Volume 72, Issue 7

A study on the morphological variability and ecological differentiation among the species in the genus Daphne was carried out which included seven species from the Balkan Peninsula: Daphne mezereum, D. laureola, D. alpina, D. oleoides, D. malyana, D. cneorum and D. blagayana . In the Balkan Peninsula, the ranges of the species in this genus overlap, which does not occur anywhere else in Europe. Descriptive statistics were measured for 20 quantitative characters of the leves and stems. A comparative analysis of the morpho-anatomical adaptations of these species shows that: D . cneorum , D . malyana and D . oleoides belong to the adaptive type of xerophytes; D . alpina is a xeromesophyte; D . blagayana and D . laureola are mesoxerophytes; and D . mezereum is a mesophyte. Principal component analysis shows the largest contribution to the formation of the variability between the different species is made by characters that are related to leaf shape (leaf length, distance between the largest leaf width and the leaf top, largest width of the leaf, leaf surface area), followed by surface area of abaxial stomata, stem characters (stem cortex thickness and stem diameter) and leaf anatomy characters (thickness of the palisade tissue, thickness mesophyll, number of palisade layers). These features can use to discriminate among the seven studied species, suggesting that leaves and stems of Daphne can represent a source for taxonomically useful characters. Canonical discriminant analysis and the clustering method based on Mahalanobis distances shows that there is significant morphological differentiation among the species studied. The results show that various combinations of morphological and anatomical features contribute to the adaptive capacity of plants to different degrees. The morpho-anatomical features found in all seven species agree with previous infrageneric taxonomic classifications of this genus.

Human alteration of watercourses is global phenomenon that has had significant impacts on local ecosystems and the services they provide. Monitoring of abiotic and biotic changes is essential to mitigating long-lasting effects, and the 23-year dataset from the Gabčíkovo Waterworks provided a rare opportunity to assess the impact of groundwater regimes on vegetation. The main aim of this study was to describe the effect of the Gabčíkovo Waterworks on vegetation structure and species composition of the adjacent riparian floodplain forests over the past 23 years. The results are based on studies of three permanent monitoring plots (PMPs) located in the Danube inland delta – two outside (PMP 1 and 3) and one (PMP 2) fully under the influence of the artificial supply system. Our results demonstrate that the Danube inland delta was negatively affected by the Gabčíkovo construction, particularly for sites outside of the artificial supply system. There was a significant decrease in soil moisture and increase in nitrogen at both external PMPs (1 and 3). Alter soil conditions were accompanied by negative changes in plant species composition demonstrated by decreases in the number of typical floodplain forest species that are characteristic for the alliance Salicion albae and either number or cover of neophytes. These changes resulted in slow degradation of the riparian floodplain forests. Vegetation in the artificially-fed PMP 2 was the most stable in terms of the evaluated parameters, however even this site did still experience negative trends in some site characteristics, including soil moisture fluctuations and the number and cover of neophytes. The artificial supply system is not sufficiently replacing previous natural floods, but in some aspects it helped to decrease the negative effect of the Gabčíkovo Waterworks on softwood floodplain forests in the studied area.

Light is one of the most important environmental factors for plant growth and development. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of light quality on seedling growth, chlorophyll pigment content, anti-oxidant systems, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, photosynthetic efficiency, biological production and active ingredient of polysaccharide accumulation of D . officinale . The results showed that the effects of different light qualities on the growth and development, photosynthetic pigment and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of D . officinale seedlings were extremely different. Blue light (BL) promoted stem diameter, chlorophyll a , chlorophyll b , and total chlorophyll content. Red light (RL) increased seedling height, relative water content, non photochemical quenching (NPQ), chlorophyll a / b , relative electrolyte conductivity (REC) and extract content; while mixtures of blue and red lights (RBL) accelerated significantly seedling height, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm), photochemical quenching (qP), electron transport rate (ETR) and polysaccharide content. Therefore, it was thought that RBL can improve seedling growth and development through enhancing photosynthetic pigment synthesis, antioxidant enzymes activities, PSII system energy conversion and utilization efficiency, and thus delaying leaf senescence to ensure vigorous growth. These results could play an important role in seedling cultivation of D . officinale .

