Population and community-level compositional patterns shape the realized niche of the rare arctic-alpine species Carex lachenalii Schkuhr

The ability for vegetative growth and development of generative organs often reflects an adaptation to the environment and may be a suitable proxy for understanding population dynamics of rare relict species. An example of such a plant is Carex lachenalii Schkuhr, an arctic-alpine species, in the temperate zone of Europe only occurring in isolated localities of high-elevation mountain ranges. We aimed to assess whether there were relationships between flower production and clonal growth of C. lachenalii, both at the tuft and plot level, and how co-occurring vegetation could modify this relationship. In the study we focused on population-level traits of C. lachenalii, vegetation traits and components of functional diversity. At the tuft level we found that the proportion of flowering ramets of C. lachenalii decreased with increasing diameter of the tuft. At the plot level, in snowbed vegetation C. lachenalii produced more flowering ramets. We suggest this is due to higher environmental stress, expressed by high importance of habitat filtering (low functional dispersion) in shaping species composition of co-occurring vegetation. In granite grasslands and milder environment (expressed by higher functional dispersion), C. lachenalii produced more vegetative ramets, which we suggest is a result of a more competitive environment. While in snowbeds investment in flowering ramets could promote successful persistence of C. lachenalii, survival of subpopulations occurring in the highly competitive conditions of granite grasslands may be uncertain due to potentially weak adaptation to competition with graminoids and dwarf shrubs.     

Analysis of Bone Mineral Profile After Prolonged Every-Other-Day Feeding in C57BL/6J Male and Female Mice

Biological Trace Element Research - Intermitted fasting or every-other-day feeding (EOD) has many positive effects in rodents and humans. Our goal was to describe how EOD influences bone mineral...     

Identification of transcription factors that bind to the 5′-UTR of the barley PHO2 gene

Plant Molecular Biology - In barley and other higher plants, phosphate homeostasis is maintained by a regulatory network involving the PHO2 (PHOSPHATE2) encoding ubiquitin-conjugating...     

Effect of Cadmium on the Level of Isoprenoid-Derived Phytohormones in Duckweed Wolffia arrhiza

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Wolffia arrhiza (L.) Horkel ex Wimm. is an aquatic plant belonging to the Lemnaceae family. It does not have leaves, stems, and roots, flowers rarely occur,...     

An integrated approach to the ligand binding specificity of Neisseria meningitidis M1 alanine aminopeptidase by fluorogenic substrate profiling,inhibitory studies and molecular modeling

Neisseria meningitides is a gram-negative diplococcus bacterium and is the main causative agent of meningitis and other meningococcal diseases. Alanine aminopeptidase from N. meningitides (NmAPN) belongs to the family of metallo-exopeptidase enzymes, which catalyze the removal of amino acids from the N-terminus of peptides and proteins, and are found among all the kingdoms of life. NmAPN is suggested to be mostly responsible for proteolysis and nutrition delivery, similar to the orthologs from other bacteria.     

Heterogeneity of 11q13 region rearrangements in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma analyzed by microarray platforms and fluorescence in situ hybridization

We reinvestigated rearrangements occurring in region q13 of chromosome 11 aiming to: (i) describe heterogeneity of the observed structural alterations, (ii) estimate amplicon size and (iii) identify of oncogenes involved in laryngeal cancer progression as potential targets for therapy. The study included 17 cell lines derived from laryngeal cancers and 34 specimens from primary laryngeal tumors. The region 11q13 was analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and gene expression microarray. Next, quantitative real time PCR was used for chosen genes to confirm results from aCGH and gene expression microarray. The observed pattern of aberrations allows to distinguish three ways, in which gain and amplification involving 11q13 region may occur: formation of a homogeneously staining region; breakpoints in/near 11q13, which lead to the three to sevenfold increase of the copy number of 11q13 region; the presence of additional copies of the whole chromosome 11. The minimal altered region of gain and/or amplification was limited to ~1.8 Mb (chr.11:69,395,184–71,209,568) and comprised mostly 11q13.3 band which contain 12 genes. Five, out of these genes (CCND1, ORAOV1, FADD, PPFIA1, CTTN) had higher expression levels in comparison to healthy controls. Apart from CCND1 gene, which has an established role in pathogenesis of head and neck cancers, CTTN, ORAOV1 and FADD genes appear to be oncogene-candidates in laryngeal cancers, while a function of PPFIA1 requires further studies.     

The larval morphology of Arrenurus nobilis Neuman, 1880 and A. robustus Koenike, 1894 (Acari: Parasitengona: Arrenuridae)

The morphology of the larval stages of Arrenurus nobilis and A. robustus is described. Particular attention is given to characters that help to distinguish the two species, and to characters defining the subgenus Arrenurus s. str. The larva of A. robustus resembles the larvae of A. papillator and A. pustulator regarding the shape of dorsal plate, excretory pore plate, coxal plate median margins ratios, and the presence of the IIITa8 seta. The shape of the excretory pore plate in A. nobilis resembles the one in Arrenurus (Megaluracarus) mediorotundatus. The shape of dorsal plate and chelicerae is similar to the ones in the Megaluracarus-species A. globator and A. tubulator. The lack of the IIITa8 seta differs from other species of the subgenus Arrenurus s. str. In the pectinate Lp2 and Mh1 setae A. nobilis resembles representatives of the subgenus Arrenurus s. str. This demonstrates the necessity of verifying the taxonomic status of A. nobilis.     

Cytomegalovirus Vaccine Strain Towne-Derived Dense Bodies Induce Broad Cellular Immune Responses and Neutralizing Antibodies That Prevent Infection of Fibroblasts and Epithelial Cells

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a betaherpesvirus, can cause severe disease in immunosuppressed patients and following congenital infection. A vaccine that induces both humoral and cellular immunity may be required to prevent congenital infection. Dense bodies (DBs) are complex, noninfectious particles produced by HCMV-infected cells and may represent a vaccine option. As knowledge of the antigenicity and immunogenicity of DB is incomplete, we explored characterization methods and defined DB production methods, followed by systematic evaluation of neutralization and cell-mediated immune responses to the DB material in BALB/c mice. DBs purified from Towne-infected cultures treated with the viral terminase inhibitor 2-bromo-5,6-dichloro-1-beta-d-ribofuranosyl benzimidazole riboside (BDCRB) were characterized by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), two-dimensional fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE), immunoblotting, quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and other methods. The humoral and cellular immune responses to DBs were compared to the immunogenicity of glycoprotein B (gB) administered with the adjuvant AddaVax (gB/AddaVax). DBs induced neutralizing antibodies that prevented viral infection of cultured fibroblasts and epithelial cells and robust cell-mediated immune responses to multiple viral proteins, including pp65, gB, and UL48. In contrast, gB/AddaVax failed to induce neutralizing antibodies that prevented infection of epithelial cells, highlighting a critical difference in the humoral responses induced by these vaccine candidates. Our data advance the potential for the DB vaccine approach, demonstrate important immunogenicity properties, and strongly support the further evaluation of DBs as a CMV vaccine candidate.