The critical Jurassic event known as Early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) has been the subject of several studies, but its palaeontological characterization is still problematic, and its dating is therefore debated. The rich ammonite faunas of the Mediterranean Tethys (Italy, Greece, Albania, North Africa, southern Spain, etc.) demonstrate that the OAE separates two very different assemblages, resulting from a strong post-OAE biological renewal. Faunas before the anoxic event include many taxa already present in late Pliensbachian (evolute Phylloceratida; Reynesocoeloceratinae, Protogrammoceratinae and Arieticeratinae), whereas after the anoxic event new forms radiated (Nodicoeloceratinae, Harpoceratinae and Hildoceratinae; afterwards also groups as Mercaticeratinae, Phymatoceratidae and Hammatoceratidae). As these assemblages show remarkable differences from their Northwest European equivalents, in the Apennine it is necessary to use a Mediterranean zonation, here formally established. The examined data suggest accurate boundaries for the OAE, which separates our first two Toarcian Zones, corresponding to Tenuicostatum and Serpentinum standard chronozones. Within this context, the Apennine assemblage placed immediately below the anoxic event is an endemic fauna with more than 15 ammonite genera, two of which (Secchianoceras and Petranoceras) are exclusive of the interval in question. Most abundant are Phylloceratidae (Phylloceras, Lavizzaroceras, Calaiceras and Harpophylloceras), Juraphyllitidae (Meneghiniceras) and Lytoceratidae (Lytoceras); Dactylioceratidae (Dactylioceras, Eodactylites and Secchianoceras) and Hildoceratidae are comparatively less numerous, but these latter show the largest taxonomic diversity (Fontanelliceras, Trinacrioceras, Protogrammoceras, Petranoceras, etc.). The description of this fauna improves the knowledge of a poorly understood interval immediately preceding the OAE, thus allowing better correlations in the Mediterranean area. h Ammonites, chronostratigraphy, Early Jurassic, OAE, Tethys.Massimiliano Bilotta [dotpal@unipg.it],

To investigate the origin of the fungal hyphae that cover the grass clothing (cloak, boots) found near the neolithic mummy known as the Tyrolean Iceman, two radiocarbon-dated samples of grass were submitted to DNA extraction. The DNA was then PCR amplified using, respectively, primers specific for the region containing the internal transcribed spacers and the 5.8s rDNA (ITS), and primers specific for an approximately 600-bp long fragment of the nuclear small-subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) repeat units of eukaryotes. The amplification products were cloned and sequenced. Sequence analysis of 20 individual ITS clones and of ten SSU rDNA clones indicated that three types of fungal DNA can be extracted from the grass. Phylogenetic analyses, using 5.8s and SSU rDNA fungal reference sequences from EMBL and GenBank databases, suggest that the DNAs come, respectively, from a psychrophilic basidiomycetous yeast, phylogenetically close to Leucosporidium scottii, and from two ascomycetes, one of which is possibly related to the Eurotiales.

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A group of closely related DNA sequences each approx. 240 base pairs long ('Gp240 family') was detected in the DNA extracted from cultured cells of the red-tide dinoflagellate Gonyaulax polyedra using the polyrnerase chain reaction. While members of the Gp240 family appeared to be present in the DNA of all the isolates of G. polyedra tested, no related sequence could be detected in the DNA of other dinoflagellates, diatoms or marine bacteria In a further set of experiments, the PCR system based on the Gp240 DNA was used to probe phytoplankton samples collected in the Northern Adriatic Sea during a red tide caused by G. polyedra. The results showed that the members of the Gp240 family contain a short simple-sequence stretch givlng nse to length polymorphism. The potential of this molecular identification system to track G polyedra in its natural environment is discussed. Considerations are also made on the evolution of the simple-sequence loci in marine organisms.

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