菌根真菌对白及种子萌发和幼苗生根的作用

自然条件下,兰科植物需要依赖菌根真菌获得营养才能萌发。本研究对白及根和原球茎中分离的4株菌根真菌（WQ17-33、WQ17-43、JST-3和SL15-7）进行分子鉴定,并评价光照和黑暗条件下不同菌株促白及种子萌发和幼苗生根的效果。结果表明,4个菌株分别隶属于鬼伞属Coprinus、胶膜菌属Tulasnella、腊壳菌属Sebacina和Serendipita。在种子萌发前期（未形成叶子）进行暗培养较光照对菌株JST-13和SL15-7处理组原球茎阶段萌发具有显著的促进作用。不同菌株共生萌发效果不同,菌株SL15-7较其他处理原球茎和幼苗发育阶段的萌发率高。菌株JST-13和SL15-7处理组形成的幼苗较其他处理组强壮,定殖的菌丝团也较多,其幼苗生根效果也较对照组好。该研究表明白及可与多种不同类群的菌根真菌菌株形成共生关系,这些真菌在促进白及种子萌发和生根能力方面存在差异。     

Male mate‐seeking and mating behaviors of Eucera nipponensis (Hymenoptera: Apidae) at a nectarless orchid habitat: Are empty flower patches a profitable rendezvous site?

Male solitary bees typically use emergence‐nesting areas and/or flower patches of food plants, where receptive females are relatively numerous, as rendezvous sites. However, mate‐seeking males have been also observed at food‐deceptive orchid patches, where numerous encounters with foraging females can hardly be expected, owing to the lack of floral rewards. Here, we describe the male mate‐seeking and mating behaviors of the Japanese long‐horned bee Eucera nipponensis at habitats of the food‐deceptive orchid Cymbidium goeringii. On the basis of the results, we report empty flower patches are not necessarily fruitless sites for mate‐seeking males because naive female bees, which are highly likely to be recently emerged and unmated, can be attracted to non‐rewarding orchids. We also suggest a possibility that a small number of the males could receive a “sexual reward” (i.e. mating opportunities), owing to the food‐deceptive orchid, in return for their pollination work. This occasional interaction could represent the initial stage in the evolution of sexually deceptive orchids from food‐deceptive orchids.     

Sheltered from the storm? Population viability analysis of a rare endemic under periodic catastrophe regimes

Rare species are important targets for biodiversity conservation efforts because rarity often equates to small populations and increased endangerment. Rare species are prone to stochastic extinction events and may be particularly susceptible to catastrophes. Therefore, understanding how rare species respond to disturbances is critical for evaluating extinction risk and guiding conservation managers. Population viability analyses (PVAs) are essential for assessing rare species' status yet they seldom consider catastrophic events. Accordingly, we present a PVA of a rare tropical epiphyte, Lepanthes caritensis (Orchidaceae), under simulated disturbance regimes to evaluate its demographics and extinction risk. We aimed to test how demographic models incorporating catastrophes affect population viability estimates. Our goal was to better guide management of these orchids and other rare plants. Results revealed L. caritensis numbers have declined recently, but projected growth rates indicated that most subpopulations should increase in size if undisturbed. Still, projection models show that moderate catastrophes reduce growth rates, increase stochasticity in subpopulation sizes, and elevate extinction risk. Severe catastrophes had a more pronounced effect in simulations; growth rates fell below replacement level, there was greater variation in projected population sizes, and extinction risk was significantly higher. PVAs incorporating periodic catastrophes indicate that rare species may have greater extinction probabilities than standard models suggest. Thus, precautionary conservation measures should be taken in disturbance prone settings and we encourage careful monitoring after environmental catastrophes. Future rare plant PVAs should incorporate catastrophes and aim to determine if rescue and reintroduction efforts are necessary after disturbances to insure long-term population viability.     

