Cell characteristics and biochemical composition ofDunaliella primolecta Butcher conditioned at different concentrations of dissolved nitrogen

The rates of growth, cell size, elemental and biochemical composition ofDunaliella primolecta were monitored during exponential growth after conditioning over three weeks in media containing different concentrations of nitrogen. The rate of growth, measured both as cell density and cell volume, was correlated positively with the N concentration of the medium (P<0.01). N-starved cells did not grow and died within three days. Cell volume and dry weight per cell were significantly higher (P<0.01) in the N-low (0.45 g-at 1^–1 NO₃-N) condition than in the N-high I condition (3.53 g-at 1^–1 NO₃-N). In the N-high II condition the addition of 1.87 g-at 1^–1 NH₄-N to 3.53 g-at 1^–1 NO₃-N did not significantly enhance growth.The composition was influenced by the availability of nitrogen. The amount of protein per cell decreased significantly from 20.1 to 9.7 pg with reduced nitrate availability between the N-high condition and the N-low condition (P<0.01). The associated carbohydrate content increased significantly from 10.6 to 26.74 pg per cell (P<0.001). These findings confirm the potential for significant variability in the composition ofD. primolecta, both in the natural environment and following experimental manipulation.     

Utilization of milk energy by suckling mink kits

A total of 36 mink dams and their litters of 3, 6 or 9 kits were used for determination of milk intake of the suckling young by means of deuterium dilution technique, and chemical composition of milk and of kit bodies. Measurements were performed during lactation weeks 1?–?4, each week with 3 dams with each litter size. Milk intake was determined over a 48?h measurement period, and by the end of this milk samples were collected and 2 kits (litters of 6 and 9) or 1 kit per litter (litters of 3) were killed for body chemical composition. Based on the results, different models were applied for calculation of the energetic efficiency of milk. Dam milk yield increased steadily from week 1 until week 3 but only slightly from week 3 to 4. The increase declined with increasing litter size, and for dams suckling 9 kits the increment from week 3 to week 4 was only 2?g. The dry matter content of milk increased significantly as lactation progressed, being reflected in crude protein increasing from 6.9% in lactation week 1 to 8.1% in week 4. Milk fat increased concomitantly from 5.6% to 8.0%. In kit bodies, crude protein content increased from 9.4% in week 1 to about 12% in weeks 3 and 4. Body fat content increased from week 1 (4.1%) to week 3 (8.4%) and then declined in week 4 (7.1%). Animals suckled in litters of 3 kits had the highest milk intake and live weight and kits suckled in litters of 9 had the lowest milk intake, live weight and daily gain. In terms of milk intake per g gain kits in litters of 6 were the most efficient, with 4.1?g milk per g body gain. The metabolizable energy requirement for maintenance (MEm) was estimated to 448 kJ/kg^0.75 and the efficiency of utilization of ME for body gain (k_g) to 0.67, the estimates being higher (MEm) or in good agreement with previous findings (k_g) in suckling mink kits.     

