Size spectra and abundance of planktonic ciliates within various habitats in a macrophyte-dominated lake (Eastern Poland)

Body size, community structure, abundance and biomass of ciliates were compared in various stands of macrophytes in a macrophyte-abundant shallow lake in Eastern Poland. Samples were collected in belts of Phragmites, Typha, Ceratophyllum, Elodea, Stratiotes and Chara. Additionally, protozooplankton was collected from the open water zone surrounding the vegetation belts. Differences in numbers of ciliate taxa between micro-sites were statistically significant. The highest numbers were found in Chara and Ceratophyllum stands, lower numbers in Stratiotes and Elodea stands and the lowest in the open water, Phragmites and Typha areas. Ciliate biomass was, like density, significantly higher in submerged macrophytes than in emergent macrophytes and open water zones. Based on differences in macrophyte structure, two groups of habitats with similar patterns of size-related ciliate distribution were distinguished. The first group consisted of two vegetated zones of sparse stem structure (Phragmites and Typha) and the open water zone, the second group comprised submerged macrophyte species, which were more dense and complex. Generally, the abundance of ciliates correlated positively with total suspension solid (TSS) and total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations. In the Chara and Ceratophyllum stands, relations between ciliate numbers, TSS and TOC were stronger.     

A proteomics approach to cloning fenestrin from the nuclear exchange junction of tetrahymena

ABSTRACT. We set out to find the " fenestrin " gene, a gene whose protein is associated with numerous cellular apertures, including the nuclear exchange junction in mating Tetrahymena thermophila . First we developed protocols for imaging and isolating intact nuclear exchange junctions from conjugating cells. Proteins from these junctions were purified using SDS-PAGE, subjected to limited proteolysis, and precise molecular weights were determined by mass spectrometry. Using Protein Prospector^® software and the published Tetrahymena Genome Database, genes for 15 of the most abundant proteins found in our extracts were identified. The most promising candidate was cloned by PCR, fused to yellow fluorescent protein (YFP), and placed under the control of an inducible metallothionein promoter. YFP-localization within live Tetrahymena transformants strongly suggested that one of these genes encoded the fenestrin protein, a result that was subsequently confirmed by Western blotting.     

甘肃小陇山桃花沟森林公园土壤纤毛虫的群落特征

2004年8月-2007年3月,用活体观察和固定染色方法对桃花沟森林公园及符家滩土壤纤毛虫的群落特征进行了研究.结果表明:在桃花沟森林公园的土壤中共鉴定出纤毛虫75种,隶属于3纲11目29科40属,其中桃花沟景区的土壤纤毛虫有43种,普渡峡景区有51种;受人为干扰较为严重的符家滩土壤中有纤毛虫28种;在桃花沟森林公园土壤纤毛虫群落中,下毛目、肾形目和前12目为其优势类群;齿脊肾形虫、长圆膜袋虫、皮速体虫、活泼状似片尾虫为其优势种;桃花沟景区、普渡峡景区和符家滩的土壤纤毛虫Gleason-Margalef物种多样性指数分别为4.61、5.64、3.28;桃花沟景区与普渡峡景区土壤纤毛虫的群落Jaccard相似系数为0.25,桃花沟景区、普渡峡景区与符家滩土壤纤毛虫的群落Jaccard相似系数分别为0.22、0.18.表明自然环境与受人为干扰的环境中土壤纤毛虫物种多样性和群落结构有显著差异.     

甘肃小陇山麻沿林区土壤纤毛虫群落特征

2006年7月和2007年11月,用活体观察和固定染色方法对小陇山麻沿林区土壤纤毛虫群落特征进行了研究.研究中共鉴定到土壤纤毛虫91种,其中包括8个未定名种.林区土壤纤毛虫群落结构复杂,计有3纲11目28科42属91种,下毛目为优势类群,肾形目和前口目为次优势类群,侧口目、缘毛目和寡毛目为偶见类群,膨胀肾形虫(Colpoda inflata)、长篮环虫(Cyrtolophosis elongata)、大口薄咽虫(Leptopharynx eurystoma)和长圆膜袋虫(Cyclidium oblongum)为优势种.林区各样点之间的土壤纤毛虫群落相似性为极不相似到中等不相似.结果表明,小陇山麻沿林区土壤纤毛虫群落物种丰富,特有和稀有物种繁多;林区各样点之间的小生境不同,土壤纤毛虫群落结构出现较大的差异.从林区生态环境的复杂性和独特性方面讨论了保护区土壤纤毛虫群落的特点.     

青岛沿海的自由生聚缩虫属纤毛虫(原生动物,纤毛门,缘毛目)

涉及近年来采集自青岛沿海的自由生聚缩虫属纤毛虫14种,包括9个国内新纪录:交替聚缩虫Zoothamnium alternans Claparède & Lachmann,1859,弗氏聚缩虫Z. foissneri Ji et al.,2005,黑凯聚缩虫 Z. hiketes Precht,1935,海洋聚缩虫 Z. marinum Mereschkowski, 1879,霉聚缩虫Z. mocedo Entz,1884,倪氏聚缩虫 Z. nii Ji et al.,2005,拟树状聚缩虫 Z. pararbuscula Ji et al., 2005,王氏聚缩虫Z.wangi Ji et al., 2005,许氏聚缩虫 Z. xuianum Sun et al.,2005;以及其他5个已知种:群栖聚缩虫Z. commune Kahl, 1933,双缘聚缩虫Z. duplicatum Kahl,1933,巨大聚缩虫Z.maximum Song,1986,羽状聚缩虫Z.plumula Kahl,1933,中国聚缩虫Z.sinense Song,1991.对以上各种作了简要的综合性描述,并给出了种检索表.     

