茄科天仙子族：结构、分化和系统关系

本文研究了茄科天仙子族7属以及有亲缘关系的颠茄属、茄参属和枸杞属的形态学、解剖学、孢粉学、种子形态学、胚胎学、花器官发生、分子系统学和分支系统学;论述了它们的结构、分化和系统关系。主要内容包括： 1．解剖学 在光学显微镜和扫描电镜下，观察了茄科天仙子族(Hyoscyameae)7属21种及邻近4属4种共25种植物的叶表皮特征，结果表明：气孔器在各种植物的上、下的表皮均有分布，多为无规则型，也有不等细胞型;叶表皮细胞形状有不规则形、十字形、近长圆形和不规则多边形，垂周壁较平直或各种波状。叶表皮气孔器外拱盖内缘近平滑、浅波状或波状;角质膜多为具条纹，也有同时具条纹和颗粒或鳞片，偶尔仅具颗粒和鳞片或光滑。气孔器类型可以作为区分部分属的依据之一。颠茄叶表皮细胞形状和垂周壁式样在一些属和种中有一定的规律性，并与外部形态、孢粉学性状或地理分布相关;叶片表面角质膜的特征对属和种的划分也有一定意义。 2．种子形态学 在扫描电子显微镜下首次全面研究了天仙子族及颠茄属和茄参属等共10属25种植物的种子形态学特征，结果表明： 该族植物种子表面纹饰有脑纹状或近脑纹状和网状两大类，除了山莨菪属Anisodus和Hyoscyamus.pusillus 外，其余类群均为网状。外种皮细胞形状和周壁式样有两大类，一类为多边形至近圆形，等径，周壁近平直，另一类为形状不规则，常不等径，周壁为各式波状;外种皮细胞周壁内侧有皱波状、瘤状、小颗粒、片状或小刺等各式附属物。各属植物的种子大小、形状及种脐着生位置的系统学意义不大。但是，种脐突出与否、种子外种皮细胞形状和周壁式样，尤其是周壁内侧附属物等性状具有较大的分类学意义。 3．孢粉学 在扫描电镜下研究了该族7属及其它3属共10属23种植物的花粉形态学特征。结果表明：天仙子族的花粉粒形状为球形、近球形、扁球形和长球形;萌发孔类型有无萌发孔、不规则的拟孔、3沟、4 沟、3- 4沟、散沟和3孔沟;外壁纹饰为小刺状、瘤状、各式条纹状、条纹-穴状、条纹-网状、皱波状、细网状和网状。沟膜近光滑、具小颗粒、具小刺状突起或具瘤状突起。各属植物的花粉形态在萌发孔的有无、萌发孔的类型和外壁纹饰等方面有较大的差异，可以作为探讨属间分类和系统关系的重要依据。天仙子族植物花粉萌发孔的演化趋势为：无萌发孔→ 3、4沟→3孔沟。无萌发孔的山莨菪属是原始类群，三孔沟的马尿泡和天仙子等属是进化类群。 4．胚胎学 本论文首次研究了天仙子族山莨菪Anisodus tanguticus的胚胎学特征，结果表明：山莨菪的小孢子形成为同时型，腺质绒毡层;胚珠半倒生，单珠被，薄珠心;蓼型胚囊;其胚胎发生类型可能为茄型;胚乳形成为细胞型。山莨菪的胚胎学性状与马尿泡十分相似。胚胎学证据支持山莨菪属与马尿泡属关系密切的观点。 5．花器官发生 首次全面研究了天仙子族的山莨菪属（山莨菪）、马尿泡属（马尿泡）、天仙子属（天仙子）及其邻近2属共5种植物的花器官发生特征，结果表明：山莨菪和天仙子的5个花萼裂片原基突起最早发生，且几乎是近同时环状发生，其排列方式从花发育早期直至花成熟后始终为轮状排列。而马尿泡和颠茄首先是5个花萼裂片原基突起依次螺旋状发生，但在其5个花萼裂片原基都出现后，其排列方式仍为轮状排列。不同之处是：马尿泡的花萼裂片原基在其花冠裂片原基刚刚不明显地发生时，就已经在基部联合并形成了一个环，而颠茄的花萼裂片原基直到雄蕊原基突起开始发生并较明显时，花萼裂片原基仍然是分离的，当花顶的中央开始出现很不明显的雌蕊原基的凹陷时，花萼裂片原基才开始联合。青海茄参与其它4种植物的不同之处在于柱头2裂或3裂，而后4者的柱头均为2裂。花器官发生的特征表明马尿泡与天仙子和山莨菪的关系较近。 6．基于叶绿体DNA trnL-F序列和核糖体DNA ITS序列的初步分析 以宁夏枸杞作为外类群，对代表天仙子族及其邻近3属的10种植物的ITS区和trnL-F序列进行了测定，将这两个序列结合构建系统树。将gaps作为fifth base处理时，马尿泡属和茄参属构成最基部的一支，赛莨菪属和天仙子属构成一支然后与泡囊草属构成姐妹群，另外一支由天蓬子属、颠茄属和山莨菪属组成，其中天蓬子属与颠茄属构成一支后与山莨菪属构成姐妹群。分子证据只是一个尝试，还不足以说明天仙子族各属的系统关系。 7．分支分析 以枸杞属为外类群，基于形态学、叶表皮、种子形态学、孢粉学等特征对天仙子族7属及颠茄属和茄参属进行了分支分析。结果表明：目前公认的天仙子族7属构成一个单系类群，而颠茄属和茄参属并没有包括在内，它们两者构成一支，并与天仙子族形成姐妹群的关系。这与该族传统的分类结果相一致。 8．天仙子族的分化和系统关系 基于上述研究结果，结合天仙子族各属的现代地理分布，讨论了各属的分化和系统关系。认为根据传统分类包括有7个属的天仙子族是一个自然的单系类群，目前还没有足够的证据说明是否应该将颠茄属和茄参属放在天仙子族中。

