Exposure of Gambian children to Anopheles gambiae malaria vectors in an irrigated rice production area

Abstract. Variation in exposure of children to malaria vectors of the Anopheles gambiae complex was recorded in a Gambian village situated near an irrigated area of rice cultivation. Observations were made in 1987 and 1988 during two dry seasons, when pumped water was used to grow rice, and two rainy seasons, when rice was produced using a combination of irrigated and rainfed paddies. Routine collections of mosquitoes were made from under bednets. Most of these specimens were assumed to have fed on the occupants of the net and thus represented a crude measure of exposure to malaria. Most nets in the village were in good condition, but even these were a poor defence against blood-seeking mosquitoes. Two annual peaks in the numbers of An. gambiae s.l. corresponded with the irrigation of rice paddies in the dry and wet seasons. When there were few vectors in the village the frequency distribution of mosquitoes caught under nets was described best by a Poisson process. When high numbers were present the daily distributions were over-dispersed and fitted a negative binomial model. The spatial distribution of mosquitoes varied between dry and wet seasons and was related to the predominant wind direction at night, suggesting that wind assisted the dispersal of mosquitoes from their breeding sites. For individual children in the rainy season, increased exposure to malaria vectors was associated with living adjacent to a mosquito breeding site, being resident in larger compounds, having open eaves in the house, a store-room adjacent to the bedroom, the absence of a ceiling in the bedroom, the absence of wood smoke indoors and leaving the bednet untucked at night. In the dry season a high level of exposure was associated with living close to a mosquito breeding site, having an unfenced compound, sleeping in a room without a ceiling and using insecticide aerosols. These observations demonstrate that within a village there are systematic and persistent differences in the level of exposure to malaria parasites experienced by individual children.     

粳稻龙锦1号/香软米1578杂交组合F_5家系群糙米总花色苷含量变异及相关性分析

随着环境污染加剧和人们对自身健康关注度的提高,功能性食品在全球范围内蓬勃发展。彩色稻米作为稻米家族中的一员,由于富含微量元素、花色苷、生物碱等功能性成分,已成为当前功能性食品研究开发的热点之一。本研究利用粳稻品种龙锦1号/香软米1578杂交组合214个F_5家系,对水稻糙米总花色苷含量、粒色等级和千粒重的变异及其相关性进行了分析。糙米粒色等级变异范围为1~9,平均值为4.98,变异系数为57.87%;糙米总花色苷含量变异范围为0~5459.34 mg/kg,平均值为834.47 mg/kg,变异系数为191.96%;糙米千粒重变异范围为11.96~26.24 g,平均值为17.75 g,变异系数为12.89%。糙米总花色苷含量、粒色等级和千粒重在F5家系中不符合正态分布,表现为右偏态,其中糙米总花色苷含量的偏斜程度最大。糙米总花色苷含量和千粒重的峰度系数为正值,表明为尖顶峰;而糙米粒色等级的峰度系数为负值,表明为平顶峰。糙米总花色苷含量与粒色等级呈极显著正相关,相关系数为0.69;糙米总花色苷含量、粒色等级均与千粒重呈极显著负相关,相关系数分别为-0.20和-0.34。与高亲龙锦1号相比,27个家系的糙米总花色苷含量极显著提高,占214个F_5家系的12.62%,为高花色苷水稻种质创新奠定了基础。     

Single-nucleus sequencing deciphers developmental trajectories in rice pistils

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Modelling and analyzing density-dependent population processes: Comparison between wild and laboratory strains of the bean weevil,Callosobruchus chinensis (L.)

Three models were constructed for analyzing the population characteristics ofC. chinensis on stored beans; model A describing the whole reproductive process with a single equation, model B describing the three age-specific processes (oviposition, egg survival and larval survival) with separate equations, and model C which describes all these processes not for the whole habitat but for the individual beans comprizing it. The logit equation was employed here as a common basis to describe the density-response relationship involved. All three models showed very good fit to the experimental data obtained for both laboratory and wild strains of the weevil. The parameter values characterizing the population dynamics were, however, widely different between the two strains; the laboratory one which had been reared for some 500 generations showed significantly higher reproductive capacity, less sensitive and gentler response to crowding in both adult and egg stages, and more uniform egg distribution among individual beans, as compared with the wild strain newly introduced. Sensitivity analyses using these models suggested that these changes in population characteristics have been attained by the process of domestication or adaptation to stable laboratory conditions through a long period of time. This process seemed in effect to have optimized the population's performances in the laboratory environment. Evolutionary significance of such optimization was discussed with reference to the selection pressure which may have acted upon individuals.     

