Insect and wind pollination of an alpine biennial Aconitum gymnandrum (Ranunculaceae)

Wind pollination can provide reproductive insurance for animal‐pollinated dioecious plants in the absence of available pollinators, but combinations of insect and wind pollination (ambophily) have rarely been studied in hermaphrodite herbs. We examined the stable occurrence of insect pollination and wind pollination over 4 years in a population of a biennial Aconitum species (A. gymnandrum) with actinomorphic and degenerate sepals. The total frequency of visits of two bumblebee species showed no distinct fluctuations in the studied population among the 4 years. However, seed production of netted flowers after emasculation indicated wind pollination had occurred. The seed number of bagged flowers with one visit by bumblebees was significantly less than that of netted flowers after one visit, or in control flowers. Both seed number and fruit set of netted flowers were significantly lower than in control flowers. These results suggest that wind pollination provides supplementary pollen to unvisited and/or once‐visited flowers, but accounts for only a small amount of seed production compared to bumblebee pollination in natural conditions. Such a combination of insect and wind pollination might play an important role in maintaining sexual reproduction of this biennial herb, allowing it to persist in arid habitats on the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau, especially during Quaternary glacial periods when pollinator populations oscillated extensively.     

黄山短尾猴mtDNA控制区序列变异及种群的遗传多样性

短尾猴属灵长目(Primates)猴科(Cercopithecidae)猕猴属(Macaca),是我国特有的国家二级保护动物。为了更有效地保护其野生种群,本文研究了黄山短尾猴种群内的遗传多样性,并对黄山短尾猴与四川短尾猴种群间的遗传差异进行了分析。共测定了黄山短尾猴7个群体中的30个样本的mtDNA控制区5′端493bp的序列,只发现了7个变异位点,定义了3种单倍型,单倍型序列之间缺乏变异,种群中的核苷酸多样性很低(0.006);3种单倍型相应地将黄山种群分为了3个亚群,不同亚群之间呈现出一定的片断化分布,从分子水平上初步揭示了短尾猴黄山种群的遗传多样性。与四川短尾猴的相应序列比较,黄山短尾猴控制区序列存在很大差异,共有59个变异位点,而且存在大片段的碱基插入/缺失,有78%的遗传变异发生在两个种群之间,两个种群间的核苷酸歧异度已达8.21%。进一步分析表明,黄山短尾猴与四川短尾猴之间存在着极显著的遗传分化(FST=0.399,P<0.001),基于最大似然法和邻接法构建的系统发生树均将两者聚为不同的类群,支持将它们归入各自的管理单元。     

Selection of ovine PrP high-producer subclones from a transfected epithelial cell line

The hallmarks of prion diseases are the conversion of the normal prion into an abnormal protease resistant isoform and its brain accumulation. Purification of the native abnormal prion isoform for biochemical and biophysical studies has been hampered by poor recovery from brain tissue. An epithelial cell transfected with the ovine VRQ allele prion, called Rov9, has been used to select prion high-producer cells by flow cytometry. The representative clone 4 described here produced 6.2 microg of cellular prion protein per mg of total protein extract, representing 8- to 10-fold the amount produced by the Rov9 parental cells. After exposure to the scrapie agent (PG128/98), clone 4 produced 2.6 microg of abnormal isoform per mg of total protein. When infected clone 4 cell cultures were treated with tunicamycin, 80% of the abnormal isoform was deglycosylated. The infectivity of the prions produced in clone 4 cultures was confirmed in a mouse bioassay. Such high-producer clones represent new tools for producing large amounts of glycosylated and/or non-glycosylated PrP(Sc) and for a powerful screening of clinical samples' infectivity.     

Male mate choice in Tibetan macaques Macaca thibetana at Mt. Huangshan, China

Though females are generally more selective in mate choice, males may also benefit from mate choice if male reproductive success is limited by factors other than simply the number of female mates, and if females differ in short-term reproductive potential. We studied male mate choice in a free-ranging troop of Tibetan macaques Macaca thibetana at Mt. Huangshan,China, from August 2007 to April 2008. We employed focal animal sampling and all occurrence sampling to record sexual related behaviors. Eight adult females were divided into three female quality categories according to the females' age, rank and parity.Using male mating effort as a proxy for male mate choice, we found that males do distinguish female quality and show time-variant mating strategies. Specifically, females with dominant rank, high fecundity, and middle age attracted significantly more males. Our results suggest that female short-term reproductive potential appears to be an important variable in determining male mating effort. Male Tibetan macaques do exercise mate choice for higher quality females as well as reduce useless reproductive cost, which is consistent with the direct benefits theory of mate choice.     

Development of the East Asian summer monsoon: Evidence from the sediment record in the South China Sea since 8.5 Ma

128 samples from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1143 in the southern South China Sea were analyzed for grain size, clay minerals, biogenic opal content and quartz in order to reconstruct changes in East Asian monsoon climate since 8.5 Ma. An abrupt change of terrigenous mass accumulation rate (MAR), clay mineral assemblage, median grain size and biogenic opal MAR about 5.2 Ma suggests that between 8.5-5.2 Ma the source of terrigenous sediment was mainly in the region of surface uplift and basaltic volcanism in southern Vietnam. A simple model of East Asian summer monsoon evolution was based on the clay/feldspar ratio, kaolinite/chlorite ratio and biogenic opal MAR. The summer monsoon has two periods of maximum strength at 8.5-7.6 Ma and 7.1-6.2 Ma. Subsequently, there was a relatively stable period at 6.2-3.5 Ma, continued intensification about 3.5-2.5 Ma, and gradually weakening after 2.5 Ma. Since 1 Ma the monsoon has intensified, with remarkable high-frequency and amplitude variability. Simultaneous increase in sedimentation rates at ODP Sites 1143, 1146 and 1148, as well as in MAR of terrigenous materials, quartz, feldspar and clay minerals at ODP Site 1143 at 3.5-2.5 Ma, may be the erosional response to both global climatic deterioration and the strengthening of the East Asian summer monsoon after about 3-4 Ma.     

