Assessing sedimentological connectivity using WATEM/SEDEM model in a hilly and gully watershed of the Loess Plateau,China

Sedimentological connectivity is an important issue in soil erosion and sediment transport. Landscape patterns, in combination with the rainfall regime, are known to shape such sedimentological connectivity. The quantification of sedimentological connectivity provides a link between sediment delivery and landscape pattern. There are two categories of connectivity: structural connectivity, which describes the physical coupling of landscape units, and functional connectivity, which delineates the linkage among landscape elements maintained by material transport. To quantify sedimentological connectivity, both the physical coupling of, and material transfer between, the various landscape components need to be assessed. This study quantifies the sedimentological connectivity of a headwater catchment in the Loess Plateau of China using the soil erosion and sediment delivery model (WATEM/SEDEM). Based on the model, two indicators of connectivity were developed: the area of sedimentologically effective catchment area (SEA) that contributes sediment to the sinks, and the minimum sediment output of locations on the flow path that link sources and sinks. This approach effectively represents the annual status of catchment-scale sedimentological connectivity and, furthermore, the simple structure and readily available input data make it highly practicable. However, for larger river systems in which sediment transport between sources and sinks occur over longer time scales and larger spatial scales, we suggest different techniques for quantifying the sediment flux and parameters delineating the physical coupling of landscape units.     

Identification and comprehensive analysis of the CLV3/ESR‐related (CLE) gene family in Brassica napus L.

• The CLE (CLAVATA3/ESR) gene family, encoding a group of small secretory peptides, plays important roles in cell‐to‐cell communication, thereby controlling a broad spectrum of development processes. The CLE family has been systematically characterized in some plants, but not in Brassica napus.
• In the present study, 116 BnCLE genes were identified in the B. napus genome, including seven unannotated, six incorrectly predicted and five multi‐CLE domain‐encoding genes. These BnCLE members were separated into seven distinct groups based on phylogenetic analysis, which might facilitate the functional characterization of the peptides.
• Further characterization of CLE pre‐propeptides revealed 31 unique CLE peptides from 45 BnCLE genes, which may give rise to distinct roles of BnCLE and expansion of the gene family. The biological activity of these unique CLE dodecamer peptides was tested further through in vitro peptide assays. Variations in several important residues were identified as key contributors to the functional differentiation of BnCLE and expansion of the gene family in B. napus. Expression profile analysis helped to characterize possible functional redundancy and sub‐functionalization among the BnCLE members.
• This study presents a comprehensive overview of the CLE gene family in B. napus and provides a foundation for future evolutionary and functional studies.

     

Downscaling indicators of forest habitat structure from national assessments

Downscaling is an important problem because consistent large-area assessments of forest habitat structure, while feasible, are only feasible when using relatively coarse data and indicators. Techniques are needed to enable more detailed and local interpretations of the national statistics. Using the results of national assessments from land-cover maps, this paper demonstrates downscaling in the spatial domain, and in the domain of the habitat model. A moving window device was used to measure structure (habitat amount and connectivity), and those indicators were then analyzed and combined with other information in various ways to illustrate downscaling.     

Anatomical site of pheromone accumulation and temporal pattern of pheromone emission in the ambrosia beetle Megaplatypus mutatus

Megaplatypus mutatus (Chapuis) is a native South American ambrosia beetle that attacks live hardwood trees (e.g. Populus spp.), causing important economic losses to commercial plantations. Male beetles release the main components of the sex pheromone, namely (+)‐6‐methyl‐5‐hepten‐2‐ol [(+)‐sulcatol, or retusol] and 6‐methyl‐5‐hepten‐2‐one (sulcatone), when colonizing suitable hosts. The hindgut is shown to be the anatomical site of pheromone accumulation within males, the enantiomeric composition of sulcatol in this tissue is 99%‐(+) and sulcatol is first detectable in this tissue on days 1–2 after gallery initiation. Peak accumulation of sulcatol occurs on days 5–12 after gallery initiation. Trace quantities of sulcatone are also observed during the same period. Both pheromone components are present in male emissions from three host species (Populus×canadensis, Populus alba and Casuarina stricta) between days 2 and 12 after gallery initiation, although sulcatone is always present in low concentrations. The temporal patterns of sulcatol and sulcatone accumulation or storage in male M. mutatus correspond to the temporal patterns of emission.     

The Effects of the Porosity of a Support and of Attachment on the Mode of Action of Immobilized Endopolygalacturonase

Endopolygalacturonase of Aspergillus sp. was immobilized by three different methods; viz. (a) via amino groups, (b) via carboxyl groups and (c) by means of epoxy groups to a nonporous microparticular silicon dioxide (Cabosil), functionalized by 3-(amino)-propyl groups and 3-(2',3'-epoxypropoxy)-propyl groups, respectively. The conjugates were compared in their mode of action with corresponding immobilized preparations based on microporous ceramics. The binding via amino groups and via carboxyl groups lead, by itself, to changes in the mode of action of the enzyme, consisting of a decrease in randomness of glycosidic linkage splitting. The changes were greater in microporous support conjugates due to additional size-exclusion effects. The action pattern of endopolygalacturonase bound by means of epoxy groups was modulated exclusively by the porosity of the support, whereas the binding alone did not play any role.     

Pattern formation underlying phytochrome-mediated anthocyanin synthesis in the cotyledons ofSinapis alba L.

The ability to respond to phytochrome (P_fr, the far-red light absorbing from of phytochrome) with anthocyanin synthesis appears first in some marginal regions of the abaxial epidermis of the mustard cotyledons and from there spreads gradually over the entire tissue (transient phase). The pertinent pattern is independent of environmental influences such as light quality and nutritional culture conditions. The competence for P_fr in the epidermal cells, with regard to the initial action of P_fr (concerning anthocyanin synthesis), appears considerably earlier than the ability for actual anthocyanin synthesis. An electron microscopical study of the ultrastructural changes occurring in vacuoles and plastids of the epidermal cells during the transient phase showed that a correlation only exists between the differentiation of central cell vacuoles, originating from the aleurone vacuoles, and the appearance of the ability to accumulate anthocyanin. It is suggested that the formation of a central cell vacuole is a prerequisite for anthocyanin accumulation in the epidermal cells of the mustard seedling cotyledons.Abbreviations P_r, P_fr red and far-red absorbing forms of phytochrome - HS Hoagland's nutrient solution