Bycatch and discards of commercial trawl fisheries in the south coast of Portugal

Bycatch and discards are a cause of great concern in commercial world fisheries, with important ecological, economic and conservation implications. With the recent inclusion of a discards ban (‘landing obligation’), in the reform of the EU CFP, these issues have gained a tremendous attention from the economic, scientific, political and social point of view. Demersal trawl fisheries off the southern coast of Portugal capture an extraordinary diversity of species and generate considerable amounts of bycatch and discards. Bycatch includes commercially valuable target-species and bycatch species with low or no commercial value, but the great majority consists of unmarketable species, that are discarded. Bony fishes are dominant in bycatch and discards and the most discarded are of low or no commercial value. The reasons for discarding are fundamentally economic in nature (lack of commercial value) for bycatch species, and legal and administrative (legal minimum landing size) for commercially important species. The study of the reproductive biology of Galeus melastomus, discarded by crustacean trawls, suggests that a minimum landing size should be established for this species, and explains the importance of such a study in the assessment and management of fisheries. The discovery of a new species of the ray Neoraja iberica n. sp. contributes to the knowledge of the local marine biodiversity in Portuguese waters and of the global marine biodiversity. The three cases of abnormal hermaphroditism recorded in Etmopterus spinax, are the first cases known to date of hermaphroditism in this species. There is a need to find solutions to the problem of bycatch and discards of trawl fisheries in the Algarve coast. A combination of technical, regulatory and economic measures to minimize bycatch and reduce discards, before implementing a ‘landing obligation’, is thought to be the best approach to apply in the southern Portuguese multispecies trawl fisheries.

Molecular detection and identification of zygomycetes species from paraffin-embedded tissues in a murine model of disseminated zygomycosis: a collaborative European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Fungal Infection Study Group (EFISG) evaluation.