饲料中添加雨生红球藻粉对中华绒螯蟹成体雄蟹生化组成的影响

为研究饲料中添加雨生红球藻(Haematococcus pluvialis)粉对中华绒螯蟹(Eriocheir sinensis)成体雄蟹成活、增重和生化组成的影响,分别在饲料中添加0、0.2%、0.4%和0.6%的雨生红球藻粉,配制4种等氮等脂的育肥饲料,投喂生殖蜕壳后雄蟹60 d,计算各组成活率、增重率、特定生长率和肥满度,同时测定了组织中的常规营养成分、脂肪酸组成和类胡萝卜素含量,并对实验数据进行方差分析。结果显示:(1)饲料中添加雨生红球藻粉对成体雄蟹的成活率、增重率、特定生长率和肥满度均无显著影响。(2)雄蟹性腺中的粗蛋白及肝胰腺总脂含量均以雨生红球藻粉0.4%组最高,而肌肉水分含量随饲料中雨生红球藻粉含量的升高整体呈上升趋势(P0.05)。(3)性腺中的脂肪酸C20:0含量随饲料雨生红球藻粉添加水平的升高而显著上升,而C16:1n7、C18:2n6和C18:3n3含量分别在雨生红球藻粉0.6%组、0.4%组和0组最高(P0.05)。(4)肝胰腺中的脂肪酸C14:0、C18:0和C18:1n7含量均以雨生红球藻粉0.2%组最高,而C18:1n9和总单不饱和脂肪酸(∑MUFA)含量均以雨生红球藻粉0.6%组最高(P0.05)。(5)肌肉中的脂肪酸C14:1n5和C20:2n6含量在雨生红球藻粉0.2%组最高(P0.05),C16:0含量及二十二碳六烯酸/二十碳五烯酸(DHA/EPA)比例以雨生红球藻粉0.4%组最高,而C22:6n3、总多不饱和脂肪酸(∑PUFA)、∑n-3 PUFA和总高度不饱和脂肪酸(∑HUFA)含量均以雨生红球藻粉0.6%组最高(P0.05)。(6)肝胰腺中的虾青素、β-胡萝卜素和头胸甲中的虾青素、叶黄素、玉米黄素含量随饲料中雨生红球藻粉含量的升高而显著上升(P0.05)。综上,饲料中添加雨生红球藻粉对成体雄蟹成活率、增重率和肥满度无显著影响,但可提高性腺粗蛋白、肌肉总多不饱和脂肪酸、肝胰腺和头胸甲中的类胡萝卜素含量,雄蟹育肥饲料中适宜的雨生红球藻粉添加量建议为0.4%左右。     

鳞翅目昆虫人工饲料的研究现状

鳞翅目昆虫为昆虫纲第二大目昆虫,其中大多数为农业害虫,以及可作为资源开发利用的资源昆虫。对鳞翅目人工饲料的研究是对其进行科学研究与资源利用的基础。本文阐述了目前鳞翅目昆虫人工饲料研究的现况,并提出了研究中存在的若干问题。     

基于氨基酸和二肽组成的蛋白质四级结构分类研究

基于最近邻居算法,从蛋白质一级序列出发,利用蛋白质序列氨基酸组成、二肤组成以及混合组成方法对蛋白质单聚体、二聚体、三聚体、四聚体、五聚体、六聚体和八聚体进行分类研究。结果表明:采用二肽组成编码方法的预洲效果最好,Jackknife检验和独立测试集检验的总体预测精度分别达到90.83%和95.48%,比相同数据集上基于伪氨基酸组成和组分耦合预测的方法提高了12和15个百分点;特别是对于五聚体蛋白,预测精度分别提高了90和50个百分点;说明二肽组成对于蛋白质四级结构分类研究是一种非常有效的特征提取方法。     

青藏高原及其毗邻地区拟步甲物种多样性与区系分析

青藏高原及其毗邻地区拟步甲共7亚科47族268属1950种(亚种),以拟步甲亚科Tenebrioninae(842种)为最多,然后依次为伪叶甲亚科Lagriinae(377种)、漠甲亚科Pimeliinae(372种)、树甲亚科Stenochiinae(143种)、菌甲亚科Diaperinae(139种)、朽木甲亚科Alleculinae(76种)和弗甲亚科Phrenapatinae(1种)。青藏高原及其毗邻地区拟步甲的区系组成突出中日界成分(54.10%),其与世界其他动物地理区系的关系以东洋界+中日界共有成分最多(17.16%),其次为古北界+撒哈拉-阿拉伯界(10.82%)。青藏高原拟步甲突出青藏区成分(62.33%),与西南区关系最直接(19.14%),蒙新区次之(7.12%)。基于青藏高原及其毗邻地区拟步甲的区系特点,讨论了其作为一个独立的动物地理区的可能性。     

