Social Tolerance in Wild Female Crested Macaques (Macaca nigra) in Tangkoko‐Batuangus Nature Reserve,Sulawesi, Indonesia

In primates, females typically drive the evolution of the social system and present a wide diversity of social structures. To understand this diversity, it is necessary to document the consistency and/or flexibility of female social structures across and within species, contexts, and environments. Macaques (Macaca sp.) are an ideal taxon for such comparative study, showing both consistency and variation in their social relations. Their social styles, constituting robust sets of social traits, can be classified in four grades, from despotic to tolerant. However, tolerant species are still understudied, especially in the wild. To foster our understanding of tolerant societies and to assess the validity of the concept of social style, we studied female crested macaques, Macaca nigra, under entirely natural conditions. We assessed their degree of social tolerance by analyzing the frequency, intensity, and distribution of agonistic and affiliative behaviors, their dominance gradient, their bared‐teeth display, and their level of conciliatory tendency. We also analyzed previously undocumented behavioral patterns in grade 4 macaques: reaction upon approach and distribution of affiliative behavior across partners. We compared the observed patterns to data from other populations of grade 4 macaques and from species of other grades. Overall, female crested macaques expressed a tolerant social style, with low intensity, frequently bidirectional, and reconciled conflicts. Dominance asymmetry was moderate, associated with an affiliative bared‐teeth display. Females greatly tolerated one another in close proximity. The observed patterns matched the profile of other tolerant macaques and were outside the range of patterns of more despotic species. This study is the first comprehensive analysis of females’ social behavior in a tolerant macaque species under natural conditions and as such, contributes to a better understanding of macaque societies. It also highlights the relevance of the social style concept in the assessment of the degree of tolerance/despotism in social systems. Am. J. Primatol. 75:361‐375, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Presowing Seed Treatment with Cytokinins and Its Effect on Growth, Photosynthetic Rate, Ionic Levels and Yield of Two Wheat Cultivars Differing in Salt Tolerance

The effects of presowing seed treatment with different concentrations of cytokinins （kinetin and benzylaminopurine; 100, 150, and 200 mg/L） on growth, photosynthetic capacity, and ion homeostasis were investigated in two spring wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） cultivars, namely MH-97 （salt sensitive） and Inqlab- 91 （salt tolerant）. Primed and non-primed seeds were sown in a field in which NaC1 salinity of 15 dS/m was developed. Of the different concentrations of priming agents tested, the effect of a moderate concentration of kinetin （150 mg/L） was very pronounced, particularly in improving growth and grain yield, in both cultivars. In addition, priming with kinetin alleviated the adverse effect of salt stress on gaseous exchange characteristics （net CO2 assimilation rate and water use efficiency） in both cultivars. Seed priming with a moderate concentration of kinetin also altered the pattern of accumulation of Na^＋ and Clˉ in the shoots, irrespective of the wheat cultivar, under conditions of salt stress. However, all other priming agents at the different concentrations tested did not show any consistent effect on ion levels, except hydropriming, which increased K^＋ levels in the shoots of both cultivars under salt stress. In conclusion, a moderate concentration of kinetin showed a consistent effect in altering the growth and grain yield of both wheat cultivars, which was related to the beneficial effects of kinetin priming on water use efficiency and photosynthetic rate under conditions of salt stress.     

蛋白激酶的相互作用促进τ的阿尔茨海默样磷酸化

cAMP依赖性蛋白激酶（PKA）的预处理可显著增强糖原合成酶激酶-3（GSK-3）对τ蛋白的磷酸化作用.将磷酸化的τ蛋白经胰蛋白酶消化,FeCl₃亲和柱分离及C18反相高压液相层析纯化后,再用高压电泳,手工Edman降解及自动氨基酸序列分析等技术,对其磷酸化位点进行鉴定.结果发现：GSK-3可使PKA预处理的τ至少在丝氨酸(Ser)-195,Ser-198,Ser-199,Ser-202,Ser-235,Ser-262,Ser-356,Ser-404,苏氨酸(Thr)-205和Thr-231等10个位点发生磷酸化.其中Ser-198,Ser-199,Ser-202,Ser-235,Ser-262,Ser-404,Thr205和Thr-231为Alzheimer病（AD）τ蛋白的异常磷酸化位点.上述磷酸化作用高度抑制τ的生物学活性,提示：AD τ的生物学功能的抑制与Ser-198,Ser-199,Ser-202,Ser-235,Ser-262,Thr-205和Thr-231的磷酸化密切相关,PKA和GSK-3的相互作用可能在AD神经原纤维变性中起重要作用.     

