Characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers for the Carnaby's cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) and related black cockatoo species

Microsatellite loci were isolated from Carnaby's black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris: Aves), a highly valued, endangered, and endemic species of bird from Western Australia. This study describes three dinucleotide and one tetranucleotide microsatellite loci for which the primers produced clear and polymorphic amplification patterns with between two and nine alleles and moderate levels of variability. Two additional dinucleotide markers which were monomorphic in the Carnaby's cockatoo were able to amplify and were polymorphic in two other species of black cockatoo, greatly increasing the utility of these markers.     

Imprints of glacial history and current environment on correlations between endemic plant and invertebrate species richness

Aim We evaluate how closely diversity patterns of endemic species of vascular plants, beetles, butterflies, molluscs and spiders are correlated with each other, and to what extent similar environmental requirements or survival in common glacial refugia and comparable dispersal limitations account for their existing congruence. Location Austria. Methods We calculated pairwise correlations among species numbers of the five taxonomic groups in 1405 cells of a 3′ × 5′ raster (c. 35 km²) using the raw data as well as the residuals of regression models that accounted for: (1) environmental variables, (2) environmental variables and the occurrence of potential refugia during the Last Glacial Maximum, or (3) environmental variables, refugia and spatial filters. Results Pairwise cross‐taxonomic group Spearman’s rank correlations in the raw data were significantly positive in most cases, but only moderate (0.3 < ρ < 0.5) to weak (ρ < 0.3) throughout. Correlations were closest between plants and beetles, plants and butterflies, and plants and snails, respectively, whereas the distribution of endemic spiders was largely uncorrelated with those of the other groups. Environmental variables explained only a moderate proportion of the variance in endemic richness patterns, and the response of individual groups to environmental gradients was only partly consistent. The inclusion of refugium locations and the spatial filters increased the goodness of model fit for all five taxonomic groups. Moreover, removing the effects of environmental conditions reduced congruence in endemic richness patterns to a lesser extent than did filtering the influence of refugium locations and spatial autocorrelation, except for spiders, which are probably the least dispersal‐limited of the five groups. Main conclusions The moderate to weak congruence of endemic richness patterns clearly limits the usefulness of a surrogacy approach for designating areas for the protection of regional endemics. On the other hand, our results suggest that dispersal limitations still shape the distributions of many endemic plant, snail, beetle and butterfly species, even at the regional scale; that is, survival in shared refugia and subsequent restricted spread retain a detectable signal in existing correlations. Concentrating conservation efforts on well‐known Pleistocene refugia hence appears to be a reasonable first step towards a strategy for protecting regional endemics of at least the less mobile invertebrate groups.     

Amphidoma languida (Amphidomatacea,Dinophyceae) with a novel azaspiracid toxin profile identified as the cause of molluscan contamination at the Atlantic coast of southern Spain

Azaspiracids (AZA) are a group of food poisoning phycotoxins that are known to accumulate in shellfish. They are produced by some species of the planktonic dinophycean taxon Amphidomataceae. Azaspiracids have been first discovered in Ireland but are now reported in shellfish from numerous global sites thus showing a wide distribution. In shellfish samples collected in 2009 near Huelva (Spain), AZA was also found along the Andalusian Atlantic coast for the first time. Analysis using LC–MS/MS revealed the presence of two different AZA analogues in different bivalve shellfish species (Chamelea gallina, Cerastoderma edule, Donax trunculus, and Solen vagina). In a number of samples, AZA levels exceeded the EU regulatory level of 160 μg AZA-1 eq. kg⁻¹ (reaching maximum levels of >500 μg AZA-1 eq. kg⁻¹ in Chamelea gallina and >250 μg AZA-1 eq. kg⁻¹ in Donax trunculus) causing closures of some local shellfish production areas. One dinophyte strain established from the local plankton during the AZA contamination period and determined as Amphidoma languida was in fact toxigenic, and its AZA profile disclosed it as the causative species: it contained AZA-2 as the main compound and the new compound AZA-43 initially detected in the shellfish. AZA-43 had the same mass as AZA-3, but produced different collision induced dissociation (CID) spectra. High resolution mass spectrometric measurements indicated that there is an unsaturation in the H, I ring system of AZA-43 distinguishing it from the classical AZA such as AZA-1, -2, and -3. Furthermore, the Spanish strain was different from the previously reported AZA profile of the species that consist of AZA-38 and AZ-39. In molecular phylogenetics, the Andalusian strain formed a monophyletic group together with other strains of Am. languida, but ITS sequences data revealed surprisingly high intragenomic variability. The first Andalusian case of AZA contamination of shellfish above the EU regulatory limit reported here clearly revealed the risk of azaspiracid poisoning (AZP) for this area and also for the Atlantic coast of Iberia and North Africa. The present study underlines the need for continuous monitoring of AZA and the organisms producing such toxins.     

