grande basin of northern Mexico and southern USA, and were recovered as a basal clade in all analyses. Another large, also strongly supported clade, consisting of seven genera, include five southern recognized species currently in the genus Dionda, forming the sister group to the Codoma clade. These five species comprise the "Southern Dionda clade" and inhabit headwaters of the Pánuco-Tamesí drainage and some adjacent coastal rivers in the Tampico Embayment. The consistent and repeated identification of eight different clades recovered in most of the separate gene analyses strongly supports a division of the non-natural genus Dionda. A new genus, Tampichthys, is proposed for the clade of species endemic to east-central Mexico and formerly in Dionda. Tampichthys and the putative monotypic genus Codoma are more related to Mexican species of the genera Cyprinella and Notropis than to other species referred to Dionda sensu stricto.     

Phylogenetic Analysis of theArenaviridae:Patterns of Virus Evolution and Evidence for Cospeciation between Arenaviruses and Their Rodent Hosts

Viruses of theArenaviridaecause hemorrhagic fevers and neurologic disease in humans. Historically, the arenaviruses have been divided into two complexes (LASV-LCMV, Tacaribe) through the use of antigenic typing. The phylogeny of theArenaviridaeas a whole has not been estimated previously due to a lack of sequence data for all members of the family. In this study, nucleocapsid protein gene sequence data were obtained for all currently known arenaviruses and used to estimate, for the first time, a phylogeny of the entire virus family. The LCMV-LASV complex arenaviruses are monophyletic and comprise three distinct lineages. The Tacaribe complex viruses also are monophyletic and occupy three distinct lineages. Comparisons of arenavirus phylogeny with rodent host phylogeny and taxonomic relationships provide several examples in which virus–host cospeciation is potentially occurring. The pathogenic arenaviruses do not appear to be monophyletic, suggesting that the pathogenic phenotype has arisen in multiple independent events during virus evolution.     

Genomic relations among two non-mangrove and nine mangrove species of Indian Rhizophoraceae

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to study the genomic relationship among 11 members of Indian Rhizophoraceae represented by nine true mangroves and two non-mangrove species. The AFLP and RAPD bands were scored and analyzed for genetic similarities and cluster analysis was done which separated the 11 species studied into two main groups, the true mangroves and the non-mangroves. The polymorphism observed for these markers showed a high degree of genetic diversity among the constituent taxa of the family. The phylogenetic relationship inferred from molecular marker systems supported the traditional taxonomic classification of the family Rhizophoraceae based on morphological characters at the levels of tribe, phylogeny and delimitation of genera and species, except the intra-generic classification of the genus Bruguiera and the placement of Rhizophora in the family Rhizophoraceae.     

Characterization of the Candiru antigenic complex (Bunyaviridae: Phlebovirus), a highly diverse and reassorting group of viruses affecting humans in tropical America

The genus Phlebovirus of the family Bunyaviridae consists of approximately 70 named viruses, currently assigned to nine serocomplexes (species) based on antigenic similarities. Sixteen other named viruses that show little serologic relationship to the nine recognized groups are also classified as tentative species in the genus. In an effort to develop a more precise classification system for phleboviruses, we are attempting to sequence most of the named viruses in the genus with the goal of clarifying their phylogenetic relationships. In this report, we describe the serologic and phylogenetic relationships of 13 viruses that were found to be members of the Candiru serocomplex; 6 of them cause disease in humans. Analysis of full genome sequences revealed branching inconsistencies that suggest five reassortment events, all involving the M segment, and thus appear to be natural reassortants. This high rate of reassortment illustrates the inaccuracy of a classification system based solely on antigenic relationships.     

Small and overlooked: Phylogeny of the genus Trigonodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae), with the first record of Trigonodactylus arabicus from Jordan

Geckos of the genus Trigonodactylus are widely distributed in the sand deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. Three species of this genus are currently recognized, with a fourth one, Stenodactylus pulcher, which placement within Trigonodactylus has been tentatively suggested, but not yet confirmed. We present a phylogenetic analysis of the genus Trigonodactylus with new specimens collected in central Saudi Arabia and southern Jordan. New genetic data has been generated from three mitochondrial markers to investigate the phylogenetic relationships of all species of the genus and to assess the putative generic assignment of S. pulcher. Our results confirm that S. pulcher indeed belongs within Trigonodactylus, branching as a sister lineage to all other species of the genus. The new samples cluster within Trigonodactylus arabicus, thus confirming the genetic homogeneity of the species across its large and seemingly inhospitable range. The new specimen collected in southern Jordan represents the first record for the country and a considerable range extension to the northwest from all previously reported localities. Our findings and discovery of a new species for Jordan highlight the need of more field surveys to be carried out in the underexplored parts of Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia, as these places still hold a potential for new discoveries and are crucial for understating the biogeography of the Arabian herpetofauna.     

