互花米草入侵对土壤生态系统的影响

互花米草是全球海岸滩涂湿地生态系统最成功的入侵植物之一,对中国沿海湿地土壤生态系统也产生了重大影响.本文主要从入侵地土壤生态系统的结构组分(土壤微生物和土壤动物)与物质循环(土壤碳循环、氮循环、磷循环和重金属元素)两大方面,综述了近年来国内外互花米草入侵对沿海滩涂与河口地区土壤生态系统的影响.此外,本文还指出了未来互花米草的研究方向,包括加强互花米草对入侵地土壤微生物的影响的研究,整合互花米草对地上、地下资源竞争和生态过程影响的研究,以及互花米草在全球变化大背景下入侵动态预测.     

基于Maxent生态位模型的互花米草在我国沿海的潜在分布

以分布在我国沿海滩涂的96个互花米草分布记录点及覆盖东部沿海区域的海洋环境数据和气候环境数据为材料,利用Maxent生态位模型,研究外来物种互花米草在我国沿海的潜在分布情况.结果表明:互花米草适宜分布区占我国沿海区域的85%,其中高度适宜分布区占18%,中度适宜分布区占34%,低度适宜分布区占33%,不适宜分布区仅为15%.互花米草在我国沿海的地理分布主要受到年均最低海水温度、年均海水温度、年平均气温和1月最低气温4个环境因素的影响,而年均降水量、年均日较差、海水盐度、最高海水温度、7月最高气温及海流速度对互花米草地理分布的影响较小.互花米草高度适宜分布区的最低海水温度为0.62~24.81℃,平均海水温度为10.46~27.29℃,年均气温为9~25℃,1月最低气温为-13.5~16.7℃.互花米草地理分布概率在我国北部沿海区域达到20%以上,互花米草存在向我国北部进一步入侵的趋势,特别是在渤海湾地区,互花米草入侵潜力较大.互花米草在我国不适宜分布区主要集中在海南中部和南部海岸,以及台湾省大部分区域,依据当前我国分布记录及气候数据,这些区域互花米草入侵风险较小,但不排除未来入侵的可能性.     

生境异质性及源株密度对互花米草入侵力的影响

外来物种互花米草(Spartina alterniflora)被引种到我国海岸带后,已带来一系列生态危害,严重影响了入侵地生态系统结构和功能,深入了解其入侵机制是实施有效控制的基础和理论依据。长江口的滩涂湿地是我国典型的异质潮滩,拥有多种生境。为了探究异质潮滩环境中互花米草初始源株对其入侵力的影响,研究通过野外移栽实验,模拟不同源株密度,探讨潮滩湿地生境异质性及源株密度对互花米草定居、生长和扩散的影响。结果表明:1)生境异质性及源株密度均对互花米草存活率、株高及种群增长率有极显著影响(P0.01)。2)至生长季末,植被区内互花米草存活率、株高均显著高于前沿光滩(P0.05)。此外,淤泥质潮滩植被区内互花米草株高、种群增长率也显著高于粉砂质潮滩植被区(P0.05)。3)互花米草入侵植被区不受源株密度的限制,但随源株密度增加,互花米草种群增长率显著降低(P0.05),而株高无显著差异(P0.05);在光滩区,只有高源株密度才可入侵成功。4)异质生境的冲淤动态、淹水时间和淹水深度是影响互花米草存活和生长的主要环境因子。丰富了河口湿地互花米草入侵力的机理研究,也为我国开展互花米草防控及海岸带保护、修复和管理提供了科学依据,具有重要的理论和实践意义。     

互花米草入侵对鸟类的生态影响

生物入侵威胁本地物种生存,破坏生态系统的结构和功能,是导致全球生物多样性丧失的重要原因之一。外来植物是入侵生物中的重要一类,可以显著改变本地植被群落,并影响其他生物类群。鸟类作为生态系统中的较高营养级,对由入侵植物引起的栖息地变化十分敏感。互花米草自引入中国沿海以来,其分布区域不断扩散,多数研究认为互花米草入侵造成本地生物多样性降低和生态系统退化。系统梳理了互花米草入侵对鸟类栖息地、食物资源、繁殖、群落等方面的生态影响。主要负面影响有:(1)植被群落结构不利于鸟类栖息、筑巢、觅食;(2)鸟类食物资源丰度和多样性下降;(3)本地鸟类种群数量和物种多样性显著下降。在我国东部沿海湿地,互花米草入侵已经显著改变了植被与鸟类分布格局。但随着入侵历史的增长,少数小型雀形目鸟类却可以逐渐适应互花米草生境。互花米草入侵为某些非本地鸟类提供了空白生态位,在一定程度上丰富了本地物种多样性,对互花米草的快速清除反而可能不利于已适应并依赖互花米草生境的鸟类。综上,认为互花米草入侵对鸟类群落甚至整个生态系统的影响可能需要更多研究进行综合评价,应开展长期、大尺度、多因子的监测研究和多物种比较研究,建立生态评价模型并制定科学有效的互花米草管理对策。     

