不同高寒退化草地阿尔泰针茅种群的小尺度点格局

种群空间格局是种群自身特性、种间相互关系及环境条件综合作用的结果。采用草地群落学调查与点格局分析方法,在祁连山北坡选择未退化、轻度退化、中度退化和重度退化等4种高寒草地,分析了阿尔泰针茅(Stipa krylovii)种群斑块特征、株丛结构和点格局特征。结果表明:阿尔泰针茅在衰退过程中种群密度和种群领地面积减小,空斑面积增大,领地密度先增大后减小,小株丛(株丛径0.1-1.0 cm)比例增加,大株丛(株丛径2.1-7.0 cm)比例减小;不同草地梯度中阿尔泰针茅种群的空间格局存在明显差异:未退化草地中阿尔泰针茅种群在0-64 cm尺度上为均匀分布,64-100 cm尺度上为随机分布;中度退化草地中阿尔泰针茅种群在0-70 cm尺度上为随机分布,而在70-100 cm尺度上为聚集分布;轻度退化和重度退化草地中阿尔泰针茅种群在0-100 cm尺度上均为随机分布。在放牧干扰和种间竞争作用下,阿尔泰针茅种群斑块从中心开始破碎,并逐渐向四周辐散,引起小尺度上种群斑块间分布格局出现"随机分布-聚集分布-随机分布"转变,促使原有斑块被分割为多个直径较小的"岛"状小斑块并进一步分化,最终种群斑块完全破碎、草毡层逐步消失,从而造成阿尔泰针茅种群的衰退。     

退化草地阿尔泰针茅与狼毒种群的小尺度种间空间关联

采用草地群落学调查与点格局分析方法,在祁连山北坡选择4种退化高寒草地群落,分析了阿尔泰针茅(Stipa krylovii)与狼毒(Stellera chamaejasme)种群的大小结构、斑块特征和种间关联关系。结果表明:随天然草地退化过程延续,阿尔泰针茅由大株丛结构演变为小株丛结构,种群密度和领地面积减小、空斑面积增大、领地密度先增大后减小,狼毒种群的株丛结构和斑块特征发生了相反的变化趋势;不同退化草地阿尔泰针茅和狼毒种群的空间关联呈现负关联、正关联和不关联规律;在未退化草地和轻度退化草地、中度退化草地,阿尔泰针茅与狼毒的关联性分别由0-14 cm、0-51 cm尺度上的负相关和0-85 cm尺度上的不相关,转变为14-100 cm、51-100 cm尺度上的不相关和86-100 cm尺度上的正相关。物种个体大小结构变化,以及狼毒种群的斑块吞并、合并和阿尔泰针茅种群的斑块破碎、被分割过程,既是物种关联性发生尺度转换的先决条件,又是引起草地群落中物种地位与作用改变的关键因素。     

退化草地阿尔泰针茅种群个体空间格局及关联性

植物的空间格局及关联性是自身特性和环境因素综合作用的结果。采用草地群落学调查与点格局分析方法,在祁连山北坡阿尔泰针茅草原,根据株丛径大小将阿尔泰针茅(Stipa krylovii)分为3个大小等级:A级(1.1-7.0 cm)、B级(1.1-7.0 cm) 和C级(株丛径7.1 cm以上),分析了阿尔泰针茅种群的大小结构和不同大小等级个体的空间格局及关联性。结果表明:随天然草地退化过程延续,阿尔泰针茅种群个体空间格局由聚集分布转变为非聚集分布,个体间的关联性由正相关为主转化为不相关和负相关;不同大小等级个体的空间格局存在差异,C级个体仅在中度退化草地表现出聚集格局,A级和B级个体以聚集和随机格局为主,且在未退化和轻度退化草地由随机转向聚集格局;不同等级个体间的空间关联性与形体大小差异不存在相关性,A级与B级、C级个体间正关联尺度明显增大,B级与C级个体间则以不相关和负相关为主且负相关尺度增大。物种大小结构和个体间的竞争关系变化,是种群不同大小等级空间格局及关联性转换的关键因素,反映了退化草地植物应对干扰的更新途径。     

