Erratum: “CTAB-PEG DNA Extraction from Fungi with High Contents of Polysaccharides”

Molecular Biology - The original article can be found online at DOI: 10.1134/S0026893318040088 Page 622, in Reagents and Solutions should read 20 mg/mL proteinase K; Page 622, in Reagents...     

A Group of Hypermethylated miRNA Genes in Breast Cancer and Their Diagnostic Potential

Molecular Biology - miRNA genes play an important role in cancer pathogenesis, while they may be suppressed by hypermethylation. Here, we assess the diagnostic potential of a group of...     

Copper isotopes as possible neoplasia biomarkers in captive wild felids

The longevity of zoo animals is increasing due to continuous improvement in husbandry and veterinary medicine. However, increasing age is correlated to a higher prevalence of neoplasia. Despite tremendous improvement in diagnoses and monitoring capacities, cancers are still a challenge for veterinarians within the global zoo community. The recent use of copper isotopes as biomarkers for neoplasia in both human and veterinary medicine is a promising and cost‐effective diagnostic tool. Two hundred and twenty‐nine serum samples from 10 different species of wild felids under human care were processed through mass spectrometry to determine the ratio of heavy and light copper isotopes (⁶⁵Cu/⁶³Cu). The results of this preliminary study exhibit an important variability between felid species, with a ratio ranging between ?1.71 and 0.63. Additionally, copper isotopes seem to be a promising diagnostic tool in monitoring cancer in wild animals, as in human medicine, where the isotopic ratio decreases significantly with time in the presence of a tumor.     

Implementing plant hydraulic architecture within the LPJ Dynamic Global Vegetation Model

Aim To implement plant hydraulic architecture within the Lund–Potsdam–Jena Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (LPJ–DGVM), and to test the model against a set of observational data. If the model can reproduce major patterns in vegetation and ecosystem processes, we consider this to be an important linkage between plant physiology and larger‐scale ecosystem dynamics. Location The location is global, geographically distributed. Methods A literature review was carried out to derive model formulations and parameter values for representing the hydraulic characteristics of major global plant functional types (PFTs) in a DGVM. After implementing the corresponding formulations within the LPJ–DGVM, present‐day model output was compared to observational data. Results The model reproduced observed broad‐scale patterns in potential natural vegetation, but it failed to distinguish accurately between different types of grassland and savanna vegetation, possibly related to inadequate model representations of water fluxes in the soil and wildfire effects. Compared to a version of the model using an empirical formulation for calculating plant water supply without considering plant hydraulic architecture, the new formulation improved simulated patterns of vegetation in particular for dry shrublands. Global‐scale simulation results for runoff and actual evapotranspiration (AET) corresponded well to available data. The model also successfully reproduced the magnitude and seasonal cycle of AET for most EUROFLUX forests, while modelled variation in NPP across a large number of sites spanning several biomes showed a strong correlation with estimates from field measurements. Main conclusions The model was generally confirmed by comparison to observational data. The novel model representation of water flow within plants makes it possible to resolve mechanistically the effects of hydraulic differences between plant functional groups on vegetation structure, water cycling, and competition. This may be an advantage when predicting ecosystem responses to nonextant climates, in particular in areas dominated by dry shrubland vegetation.     

Cascading Trophic Interactions in an Oligotrophic Species-poor Alpine Lake

Non-native brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were eradicated from alpine Bighorn Lake, Alberta, Canada, to test whether strong cascading trophic interactions (CTI) can occur in oligotrophic, high seston C:P, species-poor lakes. Fishless alpine Pipit Lake was used as a reference ecosystem. Bighorn Lake zooplankton biomass increased from 0.14:1 relative to Pipit Lake before fish removal began in 1997 to 0.6:1 afterwards due to an increase in the abundance of adult cyclopoid copepods beginning in 1997 and the reappearance of Daphnia middendorffiana in 1998. Following the reappearance of Daphnia, Bighorn Lake total phytoplankton biomass fell from 64:1 relative to Pipit Lake to 0.9:1. Over the same periods Bighorn Lake:Pipit Lake chlorophyll-a ratios declined from 2.4:1 to 1.6:1, although the decrease was not statistically significant. Mid-summer Secchi disc depth in Bighorn Lake increased from 3.1 m before manipulation to 9.2 m, the maximum depth of the lake, in 2001 and 2002. Increased transparency was most likely due to increased filtration of suspended inorganic particles from the water column by higher abundances of large zooplankton. Post-manipulation increases in dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), DIN:total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) ratio and declines in TDP in Bighorn Lake were not attributable to ecosystem manipulation, similar changes were observed in reference Pipit Lake. We conclude that strong pelagic CTI, expressed as change in total phytoplankton biomass and largely mediated by Daphnia, can occur in oligotrophic, high seston C:P, species-poor ecosystems. However, strong CTI responses in phytoplankton biomass may lag trophic manipulation by several years.     

