Spatial distribution of symbiotic shrimps (Periclimenes holthuisi, P-brevicarpalis, Thor amboinensis) on the sea anemone Stichodactyla haddoni

This study investigated the spatial distribution patterns of three shrimp species, Periclimenes holthuisi, P. brevicarpalis, and Thor amboinensis on the sea anemone Stichodactyla haddoni in the laboratory. Anemones were partitioned into five zones (mouth, inner tentacle, outer tentacle, upper column, and lower column), and shrimp distribution on these zones was determined. Regardless of species, significantly higher numbers of shrimps chose outer tentacles (>40%) over other zones during daytime. Such distribution might be attributed to their feeding practices as these crustaceans clipped and ate parts of the outer tentacles. Periclimenes holthuisi also showed varying temporal distribution patterns on their hosts. At night when anemones contracted their tentacles, shrimp moved in significant numbers from the outer tentacle region either to the column or off the anemones. Shrimps returned to the tentacles during daytime when anemones expanded their tentacles. Thus, spatial and temporal distribution of shrimps depend upon their feeding activities and degree of anemone expansion.

Revision of Affecauda Hall & Chambers, 1999 (Digenea: Gyliauchenidae Fukui, 1929), including the description of two new species from fishes of the Indo-West Pacific

We describe 2 new species of Affecauda from the intestine of acanthuroid fishes of the Indo-West Pacific. Affecauda rugosa n. sp. is described from 1 mature specimen in excellent condition and 1 immature fractured specimen from the intestine of the sailfin tang, Zebrasoma veliferum (Acanthuridae), from Noumea, New Caledonia. Affecauda salacia n. sp. is described from the intestine of the ocellated spinefoot, Siganus corallinus (Siganidae), from Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. Each of these species is made distinct from the type-species, Affecauda annulata Hall & Chambers, 1999, by combinations of the extent of tegumental annulations, conformation of the oesophagus and position of the ovary. The description of 2 new species of Affecauda necessitates a revision of the generic diagnosis, which is here amended to incorporate the additional species. A key to species is provided. The description of further species of Affecauda from waters external to the Great Barrier Reef and from siganid fishes expands the biogeographical range for species of Affecauda, from species of Naso on the Great Barrier Reef, to acanthuroid fishes of the western Pacific.

Distribution of melamine in polyester-melamine surface coatings cured under nonisothermal conditions

The influence of experimental cure parameters on the diffusion of reactive species in polyester-melamine thermoset coatings during curing has been investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared. The diffusion of melamine plays a vital role in the curing process and, therefore, in the ultimate properties of coatings. At a low (

First record from Australia of the Cretaceous fern genus Tempskya and the description of a new species, T judithae

Silicified fragments of false-trunks of the fern, Tempskya judithae sp. nov., are described from lower Cretaceous (latest Albian) sediments near Winton, central-western Queensland. The species is characterised by a three-layered sclerenchymatous cortex and a two-layered pith of sclerenchyma cells. In possessing these characters, T judithae is more similar to T readii than to other species of Tempskya. However, the Australian species differs from T readii in the abaxial shape of the petiole xylem trace (concave in T judithae, convex in T readii) and in symmetry attributes of the leaf-bases within the false-trunk (random in T judithae and radially symmetrical in T readii). T judithae is the first record of Tempskya from Australia and the second from Gondwana; the known distribution range of the genus embraces a broad area in mid-high latitudinal regions of Laurasia and the Gondwana record now comprises Australia and Argentina. Ecological signals of plant fossil assemblages recorded from the Australian sediments are in accord with flood plain habitats and a temperate climatic regime. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Revision of Telotrema Ozaki, 1933 (Digenea : Gyliauchenidae Fukui, 1929), including the description of a new species from an acanthurid fish from the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia

We describe one new species of Telotrema Ozaki, 1933 from the intestine of an acanthurid fish of the Great Barrier Reef. Telotrema brevicaudatum n. sp. is described from 2 mature specimens from the yellowfin surgeonfish, Acanthurus xanthopterus Valenciennes, 1835 ( Acanthuridae), from waters off Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia. This species is distinguished from the type-species, Telotrema caudatum Ozaki, 1933, by the smaller excretory papilla, the massive pars prostatica, the unipartite, globular seminal vesicle, and the intertesticular position of the ovary. The proposal of a new species of Telotrema necessitates re-examination of the generic diagnosis, and the genus is here redefined in light of the morphology of T. brevicaudatum. Telotrema is distinguished from Gyliauchen Nicoll, 1915 by the possession of a ventral sucker which is larger than the pharynx, a straight or sigmoid oesophagus, an extensive and dense vitellarium, and a distinct excretory papilla. We here recognise 3 species and distinguish them in a key. The biogeographical range for species of Telotrema now includes acanthurid and pomacentrid fishes of the western Pacific Ocean.