互花米草入侵对滨海湿地生态系统的影响研究进展

滨海湿地受海、陆生态系统的交互影响,是典型的生态脆弱带和敏感区。互花米草是全球海岸带最为成功的外来入侵物种,对滨海湿地生态系统已经产生了重要的影响。本文对已有相关研究进行了系统梳理,揭示了互花米草入侵对滨海湿地生态系统生物地球化学循环(碳循环、氮循环、磷循环及土壤重金属迁移)和入侵地生物群落(微生物、植物和动物)的影响。并在此基础上对今后研究的重点提出了展望: 加强互花米草入侵对滨海湿地生态系统健康影响机制研究;重点关注全球变化背景下互花米草群落与湿地环境互馈耦合;开展长时序定位监测,厘清滨海湿地生态系统对互米草不同入侵阶段的响应差异,以期对互花米草的生态利用和治理提供指导。     

土著昆虫素毒蛾对入侵植物互花米草地理种群的选择性

外来植物入侵后会改变其对入侵地植食性昆虫的防御能力以应对入侵地生物环境的变化,因此,对土著昆虫防御能力变化的研究将有助于解释外来植物成功入侵的机制。互花米草(Spartina alterniflora)是广泛入侵中国东部沿海地区的外来植物,研究其入侵后对本地植食性昆虫的响应,可从一个侧面部分地回答其成功入侵的生态机制。利用Y型嗅觉仪,结合室内取食实验,我们比较了中国的土著昆虫素毒蛾(Laelia coenosa)对互花米草3个原产地种群和5个入侵地种群的选择偏好,这些种群分别来自美国的德克萨斯(Texas Point)、卡纳维拉尔国家海岸(Canaveral National Seashore)、佛罗里达大西洋大学(Florida Atlantic University),以及中国的唐海、天津、盐城、崇明、珠海。结果表明,虽然素毒蛾幼虫对互花米草不同地理种群叶片气味没有显著的选择偏好,但对原产地种群的取食相对选择系数显著高于入侵地种群,说明互花米草入侵地种群对素毒蛾的抵抗能力相对较强。这从某种层面上可以推测互花米草入侵中国东部沿海地区以后,其对植食性昆虫取食的防御能力有所增强,而这种能力将在一定程度上减少素毒蛾等入侵地植食动物对它的攻击。     

互花米草入侵对滩涂湿地甲烷排放的影响

在浙江省台州市附近滩涂湿地设置3个不同互花米草入侵密度梯度,即仅有本土植物样地、互花米草与本土植物混生样地和互花米草单优群落样地,研究互花米草入侵对滩涂湿地CH₄排放的影响.结果表明: 3个样地CH₄排放通量为0.68～5.88 mg·m^-2·h^-1,CH₄排放通量随着互花米草入侵梯度的增加而显著升高,互花米草单优群落样地CH₄排放通量分别为本土植物样地和混生样地的8.7和2.3倍.互花米草入侵显著提高了产甲烷菌数量、产甲烷潜力、甲烷氧化菌数量、甲烷氧化潜力、植物生物量、土壤有机碳含量和土壤pH,降低了土壤全氮含量.CH₄排放通量与土壤全氮呈显著负相关,与产甲烷菌数量、产甲烷潜力、甲烷氧化菌数量、甲烷氧化潜力、植物生物量和土壤pH呈显著正相关.互花米草的入侵提高了滩涂湿地植物群落生物量和土壤pH,促进了产甲烷菌数量和产甲烷潜力,从而提高了滩涂湿地的CH₄排放.     

