Dung burial strategies in some South African coprine and onitine dung beetles (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

ABSTRACT.

• 1 The dung colonization and dung burial behaviour of twelve crepuscular/nocturnal tunnelling (paracoprid) species of beetles were examined in order to identify mechanisms which might facilitate resource (dung) partitioning. The species were selected from a diverse assemblage of dung beetles, the members of which coexist in the sandy-soil regions of Natal, South Africa.
• 2 The pattern of dung colonization in relation to dung age was examined in the field using baited pitfall traps. Some species, e.g. Onitis deceptor Peringuey, Catharsius tricornutus De Geer and Copris elphenor Klug, showed a marked preference for fresh dung (1–2 days old) whereas other species, e.g. O. viridulus Boheman and Copris fallaciosus Gillet, preferred older dung (3–7 days old).
• 3 Two distinct patterns of dung burial were recognized. In the Coprini, dung burial was complete within 24–48h of pad colonization, and the level of dung burial was similar in the laboratory and in the field. In the Onitini, dung burial occurred progressively over a 12-day period, although the timing of initiation of dung burial varied between species: in O. deceptor nearly all individuals had begun burial within 2 days of pad colonization, whereas only 20% of O. viridulus had commenced dung burial by that time. However, nearly all O. viridulus had buried substantial quantities of dung by day 12.
• 4 The mass of dung buried per pair by the larger coprine beetles (100–300 g) and onitine beetles (400–1000 g) suggests that there is potential for inter- and intraspecific competition, even in pads colonized by relatively few beetles. The colonization and use of dung of different ages are discussed as means of resource partitioning in relation to the relative abilities of species to compete for dung.

     

Penetration into membrane of amino‐terminal region of SecA when associated with SecYEG in active complexes

The general secretory (Sec) system of Escherichia coli translocates both periplasmic and outer membrane proteins through the cytoplasmic membrane. The pathway through the membrane is provided by a highly conserved translocon, which in E. coli comprises two heterotrimeric integral membrane complexes, SecY, SecE, and SecG (SecYEG), and SecD, SecF, and YajC (SecDF/YajC). SecA is an associated ATPase that is essential to the function of the Sec system. SecA plays two roles, it targets precursors to the translocon with the help of SecB and it provides energy via hydrolysis of ATP. SecA exists both free in the cytoplasm and integrally membrane associated. Here we describe details of association of the amino‐terminal region of SecA with membrane. We use site‐directed spin labelling and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to show that when SecA is co‐assembled into lipids with SecYEG to yield highly active translocons, the N‐terminal region of SecA penetrates the membrane and lies at the interface between the polar and the hydrophobic regions, parallel to the plane of the membrane at a depth of approximately 5 Å. When SecA is bound to SecYEG, preassembled into proteoliposomes, or nonspecifically bound to lipids in the absence of SecYEG, the N‐terminal region penetrates more deeply (8 Å). Implications of partitioning of the SecA N‐terminal region into lipids on the complex between SecB carrying a precursor and SecA are discussed.     

Tree mycorrhizal type predicts within‐site variability in the storage and distribution of soil organic matter

Forest soils store large amounts of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), yet how predicted shifts in forest composition will impact long‐term C and N persistence remains poorly understood. A recent hypothesis predicts that soils under trees associated with arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM) store less C than soils dominated by trees associated with ectomycorrhizas (ECM), due to slower decomposition in ECM‐dominated forests. However, an incipient hypothesis predicts that systems with rapid decomposition—e.g. most AM‐dominated forests—enhance soil organic matter (SOM) stabilization by accelerating the production of microbial residues. To address these contrasting predictions, we quantified soil C and N to 1 m depth across gradients of ECM‐dominance in three temperate forests. By focusing on sites where AM‐ and ECM‐plants co‐occur, our analysis controls for climatic factors that covary with mycorrhizal dominance across broad scales. We found that while ECM stands contain more SOM in topsoil, AM stands contain more SOM when subsoil to 1 m depth is included. Biomarkers and soil fractionations reveal that these patterns are driven by an accumulation of microbial residues in AM‐dominated soils. Collectively, our results support emerging theory on SOM formation, demonstrate the importance of subsurface soils in mediating plant effects on soil C and N, and indicate that shifts in the mycorrhizal composition of temperate forests may alter the stabilization of SOM.     

寄畅园的造园环境与借景探原

以寄畅园的借景为研究对象,在分析寄畅园外部山林地造园环境的基础上,剖析寄畅园借景的景观与空间特征,以及这一借景景观与地形环境的关联性,揭示水系山势纵横之间的正面全景与侧面景深的组合关系,并在对拙政园、赖久寺庭园等中日园林布局的例证分析中,展现所隐含的山水因借的布局模式。同时梳理历史文献中关于寄畅园借景的变迁过程,指明园林布局对借景变迁的影响。     

Levels of formaldehyde and TVOCs and influential factors of 100 underground station environments from 2013 to 2015

In this study, the environmental factors that affect airborne formaldehyde and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) were evaluated and the monthly variations in formaldehyde and TVOC levels in underground platforms of subway stations were compared. Formaldehyde level was determined from May 2013 to September 2015 for lines 1 to 4 of Seoul Metro. Samples for formaldehyde and TVOCs were collected at intervals of 30 min during a 60 min period, and then analyzed via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for formaldehyde and gas chromatography for TVOCs. Formaldehyde levels were correlated with depth of platform, whereas TVOC levels were negatively correlated with depth of platform. There were significant differences in levels of formaldehyde and TVOCs in 2013 and 2015 in the underground platforms. The highest levels of formaldehyde and TVOCs were in July from May to September, respectively (p < 0.05). Formaldehyde and TVOC levels varied greatly, depending on monthly variation and correlated with depth of platform. Therefore, Seoul Metro might need to manage the underground platforms at depth more carefully and further study the reasons behind the relatively high levels of formaldehyde and TVOC ranging from 12 to 22 m.     

