基于样带的唐古特白刺灌丛沙包空间格局尺度研究

黄河河岸与库布齐沙漠之间生态过渡带上的唐古特白刺(Nitraria Tangutorum)灌丛沙包由于遭受到不同程度的破坏而表现出一定程度的退化,空间格局尺度从一定程度上表征了其破碎化程度。我们分别应用样方方差法,小波分析,分维,谱分析以及空隙度分析等方法对鄂尔多斯高原北缘唐古特白刺灌丛沙包的空间格局尺度进行了比较研究,旨在选出适合分析干旱半干旱区白刺灌丛沙包空间格局尺度的方法,并确定研究区内唐古特白刺灌丛沙包的空间格局尺度,为保护唐古特白刺灌丛沙包提供科学依据。结果表明:(1)TTLQV法得到的格局尺度过大,而小波分析得到的格局尺度过小,分维分析得到的格局尺度除了相对较小之外,趋势也不明显,因此都不适合分析干旱半干旱区白刺灌丛沙包的空间格局尺度;(2)而3TLQV,tQV,谱分析和空隙度分析所得到的结果则相对容易接受,其大小顺序是:3TLQV>tQV>空隙度分析>谱分析;(3)独贵塔拉、呼和木独和巴拉贡唐古特白刺灌丛沙包的空间格局尺度分别为16.7～27.1m,10.2～25.0m和8.8～17.0m,这一结果将有助于在今后的研究中合理地确定研究范围和尺度。     

绿洲―荒漠交错带土壤水分变化特征初步研究

以甘肃省的民勤绿洲为例,选择土壤水分最为亏缺的7月,对白刺(Nitraria tangutorum)沙包不同迎风面,以及绿洲和荒漠交错地带的土壤水分进行了取样分析。结果表明,对于白刺沙包而言,其上层和深层土壤水分是迎风坡大于背风坡,中间层次（40～80 cm）则刚好相反。在绿洲与荒漠的交错带上,灌丛沙包与沙丘间低地水分变化有很大的不同,总体而言,丘间地水分含量大于灌丛沙包,但在距离绿洲406 m处,二者均出现一个土壤水分的最低值。在丘间地表层,水分变化是距离绿洲愈近,土壤含水量愈高;而深层土壤水分的变化趋     

病毒融合蛋白的结构和功能

病毒融合蛋白可以分为三种类型,不同类型的病毒融合蛋白的结构差异很大,但是会采用相似的"发卡"构象实现融合.在一定条件下,病毒融合蛋白的疏水结构域,融合环或融合肽插入靶膜中,通过其自身折叠形成发卡使病毒和宿主的膜靠近.与此同时,融合蛋白构象变化会释放出足够的能量将双方膜打破并完成融合.本文中,我们总结了三种类型病毒融合蛋白的特征,并对其中央发卡三聚体结构域、跨膜结构域以及近膜结构域在融合过程中的作用进行了论述.     

Molecular evolution of intergenic DNA in higher primates: pattern of DNA changes, molecular clock, and evolution of repetitive sequences

A 3.1-kb intergenic DNA fragment located between the psi beta-globin and delta-globin genes in the beta-globin gene cluster was cloned from gorilla, orangutan, rhesus monkey, and spider monkey, and the nucleotide sequence of each fragment was determined. The phylogeny of these four sequences, together with two previously published allelic sequences from humans and one from chimpanzee, was constructed, and the accumulation of mutations in the region was analyzed. The sites of base substitutions are not evenly distributed within the region: two Alu repeats have accumulated 0.21 + 0.02 substitutions/site with 0.15 + 0.008 substitutions/site in the remainder of the fragment. The occurrence of substitutions at neighboring sites is more frequent than would be expected if they were independent. The observed excesses disappear when ancestral -CG- dinucleotide sites are excluded. The phylogenetic relationships of the sequences indicate that the human sequence shares a most recent coancestor with the chimpanzee sequence. The data also show that great apes have accumulated fewer mutations in this part of the genome than has the rhesus monkey. The relative rates of accumulation of 12 kinds of nucleotide substitution in the region during primate evolution are asymmetric in the DNA strands. From these rates of accumulation, the origin of a simple stretch of sequence near the 3' end of the 3.1-kb fragment was deduced to be a sequence comprising 50% T and 50% C on one strand. The two oppositely oriented Alu sequences in the 3.1-kb region were inserted at their present positions before the divergence of the New-World monkeys from other lineages. Our analysis shows that the nucleotide sequences of the two Alu repeats in spider monkey are unexpectedly similar both to each other and to the deduced ancestral sequence of Alu repeats. The data suggest that there has been some type of recombinational event between the spider monkey Alu repeats but that it was not a simple gene conversion.      

