Influence of soil texture and crop management on the productivity of miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deu.) in the Mediterranean

Biomass productivity is the main favorable trait of candidate bioenergy crops. Miscanthus × giganteus is a promising species, due to its high‐yield potential and positive traits including low nutrient requirements and potential for C sequestration in soils. However, miscanthus productivity appears to be mostly related to water availability in the soil. This is important, particularly in Mediterranean regions where the risk of summer droughts is high. To date, there have been no studies on miscanthus responses under different soil conditions, while only a few have investigated the role of different crop managements, such as irrigation and nitrogen fertilization, in the Mediterranean. Therefore, the effects of contrasting soil textures (i.e. silty‐clay‐loam vs. sandy‐loam) and alternative agricultural intensification regimes (i.e. rainfed vs. irrigated and 0, 50, 100 kg ha^?1 nitrogen fertilization), on miscanthus productivity were evaluated at three different harvest times for two consecutive years. Our results confirmed the importance of water availability in determining satisfactory yields in Mediterranean environments, and how soil and site characteristics strongly affect biomass production. We found that the aboveground dry yields varied between 5 Mg ha^?1 up to 29 Mg ha^?1. Conversely, nitrogen fertilization played only a minor role on crop productivity, and high fertilization levels were relatively inefficient. Finally, a marked decrease, of up to ?40%, in the aboveground yield occurred when the harvest time was delayed from autumn to winter. Overall, our results highlighted the importance of determining crop responses on a site‐by‐site basis, and that decisions on the optimal harvest time should be driven by the biomass end use and other long‐term considerations, such as yield stability and the maintenance of soil fertility.     

小鼠和大鼠的胚胎培养基及若干相关问题

哺乳动物早期胚胎体外培养所用各种化学成份明确的培养基是研究生命科学中一项重要技术。它已被常规用于研究胚胎早期发育,多种动物及人类辅助生殖技术,转基因动物,动物克隆等领域。介绍了用于移植前胚胎培养基的研究和发展历史,当前所用化学成份明确胚胎培养基的主要组成,特别是针对小鼠和大鼠移植前胚胎所用各种培养基及其成份,讨论了这类培养基发展前景和研究方向。     

增施氮肥能够缓解麦田土壤线虫群落对O3浓度升高的响应

在辽宁沈阳农田生态系统国家野外科学观测研究站,利用运行2a的开顶式气室,研究了臭氧(O3)浓度升高和不同氮肥施用水平对土壤线虫群落的影响。结果表明:(1)O3浓度升高降低了成熟期小麦根生物量。O3浓度升高和不同氮肥施用水平的交互作用改变了小麦成熟期土壤微生物生物量碳、氮和水溶性有机碳的含量。低氮条件下,O3浓度升高降低了土壤微生物生物量碳、氮和水溶性有机碳的含量;而高氮条件下则表现出相反的趋势。(2)O3浓度升高和不同氮肥施用水平对土壤线虫总数没有产生显著影响,而在灌浆期,食细菌线虫和食真菌线虫中c-p值为4(Ba4 and Fu4)的功能团对O3浓度升高和不同氮肥施用水平的响应敏感;与对照相比,不同氮处理中,O3浓度升高均降低了灌浆期Ba4功能团线虫的数量。灌浆期,O3浓度升高条件下,与对照相比Fu4功能团线虫数量在高氮条件下表现出增加的趋势,而在低氮条件表现出降低的趋势。(3)O3浓度升高和不同氮肥施用水平的交互作用显著影响了小麦灌浆期线虫的成熟度指数(MI)和结构指数(SI)。与对照相比,线虫成熟度指数和结构指数在低氮条件下随O3浓度升高而降低;而在高氮条件下随O3浓度升高而升高。上述结果表明,氮肥的施用能够缓解O3浓度升高对土壤食物网的扰动。     

Long‐term balanced fertilization increases the soil microbial functional diversity in a phosphorus‐limited paddy soil

The influence of long‐term chemical fertilization on soil microbial communities has been one of the frontier topics of agricultural and environmental sciences and is critical for linking soil microbial flora with soil functions. In this study, 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing and a functional gene array, geochip 4.0, were used to investigate the shifts in microbial composition and functional gene structure in paddy soils with different fertilization treatments over a 22‐year period. These included a control without fertilizers; chemical nitrogen fertilizer (N); N and phosphate (NP); N and potassium (NK); and N, P and K (NPK). Based on 16S rRNA gene data, both species evenness and key genera were affected by P fertilization. Functional gene array‐based analysis revealed that long‐term fertilization significantly changed the overall microbial functional structures. Chemical fertilization significantly increased the diversity and abundance of most genes involved in C, N, P and S cycling, especially for the treatments NK and NPK. Significant correlations were found among functional gene structure and abundance, related soil enzymatic activities and rice yield, suggesting that a fertilizer‐induced shift in the microbial community may accelerate the nutrient turnover in soil, which in turn influenced rice growth. The effect of N fertilization on soil microbial functional genes was mitigated by the addition of P fertilizer in this P‐limited paddy soil, suggesting that balanced chemical fertilization is beneficial to the soil microbial community and its functions.     

