Polyamines in halophilic archaebacteria

Abstract The presence of stable mRNA in domant spores of several Streptomyces species is reported. The proteins encoded by these mRNAs are remarkably similar in all the species studied. A high degradation rate during the first hour of germination is a common feature to these proteins.     

Testing of life history traits of a soilborne pathogen in vitro: Do characteristics of oospores change according the strains of Aphanomyces euteiches and the host plant infected by the pathogen?

Aphanomyces euteiches is a polyphagous, homothallic soilborne pathogen producing asexual (zoospores) and sexual (oospores) spores. Even if oospores are essential for disease development and survival, to date, no study has focused on the production rates of oospores or the quality of the offspring produced by oospores. In this study, a nonabrasive oospore extraction method from infected roots of leguminous species (pea, faba bean and vetch) was developed. This methodology includes steps of grinding and filtration. The quality of oospores (viable, dormant and dead) was assessed with tetrazolium bromide staining, and germination of oospores was tested using exudates of peas, faba bean and vetch. The average yield of the extraction method was approximately 21%. Staining revealed some differences between strains and between leguminous species. The germination percentage of oospores extracted from pea, faba bean and vetch was 25%, 62% and 70%, respectively, and a significant difference was observed according to the origin of A. euteiches‐inoculated strains. Application of exudates seems to stimulate the germination of oospores (2% for the control, 18% for pea exudates and 1% for vetch exudates). Differences observed between A. euteiches strains and leguminous species indicate that more knowledge concerning the biology of oospores is needed. This will help to better estimate evolution process of the pathogen and manage resistance and crop successions.     

Diversity and ecology of the bryophytes in the cave environment: a study on the volcanic and karstic caves of Sicily

The results of a long investigation (20 years) on bryophyte diversity of 28 Sicilian caves are reported; the study regarded both karstic and volcanic caves, located at altitudes ranging from 15 to 2030 m a.s.l. The bryophyte diversity consists of a total of 136 taxa, 20 liverworts, 3 hornworts and 113 mosses. The ecological analysis was performed using the Ellenberg indicator values for moisture, light and soil reaction to the substrate. On the whole, mesophytic and meso-hygrophytic, sciophytic and photo-sciophytic species strongly prevail independently from the geological nature of the caves; the values of the soil reaction to the substrate well reflect the characteristics of the substrate. The phytogeographical analysis shows the prevalence of the Mediterranean species, followed by the temperate and southern-temperate species. It is remarkable the occurrence of boreo-arctic-montane species, which find refuge for their survival in some high-altitude caves. Some typical species well adapted to the cave environment are reported, including Amphidium mougeotii, Isopterygiopsis pulchella, Thamnobryum alopecurum and Rhynchostegiella tenella, showing a troglophilous character. The occurrence of species of phytogeographical significance, as well as of conservation interest, e.g. Ptychostomum cernuum, Tortula bolanderi, Rhabdoweisia fugax, Grimmia torquata, Brachytheciastrum collinum, very rare in Italy, is emphasized too.     

Neural stem cells and neurogenesis in the adult zebrafish brain: origin, proliferation dynamics, migration and cell fate

Lifelong neurogenesis in vertebrates relies on stem cells producing proliferation zones that contain neuronal precursors with distinct fates. Proliferation zones in the adult zebrafish brain are located in distinct regions along its entire anterior-posterior axis. We show a previously unappreciated degree of conservation of brain proliferation patterns among teleosts, suggestive of a teleost ground plan. Pulse chase labeling of proliferating populations reveals a centrifugal movement of cells away from their places of birth into the surrounding mantle zone. We observe tangential migration of cells born in the ventral telencephalon, but only a minor rostral migratory stream to the olfactory bulb. In contrast, the lateral telencephalic area, a domain considered homologous to the mammalian dentate gyrus, shows production of interneurons and migration as in mammals. After a 46-day chase, newborn highly mobile cells have moved into nuclear areas surrounding the proliferation zones. They often show HuC/D immunoreactivity but importantly also more specific neuronal identities as indicated by immunoreactivity for tyrosine hydroxylase, serotonin and parvalbumin. Application of a second proliferation marker allows us to recognize label-retaining, actively cycling cells that remain in the proliferation zones. The latter population meets two key criteria of neural stem cells: label retention and self renewal.     

Predicting germination response to temperature. II. Three-dimensional regression, statistical gridding and iterative-probit optimization using measured and interpolated-subpopulation data