Hybrid and Aqueous Lithium‐Air Batteries

Lithium‐air (Li‐air) batteries have become attractive because of their extremely high theoretical energy density. However, conventional Li‐air cells operating with non‐aqueous electrolytes suffer from poor cycle life and low practical energy density due to the clogging of the porous air cathode by insoluble discharge products, contamination of the organic electrolyte and lithium metal anode by moist air, and decomposition of the electrolyte during cycling. These difficulties may be overcome by adopting a cell configuration that consists of a lithium‐metal anode protected from air by a Li⁺‐ion solid electrolyte and an air electrode in an aqueous catholyte. In this type of configuration, a Li⁺‐ion conducting “buffer” layer between the lithium‐metal anode and the solid electrolyte is often necessary due to the instability of many solid electrolytes in contact with lithium metal. Based on the type of buffer layer, two different battery configurations are possible: “hybrid” Li‐air batteries and “aqueous” Li‐air batteries. The hybrid and aqueous Li‐air batteries utilize the same battery chemistry and face similar challenges that limit the cell performance. Here, an overview of recent developments in hybrid and aqueous Li‐air batteries is provided and the factors that influence their performance and impede their practical applications, followed by future directions are discussed.     

Function and solution structure of Huwentoxin-X, a specific blocker of N-type calcium channels, from the Chinese bird spider Ornithoctonus huwena

Huwentoxin-X (HWTX-X) is a novel peptide toxin, purified from the venom of the spider Ornithoctonus huwena. It comprises 28 amino acid residues including six cysteine residues as disulfide bridges linked in the pattern of I-IV, II-V, and III-VI. Its cDNA, determined by rapid amplification of 3' and 5' cDNA ends, encodes a 65-residue prepropeptide. HWTX-X shares low sequence homology with omega-conotoxins GVIA and MVIIA, two well known blockers of N-type Ca2+ channels. Nevertheless, whole cell studies indicate that it can block N-type Ca2+ channels in rat dorsal root ganglion cells (IC50 40 nm) and the blockage by HWTX-X is completely reversible. The rank order of specificity for N-type Ca2+ channels is GVIA approximately HWTX-X > MVIIA. In contrast to GVIA and MVIIA, HWTX-X had no detectable effect on the twitch response of rat vas deferens to low frequency electrical stimulation, indicating that HWTX-X has different selectivity for isoforms of N-type Ca2+ channels, compared with GVIA or MVIIA. A comparison of the structures of HWTX-X and GVIA reveals that they not only adopt a common structural motif (inhibitor cystine knot), but also have a similar functional motif, a binding surface formed by the critical residue Tyr, and several basic residues. However, the dissimilarities of their binding surfaces provide some insights into their different selectivities for isoforms of N-type Ca2+ channels.     

Quantitative Trait Loci Mapping of Flag-leaf Ligule Length in Rice and Alignment with ZmLG1 Gene

A doubled haploid （DH） population, which consists of 120 lines derived from anther culture of a typical indica and japonica hybrid‘CJ06＇/‘TNI＇, was used in this study. Ligule lengths of flag leaf were investigated for quantitative trait loci （QTL） mapping using the DH population. Five QTLs （qLL-2, qLL.4, qLL-6, qLL-IO and qLL-12） controlling the ligule length （LL） were detected on chromosomes 2, 4, 6, 10 and 12, with the variances explained 11.4%, 13.6%, 27.8%, 22.1% and 11.0%, respectively. Using four known genes of ZmGL1, ZmGL2, ZmGL3 and ZmGL4 in maize from the MaizeGDB, their homologs in rice were aligned and integrated into the existing simple sequence repeats linkage map by in silico mapping. A ZmLG1 homolog gene, OsLG1 encoding a squamosa promoter binding protein, was located between the markers RM255 and RM280, which is just identical to the interval of qLL.4 on the long arm of chromosome 4. The results are beneficial to dissection of the ligule molecular mechanism and the study of cereal evolution.