Purification and characterisation of an inducible β-galactosidase from Corynebacterium murisepticum

The -galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.32) of Corynebacterium murisepticum (inducible by lactose and galactose) was purified by successive column chromatography on Sephadex G-200, DEAE-Sephadex A-50 and DEAE-cellulose (DE52). The enzyme was found to be a dimer of identical subunits of molecular mass 100,000 daltons. The K _m values of the enzyme for the substrates lactose and o-nitrophenyl--d-galactopyranoside (ONPG) are 16.7 mM and 4.4 mM, respectively, indicating, its low affinity for the substrates. The Ouchterlony immunodiffusion method exhibited immunological homogeneity of the enzyme preparation. The catalytic site of the enzyme does not take part in antigen-antibody reaction.     

The genomic relationship between cultivated sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] and Johnsongrass [S. halepense (L.) Pers.]: a re-evaluation

Summary The genomic relationship between cultivated sorghum [Sorghum bicolar (L.) Moench, race bicolor, De Wet, 2n=20] and Johnsongrass [S. halepense (L.) Pers., 2n=40] has been a subject of extensive studies. Nevertheless, there is no general consensus concerning the ploidy level and the number of genomes present in the two species. This research tested the validity of four major genomic models that have been proposed previously for the two species by studying chromosome behaviors in the parental species, 30-chromosome hybrids [sorghum, (2n=20) x Johnsongrass, (2n=40)], 40-chromosome hybrids [sorghum, (2n=40) x Johnsongrass, (2n=40)] and 60-chromosome amphiploids. Chromosome pairings of amphiploids are reported for the first time. Chromosomes of cultivated sorghums paired exclusively as 10 bivalents, whereas Johnsongrass had a maximum configuration of 5 ring quadrivalents with occasional hexavalents and octovalents. In contrast, 40-chromosome cultivated sorghum had up to 9 ring quadrivalents and 1 hexavalent. Pairing in the 30-chromosome hybrids showed a maximum of 10 trivalents, and that in the 40-chromosome hybrids exhibited 8 quadrivalents, 5 of which were rings, together with a few hexavalents. Amphiploid plants showed up to 3 ring hexavalents, 1 chain hexavalent and a chain of 12 chromosomes. The data suggest that cultivated sorghum is a tetraploid species with the genomic formula AAB1B1, and Johnsongrass is a segmental auto-allo-octoploid, AAAA B1B1B2B2. The model is further substantiated by chromosome pairing in amphiploid plants whose proposed genomic formula is AAAAAA B1B1B1B1 B2B2.Contribution no. 87-391-J from the Kansas Agriculatural Experiment Station     

大叶杨组组间杂交花粉－柱头相互作用的超微结构研究

以大叶杨为母本,分别与小叶杨、欧洲黑杨、响叶杨进行人工杂交,并以大叶杨×大叶杨为对照,观察其花粉与柱头相互作用的超微结构变化。结果表明,大叶杨柱头细胞在授粉前表现生理活跃,含丰富的细胞器,壁外被含分支通道的角质层。接受大叶杨及欧洲黑杨花粉的柱头细胞内部仍有丰富的细胞器,膜结构保存完好。接受小叶杨及响叶杨花粉的柱头细胞衰亡较快,授粉部位沉积厚的胼胝质,细胞内部液泡化,膜结构逐渐消失,细胞质电子密度加大。欧洲黑杨花粉行为与大叶杨花粉行为相似,花粉能迅速萌发,并以短管形式穿入柱头,异常行为罕见。小叶杨及响叶杨花粉萌发后只有半数花粉管能以短管形式进入柱头,其中部分管内沉积胼胝质,另半数花粉管在柱头上表现各种异常行为——扭曲、爬行、肿胀、提前破裂释放内容物及先端沉积胼胝质。由各种花粉在大叶杨柱头上的行为和大叶杨柱头对各种授粉的反应判断,与大叶杨杂交亲和力在柱头阶段表现由强至弱依次是欧洲黑杨、小叶杨、响叶杨。     

A bacteriological survey of an oyster-growing area: The Oualidia Lagoon,Morocco

A 3-year bacteriological survey of an oyster-growing area in Morocco, where the Japanese oyster (Crassostrea gigas) is grown, showed that the contamination of this lagunar ecosystem was not continuous but intermittent and that animal manure and human recreational activities were important sources of pollution. The major source of contamination was of animal origin, except during the summer, when human contamination prevailed.     

棉属栽培种与野生种杂交的不亲和性

本文研究了棉属栽培种与野生种杂交的不亲和性,试验材料涉及5个染色体组,包括2个栽培种(陆地棉和中棉)和5个野生种(戴维逊氏棉、瑟伯氏棉、三裂棉、阿拉伯棉和比克氏棉)。以陆地棉作母本,异己花粉管在花柱中生长缓慢,有花粉管胚珠低于10%,陆地棉×戴维逊氏棉杂种胚在子叶期坏死。以中棉作母本,不亲和性主要表现在受精后的胚胎发育过程中。