Autoregulation of the stability operon of IncFII plasmid NR1.

The stb locus of IncFII plasmid NR1, which mediates stable inheritance of the plasmid, is composed of an essential cis-acting DNA site located upstream from two tandem genes that encode essential stability proteins. The two tandem genes, stbA and stbB, are transcribed as an operon from promoter PAB. Using PAB-lacZ gene fusions, it was found that the stb operon is autoregulated. A low-copy-number stb+ plasmid introduced into the same cell with the PAB-lacZ fusion plasmid repressed beta-galactosidase activity about 5-fold, whereas a high-copy-number stb+ plasmid repressed beta-galactosidase about 15-fold. The details of autoregulation were analyzed by varying the concentrations of StbA and StbB to examine their effects on expression from the PAB-lacZ fusion plasmid. StbB protein by itself had autorepressor activity. Although StbA protein by itself had no detectable repressor activity, plasmids that encoded both stbA and stbB repressed more effectively than did those that encoded stbB alone. Plasmids with a mutation in stbA had reduced repressor activity. One mutation in stbB that inactivated the stability function also reduced, but did not eliminate, repressor activity. Repressor activity of the mutant StbB protein was effectively enhanced by stbA. These results indicate that StbB serves two functions, one for stable inheritance and one for autoregulation of the stb operon, both of which may be influenced by StbA protein.     

Purification and some properties of an extracellular l-amino acid oxidase from Cellulomonas cellulans AM8 isolated from soil

Summary The soil isolate Cellulomonas cellulans AM8 produces an extracellular l-amino acid oxidase (L-AAO) with broad substrate specificity. The strain produced up to 0.35 unit (U)/ml of the extracellular L-AAO in a simple medium containing glycerol and yeast extract. The enzyme was easily purified up to 30 U/mg protein using Phenyl-Sepharose fast flow. The purified enzyme migrated as single band on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) with a molecular mass of 55 kDa. On native PAGE the molecular mass was approx. 300 000 kDa, which may be due to aggregation. With the exception of glycine, proline, and threonine, all the amino acids normally constituting proteins were oxidized. The V _max values from 0.7 to 35.2 U/mg for aspartic acid and lysine, respectively, and the K _m values from 0.007 to 7.1 mm for cysteine and valine, respectively, were obtained at 25° C and pH 7.0 in oxygen-saturated solutions. The L-AAO had a pH optimum of 6.5–7.5. It was stable for several months at — 30° C and for some days at 35° C. Ferricyanide served as an electron acceptor with a V _max of 50 U/mg and K _m for 0.3 mm with phenylalanine as the substrate. Correspondence to: R. D. Schmid     

Inhibition of Ouabain-binding to (Na+ + K+)ATPase by antibody against the catalytic subunit but not by antibody against the glycoprotein subunit

Antibodies against purified ($\text{Na}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{+}\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{)}\text{ATPase}$ from the rectal gland of Squalus acanthias, as well as against its catalytic subunit, inhibited ouabain binding by as much as 50%. However, antibodies against the glycoprotein subunit did not inhibit ouabain binding. These data suggest that binding of antibody against the catalytic subunit to the enzyme either covers the ouabain binding site or destroys its conformation, while binding of antibody against the glycoprotein has no such effect.     

Galium procurrens,a new diploid relic species of theG. sylvaticum-group from the Balkan Peninsula

Galium procurrens is described as a new diploid relic species from Montenegro/N. Albania and SW. Bulgaria. It is related to the tetraploidG. laevigatum and other diploid and polyploid taxa of theG. sylvaticum-group inhabiting European deciduous forests.     

Ontogenetic trait variation and metacommunity effects influence species relative abundances during tree community assembly

Predicting species abundance is one of the most fundamental pursuits of ecology. Combining the information encoded in functional traits and metacommunities provides a new perspective to predict the abundance of species in communities. We applied a community assembly via trait selection model to predict quadrat-scale species abundances using functional trait variation on ontogenetic stages and metacommunity information for over 490 plant species in a subtropical forest and a lowland tropical forest in Yunnan, China. The relative importance of trait-based selection, mass effects, and stochasticity in shaping local species abundances is evaluated using different null models. We found both mass effects and trait selection contribute to local abundance patterns. Trait selection was detectable at all studied spatial scales (0.04–1 ha), with its strength stronger at larger scales and in the subtropical forest. In contrast, the importance of stochasticity decreased with spatial scale. A significant mass effect of the metacommunity was observed at small spatial scales. Our results indicate that tree community assembly is primarily driven by ontogenetic traits and metacommunity effects. Our findings also demonstrate that including ontogenetic trait variation into predictive frameworks allows ecologists to infer ecological mechanisms operating in community assembly at the individual level.     

