Essential oil variation and antioxidant capacity of Mentha pulegium populations and their relation to ecological factors

Mentha pulegium L. is an aromatic herb belonging to the Lamiaceae family, a wild plant which is distributed in different areas of Iran. In this research, we evaluated the variability of essential oil content and compositions of 12 M. pulegium populations. Essential oils were analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) methods. The essential oils content varied from 0.22 to 1.63% w/w within different populations. Twenty-nine compounds were identified which represent 83.4–98.7% of the total essential oil. The most significant essential oil compounds among the studied population were identified using the principal components analysis (PCA-biplot). According to the PCA-biplot, the major compounds were pulegone (2.5–51.7%), menthone (0.2–25.3%), limonene (0.0–35.4%), 1,8-cineol (0.0–33.4%), piperitenone oxide (0.2–55.2%), and trans-piperitone epoxide (0.0–28.5%). Besides, hierarchical cluster analysis indicated that the studied populations were classified into two main clusters based on the essential oil components. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that some environmental factors could influence the phytochemical constituents as well as the antioxidant activity. The temperature and altitude were effective environmental factors with regards to 1–8 cineol, limonene and menthone content, while average rainfall was the most effective factor with respect to trans-piperitone epoxide, piperitenone oxide, and pulegone content. Our results consequently showed that environmental factors had a significant effect on the essential oil content and its antioxidant activity in M. pulegium populations.     

The Circadian Clock Gene Circuit Controls Protein and Phosphoprotein Rhythms in Arabidopsis thaliana

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庙岛群岛南五岛灌木群落结构及其对环境因子的响应

该研究对山东省庙岛群岛南五岛灌木植被及环境因子进行调查,运用TWINSPAN等级划分法和多元分析技术研究调查区域内灌木的植被分布、群落结构及其与环境因子间的关系。结果显示:(1)调查期间庙岛群岛南五岛共发现灌木27种,隶属于15科23属,荆条、扁担木、酸枣为优势种。(2)灌木群丛主要被划分为6个群丛,即桑群丛、刺槐-柘树群丛、酸枣群丛、扁担木群丛、荆条群丛、紫穗槐群丛。(3)应用典范对应分析(CCA)并采用向前引入法对环境因子进行逐步筛选,Monte Carlo置换检验结果显示,乔木层盖度、土壤pH是影响庙岛群岛南五岛灌木空间分布的关键环境因子。研究认为,CCA二维排序结果与TWINSPAN分类结果较为一致,庙岛群岛南五岛森林灌木群落主要分布于乔木层盖度适中、偏酸性土壤的环境下。     

黑河河岸植被与环境因子间的相互作用

2009-2010年,对黑河流域河岸植被分季节进行了详细调查,并实地测定各样点环境因子数据,采用PC-ORD和Canoco软件对数据进行分类排序与环境因子的指示种分析:(1)黑河河岸带植被分为4个植被型和6个群系,位于黑河上游的高山苔草+矮嵩草群系植被种类和数量最为丰富,草本层盖度最大,也是唯一没有乔木分布的群系;金露梅+沙棘+膜荚黄芪+针茅群系是灌木层密度和盖度最大的群系,草本植物种类相对较丰富;位于湿地的沙枣+水柏枝+芦苇+香蒲群系,土壤养分含量最高;(2)影响黑河河岸带植被分布的主要环境因子是海拔、降水、温度、土壤有机质、含水率以及全氮含量,其中,海拔、降水和温度为最重要的影响因子,土壤影响因子中土壤含水率>有机质>全氮,而全磷和速效氮没有显著影响;(3)在黑河河岸带共有20种植物是环境因子指示种,柽柳和苦豆子是温度、降水指示种,胡杨对海拔和降水有很强的指示作用,草本植物中没有土壤含水率和海拔指示种,而在乔灌木中没有土壤有机质指示种,这为气候、土壤条件的变化提供了很好的参考价值。     

