Studies of fungi and fungus- like organisms in the northeastern Poland have mainly concentrated on running waters in the vicinity of Białystok, including the Horodnianka River. The main objective was to investigate biodiversity of fungi and fungus-like organisms which take part in decomposition of organic matter commonly found in inland waters. To obtain a complete picture of species compositio...

To investigate the phylogenetic position of Blakiston's fish owl (Bubo blakistoni), we sequenced the mitochondrial (mt) DNA control region and cytochrome b (cyt b) for nine Bubo species. Maximum-likelihood analyses of combined control region and cyt b sequences, and cyt b sequences alone, showed that species formerly placed in genus Ketupa comprise a monophyletic group. Unexpectedly, we discove...

Five novel antibiotics described as irpexans (1, 2, 3a, 3b, 4) were isolated from fermentations of an Irpex species in the course of a screening for new inhibitors of AP-1 and NF-kappaB mediated signal transduction pathways in COS-7 cells using secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) as a reporter gene. The expression of an AP-1 and NF-kappaB driven SEAP reporter gene was inhibited in a dose depen...

This report provides new evidence that the spread of C. formosanus in Mississippi is also attributed to commercial activities with some non-wood carriers moved from infested coastal areas. Sequencing of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II indicated that the genotype of a termite colony collected from a boat located in south Mississippi, (originally purchased in New Orleans, Louisiana by...

The primary structure of Cerebratulus lacteus toxin B-II has been investigated by automated Edman degradation of the reduced, carboxymethylated protein and of tryptic peptides derived from the maleylated protein. As a result of these studies, the identity of all 55 amino acid residues in the polypeptide chain has been unambiguously determined. Hydroxyproline, an amino acid not normally found in...