Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis and its potential survival tactics

Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (Map) is an important animal pathogen with a potential, but as yet unproven, role in human disease. This review briefly describes the characteristics of Map that distinguish it from other Mycobacterium spp., presenting new information arising from completion of the sequencing of the Map genome. It then focuses on the potential mechanisms Map might employ to survive and disseminate in the environment, including interaction with protozoa and insects, dormancy, biofilm formation and aerosolization.     

The Use of Protamine-Coated Slides for Immobilizing Protozoa*

Fresh-water, marine or parasitic protozoa can be immobilized for microscopic observation on protaminecoated slides. They appear not to be harmed by this procedure. The type of protamine derivative and its concentration are important, best results being obtained with 0.015–0.05% (w/v) of protamine sulfate.     

Cytologische Studien an Trichocysten

Zusammenfassung Die Nesselkapseltrichocysten der Ciliaten Loxophyllum und Prorodon wurden hinsichtlich ihrer Feinstruktur sowie des Ausschleuderungsablaufes untersucht. Loxophyllum besitzt zwei morphologisch unterscheidbare Sorten von Toxicysten, wohingegen Prorodon nur eine Art dieser Organelle aufweist (Krüger, 1936).Wie an Hand gehemmter Stadien gezeigt werden kann, verläuft die Ausschleuderung bis auf geringfügige Variationen bei den drei Sorten in der gleichen Art: Schläuche, die im ruhenden Zustand bereits in den endgültigen Dimensionen in der Toxicystenkapsel eng ineinandergeschachtelt vorliegen, werden handschuhfingerförmig umgestülpt und verlassen hierdurch die Kapsel und damit den Zellkörper. Dieser Prozeß ist mit der Ausscheidung einer teils fädigen, teils amorphen Substanz gekoppelt.Der Umstülpungsvorgang der Innenstruktur der Nesselkapseltrichocysten wird mit den völlig andersartigen, während der Ausschleuderung von Mucocysten und Spindeltrichocysten ablaufenden morphologischen Veränderungen verglichen.Es zeigte sich, daß aufgrund ihrer differierenden Feinstrukturen und Funktionsweisen in den Nesselkapseltrichocysten einerseits und in den Mucocysten sowie Spindeltrichocysten andererseits zwei grundsätzlich voneinander verschiedene Organellentypen gesehen werden müssen.

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Cytological studies on trichocystsVIII. Fine structure and function of toxicysts in Loxophyllum meleagris and Prorodon teres

Summary The toxicysts of the ciliates Loxophyllum meleagris and Prorodon teres were examined with regard to fine structure and expulsion mechanism. Loxophyllum possesses two morphologically distinct types of toxicysts, whereas in Prorodon only one type is present.As can be shown by discharge inhibition experiments, the expulsion mechanisms, except for small variations, are identical in all three types: Tubes, which in their resting state lie closely packed one within the other possess already at this state their final dimensions; they are inverted, thereby leaving the capsule and thus the cell body. This process is correlated with the excretion of a substance partly filamentous, partly amorphous.The inversion of the tubes during the expulsion is compared to the fundamentally different morphological alterations during discharge of mucocysts and spindle trichocysts.The differences and similarities in fine structure and function between toxicysts on the one hand and mucocysts and spindle trichocysts on the other, indicate that two rather than three fundamentally different organelle types must be distinguished.

Herrn Prof. Dr. Friedrich Krüger (Hamburg-Blankenese) zu seinem 71. Geburtstag am 18. 8. 1973 gewidmet.     

