Volume 71, Issue 1

Lamprodrilus isoporus (Michaelsen, 1901) inhabits Lake Baikal and some other lakes connected with it, and also occurs in northern Europe. The European population, described originally as L. isoporus f. variabilis Svetlov, 1936 does not difier much from the Siberian representatives. Typical habitat of the species is the cool and oxygen-rich profundal of oligotrophic lakes. In two Estonian shallow eutrophic lakes, it has been common in the unvegetated sandy littoral and sublittoral of Lake Peipsi at depths of 1–7 m, and very rare at depths of 0.5–1 m in shallower and more eutrophic Lake Vőrtsjärv. L. isoporus reproduced only sexually in winter in these lakes. The summer population was comprised of larger post-reproductive and smaller young worms. Both cohorts matured in autumn. L. isoporus accounted for one fourth to one third of oligochaetes in zoobenthos samples from Lake Peipsi between the 1960s and the 1980s. Its frequency and abundance have decreased drastically beginning in the 1990s. The reason can lie in the synergistic impact of extremely hot periods in some summers, water blooms of toxic cyanobacteria, and predation by an alien gammarid, Gmelinoides fasciatus . In Lake Vőrtsjärv L. isoporus was still widely distributed in 1959 but was limited to a single station in the subsequent years; it has not been recorded after 1988. L. isoporus is absent from the large Swedish lakes and in many other oligotrophic lakes of northern Europe and Siberia, apparently being a relict of periglacial lakes.

Up to now 17 alien species of family Naididae have been found in Poland. The majority of them have a Ponto-Caspian origin ( Potamothrix hammoniensis, P. moldaviensis, P. heuscheri, P. vejdovskyi, P. bavaricus, P. bedoti, Psammoryctides barbatus, P. albicola, P. moravicus , Tubifex newaensis, Isochaetides michaelseni, Paranais simplex and P. frici ). Moreover, North American ( Quistadrilus multisetosus , Limnodrilus cervix ) and thermophilic species from Asia ( Branchiura sowerbyi ) and South Europe or North Africa ( Tubifex blanchardi ) have been recorded. Almost all alien species are known from a small number of localities, except for Potamothrix hammoniensis, P. moldaviensis, Psammoryctides barbatus and P. albicola , but only the first of these seems to be an invasive species influencing the composition of benthic communities in the profundal of lakes.

This work deals with the study of the oligochaete groundwater biodiversity in the Dinaric region, a karstic territory extending along the oriental shores of the Adriatic sea. Historical and new data depict a fauna of 123 species, 36 of which are stygobiotic. About 60% of the stygobionts are endemic to this region. Trichodrilus Claparède (Lumbriculidae) and Rhyacodrilus Bretscher (Rhyacodrilinae, Naididae) appear as highly diversified genera (13 and 10 species respectively); their diversification and radiative evolution in ground waters of the Dinaric region can be in relation with the fresh and stable temperatures in this environment, linked to isolate patches of karst. The presence of Parvidrilidae and Rhyacodriloidinae (Naididae) in this region is specially noteworthy; the parvidrilids are a groundwater Holarctic family present in Alabama (USA) and southern Europe and the rhyacodriloidines are a small Palaearctic group found in Lake Baikal and ground waters of the Limestone Alps (Italy) and the Dinaric karst of Slovenia and Croatia. The Phallodrilinae (Naididae) are represented in the Dinaric region by two species of Spiridion Knöllner and two species of Abyssidrilus Erséus; both these genera seem to be representatives of two ways of colonization of continental ground waters, the former by migration through waters of decreasing salinity, and the later following the Regression model based on sea transgression and regression. Ground waters of the Dinaric region are confirmed as one of the most important hotspots of biodiversity in the world also for the oligochaete fauna.

In this paper, we described the clitellate fauna from an underwater hydrothermal vent zone in Frolikha Bay (Northern Baikal), where a unique community of oligochaetes dominate the zoobenthic communities. In total, twenty one oligochaete species were collected and of these, 19 species belong to the Naididae (former Tubificidae). In addition, one species belonging to the Propappidae, Propappus glandulosus , and another, widespread in the lake, to the Lumbriculidae, Lumbriculus achaetus , were identified. High indices of oligochaete development were revealed in the study which are uncharacteristic for the abyssal zone of Lake Baikal. The hypothesis of possible dependence of species composition and quantitative characteristics of oligochaetes on the development of bacteria Thioploca in the area was not confirmed.

