Cryptic freshwater amoeba species in the bottom sediments of Nivå Bay (Øresund, Baltic Sea)

An aquarium containing a portion of freshly collected brackish-water sediment from Nivå Bay (Øresund, Baltic Sea) was sampled to determine the species of amoebae present and refilled with inorganic salt medium to achieve freshwater salinity. After 2 months incubation, the diversity of amoebae was again studied, and the salinity was restored to the original level. The aquarium was incubated for a further 2 months and the amoeba fauna was studied for the last time. A number of freshwater species appeared in the sample after the first salinity shift, while some marine species disappeared. Most marine species did not re-appear after the salinity in the aquarium was restored, but one marine species not noted previously was recorded. The experiment illustrates the presence of ‘cryptic diversity’ of amoebae in natural habitats and demonstrates that laboratory manipulation of the salinity of a sample prior to inoculation may achieve an increased recovery of species from a brackish-water habitat.     

Mortality Caused by Bath Exposure of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Larvae to Nervous Necrosis Virus Is Limited to the Fourth Day Postfertilization

Nervous necrosis virus (NNV) is a member of the Betanodavirus genus that causes fatal diseases in over 40 species of fish worldwide. Mortality among NNV-infected fish larvae is almost 100%. In order to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the susceptibility of fish larvae to NNV, we exposed zebrafish larvae to NNV by bath immersion at 2, 4, 6, and 8 days postfertilization (dpf). Here, we demonstrate that developing zebrafish embryos are resistant to NNV at 2 dpf due to the protection afforded by the egg chorion and, to a lesser extent, by the perivitelline fluid. The zebrafish larvae succumbed to NNV infection during a narrow time window around the 4th dpf, while 6- and 8-day-old larvae were much less sensitive, with mortalities of 24% and 28%, respectively.     

The effect of the coded amino acids on meso- and ectodermal tissue development in organotypic culture

The effect of L-amino acids was investigated in organotypic tissue culture ofmesodermal tissue (spleen, myocardium) and ectodermal tissue (brain cortex) in mature rats. The low hydrophobic amino acids: asparagine, hystidine, serine, lysine, arginine and glutamine acid, induced the proliferation stimulation. The high hydrophobic amino acids had both the apoptose effect (spleen) and no effect at all (myocardium). The proliferation stimulation occurred in the ectodermal tissue under the effect of the high hydrophobic amino acids (asparagines acid, valine, threonine, methionine, leucine, isoleucine), whereas the low hydrophobic amino acids had no effect on the nervous tissue development. The combination of two amino acids one of which stimulated and another one inhibited the explant growth zone (or was not active in myocardium) lead to an increase of the stimulatory effect in meso- and ectodermal tissue. The amino acid modulated properties can be taken in consideration in synthesis of new regulatory peptides.     

Comparative estimation of the EGFP effects on the development of embryos obtained by reciprocal crossing of C57BL/6-Tgn(ACTbEGFP)1Osb/J and C57BL/6 mice

The effect of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) on the in vitro viability of early embryos of C57BL/6-Tgn(ACTbEGFP)1Osb/J mice has been studied. The number of viable ova in hemizygous females (−/egfp) has been shown to decrease. Irrespective of the EGFP level, it has no deleterious effect on the early development of embryos obtained by reciprocal crossing of hemizygous (−/egfp) and wild-type (−/−) mice.     

DNA or RNA oligonucleotide 2'-hydrazides for chemoselective click-type ligation with carbonyl compounds

An efficient method for the synthesis of DNA or RNA oligonucleotide 2'-hydrazides is described. Fully deprotected oligonucleotides containing a hydrazide group at the 2'-position of a uridine residue were obtained by a novel two-step procedure: periodate cleavage of an oligonucleotide with 1,2-diol group followed by conversion of the aldehyde to hydrazide with an extended linker arm using a homobifunctional reagent succinic dihydrazide and NaBH(3)CN. The resulting oligonucleotide 2'-hydrazides were efficiently conjugated by a click-type reaction at acidic pH to aliphatic or aromatic aldehydes with or without NaBH(3)CN reduction to afford novel 2'-conjugates.     

Biocenotic characteristics of some Yucatan lentic water bodies based on invertebrate remains in sediments

The Yucatan Peninsula is a karstic environment with almost no permanent surface water flows. All freshwater lentic systems here are supported by underground water. We examined sediments, obtained with an Eckman dredge, from 25 different types of water bodies (sinkholes or cenotes, lagoons, and wetlands), to investigate their biocenotic characteristics. All systems showed differences in their zoocenoses, ostracods being the dominant group in most. Cladocera were scarce in the sediments, represented by only eight genera. It can be partially related to the near absence of a littoral zone in cenotes, due to vertical walls, and the lack of submersed vegetation. In spite of their importance, relatively little work has been done on ostracods from this region of the world.     

Dynamics of replication foci in early S phase as visualized by cross-correlation function

To monitor gradual changes in the replication foci distribution during early S phase, different segments of newly synthesized DNA were visualized by immunocytochemical mapping of two consecutively incorporated deoxythymidine analogs in pulse-chase-pulse experiments in HeLa cells. The resulting dual-labeled fluorescence images were evaluated using cross-correlation function (CCF) analysis. General changes of CCF shape due to image deterioration caused by blur, noise, and lateral sampling (pixel size) were also discussed. Using CCF analysis of model images simulating either random initiation of new replication foci, or the firing of new foci in close proximity to completed ones, we were able to ascribe the changes in the early S replication foci distribution to the latter mechanism. In contrast to the data published previously, we monitored the dynamics of all replication foci for up to 3 h. In addition, we showed that the replication foci dynamics is well described by random walk model, so that the average de-localization of individual foci is proportional to square root of the applied chase.     

The new higher level classification of eukaryotes with emphasis on the taxonomy of protists

This revision of the classification of unicellular eukaryotes updates that of Levine et al. (1980) for the protozoa and expands it to include other protists. Whereas the previous revision was primarily to incorporate the results of ultrastructural studies, this revision incorporates results from both ultrastructural research since 1980 and molecular phylogenetic studies. We propose a scheme that is based on nameless ranked systematics. The vocabulary of the taxonomy is updated, particularly to clarify the naming of groups that have been repositioned. We recognize six clusters of eukaryotes that may represent the basic groupings similar to traditional "kingdoms." The multicellular lineages emerged from within monophyletic protist lineages: animals and fungi from Opisthokonta, plants from Archaeplastida, and brown algae from Stramenopiles.