Site Variation in Spatial Aggregation and Phorophyte Preference in Psychilis monensis (Orchidaceae)

Aggregation patterns of plants vary according to spatial scale and developmental stage, and are dependent on vegetation dynamics and species composition. We describe the aggregation patterns of the epiphytic orchid Psychilis monensis from two sites with different vegetation structure and composition on Mona Island, Puerto Rico. We analyzed spatial variation for seedlings, juveniles, and adults using the density-independent, standardized Morisita index (I_MS). We censused a total of 879 plants. Strong preferences for some phorophyte species were evident, including dead trees, but association with bark roughness was equivocal. The highest densities occurred in the site with the lowest fruit and seed production, suggesting that the best sites for pollination and seedling establishment were not the same. Seedlings at one site were significantly aggregated, but all other stages were indistinguishable from a random distribution. Nevertheless, adults at both sites had the lowest I_MS values indicating that they tend to be the least aggregated of the three life history stages. The abundance and age structure of P. monensis were clearly affected by the frequency of their preferred hosts, but site-specific factors affecting seedling survival probably play a major role in site differences.     

Microsatellite loci for euglossine bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

The Neotropical Euglossini (Hymenoptera: Apidae) are important pollinators of many flowering plants, particularly orchids. Lack of highly polymorphic genetic markers for euglossine species has limited the study of their social organization and inbreeding. We therefore developed microsatellite markers for two species, Eulaema nigrita (11 loci) and Euglossa cordata (nine loci), most of which were highly polymorphic in the source species and in a range of related euglossine bees.     

我国网络平台本土兰科植物贸易状况

我国兰科植物物种丰富, 很多具有极高的药用和观赏价值。随着网络平台的迅速发展, 兰科植物的线上交易越来越普遍。为了解国内网络平台的本土兰科植物贸易情况, 本文利用PyCharm Community软件爬取网络交易信息和人工浏览收集的方法, 分析了淘宝网、拼多多和中兰网的兰科植物贸易情况。调查发现: 网络贸易的本土兰科植物共计84属339种(含3变种), 包含45个中国特有种, 兰属(Cymbidium)和石斛属(Dendrobium)是最大的贸易对象。其中, 仅以观赏用途作为卖点的兰科植物309种(91.1%), 仅以药用价值作为卖点的兰科植物5种(1.5%), 以双用途作为卖点的兰科植物25种(7.4%)。本次调查共记录到336种(99.1%)野生兰科植物销售信息, 并发现部分销售者刻意包装野生兰科植物的现象。大部分淘宝网和拼多多的兰科植物最大销售量对应的价位为10-49元, 其中拼多多的价格更低且集中, 位于15-35元的占57.5%。商品货源地较集中, 主要包括云南省、广东省、广西壮族自治区、浙江省、福建省和四川省。进一步对本次记录的兰科植物进行濒危等级统计后发现: 受威胁兰科植物188种(55.5%), 其中极危(Critically Endangered, CR) 23种(6.8%), 濒危(Endangered, EN) 85种(25.1%), 易危(Vulnerable, VU) 80种(23.6%)。为加强我国野生兰科植物多样性保护, 强烈建议各网络平台依据最新《国家重点保护野生植物名录》制定兰科植物商品信息发布规则, 重点监督货源地集中的地区, 同时加强对公众的宣传教育, 相关部门应利用网络平台加强兰科资源的信息交流, 共同保护野生兰科植物。     

海南主要陆域自然保护地兰科植物多样性与生境的关联分析

为了掌握海南主要陆域自然保护地内野生兰科植物的物种多样性现状以及制约其发展的关键生境因子,对该地区进行兰科植物资源调查并分析兰科植物多样性的空间分布格局,进一步采用典范对应分析(CCA)探索生境因子对兰科植物组成的影响,最后运用广义线性模型(GLM)框架下的负二项回归拟合兰科植物丰富度和多度对生境变异的响应。结果表明:(1)共发现兰科植物67属193种,为海南兰科植物分布的绝对中心。(2)水平方向上,霸王岭兰科植物丰富度高但居群相对拥挤,而五指山最大的海拔落差带来了更加多样化的小生境类型和宽阔的生存空间,孕育了种类丰富且分布均匀的兰科植物资源。(3)垂直方向上,中海拔地区兰科植物种类最为丰富且种间竞争较为激烈,高海拔地区则存在明显的优势类群。(4)海拔变化对兰科植物物种组成变异有着非常高的解释率,而喀斯特和河谷地貌的显著影响也不容忽视。(5)多因子综合作用共同影响着兰科植物的多样性,其中坡度、河谷地貌、喀斯特地貌的显著正效应和枫香林的显著负效应受其他协变量的影响较小,是驱动兰科植物丰富度和多度变化的关键生境因子。综上所述,中高海拔地区以及特殊地貌(如河谷和喀斯特地貌)应作为兰科植物多样性的优先保护区域。     

