Search

ObjectiveFlathead catfish are rapidly expanding into nonnative waterways throughout the United States. Once established, flathead catfish may cause disruptions to the local ecosystem through consumption and competition with native fishes, including species of conservation concern. Flathead catfish often become a popular sport fish in their introduced range, and so management strategies must frequently balance the need to protect native and naturalized fauna while meeting the desire to maintain or enhance fisheries. However, there are currently few tools available to inform management of invasive flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris). We describe a suite of microsatellite loci that can be used to characterize population structure, predict invasion history, and assess potential mitigation strategies for flathead catfish.ResultsOur panel of 13 microsatellite loci were polymorphic and appear to be informative for population genetic studies of flathead catfish. We found moderate levels of diversity in four nonnative collections of flathead catfish in the Pennsylvania and Maryland sections of the Susquehanna River and the Schuylkill River, Pennsylvania. Analyses suggested patterns of genetic differentiation within- and among-rivers, highlighting the utility of this marker panel for understanding the structure and assessing the degree of connectivity among flathead catfish populations.

Calothrixin A is a bioactive metabolite of the cyanobacterium Calothrix and has been shown to be active at nanomolar concentrations against human HeLa cancer cells. It induces apoptotic killing of human Jurkat cancer cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, as revealed by flow cytometry, morphological evidence from electron microscopy and DNA fragmentation. It also causes G2/M cell cycle arrest, which is indicative of intracellular DNA damage. It was shown to be redox-active, as measured by oxygen uptake in the presence of dithiothreitol, and caused cleavage of plasmid DNA, as revealed by electrophoresis. This cleavage was blocked by the H2O2 scavenger catalase, but not by other scavengers of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Calothrixin A appeared to induce intracellular formation of ROS as measured by fluorescence of dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate. Conditions were not found, however, under which the calothrixin A-induced apoptosis could be reversed by the scavengers, or by the metal chelator desferal. Menadione was compared with calothrixin A. The IC50 at which this compound caused apoptosis was significantly higher. It also induced cell cycle arrest at higher concentrations, although caused plasmid DNA cleavage at lower concentrations. It is postulated that the greater effectiveness of calothrixin A in killing cells is related to its ring structure, which has the characteristics of a DNA intercalator, thereby localizing its quinone-dependent effects.

The causes and nature of nitrate pollution of wells in a village within Kotagede, a subdistrict of the city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, were investigated in a detailed hydrological study. Nitrate concentrations in groundwater frequently exceeded the WHO recommended limit of 50 mg L − 1. Groundwater nitrate concentrations were measured over a 19-month period in monitoring wells and in piezometers placed strategically in relation to sewage tanks within the village. Results indicate that the tanks are major sources of nitrate in the groundwater and that the input is markedly dependent on rainfall, resulting in a surge of nitrate into the groundwater at the beginning of each wet season. That the tanks are a major source was confirmed by measuring nitrate in soil cores obtained by augering close to selected tanks. Washrooms, where people wash themselves, are not significant sources of nitrate. Faecal coliform counts in groundwater from a random selection of wells are very high. The results have implications for the siting of wells and toilets within villages in Indonesia.

One hundred and ninety-eight cyanobacterial strains, newly isolated mainly from samples collected from diverse habitats in Australia, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam, were screened from their antibiotic activity against green algal species of the genera Coelastrum, Scenedesmus and Monoraphidium. We report the discovery of ten strains of Fischerella, seven of Nostoc and three of Calothrix that produce antialgal compounds with a broad activity spectrum. Some of these bioactive cyanobacteria inhibited all three algae, whereas others inhibited only two, and some only one. In addition, the 20 active strains were tested against other selected cyanobacteria, including Anabaena doliolum which grows well both photoautotrophically in light and heterotrophically in darkness, and three toxic species, Microcytis aeruginosa, Anabaena circinalis and Nodularia spumigena, which are problems in Australia and other parts of the world. At least one Fischerella strain had bioactivity directed against photosynthetic electron transport of algal chloroplasts, whereas others had no effect on photosynthesis. In most cases the growth inhibitory effects were also tested in the presence of a proteinase. The results are discussed in the light of the possible nature of the chemical inhibition and also in relationship to competition and allelopathy in algal populations.

Substituted enzyme (or ping-pong) mechanisms usually involve enzymes that exist in two forms that alternate during the catalytic reaction. A method is described here for determining the position of the equilibrium of a half reaction in a ping-pong enzyme mechanism that is based on the kinetics of the burst reaction which occurs upon addition of reactants that recycle the enzyme from one form to another. The theoretical basis for the analysis is developed, and the method is applied to the half reaction of the aldimine form of aspartate transaminase with difluoro-oxaloacetate.

A survey was made of the nitrate concentrations in groundwater from one hundred wells in the Patan and Bhaktapur districts of the Bagmati zone and the Chitwan district of the Narayani zone, Nepal. The former districts are urban and the latter rural. Although the survey is small, it has demonstrated that there is a significant incidence of nitrate concentrations that exceed the World Health Organization's recommended limit for drinking water and that drinking-water supplies from many other wells are approaching this limit. A need exists for a larger study to determine how widespread the problem is. The primary cause is probably nitrification of nitrogen excreted by humans and to a lesser extent by animals inside settlements.

A biological denitrification technology has been developed and tested. In the laboratory, the denitrifying bacteriumHyphomicrobium X was immobilised on polyurethane and polyvinylacetate foams, glass beads, glass wool, coarse river sand and also entrapped in alginate beads. In all cases the bacteria retained their capacity to actively denitrify with methanol as the carbon source. The establishment times and longevity of the bacteria on polyurethane and sand columns was studied, as was the effect of methanol/nitrate ratios on the denitrification process in flow-through experiments. Conditions were achieved where both nitrate and methanol were removed stoichiometrically. Complete removal of nitrate could be achieved in the temperature range 4 to 48 °C. Flow-through and batch procedures were investigated and a prototype batch system was developed which was capable of treating 200 litres of nitrate-containing water per day.