Introduction of a nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium into tobacco shoot regenerates

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) shoots associated with the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis Kütz. (ATCC 29413) were regenerated in mixed cultures of tobacco callus and the cyanobacterium. The cyanobacteria were localized inside the tissues as well as on the surface of regenerated shoots, formed heterocysts, and were capable of acetylene reduction.     

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy as an Oligogenic Disease: Transcriptomic Arguments

Molecular Biology - Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common genetically determined heart pathology and is often accompanied by fatal complications. Today, the traditional view of the...     

Immobilization of a Mixed Culture of Oxygenic Phototrophic Microorganisms on a Chitosan-Based Sorbent for Nutrient Bioremoval

Applied Biochemistry and Microbiology - The immobilization of cells of a mixed culture of the microalgae (MA) Micractinium sp. NAMSU A-19 and cyanobacteria (CB) Synechococcus sp. 1Dp66E-1 on a...     

Population cytology and its role in research of life activity of procaryotes

An historical analysis of the population approach in cytology of microorganisms is presented. Special attention is paid to the structural basis of organization of the developing bacterial population as a holistic self-regulated system featuring cell specialization and cooperation. The structural and functional properties and the proportion of different cell types formed during population development under certain environmental conditions, as well as the structural fundamentals of cell interaction, are proposed as the subject of prokaryote population cytology. The interrelationship of the phenotypical and ultrastructural plasticity concepts in bacteria is discussed. The results of the experiments carried out by the author on cyanobacteria in natural and model plant symbioses are employed as evidence of the efficiency of use of the ultrastructural plasticity-based criteria as markers of the operation of adaptation mechanisms implemented on the subcellular, cellular, and population level.     

Cytological study on wheat (Triticum timopheevi Zhuk.) protoplasts

Protoplasts were obtained from tetraploid wheat (Triticum timopheevi Zhuk.) suspension culture by incubation in solution of 1 % pectinase 500, 1 % driselase and 1 % cellulase and cultivated in Schenk and Hildebrandt medium. Freshly isolated protoplasts contained dense cytoplasm and constricted organellae exhibited negative contrast of their membranes. Together with normal protoplasts huge multinucleate protoplasts were present in the population. 3 h after plating, the cytoplasm showed normal appearance, the negative contrast of membranes was not evident any longer. Cisternae of endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus were numerous. There were some vesicles and fibres on the protoplast surface. 8 d after plating, many dividing cells were found out and cell clumps arosen in this way were present in the culture. Some of the protoplasts particularly those originally multinucleate ones were upset.     

Associations between the White Sea invertebrates and oxygen-evolving phototrophic microorganisms

Eleven species of White Sea invertebrates (sponges, actinians, hydroids, polychaetes, and nudibranch mollusks) were tested for the presence of associated oxygen-evolving phototrophic microorganisms (OPM) (microalgae and cyanobacteria). Two main approaches were applied: (a) light and electron microscopy of intact samples and fixed preparations of invertebrates, and (b) isolation of microorganisms from samples of invertebrates after mild surface sterilization. The obtained results lead to conclusions on the formation of multicomponent associations by White Sea invertebrates and OPM based on the following data: (1) isolation of 27 cultures of OPM from eight species of invertebrates (sponges, hydroids, polychaete trochophore larva), (2) specificity of association between epibiontic communities of microorganisms and macroorganisms within the same biotope, and (3) spatial integration of micro- and macropartners resulting in the formation of morphological structures within the interorganismic contact zones.     

Versatility of the green microalga cell vacuole function as revealed by analytical transmission electron microscopy

Vacuole is a multifunctional compartment central to a large number of functions (storage, catabolism, maintenance of the cell homeostasis) in oxygenic phototrophs including microalgae. Still, microalgal cell vacuole is much less studied than that of higher plants although knowledge of the vacuolar structure and function is essential for understanding physiology of nutrition and stress tolerance of microalgae. Here, we combined the advanced analytical and conventional transmission electron microscopy methods to obtain semi-quantitative, spatially resolved at the subcellular level information on elemental composition of the cell vacuoles in several free-living and symbiotic chlorophytes. We obtained a detailed record of the changes in cell and vacuolar ultrastructure in response to environmental stimuli under diverse conditions. We suggested that the vacuolar inclusions could be divided into responsible for storage of phosphorus (mainly in form of polyphosphate) and those accommodating non-protein nitrogen (presumably polyamine) reserves, respectively.The ultrastructural findings, together with the data on elemental composition of different cell compartments, allowed us to speculate on the role of the vacuolar membrane in the biosynthesis and sequestration of polyphosphate. We also describe the ultrastructural evidence of possible involvement of the tonoplast in the membrane lipid turnover and exchange of energy and metabolites between chloroplasts and mitochondria. These processes might play a significant role in acclimation in different stresses including nitrogen starvation and extremely high level of CO₂ and might also be of importance for microalgal biotechnology. Advantages and limitations of application of analytical electron microscopy to biosamples such as microalgal cells are discussed.     

The pleiotropic effects of ftn2 and ftn6 mutations in cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942

Two cell division mutants (Ftn2 and Ftn6) of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 were studied using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy methods. This included negative staining and ultrathin section analysis. Different morphological and ultrastructural features of mutant cells were identified. Ftn2 and Ftn6 mutants exhibited particularly elongated cells characterized by significantly changed shape in comparison with the wild type. There was irregular bending, curving, spiralization, and bulges as well as cell branching. Elongated mutant cells were able to initiate cytokinesis simultaneously in several division sites which were localized irregularly along the cell. Damaged rigidity of the cell wall was typical of many cells for both mutants. Thylakoids of mutants showed modified arrangement and ultrastructural organization. Carboxysome-like structures without a shell and/or without accurate polyhedral packing protein particles were often detected in the mutants. However, in the case of Ftn2 and Ftn6, the average number of carboxysomes per section was less than in the wild type by a factor of 4 and 2, respectively. These multiple morphological and ultrastructural changes in mutant cells evinced pleiotropic responses which were induced by mutations in cell division genes ftn2 and ftn6. Ultrastructural abnormalities of Ftn2 and Ftn6 mutants were consistent with differences in their proteomes. These results could support the significance of FTN2 and FTN6 proteins for both cyanobacterial cell division and cellular physiology.     

Hints for understanding microalgal phosphate-resilience from Micractinium simplicissimum IPPAS C-2056 (Trebouxiophyceae) isolated from a phosphorus-polluted site

Journal of Applied Phycology - A novel chlorophyte algae strain with outstanding resilience to high inorganic phosphate (Pi) concentrations in the medium was isolated from a...     

Cationic penetrating antioxidants switch off Mn cluster of photosystem II in situ

Photosynthesis Research - Photosystem I (PSI) generates the most negative redox potential found in nature, and the performance of solar energy conversion into alternative energy sources in...