Dermaseptins from Phyllomedusa oreades and Phyllomedusa distincta: liposomes fusion and/or lysis investigated by fluorescence and atomic force microscopy

Three dermaseptins, DS 01, DD K, and DD L, were compared with respect to their structural features and interactions with liposomes. Circular dichroic spectra at alcohols of different chain lengths revealed that DS 01 has the higher helicogenic potential in hydrophobic media. Binding of DS 01, DD K, and DD L to liposomes induced significant blue shifts of the emission spectra of the single tryptophan located at position 3 of all sequences indicating association of the peptides with bilayers. Kinetics evaluation of atomic force microscopy images evidenced the strong fusogenic activity of DS 01 whereas DD K and DD L showed increased lytic activities.     

Changes of gill and hemocyte-related bio-indicators during long term maintenance of the vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus held in aquaria at atmospheric pressure

The deep-sea hydrothermal vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus has been the subject of several studies aimed at understanding the physiological adaptations that vent animals have developed in order to cope with the particular physical and chemical conditions of hydrothermal environments. In spite of reports describing successful procedures to maintain vent mussels under laboratory conditions at atmospheric pressure, few studies have described the mussel's physiological state after a long period in aquaria. In the present study, we investigate changes in mucocytes and hemocytes in B. azoricus over the course of several months after deep-sea retrieval. The visualization of granules of mucopolysaccharide or glycoprotein was made possible through their inherent auto-fluorescent property and the Alcian blue-Periodic Acid Schiff staining method. The density and distribution of droplets of mucus-like granules was observed at the ventral end of lamellae during acclimatization period. The mucus-like granules were greatly reduced after 3 months and nearly absent after 6 months of aquarium conditions. Additionally, we examined the depletion of endosymbiont bacteria from gill tissues, which typically occurs within a few weeks in sea water under laboratory conditions. The physiological state of B. azoricus after 6 months of acclimatization was also examined by means of phagocytosis assays using hemocytes. Hemocytes from mussels held in aquaria up to 6 months were still capable of phagocytosis but to a lesser extent when compared to the number of ingested yeast particles per phagocytic hemocytes from freshly collected vent mussels. We suggest that the changes in gill mucopolysaccharides and hemocyte glycoproteins, the endosymbiont abundance in gill tissues and phagocytosis are useful health criteria to assess long term maintenance of B. azoricus in aquaria. Furthermore, the laboratory set up to which vent mussels were acclimatized is an applicable system to study physiological reactions such as hemocyte immunocompetence even in the absence of the high hydrostatic pressure found at deep-sea vent sites.     

Assessment of the addition of Thiobacillus denitrificans and Thiomicrospira denitrificans to chemolithoautotrophic denitrifying bioreactors

The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of adding cultures of Thiobacillus denitrificans and Thiomicrospira denitrificans to two upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactors: one inoculated with granular sludge and the other filled only with activated carbon (AC). The performances of the bioreactors and the changes in biomass were compared with a non-bioaugmented control UASB reactor inoculated with granular sludge. The reactors inoculated with granular sludge achieved efficiencies close to 90% in nitrate and thiosulfate removal for loading rates as high as 107 mmol-NO3 -/l per day and 68 mmol-S2O3 2-/l per day. Bioaugmentation with Tb. denitrificans and Tm. denitrificans did not enhance the efficiency compared to that achieved with non-bioaugmented granular sludge. The loading rates and efficiencies were 30-40% lower in the AC reactor. In all the reactors tested, Tb. denitrificans became the predominant species. The results strongly suggest that this bacterium was responsible for denitrification and sulfoxidation within the reactors. We additionally observed that granules partially lost their integrity during operation under chemolithoautotrophic conditions, suggesting limitations for long-term operation if bioaugmentation is applied in practice.     

Complete larval development of the hermit crabs Clibanarius aequabilis and Clibanarius erythropus (Decapoda: Anomura: Diogenidae), under laboratory conditions, with a revision of the larval features of genus Clibanarius

The complete larval development (four zoeae and one megalopa) of Clibanarius aequabilis and C. erythropus, reared under laboratory conditions, is described and illustrated. The larval stages of the two northeastern Atlantic Clibanarius species cannot be easily differentiated. Their morphological characters are compared with those of other known Clibanarius larvae. The genus Clibanarius is very homogeneous with respect to larval characters. All Clibanarius zoeae display a broad and blunt rostrum, smooth abdominal segments and an antennal scale without a terminal spine. Beyond the second zoeal stage, the fourth telson process is present as a fused spine, and the uropods are biramous. In the fourth larval stage all species display a mandibular palp. The Clibanarius megalopa presents weakly developed or no ocular scales, symmetrical chelipeds, apically curved corneous dactylus in the second and third pereiopods, and 5–11 setae on the posterior margin of the telson. Apart from the number of zoeal stages, Clibanarius species may be separated, beyond the second zoeal stage, by the telson formula and the morphology of the fourth telson process.     

Relationships between bacterial diversity and environmental variables in a tropical marine environment, Rio de Janeiro

This study is the first to apply a comparative analysis of environmental chemistry, microbiological parameters and bacterioplankton 16S rRNA clone libraries from different areas of a 50 km transect along a trophic gradient in the tropical Guanabara Bay ecosystem. Higher bacterial diversity was found in the coastal area, whereas lower richness was observed in the more polluted inner bay water. The significance of differences between clone libraries was examined with libshuff statistics. Paired reciprocal comparisons indicated that each of the libraries differs significantly from the others, and this is in agreement with direct interpretation of the phylogenetic tree. Furthermore, correspondence analyses showed that some taxa are related to specific abiotic, trophic and microbiological parameters in Guanabara Bay estuarine system.     

LOSITAN: A workbench to detect molecular adaptation based on a <Emphasis Type="Italic">F</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">st</Emphasis></Subscript>-outlier method

Background  

Testing for selection is becoming one of the most important steps in the analysis of multilocus population genetics data sets. Existing applications are difficult to use, leaving many non-trivial, error-prone tasks to the user.     

The androgen receptor can signal through Wnt/β-Catenin in prostate cancer cells as an adaptation mechanism to castration levels of androgens

Background  

A crucial event in Prostate Cancer progression is the conversion from a hormone-sensitive to a hormone-refractory disease state. Correlating with this transition, androgen receptor (AR) amplification and mutations are often observed in patients failing hormonal ablation therapies. β-Catenin, an essential component of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway, was shown to be a coactivator of the AR signaling in the presence of androgens. However, it is not yet clear what effect the increased levels of the AR could have on the Wnt signaling pathway in these hormone-refractory prostate cells.