Les conceptions religieuses et idéologiques des tribus de l’âge du bronze en Azerbaïdjan et leurs traditions

The primitive religious view of tribes in Azerbaijan Bronze Age was in close connection with nature. Fire rituals had taken the main place in ancient people’s belief.     

Role of olfaction in host plant selection and local adaptation of a polyphagous herbivore,Eucolaspis Sharp

Host plant cues are known to shape insect–host plant association in many insect groups. More pronounced associations are generally manifested in specialist herbivores, but little is known in generalist herbivores. We used a polyphagous native beetle from New Zealand, bronze beetle, Eucolaspis sp. ‘Hawkes Bay’ (Chrysomelidae: Eumolpinae) to explore the role of olfaction in locating host plants and local adaptation. We also tested the role of other cues in the degree of acceptance or rejection of hosts. Adult Eucolaspis beetles were attracted to fresh leaf volatiles from apple and blackberry (Rosaceae). Male and female beetles responded similarly to olfactory cues of host plants. An indication of evolutionary affiliation was observed in olfactory preferences of geographically isolated conspecific populations. We found that geographically isolated populations of the beetles differ in their olfactory responses and exhibit some degree of local adaptation. However, irrespective of geographical and ecological associations, blackberry was preferred over apple as a feeding plant, and another novel plant, bush lawyer (Rubus australis), was readily accepted by 53.25% of the tested beetles. We show that plant volatiles play an important role in host location by Eucolaspis, but the acceptance or rejection of a particular host could also involve visual and contact cues.     

Polymorphic microsatellite loci for studies of bronze‐cuckoo species (Genus Chalcites: Aves)

A set of 17 microsatellite loci was shown to provide at least seven that were polymorphic in each of three bronze‐cuckoo species (Chalcites basalis, C. lucidus and C. minutillus) representing the taxonomic range of this genus. This set includes nine newly isolated loci from genomic libraries constructed from C. basalis and C. lucidus. For these three species, each had seven or more polymorphic loci that showed no significant linkage or Hardy–Weinberg disequilibrium with more than five alleles (mean 7.6–12.1) and expected heterozygosity greater than 0.5 (mean 0.78–0.85).     

Regulation of Mu element copy number in maize lines with an active or inactive Mutator transposable element system

Summary In the progeny of an active Mutator plant, the number of Mu elements increases on self-pollination and maintains the average parental Mu content on outcrossing to a non-Mutator line; both patterns of transmission require an increase in the absolute number of Mu elements from one generation to the next. The same average copy number of Mu elements is transmitted through the male and female, but there is wide variation in the absolute copy number among the progeny. In inactive Mutator plants —defined both by the loss of somatic instability at a reporter gene (bronze2-mu1) and by modification of the HinfI sites in the terminal inverted repeat sequences of Mu elements —the absolute copy number of Mu elements is fixed in the parent. Thus, in outcrosses Mu element number is halved, and on self-pollination Mu copy number is constant. Reactivation of somatic mutability at cryptic bz2-mu1 alleles in inactive individuals by crossing to an active line seems not to involve an increase in Mu element copy number transmitted by the inactive individual. These and other results suggest that increases in Mu copy number occur late in plant development or in the gametophyte rather than after fertilization.     

Foraging behaviour in tadpoles of the bronze frog<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rana temporalis</Emphasis>: Experimental evidence for the ideal free distribution

The ability of bronze frogRana temporalis tadpoles (pure or mixed parental lines) to assess the profitability of food habitats and distribute themselves accordingly was tested experimentally using a rectangular choice tank with a non-continuous input design. Food (boiled spinach) was placed at two opposite ends of the choice tank in a desired ratio (1:1, 1:2 or 1:4) to create habitat A and B. The tadpoles in Gosner stage 28–33, pre-starved for 24 h, were introduced in an open ended mesh cylinder placed in the center of the choice tank, held for 4 min (for acclimation) and then released to allow free movement and habitat selection. The number of tadpoles foraging at each habitat was recorded at 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 min time intervals. The actual suitability,S _i (the food available in a habitat after colonization of tadpoles) of each habitat was obtained from the equationS _i =B _i−f _i (d _i) whereB _i is basic suitability (amount of food provided at each habitat before release of tadpoles),f _i is the rate of depletion of food (lowering effect) with introduction of each tadpole, andd _i is the density of tadpoles in habitati. The expected number of tadpoles at each habitat was derived from the actual suitability. With no food in the choice tank, movement of the tadpoles in the test arena was random indicating no bias towards any end of the choice tank or the procedure. In tests with a 1:1 food ratio, the observed ratio of tadpoles (11.71: 12.28) was comparable with the expected 12:12 ratio. The observed number of tadpoles in the habitats with a 1:2 food ratio was 8.71:15.29 and 7.87:16.13 for pure and mixed parental lines respectively. In both cases, the observed ratios were close to the expected values (7:17). Likewise, in experiments with a 1:4 food ratio, the observed number of tadpoles in the two habitats (10.78:37.22) did not differ significantly from the expected ratio of 7:41. In all tests, the number ofR. temporalis tadpoles matched ideally with habitat profitability (undermatching indexK ≜ 1. The study shows that tadpoles of the bronze frog exhibit an ideal free distribution while foraging regardless of whether they are siblings or non-siblings in a group, which correlates well with their group living strategy in nature.     

