麝鼠前列腺在繁殖期和非繁殖期转录组差异分析

麝鼠(Ondatra zibethicus L.)是季节性繁殖动物。成年雄性麝鼠在尿生殖孔上方肌肉与背皮之间有一对香腺,在繁殖期能分泌麝鼠香。与其他鼠类相比,麝鼠在繁殖期时前列腺—精囊腺组织极其发达。研究发现,经腹腔注射麝鼠香后,能够明显促进雄性小鼠的前列腺—精囊腺发育,表明两者之间可能存在一定的相关性。本研究利用RNA-seq技术对麝鼠繁殖期和非繁殖期的前列腺样品进行了转录组测序,对差异表达的基因进行GO分析和KEGG通路分析。结果显示,共筛选出1629个显著差异表达基因,涉及多种信号转导和能量代谢相关基因,其中OBP2、Bcl-2家族和肿瘤坏死因子受体超家族成员的差异表达提示麝鼠前列腺发育受多种机制调控,由香腺分泌的麝鼠香可能参与了前列腺的发育调节。     

西藏翠雀花属七新种

描述了自西藏发现的毛茛科翠雀花属七新种,隆子翠雀花,黄花翠雀花,绿房翠雀花,二距翠雀花,扎囊翠雀花,宽片翠雀花和狭裂翠雀花,并给出其等与近缘种的区别特征。     

新疆翠雀花属二新种

描述了自新疆维吾尔族自治区发现的毛茛科翠雀花属二新种,腺梗翠雀花和巩留翠雀花,并分别给出了此二种与其近缘种的区别特征。     

Production and evolution pattern of “fruity smell” aggregation pheromones in genus Drosophila

Insects produce pheromones to serve a range of ecological functions throughout their lifetime. The chemical composition, production pattern, and interspecies specificity provide information for carrying out their function and biological significance. Several species of Drosophila produce a class of volatile esters considered as “fruity smells”; however, the production pattern and ecological functions of these “fruity smell” volatiles in genus Drosophila are poorly understood. Here, using the headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method, we tested the production pattern of volatile pheromones in Drosophila immigrans and factors that possibly affected pheromone production, including mating, feeding conditions, age of adult flies, and geographical distribution. We also explored the evolution and production pattern of volatile pheromones in 14 species of genus Drosophila. Our result showed that male D. immigrans adult flies produce three male-specific volatile ester pheromones, which are also considered as “fruity smell” chemicals, in a relatively stable pattern. In addition, a series of “fruity smell” ester pheromones with similar structure and chemical properties were found to appear in the species of D. virilis and D. immigrans species group, but not in the species of D. melanogaster species group. The ester volatile pheromone production of male flies has a correspondence with the female's demand for host plants. Integrating the production and evolution pattern of these volatile chemicals, we inferred the interaction between insects and host plants reflected in the Drosophila “fruity smell” pheromones.     

A Late Permian flora with Dicroidium from the Dead Sea region, Jordan

Three new species of Dicroidium, D. irnensis, D. jordanensis and D. robustum, are described from the Um Irna Formation (Upper Permian) of the Dead Sea region, Jordan. The plant remains are preserved as compressions with excellent cuticles. These are the earliest unequivocal records of Dicroidium, a genus that is typical for the Triassic of Gondwana. It is also the northernmost occurrence of this genus that apparently originated in the Permian in the palaeotropics. Middle and Late Permian floras from the Arabian Peninsula and adjacent regions show a remarkable mixture of elements from different floral provinces, i.e. Euramerica, Cathaysia and Gondwana. The climatic amelioration in the Early Triassic apparently enabled Dicroidium to migrate southward and eventually colonise the entire Gondwana region. Dicroidium is one of the very few megaplant genera not affected by the end-Permian biotic crisis, the largest Phanerozoic extinction event.     

