FREE CHOICE PROFILING OF CHILEAN GOAT CHEESE

Different goat cheeses from Chile were studied by Free-Choice Profile (FCP) analysis. Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA) applied to FCP data permitted differentiation between samples and informed on the attributes responsible for the observed differences. Appearance was a dominant factor in discriminating samples and to a lesser degree textural variables were also correlated with GPA dimensions. In acceptability the fresh cheeses were significantly preferred over the ripened ones.     

Microarray genomotyping of key experimental strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae reveals gene complement diversity and five new neisserial genes associated with Minimal Mobile Elements.

Background  

There are four widely used experimental strains of N. gonorrhoeae, one of which has been sequenced and used as the basis for the construction of a multi-strain, mutli-species pan-neisserial microarray. Although the N. gonorrhoeae population structure is thought to be less diverse than N. meningitidis, there are some recognized gene-complement differences between strains, including the 59 genes of the Gonococcal Genetic Island. In this study we have investigated the three experimental strains that have not been sequenced to determine the extent and nature of their similarities and differences.     

莱茵衣藻Nfr-4突变株中类胡萝卜素含量的变化及其对藻生长的影响

文章对相同条件下培养的莱茵衣藻野生型CC-137和八氢番茄红素脱氢酶(phytoene desaturase,PDS)基因突变株Nfr-4的生长进行分析;并用反相高效液相色谱分析总有色类胡萝卜素以及叶绿素含量变化,结果表明两者生长的差异明显;Nfr-4突变株的单细胞叶绿素和总有色类胡萝卜素含量高于野生型CC-137的。     

Phylogeography of the Poecilimon luschani species group (Orthoptera,Tettigoniidae): a radiation strictly correlated with climatic transitions in the Pleistocene

The Quaternary biogeography of Anatolia has received considerable interest recently. Here, the genealogical history of the Anatolio?Balkan lineage of the Poecilimon luschani species group was evaluated. Using concatenated data from 16S rDNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences, the timings of inter‐ and intraspecies radiations were estimated. The demographic history of the populations was estimated using a data set established from COI sequences. Genetic diversity was very high in almost all of the populations studied. Fixation indices suggested extreme divergence of P. luschani. A molecular chronogram estimated a radiation history for the species/subspecies over a period ranging from 1.323 to 0.440 Myr. Demographic analyses applied to 11 populations suggested departure in population size for most of the local populations. The following conclusions were reached: (1) P. luschani originated from an Anatolio‐Aegean ancestral stock and extended its range to the Balkans through Dardanelles during the Early Pleistocene; (2) the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition, the lengthening of glacial period from 41 to 100 Kyr and the initiation of intense glaciation periods are the three main events corresponding to the main nodes of the chronogram; (3) altitudinal heterogeneity played a buffer role during the glacial cycles, allowing populations to cope with severe environmental changes; (4) the effects of Pleistocene climate cycles on populations differ according to altitudinal and latitudinal location in Anatolia, and (5) habitat preferences, such as altitudinal range, may easily shift because of changes in environmental conditions. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London     

Phloem flow and sugar transport in Ricinus communis L. is inhibited under anoxic conditions of shoot or roots

Anoxic conditions should hamper the transport of sugar in the phloem, as this is an active process. The canopy is a carbohydrate source and the roots are carbohydrate sinks. By fumigating the shoot with N₂ or flooding the rhizosphere, anoxic conditions in the source or sink, respectively, were induced. Volume flow, velocity, conducting area and stationary water of the phloem were assessed by non‐invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) flowmetry. Carbohydrates and δ¹³C in leaves, roots and phloem saps were determined. Following flooding, volume flow and conducting area of the phloem declined and sugar concentrations in leaves and in phloem saps slightly increased. Oligosaccharides appeared in phloem saps and after 3 d, carbon transport was reduced to 77%. Additionally, the xylem flow declined and showed finally no daily rhythm. Anoxia of the shoot resulted within minutes in a reduction of volume flow, conductive area and sucrose in the phloem sap decreased. Sugar transport dropped to below 40% by the end of the N₂ treatment. However, volume flow and phloem sap sugar tended to recover during the N₂ treatment. Both anoxia treatments hampered sugar transport. The flow velocity remained about constant, although phloem sap sugar concentration changed during treatments. Apparently, stored starch was remobilized under anoxia.     

A genetic code alteration generates a proteome of high diversity in the human pathogen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Candida albicans</Emphasis>

Background  

Genetic code alterations have been reported in mitochondrial, prokaryotic, and eukaryotic cytoplasmic translation systems, but their evolution and how organisms cope and survive such dramatic genetic events are not understood.     

