Chlorophyll a is the crucial redox sensor and transmembrane signal transmitter in the cytochrome b6f complex. Components and mechanisms of state transitions from the hydrophobic mismatch viewpoint

The cytochrome (cyt) b₆f complex is involved in the transmembrane redox signaling that triggers state transitions in cyanobacteria and chloroplasts. However, the components and molecular mechanisms are still unclear. In an attempt to solve this long-standing problem, we first focused on the unknown role of a single chlorophyll a (Chla) in cyt b₆f with a new approach based on Chla structural properties. Various b₆f X-ray crystal structures were analyzed to identify their differences, which correlate with differences in Chla molecular volume. We found that the distance of the Rieske [2Fe-2S] cluster to Chla correlates with the distance between a pair of residues at the Q_o-site and the distance between a pair of residues at the opposite membrane side. These correlations were accompanied by the rotation of a key peripheral residue and by changes in the hydrophobic thickness of cyt b₆f. Parallel analysis of cyt bc₁ crystal structures allowed us to conclude that Chla acts as the crucial redox sensor and transmembrane signal transmitter in b₆f for changes in the plastoquinone pool redox state. The hydrophobic mismatch induced by the changed hydrophobic thickness of cyt b₆f is the driving force for the structural reorganizations of the photosynthetic apparatus during induction and the progression of state transitions in cyanobacteria and chloroplasts. A mechanism for LHCII kinase activation in chloroplasts is also proposed. Our understanding of the dynamic structural changes in bc-complexes during turnover at the Q_o-site and state transitions is augmented by the time-sequence ordering of 56 bc crystal structures.     

黄土高原植被覆盖时空变化及其对气候因子的响应

为研究黄土高原地区退耕还林(草)后,植被覆盖变化及其对水热条件的响应,利用1999—2013年SPOT VGT NDVI 1km/10d分辨率数据,采用最大合成法、一元线性回归法和偏相关分析法,系统分析了黄土高原地区NDVI(归一化植被指数)的时空分布及变化趋势,及其与气候因子的关系。结果表明:黄土高原1999—2013年年最大NDVI的平均值为0.31,NDVI较高的区域位于黄土高原南部,而西北部植被覆盖度较低;自1999年开始,黄土高原地区NDVI呈极显著(P0.01)增加趋势,年最大NDVI的变化斜率为0.0099;不同季节(春、夏、秋、冬)和生长季的植被状况均呈现良性发展趋势;1998—2013年间,黄土高原地区气候呈现不显著的"冷湿化"特征;NDVI年际(及生长季和季节)变化与降雨和温度的相关性不显著,而在月时间尺度上,呈显著的相关性,并且月NDVI与当月降雨量的相关性要强于与当月温度的相关性;植被生长对温度的响应存在一个月的滞后期,而对降雨的响应无滞后效应。     

Weighted average regression and environmental calibration as a tool for quantifying climate-driven changes in vegetation

Aims Studies of the climatic responses of plant assemblages via vegetation-based environmental reconstructions by weighted averaging (WA) regression and calibration are a recent development in modern vegetation ecology. However, the performance of this technique for plot-based vegetation datasets has not been rigorously tested. We assess the estimation accuracy of the WA approach by comparing results, mainly the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of WA regressions for six different vegetation datasets (total species, high-frequency species and low-frequency species as both abundance and incidence) each from two sites.     

新疆叶尔羌河流域胡杨林时空格局特征

叶尔羌河流域胡杨林对保障我国新疆南疆地区生态安全有着重要的功能,到目前对该区胡杨林时空格局特征规律的研究极少。基于1995—2015年Landsat TM/OLI长时间序列遥感监测数据,通过土地利用程度变化指数、转移矩阵以及景观指数对叶尔羌河流域胡杨林时空格局变化进行动态监测与分析。结果表明:(1)胡杨林面积从1995年的1916.15 km~2减少到2015年的1652.25 km~2,面积减少了263.90 km~2。永安坝至夏河林场段,耕地向河道扩张,胡杨林转为耕地;而夏河林场至三河口段,水资源匮乏,胡杨林被迫向河道收缩,转为未利用地。(2)胡杨林动态度和空间动态度降低,而胡杨林变化状态指数、斑块密度、最大斑块指数和散布与并列指数增加,斑块结合度指数高,胡杨林空间分布逐渐集中、破碎度降低、连通性增加。流域景观要素连接性逐渐减弱,破碎化程度较高,优势度斑块类型比例逐渐下降,景观类型向复杂化方向发展。(3)1995—2005年胡杨林受气候变化和人类活动的干扰,胡杨林面积减少较快,景观格局变化剧烈,而2005—2015年胡杨林保护措施的实施、区域产业结构的调整以及生态安全输水区域的扩大等,胡杨林面积减少速度减缓,但形势仍较为严峻。在叶尔羌河流域合理利用水资源,统筹协调生活、生产和生态用水、强化水资源管理力度,以及调整产业结构、控制人口增长速度等是该区胡杨林生态系统恢复的有效手段和途径。研究可以为叶尔羌河流域生态系统恢复以及胡杨林保护提供参考。     

