Band 72, Heft 12

Increased anthropogenic environmental pollution, one of the serious threats associated with rapid industrial/ economic development leads to enhanced release of SO X and NO X in the troposphere which later combined with moisture and results in acid rain (AR). Recurrence of AR leads an array of alterations in plants that includes inhibited seed germination, growth and productivity, biomass accumulation, photosynthesis, enzyme activities, protein synthesis, gene expression patterns, and over production of active oxygen species (AOS). This over produced AOS damages/ oxidizes to lipids, proteins and nucleic acids, and releases a number of cytotoxic intermediate/ end products thereby alterations in metabolic pathways and inactivation of key enzymes. Additionally, AR upsets the balance between AOS generation and elimination by altering the antioxidant defense system, and consequently oxidative stress in plants. However, in the recent past, few attempts have been made, to ameliorate the adverse impacts of AR in plants. Modulation in the levels of antioxidants for prevention against AOS-induced injuries has been recognized as one of the effective approaches towards AR tolerance. Accumulation of ascorbic acid, carotenoids, phenols and proline, and exogenous addition of calcium, polyamines, growth tonic, salicylic acid and, β-aminobutyric acid were shown to be the effective strategies to cope low-pH stress in plants. The present review summarizes information on mechanisms of AR formation, uptake of H + , SO4− $\rm SO_{4}^{-} $ and NO3− $\rm NO_{3}^{-} $ by plants, AR-induced physiological, biochemical, and molecular changes and their amelioration using potential compounds. Gaps in the existing knowledge on AR-stress in plants, and future research directions are discussed.

The paper describes the isolation and characterization of a novel pelagic bacterial strain capable of hepatotoxic microcystin (MC) degradation. From a total of 24 bacterial strains isolated from water samples collected during the cyanobacteria blooming period in Jeziorsko reservoir, Poland, only the strain JEZ-8L was found to completely degrade microcystin-LR (MC-LR). The strain JEZ-8L was found to include the full mlr ABCD gene cluster associated with the biological degradation of MC. To our knowledge, the strain JEZ-8L may represent the first report of an isolated bacterium to contain the full mlr ABCD gene cluster in an aquatic ecosystem from central Europe. The nucleotide sequence analysis of each mlr gene and their translated amino acid sequences revealed a close similarity to other MC-degrading bacteria belonging to the Sphingomonadaceae family. Phylogenetic analysis using the bacterial gene marker 16S rRNA revealed 99% sequence similarity with nine strains from the Sphingosinicella genus. The nucleotide sequence similarity between the strain JEZ-8L and Sphingosinicella microcystinivorans Y2 was probably the most representative, since the strain Y2 is known to be a MC-degrading bacterium with confirmed detection from the full mlr ABCD gene cluster. It is important to mention that our findings represent a preliminary study on the microbiota involved in MC degradation in water bodies from central Poland. The MC-degrading activity of the strain JEZ-8L could be promising for further research towards the elaboration of biotechnological solutions to reduce the harmful effects of MCs in water.

A total of 60 endophytic fungal strains were isolated and screened for their producing-ability of 6-pentyl- α -pyrone (6PP), which has a coconut-like aroma. Of these isolated strains, four strains of Trichoderma koningii Oudemans were positive for 6PP production. Agar well diffusion assay was employed to test the antimicrobial activity of 6PP against 22 microbial strains. Although 6PP showed no antibacterial activity against several bacterial strains, it interestingly exhibited positive inhibitory activity against Staphylococcus aureus recording a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 100 µg/mL. The 6PP displayed a good antifungal activity against all filamentous fungi tested with MICs ranged from 80 to 90 µg.mL. To demonstrate its mode of antimicrobial activity, Staphylococcus aureus , Aspergillus flavus , Penicillium expansum and Fusarium acuminatum were treated with 6PP at sub-MICs and examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Several morphological alterations were caused by 6PP, such as induction of a bleb-like structure on the outer surface of the treated bacteria and surface depression with loosing hyphal linearity of the treated fungi. Additionally, several extensive cellular damages were also observed in microbial cells and the most frequent alteration noticed was the detachment of plasma membrane from cell wall. The inhibitory activity of 6PP was further demonstrated on aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) production by several strains of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus grown in liquid medium and results showed that 6PP had a good efficacy in suppression of AFB1 by 34.28–54.63%. These findings hold a promise to control pathogenic organisms and their toxicity using a lactone metabolite.

