原发不育症子宫内膜花生凝集素受体的研究

本文以PNA(花生凝集素)为探针,应用ABC亲和组化技术,对69例原发不育症患者的子宫内膜PNA受体进行了检测.结果表明,原发不育症子宫内膜的增生期、分泌期PNA受体的阳性率均显著低于年龄相似、有生育史的对照组子宫内膜的阳性率.不育症子宫内膜分泌欠佳的PNA受体阳性率显著低于不育症分泌期不同时期子宫内膜的阳性率.提示,这种差异可能与雌孕激素对两组子宫内膜作用水平的不同引起.     

Effects of Exogenous Application of GA4+7 and NAA on Sugar Accumulation and Related Gene Expression in Peach Fruits During Developing and Ripening Stages

Sweetness is one of the key factors determining peach fruit quality. To better understand the molecular basis of gibberellic acid (GA) and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) interference with sugar biosynthesis, a middle-late maturing commercial cultivar, ‘Jinxiu’ yellow peach fruit, was treated with three different concentrations of GA₄₊₇ and four of NAA. Fruit weight, firmness, total soluble solids, different sugar contents and the expression level of sugar-related genes were evaluated. The results showed that maximum increase in cv. ‘Jinxiu’ peach fruit size and sucrose content was with 1.25 mM GA₄₊₇, compared to control fruits and the other treatments during the ripening stages. The sucrose-phosphate synthase gene (PpSPS₂) which had a high level of expression and positive correlation with sucrose content was significantly regulated by 1.25 mM GA₄₊₇ in the final ripening stages. 0.5 mM NAA treatments significantly reduced the sucrose content and fruit size. Ninety percent of the fruits were deformed or dropped from the trees with treatments of 1 mM NAA and 2 mM NAA in the early development period. The crosstalk of different phytohormones and the related genes will be further investigated to get an insight into the inherent association between hormone control and sugar accumulation.

     

Consumer-driven nutrient release to the water by a small omnivorous fish enhanced ramet production but reduced the growth rate of the submerged macrophyte Vallisneria denseserrulata (Makino) Makino

Small fish are highly associated with submerged macrophytes but may potentially hamper their growth due to nutrient excretion that stimulate growth of phytoplankton and periphyton growth. We conducted a mesocosm experiment to elucidate the effects of the small omnivore Chinese bitterling Acheilognathus macropterus on the growth of phytoplankton, periphyton and the submerged macrophyte Vallisneria denseserrulata. The treatments were fishless as well as low (LF) and high (HF) fish density. We found that the concentrations of nutrients and the phytoplankton biomass increased substantially in both fish treatments, leading to a significantly higher light attenuation compared with the control. Moreover, bitterling substantially enhanced the biomass of periphyton on plant leaves. Consequently, the relative growth rate (RGR) of V. denseserrulata was significantly suppressed in HF, while RGR in the LF treatment did not differ significantly from the controls. However, the bitterling also stimulated the ramet production of V. denseserrulata, significantly. Our results indicate that Chinese bitterling reduce the RGR of V. denseserrulata under high fish density condition. Therefore, the density of Chinese bitterling should be kept low in order to reduce the negative effects of the fish on the RGR of submerged macrophytes (e.g. V. denseserrulata), when restoring lakes by plant transplantation.

     

Restoration of a subtropical eutrophic shallow lake in China: effects on nutrient concentrations and biological communities

Disturbances caused by rainfall are common in streams with the impact on stream inhabitants determined by the frequency, intensity, and predictability of the event. Here, we examine the response of winter-emerging Chironomidae (Diptera) to extreme flooding disturbance. In August of 2007, a severe flood impacted southeastern Minnesota, imparting stress on aquatic communities. Chironomid pupal exuviae collections were obtained biweekly from 18 southeast Minnesota streams during the following winter to assess resistance and resilience of winter-active chironomids to flooding. Streams examined were divided into moderate (2.5–10 cm), heavy (10–20 cm), or extreme (20+ cm) rainfall categories with rainfall amounts in each category representing total precipitation during the 3-day storm. Post-flood samples were compared to samples obtained from the same localities during prior winters. Our findings contradict studies of responses by Chironomidae to flooding during warmer-water conditions and show that winter-emerging Chironomidae are resistant to stress imposed by summer spates. Significantly more taxa emerged during winter after flooding as compared to historic collections, and the number of species emerging in winter was positively correlated with rainfall severity, indicating that 15 species responded opportunistically to disturbance. This indicates that winter-active Chironomidae may be resistant to increased severity of summer spates associated with climate change predictions.     