Dehydrins (DHNs) play imperative role in the stress tolerance of high plants. In this study, the YSK 2 -type DHN (NnDHNl) and SK 3 -type DHN (NnDHN2) were investigated. The putative NnDHNl and NnDNH2 shared conserved S-segment as well as K-segment, with distinct isoelectric points, kinase selectivities and number of functional motifs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that NnDHNs were grouped with Y n SK n - and SK n -type of DHNs in high plants. Additionally, NnDHN1 mRNA was only expressed in leaves and embryo. NnDHN2 mRNA was found in embryo, leaves, rhizome and leafstalk. NnDHNs mRNAs were not detected in root of N . nucifera . Real-time PCR assay demonstrated that the levels of NnDHN1 and NnDHN2 mRNAs were significantly elevated during cold temperature, while both were relatively stable in response to high temperature. Moreover, NnDHN2 mRNA was significantly increased after treatment with abscisic acid (ABA) or indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), while NnDHN1 mRNA was induced by ABA treatment with little change in response to IAA. These results illustrate two NnDHNs with partially overlapping function which exhibit different stress responsiveness.

Chalcone isomerase-like (CHIL) belongs to the type IV CHI proteins whose roles in cell remain largely unclear. In the present study, we characterized an AcCHIL gene encoding Actinidia chrysantha CHIL protein. The very similar gene structure organization and high sequence identity of AcCHIL with the only two functionally reported CHIL genes (Japanese morning glory InCHIL and Arabidopsis AtCHIL) suggest a similar role of AcCHIL with AtCHIL and InCHIL in promoting flavonoid production and flower pigmentation. The spatial expression analysis shows that AcCHIL gene is expressed predominantly in leaves and stems of A. chrysantha . Consistent with the typical predicted low-temperature-responsive element, abscisic acid (ABA)-responsive element and heat stress-responsive element in the promoter sequence of AcCHIL , the expression of AcCHIL gene in leaves and stems of A. chrysantha , and in petals of A. eriantha are significantly up-regulated by low-temperature and exogenous ABA, but down-regulated by heat stress, though the mRNA levels of AcCHIL in petals of A. chrysantha are always weak and not affected by those stresses. Pink-red petals of A. eriantha instead of golden-yellow petals of A. chrysantha accumulated substantial anthocyanin in response to low temperature and exogenous ABA. Heat stress decreased the anthocyanin accumulation in A. eriantha petals. Interestingly, the content of a yellow colored chalcone, chalcone 2’-glucoside in golden-yellow petals of A. chrysantha is significantly higher than that in pink-red petals of A. eriantha under both the stressed and control conditions. A close correlation between the low levels of AcCHIL mRNA and high levels of accumulated yellow colored chalcone 2’-glucoside in A. chrysantha petals gives an explanation for the formation of distinctive golden-yellow petals in A. chrysantha .

A series of citrus flavonoids were evaluated for α -amylase and α -glucosidase inhibitory activities in vitro . The inhibitory capacities of flavanone glycosides were greater than those of polymethoxy flavones for α -amylase. Naringin exhibited the most potent α -glucosidase inhibitory activity with IC 50 0.55 μM and was about 196.83 times more active than acarbose. Poncirin led to a 43-fold improvement in α -amylase inhibition over acarbose. The double-reciprocal (Lineweaver-Burk) plot confirms a competitive inhibition mode towards α -amylase and α -glucosidase activities. The inhibition activity was significantly lowered when citrus flavonoids were pre-incubated with starch. The binding site for naringin, poncirin, hesperidin, tangeretin in α -amylase showed a polar contact numbers, respectively, of 47, 54, 51, and 44 more than that involving acarbose. The hydrogen bonds formed between nobilitin and the key residue of Lys506 of α -glucosidase, namely Asn475:N-A:Lys506:O, might provide its extra affinity when compared to tangeritin. These findings provided a strong and rational reason to establish the selected citrus flavonoids capability as a therapeutic target for postprandial hyperglycaemia modulation.

The aim of this study was to determine the environmental factors affecting distribution and diversity of ostracods (Crustacea: Ostracoda) in the inland waters of the northern Aegean Sea island of Gökçeada (Imbros), Turkey. Over a period of one year, sampling of ostracods was performed in order to estimate the composition, richness, and diversity of the ostracod assemblages from the Gökçeada Island. A total of 18 ostracod species were identified from 28 sampling sites during the course of the study. In both winter and summer seasons, Heterocypris salina (Brady, 1868) and Cyprideis torosa (Jones, 1850) were the most abundant species. Heterocypris salina and Ilyocypris gibba (Ramdohr, 1808), were the most common species. The total number of ostracods was highest in the summer (June). During the study, the freshwater temperature varied between 10 and 29°C, while salinity varied between 0.1 and 41.4‰ the values of pH and dissolved oxygen ranged from 7.1 to 8.4 and 5.4 to 7.9 mg L −1 , respectively. The diversity of the ostracods was calculated using the Shannon–Weaver diversity index. The highest diversity ( H ’ = 3.427) was at macrophyte-rich sampling site 8, the lowest diversity ( H ′ = 0) was at macrophyte-poor sites 15, 17, 19, and 22. The numbers of cosmopolitan (10 species) and widespread ostracods (2 species) were higher than those of non-cosmopolitans. A close relationship exists between distribution of ostracod species and the physicochemical features of waters and typology of water resources, considering that most of the water resources on the island are fountains and their troughs and that their waters have similar physicochemical properties.

