Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in the threatened brook lamprey Lethenteron sp. N

A microsatellite‐enriched genomic library was obtained for the threatened brook lamprey, Lethenteron sp. N, and from it 16 dinucleotide markers were successfully isolated and characterized. These markers were found to have between 1 and 6 alleles with heterozygosity ranging from zero to 0.79. Cross‐species amplification was successful, with eight loci amplifying products in the counterpart cryptic species, Lethenteron sp. S, as well as 15 loci in Lethenteron japonicum. One out of 10 primer pairs previously reported also amplified products in all the three species.     

Embryology of Eusideroxylon (Cryptocaryeae, Lauraceae) and character evolution in the family

Lauraceae are relatively well-known embryologically and embryological data are available for 23 of about 50 genera. In this paper we present the embryology of Eusideroxylon , an unstudied and key genus within Cryptocaryeae, which are positioned basally in the evolution of Lauraceae, and discuss the evolution of embryological characters in the family. Based on comparisons of over 50 characters, it was found that Eusideroxylon is consistent with Aspidostemon , the core Cryptocaryeae ( Beilschmiedia , Cryptocarya , Endiandra and Potameia ), Caryodaphnopsis and Cassytha in having a glandular anther tapetum. The core Cryptocaryeae further agrees with both Caryodaphnopsis and Cassytha in having an embryo sac protruding from the nucellus. In light of the phylogenetic trees available, both the glandular tapetum and the embryo sac protruding from the nucellus have evolved as homoplasies in Lauraceae, once each in a clade of Cryptocaryeae, and the Caryodaphnopsis and Cassytha clade, respectively. Such character-state distributions suggest that it is better to place both Caryodapnopsis and Cassytha in the same clade as the core Cryptocaryeae. Embryologically, Eusideroxylon appears to have an intermediate state between Hypodaphnis , a genus positioned basal-most in the family, and the core Cryptocaryeae. Supplementary data on the anther and seed of Hypodaphnis are also provided.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 150 , 187–201.     

SYNCHRONOUS MASS-CULTURE OF CHLORELLA

A new culture apparatus was constructed to obtain large quantitiesof synchronized cells of Chlorella ellipsoidea. Two flat culturechambers made of lucid acrylate resin (each 20 liters in capacity)were placed in a water thermostat together with a bank of 17daylight fluorescent lamps, and the culture was run by the methodstarting from a homogeneous population of D_s-cells accordingto TAMIYA et al. It was demonstrated that with this apparatusone can obtain as much as 200–400 mg (dry weight) eachof algal material at 8 or 9 different stages in one cell cycle.Completely synchronized cell cycles could be repeated as manyas 10 times in one series of experiment, indicating that theapparatus can produce 2–4g (dry weight) each of algalcells of different developmental stages. (Received April 2, 1964; )     

HYDROGENASE ACTIVITY IN SCENEDESMUS D3 CULTURED IN A MEDIUM CONTAINING CARROT EXTRACT

Scenedesmus species D₃ (GAFFRON's strain) cultured in a mediumcontaining boiled extract of carrot root was found to be ableto absorb molecular hydrogen in the presence of MB or nitriteas a hydrogen acceptor in the dark under H₂-atmosphere and alsoto carry out photoreduction in the presence of CO₂ and the oxyhydrogenreaction in the presence of oxygen without the dark period ofadaptation which was required for the appearance of these activitiesin the cells grown in an inorganic medium. At the light intensity exceeded a certain threshold, transitionfrom photoreduction to normal photosynthesis occurred, but theabsorption of hydrogen by the cells cultured in a carrot mediumwas resumed upon return to low light intensity. ¹ Dedicated to Prof. H. TAMIYA on the occasion of his 60th birthday.Aided in part by a grant from the scientific fund of the Ministryof Education. Contribution No. 132 from the Department of Biology,Faculty of Science, Kyushu University. (Received January 12, 1963; )     

Species Specificity of the Insect Prothoracicotropic Hormone (PITH): the Presence of Bombyx-and Samia-Specific PTTHs in the Brain of Bombyx mori

Crude extracts of Bombyx mori brains can provoke adult development when injected into brain-removed dormant pupae of Bombyx mori and Samia Cynthia ricini. From this fact the prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) of Bombyx has long been thought to be species-nonspecifically active on Samia. Chemical fractionation of Bombyx brain or head extracts by fractional precipitation with acetone, Sephadex G-50 gel-filtration, and DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B chromatography, however, separated the fractions which activated Bombyx brainless pupae from those which activated Samia. Those results reveal the existence of two species-specific PTTHs.     

