Transformation and transposon mutagenesis of Leifsonia xyli subsp. Xyli, causal organism of Ratoon Stunting Discease of sugarcane

Conditions have been developed for genetic transformation and insertional mutagenesis in Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli (Lxx), the causal organism of ratoon stunting disease (RSD), one of the most damaging and intractable diseases of sugarcane internationally. Transformation frequencies ranged from 1 to 10 colony forming units (CFU)/mug of plasmid DNA using Clavibacter/Escherichia coli shuttle vectors pCG188, pDM302, and pDM306 and ranged from 50 to 500 CFU/mug using cosmid cloning vectors pLAFR3 and pLAFR5-km. The transformation/transposition frequency was 0 to 70 CFU/mug of DNA, using suicide vectors pUCD623 and pSLTP2021 containing transposable elements Tn4431 and Tn5, respectively. It was necessary to grow Lxx in media containing 0.1% glycine for electroporation and to amplify large plasmids in a dam(-)/dcm(-) E. coli strain and purify the DNA by anion exchange. To keep selection pressure at an optimum, the transformants were grown on nitrocellulose filters (0.2-mum pore size) on media containing the appropriate antibiotics. Transposon Tn4431 containing a promoterless lux operon from Vibrio fischeri and a tetracycline-resistance gene was introduced on the suicide vector pUCD623. All but 1% of the putative transposon mutants produce light, indicating transposition into functional Lxx genes. Southern blot analysis of these transformants indicates predominantly single transposon insertions at unique sites. The cosmid cloning vector pLAFR5-km was stably maintained in Lxx. The development of a transformation and transposon mutagenesis system opens the way for molecular analysis of pathogenicity determinants in Lxx.

New graptolite faunas from the Llandovery, lower Silurian of the Graveyard Creek Subprovince, Broken River region, Queensland, Australia

A continuous biostratigraphic sequence has been established, possibly from as low as the sedgwickii Biozone but certainly throughout the Telychian Stage (?sedgwickii, turriculatus, ?crispus, griestoniensis and crenulata biozones). Thirty-three taxa have been recorded, including the new genus Wandograptus wandovalensis sp. nov., the new species Pseudostreptograptus queenslandensis and the new subspecies Dictyonema paululum australis and Stimulograptus sedwickii loydelli. A number of species have been recorded from Australia for the first time: Dictyonema cf. geniculatum Bulman, Petalolithus kurcki (Rickards), Pristiograptus initialis (Kirste), Monoclimacis directa Zalasciewicz, Monograptus aff. distans (Portlock), Monograptus sartorius Törnquist, and Torquigraptus pragensis (Bouček). Nine forms have been left under open nomenclature. The type section for the Poley Cow Formation yields a griestoniensis biozone fauna close to the top, and this level can be correlated with a griestoniensis Biozone fauna in the Broken River crossing section, again just below the top of the formation. Further north, griestoniensis Biozone faunas have also been recognized, beyond Diggers Creek, and in the Quinton Formation at Top Hut, enabling a reliable time plane throughout the region. At Top Hut, the highest graptolitic strata yield a crenulata Biozone fauna; and stratigraphically lower sequences, referable to the ?sedgwickii, turriculatus and ?crispus biozones, have been established on the Broken River section. It is likely that a full Telychian (Upper Llandovery) sequence occurs in the Poley Cow and Quinton formations enabling accurate correlation with other parts of the world.

