云南草寇花序内不同部位的性分配

两性花植物花序内的性分配常存在差异,资源竞争、结构效应、交配环境(雌雄异熟、传粉者定向访花行为等)或授粉不均匀等几种假说可以解释这种现象。为验证上述假说,该研究以云南草寇两种表型(雄先熟型和雌先熟型)为材料,分析了其花序内不同部位(基部、中部和顶部)的每花花粉数、胚珠数、花粉/胚珠比、结实率和结籽率,花序内传粉者的定向访花行为,以及人工辅助授粉和去花处理对结实率和结籽率的影响。结果表明:两种表型花序内每花花粉数不随部位而变化,每花胚珠数、结实率和结籽率由基部到顶部依次降低,每花花粉/胚珠比由基部到顶部依次增加,表明顶部花存在偏雄的性分配。人工辅助授粉后,结实率、结籽率仍由基部到顶部依次降低,表明授粉不均匀假说不能解释云南草寇花序内不同部位结实率、结籽率的差异。去除基部和中部花后,顶部花人工辅助授粉条件下的结实率、结籽率与基部花人工辅助授粉条件下的结实率、结籽率无差异,表明云南草寇花序内不同部位结实率、结籽率的差异主要由资源竞争引起。雌先熟表型每花花粉数、花粉/胚珠比高于雄先熟表型,表明两种表型存在性分配差异。传粉者主要先访问云南草寇基部的花,然后向顶部移动。云南草寇花序内顶部偏雄的性分配可能是由资源竞争和传粉者定向访花造成的。     

中子与X-光衍射相结合解析木聚糖酶突变体N44D的晶体结构

木聚糖酶（Xylanase）是降解木质纤维素中半纤维素的特定酶,在酶法生产生物能源的过程中有重要应用. 木质纤维素在降解时需要用酸或碱预处理,而木聚糖酶反应的最适pH值为中性. 因此,获得在酸或碱性条件下酶活力仍然很高的木聚糖酶,是生物能源生产中的重要课题. 木聚糖酶活性中心的天冬酰胺突变为天冬氨酸（N44D）后,木聚糖酶的最适pH值从5.7下调到4.6,酶活提高20%. 本课题首次获得了分辨率为2.20A的木聚糖酶突变体N44D的晶体在291 K的中子衍射数据. 同时,本课题分别获得了分辨率为1.70A和1.07A的在291 K和100 K的X-光衍射晶体数据. 通过解析以上数据,本实验获得了木聚糖酶中几乎所有原子的空间位置. 以上结果将有助于在原子水平研究这种突变是如何影响酶反应最适pH值,并进一步为酶蛋白的改性提供了结构生物学的依据.     

云南纵向岭谷区道路网络对生态系统影响的尺度效应

云南纵向岭谷区具有复杂的生态系统,其生物多样性在全球中具有重要地位,但是由于人类活动的影响,尤其是道路网络的发展及其导致的土地利用变化,使得该地区生态系统退化日益严重.选取2km×2km、4km×4km、6km×6km、… \,20km×20km网格进行多尺度相关分析和方差分析,研究云南纵向岭谷区道路网络与生态系统分布的相关性及其独立和交互作用,分析道路网络对生态系统影响的尺度效应.然后又进一步研究了道路网络和地形因子(比如海拔、坡度和坡向等)对生态系统的独立和交互作用.研究结果表明,道路网络与生态系统分布的相关性与路网等级有关,其相关程度与路网等级呈反比,随着尺度的变化,道路网络与生态系统分布的相关性表现为增强型、减弱型、质变型和无尺度效应这4种类型.在大多数尺度下,道路网络和地形因子对生态系统分布既有独立作用,也有交互作用.其中,高等级路网的独立作用比较显著,而低等级路网的独立作用不太显著.但是,随着尺度的增大,县乡路网、乡村路网和小路网对生态系统分布的独立和交互作用均显著,且表现出高度的相似性,表明地形对低等级道路具有明显的干扰或屏蔽效应.     

Novel A14841G mutation is associated with high penetrance of LHON/C4171A family

We report the clinical and genetic characterization of a Chinese LHON family carrying an ND1/C4171A mutation. This family has high penetrance of visual impairment and extremely low frequency of vision recovery, which is in marked contrast to previously reported results for Korean LHON families with the same mutation. Sequence analysis of the complete mtDNA in the partially defined East Asian haplogroup N9a1 revealed the presence of 29 other variants. A novel heteroplasmic A14841G mutation, one of the variants with a serine substituted for a highly conserved asparagine at amino acid 32 of Cytochrome b (Cytb), may play a synergistic role with the C4171A mutation, leading to significantly different clinical manifestations of LHON among these families. The study further confirmed that C4171A was a rare primary LHON mutation, and the mtDNA background could also contribute to the clinical manifestation of the LHON/C4171A mutation.     

