Cellular & Molecular Imaging

Light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images of snow algae field samples containing Rosetta gen. nov., including type material.

The Darwin Tree of Life project has the goal to sequence the genomes of 70,000 species of eukaryotic organisms in Britain and Ireland. This is a collection of photographs of the samples included in the study, provided by the National History Museum (NHM).

The Darwin Tree of Life project has the goal to sequence the genomes of 70,000 species of eukaryotic organisms in Britain and Ireland. This is a collection of photographs of the samples included in the study, provided by the National History Museum (NHM).

Lepidoptera, i.e. butterflies and moths, are vital components of the global ecosystem. Project Psyche is a scientific research project established to sequence the genomes of all butterflies and moths of Europe; helping to conserve, protect and drive innovation.

Cry double deficient (Cry1,2?/?) mice and Vip receptor 2 deficient (Vipr2?/?) mice were bred with PER2::LUC mice carrying a PER2 luciferase reporter. Wild–type (Cry1,2+/+/Vipr2+/+) PER2::LUC transgenic mice on the C57BL/6J background were used as control. For the measurement of PER2::LUC bioluminescence from a cultured SCN slice, mice of 8–16 weeks or 2–5 days old, kept under LD condition, were euthanized between 8:00 and 16:00 by cervical dislocation and decapitated. The brain was rapidly removed and a coronal SCN slice of 150 ?m or 200 ?m was made. In the co–culture experiment, the SCN slices of 150 ?m thick were obtained from adult mice carrying the PER2::LUC reporter (recipient). The slice was pre-cultured for 3 or 4 days, and then co–cultured with an SCN slice from mice without the reporter system (donor). The donor SCN slice of 200 ?m thick was obtained from WT mice of 7 days old and pre-cultured for one day before the co–culturing. When co-cultured, the graft SCN slice was placed inside out on the surface of recipient SCN slice. Measurement of the bioluminescence was started from the beginning of culturing of the recipient SCN and continued for at least 5 days after the co–culture. AVP receptor antagonists (V1A receptor antagonist: SR49059; TOCRIS, V1B receptor antagonist: SSR149415; Axon Medchem) were dissolved in water (SR49059 and SSR149415: final 2.5 ?M). Antagonists were applied into the medium 5 to 7 days after co–culturing.

Background Microsporidia sp. MB, a microsporidian symbiont found naturally in Anopheles mosquitoes, has potential as a novel malaria control tool since it can inhibit Plasmodium development and transmission. The most feasible MB-based Plasmodium control strategy would involve dissemination through live mosquito releases, or release of spores infective to mosquito larvae. To implement either strategy, establishment of stable mosquito colonies carrying MB at a high frequency is likely to be essential. The progeny of field caught An. gambiae s.l from Burkina Faso were isolated for individual egg laying and tested for MB. The progeny of the MB positive females were pooled and this process was repeated for multiple generations. The relative density of MB in different life stages and tissues of the An. coluzzii host was examined using a novel duplex qPCR assay. We also examined the impact of MB on fecundity through individualization for egg laying and counting of eggs. Finally, we examined laid eggs for presence of MB spores. Results Three An. coluzzii colonies and one An. gambiae s.l hybrid colony were established with high prevalence and density of MB and were maintained for more than two years with minimal intervention. MB prevalence and density was highest in eggs and adult females and lowest in L4 larvae; in adults density was highest in the gonads. Additionally, MB density increased in ovary samples following blood feeding which was likely due to the activation of sporogony. The production of spores is the reason why MB-carrying females lay more white non-hatching eggs and show a small reduction in fecundity. Conclusions Establishment of several stable MB carrying An. gambiae s.l colonies and understanding the impact of spores on fecundity are significant steps forward in developing MB as a malaria control tool.

Polyphasic studies on cyanobacterial biodiversity are scarce in the Caribbean and have never been conducted in the Dominican Republic. In this study we analysed sixteen cyanobacterial isolates sampled from biofilms growing on rocks and related to freshwater, saline and thermal environments across the country. A polyphasic approach was employed, incorporating 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis, molecular identity assessments (p-distance), 16S–23S ITS sequence comparison and secondary structure analysis, alongside morphological characterization and habitat comparison. The strains were distributed across the orders Nodosilineales, Oculatellales, Oscillatoriales and Nostocales. Eleven strains were identified as belonging to Almyronema, Euryhalinema, Salileptolyngbya, Nodosilinea, Reticulonema, Vacuolonema, Capilliphycus, Purpureonostoc, Violetonostoc, Desmonostoc and Hapalosiphon. Additionally, four strains formed three distinct clades and presented low 16S rRNA gene identities with their phylogenetically closest genera, suggesting the existence of three undescribed lineages pending comprehensive polyphasic study. At the species level, four strains were considered undescribed lineages pending comprehensive polyphasic study and one strain (LEGE 171504) was described as a new species of Salileptolyngbya. This study represents the first investigation into the cyanobacterial diversity of Dominican Republic expanding the distribution of the identified taxa. Moreover, this is the first report of Salileptolyngbya in the Caribbean region and in brackish waters, as well as the first newly described cyanobacterial species from the Dominican Republic.

Tara Expeditions are global scientific voyages that probe morphological and molecular diversity, evolution and ecology of marine plankton to explore how they are impacted by changes in the Earth's climate. The first expeditions collected samples of marine plankton containing viruses, bacteria, archaea, protists and planktonic metazoans living in the photic layer of the world's oceans. These expeditions, the first taking place between 2009 and 2013, include Tara Oceans: a global view, and Tara Oceans Polar Circle, both of which followed the same sampling protocol. This dataset includes 1074 pictures of 284 planktonic taxa (mainly microalgae and other Ciliate and Radiolarian protists) collected from the vicinity of the Marquesas Islands in the Southern Pacific Ocean during the Tara Oceans expedition. Multiple samples particularly of the size fractions 5-20 and 20 180 um from four sites and two depths were processed with different methods and studied in detail using scanning electron microscopy.

Light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images of snow algae field samples containing Rosetta gen. nov., including type material.

Bacteria occupy heterogeneous environments, attaching and growing within pores in materials, living hosts, and matrices like soil. Systems that permit high-resolution visualization of dynamic bacterial processes within the physical confines of a realistic and tractable porous media environment are rare. Here we use microfluidics to replicate the grain shape and packing density of natural sands in a 2D platform to study the flow-induced spatial evolution of bacterial biofilms underground. We introduce a wildtype strain (Pantoea sp. YR343, n=3) or an EPS-defective strain (Pantoea sp. YR343 ΔUDP, n=3) to the porous media platform and then simulate a rainfall event using gravity-driven flow of bacterial growth media.