Comparative analysis of complete plastid genome reveals powerful barcode regions for identifying wood of Dalbergia odorifera and D. tonkinensis (Leguminosae)

Dalbergia odorifera T. C. Chen (Leguminosae), a rare and endangered tree species endemic to Hainan Island of China, produces the most expensive and rarest wood in China. The wood characteristics of D. odorifera are remarkably similar to those of D. tonkinensis (a much less sought-after species from Vietnam), and the DNA from wood is often highly degraded, making it very difficult to identify the two species using anatomical features or DNA barcoding based on regular DNA markers. To solve the confusion of identifying wood reliably from the two species, we built and analyzed the plastome library of 26 samples from 18 Dalbergia species, of which 12 samples from eight closely related species of D. odorifera are newly sequenced in this study. Phylogenomic analysis suggested that the relationships among the 26 samples are mostly well resolved, and conspecific individuals from different populations of D. odorifera and D. tonkinensis clustered together. Between the plastid genomes of the two species, we identified 129 indels and 114 single nucleotide polymorphisms. By assessing a subset of 20 nucleotide polymorphisms and 10 indels using 37 population-level samples (20 samples of D. odorifera and 17 samples of D. tonkinensis), we recovered eight species-specific barcode regions that could be suitable for identifying the wood D. odorifera and D. tonkinensis. To examine their utility in wood identification, we amplified the eight DNA barcodes using six wood samples and recovered an amplification success rate of 83.3%, demonstrating a reliable method for precise wood identification of the two species.     

Chloroplast DNA and the determination of species status in the Disa tripetaloides complex (Orchidaceae), and its relationships to three species Racemosae, section Disa

Disa cardinalis and three populations within the D. tripetaloides species complex contain variation in their chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) variability. All four taxa possessed unique cpDNAs and sequence divergence values ranged from 0.34 to 1.03%. A phylogeny of these genomes was reconstructed, along with the genomes of three other species, D. racemosa, D. uniflora and D. venosa, all of which are also section Disa and series RAcemosae, to determine the relationship of these closely related species to the D. tripetaloides complex. A phylogeny of the taxa using morphological data was also reconstructed. Outgroup comparison was made with D. sagittalis, a member of section Coryphaea. Although the molecular and morphological data were not completely congruent, both data types revealed D. cardinalis, rather than D. tripetaloides ssp. aurata, to be more closely allied with D. tripetaloides ssp. tripetaloides, suggesting that D. tripetaloides ssp. aurata should be elevated to species rank. Additionally, the high sequence divergence observed between the Natal and Cape populations, coupled with their geographical isolation and alternate flowering seasons, suggests that these two D. tripetaloides ssp. tripetaloides populations may, in fact, be more appropriately ranked as subspecies.     

金钟藤入侵群落的种间联结及生态位特征

金钟藤(Decalobanthus boisianus)是林业有害植物, 其暴发生长和扩散对森林生态系统造成了严重破坏。本文以海南岛48个金钟藤典型分布群落为研究对象, 用方差比率法和贡献定律法探究群落的稳定性; 用χ ²统计量、联结系数(AC)、共同出现百分率(PC)、Ochiai指数和Dice指数分析金钟藤与伴生物种的种间联结关系; 用生态位宽度、生态位相似性系数和生态位重叠指数研究群落中各物种的生态位特征, 以期为金钟藤生物防治的植物物种筛选提供借鉴。结果表明: (1)金钟藤所在48个群落共有156种伴生植物, 其中大戟科、茜草科、桑科、无患子科和樟科植物占优势; (2)群落中优势物种呈正联结关系, 植物种类累积倒数百分比与累积相对频度交点坐标为(44.53, 55.47), 远离稳定交点坐标(20, 80), 说明群落处于不稳定状态; (3)金钟藤与芳槁润楠(Machilus suaveolens)、黄椿木姜子(Litsea variabilis)、岭南山竹子(Garcinia oblongifolia)、显脉杜英(Elaeocarpus dubius)、鸭脚木(Schefflera octophylla)和银柴(Aporusa dioica)都紧密关联, 说明金钟藤与这些物种的资源利用方式较相似; (4)金钟藤的生态位宽度最大, 与伴生物种间的生态位重叠度较高, 但伴生物种间的生态位重叠度较低。金钟藤的入侵导致群落处于不稳定状态, 并与伴生物种间存在激烈的竞争关系。因此, 建议在金钟藤已入侵的群落中大量栽种芳槁润楠、黄椿木姜子、显脉杜英、鸭脚木和银柴, 以遏制其蔓延; 大量栽种翻白叶树(Pterospermum heterophyllum)、海南菜豆树(Radermachera hainanensis)、九节(Psychotria rubra)和肉实树(Sarcosperma laurinum)用于金钟藤入侵群落的植被恢复。     

