In vitro propagation of red squill,Urginea maritima Baker

Red squill (Urginea maritima Baker), a plant in the Liliaceae of potential use as a rodenticide, was successfully propagated in vitro. Bulblets were induced from red squill bulb-scales cultured in the dark on a medium containing Murashige and Skoog [6] salts supplemented with a combination of 0.5 or 1.6 M naphthaleneacetic acid and 0.4 or 1.3 M 6-benzylaminopurine. Bulblets induced in vitro were rooted in medium containing 0.5 or 1.6 M naphthaleneacetic acid and planted in vermiculite. Bulb-scale explants could be returned to fresh medium regenerate new bulblets, which were easily rooted. Alternatively, bulblets could be subcultured to regenerate adventitious shoots in medium containing 4.4 or 13.2 M 6-benzylaminopurine. Shoots regenerated in this manner proved difficult to root by a number of treatments tested. Regenerated bulblets were chilled at 5C for 3 to 4 weeks to induce leaf emergence prior to transfer to the greenhouse.     

Selenium metabolism in a strain ofFusarium

Fusarium sp. was isolated from Sinai soil at Egypt. It showed tendency to tolerate high concentrations of selenium in the form of sodium selenite up to 3.5% (w/v). The microscopic examination revealed some morphological distortions. However, the fungus was capable to circumvent the toxic effect of selenium. The fungus possesses strong reducing ability as high quantities of elemental selenium were precipitated within the fungal cells as well as on the surface of the fungal hyphae and spores. The presence of selenium increased the cellular contents of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. Labeling studies indicate the incorporation of selenite into certain amino acids: selenocysteine and selenocysteic acid. Moreover, the presence of selenium induced the biosynthesis of several types of low molecular weight proteins. The results demonstrated different modes of detoxification of selenium toxicity.     

Influence of cadmium on certain biological activities in a cadmium-tolerant fungi

Aspergillus carbonarius and a strain ofPenicillium are able to grow on Harrold's agar media amended with different concentrations of cadmium chloride up to 2.5% (w/v). Considerable quantities of cadmium were absorbed by both fungi.A. carbonarius absorbed more cadmium than thePenicillium sp. did, under the same culturing conditions. In the presence of cadmium, the determined cellular contents of proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates were extraordinary high, whereas the activities of certain enzymes, lipases, amylases, and proteases were inhibited. The fungal rate of growth and sporulations were mostly suppressed. Conidiations were inhibited at lowest concentrations. At 1% Cd Cl₂,A. carbonarius produced malformed conidiophores, whereas thePenicillium sp. was less affected. At higher concentrations conidiophores production were entirely suppressed and several hyphal swellings were produced.     

Comments on The Failure of Intensive Self-Regulatory Treatment with Chronic Daily Headache

Nonpharmacological therapy of primary headache conditions including chronic daily headache (CDH) is not well-studied. Barton and Blanchard report on their experience with intensive self-regulatory treatment in a cohort of patients with CDH. This negative trial provides preliminary observations that need further investigations in controlled, adequately powered clinical study.     

An NMR- and MS-based metabonomic investigation of saliva metabolic changes in feline odontoclastic resorptive lesions (FORL)-diseased cats

The feline odontoclastic resorptive lesion (FORL) is a common oral problem in cats. The disease has increased steadily since the domestication of cats and etiology of this disease has not been fully determined although several theories have been proposed. Feeding practices, vaccination, and neutering programs have all been suspected to be associated with FORL. The aim of the current study is to assess the feasibility of metabonomics to detect at an early stage the onset of the disease. The diagnostic biomarkers could then be used as “efficacy markers” for nutritional intervention in preventing and/or slowing the progression of FORL. ¹H-NMR- and LC/MS-based metabonomic analysis of saliva samples obtained from a group of 21 cats (11 healthy and 10 FORL diseased) showed clear differences in the metabolic composition of saliva from healthy and FORL-diseased cats. To identify biomarkers, the spectroscopic data was processed using partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and validated by leave-one-subject-out cross validation. The PLS-DA model predicted FORL- diseased cats with over 60% accuracy. The maximum value of Q² of the random permutation sets was less than 0.3. The diseased cats showed increased levels of many organic and amino acids, such as acetate, lactate, propionate, isovalerate, tryptamine, and phenylalanine suggesting changes in oral microflora in the disease situation. This study is preliminary and a larger study with more samples to further validate the biomarker profile predictive of an early FORL pathophysiological status is in progress.     

