豇豆螺旋茎段维管组织观察及其成因分析

豇豆(Vigna unguiculata Linn.)的茎缠绕支持物形成右手螺旋,其茎段经水浸泡去表皮后可见维管纤维沿茎轴方向呈左手螺旋状排列.用徒手切片法观察螺旋型和直线型茎段各节间中部的横切面,发现二者木质部导管分子均由内至外呈对称的扇形排列;螺旋型茎段各节间扇形的角度均显著小于直线型茎段对应节间的扇形角度(p＜0.05);除第1节间外,螺旋型茎段各节间扇形纵横比均显著大于直线型茎段对应节间的扇形纵横比(p＜0.05).分析表明,茎的两种螺旋之间存在扭力平衡;螺旋型与直线型茎段横切面导管分子扇形排列的差异可能是茎段扭转过程中受挤压所致.此外,茎段扭转并不是细胞横向不对称扩张的结果,而可能是由各侧细胞不均衡的纵向生长所造成.     

Production of triploid plants of papaya by endosperm culture

Triploid papaya (Carica papaya) plants were obtained by immature endosperm culture. Visible callusing of the endosperm occurred 21 days after initiation of cultures. A continuously growing callus was observed and a maximum of 68.7% of callus induction frequency was obtained when immature endosperm with embryo was cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 6.0 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 2.5 μM α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 4.0 μM 6-furfurylamino purine (Kn). Shoot buds were produced when the callus was subcultured on a medium supplemented with 6-benzyladenine (BA) or thidiazuron (TDZ) along with NAA. Shoots were detached from the callus and transferred to the elongation medium supplemented with indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and BA. The combination of 3.0 μM IAA and 1.5 μM BA was the best in terms of the number of cultures (93.8%) showing axillary shoot proliferation. The addition of 2.0 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) to the 1/2 MS medium was most effective at inducing root formation with 90% of the shoots developing four to five roots. Healthy rooted plantlets were transferred to pots containing sterilized bed soil and perlite (3:1) mixture in the greenhouse and 78% of the micropropagated plants survived transplantation. The leaves from endosperm-derived plants showed larger stomata and more chloroplasts in guard cells than that from the parent plants. Over 75% of the endosperm-derived plants were triploid with chromosome number 2n = 3x = 27.     

Eucommia (Eucommiaceae), a potential biothermometer for the reconstruction of paleoenvironments

The living trees of Eucommia ulmoides, an endemic species in China, grow from 200 to 1700 m above sea level, within the geographic range from 102° E to 118° E and from 25° N to 35° N. Spring temperatures in these regions vary from 12.3°C to 20.1°C. A physiological study (using germination tests) of E. ulmoides has been undertaken to test the role of spring temperature as a factor controlling the distribution of Eucommia. Results show that the spring temperature is a limiting factor for Eucommia seed germination and hence for the distribution pattern of the genus. The suitable range of temperature for seed germination, established experimentally, is from 13°C to 22°C, with an optimum of 18°C. Specimens of fossil Eucommia cf. ulmoides, preserved as a branch segment and leaves, showing the distinctive latex, were found in Middle Miocene sediments of Shanwang Formation, Shandong Province, East China. If the climatic tolerances documented here for E. ulmoides are extrapolated to Shanwang, they are in fact consistent with other predictions of the paleoclimate at this site, indicative of the potential value of Eucommia as a biothermometer. These Miocene fossils, and one previously described Eocene fruit specimen, prove the former existence of Eucommia in China in addition to North America and Europe. This confirms that the genus is not a recent arrival in China and extends our understanding of the past biogeography of the genus.     

