Comparison of male adult population densities of the oriental and artocarpus fruit flies,Dacus spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae), in two nearby villages in Penang,Malaysia

The populations of native male adult oriental fruit fly Dacus dorsalis (Hendel ) and artocarpus fruit fly D. umbrosus (F.) in two selected site (BU and SD) were estimated weekly by the capture-recapture technique using live traps baited with methyl eugenol. In BU where many varieties of fruit trees were grown, the estimated population densities of D. dorsalis were between 980 and 3100 male flies per ha between May and July, 1984. During the same period, in SD where there were fewer number and varieties of fruit trees, the estimated population densities were between 300 and 1000 flies per ha. The estimated population densities of D. umbrosus over the same period were between 570 and 1290 flies per ha in BU; and between 5 and 95 flies per ha in SD. Of a total 6828 marked D. dorsalis flies released only one fly (released 6 weeks earlier in BU) was caught in a different site.     

Phylogenetic Survey of Proteins Related to Synapsin I and Biochemical Analysis of Four Such Proteins from Fish Brain

A phylogenetic survey of proteins immunologically related to Synapsin I, a major synaptic vesicle-associated phosphoprotein in mammals was carried out. Proteins antigenically related to Synapsin I were found by use of radioimmunoassay and other radioimmunochemical techniques in the nervous systems of several vertebrate and invertebrate species, which included birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, echinoderms, arthropods, and mollusks. Four proteins present in fish brain, antigenically related to Synapsin I, were further studied and found to resemble mammalian Synapsin I in several respects. Like Synapsin I, the fish proteins were present in high amounts in nervous tissue, were enriched in synaptosomal fractions of brain where they were substrates for endogenous protein kinases, were acid extractable, and were sensitive to digestion by collagenase. In addition, two-dimensional peptide-mapping analysis revealed some homology between major phosphopeptide fragments of Synapsin I and the fish proteins. The results indicate that proteins related to Synapsin I are wide-spread in the animal kingdom.     

From icons to symbols: Some speculations on the origins of language

This paper is divided into three sections. In the first section we offer a retooling of some traditional concepts, namely icons and symbols, which allows us to describe an evolutionary continuum of communication systems. The second section consists of an argument from theoretical biology. In it we explore the advantages and disadvantages of phenotypic plasticity. We argue that a range of the conditions that selectively favor phenotypic plasticity also favor a nongenetic transmission system that would allow for the inheritance of acquired characters. The first two sections are independent, the third depends on both of them. In it we offer an argument that human natural languages have just the features required of an ideal transmission mechanism under the conditions described in section 2.We would like to thank Robert Boyd, Noam Chomsky, Gerald Feinberg, Ken Glander, David Hull, Ernst Mayr, John Rawls, Peter Richerson, william Wimsatt and Paul Ziff for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Special thanks go to Doug Stalker who was instrumental in both the origins and development of this work.     

树鼩(Tupaia belangeri chinensis)精子发生的细胞学观察

对8只成体树鼩的睾丸进行了精子发生的细胞学和动力学观察。精原细胞可区分为A型和已分化定向的B型。生精上皮周期可分为12个连续阶段,不同阶段典型的细胞组合可被辨认。各阶段的相对持续时间以阶段Ⅴ、Ⅵ、Ⅶ的比率最高,分别为11.43,18.88、15.44;阶段Ⅸ、Ⅹ最低,为3.78和3.87。A型精原细胞在各阶段的数量分布并不保持恒定,阶段Ⅵ—Ⅷ和阶段Ⅸ时,分别出现两次成倍增长。B型精原细胞和前细线期精母细胞与每100个足细胞之比的平均值,在阶段Ⅰ、Ⅴ、Ⅶ分别为28.89、76.98、196.91。精细胞经14步变态为成熟精子。精子形成过程中顶体发育的形态学变化及成熟精子的形态,与灵长类动物相比具有较多的类似之处;而同啮齿类动物相比,存在明显的形态差异。     

掷孢菌科的研究——Ⅲ.不同掷孢酵母属产掷孢子的能力及担子菌酵母形成特大厚垣孢子的规律

本文以分离自中国的大量掷孢酵母为材料,研究了不同属的掷孢酵母生掷孢子的能力,以及此能力的持久性,发现属间差异很大。此外还报道了142株不同酵母的产厚垣孢子的情况,发现与担子菌有关的4属酵母在接近致死温度时,都会出现特大厚垣孢子如红掷孢酵母(Sporobolomyces),布勒掷孢酵母(Bullera),红酵母(Rhodotorula)与隐球酵母(cryptococcus),而属于子囊菌的酵母属(Saccharomyces)则无此现象,从而对某些接近担子菌的酵母又增加了新的认识。     