The present study was performed to assess the interlaboratory reproducibility of the molecular detection and identification of species of Zygomycetes from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded kidney and brain tissues obtained from experimentally infected mice. Animals were infected with one of five species (Rhizopus oryzae, Rhizopus microsporus, Lichtheimia corymbifera, Rhizomucor pusillus, and Mucor circinelloides). Samples with 1, 10, or 30 slide cuts of the tissues were prepared from each paraffin block, the sample identities were blinded for analysis, and the samples were mailed to each of seven laboratories for the assessment of sensitivity. A protocol describing the extraction method and the PCR amplification procedure was provided. The internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) region was amplified by PCR with the fungal universal primers ITS1 and ITS2 and sequenced. As negative results were obtained for 93% of the tissue specimens infected by M. circinelloides, the data for this species were excluded from the analysis. Positive PCR results were obtained for 93% (52/56), 89% (50/56), and 27% (15/56) of the samples with 30, 10, and 1 slide cuts, respectively. There were minor differences, depending on the organ tissue, fungal species, and laboratory. Correct species identification was possible for 100% (30 cuts), 98% (10 cuts), and 93% (1 cut) of the cases. With the protocol used in the present study, the interlaboratory reproducibility of ITS sequencing for the identification of major Zygomycetes species from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues can reach 100%, when enough material is available.

Morphologie évolutive et fonctionnelle des hémichordés

L’embranchement Hemichordata regroupe les classes Enteropneusta et Pterobranchia. Hemichordata constitue, avec l’embranchement Echinodermata, le groupe-frère des chordés. Les entéropneustes sont des organismes vermiformes solitaires qui vivent sous ou à la surface du substrat et s’alimentent généralement par déposivorie, alors que les ptérobranches sont des organismes coloniaux filtreurs habitant dans un réseau de tubes appelé coenecium. Ce mémoire présente trois études dont le point commun est l’utilisation des hémichordés actuels pour répondre à des questions concernant l’évolution des hémichordés, des chordés, et du super-embranchement qui les regroupe, Deuterostomia. Notre première étude démontre que les fentes pharyngiennes, l’organe pré-oral cilié (POCO) et le pharynx de l’entéropneuste Protoglossus graveolens sont utilisés pour l’alimentation par filtration. Le système de filtration de P. graveolens permet la capture de particules jusqu’à 1.3 um, à un débit de 4.05 mm.s-1, pour une demande énergétique de 0.009 uW. Les similarités structurales et fonctionnelles avec le système de filtration des céphalochordés suggèrent que la filtration pharyngienne est ancestrale aux deutérostomes. Lors de notre deuxième étude, nous avons exploré l’hypothèse selon laquelle le POCO des entéropneustes, une structure ciliée pré-buccale au rôle possiblement chémorécepteur, serait homologue au « wheel organ » des céphalochordés et à l’adénohypophyse des vertébrés. Pour cela, nous avons déterminé par immunohistochimie l’expression de Pit-1, un facteur de transcription spécifique à ces deux structures, chez l’entéropneuste Saccoglossus pusillus. Pit-1 est exprimé dans des cellules sensorielles du POCO, mais aussi dans des cellules épithéliales distribuées dans le proboscis, collet et tronc. Ce patron d’expression ne permet pas de confirmer ou rejeter l’homologie du POCO et de l’adénohypophyse des vertébrés. Lors de notre troisième étude, nous avons caractérisé l’ultrastructure du coenecium des ptérobranches Cephalodiscus hodgsoni, Cephalodiscus nigrescens et Cephalodiscus densus par microscopie électronique à transmisison et à balayage. Cephalodiscus est le groupe frère de Graptolithina, un groupe qui inclut les graptolithes éteints ainsi que les ptérobranches du genre Rhabdopleura. Nous avons décrit les types de fibrilles de collagène présents, leur taille et leur organisation, ainsi que l’organisation globale du coenecium. Nous avons ainsi démontré la présence chez Cephalodiscus d’une organisation similaire au paracortex, pseudocortex et eucortex des graptolithes. La présence chez Cephalodiscus de ce type d’organisation suggère que le cortex est ancestral à la classe Pterobranchia. Ces trois études illustrent plusieurs axes importants de la recherche sur les hémichordés, qui en intégrant des données morphologiques, fonctionnelles et moléculaires permet de reconstruire certains évènements clés de l’évolution des deutérostomes.