A phylogenetic analysis of the Orchidaceae: evidence from rbcL nucleotide

Cladistic parsimony analyses of rbcL nucleotide sequence data from 171 taxa representing nearly all tribes and subtribes of Orchidaceae are presented here. These analyses divide the family into five primary monophyletic clades: apostasioid, cypripedioid, vanilloid, orchidoid, and epidendroid orchids, arranged in that order. These clades, with the exception of the vanilloids, essentially correspond to currently recognized subfamilies. A distinct subfamily, based upon tribe Vanilleae, is supported for Vanilla and its allies. The general tree topology is, for the most part, congruent with previously published hypotheses of intrafamilial relationships; however, there is no evidence supporting the previously recognized subfamilies Spiranthoideae, Neottioideae, or Vandoideae. Subfamily Spiranthoideae is embedded within a single clade containing members of Orchidoideae and sister to tribe Diurideae. Genera representing tribe Tropideae are placed within the epidendroid clade. Most traditional subtribal units are supported within each clade, but few tribes, as currently circumscribed, are monophyletic. Although powerful in assessing monophyly of clades within the family, in this case rbcL fails to provide strong support for the interrelationships of the subfamilies (i.e., along the spine of the tree). The cladograms presented here should serve as a standard to which future morphological and molecular studies can be compared.     

Alkaline inorganic pyrophosphatase from orchid leaves

An alkaline inorganic pyrophosphatase (IP) from leaves of an orchid, Aranda Christine 130 (Arachnis hookerana var. luteola × Vanda Hilo Blue) was purified by acetone precipitation and chromatography on Sephadex G-75 and DEAE-cellulose. The IP gave a single band on non-denaturing gel electrophoresis at pH 8.3 and its M, determined by gel filtration, was 28 000. The pH optimum was 9 and the IP required Mg²⁺ for its activity and stability. The IP exhibited high specificity for PPi and attained a maximum activity at a Mg²⁺: PPi ratio of 10:1. Other cations tested could not replace Mg²⁺ and they were also found to be inhibitory. The IP was also inhibited by EDTA and F^? but not by iodoacetamide.     

Genes are information,so information theory is coming to the aid of evolutionary biology

Speciation is central to evolutionary biology, and to elucidate it, we need to catch the early genetic changes that set nascent taxa on their path to species status (Via 2009 ). That challenge is difficult, of course, for two chief reasons: (i) serendipity is required to catch speciation in the act; and (ii) after a short time span with lingering gene flow, differentiation may be low and/or embodied only in rare alleles that are difficult to sample. In this issue of Molecular Ecology Resources, Smouse et al. ( 2015 ) have noted that optimal assessment of differentiation within and between nascent species should be robust to these challenges, and they identified a measure based on Shannon's information theory that has many advantages for this and numerous other tasks. The Shannon measure exhibits complete additivity of information at different levels of subdivision. Of all the family of diversity measures (‘0’ or allele counts, ‘1’ or Shannon, ‘2’ or heterozygosity, F_ST and related metrics) Shannon's measure comes closest to weighting alleles by their frequencies. For the Shannon measure, rare alleles that represent early signals of nascent speciation are neither down‐weighted to the point of irrelevance, as for level 2 measures, nor up‐weighted to overpowering importance, as for level 0 measures (Chao et al. 2010 , 2015 ). Shannon measures have a long history in population genetics, dating back to Shannon's PhD thesis in 1940 (Crow 2001 ), but have received only sporadic attention, until a resurgence of interest in the last ten years, as reviewed briefly by Smouse et al. ( 2015 ).