A limited survey of aflatoxins and fumonisins in retail maizebased products in the UK using immunoassay detection

A total of 27 maize-based products destined for human consumption were collected from retail outlets within the city of Glasgow in the UK and were analysed for the presence of aflatoxins using immunoaftinity column chromatography with fluorescence detection and for fumonisins by competitive ELISA. Aflatoxins were detected at a trace level below 4 in eight (30%) of the 27 samples tested, no sample contained aflatoxins at a high level although one sample of sweetcorn did contain aflatoxins at a level of 5-10 Fumonisins were detected in eight (30%) of the samples at levels from 1 to 8mgkg^-1 and a further eight samples contained fumonisin at a level below 1 mgkg^-1 but above the detectable level. The highest concentration of fumonisins was found in a sample of fine corn meal at 8-12mgkg^-1.     

Partial protein domains: evolutionary insights and bioinformatics challenges

Protein domains are generally thought to correspond to units of evolution. New research raises questions about how such domains are defined with bioinformatics tools and sheds light on how evolution has enabled partial domains to be viable.With the rapid expansion in the number of determined protein sequences - over 92 million in UniProt in March 2015 - an ever-increasing number of biologists are using bioinformatics tools for annotation of these sequences. One widely used strategy is to identify occurrences of Pfam families within the sequence of interest [1]. A Pfam family is a multiple sequence alignment of the occurrences of a particular domain both in different species and in different regions of the same protein. The concept underpinning Pfam is that proteins typically comprise one or more domains (regions), each of which is an evolutionary unit that generally has a well-defined biological function. A significant sequence similarity between a query protein and a Pfam family provides the basis for annotations. Two recent articles [2,3] in Genome Biology evaluate the implications of having the query sequence only matching part of a Pfam family, which is an intriguing finding, given that a Pfam family is considered to be an evolutionary unit.     

One Beringian genus less: A re‐assesment of Pacifimyxas Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1985 (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Lymnaeidae) questions the current estimates of Beringian biodiversity

The taxonomic position of three nominal species of lymnaeid snails placed by Kruglov & Starobogatov (1993) into the subgenus Lymnaea (Pacifimyxas) Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1985, has been re‐assessed based on a molecular genetic study of topotypic specimens and an examination of the type series and other materials available. It has been shown that the two species, Lymnaea (Pacifimyxas) magadanensis Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1985 and Lymnaea (Pacifimyxas) streletzkajae Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1985, are identical with the species Kamtschaticana kamtschatica (Middendorff, 1850) and must be treated as its junior synonyms. Hence, Pacifimyxas becomes a junior synonym of Kamtschaticana Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1984. The taxonomic identity of the third species of Pacifimyxas, Lymnaea (Pacifimyxas) perpolita, remains obscure, and this species is considered here as taxon inquirendum. Two other nominal species, Lymnaea aberrans (Westerlund, 1897) and Lymnaea middendorffi (W. Dybowski, 1904), have been synonymized with K. kamtschatica based on morphological and geographical evidence. The lectotype of Limnaea peregra var. middendorffi is designated. The actual level of species richness in the Beringian freshwater malacofauna may be 20–25% lower than it was determined on the basis of the traditional system. Some implications of this outcome for the biogeography of the Beringian freshwater fauna are discussed.     

The evolutionary emergence of stochastic phenotype switching in bacteria

Stochastic phenotype switching - or bet hedging - is a pervasive feature of living systems and common in bacteria that experience fluctuating (unpredictable) environmental conditions. Under such conditions, the capacity to generate variable offspring spreads the risk of being maladapted in the present environment, against offspring likely to have some chance of survival in the future. While a rich subject for theoretical studies, little is known about the selective causes responsible for the evolutionary emergence of stochastic phenotype switching. Here we review recent work - both theoretical and experimental - that sheds light on ecological factors that favour switching types over non-switching types. Of particular relevance is an experiment that provided evidence for an adaptive origin of stochastic phenotype switching by subjecting bacterial populations to a selective regime that mimicked essential features of the host immune response. Central to the emergence of switching types was frequent imposition of 'exclusion rules' and 'population bottlenecks' - two complementary faces of frequency dependent selection. While features of the immune response, exclusion rules and bottlenecks are likely to operate in many natural environments. Together these factors define a set of selective conditions relevant to the evolution of stochastic switching, including antigenic variation and bacterial persistence.     

