Variation in life-cycle between three rare and endangered floodplain violets in two regions: implications for population viability and conservation

We studied the demography of Viola elatior, V. pumila, and V. stagnina, three rare and endangered Central European floodplain species, to (i) analyse variation in life-cycles among congeners and between regions (Dyje-Morava floodplains, Czech Republic; Upper Rhine, Germany), (ii) to define sensitive stages in the life-cycles, and (iii) to identify possible threats for population viability and species conservation. Matrix models were based on the fate of marked individuals from a total of 27 populations over two years. We analysed population growth rate (λ), stage distribution, net reproductive rate (R ₀), generation time, age at first reproduction, and elasticity and calculated a life table response experiment (LTRE). Most populations were declining and λ did not differ between species or regions during the observed interval. Despite higher probabilities for survival and flowering in the Dyje populations, R ₀ was higher in the Rhine populations. Also other demographic traits showed consistent differences between regions and/or species. Complex life-cycles and large variation in λ precluded unequivocal identification of sensitive stages or vital rates for conservation. Variation between regions may be a consequence of differences in habitat quality. Our results suggest that deterministic processes such as reduced management, succession, habitat destruction, and lack of disturbance through reduced or eliminated flooding present the strongest threat for the viability and persistence of populations of the three floodplain violets as compared with stochastic processes. However, the persistent seed bank of the species may buffer populations against environmental variation and represents a reservoir for recovery after resumption of suitable land-use management.     

Optimization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrobacterium</Emphasis>-mediated transformation conditions in mature embryos of elite wheat

Immature embryos have been used frequently as target tissues in the genetical transformation of wheat. However, obtaining a large number of high quality immature embryos throughout the year is a laborious and delicate process, because of the need to cultivate the plants under controlled conditions. To circumvent this, we have employed mature embryos rather than immature ones as starter explants for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of an elite wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar EM12. The neomycin phosphotransferase ІІ (npt ІІ) and β-glucuronidase (gus) genes were used as selectable and screenable marker genes, respectively, to assess and optimize the performance of T-DNA delivery. With the aid of an orthogonal design, the effect of four factors in combination on transfer DNA (T-DNA) delivery was studied. These factors were preculture duration, different kinds of inoculation, length of inoculation and co-culture condition. Optimal conditions for T-DNA delivery were obtained for mature embryos precultured for 14 days, followed by immersing in inoculation suspension with full strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) salts in darkness at 23–25°C for 3 h, and then co-culturing with Agrobacterium under desiccating condition in the dark at 23–24°C for 2–3 days. Complete analysis of transgene insertion demonstrated that the optimized method for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of mature embryos of wheat was efficient and practicable.     

Contrasting impacts of invasive engineers on freshwater ecosystems: an experiment and meta-analysis

Invasion by common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) in shallow lakes have been followed by stable-state changes from a macrophyte-dominated clear water state to a phytoplankton-dominated turbid water state. Both invasive carp and crayfish are, therefore, possible drivers for catastrophic regime shifts. Despite these two species having been introduced into ecosystems world-wide, their relative significance on regime shifts remains largely unexplored. We compared the ecological impacts of carp and crayfish on submerged macrophytes, water quality, phytoplankton, nutrient dynamics, zooplankton and benthic macroinvertebrates by combining an enclosure experiment and a meta-analysis. The experiment was designed to examine how water quality and biological variables responded to increasing carp or crayfish biomass. We found that even at a low biomass, carp had large and positive impacts on suspended solids, phytoplankton and nutrients and negative impacts on benthic macroinvertebrates. In contrast, crayfish had a strong negative impact on submerged macrophytes. The impacts of crayfish on macrophytes were significantly greater than those of carp. The meta-analysis showed that both carp and crayfish have significant effects on submerged macrophytes, phytoplankton, nutrient dynamics and benthic macroinvertebrates, while zooplankton are affected by carp but not crayfish. It also indicated that crayfish have significantly greater impacts on macrophytes relative to carp. Overall, the meta-analysis largely supported the results of the experiment. Taken as a whole, our results show that both carp and crayfish have profound effects on community composition and ecosystem processes through combined consequences of bioturbation, excretion, consumption and non-consumptive destruction. However, key variables (e.g. macrophytes) relating to stable-state changes responded differently to increasing carp or crayfish biomass, indicating that they have differential ecosystem impacts.     

“微生物学”国家精品课程基础实验教学体系的构建与实践

微生物学实验作为独立于微生物学理论课的基础实验课程, 是当代生命科学中一门重要的专业必修课。南开大学“微生物学”国家精品课程教学组针对提升大学生核心竞争力的培养目标, 在实验教学中以夯实基本实验技能为指导思想, 建立了分层次的微生物学实验内容; 采用分级式教学新模式, 以强化基本技能训练为基石, 全面提升学生的综合素质, 激发学生的创新能力; 并将实验素养纳入实验成绩的评价体系, 规范学生的科研道德。     

Spatial Variation in Lesser Prairie-Chicken Demography: A Sensitivity Analysis of Population Dynamics and Management Alternatives

ABSTRACT The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) is currently considered a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. To identify potential limiting factors for lesser prairie-chicken populations, we developed an age-based matrix model of lesser prairie-chicken population dynamics to compare the relative importance of components of reproduction and survival, and determine if various management alternatives stabilize or increase rates of population change. We based our analyses on an intensive 6-year population study from which demographic rates were estimated for each age class in Kansas. We used deterministic models and elasticity values to identify parameters predicted to have the greatest effect on the rate of population change (λ) at 2 study sites. Last, we used life-stage simulation analysis to simulate various management alternatives. Lambda was <1 for both populations (site 1: λ = 0.54, site 2: λ = 0.74). However, we found differences in sensitivity to nest success and chick survival between populations. The results of the simulated management scenarios complemented the lower-level elasticity analysis and indicated the relative importance of female survival during the breeding season compared with winter. If management practices are only capable of targeting a single demographic rate, changes to either nest success or chick survival had the greatest impact on λ at site 1 and 2, respectively. Management that simultaneously manipulated both nest success and chick survival was predicted to have a greater effect on λ than changes in survival of adult females. In practice, our demographic analyses indicate that effective management should be based on habitat conservation measures to increase components of fecundity.     

