Bird pollination in South African Salvia species

Approximately one-fourth of the more than 900 world-wide distributed Salvia species (Lamiaceae) is ornithophilous. With few exceptions they occur in the New World, being predominantly pollinated by hummingbirds. In the Old World only Salvia africana-lutea and the recently described Salvia thermarum, both from the Cape Province of South Africa, were observed to be pollinated by sunbirds and white-eyes. Among the 23 South African Salvia species Salvia lanceolata is a further candidate for being bird pollinated. For the first time we describe and illustrate its pollination by Nectarinia chalybea and Zosterops pallidus. We compare the ornithophilous syndrome of the three mentioned Salvia species and relate them to the morphological fitting of the most common nectarivorous birds of the Southwestern Cape (Cape peninsula to Worcester). We conclude that each of the birds could act as a pollinator and that the three co-occurring Salvia species are not mechanically isolated from each other. The degree of specialisation towards bird pollination, possible hybridisation events and evolution of bird pollination in South African Salvia species are discussed.     

Development and characterization of cell lines from heart, liver, spleen and head kidney of sea perch Lateolabrax japonicus

Five cell lines (LJHK, LJS, LJL, LJH-1 and LJH-2) were established from the head kidney, spleen, liver and heart of sea perch Lateolabrax japonicus . The cell lines LJHK, LJS, LJL, LJH-1 and LJH-2 were subcultured 46, 32, 32, 36 and 34 times in minimum essential medium (MEM) supplemented with foetal bovine serum (FBS), sea perch serum and 10 ng ml⁻¹ basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Morphology of primary cultures and subcultures of the five cell lines were observed continuously by microscopy. The suitable temperature for growth was 18 to 30° C for all of these cell lines with the optimum growth at 24° C and a reduced growth rate <18° C. The optimum concentration of FBS was found to be 10% and addition of bFGF to the medium significantly increased the growth rate of the cells. The doubling time of LJS, LJH-1, LJL, LJH-2 and LJHK cells was determined to be 52·7, 54·9, 57, 58·7 and 66 h at a plating density of 1 × 10⁵ cells ml⁻¹ at 24° C, respectively. Chromosome analysis revealed that 42, 48, 38, 43 and 45% cells maintained normal diploid chromosome number (48) in the LJH-1, LJH-2, LJHK, LJL and LJS cell lines, respectively. The LJHK cells were successfully transfected with green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter plasmids and the expression of GFP gene in the cells indicated the possible utility of the cells in gene expression studies. Furthermore, treatment of the LJHK cells with lipopolysaccharide led to increased expression of IL-1β, demonstrating that LJHK cells might be a valuable tool for studying the expression and function of immunomodulatory gene in fishes.     

The origin, initiation and development of axillary shoot meristems in Lotus japonicus

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Lotus japonicus 'Gifu' develops multiple axillary shoots in the cotyledonary node region throughout the growth of the plant. The origin, initiation and development of these axillary meristems were investigated. METHODS: Morphological, histological and mRNA in situ analyses were done to characterize the ontogeny of cotyledonary axillary shoot meristems in Lotus. Morphological characterization of a putative Lotus shoot branching mutant (super-accessory branches) sac, is presented. KEY RESULTS: By using expression of an L. japonicus STM-like gene as a marker for meristematic tissues, it was demonstrated that groups of cells maintained in the meristematic state at the cotyledonary axil region coincide with the sites where additional axillary meristems (accessory meristems) form. A Lotus shoot branching mutant, sac, is a putative Lotus branching mutant characterized by increased proliferation of accessory shoots in all leaf axils including the cotyledons. CONCLUSION: In Lotus, axillary shoot meristems continually develop at the cotyledonary node region throughout the growth of the plant. These cotyledonary primary and accessory axillaries arise from the position of a meristematic zone of tissue at the cotyledonary node axil region.     

刺参酸性粘多糖对诱发性肝癌大鼠的干预作用及免疫功能的影响

目的：通过建立诱发性大鼠肝癌动物模型,研究用刺参酸性粘多糖（SJAMP）对大鼠诱发性肝癌的干预作用及免疫功能的影响。方法：将雄性Wistar大鼠50只随机均分为5个组,正常对照组、模型组和3个SJAMP干预组（A组,B组和c组）,模型组和SJAMP干预组灌胃0．2％DEN生理盐水溶液以诱发肝癌,同时SJAMP干预组按照不同剂量（0．175μg／g,0．35μg／g,O．7μg/g）给予SJAMP,至16周处死大鼠,取血,无菌取脾、胸腺,计算脾指数、胸腺指数。比较各组〉3mm和〉5mm的结节数以及最大结节的体积,计算肿瘤抑制率。贴壁法纯化巨噬细胞,用中性红吞噬实验检测巨噬细胞吞噬功能,MTT法检测巨噬细胞杀伤功能。结果：SJAMP干预组〉3mm和〉5mm的结节数明显少于模型组,最大结节的平均体积明显小于模型组（P〈0．05）;与模型组相比,SJAMP干预组脾指数和胸腺指数明显升高（P〈0．05）,SJAMP干预组巨噬细胞吞噬能力和杀伤功能显著提高（P〈0．05）。结论：刺参酸性粘多糖对大鼠诱发性肝癌有明显的抑制作用;其机制可能是通过刺激免疫器官生长,增强机体的细胞免疫能力来实现的。     