The Aşağ Fırat River is located in the south-eastern Anatolia, Turkey. The water quality of the Aşağ Fırat River basin has been degrading for some time, primarily as the result of pollutants associated with the discharges from numerous domestic and agricultural point sources. Aquatic macroinvertebrate samples were collected from eight lakes conducted by using both hand-nets and an Ekman-Birge grab sampler during the summer and autumn of 2014, focusing on the species composition and distribution of aquatic oligochaetes in eight lakes of the Aşağ Fırat River basin, and their relationships with physico-chemical parameters measured in those lakes using Principal Component Analysis. Results of analyses of all identified benthic macroinvertebrates clearly indicate the percent dominance of oligochaetes in benthic samples in the eight dam lakes that were sampled: Hacıhıdır lake (62.9%); Atatürk lake (49.6%); Üçöz lake (28.9%); Dumluca lake (22.01%); Seve lake (13.9%); Çat lake (8.5%); Karakaya lake (7.8%) and Birecik lake (5%). During this study, 1044 oligochaete specimens representing 10 species of two subfamilies within the family Naididae were identified. The most abundant taxa were Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri (48.94%), Potamothrix hammoniensis (19.3%), Tubifex tubifex (13.1%), Nais simplex (5.2%) and Nais communis (4.1%).

Oligochaeta samples were collected from seven lakes (2 natural and 5 non-natural) of Ceyhan River basin during the summer and autumn seasons of 2014. The Ceyhan River basin is located in the south-eastern Anatolia region in Turkey. Lakes Gölbaşı and Azaplı are located in a protected area. Some physico-chemical parameters of surface water were measured in situ. Sampling for oligochaetes was conducted by using both hand-nets and an Ekman Birge grab sampler, with samples obtained from different depths. Oligochaetes represented the dominant group of the total benthic macroinvertebrates in samples, with the exception of samples collected from Ayvalı Dam lake. A total of 11,293 oligochaete specimens were sorted from samples collected from these lakes, from which 14 species belonging to 2 subfamilies (Naidinae and Tubificinae) were identified. Potamothrix hammoniensis (90.24%) and Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri (7%) were the most abundant oligochaetes in the samples.

This study was carried out in the Küçük Menderes River basin in order to determine the water quality and investigate the environmental quality and the applicability of both the Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) and Average Score Per Taxon (ASPT). Monitoring took place in May, July and September 2014 at 10 stations (7 rivers and 3 lakes) according to the method of Intercalibration Common Metrics. Some metrics (BMWP, ASPT, Family Biotic Index, Simpson Diversity Index, Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index, Margalef Diversity Index, dominance, frequency and existence of sensitive species) were calculated. In total, 69 taxa comprising 5,814 individuals were detected. The taxa having the highest frequency rate were Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri (70%), Chironomus (Camptochironomus) tentans (70%), Psammoryctides albicola (60%), Physella acuta (60%), Nais elinguis (60%) and Stylaria lacustris (50%), which are alpha mesosaprobic and polysaprobic species, respectively. The presence and high dominance and frequency rate of these species have indicated basin pollution. Positive indicator species for water quality are Gomphus schneideri , Trithemis annulata , Lindenia tetraphylla , Orthetrum cancellatum , Hydropsyche angustipennis , Cricotopus (Cricotopus) fuscus and Cricotopus (Cricotopus) annulator , while negative indicator species are Culex pipiens , Chironomus (Camptoch.) tentans , Chironomus thummi , Stylaria lacustris and Eristalis tenax . Habitat quality of the Küçük Menderes River basin was not high (it was found to be heavily polluted/polluted/slightly polluted according to the physicochemical data, BMWP and ASPT) due to physical habitat degradation, urban waste waters, touristic, seasonal dwelling and agricultural activities.

