Counterstaining to Separate Nile Red-Stained Microplastic Particles from Terrestrial Invertebrate Biomass

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (9) ◽  
pp. 5580-5588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmberger Maxwell S ◽  
Frame Melinda K ◽  
Grieshop Matthew
2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (11) ◽  
pp. 1679-1690 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Roon ◽  
Mark S. Wipfli ◽  
Tricia L. Wurtz ◽  
Arny L. Blanchard

The spread of invasive species in riparian forests has the potential to affect both terrestrial and aquatic organisms linked through cross-ecosystem resource subsidies. However, this potential had not been explored in regards to terrestrial prey subsidies for stream fishes. To address this, we examined the effects of an invasive riparian tree, European bird cherry (EBC, Prunus padus), spreading along urban Alaskan salmon streams, by collecting terrestrial invertebrates present on the foliage of riparian trees, their subsidies to streams, and their consumption by juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). Riparian EBC supported four to six times less terrestrial invertebrate biomass on its foliage and contributed two to three times lower subsidies relative to native deciduous trees. This reduction in terrestrial invertebrate biomass was consistent between two watersheds over 2 years. In spite of this reduction in terrestrial prey resource input, juvenile coho salmon consumed similar levels of terrestrial invertebrates in stream reaches bordered by EBC. Although we did not see ecological effects extending to stream salmonids, reduced terrestrial prey subsidies to streams are likely to have negative consequences as EBC continues to spread.


Author(s):  
Anne M. Klinkner ◽  
Crystal R. Waites ◽  
Peter J. Bugelski ◽  
William D. Kerns

A primary effort in the understanding of the progression of atherosclerotic disease has been methods development for visualization of the atherosclerotic plaque. We introduce a new method for the qualitative analysis of lipids in atherosclerotic fatty streaks which also retains those lipids for biochemical evaluation. An original aspect of the process is the ability to view an entire fatty streak en face, selectively stained for specific lipid classes within the lesion.New Zealand white rabbits were fed a high cholesterol diet(0.15%-0.3% for 14 wks). The aorta was removed and fixed in Carson's phosphate buffered formaldehyde followed by dual staining in the fluorescent dyes Nile red and filipin. Stock solutions of nile red(0.5mg/ml acetone) and filipin(2.5mg/ml dimethyl formamide) were prepared and kept at -20°C; all subsequent steps were at RT. 0.5cm × 1.0cm pieces of aorta were trimmed and adventitia removed. The pieces were then washed 3×15 min in PBS w/o CaMg, soaked in Nile red(NR)/filipin(Fl) stain(100(il NR stock + 200μl Fl stock in 10 ml PBS for 30 min, washed in PBS 3×30 min, rinsed with distilled water, mounted(Crystal Mount, Biomedia) and coverslipped and viewed by fluorescence microscopy.


1907 ◽  
Vol 64 (1644supp) ◽  
pp. 8-9
Author(s):  
Harold J. Shepstone
Keyword(s):  
Red Sea ◽  

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 188
Author(s):  
Cristina Popescu ◽  
Mihaela Oprina-Pavelescu ◽  
Valentin Dinu ◽  
Constantin Cazacu ◽  
Francis J. Burdon ◽  
...  

Stream and terrestrial ecosystems are intimately connected by riparian zones that support high biodiversity but are also vulnerable to human impacts. Landscape disturbances, overgrazing, and diffuse pollution of agrochemicals threaten riparian biodiversity and the delivery of ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. We assessed how terrestrial invertebrate communities respond to changes in riparian vegetation in Romanian agricultural catchments, with a focus on the role of forested riparian buffers. Riparian invertebrates were sampled in 10 paired sites, with each pair consisting of an unbuffered upstream reach and a downstream reach buffered with woody riparian vegetation. Our results revealed distinct invertebrate community structures in the two site types. Out of 33 invertebrate families, 13 were unique to either forested (6) or unbuffered (7) sites. Thomisidae, Clubionidae, Tetragnathidae, Curculionidae, Culicidae, and Cicadidae were associated with forested buffers, while Lycosidae, Chrysomelidae, Staphylinidae, Coccinellidae, Tettigoniidae, Formicidae, and Eutichuridae were more abundant in unbuffered sites. Despite statistically equivocal results, invertebrate diversity was generally higher in forested riparian buffers. Local riparian attributes significantly influenced patterns in invertebrate community composition. Our findings highlight the importance of local woody riparian buffers in maintaining terrestrial invertebrate diversity and their potential contribution as a multifunctional management tool in agricultural landscapes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 489
Author(s):  
Somanon Bhattacharya ◽  
Natalia Kronbauer Oliveira ◽  
Anne G. Savitt ◽  
Vanessa K. A. Silva ◽  
Rachel B. Krausert ◽  
...  

