POPULATION AND GENOTYPE NICHE WIDTH IN CLONAL PHLOX PANICULATA

We use a model population comprised of five genotypes of Phlox paniculata L. to investigate the contribution of individuals to the response breadth (niche) of the population on a light gradient and a moisture gradient. Analysis of within- and between-genotype components of population response width showed up to 20% of the response is due to between-genotype effects, depending upon the character considered. Since the only way a sedentary organism can deal with a variable environment is through plasticity of response, differences in levels of phenotypic plasticity between genotypes on the two resource gradients were also investigated. There was no correlation between level of phenotypic plasticity and success over a range of environments. Niche breadth calculated as Levins' (B) and Roughgarden's (w²) indicated that flowering, and hence sexual reproduction, was limited to a much narrower range of environments than was vegetative growth. We also found significant genotype × environment interactions on both gradients, indicating differences in genetic response to the environment.     

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PHOTOSYNTHETIC CAPACITY AND LEAF STRUCTURE IN SEVERAL SHADE PLANTS

Leaf structure, photosynthetic characteristics and related physiological parameters have been studied in three ornamental shade species: Fatsia japonica, Cissus rhombifolia (relatively light-tolerant plants), and Philodendron scandens (obligate shade plant). Species were grown in a shadehouse. Maximum photosynthetic photon flux density was 470 μmol m^-2 s^-1. Net rate of CO₂ uptake at light saturation (maximum Pn) in Fatsia was 6.90 ± 1.27 μmol m^-2 s^-1. In Cissus and Philodendron values were about 30% and 63% less respectively, than those measured in Fatsia. The nitrogen content, relative dry wt, specific leaf dry wt (SLDW), chlorophyll a/b ratio, and nitrogen to chlorophyll ratio were lower in Philodendron. However, leaf thickness in Philodendron (296 ± 17 μm) was about 54% and 160% higher, respectively, than in Fatsia and Cissus, and the ratio between mesophyll cell area and leaf surface area (A^mes/A) was nearly similar in the three species. However Philodendron exhibited a percentage of palisade parenchyma about three times lower than that observed in the two other species. The chloroplast number per mm of cell wall in transverse sections (chloroplast density) in the palisade parenchyma was fairly constant (about 65), irrespective of species. The “chloroplast density” in the spongy parenchyma of Philodendron was about 53% and 63%, respectively, of Fatsia and Cissus values. In Fatsia and Cissus chloroplast ultrastructure seems to change gradually and continuously from sun to shade type with the depth from the adaxial to abaxial surface. Special emphasis was given in order to determine the structural parameters best correlated with maximum Pn between the different species. In this way chloroplast number in transverse sections (chloroplast number) and the ratio between chloroplast area and leaf surface area (A^chl/A) were the parameters best correlated with maximum Pn, and stomatal frequency was also a good determinant of maximum Pn. However, leaf thickness, SLDW, and even A^mes/A ratio were weakly correlated with maximum Pn.     

DIFFERENTIATION AMONG NINE POPULATIONS OF PHLOX. I. ELECTROPHORETIC AND QUANTITATIVE VARIATION

The organization of genetic variation in Phlox drummondii was investigated using both allozyme electrophoresis and quantitative genetics. Variation at five polymorphic enzyme loci was characterized in nine populations, and variation in 16 morphological and life-history characters was examined using an analysis of full- and half-sibs in seven populations. Significant levels of genetic variation were found at enzyme loci and for metric characters. Significant heritabilities were observed for 15 of the 16 characters examined. Genetic differences among populations were revealed both by Nei's genetic distance and by phenotypic differences, summarized by discriminant analysis. Partitioning variance in allozyme frequencies among hierarchical levels of genetic organization indicated that 94% of this variance lay within populations, 4% between populations within varieties, and 2% between varieties. Partitioning phenotypic variance for metric characters indicated that 73% lay within populations, 24% lay between populations within varieties, and 3% lay between varieties. Thus, both electrophoretic and metric characters indicated that despite extensive genetic differentiation among populations, most of the evolutionary potential of the species lies within populations.     

