Copepods and branchiopods of temporary ponds in the Doñana Natural Area (SW Spain): a four-decade record (1964–2007)

The Doñana Natural Area includes a large array of wetlands with the highest degree of environmental protection in Spain, and so it has long attracted many studies. We present a cumulative list of zooplankton taxa (Copepods and Branchiopods) based on a collection of 18 publications (1964–2007) and 4 unpublished studies. Seventy-eight taxa have been recorded in a set of 55 ponds, and 72 taxa at 38 sites spread over the Doñana marshland. In total, 96 taxa have been recorded, including 50% of all branchiopod species reported for the whole Iberian Peninsula. Taxa composition was significantly segregated between ponds and marshland during floods (ANOSIM test, R = 0.929, P < 0.01), but this segregation disappeared at a larger spatio-temporal scale when a non-metric MDS ordination produced a gradient from ponds to marshland (ANOSIM test, R = 0.272, P < 0.01). The lack of segregation between ponds and marshland sites, and among ponds with different hydroperiods, was not due to a large number of cosmopolitan species, but to a random distribution of a large number of low-occurrence species (67% of total taxa occurred with a frequency <15%). Long-hydroperiod ponds occupy a key position among the Doñana wetlands in terms of biodiversity as these ponds accumulated a high crustacean richness over time. They also supported a significantly higher cumulative number of cladoceran and harpacticoid taxa, while short-hydroperiod ponds accumulated the lowest number of diaptomid taxa. Our data indicate the need for recording biodiversity in the long term as richness on a short-temporal scale is not a good indicator of the number of crustacean species that would be encountered with a longer sampling period in Mediterranean temporary wetlands.     

BRCA1 gene expression in breast cancer: a correlative study between real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry.

Breast cancer is a major cause of cancer-related mortality in women. There are major discrepancies concerning the usefulness of various antibodies in detecting breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) protein and its subcellular localization. The aim of the present study was to determine the specificity and sensitivity of immunohistochemistry (IHC) as a screening method for demonstrating BRCA1 expression. BRCA1 gene expression in archival paraffin-embedded breast cancer tissues was studied simultaneously at the protein and mRNA levels, and the two findings were compared. Forty-eight archival paraffin-embedded breast cancer tissues were studied for BRCA1 gene expression at protein level by IHC using four different antibodies against different BRCA1 epitopes and at mRNA level using real-time RT-PCR. BRCA1 mRNA expression was reduced or absent in 79% of the samples, and this finding correlated significantly with loss of BRCA1 protein expression in 83% of breast cancer tissues using one BRCA1 antibody studied (AB-1, against N-terminus epitope). The specificity of this antibody was 91.3%, and its sensitivity was 66.6%. There was no significant correlation between BRCA1 mRNA and protein expression as demonstrated by the remaining three antibodies. Antibody 8F7 had the highest sensitivity of 100%, but its specificity was 30.4% if mRNA levels were considered as the reference standard.     

Phylogeography of the false smooth snakes, Macroprotodon (Serpentes, Colubridae): mitochondrial DNA sequences show European populations arrived recently from Northwest Africa

Mitochondrial DNA (1075 bp: cytochrome b, 300 bp; 12S rRNA, 393 bp; and 16S rRNA, 382 bp) corroborates the monophyly of the genus Macroprotodon and of the species M. mauritanicus, M. abubakeri, and M. brevis. The subspecies M. brevis ibericus is also monophyletic. The mtDNA tree presented here indicates that M. cucullatus consists of at least two separate units and may possibly represent a primitive morphology rather than a species in its own right. However, this hypothesis is tentative since it is only reflects the history of a single evolutionary unit (mtDNA). A definitive understanding of the evolution of M. cucullatus will not be possible until informative nuclear markers are added to the mitochondrial data. Macroprotodon appears to have originated in the Maghreb region of NW Africa and speciated there around 4-5.5 million years ago around the end of the Miocene period, after which its three main lineages may each have expanded north into more mesic conditions. The group also spread eastwards into coastal areas of Libya quite recently and on to Egypt and Israel. Later still, M. b. ibericus from extreme north Morocco reached the Iberian Peninsula, and M. mauritanicus from Tunisia or Algeria colonised the Balearic Islands of Menorca and Mallorca. Both these range extensions may result from very recent natural colonisations or even from accidental human introduction. Recency of origin of Iberian and Balearic populations is indicated by uniformity of their mtDNA even across large distances, and its great similarity to that of populations in source regions. Isolated populations assigned to M. cucullatus in the Hoggar mountains (southern Algeria) and Western Sahara are probably relicts from quite recent periods of climatic amelioration in the North African desert.     

P2RY1/ALK3-Expressing Cells within the Adult Human Exocrine Pancreas Are BMP-7 Expandable and Exhibit Progenitor-like Characteristics

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An analysis of why highly similar enzymes evolve differently

The TEM-1 and SHV-1 beta-lactamases are important contributors to resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics in gram-negative bacteria. These enzymes share 68% amino acid sequence identity and their atomic structures are nearly superimposable. Extended-spectrum cephalosporins were introduced to avoid the action of these beta-lactamases. The widespread use of antibiotics has led to the evolution of variant TEM and SHV enzymes that can hydrolyze extended-spectrum antibiotics. Despite being highly similar in structure, the TEM and SHV enzymes have evolved differently in response to the selective pressure of antibiotic therapy. Examples of this are at residues Arg164 and Asp179. Among TEM variants, substitutions are found only at position 164, while among SHV variants, substitutions are found only at position 179. To explain this observation, the effects of substitutions at position 164 in both TEM-1 and SHV-1 on antibiotic resistance and on enzyme catalytic efficiency were examined. Competition experiments were performed between mutants to understand why certain substitutions preferentially evolve in response to the selective pressure of antibiotic therapy. The data presented here indicate that substitutions at position Asp179 in SHV-1 and Arg164 in TEM-1 are more beneficial to bacteria because they provide increased fitness relative to either wild type or other mutants.