Fungal biodiversity in the air of Turin

The qualitative fungal composition of Turin 's atmospheric environment was surveyed, carrying out a twelve-month study and collecting with a single stage volumetric sieve sampler on Dermasel agar supplemented with 0.4 g l^–1 cycloheximide and 0.05 g l^–1 chloramphenicol. We isolated 165 species and 2 varieties of mesophilic fungi from 58 genera and 26 thermotolerant species from 12 genera. Penicillium, Aspergillus, Acremonium, Chrysosporium, Scopulariopsis, Malbranchea, Paecilomyces, Phialophora and Cladosporium were in sequence the genera most rich in mesophilic species; Aspergillus, Penicillium, Chrysosporium and Scopulariopsis the most rich in thermotolerant species. Many of the species isolated are rarely or never recorded in the atmospheric environment. Cycloheximide can thus be said to select among airborne fungi, giving a characteristic picture.Abbreviation CH Cycloheximide - cfu colony forming unit     

Low temperature optical spectroscopy of cobalt-substituted hemocyanin from Carcinus maenas

In this work we report the optical absorption spectra of three cobalt-substituted derivatives of hemocyanin (He) from Carcinus maenas, in the temperature range 300–20 K. The derivatives studied are the mononuclear (Co²⁺)-He with a single cobalt ion in the Cu_A site, the binuclear (Co²⁺)₂-He and the binuclear mixed metal (Co²⁺-Cu¹⁺)-He. At low temperature three main bands are clearly resolved; the temperature dependence of their zeroth, first and second moments sheds light on the stereodynamic properties in the surroundings of the chromophore. Within the limits of the reported analysis, in the binuclear derivatives the motions coupled to the chromophore appear to be essentially harmonic in the whole temperature range investigated; moreover the data are consistent with the presence of an exogenous ligand strongly bound to the two metal ions. For the mononuclear derivative an essentially harmonic behavior is evident only up to 200 K where the data are consistent with the presence of an exogenous ligand much less strongly bound, while at higher temperatures the behavior of the spectra indicates the onset of very large anharmonic contributions to motions, that plausibly involve the above exogenous ligand and, quite likely, the entire active site.Abbreviations He Hemocyanin - M₀ zeroth moment - M₁ first moment - M₂ second moment - (Co^2–)₂-He binuclear bicobalt hemocyanin derivative - (Co²⁺)-He mononuclear monocobalt hemocyanin derivative - (Co²⁺-Cu¹⁺)-He binuclear mixed metals hemocyanin derivative - LFT ligand field theory - CT charge transfer - EPR electronic paramagnetic resonance - XANES X-ray absorption near edge structure Correspondence to: L. Cordone     

Flora Palinologica Italiana,Sezione Aeropalinologica — Specie esotiche — S 231:Sequoia sempervirens (Lamb.) Endl. (Taxodiaceae)

Riassunto La scheda morfopalinologica diSequoia sempervirens (Lamb.) Endl. continua lo studio sulle Pinohyta ornamentali più frequenti in Torino. È esaminato polline fresco ed acetolizzato proveniente da due stazioni e la provenienza non determina variazioni significative dei parametri morfometrici.

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Summary The morphopalynological card ofSequoia sempervirens (Lamb.) Endl. is a new contribution to the comprehensive study on pollen of ornamental Pinophyta in Turin. Fresh and acetolysed grains from two stations are examined, and for all parameters no significative differences were observed in relation to the collection site.

Parole chiave: Sequoia sempervirens(Lamb.) Endl., Flora Palinologica Italina, Sezione Aeropalinologica.     

