The largescaled terapon Terapon theraps: a new Indo‐Pacific fish in the Mediterranean Sea

A specimen of the largescaled terapon Terapon theraps was recorded for the first time from the Mediterranean Sea. The finding of T. theraps in the northernmost part of the Mediterranean Sea raises the number of Lessepsian migrant species to at least 68 and in the Adriatic Sea to at least 11.     

DNA-based confirmation that the parasitic wasp <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cotesia glomerata</Emphasis> (Braconidae,Hymenoptera) is a new threat to endemic butterflies of the Canary Islands

Island-endemic species can be particularly vulnerable to alien invasion. There are many examples of introduced insect parasitoids having a serious impact on endemic butterflies and moths. In 2006, a population of parasitic wasps was reared from larvae of the Canary Island Large White butterfly (Pieris cheiranthi), an endemic inhabitant of laurel forests unique to the Canary Islands of Macaronesia. Parasitoids were tentatively identified as Cotesia glomerata (Braconidae, Hymenoptera), a widely introduced agricultural bioagent. To corroborate this finding we sequenced 632 bp of mitochondrial cox1 from parasitoids and hosts from La Palma and from the native range of C. glomerata in continental Europe. These were combined with GenBank sequences and a character-based, phylogenetic approach was used to assess the species status of parasites and hosts. The La Palma parasitoid could unambiguously be assigned to C. glomerata under the criterion of diagnosibility with corroboration from multiple lines of evidence (DNA, morphology). We suggest that this opportunistic, non-native parasitoid wasp will be a threat to P. cheiranthi and other endemic Canarian butterflies. Parasitoid populations were recorded from P. cheiranthi in marginal forest habitats but not in central forest areas, suggesting that comprehensive habitat conservation of the Canarian laurel forests could prevent penetration of the alien parasitoid wasps and subsequent mortality of endemic butterfly populations.     

Hypertext atlas of fetal and neonatal pathology

Hypertext atlas of fetal and neonatal pathology is a free resource for pregraduate students of medicine, pathologists and other health professionals dealing with prenatal medicine. The atlas can be found at http://www.muni.cz/atlases. The access is restricted to registered users. Concise texts summarize the gross and microscopic pathology, etiology, and clinical signs of both common and rare fetal and neonatal conditions. The texts are illustrated with over 300 images that are accompanied by short comments. The atlas offers histological pictures of high quality. Virtual microscope interface is used to access the high-resolution histological images. Fetal ultrasound video clips are included. Case studies integrate clinical history, prenatal ultrasonographic examination, gross pathology and histological features. The atlas is available in English (and Czech) and equipped with an active index. The atlas is suitable both for medical students and pathologists as a teaching and reference tool. The atlas is going to be further expanded while keeping the high quality of the images.     

Heavy metal accumulation of Danube river aquatic plants — indication of chemical contamination

In this paper, the ecological status of a section of the Danube River flowing through Serbia from Bezdan to Djerdap was evalutated. Using the chemical composition of water, sediment samples from the littoral zone and dominant aquatic macrophytes, the level of chemical pollution was ascertained. Chemical analyses of the water and sediment indicated that the tributaries flowing into the Danube significantly influenced the chemical load of the water and as a direct consequence, the sediment. The concentration of heavy metals including Cu, Mn and Cd found in plants of the Potamogeton genus, further indicated significant chemical pollution, establishing a clear link between the chemical composition of plant tissues and the chemical composition of water and sediment. This paper therefore describes how the chemical composition of aquatic plants can be used as a reliable indicator for heavy metal pollution of aquatic ecosystems.     

The role of topolins in micropropagation and somaclonal variation of banana cultivars ‘Williams’ and ‘Grand Naine’ (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Musa</Emphasis> spp. AAA)

The effect of the cytokinins mT (meta-topolin), mTR (meta-topolin riboside), MemT (meta-methoxy topolin) and MemTR (meta-methoxy topolin riboside) on micropropagation of banana cultivars ‘Williams’ and ‘Grand Naine’ was studied and compared to BA (6-benzylaminopurine). In vitro cultures, at the third sub-culture level, were purchased from African Biotechnologies (Pty) Ltd., South Africa. These were then sub-cultured on MS media containing 7.5, 15 and 30 μM of all the cytokinins tested. Results recorded after 6 weeks of growth demonstrated that there were statistically significant differences between the parameters analyzed for the treatments. Superior multiplication rates were recorded for mT and mTR treatments. This result was consistent when compared to BA at 22.2 μM (previously published standard concentration). Contrary to previous findings with other species, these cytokinins inhibited rooting. The effect on somaclonal variation was not significantly different when BA, mT and mTR were tested at the seventh multiplication cycle for ‘Williams’ banana. These results support the possible use of topolins as an alternative to BA for Cavendish banana tissue culture. The role of these cytokinins on somaclonal variation however, requires a more stringent investigation as the results obtained in this investigation could have been influenced by carry-over effects from the initial cultures.     

