Pigment changes in human skin after cryotherapy

We have investigated the changes in pigmentation and melanocyte distribution in human skin after a standardized freeze injury. All lesions developed hypopigmentation with a peripheral rim of hyperpigmentation. Abnormalities in pigmentation persisted for at least 6 months. Hyperpigmentation was predominantly an epidermal phenomenon. After brief freezes, hypopigmentation persisted despite the presence of functional melanocytes. After prolonged freezes, the consistent finding was an absence of melanosomes in keratinocytes, although melanocytes were present. We conclude that prolonged changes in skin color are frequent after brief freezes and that hypopigmentation is not synonymous with an absence of melanocytes. This suggests that hypopigmentation after the cryosurgical treatment of malignant melanocytic tumors may not equate with cure.     

Multiple origins of Southern Hemisphere Anemone (Ranunculaceae) based on plastid and nuclear sequence data

 Using two molecular data sets, the plastid atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer region and the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS), the taxonomic affinities of two newly available Anemone species from the Southern Hemisphere were tested. From previous work based on morphology and geographic distribution, it was assumed that A. tenuicaulis from New Zealand was most closely related to the Tasmanian A. crassifolia, whereas the affinity of A. antucensis from Chile and Argentina was regarded as uncertain. Analyses of molecular sequence data from these and 18 other species of Anemone s.lat. (with Clematis as outgroup) result in trees largely congruent with past analyses based on morphology and plastid restriction site data. They strongly support A. richardsonii and A. canadensis (with boreal distributions in the Northern Hemisphere) as paraphyletic to a well supported Southern Hemisphere clade consisting of A. antucensis and A. tenuicaulis. This group of four species is part of an otherwise predominantly Northern Hemisphere assemblage (subgenus Anemonidium s.lat., chromosome base number x=7), including A. narcissiflora, A. obtusiloba, A. keiskeana and A. (=Hepatica) americana. All other austral species included in the present sampling, A. crassifolia (Tasmania), A. knowltonia (=Knowltonia capensis), and A. caffra (both South African), form a separate clade, sister to A. (=Pulsatilla) occidentalis and other Northern Hemisphere anemones (subgenus Anemone s.lat., x=8). Possible phytogeographical links of the Southern Hemisphere species are discussed. Received April 23, 2001 Accepted October 4, 2001     

Alpha-toxin of Staphylococcus aureus.

Alpha-toxin, the major cytotoxic agent elaborated by Staphylococcus aureus, was the first bacterial exotoxin to be identified as a pore former. The protein is secreted as a single-chain, water-soluble molecule of Mr 33,000. At low concentrations (less than 100 nM), the toxin binds to as yet unidentified, high-affinity acceptor sites that have been detected on a variety of cells including rabbit erythrocytes, human platelets, monocytes and endothelial cells. At high concentrations, the toxin additionally binds via nonspecific absorption to lipid bilayers; it can thus damage both cells lacking significant numbers of the acceptor and protein-free artificial lipid bilayers. Membrane damage occurs in both cases after membrane-bound toxin molecules collide via lateral diffusion to form ring-structured hexamers. The latter insert spontaneously into the lipid bilayer to form discrete transmembrane pores of effective diameter 1 to 2 nm. A hypothetical model is advanced in which the pore is lined by amphiphilic beta-sheets, one surface of which interacts with lipids whereas the other repels apolar membrane constitutents to force open an aqueous passage. The detrimental effects of alpha-toxin are due not only to the death of susceptible targets, but also to the presence of secondary cellular reactions that can be triggered via Ca2+ influx through the pores. Well-studied phenomena include the stimulation of arachidonic acid metabolism, triggering of granule exocytosis, and contractile dysfunction. Such processes cause profound long-range disturbances such as development of pulmonary edema and promotion of blood coagulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Effect of the cytoskeleton dynamic condition on the neuronal plasticity]

Infringement of the Lymnaea stagnalis cytoskeleton condition affected preservation and repeated development of plastic responses. Stabilising of the microtubules led to a dependence of the development and preservation dynamics of the plastic responses. Stabilising of the microfilaments transformed short-term plastic responses into long-term ones. The findings suggest a key role of reorganisation of the cytoskeleton in neuronal plasticity.     

Characterization of tetranucleotide microsatellite loci and development and validation of multiplex reactions for the study of right whale species (genus Eubalaena)

A North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) genomic library was developed and screened with a (GATA)₈ probe to identify tetranucleotide microsatellite loci. Sixteen characterized loci were polymorphic in North Atlantic and/or South Atlantic (Eubalaena australis) right whales, 12 being polymorphic in E. glacialis, and 15 in E. australis. Fourteen of these were combined with 21 other previously identified loci for a suite of 35 loci which can be used to increase resolution of genetic analyses of these species. Multiplex reactions were developed for genotyping samples at these loci, providing a method that is rapid, reliable and cost‐effective.     

