Comparison of metabolomics of Dendrobium officinale in different habitats by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS

Dendrobium officinale has been considered over past centuries to be extremely valuable for use as an herbal medicine in South Asian countries. In this work, the chemical profiles of D. officinale from different habitats were systematically characterized using ultra-performance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and multivariate analysis. The principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) and orthogonal partial least squares analysis (OPLS-DA) of UPLC-Q-TOF-MS data displayed an obvious separation. Several flavonoids and terpenoids derivatives contribute to the quantitative chemotypic variation within and between the samples as observed. These findings lead to a better understanding of the phytochemical variation of D. officinale which can aid in quality control of raw material.     

Hierarchical Perception of Stimuli During Case Construction in the Bagworm Moth Eumeta crameri (Lepidoptera: Psychidae)

We studied case construction behavior of bagworm moth, Eumeta crameri (Lepidoptera: Psychidac) in the host plant, Acacia nilotica, at two sites. At the time of the study, Site A had 1-year-old A. nilotica saplings only, whereas Site B had full grown trees. The larva of bagworm moth used either thorns or cut-twigs or both as the materials for building its case. It renovated its case three times, and during each instance it increased the volume of its case by replacing older thorns or cut-twigs by newer and longer ones. However, it exhibited a spectacular predilection for thorns, irrespective of the sites, during the first-instar stage of its development. Thereafter, at Site A it used exclusively cut-twigs, whereas at Site B it preferably used thorns provided they were available in the range of the required length and within the threshold distance. It appears that the bagworm has an ability to process thorn length and distance signals hierarchically to fulfill its priority, that is, case building. Thus it optimizes time and energy expenditures during the period of its larval growth leading to pupation by toggling its preference between thorns and cut-twigs.     

Collagen gene construction and evolution

Summary Collagen genes appear to have been assembled by the tandem repetition of homologous primary (9 base pair), secondary (54 base pair), and tertiary (702 base pair) modules. In vertebrate interstitial collagen genes many of the secondary modules are separated by introns, but in invertebrate collagen genes the non-coding sequences lie near the ends of supposed tertiary modules and are therefore about 702 (54×13) base pairs apart. The genes for vertebrate interstitial collagens (types I–III) seem to have been constructed by the tandem repetition of five tertiary modules, three of which were subsequently shortened by internal deletions. This shortening of the gene resulted in the non-integral relationship between the period of the fibrils and the length of the molecules of vertebrate collagens, and was therefore responsible for the mechanical properties of the completed product. Comparisons of the amino acid sequences of various collagens indicate that the main types of collagen evolved about 800–900 million years ago, a date that agrees well with the fossil record of primitive Metazoa.     

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis for genotypic comparison of Rhizobium bacteria that nodulate leguminous trees

Abstract Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was applied to characterize Rhizobium bacteria isolated from the root nodules of Acacia senegal and Prosopis chilensis trees growing in Sudan and Keya. For the electrophoresis, the total DNA of 42 isolates, embedded in agarose, was digested by a rare-cutting restriction endonuclease, Xba I. The PFGE run resulted in good resolution of the DNA fragments and gave the strains distinctive fingerprint patterns. The patterns were analysed visually and using automated clustering analysis, which divided the strains into groups resembling the results generated by numerical taxonomy. However, several strains had unique banding patterns, which indicates that these strains are genetically very diverse.     

Testosterone affects reproductive success by influencing extra-pair fertilizations in male dark-eyed juncos (Aves: Junco hyemalis)

Monogamous male birds typically allocate less effort to courtship and more to parental behaviour than males of polygynous species. The seasonal pattern of testosterone (T) secretion varies accordingly. Monogamous males exhibit a spring peak in plasma T followed by lower levels during the parental phase, while males of polygynous species continue to court females and maintain T at higher levels. To determine whether testosterone underlies the trade-off between mating and parental effort, we treated male dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) with exogenous T and compared the reproductive success (RS) of T-treated males (T-males) to that of controls. T-males had lower apparent annual RS than controls, probably because elevated T reduced parental care. Nevertheless, annual genetic RS of the treatment groups was similar because (i) T-males suffered fewer losses in genetic RS due to extra-pair fertilizations (EPFs), and (ii) T-males gained more genetic RS through their own EPFs. This is the first hormonal manipulation of an avian phenotype shown to have influenced male RS through EPFs. Together with other studies, it suggests that testosterone may have mediated the evolution of inter- and intraspecific differences in allocation of reproductive effort to mate attraction and parental care.     

