即将到来的健康危机

人类的活动正在毁坏地球的气候,而越来越多的温室气体排放加速了对气候的破坏。（参见下文“正在改变的气候”文本框）环境的变化对健康的影响有时很直接：温度的上升、水循环的改变、地表臭氧含量上升、花粉的扩散都会增加人们在高温中的暴露程度,     

Bioenergy Plants: Hopes,Concerns and Prospectives

There are major concerns over both the security of energy supplies (declining supplies and political control) and the environmental costs associated with energy generation and use.The global consumption of carbon-containing fossil fuels for     

C_4 Plants as Biofuel Feedstocks: Optimising Biomass Production and Feedstock Quality from a Lignocellulosic Perspective

The main feedstocks for bioethanol are sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) and maize (Zea mays),both of which are C4 grasses,highly efficient at converting solar energy into chemical energy,and both are food crops.As the systems for lignocellulosic bioethanol production become more efficient and cost effective,plant biomass from any source may be used as a feedstock for bioethanol production.Thus,a move away from using food plants to make fuel is possible,and sources of biomass such as wood from forestry and ...     

Genetic Improvement of Willow for Bioenergy and Biofuels

Willows (Salix spp.) are a very diverse group of catkin-bearing trees and shrubs that are widely distributed across temperate regions of the globe.Some species respond well to being grown in short rotation coppice (SRC) cycles,which are much shorter than conventional forestry.Coppicing reinvigorates growth and the biomass rapidly accumulated can be used as a source of renewable carbon for bioenergy and biofuels.As SRC willows re-distribute nutrients during the perennial cycle they require only minimal nitro...     

过敏症基因 一个皮肤蛋白的突变揭示了湿疹和哮喘之间的联系

那是2005年十月的一个紧张的周五下午,我们四个人在实验室里拼命地工作,害怕我们的结果随时会被抢先报道。（这是一个无端的担心,但是在那个时候我们根本不知道。）我们最近找到了一个与一种相对常见的皮肤疾病相关的基因的第一个突变,但是我们的结果并不是完全有意义,我们推测在这个基因中一定还隐藏着另一个突变。第二个突变也许能够解释我们在患者家系中观察到的奇怪的遗传模式,那似乎也暗示了一个更大的发现。     

Size-dependent locomotory performance creates a behaviorally mediated prey size refuge in the marine snail Olivella sem istriata:a study in the natural habitat

The effects of the variability of individual prey locomotory performance on the vulnerability to predation are poorly understood,partly because individual performance is difficult to determine in natural habitats.To gain insights into the role(s)of individual variation in predatory relationships,we study a convenient model system,the neotropical sandy beach gastropod Olivella semistriata and its main predator,the carnivorous snail Agaronia propatula.The largest size class of O.semistriata is known to be missing from A.propatula's spectrum of subdued prey,although the predator regularly captures much larger individuals of other taxa.To resolve this conundrum,we analyzed predation attempts in the wild.While A.propatula attacked O.semistriata of all sizes,large prey specimens usually escaped by'sculling',an accelerated,stepping mode of locomotion.Olivella semistriata performed sculling locomotion regardless of size,but sculling velocities determined in the natural environment increased strongly with size.Thus,growth in size as such does not establish a prey size refuge in which O.semistriata is safe from predation.Rather,a behaviorally mediated size refuge is created through the size-dependence of sculling performance.Taken together,this work presents a rare quantitative characterization in the natural habitat of the causal sequence from the size-dependence of individual performance,to the prey size-dependent outcome of predation attempts,to the size bias in the predator's prey spectrum.     

Relationships between personality traits and the physiological stress response in a wild mammal

Glucocorticoids(GCs)are involved in the regulation of an animal's energetic state.Under stressful situations,they are part of the neuroendocrine response to cope with environmental challenges.Animals react to aversive stimuli also through behavioral responses,defined as coping styles.Both in captive and wild populations,individuals differ in their behavior along a proactive-reactive continuum.Proactive animals exhibit a bold,active explorative and social personality,whereas reactive ones areshy,less active-explorative and less social.Here,we test the hypothesis that personality traits and physiological responses to stressors covary,with more proactive individuals having a less pronounced GC stress response.In wild populations of invasive gray squirrels Sciurus carolinensis,we measuredfecal glucocorticoid metabolites(FGMs),an integrated measure of circulating GCs,and 3 personality traits(activity,sociability,and exploration)derived from open field test(OFT)and mirror image stimulation(MIS)test.Gray squirrels had higher FGMs in Autumn than in Winter and males with scrotal testes had higher FGMs than nonbreeding males.Personality varied with body mass and population density.Squirrels expressed more activity exploration at higher than at lower density and heavier squirrels had higher scores for activity exploration than animals that weighed less.Variation in FGM concentrations was not correlated with the expression of the 3 personality traits.Hence,our results do not support a strong association between the behavioral and physiological stress responses but show that in wild populations,where animals experience varying environmental conditions,the GC endocrine response and the expression of personality are uncorrelated traits among individuals.     

