The effect of metapleural gland secretion on the growth of a mutualistic bacterium on the cuticle of leaf-cutting ants

In Acromyrmex octospinosus leaf-cutting ants the metapleural glands produce an array of antibiotic compounds that serve as a general defence against unwanted microbes on the cuticle. Leaf-cutting ants also grow mutualistic Pseudonocardiaceae bacteria on their cuticle that produce antibiotics controlling a microfungal parasite of their fungus gardens. Interaction between this bacterium and gland secretion therefore seems unavoidable. We document the typical development of bacterial growth on the cuticle of young major workers, show that growth starts a few days after eclosion, and that the maximal cover is reached after 2–3 weeks and gradually declines when workers mature. Experimental closure of the metapleural glands had no effect on the initial exponential growth phase of the bacterium, but significantly reduced the cover during the decline phase. The age-dependent abundance of the bacterium and its partial dependence on metapleural gland secretion support the hypothesis that the abundance of this mutualist is actively regulated.     

Breccias of the Adnet Formation: indicators of a Mid-Liassic tectonic event in the Northern Calcareous Alps (Salzburg/Austria)

Stratigraphy, lithology and depositional structures of Liassic red limestone-breccias of the Adnet Formation, including the 'Adnet Scheck', were studied at several outcrops of the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) south-east of Salzburg. A four-fold lithostratigraphic division is proposed for the Adnet Formation of the Osterhorn Mountains: the hemipelagic Schmiedwirt (Sinemurian) and Kehlbach (Carixian) members are separated from the pelagic Saubach Member (Toarcian) by a layer of amalgamated breccias (Scheck Member, probably Domerian to early Toarcian). Several other breccia beds occur locally from the base of the Kehlbach Member up to the lower Saubach Member. Although the sediments overlying the Scheck Member breccias are of coeval age, the ages of the underlying strata are very different. This can be explained by submarine Liassic erosion during a period of resedimentation from the middle Carixian until the early Toarcian. At least 10–15?m of partly lithified sediments were eroded by gravity flows. The entire Kehlbach Member and up to two-thirds of the Schmiedwirt Member were removed at Adnet. The breccias originated from submarine debris flows. Repeated flows over a long period and the depositional setting exclude a triggering by sea-level fluctuations. Most probably they arose from tectonically triggered slumps and slides of superficial sediments. The 'Scheck' was initiated on the steep upper slope of the drowned Triassic Adnet reef and flowed to the north-east.The Pliensbachian to early Toarcian period of tectonic activity indicated by the breccias was the most important during the Liassic in the Osterhorn Mountains and other parts of the NCA. From the large-scale regional distribution of the breccias and in accord with published data, a roughly north-east trending strike-slip fault zone is proposed, crossing the NCA south of the Osterhorn block, with a peaking activity during the Pliensbachian to early Toarcian as the cause of the tectonic movements.     

Latest precambrian (Cadomian) zircon ages, Nd isotopic systematics and P-T evolution of granitoid orthogneisses of the Erzgebirge, Saxony and Czech Republic

Single zircons from two orthogneiss complexes, the Grey Gneiss and Red Gneiss, the lowermost tectonic units in the Erzgebirge, were dated. The grey Freiberg Gneiss is of igneous origin and has a ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb emplacement age of 550±7 Ma. A quartz monzonite from Lauenstein contains idiomorphic zircons with a mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 555±7 Ma as well as xenocrysts ranging in age between 850 and 1910 Ma. Red gneisses from the central Erzgebirge contain complex zircon populations, including numerous xenocrysts up to 2464 Ma in age. The youngest, idiomorphic, zircons in all samples yielded uniform ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages between 550±9 and 554±10 Ma. Nd isotopic data support the interpretation of crustal anatexis for the origin of both units. _Nd(t) values for the grey gneisses are –7.5 and –6.0 respectively, (mean crustal residence ages of 1.7–1.8 Ga). The red gneisses have a wider range in _Nd(t) values from –7.7 to –2.8 (T _DM ages of 1.4–1.8 Ga). The zircon ages document a distinct late Proterozoic phase of granitoid magmatism, similar in age to granitoids in the Lusatian block farther north-east. However, Palaeozoic deformation as well as medium pressure metamorphism ( 8 kbar/600–650° C) are identical in both gneiss units and distinguish these rocks from the Lusatian granitoids. The grey and red gneisses were overthrust by units with abundant high-pressure relicts and a contrasting P-T evolution. Zircon xenocryst and Nd model ages in the range 1000–1700 Ma are similar to those in granitoid rocks of Lusatia and the West-Sudetes, and document a pre-Cadomian basement in parts of east-central Europe that, chronologically, has similarities with the Sveconorwegian domain in the Baltic Shield.     

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The ladybird<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Thalassa saginata</Emphasis>, an obligatory myrmecophile of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Dolichoderus bidens</Emphasis> ant colonies

The larvae and pupae of the ladybird Thalassa saginata develop inside colonies of the dolichoderine ant Dolichoderus bidens. This association is the first specific and obligatory relationship recorded between ants and ladybirds. The ants provide shelter and protection to the larvae but the diet of the latter remains unclear. The integration of T. saginata larvae into the ant colonies is achieved by mimicking the cuticular patterns of the ants brood. Moreover, the larvae secrete substances from their hairs and anal gland that are likely to enhance their attractiveness.     

Biomineralization in plants as a long-term carbon sink

Carbon sequestration in the global carbon cycle is almost always attributed to organic carbon storage alone, while soil mineral carbon is generally neglected. However, due to the longer residence time of mineral carbon in soils (10²–10⁶ years), if stored in large quantities it represents a potentially more efficient sink. The aim of this study is to estimate the mineral carbon accumulation due to the tropical iroko tree (Milicia excelsa) in Ivory Coast. The iroko tree has the ability to accumulate mineral carbon as calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) in ferralitic soils, where CaCO₃ is not expected to precipitate. An estimate of this accumulation was made by titrating carbonate from two characteristic soil profiles in the iroko environment and by identifying calcium (Ca) sources. The system is considered as a net carbon sink because carbonate accumulation involves only atmospheric CO₂ and Ca from Ca-carbonate-free sources. Around one ton of mineral carbon was found in and around an 80-year-old iroko stump, proving the existence of a mineral carbon sink related to the iroko ecosystem. Conservation of iroko trees and the many other biomineralizing plant species is crucial to the maintenance of this mineral carbon sink.     

Rare non-mosaic trisomies in chorionic villus tissue not confirmed at amniocentesis

This paper reports eight cases of non-mosaic, rare, and typically lethal trisomies diagnosed in chorionic villi and not confirmed by amniocentesis. Four cases were 47,XX, + 16; two cases were 47,XX, +2; one was 47,XX, + 12; and one was 47,XY, +7. There have been no known complications in any of these gestations. These eight cases were found in a series of approximately 12 000 samples processed in our laboratory (0.07 per cent). We conclude that (1) rare non-mosaic trisomy not reflecting the fetal condition is an occasional source of diagnostic ambiguity in chorionic villus sampling; and (2) when encountered, a follow-up amniocentesis should be recommended to the patient to confirm or rule out the abnormality. We propose the term ‘confined placental abnormality’ to describe non-mosaic trisomies and other related abnormalities found only in chorionic tissue.     

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