A Preliminary Study on the Taxonomy of the Family Magnoliaceae

A new system of classification of Magnoliaceae proposed. This paper deals mainly with taxonomy and phytogeography of the family Magnoliaceae on the basis of external morphology, wood anatomy and palynology. Different authors have had different ideas about the delimitation of genera of this family, their controversy being carried on through more than one hundred years (Table I). Since I have been engaged in the work of the Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae, I have accumulated a considerable amount of information and material and have investigated the living plants at their natural localities, which enable me to find out the evolutionary tendencies and primitive morphological characters of various genera of the family. According to the evolutionary tendencies of the characters and the geographical distribution of this family I propose a new system by dividing it into two subfamilies, Magnolioideae and Liriodendroideae Law (1979), two tribes, Magnolieae and Michelieae Law, four subtribes, Manglietiinae Law, Magnoliinae, Elmerrilliinae Law and Micheliinae, and fifteen genera (Fig. 1 ), a system which is different from those by J. D. Dandy (1964-1974) and the other authors. The recent distribution and possible survival centre of Magnoliaceae. The members of Magnoliaceae are distributed chiefly in temperate and tropical zones of the Northern Hemisphere, ——Southeast Asia and southeast North America, but a few genera and species also occur in the Malay Archipelago and Brazil of the Southern Hemisphere. Forty species of 4 genera occur in America, among which one genus (Dugendiodendron) is endemic to the continent, while about 200 species of 14 genera occur in Southeast Asia, of which 12 genera are endemic. In China there are about 110 species of 11 genera which mostly occur in Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan; 58 species and more than 9 genera occur in the mountainous districts of Yunnan. Moreover, one genus (Manglietiastrum Law, 1979) and 19 species are endemic to this region. The family in discussion is much limited to or interruptedly distributed in the mountainous regions of Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan. The regions are found to have a great abundance of species, and the members of the relatively primitive taxa are also much more there than in the other regions of the world. The major genera, Manglietia, Magnolia and Michelia, possess 160 out of a total of 240 species in the whole family. Talauma has 40 species, while the other eleven genera each contain only 2 to 7 species, even with one monotypic genus. These three major genera are sufficient for indicating the evolutionary tendency and geographical distribution of Magnoliaceae. It is worthwhile discussing their morphological characters and distributional patterns as follows: The members of Manglietia are all evergreen trees, with flowers terminal, anthers dehiscing introrsely, filaments very short and flat, ovules 4 or more per carpel. This is considered as the most primitive genus in subtribe Manglietiinae. Eighteen out of a total of 35 species of the genus are distributed in the western, southwest to southeast Yunnan. Very primitive species, such as Manglietia hookeri, M. insignis and M. megaphylla, M. grandis, also occur in this region. They are distributed from Yunnan eastwards to Zhejiang and Fujian through central China, south China, with only one species (Manglietia microtricha) of the genus westwards to Xizang. There are several species distributing southwards from northeast India to the Malay Archipelago (Fig. 7). The members of Magnolia are evergreen and deciduous trees or shrubs, with flowers terminal, anthers dehiscing introrsely or laterally, ovules 2 per carpel, stipule adnate to the petiole. The genus Magnolia is the most primitive in the subtribe Magnoliinae and is the largest genus of the family Magnoliaceae. Its deciduous species are distributed from Yunnan north-eastwards to Korea and Japan (Kurile N. 46’) through Central China, North China and westwards to Burma, the eastern Himalayas and northeast India. The evergreen species are distributed from northeast Yunnan (China) to the Malay Archipelago. In China there are 23 species, of which 15 seem to be very primitive, e.g. Magnolia henryi, M. delavayi, M. officinalis and M. rostrata, which occur in Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan. The members of Michelia are evergreen trees or shrubs, with flowers axillary, anthers dehiscing laterally or sublaterally, gynoecium stipitate, carpels numerous or few. Michelia is considered to be the most primitive in the subtribe Micheliinae, and is to the second largest genus of the family. About 23 out of a total of 50 species of this genus are very primitive, e.g. Michelia sphaerantha, M. lacei, M. champaca, and M. flavidiflora, which occur in Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan (the distributional center of the family under discussion) and extend eastwards to Taiwan of China, southern Japan through central China, southwards to the Malay Archipelago through Indo-China. westwards to Xizang of China, and south-westwards to India and Sri Lanka (Fig. 7). The members of Magnoliaceae are concentrated in Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan and radiate from there. The farther away from the centre, the less members we are able to find, but the more advanced they are in morphology. In this old geographical centre there are more primitive species, more endemics and more monotypic genera. Thus it is reasonable to assume that the region of Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan, China, is not only the centre of recent distribution, but also the chief survival centreof Magnoliaceae in the world.     

Anoplodium (Rahabdocoela, Platyhelminthes) endosymbiotes of sea cucumbers from Australia and New Zealand

Anoplodium heronensis sp.n. from Stichopus spp. from the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and A. leighi sp.n. from Stichopus mollis from New Zealand are described. Both have the ovary on the right side; they are compared with A, ramosum. A. longiductum and A. evelinae , all from the southern hemisphere, the only other member of the family with the ovary to the right. Anoplodium spp. occur in the coelom of their hosts, unlike other members of the family which live in the gut. Eleven species are now recognized in this genus.