The mitochondrial and nuclear genetic structure of Myotis capaccinii (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in the Eurasian transition, and its taxonomic implications

Allopatric isolation in glacial refugia has caused differentiation and speciation in many taxa globally. In this study, we investigated the nuclear and mitochondrial genetic differentiation of the long fingered bat, Myotis capaccinii during the ice ages in south-eastern Europe and Anatolia. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analyses indicated a suture zone similar to those recorded in other animal species, including bats, suggesting the association of more than one refugium with the region. Contrary to most of the other species where a suture zone was seen in Anatolia, for M. capaccinii the geographical location of the genetic break was in south-eastern Europe. This mitochondrial differentiation was not reflected in the nuclear microsatellites, however, suggesting that the lack of contact during the ice ages did not result in reproductive isolation. Hence taxonomically, the two mitochondrial clades cannot be treated as separate species.     

Behavioural modification of a social spider by a parasitoid wasp

1. Manipulation of host behaviour by parasitoids has long captured the imagination of ecologists. Parasitoid wasps in the Polysphincta group of genera develop as external parasitoids of spiders. 2. In the present study, the previously undescribed interaction between a Zatypota sp. wasp (Ichneumonidae) and a social spider Anelosimus eximius (Theridiidae) is described. The larva of this Zatypota wasp is found to induce its host to disperse from their communal web and build an entirely enclosed web consisting of densely spun silk. 3. The wasp is observed to target primarily immature A. eximius individuals, with 37.5–44% of nests in a given area being parasitised. Of those nests, approximately 1.3–2.0% of individuals are hosts to the parasitoid larvae. Larger spider colonies had a significantly higher probability of harbouring parasitoids. 4. This interaction results in unusual behaviours for A. eximius induced by the parasitoid: (i) leaving the protection of the social nest and (ii) building a unique, altered web that it would not otherwise build. It is suggested that the wasp may be tapping into ancestral dispersal behaviours in its host and that a social species provides this wasp an evolutionary advantage by allowing a stable host source.     

Activation of a UBC4-dependent pathway of ubiquitin conjugation during postnatal development of the rat testis.

During spermatogenesis, germ cells undergo mitotic and meiotic divisions to form haploid round spermatids which mature to functional elongated spermatozoa. During this process there occurs remodeling of cell structure and loss of most of the cytoplasm and a large fraction of cellular proteins. To evaluate the role of the ubiquitin proteolytic system in this protein loss, we measured levels of ubiquitinated proteins and rates of ubiquitin conjugation in extracts of testes from rats of different ages. Endogenous ubiquitin-protein conjugates increased till day 30 and then reached a plateau. In parallel, there was a progressive increase in the rate of conjugation of ubiquitin to proteins in testis extracts from these animals. To test the importance of two major ubiquitin conjugating enzyme families in the conjugation, immunoprecipitation of UBC2 or UBC4 from 10- and 30-day-old testis extracts was carried out and the remaining conjugation activity in supernatants was assayed. Depletion of either enzyme family resulted in decreased conjugation. However, most of the conjugation activity and, more importantly, the increased conjugation during development were UBC4-dependent. Immunocytochemistry demonstrated a marked increase in expression of UBC4 in spermatids, consistent with the UBC4-dependent activation of conjugation seen in vitro. In situ hybridization studies evaluated the contribution of various UBC4 isoforms to this induction. UBC4-1 mRNA was expressed in most cells. UBC4-2 mRNA was restricted to germ cells with high levels of expression in round and elongated spermatids. UBC4-testis had previously been shown to be expressed only in spermatids. Our data suggest that induction of various UBC4 isoforms activates overall conjugation and plays an important role in the cellular remodeling and protein loss occurring during spermatogenesis.     

Electrophysiological characteristics of cardiac pacemaker cells of the frog Caudiverbera caudiverbera

1. The cardiac pacemaker cells of the frog Caudiverbera caudiverbera are centrally located in the sinus venosus. These cells are rounded, smaller than contractile fibres and have large nuclei. 2. Intracellular recording confirmed the existence of primary and transitional pacemaker cells. 3. Action potentials from primary cells were resistant to blockade by tetrodotoxin (TTX), but were abolished by verapamil suggesting that their bioelectric activity is dependent on a slow inward current. 4. Transitional cells appeared to have two different inward currents contributing to the upstroke: a fast TTX-sensitive and a slow verapamil-sensitive current.     

Techniques for the detection of pathogenic Cryptococcus species in wood decay substrata and the evaluation of viability in stored samples

In this study, we evaluated several techniques for the detection of the yeast form of Cryptococcus in decaying wood and measured the viability of these fungi in environmental samples stored in the laboratory. Samples were collected from a tree known to be positive for Cryptococcus and were each inoculated on 10 Niger seed agar (NSA) plates. The conventional technique (CT) yielded a greater number of positive samples and indicated a higher fungal density [in colony forming units per gram of wood (CFU.g^-1) ] compared to the humid swab technique (ST). However, the difference in positive and false negative results between the CT-ST was not significant. The threshold of detection for the CT was 0.05.10³ CFU.g^-1, while the threshold for the ST was greater than 0.1.10³ CFU^-1. No colonies were recovered using the dry swab technique. We also determined the viability of Cryptococcus in wood samples stored for 45 days at 25ºC using the CT and ST and found that samples not only continued to yield a positive response, but also exhibited an increase in CFU.g^-1, suggesting that Cryptococcus is able to grow in stored environmental samples. The ST.1, in which samples collected with swabs were immediately plated on NSA medium, was more efficient and less laborious than either the CT or ST and required approximately 10 min to perform; however, additional studies are needed to validate this technique.     

Ecoepidemiology of Haemonchus contortus bahiensis, ecotype present in sheep of arid zones of Venezuela

The frequency distribution of female Haemonchus contortus bahiensis Grisi, 1974 in sheep from Venezuelan arid zones is 15.32% for the type with vulvar flap, 51.6% for the vulvar-knob and 33.07% for smooth type. A Shannon-Weaver diversity index corresponding to 1.44 bits was calculated for these forms with similarities in the general size, egg-size and in the number of the longitudinal cuticular ridges. An aggregated kind of distribution in the host population according to the K parameter of a negative binomial distribution was recorded for male and female worms. A complicated interaction was observed between the abundance, aggregation and prevalence of this ecotype and the importance of these findings is discussed with regard to host-parasite relationships.     

Subcellular localization of calcium in sporangiophores of Phycomyces blackesleeanus

The in situ localization of Ca²⁺ in stage I sporangiophores of the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus was achieved with the potassium pyroantimonate technique. Precipitates of calcium-antimonate were present in mitochondria, vacuoles, endoplasmic reticulum and adjacent cytoplasm, Golgi-like bodies, and nuclei but not cell walls. Material treated with the calcium chelator EGTA lacked these precipitates. The preferential localization of Ca²⁺ in mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and vacuoles suggests that these organelles modulate the level of this cation in sporangiophores of P. blakesleeanus.Abbreviations EGTA ethyleneglycol-bis-(-aminoethyl ether) N,N, tetraacetic acid