羟基磷灰石复合材料的研究进展

目的：本文综述了羟基磷灰石（HA）复合材料的最新进展和研究近况,并简略探讨了它们的今后发展方向。     

Whole body elemental and proximate composition of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) during the life cycle

Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) raised under production conditions were sampled periodically during their life cycle, in fresh and salt water, to determine their proximate and elemental composition. The parameters changed in relation to life cycle stage and fish size, and were influenced by whether the fish were in salt or freshwater. Measurements presented can be used to assist in the formulation of feeds, and to determine the health and nutritional status of commercially reared Atlantic salmon.     

中国香港淡水鱼类的生物多样性与保护

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,China,has an area of1095km2and is located at the edge of thenorthern tropical zone.The landscape is dominated byhills and ravines withflat landrestrictedtothe lowflood-plains and coastal regions.Inthis hilly domain,the smallrocky streams are typically fast flowing at their uplandsources,and graduallyreduceinspeed asthey wind alonghill cuttings to reach the lowlands.While streams arecommonlyfound,rivers are very limited in number.Thefewlong and meanderi…     

Predicting beef carcass composition using tissue weights of a primal cut assessed by computed tomography

The potential of the composition of the forerib measured by X-ray computed tomography (CT) as a predictor of carcass composition was evaluated using data recorded on 30 Aberdeen Angus and 43 Limousin crossbred heifers and steers. The left sides of the carcasses were split into 20 cuts, which were CT scanned and fully dissected into fat, muscle and bone. Carcass and forerib tissue weights were assessed by dissection and CT. Carcass composition was assessed very accurately by CT scanning of the primal cuts (adj-R2 = 0.97 for the three tissues). CT scanning predicted weights of fat, muscle and bone of the forerib with adj-R2 of 0.95, 0.91 and 0.75, respectively. Single regression models with the weights of fat, muscle or bone in the forerib measured by CT as the only predictors to estimate fat, muscle or bone of the left carcass obtained by CT showed adjusted coefficients of determination (adj-R2) of 0.79, 0.60 and 0.52, respectively. By additionally fitting breed and sex, accuracy increased to 0.85, 0.73 and 0.67. Using carcass and forerib weights in addition to the previous predictors improved significantly the prediction accuracy of carcass fat and muscle weights to adj-R2 values of 0.92 and 0.96, respectively, while the highest value for carcass bone weight was 0.77. In general, equations derived using CT data had lower adj-R2 values for bone, but better accuracies for fat and muscle compared to those obtained using dissection. CT scanning could be considered as an alternative very accurate and fast method to assess beef carcass composition that could be very useful for breeding programmes and research studies involving a large number of animals, including the calibration of other indirect methods (e.g. in vivo and carcass video image analysis).     

Experimental manipulation of egg quality in chickens: influence of albumen and yolk on the size and body composition of near-term embryos in a precocial bird

The importance of avian egg components in the determination of hatchling size and quality has yet to be fully evaluated. In the first experiment, 20% of the albumen and/or the yolk was removed from chicken eggs to determine the impact of each egg component on metabolism and various size measures in near-term embryos. Results show that metabolic rate, dry body mass, and internal organ mass are largely independent of egg composition. Removal of albumen resulted in a decrease in wet body mass corresponding to decreases in water content in the body and the yolk sac, and decreased tibiotarsus length. Removal of yolk resulted in no change in body mass, but decreases in both wet and dry yolk sac mass. In a second experiment, removal of 15% of either egg component led to reductions in hatchling mass similar to those observed in whole near-term embryos. Albumen, as the primary source of water in the egg, is the primary determinant of hatchling size and may influence hatchling success through size-related limiting factors. Differences in yolk content may influence neonatal quality as a nutritional supplement, but seem not to result in greater tissue formation during embryonic development. Accepted: 2 September 1997     