Climatic reconstruction at the Miocene Shanwang basin, China, using leaf margin analysis, CLAMP, coexistence approach, and overlapping distribution analysis

The reconstruction of the climate in the Miocene Shanwang basin is an important link in understanding past climate and environmental changes in East Asia. A recent study showed that the mean annual temperature (MAT) estimates derived from leaf margin analysis (LMA) and the Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP) conflicted with and were remarkably lower than those estimated by the coexistence approach (CA). Overlapping distribution analysis (ODA), a new method introduced here, is used to reconstruct the Shanwang Miocene climate based explicitly on local plant distribution data and associated meteorological stations. The Shanwang flora (17-15.2 Ma) suggests a MAT of 10.9-14.5°C and a mean annual precipitation (MAP) of 1107.3-1880.0 mm. This result is closer to the values derived from CLAMP and LMA than that obtained by CA. This report is the first comprehensive intercomparison of foliar physiognomic and nearest living relative climate proxies in a Chinese context and provides important cross validation of results.     

Climate Analysis of Endemic Species-A Novel Method for Quantitative Analysis of Global Climate Change Since Tertiary

There are many extant endemic plants in China, which were widely distributed in the North Hemisphere during Tertiary. The global cooling during the Tertiary caused a series of narrow distribution regions of the plants. Quaternary glaciation invaded most regions of North America and Eurasia where severe destruction was imposed onto vegetation. However, such destruction was lessened in China largely because of specific topographic and geographical and obviously, a number of other conditions accounted for an unusual refugee camp for the relics of plants in China, among which lots of endemic taxa exist. Recently, Chinese endemic species, such as Metaseqouia, Eucommia , have been employed to conduct multi-disciplinary comprehensive studies so as to analyze Tertiary climate changes quantitatively. Meanwhile, a rigorous method, i.e. climate analysis of endemic species (CAES) has come to maturation. This method is characteristic of some generality because it is supposed to be applicable to the endemic species in other regions of the world. CAES is involved in the following aspects: 1. Conduct multidisciplinary studies on living and fossil species of endemic plants and trace their evolutionary courses. 2. Compare fossil species with living one and clarify which is the nearest living relative (NLR) to fossil counterpart. 3. Fossils and their living counterparts (NLR) are supposed to have similar ecological requirements to meet their life cycles. 4. Investigate the geographic distribution of living and fossil plants within the same taxa and ascertain the dynamic changes of their distributions in geological age. 5. Analyze climate factors in the distribution of specific endemic taxa and obtain the data of climatic characters which are suitable for reconstruction of paleoclimate where fossil counterparts lived. 6. Further study the physio-ecology of living species and determinate paleoclimate where fossil counterparts lived. 7. Integrate analysis of the data from steps 4, 5 and 6, and quantitatively reconstruct the climate where fossil and living plants survive.     

秋水仙素诱导牛蒡多倍体

用种子处理法,以秋水仙素作为诱导剂,获得了牛蒡的同源四倍体(2n=4x=72),同时还得到了一些八倍体(2n=8x=144)和非整倍体植株.     

基于FFPE组织切片的膀胱癌N-连接糖链原位酶解及分析

目的 研究膀胱癌FFPE组织切片的N-连接糖链,发现膀胱癌FFPE肿瘤组织的异常N-连接糖链修饰情况。方法 发展基于FFPE组织切片原位提取N-连接糖链的实验流程。通过PNGase F酶切FFPE组织解释放N-连接糖链。对N-连接糖链自由端进行全甲基化修饰。通过MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS检测N-连接糖链的相对含量。进行数据库匹配,确定N-连接糖链的可能糖型。ROC分析用于预测显著差异N-连接糖链作为预测膀胱癌生物标志物的准确度。结果 MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS检测泛甲基化修饰N-连接糖链的数据显示,在16例膀胱癌患者的肿瘤和癌旁组织的3次重复实验中,肿瘤组织中蛋白质高甘露糖型N2H6、N2H7、N2H8、N2H9和复杂型N5H6F1糖链修饰水平显著上升,同时高甘露糖型N2H5、杂合型N3H5以及复杂型N3H4、N4H4、N5H6F1S2糖链修饰水平显著下降。ROC分析显示,双天线型N-连接糖链N3H4（AUC=0.90）和N4H4（AUC=0.91）在单独或者共同区分膀胱癌患者肿瘤组织和癌旁组织中都具有很好的可靠性,可能成为膀胱癌的潜在生物标志物。结论 膀胱癌FFPE肿瘤组织中存在蛋白质异常N-糖基化修饰,N-连接糖链N3H4和N4H4或可成为膀胱癌的潜在生物标志物。     