Lake Al-Delmage is part of the middle section of a main outfall drain located south of Baghdad (Iraq). This study focuses on the community structure of aquatic annelids and the physico-chemical variables in this lake. Six stations along the lake were chosen for sample collection in the period from January 2013 to January 2014. The results revealed that the lake water is oligohaline, with salinity levels ranging from 1.5 to 14.6 ‰ and temperatures ranging from 9°C to 33°C; hydrogen ion concentrations (as pH) ranging between 7 and 9. Water was well aerated with dissolved oxygen concentrations values ranging between 6 and 12 mg L −1 , and BOD values ranging between 1.5 and 3 mg L −1 . The lake water was considered as very hard, since the total hardness values ranging between 825 and 8466 mg L −1 . From samples collected during the study period, 1,885 aquatic annelid specimens were identified. Of these, 58% belonged to the family Aeolosomatidae (Polychaeta); the remaining taxa belonged to subfamilies of the family Naididae (Oligochaeta – Clitellata): subfamily Naidinae (6%), subfamily Tubificinae (36%), and subfamily Rhyacodrilinae, Branchiura sowerbyi (3%). Two species of Aeolosomatidae were recognized, Aeolosoma hemprichi and Aeolosoma variegatum . Naidid worms of the subfamily Naidinae included three species, Paranais litoralis , Dero ( Aulophorus ) furcatus , and Stylaria lacustris. The highest frequency percentage of 23.6% was recorded for P. litoralis. The subfamily Tubificinae was represented by five species – Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri , L. profundicola , L. claparedeanus , L. udekemianus , and Tubifex tubifex. Limnodrilus claparedeanus was the most abundant species, comprising 53% of the total number of Tubificinae. Seasonal fluctuations showed spatial and temporal variations of species richness. The highest species richness was recorded in the stations near the feeder canal, and temporally during June and October 2013.

A qualitative survey of freshwater Oligochaeta was conducted in selected districts of Tamil Nadu, India, from October 2013 to June 2015. Thirteen taxa were recorded from a total of 1,915 specimens of freshwater Oligochaeta examined from various random samples. Out of the 13 taxa 10 were identified to the species level, two were identified to genus level and one only to subfamily level. These provided the first reports of Aulophorus furcatus, Dero digitata, D. zeylanica (Naididae) and Pristina breviseta (Pristinidae) for Villupuram, Bothrioneurum sp. (Tubificidae) for Nilagiri, and D. digitata and D. zeylanica for Thiruvannamalai districts. The Dero sp. recorded from Villupuram with four hair and four needle chaetae is uniquely difierent from the rest of the genus so far reported. The tubificid Limnodrilus hofimeisteri was the most common and abundant and the only species found in the aquaria. Among the naidids, D. dorsalis was the most abundant species collected from Neithavayal pond (Minjur, Thiruvallur district).

Investigating the microbial community structure and composition of toxic industrial wastes contaminated with nitrocellulose and various by-products is crucial for understanding the fate of these pollutants in the environment and for the development and application of efiective bioremediation processes. In this study, we investigated the chemical properties and toxic potential of wastewater generated during nitrocellulose production. The analyzed wastewater from settling pond contained nitrocellulose powder particles as well as increased ammonium (570–760 mg/L), sulfate (1625– 2045 mg/L) and sulfite (864–1014 mg/L) concentrations. The toxicity test results demonstrated that the wastewater samples present acute toxicity for Paramecium caudatum and Daphnia magna . Furthermore, bacterial community structure in the samples was characterized by pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis of bacterial sequences indicated that Proteobacteria , Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were the main phyla in the sample near inlet, whereas various phylotypes of the phyla Proteobacteria , Chlorobi , Bacteroidetes and Gemmatimonadetes dominated in the sample near outlet. Some bacterial members observed in the current work can be considered as agents capable of performing biodegradation of various hazardous contaminants, indicating that the described bacterial communities have a high potential for the development of efiective bioremediation strategies.

Expansin proteins play a key role in inducing the extension and relaxation of plant cell walls. To understand the physiological role of expansins in lotus crop, Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn, during plant development, we cloned an expansin gene designated as NnEXPA1 using the rapid amplification of cDNA ends technique. The full-length cDNA of NnEXPA1 was 1,456 bp encoding a protein of 250 amino acids. Gene structure of NnEXPA1 showed that it cosists of three exons and two introns. Phylogenetic tree and sequence analysis indicated that NnEXPA1 belongs to the α -expansin subfamily. Results of the real-time semi-quantitative PCR demonstrated that NnEXPA1 were difierentially expressed within all tissues except root during the plant development. Expression of NnEXPA1 in leaf and rhizome were dramatically decreased during the initial to later stages of rhizome-development. In lotus root, however, NnEXPA1 seemed to exhibit a stable expression pattern. Our results indicated that the transcript accumulation of NnEXPA1 between the initial and early stages of rhizome development may be an important factor during rhizome size determination.

