Search results for "Phylum"

Fauna Europaea: Helminths (Animal Parasitic)

2014

The Laotian Rock Rat Laonastes aenigmamus Jenkins, Kilpatrick, Robinson & Timmins, 2005 was originally discovered in Lao People's Democratic Republic in 2005. This species has been recognized as the sole surviving member of the otherwise extinct rodent family Diatomyidae. Laonastes aenigmamus was initially reported only in limestone forests of Khammouane Province, Central Lao. A second population was recently discovered in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park (PNKB NP), Quang Binh Province, Central Vietnam in 2011. The confirmed distribution range of L. aenigmamus in Vietnam is very small, approximately 150 km , covering low karst mountains in five communes of Minh Hoa District, Quang Binh Provi…

Bauplan of Urmetazoa: Basis for Genetic Complexity of Metazoa

2004

Sponges were first grouped to the animal-plants or plant-animals then to the Zoophyta or Mesozoa and finally to the Parazoa. Only after the application of molecular biological techniques was it possible to place the Porifera monophyletically with the other metazoan phyla, justifying a unification of all multicellular animals to only one kingdom, the Metazoa. The first strong support came from the discovery that cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion molecules that were cloned from sponges and were subsequently expressed share a high DNA sequence and protein function similarity with the corresponding molecules of other metazoans. Besides these evolutionary novelties for Metazoa, sponges also hav…

Conserved and ubiquitous expression of piRNAs and PIWI genes in mollusks antedates the origin of somatic PIWI/piRNA expression to the root of bilater…

2018

AbstractPIWI proteins and a specific class of small non-coding RNAs, termed Piwi interacting RNAs (piRNAs), suppress transposon activity in animals on the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level, thus protecting genomes from detrimental insertion mutagenesis. While in vertebrates the PIWI/piRNA system appears to be restricted to the germline, somatic expression of piRNAs directed against transposons is widespread in arthropods, likely representing the ancestral state for this phylum. Here, we show that somatic expression of PIWI genes and piRNAs directed against transposons is conserved in mollusks, suggesting that somatic PIWI/piRNA expression was already realized in an early bilate…

Tracking evolutionary trends towards increasing complexity: a case study in Cyanobacteria

2020

AbstractProgressive evolution, the tendency towards increasing complexity, is a controversial issue in Biology, whose resolution requires a proper measurement of complexity. Genomes are the best entities to address this challenge, as they record the history and information gaining of organisms in their ongoing biotic and environmental interactions. Using six metrics of genome complexity, none of which is primarily associated to biological function, we measure genome complexity in 91 genomes from the phylum Cyanobacteria. Several phylogenetic analyses reveal the existence of progressive evolution towards higher genome complexity: 1) all the metrics detect strong phylogenetic signals; 2) ridg…

High-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to analyze the gut microbiome in juvenile and adult tropical gar (Atractosteus tropicus)

2020

Tropical gar (Atractosteus tropicus) is freshwater and estuarine fish, inhabiting the Earth since the Mesozoic era and undergoing limited physiological variation ever since. Besides its recognized cultural and scientific relevance, the species has seen remarkable growth in its economic impact due to pisciculture. In this study, we present the first report of the whole taxonomic composition of microbial communities in gut contents in juveniles and adults of A. tropicus, by sex and origin (wild and cultivated). For this study, 508 genera were identified, with the most and least abundant being Cetobacterium and Paludibacter, respectively. Fusobacteria, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroid…

Cultivation of primmorphs from the marine sponge Suberites domuncula: morphogenetic potential of silicon and iron.

2002

Abstract Marine demosponges (phylum Porifera) are rich sources for potent bioactive compounds. With the establishment of the primmorph system from sponges, especially from Suberites domuncula , the technology to cultivate sponge cells in vitro improved considerably. This progress was possible after the elucidation that sponges are provided with characteristic metazoan cell adhesion receptors and extracellular matrix molecules which allow their cells a positioning in a complex organization pattern. This review summarizes recent data on the cultivation of sponges in aquaria and—with main emphasis—of primmorphs in vitro. It is outlined that silicon and Fe(+++) contribute substantially to the f…

Widespread vertical transmission and associated host sex–ratio distortion within the eukaryotic phylum Microspora

2004

Vertical transmission (VT) and associated manipulation of host reproduction are widely reported among prokaryotic endosymbionts. Here, we present evidence for widespread use of VT and associated sex-ratio distortion in a eukaryotic phylum. The Microspora are an unusual and diverse group of eukaryotic parasites that infect all animal phyla. Following our initial description of a microsporidian that feminizes its crustacean host, we survey the diversity and distribution of VT within the Microspora. We find that vertically transmitted microsporidia are ubiquitous in the amphipod hosts sampled and that they are also diverse, with 11 species of microsporidia detected within 16 host species. We f…

Isoprenoid biosynthesis in eukaryotic phototrophs: a spotlight on algae.

2011

Isoprenoids are one of the largest groups of natural compounds and have a variety of important functions in the primary metabolism of land plants and algae. In recent years, our understanding of the numerous facets of isoprenoid metabolism in land plants has been rapidly increasing, while knowledge on the metabolic network of isoprenoids in algae still lags behind. Here, current views on the biochemistry and genetics of the core isoprenoid metabolism in land plants and in the major algal phyla are compared and some of the most pressing open questions are highlighted. Based on the different evolutionary histories of the various groups of eukaryotic phototrophs, we discuss the distribution an…

2020

Anaerobic digestion is a technology known for its potential in terms of methane production. During the digestion process, multiple metabolites of high value are synthesized. However, recent works have demonstrated the high robustness and resilience of the involved microbiomes; these attributes make it difficult to manipulate them in such a way that a specific metabolite is predominantly produced. Therefore, an exact understanding of the manipulability of anaerobic microbiomes may open up a treasure box for bio-based industries. In the present work, the effect of nalidixic acid, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and sodium phosphate on the microbiome of digested sewage sludge from a water treatmen…

Metagenomics Analysis Reveals an Extraordinary Inner Bacterial Diversity in Anisakids (Nematoda: Anisakidae) L3 Larvae

2021

This article belongs to the Special Issue Parasitic Diseases from Wild Animals with Emphasis in Zoonotic Infections.