Beyond aflatoxin: four distinct expression patterns and functional roles associated with Aspergillus flavus secondary metabolism gene clusters

Species of Aspergillus produce a diverse array of secondary metabolites, and recent genomic analysis has predicted that these species have the capacity to synthesize many more compounds. It has been possible to infer the presence of 55 gene clusters associated with secondary metabolism in Aspergillus flavus ; however, only three metabolic pathways—aflatoxin, cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) and aflatrem—have been assigned to these clusters. To gain an insight into the regulation of and to infer the ecological significance of the 55 secondary metabolite gene clusters predicted in A. flavus, we examined their expression over 28 diverse conditions. Variables included culture medium and temperature, fungal development, colonization of developing maize seeds and misexpression of laeA , a global regulator of secondary metabolism. Hierarchical clustering analysis of expression profiles allowed us to categorize the gene clusters into four distinct clades. Gene clusters for the production of aflatoxins, CPA and seven other unknown compound(s) were identified as belonging to one clade. To further explore the relationships found by gene expression analysis, aflatoxin and CPA production were quantified under five different cell culture environments known to be conducive or nonconducive for aflatoxin biosynthesis and during the colonization of developing maize seeds. Results from these studies showed that secondary metabolism gene clusters have distinctive gene expression profiles. Aflatoxin and CPA were found to have unique regulation, but are sufficiently similar that they would be expected to co-occur in substrates colonized with A. flavus .     

中国弯翅蠊属(蜚蠊目:弯翅蠊科)研究

弯翅蠊属(Panesthia Serville,1831)是弯翅蠊科(Panesthiidae)中最大的类群。其种类生活于树林的枯枝朽木、地面落叶、垃圾、石缝及各种堆积物中,以各种腐殖质、树皮下的木质为生。过去,Brunner De Wattenwyl, C., Saussure, H., Hanitsch, R.以及Bey-Bienko,G.等曾零星报道过中国弯翅蠊10种,除2种异名,实为8种。近几年,我们结合野外采集,鉴定各地林虫标本,整理了我国弯翅蠊属,鉴定出8种,其中3种为中国的已知种,3种为中国新纪录,2个新种。本文长度单位均为mm。     

Records of palaeo‐seawater condition from oxygen‐isotope profiles of early Pleistocene fossil molluscs from the Seoguipo Formation (Korea)

Kim, J.K., Khim, B.‐K., Woo, K.S., & Yoon, S.H. 2009: Records of palaeo‐seawater condition from oxygen‐isotope profiles of early Pleistocene fossil molluscs from the Seoguipo Formation (Korea). Lethaia, Vol. 43, pp. 170–181. High‐resolution δ¹⁸O profiles of early Pleistocene fossil molluscs (Mizuhopecten tokyoensis hokurikuensis) from the shallow‐marine sedimentary Seoguipo Formation (Korea) were found to exhibit distinct annual cycles identified by their unique seasonality (δ¹⁸O amplitude). A direct comparison of fossil δ¹⁸O profiles with that of living shells (Amusium japonicum japonicumi) indicated that the palaeoseawater conditions differed from present‐day seawater. Specifically, the positive δ¹⁸O shift in the isotope profile of the fossil specimens relative to that of the living mollusc shell reflected that palaeotemperature was lower than that today. However, a comparison of the coldest palaeotemperatures (determined from the heaviest δ¹⁸O values of fossil shells), with the present‐day winter temperatures indicates that temperature variation alone cannot account for the entire positive δ¹⁸O offset. These findings indicate that variation in the seawater δ¹⁸O_w values plays a dominant role in the biogenic carbonate precipitation of fossils. Thus, the fossil shells obtained from stratigraphic units suggest different palaeoenvironmental conditions, including lower temperatures and ¹⁸O‐enriched glacial seawater, when compared with the present‐day conditions. The Seoguipo Formation records at least five cycles of relative sea‐level fluctuations, with changes in fossil δ¹⁸O amplitudes separated by sequence boundaries likely to reflect variations of unique palaeoseawater condition, although the oxygen‐isotope profile of fossil molluscs appears to provide a snap‐shot of the palaeoclimatic signature. □Early Pleistocene, mollusc fossils, oxygen isotope, palaeoenvironment, seawater temperature.     

蠊一新属新种记述

近年来华北、东北有些省份的室内和槛船上发现一种新的(虫非)蠊,与其它(虫非)蠊混合发生,在局部地点成为优势种。经对有关单位送来室内和艦船上发生的多批标本进行鉴定,确定该虫隶属于姬蠊科(Pseudomopidae),是新属新种,与我所现存采自浙江天目山、陕西楼观台和山东青岛沙子口的野外标本同属一种。模式标本存放在中国农科院植物保护研究所。     

Photosynthesis in chloroplasts rapidly isolated from primary leaves of oat (Avena sativa L.): effects of orthophosphate, metal ion and chelators

