Phenotypic variation and performance of diploid subspecies of Dactylis glomerata L.

Dactylis glomerata L. is one of the best known examples of a polyploid complex that includes diploid (2n = 14), tetraploid (2n = 28) and hexaploid (2n = 42) types. The diploids, descending from the ancestors of the genus, are numerous, distinct forms adapted to specific environments and include all the morphological variation and ecological adaptation found in Dactylis. The objective of the present study was to shed more light on the differentiation of diploids and to obtain information for better exploiting the genetic resources of this species. To this end we carried out a discriminant analysis in the most widespread diploid subspecies based on a large number of morpho-physiological traits. We found that some characteristics, such as time to heading, time to flowering, vegetative regrowth, plant height and seed shattering are the most discriminant and enabled us to realize a more exact differentiation of the diploids with respect to the morphological criterion generally adopted. The results demonstrated that diploid taxa offer an interesting combination of relevant agronomical and ecological characteristics which could be useful in breeding programs to promote the use of this species in sustainable agriculture systems. We also performed cytological investigations and defined a general karyotype representative of the diploid Dactylis considered in this study.     

Passerines may be sufficiently plastic to track temperature‐mediated shifts in optimum lay date

Projecting the fates of populations under climate change is one of global change biology's foremost challenges. Here, we seek to identify the contributions that temperature‐mediated local adaptation and plasticity make to spatial variation in nesting phenology, a phenotypic trait showing strong responses to warming. We apply a mixed modeling framework to a Britain‐wide spatiotemporal dataset comprising >100 000 records of first egg dates from four single‐brooded passerine bird species. The average temperature during a specific time period (sliding window) strongly predicts spatiotemporal variation in lay date. All four species exhibit phenological plasticity, advancing lay date by 2–5 days °C^?1. The initiation of this sliding window is delayed further north, which may be a response to a photoperiod threshold. Using clinal trends in phenology and temperature, we are able to estimate the temperature sensitivity of selection on lay date (B), but our estimates are highly sensitive to the temporal position of the sliding window. If the sliding window is of fixed duration with a start date determined by photoperiod, we find B is tracked by phenotypic plasticity. If, instead, we allow the start and duration of the sliding window to change with latitude, we find plasticity does not track B, although in this case, at odds with theoretical expectations, our estimates of B differ across latitude vs. longitude. We argue that a model combining photoperiod and mean temperature is most consistent with current understanding of phenological cues in passerines, the results from which suggest that each species could respond to projected increases in spring temperatures through plasticity alone. However, our estimates of B require further validation.     

Experimental evolution of the grain of metabolic specialization in yeast

Adaptation to any given environment may be accompanied by a cost in terms of reduced growth in the ancestral or some alternative environment. Ecologists explain the cost of adaptation through the concept of a trade‐off, by which gaining a new trait involves losing another trait. Two mechanisms have been invoked to explain the evolution of trade‐offs in ecological systems, mutational degradation, and functional interference. Mutational degradation occurs when a gene coding a specific trait is not under selection in the resident environment; therefore, it may be degraded through the accumulation of mutations that are neutral in the resident environment but deleterious in an alternative environment. Functional interference evolves if the gene or a set of genes have antagonistic effects in two or more ecologically different traits. Both mechanisms pertain to a situation where the selection and the alternative environments are ecologically different. To test this hypothesis, we conducted an experiment in which 12 experimental populations of wild yeast were each grown in a minimal medium supplemented with a single substrate. We chose 12 different carbon substrates that were metabolized through similar and different pathways in order to represent a wide range of ecological conditions. We found no evidence for trade‐offs between substrates on the same pathway. The indirect response of substrates on other pathways, however, was consistently negative, with little correlation between the direct and indirect responses. We conclude that the grain of specialization in this case is the metabolic pathway and that specialization appears to evolve through mutational degradation.     

60份豇豆品种资源的耐盐能力评判

运用《豇豆基因型耐盐能力技术鉴定方法》(专利号ZL200810048423.5),对60份豇豆品种的耐盐能力进行了鉴定评判。试验材料经苗期培养和盐胁迫处理后,分别测定处理组和对照组的植株叶片叶绿素含量、过氧化氢酶活性、可溶性蛋白质含量、细胞伤害率以及单株鲜重等指标并计算其SRI值,运用专利技术的预测模型,得出各品种耐盐综合评价值(D值)。依据评判标准,紫魁、玉农农家宝特优、抗病芦花等11个品种的综合评价值D≥0.68,归为盐耐受型品种;之豇14、白皮、矮紫尾青等8个品种的综合评价值D≤0.48,归为盐敏感型品种;其余41个品种的D值介于0.48~0.68之间,属于中度耐盐品种。本研究结果扩大了豇豆种质耐盐能力鉴定评判份数,丰富了耐盐种质鉴定信息。     

