Geographic variation of color polymorphism in two sibling ladybird species,Harmonia yedoensis and H. axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Geographical variation of elytra color pattern in two sibling ladybird species, Harmonia yedoensis and H. axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), was examined. The two species are distributed sympatrically in central Japan; however, only H. yedoensis and H. axyridis occur in the Ryukyu Islands (southern Japan) and Hokkaido island (northern Japan), respectively. The frequency of elytra color patterns was significantly different between the two species in all sympatric locations and our results were inconsistent with the classical theory on Müllerian mimicry. The most dominant pattern of H. axyridis was the least dominant of H. yedoensis in all sympatric populations. Furthermore, the frequency of the non‐melanic form (red ground color with or without black spots) increased towards the south in H. yedoensis. This tendency was in contrast to the known geographical cline in H. axyridis in which the melanic form (black ground color with red spots) was gradually displaced with the non‐melanic form northwards in the Japanese archipelago. We discuss possible selective factors including predator avoidance, thermal adaptation and reproductive character displacement, all of which might contribute to the maintenance of the color polymorphism in the two Harmonia species.     

Rate of resistance evolution and polymorphism in long‐ and short‐lived hosts

Recent theoretical work has shown that long‐lived hosts are expected to evolve higher equilibrium levels of disease resistance than shorter‐lived hosts, but questions of how longevity affects the rate of resistance evolution and the maintenance of polymorphism remain unanswered. Conventional wisdom suggests that adaptive evolution should occur more slowly in long‐lived organisms than in short‐lived organisms. However, the opposite may be true for the evolution of disease‐resistance traits where exposure to disease, and therefore the strength of selection for resistance increases with longevity. In a single locus model of innate resistance to a frequency‐dependent, sterilizing disease, longer lived hosts evolved resistance more rapidly than short‐lived hosts. Moreover, resistance in long‐lived hosts could only be polymorphic for more costly and more extreme resistance levels than short‐lived hosts. The increased rate of evolution occurred in spite of longer generation times because longer‐lived hosts had both a longer period of exposure to disease as well as higher disease prevalence. Qualitatively similar results were found when the model was extended to mortality‐inducing diseases, or to density‐dependent transmission modes. Our study shows that the evolutionary dynamics of host resistance is determined by more than just levels of resistance and cost, but is highly sensitive to the life‐history traits of the host.     

Galanin Signaling in the Brain Regulates Color Pattern Formation in Zebrafish

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基于图像几何变换映射的色盲矫正方法

为了提高色盲患者分辨色彩的能力,提出了基于图像几何变换映射的色盲矫正方法。首先根据图像中颜色面两侧的颜色比例对颜色空间各个平面进行相应的几何变换,进而划分不同的颜色映射区域,通过颜色变换,生成色盲患者较易分辨颜色的图像。实验表明,该方法可以改善色盲患者对原本难以区分的颜色的分辨能力,同时计算速度快,有望满足实时处理的需要,性能上优于已有的方法。     

The parasitoid fly Exorista japonica uses visual and olfactory cues to locate herbivore‐infested plants

Some parasitoid flies exploit odors derived from plants as olfactory cues for locating the food plants of host insects, but the role of visual cues associated with plants remains largely unknown. The generalist tachinid Exorista japonica Townsend (Diptera: Tachinidae) is attracted to odors derived from maize plants [Zea mays L. (Poaceae)] infested by the larvae of Mythimna separata (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). In this study, we examined the effects of visual parameters on the olfactory attraction of female flies to host‐infested plants. A paper plant model of one of four colors (blue, green, yellow, or red) was placed in front of a host‐infested plant, which was hidden behind a mesh screen in a wind tunnel. The landing rate of females was significantly higher on the green plant model than on the other three models. When an achromatic plant model of one of four gray scales (white, light gray, dark gray, or black) was tested, the response rate of females was significantly higher towards the white model and decreased as the brightness of models decreased. Few female flies responded to the green plant model without odors of the host‐infested plants. When the four color plant models were placed together in a cage filled with odors of host‐infested plants, females remained significantly longer on the green model than on the other three models. These results showed that E. japonica females preferred the color green when odors of the host‐infested plants were present and suggest that E. japonica uses visual as well as olfactory cues to locate the host habitat.     

不结球白菜雄性不育系及其保持系花药发育的细胞学观察

以不结球白菜（Brassica campestris ssp．chinensis Makino）雄性不育系及其保持系为试验材料,选择不同发育阶段的花蕾,取其花药,制成石蜡切片和超薄切片,经染色后在电子显微镜下观察。结果表明,不结球白菜雄性不育系与保持系的花药发育有明显的不同：不育系花药发育受阻于花粉母细胞分化期,形成1～3个药室,并形成正常的四分体小孢子,此时细胞组织逐步解体,形成空腔花药;最后向内皱缩;保持系花粉母细胞能形成正常的四分体,进而形成小孢子,最终形成充满正常花粉粒的花药。     

哺乳动物毛色形成机制与影响因素

哺乳动物拥有丰富多彩的毛色,对于多种多样的动物毛色,影响其形成的可能原因较多,遗传物质与环境的相互作用不可忽视。本文针对调控黑色素细胞形成及褐黑色素、真黑色素合成的相关基因,分析了哺乳动物毛色形成的可能机制,并对研究不同毛色动物的同种动物遗传差异的方法进行了讨论。     

大孔树脂——溶剂萃取法精制高色价栀子黄色素的集成技术研究

以栀子为原料提取栀子黄色素,采用大孔吸附树脂--有机溶剂萃取相结合的集成技术,从栀子中分离纯化得到高色价的栀子黄色素.先采用大孔吸附树脂对栀子黄色素进行初步精制,以306型大孔吸附树脂为研究对象,探讨了大孔树脂对栀子黄色素的静态吸附率、吸附流速和洗脱剂浓度对吸附的影响,从而得到较为合适的工艺:吸附流速2.O mT/mi...     

Human hair melanins: what we have learned and have not learned from mouse coat color pigmentation

Hair pigmentation is one of the most conspicuous phenotypes in humans. Melanocytes produce two distinct types of melanin pigment: brown to black, indolic eumelanin and yellow to reddish brown, sulfur‐containing pheomelanin. Biochemically, the precursor tyrosine and the key enzyme tyrosinase and the tyrosinase‐related proteins are involved in eumelanogenesis, while only the additional presence of cysteine is necessary for pheomelanogenesis. Other important proteins involved in melanogenesis include P protein, MATP protein, α‐MSH, agouti signaling protein (ASIP), MC1R (the receptor for MSH and ASIP), and SLC7A11, a cystine transporter. Many studies have examined the effects of loss‐of‐function mutations of those proteins on mouse coat color pigmentation. In contrast, much less is known regarding the effects of mutations of the corresponding proteins on human hair pigmentation except for MC1R polymorphisms that lead to pheomelanogenesis. This perspective will discuss what we have/have not learned from mouse coat color pigmentation, with special emphasis on the significant roles of pH and the level of cysteine in melanosomes in controlling melanogenesis. Based on these data, a hypothesis is proposed to explain the diversity of human hair pigmentation.