不同类群酵母胞壁甘露聚糖核磁共振氢谱的比较研究

运用核磁共振氢谱(PMR谱)~(**)对各类酵母的细胞壁甘露聚糖进行比较研究,在我国尚无报道,其中某些酵母也尚无文献记载。本文结果表明:1.同菌株的胞壁甘露聚糖PMR谱型的重复性很好。2.同种不同株的酿酒酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)的多糖谱型也相同。3.所测的二端芽殖酵母中完全型与不完全型菌株的谱型很相似,如柠檬形克勒克酵母(Kloeckera apiculata)与葡萄有孢汉逊酵母(Hanseniaspora uvarum。4.某些分类系统上来源较杂的子囊菌酵母如单宁管囊酵母(Packysolen tanophilus)、萤光威克酵母(Wickerhamiaflurescens)与高糖固囊酵母(Citeromyces matritensis)则体现了各不相同的谱型。5.二株分自西双版纳的极为相近的类酵母(Saccharomycodes sp.)其多糖的(PMR)谱型与多糖的组分都彼此相同,有助于对它们的适当归类。这一切证明酵母胞壁多糖PMR谱型相似程度的比较是分类上较有意义的性状,有助于探讨亲缘关系,核实完全型与不完全型,也有助于对疑难菌株的分析     

Evolutionary origin of aminoglycoside phosphotransferase resistance genes

Summary The protein sequences of seven 3-aminoglycoside phosphotransferases falling into the six identified types and three 6-aminoglycoside phosphotransferases were analyzed to give a rooted phylogenetic tree. This tree supports the origin of these groups of enzymes in an ancestor closely related to the actinomycetes, and that horizontal transfer of the resistance genes occurred, possibly via transposons. The implications for genetic engineering of a novel antibiotic are discussed.     

Intraspecific evolution of a gene family coding for urinary proteins

Summary The genome of the laboratory mouse contains about 35 major urinary protein (MUP) genes, many of which are clustered on chromosome 4. We have used distance and parsimony methods to estimate phylogenetic relationships between MUP genes from nucleotide sequence and restriction maps. By analyzing coding sequences we show that the genes fall into four main groups of related sequences (groups 1–4). Comparisons of restriction maps and the nucleotide sequences of hypervariable regions that lie 50 nucleotides 5 to the cap sites show that the group 1 genes and probably also the group 2 pseudogenes fall into subgroups. The most parsimonious trees are consistent with the evolution of the array of group 1 and 2 genes by mutation accompanied by a process tending toward homogenization such as unequal crossing-over or gene conversion. The phylogenetic grouping correlates with grouping according to aspects of function. The genomes of the inbred strains BALB/c and C57BL contain different MUP gene arrays that we take to be samples from the wild population of arrays.     

Brassica taxonomy based on nuclear restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs)

Summary RFLPs were used to study genome evolution and phylogeny in Brassica and related genera. Thirtyeight accessions, including 10 accessions of B. rapa (syn. campestris), 9 cultivated types of B. oleracea, 13 nine-chromosome wild brassicas related to B. oleracea, and 6 other species in Brassica and allied genera, were examined with more then 30 random genomic DNA probes, which identified RFLPs mapping to nine different linkage groups of the B. rapa genome. Based on the RFLP data, phylogenetic trees were constructed using the PAUP microcomputer program. Within B. rapa, accessions of pak choi, narinosa, and Chinese cabbage from East Asia constituted a group distinct from turnip and wild European populations, consistent with the hypothesis that B. rapa had two centers of domestication. A wild B. rapa accession from India was positioned in the tree between European types and East Asian types, suggesting an evolutionary pathway from Europe to India, then to South China. Cultivated B. oleracea morphotypes showed monophyletic origin with wild B. oleracea or B. alboglabra as possible ancestors. Various kales constitute a highly diverse group, and represent the primitive morphotypes of cultivated B. oleracea from which cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. probably have evolved. Cauliflower was found to be closely related to broccoli, whereas cabbage was closely related to leafy kales. A great diversity existed among the 13 collections of nine-chromosome wild brassicas related to B. oleracea, representing various taxonomic states from subspecies to species. Results from these studies suggested that two basic evolutionary pathways exist for the diploid species examined. One pathway gave rise to B. fruticulosa, B. nigra, and Sinapis arvensis, with B. adpressa or a close relative as the initial ancestor. Another pathway gave rise to B. oleracea and B. rapa, with Diplotaxis erucoides or a close relative as the initial ancestor. Raphanus sativus and Eruca sativus represented intermediate types between the two lineages, and might have been derived from introgression or hybridization between species belonging to different lineages. Molecular evidence for an ascending order of chromosome numbers in the evolution of Brassica and allied genera was obtained on the basis of RFLP data and phylogenetic analysis.