辽宁省地表温度时空变化及影响因素

地温是评价气候变化的重要指标,对土壤的成分、结构以及形成和演化都具有很大影响。分析地温自身的时空变化规律以及与气候间的相互关系,对深入了解地气间相互作用的机理、明确气候变化的响应规律、预测未来地温的发展趋势等方面具有重要的科学意义。辽宁省位于内蒙古高原向渤海湾的过渡地带,地形地势复杂,此外辽宁省又处在季节性冻土区,地温的变化机制更具复杂性。利用辽宁省24个气象站点1960—2016年0cm地温(地表温度)数据和各气象要素(气温、日照时数、风速、降水量)数据资料,采用气候倾向率法、Mann-Kendall突变分析、小波周期分析等方法,系统的分析辽宁省地表温度的时空变化特征以及与气候要素间的关系。结果表明:辽宁省地表温度年际变化随时间向暖趋势发展,气候倾向率达0.36℃/10a,不同年代际存在不同的变化趋势,其中20世纪60—80年代低于多年平均地表温度,90年代至21世纪10年代高于多年平均地表温度,此外冬季地表温度增温幅度最大;突变分析显示在1995年发生突变,经检验其升高趋势显著;经周期分析显示辽宁省年地表温度具有30—46a和19—25a的两种时间尺度的周期变化;年地表温度呈西南向东北逐渐降低分布特征。相关分析表明,地表温度与气温的相关性最大,并且其大小在整个区域内呈西高东低的分布特点;在与降水的关系中,降水量高的年份地表温度均比较低,夏季受降水和日照时数的影响最显著,地表温度与风速均呈负相关,但夏季相关性较小,考虑夏季地表温度主要是受气温、日照和降水共同的作用,弱化了风速对地表温度的影响。     

2000-2015年中国PM2.5浓度时空分布特征及其城乡差异

近40年来,中国快速经济发展引发较为严重的大气污染,PM_2.5是一种重要的空气污染物,掌握其时空分布规律是对其进行防治的重要前提。基于遥感反演出的PM_2.5浓度数据集,研究了中国2000-2015年PM_2.5浓度的时空分布特征,并基于界定的1376个城镇城区及对应乡村的边界分析了每年PM_2.5浓度值的城乡差异,用线性趋势分析法计算城镇PM_2.5浓度的年际变化速率及显著性。结果表明,研究期内,PM_2.5浓度高于35 μg/m³的面积比例由18.58%增加至32.03%,低于15 μg/m³的面积从43.92%减少到25.12%。PM_2.5污染最严重的地区分布在塔里木盆地、河北南部、河南北部和山东西部。从2000年到2015年,中国绝大多数城镇PM_2.5浓度显著增加,尤其是在东北平原、太行山以东的河北省西南部、燕山以南的北京天津及河北唐山、鲁中南山地丘陵及周围平原地区、华北平原江苏省北部。PM_2.5城乡差异在河北省、山西省两条东北-西南向S形条带区域、浙江省-福建省条带及天山北部绿洲区域较大。研究对PM_2.5高浓度区域、PM_2.5浓度增长较快区域以及城区PM_2.5浓度对乡村影响较大区域进行图示,为中国进一步控制雾霾污染提供一定科学依据。     

丝绸之路经济带核心区新疆城镇建设用地扩展的时空演变特征及影响机理

将丝绸之路经济带核心区新疆城镇建设用地扩展作为一个时空变化系统进行分析,提取1980—2015年7个年份用地演变信息,结合10 km×10 km方格网构建,从总量趋势、分地州市级区域、分用地类型及特殊性全面认知扩展的时空演变特征,采用地理探测器模型,在县域尺度定量诊断城镇建设用地扩展的人文要素和自然要素的影响程度及各要素间的交互影响作用,进而识别其主控要素并探讨其作用机理,对比分析天山北坡城市群和喀什都市圈两个重点发展区域的分异性。研究结果表明:近35年以来,丝绸之路经济带核心区新疆城镇建设用地扩展约2.9倍,扩展强度波动增长且以分散小斑块为主,各地州市扩展规模和强度的时空差异性显著,次一级城镇建设用地类型扩展呈现动态变化特征,用地扩展受自然本底胁迫条件和经济社会发展过程多重影响有其特殊性;全域城镇建设用地在县域尺度以低水平扩展与各级人文要素和自然要素水平的耦合匹配关系为主;综合地理探测器因子分析模块和交互作用模块的探测结果,判定地形位指数、城镇化率、地形起伏度、二三产业比重为影响丝绸之路经济带核心区新疆县域城镇建设用地扩展的主控要素,并探寻各主控要素的作用机理;在重点发展区域天山北坡城市群和喀什都市圈的驱动要素有共性也有明显分异性。该研究为丝绸之路经济带核心区新疆城镇建设用地因地因城因类的差别化调控及区域可持续发展提供科学支撑和决策依据。     

Does maritime Antarctic permafrost harbor environmental fungi with pathogenic potential?