Aegilops searsii (2 n = 2 x = 14, S s S s ), a wild relative of wheat, is a potentially important source of agriculturally useful genes for wheat breeding. The incorporation of Ae. searsii chromosome segments 1S s or 2S s into the wheat genome could significantly improve wheat flour quality and powdery mildew resistance, respectively. However, monitoring of wheat- Ae. searsii introgressions involving 1S s or 2S s chromosomes is difficult due to the lack of Ae. searsii -specific molecular markers. In this study, a total of 476 EST- or SSR-based primer pairs were synthesized and screened against a set of Chinese Spring (CS)- Ae. searsii addition lines and the control background variety CS. As a result, 17 molecular markers specific either for 1S s or 2S s chromosomes have been developed, among them, 1, 4, 2 and 10 markers have been assigned to chromosome arms 1S s S, 1S s L, 2S s S and 2S s L, respectively. All 17 markers can be successfully used to screen segregating populations. These markers are completely consistent with genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) results, indicating that these markers could be used for detecting Ae. searsii chromatin in wheat background.

Embryogenic tissues of hybrid firs ( Abies alba × A. cephalonica , Abies alba × A. numidica ) have been cryopreserved using a slow-freezing method. The cryotolerance of six cell lines initiated from immature or mature zygotic embryos was tested. Following sorbitol (0.5 M) and DMSO (5%) pretreatments the samples were slowly frozen at a rate of 1°C/min, plunged into liquid nitrogen and stored for 1 year. Post-thaw regeneration ocurred in all the six tested cell lines with recovery frequencies ranging from 100% (cell lines AC1, AC2, AC78, AN72), 90% (cell line AC2) to 44.4% (cell line AC79). Fresh and dry mass accumulation of cryopreserved tissues evaluated three month after thawing was identical to that of control (non-cryopreserved tissues without pretreatment). The cryopreservation procedure resulted in disintegration of bipolar structure of somatic embryos. The long vacuolised suspensor cells almost completely disrupted and the meristematic embryonal cells survived cryopreservation. In the post-thaw period, repeated cell divisions of meristematic cells led to formation of new cell clusters and their vacuolisation resulted in polarisation and finally to the formation of bipolar structures and somatic embryos.

Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) plays versatile roles in various biological processes and in responses to stress in plants. To investigate effects of exogenous H 2 O 2 on the transcript levels of some genes encoding antioxidative enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase Cu/Zn (Cu/ZnSOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and also on the ultrastructural alterations caused by lead, 7-day-old seedlings of water caltrop ( Trapa bicornis ) were treated with lead salt (0.05 mmol/L) separately, or combined with H 2 O 2 (2.5 mmol/L). Ultrastructural observation on the mesophyll cells demonstrated that the lead toxicity, which resulted in the membrane instability and abnormal organization within organelles, was eliminated under the condition of the co-treatment with H 2 O 2 and lead. In this relation the combined treatment with H 2 O 2 and lead prevented the increased amount of malondialdehyde to some extent during the whole experimental period (24, 48, and 72 h). Furthermore, quantitative measurements by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed that the co-treatment with both compounds, in contrast to the lead treatment alone, significantly up-regulated transcripts of CAT , APX , and a lignin biosynthesis related gene encoding ferulate-5-hydroxylase (F5H). The H 2 O 2 -induced F5H expression is thought to modify cell wall and thus lower Pb entry into water caltrop seedlings, thereby enhancing tolerance to Pb stress. Morphological and molecular evidences in the present study perhaps reflect the fact that some antioxidative enzymes, especially CAT and APX, combined with the action of F5H on cell wall modification, contribute to the enhanced antioxidative defense in the examined plants treated with lead.

The enhanced expression of heat shock proteins (Hsps) in organisms is associated with environmental temperatures. For rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ), high temperature is a major abiotic stress limiting its growth and productivity. In the present study, we have investigated serum cortisol (COR) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity as well as Hsp40 and Hsp90β mRNA expression in diflerent tissues (gill, liver, spleen, heart, brain and head kidney) of rainbow trout under unstressed (18°C) and heat-stressed (25°C) conditions. Consequently, COR at 8 H, and heat stress recovering (HSR) AKP at 2, 8 and 12 H were significantly up-regulated in the heat stressed group (P > 0.05). Hsp40 and Hsp90β mRNA expressions were significantly up-regulated in all tissues and responded to heat stress in a tissue- and time-specific manner. Their expression in heart and brain were relatively high in the unstressed group compared with other tissues (P > 0.05). During heat stress, Hsp40 and Hsp90β in all tissues showed the first rise after falling trend, and the highest induction was recorded in the spleen (P > 0.05). Hsp40 in heart and brain, and Hsp90β in liver and brain did not return to the comparison group (0 h) after HSR. The results indicate that Hsp40 and Hsp90β are more important in dealing with heat-induced stress and mainly afforded protection in liver, heart and brain. In addition, cells may be damaged under heat stress with increasing AKP activity and elevating COR, which regulates energy metabolism and fights environmental pressure to maintain homeostasis of rainbow trout.