Promoting Effect of Choline-Phosphate Cytidylyltransferase Gene (pcyt-1) on Departure of Pinewood Nematode from Monochamus alternatus

In order to study the key gene in internal causes of pinewood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, a departure from its vector beetle, Monochamus alternatus, we collected PWNs extracted from newly emerged M. alternatus and beetles 7 days after emergence. The total RNAs of the two groups of PWNs were extracted, transcriptomes sequencing was performed, and gene expression differences between the two groups of PWN were analyzed. It was found that the expression of the choline-phosphate cytidylyltransferase gene (pcyt-1) was markedly up-regulated. After inhibition of pcyt-1 expression by RNA interference, the rate of lipid degradation in PWN decreased significantly, and the motility of PWN also decreased significantly. The analysis identified that phosphatidylcholine could promote the emulsification and degradation of neutral lipid granules in PWN, which provides sufficient energy for PWN departure from M. alternatus. The up-regulation of the gene pcyt-1 is an important internal factor for PWN departure from its vector.

Chloroplast and Mitochondria

Photosynthesis is a crucial process for plants on earth that changes light energy to chemical energy. Virus infection can cause dramatic photosynthesis changes: respiration and the translocation of carbohydrates and other substances around the host plant. Chlorosis in virus-infected leaves like Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV- PAV).infection can result from damage to chloroplasts resulting from inhibition of photosynthetic activity. Our present study combines TEM and chlorophyll-level content in the presence of Gold nanoparticles (AuNPS) to explore the repair mechanism for the yellowing leaf symptom development caused by infection with BYDV- PAV by illustrating TEM micrographs; showing fragmentized grana, deformation of the myelin like bodies (MLB), many vesicles; osmiophilic lipid granules/plastoglobulus, starch body, and plasmolysis in the chloroplast, distribution of AuNPs & VLPs near and inside the chloroplast. Mitochondria, Double-membrane-bound organelle, Distorted mitochondrion, Amorphous inclusion bodies.

Buccal capsule and intestine ultrastructure of the marine predatory nematode Sphaerolaimus balticus (Monhysterida: Sphaerolaimidae)

Summary The ultrastructural morphology of the buccal capsule and intestine (mid-gut) of the predatory marine nematode Sphaerolaimus balticus is investigated. The major part of the voluminous barrel-shaped buccal capsule is made up of strongly modified somatic cuticle and hence presents itself as an intricately differentiated cheilostome. The latter consists of three compartments: i.e., i) labial region; ii) striated region with six rows of fine longitudinal ribs; and iii) shagreen band penetrated by about ten projections of arcade tissue. The gymnostome and telostome are narrow and together constitute a small posterior portion of the buccal capsule. The mouth is evidently opened by contraction of anterior longitudinal somatic muscles. The intestine is characterised by a very thin and homogenous basal lamina. The cytoplasm of the enterocytes contains lipid granules, large electron-light vacuoles and rounded concentric inclusions in membranous vacuoles. Apical microvilli are separated from the lumen by a dense three-layered glycocalyx resembling the peritrophic membrane in the intestine of arthropods. The glycocalyx is only a supportive structure of the mid-gut. The most peculiar features of the intestine are the particularly strong junctions connecting the glycocalyx with the cells. The junctions appear as cytoplasmic bundles attached to the dense glycocalyx layer by dint of hemidesmosomes.

Pathomorphological changes in the larvae cells of blood-suckıng mosquitoes (Aedes caspius Pallas, 1771) affected by parasitizing microsporidium Amblyospora (=Thelohania) opacita Kudo, 1922

Microsporidia are highly specialized obligate intracellular parasites. They affect various tissues of most animal groups. In Azerbaijan, 29 species and forms of microsporidia were recorded. Of these, 10 species (Amblyospora minuta, Pleistophora obesa, Thelohania opacita, Th. opacita caspius, Th. vexans, Stempellia captshagaica, St. magna, Nosema caspius, Nosema sp., Culicosporella sp.) were found in four species of blood-sucking mosquitos (Culix pipiens pipiens, Aedes vexans, A. caspius, Culex theileri). The collected larvae were identified using the key of Gutsevich et al. (1970). In the laboratory, the mosquito larvae were examined against a dark background under the microscope MBS-9 to distinguish individuals infected with microsporidia. Smears were stained with azure-eosin. Histological slices were prepared according to the Volkova and Yeletskiy method (1971); pathological changes in host tissues were identified using the electron microscope JEM 1400. In the course of our research conducted in 2017–2018 on the Absheron peninsula (Azerbaijan), the life stages of the microsporidium Amblyospora (=Thelohania) opacita Kudo, 1922 were found in the larvae of Aedes caspius Pallas, 1771. Examination of the infected host cell ultrastructure revealed the following changes: rough endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria concentration around the parasite, an increase of cytoplasm volume, initiation of cell hypertrophy, disappearance of fat, protein granules and rough endoplasmic reticulum at later development stages, a decrease in the number of ribosomes in the cytoplasm and their simultaneous increase around the periphery of the nucleus, mitochondria degradation. These changes cause a delay in the larva development. Microsporidiosis affects the whole mosquito life cycle. The effect of microsporidia on the host organism manifests itself in the delayed larvae development and, in some cases, their early death. First of all, the lipid granules disappear supposedly because of the intensification of the host's aerobic metabolism to compensate for the energy loss caused by the developing parasites.

A Case of Lipoprotein Glomerulopathy with apoE Chicago and apoE (Glu3Lys) Treated with Fenofibrate

Lipoprotein glomerulopathy (LPG) is characterized by the accumulation of lipoprotein thrombi within glomerular capillaries. This rare disorder is associated with various types of mutations in the apolipoprotein E gene (apoE). Herein, we present a case of LPG with a combination of apoE Chicago (Arg147Pro) and apoE (Glu3Lys) mutations. A 51-year-old Japanese woman presented with severe (3+) proteinuria. The initial renal biopsy showed glomerular capillary dilation and occlusion with lipid granules, a specific characteristic of LPG. Phenotype, genotype, and apoE DNA sequence analyses detected 2 mutations as described above within the same allele. Although both mutations had already been reported in 1 case of LPG each, this is the first time that the combination of the 2 mutations was identified in the same case. Familial analysis detected the same mutations in the patient’s mother. However, she has not suffered LPG thus far. In addition, a re-analysis of the previous LPG case with apoE (Glu3Lys) also identified the apoE Chicago mutation, as was observed in our case. Treatment with fenofibrate and irbesartan was initiated, and urinary protein excretion ceased within 1 year; recurrence was not observed after an additional 2 years of follow-up. A second biopsy after 2 years showed great improvement, with lipoprotein thrombi identified only in 2 of 18 glomeruli.

ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYHYDROXYALKANOATES (PHAS) PRODUCING BACTERIA FROM BRACKISH STREAM

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biopolymers which have similar characteristics with petrochemical plastics but a step better due to its biodegradable property. A total of 23 strains were isolated from two different brackish sources. In order to detect the PHAs granules, the PHAs producing bacteria were first screened with Sudan Black B staining. Twenty strains were observed with lipid granules and were subjected to further confirmation with Nile blue staining. From the Nile blue staining, only 10 strains have the ability in producing PHAs and 2 were identified as strong PHAs producers. This study focuses on the 2 strains named S1 and L1. Further identification procedure was carried out and found that strain S1 and L1 belongs to Pseudomonas sp. L1 strain was found to be promising for PHAs production since it accumulated PHAs for about 88.3%. The PHAs produced by this strain was analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analysis and was identified as poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P-3HB).