The Secondary Metabolite Euplotin C Induces Apoptosis-Like Death in the Marine Ciliated Protist Euplotes vannus

ABSTRACT. The sesquiterpenoid euplotin C is a secondary metabolite produced by the ciliated protist Euplotes crassus and provides a mechanism for damping populations of potential competitors. Indeed, E. crassus is virtually resistant to its own product while different non-producer species representing an unbiased sample of the marine, interstitial, ciliate diversity are sensitive. For instance, euplotin C exerts a marked disruption of different homeostatic mechanisms in Euplotes vannus . We demonstrate by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay that euplotin C quickly decreases viability and mitochondrial function of E. vannus with a very high efficacy and at micromolar potency. In addition, euplotin C induces apoptosis in E. vannus as 4,6-diamino-2-phenylindole and terminal transferase dUTP nick end labeling staining show the rapid condensation and fragmentation of nuclear material in cells treated with euplotin C. These effects occur without detectable permeabilisation or rupture of cell membranes and with no major changes in the overall morphology, although some traits, such as vacuolisation and disorganized microtubules, can be observed by transmission electron microscopy. In particular, E. vannus show profound changes of the mitochondrial ultrastructure. Finally, we also show that caspase activity in E. vannus is increased by euplotin C. These data elucidate the pro-apoptotic role of euplotin C and suggest a mechanism for its impact on natural selection.     

Reducing horizontal and vertical diversity in a foodweb triggers extinctions and impacts functions

Species loss can result in secondary extinctions and changes in ecosystem functions at distant trophic levels. Such effects of species loss are predicted to be affected by both the number of species lost within a trophic level (horizontal diversity) and the number of trophic levels lost (vertical diversity). We experimentally manipulated horizontal and vertical diversity within an aquatic insect community, and examined responses throughout the food web. Horizontal and vertical diversity both impacted ciliates: reduction of detritivorous insect diversity resulted in secondary extinctions and decreased density of ciliates, but only when an insect predator was simultaneously absent. Horizontal and vertical diversity differed in their effect on other foodweb processes, including detrital processing, predator growth, and densities of rotifers, flagellates and flatworms. These results caution that foodweb effects of multitrophic species loss may not be reliably predicted from manipulations of just one dimension of diversity.     

Morphology and Phylogeny of the Soil Ciliate Metopus yantaiensis n. sp. (Ciliophora,Metopida), with Identification of the Intracellular Bacteria

The morphology and infraciliature of a new ciliate, Metopus yantaiensis n. sp., discovered in coastal soil of northern China, were investigated. It is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following features: nuclear apparatus situated in the preoral dome; 18–21 somatic ciliary rows, of which three extend onto the preoral dome (dome kineties); three to five distinctly elongated caudal cilia, and 21–29 adoral polykinetids. The 18S rRNA genes of this new species and two congeners, Metopus contortus and Metopus hasei, were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. The new species is more closely related to M. hasei and the clevelandellids than to other congeners; both the genus Metopus and the order Metopida are not monophyletic. In addition, the digestion‐resistant bacteria in the cytoplasm of M. yantaiensis were identified, using a 16S rRNA gene clone library, sequencing, and fluorescence in situ hybridization. The detected intracellular bacteria are affiliated with Sphingomonadales, Rhizobiales, Rickettsiales (Alphaproteobacteria), Pseudomonas (Gammaproteobacteria), Rhodocyclales (Betaproteobacteria), Clostridiales (Firmicutes), and Flavobacteriales (Bacteroidetes).     

Contribution of biofilm‐dwelling consumers to pelagic–benthic coupling in a large river

1. Over the course of this 17‐month study, we assessed the potential loss of plankton (bacteria, algae, heterotrophic flagellates) to consumers (ciliates and rotifers) within mature biofilms established on natural substrata exposed to the main current of the River Rhine (Germany). Once a month, in flow cells in a bypass system to the River Rhine, we measured the clearance rates of the biofilm‐associated consumers on the different groups within the natural plankton. 2. Ciliates were the most dominant consumers, among which planktivorous groups, particularly peritrichs and (in spring and summer) heterotrichs dominated. Consumer biomass varied with season, with the highest density occurring directly after the appearance of the phytoplankton spring peak. 3. Clearance rates on plankton ranged from 96 to 565 L m^?2 d^?1 for bacteria and 66–749 L m^?2 d^?1 for algae, with a preference for algae in summer and for bacteria in winter. This pattern coincided with seasonal changes in the structures of the grazer communities. The consumers (both ciliates and rotifers with total standing stocks ranging between 19 and 572 mg C m^?2) imported a substantial amount of organic matter (between 15 and 137 mg C m^?2 d^?1) into the biofilm. 4. These results highlight the potential importance of consumers in the biofilm as a trophic link between the plankton and the benthos, a function that has hitherto mostly been attributed to filter‐feeding bivalves. In contrast to bivalves, the biofilm‐dwelling consumers show a more dynamic response towards the plankton density and composition. Such dynamic components need to be considered when estimating total plankton consumption by the benthos.