ALBERT

Beschreibung: We studied the effect of the quorum-sensing (QS) blockers 5-hydroxy-3[(1R)-1-hydroxypropyl]-4-methylfuran-2(5H)-one (FUR1), (5R)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-[(1S)-1,2-dihydroxyethyl]furan-2(5H)-one (FUR2) and triclosan (TRI) on the formation of bacterial biofilms, and the effect of these biofilms on the larval attachment of the polychaete Hydroides elegans and the bryozoan Bugula neritina. 14-day-old subtidal biofilms were harvested from artificial substrata and were allowed to develop in the laboratory with and without QS blockers. QS blockers inhibited the production of violacein by the QS reporter strain Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and did not affect the metabolic activity of bacteria in multispecies biofilms. At a concentration of 10(-3) M all three tested compounds inhibited the establishment of microbial communities, but at one of 10(-4) M only FUR2 inhibited establishment. The tested QS blockers caused changes in bacterial density and bacterial community structure, as revealed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and FISH. The groups most affected by QS blockers were Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and the Cytophagales. Larvae of H. elegans and B. neritina avoided settling on biofilms that had developed in the presence of QS blockers. Our results suggest that QS blockers directly control the formation of multi-species biofilms, and indirectly - by means of biofilm properties - affect larval attachment on these modified biofilms.

Beschreibung: The diversity of Cyanobacteria in water and sediment samples from four representative sites of the Salar de Huasco was examined using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and analysis of clone libraries of 16S rRNA gene PCR products. Salar de Huasco is a high altitude (3800 m altitude) saline wetland located in the Chilean Altiplano. We analyzed samples from a tributary stream (H0) and three shallow lagoons (H1, H4, H6) that contrasted in their physicochemical conditions and associated biota. Seventy-eight phylotypes were identified in a total of 268 clonal sequences deriving from seven clone libraries of water and sediment samples. Oscillatoriales were frequently found in water samples from sites H0, H1 and H4 and in sediment samples from sites H1 and H4. Pleurocapsales were found only at site H0, while Chroococcales were recovered from sediment samples of sites H0 and H1, and from water samples of site H1. Nostocales were found in sediment samples from sites H1 and H4, and water samples from site H1 and were largely represented by sequences highly similar to Nodularia spumigena. We suggest that cyanobacterial communities from Salar de Huasco are unique - they include sequences related to others previously described from the Antarctic, along with others from diverse, but less extreme environments.

Beschreibung: As ecosystem engineers, seagrasses are angiosperms of paramount ecological importance in shallow shoreline habitats around the globe. Furthermore, the ancestors of independent seagrass lineages have secondarily returned into the sea in separate, independent evolutionary events. Thus, understanding the molecular adaptation of this clade not only makes significant contributions to the field of ecology, but also to principles of parallel evolution as well. With the use of Dr. Zompo, the first interactive seagrass sequence database presented here, new insights into the molecular adaptation of marine environments can be inferred. The database is based on a total of 14 597 ESTs obtained from two seagrass species, Zostera marina and Posidonia oceanica, which have been processed, assembled and comprehensively annotated. Dr. Zompo provides experimentalists with a broad foundation to build experiments and consider challenges associated with the investigation of this class of non-domesticated monocotyledon systems. Our database, based on the Ruby on Rails framework, is rich in features including the retrieval of experimentally determined heat-responsive transcripts, mining for molecular markers (SSRs and SNPs), and weighted key word searches that allow access to annotation gathered on several levels including Pfam domains, GeneOntology and KEGG pathways. Well established plant genome sites such as The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) and the Rice Genome Annotation Project are interfaced by Dr. Zompo. With this project, we have initialized a valuable resource for plant biologists in general and the seagrass community in particular. The database is expected to grow together with more data to come in the near future, particularly with the recent initiation of the Zostera genome sequencing project. The Dr. Zompo database is available at http://drzompo.uni-muenster.de/

