Photoperiodism is important for seasonal adaptation in insects. Although photoreceptors and endocrine outputs for photoperiodism have been investigated, its neural mechanisms are less studied. This paper proposes three groups of neurons involved in photoperiodic control of adult diapause in the blow fly, Protophormia terraenovae. Ablation experiments showed that pars lateralis neurons in the dorsal protocerebrum are important for diapause induction under short-days and low temperature, the pars intercerebralis neurons for ovarian development under long-days and high temperature. When regions containing pigment-dispersing factor and PERIOD immunoreactive s-LNvs were bilaterally ablated, flies became arrhythmic in locomotor activities, and did not discriminate photoperiod for diapause induction, suggesting that s-LNvs are important for circadian rhythm and photoperiodism. In the s-LNvs, PERIOD-immunoreactivity in the nucleus was highest at 12 h after lights-off and lowest 12 h after lights-on regardless of photoperiod. Thus, as in D. melanogaster, it is possible that PERIOD nuclear translocation entrains to photoperiod, and day-length information seems to be encoded in s-LNvs. Immunoelectronmicroscopy revealed synaptic connections from s-LNvs to the pars lateralis neurons, suggesting that circadian clock neurons, s-LNvs, are involved in time measurements and may synaptically signal day-length information to the pars lateralis neurons.

Aggressive behavior of white-eye mutant crickets was investigated and compared with that of wild-type crickets. In the dark, wild-type pairs performed long-lasting fights with significantly higher aggressive levels compared to those in the light. In contrast, fights between two white-eye mutants were not significantly different with those between two wild-type crickets both in duration and the aggressive levels. Ethograms of aggressive behavior showed that the mutants could show typical sequentially escalating fight with the same behavioral categories as the wild-type crickets. These results indicate that the white-eye mutants are able to express normal aggressive behavior.

The main function of the Kis-Balaton Water Protection System is to retain nutrients and total suspended solids, thus protecting the water quality of Lake Balaton. In this paper, the toxic nature of the sediment in the 2nd reservoir of the KBWPS has been characterised, using a battery of tests: Vibrio fischeri acute bioassay on whole sediment samples, and V. fischeri bioassay on pore water and elutriate samples. The latest version of the V. fischeri bioluminescence inhibition was applied, the Flash assay which uses a kinetic mode and is able to detect the toxicity of solid, turbid/coloured samples. Whole sediment toxicity showed a clear spatial distribution of toxicity, in parallel with elutriate toxicity. However, no pore water toxicity was detected, leading to the conclusion that contaminants are not water soluble.

We investigated the presence and distribution of the D1 dopamine receptor in the CNS of Lymnaea stagnalis applying immunobloting and immunocytochemistry. We also investigated the effect of dopamine as well as the specific D1 receptor blocker, SCH23390, on the firing activity of the feeding modulator serotonergic neuron, CGC, which displayed D1 immunoreactivity. Immunoblot experiments showed one specifically labeled band with 62 kDa mw which is close to that of the mammalian D1 receptor. Neurons displaying D1-like immunoreactivity can be observed in each ganglion of the CNS but particularly in the pedal ganglia which are the center for locomotion. Dopamine regularly evokes burst activity in the serotonergic CGC at 1 mM and this effect could be antagonized by SCH23390. These observations suggest that a D1-like receptor molecule is present in the CNS of Lymnaea.

Because bees fly around, visit flowers and chase mates, we conclude intuitively that they see things as we do. But their vision is unexpectedly different, so we say it is anti-intuitive. Detailed tests have demonstrated separate detectors for modulation of blue and green receptors, edge orientation (green only), and areas of black. The edge detectors are about 3° across, independent, and not re-assembled to make lines, shapes or textures. Instead, the detectors of each type are summed quantitatively to form cues in each local region with an order of preference for learning the cues. Trained bees remember the positions of the total modulation (preferred), the average edge orientation, areas of black or colour, and positions of hubs of radial and circular edges in each local region, but not the original responses, so the pattern is lost. When presented with a yellow spot on a blue background with no UV reflected, the preferred cue is not the colour, but a measure of the modulation detected by the green and separately by the blue receptors.

