A histopathological study on the Caucasian dwarf goby from an anthropogenically loaded site in Hungary using multiple tissues analyses

The present study aimed to investigate for the first time the health status of the Caucasian dwarf goby Knipowitschia caucasica (Berg, 1916, Fishes of freshwaters of Russian Empire, p. 563, Moscow, Russia: Dep. Zemledeliya) (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from an anthropogenically loaded site in Hungary using histopathological analyses on multiple tissues. For that purpose, fish were collected from the public beach at Tiszafüred near the River Tisza. Gills, liver and kidney were subjected to histopathological analyses, and the results showed different alterations in each organ, which also differed in their extent and severity. In addition, we also found lesions in the reproductive organs of both, male and female fish which, overall, we hypothesized could be due to untreated municipal wastewaters, most likely contaminated with endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The multi-organ histopathological analyses of Caucasian dwarf gobies revealed different lesions, prevalence and severity in each target organ, as follows: liver>gills>kidney>gonad (testes and ovaries). These histopathological lesions can be assessed as good indicators of contamination by endocrine-disrupting chemicals of freshwater ecosystems.     

Analysis of Linkage Between Biochemical and Morphological Markers of Rye Chromosomes 1R, 2R,and 5R and Mutations of Self-Fertility at the Main Incompatibility Loci

In F₂ hybrids between self-sterile plants of the Volkhova cultivar and self-fertile lines with established self-fertility mutations (sf mutations) at the major incompatibility loci S (1R), Z (2R), and T (5R), the effect of sf mutations on the inheritance of secalin-encoding, isozyme, and morphological markers located on the same chromosomes was investigated. Linkage between loci Prx7 and Sand locus Sec3 coding for high-molecular-weight secalins on chromosome 1R was shown for the first time. The frequency of recombination between Prx7andSec3and between S and Sec3was 29.1 ± 4.8% and 30.9 ± 7.0%, respectively. Independent inheritance of locus Z and isozyme markers of chromosome 2R, Est3/5 and -Glu, from locus Sec2 encoding 75-kDa -secalins was shown; in hybrids, the recombination frequency between Est3/5 and locus Z varied from 19.2 ± 8.1 to 50%. Independent inheritance of morphological (Ddw and Hs) and isozyme markers (Est4, Est6/9,and Aco2) of chromosome 5R from locus Tlocated on the same chromosome was demonstrated.     

Sphingolipid levels crucially modulate lateral microdomain organization of plasma membrane in living yeast

We report sphingolipid-related reorganization of gel-like microdomains in the plasma membrane of living Saccharomyces cerevisiae using trans-Parinaric acid (t-PnA) and 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH). Compared to control, the gel-like domains were significantly reduced in the membrane of a sphingolipid-deficient lcb1-100 mutant. The same reduction resulted from sphingolipid depletion by myriocin. The phenotype could be reverted when a myriocin-induced block in sphingolipid biosynthesis was bypassed by exogenous dihydrosphingosine. Lipid order of less-ordered membrane regions decreased with sphingolipid depletion as well, as documented by DPH fluorescence anisotropy. The data indicate that organization of lateral microdomains is an essential physiological role of these structural lipids.     

Gestational choline deficiency causes global and Igf2 gene DNA hypermethylation by up-regulation of Dnmt1 expression

During gestation there is a high demand for the essential nutrient choline. Adult rats supplemented with choline during embryonic days (E) 11-17 have improved memory performance and do not exhibit age-related memory decline, whereas prenatally choline-deficient animals have memory deficits. Choline, via betaine, provides methyl groups for the production of S-adenosylmethionine, a substrate of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs). We describe an apparently adaptive epigenomic response to varied gestational choline supply in rat fetal liver and brain. S-Adenosylmethionine levels increased in both organs of E17 fetuses whose mothers consumed a choline-supplemented diet. Surprisingly, global DNA methylation increased in choline-deficient animals, and this was accompanied by overexpression of Dnmt1 mRNA. Previous studies showed that the prenatal choline supply affects the expression of multiple genes, including insulin-like growth factor 2 (Igf2), whose expression is regulated in a DNA methylation-dependent manner. The differentially methylated region 2 of Igf2 was hypermethylated in the liver of E17 choline-deficient fetuses, and this as well as Igf2 mRNA levels correlated with the expression of Dnmt1 and with hypomethylation of a regulatory CpG within the Dnmt1 locus. Moreover, mRNA expression of brain and liver Dnmt3a and methyl CpG-binding domain 2 (Mbd2) protein as well as cerebral Dnmt3l was inversely correlated to the intake of choline. Thus, choline deficiency modulates fetal DNA methylation machinery in a complex fashion that includes hypomethylation of the regulatory CpGs within the Dnmt1 gene, leading to its overexpression and the resultant increased global and gene-specific (e.g. Igf2) DNA methylation. These epigenomic responses to gestational choline supply may initiate the long term developmental changes observed in rats exposed to varied choline intake in utero.     

