Distribution and diversity of Nosema bombi (Microsporidia: Nosematidae) in the natural populations of bumblebees (Bombus spp.) from West Siberia.

Nosema bombi is an obligate intracellular parasite of bumblebees (Hymenoptera, Bombus spp.), which has significant negative effect on individual bumblebees, colony fitness, and development. Recently, several new genetic variants of N. bombi without a defined taxonomic status were identified in natural bumblebee populations from Russia, China, and several European countries, as well as N. ceranae, originally isolated from honey bees, was described in bumblebee species. Thus, it is required to investigate more Nosema variability in bumblebee populations for identifying new genetic Nosema variants. In our study, we used several methods such as total DNA isolation, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, cloning, sequencing, and comparative and phylogenetic analysis to investigate a prevalence of N. bombi and its diversity in the natural populations of bumblebees across West Siberia. DNA was extracted from intestinal bumblebee tissues. Identification of the parasite was conducted, using PCR with primers specific for the ribosomal RNA gene cluster and methionine aminopeptidase 2 gene of N. bombi followed by sequencing. Seven hundred twenty-seven individual bumblebees belonging to 16 species were tested; 64 specimens revealed presence of the parasite. Prevalence of Nosema bombi infection was different in each region and varied from 4 to 20 %. No infection was found in Bombus agrorum (n = 194) and Bombus equestris (n = 132), both common bumblebees in West Siberia. Three different genetic variants of the same species, N. bombi, were identified. The first variant belonged to N. bombi (AY008373) identified by Fies et al. (J Apicult Res 40:91-96, 2001), second (N. bombi WS2) was identical to the West Siberian variant identified by Szentgyörgyi et al. (Polish Journal of Ecology 59:599-610, 2011), and the last variant, N. bombi WS3, was new. The results led us to suggest that the prevalence of the N. bombi is related to the population structure of bumblebees and distribution of the particular genetic variants of N. bombi.

The Flatworm Macrostomum lignano Is a Powerful Model Organism for Ion Channel and Stem Cell Research.

Bioelectrical signals generated by ion channels play crucial roles in many cellular processes in both excitable and nonexcitable cells. Some ion channels are directly implemented in chemical signaling pathways, the others are involved in regulation of cytoplasmic or vesicular ion concentrations, pH, cell volume, and membrane potentials. Together with ion transporters and gap junction complexes, ion channels form steady-state voltage gradients across the cell membranes in nonexcitable cells. These membrane potentials are involved in regulation of such processes as migration guidance, cell proliferation, and body axis patterning during development and regeneration. While the importance of membrane potential in stem cell maintenance, proliferation, and differentiation is evident, the mechanisms of this bioelectric control of stem cell activity are still not well understood, and the role of specific ion channels in these processes remains unclear. Here we introduce the flatworm Macrostomum lignano as a versatile model organism for addressing these topics. We discuss biological and experimental properties of M. lignano, provide an overview of the recently developed experimental tools for this animal model, and demonstrate how manipulation of membrane potential influences regeneration in M. lignano.

Vertical evolution and horizontal transfer of CR1 non-LTR retrotransposons and Tc1/mariner DNA transposons in Lepidoptera species.

Horizontal transfer (HT) is a complex phenomenon usually used as an explanation of phylogenetic inconsistence, which cannot be interpreted in terms of vertical evolution. Most examples of HT of eukaryotic genes involve transposable elements. An intriguing feature of HT is that its frequency differs among transposable elements classes. Although HT is well known for DNA transposons and long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons, non-LTR retrotransposons rarely undergo HT, and their phylogenies are largely congruent to those of their hosts. Previously, we described HT of CR1-like non-LTR retrotransposons between butterflies (Maculinea) and moths (Bombyx), which occurred less than 5 million years ago (Novikova O, Sliwinska E, Fet V, Settele J, Blinov A, Woyciechowski M. 2007. CR1 clade of non-LTR retrotransposons from Maculinea butterflies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae): evidence for recent horizontal transmission. BMC Evol Biol. 7:93). In this study, we continued to explore the diversity of CR1 non-LTR retrotransposons among lepidopterans providing additional evidences to support HT hypothesis. We also hypothesized that DNA transposons could be involved in HT of non-LTR retrotransposons. Thus, we performed analysis of one of the groups of DNA transposons, mariner-like DNA elements, as potential vectors for HT of non-LTR retrotransposons. Our results demonstrate multiple HTs between Maculinea and Bombyx genera. Although we did not find strong evidence for our hypothesis of the involvement of DNA transposons in HT of non-LTR retrotransposons, we demonstrated that recurrent and/or simultaneous flow of TEs took place between distantly related moths and butterflies.