康县隆肛蛙的两性异形

测量和比较了采自甘肃省康县的康县隆肛蛙Feirana kangxianensis标本共计90只(雌性48只,雄性42只)。结果表明,康县隆肛蛙成体的头体长、头长、头宽、吻长、鼻间距、眼间距、眼径、鼓膜长、前臂及手长、后肢全长、手长、足长的形态特征在两性间的差异有统计学意义。以头体长为协变量的协方差分析显示,康县隆肛蛙两性的差异均有统计学意义,异形指数达到0.08,雌性与雄性的平均头体长比值为1.091。对所有测量的形态特征与头体长进行一元线性回归分析表明,雌性康县隆肛蛙局部形态特征的生长速度明显大于雄性,其中,吻长、眼间距、眼径、鼓膜长、前臂及手长、手长的两性差异最明显。生育力选择假设能解释康县隆肛蛙的两性异形现象。     

凹耳蛙的两性异形

测量和比较采自黄山的凹耳蛙成体标本(雌雄各20个),统计结果表明成年雌雄蛙的体长、头宽、吻长、鼻间距、眼间距、眼径、鼓膜宽、前臂及指长、前臂宽等两性形态学指标存在显著性差异。对与体长显著相关的形态特征,以体长为协变量的协方差分析表明凹耳蛙雌雄两性在头宽、眼间距、眼径、鼓膜宽存在显著差异。凹耳蛙两性异形比达到0.418,雌性平均体长对雄性平均体长的比达到1.716。头宽、眼间距、眼径、鼓膜宽等局部形态特征与体长的线性回归分析表明,雌性斜率大于雄性斜率,说明雌性凹耳蛙上述局部特征随体长的生长速率明显大于雄性。雌性体长的繁殖力选择能够很好地解释凹耳蛙的两性异形。     

海陆蛙的两性异形和雌性繁殖特征

用采自海南东寨港红树林保护区的58只(35 ♀♀,23 ♂♂)成体海陆蛙(Fejervarya cancrivora),通过测量头体长、体重、头长、头宽、吻长等11个形态特征指标和雌体卵巢质量(窝卵重),研究该种形态特征的两性异形和雌性繁殖特征,并检验雌性成体大小(头体长和体重)与其繁殖的相关性.雌雄两性个体的最小头体长分别为44.9 mm和45.2 mm.除吻长和眼间距外,其余局部形态特征与头体长皆呈正相关性.头体长在雌雄两性之间差异显著,雌性显著大于雄性;而体重、头长、头宽等局部形态均无两性差异.海陆蛙雌体的窝卵重与头体长和体重之间皆成正相关关系,表明雌性可能是通过增大体型从而增加繁殖输出,而向较大体型发展.     

饰纹姬蛙的两性异形及雌性繁殖能力

用采自云南省西双版纳傣族自治州勐腊县的53只(28♂♂,25♀♀)成体饰纹姬蛙(Microhyla fissipes),测量全部个体的体长、头长、头宽、体重等16项形态特征和雌体怀卵量数据,通过独立样本t检验和协方差检验该物种所有形态特征的两性差异,进而采用线性回归方法分析雌雄成体局部形态特征与体长的相关性,以及雌性成体怀卵量与局部形态特征的相关性。结果表明,饰纹姬蛙平均体长雌性为(25.08±0.40)mm,雄性为(24.78±0.31)mm,体长和体重在雌雄两性间差异不显著(P 0.05),两性个体大小基本同形。该蛙的所有局部形态特征与体长均存在极显著正相关性(P 0.01);雌雄两性间只在头宽和前臂及手长这两个形态特征上存在显著差异(P 0.05),且随体长的增大其生长速率也存在显著差异。雌性成体的怀卵量与体长、体重、眼间距、前臂宽、胫宽和跗足长均存在显著正相关性(P 0.05),且与体重存在极显著正相关性(P 0.01)。分析认为,饰纹姬蛙成体两性异形主要表现在头宽和前臂及手长,与生存竞争中对食物的获取能力及雄性争夺交配权的成功率有关;而雌性个体可以通过增加体长和体重,相应地增加腹腔容量来提高繁殖输出,该结果符合生育力选择假说。     

滇蛙两性年龄和异形的研究

本研究测量了2012年7月采自云南省剑川县的125只成体滇蛙Nidirana pleuraden(♀64只,♂61只)的11项形态指标,并使用骨龄学方法测定年龄。结果显示：滇蛙两性的体长与其余形态指标呈正相关,雌性头长、头宽、吻长、前臂及手长、前臂宽、前肢全长、后肢全长、胫长和足长的均值都大于雄性,属于偏雌性的两性异形模式。两性异形指数分别为：1龄组0.05、2龄组0.06、3龄组0.07、4龄组0.08,即两性异形指数随年龄增大而增加。这反映出随年龄增长,雌性的繁殖投入增加,而雄性的繁殖机会受体型的影响较小,符合生育力选择假说。     

