A small slug from a tropical greenhouse reveals a new rathouisiid lineage with triaulic tritrematic genitalia (Gastropoda: Systellommatophora)

A small slug found in the tropical greenhouse of the Science Museum (MUSE) of Trento (Italy) turned out to be a species of the little-known systellommatophoran family Rathouisiidae. We undertook detailed comparative anatomical and molecular studies using specimens of the MUSE slug, Rathouisia sinensis, and sequences of other systellommatophoran species deposited in GenBank to conduct a systematic and phylogenetic assessment. Analysis of the genitalia of the MUSE slug and R. sinensis revealed an unusual triaulic tritrematic structure: two separate female ducts – one for egg release (oviduct), the other for intake of allosperm (vagina) – and a separate male duct for autosperm release. Analysis of the nucleotide sequences of several mitochondrial (COI, 16S rDNA) and nuclear (18S rDNA, ITS2 flanked by 5.8S and 28S rDNA fragments, H3) gene fragments supported assignation of the MUSE slug to Rathouisiidae, but also its distinction from the other rathouisiid genera Atopos, Granulilimax, Rathouisia and an undescribed genus from the Ryukyu Islands (Japan). Therefore, we decided to describe the MUSE slug as a new species in a new genus: Barkeriella museensis gen. et sp. nov. The species is certainly an alien introduced into the tropical greenhouse of MUSE, but its origin is unknown and calls for further investigation. © 2022 The Linnean Society of London

Monacha samsunensis (Pfeiffer, 1868): another Anatolian species introduced to Western Europe, where it is known as Monacha atacis Gittenberger & de Winter, 1985 (Gastropoda: Eupulmonata: Hygromiidae)

Populations of Monacha atacis from southern Occitania in France and of M. samsunensis from northern Anatolia in Turkey (Atakum/Samsun and Kastamonu) were investigated by an integrative approach based on morphological (shell and genitalia) and molecular (mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences) features. Morphological examination revealed a complex pattern of variation within and between geographically separated populations, while molecular analysis showed strong similarity between the two species, confirming earlier suggestions that the species are conspecific. Pfeiffer’s name Helix samsunensis introduced in 1868 has priority over the name M. atacis given by Gittenberger & de Winter in 1985. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

The role of ascorbate in antioxidant protection of biomembranes: Interaction with vitamin E and coenzyme Q

One of the vital roles of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is to act as an antioxidant to protect cellular components from free radical damage. Ascorbic acid has been shown to scavenge free radicals directly in the aqueous phases of cells and the circulatory system. Ascorbic acid has also been proven to protect membrane and other hydrophobic compartments from such damage by regenerating the antioxidant form of vitamin E. In addition, reduced coenzyme Q, also a resident of hydrophobic compartments, interacts with vitamin E to regenerate its antioxidant form. The mechanism of vitamin C antioxidant function, the myriad of pathologies resulting from its clinical deficiency, and the many health benefits it provides, are reviewed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44796/1/10863_2004_Article_BF00762775.pd

Weltersia obscura, a new slug from the island of Montecristo (Tuscan Archipelago, Italy): a hitherto undiscovered endemic or a recent alien? (Mollusca, Pulmonata, Limacidae)

Unexpectedly, an unknown limacid slug was found in damp meadows and granite trails on the western side of Montecristo, a small island of the Tuscan Archipelago (N Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy), the malacofauna of which has been extensively studied in the last 50 years. It is distinguished from all other anatomically studied limacid species: its duct of the bursa copulatrix joins to the female distal genitalia while in all other limacids except Limacus flavus, it joins to the penis (or the genital atrium). Several other features distinguish the Montecristo slug from L. flavus: body colour, structure of ovispermiduct and free oviduct (with a peculiar sphincter in the new slug), internal structure of the penis and female distal genitalia. Analysis of the nucleotide sequences of several mitochondrial (COI, 16S rDNA) and nuclear (ITS2, 28S rDNA) gene fragments supported the assignation of the Montecristo slug to the family Limacidae, but also its distinction from all molecularly characterized species from the genera Limax, Ambigolimax, Bielzia, Lehmannia, Limacus and Malacolimax. Therefore we decided to describe it within a new genus as Weltersia obscura sp. nov. The origin of this slug is obscure - it is not clear if it is an endemic species overlooked in previous field studies or an alien species introduced to the island very recently

Monacha cantiana s.l. (Montagu, 1803) (Gastropoda: Hygromiidae) - mitochondrial lineage occurring in Austria

Monacha cantiana s.l., a species not native to Austria, was first recorded in northern lower Austria in 1995 and later in Vienna and surroundings. Its distribution continues to spread. To clarify the origins of this introduced species, some Viennese populations of M. cantiana s.l. were compared with other M. cantiana lineages using the mitochondrial cytochrom c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and 16SrRNA (16S) gene sequences. Genital structures were dissected to find anatomical traits that could distinguish different species or genetic lineages. A Maximum Likelihood tree placed the Austrian specimens in a clade of north Italian populations. Specimens from both areas showed identical morphology of anatomical structures. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Austrian-north Italian clade was closely related to the French Monacha cemenelea, but not to M. cantiana s.str.. More comprehensive studies using molecular genetic markers and anatomical traits may be able to determine whether or not the Austrian-north Italian clade is conspecific with M. cemenelea

Unravelling the tangle of the azecid land snails: a survey on the supraspecific systematics based on comparative morphology and molecular phylogeny (Gastropoda: Eupulmonata: Orthurethra)

A selection of 17 azecid species, including Azeca goodalli, Gomeziella girottii, Hypnocarnica micaelae, four species of Cryptazeca and ten species currently assigned to Hypnophila, chosen among those best known, were investigated to elucidate their relationships based on morphological and molecular evidence. Thirty one characters, only 15 of which were parsimony informative, were scored from morphology. Parsimony analysis was performed with PAUP* 4.0 using Cochlicopa lubrica as outgroup. Sequences of COI and ITS2 deposited in GenBank were re-examined using Cochlicopa lubrica as outgroup. Phylogeny based on the morphological characters suggested that Hypnophila as formerly conceived was a polyphyletic taxon with four different lineages: Gomeziella girottii (1); Hypnophila boissii (2); the Dalmatian Hypnophila species except H. zirjensis (3); the western Mediterranean species plus H. zirjensis (4). Unfortunately molecular studies did not include Gomeziella girottii and species of Dalmatian Hypnophila and this biases full comparison between the two data sets. Moreover our re-analysis of the previous molecular data produced a slightly different phylogenetic hypothesis compared to the original one. Indeed, the only ML tree of COI sequences confirmed with weak bootstrap supported the phylogenetic hypothesis that Hypnocarnica micaelae was the sister group to all the other azecids. On the contrary, the ML trees of ITS2 and of concatenated COI+ITS2 sequences found that Azeca goodalli was the sister group to all the other azecids, Cryptazeca was paraphyletic and Hypnocarnica micaelae was the sister group of Cryptazeca monodonta. Comparing the results of the two data sets, it emerged that phylogenetic analysis based on morphological characters had good resolution but very low statistical support and that the position of Hypnophila boissii was the most variable. In morphological phylogeny this species had unresolved relationships with Gomeziella girottii and a clade including Azeca goodalli and all other species currently assigned to Hypnophila, whereas in the molecular phylogeny it was nested in the western Hypnophila. The latter result is followed here assigning the species now included in Hypnophila to two distinct genera: Gomphroa comprising the western species plus Hypnophila zirjensis; Hypnophila including the Dalmatian species except Hypnophila zirjensis