贵州少数民族地区作物稀有种质资源和野生近缘植物

"贵州农业生物资源调查"项目于2012-2014年已对贵州省21个县(市)进行了系统调查。系统调查的21个县(市)均有少数民族集居,各民族有不同的传统文化和生活习俗,在世代相传中赋予了当地作物种质资源丰富的民族文化内涵。并且,当地的地形地貌复杂,气候类型多样。正因为这种多样的自然条件和各异的民族文化,造就了这里丰富的作物稀有种质资源和野生近缘植物。本次调查获得的作物稀有种质资源和野生近缘植物,对作物的分类研究和新品种选育以及商业开发,将会有一定的利用价值。     

平榛种质资源坚果农艺性状鉴定与评价研究

平榛是我国重要的榛属植物资源,为鉴定、评价和保护平榛种质资源,提高其利用效率,采用主成分分析和聚类分析方法对99份平榛种质资源坚果的主要农艺性状进行了鉴定和综合评价。结果表明:平榛种质资源坚果的24个性状具有丰富的遗传多样性;10个数量性状的主成分分析确定了4类影响因子,反映了育种选择方向及潜力;基于各种质间形态性状的遗传差异,将99份平榛种质划分为5大类群,第Ⅰ类群可作为选育果面光滑品种的育种和候选亲本材料,第Ⅱ类群可作为选育大粒型、适宜机械化加工的育种和候选亲本材料,第Ⅲ类群具有作为市场产品的潜力,第Ⅳ类群可作为选育圆形、果面无条纹的育种和候选亲本材料,第Ⅴ类群可作为选育高丰产性品种的育种和候选亲本材料。上述研究为平榛种质资源的评价、保护和选优工作提供了基础数据。     

甜荞种质资源创新方法的研究

甜荞是异花授粉作物,自然界中的甜荞种质资源多存在生物学混杂现象。每份甜荞种质资源可以分化出若干份新的遗传资源类型,其遗传背景复杂。简化甜荞种质资源的遗传背景,准确描述新品种的亲子代关系和遗传背景一直是世界荞麦工作者面对的技术难题。甜荞种质资源的繁育需要采取隔离措施,实施过程中需要考虑甜荞花粉粒大小、甜荞授粉机制、访问昆虫种类以及种子量多少等。为解决上述问题,本研究建立了以隔离杂交圃、隔离单繁圃、隔离扩繁圃、隔离比较圃和田间试验圃的荞麦繁育新方法——"五圃法",以期开发出不同类型的新的荞麦资源,在育种中可针对性的配制强优势组合,为新品种选育提供种质材料。     

Is bigger better? Male body size affects wing‐borne courtship signals and mating success in the olive fruit fly,Bactrocera oleae (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Variations in male body size are known to affect inter‐ and intrasexual selection outcomes in a wide range of animals. In mating systems involving sexual signaling before mating, body size often acts as a key factor affecting signal strength and mate choice. We evaluated the effect of male size on courtship displays and mating success of the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Diptera: Tephritidae). Wing vibrations performed during successful and unsuccessful courtships by large and small males were recorded by high‐speed videos and analyzed through frame‐by‐frame analysis. Mating success of large and small males was investigated. The effect of male–male competition on mating success was evaluated. Male body size affected both male courtship signals and mating outcomes. Successful males showed wing‐borne signals with high frequencies and short interpulse intervals. Wing vibrations displayed by successful large males during copulation attempt had higher frequencies over smaller males and unsuccessful large males. In no‐competition conditions, large males achieved higher mating success with respect to smaller ones. Allowing large and small males to compete for a female, large males achieve more mating success over smaller ones. Mate choice by females may be based on selection of the larger males, able to produce high‐frequency wing vibrations. Such traits may be indicative of “good genes,” which under sexual selection could means good social‐interaction genes, or a good competitive manipulator of conspecifics.     

灾难之殇：负向外生冲击的教育损失——以1976年唐山大地震为例

文章使用2005年全国1%人口抽样调查数据,运用双重差分（DiD）模型和工具变量下的局部平均处理效应（LATE-IV）方法,研究了唐山大地震对个体受教育水平和在劳动力市场中表现的影响。研究发现,唐山大地震使得个体受教育年限减少0.14-0.21年,可看作地震的短期教育损失;此外,唐山大地震使得个体受教育年限的减少进而带来的收入损失约为3.51%-4.77%,带来的人力资本损失约占2005年唐山地区生产总值的0.30%-0.41%,可看作地震的长期教育损失。     

Texas Latino College Student Attitudes Toward Natural Resources and the Environment

Abstract: Latinos in the United States are an increasing segment of the population and are becoming important stakeholders in the management of natural resources. Although Latinos have been included in attitudinal research on environmental concerns, few studies have focused exclusively on Latino attitudes toward natural resources and the environment. We surveyed Texas college and university students of Mexican descent (n = 635) to determine their environmental concerns. Using the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP), we determined an environmental concern score for each respondent and compared this index to several demographic variables. We found that gender, a political candidate's environmental position, mother's education, combined parental income, and, to a lesser degree, the number of grandparents born in the United States and religiosity (church attendance), were important model variables. We hypothesized that acculturation would be an important factor in predicting NEP scores; however, acculturation level was not an important predictor in our study, which we attribute to both the nature of our sample (i.e., highly acculturated college students) and small sample sizes of less-acculturated college students. We recommend that future research consider determining the importance of acculturation in Latino attitudes toward natural resources and the environment.