Synbranchiella gen. n. is proposed to accommodate Synbranchiella mabelae sp. n. (Proteocephalidae: Monticelliinae) from the intestine of the marbled swamp eel Synbranchus marmoratus Bloch, in the River Colastiné, a tributary of the middle River Paraná in Argentina. The new genus is placed in the Monticelliinae because of the cortical position of the genital organs. It differs from all known monticelliine genera by the following combination of characters: (i) scolex robust, with a conical apex, without metascolex; (ii) biloculate suckers with a conspicuous septum separating unequally-sized loculi and a robust non-adherent area, lacking free posterior margin; (iii) vitelline follicles in two narrow lateral bands, extended throughout the nearly entire proglottid length; (iv) vagina always anterior to the cirrus-sac, with an inconspicuous vaginal sphincter; (v) a genital pore pre-equatorial. Scanning electron microscopy revealed three types of microtriches on the tegument surface: acicular and capiliform filitriches and gladiate spinitriches. A phylogenetic analysis of the large subunit nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (lsrDNA, D1-D3 domains) confirms that S. mabelae represents an independent lineage within a large clade comprised mainly from Neotropical taxa parasitising catfishes. This is the second proteocephalidean cestode described from a Neotropical synbranchiform fish host., Nathalia J. Arredondo, Philippe Vieira Alves, Alicia A. Gil de Pertierra., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The species IUCN conservation status of smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) is considered ‘Vulnerable’, due to an inferred future population decline caused by habitat loss and sustained exploitation. The status of the Arabian subspecies (L. p. maxwelli) occurring in the Tigris marshes of Iraq and Iran is uncertain due to political problems and limited access to this border region in recent years. With this study we could confirm the persistence of the smooth-coated otter in the marshlands of southern Iraq by using a mitochondrial marker (cytochrome b). Moreover, a second sample from Kurdistan was also identified to be L. perspicillata. This observation represents a major range extension of more than 500 km for this poorly known species. It is recommended to undertake further surveys of suitable habitat in the Tigris wetlands, as well as in Kurdistan, to obtain additional information on the distribution of smooth-coated otter in Iraq, and implement conservation measures in those areas.
Because of the shortage of phycoerythrin (PE) gene sequences from rhodophytes, peBA encoding β- and α -subunits of PE from three species of red algae (Ceramium boydenn, Halymenia sinensis, and Plocamium telfariae) were cloned and sequenced. Different selection forces have affected the evolution of PE lineages. 8.9 % of the codons were subject to positive selection within the PE lineages (excluding high-irradiance adapted Prochlorococcus). More than 40 % of the sites may be under positive selection, and nearly 20 % sites are weakly constraint sites in high-irradiance adapted Prochlorococcus. Sites most likely undergoing positive selection were found in the chromophore binding domains, suggesting that these sites have played important roles in environmental adaptation during PE diversification. Moreover, the heterogeneous distribution of positively selected sites along the PE gene was revealed from the comparison of low-irradiance adapted Prochlorococcus and marine Synechococcus, which firmly suggests that evolutionary patterns of PEs in these two lineages are significantly different. and S. Qin, F. Q. Zhao, C. K. Tseng.
IsiA is a membrane-bound Chl a-antenna protein synthesized in cyanobacteria under iron deficiency. Since iron deficiency is a common nutrient stress in significant fractions of cyanobacterial habitats, IsiA is likely to be essential for some cyanobacteria. However, the role it plays in cyanobacteria is not fully understood. In this review paper, we summarize the research efforts directed towards characterizing IsiA over the past three decades and attempt to bring all the pieces of the puzzle together to get a more comprehensive understanding of the function of this protein. Moreover, we analyzed the genomes of over 390 cyanobacterial strains available in the JGI/IMG database to assess the distribution of IsiA across the cyanobacterial kingdom. Our study revealed that only 125 such strains have an IsiA homolog, suggesting that the presence of this protein is a niche specific requirement, and cyanobacterial strains that lack IsiA might have developed other mechanisms to survive iron deficiency., H.-Y. S. Chen, A. Bandyopadhyay, H. B. Pakrasi., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The complete nucleotide sequence and the exon-intron structure of the luciferase gene of the firefly, Luciola lateralis (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) is described. The luciferase gene of the L. lateralis firefly spans 1,971 bp and consists of six introns and seven exons coding for 548 amino acid residues. From samples collected at Boun and Muju, Korea, three isoforms, with identical exon-intron structure, named BU, MJ1 and MJ2, respectively, were obtained. Although the amino acid sequences of MJ1 and MJ2 were identical to those of known luciferase genes of Korean origin, the BU type was novel, differing from each of the MJ1 and MJ2 types by one amino acid. The luciferase sequences of the Korean samples, including those previously revealed, differed only by one - two amino acid residues, but differed by five - six amino acid residues from that of the luciferase gene recorded from specimens from Japan, which suggest genetic divergence has occurred in this species. Phylogenetic analyses using both amino acid and nucleotide sequences further showed that the luciferase gene of the Japanese L. lateralis firefly is genetically distinguishable from that of Korean L. lateralis, suggesting the presence of a genetic subdivision between the L. lateralis dwelling in the Korean Peninsula and Japanese Islands.