Geographical variation in germination traits of the salt-marsh cordgrass Spartina alterniflora in its invasive and native ranges

入侵地和原产地盐沼植物互花米草种子萌发性状的地理变异 种子萌发是植物早期生活史中最重要的阶段,决定了植物的生态位和地理分布范围,对外来植物的入侵潜力有重要影响。盐沼植物互花米草(Spartina alterniflora)在中国沿海滩涂的入侵范围最大,并已入侵到比原产地更低的纬度范围,这为我们研究互花米草在不同地理区域之间以及沿纬度梯度的萌发性状差异和适应提供了契机。在控温培养箱中淡水培养条件下,我们比较研究了来自入侵地(19°–40° N)10 个地点和原产地(27°–43° N)16个地点不同纬度互花米草种群的种子萌发性状差异,以及这种差异与各种 群来源地潮差和气候因素的相关性。原产地互花米草种群种子的萌发率和萌发指数比入侵地种群分别高10%和20%,但入侵地互花米草种群的萌发速度比原产地快3 d。入侵地互花米草种群的萌发率和萌发 指数随着纬度升高呈现线性递增的变化趋势,而原产地呈现线性递减的变化趋势。入侵地和原产地互花米草种群的平均萌发时间都与纬度呈现线性负相关。入侵地互花米草种群的萌发率和萌发指数与年日均温、年日最低均温、和年日最高均温呈现负相关,而在原产地呈现相反的相关关系。入侵地和原产地互花米草种群的平均萌发时间分别与年日均温、年日最低均温和年日最高均温呈现正相关关系。我们的研究结果表明,入侵地和原产地互花米草种群的萌发率和萌发指数已沿纬度进化出不同的渐变群格局,但平均萌发时间进化出与原产地一致的纬度渐变群格局,即在生物入侵过程中沿纬度梯度种子萌发策略会随着入侵时间和过程而发生变化。     

滩涂湿地入侵种互花米草植被覆盖度的高空间分辨率遥感估算

互花米草是沿海滩涂生态系统的重要入侵物种,其分布状况和覆盖度是湿地生态研究的重要参数和基础。以宁德三沙湾(三都澳)滩涂湿地为研究区,以SPOT6 6 m空间分辨率卫星影像为数据源,对互花米草分布和植被覆盖度进行研究,并与同期10 cm空间分辨率无人机影像进行比较验证。结果表明,影像覆盖区域内互花米草总面积为20.19 km~2,其中蕉城区互花米草分布较广,面积为9.63 km~2,占研究区互花米草总面积的47.70%。互花米草植被覆盖度整体上以40%-60%和60%-80%的中、高覆盖度分布为主,其分布面积分别为5.44 km~2和4.95 km~2,占互花米草总分布面积的26.92%和24.52%,而40%以下的低覆盖度和80%以上较高覆盖度分布相对较少。SPOT6遥感影像估算得到的互花米草植被覆盖度具有较好的精度,与无人机影像值之间的均方根误差RMSE为0.117,线性回归决定系数R~2为0.918,可用于滩涂湿地植被覆盖度分析。     

互花米草入侵对大型底栖动物群落垂直结构的影响

2012年8月,在浙江省玉环县漩门湾国家湿地公园,利用自制分层采样器,以5 cm为单位对0—25 cm泥层进行分层取样,研究潮间带互花米草滩涂和自然滩涂两种生境中大型底栖动物的垂直分布情况,以及互花米草入侵对大型底栖动物垂直结构的影响。两种生境中共获得大型底栖动物40种,其中软体动物18种,甲壳动物13种,环节动物4种,其他类群5种。在自然滩涂生境中获得的物种数为30种,互花米草生境为31种,两种生境的共有种有21种。互花米草和自然滩涂生境平均栖息密度分别为222.6株/m2和1052.8株/m2。研究结果表明:(1)大型底栖动物主要栖息在0—10 cm泥层深度;(2)大型底栖动物群落沿泥层深度存在分层分布现象;(3)互花米草入侵缩短了底栖动物的垂直分布距离,但对其主要栖息深度影响不大;(4)互花米草入侵改变了原来生境特征,导致大型底栖动物的群落结构发生变化。     

A Unique Protease Cleavage Site Predicted in the Spike Protein of the Novel Pneumonia Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Potentially Related to Viral Transmissibility

正Dear Editor,In December 2019, a novel human coronavirus caused an epidemic of severe pneumonia(Coronavirus Disease 2019,COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei, China(Wu et al. 2020; Zhu et al. 2020). So far, this virus has spread to all areas of China and even to other countries. The epidemic has caused 67,102 confirmed infections with 1526 fatal cases     

Curcuminoids as inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase: A receptor based pharmacophore study with distance mapping of the active site