黄土丘陵区两种丛藓科植物展叶时长及关键影响因子

藓类植物是变水植物,展叶时长是影响其生长发育的关键。目前,干旱半干旱区藓类植物野外生长发育动态及其影响因子的研究鲜见报道。本研究以黄土丘陵区常见的土生对齿藓和扭口藓为对象,研究了9月5日—11月25日野外自然条件下两种藓类的展叶情况。结果表明: 9—10月,两种藓类叶片表现出有规律的“展开-闭合-展开”的日动态变化,并且土生对齿藓叶片在上午闭合时间较扭口藓平均提前0.68 h,下午叶片展开时间则推后了1.79 h。两种藓类在雨季时展叶时间较长,土生对齿藓展叶时长为251 min,较扭口藓(361 min)低30.4%。近地表大气相对湿度是影响藓株展叶时长的关键因子,藓种的形态结构也会影响展叶时长;相比于土生对齿藓,扭口藓植株较为低矮,中肋占叶片比例大,茎皮部细胞镶嵌结构更为突出,其展叶时的湿度阈值(54.3%)低于土生对齿藓(60.1%)。展叶时长主要受湿度的影响,扭口藓对环境的适应性更强。     

The tegument of the monogenean gill parasites Dactylogyrus amphibothrium and D. hemiamphibothrium

The general features of the tegument of Dactylogyrus amphibothrium and D. hemiamphibothrium, gill parasites of the freshwater fish Acerina cernua, resemble those of other monogeneans. However, in D. amphibothrium the tegument bears spike-like structures associated with tegumental sacs and these have not previously been reported in monogeneans. The origin of the sacs and the possible functions of the spikes and sacs are discussed. It has been found that the tegument covering the two pads located on the ventral surface of D. amphibothrium does not differ in structure from the general body tegument; the pad regions are elevated above the general body surface because of the presence of large glandular sub-tegumentary organs which communicate with the receptaculum seminis. This indicates that the pads play a part in the reproductive biology of the parasite. In spite of the fact that the micro-environments of D. amphibothrium and D. hemiamphibothrium are the same or broadly similar, D. hemiamphibothrium has no spikes, tegumentary sacs or glandular pads and has only two kinds of tegumentary secretory inclusion compared with three kinds in D. amphibothrium. One of the three kinds of cyton in D. amphibothrium is restricted to the ventro-lateral regions of the posterior half of the body. The tegument of both D. amphibothrium and D. hemiamphibothrium differs from that of other adult monogeneans so far investigated in the presence of granular endoplasmic reticulum in the outer syncytial layer.     