不同降水条件下沙鞭种群非生殖株丛空间格局分析

植物空间分布格局是物种自身生物学特性与环境因素共同作用的结果,非生殖株丛空间分布格局能够揭示物种无性繁殖与种群扩张过程对异质生境的生态学适应机制。利用基于完全随机、泊松聚块和嵌套双聚块模型的点格局方法和群落学调查,分析了沙鞭(Psammochloa villosa)种群非生殖株丛空间分布格局,探讨了空间格局对降水梯度的响应和适应过程。结果表明：(1)聚集分布是沙鞭种群非生殖株丛的主要类型。在89 mm/a、107.8 mm/a、117.4 mm/a、186 mm/a、191.1 mm/a、363 mm/a降水梯度上聚集尺度分别为3—126 cm、9—200 cm、9—129 cm、6—77 cm、2—95 cm、2—96 cm;(2)基于完全随机模型的空间分布格局对降水的响应规律显著,整体表现为随干旱程度加剧,沙鞭种群非生殖株丛聚集尺度从2—96 cm下降至6—77 cm;(3)在107.8 mm/a、117.4 mm/a、191.1 mm/a、363 mm/a降水梯度上,基于泊松聚块模型的空间分布格局分别在15—19 cm、2—6 cm、2—4 cm、9—25 cm尺度正向偏离泊松聚...     

不同降水条件下沙鞭种群生殖株丛空间格局

植物空间分布格局是物种自身生物学特性与环境因素相互作用的结果,生殖株丛空间分布格局则能够揭示物种有性繁殖过程应对异质生境的生态学适应机制。本研究利用群落学调查和基于完全随机、泊松聚块和嵌套双聚块模型的点格局方法,分析了沙鞭(Psammochloa villosa)种群生殖株丛空间分布格局特征,并探讨了空间格局对降水梯度的响应和适应机制。结果表明：(1)聚集分布是沙鞭种群生殖株丛的主要类型。在89、107.8、117.4、186、191.1 mm·a^-1降水梯度上聚集尺度分别为0～90、0～35、0～100、0～125、0～70 cm;(2)基于完全随机模型的空间分布格局对降水的响应规律显著,整体表现为随干旱程度加剧,沙鞭种群生殖株丛聚集尺度从0～125 cm下降至0～35 cm,聚集强度从24.92增长至97.14;(3)在89和107.8 mm·a^-1降水条件上,基于泊松聚块的空间分布格局分别在27～28和6～7 cm中正向偏离泊松聚块模型,但符合基于嵌套双聚块模型的空间分布格局。沙鞭生殖株丛空间格局变化规律反映了物种有性繁殖过程及应对环境...     

高寒退化草地狼毒与赖草种群空间格局及竞争关系

种群空间格局的尺度转换效应反映了植物种内、种间竞争关系的变化过程。采用草地群落学调查与点格局分析方法,在祁连山北坡阿尔泰针茅草原,分析了干扰状态下狼毒(Stellera chamaejasme)和赖草(Aneurolepidium dasystachys)种群的空间格局及竞争关系。结果表明:随着草地退化过程加剧,狼毒种群空间格局由聚集分布转变为非聚集分布,反映了协作转向竞争的种内个体间关系;赖草种群以聚集格局为主,体现了种内相互协作的个体间关系;二者空间关联性存在正相关、不相关和负相关的转换过程,正相关尺度逐渐缩小,负相关仅在重度退化草地出现,种群间关系表现为由协作转向竞争且竞争强度逐渐增大。干扰状态下,种群空间格局的尺度转换效应影响植物种内、种间的竞争关系及强度,反映了退化草地物种应对干扰的更新途径。     

甘肃臭草型退化草地优势种群空间格局及其关联性

空间格局和空间关联性是研究种群扩散和群落演替的重要方法。在石羊河上游高寒退化草地,运用点格局分析法,对不同演替阶段甘肃臭草和阿尔泰针茅的格局及关联性进行了研究。结果表明:甘肃臭草在没有形成斑块(CK)和斑块形成阶段(A),所有尺度上为聚集分布,在斑块扩散(B)、稳定(C)和衰退阶段(D)分别在0-90 cm、0-70 cm和0-40 cm上为聚集分布,90-100 cm、70-150 cm和40-150 cm为随机分布;阿尔泰针茅在CK阶段所有尺度上为随机分布,在A、B、C阶段分别在0-47 cm、0-75 cm、0-130 cm上为聚集分布,在47-50 cm、75-100 cm和130-150 cm上为随机分布,D阶段在所有尺度上为聚集分布;从CK-D阶段,甘肃臭草和阿尔泰针茅之间的关联性由显著负关联向关联性不显著转变,负关联显著程度先增强,后减弱;甘肃臭草种群从CK到D样地,种群领地密度先增大后减小,阿尔泰针茅种群领地密度逐渐减小。优势种替代过程中,种内竞争和种间竞争的相互转化影响格局的分布类型,竞争的不对称性影响关联性程度的强弱。     