Divergence across diet,time and populations rules out parallel evolution in the gut microbiomes of Trinidadian guppies

Diverse microbial consortia profoundly influence animal biology, necessitating an understanding of microbiome variation in studies of animal adaptation. Yet, little is known about such variability among fish, in spite of their importance in aquatic ecosystems. The Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata, is an intriguing candidate to test microbiome-related hypotheses on the drivers and consequences of animal adaptation, given the recent parallel origins of a similar ecotype across streams. To assess the relationships between the microbiome and host adaptation, we used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to characterize gut bacteria of two guppy ecotypes with known divergence in diet, life history, physiology and morphology collected from low-predation (LP) and high-predation (HP) habitats in four Trinidadian streams. Guts were populated by several recurring, core bacteria that are related to other fish associates and rarely detected in the environment. Although gut communities of lab-reared guppies differed from those in the wild, microbiome divergence between ecotypes from the same stream was evident under identical rearing conditions, suggesting host genetic divergence can affect associations with gut bacteria. In the field, gut communities varied over time, across streams and between ecotypes in a stream-specific manner. This latter finding, along with PICRUSt predictions of metagenome function, argues against strong parallelism of the gut microbiome in association with LP ecotype evolution. Thus, bacteria cannot be invoked in facilitating the heightened reliance of LP guppies on lower-quality diets. We argue that the macroevolutionary microbiome convergence seen across animals with similar diets may be a signature of secondary microbial shifts arising some time after host-driven adaptation.     

CD45(low)c-Kit(high) cells have hematopoietic properties in the mouse aorta-gonad-mesonephros region

Long-term reconstituting hematopoietic stem cells first arise from the aorta of the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region in a mouse embryo. We have previously reported that in cultures of the dispersed AGM region, CD45(low)c-Kit(+) cells possess the ability to reconstitute multilineage hematopoietic cells, but investigations are needed to show that this is not a cultured artifact and to clarify when and how this population is present. Based on the expression profile of CD45 and c-Kit in freshly dissociated AGM cells from embryonic day 9.5 (E9.5) to E12.5 and aorta cells in the AGM from E13.5 to E15.5, we defined six cell populations (CD45(-)c-Kit(-), CD45(-)c-Kit(low), CD45(-)c-Kit(high), CD45(low)c-Kit(high), CD45(high)c-Kit(high), and CD45(high)c-Kit(very low)). Among these six populations, CD45(low)c-Kit(high) cells were most able to form hematopoietic cell colonies, but their ability decreased after E11.5 and was undetectable at E13.5 and later. The CD45(low)c-Kit(high) cells showed multipotency in vitro. We demonstrated further enrichment of hematopoietic activity in the Hoechst dye-effluxing side population among the CD45(low)c-Kit(high) cells. Here, we determined that CD45(low)c-Kit(high) cells arise from the lateral plate mesoderm using embryonic stem cell-derived differentiation system. In conclusion, CD45(low)c-Kit(high) cells are the major hematopoietic cells of mouse AGM.     

Gabapentin's minimal action on markers of rat brain arachidonic acid metabolism agrees with its inefficacy against bipolar disorder

In rats, FDA-approved mood stabilizers used for treating bipolar disorder (BD) selectively downregulate brain markers of the arachidonic acid (AA) cascade, which are upregulated in postmortem BD brain. Phase III clinical trials show that the anticonvulsant gabapentin (GBP) is ineffective in treating BD. We hypothesized that GBP would not alter the rat brain AA cascade. Chronic GBP (10mg/kg body weight, injected i.p. for 30 days) compared to saline vehicle did not significantly alter brain expression or activity of AA-selective cytosolic phospholipase A(2) (cPLA(2)) IVA or secretory (s)PLA(2) IIA, activity of cyclooxygenase-2, or prostaglandin E(2) or thromboxane B(2) concentrations. Plasma esterified and unesterified AA concentration was unaffected. These results, taken with evidence of an upregulated AA cascade in the BD brain and that approved mood stabilizers downregulate the rat brain AA cascade, support the hypothesis that effective anti-BD drugs act by targeting the brain AA cascade whereas ineffective drugs (such as GBP) do not target this pathway, and suggest that the rat model might be used for screening new anti-BD drugs.