松嫩平原苏打盐渍土区不同潜水埋深下羊草的光合特征

通过人工控制地下水位模拟试验,研究了不同潜水埋深下羊草净光合速率和蒸腾速率。结果表明地下潜水埋深直接影响羊草的正常生理活动。潜水埋深在1.0—2.5m之间,潜水埋深越浅,羊草表现为净光合速率和蒸腾速率越高;随着潜水埋深的增加,羊草净光合速率和蒸腾速率减小,生理活动下降。不同月份羊草净光合速率和蒸腾速率与潜水埋深呈幂函数关系,不同时间羊草净光合速率和蒸腾速率与潜水埋深呈幂函数、指数函数和对数函数关系,相关系数均在0.90以上,因此可以用函数方程来估算不同潜水埋深下的羊草净光合速率和蒸腾速率。结果为松嫩平原苏打盐渍土区植被恢复与环境保护提供科学依据。     

泥沙埋深对苦草和微齿眼子菜及两物种混合分解的影响

为探讨泥沙淤积对水生植物分解的影响,研究了沉水植物苦草(Vallisneria natans)、微齿眼子菜(Pota-mogeton maackianus)及两物种混合在底泥中不同埋深(0 和5 cm)的分解速率和养分动态,实验周期为117d。结果显示:(1)在0和5 cm埋深处理下,苦草、微齿眼子菜及两物种混合的分解速率均表现为苦草最快,微齿眼子菜最慢,物种混合介于两单种之间。与0 cm处理相比,在5 cm埋深处理下苦草、微齿眼子菜及两物种混合的分解速率显著降低(P0.05)。苦草在0和5 cm埋深处理下分解35天后干重剩余率分别为0和43.51%、在5 cm处理下分解82d后干重剩余率为0。微齿眼子菜和两物种混合在5 cm埋深处理下分解117d后的干重剩余率分别提高了31.09%和37.44%。(2)与0 cm处理相比,5 cm埋深处理显著抑制苦草、微齿眼子菜及两物种混合的N、P释放。苦草在0和 5 cm埋深处理下分解35天后N剩余率分别为0和31.28%、P剩余率分别为0和24.45%。在5 cm埋深处理下分解117天后微齿眼子菜N和P剩余率分别提高了19.45%和14.73%、两物种混合N、P剩余率分别提高了41.57%和22.82%。(3)两物种混合在0和5 cm埋深处理下,其分解速率均表现为加和效应,但N、P元素释放在0 cm处理下分别表现为协同效应和加和效应,在5 cm埋深处理下均表现为拮抗效应。(4)随着分解的进行,5 cm埋深处理下的苦草和微齿眼子菜的微生物呼吸速率均显著降低,物种混合的微生物生物量始终低于0 cm处理。这些结果表明泥沙埋深显著降低了苦草、微齿眼子菜及两物种混合的分解速率和N、P元素释放,物种混合的N、P元素释放在分解后期均因沉积作用而产生了拮抗效应。此外,泥沙埋深对分解的抑制作用与微生物呼吸及生物量降低有密切的关系。研究结果可为认识水生植物分解对沉积作用的响应机制提供资料,并为了解水生植物分解对底质营养动态的影响提供参考。     

Information and redundancy in the burial folding code of globular proteins within a wide range of shapes and sizes

Recent ab initio folding simulations for a limited number of small proteins have corroborated a previous suggestion that atomic burial information obtainable from sequence could be sufficient for tertiary structure determination when combined to sequence‐independent geometrical constraints. Here, we use simulations parameterized by native burials to investigate the required amount of information in a diverse set of globular proteins comprising different structural classes and a wide size range. Burial information is provided by a potential term pushing each atom towards one among a small number L of equiprobable concentric layers. An upper bound for the required information is provided by the minimal number of layers L^min still compatible with correct folding behavior. We obtain L^min between 3 and 5 for seven small to medium proteins with 50 ≤ N_r ≤ 110 residues while for a larger protein with N_r = 141 we find that L ≥ 6 is required to maintain native stability. We additionally estimate the usable redundancy for a given L ≥ L^min from the burial entropy associated to the largest folding‐compatible fraction of “superfluous” atoms, for which the burial term can be turned off or target layers can be chosen randomly. The estimated redundancy for small proteins with L = 4 is close to 0.8. Our results are consistent with the above‐average quality of burial predictions used in previous simulations and indicate that the fraction of approachable proteins could increase significantly with even a mild, plausible, improvement on sequence‐dependent burial prediction or on sequence‐independent constraints that augment the detectable redundancy during simulations. Proteins 2016; 84:515–531. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A scale‐down mimic for mapping the process performance of centrifugation,depth and sterile filtration

In the production of biopharmaceuticals disk‐stack centrifugation is widely used as a harvest step for the removal of cells and cellular debris. Depth filters followed by sterile filters are often then employed to remove residual solids remaining in the centrate. Process development of centrifugation is usually conducted at pilot‐scale so as to mimic the commercial scale equipment but this method requires large quantities of cell culture and significant levels of effort for successful characterization. A scale‐down approach based upon the use of a shear device and a bench‐top centrifuge has been extended in this work towards a preparative methodology that successfully predicts the performance of the continuous centrifuge and polishing filters. The use of this methodology allows the effects of cell culture conditions and large‐scale centrifugal process parameters on subsequent filtration performance to be assessed at an early stage of process development where material availability is limited. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1934–1941. © 2016 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.