Transport of sodium and chloride across earthworm skin in vitro

Soil macro-fauna respond to environmental variations along a coastal-inland gradient

Varied environmental conditions in coastal-inland zones tend to influence soil faunal communities. However, few studies have focused on the responses of soil fauna to environmental variations along the coastal-inland gradient. In order to better understand the aforementioned responses, a total of 80 soil macro-faunal samples were collected at the five different distances from the coastline of China’s Bohai Bay. The results revealed that the compositions, structural characteristics and diversity of the soil macro-fauna varied among the different habitats. With the increases in the distance from the sea, the individual density, richness and diversity levels of the soil macro-fauna all first increased and then decreased. The individual density, richness and diversity values were all at their maximum at 30 km from the sea. The Edge effect promoted unique and rare soil macro-faunal taxa. Formicidae, Curculionidae and Aphodiidae were found to be the edge taxa. Agelenidae, Liocranidae and Nematocera were considered to be indicator taxa of severe sea effects. Paradoxosomatidae was an indicator taxon of slight effects. Overall, the environmental variations along the coastal-inland gradient were found to have the potential to affect the soil macro-faunal communities, and the different taxa of the soil macro-fauna responded to those variations in different ways. This study further revealed the processes and mechanisms of the sea influencing the soil macro-faunal communities, which had been caused by the coastal-inland gradient. The results of this study also provided a theoretical basis for developing future biodiversity guidelines for coastal ecosystems.

Spiralian Genomes Reveal Gene Family Expansions Associated with Adaptation to Freshwater

The colonization of freshwater habitats by marine-adapted organisms represents a major transition that has only occurred a few times in the evolution of animals. Only around half of the extant animal phyla have representatives in both marine and freshwater environments and even within those phyla some major clades are restricted to marine environments. Moving from marine to freshwater environments can create severe osmotic and ionic stresses and the mechanisms that animals have used to adapt to those stresses are still not well understood. In this study, we downloaded amino acid sequence data from 11 spiralian animal genomes (four freshwater taxa representing four different phyla as well as 7 marine taxa) and identified a number of gene family expansions that have occurred exclusively in the freshwater lineages. Further investigation of these gene families and the timing and nature of their expansions will illuminate one of the major evolutionary transitions in the history of life on Earth.

Why Do We have to Move Fluid to be Able to Breathe?

The ability to breathe air represents a fundamental step in vertebrate evolution that was accompanied by several anatomical and physiological adaptations. The morphology of the air-blood barrier is highly conserved within air-breathing vertebrates. It is formed by three different plies, which are represented by the alveolar epithelium, the basal lamina, and the endothelial layer. Besides these conserved morphological elements, another common feature of vertebrate lungs is that they contain a certain amount of fluid that covers the alveolar epithelium. The volume and composition of the alveolar fluid is regulated by transepithelial ion transport mechanisms expressed in alveolar epithelial cells. These transport mechanisms have been reviewed extensively. Therefore, the present review focuses on the properties and functional significance of the alveolar fluid. How does the fluid enter the alveoli? What is the fate of the fluid in the alveoli? What is the function of the alveolar fluid in the lungs? The review highlights the importance of the alveolar fluid, its volume and its composition. Maintenance of the fluid volume and composition within certain limits is critical to facilitate gas exchange. We propose that the alveolar fluid is an essential element of the air-blood barrier. Therefore, it is appropriate to refer to this barrier as being formed by four plies, namely (1) the thin fluid layer covering the apical membrane of the epithelial cells, (2) the epithelial cell layer, (3) the basal membrane, and (4) the endothelial cells.

Pharmacological characterisation of apical Na+ and Cl- transport mechanisms of the anal papillae in the larval mosquito Aedes aegypti

The anal papillae of freshwater mosquito larvae are important sites of NaCl uptake, thereby acting to offset the dilution of the hemolymph by the dilute habitat. The ion-transport mechanisms in the anal papillae are not well understood. In this study, the scanning ion-selective electrode technique (SIET) was utilized to measure ion fluxes at the anal papillae, and pharmacological inhibitors of ion transport were utilized to identify ion-transport mechanisms. Na(+) uptake by the anal papillae was inhibited by bafilomycin and phenamil but not by HMA. Cl(-) uptake was inhibited by methazolamide, SITS and DIDS but not by bafilomycin. H(+) secretion was inhibited by bafilomycin and methazolamide. Ouabain and bumetanide had no effect on NaCl uptake or H(+) secretion. Together, the results suggest that Na(+) uptake at the apical membrane occurs through a Na(+) channel that is driven by a V-type H(+)-ATPase and that Cl(-) uptake occurs through a Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchanger, with carbonic anhydrase providing H(+) and HCO(3)(-) to the V-type H(+)-ATPase and exchanger, respectively.

Localization and characterization of sulfated glycosaminoglycans in the body of the earthworm Eisenia andrei (Oligochaeta, Annelida)

The aim of this study was to characterize the compartmental distribution of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (S-GAGs) in adults and their occurrence during the development of the earthworm Eisenia andrei. S-GAGs were extracted from the body of earthworms to identify their composition and the time of their appearance and disappearance in embryonic, newborn, juvenile, and adult earthworms. S-GAGs were also analyzed in earthworm tissue using histochemical metachromatic staining. Purified S-GAGs obtained from the whole body of adult earthworms were composed of chondroitin sulfate (CS) and heparan sulfate (HS). In addition, an unknown, highly sulfated polysaccharide (HSP) was detected. In order to characterize specifically the S-GAG composition in the integument, earthworms were dissected and as much as possible of their viscera was removed. HS and CS were the predominant sulfated polysaccharides in the dissected integument, whereas in viscera, CS, HS and the HSP were found in proportions similar to those identified in the body. The qualitative S-GAG composition in juveniles was similar to that obtained from adult earthworms. CS was the predominant S-GAG in newborn earthworms, accompanied by lesser amounts of HS and by tiny amounts of the HSP. This study provides a detailed descriptive account of the pattern of S-GAG synthesis during development, and also the characterization of the tissue distribution of these compounds in the body of earthworms.