Interaction of primycin antibiotic with plasma membrane, and its indirect biological effects were investigated in this study. The antifungal activity of primycin against 13 human pathogenic Candida ATCC and CBS reference species and 74 other Candida albicans clinical isolates was investigated with a microdilution technique. No primycin-resistant strain was detected. Direct interaction of primycin with the plasma membrane was demonstrated for the first time by using an ergosterol-producing strain 33erg+ and its ergosterol-less mutant erg-2. In growth inhibition tests, the 33erg+ strain proved to be more sensitive to primycin than its erg-2 mutant, indicating the importance of the plasma membrane composition in primycin-induced processes. The 64 μg ml-1 (56.8 nM) primycin treatment induced an enhanced membrane fluidity and altered plasma membrane dynamics, as measured by steady-state fluorescence anisotropy applying a trimethylammonium-diphenylhexatriene (TMA-DPH) fluorescence polarization probe. The following consequences were detected. The plasma membrane of the cells lost its barrier function, and the efflux of 260-nm-absorbing materials from treated cells of both strains was 1.5-1.8 times more than that for the control. Depending on the primycin concentration, the cells exhibited unipolar budding, pseudohyphae formation, and a rough cell surface visualized by scanning electron microscopy.

The ultrastructure, neuroanatomy and central projection patterns, including the intercellular connections of the statocyst hair cells of the pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis, were studied, applying different intra- and extracellular cellular staining techniques combined with correlative light- and electron microscopy. Based on the ultrastructure different hair cells could be distinguished according to their vesicle and granule content, meanwhile the general organization of the sensory neurons was rather uniform, showing clearly separated perinuclear and "vesicular" cytoplasmic regions. Following intra- and extracellular labeling with fluorescence dyes or HRP a typical, local arborization of the hair cells was demonstrated in the cerebral ganglion neuropil, indicating a limited input-output system connected to the process of gravireception. Correlative light- and electron microscopy of HRP-labeled hair cells revealed both axo-somatic and axo-axonic output contacts of hair cell varicosities, and input on sensory axons located far from the terminal arborizations. Our findings suggest (i) a versatile ultrastructural background of hair cells corresponding possibly to processing different gravireceptive information, and (ii) the synaptic (or non-synaptic) influence of gravireception at different anatomical (terminal, axonal and cell body) levels when processed centrally. The results may also serve as a functional morphological background for previously obtained physiological and behavioral observations.

A simple and efficient protocol has been developed for high frequency plant regeneration through callus cultures derived from leaf bases of abiotic stress sensitive Asian indica rice variety IR 64. Leaf base segments (4-5 mm diameter) were obtained from 6-day-old dark grown seedlings germinated on halfstrength Murashige and Skoog medium and cultured on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2.2-18 μM) and Kinetin (0.2-1.7 μM). Among the various combinations, 13.5 μM 2,4-D and 1.3 μM Kn resulted in high callus induction frequency (87.5%) with a maximum fresh weight of 0.22 g per segment. The regeneration frequency was 75.5% with multiple shoots within 3 weeks of transfer on MS medium supplemented with 13.3 μM 6-benzylamino purine and 8 μM Naphthaleneacetic acid. The shoots readily rooted on half-strength MS medium without any hormonal supplements. In vitro regenerated plantlets with multiple shoots and roots were transferred to sterile soil and vermiculite mix and maintained in shade house for 30 days. Complete plantlets were then transferred to nursery and acclimatized to the external environment until seed set. RAPD profile reveals monomorphism and thus confirming the genetic stability of the regenerated plants. This method has the potential for both direct as well as indirect method of transformation for the production of genetically modified plants.

Micro RNAs (miRNA) are an abundant class of small RNAs that regulate the stability and translation of cognate mRNAs. MiRNAs are potential diagnostic markers, moreover, they play an essential role in the development of various heart disesases. In case of limited tissue material, such as, e.g. human biopsies, purification of miRNAs with sufficient yield is critical. Reproducible expression analysis of miRNAs is highly dependent on the quality of the RNA, which is often difficult to achieve from fibrous tissue such as the heart. Several companies developed general purification kits for miRNAs, however, none of them are specialized to fibrotic tissues. Here we describe an optimized miRNA purification protocol that results in high miRNA yield as compared to other methods including trizol-based and column-based protocols. By using our improved protocol, miRNA obtained from heart tissue gave more reproducible results in QRT-PCR analysis and obtained more significant calls (172 vs. 118) during DNA microarray analysis when compared to the commercially available kit. In addition to the heart tissue, the present protocol can be applied to other fibrotic tissues, such as lung or skeletal muscle to isolate high-purity miRNA.