Modelling spatial dynamics of fish

Our ability to model spatial distributions of fish populations is reviewed by describing the available modelling tools. Ultimate models of the individual's motivation for behavioural decisions are derived from evolutionary ecology. Mechanistic models for how fish sense and may respond to their surroundings are presented for vision, olfaction, hearing, the lateral line and other sensory organs. Models for learning and memory are presented, based both upon evolutionary optimization premises and upon neurological information processing and decision making. Functional tools for modelling behaviour and life histories can be categorized as belonging to an optimization or an adaptation approach. Among optimization tools, optimal foraging theory, life history theory, ideal free distribution, game theory and stochastic dynamic programming are presented. Among adaptation tools, genetic algorithms and the combination with artificial neural networks are described. The review advocates the combination of evolutionary and neurological approaches to modelling spatial dynamics of fish.     

中季稻区稻田害虫—天敌—农药系统的模拟及其优化管理的研究(英文)

本文以中季稻区稻田主要害虫稻飞虱、稻纵卷叶螟和捕食天敌蜘蛛的田间系统调查资料为基础,以害虫—天敌—农药系统为研究对象,应用害虫管理系统工程的原理,处理害虫、捕食天敌与农药三者之间的关系。建立了稻纵叶螟—蜘蛛—甲胺磷和稻飞虱—蜘蛛—甲胺磷两系统优化管理模型,绘制了它们的优化反馈控制策略图,利用微机对系统进行最优监控。使用时输入当前田间害虫与天敌数量,就可对系统作出即时的预测和最优决策。该策略确立的控制害虫的最优性能指标,是使害虫对农作物的为害所造成的损失与防治费用之和最小,并且使害虫和天敌的数量处于系统平衡状态。文中比较分析了该策略与基于经济阈值的常规害虫管理策略,指出了新策略在害虫综合治理中对天敌数量进行控制和管理的作用及其意义。     

High-level expression of murine terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase inEscherichia coli grown at low temperature and overexpressingargU tRNA

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) is a highly conserved vertebrate enzyme that possesses the unique ability to catalyze the random addition of deoxynucleoside 5′-triphosphates onto the 3′-hydroxyl group of a single-stranded DNA. It plays an important role in the generation of immunoglobin and T-cell receptor diversity. TdT is usually obtained from animal thymus gland or produced in a baculovirus system, but both procedures are rather tedious, and proteolysis occurs during purification. Attempts to overexpress TdT in bacteria have been unsuccessful or have yielded an enzyme with a lower specific activity. A dearth of TdT has thus hampered detailed structural and functional studies. In the present study, we report that by lowering growth temperature and overexpressing a rare arginyl tRNA, it is possible to boost the production inEscherichia coli of murine TdT with minimal proteolysis and high specific activity.     

Costs of jasmonate-induced responses in plants competing for limited resources

We present a design to quantify fitness consequences of jasmonate-induced responses in plants that are competing for limited resources with a conspecific. Under both high and low nitrogen supply rates, uninduced (control) Nicotiana attenuata plants growing next to a plant induced with 250 μg methyl jasmonate (MJ) yielded more seed capsules than control plants competing with another control plant. We conclude that there is a opportunity benefit for control plants growing next to an induced plant. Initially, MJ-induced plants grew more slowly, but by senescence they had produced the same number of seed capsules as control plants that had competed with another control plant. Replacement series showed that the fitness of MJ-induced plants is not influenced by the competitive status of their neighbour plant. We argue that competitive designs are useful tools for evaluating the phenotypic costs of ecologically important traits.     

SIMULATION AND OPTIMAL MANAGEMENT OF THE PEST-NATURAL ENEMY-INSECTICIDE SYSTEM OF PADDY FIELDS IN MIDDLE SEASON RICE CROPPING REGION*

Abstract Investigations on the pest-natural enemy-insecticide system, including rice leaf roller-spider-tamaron and planthopper-spider-tamaron system, were carried out in the paddy fields in middle season rice cropping region. The relationship among insect pest, natural enemy and insecticide were studied based on the principle of the pest management system engineering. The optimal management models of the two systems were developed. Their diagrams of optimal feedback control strategy were contoured for computer monitoring of the pest-natural enemy-insecticide system. The population densities of pest and natural enemy in the future could be forecasted and the optimal strategy could be made when the current field densities of pest and natural enemy were input into the computer. The optimal performance index, which is a combination of the total cost of using the chemical and the total cost of pest damage to crops, for pest control is minimized. The objective of the system management is to drive the state of the system towards a beneficial equilibrium of the system generally. A comparison of the new IPM strategy with the ordinary strategy based on a single economic threshold is conducted in this paper. The optimal control strategies suggest that both pest and natural enemy populations should be controlled in the integrated pest management.     