大蹼铃蟾的两性异形

2018年6—8月,测量采自云南省昆明市金殿水库后山的71只(47♂,24♀)大蹼铃蟾Bombina maxima成体的体长、头长、头宽等15项形态特征指标并检验该物种的两性异形。结果表明:雄性平均体长为53.54 mm±1.14 mm,雌性平均体长为52.74 mm±1.45 mm,雄性与雌性平均体长比为1.015,两性异性指数为0.01;大蹼铃蟾的体长、体质量与性别之间的差异无统计学意义;除了雌性的眼间距外,其余13项形态特征与体长均有极显著相关性;以体长为协变量的协方差分析结果显示,大蹼铃蟾的头长、吻长、前臂宽、腿或后肢全长、胫长、胫宽和跗足长在两性间的差异有高度统计学意义;雄性的这7项形态特征随体长的生长速率大于雌性。性选择假说能解释大蹼铃蟾的两性异形现象。     

黑斑侧褶蛙的两性异形和雌性繁殖特征

测定了黑斑侧褶蛙成体的体长、体重、头长、头宽、眼径、鼓膜径、前肢长、后肢长等形态指标以及雌体的怀卵数量。黑斑侧褶蛙雌体的体长和体重显著大于雄体。其它局部形态特征指标与体长呈正相关,协方差分析表明,雄体的鼓膜径大于雌体,其余形态指标不存在明显的两性差异。黑斑侧褶蛙雌体怀卵数量与体长和体重皆成正相关关系,表明黑斑侧褶蛙通过增加个体大小增加繁殖输出。     

丽纹攀蜥头体大小的两性异形和繁殖期的生长

测定了丽纹攀蜥的体长、头长、头宽、头高、尾长和体重等形态指标,以及通过44天的生长后体长、头长、头宽和头高的增长。表明成年两性个体体长无显著的两性异形,局部形态特征皆与体长呈正相关。协方差分析表明,雄性的头长、头宽、头高和尾长显著大于雌性个体,繁殖期雌性个体的体重显著大于雄性个体。丽纹攀蜥繁殖期雄性体长的增长显著大于雌性体长的增长,雌雄两性头长、头宽和头高的增长无显著的差异。     

乐山棒花鱼形态特征的两性异形和雌性个体生育力

测定了乐山棒花鱼(Abbottina kiatingensis)繁殖期形态特征包括体长、头长、头宽、头高、吻长、眼后头长、眼径、眼间距、体高、尾柄长、尾柄高、尾鳍长、背鳍基前距、背鳍基长、腹鳍基前距、腹臀间距、体重和去内脏体重的两性异形和雌性个体生育力.繁殖期雄性个体的数量显著多于雌性个体,雌雄两性个体的体长差异不显著.特定体长的雌性个体的头长、头宽、头高、吻长、眼后头长、尾柄高、背鳍基前距、背鳍基长和去内脏体重显著小于雄性个体,其余指标不存在明显的差异.回归分析表明,乐山棒花鱼的怀卵数量与体长和体重回归关系显著,雌性通过个体大小(体长和体重)的增加来提高个体生育力.     

斑腿泛树蛙两性异形和雌性繁殖能力及其影响因素

研究两栖类物种雌雄间的形态差异,不仅有助于理解物种两性异形的模式与机制,而且对其繁殖策略、繁殖投入和进化选择压力的研究都具有重要意义。2020年4月至2021年8月以浙江省丽水市丽水学院校园永久池塘内的斑腿泛树蛙（Polypedates megacephalus）为实验对象,共61只（♀12,♂49）,测量其头体长、头长、吻宽、前肢长、后肢长等12项形态特征及体重来研究该物种的两性异形,并收集窝卵数和孵化数据分析雌性繁殖能力。结果表明：斑腿泛树蛙具有显著的两性异形,且雌性个体大于雄性个体;眼径、胫长和鼻间距在两性间无显著差异,头体长、头长、吻宽、吻长、眼间距、前肢长、后肢长、前臂及手长、足长和体重均具有显著差异;斑腿泛树蛙雌性个体产卵和孵化率受季节影响显著,其中4和5月窝卵数最多,6月卵孵化率最高;雌性怀卵数量与体长呈正相关关系。依据上述结果,本研究推测生育力选择是造成斑腿泛树蛙两性异形的主要因素,雌性个体通过增大个体体型来增加怀卵量,从而提高繁殖输出;斑腿泛树蛙繁殖期受季节影响,为更好地适应雨季的提前或推迟,在进化过程中形成了延长式繁殖的模式。     

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.