Microplastics (MPs) are now prevalent in aquatic ecosystems, prompting the use of constructed wetlands (CWs) for remediation. However, the interaction between MPs and CWs, including removal efficiency, mechanisms, and impacts, remains a subject requiring significant investigation. This review investigates the removal of MPs in CWs and assesses their impact on the removal of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe virus⁻host protein interactions that underlie respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) assembly are still not completely defined, despite almost 60 years of research. RSV buds from the apical surface of infected cells, once virion components have been transported to the budding sites. Association of RSV matrix (M) protein with the actin cytoskeleton may play a role in facilitating this transport.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: The human rhinovirus (HRV) 3C and 2A proteases (3C and 2A, respectively) are critical in HRV infection, as they are required for viral polyprotein processing as well as proteolysing key host factors to facilitate virus replication. Early in infection, 3C is present as its precursor 3CD, which, although the mechanism of subcellular targeting is unknown, is found in the nucleus as well as the cytoplasm. In this study, we use transfected and infected cell systems to show that 2A activity is required for 3CD nuclear localization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The tammar wallaby, Macropus eugenii, a small kangaroo used for decades for studies of reproduction and metabolism, is the model Australian marsupial for genome sequencing and genetic investigations. The production of a more comprehensive cytogenetically-anchored genetic linkage map will significantly contribute to the deciphering of the tammar wallaby genome. It has great value as a resource to identify novel genes and for comparative studies, and is vital for the ongoing genome sequence assembly and gene ordering in this species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have determined the sequence and genomic organization of the genes encoding the cone visual pigment of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) and the echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), and inferred their spectral properties and evolutionary pathways. We prepared platypus and echidna retinal RNA and used primers of the middle-wave-sensitive (MWS), long-wave-sensitive (LWS), and short-wave sensitive (SWS1) pigments corresponding to coding sequences that are highly conserved among mammals; to PCR amplify the corresponding pigment sequences. Amplification from the retinal RNA revealed the expression of LWS pigment mRNA that is homologous in sequence and spectral properties to the primate LWS visual pigments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring male sexual development in reptiles, birds, and mammals, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) induces the regression of the Müllerian ducts that normally form the primordia of the female reproductive tract. Whereas Müllerian duct regression occurs during fetal development in eutherian mammals, in marsupial mammals this process occurs after birth. To investigate AMH in a marsupial, we isolated an orthologue from the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) and characterized its expression in the testes and ovaries during development.
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