长三角地区植被覆盖演变城乡差异及其原因

城市生态环境和城市化之间的关系是城市可持续发展的关键。研究不同城市化水平下植被覆盖的长时间演变趋势,对理解城市化过程对植被生长动态的影响,城市更新以及推进城市绿化的科学管理具有重要意义。然而,目前对城市内部沿城乡梯度植被生长趋势差异的认识还比较有限。以我国城市化发展最为强烈的长三角地区为研究对象,基于2000-2020年长三角归一化植被指数数据,采用趋势分析和地理探测器方法,探究了长三角地区城市内部植被覆盖演变城乡差异,并从土地利用/覆被变化和城市化发展的角度解析其成因。研究结果表明：（1）2000-2020年长三角地区植被总体呈绿化趋势,植被明显绿化占最大比例（52.06%）,轻微绿化与稳定不变地区占31.68%,零星分布的褐化区占6.82%。（2）城市老城区植被覆盖变化总体呈现返绿趋势（0.016/10 a）,新城区褐化明显（-0.019/10 a）,农郊区绿化突出（0.023/10 a）。在上海、南京和杭州等人口城市化水平较高的城市中,老城区土地利用变化强度最高,其绿化趋势也最高,体现了城市更新过程对绿地空间的促进作用;而在人口城市化水平相对较低的宣城、蚌埠和阜阳等城市,土地利用变化强度相对较低的农郊区也呈现明显的绿化趋势,更多的是受到区域生态保护的影响。（3）土地城市化是长三角地区老城区和新城区植被覆盖变化的主导因子,而城市化因子对农郊区解释程度总体不显著。从长三角总体区域看,城镇人口比重、不透水面积/总面积以及地区生产总值三者对植被覆盖演变存在显著影响,其中城镇人口比重影响最大。     

一株产β-葡萄糖苷酶甘草内生菌的筛选、全基因组分析及产酶优化

【背景】从健康甘草须根中分离获得的一株芽孢杆菌具有高产β-葡萄糖苷酶的活性。【目的】探究分离菌株潜在的产酶遗传信息,为该菌深入研究与工业应用提供数据支撑。【方法】利用七叶苷培养基进行产β-葡萄糖苷酶的益生菌筛选,筛到一株产β-葡萄糖苷酶的芽孢杆菌,采用三代Nanopore PromethION和二代Illumina NovaSeq平台对菌株进行基因组测序与组装、并通过基因预测与功能注释等生物信息分析预测菌株潜在的β-葡萄糖苷酶基因。另外,以β-葡萄糖苷酶活性为指标,研究碳源、氮源、接种量、温度和起始pH对菌株产酶活性的影响。【结果】从甘草须根中分离得到一株具有β-葡萄糖苷酶活性的菌株,通过形态学观察、生理生化和分子生物学试验鉴定为芽孢杆菌属菌株,并命名为Bacillus rugosus A78.1。该菌株基因组大小为4 146 938 bp,G+C含量为43.86%,共编码4 255个基因。在基因组中,共注释到碳水化合物活性酶基因192个,其中β-葡萄糖苷酶基因10个,分别属于GH1和GH3家族基因。在基因本体（GO）、京都基因与基因组百科全书（Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes,KEGG）和同源基因簇（clusters of orthologous groups of proteins,COG）数据库分别注释到2 896、4 019和3 657个基因。该菌株基因组测序结果上传至NCBI获得GenBank登录号为CP096590。菌株A78.1产β-葡萄糖苷酶的最佳碳、氮源分别为0.5%葡萄糖、1.0%酵母浸粉,最佳培养条件为温度37℃、3%接种量、pH 6.0,此条件下β-葡萄糖苷酶活力可达到（5.640±0.085） U/mL。【结论】通过全基因组测序分析及产酶优化试验确定了Bacillus rugosus A78.1优良的产β-葡萄糖苷酶能力及在碳水化合物代谢方面的潜力,为该菌株在纤维素分解、糖苷类化合物水解等生物、化工和食品领域的研究与应用提供基础。     