高寒退化草地甘肃棘豆小尺度点格局

植物种群的空间格局是植物与环境协同适应的结果,体现了植物种群的生活史对策。采用草地群落学调查与点格局分析方法,在祁连山北坡选择未退化(Ⅰ)、轻度退化(Ⅱ)、中度退化(Ⅲ)和重度退化(Ⅳ)4种高寒草地,研究了甘肃棘豆(Oxytropis kansuensis)种群小尺度格局的空间异质性。结果表明:随着天然草地退化程度的加剧,甘肃棘豆种群高度、盖度、地上生物量和密度增大,小株丛(一级)比例逐渐减小,大株丛(二、三级)比例逐渐增大;甘肃棘豆的分布格局表现出与尺度关联的变化趋势,在未退化(梯度Ⅰ)和轻度退化(梯度Ⅱ)草地,甘肃棘豆种群在较小尺度上表现为聚集分布,较大尺度上表现为随机分布;在中度(梯度Ⅲ)和重度(梯度Ⅳ)退化草地,种群空间分布格局则表现出相异的格局特征。随着草地退化程度加剧,甘肃棘豆种群的聚集分布格局由小尺度转向较大尺度,体现了植物种群的扩散和更新策略。     

内蒙古高原四种针茅种群年龄与株丛结构的研究

用样带法调查了内蒙古高原4种针茅(StipaL.)的年龄结构,并将其年龄划分为5个阶段:幼苗、幼龄、成年、老龄前期和老龄期。结果表明:幼苗对种群年龄结构和动态有较大的影响,针茅幼苗的存活率通常很低,而成年株丛的存活率较高,株丛的实际寿命很长,老龄株丛在种群中占有较大的比例。4种针茅中大针茅(S.grandisP.Smirn.)和克氏针茅(S.kryloviiRoshev.)的幼苗比例较高,从贝加尔针茅(S.baicalensisRoshev.)群落到小针茅(S.klemenziiRoshev.)群落种群中幼龄和成年株丛比例呈下降的趋势,而老龄株丛比例呈增加的趋势;针茅属植物在株丛水平上的动态主要表现为株丛的破碎与枝条自疏过程,以及株丛生殖枝数量和营养枝生物量的波动,幂函数模型Y=aXb可以对株丛的枝条自疏过程进行定量描述     

高寒退化草地狼毒种群株丛间格局控制机理

在黑河上游祁连山北坡高寒退化草地,应用Ripley's K函数检测种间格局控制关系的技术方法,按狼毒个体分枝数设置Ⅰ级株丛(1-10枝)、Ⅱ级株丛(11-20枝)、Ⅲ级株丛(21-30枝)、Ⅳ级株丛(31-40枝)、V级株丛(40以上)5个株丛,研究了各株丛之间的格局控制关系和空间关联性.结果表明:Ⅲ和Ⅳ级狼毒株丛对其他狼毒株丛有一定的格局控制作用,尤其是Ⅳ级狼毒株丛对其他狼毒株丛格局控制的程度和尺度最大;Ⅳ级狼毒株丛在20cm尺度内和Ⅰ、Ⅱ以及Ⅴ级狼毒株丛表现出正关联,Ⅲ级狼毒株丛在0-10cm尺度上和Ⅰ级狼毒株丛表现为正关联.狼毒种群中两个形体大小越相近的株丛之间存在格局控制关系的可能性相对较小,尤其是在种群内处于劣势地位或受其他株丛格局控制的株丛之间存在格局控制关系的可能性更小,Ⅳ级狼毒株丛表现出较强的格局控制作用,同时对其他狼毒个体有保护作用,在种群内具有重要作用和地位.     

