Effect of Cytokinins and Cytokinin Antagonists on in vitro Cultured Gypsophila paniculata L.

This study deals with the effects of two cytokinins [kinetin (Kin) and N-(2-chloro-4-pyridyl)-N-phenylurea (CPPU)] and cytokinin antagonists [2-chloro-4-cyclobutyl-amino-6-ethylamino-1,3,5-triazine (ACK1) and N-(4-pyridyl)-O-(4-chlorophenyl)carbamate (ACK2)] in concentration of 1 μM on in vitro cultured Gypsophila. The application of Kin and CPPU stimulated bud opening and increased fresh and dry masses. Cytokinin antagonists reduced the number of sprouted buds and bud fresh and dry masses. In plants treated with CPPU the chloroplasts possessed well developed membrane system, which covered almost the entire chloroplasts volume. In ACK2 treated plants, the plastid apparatus in each cell was represented by two types of chloroplast in which the inner membrane system was differently organized. Cell wall adjacent chloroplasts possessed structure similar to the controls. In inner located chloroplasts part of thylakoids were semi-concentrically arranged and partially destructed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Comprehensive Chromosome End Remodeling during Programmed DNA Elimination

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Ultrastructural variations in Microcystis aeruginosa (Chroococcales,Cyanophyta) during a surface bloom induced by high incident light irradiance

ABSTRACT

We evaluated the ultrastructural variations occurring during a surface bloom in Microcystis aeruginosa Kützing PCC 7005, by comparing cultures exposed to high incident light irradiance (90 µmol photons m^-2 s^-1) and to low irradiance (9 µmol photons m^-2 s^-1). At 12h, and 15 and 30 days in culture, the cells were fixed in glutaraldehyde and subjected to cytochemical assays. Exposure to high irradiance induced structural changes in the cell wall, and differences in the photosynthetic apparatus and granule reserves. After 15 days of high irradiance, the following features were observed: a reduced number of thylakoids and changes in their arrangement; high accumulation of glycogen, poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate, lipid bodies and cyanophycin; conspicuous structural changes in the cell wall. At day 30 of high irradiance, the viable cells had few thylakoids, arranged parallel to each other and perpendicular to the plasma membrane, and abundant glycogen. Nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus, as detected by electron spectroscopic imaging, were present in different sites of cells grown at low and high irradiance. The results of this study, together with previous data on variation in Fe-superoxide dismutase (Canini et al., 2001a), suggest that defense mechanisms against high and prolonged irradiance only operate for a short time.     

A New Freshwater Amoeba: Cochliopodium pentatrifurcatum n. sp. (Amoebozoa,Amorphea)

Cochliopodium pentatrifurcatum n. sp. (ATCC^© 30935^TM) is described based on light microscopic morphology, fine structure, and molecular genetic evidence. Cochliopodium pentatrifurcatum n. sp. (length ~ 25 μm) is characterized by surface microscales (0.3 μm tall) containing a circular porous base (~ 0.6 μm diam.) with a thin peripheral rim. Five radially arranged feet, emanating from the base, support a short central column terminating apically as a funnel‐shaped collar (~ 0.5 μm diam.) composed of five radial, trifurcate rays extending from the center toward a thin peripheral rim. The central spine is 0.5–0.6 μm long. The comparative morphologies and combined molecular genetic evidence, SSU‐rDNA and COI, indicate that the new species falls in a clade sufficiently different from other species to suggest that it is a valid new species.     

Chemical and Ultrastructural Characterization of High Arctic Cryptoendolithic Habitats

Cryptoendolithic habitats in the Canadian high Arctic are host to a diverse assemblage of microorganisms including cyanobacteria, algae, fungi and heterotrophic bacteria. Communities grow as biofilms attached to mineral surfaces as well as within the open void spaces between grains and in many cases produce extracellular polysaccharides in response to the extreme environmental conditions. In situ observations of the cryptoendolithic habitat as well as ultrastructural examination of microorganisms show that this EPS provides a substrate for accumulation of allochthonous clay particles that enter the system by winds and rain. The lack of evidence for biomineralization within this habitat contrasts with similar environments in the Antarctic Dry Valleys, a consequence of warmer temperatures and wetter conditions that increase erosion rates and subsequent habitat destruction, effectively limiting the time possible for biomineralization by living microorganisms as well as the formation of biosignatures or microfossils.     