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Most current thermal-germination models are parameterized with subpopulation-specific rate data, interpolated from cumulative-germination-response curves. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative accuracy of three-dimensional models for predicting cumulative germination response to temperature. Three-dimensional models are relatively more efficient to implement than two-dimensional models and can be parameterized directly with measured data. METHODS: Seeds of four rangeland grass species were germinated over the constant-temperature range of 3 to 38 degrees C and monitored for subpopulation variability in germination-rate response. Models for estimating subpopulation germination rate were generated as a function of temperature using three-dimensional regression, statistical gridding and iterative-probit optimization using both measured and interpolated-subpopulation data as model inputs. KEY RESULTS: Statistical gridding is more accurate than three-dimensional regression and iterative-probit optimization for modelling germination rate and germination time as a function of temperature and subpopulation. Optimization of the iterative-probit model lowers base-temperature estimates, relative to two-dimensional cardinal-temperature models, and results in an inability to resolve optimal-temperature coefficients as a function of subpopulation. Residual model error for the three-dimensional model was extremely high when parameterized with measured-subpopulation data. Use of measured data for model evaluation provided a more realistic estimate of predictive error than did evaluation of the larger set of interpolated-subpopulation data. CONCLUSIONS: Statistical-gridding techniques may provide a relatively efficient method for estimating germination response in situations where the primary objective is to estimate germination time. This methodology allows for direct use of germination data for model parameterization and automates the significant computational requirements of a two-dimensional piece-wise-linear model, previously shown to produce the most accurate estimates of germination time.     

光皮桦花粉离体萌发试验

设置若干温度的培养环境以及各种浓度蔗糖、蔗糖+硼酸、蔗糖+硝酸钙、蔗糖+硼酸+硝酸钙培养基,研究温度以及蔗糖、硼、钙对光皮桦花粉离体萌发的影响,探明光皮桦花粉萌发的适宜温度和最佳培养基。结果表明:合适浓度的蔗糖、硼酸和硝酸钙均能显著促进光皮桦花粉萌发,而高浓度的蔗糖、硼和钙均抑制其花粉萌发;光皮桦花粉离体萌发的合适培养基为10%蔗糖+200mg.L-1硼酸+200mg.L-1硝酸钙,适宜培养温度为30℃;在此条件下培养4h后花粉萌发率基本稳定,培养6h后花粉管长度亦趋于稳定。     

Interactions between rye (Secale cereale) root border cells (RBCs) and pathogenic and nonpathogenic rhizosphere strains of Fusarium culmorum

Interactions of rye (Secale cereale) root border cells (RBCs), generated during plant growth and surrounding the root cap, with nonpathogenic rhizosphere Fusarium culmorum isolates: DEMFc2 (PGPF) and DEMFc5 (DRMO), and a pathogenic strain DEMFc37 were studied in test tube experiments. The effect of water-suspended RBCs released from the rye root cap on the rate of macroconidia germination and hyphae (mycelial) growth of F. culmorum strains was also examined. It was found that root caps of 3-d-old rye seedlings (with the root length of 20 mm) were surrounded with a layer of RBCs generated in a number specific for this plant species of 1980 ± 30. Introduction of the macroconidia of the tested F. culmorum strains into the root zone of 3-d-old seedlings resulted, after 3 d of incubation, in the formation of mantle-like structures only in the rhizosphere of plants inoculated with the pathogenic DEMFc37 strain. The macroconidia were suspended in (1) water, (2) a water mixture with root caps deprived of RBCs, (3) Martin medium, (4) malt extract broth, and (5) a water mixture with rye RBCs, and their percentage germination was determined during 96-h incubation at 20 °C. Germination of the macroconidia of all the tested F. culmorum strains suspended in the rich growth media (Martin and malt extract broth) and in the mixture with RBCs was significantly speeded up. While only an average of 16.6 % of macroconidia suspended in water germinated after 96-h incubation, more than 90 % of those suspended in the growth media or in the mixture with RBCs germinated after 24 h of incubation. In all the treatments, the highest rate of macroconidia germination was found in suspensions of the pathogenic strain and the lowest in macroconidial suspensions of the PGPF strain. The stimulatory effect of RBCs was not specific to the pathogenic strain. Nevertheless, microscopic observation revealed that it was only in the suspension containing a mixture of rye RBCs and macroconidia of the pathogenic strain that after 48-h incubation compact clusters of hyphae and RBCs, resembling mantle-like structures found in the root zone of plants inoculated only with the pathogenic strain but not inoculated with DRMO and PGPF strain, were formed.     

Seed Dispersal by Golden-headed Lion Tamarins Leontopithecus chrysomelas in Southern Bahian Atlantic Forest, Brazil

Seed dispersal by small primates may be particularly relevant in areas where populations of larger frugivores have been reduced or extinguished by hunting and/or habitat disturbance. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the role of the golden-headed lion tamarin Leontopithecus chrysomelas as a seed disperser in Atlantic forest remnants in Brazil. To this end, we opportunistically collected feces deposited during observations on the feeding behavior of two groups of golden-headed lion tamarins ranging in the degraded areas of the Una Biological Reserve, Bahia, Brazil, from February 2006 to January 2007. We collected 587 fecal samples, of which 524 contained seeds from 24 plant species, distributed over 13 families. Disregarding seeds of<3 mm, the majority of seeds recovered were bromeliad seeds. In general, ingestion of seeds by golden-headed lion tamarins did not improve the germination proportion or decrease the germination delay of seeds, with the exception of Aechmea spp. seeds. The tamarins encountered different habitats during their daily activity period, while feeding and defecating. Consequently, some seeds were transported to different habitats including disturbed areas. Thus, the role of seed dispersal in combination with the daily movement pattern of L. chrysomelas contributes to the persistence of fruit plants and epiphyte species and to the natural regeneration process within Atlantic forest remnants.