有鳞目动物显微皮纹学

简要介绍了近年来国内外对有鳞目动物表皮扫描电镜研究的动态。现已描述了多样化的鳞片感觉器官;明确了有鳞目动物表皮具有复杂的组织学层次结构;其中最重要的是证明了表皮几丁质双层排列的事实以及得杂的蜕皮循环。研究还表明由于鳞片表皮结构特征在高级分类阶元中具有保守性,因而可以提供有用的系统演化信息。至少某些表皮特征,如微饰类型反映了系统联系而非生态适应。     

有鳞目动物显微皮纹学研究样品制备方法

有鳞目动物具有复杂的蜕皮循环,表皮层还具有复杂的组织学层次,然而只有最外面的角皮层有稳定的微细结构.在扫描电镜样品的制备过程中,常因不能区别蜕皮循环阶段造成混淆组织层次而影响研究成果的准确性.本文介绍的整体切割样品制备技术可以估计蜕皮循环阶段而无需依赖组织学技术,还介绍了一种简单的光学显微镜下皮纹学装片制作方法.     

浙贝母鳞片衰退过程的超微结构研究

通过光镜和电镜手段观察了浙贝母（Ｆｒｉｔｉｌｌａｒｉａ ｔｈｕｎｂｅｒｇｉｉＭｉｑ．）鳞片的衰退过程．开始时,近轴面表皮附近的几层薄壁细胞首先瓦解,形成一条清晰的破碎细胞带．细胞内含物的降解过程是主动有序的．高尔基体和内质网产生许多囊泡,囊泡在细胞内含物的降解和降解产物的运输过程中起着重要的作用．细胞间丰富的胞间连丝是胞间物质运输的良好通道     

蛱蝶翅鳞片的超微结构观察

对我国东北地区典型常见蛱蝶科15属20种蝴蝶翅鳞片的超微结构进行了扫描电镜观察。结果显示：蛱蝶翅鳞片形态上可分为窄叶形、阔叶形和圆叶形3种,鳞片长65～135 μm,宽35～85 μm,间距48～112 μm。蛱蝶翅鳞片的超微结构可分为拱桥形、棋盘形和筛孔形3 种。拱桥形结构和棋盘形结构比较接近,二者与筛孔形结构差异较明显。在已观察的种类中,线蛱蝶属红线蛱蝶翅鳞片上的纵肋突起最小（200 nm×300 nm）,闪蛱蝶属柳紫闪蛱蝶翅鳞片上的纵肋突起最大（590 nm×560 nm）。鳞片具有相似的形状、结构和排列,尤其是同属蝴蝶翅鳞片超微结构的形状和尺寸差异较小,表明它们之间的亲缘关系接近。     

胭脂鱼鳞片表面结构的扫描电镜观察

鳞片的数目和形态特征常作为鱼类分类的特征之一,也是年龄鉴定和生长状态分析的重要材料。对鱼类鳞片形态特征的研究早就受到广泛注意并在继续深入进行。自七十年代将扫描电镜技术应用于观察鳞片表面结构特征以来,已对近三十种鱼类的鳞片进行了扫描电镜观察研究,其中包括我国的淡水鱼类鲤亚科的几个种。上述研究结果显示出鳞片表面结构的亚显微特征在探讨鱼类系统发育和区别疑难种类上具有一定意义。为丰富我国鱼类鳞片表面亚显微结构资料和满足教学需要,我们对长江中的胭脂鱼Myxocyprinus asiaticus Bleeker 鳞片进行了扫描电镜观察。     

慈姑腋生小鳞片的发育及其超微结构的研究

慈姑叶腋内有许多１－２层细胞厚、无维管束的小鳞片,它们由叶鞘基部背腹面及叶腋部的表皮细胞分裂形成;小鳞片的发生与顶端分生组织无直接关系。靠近生长锥的幼叶叶腋内的小鳞片能覆盖生长锥;由于小鳞片细胞具有分泌粘液的功能,使生长锥和叶原基片于粘液的包裹之中,从而有效地防止了水流的侵袭。小鳞片进入分泌期后,细胞内高尔基体数量明显增多,并活跃地溢出囊泡;内质网膨大成囊泡状;线粒体由近质膜,且出现变形。小鳞片发     