利用高灵敏的TSA-FISH在玉米中定位bz1、bz2基因(英文)

植物中 ,程序性细胞死亡 (PCD)发生在植物生殖和发育的许多方面 ,已有的研究表明 ,在玉米种子的发育过程中 ,胚乳组织经历了程序性细胞死亡的过程。bz1 (bronze)和bz2是与种子的糊粉层发育相关的花青素生物合成基因 ,在玉米基因组中 ,bz1基因所在区域是重组热点 ,bz2与类黄酮的酰化、糖基化、转运、沉积等有关 ,基因的物理定位有利于基因的分离和克隆。TSA FISH (Tyramidesignalamplificationfluorescenceinsituhybridization)是一种新颖的高灵敏度的荧光原位杂交技术 ,它的主要反应原理是辣根过氧化物酶催化过氧化氢和标记的酪胺分子 (tyramide)的苯环部分反应 ,使荧光标记的酪胺分子在直接带有或间接带有HRP报告分子的探针周围沉积 ,信号因此得以极大的放大 ,从而大大提高了荧光原位杂交技术的灵敏度 ,90年代中期开始引入动物和人类组织化学和细胞遗传学研究中 ,2 0 0 1年才应用于植物细胞遗传学的研究。利用这一技术 ,我们将bz1基因定位于玉米的第 9染色体的短臂和第 1染色体的长臂上 ,其信号点距着丝粒的百分距离分别为 40 .2 ,75 .4;bz2基因定位于玉米的第 1染色体的长臂和第 5染色体的短臂上 ,其信号点距着丝粒的百分距离分别为2 1 .6,1 5 .3。本文讨论了TSA FISH技术在植物中小的、低拷贝的DNA序     

Microsatellite loci for population and behavioural studies of Horsfield's bronze‐cuckoo (Chalcites basalis: Aves)

Eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were identified for Horsfield's bronze‐cuckoo (Chalcites basalis). These include seven newly isolated loci from cuckoo genomic libraries enriched for GA and GAAA repeat‐containing clones. These loci have a mean expected heterozygosity of 0.71, a mean number of alleles of 13.8 and a combined exclusion probability (one parent known) of 0.9999. Two loci (Cba01 and Cba07) showed a significant deficiency of heterozygotes and may therefore have null alleles, although this effect could be the result of nonrandom population sampling.     

The Croatian Apoxyomenos as a luxurious rodent nest: archaeobotanical and zoological analyses of organic material found inside the classical bronze statue

Archaeobotanical analysis has been used to reconstruct the nest and diet of a small rodent from the Classical period (first century b.c. to second century a.d.) and most probably from Greece. The nest was found in the hollow interior of a very valuable bronze statue of a young athlete, recovered from the waters of the Northern Adriatic and named the Croatian Apoxyomenos. Apoxyomenos was probably the cargo of a Roman ship on one of highly frequented sea routes in ancient times, along which, among other things, a highly developed trade in artworks was maintained. All plant remains were non-carbonised and mineralised; encrusted with metallic salts, especially of copper, and preserved in excellent condition. The nest itself (wisps of “straw” found in the hollow interior of the left forearm of the statue) was mainly composed of stems and leaves of grasses (Poaceae), but also of laurel (Laurus nobilis) leaves and other plant remains. Along with “straw”, a further 837 individual plant remains were found and analysed and 41 different plant taxa were identified. Plant remains that presumably were part of the rodent’s diet belong to various wild and cultivated plants which indicate various anthropogenic habitats probably situated somewhere on the edge of human settlement. From zoological analysis of bite marks found on fruit stones of cherry and olive, and of the potential rodent fauna in the area the statue was assumed to be in prior to becoming submerged, it was established that the rodent was most probably one of the taxa of the Mus domesticus group.