ULTRASTRUCTURE OF THE RED TIDE DINOFLAGELLATE GYMNODINIUM BREVE. I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION1,2,3

Gymnodimium breve Davis, an unarmored marine dinoflagellate has a cell covering (theca) composed of four membranes. The inner two membranes represent a vesicular layer and in tangential section, the theca appears composed of polygonal areas. Unusual threat ridges are located in the cingular region between the epi- and hypocone. This osmotically sensitive species is extremely vesiculate with dispersed areas of cytoplasm containing typical eukaryotic organelles as well as other organelles found only in dinoflagellates. The non-vesiculated cytoplasm is continuous in serial sections. The chloroplasts can contain either quasi-radial or parallel lamellae typically consisting of three thylakoids each. The pyrenoid is multiple-stalked and lacks a starch cap. The dinophycean pusule is simple and similar to those found in several unarmored marine species. The nucleus is typically dinophycean but the chromosomes appear to lack nonfibrillar material.     

Exploration of disorder in protein structures by X-ray restrained molecular dynamics

Conformational disorder in crystal structures of ribonuclease-A and crambin is studied by including two independent structures in least-squares optimizations against X-ray data. The optimizations are carried out by X-ray restrained molecular dynamics (simulated annealing refinement) and by conventional least-squares optimization. Starting from two identical structures, the optimizations against X-ray data lead to significant deviations between the two, with rms backbone displacements of 0.45 A for refinement of ribonuclease at 1.53 A resolution, and 0.31 A for crambin at 0.945 A. More than 15 independent X-ray restrained molecular dynamics runs have been carried out for ribonuclease, and the displacements between the resulting structures are highly reproducible for most atoms. These include residues with two or more conformations with significant dihedral angle differences and alternative hydrogen bonding, as well as groups of residues that undergo displacements that are suggestive of rigid-body librations. The crystallographic R-values obtained are approximately 13%, as compared to 15.3% for a comparable refinement with a single structure. Least-squares optimization without an intervening restrained molecular dynamics stage is sufficient to reproduce most of the observed displacements. Similar results are obtained for crambin, where the higher resolution of the X-ray data allows for refinement of unconstrained individual anisotropic temperature factors. These are shown to be correlated with the displacements in the two-structure refinements.     

The ecology of the calanoid copepod Eurytemora affinis in salt marsh tide pools

We describe selected aspects of the ecology of the copepod Eurytemora affinis in tide pools of an inland salt marsh near L'Isle-Verte, Québec along the southern shore of the St. Lawrence estuary. E. affinis performed daily horizontal migrations moving from the centers of pools to the banks and into dense algae. Male E. affinis were mainly found in the center of the pools during twilight (21 : 00 hrs) and in dense algae in daylight (12: 00 hrs) whereas most females and copepodites were found near the banks at all three sampling periods. Although these daily movements among sites may have minimized predation by diurnally foraging sticklebacks (Pisces: Gasterosteidae), other explanations for the movements can not be excluded. We also quantified the effects of fish predation upon the population structure of E. affinis. Densities of all stages (nauplius, copepodite, adult) were significantly lower in pools with fish than in pools without fish. Female E. affinis were significantly smaller (mean length) in pools with fish than in pools without fish, indicating that the sticklebacks selectively ate larger females. Male-biased sex ratios were found in both types of pools, which excluded the possibility that biased ratios in this species are caused by selective predation upon the females.     

C andH NMR spectroscopy as a tool in the configurational analysis of iridoid glucosides

The ¹³C NMR data of 51 iridoid glucosides or glucoside acetates are tabulated. The collection includes 20 pairs of C-6, C-7 or C-8 epimers. Three parameters in using the data for the configurational assignment of 6-O-substituents are given. The chemical shift for C-9 in a range of substituted compounds is shown to be numerically related to the stereochemistry at C-8. This allows the determination of the configuration at this centre for most types of substitution patterns by calculation of the C-9 shift using increments for each substituent. Such increments are given for 25 substituents in three different solvents. A method for simulation of spectra of unknown iridoid glucosides is presented. By this method, the structures of five novel iridoid glucosides have been elucidated, and that of tecomoside has been revised. The methods used to assign the configurations to C-6 and C-8 epimeric iridoid glucosides by ¹H NMR spectroscopy are discussed and a table with selected data is presented. It is suggested that the structures in the literature for ajugol and myoporoside should be interchanged. Consequently, Horeau's method has failed in these instances. Finally, the differences in the ¹³C NMR spectra of pairs of C-6 and C-8 epimeric iridoid glucosides have been interpreted as originating from cis/trans-interactions.     

CACHONINA ILLDEFINA SP. NOV. (DINOPHYCEAE): CHLOROPLAST TUBULES AND DEGENERATION OF THE PYRENOID1

A new species of the dinoflagellate genus Cachonina, C. illdefina sp. nov., was isolated from a red tide off El Capitan State Park, Santa Barbara County, California, in October 1973. The organism is light yellowgreen in color with deeply incised girdle and sulcal grooves. Electron microscopy of the organism, revealed a typical dinokaryotic nucleus. The chloroplasts of the organism are connected, and often contain microtubule-like elements, 25 nm diam. The pyrenoids are characterized as excluding chloroplast thylakoids and ribosomes, although containing an amorphous matrix and numerous tubular invaginations from the cytoplasm. The pyrenoids become detached from the chloroplasts and degenerate into small vesicles. C. illdefina is not bioluminescent.     

