Development of a new antibody for detecting natural killer enhancing factor (NKEF)-like protein in infected salmonids

The main cellular responses of innate immunity are phagocytic activity and the respiratory burst, which produces a high amount of reactive oxygen species. Natural killer enhancing factor (NKEF) belongs to the peroxiredoxin family that has an antioxidant function and enhances cytotoxic cell activity. This molecule may play a key role in macrophage and cytotoxic cell communication during the innate immune response of fish against pathogens. In fish, the NKEF gene has been characterized in some species as showing an up-regulation in infected fish, suggesting a trigger effect upon NK-like cells. To detect and localize this molecule in salmonids at protein level, a monospecific polyclonal antibody was generated. A probable NKEF-like protein epitope region was identified and characterized using bioinformatic tools, and the sequence was chemically synthesized using Fmoc strategy, analysed by RP-HPLC and its molecular weight confirmed by mass spectrometry. The synthetic peptide was immunized and antibodies from ascitic fluid were obtained. The resulting antibody is a versatile tool for detecting NKEF by different immune techniques such as ELISA, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Analysis of NKEF-like protein is a useful method for characterizing immune properties of this molecule in fish during response to pathogens.     

Water Leachates of Nitrate Nitrogen and Cations from Poultry Manure Added to an Alfisol Udalf Soil

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution - The paper summarizes results of chemical analyses of fog and rime water samples. The samples were collected at Milesovka, the Czech meteorological observatory....     

Diversity analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acacia tortilis</Emphasis> (Forsk.) Hayne ssp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">raddiana</Emphasis> (Savi) Brenan (Mimosaceae) using phenotypic traits,chromosome counting and DNA content approaches

Acacia tortilis (Forsk.) Hayne ssp. raddiana (Savi) Brenan (Family Fabaceae; subfamily Mimosoideae) is a pioneer tree of dry areas. In spite of its several uses, there are no any published studies which deal with genetic diversity of Acacia tortilis (Forsk.) Hayne ssp. raddiana (Savi) Brenan in Tunisia. For this reason, here we study its genetic diversity with morphometric (only in Tunisian populations), chromosome counting, and cytometric (in Tunisian and Ziambabwean populations) approaches. Morphological field studies of four Tunisian populations (Bouhedma, Haddej, Hajeb and Gtar, respectively, designated as A, B, C, D) of A. tortilis (Forsk.) Hayne ssp. raddiana (Savi) Brenan using a general linear model (ANOVA) revealed statistically highly-significant differences between populations for all examined characters (P < 0.0001). Significant differences were found also between genotypes for the majority of morphological traits (P < 0.0001) except the width of 10 pods (laP), weight of 10 pods (Wt) and seed number of 10 pods (Sn) (P ≥ 0.110). The variability in the tree, pod and seed characters can be exploited for agro-industrial purposes. The DNA amount and chromosome numbers of populations Umguza and Gwaii River from Ziambabwe and of Tunisian populations A, B, C and D were determined. Tunisian populations had 2C nuclear DNA contents of 2.95–3.03 pg, and were shown to be tetraploid (2n = 4x = 52), whilst the two Ziambabwean populations had 1.39–1.40 pg and were diploid (2n = 2x = 26). It is suggested that the Tunisian populations are paleotetraploids, adapted to the more-arid local conditions.     

Oceanic and atmospheric extremes motivate a new hypothesis for variable marine survival of Fraser River sockeye salmon

In spite of a relatively optimistic pre‐season forecast, the total return of adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) to the Fraser River (British Columbia, Canada) in 2009 was the lowest recorded since quantitative records began in the late 1940s. A plausible mechanism is proposed that links a sequence of extreme oceanic and climatic events to poor marine survival. It began with record‐setting snow packs in the coastal mountain range during the winter of 2007 that led to the development of unprecedented oceanographic conditions in the spring of 2007 from Queen Charlotte Strait in central British Columbia to Southeast Alaska. When combined with equally extreme atmospheric anomalies in the region in the spring of 2007, with a winter wind regime persisting through July, a coastal surface ocean with characteristics that are known to be associated with lower marine survival was established. Most of the sockeye salmon that were expected to return to the Fraser River as adults in 2009 passed through this atypical ocean as juveniles on their migration to the open ocean in 2007. A trophic gauntlet hypothesis is proposed as a new paradigm to describe the oceanic environment faced by sockeye salmon after they emigrate northward from the Strait of Georgia. The hypothesis identifies a new type of high nutrient low chlorophyll region that can explain how oceanographic extremes at critical locations along the migration route beyond the Strait of Georgia can reduce marine survival in some years.     