New microscope produced by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lambda Praha Co.</Emphasis> applicable to field studies of microorganisms

A new microscope produced by the company Lambda Praha, applicable to field studies, was used for the observation of biofilms growing on stones and rocks of the Red Sea beach at Sharm El Sheikh resort in Egypt. The microscope was equipped with a novel LED illumination system, independent of sunlight as the light source, and an attachable mechanical stage making possible a precise and systematic observation of the preparation. Using this device, black biofilms of cyanobacteria and green biofilms of algae were studied; characteristic sheaths protecting the cells against the intense sunlight were found in cyanobacteria belonging to the genus Lyngbya. Trichomes on phylloids consisting of 3 to 4 cells were observed in algae belonging to the genus Padina, whose nuclei were degraded as a result of apoptosis, which is in contrast to the species Padina pavonia containing visible nuclear residues observed on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea near Lastovo island in Croatia in 2007.     

Benzyladenine-induced inhibition of flowering in Chenopodium rubrum in vitro is not related to the levels of isoprenoid cytokinins

The effect of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) on floweringand on endogenous levels of isoprenoid cytokinins wasinvestigated in explanted terminal shoots of Chenopodium rubrum cultivated in vitro. Themother plants were grown under continuous light andexplants were cut off when the 6th leaf primordiumoriginated at the shoot apex. The explants wereexposed to one dark period of 13 hours inductive forflowering or to continuous light on medium with orwithout BAP (0.05;0.2;0.4 mg.l^-1). Undernon-inductive conditions no flowering was observedeither in the control or after BAP treatment. Afterreceiving one inductive dark period, the controlexplants flowered. However, BAP application either atthe beginning of the inductive dark period and/orduring the following light cultivation inhibitedflowering and stimulated initiation and growth of leafprimordia. In the case of the most efficient BAPconcentration (0.05 mg.l^-1) flowering wasinhibited by 80% and the number of leaf primordia wasincreased by 3. Explantation caused a significantincrease in the total amount of endogenous cytokininsin the explants within first 13 h, provided they werekept in light. When explants were kept in darkness,only a slight increase in cytokinin levels wasobserved. BAP treatment had no influence on the levelsof endogenous cytokinins either in light or indarkness. We may thus conclude, that BAP applicationinhibited flowering of photoperiodically inducedterminal shoot explants and stimulated leaf primordiaformation with no significant effect on changes inlevels of endogenous isoprenoid cytokinins. This maysuggest the direct ability of BAP to regulate morphogenesis.     

Involvement of auxin and cytokinins in initiation of growth of isolated pea buds

Axillary buds from the second primary scale excised from 21-day-old pea(Pisum sativum L. cv. Vladan) plants were used as a modelsystem for studying the release of buds from apical dominance. The isolatedbudswere transferred onto basal medium with or without a supplement of growthregulators and cultivated up to 24 h in short-term and up to 4weeks in long-term experiments. In both sets of experiments endogenous IAA,cytokinins and the uptake of labelled zeatin were analysed. The development ofbuds was monitored by image analysis, estimation of their weight, and byanatomical studies. Generative meristems were found in isolated axillary budsalready in 21-day-old plants at the beginning of the experimental period. Theonset of bud growth was recorded as soon as 2 h after the budexcision by image analysis. The bud growth was accompanied by a rapid transientincrease of the endogenous IAA level within the first 2 h,followedby an increase of iPA within 24 h. The uptake of the exogenouscytokinin ([³H]Z) reached its peak between the 6 and 8hafter the release from apical dominance. The cytokinin analyses of bothshort-term and long-term bud cultures revealed the increase of free cytokininsand their glucosides, indicating de novo synthesis ofcytokinins in the buds themselves.     

Self Organized Terminode Routing

We consider the problem of routing in a wide area mobile ad hoc network called Terminode Network. Routing in this network is designed with the following objectives. First, it should scale well in terms of the number of nodes and geographical coverage; second, routing should have scalable mechanisms that cope with the dynamicity in the network due to mobility; and third, nodes need to be highly collaborative and redundant, but, most of all, cannot use complex algorithms or protocols. Our routing scheme is a combination of two protocols called Terminode Local Routing (TLR) and Terminode Remote Routing (TRR). TLR is used to route packets to close destinations. TRR is used to route to remote destinations. The combination of TLR and TRR has the following features: (1) it is highly scalable because every node relies only on itself and a small number of other nodes for packet forwarding; (2) it acts and reacts well to the dynamicity of the network because as a rule multipath routing is considered; and (3) it can be implemented and run in very simple devices because the algorithms and protocols are very simple and based on high collaboration. We performed simulations of the TLR and TRR protocols using the GloMoSim simulator. The simulation results for a large, highly mobile ad hoc environment demonstrate benefits of the combination of TLR and TRR over an existing protocol that uses geographical information for packet forwarding.