浙贝母鳞片衰退和物质撤退的超微结构观察

本文以浙贝母衰退鳞片为材料,观察了细胞内含物降解和运输的过程。细胞内含物降解时,内膜系统产生许多囊泡,这些囊泡有降解和运输两方面的作用。降解产物在细胞中表现为颗粒和丝状物形式,它们在细胞间转移通过共质体和质外体两条途径,转移方式多种多样．降解产物经过细胞间转移,最终汇集到维管束,再通过维管束运往新生器官。转移细胞在物质运往筛分子的过程中起着重要作用。韧皮部是降解产物运输的主要通道,导管的一部分可能也参与了这种运输．     

杞麓湖鲤鱼鳞片表面结构的扫描电镜观察

采用扫描电镜技术对鲤科鱼类鳞片表面结构进行观察研究,目前国内尚未见报道。本工作主要以杞麓湖的鲤鱼为研究对象,同时观察了鲤亚科其他属鱼类的鳞片表面结构,发现鳞纹上的齿状粒突可能是从无到有,同时探察此结构有无可能作为分类的一项指标。鉴于杞麓鲤的鳞纹上具齿状粒突,而华南鲤则无,再综合考虑二者骨骼性状的差异,作者认为,这些性状可作为将杞麓鲤由普通鲤的一个亚种提升为一个独立种级地位的证据。从鳞片辐射沟的亚显微结构推测,辐射沟具有两方面的功能,一方面可对鳞片的热胀冷缩起缓冲作用:另一方面可增强鳞片的柔软弯曲性。     

早寒武世带网状鳞片的蠕形海生动物

前言寒武纪早期动物爆发性演化事件是地质历史中的一个重大不解之谜,达尔文对此曾给予极大的注意但深感费解(Mayr,1982;Conway Morris,1987)。近三十余年来,世界各地前寒武纪晚期地层内陆续发现了许多软躯干后生动物化石。这些化石资料表明后生动物在寒武纪之前早已出现了(Chen,1988;Glaessner,1984)。由于早期动物由软躯干所组成,极难成为化石。到了寒武纪时,地层中化石     

Maximum parsimony on subsets of taxa

In this paper we investigate mathematical questions concerning the reliability (reconstruction accuracy) of Fitch's maximum parsimony algorithm for reconstructing the ancestral state given a phylogenetic tree and a character. In particular, we consider the question whether the maximum parsimony method applied to a subset of taxa can reconstruct the ancestral state of the root more accurately than when applied to all taxa, and we give an example showing that this indeed is possible. A surprising feature of our example is that ignoring a taxon closer to the root improves the reliability of the method. On the other hand, in the case of the two-state symmetric substitution model, we answer affirmatively a conjecture of Li, Steel and Zhang which states that under a molecular clock the probability that the state at a single taxon is a correct guess of the ancestral state is a lower bound on the reconstruction accuracy of Fitch's method applied to all taxa.     

Reconstruction of ancestral sequences by the inferential method,a tool for protein engineering studies

This paper describes the inferential method, an approach for reconstructing protein and nucleotide sequences of ancestral species, starting from known, homologous, contemporary sequences. The method requires knowledge of the topology of the phylogenetic tree, whose nodes are the species to whom the reconstructed sequences belong.The method has been tested by computer simulation of speciation and nucleotide substitutions, starting from a single ancestral sequence, and by subsequent reconstruction of nodal sequences. Results have shown that reconstructions obtained by the inferential method are affected by limited error frequencies, which (1) are proportional to the squares of nucleotide substitution rates and of internodal distances, and (2) are little influenced by non-uniformity of transformation rates of nucleotides.Furthermore, good agreement of the results has been obtained by comparing protein-sequence reconstructions carried out with the inferential method with those obtained using the maximum parsimony method in two different cases: e.g., a reconstruction of simulated sequences and a reconstruction of mammalian ribonuclease sequences.Abbreviations used MP maximum parsimony method - ML maximum likelihood method - IM inferential method - MY millions of years - N-tree natural-like phylogenetic tree - E-tree equibranched phylogenetic tree - EA percentage number of erroneous amino acids in a reconstructed sequence - EC percentage number of erroneous codons in a reconstructed sequence - t_n time interval between a P- and its - F-sequence nucleotides and amino acids are indicated by their I.U.B. codes (N.C.-I.U.B., 1985)Correspondence to: A. Di Donato     