Beschreibung: Legionella pneumophila is naturally found in fresh water were the bacteria parasitize within protozoa. It also survives planctonically in water or biofilms. Upon aerosol formation via man-made water systems, L. pneumophila can enter the human lung and cause a severe form of pneumonia, called Legionnaires’ disease. The pathogenesis of Legionnaires’ disease is largely due to the ability of L. pneumophila to invade and grow within macrophages. An important characteristic of the intracellular survival strategy is the replication within the host vacuole that does not fuse with endosomes or lysosomes. In recent times a great number of bacterial virulence factors which affect growth of L. pneumophila in both macrophages and protozoa have been identified. The ongoing Legionella genome project and the use of genetically tractable surrogate hosts are expected to significantly contribute to the understanding of bacterium–host interactions and the regulation of virulence traits during the infection cycle. Since person-to-person transmission of legionellosis has never been observed, the measures for disease prevention have concentrated on eliminating the pathogen from water supplies. In this respect detection and analysis of Legionella in complex environmental consortia become increasingly important. With the availability of new molecular tools this area of applied research has gained new momentum.

Beschreibung: Presented here is the complete genome sequence of Thiomicrospira crunogena XCL-2, representative of ubiquitous chemolithoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria isolated from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. This gammaproteobacterium has a single chromosome (2,427,734 base pairs), and its genome illustrates many of the adaptations that have enabled it to thrive at vents globally. It has 14 methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein genes, including four that may assist in positioning it in the redoxcline. A relative abundance of coding sequences (CDSs) encoding regulatory proteins likely control the expression of genes encoding carboxysomes, multiple dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphate transporters, as well as a phosphonate operon, which provide this species with a variety of options for acquiring these substrates from the environment. Thiom. crunogena XCL-2 is unusual among obligate sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in relying on the Sox system for the oxidation of reduced sulfur compounds. The genome has characteristics consistent with an obligately chemolithoautotrophic lifestyle, including few transporters predicted to have organic allocrits, and Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle CDSs scattered throughout the genome.

Beschreibung: A PCR protocol for the detection of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria based on soxB genes that are essential for thiosulfate oxidation by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria of various phylogenetic groups which use the 'Paracoccus sulfur oxidation' pathway was developed. Five degenerate primers were used to specifically amplify fragments of soxB genes from different sulfur-oxidizing bacteria previously shown to oxidize thiosulfate. The PCR yielded a soxB fragment of approximately 1000 bp from most of the bacteria. Amino acid and nucleotide sequences of soxB from reference strains as well as from new isolates and environmental DNA from a hydrothermal vent habitat in the North Fiji Basin were compared and used to infer relationships of soxB between sulfur-oxidizing bacteria belonging to various 16S rDNA-based phylogenetic groups. Major phylogenetic lines derived from 16S rDNA were confirmed by soxB phylogeny. Thiosulfate-oxidizing green sulfur bacteria formed a coherent group by their soxB sequences. Likewise, clearly separated branches demonstrated the distant relationship of representatives of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-Proteobacteria including representative species of the former genus Thiobacillus (now Halothiobacillus - gamma-Proteobacteria, Thiobacillus - beta-Proteobacteria and Starkeya - alpha-Proteobacteria). This general picture emerged although apparent evidence for lateral transfer of the soxB gene is indicated and comparison of soxB phylogeny and 16S rDNA phylogeny points to the significance of this gene transfer in hydrothermal vent bacterial communities of the North Fiji Basin.

Beschreibung: The functional gene amoA was used to compare the diversity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in the water column and sediment-water interface of the two freshwater lakes Plusssee and Schöhsee and the Baltic Sea. Nested amplifications were used to increase the sensitivity of amoA detection, and to amplify a 789-bp fragment from which clone libraries were prepared. The larger part of the sequences was only distantly related to any of the cultured AOB and is considered to represent new clusters of AOB within the Nitrosomonas/Nitrosospira group. Almost all sequences from the water column of the Baltic Sea and from 1-m depth of Schöhsee were related to different Nitrosospira clusters 0 and 2, respectively. The majority of sequences from Plusssee and Schöhsee were associated with sequences from Chesapeake Bay, from a previous study of Plusssee and from rice roots in Nitrosospira-like cluster A, which lacks sequences from Baltic Sea. Two groups of sequences from Baltic Sea sediment were related to clonal sequences from other brackish/marine habitats in the purely environmental Nitrosospira-like cluster B and the Nitrosomonas-like cluster. This confirms previous results from 16S rRNA gene libraries that indicated the existence of hitherto uncultivated AOB in lake and Baltic Sea samples, and showed a differential distribution of AOB along the water column and sediment of these environments

