Elevated CO2 and temperature alter nitrogen allocation in Douglas-fir

The effects of elevated CO₂ and temperature on principal carbon constituents (PCC) and C and N allocation between needle, woody (stem and branches) and root tissue of Pseudotsuga menziesii Mirb. Franco seedlings were determined. The seedlings were grown in sun‐lit controlled‐environment chambers that contained a native soil. Chambers were controlled to reproduce ambient or ambient +180 ppm CO₂ and either ambient temperature or ambient +3.5 °C for 4 years. There were no significant CO₂ × temperature interactions; consequently the data are presented for the CO₂ and temperature effects. At the final harvest, elevated CO₂ decreased the nonpolar fraction of the PCC and increased the polar fraction and amount of sugars in the needles. In contrast, elevated temperature increased the nonpolar fraction of the PCC and decreased sugars in needles. There were no CO₂ or temperature effects on the PCC fractions in the woody tissue or root tissue. Elevated CO₂ and temperature had no significant effects on the C content of any of the plant tissues or fractions. In contrast, the foliar N content declined under elevated CO₂ and increased under elevated temperature; there were no significant effects in other tissues. The changes in the foliar N concentrations were in the cellulose and lignin fractions, the fractions, which contain protein, and are the consequences of changes in N allocation under the treatments. These results indicate reallocation of N among plant organs to optimize C assimilation, which is mediated via changes in the selectivity of Rubisco and carbohydrate modulation of gene expression.     

Autumn colouration and herbivore resistance in mountain birch (Betula pubescens)

We explored Hamilton and Brown's autumn signalling hypothesis in mountain birch (Betula pubescens). As predicted by the hypothesis, early autumn colour change (i.e. high degree of autumn colouration in September) was negatively correlated with insect damage the following season. Furthermore, as expected, indices of physiological stress (i.e. leaf fluctuating asymmetry) and reproductive investment (i.e. catkin production) were positively correlated with insect damage the following season. Indirectly, we also found support for the idea that the proposed handicap signal (i.e. early autumn senescence) might be associated with an honesty ensuring cost in terms of lost primary production. Further work is, however, required to determine whether the link between autumn colours and insect damage observed in this study is causal.     

Domain motions of hyaluronan lyase underlying processive hyaluronan translocation

Hyaluronan lyase (Hyal) is a surface enzyme occurring in many bacterial organisms including members of Streptococcus species. Streptococcal Hyal primarily degrades hyaluronan‐substrate (HA) of the extracellular matrix. This degradation appears to facilitate the spread of this bacterium throughout host tissues. Unlike purely endolytic degradation of its other substrates, unsulfated chondroitin or some chondroitin sulfates, the degradation of HA by Hyal proceeds by processive exolytic cleavage of one disaccharide at a time following an initial endolytic cut. Molecular dynamics (MD) studies of Hyal from Streptococcus pneumoniae are presented that address the enzyme's molecular mechanism of action and the role of domain motions for processive functionality. The analysis of extensive sub‐microsecond MD simulations of this enzyme action on HA‐substrates of different lengths and the connection between the domain dynamics of Hyal and the translocation of the HA‐substrate reveals that opening/closing and twisting domain motions of the Hyal are intimately linked to processive HA degradation. Enforced simulations confirmed this finding as the domain motions in SpnHyal were found to be induced by enforced substrate translocation. These results establish the dynamic interplay between Hyal flexibility and substrate translocation and provide insight into the processive mechanism of Hyal. Proteins 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

使用估计的反应自由能预测组成性和可变剪接位点

基因结构预测中的一个重要步骤是精确地识别剪接位点。基于剪接反应的基本物理原则,最大信息原理被应用到剪接反应的理论分析中,进而导出了反应自由能估计表达式。作为一个简化模型,这个表达式能被用来估计一个5′剪接区或者3′剪接区所参与的剪接反应中的自由能变化。它不但较全面地概括了各个碱基之间的关联,而且还考虑了基因组背景概率的影响。这个反应自由能表达式被用来预测了人类基因中的组成性和可变剪接位点,预测结果是令人满意的,其预测能力比得上当前的一些流行方法。这说明最大信息原理可以作为研究某些核酸-蛋白质相互作用系统（如剪接反应）的理论出发点,导出的反应自由能表达式较好地符合了剪接反应过程。     

酵母双杂交技术应用进展

酵母双杂交技术是鉴定蛋白互作最有效和最广泛的分子生物学技术。该技术能直接作用于活细胞,检测细胞内蛋白质互作,具有成本低、易操作、可达到全基因组水平、能进行品种间的互作鉴定等诸多优点。较之传统的检测方法有明显优势,已在越来越多的领域得到应用。对酵母双杂交的技术原理以及应用进行了综述,介绍了该技术在发现新蛋白质、探究蛋白质功能、建立基因组蛋白连锁图、研究人类DNA文库和筛选药物作用位点等方面的重要应用,以期为该技术的广泛应用提供参考。     

