A comparative analysis of the temperature response of leaf elongation in Bromus stamineus and Lolium perenne plants in the field: intrinsic and size-mediated effects

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Growth of grass species in temperate-humid regions is restricted by low temperatures. This study analyses the origin (intrinsic or size-mediated) and mechanisms (activity of individual meristems vs. number of active meristems) of differences between Bromus stamineus and Lolium perenne in the response of leaf elongation to moderately low temperatures. METHODS: Field experiments were conducted at Balcarce, Argentina over 2 years (2003 and 2004) using four cultivars, two of B. stamineus and two of L. perenne. Leaf elongation rate (LER) per tiller and of each growing leaf, number of growing leaves and total leaf length per tiller were measured on 15-20 tillers per cultivar, for 12 (2003) or 10 weeks (2004) during autumn and winter. KEY RESULTS: LER was faster in B. stamineus than in L. perenne. In part, this was related to size-mediated effects, as total leaf length per tiller correlated with LER and B. stamineus tillers were 71% larger than L. perenne tillers. However, accounting for size effects revealed intrinsic differences between species in their temperature response. These were based on the number of leaf meristems simultaneously active and not on the (maximum) rate at which individual leaves elongated. Species differences were greater at higher temperatures, being barely notable below 5 degrees C (air temperature). CONCLUSIONS: Bromus stamineus can sustain a higher LER per tiller than L. perenne at air temperatures > 6 degrees C. In the field, this effect would be compounded with time as higher elongation rates lead to greater tiller sizes.     

Common variation in KLKB1 and essential hypertension risk: tagging-SNP haplotype analysis in a case-control study

The human plasma kallikrein gene (KLKB1) encodes plasma kallikrein, a serine protease that catalyzes the release of kinins and other vasoactive peptides and may be involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension. In this study, we performed a haplotype-based study to assess the effect of common genetic variation in the KLKB1 gene on the risk of essential hypertension. Eight common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected from the HapMap database and used to determine the pattern of linkage disequilibrium (LD) and haplotype structure within the KLKB1 gene. Four tag SNPs were then identified with over 85% power to predict both common haplotypes and remaining common SNPs, and genotyped in 1,317 cases with essential hypertension and 1,269 healthy controls. Single SNP analyses indicated that SNPs rs2304595 and rs4253325 were significantly associated with hypertension, adjusted for covariates. Compared with the most common Hap2 CAGC, Hap1 AGAC and Hap3 CGAC, which carry the susceptible rs2304595 G allele and rs4253325 A allele, were found to significantly increase the risk of essential hypertension with adjusted odds ratios equal to 1.37 and 1.17, respectively (P < 0.0001 and 0.028). A strongly significant interaction with gene-drinking was also observed. Among drinkers, the adjusted OR for Hap1 relative to Hap2 was increased to 2.50 (95% CI, 2.40 to 2.61; P < 0.0001). This was the first study to perform association analysis of the KLKB1 gene with essential hypertension. Our findings suggested that common genetic variation in the KLKB1 gene might contribute to the risk of hypertension in the northern Han Chinese population. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Conflict of interests: None.     

Fas Antigen and Sporadic Alzheimer’s Disease in Southern Italy: Evaluation of Two Polymorphisms in the TNFRSF6 Gene

Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Super Family 6 gene (TNFRSF6), also known as FAS, encodes the Fas antigen, a cell surface receptor mediating cell apoptosis, situated on chromosome 10q located near the region of linkage to sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (sAD). FAS levels have been reported elevated in the brain of AD patients. Due to both positional and pathobiological criteria, the association of the FAS antigen with this pathology is of great interest. We have tested two SNPs in the FAS gene in 223 Italian patients with non-familial AD from Southern Italy (Calabria region) and 211 healthy control subjects. No significant differences in allelic and genotypic distributions were found between cases and controls, or late and early-onset AD patients, thus suggesting that these polymorphisms do not represent an AD risk factor in our population.     

中药贝母的基原植物和药用亲缘学的研究

贝母是一种常用中药,有十分悠久的药用历史。百合科Liliaceae中的贝母属Fritillaria是中药贝母的主要来源,此属全世界约有130种,我国由于近年来发表了大量的新种和新变种,使国产贝母属的种名达到80个,变种名称52个,变型名称6个。大量新分类名称的出现对中药贝母的质量控制和应用方面造成一定困难。通过对中药贝母的历史沿革、植物分类、地理分布、化学成分、现今生产及应用等的综合研究整理,将中药贝母划分为6个类型:浙贝母、川贝母、伊贝母、湖北贝母、平贝母和安徽贝母。这样的划分除安徽贝母尚未收载于药典外,其他均与现行版的中华人民共和国药典(2005版)一部所收载的内容一致。通过此项研究,作者建议,凡是主要经济植物的新名称的出现必须更加慎重,而且从实际应用的观点出发,分类群的划分不宜过细。     

Mycobacterium species identification--a new approach via dnaJ gene sequencing

The availability of the dnaJ1 gene for identifying Mycobacterium species was examined by analyzing the complete dnaJ1 sequences (approximately 1200 bp) of 56 species (54 of them were type strains) and comparing sequence homologies with those of the 16S rRNA gene and other housekeeping genes (rpoB, hsp65). Among the 56 Mycobacterium species, the mean sequence similarity of the dnaJ1 gene (80.4%) was significantly less than that of the 16S rRNA, rpoB and hsp65 genes (96.6%, 91.3% and 91.1%, respectively), indicating a high discriminatory power of the dnaJ1 gene. Seventy-one clinical isolates were correctly clustered to the corresponding type strains, showing isolates belonging to the same species. In order to propose a method for strain identification, we identified an area with a high degree of polymorphism, bordered by conserved sequences, that can be used as universal primers for PCR amplification and sequencing. The sequence of this fragment (approximately 350 bp) allows accurate species identification and may be used as a new tool for the identification of Mycobacterium species.     