Sequential Statistical Improvement of the Liquid Cultivation of Helicobacter pylori

Background: Colonization of the gastric mucosa by Helicobacter pylori is one of the most important causes of acute and chronic gastric pathologies in humans. Achieving the growth of H. pylori in liquid media is of great importance in the development of clinical studies. In this study, we developed a sequential optimization strategy based on statistical models to improve the conditions of liquid culture of H. pylori. Materials and Methods: Four statistical models were sequentially used. First, a Box‐Behnken design was used to select the best process conditions (shaking speed, inoculum concentration, and final volume of culture). Secondly, a general factorial design was used to evaluate the influence of adding gel blocks or gel beads (shape and composition). Then a D‐optimal reduce design was carried out to allow the selection of the most influential factors in increasing the cell concentration (culture media components). Finally, another Box‐Behnken design was used to optimize the concentration of the culture media components previously selected. Results: After 12 hours of liquid culture a concentration of 25 × 10⁸ cells per mL (9.4 log₁₀ cells per mL) of H. pylori was obtained, compared with a predicted 32 × 10⁸ (9.5 log₁₀ cells per mL), which means between 1 and 5 log₁₀ units higher than some previous reports. Conclusions: The sequential statistical approach increased the planktonic H. pylori cell culture. The final culture media and conditions were: Brain Heart Infusion, blood agarose (1.5% w/v), lamb’s blood (3.18% v/v), DENT (0.11% v/v), and Vitox (0.52% v/v) at 60 rpm and 37 °C with filtered CO₂ (5% v/v) bubbled directly into the culture media in a final volume of 76.22 mL.     

Patch time allocation in male parasitoids

Abstract 1. Patch time allocation has been mostly studied in female parasitoids exploiting patches of hosts. Different parameters such as oviposition, host encounters, patch quality, etc. have been repeatedly shown to modify the time females invest on hosts. 2. Male parasitoids are expected to maximise their lifetime fitness by maximising the number of females inseminated during their life. Because they can be sperm and/or time limited, they should optimise their time allocation on emergence patches. 3. Patch time allocation thus appears to be an important question for both male and female parasitoids. 4. In this study, we determined the parameters used by males of the egg parasitoid Trichogramma turkestanica to decide when to leave the emergence patch. Among the different patch‐leaving parameters tested, only contacts with parasitised hosts and presence of virgin females significantly influenced the patch‐leaving tendency. 5. Our results suggest that males express behaviours that could enable them to optimise their patch exploitation time, as females do, but using different strategies.     

SCoT分子标记在植物研究中的应用进展

SCo T是一种新型的目的基因分子标记,该标记不仅能获得与性状联系紧密的目的基因,而且能对性状进行跟踪,已被广泛应用于多种植物的研究。本文概述了SCo T标记的原理、引物设计方法及特点,并从PCR反应体系建立与优化、种质资源遗传多样性与亲缘关系分析、种质鉴定与指纹图谱构建、基因差异表达与分子遗传连锁图谱构建等方面总结了SCo T标记的应用进展。同时,对其存在的问题进行了讨论,并展望了该标记的发展应用前景。     

嗜热毛壳菌热稳定脂肪酶基因(Im)的克隆及其在毕赤酵母中的表达

研究从嗜热毛壳菌Chaetomium thermophilum中克隆了一个新的脂肪酶基因(lm).其中DNA序列包含一个由870个碱基构成的开放阅读框,编码289个氨基酸,含有4个内含子,没有信号肽序列.序列提交GenBank,登录号为GU338248.将该基因在毕赤酵母中表达.在甲醇的诱导下,重组蛋白得到了高效表达,第6天的表达量最高,蛋白达到0.428mg/mL,酶活力为19.77U/mg.SDS-PAGE检测该蛋白的分子量为35kDa.该脂肪酶的最适反应温度为60℃,具有热稳定性,在40-80℃热稳定,80℃处理60min仍有65％的相对酶活.该酶最适反应pH值为10.0,在pH 9.0--12.0酶活相对稳定.该酶具有较好的热稳定性和耐碱性,具有良好的工业应用价值.