Reactivity of Monoclonal Antibodies to Species-Specific Antigens of Entamoeba histolytica

Twenty monoclonal antibodies were produced against trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica strains HK-9 and HM-1: IMSS. When reactivity to various enteric protozoa was examined by an indirect fluorescence antibody test, 15 of the monoclonal antibodies were strongly reactive with E. histolytica trophozoites. Species-specific antigens recognized by these monoclonal antibodies were located on the plasma membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm, and cytoskeletal structures of the trophozoites. Two of the remaining five monoclonals reacted strongly with trophozoites of the E. histolytica -like Laredo strain. The determinant antigen was located in the cytoplasm. The three remaining monoclonal antibodies were found to recognize cross-reactive antigens between E. histolytica and E. histolytica -like Laredo, E. hartmanni, E. coli, Dientamoeba fragilis, Giardia lamblia , and Trichomonas hominis. These three antibodies were also reactive with T. vaginalis     

Influence of Pregnancy on the Course of Malaria in Mice Infected with Plasmodium berghei

The course of malarial infection was compared in pregnant mice inoculated with Plasmodium berghei at different stages of gestation. When 12–14 wk old, pregnant BALB/c mice were inoculated with 1 × 10⁶ of P. berghei NK65-infected red cells at gestation day 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 or 16, the mice inoculated on gestation days 6–12 expired 6.5 days after inoculation compared to 9.5 days in non-pregnant mice. Parasitemia in these pregnant mice increased rapidly on day 4 after inoculation and anemia also developed earlier on day 5. However, the degree of parasitemia and anemia in the terminal stage of infection in these pregnant mice was milder than that of non-pregnant controls. Blood urea nitrogen increased at the terminal stage although the degree of increase in mice inoculated on gestation days 6–10 was comparatively small. Pregnant malarial mice died earlier with less physiological changes than non-pregnant controls. It was concluded that pregnancy makes the host susceptible to physiological changes caused by malaria.     

Maintenance and Growth of the Horny Processes of the Medaka, Oryzias latipes, in Vitro

The maintenance and growth of the horny processes of the medaka, Oryzias latipes , were investigated in vitro by organ culture of the anal-fin. Processes were induced in adult females by oral administration of ethisterone. On this day, anal-fins were removed and cultured with in media containing androgen. Early processes elongated in these media during six to eight days of culture, though they degenerated in androgen-free control media. They developed to nearly the same degree as those in intact fins in medium 199 and CMRL-1066, while they degenerated to various extents in Eagle's MEM and Dulbecco's modified EM. These results suggest that scleroblasts maintain the mass and secrete the horny substance in vitro in the presence of androgen and essential nutrients. Early processes developed on the fifth day of treatment.     

OCCURRENCE AND FINE STRUCTURE OF SUBCORTICAL CYTOPLASMIC ISLETS IN FERTILIZED EGGS OF CYNOPS PYRRHOGASTER

Fertilized and unfertilized eggs of Cynops pyrrhogaster were examined by light and electron microscopy. In fertilized eggs that have just been laid, there are numerous small cytoplasmic patches free of granules in the pigmented layer of the animal hemisphere. Many of these granule-free cytoplasmic islets gradually grow out subcortically from the pigmented layer and fuse to form a subcortical layer of yolk-free cytoplasm of varying thickness by the time of the first cleavage division. The cytoplasmic islets are present in 100% of the fertilized eggs, but not in unfertilized eggs. Electron microscopic observations showed that the cytoplasmic islets contain tubules and that development of a complex system of cortical tubules constitutes the basis of the early growth of the cytoplasmic islets. The cortical tubules are transient structures and are no longer observable a few hours after the eggs are laid. These phenomena are considered to be a response of the egg to the fertilization stimulus.