Isolation and characterisation of Indian Ocean ciguatoxin

We report the isolation and initial characterisation of Indian Ocean ciguatoxin (I-CTX) present in toxic lipid soluble extracts isolated from ciguateric fishes collected off the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Following i.p. injection of this extract, mice displayed symptoms that were similar, though not identical, to those produced by Pacific and Caribbean ciguatoxins (P-CTXs and C-CTXs). Using a radiolabelled brevetoxin (PbTx) binding assay and mouse bioassay guided fractionation, I-CTX was purified by Florisil, Sephadex LH-20 and TSK HW-40S chromatography with good recovery. Isolation to purity was not possible by preparative reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) due to significant losses of toxicity. However, analytical reversed phase HPLC coupled to an electrospray mass spectrometry detector identified a [M + H](+) ion at m/z 1141.58 which co-eluted with activity that displaced [3 H]-PbTx binding to rat brain. This mass corresponded to C-CTX-1, but the fragmentation pattern of I-CTX showed a different ratio of pseudo molecular and product ions. I-CTX was found to elute later than P-CTX-1 but was practically indistinguishable from C-CTX-1 on reversed phase HPLC, while the TSK HW-40S column chromatography differentiated I-CTX from the later eluting C-CTX-1. Taken together, these results indicate that I-CTX is a new ciguatoxin (CTX) responsible for ciguatera caused by reef fish in the Indian Ocean. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spondylostrobus F. Mueller: operculate fruits of an extinct dicotyledon from the mid-Tertiary of Australia

Spondylostrobus F. Mueller, which accommodates operculate fruit-stones reported only from the mid-Tertiary of Australia, is redefined on the basis of type and other specimens of the type species, S. smythii F. Mueller, and of specimens included in S. rozefeldsii sp. nov. The globose to ellipsoidal fruits have 3-6 locules symmetrically disposed around a massive fibrous axis. Each locule has a single anatropous ovule, axile placentation, and a dorsal germination operculum that extends from near the base to the apex. In possessing these characters Spondylostrobus more closely resembles operculate fruits within the tribe Spondiadeae (Anacardiaceae) than operculate fruits of other dicotyledonous families. Spondylostrobus has widespread distribution in Oligocene-Miocene sediments of eastern Australia. At many localities it is associated with fruit-stones having affinities with extant taxa that now occur in rainforests, monsoonal forests, and fringing communities of northern Australia. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A new species of Phyllurus (Lacertilia : Gekkonidae) and a revised phylogeny and key for the Australian leaf-tailed geckos

Phyllurus gulbaru, sp. nov., is a highly distinct species of leaf-tailed gecko restricted to rocky rainforest of Pattersons Gorge, north-west of Townsville. The possession of a cylindrical, non-depressed, tapering original and regenerated tail separates P. gulbaru from all congeners except P. caudiannulatus. From this species P. gulbaru is separated by having a partially divided, as opposed to fully divided, rostral scale. Furthermore, the very small spinose body tubercles of P. gulbaru are in marked contrast to the large spinose body scales of P. caudiannulatus. An analysis of 729 bp of mitochondrial 12S rRNA and cytochrome b genes reveals P. gulbaru to be a deeply divergent lineage with closer affinities to mid-east Queensland congeners than the geographically neighbouring P. amnicola on Mt Elliot. In conservation terms, P. gulbaru is clearly at risk. Field surveys of Pattersons Gorge and the adjacent ranges indicate that this species is restricted to a very small area of highly fragmented habitat, of which only a small proportion receives a degree of protection in State forest. Further, there is ongoing, unchecked destruction of dry rainforest habitat by fire. Under current IUCN criteria, P. gulbaru warrants an Endangered ( B1, 2) listing.

Phylogeny and classification of the Digenea (Platyhelminthes : Trematoda)

Complete small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (ssrDNA) and partial (D1-D3) large subunit ribosomal RNA gene (lsrDNA) sequences were used to estimate the phylogeny of the Digenea via maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference. Here we contribute 80 new ssrDNA and 124 new lsrDNA sequences. Fully complementary data sets of the two genes were assembled from newly generated and previously published sequences and comprised 163 digenean taxa representing 77 nominal families and seven aspidogastrean outgroup taxa representing three families. Analyses were conducted on the genes independently as well as combined and separate analyses including only the higher plagiorchiidan taxa were performed using a reduced-taxon alignment including additional characters that could not be otherwise unambiguously aligned. The combined data analyses yielded the most strongly supported results and differences between the two methods of analysis were primarily in their degree of resolution. The Bayesian analysis including all taxa and characters, and incorporating a model of nucleotide substitution (general-time-reversible with among-site rate heterogeneity), was considered the best estimate of the phylogeny and was used to evaluate their classification and evolution. In broad terms, the Digenea forms a dichotomy that is split between a lineage leading to the Brachylaimoidea, Diplostomoidea and Schistosomatoidea (collectively the Diplostomida nomen novum (nom. nov.)) and the remainder of the Digenea (the Plagiorchiida), in which the Bivesiculata nom. nov. and Transversotremata nom. nov. form the two most basal lineages, followed by the Hemiurata. The remainder of the Plagiorchiida forms a large number of independent lineages leading to the crown clade Xiphidiata nom. nov. that comprises the Allocreadioidea, Gorgoderoidea, Microphalloidea and Plagiorchioidea, which are united by the presence of a penetrating stylet in their cercariae. Although a majority of families and to a lesser degree, superfamilies are supported as currently defined, the traditional divisions of the Echinostomida, Plagiorchiida and Strigeida were found to comprise non-natural assemblages. Therefore, the membership of established higher taxa are emended, new taxa erected and a revised, phylogenetically based classification proposed and discussed in light of ontogeny, morphology and taxonomic history. (C) 2003 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

