We have used monoclonal antibodies specific for acetylated and unacetylated alpha-tubulin to characterize the acetylated alpha-tubulin isotype of Physarum polycephalum, its expression in the life cycle, and its localization in particular microtubular organelles. We have used the monoclonal antibody 6-11B-1 (Piperno, G., and M. T. Fuller, 1985, J. Cell Biol., 101:2085-2094) as the probe for acet...

Many dissolved substances attach easily to sediment particles. In the presence of suspended sediments bioavailability of dissolved substances is therefore, usually reduced and clays are even applied to "wash" natural waters upon pollution. In organisms which feed on food organisms in the size range of these suspended sediment particles, however, bioavailability of such substances may even incre...

Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) is the second most consumed mushroom in the world. It has long been known in Asian medicine for its anticarcinogenic, antihypertensive and serum cholesterol level reduction properties. Nevertheless, the consumption of raw or not well-cooked mushrooms may cause skin eruptions which usually occur 24 to 48 hours after ingestion and are characterized by linearly arranged ...

We studied the role of bacterial secondary metabolites in the context of grazing protection against protozoans. A model system was used to examine the impact of violacein-producing bacteria on feeding rates, growth, and survival of three common bacterivorous nanoflagellates. Freshwater isolates of Janthinobacterium lividum and Chromobacterium violaceum produced the purple pigment violacein and ...

Since 2007, mass mortalities of cultured ascidians Halocynthia roretzi (Drasche) have occurred in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The mortalities occur from November through August, and the tunics of affected animals become abnormally weak and soft. The number of farming areas where mass mortalities have occurred has increased rapidly: 3 in 2007, 6 in 2008, and 14 in 2009. When an outbreak of the dis...

A modified fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method was used to analyze bacterial prey composition in protistan food vacuoles in both laboratory and natural populations. Under laboratory conditions, we exposed two bacterial strains (affiliated with beta- and gamma-Proteobacteria -- Aeromonas hydrophila and Pseudomonas fluorescens, respectively) to grazing by three protists: the flagella...

Symphysodontella madhusoodananii Manju & Rajesh, sp. nov. an epiphytic pendant moss, with flagellate branches and long acuminate leaves with two short costa is described and illustrated from the tropical wet evergreen forests of the Western Ghats of India.