Quadriacanthus aegypticus n. sp., a monogenean gill parasite from the Egyptian teleost Clarias lazera

Summary Quadriacanthus aegypticus n. sp., a monogenean from the gills of Clarias lazera inhabiting Nile delta waters in Egypt, is described. The genus Quadriacanthus Paperna, 1961 is reported for the first time in Egypt. Particular attention has been paid to the reproductive system, the digestive system, the anterior adhesive glands, the posterior body glands and haptoral sclerites. Possible functions of the different internal organs are discussed. The diagnosis of the genus Quadriacanthus is emended. ac]19840926     

Dietary intake of artificial food color additives containing food products by school-going children

Nutritional risk in children is associated with food safety. This is the first study to identify the food type consumed by 6–17-year-old school-going children in Saudi Arabia. Eight permitted artificial food color additives, including Tartrazine (E102), Sunset Yellow (E110), Carmoisine (E122), Allura Red (E129), Indigo Carmine (E132), Brilliant Blue (E133), Fast Green (E143), and Black PN (E151), and two non-permitted ones, Erythrosine (E127) and Red 2G (E128), were determined using 24-h dietary recall questionnaires. Artificial color additives in 839 food products were divided into nine categories, including biscuits, cakes, chocolates, chips, ice cream, juices and drinks, candy, jelly, and chewing gum, are determined using high performance liquid chromatography and diode array detector. The results indicated a high intake of juices and drinks, ice cream, and cakes, but low consumption of chewing gum among school-going children. Among the permitted artificial food color additives, Brilliant Blue (E133) (54.1%) and Tartrazine (E102) (42.3%) were the most commonly used. Sunset Yellow (E110) in one chocolate sample, Tartrazine (E102) and Sunset Yellow (E110) in one and two juice and drink samples, respectively, and Brilliant Blue (E133) in two candy samples exceeded the permitted level. Therefore, further investigations are needed to provide insights into the possible adverse health effects of high intake of these additives in artificial food coloring on the test population are warranted.     

Changes in nitrogen content and protein profiles following <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis> selection of NaCl resistant mung bean and tomato

Mung bean and tomato were in vitro selected on media containing 0, 25, 50, 100 and 150 mM NaCl. Two types of media (hormone supplemented media, CB and hormone free media, MS) were used for mung bean using cotyledon explants whereas two types of explants (cotyledons and shoot apices) were used for tomato on MS media. Total-N, protein content, nitrite reductase (NiR) activity and protein protein profiles were checked in selected plants and compared to original non selected ones. NaCl at low concentrations slightly increased total-N in shoots and roots of in vitro selected mung bean and tomato whereas higher concentrations induced significant reductions. Similar increases in protein content were detected at lower concentrations with no significant effects thereover. On the contrary, NaCl gradually inhibited NiR activity. Similar responses of total-N, protein and NiR activity, but with greater magnitudes, were detected in original plants. In addition, NaCl significantly reduced dry weights of shoots and roots of either in vitro selected or, in particular, original intact plants. Moreover, electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of protein from shoots of either in vitro selected or intact plants showed that NaCl induced new protein bands while some others were concomitantly disappeared. The induction of one or more of the 86.4, 79, 77.6, 77 and 71.5 kDa bands following in vitro selection and/or the disappearance of the 86 kDa band from intact plants seemed necessary for mung bean resistance. Also, the presence of 86.2 kDa band and/or the loss of the 85.8 and 57.5 kDa bands might be included in tomato resistance. Of these induced bands in mung bean selected on CB media, only two bands were detected in plants selected on MS media. In tomato, two bands lost following selection from cotyledons but only one band lost following selection from shoot apices. These changes in protein pattern therefore might serve as adaptive regulators for resistance to NaCl.     

Fine and coarse regulation of reactive oxygen species in the salt tolerant mutants of barnyard grass and their wild-type parents under salt stress

The growth of the wild-type and three salt tolerant mutants of barnyard grass ( Echinochloa crusgalli L.) under salt stress was investigated in relation to oxidative stress and activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD: EC 1.15.1.1), catalase (CAT: EC 1.11.1.6), phenol peroxidase (POD: EC 1.11.1.7), glutathione reductase (GR: EC 1.8.1.7) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX: EC 1.11.1.1). The three mutants ( fows B17, B19 and B21) grew significantly better than the wild-type under salt stress (200 m M NaCl) but some salt sensitive individuals were still detectable in the populations of the mutants though in smaller numbers compared with the wild-type. The salt sensitive plants had slower growth rates, higher rates of lipid peroxidation and higher levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in their leaves compared with the more tolerant plants from the same genotype. These sensitivity responses were maximized when the plants were grown under high light intensity suggesting that the chloroplast could be a main source of ROS under salt stress. However, the salt sensitivity did not correlate with reduced K ⁺/Na ⁺ ratios or enhanced Na ⁺ uptake indicating that the sensitivity responses may be mainly because of accumulation of ROS rather than ion toxicity. SOD activities did not correlate to salt tolerance. Salt stress resulted in up to 10-fold increase in CAT activity in the sensitive plants but lower activities were found in the tolerant ones. In contrast, the activities of POD, APX and GR were down regulated in the sensitive plants compared with the tolerant ones. A correlation between plant growth, accumulation of ROS and differential modulation of antioxidant enzymes is discussed. We conclude that loss of activities of POD, APX and GR causes loss of fine regulation of ROS levels and hence the plants experience oxidative stress although they have high CAT activities.     

