Variations and evolution of polyubiquitin genes from ciliates

Polyubiquitin genes from seven ciliate species were amplified, cloned and sequenced. It is estimated that Strombidium sulcatum, Euplotes vannus, E. rariseta and Anteholosticha manca have a polyubiquitin gene of 3 repeats, and A. parawarreni, Paramecium caudatum and Pseudokeronopsis flava 4 repeats. The newly obtained ubiquitins mostly differ from that of humans by 1–5 residues in amino acid sequences. A neighbor-joining tree constructed based on monomeric ubiquitin genes supports the monophyly of an assemblage comprising the litostomateans and some oligohymenophoreans, but not the class Spirotrichea. The monomers from the same species are generally placed together and highly supported for the class Litostomatea, the genera Paramecium and Ichthyophthirius, but not for other species. The non-synonymous/synonymous rate ratio (dN/dS) at the protein level are less than 1, and the synonymous nucleotide differences per synonymous site (p_S) from intraspecific comparisons are fairly high (0.02–0.72). These results indicate that ciliates have not only the conserved, but also some quite divergent, polyubiquitin genes and confirm that the polyubiquitin genes in ciliates evolve according to the birth-and-death mode of evolution under strong purifying selection.     

Morphology of three new marine Frontonia species (Ciliophora; Peniculida) with note on the phylogeny of this genus

Members of the ciliate genus Frontonia are common colonizers of periphytic communities in aquatic biotopes. Recent studies indicate that their species diversity is higher than previously supposed. In this study the morphology and infraciliature of three new species, Frontonia sinica spec. nov., F. pusilla spec. nov., and F. elegans spec. nov., isolated from coastal waters of China, were investigated using live observation and silver impregnation methods. Frontonia sinica differs from its congeners by the following combination of characters: ellipsoidal body, about 116 somatic and five or six vestibular kineties, peniculi 1 and 2 four-rowed, peniculus 3 two-rowed, and a single contractile vacuole. Frontonia pusilla has about 72 somatic kineties, four-rowed peniculi 1 and 2, a two-rowed peniculus 3, and two contractile vacuoles. Frontonia elegans has 73 somatic kineties, four-rowed peniculi 1 and 2, a three-rowed peniculus 3, and two contractile vacuoles. In the present work, six new small-subunit rRNA gene sequences of six Frontonia species are used to construct the phylogenetic trees. Our phylogenetic analysis supports that the genus Frontonia may be paraphyletic. Meanwhile, no pattern of correlation could be found between the structures of peniculi and the phylogenetic relationships of Frontonia species in the present study.     

Effects of learning experience on behaviour of the generalist parasitoid Sclerodermus pupariae to novel hosts

Massicus raddei Blessig (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), also referred to as the oak long‐horned beetle (OLB), is a non‐natural host for the generalist parasitoid Sclerodermus pupariae Yang et Yao (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae). To determine whether this generalist parasitoid might be a suitable agent for the control of OLB, the adaptive learning experience of adult female parasitoids to OLB larvae was investigated in the laboratory. A Y‐tube olfactometer bioassay was used to examine the effects of adaptive learning experience on the foraging ability of parasitoids for OLB larvae. The results indicated that parasitoids were significantly attracted by the volatiles of ash bark, Fraxinus velutina, with emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) larvae and larval frass, after exposure to ash bark mixed with EAB larval frass (learning condition A). In contrast, after exposure to oak bark, Quercus liaotungensis, mixed with OLB larval frass (learning condition C), parasitoids showed significant preference for the volatiles of oak bark with OLB larvae and larval frass. On the basis of the results of no‐choice tests, we found that parasitoids exposed to learning condition C had greater paralysis efficiency and higher OLB larvae parasitism rates than those exposed to learning condition A or no experience. Furthermore, parasitoids fed on OLB larvae in learning condition C had significantly greater paralysis efficiency and higher OLB larvae parasitism rates than other parasitoids tested. Parasitoids fed on EAB larvae in learning condition A had the lowest paralysis efficiency and OLB larvae parasitism rates among the parasitoids tested. These findings suggested that adaptive learning significantly enhanced the ability of a generalist parasitoid to utilize a novel host. This may provide a new approach to controlling non‐natural hosts using generalist parasitoids.     