Genetic Diversity of Isolates of Glomus mosseae from Different Geographic Areas Detected by Vegetative Compatibility Testing and Biochemical and Molecular Analysis

We detected, for the first time, the occurrence of vegetative incompatibility between different isolates of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal species Glomus mosseae. Vegetative compatibility tests performed on germlings belonging to the same isolate showed that six geographically different isolates were capable of self-anastomosing, and that the percentage of hyphal contacts leading to fusions ranged from 60 to 85%. Successful anastomoses were characterized by complete fusion of hyphal walls, protoplasm continuity and occurrence of nuclei in the middle of hyphal bridges. No anastomoses could be detected between hyphae belonging to different isolates, which intersected without any reaction in 49 to 68% of contacts. Microscopic examinations detected hyphal incompatibility responses in diverse pairings, consisting of protoplasm retraction from the tips and septum formation in the approaching hyphae, even before physical contact with neighboring hyphae. Interestingly, many hyphal tips showed precontact tropism, suggesting that specific recognition signals may be involved during this stage. The intraspecific genetic diversity of G. mosseae revealed by vegetative compatibility tests was confirmed by total protein profiles and internal transcribed spacer-restriction fragment length polymorphism profiles, which evidenced a higher level of molecular diversity between the two European isolates IMA1 and BEG25 than between IMA1 and the two American isolates. Since arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi lack a tractable genetic system, vegetative compatibility tests may represent an easy assay for the detection of genetically different mycelia and an additional powerful tool for investigating the population structure and genetics of these obligate symbionts.     

Enkephalin-binding systems in human plasma

Three amino acid-containing fractions present in human plasma are shown to bind both leu and met-enkephalin: serum albumin and two species of a much lower molecular weight, in all likelihood polypeptides. The amount of enkephalin associated with serum albumin seems comparatively smaller than that associated with the two low molecular weight systems. These systems jointly are apparently capable of binding a significant part of the circulating enkephalins. The possibility is suggested that the interactions described may play a role in maintaining the integrity of circulating enkephalins.     

Variation at the apolipoprotein (apo) AI-CIII-AIV gene cluster and apo B gene loci is associated with lipoprotein and apolipoprotein levels in Italian children.

We have used RFLPs of the apolipoprotein (apo) B gene and apo AI-CIII-AIV gene cluster to estimate the genetic contribution of variation at these loci to the variability of plasmid lipid, lipoprotein, and apolipoprotein levels in 209 children from Sezze in central Italy. The sample was randomly divided into group I (107 children) and group II (102 children). Four site polymorphisms (PvuII, XbaI, MspI, and EcoRI) of the apo B gene and five site polymorphisms (XmnI, PstI, SstI, PvuII-CIII, and PvuII-AIV) of the apo AI-CIII-AIV gene cluster were examined in group I children. After adjustment for gender, age, and body-mass index, polymorphisms at both gene loci (PvuII-B, PvuII-CIII, and PvuII-AIV) were associated with significant effects on the levels of plasma apo AI, apo B, or high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. RFLPs that showed significant effects in group I were genotyped in group II. All three polymorphisms were associated with similar effects on apolipoprotein levels, though for all RFLPs the magnitude of the effects was smaller in the group II children and only statistically significant for the effect of the PvuII-B genotype on apo AI levels. In the total sample of 209 children 7.4% of the sample variance in apo AI levels was explained by variation associated with the apo B PvuII-B RFLP. In addition, the PvuII-B RFLP was associated with significant effects on plasma apo B levels and explained 5.7% of the sample variance. The PvuII-CIII and PvuII-AIV polymorphisms were both associated with differences in apo AI levels, explaining 3.7%-5.7% of the sample variance. Taken together, the three PvuII polymorphisms explained 17.7% of the phenotypic variance in apo AI levels. There was significant evidence for an effect of nonlinearity of the PvuII-CIII genotypes on apo AI levels, with the individuals heterozygous for the polymorphism having the highest apo AI levels. No evidence of interaction between genotype and gender, age, and body-mass index was shown by covariance analysis. The molecular explanation of this effect is unclear. Our data show that variation at both the apo AI-CIII-AIV and apo B loci are associated with lipoprotein and apolipoprotein levels in this sample of Italian children.