Some Dinophycean Red Tide Plankton Species Generate a Superoxide Scavenging Substance

Recent studies indicate that some raphidophycean red tide flagellates produce substances able to scavenge superoxide, whereas there have been no reports on superoxide scavenger production by dinophycean red tide flagellates. In this study, we examined the superoxide-scavenging activity of aqueous extracts from dinophycean red tide flagellates, Gymnodinium spp., Scrippsiella trochoidea, and Karenia sp., by a luminol analog L-012-dependent chemiluminescence (CL) method and an electron spin resonance (ESR)-spin trapping method, and compared the activity to that of raphidophycean red tide flagellates, Chattonella spp., Heterosigma akashiwo, and Fibrocapsa japonica. In the experiment applying the L-012-dependent CL method, only the aqueous extracts from raphidophycean red tide flagellates showed superoxide-scavenging activity. On the other hand, applying the ESR-spin trapping method, we found that the aqueous extracts from dinophycean red tide flagellates also showed superoxide-scavenging activity. This is the first report on the production of a superoxide-scavenger by dinophycean red tide flagellates.     

Familiar soil conditions help Pinus ponderosa seedlings cope with warming and drying climate

Changes in temperature and moisture as a result of climate forcing can impact performance of planted trees. Tree performance may also be sensitive to new soil conditions, for example, brought about by seeds germinating in soils different from those colonized by ancestral populations. Such “edaphic constraint” may occur with natural migration or human‐assisted movement. Pinus ponderosa seedlings, sourced from one location (“home” site), were grown across a field environmental gradient in either their original home soil or in soils from two different “away” sites. Seedlings were inoculated with site‐specific soil organisms by germinating seeds in living soil. After 6 months, the inoculated seedlings were transplanted into sterilized soils from the home or away sites. This experimental design allowed us to uncouple the importance of abiotic and biotic soil properties and test (1) how biotic and abiotic soil properties interact with climate to influence plant growth and stress tolerance, and (2) the role of soil biota in facilitating growth in novel environments. Seedlings grew least in hotter and drier away sites with away soil biota. Home soil biota ameliorated negative impacts on growth of hotter and drier away sites. Measurements of photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and chlorophyll florescence (Fv/Fm) suggest that edaphic constraint reduced growth by increasing tree water stress. Results suggest that success of Ponderosa pine plantings into warming environments will be enhanced by pre‐inoculation with native soil biota of the seed source.     

陆地生态系统野外增温控制实验的技术与方法

由于人类活动导致的碳排放急剧增加, 工业革命以来全球地表温度显著增加约1 ℃, 未来全球气候还将持续变暖, 到21世纪末最高可升温4 ℃。这种前所未有的气候变化不仅影响陆地植被的适应策略, 也深刻影响生态系统的结构和功能。其中陆地生态系统碳收支对全球变暖的反馈, 是决定未来气候变化强度的关键因素, 因此全球已经开展了大量的生态系统尺度的野外增温控制实验, 研究生态系统碳收支对气温升高的响应, 从而提高地球系统模型的预测精度。然而由于增温技术和方法的不同, 不同研究的结果之间难以进行比较。该文系统总结了常见的野外增温技术和方法, 包括主动增温和被动增温, 阐述了其优缺点、适用对象以及相关研究成果。同时简要介绍了野外增温控制实验的前沿研究方向——新一代野外增温技术(包括全土壤剖面增温和全生态系统增温)和基于新一代增温技术开展的野外增温联网实验。     

高寒植物叶片性状对模拟降水变化的响应

降水变化对高寒草甸生态系统产生了显著影响,植物叶片性状特别是叶脉特征对降水变化非常敏感,然而高寒植物叶片性状特征如何响应降水变化还知之较少。采用集雨棚模拟增减50%降水的条件,以高寒草甸8种主要植物叶片为研究对象,研究了降水变化对叶片的叶脉率、叶脉密度、叶片大小、比叶质量、叶片总有机碳含量、叶片全氮含量、叶片碳同位素相对含量和碳氮比等叶片性状的影响。发现增水显著增加了植物的叶片大小、稳定碳同位素千分值、总有机碳含量、全氮含量,但显著降低了叶脉密度;而减水显著降低了叶片大小、稳定碳同位素千分值。植物叶片性状各指标对降水变化的响应存在协同变化和相互制约。不同水分生态类型的植物对降水变化的响应存在差异,中生植物通过增加叶片大小和减少叶脉密度积极应对降水的增加,矮生嵩草的叶片大小分别增加了200.3%,叶脉密度减小了17.5%,而旱中生植物通过减少叶片大小和增加叶脉密度应对降水的减少,垂穗披碱草和异针茅的叶片大小分别减少54.9%和30.7%,其叶脉密度分别增加25%和22.4%。羽状叶脉植物增加叶脉密度和稳定碳同位素千分值以适应增水条件,花苜蓿、异叶米口袋的叶脉密度的增加了7.8%和4.0%,稳定碳同位素千分值增加2.5%和3.3%,但增水条件下平行叶脉植物的叶脉密度不变或降低和稳定碳同位素千分值保持不变;减水增加了平行叶脉植物叶脉密度并减低了稳定碳同位素千分值,异针茅的叶脉密度增加了22.4%,稳定碳同位素千分值减小2.9%,而对羽状叶脉植物的叶脉密度和稳定碳同位素千分值减少或不变。植物叶片性状对增水的敏感性显著大于对减水的敏感性,增水的效应约为减水的2倍;叶片大小的敏感性显著大于其它叶片性状,约为其它叶片性状的10倍。因此,植物在应对短期降水变化时,植物形态可塑性的作用凸显,放大或缩小叶片大小是植物应对降水变化的最有效的途径,但是不同水分生态类型和叶脉类型植物可塑性的方向存在显著差异。