Is the distribution of Fiji leaf gall in Australian sugarcane explained by variation in the vector Perkinsiella saccharicida?

Fiji leaf gall (FLG) is an important virally induced disease in Australian sugarcane. It is confined to southern canegrowing areas, despite its vector, the delphacid planthopper Perkinsiella saccharicida, occurring in all canegrowing areas of Queensland and New South Wales. This disparity between distributions could be a result of successful containment of the disease through quarantine and/or geographical barriers, or because northern Queensland populations of Perkinsiella may be poorer vectors of the disease. These hypotheses were first tested by investigating variation in the ITS2 region of the rDNA fragment among eastern Australian and overseas populations of Perkinsiella. The ITS2 sequences of the Western Australian P. thompsoni and the Fijian P. vitiensis were distinguishable from those of P. saccharicida and there was no significant variation among the 26P. saccharicida populations. Reciprocal crosses of a northern Queensland and a southern Queensland population of P. saccharicida were fertile, so they may well be conspecific. Single vector transmission experiments showed that a population of P. saccharicida from northern Queensland had a higher vector competency than either of two southern Queensland populations. The frequency of virus acquisition in the vector populations was demonstrated to be important in the vector competency of the planthopper. The proportion of infected vectors that transmitted the virus to plants was not significantly different among the populations tested. This study shows that the absence of FLG from northern Queensland is not due to a lack of vector competency of the northern population of P. saccharicida.

Transmission mode and distribution of parasites among groups of the social lizard Egernia stokesii

We explored patterns of infection of three apicomplexan blood parasites with different transmission mechanisms in 46 social groups across seven populations of the Australian lizard, Egernia stokesii. There was higher aggregation of infections within social groups for Hemolivia, transmitted by ticks, and Schellackia, either tick-transmitted or directly transmitted from mother to offspring, than for Plasmodium, with more mobile dipteran vectors. Prevalence was not related to group size, proximity to other groups or spatial overlap with adjacent groups for any of the parasites. However, for Hemolivia, groups with higher levels of relatedness among adults had higher parasite prevalence. Living in social groups leads to higher risk of infection for parasites with low transmission mobility. An unanswered question is why so few lizard species tolerate these risks to form stable social aggregations.

Cephalosphaera Enderlein, a genus of Pipunculidae (Diptera) new for Australia, with descriptions of four new species

Cephalosphaera Enderlein is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of big-headed flies (Pipunculidae) which was previously unknown from Australia. Four species have now been found in Australia, all of them undescribed. New species in the subgenus Neocephalosphaera include: C. eukrenaina, C. parthenopipis and C. petila. Only one new species occurs in the nominate subgenus: C. prionotaina. Descriptions and a key to these species are presented.

Distribution of major, minor, and trace metals in lake environments of Antarctica

The concentrations of major, minor and trace metals were measured in water samples collected from five shallow Antarctic lakes (Carezza, Edmonson Point (No 14 and 15a), Inexpressible Island and Tarn Flat) found in Terra Nova Bay (northern Victoria Land, Antarctica) during the Italian Expeditions of 1993-2001. The total concentrations of a large suite of elements (Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, Gd, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nd, Ni, Pb, Pr, Rb, Sc, Si, Sr, Ta, Ti, U, V, Y, W, Zn and Zr) were determined using spectroscopic techniques (ICP-AES, GF-AAS and ICP-MS). The results are similar to those obtained for the freshwater lakes of the Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica, and for the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis (CA) were performed to identify groups of samples with similar characteristics and to find correlations between the variables. The variability observed within the water samples is closely connected to the sea spray input; hence, it is primarily a consequence of geographical and meteorological factors, such as distance from the ocean and time of year. The trace element levels, in particular those of heavy metals, are very low, suggesting an origin from natural sources rather than from anthropogenic contamination.

