Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Acholeplasma laidlawii

Extracellular vesicle production is believed to be a ubiquitous process in bacteria, but the data on such a process in Mollicutes are absent. We report the isolation of ultramicroforms – extracellular vesicles from supernatants of Acholeplasma laidlawii PG8 (ubiquitous mycoplasma; the main contaminant of cell culture). Considering sizes, morphology, and ultrastructural organization, the ultramicroforms of A. laidlawii PG8 are similar to membrane vesicles of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. We demonstrate that A. laidlawii PG8 vesicles contain genetic material and proteins, and are mutagenic to lymphocytes of human peripheral blood. We show that Mycoplasma gallisepticum S6, the other mycoplasma, also produce similar structures, which suggests that shedding of the vesicles might be the common phenomenon in Mollicutes. We found that the action of stress conditions results in the intensive formation of ultramicroforms in mycoplasmas. The role of vesicular formation in mycoplasmas remains to be studied

Taphonomic phenomenon of ancient hair from Glacial Beringia:perspectives for palaeoecological reconstructions

An accumulation of mammoth hair, discovered in the Bol'shaya Chukochya River valley (northeast Yakutia, Russia), was found to contain remains of terrestrial and aquatic organisms, including plants, insects, crustaceans, birds and mammals. Radiocarbon dating indicated that this post-mortem taphocoenosis represented multiple time periods. The mammoth hair was dated to older than 45 ka BP, the plants were dated to 12 750 +/- 50 a BP (which corresponds to a shift in the environmental conditions and landscapes during the formation of thermokarst in northeastern Russia) and the bird feathers were dated to 4115 +/- 40 a BP. A scenario of the formation of this fossil assemblage is proposed, covering the MIS 3-1 time range. The hair also yielded various Arctic branchiopod crustaceans, which inhabit shallow temporary water bodies and therefore are important for reconstruction of palaeoenvironments. The cladoceran subgenus Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia), currently absent from the Asian part of Beringia, is reported from this region for the first time. The study demonstrates that the discovered permafrostpreserved hair is a unique repository of Ice Age organisms.</p

An ancient bison from the mouth of the Rauchua River (Chukotka, Russia)

An incomplete carcass of an extinct bison, Bison ex gr. priscus, was discovered in 2012 in the mouth of the Rauchua River (69°30'N, 166°49'E), Chukotka. The carcass included the rump with two hind limbs, ribs, and large flap of hide from the abdomen and sides, several vertebrae, bones of the forelimbs and anterior autopodia, stomach with its contents, and wool. The limb bones are relatively gracile, which is unusual in bison, and a SEM study of the hair microstructure suggests higher insulating capacity than in extant members of the genus. Additionally, mitochondrial DNA analyses indicate that the Rauchua bison belonged to a distinct and previously unidentified lineage of steppe bison. Two radiocarbon dates suggest a Holocene age for the bison: a traditional 14C date provided an estimate of 8030±70 14C yr BP (SPb-743) and an AMS radiocarbon date provided an age of 9497±92 14C yr BP (AA101271). These dates make this the youngest known bison from Chukotka. Analysis of stomach contents revealed a diet of herbaceous plants (meadow grasses and sedges) and shrubs, suggesting that the early Holocene vegetation near the mouth of the Rauchua River was similar to that of the present day: tundra-associated vegetation with undersized plants

Шуба” эпохи ранней бронзы из дольмена у станицы царская (1898 г.) на северо-западном кавказе: методика и результаты комплексного исследования

The paper presents results of the morphological and isotopic analyses of fur remnants coming from a dol-men dating to the Early Bronze Age (the end of the 4rd millennium BC) discovered near Stanitsa Tsarska-ya in the North-West Caucasus, 1898. It has been established that the fur garment of the buried individual was made of souslik (a short-tailed ground squirrel (S. citellus) skins, maybe, skins of Spermophilus pyg-maeus. This part of the outer clothes was probably a fur coat which covered the buried individual who was dressed in a brown striped wool cloak decorated, possibly, with red tassels along the lower edge. Addition-al accessories such as silver fastenings shaped as curved (crook-shaped) pins may be regarded to be an in-dicator of the fashion trend adopted by locals from the Near East. For the first time a study of this type offers a possibility to reconstruct a cutout and decoration of woven and fur clothes worn by a North Cau-casus inhabitant who lived in the Early Bronze Age period

Early bronze age “fur coat” from the dolmen near tsarskaya stanitsa (1898) in northwest caucasus :methods and results of an integrated study