Abstract A simple mechanical method for the rapid isolation of chloroplasts with high rates of photosynthesis from young leaves of oat (Avena sativa L.) was described. The photosynthetic activity of these chloroplasts was stable for at least 2 h with rates of CO₂-dependent O₂ evolution of 30–40 μmol g ¹ Chl s ¹. The photosynthetic properties of these chloroplasts were similar to those reported for spinach and pea chloroplasts isolated by mechanical disruption. The pH optimum for photosynthetic O₂ evolution was pH 7.6. The induction time was 0.5–2 min. Maximal rates of photosynthetic O₂ evolution in these chloroplast preparations were obtained in the absence of both divalent cations and EDTA. Addition of divilent cations strongly inhibited photosynthesis which could be partially restored by the subsequent addition of EDTA. But when these cations were not present in the assay medium the addition of EDTA greater than 1 mol m ³ decreased photosynthetic activity. The optimal orthophosphate concentration required for photosynthesis in these chloroplast preparations was 0.2–0.3 mol m ³. In contrast, the addition of pyrophosphate either in the light or dark inhibited photosynthesis. In a comparative study, chloroplasts were also isolated from oat and wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cultivar Hybrid C306) protoplasts. These chloroplast preparations were found to have properties similar to those determined for oat chloroplasts isolated by the mechanical method reported above.     

Electron Microscopic Observations of the Bloodstream Form of Cryptobia salmositica Katz, 1951 (Kinetoplastida: Bodonina)1

The ultrastructure of the bloodstream form of Cryptobia salmositica in rainbow trout was examined during the acute phase of experimental infection. The arrangement of the major groupings of cytoplasmic microtubules originating near the basal bodies is similar to that in other bodonids. The cytostome is reinforced both by pellicular microtubules and an electron-dense plaque. Certain microtubules associated with the flagellar pocket serve as nucleating sites for pellicular microtubules. A flagellar rootlet, consisting of two parallel fibers which are bound together intermittently by electron-dense plaques, curves posteriorly from the basal body of the recurrent flagellum towards the kinetoplast. The basal body associated plaque on the kinetoplast membranes is duplicated at the same time as the basal bodies. Cytoplasmic microtubules are found in association with the plaque and the outer kinetoplastic membrane. A pulsatile vacuole, described for the first time in a hemoparasitic cryptobiid, lies adjacent to the post-flagellar pit. Smaller, interconnected vesicles of the spongiome are continuous with the pulsatile vacuole. Since a pulsatile vacuole occurs not only in free-living and ectoparasitic cryptobiids but in the hemoparasitic (=trypanoplasm) forms as well, this is no longer a character by which the genus Trypanoplasma may be separated from the genus Cryptobia. Possession of this osmoregulatory complex may allow the organism to survive outside of a host and fulfill a monoxenous life cycle, in addition to the usual heteroxenous cycle involving a leech as vector.     

Effects of clutch size and egg-laying order on the breeding success in the Little Tern Sterna albifrons on the Nakdong Estuary, Republic of Korea

Survivorship of Little Tern Sterna albifrons eggs and chicks was followed on an islet in the Nakdong Estuary, Republic of Korea, in 1995 and 1996. Mean egg size and incubation period were significantly different between the 2 years. The maximum clutch size was three eggs, and the second egg in the clutch often hatched earlier than the first, while most of the third eggs hatched last. In 1996, when the fate of 249 eggs from 106 nests was followed for 40 days, hatching success, fledging success and breeding success were 77%, 40% and 31%, respectively. High mortality occurred in the early chick stage, mostly because of rain and predation by Weasels Mustela sibirica. The breeding success per egg was 14% in one-egg clutches, 28% in two-egg clutches and 34% in three-egg clutches. This difference was mainly attributed to the lower hatching success in the smaller clutches. In three-egg clutches, the third egg showed significantly lower breeding success than siblings. The main foods of the Little Tern were Tridentiger obscurus, Engraulis japonicus, Hyporhamphus intermedius, Acanthogobius flavimanus (all fish), Palaemon sp. and Crangon affinis (shrimps). The feeding frequency was, apparently, not affected by time of day and age of chicks but was probably influenced by weather conditions. Newly hatched chicks failed to eat 25% of the prey brought to them, although this decreased with the age of the chicks.     

玉米心叶期玉米螟卵块的分布型及其在实践上的应用

根据1961—1964年对两个品种、19块春玉米地心叶期着卵量及着卵株率的调查资料,分析了:1)卵块在田间的分布型式,2)着卵株率与百株累计卵量的关系,3)百株高峰卵量与累计卵量的关系。 分析表明:心叶期卵块在田间的分布型式符合于随机分布,因此着卵株百分率与百株累计卵块数之间存在着正相关的关系。 着卵株率(p)与百株累计卵块数(x)间有 P=1-e^{-0.00985_x0.9984}的曲线函数关系。作者利用此式制成了一个由著卵株百分率来推算百株累计卵块数的检索表(表3)。 心叶期百株高峰卵块数(x)与百株累计卵块数(Y)之间则有直线回归的关系,以百株高峰卵块数估计百株累计卯块数的回归式为:Y=11.47+2.64x。 利用上述两种调查方法来估计心叶期的累计卵块数可以大大节省时间和人力。这两个方法在实用上各有其优缺点,可以根据具体情况任用一法。