First Records of Potamic Leech Fauna of Eastern Siberia, Russia

We studied the fauna of leech and leech-like species inhabiting main water streams of Eastern Siberia and its tributaries, which are attributed to Lake Baikal basin and Lena River basin. Here we present their list for the first time. This study was mainly aimed for free-living parasitic and carnivorous leeches whereas piscine parasites were not included specially. In total, the potamic leech fauna of Eastern Siberia includes 12 described species belonging to 10 genera. Representatives of three unidentified species of two genera Erpobdella and Barbronia have been also recorded.

Longitudinal Observation of Japanese Lancelet, Branchiostoma japonicum, Metamorphosis

The lancelet (amphioxus) performs metamorphosis and produces minute and ciliate pelagic larvae commonly found in other metamorphic marine invertebrates. During larval life and metamorphosis, however, the animal displays interesting combination of features not found in other animals such as long coexistence of ciliate and muscular locomotion and no change in feeding behavior. The uniqueness of lancelet metamorphosis can provide important data to understand the evolutionary history of this animal as well as the metamorphosis broadly appeared in metazoans. Although lancelet metamorphosis has been studied, all previous studies depended on cross-sectional observations. To get serial data on metamorphic events, we performed longitudinal observations on the Japanese lancelet under the culture condition and confirmed the following: (1) there were individual variations of the duration of metamorphosis from 15 to 27 days; (2) growth was arrested for a month and the maximum reduction of the body length (2.2%–3.2%) occurred when gill slits became paired; (3) during rather long duration of metamorphosis, the oral transformation and the division of the gill pores by tongue bar were completed within two to four days. Our observations suggest that the duration and mode of lancelet metamorphosis depend mainly on intrinsic requirements rather than on extrinsic selective pressures.

Adaptation of Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 to 11% NaCl

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a nonhalophilic microbe and used to indicate faecal contamination. Salt (sodium chloride, NaCl) is a common food additive and is used in preservatives to encounter microbial growth. The effect of how E. coli interacts with the salt present in the human diet is unclear. Thus, it is important to investigate this relationship. In order to adapt and survive the changes in the environment, E. coli may undergo halophilization. In this study, we observed the genetic changes and growth kinetics of E. coli ATCC 8739 under 3%–11% NaCl over 80 passages. Our results suggest that E. coli adapted to 1% increase in NaCl every month with a successful adaptation to 11% NaCl. Gram staining and PCR/RFLP showed that the cultures are Gram negative and the DNA profiles of all 4 replicates to be similar, suggesting that the cultures had not been contaminated.

An Illustrated Checklist of Leech Species from Lake Baikal (Eastern Siberia, Russia)

New data on Lake Baikal fauna of Hirudinida (Annelida, Clitellata) are presented. The species composition of Baikal leeches extends to 20 species belonging to two orders, four families, and 12 genera. An updated checklist includes information on five species recorded in Eastern Siberia for the first time. All specimens from author’s collection are provided with illustration.

Evaluating Wheat Microsatellite Markers for the Use in Genetic Analysis of Thinopyrum, Dasypyrum, and Pseudoroegneria Species

A set of 42 SSRs of wheat were evaluated for their cross-amplification on the DNA of Thinopyrum ponticum, Thinopyrum intermedium, Thinopyrum elongatum, Thinopyrum bessarabicum, Pseudoroegneria stipifolia, and Dasypyrum villosum. The number of the wheat SSR markers that amplified DNA fragments with determined size for Th. ponticum was 33 (78.6%); for Th. intermedium, 28 (66.7%); for Th. elongatum, 24 (57.1%); for Th. bessarabicum, 24 (57.1%); for P. stipifolia, 26 (69.1%); and for D. villosum, 29 (69.0%). Twenty-four primer pairs of wheat SSR markers were successfully amplified from all investigated species. The dataset can be used for phylogenetic studies of wild relatives of wheat, for the estimation of their diversity, and for the introgression of agronomically valuable genes into wheat genome.

Heterogeneity of Umbilical Cords as a Source for Mesenchymal Stem Cells

The object of the paper is to show the heterogeneity of 300 cord samples processed in the current research. The differences in effectiveness of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) isolation are shown. Moreover, the recommendations for choosing the method of MSC isolation depending on the value of stromal-vascular rate are given. The data can be useful for selecting the optimal conditions to obtain MSC and for further cryopreservation of umbilical cord tissue.

Butterfly Species List for Selected West Albertine Rift Forests

This dataset gives details on a study which was conducted in seventeen forests in western Uganda (Albertine region) between 1993 and 1995. Different methods were used to sample butterflies from these forests. A total of 630 butterfly species were collected in 5 main families. Key characteristics of the forests were recorded, and these were found to influence the butterfly species richness of the forests.

Transcriptome Assembly and Expression Data from Normal and Mantled Oil Palm Fruit

We performed RNA sequencing of fruit from three normal and three mantled (somaclonal variant affecting flower development) oil palm plants using a 454 pyrosequencer. The three normal fruit samples were combined and sequenced, generating 237 748 reads. The three mantled fruit samples were combined and sequenced giving 231 438 reads. The reads were assembled into 13 984 sequences that were clustered into 10 218 genes or gene families. This paper describes the generation of this transcriptome database and includes annotation of these genes from Blast2GO and blast results against the Arabidopsis protein database as well as identification of putative transcription factors. In addition to this, the expression values for each gene sequence of the normal samples are presented. This dataset will be of use to anyone working in oil palm genetics.

Reproductive Dynamics of Iheringichthys labrosus (Lütken, 1874) (Teleostei, Pimelodidae), in the Capivara Reservoir, Paranapanema River, Parana, Brazil

To study the reproductive dynamics of the mandi-beiçudo, Iheringichthys labrosus, in the Capivara Reservoir, Paranapanema River, Parana, Brazil, specimens were captured trimonthly from March 2001 to July 2004 at four sampling sites. The sex ratio showed a predominance of females in most of months sampled and the larger length classes. The majority of the individuals captured showed a standard length between 16 and 22 cm, with a maximal length of 27.5 cm. The size at first maturity was estimated to be 18.1 and 19.7 cm for females and males, respectively. Analysis of the temporal variation of the gonadosomatic index (GSI) and frequency of occurrence of gonadal maturation stages of males and females for the months sampled showed that I. labrosus reproduces during the whole year, with peak reproduction in November and December. There was a positive correlation between the mean values of GSI and variation in rainfall values, suggesting that this abiotic factor can influence the reproduction of this species. The mean absolute fecundity was 67274.5 16562.5 oocytes, and the mean relative fecundity was 350.6 186.3 oocytes per gram of total weight.

A Benchmark Dataset Comprising Partition and Distribution Coefficients of Linear Peptides

Peptides have a dominant role in biology; yet the study of their physical properties is at best sporadic. Peptide quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) lags far behind the QSAR analysis of drug-like organic small molecules. Traditionally, QSAR has focussed on experimentally determined partition coefficients as the main descriptor of hydrophobicity. A partition coefficient () is the ratio between the concentrations of an uncharged chemical substance in two immiscible phases: most typically water and an organic solvent, usually 1-octanol. A distribution coefficient () is the equivalent ratio for charged molecules. We report here a compilation of partition and distribution coefficients for linear peptides compiled from literature reports, suitable for the development and benchmarking of peptide and prediction algorithms.