Beschreibung: The taxonomy of two sympatric surf clams Donax marincovichi Coan, 1983 and Donax obesulus Reeve, 1854, inhabiting the coastal Humboldt Current Upwelling System is revisited. Because both species are exploited by artisanal fisheries, it is essential to verify that they are indeed distinct species that have to be managed separately. In this study, both taxa were sampled across their shared distributional area and specimens were indentified according to their respective morphological characteristics. Although width/height and height/length ratios revealed significant differences within sampling areas, the two morphotypes were frequently incongruent for taxonomically important morphometric parameters. In addition, they showed no significant mitochondrial genetic differentiation within or among populations and exhibited indistinguishable sperm ultrastructure. We conclude that the two morphotypes do not represent distinct species and should be included together under D. obesulus.

Beschreibung: Bacterial communities associated with the brown alga Laminaria saccharina from the Baltic Sea and from the North Sea were investigated using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. The rhizoid, cauloid, meristem and phyloid revealed different 16S rRNA gene denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis banding patterns indicating a specific association of bacterial communities with different parts of the alga. Associations with cauloid and meristem were more specific, while less specific associations were obtained from the old phyloid. In addition, seasonal and geographical differences in the associated communities were observed. Results from 16S rRNA gene libraries supported these findings. Bacterial phylotypes associated with the alga were affiliated with the Alphaproteobacteria (nine phylotypes), Gammaproteobacteria (nine phylotypes) and the Bacteroidetes group (four phylotypes). A number of bacteria associated with other algae and other marine macroorganisms were among the closest relatives of phylotypes associated with L. saccharina.

Beschreibung: Microbial isolate Z143-1 found to be associated with an unidentified tunicate was characterized due to its significant antimicrobial activity. Z143-1 is similar to Pseudovibrio ascidiaceicola and Pseudovibrio denitrificans in morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics, except for its ability to ferment glucose and produce a characteristic red pigment. Fatty acid methyl ester analysis revealed a predominance of the fatty acid 18:1 ω7c at 80.55%, at levels slightly lower than the Pseudovibrio denitrificans type strain DN34T (87.7%). The mol% G+C of Z143-1 is 54.02, relatively higher than the Pseudovibrio denitrificans type strain DN34T and Pseudovibrio ascidiaceicola with mol% G+C of 51.7 and 51.4, respectively. However, phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of Z143-1 showed 100% similarity with the Pseudovibrio denitrificans type strain DN34T. In this study, the bacterium Z143-1 is reported as a new strain of Pseudovibrio denitrificans. While there is no report of a secondary metabolite for Pseudovibrio denitrificans, Z143-1 produces the red pigment heptylprodigiosin, also known as 16-methyl-15-heptyl-prodiginine, which shows anti-Staphylococcus aureus activity.