Lethal and sublethal effects of commercial insecticides on Philodromus buxi,a potential predator of defoliating Lepidoptera in dehesa woodland in southern Spain

Chemical and other selective insecticides are annually used as foliar treatments against defoliating Lepidoptera in the southern Spanish open woodland (known as dehesa), one of the largest forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin. In order to analyse the negative impact of these treatments on beneficial arthropods, the toxic effect of the three authorised insecticides on Philodromus buxi Simon (Araneae: Philodromidae), the most abundant tree canopy spider in southern Spain, was tested under laboratory conditions. Cypermethrin was the most harmful insecticide 96 hours after application, causing around 90% corrected mortality, while flufenoxuron (an insect growth-regulator) prompted around 45% mortality, and Bacillus thuringiensis caused no mortality at all. In addition, flufenoxuron produced a clear alteration in the predatory capacity of P. buxi, increasing the reaction times of treated specimens, and additional mortality associated with the moulting process. Bacillus thuringiensis caused no effects in reaction times, growth or moulting. The results obtained clearly indicate that B. thuringiensis is the most suitable of the authorised insecticides for conserving populations of P. buxi in dehesa woodland in southern Spain.     

Fruit set and the diurnal pollinators of the invasive Lantana camara and the endemic Lantana peduncularis in the Galapagos Islands

Fruit set is highly relevant to a plant's reproductive success. Fruit set can vary due to predation on flowers, pollinator services and/or resource availability. Reproductive success, measured as the fruit set of the invasive Lantana camara and the endemic Lantana peduncularis in the cool–dry season and the warm–wet season of the Galapagos Islands, was studied. Also, autonomous self‐pollination ability and seed viability were probed for both species. Furthermore, flower visitors and their activity were registered for both species during the warm–wet season. Lantana peduncularis produced fewer flowers per inflorescence, but had a higher fruit set in the cool–dry season, compared to the warm–wet season. In contrast, the fruit set in L. camara did not change seasonally. The fruit set in L. camara was higher than in L. peduncularis in the warm–wet season. Moreover, ～18% of the bagged flowers of the invasive Lantana produced fruits by autonomous self‐pollination, while for the endemic Lantana, the rate of autonomous self‐pollination was very low. More than 80% of the fruits for both species had at least one viable seed per fruit. The number of pollinators and their frequency, inflorescence‐ and flower‐visiting rates and the duration of the visit per flower were higher in the invasive Lantana than in the endemic one. The endemic Lepidoptera Urbanus galapagensis (the main pollinator of both Lantana species) and the introduced Hymenia perspectalis were observed pollinating both Lantana species. These results indicate that the alien L. camara is more attractive to pollinators and it has reproductive advantages regarding fruit set in comparison with L. peduncularis, factors that contribute to the colonization pattern of this invasive species.     

Amine degradation by 4,5-epoxy-2-decenal in model systems

The reactions of 4,5-epoxy-2-decenal with octylamine, benzylamine, and 2-phenylglycine methyl ester were studied to investigate if amines may suffer a Strecker type degradation by epoxyalkenals analogously to amino acids. In addition to other reactions, the studied amines were converted into their corresponding Strecker aldehydes (octanal, benzaldehyde, and methyl 2-oxo-2-phenylacetate, respectively) to an extent that depended on the pH, the temperature, the amount of epoxyalkenal, and the amine involved. Each amine exhibited an optimum pH for the reaction, but the corresponding Strecker aldehydes were produced to a significant extent within a broad pH range. In addition, the temperature mostly influenced the reaction rate, which was increased between 6.5 and 9.5 times when the reaction was carried out at 60 degrees C than when it took place at 37 degrees C. Furthermore, Strecker aldehyde formation was linearly correlated with the amount of the epoxyalkenal present in the reaction mixture. Nevertheless, the reaction yield mostly depended on the amine involved. Thus, octylamine only produced trace amounts of octanal, benzylamine was converted into benzaldehyde with a yield of 4.3%, and 2-phenylglycine methyl ester was converted into methyl 2-oxo-2-phenylacetate with a reaction yield of 49%. All of these results suggest that suitable amines can be degraded by epoxyalkenals to their corresponding Strecker aldehydes to a significant extent.     

Wildfire changes the spatial pattern of soil nutrient availability in Pinus canariensis forests

? Soil resources are heterogeneously distributed in terrestrial plant communities. This heterogeneity is important because it determines the availability of local soil resources. A forest fire may change the spatial distribution of soil nutrients, affecting nutrition and survival of colonizing plants. However, specific information on the effects of ecosystem disturbance on the spatial distribution of soil resources is scarce.

? We hypothesized that, on a short-term basis, wildfire would change the spatial patterns of soil N and P availability. To test this hypothesis, we selected two Pinus canariensis forests burned in 2005 and 2000, respectively, and a third forest that was unburned since at least 1990 (unburned). We incubated ionic exchange membranes (IEMs) in replicated plots to estimate soil N and P availability and characterized the spatial pattern using SADIE (Spatial Analysis by Distance Indices).

? Mineral N, NO₃-N and PO₄-P availability, and aggregation and cluster indices for all nutrients were higher in the 2005 wildfire plots than in the 2000 wildfire and unburned plots.

? Our results suggest that surviving plants or new individuals becoming established in a burned area would find higher soil resources, but also higher small-scale heterogeneity in nutrients, which may have a major impact on the performance of individual plants and on the forest structure and dynamics.