非生物胁迫影响水稻颖花育性机理的研究进展

本文从颖花发育的形态学和生理学角度,综述了水稻穗分化期至抽穗开花期非生物胁迫导致颖花不育的机理,旨在揭示非生物胁迫导致水稻颖花败育的关键过程及其内在联系.颖花是否可育主要与绒毡层细胞行为、花药开裂与散粉、花粉萌发、受精4个关键过程有关,胁迫通过影响这些关键过程,导致颖花不育.花药发育早期异常变化影响生殖细胞发育与授粉作用.可以通过喷施外源物质或增施硅肥等方法减缓非生物胁迫对颖花育性的伤害.今后需要加强交叉胁迫对颖花育性的影响、不同胁迫对花器官形态结构和生理特性的影响、不同水稻品种对胁迫的响应差异,以及胁迫影响花器官发育的分子生物学机制等方面的研究.     

Development and evaluation of Trichoderma asperellum preparation for control of sheath blight of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Sheath blight, which is caused by Rhizoctonia solani, is a disease that majorly impacts rice production. A biocontrol agent used for control rice sheath blight must be sprayed on the stem at specific times during rice growth, a process that is labour-intensive and renders the antagonist vulnerable to environmental factors. In this study, Trichoderma asperellum T12 was used to produce preparation by solid-state fermentation using a surface-response method. Rice hull was selected as a carrier based on its ability to sustain the T12 floating in the water and protect T12 from ultraviolet irradiation. The production of a T12-based preparation required 32% wheat bran, 7% inoculum, 2.3 g kg^?1 (NH₄)₂SO₄ and 65% water content, with fermentation at 27.5°C for 30 days and agitation every six days. The preparation demonstrated 90% biocontrol efficacy and significantly (P > 0.05) increased the seed-set rate and 1000-grain weight as compared with the pathogen treatment. The population of Trichoderma on the surface of rice leaf sheath in the treatment applied with T12 preparation increased from 232 cfu (colony forming units) g^?1 fw (fresh weight) to 436 cfu g^?1 fw during rice growth stage, which was significantly (P > 0.05) higher than pathogen treatment. The population of R. solani on the leaf sheath increased from 41 cfu g^?1 fw to 271 cfu g^?1 fw in the pathogen treatment, while remained stable (P > 0.05) at level of 10–23 cfu g^?1 fw in T12 preparation applied treatment. Biocontrol of sheath blight by the addition of the preparation to the soil is effective and decreases the costs of agro-industrial waste disposal.     

稻株上拮抗细菌的定殖及其对土著细菌的影响

在温室条件下,通过分批播种、接种纹枯病菌Rhizoctonia solani,以及在水稻分孽盛期喷雾拮抗细菌Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf7-14 (天然的抗萘啶酮酸菌株) 和B5423-R(Bacillus subtilis B5423的利福平抗性突变体)的菌悬浮液,并通过定期取样,平板系列稀释法回收,测定了菌株Pf7-14、B5423-R和土著细菌群体在水稻健株和纹枯病株上的种群数量,所获结果如下:①当相同的浓度(约2.0×108cfu/ml)的菌悬浮液喷雾到叶片时,菌株Pf7-14定殖的时间比菌株B5423-R长,且在相同的时间内,菌株Pf7-14的平均群体数量高于菌株B5423-R;②在健康的水稻茎部,菌株Pf7-14的两个高、低不同浓度处理的平均群体数量均表现出随时间降低的趋势;相比,较低浓度(4.0×107cfu/ml)的B5423-R在茎部的平均群体数量随着时间的下降,而较高浓度(2.0×108cfu/ml)的B5423-R的平均群体数量在水稻乳熟至黄熟期保持稳定或略有增长;③当病斑面积占取样茎面积的比率为20%～35%时,在应用1和14d后菌株Pf7-14在健茎的平均群体数量分别是病茎的6倍多和2倍多,差异均达到显著性的水平(P=0.05),而菌株B5423-R 在应用1d后病茎的数量比在健茎显著性地低大约1倍,但在7～14d后,病茎的数量比在健茎显著性地高5～6倍,群体在病茎表现出相对的增长;④土著细菌群体在病斑茎部是健茎的6～7倍.这些结果表明两类拮抗细菌有着明显不同的定殖习性,在病斑上B5423比Pf7-14具有更强的竞争能力,是一类更好的生防制剂;同时表明引入的拮抗细菌同土著细菌群体在营养和空间上竞争激烈,且土著细菌群体更具有竞争优势.