Beschreibung: The basal position of the Mamiellales (Prasinophyceae) within the green lineage makes these unicellular organisms key to elucidating early stages in the evolution of chlorophyll a/b-binding light-harvesting complexes (LHCs). Here, we unveil the complete and unexpected diversity of Lhc proteins in Ostreococcus tauri, a member of the Mamiellales order, based on results from complete genome sequencing. Like Mantoniella squamata, O. tauri possesses a number of genes encoding an unusual prasinophyte-specific Lhc protein type herein designated "Lhcp". Biochemical characterization of the complexes revealed that these polypeptides, which bind chlorophylls a, b, and a chlorophyll c-like pigment (Mg-2,4-divinyl-phaeoporphyrin a 5 monomethyl ester) as well as a number of unusual carotenoids, are likely predominant. They are retrieved to some extent in both reaction center I (RCI)- and RCII-enriched fractions, suggesting a possible association to both photosystems. However, in sharp contrast to previous reports on LHCs of M. squamata, O. tauri also possesses other LHC subpopulations, including LHCI proteins (encoded by five distinct Lhca genes) and the minor LHCII polypeptides, CP26 and CP29. Using an antibody against plant Lhca2, we unambiguously show that LHCI proteins are present not only in O. tauri, in which they are likely associated to RCI, but also in other Mamiellales, including M. squamata. With the exception of Lhcp genes, all the identified Lhc genes are present in single copy only. Overall, the discovery of LHCI proteins in these prasinophytes, combined with the lack of the major LHCII polypeptides found in higher plants or other green algae, supports the hypothesis that the latter proteins appeared subsequent to LHCI proteins. The major LHC of prasinophytes might have arisen prior to the LHCII of other chlorophyll a/b-containing organisms, possibly by divergence of a LHCI gene precursor. However, the discovery in O. tauri of CP26-like proteins, phylogenetically placed at the base of the major LHCII protein clades, yields new insight to the origin of these antenna proteins, which have evolved separately in higher plants and green algae. Its diverse but numerically limited suite of Lhc genes renders O. tauri an exceptional model system for future research on the evolution and function of LHC components. © The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved.

Beschreibung: Background During the Ordovician the global diversity increased dramatically at family, genus and species levels. Partially the diversification is explained by an increased nutrient, and phytoplankton availability in the open water. Cephalopods are among the top predators of todays open oceans. Their Ordovician occurrences, diversity evolution and abundance pattern potentially provides information on the evolution of the pelagic food chain. Methodology/Principal Findings We reconstructed the cephalopod departure from originally exclusively neritic habitats into the pelagic zone by the compilation of occurrence data in offshore paleoenvironments from the Paleobiology Database, and from own data, by evidence of the functional morphology, and the taphonomy of selected cephalopod faunas. The occurrence data show, that cephalopod associations in offshore depositional settings and black shales are characterized by a specific composition, often dominated by orthocerids and lituitids. The siphuncle and conch form of these cephalopods indicate a dominant lifestyle as pelagic, vertical migrants. The frequency distribution of conch sizes and the pattern of epibionts indicate an autochthonous origin of the majority of orthocerid and lituitid shells. The consistent concentration of these cephalopods in deep subtidal sediments, starting from the middle Tremadocian indicates the occupation of the pelagic zone early in the Early Ordovician and a subsequent diversification which peaked during the Darriwilian. Conclusions/Significance The exploitation of the pelagic realm started synchronously in several independent invertebrate clades during the latest Cambrian to Middle Ordovician. The initial rise and diversification of pelagic cephalopods during the Early and Middle Ordovician indicates the establishment of a pelagic food chain sustainable enough for the development of a diverse fauna of large predators. The earliest pelagic cephalopods were slowly swimming vertical migrants. The appearance and early diversification of pelagic cephalopods is interpreted as a consequence of the increased food availability in the open water since the latest Cambrian.

Beschreibung: Eight planktonic egg masses of the diamond-shaped Thysanoteuthis rhombus observed from 1995 to 2000 are described. Four were found in the western Mediterranean and the others were found off the Canary Islands. The egg masses from the Canary Islands are the first records for the eastern Atlantic. All were found near the surface at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. The planktonic egg masses were dense, resilient oblong cylinders with rounded tips ranging from 80 to 130 cm in length and between 15 and 20 cm in diameter. Egg capsule dimensions ranged from 2.8 to 3.4 mm and total length of the newly hatched paralarvae was between 2.5 and 2.8 mm. Each egg mass contained an estimated 24 100–43 800 eggs. Some new characters that should help identification of the paralarvae, such as arm formulae, presence of an incipient keel-shaped membrane on some arms, and the type and chromatophore pattern are given. Ecological factors influencing the presence and distribution of these egg masses are discussed.