The fate of cyanobacterial detritus in the food web of Lake Taihu: a mesocosm study using 13C and 15N labeling

The ecosystem of the highly eutrophic Lake Taihu (China) is seriously affected by recurrent cyanobacterial blooms, but little is known about the contribution made by cyanobacteria to the food web. In this study, we investigated the fate of detritus of the cyanobacterium Microcystis in the food web of Lake Taihu through a 19-day mesocosm experiment using stable-isotopic tracers of carbon (¹³C) and nitrogen (¹⁵N). ¹³C- and ¹⁵N-labeled Microcystis detritus was added to the mesocosm tanks and tracked through different elements of the food web. We found clear enrichment with both ¹³C and ¹⁵N in some zooplankton species, including Daphnia, Diaphanosoma, and Sinocalanus, which suggests that these zooplankters can utilize cyanobacterial detritus as a food source. Benthic animals, chironomid larvae and Limnodrilus, also showed pronounced increases in ¹³C and ¹⁵N, but the isotope increase was relatively smaller in the gastropods, Radix sp. and Bellamya sp., implying that they either exploited this food source differently or responded slower than the zooplankton, which apparently grew faster than the snails. Our study suggests that cyanobacterial detritus, originating almost wholly from the bloom-forming Microcystis, is an important food source for both planktonic and benthic food webs in eutrophic lakes such as Lake Taihu.     

The effect of benthic algae on phosphorus exchange between sediment and overlying water in shallow lakes: a microcosm study using 32P as a tracer

Sediments are of key importance in determining the nutrient levels of water in shallow lakes as they can act as either source or sink for phosphorus (P) depending on environmental conditions, sediment characteristics, and external nutrient loading. We examined the role of benthic algae in the P cycling between sediment and overlying water in experiments using ³²P as a tracer. Sediment and water samples were collected from Huizhou West Lake, a shallow, eutrophic waterbody located in Huizhou City, South China. Laboratory cultured benthic algae were transferred to cover the sediment core in tubes. When ³²P was added to the water in experimental tubes containing sediment cores with and without benthic algae, ³²P activity after 48 h was significantly lower in the tubes with algae, indicating that benthic algae removed P from the overlying water. When the tracer was injected into the sediment, ³²P activity in the water overlying sediment with benthic algae was substantially lower than in tubes with naked sediment, suggesting that benthic algae reduce the release of sediment P. Oxygen levels were significantly higher in the upper 3 mm of the sediments covered by benthic algae; thus, we hypothesized that oxygen produced by the algae helps inhibit the release of P from the sediment. Our study demonstrates that benthic algae are capable of reducing P levels in water overlying the sediment, suggesting that loss of benthic algae during eutrophication triggered by impoverished light conditions may accelerate the shift in shallow lakes from a clear water to a turbid state.     

Long term experimental drought alters community plant trait variation,not trait means,across three semiarid grasslands

Plant and Soil - Mechanisms by which soil pH affects rice growth await further elucidation. We have used a Systems Biology approach to elucidate the nature of the damage caused by extreme pH to...     

Fish community assemblages changed but biomass remained similar after lake restoration by biomanipulation in a Chinese tropical eutrophic lake

While the effects of lake restoration by fish manipulation are well-studied in the temperate zone, comparatively little information is available on this issue from tropical lakes. It may be expected that fish removal leads to faster recovery of the fish stock here than in temperate lakes due to more frequent and earlier reproduction, which may, in turn, delay positive effects of the restoration. We studied the community composition, feeding type and abundance of fish in three basins of a tropical shallow lake: one unrestored basin (UR) and two basins restored by fish manipulation and transplantation of submerged macrophytes. While omni-benthivorous fish dominated the biomass in the restored basins 3 and 5 years after restoration, planktivores were most abundant in the UR, although total fish biomass remained similar. One-way analyses of similarities based on fish species presence/absence, abundance and biomass data revealed significant differences in fish community composition among the restored basins and UR, and redundancy analyses further indicated that submerged macrophytes were a key driver behind this difference. Our results indicate that active implantation of submerged macrophytes to stabilise the fish community is a tool to consider when planning lake restoration by biomanipulation in the tropics.     

牧食损害对伊乐藻(Elodea nuttallii)生长的影响

在室外实验条件下,研究了模拟牧食损害（动物牧食所造成的损害）对伊乐藻植株生长的影响。结果表明：3种人工损害方式（去除植株50%叶片,去除植株顶端,以及同时去除植物顶端与50%叶片）对伊乐藻的生长率、主枝与分枝长度的增长、植物的干物质、氮、磷含量等均有不同程度的影响。其中,去叶与去顶去叶损害显著抑制了伊乐藻的生长,相对生长率分别占未受损植株的62.8%与74.4%;去顶与去顶去叶损害使伊乐藻主枝生长几乎停止,却显著促进了植物分枝的生长;去叶损害对植株的生长率、主枝与分枝长度的生长无明显抑制并却显著地降低了分枝的重量。对受损伊乐藻生长的机理进行了分析,探讨了东太湖伊乐藻现存量近年来迅速增加的原因并认为植物残体是伊乐藻种群扩张的重要因素之一。