New species of Opechona Looss, 1907 and Cephalolepidapedon Yamaguti, 1970 (Digenea: Lepocreadiidae) from fishes off northern Tasmania

Two new species of lepocreadiid trematodes are described from teleost fishes from off the coast of northern Tasmania. Opechona kahawai sp. nov. from Arripis sp. (Arripidae) differs from congeners by a combination of a longer prepharynx, longer excretory vesicle and the genital pore antero-sinistral to the ventral sucker. Cephalolepidapedon warehou sp. nov. from Seriolella punctata (Centrolophidae) differs from its only congener in the vitellarium reaching into the posterior forebody, a heavy concentration of eye-spot pigment in the forebody, a relatively narrower and more elongate body, a longer prepharynx and a more distinct oesophagus.

Life cycle evolution in the Digenea: a new perspective from phylogeny

We use a new molecular phylogeny, developed from small and large subunit ribosomal RNA genes, to explore evolution of the digenean life cycle. Our approach is to map character states on the phylogeny and then use parsimony to infer how the character evolved. We conclude that, plesiomorphically, digenean miracidia hatched from eggs and penetrated gastropod first intermediate hosts externally. Fork-tailed cercariae were produced in rediae and emerged from the snail to be eaten directly by the teleost definitive host. These plesiomorphic characters are seen in extant Bivesiculidae. We infer that external encystment and the use of second intermediate hosts are derived from this behaviour and that second intermediate hosts have been adopted repeatedly. Tetrapod definitive hosts have also been adopted repeatedly. The new phylogeny proposes a basal dichotomy between 'Diplostomida' (Diplostomoidea, Schistosomatoidea and Brachylaimoidea) and 'Plagiorchiida' (all other digeneans). There is no evidence for coevolution between these clades and groups of gastropods. The most primitive life cycles are seen in basal Plagiorchiida. Basal Diplostomida have three-host life cycles and are associated with tetrapods. The blood flukes (Schistosomatoidea) are inferred to have derived their two-host life cycles by abbreviating three-host cycles. Diplostomida have no adult stages in fishes except by life cycle abbreviation. We present and test a radical hypothesis that the blood-fluke cycle is plesiomorphic within the Diplostomida.

Trichostome ciliates from Australian marsupials. IV. Distribution of the ciliate fauna

Trichostome ciliates are associated with many different lineages of herbivorous mammals but there are few comparative studies of these associations in each lineage of herbivores. Here the occurrence of the ciliate fauna in a range of herbivorous marsupials (diprotodonts) is investigated and compared with that of ruminants. A total of 371 potential host animals, representing 33 species and 7 families, were examined for the presence of ciliates. The prevalence of endocommensal ciliates within individual host species varied between 0 and 100%. Of the different dietary groups of marsupials examined, only foregut (macropodids) and hindgut (vombatids) fermentative herbivores were found to harbour ciliates; carnivorous (dasyurids), omnivorous (peramelids) and midgut fermenting herbivores (phalangeroids) all lacked ciliates. The majority of ciliate species were oioxenic, several occurred in closely related hosts and some were able to colonise unnatural hosts in captive populations. Ciliate prevalences were found to vary at all levels: between hosts of different species, between conspecific hosts collected at different localities or seasons and between conspecific hosts at one collecting locality. The faunal composition of the 2 marsupial families which harboured ciliates differed greatly: the vombatid fauna was composed exclusively of amylovoracids whereas the macropodids harboured amylovoracids, polycostids and macropodiniids. In comparison to the ciliate fauna of ruminants, the fauna of macropodids is both depauperate and much more host specific. Low species richness in each host may be due to the large numbers of stomach nematodes in macropodids which compete with and may prey upon the ciliates within the stomach. The high levels of host specificity are probably due to different patterns of ciliate transmission in macropodids as they do not ruminate, eructate or feed indiscriminantly on pasture contaminated with saliva containing ciliates.