Beschreibung: Scaphitids are heteromorph ammonites exhibiting morphological trends counter to of those of the other main heteromorph ammonite groups. These trends include the shortening of the body chamber, lateral compression of the whorl, closure of the coil, and more regular, spiral coiling. Scaphitid-like morphologies may have appeared in other heteromorphs, but the Scaphitaceae are monophyletic. The most primitive scaphitids are known from the Albian, but an important radiation occurred in the Western Interior Seaway of North America from the Santonian to Maastrichtian, some of which spread to the Old World. The scaphitid morphology is consistent with improved swimming abilities, but scaphitids remained associated with the seafloor and are best considered to have been nektobenthos similar to modern nautiluses.

Beschreibung: A bioenergetic model for two narwhal (Monodon monoceros) sub-populations was developed to quantify daily gross energy requirements and estimate the biomass of Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) needed to sustain the sub-populations for their 5-month stay on wintering grounds in Baffin Bay. Whales in two separate wintering grounds were estimated to require 700 tonnes (s.e. 300) and 90 tonnes (s.e. 40) of Greenland halibut per day, assuming a diet of 50% Greenland halibut. Mean densities and length distributions of Greenland halibut inside and outside of the narwhal wintering grounds were correlated with predicted whale predation levels based on diving behavior. The difference in Greenland halibut biomass between an area with high predation and a comparable area without whales, approximately 19 000 tonnes, corresponded well with the predicted biomass removed by the narwhal sub-population on a diet of 50–75% Greenland halibut.

Beschreibung: King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) from breeding islands in the Indian Ocean (Crozet and Kerguelen Islands) and the Atlantic Ocean (South Georgia and Falkland Islands) were equipped with global location sensors to compare their foraging patterns during different times of the year. In summer, all birds investigated traveled toward the Antarctic Polar Front (APF), irrespective of whether they bred to the north (Crozet Islands, Falkland Islands), within (Kerguelen Islands) or to the south (South Georgia) of this hydrographic feature. Whereas most birds remained north of the APF and foraged in waters of the Antarctic Polar Frontal Zone, some penguins also traveled, or remained (South Georgia), south of the APF and foraged in Antarctic waters. It appeared that food resources in the vicinity of the APF were sufficiently predictable to warrant travel of several hundred km by King Penguins for foraging. Data collected on the winter distribution of King Penguins indicated at least two different foraging strategies. Birds from the oceanic Crozet Islands foraged beyond the APF in the Antarctic waters, whereas birds from the Falkland Islands relied also on the resources provided by the highly diverse and productive slope of the Patagonian Shelf. However, despite these differences, in both cases minimum distances of sometimes more than 10 000 km were covered. Further research on the foraging habitats of King Penguins over the entire breeding season and the temporal and spatial changes of oceanographic features is necessary to obtain a comprehensive picture on the variability in the foraging ranges of King Penguins.

Beschreibung: Mechanisms that affect thermal tolerance of ectothermic organisms have recently received much interest, mainly due to global warming and climate-change debates in both the public and in the scientific community. In physiological terms, thermal tolerance of several marine ectothermic taxa can be linked to oxygen availability, with capacity limitations in ventilatory and circulatory systems contributing to oxygen limitation at extreme temperatures. The present review briefly summarizes the processes that define thermal tolerance in a model cephalopod organism, the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis, with a focus on the contribution of the cephalopod oxygen-carrying blood pigment, hemocyanin. When acutely exposed to either extremely high or low temperatures, cuttlefish display a gradual transition to an anaerobic mode of energy production in key muscle tissues once critical temperatures (Tcrit) are reached. At high temperatures, stagnating metabolic rates and a developing hypoxemia can be correlated with a progressive failure of the circulatory system, well before Tcrit is reached. However, at low temperatures, declining metabolic rates cannot be related to ventilatory or circulatory failure. Rather, we propose a role for hemocyanin functional characteristics as a major limiting factor preventing proper tissue oxygenation. Using information on the oxygen binding characteristics of cephalopod hemocyanins, we argue that high oxygen affinities (= low P50 values), as found at low temperatures, allow efficient oxygen shuttling only at very low venous oxygen partial pressures. Low venous PO2s limit rates of oxygen diffusion into cells, thus eventually causing the observed transition to anaerobic metabolism. On the basis of existing blood physiological, molecular, and crystallographical data, the potential to resolve the role of hemocyanin isoforms in thermal adaptation by an integrated molecular physiological approach is discussed.