The aim of this work was the isolation of endophytic cacti fungi producer of pigments. Twenty different endophytic fungi were isolated from Ferocactus latispinus using a standard method. One of these was an orange pigment producer and was identified with molecular biology techniques amplifying internal transcribe spacer region. The fungus identified was Fusarium solani ; it is a producer of polyketides from naphthoquinones family. Experiments with different carbon and nitrogen sources were performed, and it was found that both glycerol and ammonia sulphate promote the naphthoquinones biosynthesis. It was also found that the carbon/nitrogen ratio and pH value had an effect on this biosynthesis phenomenon; increasing productivity being observed at the initial C: N ratio of 59.6, pH 6 and time of 113.3 h. This C : N ratio exhibited a stress condition for fungi in the pigment biosynthesis process in liquid media. The optimum value of total naphthoquinones (476 μmol/L) was obtained using a central rotable composite design.

The diversity relationship between tree and herb layer has often been investigated, but the results are contradictory. Moreover, few studies of deciduous European species have been conducted to date in natural or near-natural forests, while such studies in old-growth forest with considerable co-dominance of oak are missing. In one of the best preserved natural European beech-sessile oak forests (Runcu-Grosi Natural Reserve, Western Romania) we investigated whether there is a correlation between canopy-layer diversity and herb-layer diversity. Structural diversity, vegetation composition, ecological and functional traits were evaluated. Our results show that the herb-layer diversity is higher under canopy with greater tree-layer diversity, and the diversity of both layers depend on whether the overstorey is dominated by beech or sessile oak. Herb layers of plots with oak co-dominance showed higher indicator values for light and temperature, and a higher proportion of graminoides and shrub species. In contrast, herb-layer in beech plots is dominated by juvenile trees, mainly beech and competitive herb species. Oak plots are characterised by a generally more evenly distributed herb-layer composition. Species richness of herb-layer was higher under a diversely structured overstorey, which was mainly achieved when oak was present in the canopy, and correlated negatively with litter thickness, which was highest in beech plots. We conclude that the identity of the dominant canopy species is most important for herb layer species composition and diversity. Furthermore, the plots with oak occurrence in the overstorey even with weak proportion (around 20% of stand basal area) features a higher biodiversity of species in the understorey.

The impacts of year-round nocturnal warming or late spring rain exclusion on three plant functional types were studied in a plot-scale climate simulation experiment in a semiarid sand forest-steppe of Central Hungary. Ecophysiological traits were followed through six years for the C 3 bunch grass Festuca vaginata , the spreading C 4 grass Cynodon dactylon and shrub-sized root suckers of Populus alba . In general, experimental treatments had slighter effects than weather fluctuations yielding extremities did. Populus alba responded to nocturnal warming with developing slenderer leaves. Rain exclusion reduced leaf physiological activity or growth, but only during or just after the treatment, and in certain years. When assessing treatment and background climatic variation effects together, in spring, leaf area growth was consistently stimulated by increasing temperature, but decreased with longer rainless periods for P. alba and F. vaginata . Physiological responses in spring indicated low temperature limitation for C. dactylon , and both low and high temperature control for P. alba . Longer summer droughts reduced leaf gas exchange, particularly for F. vaginata with substantial drop in photochemical activity and chlorophyll content. These results suggest that shallow rooted C 3 bunch grasses can be the most susceptible to climatic variation, thus their abundance is expected to decline in the Pannonian forest-steppe. In contrast, plants having deeper roots and clonal integration will probably be less affected by the projected warming and drying climate. C 4 photosynthesis or southern geographical distribution may also be beneficial, thus, the abundance of such species is expected to diminish less or even increase.

