Developmental requirements for the ecdysoneless (ecd) locus in Drosophila melanogaster

The ecdysoneless locus in Drosophila melanogaster has been defined previously by a single conditional mutation, I(3)ecd¹, that causes an ecdysteroid deficit and larval death at the restrictive temperature, 29°C, although the primary role of the mutation in developmental processes has been unclear. Gene dosage and complementation studies reported here for ecd¹ and five nonconditional lethal alleles indicate that the ecd locus plays prezygotic and postzygotic roles essential for normal embryonic development, the successful completion of each larval molt, adult eclosion, and female fertility. The ecd locus is also required for normal macrochaete differentiation. For each observed phenotype, the severity of mutational effects was correlated with ecd mutant genotypes. In all cases, ecd¹ homozygotes were least affected. Mutants heteroallelic for ecd¹ and any one of four nonconditional recessive mutations were more severely affected than ecd¹ homozy-gotes, revealing these as hypomorphic alleles. For all phenotypic effects, mutants heteroallelic for ecd¹ and a dominant mutation (ecd^3D) were most severely affected. These individuals died during embryogenesis at 29°C and developed no macrochaetes on the dorsal thorax when transferred to 29°C during the white prepupal stage. The ecd^3D mutation also caused female semisterility in heterozygotes. Ecdysteroid regulation has been implicated previously in all the developmental processes disrupted by these ecd mutations except for macrochaete differentiation. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Comparison of geographically distant populations of Rhizobium isolated from root nodules of Phaseolus vulgaris

Seventy-two rhizobial strains were isolated from the root nodules of french beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris ). They were sampled from two geographically distant field populations and 18 additional different sites in France. They were characterized by a) plasmid profiles, (b) RFLP analysis of total cellular DNA using various chromosomal and symbiotic gene probes (including nif H from Rhizobium etli bv. phaseoli ) and c) their ability to nodulate a potential alternative host, L. leucocephala. Over half of the isolates were ascribed to Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. phaseoli on the basis of the hybridization analysis, the possession of multiple copies of nif H and their inability to nodulate L. leucocephala. The remaining isolates belonged to 2 groups which were shown to be genomically distinct from R. leguminosarum bv. phaseoli, R. etli bv. phaseoli and R. tropici. Most members of these two groups shared with R. tropici the ability to nodulate L. leucocephala and, for isolates of only one of these groups, the presence of one copy of nif H. Members of each of the 3 taxa were widely distributed in France and circumstantial evidence of pSym transfer between them was shown. R. leguminosarum bv. phaseoli and one of the two novel groups co-occurred within the two geographically distant populations. Individual genotypes were conserved between them. The finding of a third taxon at various other locations indicated additional diversity among rhizobia nodulating beans.     

人工引入传粉者对油茶丰产的意义及潜在的生物安全

动物传粉在全球生态系统中提供重要服务,全球农业生产对动物传粉服务的需求稳定增长。油茶是我国特有的重要木本油料植物,栽培历史悠久,由于严格自交不亲和而高度依赖动物传粉。基于我国油茶产业发展的新形势,从资源分配和花粉限制等生态因素系统分析了油茶产量受限制的原因,提出油茶的传粉者限制效果等同于花粉限制效果,人工引入潜在的高效传粉者是解除油茶资源限制措施和传粉生态限制措施之间冲突、提高油茶产量的有效途径。论述了人工引入传粉者传粉服务的优势和挑战。对人工引入传粉者,特别是外来传粉者所面临的潜在风险和控制途径进行了梳理,提出从传粉生态服务解决油茶产量和质量问题的新思路。全文旨在为人工引入传粉者在油茶丰产中的作用提供理论与科学依据,以期促进油茶产业健康有序发展。     

POPULATION STRUCTURE OF THE BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN (TURSIOPS TRUNCATUS) AS DETERMINED BY RESTRICTION ENDONUCLEASE ANALYSIS OF MITOCHONDRIAL DNA

Abstract: Restriction fragment length polymorphisms of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were used to test for population subdivision in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Atlantic and Pacific dolphin mtDNA samples exhibited distinctly different haplotypes (approximately 2.4% sequence divergence), indicating a lack of gene exchange. Within the Atlantic Ocean, mtDNA samples from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast were also found to be distinct, with a sequence divergence of approximately 0.6%. The Atlantic Coast–Gulf of Mexico dichotomy is consistent with patterns of genetic variation from other marine and coastal organisms from this region, and supports the hypothesized role of bio-geographic events in promoting the divergence of these and other forms. Regional differentiation was identified along the Atlantic Coast, whereas low sequence divergences among haplotypes and consistent haplotype frequencies across populations suggested considerable gene exchange among Gulf of Mexico populations. A highly divergent haplotype found in two individuals from two localities in the Gulf of Mexico is best explained by dispersal from either a distinct offshore Gulf stock or an unsampled Atlantic Coast stock. Additional samples are required to test for the existence of a distinct offshore race and, if it exists, to identify its distribution and contribution to population structure.     