Cases of co-occurrence among freshwater decapods are few. In their European range, the crab Potamon fluviatile and the white-clawed crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes complex do not usually share the same stream section or pond even if they live in sympatry, suggesting a strong segregation of the two species. The coexistence was hypothesized during the Pleistocene era, but without evidence of recent contact between them. The co-occurrence of these two species (i.e., occupying a common area) is reported in a stream of the Central Italy, being the first case in Italy and in Europe. To assess this co-occurrence, in 2015 we investigated three transects (only crabs, only crayfish and both species), collecting biotic and abiotic data. The three transects were similar for canopy cover, substrate composition and density of potential shelters (but not for the abiotic parameters), and characterized by a good water quality and abundance of preys, being suitable for the two species. No agonistic behavioural patterns have been observed, leading to hypothesize that co-occurrence may be favoured by the slightly smaller size of crayfish and crabs in the shared area than the size of animals in the other transects or by the different microhabitats chosen by crayfish and crabs when sharing the same stream section. Other possible explanations are discussed here, but further studies are necessary to better understand the co-occurrence of these two native crustaceans. Moreover, urgent measures are demanded to guarantee the survival of these protected species hampered by several threats.

Two species of the genus Adicella, A. cremisa Malicky, 1972 and A. balcanica Botosaneanu & Novak,1965, were recorded in the summer period of 2014 which represent the first records of these species in Croatia. The former was collected at two relatively distant sites, the Krapina and the Zrmanja rivers, while the later was collected at the Krupa River. Both species were identified by morphological characteristics as well as DNA barcoding method. We calculated the uncorrected pairwise distances within Adicella and used molecular phylogenetic approach to delimit species. A. cremisa from Croatia showed no significant difference in the mtCOI region and they are highly similar to A. cremisa from Italy. Additionally, the ecological preferences and distribution of Adicella species are presented. Our findings represent a significant contribution to the aquatic biodiversity of the Western Balkans.

The presence of hymenopteran parasitoids in adult Ips typographus was investigated in the years 2005 to 2010 in three different European countries (Austria, France and Poland). A total of 5,708 living adult beetles were dissected: 3,564 from Austria, 1,439 from Poland and 705 from France. Larvae of two parasitic Hymenoptera, Tomicobia seitneri and Ropalophorus clavicornis , were detected. Tomicobia seitneri was found in beetles from Austria, Poland and, for the first time, from France, and R. clavicornis was found only in Austria and Poland. No beetle was found infected by the two species simultaneously and there was no significant difference in parasitism between sexes in any of the two parasitoids. Parasitism rates for the two species were in general lower than 10%. However parasitism by T. seitneri reached 19.3% at a site in France and the highest parasitism by R. clavicornis was found at Polish sites, with up to 18.4% parasitism. The occurrence and prevalence of these two parasitic Hymenoptera are discussed with regard to the data in the literature.

Cockroaches are among the very few organisms allowing study of quantitative changes of intraspecific variability over time. The variability studied here within three Mesozoic and one living species shown independence ( R 2 = 0.003–0.093) of forewing areas (CVs 10.96–18.02) on number of veins of corresponding individuals (CVs = 6.83–7.80). In contrast, the average number of veins among studied species correlates with the average forewing area ( R 2 = 0.986), which is not reflected in the variability trends. Study of wing areas and their variability as an informative source of data should thus be included in systematic descriptions of both living and extinct species.

The North African distribution of Emys orbicularis (L., 1758) is rather local and discontinuous, with no data on the ecology of the Algerian population so far. Such data are essential in improving conservation efforts. Altogether, 216 individuals were captured during 2013–2015, consisting of 212 adult specimens,129 males and 83 females, giving a male-biased sex ratio of 1.6:1. The Jolly-Seber index, of mark-recapture method, for the single year of 2015 was 451 ± 646.4 turtles, giving a density of 82 turtles ha −1 . Regarding size classes, 80% of males had a straight carapace length (SCL) of 115–145 mm, 83% of females had a SCL of 125–155 mm. Comparison revealed significant sexual size dimorphism, females being larger and heavier than males; mean SCL of males 128.8 mm, mean SCL of females 132.8 mm; mean body mass (BM) of males 336.9 g, mean BM of females 396.1 g. The largest specimen was a female with a SCL of 167.5 mm and BM 680 g.