Three-Dimensional Ultrastructure of Agmenellum Quadruplicatum

Author(s):  
S. A. Nierzwicki ◽  
D. L. Balkwil ◽  
S. E. Stevens

Agmenellum quadruplicatum is a unicellular cyanobacterium (blue-green alga) measuring ≃2.5 x 5.0 μm. The basic ultrastructural features of this organism have been characterized previously, but there have been no reports fully describing the three-dimensional organization of these features within the cell. Yet, such information would be valuable in regard to understanding the mechanism by which cell structures in cyanobacteria function. The purpose of this study, then, was to reconstruct for the first time the three-dimensional arrangement of fine structures in a cyanobacterial cell.

Author(s):  
L. P. Hardie ◽  
D. L. Balkwill ◽  
S. E. Stevens

Agmenellum quadruplicatum is a unicellular, non-nitrogen-fixing, marine cyanobacterium (blue-green alga). The ultrastructure of this organism, when grown in the laboratory with all necessary nutrients, has been characterized thoroughly. In contrast, little is known of its ultrastructure in the specific nutrient-limiting conditions typical of its natural habitat. Iron is one of the nutrients likely to limit this organism in such natural environments. It is also of great importance metabolically, being required for both photosynthesis and assimilation of nitrate. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects (if any) of iron limitation on the ultrastructure of A. quadruplicatum. It was part of a broader endeavor to elucidate the ultrastructure of cyanobacteria in natural systemsActively growing cells were placed in a growth medium containing 1% of its usual iron. The cultures were then sampled periodically for 10 days and prepared for thin sectioning TEM to assess the effects of iron limitation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Kamenz ◽  
Jason A Dunlop ◽  
Gerhard Scholtz ◽  
Hans Kerp ◽  
Hagen Hass

The book lungs of an exceptionally preserved fossil arachnid (Trigonotarbida) from the Early Devonian (approx. 410 Myr ago) Rhynie cherts of Scotland were studied using a non-destructive imaging technique. Our three-dimensional modelling of fine structures, based on assembling successive images made at different focal planes through the translucent chert matrix, revealed for the first time fossil trabeculae: tiny cuticular pillars separating adjacent lung lamellae and creating a permanent air space. Trabeculae thus show unequivocally that trigonotarbids were fully terrestrial and that the microanatomy of the earliest known lungs is indistinguishable from that in modern Arachnida. A recurrent controversy in arachnid evolution is whether the similarity between the book lungs of Pantetrapulmonata (i.e. spiders, trigonotarbids, etc.) and those of scorpions is a result of convergence. Drawing on comparative studies of extant taxa, we have identified explicit characters (trabeculae, spines on the lamellar edge) shared by living and fossil arachnid respiratory organs, which support the hypothesis that book lungs were derived from a single, common, presumably terrestrial, ancestor.


1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (7) ◽  
pp. 687-689
Author(s):  
J. F. Gerrath ◽  
K. H. Nicholls

The rare blue-green alga Raphidiopsis mediterranea Skuja is reported for the first time from Canada. The alga was collected over a 3-year period from the Holland River in southern Ontario and was present in collections from June until September.


Author(s):  
Toru Sato ◽  
Kentaro Mizumukai ◽  
Chun-ju Lin ◽  
Shigeru Tabeta ◽  
Daisuke Kitazawa

An apparatus, which mixes waters in upper and lower layers in density stratification and discharges the mixture at the middle depth, has made a remarkable success in enhancing water quality for ecosystems in a small semi-enclosed bay and an enclose lake in Japan. In this study, we conducted numerical simulations by using a three-dimensional tidal current model and an ecosystem model to predict the effects of the apparatus in two different waters: a larger semi-enclosed bay and an enclosed lake. Isahaya Bay in Ariake Sea was chosen as the former case to see how effectively the apparatus can reduce oxygen-deficient water, and Feng-Shan dam-lake located in South Taiwan represents the latter case, where we are interested in the effect of the apparatus on reduction of Microcystis aeruginosa, which is harmful blue-green alga and causes environmental problems in the neighbouring area. As a result, it is suggested that the apparatus averages temperature of water vertically in its vicinity and this increases phytoplankton in the lower layers resulting in reducing oxygen-deficient water in Isahaya Bay. However, it is not very effective in reducing the blue-green alga in the Taiwanese lake because the temperature in the lower layer is still preferable for the alga even after the mixing.


1977 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin L. Hackert ◽  
Celerino Abad-Zapatero ◽  
S.E. Stevens ◽  
J. Lawrence Fox

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