Sustainable Utilization and Economic Development of Some Plant Resources in Northern Pakistan

Overshadowed by the vast impact that habitat loss has on targeted plant species survival, it is easy to overlook the fact that utilization and harvesting of species can often result in their genetic depletion and in an often rapid downward trend of their population status. In this regard an ethnobotanical study on the medicinal plants of Shawar valley, District Swat was conducted with the aims to document medicinal plants and to examine the current status of the medicinal plants trade as well as the market chain starting from collectors to consumers. The survey reported 50 species of plants belonging to 33 families as ethnomedicinally important. These species were used as crud drugs by the local people and folk-lore for treating diseases in traditional system of medicine. The detailed local uses, recipe preparation along with their local names and diseases treated were recorded for each species.Market survey revealed that the structure of medicinal plant trade is complex and heterogeneous, involving many players. The collectors are often not aware of the high market prices and medicinal values, and most of the collected material is sold to local middlemen at a very low price. There was an increase of 3 to 5 folds in prices from collectors to the national market.Recommendations were given in the spheres of training sustainable harvesting and post harvesting of wild medicinal plant resources, trade monitoring, equitable sharing of benefits of wild resources, improved control on harvesting and trade for the conservation of resources, enhancement of cultivation efforts, future research into trade in wild harvested plants, community participation in natural resource management and value addition in the herbal products to maximize the benefits.     

我国首例孕妇感染高致病性禽流感(H5N1)的病原学研究

对2005年11月8日安徽省铜陵市人民医院报告的一例孕妇不明原因肺炎病例的死亡病因进行研究。采集病人的气管吸出物及血液标本,用RT-PCR和Real-ti me PCR方法检测流感病毒A/M、A/H5N1、A/H7N7、A/H9N1亚型特异性核苷酸片段;气管吸出物接种SPF鸡胚进行病毒分离,并对分离物进行鉴定和序列测定及分析;利用血凝抑制试验检测血清标本抗体。结果表明病人气管吸出物可以检测到甲型流感病毒M片段及H5亚型的特异性HA基因。2005年11月9日采集的血清标本用Real-ti me PCR检测到甲型流感病毒M基因。从病人的气管吸出物中分离到H5N1病毒(A/Anhui/1/2005),对病毒的HA基因序列结果进行分析表明病毒是禽源的,其主要依据是受体结合位点第226~228位氨基酸位点(QSG)为禽流感病毒所特异,HA受体连接肽仍为9个碱性氨基酸(LRERRRKRP);基因进化树分析显示,HA基因与禽源病毒进化距离接近。发病后7、8、9d的血清H5N1禽流感病毒HI抗体小于20。对该病例的病原学研究证明,该病例为H5N1禽流感感染病例。     

四川马边大风顶自然保护区周边社区对当地自然保护的影响

采用参与式评估和KAP研究等方法,对马边县境内大风顶自然保护区周边社区的社会经济及居民生态保护意识和行为进行调查。结果表明,社区经济落后、人口增长、教育水平偏低的现状构成对保护区影响的主要因素,另外当地的传统观念及生活习惯也对保护区动植物存在一定影响。通过分析,结合当地情况,为社区及保护区将来的发展提出参考建议。     

Ameliorative effect of L-carnitine on lambda-cyhalothrin-induced anatomical and reproductive aberrations in albino mice

The objective of this research was to look at how the pesticide lambda-cyhalothrin (LCT) affected the liver, kidney, testis, and ovary of albino mice; and on morphological and skeletal features of the newborn of treated females. The study also aimed to test the ameliorative effects of L-carnitine (LC) against (LCT). Five sets of mice were created, Group 1 acted as the control, while Group 2 received a high dose of LCT, Group 3 received a high dose of LCT + LC, Group 4 received a low dose of LCT that was a residue of in khat (Qat), and Group 5 received a low dose of LCT + LC. The findings revealed that the treated groups' body weights were reduced significantly, whereas the absolute and relative weights of the liver in all groups were statistically decreased insignificantly. There were histopathological changes in the tissues in groups 2 and 4. While the tissues of the ovary and testis showed recovery in groups 3 and 5. When compared to the control group, the values of the seminiferous tubules parameters were statistically significant in the 3 and 5 groups. The newborn had a high dose of pesticides and showed some malformations in the skeleton. However, in group 3 the skeletal malformation was minimized and in-group 5 the skeleton malformations had completely disappeared. It could be concluded that LCT is highly harmful to mouse tissues and caused neonatal malformations, whereas LC has a marked protective effect against LCT.