Bicarbonate use in three aquatic plants

Our study aimed to test the ability of aquatic plants to use bicarbonate when acclimated to three different bicarbonate concentrations. To this end, we performed experiments with the three species Ceratophyllum demersum, Egeria densa, Lagarosiphon major to determine photosynthetic rates under varying bicarbonate concentrations. We measured bicarbonate use efficiency, photosynthetic performance and respiration. For all species, our results revealed that photosynthetic rates were highest in replicates grown at low alkalinity. Thus, E. densa had approx. five times higher rates at low (264 ± 15 μmol O₂ g⁻¹ DW h⁻¹) than at high alkalinity (50 ± 27 μmol O₂ g⁻¹ DW h⁻¹), C. demersum had three times higher rates (336 ± 95 and 120 ± 31 μmol O₂ g⁻¹ DW h⁻¹), and L. major doubled its rates at low alkalinity (634 ± 114 and 322 ± 119 μmol O₂ g⁻¹ DW h⁻¹). Similar results were obtained for bicarbonate use efficiency by E. densa (136 ± 44 and 43 ± 10 μmol O₂ mequiv. L⁻¹ g⁻¹ DW h⁻¹) and L. major (244 ± 29 and 82 ± 24 μmol O₂ mequiv. L⁻¹ g⁻¹ DW h⁻¹). As to C. demersum, efficiency was high but unaffected by alkalinity, indicating high adaptation ability to varied alkalinities. A pH drift experiment supported these results. Overall, our results suggest that the three globally widespread worldwide species of our study adapt to low inorganic carbon availability by increasing their efficiency of bicarbonate use.     

SUMO and SUMOylation in plants

The traditional focus on the central dogma of molecular biology, from gene through RNA to protein, has now been replaced by the recognition of an additional mechanism. The new regulatory mechanism, post-translational modifications to proteins, can actively alter protein function or activity introducing additional levels of functional complexity by altering cellular and sub-cellular location, protein interactions and the outcome of biochemical reaction chains. Modifications by ubiquitin (Ub) and ubiquitin-like modifiers systems are conserved in all eukaryotic organisms. One of them, small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) is present in plants. The SUMO mechanism includes several isoforms of proteins that are involved in reactions of sumoylation and de-sumoylation. Sumoylation affects several important processes in plants. Outstanding among those are responses to environmental stresses. These may be abiotic stresses, such as phosphate deficiency, heat, low temperature, and drought, or biotic stressses, as well including defense reactions to pathogen infection. Also, the regulations of flowering time, cell growth and development, and nitrogen assimilation have recently been added to this list. Identification of SUMO targets is material to characterize the function of sumoylation or desumoylation. Affinity purification and mass spectrometric identification have been done lately in plants. Further SUMO noncovalent binding appears to have function in other model organisms and SUMO interacting proteins in plants will be of interest to plant biologists who dissect the dynamic function of SUMO. This review will discuss results of recent insights into the role of sumoylation in plants.     

Pathogen resistance of transgenic tobacco plants producing caffeine

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is a typical purine alkaloid, and produced by a variety of plants such as coffee and tea. Its physiological function, however, is not completely understood, but chemical defense against pathogens and herbivores, and allelopathic effects against competing plant species have been proposed. Previously, we constructed transgenic tobacco plants, which produced caffeine up to 5 microg per gram fresh weight of leaves, and showed them to repel caterpillars of tobacco cutworms (Spodoptera litura). In the present study, we found that these transgenic plants constitutively expressed defense-related genes encoding pathogenesis-related (PR)-1a and proteinase inhibitor II under non-stressed conditions. We also found that they were highly resistant against pathogens, tobacco mosaic virus and Pseudomonas syringae. Expression of PR-1a and PR-2 was higher in transgenic plants than in wild-type plants during infection. Exogenously applied caffeine to wild-type tobacco leaves exhibited the similar resistant activity. These results suggested that caffeine stimulated endogenous defense system of host plants through directly or indirectly activating gene expression. This assumption is essentially consistent with the idea of chemical defense, in which caffeine may act as one of signaling molecules to activate defense response. It is thus conceivable that the effect of caffeine is bifunctional; direct interference with pest metabolic pathways, and activation of host defense systems.     