基于多尺度协同的长沙市生态网络构建与层级优化

城市化背景下人类与自然环境的矛盾呈现出多尺度、层级化特征，而传统生态网络的构建方式较少考虑不同尺度下生态要素的关系，无法从区域落实到中心城区，难以形成系统性的解决方案。研究在综合梳理各尺度生态网络构建方法的基础上，以长沙市为例，基于形态学空间格局分析（Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis，MSPA）、景观连通性原理和生态斑块重要性评价识别生态源地，并通过多层级生态阻力面的确定，综合运用最小费用路径（Least-cost path method，LCP）、电路理论、层级传导理论、尺度嵌套等方法对市域、都市区、中心城区的生态网络进行了协同构建和层级优化，最后基于不同尺度生态网络的特点应用并落实到多层级的国土空间规划体系中。研究结果表明：（1）长沙市域生态网络和都市区生态网络具有较好的层级嵌套特征；共识别两尺度生态叠合源地14个、生态叠合廊道15条，主要通过中心城区内的湘江、浏阳河和捞刀河部分河段与外围生态绿圈相衔接，形成"外环内楔"的空间格局。（2）确定市域重要廊道、市域潜在廊道、生态叠合廊道、都市区重要廊道、都市区潜在廊道的核心保护面积共501.14 km²，并提取位于生态廊道核心保护区范围内的生态夹点和生态障碍点，以进一步落实生态保护修复策略。（3）得到具有重要生态连通功能的中心城区生态绿道长度441.2 km，生态修复单元56个，并结合生态阻力值划分为5级进行针对性修复。（4）基于不同尺度生态网络的衔接、嵌套，最终构建"市域总体生态安全格局-都市区城市生态空间发展格局-以城市绿道为基础的中心城区生态修复单元"，并与不同层级的国土空间规划体系相对应。研究结果将为以大城市为中心的跨尺度生态系统修复和生态安全格局构建提供科学参考。     

一个RNAi载体上反向重复片段的测序策略

相邻的反向重复DNA片段有形成单链内二级结构的倾向,属于一种测序困难的DNA模板。解决RNAi载体插入的反向重复片段的测序问题,为该类载体正确性的测序验证奠定基础。采用常规分子克隆方法构建表达小麦TaATG2串联反向重复片段的RNAi载体,设计2种策略对经菌落PCR初步鉴定的载体进行测序验证:一种是以完整的载体质粒为模板进行测序;另一种是先对载体进行酶切处理,切除反向重复片段中的一个后对保留另一个片段的线性载体进行测序。结果表明,第一种测序策略受到串联反向重复片段形成的单链内部二级结构的影响,测序信号在反向重复片段处出现衰减或乱峰,无法读取序列。第二种测序策略排除了2个反向重复片段之间的干扰,保留在载体上的片段测序信号清晰,序列准确。采用酶切切除一个片段后进行测序的方法,经过2次酶切和2次测序可以有效地对载体上的2个反向重复片段分别进行序列测定,进而确认构建载体的正确性。     

Temporal analyses of postnatal liver development and maturation by single-cell transcriptomics

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建阳市农村生态建设的工程与效益

建阳市位于闽北中心，属亚热带季风气候，光热资源丰富，境内多年平均降水量１７４６２ｍｍ，全市森林２３４７８０２×１０５ｈａ，覆盖率达６９４％。土地总面积３３８３×１０５ｈａ，其中耕地３０４４×１０４ｈａ，林地２７６４８７×１０５ｈａ。全市土...     

Daily Rhythms Related to Distinct Social Tasks inside an Eusocial Bee Colony

A bee colony is often compared to a multicellular organism, mainly because of its spatial organization. We propose that a temporal organization of equal importance is also present. To support this view, we studied the reproductive processes of two closely related species of stingless bees. Stingless bees enable observations of daily rhythms that are performed by distinct social classes. The emergent process, POP, is cyclic and consists of the building and provisioning of brood cells by the worker bees and egg‐laying by the queen. Colonies were kept in the laboratory under constant conditions with the exit tube opening to the environment; thus, foragers had direct access to environmental cycles. At a later stage of the experiment, the exit tube was closed by a sieve; in this case, bees had their own stock of food, but the environmental LD cycle could still be detected when they were inside the exit tube. Daily POP rhythms were present and showed distinct temporal patterns in each species. A third condition was imposed on one of the species only: the exit tube was closed by a sieve and maintained inside a box that was provided with constant illumination. In this colony, the POP rhythm was perturbed by the destruction of the brood cells. Restoration of POP consisted of a rapid reconstruction of cells followed by a late oviposition in the same day. As different rhythmic patterns were detected, but showed regular timings with respect to one another, an interpretation based upon the concept of an internal temporal order is suggested.