MLGO: phylogeny reconstruction and ancestral inference from gene-order data

Background

The rapid accumulation of whole-genome data has renewed interest in the study of using gene-order data for phylogenetic analyses and ancestral reconstruction. Current software and web servers typically do not support duplication and loss events along with rearrangements.

Results

MLGO (Maximum Likelihood for Gene-Order Analysis) is a web tool for the reconstruction of phylogeny and/or ancestral genomes from gene-order data. MLGO is based on likelihood computation and shows advantages over existing methods in terms of accuracy, scalability and flexibility.

Conclusions

To the best of our knowledge, it is the first web tool for analysis of large-scale genomic changes including not only rearrangements but also gene insertions, deletions and duplications. The web tool is available from http://www.geneorder.org/server.php.     

Evolution of the Vertebrate Cytosolic Malate Dehydrogenase Gene Family: Duplication and Divergence in Actinopterygian Fish

Abstract A general correlation between neural expression and negative charge in isozymes suggests charge represents an adaptation to the neural environment. Interestingly, a notable exception exists in teleost fish. Two cytosolic malate dehydrogenase (MDH) isozymes have different spatial expression patterns in certain fishes: one is expressed in all tissues and the second is expressed primarily in the eye and skeletal muscle. While the neural MDH isozyme is negatively charged, the difference in charge between the two isozymes is not as pronounced as that observed in other gene families (e.g., triosephosphate isomerase and lactate dehydrogenase). Most tetrapods express a single cytosolic MDH isozyme, and it has been demonstrated recently that the pair of isozymes found in teleosts results from a gene duplication sometime after the separation of teleosts and tetrapods, although the exact timing of this duplication has not been inferred. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that the duplication of teleost isozymes occurred during the radiation of actinopterygian fish, consistent with the timing of duplication at other loci. Using inferred amino acid sequences, we examine the pattern of change following the duplication and across the rest of the MDH gene tree. Comparison between the MDH gene family and another gene family that shows a larger charge differential among members (triosephosphate isomerase) indicates that the smaller charge difference between MDH isozymes is best explained by greater constraint on amino acid change directly following the duplication, not greater constraint across the entire gene tree. This difference in constraint might result from the wider pattern of expression of the “neural” MDH isozyme.     

Among cradles and museums: seasonally dry forest promotes lineage exchanges between rain forest and savanna

ABSTRACT

Background: Cerrado comprises heterogeneous vegetation types. The flora of the vegetation types has distinct biogeographic origins and thus can be hypothesised to have distinct evolutionary imprints.

Aims: We hypothesised that the flora of riparian forest was phylogenetically overdispersed, whereas those of more open habitats were phylogenetically clustered.

Methods: We built a species-level phylogeny for 1,663 species of trees, shrubs and palms and analysed the pattern of lineage distribution, alpha and beta phylogenetic diversity among Cerrado vegetation types (riparian forest, rocky savana, savana and seasonally dry forest - SDTF).

Results: We found a gradient of high phylogenetic diversity and overdispersion from riparian forests towards phylogenetic clustering in vegetation in more open and drier habitats. Habitat shifts were common along the evolutionary history of all families analysed and most families showed a high frequency of shifts from SDTF to riparian forest and savanna.

Conclusions: SDTF seems to be a transitional habitat in evolutionary terms, promoting lineage exchanges between stands of riparian forest and savanna. While riparian forest can be seen as a ‘museum’, that harbours ancient lineages, savanna and rocky savanna are a ‘cradle’ of derived lineages. Habitat shifts are an important underlying drive of high present-day Cerrado flora diversity.