Microalgae for use in tropical aquaculture II: Effect of salinity on growth,gross chemical composition and fatty acid composition of three species of marine microalgae

The influence of salinity on the growth, gross chemical composition and fatty acid composition of three species of marine microalgae,Isochrysis sp.,Nannochloropsis oculata andNitzschia (frustulum), was investigated. There was no significant change in growth rate ofIsochrysis sp. andN. (frustulum) over the experimental range of salinity (10–35 ppt), whileN. oculata had a significantly slower growth rate only at 35 ppt. The ash content of all three species increased with increasing salinity. Two species,Isochrysis sp. andN. oculata, showed significant linear increases in total lipid content with increasing salinity over the range 10 to 35 ppt.N. (frustulum) showed significant linear decrease in total lipids, with the highest percentage at low salinity within the range 10–15 ppt. Variation in salinity had only a slight effect on the total protein, the soluble carbohydrate and chlorophylla content of all species. All species responded to change in salinity by modifying their cellular fatty acid compositions. Significant positive correlations were observed between increase in salinity and increase in the percentage ofcis-9-hexadecenoic acid [16:1 (n-7)] over the entire experimental range inN. (frustulum) and between 25–35 ppt inN. oculata. There were curved relationships between salinity and percentage of hexadecanoic acid [16:0] inN. oculata andN. (frustulum), with maxima within the range 25–30 ppt for both species. A curved relationship was found between salinity and percentage of eicosapentaenoic acid [20–5(n-3)], forN. (frustulum), with lowest percentages of the fatty acid within the range 25–30 ppt. There was no consistent pattern in the percentages of other major fatty acids as functions of salinity. The Northern Territory isolateN. (frustulum) was unusual in having a substantial increase in total fatty acids with decreasing salinity (85 mg g^–1 dry wt at 10 ppt compared with 33 mg g^–1 at 35 ppt). The optimum salinities for the production of maximum amount of lipids and the essential fatty acids 20:5(n-3) and/or 22:6(n-3) were as follows:25 ppt forIsochrysis sp. [22:6(n-3)]; 20–30 ppt forN. oculata [20:5(n-3)]; 10–15 ppt forN. (frustulum) [20:5(n-3) and 22:6(n-3)].Author for correspondence     

A genetic similarity rule determines arthropod community structure

We define a genetic similarity rule that predicts how genetic variation in a dominant plant affects the structure of an arthropod community. This rule applies to hybridizing cottonwood species where plant genetic variation determines plant-animal interactions and structures a dependent community of leaf-modifying arthropods. Because the associated arthropod community is expected to respond to important plant traits, we also tested whether plant chemical composition is one potential intermediate link between plant genes and arthropod community composition. Two lines of evidence support our genetic similarity rule. First, in a common garden experiment we found that trees with similar genetic compositions had similar chemical compositions and similar arthropod compositions. Second, in a wild population, we found a similar relationship between genetic similarity in cottonwoods and the dependent arthropod community. Field data demonstrate that the relationship between genes and arthropods was also significant when the hybrids were analysed alone, i.e. the pattern is not dependent upon the inclusion of both parental species. Because plant-animal interactions and natural hybridization are common to diverse plant taxa, we suggest that a genetic similarity rule is potentially applicable, and may be extended, to other systems and ecological processes. For example, plants with similar genetic compositions may exhibit similar litter decomposition rates. A corollary to this genetic similarity rule predicts that in systems with low plant genetic variability, the environment will be a stronger factor structuring the dependent community. Our findings argue that the genetic composition of a dominant plant can structure higher order ecological processes, thus placing community and ecosystem ecology within a genetic and evolutionary framework. A genetic similarity rule also has important conservation implications because the loss of genetic diversity in one species, especially dominant or keystone species that define many communities, may cascade to negatively affect the rest of the dependent community.     