日本对虾c型溶菌酶的高效重组表达及产物分析

从日本对虾(Marsupenaeus japonicus)血液中提取总RNA,根据GenBank已登录的该cDNA序列(AB080238),通过RT-PCR技术扩增出日本对虾溶菌酶(MjLys)成熟肽基因。该基因完整的开放阅读框为477 bp,编码158个氨基酸(aa),前18 aa为信号肽,成熟肽由140 aa组成,分子量为16.4 kD,理论等电点(pI)为8.80。经分析表明,该基因含有一个完整的c型溶菌酶结构域(1-130 aa),包括c型溶菌酶特有的两个活性中心Glu33和Asp50,以及8个保守结构Cys残基。将MjLys成熟肽基因亚克隆至原核表达载体pET-32a(+),在大肠杆菌细胞BL21(DE3)pLysS中诱导发酵,实现了重组MjLys蛋白的高效表达,并测定了该重组蛋白对几种细菌的抑菌活性。结果表明,重组日本对虾溶菌酶对革兰氏阳性菌金黄色葡萄球菌和溶壁微球菌均有显著的溶菌活性。     

刺参“腐皮综合症”致病菌LNUB415的分离及防治的初步研究

从大连海域患“腐皮综合症”的养殖刺参肠道中分离纯化到1株优势细菌LNUB415,经人工回接感染试验确定其对刺参具有较强的致病性.经形态学、生理生化和16S rDNA序列分析,该菌被初步鉴定为蜡样芽胞杆菌(Bacillus cereus).从多种具有免疫增强作用的中草药中筛选到抑菌效果最好的黄连,可使刺参死亡率降低30％.     

What can metazoan parasites reveal about the taxonomy of Scomber japonicus Houttuyn in the coast of South America and Madeira Islands?

The metazoan parasites of four populations of the chub mackerel Scomber japonicus were analysed from two localities in the Atlantic Ocean (Madeira Islands, Portugal, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and two localities in the Pacific Ocean (Callao, Peru, and Antofagasta, Chile), collected during 2002 and 2003. A total of 373 fish specimens were studied and 34 metazoan parasite species were obtained. Parasites identified from the populations of chub mackerel studied could be separated into three categories: parasites with a wide distribution, present in the Pacific and Atlantic, parasites proper of the Pacific Ocean and parasites proper of the Atlantic Ocean. The analyses of some highly specific parasites of the genus Scomber ( i.e. monogeneans of the genus Kuhnia and didymozoid digeneans) strongly suggest the need for a revision of the taxonomic status of chub mackerels from the Atlantic and Pacific coast of America. The results demonstrated the usefulness of parasites as adequate tools to clarify the taxonomic status of their hosts.     

Habitat Structure Affects Reproductive Success of the Rare Endemic Tree Syzygium mamillatum (Myrtaceae) in Restored and Unrestored Sites in Mauritius

Invasive alien plants affect the functioning of ecosystems by altering plant–animal interactions, such as pollination, which may impede natural regeneration of native plant species. In Mauritius, we studied the reproductive traits and pollination ecology of the rare endemic cauliflorous tree Syzygium mamillatum in a restored forest (all alien plant species removed) and an adjacent unrestored area (degraded by alien plants). Flowers of S. mamillatum were only visited by generalist bird species. Although the initial number of flower buds per tree in the restored forest tended to be higher than that of trees in the unrestored area, final fruit set and the number of seeds per fruit were lower in the restored forest. This corresponded with lower bird visitation rates in the restored area. Additionally, during budding stage, most trees were severely attacked by lepidopteran larvae, and bud loss through herbivory was higher in the restored forest. Thus, the difference in reproductive performance of S. mamillatum between the two localities was caused by contrasting herbivore attack and bird visitation behavior in restored and unrestored areas. Our findings illustrate the importance of restoration efforts in mimicking the original physical structure of habitats and interaction structure of interspecific relationships, and the difficulty of doing so given the imperfect knowledge and the reality that many native species have become locally extinct and replaced by exotic species.     

花鲈对不同饲料原料的表观消化率

试验以Cr2 O3 为指示物 ,以 70 %基础饲料和 30 %的待测饲料原料组成试验饲料 ,测定花鲈对红鱼粉、豆粕、花生粕、菜籽粕、肉骨粉和棉籽粕中干物质、粗蛋白、粗脂肪、能量和氨基酸的表观消化率。在水温 2 5± 1℃的试验条件下 ,花鲈对鱼粉、豆粕、花生粕的干物质表观消化率均在 6 0 %以上 ;对鱼粉、豆粕、花生粕和菜籽粕的蛋白质、脂肪的表观消化率都在 80 %以上 ;花鲈对能量的表观消化率变化范围在 16 99%— 83 96 %。测得每种原料的 16种氨基酸的表观消化率 :花鲈对原料氨基酸消化率的变化与对蛋白质消化率的变化相一致 ,除了赖氨酸、缬氨酸、蛋氨酸之外 ,花鲈对肉骨粉中氨基酸的利用率最低。花鲈对饼粕类原料中的含硫氨基酸 (如蛋氨酸 )的表观消化率低于其他氨基酸 ,对鱼粉中氨基酸利用率最低的为组氨酸 ,对肉骨粉中氨基酸利用率最低的为苏氨酸。     

多疣壁虎肠道内分泌细胞的分布及形态学观察

用光镜和电镜对多疣壁虎肠道嗜银细胞的分布及形态做了初步的观察,结果显示,十二指肠嗜银细胞密度最高,大肠次之,空、回肠较低;作者认为嗜银细胞的分布与动物生活环境是相关的,嗜银细胞形态多样,位于肠上皮细胞之间和固有层结缔组织中,电镜下,嗜银细胞内充满足电子致密颗粒,十二指肠和大肠嗜银细胞颗粒大小和密度不同。根据内分泌特点的不同,可分为开放型和闭合型两类。本文还对多疣壁虎肠道嗜银细胞的分布及形态特点做了探讨。