Chronic meningoencephalitis is caused by Cryptococcus neoformans and is treated in many parts of the world with fluconazole (FLC) monotherapy, which is associated with treatment failure and poor outcome. In the host, C. neoformans propagates predominantly under low glucose growth conditions. We investigated whether low glucose, mimicked by growing in synthetic media (SM) with 0.05% glucose (SMlowglu), affects FLC-resistance. A > 4-fold increase in FLC tolerance was observed in seven C. neoformans strains when minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined in SMlowglu compared to MIC in SM with normal (2%) glucose (SMnlglu). In SMlowglu, C. neoformans cells exhibited upregulation of efflux pump genes AFR1 (8.7-fold) and AFR2 (2.5-fold), as well as decreased accumulation (2.6-fold) of Nile Red, an efflux pump substrate. Elevated intracellular ATP levels (3.2-fold and 3.4-fold), as well as decreased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species levels (12.8-fold and 17-fold), were found in the presence and absence of FLC, indicating that low glucose altered mitochondrial function. Fluorescence microscopy revealed that mitochondria of C. neoformans grown in SMlowglu were fragmented, whereas normal glucose promoted a reticular network of mitochondria. Although mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was not markedly affected in SMlowglu, it significantly decreased in the presence of FLC (12.5-fold) in SMnlglu, but remained stable in SMlowglu-growing C. neoformans cells. Our data demonstrate that increased FLC tolerance in low glucose-growing C. neoformans is the result of increased efflux pump activities and altered mitochondrial function, which is more preserved in SMlowglu. This mechanism of resistance is different from FLC heteroresistance, which is associated with aneuploidy of chromosome 1 (Chr1).


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 651-660
Author(s):  
Fabien Hanser ◽  
Claire Marsol ◽  
Christel Valencia ◽  
Pascal Villa ◽  
Andrey S. Klymchenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1582
Author(s):  
Verónica Cánovas ◽  
Salvador Garcia-Chumillas ◽  
Fuensanta Monzó ◽  
Lorena Simó-Cabrera ◽  
Carmen Fernández-Ayuso ◽  
...  

Haloferaxmediterranei is a haloarchaeon of high interest in biotechnology because it produces and mobilizes intracellular polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) granules during growth under stress conditions (limitation of phosphorous in the culture media), among other interesting metabolites (enzymes, carotenoids, etc.). The capability of PHA production by microbes can be monitored with the use of staining-based methods. However, the staining of haloarchaea cells is a challenging task; firstly, due to the high ionic strength of the medium, which is inappropriate for most of dyes, and secondly, due to the low permeability of the haloarchaea S-layer to macromolecules. In this work, Haloferax mediterranei is used as a halophilic archaeon model to describe an optimized protocol for the visualization and analysis of intracellular PHA granules in living cells. The method is based on double-fluorescence staining using Nile red and SYBR Green by confocal fluorescence microscopy. Thanks to this method, the capability of PHA production by new haloarchaea isolates could be easily monitored.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4533
Author(s):  
Tomoyuki Koga ◽  
Shinya Kingetsu ◽  
Nobuyuki Higashi

Self-assembly of artificial peptides has been widely studied for constructing nanostructured materials, with numerous potential applications in the nanobiotechnology field. Herein, we report the synthesis and hierarchical self-assembly of collagen-mimetic peptides (CMPs) bearing various aromatic groups at the N-termini, including 2-naphthyl, 1-naphtyl, anthracenyl, and pyrenyl groups, into nanofibers. The CMPs (R-(GPO)n: n > 4) formed a triple helix structure in water at 4 °C, as confirmed via CD analyses, and their conformations were more stable with increasing hydrophobicity of the terminal aromatic group and peptide chain length. The resulting pre-organized triple helical CMPs showed diverse self-assembly into highly ordered nanofibers, reflecting their slight differences in hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance and configuration of aromatic templates. TEM analysis demonstrated that 2Np-CMPn (n = 6 and 7) and Py-CMP6 provided well-developed natural collagen-like nanofibers and An-CMPn (n = 5–7) self-assembled into rod-like micelle fibers. On the other hand, 2Np-CMP5 and 1Np-CMP6 were unable to form nanofibers under the same conditions. Furthermore, the Py-CMP6 nanofiber was found to encapsulate a guest hydrophobic molecule, Nile red, and exhibited unique emission behavior based on the specific nanostructure. In addition to the ability of CMPs to bind small molecules, their controlled self-assembly enables their versatile utilization in drug delivery and wavelength-conversion nanomaterials.


2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (23) ◽  
pp. 8310-8317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua D. Morris ◽  
Jessica L. Hewitt ◽  
Lawrence G. Wolfe ◽  
Nachiket G. Kamatkar ◽  
Sarah M. Chapman ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMany bacteria spread over surfaces by “swarming” in groups. A problem for scientists who study swarming is the acquisition of statistically significant data that distinguish two observations or detail the temporal patterns and two-dimensional heterogeneities that occur. It is currently difficult to quantify differences between observed swarm phenotypes. Here, we present a method for acquisition of temporal surface motility data using time-lapse fluorescence and bioluminescence imaging. We specifically demonstrate three applications of our technique with the bacteriumPseudomonas aeruginosa. First, we quantify the temporal distribution ofP. aeruginosacells tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP) and the surfactant rhamnolipid stained with the lipid dye Nile red. Second, we distinguish swarming ofP. aeruginosaandSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium in a coswarming experiment. Lastly, we quantify differences in swarming and rhamnolipid production of severalP. aeruginosastrains. While the best swarming strains produced the most rhamnolipid on surfaces, planktonic culture rhamnolipid production did not correlate with surface growth rhamnolipid production.


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