Approaches to laser speckle reduction for uniform illumination of the field of view of a microscope during biophysical studies

Biophysics - A comparative study of various approaches to speckle reduction showed that the use of a liquid crystal-based speckle reducer did not allow complete elimination of speckles. The use of...     

Analysis of the genetic determinants of multidrug and extensive drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis with the use of an oligonucleotide microchip

Steadily growing resistance of the tuberculosis causative agent towards a broad spectrum of antituberculosis drugs calls for rapid and reliable methods for identifying the genetic determinants responsible for this resistance. In this study, we present a biochip-based method for simultaneous identification of mutations within rpoB gene associated with rifampin resistance, mutations in katG, inhA, ahpC genes responsible for isoniazid resistance, mutations within the regions of gyrA and gyrB genes leading to fluoroquinolones resistance, and mutations in the rrs gene and the eis promoter region associated with the resistance to kanamycin, capreomycin and amikacin. The oligonucleotide microchip, as the core element of this assay, provides simultaneous identification of 99 mutations in the format “one sample—one PCR—one microchip”, and it makes it possible to complete analysis of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis within a single day. The tests on 63 Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates with different resistance profiles using the developed approach allows us to reveal the spectrum of drug-resistance associated mutations, and to estimate the significance of the inclusion of extra genetic loci in the determination of M. tuberculosis drug resistance.     

Acclimation or stress symptom? An integrated study of intraspecific variation in the clonal plant Aechmea bromeliifolia,a widespread CAM tank‐bromeliad

The clonal tank-bromeliad Aechmea bromeliifolia (Rudge) Baker was found in four different habitats in a restinga (vegetation mosaic on sandy coastal plains), of south-eastern Brazil. These habitats (swamp forest, dry forest, dry shrubland and herbaceous marsh) lie within a few hundred metres of each other along a gradient extending inland from the coast, and differ markedly in terms of light and flood regime. We compared ramet morphology, leaf anatomy and physiology, and population parameters to examine the amplitude of trait variation of this widespread species in the studied restinga. This integrated approach allowed us to examine which variation conferred acclimation and which was merely a stress symptom. A . bromeliifolia showed site-specific differences in abundance, distribution, rosette size and shape, leaf anatomical arrangement and photochemical efficiency (potential quantum yield; F _v/ F _m) during the day. Most of the variation found seemed to be related to the interaction of light and flooding. The lowest number and size of ramets at the exposed, dry shrubland was matched by a marked leaf photoinhibition, which suggested poor acclimation to local levels of light intensity and limited water supply. In the other habitats, the morpho-physiological parameters measured suggested adequate foraging behaviour and site acclimation.  © 2002 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2002, 140 , 391-401.