车八岭山地常绿阔叶林冰灾后林木受损的生态学评估

从植物生态学的角度对2008年初南方冻雨冰雪灾害对典型的亚热带山地常绿阔叶林造成的损害情况做了研究。对12个优势种和亚优势种的受灾情况做了对比分析, 对不同径级和不同地形因子下林木抵抗冻雨灾害的差异做了对比。统计检验结果显示林木受损程度存在显著的种间差异、径级差异和地形级差异。优势种米槠(Castanopsis carlesii)比多数亚优势种受害更严重; 各树种抗冻雨灾害能力以山茶科和樟科的种较强, 而壳斗科的多个种, 如米槠、栲(C. fargesii)受灾较为严重; 林木的受损比例随着胸径(diameter at breast height, DBH)增加而增大; 在未受灾的各级林木中, 超过70%的个体集中在最小一级径阶(1-5 cm)。χ²检验显示坡度、坡向、坡位等地形因子对林木受损状况有显著的影响, 随着坡位上升, 林木受损程度逐渐加重, 上坡位的林木受损比例最大, 下坡位最小, 这可能与随着坡位升高, 迎风面降温效果更迅速有关。对于坡向和坡度而言, 位于半阳坡的林木受灾比例显著高于半阴坡, 位于坡度级III (15°-25°)、IV (25°-35°)、V (35°-45°)上的林木受灾最严重。该研究结果对于亚热带常绿阔叶林的保育和应对未来可能再次发生的冰雪灾害有重要意义; 同时对于森林恢复和演替、乡土阔叶树种的选育及森林经营等方面的研究和应用也有重要的参考价值。     

桂西北喀斯特区域植被变化趋势及其对气候和地形的响应

基于1999—2010年的SPOT NDVI数据,分析了河池市植被变化趋势及空间差异,并结合气象和地形数据分析了植被与气候、地形的关系。结果表明:(1)桂西北喀斯特地区植被变化总体上呈恢复趋势,年均气候因子对植被变化的作用不明显;(2)200—500m的海拔范围内植被恢复显著,但400—500m的海拔范围内有小面积植被退化现象,随着海拔增加,植被变化趋于稳定;(3)6—15°的坡度范围内植被恢复最显著,而2—6°及大于25°坡度范围存在植被退化的现象;(4)不同坡向上的植被恢复差异不明显,但随着坡向由阴坡转阳坡,植被总体恢复呈减小趋势。喀斯特地区人类生态建设取得一定成效,但由于人类活动的负面影响,在海拔400—500m、坡度大于25°的阳坡区域仍存在植被减少的现象。     

山区夏季地表温度的影响因素——以泰山为例

以泰山为例,应用夏季的Landsat 5的TM6为基本数据源,基于单窗算法定量反演了泰山地表面温度(LST),在此基础上首先探讨了LST与地形因子的关系,然后比较了归一化水汽指数(NDMI)和归一化植被指数(NDVI)在表达山区LST上的效力,最后利用逐步回归分析法,构建出LST与地形因子、NDMI的回归方程,应用偏相关系数,得出各个因子对LST的影响程度。结果表明:1)在地形因子中,影响LST的主要因素是海拔,随海拔升高呈自然对数形式降低,相比而言,坡度、坡向以及太阳入射能量的影响则很小;2)在没有水体时,NDVI与NDMI都能有效地表达山区的LST,LST与NDVI间是二次项负相关关系,与NDMI间是线性负相关关系,在表达LST上NDMI比NDVI更有效;3)综合分析表明,地表水汽特征是其表面温度最主要的影响因素,其次是海拔。研究结果将为山区地表温度空间分异性特征及形成机制的研究提供科学的参考。     

Specific compositional patterns of synonymous positions in homologous mammalian genes

All 69 homologous coding sequences that are currently available in four mammalian orders were aligned and the synonymous (ie., third) positions of quartet (fourfold degenerate) codons were divided into three classes (that will be called conserved, intermediate, and variable), according to whether they show no change, one change, and more than one change, respectively. The three classes were analyzed in their compositional patterns. In the majority of GC-rich genes, the three classes of positions (but especially conserved positions) exhibited significantly different base compositions compared to expectations based on a random substitution process from the ancestral (consensus) sequence to the present-day (actual) sequences. Significant differences were rare in GC-poor genes.An analysis of the present results indicates that natural selection plays a role in the synonymous nucleotide substitution process, especially in GC-rich genes which represent the vast majority of mammalian genes.This paper is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Motoo Kimura (1924–1994)Correspondence to: Giorgio Bernardi     

Foliar Nutrient Dynamics and Resorption in Naturalized Lonicera maackii (Caprifoliaceae) Populations in Ohio,USA

Foliar phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) concentrations and nutrient resorption in the forest understory shrub Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Maxim (Caprifoliaceae) were measured along contiguous topographic gradients in two southwestern Ohio forests during 1992–1994. Mean summer foliar P varied significantly among topographic positions (but not sites or years), with uplands having greatest P concentrations and bottomlands exhibiting the lowest. Unlike for P, the mean summer foliar N concentrations varied little among sites, topographic positions, and years. Mean absolute and proportional P resorption ranged from 0.48 mg/dm² (33.7%) in slope positions to 0.80 mg/dm² (53.1%) in bottomland positions. Repeated-measures analysis of variance (RMANOVA) for P resorption indicated significant topographic and year effects, a site × year and a site × year × topographic interaction. Mean absolute and proportional foliar N resorption ranged from 6.82 mg/dm² (30.7%) in bottomlands to 8.41 mg/dm² (37.3%) in slope positions. RMANOVA indicated a significant topographic effect for both absolute and proportional N resorption and a significant year effect for absolute N resorption. These significant year effects for P and N stemmed from lowest resorption of nutrients in 1993. The results for P resorption support the hypothesis that foliar resorption is greater in forested sites with lower P fertility. However, resorption rates for N did not support the hypothesis clearly, as slopes with intermediate N availability had greater N resorption rates than did N-rich bottomlands.