中国水仙NtMYB7基因的克隆及功能初步研究

为研究中国水仙类黄酮代谢调控网络,从中国水仙(Narcissus tazetta var.chinensis)中克隆得到一个R2R3-MYB基因,命名为NtMYB7(GenBank登录号:MF522208)。序列分析表明,NtMYB7基因cDNA开放阅读框(ORF)为753bp,编码250个氨基酸。氨基酸多重序列比对分析发现,NtMYB7含有R2和R3保守结构域,属于R2R3-MYB家族;系统进化树分析结果显示,NtMYB7与花青素合成抑制因子聚为一类。实时荧光定量PCR分析发现,NtMYB7基因在中国水仙不同时期花瓣和副冠以及不同器官中均有表达,且NtMYB7基因在鳞茎盘中表达量最高。瞬时表达分析发现,NtMYB7使花青素合成激活因子StMYB诱导产生的红色变浅;定量PCR分析表明,NtMYB7基因显著抑制烟草黄酮醇代谢分支FLS基因的表达,同时抑制StMYB激活的花青素和原花青素合成结构基因的表达。研究结果初步判断,NtMYB7基因是中国水仙类黄酮代谢途径的抑制因子。     

Structure of the vascular cambium of varying age and its derivative tissues in the stem of Ficus rumphii Blume

AJMAL, S. & IQBAL, M., 1992. Structure of the vascular cambium of varying age and its derivative tissues in the stem of Ficus rumphii Blume. The cambial cells of Ficus rumphii and their derivatives vary in size and number with the age of the tree. The fusiform initials, vessel elements, sieve-tube members, xylem fibres and phloem fibres are relatively short in the terminal part of the stem axis, consistently longer down the stem reaching a maximum, and short again in the main trunk. The width of the respective cells shows a similar variation. The ray cell initials increase both in number and size, and form rays of varying dimensions. Uniseriate and biseriate cambial rays are abundant, while multiseriate rays are especially sparse in the young shoot. The proportion of uni- and biseriate rays falls in the lower part of the stem whereas that of multiseriate rays increases. Likewise, short cambial rays are abundant in young branches but their frequency decreases in the trunk region, leading to a rise of the tall ray population. The rays in the phloem and xylem regions reflect a similar variation pattern with certain fluctuations. The overall proportion of the rays increases in the older part of the axis, reaching a maximum tangential area in the trunk. The transectional area of vessel elements remains more or less constant down to the base after an initial increase in the terminal region, while the sieve-tube proportion tends to be constant in the basal region after a consistent gain from the tree top basewards.     

Fertility Control in Free-Ranging Elk Using Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Agonist Leuprolide: Effects on Reproduction,Behavior, and Body Condition

ABSTRACT Overabundant elk (Cervus elaphus) populations have become a significant problem in many areas of North America. This is particularly true for protected areas where high densities of elk can cause long-term ecological degradation. When lethal control is not acceptable in these environments, resource managers must often consider alternative methods for reducing the size of resident elk populations. A potential management alternative is controlling the fertility of female elk. A promising new approach to wildlife contraception involves the use of biodegradable implants containing the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist leuprolide. During fall 2002-spring 2004, we compared pregnancy rates, reproductive behavior, daily activity patterns, and body condition of 17 free-ranging female elk treated with a leuprolide formulation with 17 untreated females, in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. After treatment, the pregnancy rate of treated elk was 0%, whereas 79% of control elk became pregnant. The effects of treatment were reversed the subsequent year with the pregnancy rate of treated females 100% compared with 91% for controls. Reproductive behaviors were similar for treated and control elk during the breeding and postbreeding seasons; treated elk did not exhibit postrut reproductive behaviors. Moreover, we found no differences in daily activity patterns of experimental groups during the breeding or postbreeding seasons. Treated elk did not show improved body condition over pregnant females. Instead, treated females catabolized proportionately more body fat during winter after treatment and at a higher rate than pregnant control elk. However, this effect was reversed the next spring with no difference in body fat between treated and control elk. We conclude from this experiment that leuprolide, administered as a controlled release formulation, offers a safe and effective method of controlling fertility in free-ranging female elk. However, practical application is limited by treatment duration and the need to treat females before the breeding season.