New data on two remarkable Antarctic species Amblydorylaimus isokaryon (Loof, 1975) Andrássy, 1998 and Pararhyssocolpus paradoxus (Loof, 1975), gen. n., comb. n. (Nematoda,Dorylaimida)

The taxonomic position of two antarctic dorylaimid species Amblydorylaimus isokaryon (Loof, 1975) Andrássy, 1998 and Pararhyssocolpus paradoxus (Loof, 1975), gen. n., comb. n. are discussed on the basis of morphological, including SEM study, morphometric, postembryonic and sequence data of 18S rDNA and the D2-D3 expansion fragments of large subunit rDNA. The evolutionary trees inferred from 18S sequences show insufficient resolution to determine the assignment of the two species to particular families, moreover Pararhyssocolpus paradoxus gen. n., comb. n. (=Rhyssocolpus paradoxus) previously regarded as a member of Nordiidae or Qudsianematidae, showed distant relationship both to Rhyssocolpus vinciguerrae and Eudorylaimus spp. The phylogram inferred from 28S sequences revealed that Amblydorylaimus isokaryon is a member of a well-supported group comprised of several Aporcelaimellus spp., while, no close relationships could be revealed for the Pararhyssocolpus paradoxus gen. n., comb. n. to any nematode genus. On the basis of molecular data and morphological characteristics, some taxonomic changes are proposed. Amblydorylaimus isokaryon is transferred from family Qudsianematidae to family Aporcelaimidae, and a new monotypic genus Pararhyssocolpus gen. n. is proposed, attributed to Pararhyssocolpidae fam. n. The diagnosis of the new family is provided together with emended diagnosis of the genera Amblydorylaimus and Pararhyssocolpus gen. n. Data concerning distribution of these endemic genera in the Antarctic region are also given.     

Longidorus carniolensis sp. n. (Nematoda, Longidoridae) from vineyard soil in Slovenia

A new needle nematode, Longidorus carniolensissp. n., recovered from the soil around the roots of grapevine Vitis vinifera L. from Slovenia, is described and illustrated. Longidorus carniolensisis an amphimictic species, characterised by females with a moderately long (L=5.6-8.2 mm) and plump (a=51-72.4, ave. 66.3) body, assuming a spiral to C-shape when heat relaxed. Head region continuous, anteriorly almost flat, lip region 23-25 μm wide; guiding ring situated posteriorly (42-47 μm, 43-50 μm in males), odontostyle long (ave. 146.6 (136-157) μm); pharyngeal glands with normal location, their nuclei of approximately equal size; tail bluntly conoidal to almost hemispherical. Males abundant, spicules slender and long (122-145 μm), ventromedian supplements 13-17, irregularly spaced, preceded by an adanal pair. Four juvenile stages present, the first stage juvenile with bluntly conoidal tail. Codes for identifying the new species when using the key by Chen et al. (1997) are: A 56, B 4, C 4, D 1, E 4, F 35, G 1, H 1, I 2. The new species is morphologically the most similar to Longidorus poessneckensis Altherr, 1974, Longidorus macrosoma Hooper, 1961, Longidorus caespiticola Hooper, 1961, Longidorus helveticus Lamberti et al., 2001, Longidorus macroteromucronatus Altherr, 1974, Longidorus pius Barsi & Lamberti, 2001, Longidorus raskii Lamberti & Agostinelli, 1993, Longidorus kheirii Pedram et al. 2008, Longidorus silvae Roca, 1993, Longidorus iuglandis Roca et al., 1985, Longidorus vinearum Bravo & Roca, 1995 and Longidorus major Roca & d'Erico, 1987, but differs from these species either by the body and odontostyle length, position of guide ring, head region and tail shape or the shape of the first stage juvenile tail. Sequence data from the D2-D3 region of the 28S rDNA distinguishes this new species from other speciesof the genus Longidorus with known sequences. Relationships of Longidorus carniolensissp. n. with other Longidorus species based on analysis of this DNA fragment and morphology are discussed.     