We assessed the potentially pathogenic fungi present in Antarctic permafrost and the overlying active layer on King George, Robert, Livingston and Deception Islands in the South Shetland Islands archipelago, maritime Antarctica. Permafrost and active layer sub-samples were incubated at 37 °C to select fungi able to grow inside the human body. A total of 67 fungal isolates were obtained, 27 from the permafrost and 40 from the active layer. These represented 18 taxa of the genera Alternaria, Aspergillus, Curvularia, Penicillium, Rhodotorula and Talaromyces. The majority of fungi detected occurred exclusively either in the permafrost or the active layer at each site. Only Aspergillus thermomutatus, Penicillium cf. chrysogenum and Rhodotorula cf. mucilaginosa were present in both permafrost and active layer samples from the same site. The yeast R. cf. mucilaginosa was recovered from both in at least two sites. The genus Penicillium was the most abundant and widely distributed genus in both permafrost and active layer samples across the sites sampled. All fungal isolates were screened using enzymatic, pH and antifungal assays to identify their virulence potential. Aspergillus hiratsukae, A. thermomutatus and R. cf. mucilaginosa, known human opportunistic fungi, were identified, displayed phospholipase, esterase, proteinase and hemolytic activities. All three also displayed the ability to grow at 40°, 45° and/or 50 °C and resistance to fluconazole and itraconazole; additionally, R. cf. mucilaginosa showed resistance to amphotericin B and viability after 100 d at ?80 °C. A. thermomutatus UFMGCB 17415 killed the entire larvae of Tenebrio molitor in six days and R. cf. mucilaginosa UFMGCB 17448 and 17473 in three and four days, respectively. The melting of maritime Antarctic permafrost as a result of climate change may threaten the release of wild strains of pathogenic fungi geographically isolated for long time, which may in turn be transported within and beyond Antarctica by different biological and non-biological vectors.     

Cats under cover: Habitat models indicate a high dependency on woodlands by Atlantic Forest felids

Four Neotropical small and medium felids—the ocelot, jaguarundi, margay, and southern tiger cat—have overlapping geographic distributions in the endangered Atlantic Forest. Local studies show that these felids avoid areas with high human impact, but the three smaller ones use human‐modified areas more frequently than do ocelots. To understand how landscape changes affect the habitat distribution of these four felids in the Atlantic Forest of Argentina, we used maximum entropy models to analyze the effect of environmental and anthropogenic factors. We estimated niche breadth and overlap among these felids. The conversion of the native forest to land uses without trees was the most important variable that determined the habitat distribution of the four species. For all four species, the optimal habitat covered about 1/3 of the study area and corresponds mainly to the native forest areas. Nearly 50% of these areas had some level of protection. The niche width was higher for the small felids than for ocelots. Niche overlap was high for all species pairs, but higher among the small felids and lower for each of these with the ocelot. The four felids were negatively affected by native forest loss, with ocelots being more sensitive than the smaller felids. The conversion of unprotected forest areas to other types of land uses would imply a greater habitat loss for these felids. The protection of current remnants of Atlantic Forest in Argentina is important for the long‐term conservation of the four felids. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.     

Antileishmanial activity and ultrastructural changes of sesquiterpene lactones isolated from Calea pinnatifida (Asteraceae)

Bioactivity-guided fractionation of antileishmanial active CH₂Cl₂ phase of MeOH extract from leaves of Calea pinnatifida led to isolation of two sesquiterpene lactones calein C (1) and calealactone C (2), which structures were stablished on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. Compounds 1 and 2 displayed potent activity against Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes with EC₅₀ of 1.7 and 4.6 µg mL⁻¹, respectively. Compound 2 presented low cytotoxicity for J774 macrophages and displayed activity against amastigote forms of L. amazonensis similar to miltefosine with CC₅₀ values of 31.73 and 27.18 µg mL⁻¹, respectively. Additionally, compounds 1 and 2 caused ultrastructural changes in promastigotes leading to a loss of their classical structural morphology, as evidenced by electron microscopy. Also compound 2 decreased the mitochondria membrane potential. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first occurrence of 1 and 2 in C. pinnatifida. The results obtained highlighted the importance of studying sesquiterpene lactones isolated from Calea pinnatifida in terms of antileishmanial activity, in order to understand the mechanism of action of the isolated compounds in promastigotes forms of L. amazonensis.