Transformation of the Plasmodium cynomolgi Oocyst1

SYNOPSIS. The transformation of the P. cynomolgi oocyst into definitive sporozoite forms occurs 8–10 days after an infective blood meal by Anopheles, stephensi mosquitoes. Vacuolization divides the oocyst cytoplasm into sporoblast sub-units from which sporozoites bud. The role of sporoblast nuclear and cytoplasmic components in the complex differentiative process is discussed.     

Infaunal or semi-infaunal bellerophont gastropods: analysis of Euphemites and functionally related taxa

Burrowing and plowing gastropods may have existed prior to the Mesozoic, contrary to the conservative tendency of categorizing Paleozoic archaeogastropods as herbivorous hardground dwellers. We propose that Euphemites and other bellerophontiform molluscs such as Praematuratroph and Beyrichidiscus make functional and paleoecological sense only if reconstructed with an internal shell adapted to an infaunal mode of life. Attributes diagnostic of a probable infaunal mode of life in fossil bellerophontiform molluscs include: (1) lack of apertural flare; (2) restricted aperture; (3) low rate of whorl expansion; (4) semi-radial aperture; (5) extensive secondary shell deposits; (6) absence of extensive collabral ornament; (7) dorsolateral or umbilical furrows; (8) color patterns indicative of mantle extension and retraction capabilities; (9) absence of shell breakage and repair; and (10) associated lithologies indicative of penetrable substrates such as mudstones. Niche diversity in the bellerophontacean molluscs was probably much greater than previously suspected. This is entirely consistent with their long geologic range. Most bellerophontaceans, particularly the Late Paleozoic forms, were probably either 'nestling' or semi-infaunal with the apertural margins enwrapped by mantle or mantle and foot. As such they may have been particularly susceptible to predation during the postulated Mesozoic increase in number of infaunal predators- a factor which may have been contributory to the bellerophontacean demise.     

Redescription of Paralagenophrys singularis (Kellicott) n. comb. (Ciliophora: Peritricha: Lagenophryidae)1

Lagenophrys singularis is removed from Lagenophrys and designated the type species of Paralagenophrys n. g. Compared to members of Lagenophrys, the oral area of P. singularis is radically distorted. Paralagenophrys apparently also lacks second-type division, a special phase of sexual reproduction characteristic of Lagenophrys and associated with its adaptation to symbiotic life on crustaceans. Members of Lagenophrys are obligate ectocommensals of crustaceans. In contrast, P. singularis (Kellicott, 1887) n. comb. occurs most often on the leaves of aquatic vascular plants.     

Symposium on “Symbiosis in Protozoa”: Introductory Remarks1,2

ABSTRACT. Attention, perhaps overdue, is drawn to the extent and significance of endosymbionts (xenosomes sensu lato) in the cytoplasm and nuclei of many protozoa from diverse taxonomic groups. Even more importantly, recent advances in the study of such intimate associations are reviewed and discussed and their impact on broader problems of cell biology and evolution are stressed. Workers inside and especially outside the fields of protozoology and parasitology have often neglected such data, failing to appreciate their relevance to significant problems in their own fields of investigation. The major topics covered by speakers in the Symposium (to which this paper serves only as an introduction) include the following, in order of their presentation: terminology for the symbiont-host relationship and a brief overview of the field; the evolutionary problem of the origin of contemporary associations, including cell organelles such as mitochondria and plastids; the adaptive value of endosymbionts to their protozoan hosts; mechanisms of establishment, maintenance, and integration of such foreign bodies/invaders in their unicellular eukaryotic host cells; and the extent of algal and bacterial endosymbioses in diverse protozoan groups. In all papers, the principal relatively well studied complexes used as examples are the following: various kinds of algae in the larger foraminifera and in ciliates, radiolarians, and acantharians; the several types of bacteria in the cytoplasm of Amoeba and of Pelomyxa; the endonuclear bacterial symbionts of Paramecium; the cytoplasmic prokaryotes in Paramecium and in Parauronema; and the methanogenic bacteria of certain ciliates.     

Structural Alteration of the Membrane of Erythrocytes Infected with Plasmodium falciparum1

Human erythrocytes infected with five strains of Plasmodium falciparum and Aotus erythrocytes infected with three strains of P. falciparum were studied by thin-section and freeze-fracture electron microscopy. All strains of P. falciparum we studied induced electron-dense conical knobs, measuring 30–40 nm in height and 90–100 nm in diameter on erythrocyte membranes. Freeze-fracture demonstrated that the knobs were distributed over the membrane of both human and Aotus erythrocytes. A distinct difference was seen between the intramembrane particle (IMP) distribution over the knobs of human and Aotus erythrocyte membranes. There was no change in IMP distribution in infected human erythrocyte membranes, but infected Aotus erythrocytes showed an aggregation of IMP over the P face of the knobs with a clear zone at the base. This difference in IMP distribution was related only to the host species and not to parasite strains. Biochemical analysis demonstrated that a higher proportion of band 3 was bound to the cytoskeleton of uninfected Aotus erythrocytes than uninfected human erythrocytes after Triton X-100 extraction. This may account for the different effects of P. falciparum infection on IMP distribution in the two different cell types.     

