Search results for "ZOOLOGIA"
showing 10 items of 803 documents
Attività citotossica dei celomociti di Holothuria tubulosa (Echinodermata)
2010
Numerosi studi hanno accertato che nel fluido celomatico degli echinodermi sono presenti cellule con attività diretta verso agenti estranei. In particolare i celomociti svolgono un repertorio di funzioni immunitarie tra cui la fagocitosi, la citotossicità, l’attività antibatterica, la formazione di capsule e il rigetto dei trapianti. Nel presente lavoro abbiamo studiato l’attività citotossica dei celomociti di Holothuria tubulosa (Oloturoideo) non separati ed abbiamo utilizzato cellule di mammifero come target. I celomociti prelevati dal fluido celomatico lisano gli eritrociti di coniglio o di montone e le cellule tumorali della linea eritromieloide umana K562. Inoltre anche il supernatante…
The Inland Water Copepod Fauna of a Traditional Rural Landscape in a Mediterranean Island (Crustacea, Copepoda)
2022
Although the Mediterranean area is a well-known hotspot of biological diversity, the crustacean assemblages inhabiting inland waters of the Mediterranean islands are to date unevenly known, and detailed information is missing for most taxa and areas. In the frame of this paper, we provide a checklist and a characterization of the copepod fauna of the lentic water bodies occurring in a traditional rural landscape of Sicily, where the co-existence of agriculture, woodlands, and pastoral activities lead to the presence of a wide range of different aquatic habitats. Overall, 22 copepod species belonging to the orders Calanoida, Cyclopoida, and Harpacticoida have been found in the 92 surveyed si…
Molecular Cytogenetic Characterization of the Sicilian Endemic Pond Turtle Emys trinacris and the Yellow-Bellied Slider Trachemys scripta scripta (Te…
2020
Turtles, a speciose group consisting of more than 300 species, demonstrate karyotypes with diploid chromosome numbers ranging from 2n = 26 to 2n = 68. However, cytogenetic analyses have been conducted only to 1/3rd of the turtle species, often limited to conventional staining methods. In order to expand our knowledge of the karyotype evolution in turtles, we examined the topology of the (TTAGGG)n telomeric repeats and the rDNA loci by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on the karyotypes of two emydids: the Sicilian pond turtle, Emys trinacris, and the yellow-bellied slider, Trachemys scripta scripta (family Emydidae). Furthermore, AT-rich and GC-rich chromosome regions were detected …
First record of Hemidiaptomus (Gigantodiaptomus) superbus (Schmeil, 1895) in Italy, with notes on distribution and conservation status (Copepoda, Cal…
2011
Hemidiaptomus (Gigantodiaptomus) superbus (Schmeil, 1895) was found in a temporary pool in the Pineta di Classe coastal pine-wood (Ravenna, northern Italy). This is the first official record of a species belonging to the subgenus Gigantodiaptomus of Italian fauna, and it widens the known distribution of this rare diaptomid to the Mediterranean basin. In order to supply data on this rare and poorly known species, original drawings for the Italian population have been provided, and some overlooked morphological features have been highlighted. In light of the growing evidence of the existence of a number of cryptic species in the Diaptomidae family, and considering the variability observed in …
Distribution of recent ostracods in inland waters of Sicily (Southern Italy)
2006
From 2003 to 2005, freshwater ostracods were sampled in 67 water bodies of mainland Sicily (Provinces of Agrigento, Caltanisetta, Catania, Enna, Palermo, Messina, Ragusa, Siracusa and Trapani) located from sea level up to 1300 m a.s.l. This survey took into account streams, springs, wells, but especially temporary and ephemeral habitats (e.g., flooded meadows, temporary ponds). The aim of this research was to give the first comprehensive picture of the regional ostracod fauna and establish relationships between the distribution of ostracod species and some habitat features. Altogether, 21 ostracod taxa belonging to five families (Candonidae, Ilyocyprididae, Cyprididae, Notodromadidae, and L…
F-Type Lectins: A highly diversified family of fucose-binding proteins with a unique sequence motif and structural fold, involved in self/non-self-re…
2017
The F-type lectin (FTL) family is one of the most recent to be identified and structurally characterized. Members of the FTL family are characterized by a fucose recognition domain [F-type lectin domain (FTLD)] that displays a novel jellyroll fold (“F-type” fold) and unique carbohydrate- and calcium-binding sequence motifs. This novel lectin family comprises widely distributed proteins exhibiting single, double, or greater multiples of the FTLD, either tandemly arrayed or combined with other structurally and functionally distinct domains, yielding lectin subunits of pleiotropic properties even within a single species. Furthermore, the extraordinary variability of FTL sequences (isoforms) th…
DIVERSITY OF LECTIN-SUGAR RECOGNITION SYSTEMS IN THE EVOLUTION OF FISH INNATE IMMUNITY
2014
Carbohydrate recognition and interactions mediated by lectins have been recognized involved in vertebrate innate immunity, not only for recognition of potential pathogens, but also acting in the agglutination, immobilization and other functional steps. Fish are equipped with a complex lectin repertoire that, like mammals, are involved almost all the immune reactions. On the basis of our results on the isolation, cDNA cloning, structural analysis, tissue expression and localization, and opsonic activity of F-type and RBL lectins from Dicentrarchus labrax and Sparus aurata we showed that: lectin repertoires in fish are highly diversified and include not only representatives of the lectin fami…
Adaptations to thermal variation in two Mediterranean limpets - cardiac response and haemocyte lysosomal stability
2012
Patella rustica and Patella caerulea are two congeneric limpet species, both occurring along the rocky shores of the Mediterranean but on different tidal heights. P. rustica is dominant in the upper intertidal zone while P. caerulea is more abundant in the lower part of the same zone. Understanding variations in physiological adaptations to thermal stress is vital when investigating intertidal species' distribution. Hence, to investigate the relationship between their physiological thermal tolerance and intertidal zonation, laboratory experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that the lower zoned P. caerulea has reduced upper thermal limits when compared with higher zoned P. rustica,…
Sneaking into a Hotspot of Biodiversity: Coverage and Integrity of a Rhodolith Bed in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea)
2022
Habitat mapping, physical characteristics and benthic community of a rhodolith bed in the Pelagie Islands (Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea) were studied through Multi–Beam Echo–Sounder (MBES), Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and grab samples. The geomorphological analysis revealed an articulated and wide rhodolith bed; video inspections highlighted a bed with high coverage, few sandy patches and with a prevalence of the boxwork morphotype. A total of 207 taxa with 876 specimens were identified, and Polychaeta was the dominant taxon. Linguimaera caesaris, a Lessepsian benthic amphipod, was recorded in all sampling sites, and its presence represents an input to deepen the benthic assembla…
CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF MACROALGAE EXTRACTS
2023
Marine species are a rich source of bioactive molecules and among them, it is known that marine algae produce different secondary metabolites for which different biological activities such as: immunomodulatory (Raposo et al., 2016), antioxidant (Fisch et al., 2003) and antimicrobial (Pinteus et al., 2015) were demostrated. The aim of this study was chemical charac- terize the extracts of three macroalgae species: Carpodesmia crinite (Duby, Orellana & Sansón, 2019), Carpodesmia brachy- carpa (J. Agardh, Orellana & Sansón 2019, WoRMS, 2023), Ericaria brachycarpa (J. Agardh, Molinari & Guiry, 2020), Asparagopsis taxiformis (Delile) Trevisan 1845) to evaluate also their biological a…