分离自母婴肠道的假小链双歧杆菌的耐药性分析

【背景】由于滥用抗生素导致细菌耐药性日益严重。对于双歧杆菌,人们往往注重其益生功能的挖掘而忽视了对其耐药性的研究,存在一定的安全隐患。【目的】检测母婴肠道中假小链双歧杆菌的耐药性,探究婴儿肠道中假小链双歧杆菌耐药性的来源。【方法】利用微量肉汤稀释法测定48株分离自母婴肠道的假小链双歧杆菌对14种抗生素的耐药性,比较分离自不同家庭母婴肠道中假小链双歧杆菌的耐药性。【结果】48株母婴肠道分离株对四环素、氯霉素、新霉素、环丙沙星100%耐药,对其余10种抗生素耐药率依次为：卡那霉素98%、利福平80%、克林霉素78%、甲氧苄啶63%、红霉素59%、庆大霉素43%、链霉素16%、万古霉素14%、氨苄西林6%、利奈唑胺2%。母婴肠道分离株的耐药性无显著差异,分离自同一家庭母婴肠道的菌株具有相似的耐药表型。【结论】分离自母婴肠道的假小链双歧杆菌对多种抗生素具有耐药性,婴儿肠道中假小链双歧杆菌的耐药性可能是由母亲肠道垂直传递而来。     

Comparative analysis of 343 plastid genomes of Solanum section Petota: Insights into potato diversity,phylogeny, and species discrimination

Common potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and its wild relatives belong to Solanum section Petota. This section's phylogeny and species delimitation are complicated due to various ploidy levels, high heterozygosity, and frequent interspecific hybridization. Compared to the nuclear genome, the plastid genome is more conserved, has a haploid nature, and has a lower nucleotide substitution rate, providing informative alternative insights into the phylogenetic study of section Petota. Here, we analyzed 343 potato plastid genomes from 53 wild and four cultivated species. The diversity of sequences and genomes was comprehensively analyzed. A total of 24 species were placed in a phylogenetic tree based on genomic data for the first time. Overall, our results not only confirmed most existing clades and species boundaries inferred by nuclear evidence but also provided some distinctive species clade belonging and the maternally inherited evidence supporting the hybrid origin of some species. Furthermore, the divergence times between the major potato clades were estimated. In addition, the species discriminatory power of universal barcodes, nuclear ribosomal DNA, and whole and partial plastid genomes and their combinations were thoroughly evaluated; the plastid genome performed best but had limited discriminatory power for all survey species (40%). Overall, our study provided not only new insights into phylogeny and DNA barcoding of potato but also provided valuable genetic data resources for further systematical research of Petota.     

A MOLECULAR AND MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE GYMNOGONGRUS DEVONIENSIS (RHODOPHYTA) COMPLEX IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC1

The Gymnogongrus devoniensis (Greville) Schotter complex in the North Atlantic Ocean was elucidated by comparative molecular, morphological, and culture studies. Restriction fragment length patterns and hybridization data on organellar DNA revealed two distinct taxa in samples from Europe and eastern Canada. Nucleotide sequences for the intergenic spacer between the large and small subunit genes of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco), and the adjoining regions of both genes, differed by 12.5–13.4% between the two taxa. One of the taxa, which included material from the type locality of G. devoniensis at Torbay, Devon, England, was taken to represent authentic G. devoniensis. Within this taxon, samples from Ireland, England, northern France, northern Spain, and southern Portugal showed great morphological variation, particularly in habit, but their Rubisco spacer sequences were identical or differed by only a single nucleotide. Constant morphological features included the development, from a single auxiliary cell, of the spherical cystocarp with a thick mucilage sheath that appears to be typical of Gymnogongrus species with internal cystocarps. Two life-history types were found. Northern isolates underwent a direct-type life history, recycling apomictic females by carpospores, whereas the Portuguese isolate followed a heteromorphic life history in which carpospores gave rise to a crustose tetrasporophyte. The second group of samples, from Nova Scotia and Northern Ireland, provisionally referred to as Gymnogongrus sp., showed little morphological variation. The life history in both areas consists of apomictically reproducing diploid female gametophytes and diploid crustose bisporophytes and tetrasporophytes. Rubisco spacer sequences of the samples were identical, and the plasmid previously described in the Nova Scotian samples was also present in the Northern Ireland population. This species is widely distributed in the western Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Massachusetts. In Europe, gametophytes are known only at one site, but crusts are distributed from Denmark, Scotland (and probably Norway) to France. It is very likely that this species was introduced from one side of the North Atlantic to the other by shipping during the early nineteenth century. Several morphological features are unusual within the genus but are shared with G. leptophyllus J. Agardh from the eastern Pacific Ocean, and further work is necessary to determine whether Gymnogongrus sp. and G. leptophyllus are conspecific.     

GENETIC AND SOCIAL INHERITANCE OF BODY AND EGG SIZE IN THE BARNACLE GOOSE (BRANTA LEUCOPSIS)

We present heritability estimates for final size of body traits and egg size as well as phenotypic and genetic correlations between body and egg traits in a recently established population of the barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) in the Baltic area. Body traits as well as egg size were heritable and, hence, could respond evolutionarily to phenotypic selection. Genetic correlations between body size traits were significantly positive and of similar magnitude or higher than the corresponding phenotypic correlations. Heritability estimates for tarsus length obtained from full-sib analyses were higher than those obtained from midoffspring-midparent regressions, and this indicates common environment effects on siblings. Heritabilities for tarsus length obtained from midoffspring-mother regressions were significantly higher than estimates from midoffspring-father regressions. The results suggest that this discrepancy is not caused by maternal effects through egg size, nor by extra-pair fertilizations, but by a socially inherited foraging site fidelity in females.     

Mitochondrial DNA as a genetic marker for brown trout, Salmo trutta L., populations

Mitochondrial DNA was examined in natural and hatchery-reared stocks of brown trout, using different methods of restriction analysis. The methods included the development of a brown trout mt DNA hybridization probe through cloning part of the brown trout mitochondrial genome. In addition, fragments were analysed by ethidium bromide staining and end-labelling. The relative merits of each of these methods in assessing levels of genetic relatedness between the natural and hatchery-reared brown trout stocks were evaluated. In addition, the study revealed a diagnostic mtDNA restriction pattern which could be used as a genetic marker for the discrimination of these two groups of brown trout.