14-3-3ε Is Required for Germ Cell Migration in Drosophila

Although 14-3-3 proteins participate in multiple biological processes, isoform-specific specialized functions, as well as functional redundancy are emerging with tissue and developmental stage-specificity. Accordingly, the two 14-3-3ε proteins in Drosophila exhibit functional specificity and redundancy. Homozygotes for loss of function alleles of D14-3-3ε contain significantly fewer germ line cells (pole cells) in their gonads, a phenotype not shared by mutants in the other 14-3-3 gene leo. We show that although D14-3-3ε is enriched within pole cells it is required in mesodermal somatic gonad precursor cells which guide pole cells in their migration through the mesoderm and coalesce with them to form the embryonic gonad. Loss of D14-3-3ε results in defective pole cell migration, reduced pole cell number. We present evidence that D14-3-3ε loss results in reduction or loss of the transcription factor Zfh-1, one of the main regulatory molecules of the pole cell migration, from the somatic gonad precursor cells

Energy characteristics of the municipal waste after recovery and recycling processes

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie możliwości takiego przetwarzania zmieszanych odpadów komunalnych, aby w jak największym stopniu zmniejszyć ich ilość i szkodliwość, a proces taki był technologicznie uzasadniony.Waste management has become one of the main problems in the management of the environment in recent years. Many years of neglect and implementation of the provisions of the European Union have caused the need for urgent changes in this sector. Applied modifications of the law in relation to the existing provisions require continuous monitoring of technological parameters of waste, in terms of their suitability for different processes like recovery, recycling or disposal. The application of these processes may change the humidity and calorific value, and hence build up the difficulty in successive sequences waste treatment, and thus adaptation of the system to the binding legislation. The purpose of the article was to present the ways of waste treatment in such a way which would reduce as much as possible their amount and harmfulness, and that the technological process to be viable, and the waste management system in accordance with the binding law

Evaluation of PCR primers targeting the groEL gene for the specific detection of Streptococcus agalactiae in the context of aquaculture

Aims: The aim of this study was to design a set of primers for specific detection and identification of Streptococcus agalactiae in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that can detect a diverse range of S. agalactiae isolates from different hosts and that it is capable of discriminating between S. agalactiae and other species that are closely related or potentially present in aquaculture environments, notably Streptococcus iniae. Methods and Results: Primers, based on the groEL2 gene of S. agalactiae, were shown to be epidemiologically sensitive to 97 isolates of S. agalactiae, representing 11 clonal complexes derived from piscine, terrestrial and aquatic mammalian host species. The primers were tested with 10 S. iniae isolates and 22 other comparator species with no cross‐reaction observed after optimization of reaction conditions. They have a high analytical sensitivity, detecting as few as 10 copies of S. agalactiae genomic DNA per reaction and are capable of detecting the target in DNA extracted from the brains of infected fish. Conclusions: The primers proved suitable for the sensitive and specific detection of S. agalactiae from dairy‐, human‐ and fish‐related origins by PCR. Significance and Impact of the Study: Due to the importance of S. agalactiae as a pathogen, many PCR primers have been published for this bacterium, designed largely for its detection in dairy and human samples, but many cross‐reacting with S. iniae. The ability to differentiate between S. agalactiae and S. iniae in aquaculture derived samples is important as both infect fish, causing similar disease symptoms and are phenotypically similar, yet control strategies and zoonotic risk are species specific