Evidence of mitochondrial DNA clones of Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii, within Russian sturgeon, Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, caught in the River Volga

Eleven of 34 sturgeons caught in the River Volga classified morphologically as Acipenser gueldenstaedtii were identified as Acipenser baerii from sequence analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome- b gene. The Caspian Sea and its tributaries including the Volga are not native habitats of A. baerii . No A. baerii haplotype was observed in A. gueldenstaedtii from the Sea of Azov or the South Caspian Sea. Genetic contamination of A. gueldenstaedtii with A. baerii or A. baerii hybrids has occurred in the Volga. Crosses and backcrosses of these specimens with native A. gueldenstaedtii resulted in the loss of the morphological diagnostic A. baerii features. These findings are of special concern for conservation and management programmes, as well as for specimen identification for caviar trading control.     

Isolation and characterization of the mating-type locus of the barley pathogen Pyrenophora teres and frequencies of mating-type idiomorphs within and among fungal populations collected from barley landraces.

Pyrenophora teres f. sp. teres mating-type genes (MAT-1: 1190 bp; MAT-2: 1055 bp) have been identified. Their predicted proteins, measuring 379 and 333 amino acids, respectively, are similar to those of other Pleosporales, such as Pleospora sp., Cochliobolus sp., Alternaria alternata, Leptosphaeria maculans, and Phaeosphaeria nodorum. The structure of the MAT locus is discussed in comparison with those of other fungi. A mating-type PCR assay has also been developed; with this assay we have analyzed 150 isolates that were collected from 6 Sardinian barley landrace populations. Of these, 68 were P. teres f. sp. teres (net form; NF) and 82 were P. teres f. sp. maculata (spot form; SF). Within each mating type, the NF and SF amplification products were of the same length and were highly similar in sequence. The 2 mating types were present in both the NF and the SF populations at the field level, indicating that they have all maintained the potential for sexual reproduction. Despite the 2 forms being sympatric in 5 fields, no intermediate isolates were detected with amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis. These results suggest that the 2 forms are genetically isolated under the field conditions. In all of the samples of P. teres, the ratio of the 2 mating types was consistently in accord with the 1:1 null hypothesis. This ratio is expected when segregation distortion and clonal selection among mating types are absent or asexual reproduction is rare. Overall, sexual reproduction appears to be the major process that equalizes the frequencies of the 2 mating types within populations.     

Functional Evolution of a cis-Regulatory Module

Lack of knowledge about how regulatory regions evolve in relation to their structure–function may limit the utility of comparative sequence analysis in deciphering cis-regulatory sequences. To address this we applied reverse genetics to carry out a functional genetic complementation analysis of a eukaryotic cis-regulatory module—the even-skipped stripe 2 enhancer—from four Drosophila species. The evolution of this enhancer is non-clock-like, with important functional differences between closely related species and functional convergence between distantly related species. Functional divergence is attributable to differences in activation levels rather than spatiotemporal control of gene expression. Our findings have implications for understanding enhancer structure–function, mechanisms of speciation and computational identification of regulatory modules.     

Semiautomatic procedure for the investigation of synchronized activity of EEG and heart rate--examination of preterm births]

Recordings of the electroencephalogram (EEG) and of the heart rate variability (HRV) of preterm neonates can give important information on the actual state of the nervous system. Both signals, EEG and HRV, are affected by parameters such as gestational age, stage of maturation and behavioral state. This work describes a method for automatic detection of slow wave EEG-bursts and a tool to average changes in the EEG and the corresponding heart rate. The detection is based on the hjorth activity (HA), calculated from the EEG. HA spikes (HAS) are identified by the determination of the beginning and end of existing spikes. HAS maxima and the time between two consecutive HAS are the basis for the triggering of the bursts. EEG power and time synchronized HR changes are averaged with a time window length of 20 s. Resultant, HR increase and duration are determined. These parameters, obtained by the automatic detection, proved to be comparable to the results of an expert.     

The phosphatase activity of the isolated H4-H5 loop of Na+/K+ ATPase resides outside its ATP binding site.

The structural stability of the large cytoplasmic domain (H(4)-H(5) loop) of mouse alpha(1) subunit of Na(+)/K(+) ATPase (L354-I777), the number and the location of its binding sites for 2'-3'-O-(trinitrophenyl) adenosine 5'-triphosphate (TNP-ATP) and p-nitrophenylphosphate (pNPP) were investigated. C- and N-terminal shortening revealed that neither part of the phosphorylation (P)-domain are necessary for TNP-ATP binding. There is no indication of a second ATP site on the P-domain of the isolated loop, even though others reported previously of its existence by TNP-N(3)ADP affinity labeling of the full enzyme. Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-anisotropy measurements reveal a considerable stability of the nucleotide (N)-domain suggesting that it may not undergo a substantial conformational change upon ATP binding. The FITC modified loop showed only slightly diminished phosphatase activity, most likely due to a pNPP site on the N-domain around N398 whose mutation to D reduced the phosphatase activity by 50%. The amino acids forming this pNPP site (M384, L414, W411, S400, S408) are conserved in the alpha(1-4) isoforms of Na(+)/K(+) ATPase, whereas N398 is only conserved in the vertebrates' alpha(1) subunit. The phosphatase activity of the isolated H(4)-H(5) loop was neither inhibited by ATP, nor affected by mutation of D369, which is phosphorylated in native Na(+)/K(+) ATPase.     

Novel and co-evolved associations between insects and microorganisms as drivers of forest pestilence

Some of the most devastating diseases of trees involve associations between forest insects and microorganisms. Although a small number of native insect-microorganism symbioses can cause tree mortality, the majority of associations with tree health implications involve one or more exotic organisms. Here, we divide damaging symbioses between forest insects and microorganisms into four categories based on the native/exotic status of the species involved: (1) insect and microorganism are native; (2) insect is native, microorganism is exotic; (3) insect is exotic, microorganism is native; and (4) insect and microorganism are both exotic. For each category, we describe several well-researched examples of forest insect symbioses and discuss some of the consequences of the types of interactions within each category. We then discuss priorities for research on forest insect symbioses that could help to further elucidate patterns in the complexity of such interactions in the context of invasion biology. We argue that a nuanced understanding of insect-pathogen relationships is lacking, even for the few well-studied examples. Because novel associations between insects, microorganisms, and trees are increasing with globalization, such symbioses and their potential to negatively impact forest ecosystems demand focused research in the future.