拉萨河谷上段江孜沙棘Hippophea gyantsensis(Rousi) Lian种群的海拔梯度性变异

江孜沙棘[Hippophea gyantsensis(Rousi)Lian]是青藏高原特有的一种广生态幅的小乔木,在拉萨河谷地区的海拔3500~4200m范围内均有分布。前人工作多集中在江孜沙棘果实的开发利用方面,对其基础生态学研究较少。本研究旨在探讨江孜沙棘沿海拔梯度的群落组成和表型变异的规律。为此,在拉萨河谷上段沿海拔梯度由东向西设置了4个样带:3850m、3950m、4050m和4200m,每个样带设置2至3个10m×10m的样方进行研究。首先,详细记录了每个样方内林下维管植物的物种组成、样方内的沙棘盖度、海拔、样方与河岸的实际距离,并用DCA[detrended correspondence analysis(去势对应分析)]排序方法对群落及其组成物种进行排序分析。随机抽取了每个样方内的20个江孜沙棘植株个体,测定其胸径、基径、株高和叶片长度,用回归分析法分析这些变量和海拔之间的关系。研究结果表明,江孜沙棘在拉萨河谷内的主要生境分为4种类型,即:河边砾石滩地、河阶草滩、河边草甸和河边林缘,样方排序结果主要受海拔的影响;同时,江孜沙棘植株的基径、胸径和高度都随着海拔的升高而显著减小,而叶片长度与海拔之间无显著相关。本文研究结果表明,对江孜沙棘而言,海拔所代表的综合环境因子对其分布和表型有显著的影响,而局部光照可能也是影响其表型特征的重要生态因子。     

Pilot scale lactic acid fermentation of shrimp wastes for chitin recovery

Lactic fermentation of shrimp waste on solid substrates was studied as a means of preservation for chitin recovery. Shrimp wastes were fermented in 100-g flasks with varying levels of inoculation with lactobacilli as well as different types and levels of carbohydrate. Sucrose was selected as the carbohydrate source in further experimental work due to its better acid production potential as compared to lactose and milk whey powder. Lactic acid fermentation was scaled-up from 2 to 30 kg in column reactors using geometric similarity as the scale-up criterion. The pH rapidly decreased to less than 5.0, allowing preservation of wastes for at least 3 months. During ensilation, deproteinisation and demineralisation were observed. Chitin obtained from the silage was treated with acid and alkali for mineral and protein removal.     

Effects of starvation and sucrose feeding on corpora allata of last instar larvae of Manduca sexta: in vitro activity, size, and cell number

Abstract Larvae of the tobacco hornworm moth Manduca sexta starved for the first 3 days of the last (fifth) stadium undergo a supernumerary moult. If they are provided with sucrose during the starvation period, they develop into normal pupae although pupation is delayed. The activities of the corpora allata (CA) from normal, starved, and sucrose fed larvae were followed through the fifth stadium with a radiochemical assay for Juvenile Hormone (JH) biosynthesis. An attempt was made to correlate CA-activity with CA cell number, size, and protein content.
In CA of normally fed larvae the rate of JH synthesis declined to undetectable levels by day 4 which was also the time of exposure of the dorsal vessel. In CA of starved larvae, the rate of JH synthesis at first decreased but began to increase on day 3 and reached a peak value by day 7 , at which time head capsule slippage occurred. In CA of sucrose fed larvae, the rate of biosynthesis declined as in normal larvae but the decline was extended over a longer period. Exposure of the dorsal vessel was delayed in the same manner and occurred on days 7–9. The major JH in all cases was JH-II.
The CA comprise c. 150 cells in the early fifth stadium, and this number remained constant during the fifth stadium in all three feeding regimens. In normal larvae, CA size and protein content increased several-fold during the stadium whereas in starved and sucrose-fed larvae they increased slowly and in agreement with the altered timing of developmental events. In none of the groups was the CA activity pattern correlated with morphometric changes of the CA. The rates of JH biosynthesis were not closely correlated with published JH titre curves. The in vivo mechanisms for regulation of JH production remain to be elucidated.     

Inhibition of RNA Synthesis and the Relationship between Nucleolar and Mitotic Cycles in Zea mays Root Meristems

The relationship between nucleolar and mitotic cycles has beendetermined after treatment of root apices of Zea mays with ethidiumbromide. In the meristematic regions of the stele the two cyclesare not much displaced in relation to each other except fora delay in the onset of the disorganization phase. A few nucleolipersist into metaphase and a few nuclei undergo an amitoticdivision. In the cap initials the drug greatly delays the onsetof disorganization of the nucleolus, which normally occurs beforeprophase in this region. It also delays the completion of reorganizationso that fully organized nucleoli are no longer available duringthe last half of telophase. In the quiescent centre the onsetof disorganization and the end of reorganization of the nucleoliare also delayed in relation to mitosis. There is no evidencefor a delay in the onset of reorganization in any region ofthe meristem. Some cells form multiple micronucleoli and this aberrant behaviouroccurs more often in the cap initials than elsewhere as doesamitotic division.     

Persistent nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence polymorphism in the Amelanchier agamic complex (Rosaceae)

Individual plants of several Amelanchier taxa contain many polymorphic nucleotide sites in the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA). This polymorphism is unusual because it is not recent in origin and thus has resisted homogenization by concerted evolution. Amelanchier ITS sequence polymorphism is hypothesized to be the result of gene flow between two major North American clades resolved by phylogenetic analysis of ITS sequences. Western North American species plus A. humilis and A. sanguinea of eastern North America form one clade (A), and the remaining eastern North American Amelanchier make up clade B. Five eastern North American taxa are polymorphic at many of the nucleotide sites where clades A and B have diverged and are thought to be of hybrid origin, with A. humilis or A. sanguinea as one parent and various members of clade B as the other parent. Morphological evidence suggests that A. humilis is one of the parents of one of the polymorphic taxa, a microspecies that we refer to informally as A. "erecta." Sequences of 21 cloned copies of the ITS1- 5.8S gene-ITS2 region from one A. "erecta" individual are identical to A. humilis sequence or to the clade B consensus sequence, or they are apparent recombinants of A. humilis and clade B ITS repeats. Amelanchier "erecta" and another polymorphic taxon are suspected to be relatively old because both grow several hundred kilometers beyond the range of one of their parents. ITS sequence polymorphisms have apparently persisted in these two taxa perhaps because of polyploidy and/or agamospermy (asexual seed production), which are prevalent in the genus.