A New Entodiniomorphid Ciliate,Troglocorys cava n. g., n. sp., from the Wild Eastern Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) from Uganda

ABSTRACT. Troglocorys cava n. g., n. sp. is described from the feces of wild eastern chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, in Uganda. This new species has a spherical body with a frontal lobe, a long vestibulum, a cytoproct located at the posterior dorsal side of the body, an ovoid macronucleus, a contractile vacuole near the cytoproct, and a large concavity on the left surface of the body. Buccal ciliature is non‐retractable and consists of three ciliary zones: an adoral zone surrounding the vestibular opening, a dorso‐adoral zone extending transversely at the basis of the frontal lobe, and a vestibular zone longitudinally extending in a gently spiral curve to line the surface of the vestibulum. Two non‐retractable somatic ciliary zones comprise arches over the body surface: a short dorsal ciliary arch extending transversely at the basis of the frontal lobe and a wide C‐shaped left ciliary arch in the left concavity. Because of the presence of three ciliary zones in the non‐retractable buccal ciliature, the present genus might be a member of the family Blepharocorythidae, but the large left concavity and the C‐shaped left ciliary arch are unique, such structures have never been described from other blepharocorythids.     

Immunological analysis of plant mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenases.

Plant mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenases were analysed by two immunological strategies. The first exploited an antiserum raised to a preparation of SDS-solubilized mitochondrial-inner-membrane particles. By using a combination of activity-immunoprecipitation and crossed immunoelectrophoresis, it was shown that Triton X-100-solubilized membranes contain at least three immunologically distinct NADH dehydrogenases. Two of these were subsequently isolated by line immunoelectrophoresis and analysed for polypeptide composition: one contained three polypeptides with molecular masses of 75, 62 and 41 kDa; the other was a single polypeptide with a molecular mass of 53 kDa. The other approach was to probe plant mitochondrial membranes with antibodies raised to a purified preparation of ox heart rotenone-sensitive NADH dehydrogenase and subunits thereof. Cross-reactions were observed with the subunit-specific antisera against the 30 and 49 kDa ox heart proteins. However, the molecular masses of the equivalent polypeptides in plant mitochondria are slightly lower, at 27 and 46 kDa respectively.     

Invasive grass litter facilitates native shrubs through abiotic effects

Questions: Plant invasions are considered one of the top threats to the biodiversity of native taxa, but clearly documenting the causal links between invasions and the decline of native species remains a major challenge of invasion biology. Most studies have focused on impacts of invaders' living biomass, rather than on mechanisms mediated by litter. However, invasive plant litter, which is often of a very different type and quantity than a system's native plant litter, can have multiple important effects on ecosystem processes – such as nitrogen cycling and soil microclimate – that may influence native plants. Location: We studied effects of litter of invasive grass species that are widespread throughout western North America on native shrubs in southern California's semi‐arid habitat of coastal sage scrub. Methods: We combined a 3‐year field manipulation of non‐native litter with structural equation modeling to understand interacting effects on non‐native grasses, native shrubs, soil nitrogen (available and total), and soil moisture. Results: Litter addition facilitated non‐native grass growth, revealing a positive feedback likely to enhance invasion success. Contrary to a major paradigm of invasion biology – that competition with invasive plant species causes declines of native plants – we found that litter also facilitated growth of the native dominant shrub, a result supported by observational trends. Structural equation models indicated that enhanced soil moisture mediated the positive effects of litter on shrub growth. Conclusions: We demonstrate that invasive plants, via their litter, can facilitate dominant native plants by altering soil moisture. Our results highlight that understanding the impacts and mechanisms of plant invasions may be enhanced by considering the role of invasive plant litter on native plants and ecosystem properties.     

Complete Genome Sequence of the Cellulolytic Thermophile Caldicellulosiruptor obsidiansis OB47T

Caldicellulosiruptor obsidiansis OB47^T (ATCC BAA-2073, JCM 16842) is an extremely thermophilic, anaerobic bacterium capable of hydrolyzing plant-derived polymers through the expression of multidomain/multifunctional hydrolases. The complete genome sequence reveals a diverse set of carbohydrate-active enzymes and provides further insight into lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysis at high temperatures.Members of the genus Caldicellulosiruptor within the order Clostridiales can solubilize cellulose at extremely thermophilic growth temperatures (65 to 80°C). Caldicellulosiruptor obsidiansis OB47^T was isolated from Obsidian Pool, Yellowstone National Park, in enrichment cultures containing dilute acid-pretreated switchgrass as the primary carbon and energy source for cultivation (5). High-temperature saccharification can promote higher hydrolysis rates while reducing cooling costs following biomass pretreatment and suppressing contamination in reactors (9). Given the organism''s rapid growth on cellulosic substrates and ability to use a wide range of plant-derived sugars, a complete genome sequence was determined using a sequencing-by-synthesis approach.The genome of C. obsidiansis OB47^T was sequenced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) using a combination of Illumina (1) and 454 technologies (8). All of the general aspects of library construction and sequencing performed at the JGI can be found at http://www.jgi.doe.gov/. Illumina sequencing data were assembled with VELVET (10), and the consensus sequences were shredded into 1.5-kbp overlapped fake reads and assembled together with the 454 data. The initial Newbler assembly contained 64 contigs in two scaffolds. The initial 454 assembly was converted into a Phrap assembly by making fake reads from the consensus and collecting the read pairs in the 454 paired-end library. The Phred/Phrap/Consed software package was used for sequence assembly and quality assessment (2-4) in the following finishing process. Illumina data were used to correct potential base errors and increase consensus quality using the Polisher software developed at the JGI (Alla Lapidus, unpublished data). After the shotgun stage, reads were assembled with parallel Phrap (High Performance Software, LLC). Possible misassemblies were corrected with gapResolution (Cliff Han, unpublished data), Dupfinisher (6), or sequencing of cloned bridging PCR fragments with subcloning. Gaps between contigs were closed by editing in Consed, by PCR, and by Bubble PCR primer walks. A total of 773 additional reactions and seven shatter libraries were necessary to close gaps and to raise the quality of the finished sequence. The genome was annotated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory using the automated annotation pipeline, which is driven by the gene prediction algorithm Prodigal (7). Annotation quality was verified by the JGI.Although many well-characterized bacteria and fungi can use cellulose, C. obsidiansis was selected and isolated specifically for its ability to deconstruct potential bioenergy feedstocks (e.g., pretreated switchgrass or Populus sp.). Through high-throughput sequencing of novel strains relevant to different aspects of renewable energy production, genome-enabled technologies can be used to discover important cellular properties (such as the secretion of hydrolytic enzymes). Making the genome sequence of C. obsidiansis OB47^T available will allow comprehensive comparisons with other members of the genus and enable further investigation into the mechanisms employed by microorganisms to solubilize lignocellulosic materials at elevated temperatures.