不同生境银柴胡根内生菌群落特征及其与药材主要有效成分、产量的相关性分析

【背景】银柴胡（Stellaria dichotoma var.lanceolata）具有重要的临床药用价值,其总甾醇和总黄酮含量是评价药材的关键。【目的】探究药用植物银柴胡在不同生境下根内生菌群落特征及其与药材主要成分、产量之间的关系。【方法】采用高通量测序技术和药材常规测定方法,分析了风沙土（semi-fixed aeolian sandy soil,SFA）生境、石砾质土（lithosol,LI）生境和黄绵土（loessal,LO）生境银柴胡根内生菌群落特征及其与药材性状响应关系。【结果】各生境银柴胡内生优势细菌门为放线菌门（Actinobacteriota）和变形菌门（Proteobacteria）,优势真菌门为子囊菌门（Ascomycota）和担子菌门（Basidiomycota）,而内生优势菌属因生境不同各不相同;银柴胡药材主要有效成分总甾醇和总黄酮含量在LI生境中较高,而单株干重和干鲜比在SFA生境中较高。Spearman相关性分析表明,与银柴胡药材有效成分及产量显著正相关的内生菌相对较多。综合比较,内生细菌如metagenome_g__norank_f__67-14和内生真菌如unclassified_p__Ascomycota等更为显著。【结论】与银柴胡药材关键活性成分相关的内生菌群落在种类鉴定和提取、菌种培养和次生代谢物分析等方面具有广阔的研究价值。本研究为银柴胡道地产区药材高质量产业发展提供理论参考。     

六种海桑属红树植物根际真菌特征及其影响因子

真菌多样性是植物根际生态系统的重要构成与植物健康稳定的重要指标。海桑属是红树林的先锋物种,采用真菌ITS1区高通量测序方法,分析了六种海桑属红树根际真菌的组成和多样性,结合土壤理化性质探讨影响不同植物根际真菌群落组成差异的因素。结果显示,根际真菌隶属于7门、96科、155属,子囊菌门作为优势菌门在海桑属不同红树中相对丰度无显著差异,都超过27%,但次优势的担子菌门丰度含量有差异;属水平上,优势菌属的丰度含量不同,曲霉属在卵叶海桑的丰度最高(29.57%),在海南海桑最低(3.47%)。六种红树植物根际存在特有的代表类群,如无瓣海桑的马拉色菌(9.31%)和毛腐菌属(10.05%),海南海桑中的Talaromyces(19.61%)和Acremonium(13.58%)。比较多样性指数Simpson和Shannon,发现拟海桑是六种植物中丰度最高的,卵叶海桑最低。RDA分析发现子囊菌门与全磷含量呈显著负相关,担子菌门与速效钾呈明显正相关。六种海桑属红树植物根际核心物种分析表明,优势真菌类群曲霉属和一些低丰度的真菌类群,通过降解有机质参与碳循环,对根际土壤生态系统的稳定起重要作用。六种海桑...     

三峡库区消落带植被NPP估算——基于机器学习优化CASA模型

三峡库区蓄水后,其生态效应受到广泛关注。消落带植被固碳量作为衡量库区生态系统健康状态的重要指标,对库区碳循环与生态净化具有重要意义。针对消落带不同高程植被接受光照的时间有所差异,且受河流水位变化影响,传统的CASA模型在计算消落带植被固碳量时,存在对植物的光能利用率计算不够精确等问题。以三峡库区香溪河陡坡消落带为研究区域,提出了一种耦合RBFNN模型（Radial Basis Function Neural Network）与CASA模型（Carnegie-Ames-Stanford approach）的新方法（RBF-CASA）。基于RBFNN建立环境影响因子模型,借助高程数据及植被指数等特征计算适合消落带区域的环境影响因子。结合CASA模型中温度和水分胁迫因子,提高植被在像元尺度上的净初级生产力（Net Primary Productivity,NPP）的估算精度,并对反演结果进行验证。模型验证结果显示：RBF-CASA模型估算值与观测值的决定系数（Coefficient of determination, R²）为0.730（P<0.01, n=32）。对比原始CASA模型,平均绝对误差（Mean absolute error, MAE）降低10.991,均方根误差（Root mean square error, RMSE）降低了23.861,相对均方根误差（Relative root mean square error, RRMSE）降低5.10%,平均绝对百分误差（Mean absolute percentage error, MAPE）降低1.12%。使用提出的RBF-CASA模型在库区水位落干期（7-8月份）进行固碳量估算,结果表明：NPP月均值在66.234-134.144g C/m²之间,NPP随着高程的增加呈现起伏变化,其总量在150-155m之间达到峰值,均值在170m以上区域最高。在2021年9月植被NPP均值为35.883g C/m²,2022年9月植被NPP均值为25.964g C/m²,由于降雨量减少、长江水位下降,在2021-2022年间植被恢复情况较差。研究结果可为库区碳循环、生态净化及生态修复等决策提供科学依据。