Some mistakes go unpunished: the evolution of "all or nothing" signalling

Many models of honest signaling, based on Zahavi's handicap principle, predict that if receivers are interested in a quality that shows continuous variation across the population of signalers, then the distribution of signal intensities will also be continuous. However, it has previously been noted that this prediction does not agree with empirical observation in many signaling systems, where signals are limited to a small number of levels despite continuous variation in the trait being signaled. Typically, there is a critical value of the trait, with all individuals with trait values on one side of the threshold using the same cheap signal, and all those with trait values on the other side of the threshold using the same expensive signal. It has already been demonstrated that these classical models naturally predict such "all-or-nothing signaling" if it is additionally assumed that receivers suffer from perceptual error in evaluating signal strength. We show that such all-or-nothing signaling is also predicted if receivers are limited to responding to the signals in one of two ways. We suggest that many ecological situations (such as the decision to attack the signaler or not, or mate with the signaler or not) involve such binary choices.     

基于GIS和RS的赣江上游流域土地利用动态趋势分析

利用赣江上游流域1990、1995、2000、2005和2010年5期的TM影像以及2010年的SPOT影像资料,通过目视解译方法及GIS软件的空间叠加分析功能,获取了研究区土地利用覆被变化数据。在此基础上,结合1990—2010年赣江上游流域的统计资料利用灰色关联分析和主成分分析法进行分析,找出引起土地利用变化的主导因素。结果表明:研究区20年来林地和建设用地总量增加,耕地、草地、水域和未利用地总量减少。相同时期不同类型的土地利用变化的驱动因子不相同,不同时期同一类型土地利用变化的驱动因子也不相同。再利用GM(1,1)灰色预测模型预测了2015—2030年间研究区驱动因素和土地利用情况,研究表明主导因素对土地利用变化的影响与1990—2010年间变化趋势一致。     

The investigation of the secondary structure propensities and free-energy landscapes of peptide ligands by replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations

The conformational states of two peptide sequences that bind to staphylococcal enterotoxin B are sampled by replica exchange molecular dynamic (REMD) simulations in explicit water. REMD simulations were treated with 52 replicas in the range of 280–501 K for both peptides. The conformational ensembles of both peptides are dominated by random coil, bend and turn structures with a small amount of helical structures for each temperature. In addition, while an insignificant presence of β-bridge structures were observed for both peptides, the β-sheet structure was observed only for peptide 3. The results obtained from simulations at 300 K are consistent with the experimental results obtained from circular dichroism spectroscopy. From the analysis of REMD results, we also calculated hydrophobic and hydrophilic solvent accessible surface areas for both peptides, and it was observed that the hydrophobic segments of the peptides tend to form bend or turn structures. Moreover, the free-energy landscapes of both peptides were obtained by principal component analysis to understand how the secondary structural properties change according to their complex space. From the free-energy analysis, we have found several minima for both peptides at decreased temperature. For these obvious minima of both peptides, it was observed that the random coil, bend and turn structures are still dominant and the helix, β-bridge or β-sheet structures can appear or disappear with respect to minima. On the other hand, when we compare the results of REMD with conventional MD simulations for these peptides, the configurations of peptide 3 might be trapped in energy minima during the conventional MD simulations. Hence, it can be said that the REMD simulations have provided a sufficiently high sampling efficiency.     

Manipulating the appearance of a badge of status causes changes in true badge expression

Signals of dominance and fighting ability (i.e. status signals) are found in a wide range of taxa and are used to settle disputes between competitive rivals. Most previous research has considered status-signal phenotype as an attribute of the individual; however, it is more likely that signal expression is an emergent property that also incorporates aspects of the social environment. Furthermore, because an individual''s signal phenotype is likely to influence its social interactions, the relationships between status signals, social environment and individual quality are probably much more complex than previously appreciated. Here, we explore the dynamic relationship between social interactions and signal expression in a previously undescribed status signal, the frontal shield of the pukeko (Porphyrio porphyrio melanotus: Aves). We demonstrate that frontal shield size is a strong predictor of dominance status within social groups, even after controlling for potentially confounding variables. Then, we evaluate the relationship between social interactions and signal expression by testing whether manipulating apparent shield size influences (i) dominance interactions and (ii) future signal expression. By showing that decreasing apparent shield size causes both an increase in the amount of aggression received and a decrease in an individual''s true shield size, we provide the first evidence of dynamic feedback between signal expression and social interactions. Our study provides important insight into the role of receiver-dependent (i.e. social) costs in maintaining signal honesty and demonstrates a unique approach to studying status signalling applicable to future studies on dynamic morphological signals.