Translation of GGC repeat expansions into a toxic polyglycine protein in NIID defines a novel class of human genetic disorders: The polyG diseases

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CLONAL PROPAGATION OF LAMINARIA DIGITATA (PHAEOPHYCEAE) SPOROPHYTES THROUGH A DIPLOID CELL-FILAMENT SUSPENSION

In vitro cultures of Laminaria digitata (Hudson) Lamouroux stipe medullary explants (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae) gave rise to friable morula-like masses of pigmented cells. Upon subculture under continuous white light, they grew out as filaments, which tended to dissociate into spherical isolated cells, leading to the establishment of a suspended cell-filament culture. Depending on culture conditions, this cell-filament suspension underwent various forms of growth, including regeneration of morphologically normal sporophytes, and this developmental pathway was stimulated by blue light. Genotyping with nine polymorphic microsatellite markers indicated that the regenerated sporophytes and the cell-filament suspension shared the same genotype. As assessed by flow cytometric analysis of isolated nuclei, the cell-filament suspension exhibited a 2C nuclear DNA content, whereas the regenerated sporophytes displayed a 4C level. Chromosome counting, however, showed that both the mother suspension and the regenerated sporophytes were diploid, suggesting the involvement of polyteny in the regeneration process.     

Tridemethylisovelleral, a potent cytotoxic agent

The synthesis and in vitro cytotoxicity toward various tumor cell lines of (+/-)-tridemethylisovelleral, an analogue of the bioactive fungal sesquiterpene (+)-isovelleral retaining the bicyclo[4,1,0]hept-2-en-1,2-dicarbaldehyde system but lacking the three methyl groups, is reported. The cytotoxicity of tridemethylisovelleral toward several tumor cell lines was found to be comparable with those of established antitumor drugs, and significantly higher than that of isovelleral.     

Identification of a New Set of Polypeptidic Sex Pheromones from Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis)

Marine Biotechnology - The common English Channel cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) reproduces every year on very localized coastal spawning areas after a west–east horizontal migration of...     

Assessing species diversity of Coral Triangle artisanal fisheries: A DNA barcode reference library for the shore fishes retailed at Ambon harbor (Indonesia)

The Coral Triangle (CT), a region spanning across Indonesia and Philippines, is home to about 4,350 marine fish species and is among the world's most emblematic regions in terms of conservation. Threatened by overfishing and oceans warming, the CT fisheries have faced drastic declines over the last decades. Usually monitored through a biomass‐based approach, fisheries trends have rarely been characterized at the species level due to the high number of taxa involved and the difficulty to accurately and routinely identify individuals to the species level. Biomass, however, is a poor proxy of species richness, and automated methods of species identification are required to move beyond biomass‐based approaches. Recent meta‐analyses have demonstrated that species richness peaks at intermediary levels of biomass. Consequently, preserving biomass is not equal to preserving biodiversity. We present the results of a survey to estimate the shore fish diversity retailed at the harbor of Ambon Island, an island located at the center of the CT that display exceptionally high biomass despite high levels of threat, while building a DNA barcode reference library of CT shore fishes targeted by artisanal fisheries. We sampled 1,187 specimens and successfully barcoded 696 of the 760 selected specimens that represent 202 species. Our results show that DNA barcodes were effective in capturing species boundaries for 96% of the species examined, which opens new perspectives for the routine monitoring of the CT fisheries.