罗霄山脉珍稀濒危重点保护野生植物的生存状况及保护策略

为加强对罗霄山脉地区珍稀濒危植物的保护和管理, 作者在对该区域的植被和植物区系全面调查的基础上, 针对珍稀濒危植物的组成、种群数量、生存状态等进行了深入调查和评估。结果表明: (1)整体上, 罗霄山脉各类珍稀濒危植物共59科142属279种, 其中: 被IUCN红色名录收录17种, 包括极危种(CR) 2种, 濒危种(EN) 3种, 易危种(VU) 12种; 被《中国生物多样性红色名录: 高等植物卷》收录的共105种, 包括极危种9种, 濒危种33种, 易危种63种; 被《国家重点保护野生植物名录》收录的共257种, 包括Ⅰ级8种, 即银杏(Ginkgo biloba)、资源冷杉(Abies beshanensis var. ziyuanensis)、南方红豆杉(Taxus wallichiana var. mairei)、莼菜(Brasenia schreberi)、伯乐树(Bretschneidera sinensis)、细叶石斛(Dendrobium hancockii)、铁皮石斛(D. officinale)、细茎石斛(D. moniliforme)等, II级249种; 被CITES收录的有71种。(2)在局部区域, 罗霄山脉自北至南由5条中型山脉组成, 其珍稀濒危植物的数量分布由北向南呈现梯级变化, 显示出与该地区植被和植物区系的丰富度和保存状况密切相关, 其中幕阜山脉147种、九岭山脉138种、武功山脉133种、万洋山脉207种、诸广山脉192种。(3)从珍稀濒危植物属种组成看, 保存有大量古老、孑遗和特有的类群, 并且受到气候和地理环境的影响, 其中有单型属19属, 中国特有种129种。本文针对各珍稀濒危植物的生存现状, 提出了按分布区域和濒危性质进行群落监测或适度进行人工干预等保护措施。     

Simulium (Psilopelmia) virescens, a new black-fly species (Diptera: Simuliidae) from the southwestern region of the state of Bahia, Brazil

The last-instar larva, pupa, male and female of Simulium virescens sp. nov. are described and illustrated. This species has a peculiar larva, which has an elongated head capsule and light-green colour. The first thoracic segment has tubercle on its dorsal region and the third thoracic segment has one pair of tubercles; the first to the fourth abdominal segments have one pair of tubercles on each segment. Until now this new species had only been collected at the type locality, which is on the middle stretch of the Correntina River in the southwestern portion of the state of Bahia, Brazil. Females were voraciously biting humans during the field work. This new species represents the second species of Simulium (Psilopelmia) in Brazil and the first registered outside of the Brazilian Amazon Region.     

New entodiniomorphid ciliates from the intestine of the wild African white rhinoceros belong to a new family, the Gilchristidae

Gilchristia artemis n.g., n.sp. and Digilchristia draconis n.g., n.sp. in the order Entodiniomorphida are described from the large intestine of the African white rhinoceros, and a new family Gilchristidae is proposed to contain them. These new species have a C-shaped adoral polybrachykinety, a slender vestibular polybrachykinety, and paralabial kineties along the ventral side of the adoral polybrachykinety in their retractable adoral ciliary zone, showing the same arrangement as in the rumen ciliates in the family Ophryoscolecidae. G. artemis has two skeletal plates and D. draconis one plate. In both species the dorsal skeletal plate is bow-shaped, folded in half longitudinally, twisting in the anterior part, and lying along the dorsal left side of the macronucleus. The second plate of G. artemis is slender and lies along the ventral side of the macronucleus. G. artemis has three ciliary arches and D. draconis has four arches along the dorsal and ventral sides of the body. Their arches are long and non-retractable, closely resembling those of ciliates in the families, Spirodiniidae and Cycloposthiidae, and are not analogous to the single retractable ciliary arch of the rumen ciliates in the family Ophryoscolecidae.     

Geographic Origin and Taxonomic History of Delphastus spp. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Commercial Culture

Most of the published studies of Delphastus pusillus biology and behavior on Bemisia spp. actually refer to D. catalinae. Similarly, Delphastus species in commercial insectary cultures are probably D. catalinae and not D. pusillus. We discuss the historical reasons for the clouded identity of these native coccinellid beetles.     