Experimental warming causes rapid loss of plant diversity in New England salt marshes

Anthropogenic climate change is predicted to cause widespread biodiversity loss due to shifts in species' distributions, but these predictions rarely incorporate ecological associations such as zonation. Here, we predict the decline of a diverse assemblage of mid-latitude salt marsh plants, based on an ecosystem warming experiment. In New England salt marshes, a guild of halophytic forbs occupies stressful, waterlogged pannes. At three sites, experimental warming of < 4 °C led to diversity declines in pannes and rapid takeover by a competitive dominant, Spartina patens . In Rhode Island, near their southern range limit, pannes were more sensitive to warming than farther north, and panne area also declined in control plots over the three-season experiment. These results suggest that warming will rapidly reduce plant diversity in New England salt marshes by eliminating a high diversity zone. Biodiversity in zoned ecosystems may be more affected by climate-driven shifts in zonation than by individual species' distribution shifts.     

Sawdust Addition Reduces the Productivity of Nitrogen‐Enriched Mountain Grasslands

Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment of mountain grasslands has boosted grasses and fast‐growing unpalatable plants at the expense of slow‐growing species, resulting in a significant loss in biodiversity. A potential tool to reduce nutrient availability and aboveground productivity without destroying the perennial vegetation is carbon (C) addition. However, little is known about its suitability under severe climatic conditions. Here, we report the results of a 3‐year field study assessing the effects of sawdust addition on soil nutrients, aboveground productivity, and vegetational composition of 10 grazed and ungrazed mountain grasslands. Of particular interest was the effect of C addition on grasses and on the tall unpalatable weed Veratrum album. After 3 years, soil pH, ammonium, and plant‐available phosphorus were not altered by sawdust application, and nitrate concentrations were marginally higher in treatment plots. However, the biomass of grasses and forbs (without V. album) was 20–25% lower in sawdust‐amended plots, whereas the biomass of V. album was marginally higher. Sawdust addition reduced the cover of grasses but did not affect evenness, vegetation diversity, or plant species richness, although species richness generally increased with decreasing biomass at our sites. Our results suggest that sawdust addition is a potent tool to reduce within a relatively short time the aboveground productivity and grass cover in both grazed and ungrazed mountain grasslands as long as they are not dominated by tall unpalatable weeds. The technique has the advantage that it preserves the topsoil and the perennial soil seed bank.     

Environmental limitation contributes to the differential colonization capacity of two forest herbs

Question: The recovery of forest plant communities in post‐agricultural landscapes is largely determined by dispersal constraints, but can environmental legacies of former land use additionally limit the recolonization of recent forests by forest herbs? Location: Ancient forest and recent forest on former heavily fertilized agricultural land (Muizenbos, northern Belgium). Methods: Seeds and adults of two forest herbs with similar life‐history traits, but contrasting colonization capacity – the fast‐colonizing Geum urbanum and the slow‐colonizing Primula elatior– were introduced into both ancient and recent forest sites. Soil conditions and plant tissue nutrient concentrations were measured to characterize habitat quality. To determine whether the introduced species could successfully establish and persist, we monitored recruitment, longevity and adult performance during 8 years in permanently marked plots. Results: Phosphorus availability was ten times higher in recent forest soils and was also reflected in the plant tissue samples. Species longevity was clearly lower in recent forest sites indicating higher turnover. The fast‐colonizing G. urbanum counterbalanced this lower longevity by new establishment, while the slow‐colonizing P. elatior dropped below the number of originally introduced individuals. Additionally, G. urbanum performed better in recent forest sites in contrast to P. elatior. Conclusions: Even when dispersal constraints of the slow‐colonizing forest herb P. elatior are eliminated through introduction, environmental conditions in recent forest sites additionally restrict its recruitment, longevity and performance. These experimental results suggest that environmental constraints may strengthen the differences in colonization capacity among forest herbs if slow dispersers also tend to be less likely to establish.     

人胰高血糖素样肽-1突变体融合蛋白在大肠杆菌中的自诱导表达优化

考察了在大肠杆菌中自诱导表达人胰高血糖素样肽-1突变体融合蛋白的可行性,并对自诱导培养条件及培养基成分进行优化,以提高蛋白产量。实验结果表明,最优培养基成分为蛋白胨19.17g/L,酵母膏9.59g/L,Na2HPO45.72g/L,KH2PO45.48g/L,(NH4)2SO42.66g/L,NaCl3.33g/L,甘油2%(V/V),葡萄糖0.68g/L,乳糖6.33g/L,MgSO40.24g/L。在温度33°C、接种量1%、pH7、装瓶量20mL/100mL培养条件下,用该最优培养基自诱导表达人胰高血糖素样肽-1突变体融合蛋白的产量可达348.6mg/L。