An ultrastructural investigation of the early stages of oocyte differentiation in Actinia fragacea (Cnidaria; Anthozoa)

Individuals from a population of the intertidal sea anemone Actinia fragacea (Tugwell) were collected at approximately monthly intervals over an 18 month period. Samples of gonad were removed from each anemone and examined by light and electron microscopy. During late spring and early summer, large numbers of small cells were seen in the endoderm of the female gonads, lying close to the mesoglea. For convenience, these cells were classified into three types. Type I cells are 6–9 μm in diameter, with relatively very large nuclei, which may contain synaptinemal complexes, and scant cytoplasm containing few organelles. Type II cells are larger, reaching 15 μ m in diameter, with more abundant cytoplasm containing more organelles and inclusions. The nucleus is more dense, but may also contain synaptinemal complexes. Type III cells are less common. They are similar in size to Type II cells, but their nuclei contain irregular dense chromatin masses, and the nuclear envelope is incomplete or absent. The possible significance of the various cell types is discussed. It is suggested that Type I cells are oocytes at a very early stage of differentiation and that Type II cells are rather later oocytes. The status of the Type III cells is uncertain.     

Recognizing and Interpreting the Fossils of Early Eukaryotes

Using molecular sequence data, biologists cangenerate hypotheses of protistan phylogeny and divergence times. Fossils, however, provide our only direct constraints on the timingand environmental context of early eukaryotic diversification. Forthis reason, recognition of eukaryotic fossils in Proterozoic rocksis key to the integration of geological and comparative biologicalperspectives on protistan evolution. Microfossils preserved in shales of the ca. 1500 Ma Roper Group, northern Australia, display characters that ally them to the Eucarya, but, at present, attribution to any particular protistan clade is uncertain. Continuing research on wall ultrastructure and microchemistry promises new insights into the nature and systematic relationshipsof early eukaryotic fossils.     

䗴类旋壁超微构造的研究——以麦䗴型旋壁为例*

光学显微镜下的观察表明蜓类的旋壁属于钙质微粒壳类型,对它们的电镜观察揭示的组成旋壁的晶粒的大小、形态和排列方式。对具有致密层和蜂巢层型两层式旋壁的Ｔｒｉｔｉｃｉｔｅｓ的电镜研究表明：其致密层由近等轴晶无定向排列而成;蜂巢层由短柱状晶向排列组成板状复合体,进而组合成管状孔,镶嵌在不定向排列的近等轴晶基质中构成。Ｐｓｅｕｄｏｆｕｓｕｌｉｎａ的致密层也由近等轴晶不定向排列构成,蜂巢层由粗柱晶定向排列组成     

Morphology and ultrastructure of teratological forms of the diatoms Stephanodiscus niagarae and S. parvus (Bacillariophyceae) from Hamilton Harbour (Lake Ontario,Canada)

Teratological forms of Stephanodiscus niagarae Ehrenb. and S. parvus Stoermer & Håkansson were observed during a study of diatoms preserved in a radiometrically dated core from Hamilton Harbour (Lake Ontario, Canada). Morphological features and ultrastructures of both species were studied under the light and scanning electron microscope. The valve structure of abnormal forms of S. niagarae appears to be weakly silicified, especially in the central area. The shape of satellite pores are very irregular in comparison with the round shape of the normal specimen. The central fultoportulae are characterized as small tubes extending out of the external valve. Two types of abnormal frustules are present in the population of S. parvus studied. In one type valves are underdeveloped and only the siliceous layer and ribs are present, and in the other type the valves are strongly silicified and the areolae are almost completely occluded.The teratological forms of both species appeared in the core sediments after 1911, and both became the dominant components of diatom assemblages after 1970. Their occurrence and increased abundance coincides with records of heavy metal pollution in the harbour.     

Fine Structure of the Esophagus of Pratylenchus penetrans

The fine structure of the esophagus of Pratylenchus penetrans is described. The gland lobe is syncytial and contains two types of nuclei: three large nuclei with little chromatin, and more numerous smaller nuclei with large amounts of chromatin. Some of the smaller nuclei are associated only with glandular tissue, whereas others are part of nerve ceils within the esophagus. Clusters of free ribosomes, rough endoplasmic reticulum, and numerous mitochondria occur in the lobe region where the secretory granules are formed. No Golgi bodies were observed. On the basis of these observations, possible differences in the mechanism of secretory granule formation between plant-parasitic nematodes are discussed. Several other minor differences between the fine structure of other plant-parasitic nematodes previously examined and that of P. penetrans are also noted.