不同土壤培肥措施对华北高产农田原生动物丰度的影响

为了解华北高产农田生态系统中秸秆还田、有机肥和化肥投入水平等土壤培肥措施对原生动物群落丰度的影响,1999年10月~2000年9月在山东桓台冬小麦套种夏玉米的田间试验中进行了取样分析。田间处理1~处理9,依序为:全还,麦还,全还 化肥1,麦还 化肥1,全还 化肥2,麦还 化肥2,全还 化肥3,麦还 化肥3和全还 化肥1 有机肥处理。应用3级10倍环式稀释培养法对土壤中鞭毛虫、纤毛虫、肉足虫3类群原生动物的丰度进行了测定。结果显示:该研究地块肥力状况良好;土壤鞭毛虫和肉足虫占有绝大比例,分别为总丰度的39.47%和59.22%,纤毛虫仅占1.31%;土壤原生动物丰度在不同培肥处理中表现出相似的季节性动态变化特征;比较不同土壤培肥措施条件下的原生动物丰度水平为:全还>麦还,全还 化肥1 有机肥>麦还 化肥1,麦还 化肥2,麦还 化肥3>全还 化肥1,全还 化肥2,全还 化肥3;化肥对原生动物丰度表现出明显的抑制作用,而有机肥对原生动力丰度表现出明显的促进作用。化肥的施用量水平对土壤原生动物丰度的影响无显著性差异,作物秸秆采取何种还田方式对土壤原生动物丰度的影响也是不显著的,如麦还 化肥培肥地块的原生动物丰度仅略高于全还 化肥。     

Morphological and Molecular Characterization of a New Species of Stephanopogon,Stephanopogon pattersoni n. sp.

Stephanopogon is a taxon of multiciliated protists that is now known to belong to Heterolobosea. Small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) phylogenies indicate that Stephanopogon is closely related to or descended from Percolomonas, a small tetraflagellate with a different feeding structure, thus these morphologically dissimilar taxa are of ongoing evolutionary interest. A new strain of Stephanopogon, KM041, was cultured, then characterized by light microscopy, electron microscopy, and SSU rDNA sequencing. KM041 is 18–35 μm (mean 26.8 μm) long, with six main ventral ciliary rows, one ventro‐lateral ciliary row, and three anterior barbs. It closely resembles Stephanopogon minuta Lei et al. 1999 in morphology, and is very closely related to an extinct culture “S. aff. minuta”, yet is markedly dissimilar in SSU rDNA sequence from a different isolate identified as S. minuta. This confirms that there are at least two distinct lineages of S. minuta‐like cells, and we describe KM041 as a new species, Stephanopogon pattersoni n. sp. The ultrastructure of KM041 resembles that of previously studied Stephanopogon species, though it has a novel paraxonemal structure in a few cilia. We note that a sub‐basal‐body pad and bulbous axosome are unlikely to be apomorphies for the Stephanopogon–Percolomonas clade.     

Vertical Micro‐Zonation of Testate Amoebae and Ciliates in Peatland Waters in Relation to Potential Food Resources and Grazing Pressure

The aim of this study was to examine the community structure and vertical micro‐distribution of testate amoebae and ciliates in a raised bog in eastern Poland, as well as to assess the influence of potential food resources (Chl‐a, bacteria, heterotrophic flagellates) and predators (rotifers and copepods) on protozoa communities. Samples were taken from surface, bottom and interstitial waters. At each type of micro‐habitat and each sampling date water was sampled using a plexiglass corer or mini‐piezometers. Additionally, in order to evaluate grazing pressure, field enclosures were used in which metazoan abundance and composition was manipulated by size‐fractionation. Over experiments, metazoan populations shifted from dominance of rotifers to copepods. In the first experiment, with rotifers dominating, metazoa had only a modest predatory impact on the protozoa. In contrast, the second experiment, with copepods prevailing, demonstrated a clear top‐down control of the protozoa communities by metazoan. The density and biomass of protozoa significantly differed between the studied stations, with the lowest numbers in the interstitial water and the highest in the surface water. Surface sampling were dominated by mixotrophic taxa, whereas the deepest sampling level was characterized by increase in the proportion of bacterivore species. These differences between micro‐habitats may be due to differences in environmental conditions (food resources and grazing pressure). Ordination analysis revealed that bacteria can strongly regulate the abundance and taxonomic composition of protozoa in the bottom and interstitial waters. Metazoan predators could be the main regulators of protozoa communities in surface water. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)