Molecular phylogenetic analysis of sulfate-reducing bacteria from deep sediment layers of the tropical West Pacific warm pool

The diversity of sulfate-reducing bacteria （SRB） from deep layers of deep-sea sediments [ more than 2 m bsf （below seafloor） ] of two sites （WO1 -3 and WPO1 -4） in a tropical West Pacific warm pool region was characterized by using molecular phylogenetic analysis. The results of culture-independent samples demonstrated that the dominant clones from both sites were related to Grampositive spore forming genus, Desulfotomaculum, which accounted for 36.8% of all the sequencing clones from Site WP01 - 3 and 62.8% from Site WP01 -4. However, the other SRB group which was generally reported to be predominant in the deep-sea sediments of other regions, δ- subclass of the proteobacteria was found to be in very low percentages. Therefore, it could be speculated that there existed a unique chemical environment in the deep-sea sediment of this warm pool region. When comparing the Desulfotomaculum sp. related sequences from both sites, it was revealed that though the Desulfotomaculum-like sequences from Site WP01 -3 were more diverse than those from Site WP01 -4, all these sequences from both sites showed high similarity and formed a new phylogenetically homogeneous cluster in the Desulfotomaculum genus which had never been reported before. Successful enrichment of SRB was only achieved from samples of Site WP01 -4 and the sequence analysis of culture-dependent samples further confirmed the dominance of Desulfotomaculum genus. But Desulfotomaculum-related sequences from culture-dependent and culture-independent samples belonged to two different clusters respectively. This difference showed the choice of cultivation to the microorganisms.

A novel pathogen Fusarium cuneirostrum causing common bean(Phaseolus vulgaris)root rot in China

Several fungal pathogens cause root rot of common bean,among which Fusarium spp.are the most common pathogens causing Fusarium root rot(FRR)worldwide.FRR has been becoming an increasingly severe disease of common bean in China,but the species of Fusarium spp.have remained unclear.Thus,this study was performed to identify the pathogen causing common bean root rot in Liangcheng County,Inner Mongolia,China.Nineteen Fusarium-like isolates were obtained after pathogen isolation and purification.The pathogenicity test indicated that eight isolates caused severe disease symptoms on common bean,while 11 other isolates were not pathogenic.The eight pathogenic isolates,FCL1–FCL8,were identified as Fusarium cuneirostrum by morphological characterization and phylogenetic analysis using partial sequences of EF-1α,ITS,28S,and IGS regions.Host range test showed that the representative F.cuneirostrum isolate FCL3 was also pathogenic to mung bean,while not pathogenic to adzuki bean,chickpea,cowpea,faba bean,pea,and soybean.Moreover,50 common bean and 50 mung bean cultivars were screened for resistance to FRR,and seven highly resistant or resistant cultivars of common bean were identified,while no resistant cultivars of mung bean were screened.This study revealed that F.cuneirostrum was one of common bean FRR pathogens in Inner Mongolia and it could induce mung bean root rot as well.To our knowledge,this is the first report of F.cuneirostrum causing FRR of common bean in China.

Description of a New Species of the Asian Newt Genus Tylototriton sensu lato(Amphibia:Urodela:Salamandridae) from Southwest China

The newt genus Tylototriton sensu lato is widely distributed in Eastern,Southeastern and Southern Asia.Previous studies indicated that there still has been several cryptic species in the group.Here,we describe a new species of the genus from Guizhou Province,China.Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA supported that the new species was resolved as an independent clade nested into the Tylototriton sensu lato clade.On morphology,the new species could be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters:large body size(SVL 76.8-85.2 mm in male and 76.3-87.4 mm in female);head longer than wide;snout truncate in dorsal view;tail length longer than the snout-vent length in males;the distal digit ends,ventral digits,peripheral area of cloaca and the tail s lower margin are orange;relative length of toesⅢ> Ⅳ> Ⅱ> Ⅰ> Ⅴ;the distal tips of the limbs greatly overlapping when the fore and hind limbs are pressed along the trunk;fingertips reach the level beyond the snout when the forelimbs are stretched forward.

A New Species of the Gekko japonicus Group(Squamata:Gekkonidae)from Southwest China

A new species of the Gekko(Squa ma ta:Gekkonidae)is described from the border of Sichuan and Yunnan Province,southwest China,based on distinct morphological and molecular features.Gekko jinjiangensis sp.nov.is distinguished from congeners by a combination of the following characters:size small(SVL 50.2–61.6 mm,n=13);nares in contact with rostral;interorbital scales between anterior corners of the eyes 20–24;ventral scales between mental and cloacal slit 146–169;midbody scale rows 111–149;ventral scale rows 31–47;subdigital lamellae on first toe 8–11,on fourth toe 11–15;no webbing in the fingers and toes;with tubercles on uapper surface of fore and hind limbs;precloacal pores 4–5 in males;postcloacal unilateral tubercles 1–2;dorsal surface of body with 8–9 large greyish brown markings between nape and sacrum.In molecular analyses,the new species is sister to G.scabridus,but separated from them by approximately 9.9%–12.2%in genetic divergence as shown by a fragment of the partial mitochondrial ND2 gene.The new species is the highest Gekko with elevation range from 2000 to 2476 m.Further surveys are recommended to better understand the occurrence and population status of the new species.