蒙古沙冬青群落区系组成及分类研究

蒙古沙冬青是西北地区珍稀濒危树种,探究区系组成和群落特征对于维持西北干旱荒漠区脆弱生态系统具有重要意义。该研究调查了26个蒙古沙冬青群落样地,采用TWINSPAN进行群落分类,同时利用典范对应分析(CCA)分析沙冬青群落物种组成与生态因子的关系,为珍稀濒危植物蒙古沙冬青的保护提供基础数据。结果表明:(1)蒙古沙冬青群落物种组成以豆科、禾本科、菊科和藜科植物为主,隶属于28科63属90种,区系组成以地中海、北温带分布及世界分布为主。(2)TWINSPAN等级分类可将26个蒙古沙冬青样地划分为9个群落类型,即蒙古沙冬青+蓍状亚菊群落、蒙古沙冬青+红砂群落、蒙古沙冬青+新巴黄耆群落、蒙古沙冬青+无芒隐子草群落、蒙古沙冬青+霸王群落、蒙古沙冬青+驼绒藜群落、蒙古沙冬青+白刺群落、蒙古沙冬青+沙鞭群落和蒙古沙冬青+毛刺锦鸡儿群落。(3)CCA排序分析显示,年均降雨量(F=2.8,P=0.002)、生长季降雨量(F=2.6,P=0.002)、速效氮(F=2.1,P=0.006)、太阳辐射量(F=2.1,P=0.008)、蒸汽压(F=1.9,P=0.006)、土壤有机质(F=1.7,P=0.04)、纬度(F=1.7,P=0.006)是影响蒙古沙冬青群落组成的主要生态因子。     

黄河三角洲芦苇湿地底栖无脊椎动物与环境因子的关系研究——以石油开采区与淡水补给区为例

分别于2018年5月和8月对黄河三角洲芦苇湿地19(淡水补给区11处,石油开采区8处)处采样点的底栖无脊椎动物和水体理化指标进行调查采样,运用统计方法分析两个区域物种组成、优势种、多样性、群落结构以及与环境因子的关系。结果表明:两季共采集到底栖无脊椎动物54种,主要以水生昆虫、腹足纲和软甲纲为主,淡水补给区和石油开采区各类群组成差异明显。独立样本T检验表明淡水补给区和石油开采区水体理化指标间差异显著(P0.05)。双因子方差分析显示,昆虫纲和腹足纲密度在两区域差异显著(P0.05),软甲纲和腹足纲密度在季节上差异明显(P0.05)。底栖无脊椎动物优势种共10种,淡水补给区指示物种8种,而石油开采区未发现有指示物种。聚类和非参数多维排序(nM DS)显示,底栖无脊椎动物群落结构相似性较低; RDA结果表明:淡水补给区底栖无脊椎动物群落结构主要受Cond,TDS,Sal,pH,Eh,HCO_3~-,SO_4~(2-)等环境因子的影响。石油开采区底栖无脊椎动物群落结构影响较大的环境因子为HCO_3~-、NH_4-N。     

Spatial distribution of benthic algae in the Gangqu River,Shangrila, China

This study consisted of sampling benthic algae at 32 sites in the Gangqu River, an important upstream tributary of the Yangtze River. Our aims were to characterize the benthic algae communities and relationships with environmental variables. Among the 162 taxa observed, Achnanthes linearis and Achnanthes lanceolata var. elliptica were the dominant species (17.10% and 14.30% of the total relative abundance, respectively). Major gradients and principal patterns of variation within the environmental variables were detected by principal component analysis (PCA). Then non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) divided all the sites into three groups, which were validated by multi-response permutation procedures (MRPP). Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that three environmental variables (TN, TDS, and TP) significantly affected the distribution of benthic algae. Weighted averaging regression and cross-calibration produced strong models for predicting TN and TDS concentration, which enabled selection of algae taxa as potentially sensitive indicators of certain TN and TDS levels: for TN, Achnanthes lanceolata, Achnanthes lanceolata var. elliptica, and Cymbella ventricosa var. semicircularis; for TDS, Cocconeis placentula, Cymbella alpina var. minuta, and Fragilaria virescens. The present study represents an early step in establishing baseline conditions. Further monitoring is suggested to gain a better understanding of this region.     

Mechanism for the definition of elongation and termination by the class II CCA‐adding enzyme

The CCA‐adding enzyme synthesizes the CCA sequence at the 3′ end of tRNA without a nucleic acid template. The crystal structures of class II Thermotoga maritima CCA‐adding enzyme and its complexes with CTP or ATP were determined. The structure‐based replacement of both the catalytic heads and nucleobase‐interacting neck domains of the phylogenetically closely related Aquifex aeolicus A‐adding enzyme by the corresponding domains of the T. maritima CCA‐adding enzyme allowed the A‐adding enzyme to add CCA in vivo and in vitro. However, the replacement of only the catalytic head domain did not allow the A‐adding enzyme to add CCA, and the enzyme exhibited (A, C)‐adding activity. We identified the region in the neck domain that prevents (A, C)‐adding activity and defines the number of nucleotide incorporations and the specificity for correct CCA addition. We also identified the region in the head domain that defines the terminal A addition after CC addition. The results collectively suggest that, in the class II CCA‐adding enzyme, the head and neck domains collaboratively and dynamically define the number of nucleotide additions and the specificity of nucleotide selection.