黄淮海地区湿地系统生物多样性保护格局构建

以黄淮海地区为研究对象,首先分析了区域现有湿地保护状况,再基于湿地类型、保护状况和目标保护物种分布,综合考虑GDP、人口密度等社会经济因素,以湿地生物多样性保护为目标,运用系统保护规划的理论和方法,以Marxan作为空间优化模型,进行多目标的湿地系统保护预案设计,构建区域湿地不同保护水平的保护空缺和不可替代性格局,确定合理的湿地系统保护格局。研究结果表明:现有的湿地保护体系仅覆盖了区域17%左右的湿地,尚有许多重要生境游离于现有保护区系统外。为完善黄淮海地区湿地保护体系,需要对黄海海区域内28个保护区进行功能区划调整或者保护等级提升,并在山东(5个县)和河北(4个县),河南、江苏和安徽(各3个县),北京和天津(各1个县)等20个县市内建立新的保护区,与现有湿地保护系统有机整合,最终形成一个黄淮海地区湿地生物保护网络合理格局。结果表明:同其他相关研究方法对比,系统保护规划方法在区域大尺度生物多样性保护方面更具有意义;同时也表明该方法在中国的应用前景广阔。     

Discovery of three new species of Drosophila obscura species group (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from Mount Kinabalu in Borneo

We describe three new species of the Drosophila obscura species group, D. hypercephala , D. hideakii and D. quadrangula Gao & Toda, spp. nov., all discovered from high altitudes (>1500 m) on Mt Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. These are the southernmost distribution records of the D. obscura group in the Oriental Region. The three new species are each morphologically similar to different species of the Old World D. obscura species subgroup. This suggests that they are descendants of different founder species that independently colonized the tropics from the subtropical or temperate zones during the glacial ages. The new species D. hypercephala is hypercephalic not only in males but also, although less distinct, in females, unlike other hypercephalic drosophilid species in which only males are hypercephalic. This new finding of a hypercephalic species from the subgenus Sophophora , of which species are relatively easy to culture in the laboratory and include the model species such as D. melanogaster and D. pseudoobscura , will promote genetic analyses on the development and the evolution of hypercephaly.     

Activation of the Imprinted Dlk1-Dio3 Region Correlates with Pluripotency Levels of Mouse Stem Cells

Low reprogramming efficiency and reduced pluripotency have been the two major obstacles in induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell research. An effective and quick method to assess the pluripotency levels of iPS cells at early stages would significantly increase the success rate of iPS cell generation and promote its applications. We have identified a conserved imprinted region of the mouse genome, the Dlk1-Dio3 region, which was activated in fully pluripotent mouse stem cells but repressed in partially pluripotent cells. The degree of activation of this region was positively correlated with the pluripotency levels of stem cells. A mammalian conserved cluster of microRNAs encoded by this region exhibited significant expression differences between full and partial pluripotent stem cells. Several microRNAs from this cluster potentially target components of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) and may form a feedback regulatory loop resulting in the expression of all genes and non-coding RNAs encoded by this region in full pluripotent stem cells. No other genomic regions were found to exhibit such clear expression changes between cell lines with different pluripotency levels; therefore, the Dlk1-Dio3 region may serve as a marker to identify fully pluripotent iPS or embryonic stem cells from partial pluripotent cells. These findings also provide a step forward toward understanding the operating mechanisms during reprogramming to produce iPS cells and can potentially promote the application of iPS cells in regenerative medicine and cancer therapy.     

Brachiopods of the family ambocoeliidae (spiriferida) from the givetian of southern Verkhoyansk Region (northeastern Russia)

Four new ambocoeliid species, Ambocoelia ectypa sp. nov., Echinocoelia tikhiensis sp. nov., Emanuella takwanensis (Kayser), and Ladjia sita sp. nov., from the Givetian of the southern Verkhoyansk Region are described (northeastern Russia).     

Gastropod mollusks from the Hauterivian of Ulyanovsk (Volga Region): 2. Genera Khetella Beisel, 1977 and Cretadmete gen. nov.

