The crucial role of mitochondrial regulation in adaptive aluminium resistance in Rhodotorula glutinis.

Rhodotorula glutinis IFO1125 was found to acquire increased aluminium (Al) resistance from 50 microM to more than 5 mM by repetitive culturing with stepwise increases in Al concentration at pH 4.0. To investigate the mechanism underlying this novel phenomenon, wild-type and Al-resistant cells were compared.

Germ Cell Differentiation in Starfish: The Posterior Enterocoel as the Origin of Germ Cells in Asterina pectinifera: (starfish/germ cells/PGC/posterior enterocoel/haemal sinus).

The origin of germ cells of Asterina pectinifera was traced back to the posterior enterocoel (PE) of 2-day bipinnaria by two steps. First, the cellular cluster, composed of presumptive germ cells in the coelomic epithelium at brachiolaria stage, was confirmed to be the origin of the aboral haemal sinus located near the hydroporic canal (HC-AHS) by continuous observation of the formation process of HC-AHS. Second, the origin of the cluster was traced back to the PE of 2-day bipinnaria by comparison of the number of the presumptive germ cells in microsurgically PE-removed bipinnariae with that of non-operated control larvae.

Origin of Germ Cells and Early Differentiation of Gonads in the Starfish, Asterina pectinifera: (starfish/germ cells/PGC/gonad/haemal sinus).

The origin of the germ cells and the development of the genital system in the annually spawning starfish, Asterina pectinifera, were studied by light and electron microscopy. Characteristic germ cells were first characterized in gonads after spawning: the gonia are larger than somatic cells, have large nuclei (with electron-lucent nucleoplasm), and show mitochondrial aggregation associated with nuage (electron-dense bodies). In young starfish without gonads similar cells were detected in the haemal sinus, where they were termed primordial germ cells (PGCs).