Sequence and tissue distribution of chicken cellular nucleic acid binding protein cDNA

We sequenced cDNAs coding for chicken cellular nucleic acid binding protein (CNBP). Two slightly different variations of the open reading frame were found, each of which translates into a protein with seven zinc finger domains. The longest transcript contains an in-frame insert of 3 bp. The sequence conservation between chick CNBP cDNAs with human, rat and mouse CNBP cDNAs is extreme, especially in the coding region, where the deduced amino acid sequence identity with human, rat and mouse CNBP is 99%. CNBP-like transcripts were also found in various tissues from insect, shrimp, fish and lizard. Regions with remarkable nucleotide conservation were also found in the 3' untranslated region, indicating important functions for these regions. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) indicated that in the chick, CNBP is present in all tissues examined in approximately equal ratios to total RNA. RT-PCR of total RNA isolated from different phyla indicate CNBP-like proteins art widespread throughout the animal kingdom. The extraordinary level of conservation suggests an important physiological role for CNBP. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.

Distribution of transferrin saturation in an Australian population: Relevance to the early diagnosis of hemochromatosis

Background & Aims: An elevated transferrin saturation is the earliest phenotypic abnormality in hereditary hemochromatosis. Determination of transferrin saturation remains the most useful noninvasive screening test for affected individuals, but there is debate as to the appropriate screening level. The aims of this study were to estimate the mean transferrin saturation in hemochromatosis heterozygotes and normal individuals and to evaluate potential transferrin saturation screening levels. Methods: Statistical mixture modeling was applied to data from a survey of asymptomatic Australians to estimate the mean transferrin saturation in hemochromatosis heterozygotes and normal individuals. To evaluate potential transferrin saturation screening levels, modeling results were compared with data from identified hemochromatosis heterozygotes and homozygotes. Results: After removal of hemochromatosis homozygotes, two populations of transferrin saturation were identified in asymptomatic Australians (P < 0.01). In men, 88.2% of the truncated sample had a lower mean transferrin saturation of 24.1%, whereas 11.8% had an increased mean transferrin saturation of 37.3%. Similar results were found in women, A transferrin saturation threshold of 45% identified 98% of homozygotes without misidentifying any normal individuals. Conclusions: The results confirm that hemochromatosis heterozygotes form a distinct transferrin saturation subpopulation and support the use of transferrin saturation as an inexpensive screening test for hemochromatosis. In practice, a fasting transferrin saturation of greater than or equal to 45% identifies virtually all affected homozygous subjects without necessitating further investigation of unaffected normal individuals.

Structure and distribution of N-glycans on the S-7-allele stylar self-incompatibility ribonuclease of Nicotiana alata

S-RNases are the stylar products of the self-incompatibility (S)-locus in solanaceous plants (including Nicotiana alata), and as such, are involved in the prevention of self-pollination. All cDNA sequences of S-RNase products of functional S-alleles contain potential N-glycosylation sites, with one site being conserved in all cases, suggesting that N-glycosylation is important in self-incompatibility. In this study, we report on the structure and localization of the N-glycans on the S-7-allele RNase of N, alata, A total of nine N-glycans, belonging to the high-mannose- and xylosylated hybrid-classes, were identified and characterized by a combination of electrospray-ionization mass-spectrometry (ESI-MS), H-1-NMR spectroscopy, and methylation analyses. The glycosylation pattern of individual glycosylation sites was determined by ESI-MS of the glycans released from isolated chymotryptic glycopeptides, All three N-glycosylation sites showed microheterogeneity and each had a unique complement of N-glycans, The N-glycosylation pattern of the S-7-RNase is significantly different to those of the S-1- and S-2-RNases.

Phylogenetic heterogeneity within the genus Herpetosiphon: Transfer of the marine species Herpetosiphon cohaerens, Herpetosiphon nigricans and Herpetosiphon persicus to the genus Lewinella gen, nov. in the Flexibacter-Bacteroides-Cytophaga phylum

Analysis of the 16S rDNA sequences of species currently assigned to the genus Herpetosiphon revealed intrageneric phylogenetic heterogeneity. The thermotolerant freshwater species Herpetosiphon geysericola is most closely related to the type species Herpetosiphon aurantiacus in the Chloroflexus Subdivision of the green non-sulfur bacteria, The marine species Herpetosiphon cohaerens, Herpetosiphon nigricans and Herpetosiphon persicus, on the other hand, were found to form a cluster with the sheathed bacterium Haliscomenobacter hydrossis in the Saprospira group of the Flexibacter-Bacteroides-Cytophaga (FBC) phylum. A proposal is made to transfer these marine species to the genus Lewinella gen. nov. as Lewinella cohaerens comb, nov., Lewinella nigricans comb. nov, and Lewinella persica comb. nov. The marine sheathed gliding bacterium Flexithrix dorotheae was also found to be a member of the FBC phylum but on a separate phylogenetic line to the marine herpetosiphons now assigned to the genus Lewinella.