The diagnosis of the genus Khetella Beisel, 1977 is emended, and a new genus, Cretadmete, is described. Two new species belonging to these genera, K. trautscholdi and C. neglecta, are established from the Upper Hauterivian of Ulyanovsk (Volga Region).     

Chromosomes of three freshwater stingrays (Rajiformes Potamotrygonidae) from the Rio Negro basin, Amazon, Brazil

Potamotrygonidae is the representative family of South American freshwater elasmobranchs. It is a monophyletic group containing 20 species grouped into three genera. Three species belonging to two genera of this family were collected from the middle Negro River, Amazonas, Brazil, and studied cytogenetically: Paratrygon aiereba, Potamotrygon motoro and Potamotrygon orbignyi. Paratrygon aiereba presented 2n = 90 chromosomes and 4M+2SM+10ST+74A. Both species of Potamotrygon presented 2n = 66 chromosomes and differed in their chromosomal formulas: P. motoro had 18M+12SM+10ST+26A and P. orbignyi had 22M+10SM+8ST+26A. No sex heteromorphism was detected. The Fundamental Number (FN) was 106 for the three species. A system of multiple NORs was found in the three species, but with interspecific differences in terms of location and position of the active Ag-NORs sites. Paratrygon aiereba presented only four sites on the short arms of two chromosomal pairs, both in terminal regions. Potamotrygon motoro presented seven sites, on the long and short arms, all in terminal regions of non-homologous chromosomes; P. orbignyi presented eight sites on the long arms, all in terminal regions, of non-homologous chromosomes. The constitutive heterochromatin was in pericentromeric regions of all chromosomes, and no significant interspecific difference was found in relation to this marker.     

Phylogeography of the Cape velvet worm (Onychophora: Peripatopsis capensis) reveals the impact of Pliocene/Pleistocene climatic oscillations on Afromontane forest in the Western Cape, South Africa

Habitat specialists such as soft-bodied invertebrates characterized by low dispersal capability and sensitivity to dehydration can be employed to examine biome histories. In this study, the Cape velvet worm (Peripatopsis capensis) was used to examine the impacts of climatic oscillations on historical Afromontane forest in the Western Cape, South Africa. Divergence time estimates suggest that the P. capensis species complex diverged during the Pliocene epoch. This period was characterized by dramatic climatic and topographical change. Subsequently, forest expansion and contraction cycles led to diversification within P. capensis. Increased levels of genetic differentiation were observed along a west-to-south-easterly trajectory because the south-eastern parts of the Cape Fold Mountain chain harbour larger, more stable fragments of forest patches, have more pronounced habitat heterogeneity and have historically received higher levels of rainfall. These results suggest the presence of three putative species within P. capensis, which are geographically discreet and genetically distinct.     

北京油鸡ADSL基因的克隆、表达及其结构与功能分析

采用RT-PCR与RACE方法扩增出北京油鸡腺苷酸琥珀酸裂解酶(ADSL)基因全长cDNA序列,亚克隆和序列分析结果表明:该基因开放阅读框长为1455个碱基,编码485个氨基酸;5'端非转录调控区具有典型管家基因的特征,在临近起始密码子27号碱基发生C→T突变,该突变使得本来小是核呼吸因子2(NRF-2)结合位点的CTCC突变为NRF-2结合位点CTTC.将ADSL基因完整斤放阅读框重组至融合表达载体pGEX-4T-l中,构建成北京油鸡ADSL基因融合表达载体pOEX-ADSL,转化大肠杆菌BL21(DE3),筛选阳性克隆,IPTG诱导表达.经SDS-PAGE电泳显示重组融合蛋白在约80.5kD处有特异蛋白条带出现,与预期分子量大小一致,等电点为6.79.该蛋白的表达最随诱导时间的延长而增加,5h达最高值,达到细胞总蛋白的26.9%,且主要以不可溶的包涵体形式存在,经优化表达条件,成功地获得了可溶性的融合蛋白,经Glutathione Sepharase 4B凝胶纯化后Western blotting检测表明其为北京油鸡ADSL蛋白,为其进一步的生物学功能及其应用研究鉴定基础.