AIMS Sensitive diagnosis of Acanthamoeba infections may prevent the clinical condition from becoming worse. In order to improve the diagnosis tool performances, we studied the implication of the DNA extraction procedures on the detection of Acanthamoeba by real-time PCR. METHODS Acanthamoeba cysts mixed with a tag virus were processed according to different DNA preparation procedures: heat, P...

The available data on the combined action of rare earth elements and heavy metals are contradictory. Therefore, goal presented work is relevant – to determine effects solutions copper, lanthanum salts their equimolar mixtures under controlled conditions for Daphnia magna Straus. It has been established that death D. over 50% in containing Cu2+ observed at a calculated concentration 0.05 mg/L (0...

1 2 Microscopic examination of the hemolymph from diseased daphniids in 17 lakes in southwestern 3 Michigan and 5 rock pools in southern Finland revealed the presence of tightly coiled bacteria that 4 bore striking similarities to the drawings of a morphologically unique pathogen, Spirobacillus 5 cienkowskii, first described by Elya Metchnikoff more than 100 years ago. The uncultivated 6 microb...

Natural and anthropogenic pressures in inland waters induce molecular response mechanisms organisms as a defense against such multiple stressors. We studied, for the first time, expression of stress proteins, heat shock proteins (HSP) mitogen-activated kinase (MAPK), Daphnia magna natural population to environmental changes heavily modified water body (Lake Koronia, Northern Greece). In paralle...

The extent and the mechanisms by which engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) are incorporated into biological tissues are a matter of intensive research. Therefore, laser ablation coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is presented for the detection and visualization of engineered nanoparticles (Al2O3, Ag, and Au) in ecotoxicological test organisms (Danio rerio and Daphni...

The dual function of appendage movement (food acquisition, ventilation) proved to be the key to explaining the peculiar oxyregulatory repertoire of the planktonic filter feeder Daphnia magna. Short-term hypoxic exposure experiments with normoxia-acclimated animals under varying food concentrations revealed a dichotomous response pattern with a compensatory tachycardia under food-free conditions...

The aims of the present study were to present a methodology for toxicity tests that can be used when analytical resources to verify the test concentrations are limited, and to evaluate whether the sensitivity of a limited number of Ethiopian species to pesticides differs from literature values for, mainly, temperate species. Acute toxicity tests were performed using three Ethiopian aquatic inve...

In this study we use statistical validation techniques to verify density-dependent mechanisms hypothesized for populations of Daphnia magna. We develop structured population models that exemplify specific mechanisms and use multi-scale experimental data in order to test their importance. We show that fecundity and survival rates are affected by both time-varying density-independent factors, suc...