Efeito do turno de coleta sobre comunidades de formigas epigéicas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) em áreas de Eucalyptus cloeziana e de cerrado

This study aimed at evaluating the effect of collect time (day and night) on ant fauna attracted to baits in areas of Eucalyptus cloeziana (Myrtaceae) and cerrado. The ants were collected in Fazenda Boa Vista, Mannesmann Fi-El Florestal Ltda, Paineiras, Minas Gerais State. Eigthteen sample units were collected: 12 in E. cloezina and six in cerrado. Each sample unit consisted of three plots (25 x 35 m each). The plot consisted of 34 baits distributed in a grid pattern at 5 m intervals. The sampling was carried out in the diurnal and nocturnal period. The results obtained revealed that both type of vegetation (cerrado x Eucalyptus) and the collect time (day x night) had a significative influence on the epigaeic ant fauna. The ordination (DCA) indicated that collect time effect was more important to fauna structuration than the vegetation effect. Brachymyrmex sp.1, Brachymyrmex sp.2, Camponotus crassus Mayr, Camponotus rufipes (Fabricius), Cephalotes pusillus (Klug) and Ectatomma brunneum Smith were indicator species of nocturnal period, and Camponotus renggeri Emery, Camponotus atriceps (Smith), Camponotus melanoticus Emery and Paratrechina sp.1 were indicators of nocturnal period.

Contribution of the Malpighian tubules for the maintenance of symbiotic microorganisms in cephalotes ants

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

The midgut of Cephalotes ants (Formicidae: Myrmicinae): Ultrastructure of the epithelium and symbiotic bacteria

The ultrastructural analysis of the midgut of Cephalotes atratus. C. clypeatus, and C. pusillus reveled that the midgut epithelium lays on a basal lamina and is composed basically of three cell types: digestive cells, regenerative cells, and goblet cells. In these ants, the rough endoplasmic reticulum, in addition to producing digestive enzymes, is involved in the formation of concretions and ion storage in specialized vacuoles present in the midgut. These concretions are spherocrystals and may contribute to stabilize the pH and to maintain symbiotic bacteria found between microvilli. The ultrastructure analysis of these bacteria revealed the presence of a double envelope typical of gram-negative bacteria. For the three species examined, the ultrastructure similarities are conspicuous, suggesting that this may be the pattern for the genus Cephalotes. Details of the relationship between bacteria and microvilli were examined. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Symbiotic bacteria and the structural specializations in the ileum of Cephalotes ants

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Molecular and ultrastructural profiles of the symbionts in Cephalotes ants

The molecular and ultrastructural profiles of the symbionts found in the midgut and ileum of Cephalotes atratus, Cephalotes clypeatus, and Cephalotes pusillus were determined using the V3 region of the bacterial 16S rDNA gene and transmission electron microscopy (T.E.M.). Two samples of C atratus, three of C clypeatus, and six of C. pusillus were analyzed. The coefficients of similarity ranged from 80% to 94% for the samples of symbionts from C. clypeatus and C. atratus, despite being collected in geographically distant sites. The variability within symbionts found in the samples of C. pusillus varied from 29% to 55%, in samples geographically close as well as distant. PCR-DGGE was effective for the purpose of this study and can be considered a versatile tool to analyze gut microbiota. Details of the ultrastructural aspect of these bacteria are presented. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ileum of the Cephalotes ants: A specialized structure to harbor symbionts microorganisms

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Floral development in Potamogeton (Potamogetonaceae, Alismatales) with emphasis on gynoecial features

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Proventriculus of Cephalotes ants: A structural and comparative analysis

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Protease production by different thermophilic fungi