SEASONAL PATTERNS OF LEAF PHOTOSYNTHETIC CAPACITY IN SUCCESSIONAL NORTHERN HARDWOOD TREE SPECIES

Seasonal patterns of leaf photosynthetic capacity and conductance were determined for deciduous hardwood tree species in natural habitats in northern lower Michigan. Leaves of bigtooth aspen and red oak at the top of the canopy had higher maximum CO₂ Exchange Rate (CER) (10–15 μmol m ² s ¹) than leaves of sugar maple, red maple, red oak, and beech growing in the understory (4–5 μmol m ² s ¹). In all leaves, CER measured at light-saturation increased to a maximum near the completion of leaf expansion in early June, was constant until mid-September, and then rapidly declined until leaf death. A similar pattern was seen for CER measured in low light (1.5% full sun). Respiration rate in the dark was highest in young leaves and decreased during leaf expansion; a relatively constant rate was then maintained for the rest of leaf lifespan. The seasonal pattern of the initial slope of the light response of CER paralleled the pattern of light-saturated CER. The initial slope in midsummer ranged from values of 37 to 44 μmol/mol for species in the understory to 51 and 56 μmol/mol for red oak and bigtooth aspen, respectively, at the top of the canopy. Leaf conductance was constant throughout most of leaf lifespan, with some decline occurring in autumn. Leaves at the top of the canopy had higher conductances for water vapor (2–5 mm/s) than leaves in the understory (1–2 mm/s). All species maintained leaf intercellular CO, mole fractions (c,) near 200 uML/L until autumn, when c, increased during leaf senescence.     

“全红”瓯江彩鲤不同世代间的遗传结构及遗传分化初步分析

利用ISSR技术对"全红"瓯江彩鲤(Cyprinus car pio var. color)4个世代群体的遗传结构及其分化进行了分析。筛选的15个ISSR引物从4个世代群体中分别扩增到120、118、101和110条扩增谱带,全部扩增片段长度在200—2500bp之间。根据扩增结果,利用POPGENE version 1.31进行分析,结果表明:4个群体的多态位点比例(P)为51.49%—67.80%,Shannon信息指数(Ho)为0.2176—0.2745之间,并随着世代的增加,选育群体的遗传多样性呈现下降趋势。有70%的遗传变异来自于群体内;结合遗传分化指数Gst、UPGMA聚类分析,证实"全红"瓯江彩鲤4个世代间存在一定程度的遗传分化,即任意两个群体间的遗传分化达到较大的水平(Gst均为0.1588—0.2766)。     

THE GENETIC STRUCTURE OF HOST PLANT ADAPTATION IN A SPATIAL PATCHWORK: DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABILITY AMONG RECIPROCALLY TRANSPLANTED PEA APHID CLONES

Populations of insect herbivores that feed on several host plant species may experience different selective forces on each host. When the hosts cooccur in a local area, herbivore populations can provide useful models for the study of evolutionary mechanisms in patchy environments. A first step in such a study involves determination of the genetic structure of host adaptation in the region: how is genetic variation for host use structured within and between subpopulations of herbivores on each host? The structure of genetic variation for host use reveals patterns of local adaptation, probable selective consequences of migration between hosts, and the potential for further evolution. To estimate the population structure of host adaptation in a patchwork, 7–11 pea aphid clones were collected at the beginning of the summer from each of two alfalfa and two red clover fields within a very localized area (about 15–20 km²). Using a reciprocal transplant in the field, replicates of these 35 clones were allowed to develop individually on each of the two crops. A complete life table was made for each replicate. Individual fitness was calculated from the life tables as the expected rate of population increase; longevity, age at first reproduction, and total fecundity were also measured for each clonal replicate. Currently, experimental estimates of genetic variation in complete life tables are virtually nonexistent for natural populations, even for single environments (Charlesworth, 1987); field studies are even less common. Because clones from each of two source crops were tested reciprocally on both hosts, variation in relative genotypic fitness on alfalfa and clover could be partitioned among clones within source crops, between fields of the same crop, and between source crops (alfalfa or red clover), providing a view of population structure. Significant clonal variation in relative performance on alfalfa and red clover was found: clones tended to have higher fitness on the crop from which they had been collected (the “home” crop) than they did on the “away” crop, suggesting local adaptation in response to patchy patterns of selection. Clonal variability within collections from the two crops suggests the potential for changes in the genetic constitution of these aphid populations within established fields as a result of clonal selection during the summer season. Significantly negative genetic correlations across crops were found for fitness and its major components. The possibility that these negative cross-environment correlations could act as evolutionary constraints on adaptation to the patchwork is considered.     

