Effect of aeration on ethylene production by soil bacteria and soil samples cultivated in a closed system

Summary Ethylene production was studied in shaken cultures ofPseudomonas putida andPseudomonas fluorescens isolated from soil and in unsterile garden soil samples moistened to 60% of the water holding capacity. The highest ethylene accumulation in bacterial cultures was reached under conditions of delayed aeration,i.e. when the culture was closed and the aeration started after the oxygen content decreased to 4%. The ethylene production rose immediately after the beginning of aeration. Under these conditions ethylene production was inP. fluorescens 2–3 times and in glucosecultivatedP. putida 6 times higher than in the fully aerated cultures. Methionine stimulated ethylene production byP. fluorescens, whereas glucose proved to be more suitable forP. putida. This strain was incapable of growth on methionine as the sole carbon source. Samples of nonsterile garden soil produced the highest amounts of ethylene under anaerobic conditions. Artificial inoculation of soil samples byP. putida resulted in an increase of ethylene formation in samples with delayed aeration. Addition of glucose or glucose with methionine stimulated ethylene production in all soil samples.     

How mosquitoes fly to man

1. A model is presented to estimate the mosquito density and radius (r) of the attraction range of man as the bait.
2. Man walked to a spot in the woods and sampled mosquitoes flying to him with a net continuously. The arrival pattern was constant in each mosquito species, and in all species, the number of mosquitoes sampled per five min became constant after ten minutes sampling.
3. The mosquitoes gathered to man were composed of D: those waiting alight, I: those intruding the attraction range and F: those following man to the spot. They were estimated by means of continuous sampling sets and densities of D and I were calculated.
4. r s of female and male of A. albopictus and A. japonicus were 4.0, 5.6 and 9.0 m respectively. In these species, most individuals were D, although, in T. bambusa all individuals were I, flying to search for hosts.
5. How mosquitoes and hosts encounter, is discussed.

     

苏铁属植物叶表皮特征及其分类学和古生态学意义

苏铁属(Cycas)作为一类古老的裸子植物,经历了漫长的演化历史,因此,深入研究其形态特征与环境的相互关系,有望为古环境重建提供重要参考依据。本文分析西双版纳和深圳两地植物园栽培环境下27种苏铁属植物的叶表皮特征及气孔参数的差异,并进一步探讨气孔参数与系统发育的关系。结果表明:(1)苏铁属内叶表皮特征保守稳定,具有一定的分类学意义:依据表皮细胞及气孔器特征划分了四种叶表皮类型,可为苏铁现生植物或化石的鉴定提供参考。(2)四种叶表皮类型指示了不同的原生生境特征,对古环境具有一定的指示意义。(3)同一环境下,气孔参数在属内的种间差异显著,其次,气孔指数在属内变化与系统发育有关,除气孔指数具显著的系统发育信号外,其余气孔参数均无显著系统发育信号。本研究结果表明气孔参数法重建古大气CO2浓度时,需尽可能利用亲缘关系相近、叶表皮和生境皆相似的代理种,并明确气孔参数与大气CO2分压的相关关系在种间的异同,从而提高该方法的有效性。     

南京中山植物园鸟类对香樟 果实（种子）的取食

香樟(Cinnamomum camphora)是亚热带地区广泛分布的常绿阔叶树种,其果实数量多、果期长,可为鸟类提供大量食物资源。2018年11月至2019年2月,借助Safari 10×26变焦双筒望远镜,采用焦点扫描法对南京中山植物园内访问香樟果实(种子)的鸟类行为进行观察,详细记录鸟类的种类、取食基质、取食次数、取食时间、取食数量和取食方式等信息。研究期间有效记录达48d,累计记录到27种鸟类1021次取食香樟果实(种子)行为,存在2种取食基质(地面和树上)和3种取食方式(整吞果实、啄食果肉和取食种子)。T检验显示,不同鸟类对香樟果实(种子)的取食次数存在显著差异(t=3.096,df=26,P 0.01);不同月份间鸟类对香樟香樟果实(种子)的平均访问只数、平均取食次数、平均取食时间和取食数量均存在极显著差异(P0.001)。白头鹎(Pycnonotussinensis)、乌鸫(Turdusmendarinus)和灰喜鹊(Cyanopicacyanus)是访问次数及取食量最多的3种鸟类。单因素方差分析(One-way ANOVA)表明,上述这3种鸟类的取食数量存在极显著差异(F3, 598=25.219,P 0.001)。按照时间统计,11月份访问的鸟类种类和数量最多,1月份鸟类的取食次数、时间和数量最多。鸟类的形态特征(体重、体长和嘴峰长)与取食数量呈显著正相关,其中,体重和体长对取食数量的影响比嘴峰长的影响更显著,但嘴峰长影响鸟类对果实的取食方式。在鸟类常活动和停歇的树木下方地面往往散落着较多表面洁净、无果肉包裹的香樟种子,且园内人工林和自然更新林地可见许多香樟幼苗,表明鸟类对香樟具有潜在传播作用。     