Beschreibung: Age and growth rates of the Mediterranean short-finned squid Illex coindetii (Ommastrephidae) were studied using statoliths from 704 specimens collected during trawl surveys within the Strait of Sicily in April and October–November 1995. In both samples, almost the whole ontogenetic spectrum was present, from juveniles to spent adults. Most of the squid captured in April had hatched between October and December 1994 (autumn–winter hatched group, AW), whereas most captured in October–November had hatched between May and July 1995 with a peak in June (spring–summer hatched group, SS). Age of the AW squid did not exceed 240 days (mainly 200–210 d), while that of the SS squid did not exceed 191 days (mainly 170–180 d). Growth in length and weight was best described by the logistic growth function. In both groups, daily growth rates (DGR) of males decreased at younger ages than in females, and sexual dimorphism in sizes (females larger than males) became evident in maturing and mature adults. The AW squids grew rather slowly during their juvenile and immature phases, which occurred in cool winter and spring seasons. They were characterized by a maximum DGR in mantle length (ML) and body weight (BW) at old ages, a prolonged period of maturation and old ages of mature specimens. AW squids attained large sizes and spawned at ages of 6–7 months in spring–summer. Their progeny (SS group) grew rapidly during the warm summer and autumn seasons and achieved their maximum DGR in ML and BW at younger ages than their AW predecessors. However, their younger age at maturation (5–6 months) reduced their somatic growth during the late ontogenetic stages, resulting in rather small sizes at maturity and early spawning. It is concluded that I. coindetii in the Strait of Sicily produce at least two alternating generations each year, which are adapted to live in different seasonal environmental conditions.

Beschreibung: The food habits of the beaked skate were studied utilising 274 individuals obtained from the incidental catches of the Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi) fishery. The most important prey were the Argentine hake, the southern cod (Patagonotothen ramsayi), the Argentine shortfin squid (Illex argentinus), the isopod (Serolis schythei), the “raneya” (Raneya brasiliensis , Pisces: Ophidiidae), and the Argentine anchovy (Engraulis anchoita). A total of 45 prey species was identified. No differences in the diet between sexes, but significant differences among size classes and between immature and mature individuals were found. Two size-related dietary shifts previously reported in this species, at around 35 cm and 85 cm total length were confirmed and related to changes in habitat utilisation. The first shift entails a major change from benthic prey (mostly crustaceans) to demersal-benthic prey (mostly fishes) and the second change from demersal-benthic to demersal-pelagic prey (increased consumption of Argentine hake and decreased consumption of southern cod). The second shift coincides with sexual maturation and may reflect a behavioural response to maturation.

Beschreibung: Although morphology of firm-bodied shallow-water octopuses resists preservation-linked deformation, preservation and handling of deep-sea specimens of Graneledone are hypothesized to deform specimens by accelerating fluid loss from mantle and arm tissues. Principal components analysis finds that seven of 39 North Pacific specimens of the genus are exceptionally narrow; the remaining specimens show considerable morphological variation, independent of time in preservation. Five exceptionally narrow specimens, including some paratypes of G. pacifica, were collected and preserved by the same trawling study; a single unrecorded factor in their common preservation history may have caused their deformation. The high morphological variation among the remaining specimens, seemingly unique among octopodids, may reflect factors as subtle as how the specimen was stored in the jar. Two types of change with time in preservation are documented. The mantle wall of formalin-fixed specimens thins unpredictably after storage for 30 months in 70% ethanol, consistent with deformation in preservation. Skin tubercles on the dorsal mantle, important taxonomic characters, become more prominent during the first decade in preservation. To maximize the information specimens with fluid-rich tissues convey and to identify the sources of deformation, the full preservation history and measurements made prior to dissection should be permanently recorded.

