Intracellular bioaccumulation of the rare earth element Gadolinium in ciliate cells resulting in biogenic particle formation and excretion.

Ciliates are abundant unicellular organisms capable of resisting high concentrations of metal ions in the environment caused by various anthropogenic activities. Understanding the cellular pathways involved in resistance to and detoxification of elements is required to predict the impact of ciliates on environmental element cycles. Here, we investigated the so far unknown process of tolerance, cellular uptake and bioaccumulation of the emerging rare earth element gadolinium (Gd) in the common ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis.

Exploring flow-biofilm-sediment interactions: Assessment of current status and future challenges.

Biofilm activities and their interactions with physical, chemical and biological processes are of great importance for a variety of ecosystem functions, impacting hydrogeomorphology, water quality and aquatic ecosystem health. Effective management of water bodies requires advancing our understanding of how flow influences biofilm-bound sediment and ecosystem processes and vice-versa. However, research on this triangle of flow-biofilm-sediment is still at its infancy.

Distinguishing Activities in the Photodynamic Arsenals of the Pigmented Ciliates Blepharisma sinuosum Sawaya, 1940 and Blepharisma japonicum Suzuki, 1954 (Ciliophora: Heterotrichea).

Blepharismins are photodynamic hypericin-like dianthrones produced as a variable pigment blend in Blepharisma ciliates and mostly studied in the Afro-Asiatic Blepharisma japonicum. The present work describes the bioactivity of pigments from the Brazilian Blepharisma sinuosum. Comparative analyses showed that the pigments from both species can trigger photo-induced modifications in phospholipids, but different redox properties and biological activities were assigned for each pigment blend.

Mineralized scale patterns on the cell periphery of the chrysophyte Mallomonas determined by comparative 3D Cryo-FIB SEM data processing.

Unicellular protists can biomineralize spatially complex and functional shells. A typical cell of the photosynthetic synurophyte Mallomonas is covered by about 60-100 silica scales. Their geometric arrangement, the so-called scale case, mainly depends on the species and on the cell cycle.

From nutritional wealth to autophagy: In vivo metabolic dynamics in the cytosol, mitochondrion and shuttles of IgG producing CHO cells.

To fulfil the optimization needs of current biopharmaceutical processes the knowledge how to improve cell specific productivities is of outmost importance. This requires a detailed understanding of cellular metabolism on a subcellular level inside compartments such as cytosol and mitochondrion. Using IgG1 producing Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, a pioneering protocol for compartment-specific metabolome analysis was applied.

Complex life cycle, broad host range and adaptation strategy of the intranuclear Paramecium symbiont Preeria caryophila comb. nov.

Holospora and related bacteria are a group of obligate Paramecium symbionts. Characteristic features are their infectivity, the presence of two distinct morphotypes, and usually a strict specialization for a single Paramecium species as host and for a nuclear compartment (either somatic or generative nucleus) for reproduction. Holospora caryophila steps out of line, naturally occurring in Paramecium biaurelia and Paramecium caudatum.

Bacterial Surface Traits Influence Digestion by Tetrahymena pyriformis and Alter Opportunity to Escape from Food Vacuoles.

Endosymbiotic interactions are frequently found in nature, especially in the group of protists. Even though many endosymbioses have been studied in detail, little is known about the mechanistic origins and physiological prerequisites of endosymbiont establishment. A logical step towards the development of endocytobiotic associations is evading digestion and escaping from the host's food vacuoles.

Discomorphella pedroeneasi sp. nov. (Ciliophora, Odontostomatida): An anaerobic ciliate hosting multiple cytoplasmic and macronuclear endocytobionts.

Odontostomatids are among the less studied representatives of the Ciliophora. They are anaerobic microeukaryotes usually occurring as rare species in sapropelic environments. Here we describe a novel species of Discomorphella, named Discomorphella pedroeneasi sp.