施肥对盆栽香樟幼苗不同根序细根养分的影响

以盆栽的1年生香樟实生苗为研究对象,采用指数施肥的方式,测定1~5级细根的C、N、P、K含量,并探讨施肥对香樟幼苗细根养分浓度的影响。结果表明:(1)不同根序细根的全C浓度差异不显著,施肥对细根全C浓度影响不显著(P0.05);(2)在所有根序中,N、P浓度最高的是1级根,但其K浓度却最低;N、P含量最低的是5级根;(3)细根的N、P含量随着根序的增加呈显著的下降趋势(P0.05);(4)施N肥能显著增加1~2级细根的N含量,施P肥能显著增加1级根的P含量,N+P肥较之P肥更能提高1级根对P的吸收;(5)C∶N∶P受根序的影响非常明显,1级根平均为366∶16∶1,5级根则为807∶12∶1,而且C∶N∶P随着根序增加而显著升高,但N∶P无显著影响;(6)虽然施肥对细根C含量无影响,但施N肥或N+P肥对1~2级细根中N的含量有显著性增加。综合分析可知,处理9对香樟苗期养分浓度指标影响最为显著,即施肥量为氮素4g·株-1、磷素4g·株-1、钾素2g·株-1时,对香樟幼苗细根的生长发育有较好地促进作用。研究结果可为香樟的速生丰产及资源的高效利用提供理论依据。     

Essential Role of the EF-hand Domain in Targeting Sperm Phospholipase Cζ to Membrane Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-Bisphosphate (PIP2)

Sperm-specific phospholipase C-ζ (PLCζ) is widely considered to be the physiological stimulus that triggers intracellular Ca²⁺ oscillations and egg activation during mammalian fertilization. Although PLCζ is structurally similar to PLCδ1, it lacks a pleckstrin homology domain, and it remains unclear how PLCζ targets its phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP₂) membrane substrate. Recently, the PLCδ1 EF-hand domain was shown to bind to anionic phospholipids through a number of cationic residues, suggesting a potential mechanism for how PLCs might interact with their target membranes. Those critical cationic EF-hand residues in PLCδ1 are notably conserved in PLCζ. We investigated the potential role of these conserved cationic residues in PLCζ by generating a series of mutants that sequentially neutralized three positively charged residues (Lys-49, Lys-53, and Arg-57) within the mouse PLCζ EF-hand domain. Microinjection of the PLCζ EF-hand mutants into mouse eggs enabled their Ca²⁺ oscillation inducing activities to be compared with wild-type PLCζ. Furthermore, the mutant proteins were purified, and the in vitro PIP₂ hydrolysis and binding properties were monitored. Our analysis suggests that PLCζ binds significantly to PIP₂, but not to phosphatidic acid or phosphatidylserine, and that sequential reduction of the net positive charge within the first EF-hand domain of PLCζ significantly alters in vivo Ca²⁺ oscillation inducing activity and in vitro interaction with PIP₂ without affecting its Ca²⁺ sensitivity. Our findings are consistent with theoretical predictions provided by a mathematical model that links oocyte Ca²⁺ frequency and the binding ability of different PLCζ mutants to PIP₂. Moreover, a PLCζ mutant with mutations in the cationic residues within the first EF-hand domain and the XY linker region dramatically reduces the binding of PLCζ to PIP₂, leading to complete abolishment of its Ca²⁺ oscillation inducing activity.     

Expression of a Catalytically Inactive Mutant Form of Glutathione Peroxidase 4 (Gpx4) Confers a Dominant-negative Effect in Male Fertility