GAMETE INTERACTIONS AND GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION AMONG THREE SYMPATRIC POLYCHAETES

The evolution of gamete incompatibility between free-spawning marine invertebrate species has been explained by three hypotheses: (1) independent divergence at gamete recognition loci; (2) selection against hybrids; and (3) a process of sexual selection involving polymorphic gamete recognition loci (Metz and Palumbi 1996). The first two hypotheses predict that gamete incompatibility appears only after gene flow has been halted for other reasons and the third that gamete incompatibility appears simultanously with blocks to gene flow. Here I show that gametes of three sympatric polychaetes in the genus Arctonoe are compatible in all crosses, over a broad range of gamete concentrations and contact times. Although at least some hybrid crosses produce fertile adults, allozyme and mitochondrial DNA sequence data indicate that the three species do not regularly exchange genes. These data are consistent with predictions of the first two hypotheses for the evolution of gamete incompatibility, but allow rejection of the third hypothesis. Gametes of the three species are compatible despite estimated divergence times of 1–3 M.Y.B.P.; in several other marine invertebrates, divergence times of the same magnitude are associated with asymmetric or complete gamete incompatibility. It appears likely that segregation of symbiotic adults on their respective host species restricts mating opportunities, and thus gene flow, among Arctonoe species.     

光下无CO_2气体处理对叶片光合强度的影响

小麦等C_3植物的叶片在光下经无CO_2或低CO_2气体处理后,通入高CO_2气体,光合强度出现“升、降、升”的波动,而玉米等C_4植物无此现象。不同植物的光合波动幅度不同。强光、高CO_2、低O_2等能缩短第一次光合上升时间,增大光合下降幅度;而低CO_2、高O_2等则减少光合下降幅度。此现象与RuBP及ATP的含量变化有关。     

GENETIC CORRELATIONS AMONG MORPHOMETRIC TRAITS AND RATES OF GROWTH AND DIFFERENTIATION IN THE GREEN TREE FROG,HYLA CINEREA

It is often proposed that the morphometric shape of animals often evolves as a correlated response to selection on life-history traits such as whole-body growth and differentiation rates. However, there exists little empirical information on whether selection on rates of growth or differentiation in animals could generate correlated response in morphometric shape beyond that owing to the correlation between these rates and body size. In this study genetic correlations were estimated among growth rate, differentiation rate, and body-size-adjusted head width in the green tree frog, Hyla cinerea. Head width was adjusted for size by using the residuals from log-log regressions of head width on snout-vent length. Size-adjusted head width at metamorphosis was positively genetically correlated with larval period length. Thus, size-independent shape might evolve as a correlated response to selection on a larval life-history trait. Larval growth rate was not significantly genetically correlated with size-adjusted head width. An additional morphometric trait, size-adjusted tibiofibula length, had a nonnormal distribution of breeding values, and so was not included in the analysis of genetic correlations (offspring from one sire had unusually short legs). This result is interesting because, although using genetic covariance matrices to predict long-term multivariate response to selection depends on the assumption that all loci follow a multivariate Gaussian distribution of allelic effects, few data are available on the distribution of breeding values for traits in wild populations. Size at metamorphosis was positively genetically correlated with larval period and larval growth rate. Quickly growing larvae that delay metamorphosis therefore emerge at a large size. The genetic correlation between larval growth rate and juvenile (postmetamorphic) growth rate was near zero. Growth rate may therefore be an example of a fitness-related trait that is free to evolve in one stage of a complex life cycle without pleiotropic constraints on the same trait expressed in the other stage.     

高产水稻光合速率的变化

1998年早季于广州,测定了水稻两系高产杂交组合培矮64s/E32、地矮64s/93、粤杂122,高产品种粤香占和特三矮2号在四个主要生育期顶叶光合速率及叶绿素含量。（1）在人工气候箱的弱光下测得的分蘖期盆栽植株的非饱和光合速率在5个品种/组合间差异不大。（2）4个品种/组合的大田植株在四个生育期中以分蘖盛期到幼穗分化初期的光合速率最大,其值已达到或接近水稻品种最大光合速率30μmol　m-2s-1的上限;品种/组合间差异不大。抽穗期和黄熟期光合速率较前期下降很大,但两期间变化不大。收割期光合速率进一步大幅下降。（3）4个品种/组合抽穗期叶绿素含量较前期下降或不变,黄熟期叶绿素含量又升高,收割期则大幅下降。（4）讨论了叶片光合速率在抽穗后下降的原因,并据此提出了光合保持能力的概念。认为在形态性状改良的基础上,提高群体整体光合能力,是提高水稻光合生产力和实现超高产育种目标的有效途径。     

抗真菌植物基因工程的策略和进展

所有高等植物都受多种真菌的侵害,水稻的240多种病害中真菌性痫害占90％。,可见真菌病害是世界范围内危害作物产蘑的主要因素之一,是长期以来作物育种学家一直在努力攻克的难题。目前国     