Morphological characteristics in relation to diet in five coexisting Thai fish species

Morphological characteristics and intestinal content were analysed for five species of coexisting freshwater fishes in Thailand: Rasbora caudimaculata , Schistura desmotes , Dermogenys pusillus , Xenentodon cancila and Monopterus albus (all found in riffle habitats in Thai streams). Rasbora caudimaculata , S. desmotes and D. pusillus fed predominantly on ephemeropterans, hymenopterans and dipterans, X. cancila fed predominantly on fishes, and larger aquatic invertebrates such as Odonata, and M. albus fed on detritus as well as invertebrate prey such as crustaceans and Odonata. Intestine length, mouth height, mouth width, eye position and mouth orientation varied among all five species. Canonical analysis of discriminance of mouth height, width and intestine length showed a clear dispersion of species, which was supported by intestine content. Evolutionary processes leading to the present differences in morphological characters resulted in each of the five species consuming a different portion of the available resource base, thereby facilitating coexistence.     

Influence of latitude, water depth, day v. night and wet v. dry periods on the species composition of reef fish communities in tropical Western Australia

Trap sampling over reefs in deep (mean = 20 m) and shallow (mean = 10 m) waters along c. 1500 km of coastline in tropical north‐western Australia during both day and night and in wet and dry periods yielded 23 377 fishes, representing 32 families, 58 genera and 119 species. Individuals of the Serranidae, Lutjanidae, Lethrinidae and Carangidae contributed 88·9% to the total catch. The ichthyofaunal compositions of the Kimberley, Canning and Pilbara bioregions were relatively discrete. Species composition was influenced far more by location (latitude) than by water depth, period and time of day, and underwent a gradational change southwards. The latter change reflected differences in the trends exhibited by the relative abundances of certain species with increasing latitude and the confinement of other species largely to particular regions. The three most abundant species, i.e. Lethrinus sp. 3, Lutjanus carponotatus and Lethrinus laticaudis contributed 34·8, 20·8 and 11·6% to the total catch, respectively. The first species was rarely recorded in the two most northern locations and was abundant in the four most southern locations, whereas the last two species were relatively more abundant in northern than in southern locations. Lutjanus bitaeniatus and Lutjanus johnii were found exclusively at the two locations in the Kimberley region, whereas Abalistes stellatus, Pentapodus emeryii and Lethrinus nebulosus were not caught in this region but were found in both locations of the Canning and Pilbara regions. The species composition in deep and shallow waters at each location almost invariably differed significantly between day and night and between dry and wet periods, with species such as L. bitaeniatus, L. johnii, Lutjanus sebae and A. stellatus being more abundant over deep reefs, whereas L. carponotatus, L. laticaudis, Siganus fuscescens and Lethrinus lentjan were more numerous over shallow reefs. Species such as L. johnii and Lethrinus atkinsoni were relatively more important in night‐time than daytime catches, whereas the reverse applied to Lethrinus lentjan, L. laticaudis and Choerodon cyanodus. Lethrinus sp. 3 and L. laticaudis were relatively more important in catches during the dry than wet period.     

Cryptic species identification: a simple diagnostic tool for discriminating between two problematic bumblebee species

Distinguishing between cryptic species is a perennial problem for biologists. Bombus ruderatus and Bombus hortorum are two species of bumblebee, which can be indistinguishable from their morphology. The former species is in decline, whereas the latter is ubiquitous. In the UK, isolated records of B. ruderatus occur amongst many for B. hortorum. For ecological studies of B. ruderatus to be feasible, the two species need to be reliably distinguishable. We present a diagnostic tool for quick and reliable identification of problematic individuals based on a restriction enzyme digest of the cytochrome b region of mitochondrial DNA.     

Trout Salmo spp. complex in Serbia and adjacent regions of the western Balkans: reconstruction of evolutionary history from external morphology

The multivariate phenetic approach to the classification of Salmo spp. samples from Serbia and adjacent regions of western Balkans for 22 continuous external morphological characters suggests the occurrence of the following distinct stocks: West Danubian (Crno Osoje Stream and upper Zeta River) Salmo taleri , marble trout Salmo marmoratus (Trebuščica River), hatchery-reared Atlantic Salmo trutta , Mlava River drainage (Mlava and Krupaja rivers and Buk Stream) trout Salmo cf. trutta , Velika Morava River system (Godljevača, Bela and Resava rivers) trout S. cf. trutta , Ohrid Lake belvica Salmo ohridana and Aegean coastal drainage Salmo macedonicus (Božica River). In contrast to the phenetic similarity, the phylogenetic reconstruction places the Lake Ohrid belvica as part of an unresolved polytomy with other trout groups. Salmo cf. trutta in the Mlava River appears to form the basal group for the trout species in the region. The position of marble trout implies its independent and more recent origin from the West Danubian trout stock.