Research Priorities for Conservation of Metallophyte Biodiversity and their Potential for Restoration and Site Remediation

Plants that have evolved to survive on metal‐rich soils—metallophytes—have key values that must drive research of their unique properties and ultimately their conservation. The ability of metallophytes to tolerate extreme metal concentrations commends them for revegetation of mines and metal‐contaminated sites. Metallophytes can also be exploited in environmental technologies, for example, phytostabilization, phytoremediation, and phytomining. Actions towards conserving metallophyte species are imperative, as metallophytes are increasingly under threat of extinction from mining activity. Although many hundreds of papers describe both the biology and applications of metallophytes, few have investigated the urgent need to conserve these unique species. This paper identifies the current state of metallophyte research, and advocates future research needs for the conservation of metallophyte biodiversity and the sustainable uses of metallophyte species in restoration, rehabilitation, contaminated site remediation, and other nascent phytotechnologies. Six fundamental questions are addressed: (1) Is enough known about the global status of metallophytes to ensure their conservation? (2) Are metallophytes threatened by the activities of the minerals industry, and can their potential for the restoration or rehabilitation of mined and disturbed land be realized? (3) What problems exist in gaining prior informed consent to access metallophyte genetic resources and how can the benefits arising from their uses be equitably shared? (4) What potential do metallophytes offer as a resource base for phytotechnologies? (5) Can genetic modification be used to “design” metallophytes to use in the remediation of contaminated land? (6) Does the prospect of using metallophytes in site remediation and restoration raise ethical issues?     

Improvement of Fermentation Conditions for the Production of X-Prolyl-Dipeptidyl Aminopeptidase from Lactococcus Lactis

The quantitative effects of some fermentation conditions on the production of the enzyme X-prolyl-dipeptidyl aminopeptidase (PepXP)(EC 3.4.14.5) of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and cremoris were studied. The PepXP activity was found both in the membrane and in the cytoplasm, suggesting the presence of multiple molecular forms. Both microorganisms showed higher PepXP activities when glucose (5 g/l) was used as the carbon source and the yeast extract in the culture medium was increased to 3.5 g/l. In these conditions, 226 mU/ml of PepXP activity were obtained with L. lactis subsp. lactis and 235 mU/ml with the subsp. cremoris after 6 h. The best fermentation temperature was in the 30–32 °C range. The enzyme activity remained stable even during the stationary phase.     

Human Population Density and Extinction Risk in the World's Carnivores

Understanding why some species are at high risk of extinction, while others remain relatively safe, is central to the development of a predictive conservation science. Recent studies have shown that a species' extinction risk may be determined by two types of factors: intrinsic biological traits and exposure to external anthropogenic threats. However, little is known about the relative and interacting effects of intrinsic and external variables on extinction risk. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we show that extinction risk in the mammal order Carnivora is predicted more strongly by biology than exposure to high-density human populations. However, biology interacts with human population density to determine extinction risk: biological traits explain 80% of variation in risk for carnivore species with high levels of exposure to human populations, compared to 45% for carnivores generally. The results suggest that biology will become a more critical determinant of risk as human populations expand. We demonstrate how a model predicting extinction risk from biology can be combined with projected human population density to identify species likely to move most rapidly towards extinction by the year 2030. African viverrid species are particularly likely to become threatened, even though most are currently considered relatively safe. We suggest that a preemptive approach to species conservation is needed to identify and protect species that may not be threatened at present but may become so in the near future.     

半滑舌鳎早期形态及发育特征

半滑舌鳎卵子为分离的球形浮性卵 ,卵径 1 18-1 3 1mm。卵膜薄、光滑、透明 ,具弹性。多油球 ,一般为 97-12 5个 ,多数在 10 0个左右 ,油球径 0 0 4-0 11mm。在培养水温为 2 0 5-2 2 8℃的条件下 ,卵子授精后 3 7h仔鱼孵出 ,3 0min后仔鱼全部孵出。初孵仔鱼全长 2 56-2 68mm。 1日龄仔鱼 ,出现胸鳍芽。 1 5日龄仔鱼 ,巡游模式基本建立。 2日龄仔鱼 ,逐渐建立外源性摄食关系。 3日龄仔鱼 ,出现鳔泡 ,个体发育进入后期仔鱼期。 18日龄 ,个体发育进入稚鱼期。 2 5日龄稚鱼 ,右眼开始向上移动。 2 7日龄稚鱼 ,右眼已转到头顶。 2 9日龄稚鱼 ,右眼完全转到左侧 ,胸鳍退化 ,各鳍鳍条发育完全。 57日龄 ,个体发育进入幼鱼期。 79日龄幼鱼 ,鳔退化、鳞片发育完全 ,侧线 3条。研究结果表明 :前期仔鱼培育期间 ,除了严格控制适宜的培养水温外 ,仔鱼开口后就应及时投喂一定密度的适口饵料 ,这是苗种培育中不可忽视的重要环节和技术措施之一 ;稚鱼变态期间加强鲜活饵料的投喂是提高稚鱼变态成活率的关键所在。仔鱼孵化后出现的管状感觉器官以及背、臀鳍膜上的泡状结构在早期发育阶段的生态和生理作用尚不清楚。半滑舌鳎成鱼无鳔和无胸鳍 ,而在早期发育期间具有鳔泡和胸鳍 ,这是生物个体发育史中祖先特征的重演     