Carnivory in plants as a beneficial trait in wetlands

A new hypothesis for the benefit of carnivory in plants (i.e., an alternative to aerenchyma for avoiding hypoxia) is evaluated. Root porosity and root depth were quantified in eight carnivorous plant species and 48 non-carnivorous species within a nutrient-poor wet pine savanna in south Mississippi, USA. Carnivorous and non-carnivorous plant species were contrasted with respect to their indication of wetlands, open habitats, and habitats with nutrient-poor soils. We used path analysis, multiplicative regression, and a field experiment to test hypotheses of the effects of soil moisture/hypoxia on the abundance of carnivorous and non-carnivorous plants. All carnivorous plant species produced non-porous roots (or no roots), which were shallower than the average for non-carnivorous plants (6.9 ± 0.95 cm vs. 11.9 ± 0.96 cm), even after correcting for plant size. Root porosity in non-carnivorous species (mean = 22%) was positively correlated with root depth (r = 0.6). Despite lacking porous roots, carnivorous plants were four times more indicative of wetland habitats than were the non-carnivorous species encountered in the wetland studied here. Carnivorous plants, along with non-carnivorous plants with well-developed aerenchyma, were positively associated with the wettest microsites and were more negatively affected by elevating the substrate than were non-carnivorous plants with low-porosity roots. Non-carnivorous plants with shallow roots, while less indicative of wetlands and less abundant in wet microsites of the wet pine savanna than were carnivorous plants, were no less indicative of nutrient-poor soils than were carnivorous plants. Results supported the hypothesis that carnivory is advantageous in wet soils and disadvantageous in drier (including mesic) soils and are more indicative of wetland conditions than of low soil fertility.     

A novel resource-service mutualism between bats and pitcher plants

Mutualistic relationships between vertebrates and plants apart from the pollen and seed-dispersal syndromes are rare. At first view, carnivorous pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes seem to be highly unlikely candidates for mutualistic interactions with animals, as they form dimorphic terrestrial and aerial pitchers that trap arthropods and small vertebrates. Surprisingly, however, the aerial pitchers of Nepenthes rafflesiana variety elongata are poor insect traps, with low amounts of insect-attractive volatile compounds and low amounts of digestive fluid. Here, we show that N. rafflesiana elongata gains an estimated 33.8 per cent of the total foliar nitrogen from the faeces of Hardwicke's woolly bats (Kerivoula hardwickii hardwickii) that exclusively roost in its aerial pitchers. This is the first case in which the faeces-trapping syndrome has been documented in a pitcher plant that attracts bats and only the second case of a mutualistic association between a carnivorous plant and a mammal to date.     

Fluorocitrate in plants and food stuffs

Monofluorocarbon acids can be formed from inorganic fluoride by single cell cultures of Acacia georginae and tea. Fluorocitrate is also present in small amounts in commercial specimens of tea and oatmeal. The significance of these observations is discussed, especially in relation to the toxic plants.     

Phosphoproteins analysis in plants: a proteomic approach

The study of phosphoproteome on a global scale represents one of the challenges in the post-genomic era. Here, we propose an integrated procedure starting from the crude protein extract, that consists of sequential purification steps, and ending up in the identification of phosphorylation sites. This involves (i) an enrichment in phosphoproteins with a commercially available chromatography matrix, (ii) a 2-D gel analysis of the enriched fraction followed by the selective staining with the phosphospecific fluorescent dye Pro-Q Diamond, (iii) a phosphopeptide capture, from the tryptic lysate of 2-D spots, using IMAC micro-columns. In the end, the identification of the phosphoproteins and their corresponding phosphorylation sites were achieved by MALDI-TOF-TOF spectrometry. The method was applied to contrasting samples prepared from cell suspension cultures of Arabidopsis thaliana and roots of Medicago truncatula. The results obtained, demonstrated the robustness of the combination of two enrichment stages, sequentially at the protein and at the peptide levels, to analyse phosphoproteins in plants.     

Biosynthesis of cholestanol in higher plants

To understand the early steps of C(27) brassinosteroid biosynthesis, metabolic experiments were performed with Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum seedlings, and with cultured Catharanthus roseus cells. [26, 28-2H(6)]Campestanol, [26-2H(3)]cholesterol, and [26-2H(3)]cholestanol were administered to each plant, and the resulting metabolites were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In all the species examined, [2H(3)]cholestanol was identified as a metabolite of [2H(6)]campestanol, and [2H(3)]cholest-4-en-3-one and [2H(3)]cholestanol were identified as metabolites of [2H(3)]cholesterol. This study revealed that cholestanol (C(27) sterol) was biosynthesized from both cholesterol (C(27) sterol) and campestanol (C(28) sterol). It was also demonstrated that cholestanol was converted to 6-oxocholestanol, and campestanol was converted to 6-oxocampestanol.