Scats and den contents as indicators of the diet of stoats (Mustela erminea) in the Tasman Valley,South Canterbury,New Zealand

Stoats are significant predators of native fauna in New Zealand. They occur in many habitat types and consume a wide range of prey. The diet of stoats in the Tasman River, South Canterbury, was studied by analysis of scats and den contents. Analysis of 206 scats showed that stoats ate mainly lagomorphs, birds and invertebrates. Minor components included mice, lizards, fish and hedgehogs. Stoats ate more birds in spring than in autumn, and female stoats ate more invertebrates than did males. The contents of 219 dens collected in the same area at the same time provided further information. Birds and lagomorphs occurred at high frequency in dens, and other components were minor. Remains in dens were larger than in scats and allowed identification of many more prey items to species level. Den contents revealed a potentially substantial impact of stoats on threatened shorebirds locally; this impact was not detected by analysis of scats.     

Gene cloning, comparative analysis of the protein structures from Fsp4HI restriction-modification system and biochemical characterization of the recombinant DNA methyltransferase

Genes coding for the restriction-modification system Fsp4HI, recognizing the sequence 5'-GCNGC-3' have been cloned in Escherichia coli ER2267 cells and its primary structure has been determined. This RM system consists of two genes: the DNA-methyltransferase gene which is followed by the restriction endonuclease gene in the same direction. The analysis of amino acid sequences of the proteins showed that M.Fsp4HI belongs to C5 DNA-methyltransferases, and the restriction enzyme shares more or less significant homology to just a few restriction endonucleases with related recognition sequences. M.Fsp4HI enzyme was purified by means of column chromatography. According to the results of biochemical study it was considered that M.Fsp4HI has its optimal activity at 30 degree C and pH 7.5. M.Fsp4HI modifies the first cytosine residue in the sequence 5'-GCNGC-3'.     

Health state,emotional intelligence,and behavior strategy: I. The development of emotional intelligence and the variability of behavior strategies in older preschool children with different levels of habitual physical activity

On the basis of the concept of the typological variability of human physiological individuality, we have determined the systemic correlation between the indicators of cognitive activity and the parameters and development of emotional intelligence (EI) and the formation of typical behavior strategies in older preschool children of three functional types (FT-1, FT-2, and FT-3), including subjects with low (LHPA), medium (MHPA), and high (HHPA) levels of habitual physical activity. We revealed the EI features typical of each functional group of children and observed a strong negative correlation between the indicator of HPA and the total EI score. The typical manifestation of EI is closely related to other psychological parameters of cognitive and emotional–volitional activity (logical and imaginative thinking, state anxiety, and attention), which allowed us to establish the constitutional features of the behavior strategy on the basis of the integrated assessment of all the obtained data. In different conflict situations, children with HHPA (FT-3) made decisions more rapidly and by themselves; their decisions were active and aimed at achieving a specific goal on the basis of domination (individual problem solving). In contrast, children with LHPA (FT-1) solved the problems on the basis of the emotional state of other people and preferred to explain the situation to their parents or educators and ask for help (cooperative problem solving). Up to 10% of children with LHPA preferred not to solve the problem.     

Identification of mutant gene responsible for cotyledons necrosis in developing seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana]

Genetic and molecular analyses of an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant with necrotic cotyledons from the collection of insertion mutants obtained earlier were conducted. The mutation under study showed incomplete dominance and represented a single insertion of the T region of pLD3 vector used for transformation of germinating seeds to the plant genome during the creation of the collection. Using TAIL-PCR, a fragment of the mutant DNA adjacent to the left border of the T-DNA insertion was isolated and sequenced. Computer r-aided analysis showed that the insertion was located on the left arm of chromosome 1. The open reading frame containing the insertion has one exon and encodes a protein of 446 amino acids, whose functions are unknown.     

In Vitro Haustorium Development in Roots and Root Cultures of the Hemiparasitic Plant Triphysaria Versicolor

Parasitic plants in the Orobanchaceae invade host plant roots through root organs called haustoria. Parasite roots initiate haustorium development when exposed to specific secondary metabolites that are released into the rhizosphere by host plant roots. While molecular approaches are increasingly being taken to understand the genetic mechanism underlying these events, a limitation has been the lack of a transformation system for parasitic plants. Since the haustorium development occurs in roots of Orobanchaceae, root cultures may be suitable material for transient or stable transformation experiments. To this end, root cultures were obtained from explants, and subsequently calluses, from the hemiparasitic plant Triphysaria versicolor. The cultured roots retained their competence to form haustoria when exposed to host roots, host root exudates, or purified haustorium-inducing factors. The root culture haustoria invaded host roots and initiated a vascular continuity between the parasite and host roots. The ontogeny of haustoria development on root cultures was indistinguishable from that on seedlings roots. Root cultures should provide useful material for molecular studies of haustorium development.