Knockdown of dorsal/relish increases larvae susceptibility to microbes in Spodoptera litura

The tobacco cutworm, Spodoptera litura has developed high levels of resistance to frequently-used insecticides, and failures of chemical control has frequently been reported in China. Moreover, the control efficiency of biological control agents was not satisfactory by farmers, and thus the development of novel or combined techniques for such pest control becomes an imperative requirement. In this study the potential application of innate immune-related genes in insect control was investigated. Sldorsal and Slrelish were identified from S. litura. Sldorsals were mainly expressed in epidermal and fatbody of larvae, and Slrelish highly expressed in fatbody and haemolymph of larvae. Their expression characteristic suggests potential roles in defense against fungi or bacteria. The expression of Sldorsal was up-regulated by the challenge of entomogenous fungi Isaria javanica and Beauveria bassiana, however, the expression of Slrelish could only be induced by Escherichia coli challenge. Injection of Sldorsal or Slrelish dsRNA down-regulated the expression level of the corresponding gene and broke specific signaling transduction pathway of innate immunity in S. litura. Knockdown of Sldorsal by RNAi significantly increased the mortality of S. litura larvae caused by I. javanica and B. bassiana, and Slrelish RNAi highly increased the mortality caused by E. coli. Sldorsal and Slrelish are essential genes for innate immunity, their knockdown by RNAi increases S. litura susceptibility to insect pathogens, therefore enhances the mortalities caused by I. javanica, B. bassiana and E. coli respectively.     

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 deficiency promotes atherosclerotic plaque instability through accelerating mitochondrial ROS-mediated vascular smooth muscle cell senescence

Previous evidence has indicated a beneficial role for aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) in suppressing atherosclerotic plaque progression and instability. However, the underlying mechanism remains somewhat elusive. This study was designed to examine the effect of ALDH2 deficiency on high-cholesterol diet-induced atherosclerotic plaque progression and plaque vulnerability in atherosclerosis-prone ApoE knockout (ApoE^?/?) mice with a focus on foam cell formation in macrophages and senescence of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Serum lipid profile, plaque progression, and plaque vulnerability were examined in ApoE^?/? and ALDH2/ApoE double knockout (ALDH2^?/?ApoE^?/?) mice after high-cholesterol diet intake for 8 weeks. ALDH2 deficiency increased the serum levels of triglycerides while it decreased levels of total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Unexpectedly, ALDH2 deficiency reduced the plaque area by 58.9% and 37.5% in aorta and aortic sinus, respectively. Plaque instability was aggravated by ALDH2 deficiency along with the increased necrotic core size, decreased collagen content, thinner fibrous cap area, decreased VSMC content, and increased macrophage content. In atherosclerotic lesions, ALDH2 protein was located in both macrophages and VSMCs. Further results revealed downregulated ALDH2 expression in aorta of aged ApoE^?/? mice compared with young mice. However, in vitro study suggested that ALDH2 expression was upregulated in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) with an opposite effect in VSMCs following 80 μg/ml oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) treatment. Interestingly, ALDH2 deficiency displayed little effect in oxLDL-induced foam cell formation from BMDMs, while ALDH2 knockdown by siRNA and ALDH2 overexpression by lentivirus infection promoted and retarded oxLDL-induced VSMC senescence, respectively. Mechanistically, ALDH2 mitigated oxLDL-induced overproduction of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) and activation of downstream p53/p21/p16 pathway. Clearance of mROS by mitoTEMPO significantly reversed the promotive effect of ALDH2 knockdown on VSMC senescence. Taken together, our data revealed that ALDH2 deficiency suppressed atherosclerotic plaque area while facilitating plaque instability possibly through accelerating mROS-mediated VSMC senescence.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Genetic and epigenetic regulation of aging and longevity edited by Jun Ren & Megan Yingmei Zhang.     

古岳禅师与宋画影响下的大仙院庭园营造研究

基于中国宋代山水画对日本造园产生深刻影响的普遍认识,以具有代表性的京都大德寺大仙院中山水画式枯山水庭院为研究重点,挖掘山水画在日本的传播融合与造园者的生平经历。通过文献考证、现场调研,结合流传画作与绘画理论,在总结前人研究的基础上,推测分析宋代山水画对日本大仙院枯山水营造的影响,以期探索一种从“画意造园”视角研究日本传统园林的新模式。