Molecular properties of extracellular Botrytis cinerea laccase

Two molecular forms of extracellular laccase induced by different phenolics were studied in Botrytis cinerea. The enzyme induced by grapejuice had a MW of 38 000 and contained 80 % sugar while that induced by gallic acid had a MW of 36 000 and contained 70 % sugar. Both forms contained arabinose, xylose, mannose, galactose and glucose but differed markedly in the relative content of these sugars. Tunicamycin, which inhibits glycosylation of peptide chains, considerably reduced the level of laccase in both hyphae and medium. The two enzyme forms differed also in their isoelectric focusing pattern and amino acid composition, the grape juice enzyme being richer in basic amino acids and poorer in acidic ones. A third form, induced by p-coumaric acid, resembled the laccase induced by gallic acid in many of its properties but was apparently not identical to it. The possible significance of the various forms in relation to the infection process by the fungus is discussed.     

The effect of low oxygen concentration on the acyl-lipid and fatty-acid composition of the C4 plant Amaranthus paniculatus L.

Acyl lipids and their constituent fatty acids were studied in leaves, chloroplasts and bundle-sheath strands of the C₄ plant Amaranthus paniculatus L. grown under normal and 4%-oxygen-containing atmospheres. In all fractions the major lipids were found to be monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, digalactosyldiacylglycerol, sulphoquinovo-syldiacylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol. Significant quantities of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine were restricted to leaves and bundle-sheath strands. All lipids, except phosphatidylglycerol where 3-trans-hexadecenoic acid was also present, contained palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid. On a chlorophyll basis and compared with whole leaves, the amounts of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in bundle-sheath strands were considerably reduced. Three weeks after the change from a normal to a 4% atmospheric O₂ level, the galactolipid content, particularly in the bundlesheath strands, was enhanced. There were no significant differences in the degrees of saturationunsaturation of total acyl lipid for the plants grown in the low oxygen and normal atmospheres, although under 4% O₂ the phosphatidylglycerol contained an increased proportion of 3-trans-hexadecenoic acid at the expense of palmitic acid.Abbreviations DGDG digalactosyldiacylglycerol - MGDG monogalactosyldiacylglycerol - PC phosphatidylcholine - PE phosphatidylethanolamine - PG phosphatidylglycerol - SQDG sulphquinovosyldiacylglycerol     

黄渤海鹰爪虾Trochypenaeus curvirostris(Stimpson)种群结构特征的初步研究

本文探讨了鹰爪虾黄渤海群系的种群结构特征。结果如下:1.种群体长范围、生殖群体为20—107mm;越冬群体为13—101mm。2.种群的年龄结构为3个年龄组,4个世代(0—3龄)。3.头胸甲长和体重关系W=0.002421L~(2.5173),r=+0.9961。4.雌、雄性比组成为1.35:1;性成熟的年龄一般为2龄虾。     

Lipid and fatty acid composition of muscle and internal organs from Ruvettus pretiosus

The lipid composition of different muscular areas (dorsal, ventral, subcutaneous, periosteum) and organs (liver, gall bladder, testes) of a gempylid fish Ruvettus pretiosus was examined. Waxes were the main lipid fraction in muscular areas, while the liver and testes were quite enriched in triglycerides and phospholipids. Oleic acid and fatty acids of n-3 family were the most frequently found in total lipids.     

A comparison of six methods of botanical analysis in the montane grasslands of Natal

An evaluation of sampling techniques was conducted on Highland Sourveld in the Natal Drakensberg. The quadrat, Levy bridge, step point, wheel point, metric belt transect and 't Mannetje & Haydock methods were used. In order to compare these methods the scores were standardized against the wheel point. The results of analyses of variance showed that the quadrat and point techniques were the most consistent. The metric belt transect and 't Mannetje & Haydock methods were shown to be not suitable for detailed botanical analysis. Operator differences and time of day had little effect on the results. It is concluded that the wheel point method is most suitable for determining grassland species composition in the Natal Drakensberg.