Symbiont polyphyly, co-evolution, and necessity in pentatomid stinkbugs from Costa Rica.

Interdomain symbioses with bacteria allow insects to take advantage of underutilized niches and provide the foundation for their evolutionary success in neotropical ecosystems. The gut microbiota of 13 micro-allopatric tropical pentatomid species, from a Costa Rican lowland rainforest, was characterized and compared with insect and host plant phylogenies. Like other families within the Pentatomomorpha, these insects (within seven genera-Antiteuchus, Arvelius, Edessa, Euschistus, Loxa, Mormidea, and Sibaria) house near-monocultures of gamma-proteobacteria in midgut crypts, comprising three distinct lineages within the family Enterobacteriaceae. Identity of the dominant bacteria (78-100% of the recovered 16S rRNA genes) was partially congruent with insect phylogeny, at the level of subfamily and tribe, with bacteria closely related to Erwinia observed in six species of the subfamily Pentatominae, and bacteria in a novel clade of Enterobacteriaceae for seven species within the subfamilies Edessinae and Discocephalinae. Symbiont replacement (i.e., bacterial "contamination" from the environment) may occur during maternal transmission by smearing of bacteria onto the egg surfaces during oviposition. This transmission strategy was experimentally confirmed for Sibaria englemani, and suspected for four species from two subfamilies, based on observation of egg probing by nymphs. Symbiont-deprived S. englemani, acquired via egg surface sterilization, exhibited significantly extended second instars (9.1 days compared with 7.9 days for symbiotic nymphs; p = 0.0001, Wilcoxon's rank with Bonferroni correction), slower linearized growth rates (p = 0.005, Welch 2-sample t-test), and qualitative differences in ceca morphology, including increased translucency of crypts, elongation of extracellular cavities, and distribution of symbionts, compared to symbiotic nymphs. Combined, these results suggest a role of the symbiont in host development, the reliable transference of symbionts via egg surfaces, and a suggestion of co-evolution between symbiont and tropical pentatomid host insects.

Ontogenetic variation in epibiont community structure in the deep-sea yeti crab, Kiwa puravida: convergence among crustaceans.

Recent investigations have demonstrated that unusually 'hairy' yeti crabs within the family Kiwaidae associate with two predominant filamentous bacterial families, the Epsilon and Gammaproteobacteria. These analyses, however, were based on samples collected from a single body region, the setae of pereopods. To more thoroughly investigate the microbiome associated with Kiwa puravida, a yeti crab species from Costa Rica, we utilized barcoded 16S rRNA amplicon pyrosequencing, as well as microscopy and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Results indicate that, indeed, the bacterial community on the pereopods is far less diverse than on the rest of the body (Shannon indices ranged from 1.30-2.02 and 2.22-2.66, respectively). Similarly, the bacterial communities associated with juveniles and adults were more complex than previously recognized, with as many as 46 bacterial families represented. Ontogenetic differences in the microbial community, from egg to juvenile to adult, included a dramatic under-representation of the Helicobacteraceae and higher abundances of both Thiotrichaceae and Methylococcaceae for the eggs, which paralleled patterns observed in another bacteria-crustacean symbiosis. The degree to which abiotic and biotic feedbacks influence the bacterial community on the crabs is still not known, but predictions suggest that both the local environment and host-derived factors influence the establishment and maintenance of microbes associated with the surfaces of aquatic animals.

[Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum in pregnant and infertile women. Differences in tubal pathology]. / Mycoplasma hominis y Ureaplasma urealyticum en embarazadas e infértiles. diferencias en patología tubaria.

We studied the frequency of cervicovaginal bacteria in 47 pregnant women (16-41 weeks of gestational age), in 47 infertile patients and in 4 with gynecological diseases (not infections). When we compared the frequency of bacteria between pregnant and infertile women, we found that the biggest difference was with U. urealyticum. In fact the frequency of this germ was 61% in the total population studied, in pregnant women was of 72% which is statistically higher than the frequency in infertile women which was of 47% (p < 0.025). We think that the reason for the higher frequency of this germ is a consequence of the effect of estrogens that favors the proliferation of this of germ. In the case of M. hominis the frequency in pregnant women was of 13% and in infertile women was of 21% which was not statistically different. Within the group of infertile patients, those that had tubal damage had a higher frequency of germs that the patients that did not have damage, moreover M. Hominis was not detected in the infertile patients without tubal damage and in patients with tubal damage its frequency was of 25%.

Glicemia y movimentos fetales. / Blood glucose and fetal movements

Se contabilizan los movimientos fetales totales en 112 embarazadas, con gestaciones de 32 a 34 semanas, despues de la administracion oral de 50 gramos de glucosa.Los fetos "normales" disminuyeron significativamente sus movimentos durante la segunda y tercera hora (1 < 0,001), al bajar la glicemia materna. Los fetos, que posteriormente tuvieron meconio en el liquido amniotico, aumentaron significativamente sus movimientos, en comparacion con lo observado en el grupo "normal" (p < 0,005).Como conclusion del trabajo, se postula, que el procedimiento descrito pudiera diferenciar precozmente los casos con riesgo de presentar sugrimiento fetal

Muestra unica de estrogenos-creatinina. Valores normales en el embarazo. / Estrogens-creatinine single sample.Normal values in pregnancy

Se efectuo una correlacion entre muestra unica de primera orina de la manana de estrogenos totales/creatinina en orina de 24 horas en 81 determinaciones de 61 gestantes hospitalizadas por embarazo de alto riesgo; el valor der fue 0,85 lo que demuestra la elevada correlacion entre ambos parametros. Ademas se efectuaron 181 determinaciones de la relacion estrogenos totales/creatinina en primera orina de la manana a gestantes normales, que tuvieron partos normales, recien nacidos adecuados para la edad gestacional, y Apgar al l y 5 minutos superior a 7, entre las 20 y 42 semanas de gestacion. Se presentan los resultados de estos valores agrupados cada dos semanas de embarazo y se muestra la curva promedio +/- DS

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia associated with homolateral upper limb malformation: a study of possible pathogenesis in four cases.

Four cases of congenital diaphragmatic hernia associated with homolateral upper limb reduction deformities are presented and are analyzed in terms of their pathogenesis. Diaphragm and upper limb are supplied by adjacent segments of cervical neural crest, and the sensitive period for upper limb formation occurs during early neural crest development. The evidence supports the possibility of cervical neural crest injury as the underlying pathogenesis.