The function of TLR4 in interferon gamma or interleukin-13 exposed and lipopolysaccharide stimulated gingival epithelial cell cultures

Gingival epithelial cells are part of the first line of host defense against infection. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) serve important immune and nonimmune functions. We investigated how interferon gamma (INF-γ) and interleukin 13 (IL-13) are involved in the TLR4 ligand-induced regulation of interleukin-8 (IL-8) effects on gingival epithelial cells. We used immunohistochemistry to localize TLR4 in ten healthy and ten periodontitis tissue specimens. Gingival epithelial cells then were primed with Th1 cytokine (INF-γ) or Th2 cytokine (IL-13) before stimulation with Escherichia coli-derived lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect the level of IL-8 secretion in cell culture supernatants. Although both healthy and periodontitis gingival tissue samples expressed TLR4, the periodontitis samples showed more intense expression on gingival epithelial cells. Gingival epithelial cell cultures were primed with either INF-γ or IL-13 before stimulation with TLR4 ligand. Supernatants from co-stimulated epithelial cells exhibited IL-8 production in opposite directions, i.e., as one stimulates the release, the other reduces the release. INF-γ significantly increased TLR4 function, whereas IL-13 significantly decreased TLR4 function, i.e., production of IL-8. Pathogen associated molecular pattern-LPS, shared by many different periodonto-pathogenic bacteria, activates the gingival epithelial cells in a TLR-dependent manner. Diminished or increased TLR function in gingival epithelial cells under the influence of different Th cell types may protect or be harmful due to the altered TLR signaling.     

The Anatolio‐Balkan phylogeographic fault: a snapshot from the genus Isophya (Orthoptera,Tettigoniidae)

Due to active tectonic evolution of the Aegean Area during Miocene and Pleistocene, the Balkans and Anatolia have repeatedly connected and disconnected causing isolation and secondary contact of populations along the present Dardanelles – Sea of Marmara – Bosphorus waterway. This has led to an outstandingly rich fauna and a reticulate biogeography in the area. A typical example is Orthoptera having here possibly highest diversity within the Western Palaearctic. With the present study, we concentrate on the bush‐cricket genus Isophya, which is characteristic with a large share of endemics in the Balkans and Anatolia. We aim to understand when and how the isolation of marine or other barriers in the region of the Turkish Straits System influenced the evolution of the morpho‐acoustic groups of species found on both sides of the strait. For this purpose, sequences of two mitochondrial (COI and ND2) and two nuclear (ITS1 and ITS2) markers were obtained and used for phylogenetic reconstructions, time estimations for lineage divergence and automatic species delineation (statistical parsimony, GMYC, ABGD) tests. The phylogenetic analyses did not support all the existing morphogroups and was in favour of a geographical subdivision for the young lineages. Automatic species delineation tests confirmed most of the present morpho‐acoustic species and suggested further cryptic species, at the same time unifying some phenetic species. Time estimation analyses suggested time to most recent common ancestor of the genus as 8.28 Ma corresponding to the Late Tortonian. As a result of the study, we reached to the following conclusions: (i) most of the studied phenetic species are monophyletic, but some earlier suggested morpho‐species groups are not, (ii) three main episodes dominate the evolutionary history of Isophya (7.32–5.84 Myr in the Messinian, 2.2–2.5 Myr in the beginning of the Pleistocene and at around 0.75 Ma corresponding to the end of the Mid‐Pleistocene transition), all of which well correlate with episodes of existing terrestrial connections between Anatolia and the Balkans, and (iii) there are several faunal exchanges in both directions between Anatolia and the Balkans.     

Geographic variations of seasonality and coexistence in communities: The role of diversity and climate

One of the most conspicuous and widely analyzed patterns in ecology is the latitudinal gradient in species richness. Over the 200 years since its recognition, several hypotheses have accumulated in order to account for spatial variations in diversity. Geographic variations in seasonality have been repeatedly proposed as a determinant of community richness. However, the geographic structure of community seasonality has not yet been analyzed. In the present work we evaluated three hypotheses that account for variations in the temporal structuring of communities: first, environmental seasonality determines community seasonality; second, community richness determines its degree of structuring; and third, the presence of an increase in species segregation with latitude, reflected in a pattern of species negative co‐occurrence. The hypotheses were evaluated using path analysis on 29 amphibian communities from South America, connecting latitude, environmental conditions, diversity, seasonality, and coexistence structure – nestedness and negative co‐occurrence – within communities. Latitude positively affects community seasonality through an increase in temperature seasonality, but a weak negative direct effect suggests that other variables not considered in the model – such as the strength of biotic interactions – could also be involved. Both latitude and diversity (directly and indirectly) determine an increase in negative co‐occurrence and nestedness. This suggests that groups of species that are mutually nested in time are internally segregated. Further, the strength of this structure is determined by community diversity and latitude. Temporal structuring of a community is associated with latitude and diversity, pointing to the existence of a systematic change in community organization far beyond, but probably interrelated, with the recognized latitudinal trend in richness. The available information and analysis supported the three hypotheses evaluated.