The paper presents results of the morphological and isotopic analyses of fur remnants coming from a dol-men dating to the Early Bronze Age (the end of the 4rd millennium BC) discovered near Stanitsa Tsarska-ya in the North-West Caucasus, 1898. It has been established that the fur garment of the buried individual was made of souslik (a short-tailed ground squirrel (S. citellus) skins, maybe, skins of Spermophilus pyg-maeus. This part of the outer clothes was probably a fur coat which covered the buried individual who was dressed in a brown striped wool cloak decorated, possibly, with red tassels along the lower edge. Addition-al accessories such as silver fastenings shaped as curved (crook-shaped) pins may be regarded to be an in-dicator of the fashion trend adopted by locals from the Near East. For the first time a study of this type offers a possibility to reconstruct a cutout and decoration of woven and fur clothes worn by a North Cau-casus inhabitant who lived in the Early Bronze Age period

A case of mite-on-mammal ectoparasitism from Eocene Baltic amber (Acari: Prostigmata: Myobiidae and Mammalia: Erinaceomorpha)

<p>Tetrapods are rarely recovered from fossil resins, such as amber, and fossils of parasites are even rarer. We describe the first pre-Quaternary co-occurrence of ectoparasitic mites with hairs of their mammalian hosts, preserved in life-like detail from a piece of Eocene (∼ 40 Ma) Baltic amber. The mites, representing the oldest fossils of the family Myobiidae (Acari: Prostigmata: Eleutherengona), are described as <i>Protohylomysobia erinaceophilus</i> Sidorchuk & Bochkov gen. et sp. nov. and belong to the generic group <i>Amorphacarus</i>. Recent members of this group parasitize small-sized insectivores – shrews, moles and gymnures (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae, Talpidae and Erinaceidae: Galericinae). The fossils indicate that the evolution of Myobiidae and their relationships with mammals were well underway by the Eocene. The hairs of the hosts are also described, and are morphologically compared with those of Recent mammals. This comparison suggests an early-derivative member from an array of mammalian groups, and provides clues to its habitus. Our data give a new perspective on a long discussion about the source of mammal hairs in Baltic amber. The combined mite, amber and hair evidence suggest a small, short- and fine-haired member of Amphilemuridae, sister family to hedgehogs, as a host for the mites and the source of at least some of the hairs preserved in Baltic amber.</p> <p><a href="http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FB65DC5F-360E-4594-8153-6A04E732BF37" target="_blank">http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FB65DC5F-360E-4594-8153-6A04E732BF37</a></p

Discovery of the skull of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger, 1839) above the Arctic Circle

The skull of the extinct rhinoceros Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger, 1839) was discovered in the Chondon River valley (Arctic Yakutia, Russia) during the summer of 2014. This is the first find of Stephanorhinus above the Arctic Circle, expanding significantly the known geographic range of the genus. 14C dating and geologic evidence indicate that the skull dates to between 48,000 and 70,000 yr, corresponding to Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 4/3. It is thus among the latest records of this species. To explore the evolutionary and natural history of this relatively unknown animal, we performed morphological, dietary, and genetic analyses. Phylogenetic inference based on a complete mitochondrial genome sequence confirms the systematic placement of Stephanorhinus as most closely related to the extinct woolly rhinoceros, Coelodonta. Food remains in the fossas of the cheek teeth, identified as Larix, Vaccinium, Betula sp., Aulacomnium, and dicotyledonous herbs and grasses, suggest a mixed feeder’s diet. Microwear analysis suggests that, during the last months of its life, this individual fed predominantly on leaves and twigs. The habitat of Stephanorhinus comprised grassland and open woodland that were characterized by moist and cold climate conditions, similar to those in the region today

Discovery of the skull of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger, 1839) above the Arctic Circle

The skull of the extinct rhinoceros Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger, 1839) was discovered in the Chondon River valley (Arctic Yakutia, Russia) during the summer of 2014. This is the first find of Stephanorhinus above the Arctic Circle, expanding significantly the known geographic range of the genus. 14C dating and geologic evidence indicate that the skull dates to between 48,000 and 70,000 yr, corresponding to Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 4/3. It is thus among the latest records of this species. To explore the evolutionary and natural history of this relatively unknown animal, we performed morphological, dietary, and genetic analyses. Phylogenetic inference based on a complete mitochondrial genome sequence confirms the systematic placement of Stephanorhinus as most closely related to the extinct woolly rhinoceros, Coelodonta. Food remains in the fossas of the cheek teeth, identified as Larix, Vaccinium, Betula sp., Aulacomnium, and dicotyledonous herbs and grasses, suggest a mixed feeder’s diet. Microwear analysis suggests that, during the last months of its life, this individual fed predominantly on leaves and twigs. The habitat of Stephanorhinus comprised grassland and open woodland that were characterized by moist and cold climate conditions, similar to those in the region todayThe study was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant No.15-04-08552).Peer Reviewe