A review of the genus Ledermuelleriopsis Willmann (Acari : Prostigmata : Stigmaeidae)

The mite family Stigmaeidae (Acari:Prostigmata) is of considerable importance in biological control, but its genera are often poorly defined and have never been subjected to cladistic analysis. Herein, we report the stigmaeid genus Ledermuelleriopsis Willmann from Australia for the first time, present a preliminary phylogenetic analysis that demonstrates that Eustigmaeus Berlese and Ledermuelleriopsis Willman are distinct, review the genus at the world level, and provide diagnostic characters of the adult females for each of the 21 known species. We also catalogue habitats, distributions and localities of holotypes. Four new species from Australia are described and illustrated: L. parvilla, sp. nov. from old dune sand, L. barbellata, sp. nov. from wet-sandy heath litter, and L. pustulosa, sp. nov. and L. claviseta, sp. nov. from dry eucalypt forest litter. A key to adult females of all known Ledermuelleriopsis species is provided. The Australian species and L. incisa Wood from New Zealand can be separated from all other members of the genus by a synapomorphy: the reduction of the number of setae on the aggenital shield to one pair. Results of a preliminary morphological cladistic analysis for those stigmaeid genera in which the larvae and adults of both sexes are known, indicate that Ledermuelleriopsis is basal to a clade containing Cheylostigmaeus Willman and Eustigmaeus.

Desenvolvimento profissional e mobiliza????o de compet??ncias no setor p??blico

O presente trabalho tem duplo objetivo: pretende discutir a capacita????o no setor p??blico como uma estrat??gia de profissionaliza????o dos funcion??rios p??blicos, ?? luz do modelo da compet??ncia, e apresentar a experi??ncia da Escola Nacional de Administra????o P??blica - ENAP no desenvolvimento e implementa????o de cursos e programas de capacita????o voltados ?? mobiliza????o de compet??ncias para o desenvolvimento t??cnico e gerencial nas organiza????es p??blicas

Rede Nacional de Escolas de Governo no Brasil: aprendizagens e desafios

Este artigo apresenta a evolu????o de reflex??es sobre o papel da Rede Nacional de Escolas de Governo no Brasil, em sequ??ncia a trabalhos apresentados em congressos anteriores do CLAD (Carvalho, 2005, 2009). O contexto brasileiro, nos aspectos que mais afetam os desafios postos aos processos de capacita????o profissional de servidores p??blicos, ?? inicialmente apresentado, para facilitar a apreens??o das experi??ncias que ser??o analisadas. Em seguida, ?? feita a caracteriza????o da Rede Nacional, apontando-se alguns de seus resultados. Outras experi??ncias de Rede, em geral atuando como ???sub-redes??? da Rede Nacional s??o descritas: relata-se a situa????o da articula????o das escolas de governo no ??mbito do Poder Executivo Federal, o chamado ???Sistema de Escolas de Governo da Uni??o???; em seguida s??o apresentadas tr??s experi??ncias existentes no n??vel subnacional, de redes em funcionamento em tr??s dos estados brasileiros, tratando dos casos da ???Rede Estadual de Escolas de Governo do Paran?????, do projeto em implanta????o denominado ???Rede Escola de Governo do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul???, e da ???Rede Estadual de Escolas de Governo do Cear?????. Em seguida, faz-se o relato da articula????o em rede das escolas vinculadas aos tribunais de contas, a ???Rede de Educa????o Corporativa dos Tribunais de Contas???. Ao final, s??o constru??das reflex??es sobre o que essas distintas experi??ncias de redes de capacita????o apontam de espec??fico, com vista a contribuir para o debate sobre as diversas op????es pol??tico-organizativas que podem ser implementadas para o aumento da sinergia e capacidade de atua????o das entidades formadoras, com vista ?? melhoria da qualidade do servi??o p??blico brasileiro, por meio do investimento na educa????o e qualifica????o profissional dos agentes p??blicos