Small but Manifold - Hidden Diversity in "Spumella-like Flagellates".

Colourless, nonscaled chrysophytes comprise morphologically similar or even indistinguishable flagellates which are important bacterivors in water and soil crucial for ecosystem functioning. However, phylogenetic analyses indicate a multiple origin of such colourless, nonscaled flagellate lineages. These flagellates are often referred to as "Spumella-like flagellates" in ecological and biogeographic studies.

Sequential Healing at Implants with Different Configuration and Modified Surfaces: An Experimental Study in the Dog.

Purpose: To evaluate the peri-implant soft and hard tissue adaptation at implants with different modified surfaces and configurations.

Materials And Methods: Six Beagle dogs were used. Mandibular premolars and first molars were extracted bilaterally.

Ménage-à-trois: the amoeba Nuclearia sp. from Lake Zurich with its ecto- and endosymbiotic bacteria.

We present a fascinating triad relationship between a eukaryotic amoeba and its two bacterial symbionts. The morphological characteristics of the amoeba allowed for a confident assignment to the genus Nuclearia (Opisthokonta, Nucleariidae), but species identification resulted in an ambiguous result. Sequence analysis indicated an affiliation to the species N.

Sub-crestal positioning of implants results in higher bony crest resorption: an experimental study in dogs.

Objective: To compare peri-implant soft- and hard-tissue integration at implants installed juxta- or sub-crestally. Furthermore, differences in the hard and soft peri-implant tissue dimensions at sites prepared with drills or sonic instruments were to be evaluated.

Material And Methods: Three months after tooth extraction in six dogs, recipient sites were prepared in both sides of the mandible using conventional drills or a sonic device (Sonosurgery(®)).

Sequential healing of the elevated sinus floor after applying autologous bone grafting: an experimental study in minipigs.

Aim: To describe the sequential healing after elevation of the maxillary sinus mucosa applying the lateral access technique with the use of autogenous bone grafting without membrane to occlude the osteotomy access.

Material And Methods: Immediately after the elevation of the maxillary sinus Schneiderian membrane, applying the lateral access technique in 10 minipigs, autologous bone was harvested from the lateral aspect of the mandibular molar region and ground into particles with a bone mill. The space under the Schneiderian membrane was filled with this graft.

Ciliates from eutrophized water in the northern Brazil and morphology of Cristigera hammeri Wilbert, 1986 (Ciliophora, Scuticociliatia).

Ciliates occur in all major aquatic and soil environments worldwide and are important links in the microbial food webs, which, along with other free-living protists, are generally overlooked in biodiversity conservation programs. In Brazil, the northern region comprises the Brazilian Amazonia, an area widely known for its huge biodiversity. However, the diversity of ciliates in that region is still almost unknown.

Healing at implant sites prepared conventionally or by means of Sonosurgery ®. An experimental study in dogs.

Objective: To compare peri-implant tissue healing at implants installed in sites prepared with conventional drills or a sonic device.

Material And Methods: In six Beagle dogs, the mandibular premolars and first molars were extracted bilaterally. After 3 months, full-thickness muco-periosteal flaps were elevated and recipient sites were prepared in both sides of the mandible.

Flagellar movement in two bacteria of the family rickettsiaceae: a re-evaluation of motility in an evolutionary perspective.

Bacteria of the family Rickettsiaceae have always been largely studied not only for their importance in the medical field, but also as model systems in evolutionary biology. In fact, they share a recent common ancestor with mitochondria. The most studied species, belonging to genera Rickettsia and Orientia, are hosted by terrestrial arthropods and include many human pathogens.

Rediscovering the genus Lyticum, multiflagellated symbionts of the order Rickettsiales.

Among the bacterial symbionts harbored by the model organism Paramecium, many still lack a recent investigation that includes a molecular characterization. The genus Lyticum consists of two species of large-sized bacteria displaying numerous flagella, despite their inability to move inside their hosts' cytoplasm. We present a multidisciplinary redescription of both species, using the deposited type strains as well as newly collected material.

