Although the invasive azooxanthellate corals Tubastraea coccinea and T. tagusensis are spreading quickly and outcompeting native species in the Atlantic Ocean, there is little information regarding the genetic structure and path of introduction for these species. Here we present the first data on genetic diversity and clonal structure from these two species using a new set of microsatellite mar...

Ixora coccinea Linn (Rubiaceae), a small shrub cultivated throughout India, has been reported to possess a number of medicinal properties. It has traditionally been used for the treatment of diarrhea and dysentery. However the claims of Ayurveda have to be validated by suitable experimental models. The present study was therefore undertaken to evaluate the effect of aqueous extract of I. coccin...

Burkholderia sp. strain WSM2230 is an aerobic, motile, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming acid-tolerant rod isolated from acidic soil collected in 2001 from Karijini National Park, Western Australia, using Kennedia coccinea (Coral Vine) as a host. WSM2230 was initially effective in nitrogen-fixation with K. coccinea, but subsequently lost symbiotic competence. Here we describe the features of Bur...

The aqueous extract of flowers of I. coccinea was evaluated for its cytotoxic and mutagenic effects on the meristematic cells of onion root tip. The percentage of abnormalities was found to increase with the increase in the concentration of the extract from 20 to 60 mg/ml. With 80 mg/ml completed arrest or total inhibition of cell division was observed. The major abnormalities were unprinted ch...

Microsatellite markers were developed for the endangered Brazilian orchid species Cattleya coccinea to describe its genetic diversity and structure and to support conservation studies. Nine microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized using an enriched genomic library. All loci are polymorphic at least in the 2 populations sampled, except for loci Cac05 and Cac09 for the Petrópolis popul...

We investigated the existence of species-specific associations between Brazilian coral species and bacteria. Pyrosequencing of the V3 region of the 16S rDNA was used to analyze the taxonomic composition of bacterial communities associated with the mucus of four coral species (Madracis decactis, Mussismilia hispida, Palythoa caribaeorum, and Tubastraea coccinea) in two seasons (winter and summer...

Many of the most interesting behaviors in the biological world have to do with interactions between species. The predator-prey interactions among aquatic organisms is an interesting part of the natural world which has not been seen much in computer animation. This paper explores the interaction between various sea anemones and the starfish Dermasterias imbricata. Although a simulation between a...

The pollination of Passiflora coccinea by the hummingbird Phaethornis superciliosus was studied in Central Amazon, Brazil. We hypothesized that a greater nectar secretion rate (NSR) increases the pollination success of single flowers through Ph. superciliosus visiting behavior. For control flowers, NSR was an increasing function of flower base diameter (FBD). The total number of Ph. supercilios...

Antimicrobial activity was detected in the 50% ethanolic extract of Ixora coccinea. The effective inhibitory concentration of the extract against both the bacterial test organisms and the fungal test organisms studied was 125 ug mL(-1), beyond which the inhibitory activity declined and the organisms started reviving from the effect of the antimicrobial principle.