Robust computational reconstitution – a new method for the comparative analysis of gene expression in tissues and isolated cell fractions

Background  

Biological tissues consist of various cell types that differentially contribute to physiological and pathophysiological processes. Determining and analyzing cell type-specific gene expression under diverse conditions is therefore a central aim of biomedical research. The present study compares gene expression profiles in whole tissues and isolated cell fractions purified from these tissues in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.     

Immune function and parasite resistance in male and polymorphic female Coenagrion puella

Background  

Colour polymorphisms are widespread and one of the prime examples is the colour polymorphism in female coenagrionid damselflies: one female morph resembles the male colour (andromorph) while one, or more, female morphs are described as typically female (gynomorph). However, the selective pressures leading to the evolution and maintenance of this polymorphism are not clear. Here, based on the hypothesis that coloration and especially black patterning can be related to resistance against pathogens, we investigated the differences in immune function and parasite resistance between the different female morphs and males.     

Oxygen limitation modulates pH regulation of catabolism and hydrogenases, multidrug transporters, and envelope composition inEscherichia coli K-12

Background  

InEscherichia coli, pH regulates genes for amino-acid and sugar catabolism, electron transport, oxidative stress, periplasmic and envelope proteins. Many pH-dependent genes are co-regulated by anaerobiosis, but the overall intersection of pH stress and oxygen limitation has not been investigated.     

Probable origin and toxin profile of Alexandrium tamarense (Lebour) Balech from southern Brazil

The distribution of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense Lebour has apparently expanded within the southern hemisphere during the last 2 decades. Toxic blooms of A. tamarense were recorded in Argentinean coastal waters since 1980; however, the first documented bloom in southern Brazil was in 1996. In this study, 13 strains of A. tamarense from southern Brazil were isolated and kept in culture. Phylogenetic analysis using RFLP and DNA sequences of the D1–D2 region of large subunit ribosomal DNA (rDNA) clearly indicates that Brazilian strains are most closely related to other South American strains. The strains from South America are placed firmly within a phylogenetic clade which contains strains from North America, northern Europe and northern Asia, previously called the North American clade. Possible dispersal hypotheses are discussed. The cultures were also analyzed for saxitoxin and its derivatives by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The main saxitoxin groups found were the low toxicity N-sulfocarbamoyl group, C1, 2 (30–84%), followed by the high potency carbamate toxins, gonyautoxins 1, 4 (6.6–55%), gonyautoxins 2, 3 (0.3–29%), neosaxitoxin (1.4–24%) and saxitoxin (0–4.4%). The toxin composition is similar to that of other strains from South America, supporting a close relationship between A. tamarense from southern Brazil and other areas of South America. Toxicity values were variable (7.07–65.92 pg STX cell⁻¹), with the higher range falling among the most toxic values recorded for cultures of A. tamarense, indicating the significant risk for shellfish contamination and human intoxication during blooms of this species along the southern Brazilian coast.     

PIN-G – A novel reporter for imaging and defining the effects of trafficking signals in membrane proteins

Background  

The identification of protein trafficking signals, and their interacting mechanisms, is a fundamental objective of modern biology. Unfortunately, the analysis of trafficking signals is complicated by their topography, hierarchical nature and regulation. Powerful strategies to test candidate motifs include their ability to direct simpler reporter proteins, to which they are fused, to the appropriate cellular compartment. However, present reporters are limited by their endogenous expression, paucity of cloning sites, and difficult detection in live cells.