The selenoenzyme Gpx4 is essential for early embryogenesis and cell viability for its unique function to prevent phospholipid oxidation. Recently, the cytosolic form of Gpx4 was identified as an upstream regulator of a novel form of non-apoptotic cell death, called ferroptosis, whereas the mitochondrial isoform of Gpx4 was previously shown to be crucial for male fertility. Here, we generated and analyzed mice with a targeted mutation of the active site selenocysteine of Gpx4 (Gpx4_U46S). Mice homozygous for Gpx4_U46S died at the same embryonic stage (E7.5) as Gpx4^−/− embryos as expected. Surprisingly, male mice heterozygous for Gpx4_U46S presented subfertility. Subfertility was manifested in a reduced number of litters from heterozygous breeding and an impairment of spermatozoa to fertilize oocytes in vitro. Morphologically, sperm isolated from heterozygous Gpx4_U46S mice revealed many structural abnormalities particularly in the spermatozoa midpiece due to improper oxidation and polymerization of sperm capsular proteins and malformation of the mitochondrial capsule surrounding and stabilizing sperm mitochondria. These findings are reminiscent of sperm isolated from selenium-deprived rodents or from mice specifically lacking mitochondrial Gpx4. Due to a strongly facilitated incorporation of Ser in the polypeptide chain as compared with selenocysteine at the UGA codon, expression of the catalytically inactive Gpx4_U46S was found to be strongly increased. Because the stability of the mitochondrial capsule of mature spermatozoa depends on the moonlighting function of Gpx4 both as an enzyme oxidizing capsular protein thiols and as a structural protein, tightly controlled expression of functional Gpx4 emerges as a key for full male fertility.     

平衡施肥对缺磷红壤性水稻土的生态效应

为了研究平衡施肥对缺磷水稻土的生态效应,对长期缺施磷肥水稻土进行了3.5年平衡施肥试验。试验采取盆栽水稻的方式,在长期缺施磷肥的红壤性水稻土上比较不施磷肥（NK）、平衡施用氮磷钾无机肥（NPK）、无机氮磷钾肥配施硅肥（NPKSi）、无机氮磷钾肥配施有机肥（无机肥占3/5）、NPK基础上增施磷肥（NKhP）、NPKM基础上增施磷肥（NKhPM）处理的土壤肥力、土壤微生物特性、土壤磷的渗漏量以及地上部水稻产量、养分利用率、磷肥利用率的变化。试验表明,平衡施肥处理NPK、NPKSi、NPKM、NKhPM显著提高水稻产量,比不施磷肥（NK）平均增产147%,其中NPKM提高152%;能提高土壤肥力,比不施磷肥土壤有机质含量平均提高18.5%,其中NPKM提高30.1%;显著提高土壤微生物生物量,比不施磷肥土壤微生物生物量碳（MBC）平均提高57.2%,其中NPKM提高87.1%;提高氮素、钾素养分利用率,比不施磷肥平均分别提高120.3%、33.6%,其中NPKM分别提高152%、43%。而长期重施无机磷肥处理（NKhP）虽然水稻产量比不施磷肥处理提高125.1%,但因土壤中磷酸根离子含量过高影响土壤微生物正常生长,土壤微生物活度比不施磷处理降低9.4%,土壤微生物量碳（MBC）降低2.4%,稻田土壤微生物生态系统质量劣化。此外,重施磷肥处理（包括NKhP、NKhPM）易导致稻田水体的磷污染。各处理比较,NPKM综合生态效应最佳,以下依次是NKhPM、NPKSi、NPK,NKhP,NKhP对稻田土壤微生物生态系统产生负效应。根据试验结果,平衡施肥是恢复缺磷水稻土的有效措施,其中在平衡施用氮磷钾化肥的基础上增施有机肥或硅肥效果较好。     

水肥条件对新老两个春小麦品种竞争能力和产量关系的影响

采用de Wit替代系列实验研究了传统地方品种和尚头和现代品种定西-24在土壤水肥梯度下混播时的竞争结局以及竞争能力和单播产量之间的关系。在各个水肥处理条件下,混播时,虽然和尚头对定西-24的影响效应有所减弱,但是,和尚头对定西-24的竞争结局并没有发生改变:和尚头最终完全排除定西-24,成为竞争中的优胜者。在低水无肥和高水高肥条件下,定西-24的单播产量显著高于和尚头的单播产量,二者的竞争能力与其单播产量之间呈负相关;在低水低肥条件下,和尚头的单播产量与定西-24的单播产量几乎相等,二者的竞争能力与其单播产量之间没有特定的关系;在中水中肥条件下,和尚头的单播产量高于定西-24的单播产量,二者的竞争能力与其单播产量之间呈正相关,据此可以认为和尚头和定西-24混播时的竞争能力与其单播产量之间没有特定的关系。在低水无肥和高水高肥条件下,定西-24的单播地上生物量显著高于和尚头的单播地上生物量。在水分严重亏缺的条件下,和尚头的水分利用效率显著低于定西-24的水分利用效率;随着水分供给的改变,和尚头的水分利用效率得到了显著提高,然而当水分不再成为和尚头生长限制因子时,其水分利用效率降低,结果表明一定程度水分利用效率的提高有利于春小麦适应半干旱区的水分环境。