Transport of acetate and sodium in sheep omasum: mutual, but asymmetric interactions

We have studied the transport of acetate across the isolated epithelium of sheep omasum; no net transport was observed (J _ms ≈ J _sm) under Ussing chamber conditions. Low mucosal pH (pH 6.4) significantly enhanced J _ms acetate and the transport rates of acetate increased linearly and significantly (r ²=0.99) with the luminal acetate concentration. The presence of another short chain fatty acid (propionate) did not affect J _ms acetate significantly. Neither addition of 1 mmol l⁻¹ DIDS to the mucosal side nor HCO₃ replacement caused changes of J _ms acetate; this does not support the assumption of acetate transport via anion exchange. Addition of 1 mmol l⁻¹ amiloride to the mucosal side significantly decreased acetate fluxes at high mucosal acetate concentration (100 mmol l⁻¹) and low pH (6.4) indicating interaction between acetate uptake in the undissociated form, intracellular release of protons and activation of Na⁺/H⁺ exchange (NHE). However, the mutual interaction between Na transport via NHE and acetate transport is asymmetric. Stimulation or inhibition of Na transport via NHE is much more pronounced than the corresponding changes of acetate fluxes. Thus, the obtained results support the conclusion that acetate is transported via simple diffusion and probably predominantly in the protonated form, thereby explaining the positive and mutual interaction between Na transport and short chain fatty acids.     

反向Northern Blotting对绵羊卵巢组织差异表达 ESTs的鉴定

利用地高辛DNA标记与检测技术反向Northern斑点杂交,对小尾寒羊和滩羊卵巢组织差异显示ESTs进行鉴定,避免同位素放射性污染,安全性很高且操作简单,提高了实验的准确性,一种鉴定差异显示ESTs简单而有效的方法。在研究基因表达、比较不同环境条件下动物组织的mRNA差异表达等方面具有广阔的应用前景。     

中国西藏近缘野生大麦5S rDNA NTS序列分析

选取来自西藏不同地理区域的17份近缘野生大麦材料和1份国外的近缘野生大麦材料,利用直接PCR、T-载体转化克隆、克隆产物测序的方法获得了它们的5S核糖体DNANTS（Nontranscribed intergenic spacer）序列。对这些序列进行测定、分析和比较,构建了分子系统树。结果表明,西藏近缘野生大麦NTS序列包括两段相对保守的保守区A和保守区B以及一段变异较大的变异区V,变异区由若干个TAG碱基的重复序列构成。两段保守区总长度为168～169bp,长度变异较小,仅相差1bp。保守区的GC％含量为43．8％,其中有12个核甘酸位点发生变异（占总核甘酸数目的7．1％）,变异位点基本上是颠换多于转换,颠换／转换率为1．0～2．0。变异区中TAG重复序列的重复次数从4到17次,而且有部分TAG重复发生了颠换和转换（TAG→TCG,TAG→TAC）。TAG重复序列的多态性是决定NTS序列多态性的主要因素。对西藏近缘野生大麦和麦属其他作物的比较,认为rDNA NTS适合作为属内分类的分子标记。     

利用GIS和多变量分析估算青藏高原月降水

随着空间降水信息需求的日益增加,空间降水插值已被广泛应用。降水区域不同,插值方法不同;时间尺度不同,插值方法也不相同。适合于所有地区的通用降水插值模型是不存在的。青藏高原自然地理特征独特,分析高原降水的时空格局意义重要。以青藏高原及其周边地区140个气象站点的月降水信息及其该地区的数字高程数据(DEM)为基础,利用G IS工具,对比分析了五种插值方法在青藏高原不同降水年份(以1998年、1997年分别代表丰水及欠水年份)的干湿季(1998年的干湿季分别以12月份和8月份为代表,1997年的干湿季分别以1月份和7月份为代表)月降水插值中的应用,并对整个高原地区的干季和湿季的月降水进行制图。这5种插值方法分别是:克里金插值法、反距离加权法、样条法、混合插值法Ⅰ和混合插值法Ⅱ,前3种插值方法未考虑海拔高度对降水的影响,而混合插值法则将高程作为降水的重要影响因子。结果表明:①在干季,无论是丰水还是欠水年份,月降水量都比较少,高程对降水量的影响较小,在月降水插值时可不考虑高程的影响,克里金法的月降水插值精度最高。②在湿季,月降水量较多,高程的影响较大,混合插值法比局部插值法及克里金插值法的精度高,尤以混合插值法Ⅱ(多元回归和样条法的综合)的精度最高。③干季,整个高原的月降水很少,西部和北部降水最少,东部和南部相对较多;湿季,高原的月降水较多,空间格局表现为由东南向西北递减。