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGP) consists of two large (AGP-L) and two small (AGP-S) subunits; it regulates the limiting step in the biosynthesis of starch. Here, we isolated the full-length cDNA sequence of the AGP-S gene (designed as Agp1 ) from wheat and whole genomic sequences from relatives of wheat. The coding region of Agp1 ranged from 5948 bp to 7666 bp and contained 9 exons and 8 introns. The full-length cDNA sequence of Agp1 encoded a polypeptide containing 473 amino acids without transit peptides. The sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree analyses indicated that the Agp1 cDNA sequence was highly conserved (99.7%) across the diploid Triticeae species examined in this study. Variations in introns caused the Agp1 genomic sequences from wheat relatives to be less similar (79.5%), and Agp1 sequences from the B genome donor species were divergent. In developing grains, rapid increase in Agp1 expression at prophase was closely followed by the accumulation of starch, and a significant ( P < 0.001) correlation was observed between them. The heterogeneous mixtures of small and large subunits from different wheat species restarted glycogen synthesis in the Escherichia coli AC70R1-504 cells, which are deficient in endogenous AGP activity ( glg C −/− ). Our data provide useful information to evaluate and utilize Agp1 sequences in Triticeae species.

The current study was carried out to check the influence of the gradient saline (0, 50, 150, 200, 250 and 300 mM NaCl) on Astragalus gombiformis Pomel. plants grown in pots in greenhouse conditions. The results demonstrated that salt levels above 50 mM substantially reduced the biomass accumulation in both roots and especially in shoots. Similarly, higher salinity (100–300 mM NaCl) resulted significant decline in net photosynthetic (–66.2%), transpiration (–80%), stomatal conductance (–87.7%), intercellular CO 2 concentration (–78.1%) and chlorophyll a and b contents (–45.7 and –51%, respectively). Also, leaf relative water content (RWC) was reduced significantly with salinity exceeding 100 mM NaCl, while the leaf water potential (Ψw) decreased significantly as salinity rises. Salt stress increases Na + , Na + /K + and decreases K + concentrations in all tissues of A . gombiformis . Compensatory, an accumulation of organic osmolytes such as soluble sugars in response to higher salinity (150–300 mM NaCl) was observed, while proline content increased drastically with progressive salinity. The present study reveals that GPX and GR were highly used to protect from NaCl-induced H 2 O 2 . APX might to participate efficiently in restriction of oxidative damages under higher salinity (50–150 mM). The leaf anatomy showed an increase in upper epidermal thickness at higher salt level (300 mM), whereas the total leaf thickness and the mesophyll parenchyma area decreased with salinity exceeding 100 mM NaCl. The distance between vascular bundle and the xylem vessel diameter were reduced only at 300 mM. The stomatal density decreased with enhanced stomata size at 200–300 mM NaCl. Based on these physiological, biochemical and anatomical responses to salinity we conclude that A . gombiformis is unable to maintain the ionic homeostasis and to managing ROS stress at high salinity and therefore can tolerate only mild to moderate salinity.

Exposure of Arabidopsis leaves to cadmium (Cd) stress led to an increase in the level of extracellular ATP (eATP). And, Cd stress also caused significant increases in lipid peroxidation and the activities of lipoxygenase (LOX) and antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POX), and catalase (CAT). Treatment of Arabidopsis leaves with β , γ -methyleneadenosine 5’-triphosphate (AMP-PCP), which serves as a competitive inhibitor of eATP, dampened the Cd-induced increases of lipid peroxidation and the activities of LOX and antioxidant enzymes. Under Cd stress, the leaves of dorn 1-3 mutant showed lower levels of lipid peroxidation and activities of LOX and antioxidant enzymes compared with those of wild type plants. These results suggest that the changes in lipid peroxidation and activities of LOX and antioxidant enzymes under Cd stress could be associated with eATP.

Rhynchotalona falcata (G.O. Sars, 1861) was found in the plankton of a gravel pit located in the lowlands of Slovakia. This is the first record of this taxon for Slovakia, although it is widely distributed in Western Europe. We do not know to date, whether it is a rare, native species of Slovakian fauna, or accidentally introduced one from north-west regions of Europe. Some notes on its biology and distribution in Europe are provided.

