The utero-ovarian vascularization of the albino rat

The utero-ovarian vascularisation of the non-pregnant rat was investigated, described and morphometrically evaluated. The ovarian and uterine arteries anastomose together giving up a ramus ovaricus. The leaving of these vessels from their main trunks varies to each body side, just as their length and width. Several segmental arteries arise from each uterine artery to the corpus uteri also side-specifically. Coiled circular arteries are found. The uterine cervical vascularisation is described separately. Different regulating effects on the function of the vessels are discussed.     

Pistil Exudate Production and Pollen Tube Growth in Lilium longiflorum Thunb.

Exudate production in the pistil of Lilium longiflorum was studiedin relation to pollen tube growth, using scanning electron microscopy(SEM), transmission electron microscopy and light microscopy.In contrast with conventional fixation for SEM, during whichthe exudate of L. longiflorum largely washes away, the exudateremains present through freezing in case of cryo-SEM. Usingthe latter method we observed that exudate production on thestigma and in the style started before anthesis. Just underneaththe stigma the exudate was first accumulated at the top of eachsecretory cell, followed by a merging of those accumulationsas exudate production proceeded. Exudate is also produced bythe placenta. It was however not possible to determine whetherany of this fluid originated from the micropyle. Apart fromthe cell shape and the cuticle present in between the secretorycells, the ultrastructure of the secretory cells covering theplacenta was comparable to those of the stylar canal. The transferwall of the secretory cells of the placenta originated fromfusing Golgi vesicles but the endoplasmic reticulum seemed tohave an important role as well. After pollination the pollen tubes grew across the stigma andentered the style through one of the slits in the three stigmalobes. The pollen tubes grew straight downward through the styleand were covered by exudate. As the pollen tubes approachedthe ovary their growth was restricted to the areas with secretorycells. In the cavity the pollen tubes formed a bundle and theybent from this bundle in between the ovules towards the micropylarside. There they bent again to stay close to the secretory cells.After bud pollination the pollen tube growth was retarded. Laterarriving pollen tubes had a tendency to grow close to the secretorycells of the style, which resulted in a growth between thesecells and preceding pollen tubes. If there was still a littleexudate produced, it resulted in a lifting up of the pollentubes, out of the exudate. The relationship between exudateproduction and pollen tube growth is discussed. Both the speedand the guidance of the pollen tube seemed determined by theproperties of the exudate.Copyright 1994, 1999 Academic Press Cryo-scanning electron microscopy, exudate, Lilium longiflorum, lily, ovary, pollination, pollen tube growth, secretory cell, stigma, style     

Orientation in the dark: brain circuits involved in the perception of electric signals in mormyrid electric fish.

Weakly electric fish produce electric signals with a specialised organ in their tail. In addition, they are electrosensitive and can perceive their self-generated signals (for electrolocation) and electric signals of other electric fishes (for electrocommunication). Mormyrids possess three types of peripheral electroreceptor organs, one used for electrocommunication and two types involved in electolocation. They are innervated by afferent fibres, which project to different zones in the electrosensory lateral line lobe (ELL) in the medulla. Brain circuits for electrolocation and electrocommunication are separated almost throughout the whole brain. Electrolocation pathways run from the ELL-cortex to the torus semicircularis of the midbrain and then via the valvula cerebelli towards the telencephalon. Pathways involved in electrocommunication run from the nucleus of the ELL to another part of the torus and from there through the isthmic granule nucleus to the valvula. In addition, a pathway via the preglomerular complex to the telencephalon might exist. In both the electrolocation and the electrocommunication circuits, prominent recurrent pathways are present.     

The Lipomycetaceae,a model family for phylogenetic studies

The Lipomycetaceae (Endomycetales) are known from the generaDipodascopsis, Lipomyces andZygozyma with budding anamorphic states inMyxozyma. The family is easily recognized culturally and physiologically but is phenotypically and ecologically extremely diverse. This natural taxon is phylogenetically distinct from the Saccharomycetaceae, but probably related to the Dipodascaceae. The possible evolution of the lipomycetaceous anamorphs is discussed.     

Vector competence of Culicoides bolitinos and C. imicola for South African bluetongue virus serotypes 1, 3 and 4

Abstract .The susceptibility of field-collected Culicoides bolitinos to infection by oral ingestion of bluetongue virus serotypes 1, 3 and 4 (BLU 1, 3 and 4) was compared with that of field-collected C. imicola and laboratory reared C. variipennis sonorensis . The concentration of the virus per millilitre of bloodmeal was 10^5.0 and 10^6.0TCID₅₀ for BLU 4 and 10^7.2TCID₅₀ for BLU 1 and 3. Of 4927 C. bolitinos and 9585 C. imicola fed, 386 and 287 individual midges survived 10 days extrinsic incubation, respectively. Midges were assayed for the presence of virus using a microtitration assay on BHK-21 cells and/or an antigen capture ELISA. Infection prevalences for the different serotypes as determined by virus isolation ranged from 22.7 to 82.0% in C. bolitinos and from 1.9 to 9.8% in C. imicola; infection prevalences were highest for BLU 1, and lowest for BLU 4 in both species. The mean log₁₀ TCID₅₀ titre of the three BLU viruses per single fly was higher in C. bolitinos than in C. imicola . The results suggested that C. bolitinos populations are capable vectors of the BLU viruses in South Africa. A high correlation was found between virus isolation and ELISA results for the detection of BLU 1, and less for BLU 4; the ELISA failed to detect the presence of BLU 3 in infected flies. The C. v. sonorensis colonies had a significantly lower susceptibility to infection with BLU 1, 3 and 4 than C. bolitinos and C. imicola . However, since infection prevalence of C. v. sonorensis was determined only by ELISA, this finding may merely reflect the insensitivity of this assay at low virus titres, compared to virus isolation.     

Primers for the amplification of sequence‐characterized loci in Cryphonectria cubensis populations

We describe the development of DNA markers for the fungal pathogen of Eucalyptus, Cryphonectria cubensis. These markers originated from cloned intershort sequence repeat polymerase chain reactions, which enrich for medium to highly repetitive DNA sequences. In total, 10 markers were isolated, eight of which were polymorphic, and these can subsequently be applied to study populations of C. cubensis.