温度对新菠萝灰粉蚧生长发育和繁殖的影响

新菠萝灰粉蚧是近年在我国新发现的一种重要外来入侵害虫,温度是决定新菠萝灰粉蚧能否建立稳定种群的最基本因素.本研究以南瓜作为寄主,探索恒温条件对新菠萝灰粉蚧生长发育和繁殖的影响.在17、20、23、26、29和32 ℃,光周期14L∶10D,相对湿度(75±5)%的实验室条件下,测定了新菠萝灰粉蚧各虫态的发育历期、发育速率、存活率和繁殖力,组建了新菠萝灰粉蚧的实验种群生命表.结果表明: 在20～29 ℃,各虫态的发育历期均随温度的升高而缩短,在20 ℃下雌、雄若虫期的发育历期最长,分别为46.95和50.26 d;29 ℃时雌虫若虫期的发育历期最短,为20.28 d;而雄虫若虫期在32 ℃时最短,为20.70 d.各虫态的温度与发育速率的关系均符合二次回归关系.此外,温度显著影响新菠萝灰粉蚧的存活率,在29 ℃时雌、雄若虫期的存活率均最高,分别为70.3%和69.3%;雌虫世代的发育起点温度为13.80 ℃,有效积温为491.50日·度;雄虫世代的发育起点温度为11.61 ℃,有效积温为388.85日·度.新菠萝灰粉蚧的产卵前期和成虫寿命随着温度的升高而缩短;成虫产卵量在29 ℃时最高,达每雌442.2粒;最小为20 ℃,仅为每雌111.8粒;29和20 ℃下种群趋势指数分别为168.2和19.1,且在17和32 ℃时,新菠萝灰粉蚧1龄若虫和3龄若虫均表现为生长停滞.说明温度过高或过低均不利于其生长发育.温度对新菠萝灰粉蚧的生长发育、存活、繁殖及种群增长有显著的影响,23～29 ℃是最适宜新菠萝灰粉蚧生长发育和繁殖的温度范围.     

Genetic evidence against a morphologically suggestive conspecificity of Dermacentor reticulatus and D. marginatus (Acari: Ixodidae)

Dermacentor reticulatus and D. marginatus exhibit overlapping phenotypes. The possibility of conspecificity was investigated on the nucleotide level by comparing DNA sequences of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS 2) of the rDNA gene. The inter-specific polymorphism was more than 20-times greater than the intra-specific polymorphism of 3 D. reticulatus strains of different geographic origins. Furthermore, the degree of polymorphisms between D. reticulatus and D. marginatus was found to be of the same order of magnitude as that between D. andersoni and D. variabilis, for which separate species status is accepted. These genomic findings do not support a possible conspecificity of D. reticulatus and D. marginatus.     

The chorion genes of the medfly. II. DNA sequence evolution of the autosomal chorion genes s18, s15, s19 and s16 in Diptera

We present a total of approximately 15 kb of DNA sequences, encompassing four chorion genes Ccs18, Ccs15, Ccs19, Cc16 and their flanking DNA in the medfly C. capitata. Comparison of coding regions, introns and intergenic sequences in five Dipteran species, D. melanogaster, D. subobscura, D. virilis, D. grimshawi and C. capitata documented an extensive divergence in introns and coding regions, but few well conserved elements in the proximal 5′ flanking regions in all species. These elements are related to conserved regulatory features of three of the genes, including tissue- and temporal regulation. In the fourth, gene s15, significant alterations in the 5′ flanking region may be responsible for its changed temporal regulation in C. capitata. One long intergenic sequence, located in the distal 5′ flanking region of gene s18, is homologous to ACE3, a major amplification control element and contains an 80-bp A/T-rich sequence, known to stimulate strong binding of the origin recognition complex (ORC) in D. melanogaster. Analysis of the nucleotide composition of all chorion genes in C. capitata and D. melanogaster showed that C. capitata exhibit less biased representation of synonymous codons than does D. melanogaster.