A laboratory survey was done to study both day length and male effect on the reproduction of Porcellio laevis Latreille, 1804. Specimens were maintained in six climatic chambers at different photoperiods [Light: Dark (LD) 0: 24, 4:20, 8:16, 12:12, 14:10, 16:8 and 24:0] at constant temperature of 20 ± 1 °C. The characterization of photoperiodic induction on the onset of reproduction in P . laevis females showed that those maintained under LD 16: 8 started reproduction after a delay of 50.27 ± 5.56 days and can perform up to four successive parturial moults. However, females maintained under constant darkness entered in reproduction after 136 ± 5.50 days and underwent only one parturial moult. To evaluate the male-effect on the onset of reproduction, different experiments were conducted highlighting that male presence speeds up the lag-time of females maintained at LD 16:8. We can conclude that long photophases, especially LD 16:8, and male presence stimulate the onset of reproduction.

Transportation infrastructure may be the most important driver of social and economic development, but it is a major cause of environmental change in landscapes. The main objective of this paper is to report road edge effects on isopods of Hungarian highway verges. We examined the isopod diversity along five highways (M0, M1, M3, M5, M7) while accounting for road edge proximity and the adjacent areas. Double-glass pitfall traps were set in a total of 15 sites and at three distances from the edge of the roads next to different types of adjacent areas. We found differences between ecological parameters of isopod communities in relation to adjacent areas as well as to road edge proximity. The highest diversity was observed near urban areas, while the lowest was near the arable fields. Isopod diversity increased with decreasing distance from a road. Species diversity of different types of verges based on adjacent areas varied strongly in relation to road edge proximity. A medium distance (40 m) from roads had a positive effect on species richness, while verges next to arable fields were the most species-rich habitats. The general conclusion of this study is that highway verges provided suitable environment conditions for generalist isopod species but may be a limiting factor for specialist isopods. Moreover, highway verges function as corridors for isopods. The proximity of roads and urban areas positively affected isopods, and verges close to roads and urban areas are considered as an attractive environment for isopods in heterogeneous roadside verges.

The sampling surveys were conducted in the northern Iran, using several Malaise traps, during 2010–2011. A single specimen of a rare root aphid parasitoid, Aclitus obscuripennis Förster, 1862 (Hym.: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) was identified among the collected specimens. This is the first record of the genus Aclitus in Iran and western Asian area. Aclitus obscuripennis is re-described and illustrated and its occurrence in Iran is discussed. Additional specimens from central Europe were examined and compared. Our findings introduced a new tritrophic ecological system to be further investigated in upcoming studies

The Piabina genus was allocated in Stervadiinae subfamily after staying for years as an uncertain group in Characidae. Few cytogenetic studies are described in the literature for Piabina argentea , thus new analyzes in other populations are important to understanding of the chromosomal dynamics of them. The aim of this paper was to analyze the chromosomes of P. argentea from Corumbataí River basin focusing mainly the chromosomal locations of 18S rDNA and 5S rDNA clusters. The diploid chromosome number was 2 n = 52 for P. argentea , which were classified as 6 metacentrics (m), 8 submetacentrics (sm), 24 subtelocentrics (st) and 14 acrocentrics (a), and FN (fundamental number) value 90 in both sexes. Silver nitrate impregnation located the nucleolus organizer regions (Ag-NORs) on the short (p) arm of pair 16, however, an intra-individual variation of Ag-NORs sites was observed in two individuals. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) revealed six 18S rDNA sites (pairs 8, 10 and 16) and four 5S rDNA sites in terminal positions of the short arm of pairs 5 and 22 (one submetacentric and one acrocentric) in P. argentea . The results indicate that, despite the conserved diploid number, this group of fish presents a wide variability of the 18S and 5S rDNA sites.

The trophic relations of the red-crowned crane in Zhalong wetland, northeastern China may significantly be altered due to the rapid decrease in accessible food resources. To confirm this hypothesis, we determined the trophic status of this vulnerable species by using stable isotope (carbon ( δ 13 C ) and nitrogen ( δ 15 N ) methods. The δ 13 C and 15 N signatures in the red-crowned crane species were in the range of – 17.8‰ to – 18.5‰ and 6.9‰ to 8.1‰, respectively. The majority of the ecosystem of Zhalong wetland has an average food-chain length of 3.9, and the trophic level of the examined species, i.e., red-crowned crane, was approximately 3.1. The trophic relations of red-crowned cranes have changed over the period of 2004 to 2014, as the biological species in the bottom trophic level significantly exhausted in the past years. The conflict of food demand by red-crowned cranes versus the livelihood demand of local wetland residents should be resolved to ensure sustainability of food supply sustainable for rare and extinguishable species.

