On a putative type specimen of Pleurodema bibroni Tschudi, 1838 from Chile (Anura: Leptodactylidae)

The original description of the Neotropical frog Pleurodema bibroni was based on material collected at “Monte-Video” [Montevideo, Uruguay], but no type specimen was originally designated. In several publications, a specimen deposited at the National Museum of Natural History of Leiden (The Netherlands, RMNH 2277) and collected at Valparaíso, Chile, has been referred as type specimen of P. bibroni. Herein, it is argued that RMNH 2277 is not a type specimen of P. bibroni; nor can it be assigned to P. bibroni, but probably to Pleurodema thaul, a species with which P. bibroni was long confused

The gut microbiota of the wood-feeding termite Reticulitermes lucifugus (Isoptera; Rhinotermitidae)

Termite gut is host to a complex microbial community consisting of prokaryotes, and in some cases flagellates, responsible for the degradation of lignocellulosic material. Here we report data concerning the analysis of the gut microbiota of Reticulitermes lucifugus (Rossi), a lower termite species that lives in underground environments and is widespread in Italy, where it causes damage to wood structures of historical and artistic monuments. A 16S rRNA gene clone library revealed that the R. lucifugus gut is colonized by members of five phyla in the domain Bacteria: Firmicutes (49 % of clones), Proteobacteria (24 %), Spirochaetes (14 %), the candidatus TG1 phylum (12 %), and Bacteroidetes (1 %). A collection of cellulolytic aerobic bacteria was isolated from the gut of R. lucifugus by enrichment cultures on different cellulose and lignocellulose substrates. Results showed that the largest amount of culturable cellulolytic bacteria of R. lucifugus belongs to Firmicutes in the genera Bacillus and Paenibacillus (67 %). These isolates are also able to grow on xylan and show the largest clear zone diameter in the Congo red test. Reticulitermes lucifugus hosts a diverse community of bacteria and could be considered an acceptable source of hydrolytic enzymes for biotechnological applications

Quantitation of cellular deoxynucleoside triphosphates

Eukaryotic cells contain a delicate balance of minute amounts of the four deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs), sufficient only for a few minutes of DNA replication. Both a deficiency and a surplus of a single dNTP may result in increased mutation rates, faulty DNA repair or mitochondrial DNA depletion. dNTPs are usually quantified by an enzymatic assay in which incorporation of radioactive dATP (or radioactive dTTP in the assay for dATP) into specific synthetic oligonucleotides by a DNA polymerase is proportional to the concentration of the unknown dNTP. We find that the commonly used Klenow DNA polymerase may substitute the corresponding ribonucleotide for the unknown dNTP leading in some instances to a large overestimation of dNTPs. We now describe assay conditions for each dNTP that avoid ribonucleotide incorporation. For the dTTP and dATP assays it suffices to minimize the concentrations of the Klenow enzyme and of labeled dATP (or dTTP); for dCTP and dGTP we had to replace the Klenow enzyme with either the Taq DNA polymerase or Thermo Sequenase. We suggest that in some earlier reports ribonucleotide incorporation may have caused too high values for dGTP and dCTP

Effects of mutational loss of nucleoside kinases on deoxyadenosine 5'-phosphate/deoxyadenosine substrate cycle in cultured CEM and V79 cells.

The functions of a deoxynucleoside kinase and a deoxynucleotidase can give rise to substrate cycles in which the two enzymes catalyze in opposite directions the irreversible interconversion of a deoxynucleoside 5'-monophosphate (dNMP) and its deoxynucleoside. Earlier evidence showed that pyrimidine dNMP cycles occur in cultured cells and participate in the regulation of the size of dNMP pools there by affecting the transport of deoxyribonucleosides across the cell membrane. Here, we apply an isotope flow method using labeled adenine as precursor of dAMP and DNA to quantify deoxyadenosine excretion as a measure of the catabolic activity of a putative dAMP/deoxyadenosine cycle. A comparison of human CEM lymphoblasts and hamster V79 fibroblasts, including mutant cells lacking kinases for the phosphorylation of deoxyadenosine, shows a much lower deoxyadenosine excretion in CEM cells (0.05% of dATP synthesized by reduction of ADP) as compared with V79 cells (4% of dATP). Mutational loss of deoxycytidine kinase increases these values to 0.3% in CEM cells and to 10% in V79 cells. This strongly suggests the presence of a dAMP/deoxyadenosine cycle in both CEM and V79 cells. Additional loss of adenosine kinase only marginally affects deoxyadenosine excretion in CEM cells. The small excretion of deoxyadenosine (also in the absence of both kinases) demonstrates that in CEM cells the in situ activity of the deoxynucleotidase affecting the dAMP/deoxyadenosine substrate cycle is very low and that the cycle has mainly an anabolic function there

p53R2-dependent ribonucleotide reduction provides deoxyribonucleotides in quiescent human fibroblasts in the absence of induced DNA damage.