A comparative study was carried out to evaluate protease production in solid-state fermentation (SSF) and submerged fermentation (SmF) by nine different thermophilic fungi - Thermoascus aurantiacus Miehe, Thermomyces lanuginosus, T. lanuginosus TO.03, Aspergillus flavus 1.2, Aspergillus sp. 13.33, Aspergillus sp. 13.34, Aspergillus sp. 13.35, Rhizomucor pusillus 13.36 and Rhizomucor sp. 13.37 - using substrates containing proteins to induce enzyme secretion. Soybean extract (soybean milk), soybean flour, milk powder, rice, and wheat bran were tested. The most satisfactory results were obtained when using wheat bran in SSF. The fungi that stood out in SSF were T. lanuginosus, T. lanuginosus TO.03, Aspergillus sp. 13.34, Aspergillus sp. 13.35, and Rhizomucor sp. 13.37, and those in SmF were T. aurantiacus, T. lanuginosus TO.03, and 13.37. In both fermentation systems, A. flavus 1.2 and R. pusillus 13.36 presented the lowest levels of proteolytic activity.

Sensitivity of ant (Cephalotes) colonies and individuals to antibiotics implies feeding symbiosis with gut microorganisms

Ants in the tribe Cephalotini are exceptional in that they maintain microorganisms in their digestive tract. To understand what these microorganisms mean to the ants, we observed the feeding habits of Cephalotes pusillus and Cephalotes atratus, finding that in nature they feed on extrafloral nectars, homopteran secretions, and bird droppings. Feeding the antibiotic kanamycin to colonies of C. pusillus in the laboratory kills them. Ants desiccate or starve rather than feed on liquids to which the antibiotics gentamycin and netilmycin have been added, but feed and survive on liquids containing nystatin, penicillin, and ampicillin. We identified over 10 microorganisms from the intestine of C. pusillus with different antibiotic-resistance patterns. The bacteria are from the genera Corynebacterium, Brevibacterium, Sphingobacterium, Ochrobactrum, Myroides, Brevundimonas, Alcaligenes, Stenotrophomonas, Moraxella, and Pseudomonas. We hypothesize that the microorganisms provide nutrients to the ants by synthesizing amino acids from carbohydrates and nitrates. We do not know whether the ants collect the bacteria from the environment, but they transmit them to their young. They culture them in their digestive tract, eventually feeding on them.

Biology and behaviour of the neotropical ant-mimicking spider Aphantochilus rogersi (Araneae: Aphantochilidae): nesting, maternal care and ontogeny of ant-hunting techniques

Aphantochilus rogersi is an ant-mimicking spider that preys exclusively on cephalotine ants. The spiders oviposit in close proximity to nests of the model ant Zacryptocerus pusillus, and emergent spiderlings tend to remain in the vicinity of natal egg sacs. Females of A. rogersi actively defend their egg sacs against approaching workers of Z. pusillus, but the latter may sometimes destroy the eggs. Feeding specialization on these ants is confirmed by more than 300 observations of young and adult A. rogersi carrying ant corpses in the held. Although A. rogersi possesses several behavioural traits which may reduce the risk of being injured by ants during subjugation, field and laboratory observations showed that social defence by Z. pusillus may cause mutilation to the spiders. Tests in captivity revealed an ontogenetic change in the prey-capture techniques employed by A. rogersi. Early-instar spiderlings can apparently only seize the ant's petiole tightly if they are able to approach the ant from the front. As the ant is paralysed, the spiderling positions itself vertically in relation to the substratum. Larger spiders, on the other hand, attack ants most frequently from behind, and seem better equipped to seize the ant's petiole firmly with their larger chelicerae. Owing to their greater strength, late-instar spiders are able to Lift the struggling ant aloft. The selection of a suitable oviposition site, the mother's ability to defend herself and the eggs from nearby ants, and the capacity to capture and subdue ants safely from emergence to maturity, are regarded as crucial traits inherent in the mimetic and feeding specialization by A. rogersi.