Formar dirigentes, capacitar gestores, desenvolver gerentes: do que estamos falando? A experi??ncia da ENAP-Brasil no per??odo 2003-2007

Este texto busca em sua primeira parte analisar as contribui????es ofertadas pela Carta Iberoamericana da Fun????o P??blica na constru????o de uma linguagem comum entre nossos governos e organiza????es formadoras e depois se dedica a apresentar alguns elementos contextualizadores da atua????o da Escola Nacional de Administra????o P??blica (ENAP ??? Brasil) no que diz respeito ?? forma????o e capacita????o de dirigentes p??blicos

Concurso inova????o na gest??o p??blica federal no Brasil: an??lise de uma trajet??ria

O Concurso Inova????o na Gest??o P??blica Federal no Brasil constitui, h?? onze anos, uma pr??tica de est??mulo a inova????es na gest??o governamental, promovida pela Escola Nacional de Administra????o P??blica ??? ENAP, com apoio do antigo Minist??rio da Administra????o e Reforma do Estado (MARE), atual Minist??rio do Planejamento, Or??amento e Gest??o (MP). Os idealizadores do Concurso basearam-se na convic????o de que a premia????o e a divulga????o de pr??ticas inovadoras, com efetividade comprovada, poderiam incentivar a moderniza????o da gest??o com o objetivo de aumentar a governan??a das pol??ticas p??blicas. O Concurso Inova????o, iniciado em 1996, em plena vig??ncia da reforma gerencial do Estado no Brasil, atingiu em 2006 onze edi????es. Durante esse per??odo constata-se que as concep????es relativas ao papel do Estado e as percep????es da gest??o p??blica passaram por transforma????es relevantes, o que se traduziu em determinadas orienta????es e prioridades no campo da gest??o p??blica.

Incentivos e condi????es para o desempenho dos servidores p??blicos: conclus??es a partir de um estudo sobre a Austr??lia e o Brasil

Para a maior parte das sociedades contempor??neas tornou-se praticamente imposs??vel dissociar a boa governan??a da pr??tica de princ??pios democr??ticos, de um lado, e da produ????o de pol??ticas e servi??os p??blicos de qualidade, de outro. Essa vis??o sugere que a quest??o de melhorar continuamente o desempenho das m??quinas governamentais est?? agora no topo das preocupa????es desses governos. As recentes ondas de reforma da administra????o p??blica refletem isso. Do desempenho depende, em grande medida, a legitima????o desses governos (Peters& Pierre, 2010, ). Exatamente para obter melhor desempenho e maior legitimidade, os governos t??m procurado aproximar cada vez mais a burocracia dos cidad??os, para tornar os servi??os p??blicos em maior conformidade com suas necessidades e prefer??ncias, mais r??pidos e mais precisos. Entre as in??meras quest??es que emergem, no campo do desempenho das organiza????es p??blicas, est?? a da gest??o dos seus recursos humanos: quais s??o os elementos que contribuem para a motiva????o dos servidores p??blicos e quais incentivos s??o mais eficazes s??o perguntas sempre presentes, pois do sucesso dessas pol??ticas internas depende, em larga medida, a pr??pria percep????o que os cidad??os fazem de seus respectivos governos. Afinal, como argumentam Peters e Pierre (2010), os cidad??os se confrontam, com muito maior frequ??ncia, com a burocracia do que com os agentes pol??ticos. Esse estudo tem por objetivo colocar algumas hip??teses sobre quais s??o os incentivos- bem-sucedidos- ao desempenho dos servidores p??blicos, comparando as formas de gest??o dos governos federais da Austr??lia e do Brasil.