增强UV—B辐射对高山植物麻花艽净光合速率的影响

在高寒矮嵩草（Kobresia humilis)草甸地区以太阳短波辐射为背景,建立了人工增强UV－B辐射的实验装置,每天增补15．8kJ.m^-2的辐射剂量,模拟平流层臭氧破坏约5％时近地表面太阳UV－B辐射的增强。观测表明：UV－B辐射的增强对麻花艽（Gentiana stramianea)植物的光合作用无明显的抑制或伤害作用。相反,在早晨补充UV－B辐射的短时间内,叶片的Pn随Gs的增大而有所提高。随着UV－B辐射时间的延长,在11：30－12：30,Pn和Gs有所降低。UV－B辐射时间进一步延长后（约14：00以后）,处理和对照组叶片Pn和Gs的差异趋向不明显,增强太阳UV－B辐射后,麻花艽叶片的光合色素并无明显变化,UV－B吸收物质的含量无明显变化,麻花艽叶片厚度的直接测量表明,增强UV－B辐射能明显提高叶片的厚度。叶片厚度的增加可补偿增强UV－B辐射辐后引起的光合色素的光降解,改善单位叶面积为基础的光合速率,是高原植物对强UV－B辐射的一种适应方式。     

BIOCHEMICAL ADAPTATION AND LOSS OF GENETIC CAPACITY IN HELMINTH PARASITES

1. Adaptation and loss of genetic capacity differ chiefly in that adaptation is goal- directed whereas loss of genetic capacity is not. Given sufficient information about an individual organism and its environment, adaptations are recognizable without reference to historical events extending beyond a single generation. This is not true of loss of genetic capacity, which requires a preliminary judgement that genetic information now absent was present in ancestral organisms. Together, adaptation and loss of genetic capacity are the major contributors to overall reproductive fitness. Accidental selection is genetically associated with adaptation, but is not goal-directed. 2. Adaptations arevariant or invariant; invariant adaptations comprising biochemical unity, and variant adaptations contributing to biochemical diversity. Variant adaptations may be either exploitive or epigenetic. Exploitive adaptations are a measure of thegenetic capacity for phenotypic response to an altered environment, which the individual may not in fact encounter. Epigenetic adaptations are more rigidly programmed and are responsive to altered environments only insofar as these are a constant feature of the life cycle. 3. Selected observations in the biochemistry of helminth parasites are examined with respect to their interpretation in terms of adaptation, loss of genetic capacity and accidental selection. Secure judgements concerning adaptation are often possible at the most general level, i.e. when the physicochemical properties of the environment, such as temperature or oxygen supply, are clearly defined. I t is more difficult to make judgements concerning the specific mechanisms used in achieving these goals. Conclusions concerning loss of genetic capacity require knowledge of the specific function through-out the life cycle. In many cases loss of genetic capacity is only apparent, as the function appears in another part of the life cycle. Such apparent losses are in reality epigenetic adaptations. These concepts are helpful in interpreting past work and in devising new experiments. 4. Development in helminth parasites includes a pronounced capacity for the orderly release of information to be used in the next stage. As each stage may require a radically different environment, programming for it may lead to phenomena which are superficially puzzling, such as the existence of aerobic electron transport systems in a stage whose energy metabolism is fermentative. The concept of epigenetic adaptation is especially useful for interpreting such observations. 5. Although possible adaptations are most readily apparent in biochemically complex mechanisms, these mechanisms are an expression of the orderly effects of many different primary gene products which have not been much studied. There are indications that organisms possessing relatively complex life cycles may provide opportunities for relating primary gene products, such as isozymes, to their physiological functions.     

源库关系改变对小麦灌浆期植株光合速率及~(14)C同化物运转分配的影响

选用千粒重大小不同的小麦品种,研究了去除顶端两个小穗对两类品种（大粒品种和小粒品种）千粒重、穗粒数、穗粒重、籽粒平均灌浆速率、单穗平均增重速率、植株光合速率及１４Ｃ同化物运转分配的影响。试验结果表明,去除顶端两个小穗后,两类品种的千粒重提高,穗粒数降低或基本不受影响,但降低比例明显低于去除小穗数的比例。籽粒平均灌浆速率和单穗平均增重速率（分别表征籽粒库容活性和穗粒库容活性）相应提高。结果,两类品种的穗粒重表现为补偿性增长。两类品种比较,小粒品种的增长幅度大于大粒品种。穗粒库容活性增强使得小粒品种灌浆中后期的植株光合速率提高,使两类品种分配到籽粒中的１４Ｃ同化物比例增加。从而表明,无论是植株光合速率还是同化物的运转分配皆受穗粒库容活性的调控,调控方式和幅度因品种类型而不同。但提高其穗粒重的着眼点都应当是提高穗粒库容活性。