Curcumin is the yellow pigment of turmeric that interacts irreversibly forming an adduct with thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), an enzyme responsible for redox control of cell and defence against oxidative stress. Docking at both the active sites of TrxR was performed to compare the potency of three naturally occurring curcuminoids, namely curcumin, demethoxy curcumin and bis-demethoxy curcumin. Results show that active sites of TrxR occur at the junction of E and F chains. Volume and area of both cavities is predicted. It has been concluded by distance mapping of the most active conformations that Se atom of catalytic residue SeCYS498, is at a distance of 3.56 from C13 of demethoxy curcumin at the E chain active site, whereas C13 carbon atom forms adduct with Se atom of SeCys 498. We report that at least one methoxy group in curcuminoids is necessary for interation with catalytic residues of thioredoxin. Pharmacophore of both active sites of the TrxR receptor for curcumin and demethoxy curcumin molecules has been drawn and proposed for design and synthesis of most probable potent antiproliferative synthetic drugs.     

Comparative morphology of the carpel in the Liliaceae: Hewardieae, Petrosavieae, and Tricyrteae

The young pistils in the melanthioid tribes, Hewardieae, Petrosavieae and Tricyrteae, are uniformly tricarpellate and syncarpous. They lack raphide idioblasts. All are multiovulate, with bitegmic ovules. The Petrosavieae are marked by the presence of septal glands and incomplete syncarpy. Tepals and stamens adhere to the ovary in the Hewardieae and the Petrosavieae but not in the Tricyrteae. Two vascular bundles occur in the stamens of the Hewartlieae and Tricyrtis latifolia. Ventral bundles in the upper part of the ovary of the Hewardieae are continuous with compound septal bundles and placental bundles in the lower part. Putative ventral bundles occur in the alternate position in the Tricyrteae and putative placental bundles in the opposite. position in the Petrosavieae. The dichtomously branched stigma in each carpel of the Tricyrteae is supplied by a bifurcated dorsal bundle.     

Enterovirus 71 3C proteolytically processes the histone H3 N-terminal tail during infection

Highlights
1. The N-terminal tail of histone H3 is specifically cleaved during EV71 infection.
2. Viral protease 3C is identified as a protease responsible for proteolytically processing the N-terminal H3 tail.
3. Our finding reveals a new epigenetic regulatory mechanism for Enterovirus 71 in virus-host interactions.     

Detection of EBV and HHV6 in the Brain Tissue of Patients with Rasmussen’s Encephalitis

Rasmussen’s encephalitis (RE) is a rare pediatric neurological disorder, and the exact etiology is not clear. Viral infection may be involved in the pathogenesis of RE, but conflicting results have reported. In this study, we evaluated the expression of both Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpes virus (HHV) 6 antigens in brain sections from 30 patients with RE and 16 control individuals by immunohistochemistry. In the RE group, EBV and HHV6 antigens were detected in 56.7% (17/30) and 50% (15/30) of individuals, respectively. In contrast, no detectable EBV and HHV6 antigen expression was found in brain tissues of the control group. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in 20.0% (6/30) of individuals. In particular, a 4-year-old boy had a typical clinical course, including a medical history of viral encephalitis, intractable epilepsy, and hemispheric atrophy. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in neurons and astrocytes in the brain tissue, accompanied by a high frequency of CD8⁺ T cells. Our results suggest that EBV and HHV6 infection and the activation of CD8⁺ T cells are involved in the pathogenesis of RE.     

Perinatal Vertical Transmission of Chikungunya Virus in Ruili,a Town on the Border between China and Myanmar

正Dear Editor,Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an arbovirus in the family of Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, is transmitted by the A.aegyptii or A. albopictus mosquito, and causes disease in humans characterized by fever, rash, and arthralgia (Silva and Dermody 2017; Suhrbier 2019). It was first reported in 1953 in Tanzania, and caused only a few outbreaks and sporadic cases in Africa and Asia in last century. However, in the epidemic in 2004, CHIKV acquired mutations that conferred enhanced transmission by the A. albopictus mosquito(Schuffenecker et al. 2006). Since then, it has successively caused outbreaks in Africa, the Indian Ocean, South East Asia, the South America, and Europe (Zeller et al. 2016).     

Development of a Novel Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2

In conclusion, the novel visual RT-LAMP assay is a simple, rapid, and sensitive approach for detection of SARS-CoV-2, and it is ready for application in primary care and community hospitals or health care centers, and even patients' own houses in response to the current SARS-CoV-2 epidemic because the assay does not require sophisticated equipment and skilled personnel. Furthermore, it is also ready to be used in fields for screening samples from wild animals and environments to facilitate the identification of potential intermediate hosts that mediate the cross-species transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from bats to humans.