Risk factors for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) in a large cohort of volunteers

Background

The role of intra- and extra-cranial venous system impairment in the pathogenesis of various vascular, inflammatory and neurodegenerative neurological disorders, as well as in aging, has not been studied in detail. Nor have risk factors been determined for increased susceptibility of venous pathology in the intra-cranial and extra-cranial veins. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between presence of a newly proposed vascular condition called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) and environmental factors in a large volunteer control group without known central nervous system pathology.

Methods and Findings

The data were collected in a prospective study from 252 subjects who were screened for medical history as part of the entry criteria and participated in the case-control study of CCSVI prevalence in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and then were analyzed post-hoc. All participants underwent physical and Doppler sonography examinations, and were assessed with a structured environmental questionnaire. Fullfilment of ≥2 positive venous hemodynamic (VH) criteria on Doppler sonography was considered indicative of CCSVI diagnosis. Risk and protective factors associated with CCSVI were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Seventy (27.8%) subjects presented with CCSVI diagnosis and 153 (60.7%) presented with one or more VH criteria. The presence of heart disease (p = .001), especially heart murmurs (p = .007), a history of infectious mononucleosis (p = .002), and irritable bowel syndrome (p = .005) were associated with more frequent CCSVI diagnosis. Current or previous smoking (p = .029) showed a trend for association with more frequent CCSVI diagnosis, while use of dietary supplements (p = .018) showed a trend for association with less frequent CCSVI diagnosis.

Conclusions

Risk factors for CCSVI differ from established risk factors for peripheral venous diseases. Vascular, infectious and inflammatory factors were associated with higher CCSVI frequency.     

Synthesis,characterization and nociceptive screening of new VV-hemorphin-5 analogues

In the present study, some new analogues of VV-hemorphin-5, modified at position 1 and 7 by the non-proteinogenic and/or natural amino acids followed the structures Xxx-Val-Val-Tyr-Pro-Trp-Thr-Gln-NH₂ and Val-Val-Tyr-Pro-Trp-Thr-Yyy-NH₂, where Xxx is Ile or Aib and Yyy is Lys/Orn/Dap/Dab were synthesized to investigate their potential antinociceptive activities. We report also the redox potentials and the acid/base properties as pKa values of these peptide analogues which were compared toward electrochemical behaviour of tryptophan containing peptides. All analogues showed a short lasting initial antinociceptive effect, however H2 hemorphin analogue is characterized with prolong and strong antinociceptive effect, while the other peptide analogues exerted more variable effects on the visceral nociception depending on the dose or time after the intracerebral injection.     

Development and Application of a Selective PCR-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis Approach To Detect a Recently Cultivated Bacillus Group Predominant in Soil

The worldwide presence of a hitherto-nondescribed group of predominant soil microorganisms related to Bacillus benzoevorans was analyzed after development of two sets of selective primers targeting 16S rRNA genes in combination with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The high abundance and cultivability of at least some of these microorganisms makes them an appropriate subject for studies on their biogeographical dissemination and diversity. Since cultivability can vary significantly with the physiological state and even between closely related strains, we developed a culture-independent 16S rRNA gene-targeted DGGE fingerprinting protocol for the detection of these bacteria from soil samples. The composition of the B. benzoevorans relatives in the soil samples from The Netherlands, Bulgaria, Russia, Pakistan, and Portugal showed remarkable differences between the different countries. Differences in the DGGE profiles of these communities in archived soil samples from the Dutch Wieringermeer polder were observed over time during which a shift from anaerobic to aerobic and from saline to freshwater conditions occurred. To complement the molecular methods, we additionally cultivated B. benzoevorans-related strains from all of the soil samples. The highest number of B. benzoevorans relatives was found in the soils from the northern part of The Netherlands. The present study contributes to our knowledge of the diversity and abundance of this interesting group of microbes in soils throughout the world.