天山北麓中段拟南芥（Arabidopsis thaliana）与相邻物种的分布格局及相互关系

天山山脉是世界拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)及其近缘种的分布中心之一,资源优势明显.在北天山中段浅山地带选择拟南芥分布的典型样地50m×50m,分析了样地物种的结构、组成和土壤理化性质,用Ripley's K(d)函数分析了拟南芥与相邻物种的空间特征和相互关系.发现样地由7科23个物种组成,以新疆绢蒿(Seriphidium kaschgaricum)为建群种,短命植物物种占近70%.拟南芥仅分布于北坡,在3m内聚集强度高于所有分析物种,在5m范围内与新疆绢蒿中株呈显著正关联,与十字花科的涩芥(Malcolmia africana)、藜科的散枝猪毛菜(Salsola brachiata)、木碱蓬(Suaeda dendroides)、角果藜(Ceratocarpus arenarius)呈一定尺度显著负关联.分析认为拟南芥空间分布依赖于新疆绢蒿大株、中株生长塑造的遮阴、保湿和丰富土壤有机质,生态位与藜科物种差异极大,生境特异性高于同属近缘种小鼠耳芥(Arabidopsis pumila),以及涩芥(M. africana)、庭芥(Alyssum desertorum)、四齿芥(Tetracme quadricornis)、丝叶芥(Leptaleum filifolium)、狭果鹤虱(Lappula semiglabra)等短命植物.在干旱胁迫下,拟南芥环境选择强度大于种内作用,密度依赖的种子扩散表现不明显.扩散对策是通过大量生产种子,依靠果实不易开裂控制种子短距离扩散,充分利用原适宜生境来维持种群繁衍.     

Colonization of the Mediterranean basin by the vector biting midge species Culicoides imicola: an old story

Understanding the demographic history and genetic make‐up of colonizing species is critical for inferring population sources and colonization routes. This is of main interest for designing accurate control measures in areas newly colonized by vector species of economically important pathogens. The biting midge Culicoides imicola is a major vector of orbiviruses to livestock. Historically, the distribution of this species was limited to the Afrotropical region. Entomological surveys first revealed the presence of C. imicola in the south of the Mediterranean basin by the 1970s. Following recurrent reports of massive bluetongue outbreaks since the 1990s, the presence of the species was confirmed in northern areas. In this study, we addressed the chronology and processes of C. imicola colonization in the Mediterranean basin. We characterized the genetic structure of its populations across Mediterranean and African regions using both mitochondrial and nuclear markers, and combined phylogeographical analyses with population genetics and approximate Bayesian computation. We found a west/east genetic differentiation between populations, occurring both within Africa and within the Mediterranean basin. We demonstrated that three of these groups had experienced demographic expansions in the Pleistocene, probably because of climate changes during this period. Finally, we showed that C. imicola could have colonized the Mediterranean basin in the Late Pleistocene or Early Holocene through a single event of introduction; however, we cannot exclude the hypothesis involving two routes of colonization. Thus, the recent bluetongue outbreaks are not linked to C. imicola colonization event, but rather to biological changes in the vector or the virus.     

Internal transport of alien and native plants by geese and ducks: an experimental study

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Down‐regulation of BnDA1, whose gene locus is associated with the seeds weight,improves the seeds weight and organ size in Brassica napus

Brassica napus L. is an important oil crop worldwide and is the main raw material for biofuel. Seed weight and seed size are the main contributors to seed yield. DA1 (DA means big in Chinese) is an ubiquitin receptor and negatively regulates seed size. Down‐regulation of AtDA1 in Arabidopsis leads to larger seeds and organs by increasing cell proliferation in integuments. In this study, BnDA1 was down‐regulated in B. napus by over expressed of AtDA1^R358K, which is a functional deficiency of DA1 with an arginine‐to‐lysine mutation at the 358th amino acid. The results showed that the biomass and size of the seeds, cotyledons, leaves, flowers and siliques of transgenic plants all increased significantly. In particular, the 1000 seed weight increased 21.23% and the seed yield per plant increased 13.22% in field condition. The transgenic plants had no negative traits related to yield. The candidate gene association analysis demonstrated that the BnDA1 locus was contributed to the seeds weight. Therefore, our study showed that regulation of DA1 in B. napus can increase the seed yield and biomass, and DA1 is a promising target for crop improvement.     

Geographic range estimates and environmental requirements for the harpy eagle derived from spatial models of current and past distribution

Understanding species–environment relationships is key to defining the spatial structure of species distributions and develop effective conservation plans. However, for many species, this baseline information does not exist. With reliable presence data, spatial models that predict geographic ranges and identify environmental processes regulating distribution are a cost‐effective and rapid method to achieve this. Yet these spatial models are lacking for many rare and threatened species, particularly in tropical regions. The harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) is a Neotropical forest raptor of conservation concern with a continental distribution across lowland tropical forests in Central and South America. Currently, the harpy eagle faces threats from habitat loss and persecution and is categorized as Near‐Threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Within a point process modeling (PPM) framework, we use presence‐only occurrences with climatic and topographical predictors to estimate current and past distributions and define environmental requirements using Ecological Niche Factor Analysis. The current PPM prediction had high calibration accuracy (Continuous Boyce Index = 0.838) and was robust to null expectations (pROC ratio = 1.407). Three predictors contributed 96% to the PPM prediction, with Climatic Moisture Index the most important (72.1%), followed by minimum temperature of the warmest month (15.6%) and Terrain Roughness Index (8.3%). Assessing distribution in environmental space confirmed the same predictors explaining distribution, along with precipitation in the wettest month. Our reclassified binary model estimated a current range size 11% smaller than the current IUCN range polygon. Paleoclimatic projections combined with the current model predicted stable climatic refugia in the central Amazon, Guyana, eastern Colombia, and Panama. We propose a data‐driven geographic range to complement the current IUCN range estimate and that despite its continental distribution, this tropical forest raptor is highly specialized to specific environmental requirements.     

Antioxidants reveal an inverted U‐shaped dose‐response relationship between reactive oxygen species levels and the rate of aging in Caenorhabditis elegans

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are potentially toxic, but they are also signaling molecules that modulate aging. Recent observations that ROS can promote longevity have to be reconciled with the numerous claims about the benefits of antioxidants on lifespan. Here, three antioxidants [N‐acetylcysteine (NAC), vitamin C, and resveratrol (RSV)] were tested on Caenorhabditis elegans mutants that alter drug uptake, mitochondrial function, and ROS metabolism. We observed that like pro‐oxidants, antioxidants can both lengthen and shorten lifespan, dependent on concentration, genotypes, and conditions. The effects of antioxidants thus reveal an inverted U‐shaped dose–response relationship between ROS levels and lifespan. In addition, we observed that RSV can act additively to both NAC and paraquat, to dramatically increase lifespan. This suggests that the effect of compounds that modulate ROS levels can be additive when their loci of action or mechanisms of action are sufficiently distinct.