Species of Acanthamoeba Volkonsky, 1931 are the commonest among free-living amoebae that are widespread in different water resources but with lacking phylogenetic data. This study aims at detecting molecular prevalence and genetic diversity of Acanthamoeba isolates in Kafrelsheikh Governorate, Egypt. Forty-eight water samples were collected from 12 swimming pools; four samples during each season over one year. Samples were filtered, cultivated on non-nutrient agar plates and examined microscopically. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequence analysis of positive samples targeting diagnostic fragment 3 (DF3) of the small subunit rRNA gene were done. Cultivation succeeded to detect 14 (29%) positive samples while PCR missed three positive samples. The obtained sequences were phylogenetically analysed. The phylogenetic tree was constructed for them with sequences of reference species from the NCBI database. The identified species were Acanthamoeba castellanii Douglas, 1930 (T4), A. astronyxis (Ray et Hayes, 1954) (T9) and A. hatchetti Sawyer, Visvesvara et Harke, 1977 (T11). The prevalence of species of Acanthamoeba was higher during summer and fall. Therefore, the control of the presence of Acanthmoeba spp. in swimming pools needs immediate, effective and practical measures to prevent and control infection with species of Acanthamoeba.
Microsporidia are a group of obligate intracellular unicellular eukaryotes that can parasitize a wide variety of other eukaryotes ranging from protists to invertebrates and vertebrates. In this study, we examined the microsporidium Nosema sp. isolated from the mulberry pest, Hemerophila atrilineata Butler, 1881, named herein ''Nosema sp. HA''. The fresh spores were long oval in shape, 3.8 ± 0.4 μm in length and 1.9 ± 0.3 μm in width. Analysis of tissue infection of silkworm, Bombyx mori Linnaeus, 1758, indicated that the midgut, Malpighian tubules, muscle, fat body, silk glands, hemocytes, nerve tissue and gonads of silkworm were infected with Nosema sp. HA. The complete rRNA gene sequence of this microsporidium contained 4 305 base pairs (GenBank Accession JN882299), including the large subunit rRNA (2 492 bp), the internal transcribed spacer (187 bp), the small subunit rRNA (1 232 bp), the intergenic spacer (279 bp) and the 5S region (115 bp). The organization of the rRNA gene is 5'-LSU-ITS-SSU-IGS-5S-3'. Phylogenetic analysis, comparison of sequence identities and the arrangement in the rRNA gene subunits suggested that this isolate is separate from other Nosema species.
Blood smears prepared from the peripheral blood of 20 wild caught Amietia quecketti (Boulenger) from the North-West University Botanical Gardens, North West Province, South Africa, were examined for the presence of haemogregarines. A haemogregarine species comparative in morphology, host and geographical locality to that of Haemogregarina theileri Laveran, 1905 was detected. The original description of H. theileri was based solely on frog peripheral blood gamont stages. Later, further parasite stages, including trophozoites and merogonic liver stages, were recorded in a related Amietia sp. from equatorial Africa. This species was originally classified as a member of the genus Haemogregarina Danilewsky, 1885, but due to the close life cycle and morphological resemblance to those of Hepatozoon species, H. theileri was later transferred from Haemogregarina to Hepatozoon Miller, 1908. In the present study, meront and merozoite stages not described before, along with previously observed trophozoite, immature and mature gamont stages, are described from the peripheral blood of hosts. In addition, comparative phylogenetic analysis of the partial 18S rDNA sequence of Hepatozoon theileri to those of other haemogregarine species, including those of species of Hepatozoon and a Haemogregarina, support the taxonomic transfer of H. theileri to Hepatozoon, nesting H. theileri within a clade comprising species parasitising other amphibians. This is the first molecular and phylogenetic analysis of an African anuran species of Hepatozoon.
We review the cicada genus Auritibicen Lee, 2015 based on the description of ten new species: A. aethus sp. n., A. daoxianensis sp. n., A. pallidus sp. n., A. rotundus sp. n., A. curvatus sp. n., A. purus sp. n., A. parvus sp. n., A. gracilis sp. n., A. septatus sp. n. and A. lijiangensis sp. n. Auritibicen shikokuanus (Kato, 1959) is confirmed to be a synonym of Auritibicen kyushyuensis (Kato, 1926). Diagnoses and descriptions, along with illustrations of the structure of male genitalia, are provided for all Auritibicen species. The systematics of Auritibicen is elucidated using both morphological and molecular characterization. Thirty-five morphological characters of the 24 species of Auritibicen and one outgroup taxon, Chremistica ochracea (Walker, 1850), were scored. Morphological phylogenetic analyses reveal the relationships among related species of Auritibicen, which are supported by a number of morphological characters. The mitochondrial gene fragments of Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) of 11 species of Auritibicen and two outgroup Lyristes species were analyzed and yielded identical robust phylogenetic trees. The phylogram based on a Bayesian analysis of both morphological and molecular data is similar to the ML/BI topologies based only on the molecular data. The molecular phylogenetic analysis indicates that species of Auritibicen are structured phylogeographically, with related species clustered into three lineages. The divergence time estimated based on molecular data indicates that the divergence of Auritibicen from Lyristes occurred during the Miocene, and the most recent common ancestor (tMRCA) of Auritibicen evolved during the Pliocene. However, the time when the main divergence events of species of Auritibicen occurred was the Pleistocene. From the combination of the phylogeny and updated geographical distributions, we infer that the center of distribution of Auritibicen could be Southwest China (e.g., Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces), from where species of this genus spreaded northeastwards to Shaanxi, Hubei and other provinces along the Qinling and Daba Mountains, then further northeastwards to Hebei Province in China and also to Far East Russia, the Korean Penisula, and Japan.
The Central American genus Macrotingis Champion, 1897 was revised and the morphological characters of the species of Macrotingis and those of its sister group Ceratotingis Montemayor, 2008 were subjected to a phylogenetic analysis. A species previously placed in the genus Tigava is now Ceratotingis spatula (Monte, 1945), new combination. Cladistic analysis indicates that both genera are monophyletic and defined the relationships between species. Keys to the species in these genera are provided together with illustrations of their main morphological characters and a map of their distribution in Central America.