'Candidatus Megaira polyxenophila' gen. nov., sp. nov.: considerations on evolutionary history, host range and shift of early divergent rickettsiae.

"Neglected Rickettsiaceae" (i.e. those harboured by non-hematophagous eukaryotic hosts) display greater phylogenetic variability and more widespread dispersal than pathogenic ones; yet, the knowledge about their actual host range and host shift mechanism is scarce.

Sequential healing of open extraction sockets. An experimental study in monkeys.

Aim: To describe the sequential healing of open extraction sockets at which no attempts to obtain a primary closure of the coronal access to the alveolus have been made.

Material And Methods: The third mandibular premolar was extracted bilaterally in 12 monkeys, and no sutures were applied to close the wound. The healing after 4, 10, 20, 30, 90 and 180 days was morphometrically studied.

Genesis of amorphous calcium carbonate containing alveolar plates in the ciliate Coleps hirtus (Ciliophora, Prostomatea).

In the protist world, the ciliate Coleps hirtus (phylum Ciliophora, class Prostomatea) synthesizes a peculiar biomineralized test made of alveolar plates, structures located within alveolar vesicles at the cell cortex. Alveolar plates are arranged by overlapping like an armor and they are thought to protect and/or stiffen the cell. Although their morphology is species-specific and of complex architecture, so far almost nothing is known about their genesis, their structure and their elemental and mineral composition.

Revised systematics of Holospora-like bacteria and characterization of "Candidatus Gortzia infectiva", a novel macronuclear symbiont of Paramecium jenningsi.

The genus Holospora (Rickettsiales) includes highly infectious nuclear symbionts of the ciliate Paramecium with unique morphology and life cycle. To date, nine species have been described, but a molecular characterization is lacking for most of them. In this study, we have characterized a novel Holospora-like bacterium (HLB) living in the macronuclei of a Paramecium jenningsi population.

Ridge preservation at implants installed immediately after molar extraction. An experimental study in the dog.

Aim: To evaluate the influence of deproteinized bovine bone mineral (DBBM), in conjunction with a collagen membrane, on bone resorption at implants installed in a lingual position immediately into extraction sockets with horizontal residual buccal defects >2.0 mm.

Material & Methods: The pulp tissue of the mesial roots of (1) M(1) was removed in six Labrador dogs, and the root canals were filled with gutta-percha and cement.

Influence of buccal bony crest width on marginal dimensions of peri-implant hard and soft tissues after implant installation. An experimental study in dogs.

Aim: To evaluate the influence of the width of the buccal bony wall on hard and soft tissue dimensions following implant installation.

Material And Methods: Mandibular premolars and first molars of six Labrador dogs were extracted bilaterally. After 3 months of healing, two recipient sites, one on each side of the mandible, were prepared in such a way as to obtain a buccal bony ridge width of about 2 mm in the right (control) and 1 mm in the left sides (test), respectively.

Tracing the role of R-bodies in the killer trait: absence of toxicity of R-body producing recombinant E. coli on paramecia.

R-bodies are coiled proteinaceous ribbons produced by Paramecium endosymbionts belonging to the genus Caedibacter. These intracellular bacteria confer upon their hosts a phenomenon called the killer trait. It is the ability to kill symbiont-free competitors called sensitives.

Delimitation of the Thoracosphaeraceae (Dinophyceae), including the calcareous dinoflagellates, based on large amounts of ribosomal RNA sequence data.

The phylogenetic relationships of the Dinophyceae (Alveolata) are not sufficiently resolved at present. The Thoracosphaeraceae (Peridiniales) are the only group of the Alveolata that include members with calcareous coccoid stages; this trait is considered apomorphic. Although the coccoid stage apparently is not calcareous, Bysmatrum has been assigned to the Thoracosphaeraceae based on thecal morphology.