Chlorophyll Content in Some Cultivated and Wild Species of the Family Lamiaceae

Chlorophyll (Chl) a, b and (a+b) contents were measured in eleven cultivated and wild species of Lamiaceae collected from different environments. In nine of these eleven species, belonging to the subfamily Nepetoidea, the Chl a/b ratio was low. This suggests a prevailing shade aspect, regardless of collection sites and cultivated or wild origin.     

Aechmea pectinata: a hummingbird-dependent bromeliad with inconspicuous flowers from the rainforest in south-eastern Brazil

The pollination biology of Aechmea pectinata (Bromeliaceae) was studied in a submontane rainforest in south-eastern Brazil. This species has a mainly clumped distribution and its aggregated individuals are likely to be clones. From October to January, during the flowering period, the distal third of its leaves becomes red. The inflorescence produces 1-15 flowers per day over a period of 20-25 d. The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-white coloured, tubular shaped with a narrow opening, and the stigma is situated just above the anthers. Anthesis begins at 0400 h and flowers last for about 13 h. The highest nectar volume and sugar concentration occur between 0600 and 1000 h, and decrease throughout the day. Aechmea pectinata is self-incompatible and therefore pollinator-dependent. Hummingbirds are its main pollinators (about 90 % of the visits), visiting flowers mainly in the morning. There is a positive correlation between the number of hummingbird visits per inflorescence and the production of nectar, suggesting that the availability of this resource is important in attracting and maintaining visitors. The arrangement of the floral structures favours pollen deposition on the bill of the hummingbirds. Flowers in clumps promote hummingbird territoriality, and a consequence is self-pollination in a broader sense (geitonogamy) as individuals in assemblages are genetically close. However, trap-lining and intruding hummingbirds promote cross-pollination. These observations suggest that successful fruit set of A. pectinata depends on both the spatial distribution of its individuals and the interactions among hummingbirds.     

Cryptic diversity in the pen shell Atrina pectinata (Bivalvia: Pinnidae): high divergence and hybridization revealed by molecular and morphological data

Cryptic species have been increasingly revealed in the marine realm through an analytical approach incorporating multiple lines of evidence (e.g., mtDNA, nuclear genes and morphology). Illustrations of cryptic taxa improve our understanding of species diversity and evolutionary histories within marine animals. The pen shell Atrina pectinata is known to exhibit extensive morphological variations that may harbour cryptic diversity. In this study, we investigated A. pectinata populations along the coast of China and one from Japan to explore possible cryptic diversity and hybridization using a combination of mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, mtCOI) and nuclear (ribosomal internal transcribed spacer, nrITS) genes as well as morphology. Phylogenetic analyses of mtCOI ‘DNA barcoding gene’ sequences resolved six divergent lineages with intralineage divergences between 0.4% and 0.8%. Interlineage sequence differences ranged from 4.3% to 22.0%, suggesting that six candidate cryptic species are present. The nrITS gene revealed five deep lineages with Kimura 2‐parameter distances of 3.7–30.3%. The five nuclear lineages generally corresponded to mtCOI lineages 1–4 and (5 + 6), suggestive of five distinct evolutionary lineages. Multiple nrITS sequences of significant variance were found within an individual, clearly implying recent hybridization events between/among the evolutionary lineages, which contributed to cytonuclear discordance. Morphologically, five morphotypes matched the five genetic lineages, although the intermediates may well blur the boundaries of different morphotypes. This study demonstrates the importance of combining multiple lines of evidence to explore species cryptic diversity and past evolutionary histories.     