Human fibroblasts in culture obtain deoxynucleotides by de novo ribonucleotide reduction or by salvage of deoxynucleosides. In cycling cells the de novo pathway dominates, but in quiescent cells the salvage pathway becomes important. Two forms of active mammalian ribonucleotide reductases are known. Each form contains the catalytic R1 protein, but the two differ with respect to the second protein (R2 or p53R2). R2 is cell cycle-regulated, degraded during mitosis, and absent from quiescent cells. The recently discovered p53-inducible p53R2 was proposed to be linked to DNA repair processes. The protein is not cell cycle-regulated and can provide deoxynucleotides to quiescent mouse fibroblasts. Here we investigate the in situ activities of the R1-p53R2 complex and two other enzymes of the de novo pathway, dCMP deaminase and thymidylate synthase, in confluent quiescent serum-starved human fibroblasts in experiments with [5-(3)H]cytidine, [6-(3)H]deoxycytidine, and [C(3)H(3)]thymidine. These cells had increased their content of p53R2 2-fold and lacked R2. From isotope incorporation, we conclude that they have a complete de novo pathway for deoxynucleotide synthesis, including thymidylate synthesis. During quiescence, incorporation of deoxynucleotides into DNA was very low. Deoxynucleotides were instead degraded to deoxynucleosides and exported into the medium as deoxycytidine, deoxyuridine, and thymidine. The rate of export was surprisingly high, 25% of that in cycling cells. Total ribonucleotide reduction in quiescent cells amounted to only 2-3% of cycling cells. We suggest that in quiescent cells an important function of p53R2 is to provide deoxynucleotides for mitochondrial DNA replication

Material tipo de la Colección de Herpetología del Museo de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

El Museo de la Plata (Buenos Aires, República Argentina) se fundó en 1889, y la colección herpetológica comenzó a funcionar poco tiempo después, bajo la responsabilidad de Julio G. Koslowsky. En esta contribución se listan los ejemplares tipo de Anfibios y Reptiles depositados en la colección herpetológica del Museo de La Plata. El material tipo depositado corresponde a 32 especies descriptas desde 1895 hasta la actualidad, incluyendo: 14 holotipos, 115 paratipos, 4 lectotipos, 22 paralectotipos, 1 neotipo y 12 sintipos (sin incluir los ejemplares extraviados). Se proporciona, para cada taxón, la información completa referida a estatus de cada ejemplar tipo, sexo, datos de recolección y modificaciones taxonómicas posteriores.The La Plata Museum (Buenos Aires, República Argentina) was founded on 1889, and after a little time, the herpetological collection started under the responsibility of Julio G. Koslowsky. In this paper the type specimens of Amphibia and Reptilia housed in the collection of the Herpetology Section at the La Plata Museum are listed. These type materials correspond to 32 species described since 1895 until nowadays, and include: 14 holotypes, 115 paratypes, 4 lectotypes, 22 paralectotypes, 1 neotype and 12 sintypes (this list does not include lost specimens). Complete data about taxonomic status, sex, collection data, and subsequent taxonomic changes are given for each taxonAsociación Herpetológica Argentina (AHA

Material tipo de la Colección de Herpetología del Museo de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

El Museo de la Plata (Buenos Aires, República Argentina) se fundó en 1889, y la colección herpetológica comenzó a funcionar poco tiempo después, bajo la responsabilidad de Julio G. Koslowsky. En esta contribución se listan los ejemplares tipo de Anfibios y Reptiles depositados en la colección herpetológica del Museo de La Plata. El material tipo depositado corresponde a 32 especies descriptas desde 1895 hasta la actualidad, incluyendo: 14 holotipos, 115 paratipos, 4 lectotipos, 22 paralectotipos, 1 neotipo y 12 sintipos (sin incluir los ejemplares extraviados). Se proporciona, para cada taxón, la información completa referida a estatus de cada ejemplar tipo, sexo, datos de recolección y modificaciones taxonómicas posteriores.The La Plata Museum (Buenos Aires, República Argentina) was founded on 1889, and after a little time, the herpetological collection started under the responsibility of Julio G. Koslowsky. In this paper the type specimens of Amphibia and Reptilia housed in the collection of the Herpetology Section at the La Plata Museum are listed. These type materials correspond to 32 species described since 1895 until nowadays, and include: 14 holotypes, 115 paratypes, 4 lectotypes, 22 paralectotypes, 1 neotype and 12 sintypes (this list does not include lost specimens). Complete data about taxonomic status, sex, collection data, and subsequent taxonomic changes are given for each taxonAsociación Herpetológica Argentina (AHA

Nucleotide excision repair efficiency in quiescent human fibroblasts is modulated by circadian clock

The efficiency of Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER)process is crucial for maintaining genomic integrity because in many organisms, including humans, it represents the only system able to repair a wide range of DNA damage. The aim of the work was to investigate whether the efficiency of the repair of photoproducts induced by UV-light is affected by the circadian phase at which irradiation occurred. NER activity has been analyzed in human quiescent fibroblasts (in the absence of the cell cycle effect), in which circadian rhythmicity has been synchronized with a pulse of dexamethasone. Our results demonstrate that both DNA damage induction and repair efficiency are strictly dependent on the phase of the circadian rhythm at which the cells are UV-exposed. Furthermore, the differences observed between fibroblasts irradiated at different circadian times (CTs) are abolished when the clock is obliterated. In addition, we observe that chromatin structure is regulated by circadian rhythmicity. Maximal chromatin relaxation occurred at the same CT when photoproduct formation and removal were highest. Our data suggest that the circadian clock regulates both the DNA sensitivity to UV damage and the efficiency of NER by controlling chromatin condensation mainly through histone acetylatio