The freshwater snails of the genus Bythinella Moquin-Tandon (Gastropoda: Rissooidea: Hydrobiidae) from Montenegro

New records of freshwater snails of the genus Bythinella Moquin-Tandon from Montenegro are presented. Bythinella dispersa, 1973 and B. luteola Radoman, 1976 are recognized and defined as separate species; B. taraensis n. sp., which lives partially sympatric with B. dispersa in the canyon of the River Tara, is described as new. All Bythinella spp. in Montengro inhabit the Dinaric part of the Black Sea drainage area, while it is practically absent from the Adriatic drainage area

Formation of Sclerotia and Production of Indoloterpenes by Aspergillus niger and Other Species in Section Nigri

Several species in Aspergillus section Nigri have been reported to produce sclerotia on well-known growth media, such as Czapek yeast autolysate (CYA) agar, with sclerotia considered to be an important prerequisite for sexual development. However Aspergillus niger sensu stricto has not been reported to produce sclerotia, and is thought to be a purely asexual organism. Here we report, for the first time, the production of sclerotia by certain strains of Aspergillus niger when grown on CYA agar with raisins, or on other fruits or on rice. Up to 11 apolar indoloterpenes of the aflavinine type were detected by liquid chromatography and diode array and mass spectrometric detection where sclerotia were formed, including 10,23-dihydro-24,25-dehydroaflavinine. Sclerotium induction can thus be a way of inducing the production of new secondary metabolites from previously silent gene clusters. Cultivation of other species of the black aspergilli showed that raisins induced sclerotium formation by A. brasiliensis, A. floridensis A. ibericus, A. luchuensis, A. neoniger, A. trinidadensis and A. saccharolyticus for the first time

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

New Bythinella species from northern Romania (Gastropoda: Rissooidea)

Recent samples of freshwater molluscs from Romania contained six new Bythinella species: B. blidariensis n. sp., B. georgievi n. sp., B. falniowskii n. sp., B. feheri n. sp., B. sirbui n. sp., and B. szarowskae n. sp. Since B. molcsanyi H. Wagner, 1941 sometimes co-occurred with B. grossui Falniowski, Szarowska et Sîrbu, 2009 or with B. feheri n. sp., differences between these species were studied, to identify diagnostic features. Apart from shell morphology, also the tubular gland proved to be important for identification of Bythinella spp

A new Pleistocene Valvata species from Lake Beysehir and two new Gyraulus species from Lake Egirdir (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Valvatidae, Planorbidae) in Turkey

Recently collected samples from lakes Beyşehir and Eğirdir in Turkey contained one new Pleistocene Valvata which we describe here as †Valvata beysehirensis n. sp. In addition we found two new species of Gyraulus, named G. egirdirensis n. sp. and G. taseviensis n. sp. These species are compared with members of the genera Valvata and Gyraulus known so far from Turkey

Some new freshwater gastropods from Southern Europe (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Truncatelloidea)

A western Balkan representative of the Moitessieriidae collected in a spring is described as Bosnidilhia vreloana n. gen. n. sp. A species of the Hydrobiidae from the Republic of Srpska(Bosniaa Nd Hercegovina) is described as Islamia dmitroviciana n. sp