Beschreibung: Fishing can change the biological diversity of an ecosystem substantially, and determining the effects of fishing on marine biodiversity requires a variety of data, chief among them the proper identification of organisms. Because identification of all organisms in an ecosystem is not currently possible, target taxonomic groups (taxa) must be selected. The current status of taxonomic information varies greatly among taxa and among geographic areas within taxa. Problems include nomenclature, diagnoses, and determination of taxonomic relationships. We provide examples of a variety of these problems. We then propose a series of criteria for evaluating available taxonomic information in determining the potential reliability of species identification, including recency and comprehensiveness of revisionary studies, methods used for systematic and phylogenetic studies, adequacy of documentation, and evidence of peer review. When the goal is to explore biodiversity, these criteria must be used differently from when measuring and monitoring biodiversity.

Beschreibung: The systematics and distribution of the cirrate octopod genus Grimpoteuthis in the north-east Atlantic are reviewed. Three new species are described and Grimpoteuthis wuelkeri (Grimpe, 1920) is redescribed. A new generic diagnosis is proposed. Five species of Grimpoteuthis are recognized in the north-east Atlantic. The type species, G. umbellata (Fisher, 1883) is known only from the type specimen, which is in such poor condition that comparison with recently captured material was not possible. G. wuelkeri is a large, slope species, caught between 1600 m and 2200 m in the north-east and north-west Atlantic. Of the three new species, both G. boylei and G. challengeri are large abyssal species. G. boylei is found in the north-east Atlantic at the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) and the Madeira Abyssal Plain and may be found at abyssal depths throughout the north-east Atlantic. G. challengeri is known from the PAP, with a single specimen from the north-west Atlantic. G. discoveryi is a small, lower slope and abyssal species found in the north-east Atlantic. The Grimpoteuthis species can be separated based on shell form, presence of a radula and posterior salivary glands, arrangement of suckers and cirri and gill morphology. Two species, G. megaptera Verrill and G. plena Verrill, have been described from the north-west Atlantic, but the types are either lost (G. megaptera) or in poor condition (G. plena), hindering comparisons. Material examined from the north-west Atlantic included G. wuelkeri, G. challengeri and at least two other species.

Beschreibung: Recent molecular studies investigating higher-level phylogenetics of coleoid cephalopods (octopuses, squids and cuttlefishes) have produced conflicting results. A wide range of sequence alignment and analysis methods are used in cephalopod phylogenetic studies. The present study investigated the effect of commonly used alignment and analysis methods on higher-level cephalopod phylogenetics. Two sequence homology methods: (1) eye alignment, (2) implied alignment, and three analysis methods: (1) parsimony, (2) maximum likelihood, (3) Bayesian methodologies, were employed on the longest sequence dataset available for the coleoid cephalopods, comprising three mitochondrial and six nuclear loci. The data were also tested for base composition heterogeneity, which was detected in three genes and resolved using RY coding. The Octopoda, Argonautoidea, Oegopsida and Ommastrephidae are monophyletic in the phylogenies resulting from each of the alignment and analysis combinations. Furthermore, the Bathyteuthidae are the sister taxon of the Oegopsida in each case. However many relationships within the Coleoidea differed depending upon the alignment and analysis method used. This study demonstrates how differences in alignment and analysis methods commonly used in cephalopod phylogenetics can lead to different, but often highly supported, relationships.

Beschreibung: Over recent years, several PCR primers have been described to amplify genes encoding the structural subunits of ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) from ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). Most of them target amoA, while amoB and amoC have been neglected so far. This study compared the nucleotide sequence of 33 primers that have been used to amplify different regions of the amoCAB operon with alignments of all available sequences in public databases. The advantages and disadvantages of these primers are discussed based on the original description and the spectrum of matching sequences obtained. Additionally, new primers to amplify the almost complete amoCAB operon of AOB belonging to Betaproteobacteria (betaproteobacterial AOB), a primer pair for DGGE analysis of amoA and specific primers for gammaproteobacterial AOB, are also described. The specificity of these new primers was also evaluated using the databases of the sequences created during this study.