黄鼠栉带绦虫和梳状莫斯绦虫的生活史研究

本文首次阐明黄鼠栉帮绦虫和梳状莫斯绦虫的生活史。实验证明这二种绦虫的中间宿主同是曲愎翼甲螨和小型肋甲螨。二者绦虫的成虫、拟囊尾蚴的形态特征有详细的描述与比较。此外,作者简要地讨论了spassky(1951)的锡带属、栉带属和莫斯属等的分类问题。     

苏铁属一新亚种

苏铁属一新亚种陈介,云波（中国科学院昆明植物研究所,昆明６５０２０４）（个旧市第二中学,个旧６６１４００）关键词苏铁科,苏铁属,新亚种、蔓耗苏铁蔓耗苏铁新亚种ＡＮＥＷＴＡＸＡＯＦＣＹＣＡＳ（ＣＹＣＡＤＡＣＥＡｋ）ＩＮＹＵＮＮＡＮ￥ＣＮＥＮＣｈｅｉｈ（...     

Evidence for nonhydrogen bonded compound II in cyclic reaction of hemoglobin I from Lucina pectinata with hydrogen peroxide

Studies that elucidate the behavior of the hemoglobins (Hbs) and myoglobins upon reaction with hydrogen peroxide are essential to the development of oxygen carrier substitutes. Stopped-flow kinetics and resonance Raman data show that the reaction between hydrogen peroxide and oxygenated and deoxygenated ferric Hb I (oxy- and deoxy-HbI) from Lucina pectinata produce compound I and compound II ferryl species. The rate constants ratio (k23/k41) between the formation of compound II from compound I (k23) and the oxidation of the ferrous HbI (k41, i.e., 25 M(-1) s(-1)) of 12 x 10(-4) M suggests that HbI has a peroxidative capacity for removing H2O2 from solution. Resonance Raman presents the formation of both, met-aquo-HbI and compound II ferryl species in the cyclic reaction of HbI with H2O2. The ferric HbI species is maintained by the presence of H2O2; it can produce HbI compound I, or it can be reduced to a deoxy-HbI derivative to form HbI compound II upon reaction with H2O2. The compound II ferryl vibration frequency appears at 805 and 769 cm(-1) for HbIFe(IV)=(16)O and HbIFe(IV)=(18)O species, respectively. This ferryl mode indicates the absence of hydrogen bonding between the carbonyl group of the distal Q64 and the HbIFe(IV)=O ferryl moiety. The observation suggests that both the trans-ligand effect and the polarizabilty of the HbI heme pocket are responsible for the observed ferryl oxo vibrational energy. The vibrational mode also suggests that the carbonyl group of the distal Q64 is oriented toward the iron of the heme group, increasing the distal pocket electron density.     

南海硇洲岛潮汐带栉江珧可培养细菌的系统发育多样性

【目的】研究南海硇洲岛潮汐带栉江珧(Atrina pectinata)样品相关可培养细菌的多样性。【方法】采用纯培养法和基于16S r RNA基因序列的系统发育分析,法对样品中可培养细菌(含放线菌)的类群多样性、物种多样性和遗传多样性进行研究。【结果】用补充0–25%(质量体积比)Na Cl的MA、MH和NA培养基从栉江珧样品中分离到125株细菌。在形态观察和部分生理生化实验结果的基础上去冗余,选取90个代表性菌株进行基于16S r RNA基因序列的系统发育多样性分析。结果表明,这90个分离菌株分属于3个大的系统发育类群(Gamma-proteobacteria、Firmicutes、Actinobacteria)、6个科、10个属,可分为33个物种。优势类群为厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)(56株,62.2%)和γ-变形杆菌亚门(Gamma-proteobacteria)(31株,34.5%)。大多数菌株与其系统发育关系最密切的已知物种的典型菌株之间存在一定的遗传差异(16S r RNA基因序列相似性为95.7%–99.9%),其中有5株可能代表新的分类单元(Potential new taxa)。分析表明,菌株JSM 112024可能代表了盐单胞菌科(Halomonadaceae)的一个属一级新分类单元;菌株JSM 112019、JSM 114045、JSM 114058和JSM 114083可能分别代表盐弧菌属(Salinivibrio)、芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus)、盐单胞菌属(Halomonas)和枝芽孢菌属(Virgibacillus)的新物种。【结论】湛江硇洲岛潮汐带栉江珧中存在较为丰富的可培养细菌物种多样性和系统发育多样性,并潜藏着较多的新微生物类群(物种)。