Variants in the interleukin-1 alpha and beta genes,and the risk for periodontal disease in dogs

Elevated levels of interleukin-1 (IL-1) have been shown to amplify the inflammatory response against periodontopathogenic bacteria. In humans, polymorphisms in the IL1A and IL1B genes are the most well-studied genetic polymorphisms associated with periodontal disease (PD). In contrast to human, there is a lack of knowledge on the genetic basis of canine PD. A case–control study was conducted in which a molecular analysis of dog IL1A and IL1B genes was performed. Of the eight genetic variants identified, seven in IL1A gene and one in IL1B gene, IL1A/1_g.388A >C and IL1A/1_g.521T >A showed statistically significant differences between groups (adjusted OR (95% CI): 0.15 (0.03–0.76), P= 0.022; 5.76 (1.03–32.1), P= 0.046, respectively). It suggests that in the studied population the IL1A/1_g.388C allele is associated with a decreased PD risk, whereas the IL1A/1_g.521A allele can confer an increased risk. Additionally, the IL1A/2_g.515G >T variation resulted in a change of amino acid, i.e. glycine to valine. In silico analysis suggests that this change can alter protein structure and function, predicting it to be deleterious or damaging. This work suggests that IL1 genetic variants may be important in PD susceptibility in canines.     

Testing the quick meal hypothesis: The effect of pulp on hoarding and seed predation of Hymenaea courbaril by red‐rumped agoutis (Dasyprocta leporina)

Abstract: Red‐rumped agoutis (Dasyprocta leporina) are important seed dispersers/predators of Neotropical large‐seeded plants. Several species of seeds cached by agoutis have an edible reward, in contrast to temperate rodent‐dispersed diaspores. The quick meal hypothesis states that the presence of a reward such as edible pulp will enhance the efficiency of rodents as seed disperses by satiating the animal and, consequently, reducing seed predation and enhancing hoarding. In this study, this hypothesis was tested using as the reference system the pulp and seeds of Hymenaea courbaril. Seeds with and without pulp were offered to agoutis and the behaviour of each individual was recorded. Since the probability of predation and hoarding were complementary, we used the probability of predation. The proportion of agoutis that preyed on at least one seed was similar for seeds with (42.8% of individuals) and without (40.0% of individuals) pulp. In agoutis that preyed upon at least one seed, the probability that they killed a seed did not differ between seeds with (0.17 ± 0.03) and without (0.20 ± 0.08) pulp. Hence, these results do not support the ‘quick meal hypothesis’.     

Extrafloral nectaries as a deterrent mechanism against seed predators in the chemically protected weed Crotalaria pallida (Leguminosae)

Abstract In several plants, extrafloral nectaries (EFN) are located close to the reproductive structures, suggesting that ants may act as a defence against specialized seed predators that overcome chemical defences. Alternatively, ants may also deter herbivores in a generalized manner, thereby protecting the whole plant. In this work, we examined the relationship between the chemically protected weed Crotalaria pallida Ait. (Leguminosae) that bears EFN, its specialized seed predator, the larvae of the arctiid moth Utetheisa ornatrix L. (Arctiidae) and ants. We tested two hypotheses related to the type of deterrence caused by ants. The Seed Predator Deterrence Hypothesis predicts that ant deterrence is directed primarily towards herbivores that destroy seeds and other reproductive structures, without attacking herbivores on vegetative structures. The General Deterrence Hypothesis states that ants are general in their effects, equally deterring herbivores in vegetative and reproductive structures. Our results supported the predictions of the Seed Predator Deterrence Hypothesis, namely, that (i) ant activity on EFN was related to the vulnerability of reproductive structures to attack by U. ornatrix; (ii) ant patrolling was restricted almost entirely to racemes; (iii) ants removed termites used as baits more frequently on racemes than on leaves; and (iv) U. ornatrix larvae were often expulsed from the racemes. These results indicate that EFN can act as another deterrent mechanism in chemically protected plants by promoting the expulsion of specialist seed predators.     

Prediction of indirect interactions in proteins

Background  

Both direct and indirect interactions determine molecular recognition of ligands by proteins. Indirect interactions can be defined as effects on recognition controlled from distant sites in the proteins, e.g. by changes in protein conformation and mobility, whereas direct interactions occur in close proximity of the protein's amino acids and the ligand. Molecular recognition is traditionally studied using three-dimensional methods, but with such techniques it is difficult to predict the effects caused by mutational changes of amino acids located far away from the ligand-binding site. We recently developed an approach, proteochemometrics, to the study of molecular recognition that models the chemical effects involved in the recognition of ligands by proteins using statistical sampling and mathematical modelling.