Methyl 2-methoxy-7-(4-methylbenzoyl)-4-oxo-6-p-tolyl-4H-furo[3,2-c]pyran-3-carboxylate:A combined experimental and theoretical investigation

The title compound, methyl 2-methoxy-7-(4-methylbenzoyl)-4-oxo-6-p-tolyl-4H-furo[3,2-c]pyran-3-carboxylate (C₂₅H₂₀O₇), was prepared and characterized by IR and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD). The compound crystallizes in the triclinic space group P ?1 with a?=?8.9554(9) Å, b?=?10.0018(10) Å, c?=?12.7454(13) Å, α?=?67.678(7)°, β?=?89.359(8)° and γ?=?88.961(8)°. In addition to the molecular geometry from X-ray experiment, the molecular geometry and vibrational frequencies of the title compound in the ground state have been calculated using semiempirical AM1 and PM3 methods, as well as Hartree-Fock (HF) and density functional (B3LYP) levels of theory with 6–31G(d) basis set. To determine conformational flexibility, molecular energy profile of the title compound was obtained by semi-empirical (AM1) calculations with respect to two selected degrees of torsional freedom, which were varied from ?180° to +180° in steps of 10°. Besides, frontier molecular orbitals (FMO) analysis and thermodynamic properties of the title compound were performed by the B3LYP/6–31G(d) method.     

Temporal changes in species diversity and composition in abandoned fields in a <Emphasis Type="Italic">trans</Emphasis>-Himalayan landscape,Nepal

Secondary succession is an increasing phenomenon due to global changes in agriculture policies and practices. The empirical findings are biased towards the temperate zone. Abandonment of agriculture fields is less frequent in the subtropical and tropical zones where agriculture areas are, in general, expanding. But there are exceptions; a rapid rate of abandonment of agricultural fields have taken place in the arid trans-Himalayan region, due to today’s globalization of economy. We analysed agriculture fields that were abandoned between 1950 and 2003 in a large u-valley in central Nepal (3400 m a.s.l.). The potential forest vegetation is dominated by Pinus wallichina and shrubs of junipers and cotoneaster species. We tested the intermediate richness hypothesis in relation to vegetation cover, soil development and whether old-field succession is convergent or divergent with species data from 242 1 m² plots in 5 age-classes. The main species compositional turnover expressed by Detrended Correspondence Analyses (DCA) correlated, as expected, with time after abandonment. Fields that were abandoned a long time ago are closer to forest at the periphery of the agricultural landscape. Moisture of the soil significantly increased with age of abandonment, but total vegetation cover and pH were negatively related to age. Beta diversity expressed in DCA SD-units showed an increasing trend with age of abandonment, supporting the divergence pattern in old-field succession. The reason why the succession is not converging may be due to browsing by domestic animals that prevent a closed canopy of pines and juniper to develop. There was a significant hump-shaped pattern in species richness along the temporal gradient, which agrees with the intermediate species-richness hypothesis. There was a rapid increase in species richness in plots close to the villages that were used for haymaking which increased the seed input significantly.     

Cell dynamics and developmental bias in the ontogeny of a complex sexually dimorphic trait in Drosophila melanogaster

SUMMARY The Drosophila sex comb (SC) has been hailed as a powerful tool for integrative studies in development, evolution, and behavior, but its ontogeny is poorly understood, even in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster . Using 4D live imaging and other techniques, we carried out a detailed analysis of the cellular events that take place during the development of the SC. We showed that the comb and other contiguous bristle formations assemble from noncontiguous precursor cells, which join together through intercalation. Most of the rotation of the SC (which has a longitudinal orientation in D. melanogaster but is initially transverse) occurs after this stage, when the structure is a single unit. We have provided evidence that male-specific convergent extension through cell rearrangement is responsible for both this rotation and another sexually dimorphic bristle trait. Contiguous bristle formations act as barriers to cell movement within the epithelium, and we demonstrated that a particularly rapid rotation of the proximal region of the comb is associated with the presence of a constricted area between a portion of the SC and a transverse row of contiguous bristle precursors. Our results suggest that the cell dynamics in the neighborhood of the SC may have biased its evolution.     

Developmental constraints and convergent evolution in Drosophila sex comb formation

SUMMARY The most complex and diverse secondary sexual character in Drosophila is the sex comb (SC), an arrangement of modified bristles on the forelegs of a subclade of male fruit flies. We examined SC formation in six representative nonmodel fruit fly species, in an effort to understand how the variation in comb patterning arises. We first compared SC development in two species with relatively small combs, Drosophila takahashii , where the SCs remain approximately transverse, and Drosophila biarmipes , where two rows of SC teeth rotate and move in an anterior direction relative to other bristle landmarks. We then analyzed comb ontogeny in species with prominent extended SCs parallel to the proximodistal axis, including Drosophila ficusphila and species of the montium subgroup. Our study allowed us to identify two general methods of generating longitudinal combs on the tarsus, and we showed that a montium subgroup species ( Drosophila nikananu ) with a comb convergently similar in size, orientation and position to the model organism Drosophila melanogaster , forms its SC through a different developmental mechanism. We also found that the protein product of the leg patterning gene, dachshund (dac) , is strongly reduced in the SC in all species, but not in other bristles. Our results suggest that an apparent constraint on SC position in the adult may be attributable to at least two different lineage-specific developmental processes, although external forces could also play a role.