Porcine skeletal muscle differentially expressed gene ATP5B: molecular characterization, expression patterns, and association analysis with meat quality traits

The 2-DE/MS-based proteomics approach was used to investigate the differences of porcine skeletal muscle, and ATP5B was identified as one differential expression protein. In the present study, ATP5B gene was further cloned by RT-PCR, the sequence was analyzed using the bioinformatics method, and the mRNA expression was detected by qRT-PCR. Sequence analysis showed that the porcine ATP5B gene contains an ORF encoding 528-amino-acid residues with 49 and 166 nucleotides in the 5′ and 3′ UTRs, respectively. The mRNA of ATP5B was widely expressed in all 14 tissues tested, but especially highly expressed in parorchis and fat. The expression pattern of ATP5B was similar in Large White and Meishan breeds, showing that the expression was upregulated by 3 days after birth and downregulated during postnatal development of skeletal muscle. Comparing the two breeds, the mRNA abundance of ATP5B in Large White was more highly expressed than in Meishan at all developmental stages (P < 0.05). Moreover, a synonymous mutation, G75A in exon 8, was identified and association analysis with the traits of meat quality showed that it was significantly associated with the RLF, FMP, IFR, IMF, and IMW (P < 0.05). These results suggested that ATP5B probably plays a key role in porcine skeletal muscle development and may provide further insight into the molecular mechanisms responsible for breed-specific differences in meat quality.     

南岳衡山藤本植物资源研究

根据野外调查,结合文献资料,对南岳衡山藤本植物的区系及其生态特征进行了初步的研究,结果表明:该区野生藤本植物共计59科129属282种(含变种),分别占该区维管植物科、属、种总数的29.35％、16.82％和15.60％.该区地里成分复杂,以热带性分布为主,温带成分亦占有较大比例,其中科、属以泛热带分布型最多,分别占科、属总数的38.98％和23.26％,而种以热带亚洲分布型最多,达25.89％,表明该区藤本植物区系是以热带性质为主的亚热带类型,同时也显示出该区藤本植物区系向温带渗透和过渡的性质;该区中国特有种丰富,共计106种,占种总数的37.59％,属华东区系,与华东、华中、华南及滇、黔、桂有着极密切的联系;该区藤本的生态分布是随着海拔的升高,温度的降低,藤本的种类与数量也相应地减少.树木和藤本无亲疏关系,未发现某些藤本偏爱某些树种胜于其他树种;在区系关系上,该区与康龙和庐山的关系最为密切,而与崀山和龙底的关系较为疏远.     

芦苇浆纳米纤维素超声法制备工艺优化及表征

以芦苇浆为原料,采用超声辅助硫酸水解法制备了纳米纤维素.在单因素实验的基础上,响应面法优化纳米纤维素制备工艺条件,结果表明最佳制备工艺条件为超声时间32 min,硫酸浓度52％,反应温度54℃,纳米纤维素得率最高(78.67％);通过傅里叶变换红外(FTIR)、X射线衍射和透射电子显微镜(TEM)对最佳工艺条件制备的纳米纤维素进行性能表征,分析表明最佳工艺条件制备的纳米纤维素聚集态结构为纤维素Ⅰ型,呈棒状.     

四川省二郎山常见被子植物资源和分布特征

二郎山国家森林公园海拔3 437 m.生态环境保护良好,植物种类繁多.为进一步了解二郎山常见被子植物种类,探讨植被的垂直地带性变化和坡向性变化,对二郎山植物进行野外实地调查取样,所采集的200余份标本进行鉴定分析,结果表明,四川二郎山常见被子植物184种,8变种,主要属蔷薇科、菊科、杜鹃花科、毛茛科等科.由于二郎山的特殊地理位置,其常见被子植物具有明显的垂直性变化和坡向性变化.     

Directional Modifications of Resibufogenin by Mucor subtilissimus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Directional modifications of resibufogenin 1 by Mucor subtilissimus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were carried out. The substrate was hydroxylated at C-12 by M. subtilissimus AS 3.2454, from which a major product 12-hydroxyresibufogenin 2 was obtained. Then product 2 was dehydrogenated by P. aeruginosa AS 1.860, which resulted in a new compound 12β-hydroxy-3-keto-resibufogenin 3.     

Synthesis of (R)-2-trimethylsilyl-2-hydroxyl-propionitrile catalyzed by (R)-hydroxynitrile lyase from Prunus japonica seed meal

Synthesis of (R)-2-trimethylsilyl-2-hydroxyl-propionitrile via asymmetric transcyanation of acetyltrimethylsilane with acetone cyanohydrin in an aqueous/organic biphasic system catalyzed by (R)-hydroxynitrile lyase from Prunus japonica seed meal was successfully carried out for the first time. The optimal volume ratio of aqueous to organic phase, buffer pH value and reaction temperature were 15% (v/v), 5.0 and 30°C, respectively, under which both substrate conversion and product enantiomeric excess (ee) were 99%. Silicon atom in the substrate showed great effect on the reaction. Acetyltrimethylsilane was a much better substrate for (R)-hydroxynitrile lyase from Prunus japonica than its carbon analogue.