The microbiome profiling of fungivorous black tinder fungus beetle Bolitophagus reticulatus reveals the insight into bacterial communities associated with larvae and adults

Saproxylic beetles play a crucial role in key processes occurring in forest ecosystems, and together with fungi contribute to the decomposition and mineralization of wood. Among this group are mycetophilic beetles which associate with wood-decaying fungi and use the fruiting body for nourishment and development. Therefore, their feeding strategy (especially in the case of fungivorous species) requires special digestive capabilities to take advantage of the nutritional value of fungal tissue. Although polypore-beetle associations have been investigated in numerous studies, detailed studies focusing on the microbiome associated with species feeding on fruiting bodies of polypores remain limited. Here we investigated the bacterial communities associated with larvae and adults of Bolitophagus reticulatus collected from Fomes fomentarius growing on two different host tree: beech (Fagus sp.) and birch (Betula sp.), respectively. Among 24 identified bacterial phyla, three were the most relatively abundant (Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes). Moreover, we tried to find unique patterns of bacteria abundances which could be correlated with the long-term field observation showing that the fruiting bodies of F. fomentarius, growing on birch are more inhabited by beetles than fruiting bodies of the same fungus species growing on beech. Biochemical analyses showed that the level of protease inhibitors and secondary metabolites in F. fomentarius is higher in healthy fruiting bodies than in the inhabited ones. However, tested microbiome samples primarily clustered by developmental stage of B. reticulatus and host tree did not appear to impact the taxonomic distribution of the communities. This observation was supported by statistical analyses

Programmed Death-1 and Its Ligand Are Novel Immunotolerant Molecules Expressed on Leukemic B Cells in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Programmed death-1 (PD-1) is an immunoreceptor predominantly expressed on exhausted T cells, which through an interaction with its ligand (PD-L1), controls peripheral tolerance by limiting effector functions of T lymphocytes. qRT-PCR for PD-1, PD-L1 and their splicing forms as well as flow cytometric assessment of surface expression was performed in a cohort of 58 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. In functional studies, we assessed the influence of the proliferative response of leukemic B-cells induced by IL-4 and CD40L on PD-1 transcripts and expression on the protein level. The median level of PD-1, but not PD-L1, transcripts in CLL patients was higher in comparison to healthy volunteers (HVs, n = 43, p = 0.0057). We confirmed the presence of PD-1 and PD-L1 on the CLL cell surface, and found the expression of PD-1, but not PD-L1, to be higher among CLL patients in comparison to HVs (47.2% vs. 14.8%, p<0.0001). The Kaplan-Meier curves for the time to progression and overall survival in groups with high and low surface expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 revealed no prognostic value in CLL patients. After stimulation with IL-4 and CD40L, protein expression of PD-1 was significantly increased in samples that responded and up-regulated CD38. PD-1, which is aberrantly expressed both at mRNA and cell surface levels in CLL cells might represent a novel immunotolerant molecule involved in the pathomechanism of the disease, and could provide a novel target for future therapies

Wykorzystanie zjawisk akustycznych w pomiarze składu mieszanin gazu

W licznych procesach technologicznych pomiar stężenia poszczególnych składników mieszanin gazowych stanowi istotne zagadnienie, warunkujące m.in. bezpieczeństwo pracy. Jednakże w wielu obszarach inżynierii pomiar ten musi zostać dokonany w trudnych warunkach otoczenia, charakteryzujących się wysokim zapyleniem, wilgotnością czy atmosferą wybuchową. W artykule przedstawiono koncepcję wykorzystania zjawisk akustycznych, w szczególności rezonansu akustycznego, do prowadzenia pomiarów składu mieszanin gazowych oraz zaprezentowano przykładowe konfiguracje urządzeń ją wykorzystujących. Omówiono także przykłady komercyjnie dostępnej aparatury pomiarowej, bazującej na opisanej idei wykorzystania zjawisk akustycznych w pomiarze składu mieszanin gazowych.In numerous technological processes, measurement of concentration of subsequent components of gaseous mixtures states important aspect, influencing for instance staff safety. However, in plenty of fields of engineering, such measurement has to be executed in tough environment, characterized by extreme dust content, high humidity or risk of explosion. In the paper, the concept of utilization of acoustic phenomena, especially considering acoustic resonance, to perform measurements of gaseous mixtures composition is presented. Furthermore, examples of possible configuration of devices, utilizing such concept, are discussed, and examples of commercially available tools, basing on described idea of utilization of acoustic phenomena in gas mixture composition measurement, are indicated

Inhibitory proteaz na powierzchni ciała pszczół (Apis mellifera L.) w klatce i w ulu

The aim of the work was to determine the activity of protease inhibitors sampled from the body surface of bee workers kept in a natural hive environment and in a cage. The samples were collected for five weeks. 40 cage samples and 50 hive samples were gathered, each containing 10 bees. Hydrophilic (water-treated) and hydrophobic (Triton-rinsed) proteins were isolated from the insects. The samples containing washed-out proteins were tested as follows: the activity of aspartic and serine protease inhibitors by the Lee and Lin method; electrophoretic analysis of proteins in a polyacrylamide gel for protease inhibitor detection by means of the modified Felicioli method; and in vivo tests of antifungal and antibacterial activity using the double application method. The cage environment had a destabilizing effect on the natural protease inhibitor system causing radical variation in its activity, which was not the case with the hive environment. The samples were not found to be active in relation to M. luteus and E. coli. The cage bees were less resistant to microorganisms. The results of the in vivo microorganismal test confirmed the fact of weaker protease inhibitor activity in the washed-out body-surface samples of the cage bees that was also observed in in vitro biochemical analyses. The results of cage-based analyses of non-specific apian resistance should be treated with caution when used in reference to hive bees.Określono aktywność inhibitorów proteaz wyizolowanych z powierzchni ciała robotnic utrzymywanych w naturalnym środowisku ula oraz w klatce. Próby pobierano przez pięć tygodni, pozyskując 40 prób z klatek i 50 prób z ula, w każdej po 10 pszczół. Z owadów wyizolowano białka hydrofilne (przy użyciu wody) oraz hydrofobowe (przy użyciu tritonu). Próbki z wypłukanymi białkami poddano następujący moznaczeniom: aktywność inhibitorów proteaz asparaginowych i serynowych wg metody Lee i Lina; analiza elektroforetyczna białek w żelu poliakrylamidowym do wykrywania inhibitorów proteaz wg zmodyfikowanej metody Felicioliego; aktywność przeciwgrzybowa i antybakteryjna w testach in vivo metodą płytek dwuwarstwowych. Środowisko klatki działało destabilizująco na system naturalnych inhibitorów proteaz wywołując duże wahania ich aktywności, co nie zdarzyło się w ulu. W próbkach nie zaobserwowano aktywności wobec M. luteus i E. coli. Pszczoły w klatce miały słabszą oporność przeciwko mikroorganizmom. Wyniki testu z mikroorganizmami in vivo potwierdziły słabszą aktywność inhibitorów proteaz w próbkach wypłukanych z powierzchni ciał pszczół w klatkach, wykazaną również w analizach biochemicznych in vitro. Uzyskane w klatkach wyniki badań oporności nieswoistej pszczół należy ostrożnie odnosić do pszczół w ulu