The myoelectrical activity of ovine gallbladder is incompletely recognized. Accordingly, each of five rams was fitted with six small intestinal and three gallbladder electrodes. The strain gauge force transducer was also mounted near the gallbladder fundic electrode. In two series of chronic experiments the electromyographical and mechanical recordings were conducted during 5–7 h in fasted or non-fasted animals, with or without feeding. The occurrence of the slow waves in the small bowel was common, unlike those in the gallbladder. In the small bowel myoelectrical records both the migrating motility complex and minute rhythm pattern were observed regularly. In the gallbladder, both the migrating motility complex-like activity and the minute rhythm were also denoted in the same time as in the small bowel. In gallbladder infundibulum, and often also in the gallbladder corpus, the specific pattern, called the long spike burst pattern (LSBP) was observed. It comprised usually one or two parts of prolonged duration. The first part resembled the classical (short lasting) spike burst in the small bowel and its amplitude was lower than that of the second part. The spike burst frequency of the second part of the pattern was 2–3 times lower than that of the first part. During phase 1 – and phase 2a-like activity, the frequency of the gallbladder LSBP was reduced in fasted rams. The LSBP amplitude was relatively high and not further enhanced after feeding. In fasted rams, the duration of specific pattern, observed in gallbladder infundibulum, was longer than that in non-fasted animals and its amplitude was low. Similar events were recorded in the gallbladder corpus, but the LSBP was shorter and not regular. In the gallbladder fundus, mostly irregular short spike bursts were recorded. It is concluded that in sheep, specific types of the long-lasting groups of spikes occur in the upper gallbladder areas forming the specific pattern that indicates the presence of the regional variability of the gallbladder motor activity. The character of LSBP depends mostly on feeding conditions.

Knowledge about the three-dimensional fine structure of human heart, as a crucial vital organ of the body, is not only fascinating from the scientific or educational points of view, but has a very important clinical impact. Therefore, we decided to create a three-dimensional atlas of fine structure of the human heart. Tissue samples from ten human hearts were rinsed in phosphate-buffer solution, fixed by glutaraldehyde buffered solution, and post-fixed in osmium tetroxide solution. A gentle dehydration with ethanol in different concentration and drying at the critical point of CO 2 were applied as next procedures. Non-conductive specimens were galvanized with thin gold layer and observed in scanning electron microscope. In this study, we present the three-dimensional ultrastructural architecture of the human heart from patients after myocardial infarction, end-stage failing heart as well as without apparent cardiac abnormalities at the time of autopsy. The results are presented as a histological atlas. Its images illustratively describe the fine structure of endocardium including the morphology of Purkyně (Purkinje) fibres, spatial arrangements of cardiac muscle cells inside myocardium or the arrangements of adipose tissue of epicardium. We present also figures of the ultrastructure of papillary muscles, intercalated discs as well as the connective tissue scars after myocardial infarction. The scanning electron microscopy could be a reliable technique to perform a more complete morphological data and to improve our knowledge of some pathological changes of tissues and cells, not always detected by conventional morphological examinations.

In 2017, a new non-indigenous crayfish species was found established in Europe. The captured individuals were identified as an orange morph of the Mexican dwarf crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis Villalobos, 1943. Fifteen adults (including three ovigerous females) and 26 juveniles were collected in a thermal pond in Budapest, Hungary. Two additional adults were caught below the pond’s outflow in the adjacent Danube River. To our knowledge, this is the first record of a C . patzcuarensis population outside North America, which is also true for the rest of dwarf crayfish (family Cambaridae, subfamily Cambarellinae). With this finding, indigenous crayfish species in Europe are now more than two-fold outnumbered by non-indigenous species. An analysis of the probability of establishment of C . patzcuarensis in continental Europe revealed that specific regions in the south of the continent are suitable areas for the establishment of the species. Moreover, as a confirmed carrier of the crayfish plague pathogen, this species should be treated with caution and eradicated if possible.