Taxonomical revision of “Arctonyx” fossil remains from the Liucheng Gigantopithecus Cave (South China) by means of morphotype and morphometrics,and a review of Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene Meles fossil records in China

“Arctonyx” fossil remains from the Liucheng Gigantopithecus Cave, Guangxi, are redescribed and analysed in details. Detailed tooth character differences between Arctonyx and Meles are analysed. It is shown that materials from the Liucheng Gigantopithecus Cave actually belong to two species of Meles: Meles minor and Meles magnus n. sp. At the same time, a review of Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene Meles records in China is made. During Late Pliocene, Meles are only represented by M. chiai and one archaic form. During Early Pleistocene, Meles from northern and central part of China are represented by two nearly sympatric species Meles chiai and Meles teihardi. Meles from South China are represented by M. minor and M. magnus n. sp., though the distribution of the two species is still unclear. M. magnus n. sp. is so far only known from the Liucheng Gigantopithecus Cave, whereas M. minor is probably also known from Longgupo, Chongqing in the central part of China besides Liucheng. Great diversity of Meles in Early Pleistocene in China indicates that the genus radiated earlier than previously thought. Phylogenetic analysis suggests M. magnus n. sp. is sister group to living M. leucurus, whereas M. minor and M. chiai are early branches in Meles evolution.     

Information in morphological characters

The construction of morphological character matrices is central to paleontological systematic study, which extracts paleontological information from fossils. Although the word information has been repeatedly mentioned in a wide array of paleontological systematic studies, its meaning has rarely been clarified nor specifically defined. It is important, however, to establish a standard to measure paleontological information because fossils are hardly complete, rendering the recognition of homologous and homoplastic structures difficult. Here, based on information theory, we show the deep connections between paleontological systematic study and communication system engineering. Information is defined as the decrease of uncertainty and it is the information in morphological characters that allows distinguishing operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and reconstructing evolutionary history. We propose that concepts in communication system engineering such as source coding and channel coding, correspond to the construction of diagnostic features and the entire character matrices in paleontological studies. The two coding strategies should be distinguished following typical communication system engineering, because they serve dual purposes. With character matrices from six different vertebrate groups, we analyzed their information properties including source entropy, mutual information, and channel capacity. Estimation of channel capacity shows character saturation of all matrices in transmitting paleontological information, indicating that, due to the presence of noise, oversampling characters not only increases the burden in character scoring, but also may decrease quality of matrices. We further test the use of information entropy, which measures how informative a variable is, as a character weighting criterion in parsimony‐based systematic studies. The results show high consistency with existing knowledge with both good resolution and interpretability.     

植物对环境的响应——定量重建古气候的研究进展

生物演化的本质是生物遗传物质与外部环境的辩证统一。一方面,植物和环境的协调发展推动植物界自身的演化;另一方面,外部环境的改变在植物的形态结构、生理功能、繁衍机理,以至最终在遗传物质上留下痕迹,这就是植物对环境的响应。从长时间尺度上（可以达到上亿年）研究植物界的发生发展,是一个探讨和理解植物起源与演化的生命科学问题,也是从宏观角度认识生物演化和全球变化的相关关系的环境科学问题。目前,国际上对全球环境变化的研究,正在加大研究的时间尺度和提高研究的精确程度,即在距今百万年至数千万年,甚至更长的时间范围内,从定性到定量的研究和理解全球变化的过程、规律和机制,以便更有效地预测气候的未来变化。本文介绍了最近10年里,采用特有种气候分析法、共存分析法、叶相分析法、植物气孔参数与古大气CO2浓度变化的相关性,定量研究古环境和古气候方面所取得的进展。