Calyptospora empristica n. sp. (Eimeriorina: Calyptosporidae) from the Liver of the Starhead Topminnow,Fundulus notti1

Oocysts of Calyptospora empristica n. sp., the second described species in its genus, are described from the freshwater starhead topminnow, Fundulus notti, in southern Mississippi. Oocysts are 22 μm in diameter with a wall about 20 nm thick and have no residuum, micropyle, or polar granule. Sporocysts are spheroid, 9 × 5 μm with a two-layered wall approximately 120 nm thick. They have an oblong apical opening at the anterior pole, a single ornamented sporopodium approximately 5.7 μm long at the posterior pole, and a residuum. An intermediate host, most likely the freshwater grass shrimp Palaemonetes kadiakensis, is probably required to complete the life cycle.     

Habitat preferences of small mammals in tropical open-forest of the Northern Territory

Pattern analysis was used to investigate the habitat preferences of five small mammal species in tropical open-forest of the Northern Territory. Fifty-one sites were classified by faunal abundance and the groups examined for significant differences in vegetation structural attributes and plant species in both dry and wet seasons. The omnivore Isoodon macrourus showed strong association with floristic and vegetation structural attributes only in the dry season, when areas with a dense understorey of small trees and shrubs and a high percentage of leaf litter cover were favoured. Of the two primarily carnivorous species, Antechinus bellus was related strongly with floristic and structural attributes in both seasons and showed a consistent preference for areas with relatively dense low-level foliage (< 2m). By contrast, Dasyurus hallucatus was associated more with the structurally simple open-forest types. Of the two mainly herbivorous species Mesembdomys gouldii showed associations only withfioristics in both seasons, while the habitat relationships of Trichosurus arnhemensis were very weak due to its low abundance in the study area. The number and strength of animal/habitat relationships were greatest in the dry season. Forest types with dense mid-level foliage and abundant hollow logs and leaf litter had the greatest mammal richness and abundance; these areas may be critical to the survival of local mammal populations. A comparison of site-groups, defined independently on the basis of fauna, floristics or structure, showed that animal groups overlapped one to six of the habitat groups. The animal's perception of s‘habitat’ may thus differ from that of humans, or that defined by measurement of habitat attributes.     

Separation of Two Forms of Anthranilate Synthetase from 5-Methyltryptophar Susceptible and -Resistant Cultured Solarium tuberosumCells

Potato cell suspension cultures (Solanum tuberosumL. cv. Merrimack) have been selected which are resistant to growth inhibition by D,L-5-methyltryptophan. Anthranilate synthetase activity in crude extracts from resistant cells was less sensitive to feedback inhibition by L-tryptophan and D,L-5-methyltryptophan than the activity from the sensitive line. This altered feedback control apparently accounts for the cell's resistance to growth inhibition since there is a 48-fold increase in free tryptophan in one of the resistant cell lines. Preparative polyacrylamide gel electro-phoresis separated feedback-sensitive and -resistant forms of anthranilate synthetase in extracts from both 5-methyltryptophan-susceptible and -resistant cells, with a predominance of the corresponding form in the respective cell type. The anthranilate synthetase activity from the 5-methyltryptophan-resistant line was inactivated more slowly by incubation of crude extracts at 50°C than the activity from the sensitive line. These results suggest the presence of two isoenzymes of anthranilate synthetase in cultured potato cells.     

Photosynthetic rates in four tropical African fresh waters

SUMMARY. Seasonal changes in photosynthetic rates of phytoplankton and underwater light in four Kenyan fresh waters (Lake Naivasha, Crescent Island Crater, Oloidien Lake and Winam Gulf) were measured in 1973 and 1974. Daily variations in water temperature were only slightly less than seasonal changes, and complete vertical mixing usually occurred each day. Well oxygenated water from top to bottom provided evidence for daily mixing. The vertical profiles of photosynthetic rates in the four lakes had the familiar feature of subsurface maxima. Of the photosynthetically available radiation (PAR), 1% coincided with the limit of detection of photosynthesis in Naivasha and Crescent Island Crater. The PAR at the depth of the maximal photosynthetic rate was higher for Naivasha (mean= 1.71 einsteins (E) m^?2) than for the Oloidien and Crescent Island Crater (means = 1.23 and 1.20 E m^?2 h^?1, respectively). The maximal rates of photosynthesis (mg O2 m^?3 h^?1) were usually higher in Oloidien (260–750) and Winam Gulf (230–640) than in Naivasha (150–240) and were least in Crescent Island Crater (50–180). Chlorophyll-a concentrations were directly related to photosynthetic rates. Because of the inverse relation between euphotic zone depth and maximal photosynthetic rates, the areal rates varied less among the lakes than the volumetric rates (i.e. 3.0–12.1 g O2 m^?2 day^?1). The efficiency of utilization of PAR expressed on a molar basis ranged from 6.1 to 1.9 mmol O₂ E^?1, but was usually 2–4 mmol O₂ E^?1. The seasonal changes over a 12-month period in the areal photosynthetic rates ranged from a 3-fold variation in Oloidien and Crescent Island Crater to a 1.5-fold variation in Naivasha. In Winam Gulf over a 5-month period a 2.3-fold variation occurred.