矿物油对茶园小贯小绿叶蝉的控制效果和对茶叶感官品质的影响

小贯小绿叶蝉Empoasca(Matsumurasca)onukii Matsuda是东亚茶树的重要害虫之一,目前在我国主要采用化学防治。本文研究一种nC23园艺用矿物油、加德士的D-C-Tron NR对其产卵和取食行为的影响,以及对其田间种群的控制效果,为在茶园使用矿物油替代化学农药进行防治提供依据。室内选择性试验结果表明,用矿物油150倍液、200倍液处理茶树离体嫩梢对小贯小绿叶蝉成虫都有显著的拒食和产卵忌避效果,第3天的拒食率分别为85.59%、89.17%,产卵忌避率分别为70.22%、91.5%,200倍液处理对若虫也有显著的驱避和拒食效果,第2天驱避率为81.96%,第3天拒食率为85.86%。田间试验结果表明,矿物油100倍液、200倍液、300倍液处理都显著降低小贯小绿叶蝉田间种群的虫口密度,其中100倍液和200倍液的防治效果无显著差异,处理后5 d若虫的校正减退率分别达89.13%、87.63%,成虫分别达87.58%、84.22%,都显著高于300倍液的防效。田间试验结果还表明,矿物油3个浓度处理后茶梢上的卵量显著减少,其中100倍液处理第7天的产卵忌避率最高,达80.86%,而各处理茶园蜘蛛的数量与对照相比都没有显著差异。另外,用矿物油200倍液喷施茶树后5 d、10 d采摘的茶芽制成绿茶,经感官评审与对照没有差异,说明矿物油对小贯小绿叶蝉具有较好的防治效果,而且对茶园蜘蛛安全,对茶叶感官品质没有影响,可以在小绿叶蝉防治中推广应用。     

东南亚生物多样性热点地区的形成与演化

东南亚地处热带,生物多样性极为丰富,可分为4个热点地区:印度-缅甸区的中南半岛、巽他区(含马来半岛、婆罗洲、苏门答腊岛)、菲律宾区(菲律宾群岛)、华莱士区(苏拉威西岛、爪哇岛、马鲁古群岛、小巽他群岛等)。中南半岛在泥盆纪便已是欧亚大陆的一部分,在印度板块撞击欧亚大陆之后受挤压而出;巽他区来自于冈瓦纳古陆和澳洲古陆;菲律宾群岛部分来自于劳亚古陆的碎片向南漂移,部分来自于太平洋西南岛弧的向北迁移;华莱士区则是劳亚古陆碎片、太平洋西南岛弧以及澳洲古陆北侧碎片的组合。巽他区地处赤道,常年温湿;菲律宾区、华莱士区、中南半岛则都受到不同程度的季风气候决定的干湿季变动。地质历史和季风气候影响程度的不同,奠定了东南亚4个生物多样性热点地区的雏形。华莱士区保存有大量的早期被子植物原始类群如睡莲目(Nymphaeales)和木兰藤目(Austrobaileyales),是现代被子植物起源地和冰期避难所之一。巽他区(婆罗洲)和中南半岛是亚洲热带植物的现代分布中心和"进化前沿",是整个东南亚地区重要的种源;而华莱士区的爪哇岛和小巽他群岛主要是物种迁入和中转的种库。这样的物种形成历史与迁移格局,塑造了东南亚4个生物多样性热点地区物种多样性水平与地理范围的基本格局。巽他区和印度-缅甸区曾在冰期通过陆桥相连,使得东南亚成为周边植物扩散交汇的一个"十字路口"。但是,人们对东南亚生物多样性热点地区的物种长距离扩散规律及植物地理学分区仍存在分歧;东南亚与邻近生物多样性热点地区如新几内亚岛、西高止山脉-斯里兰卡、中国横断山区的历史联系,还尚待深入解析。利用现代分子生物学技术,覆盖整个东南亚地区进行全域取样开展代表性类群的物种迁移与生物地理学研究,有望进一步揭示东南亚生物多样性热点地区的形成过程与演化趋势。     

生菜种子低温处理后耐冻性和脂肪酸合成代谢的关系研究

以生菜(Lactuca sativa)种子为研究对象,通过不同时间的吸水处理分析其含水量变化,再通过程序降温处理,分析不同含水量种子发芽率的差异,以及脂肪酸合成有关基因(FAD2、FAD3、PPT、ELOVL)和冷调节基因ICE1的表达。结果表明,种子含水量随吸水时间增加而升高。程序降温至同样的低温冷冻条件下(-20℃、-22℃),吸水时间小于6 h的种子发芽率较高,而吸水8 h以上的种子发芽率显著降低。种子吸水8 h含水量处于饱和状态,在此状态下种子对低温较为敏感,说明含水量对种子耐冻性有影响。冷冻处理后生菜种子基因表达检测结果表明,脂肪酸去饱和酶基因(FAD2、FAD3)、蛋白质棕榈酰基硫脂酶相关基因(PPT）、长链脂肪酸延伸酶相关基因(ELOVL)的表达水平均随着种子含水量增加呈上升趋势,吸胀10 h的种子表达量最高,此时种子由于高含水量所受冷冻伤害最大。基因ICE1在冷冻处理种子中的表达也随着吸水时间增加而升高,在吸水10 h时种子中表达量到最高水平。综上,种子含水量越高,所受冷冻伤害越大。但种子在低温条件下具有一定的抗冷反应,可通过相关基因的过表达调控合成更多不饱和脂肪酸、抗冻蛋白等提高含水种子耐冻性。