岩溶区水生生态系统微藻的生物碳泵效应

微藻在水生生态系统的碳固定中扮演重要角色。本文综述了岩溶区水生生态系统生物碳泵的提出、岩溶区微藻生物碳泵作用、影响微藻固碳的主要环境因素以及岩溶区微藻固碳的研究进展,并提出了亟待解决的关键科学问题,为深入研究岩溶区水生生态系统微藻固碳能力及生物碳泵机制、科学认识岩溶生态系统的碳汇潜力、丰富和完善岩溶碳循环理论提供参考。     

Grand challenge commentary: Accessing new chemical space for 'undruggable' targets

The synthesis and biological annotation of small molecules from underexplored chemical space will play a central role in the development of drugs for challenging targets currently being identified in frontier areas of biological research such as human genetics.     

A review of FGF18: Its expression, signaling pathways and possible functions during embryogenesis and post-natal development

FGF18 is a novel growth factor first reported in 1998. Current evidence suggests that FGF18 may play a prominent role in chondrogenesis and osteogenesis during skeletal development and growth. However, its function extends to many other biological processes. Although there remains much to be discovered and investigated on the functions and mechanisms of FGF18, it may play a role as a useful therapeutic target for various applications. The following review summarizes the current knowledge on FGF18 with special emphasis on its skeletal functions and highlights its potential areas for future research.     

Issues Concerning the Eradication or Establishment and Biological Control of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly,Ceratitis capitata(Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), in California

Classical biological control is suggested as a tool worth developing now for possible future use in the integrated pest management of the Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly),Ceratitis capitata(Wiedemann), in California. Three factors that impact broadly on developing and implementing such a biological control program are: (1) the question of Medfly establishment, (2) quarantine considerations, and (3) agricultural and urban concerns. Each of these factors and their combined effects must be considered when discussing biological control of Medfly in California as shaped by historical perspectives on Medfly invasions, methods of Medfly eradication, and past biological control efforts against Medfly. We believe that biological control research should play a foundational role in any future Medfly management programs in California. Development of biological control should involve life history studies of Medfly and its natural enemies in their area of endemicity in sub-Saharan, southeast Africa. Medfly has been studied and should continue to be studied in areas it has invaded, because information derived from such studies provides insights into the potential distribution, abundance, and impact of Medfly populations in California. A plan for a biological research program on Medfly and its relatives and a biological control strategy are presented.     

成纤维细胞生长因子18(FGF18)的研究进展

成纤维细胞生长因子18 (fibroblast growth factor 18,FGF18)是成纤维细胞生长因子家族( FGFs)的成员之一.研究发现,FGF 18不仅在骨骼发育和生长期对软骨形成和成骨生成起着重要的作用,其功能也已延伸至其他许多生物过程,尽管对FGF18作为一个有用治疗靶点发挥作用的功能和机制仍有待进一步的发现及研究.现针对FGF18的特点,及其在骨骼发育中的功能,特别其在未来具有潜在应用领域上的研究进展进行综述.     

Conditions for a theoretical biology: is biology truly an autonomous science?

In a line of a previous paper, the conditions for a theoretical biology were discussed and it was pointed out that the primary condition is that biology is an autonomous science. This statement is connected to the problem of reductionism. A discussion of the autonomy of biology shows that reductionism cannot be maintained, although particularly in physiology often physics and mathematics are used. Development, organization and evolution of biological systems are typical areas of autonomous biological researches and of autonomous theoretical developments. A sort of reduction to history seems today a nonsensical attempt to reduce the area of free theoretical biological activity.     

Diversity of biological rhythm and food web stability

How ecosystem biodiversity is maintained remains a persistent question in the field of ecology. Here, I present a new coexistence theory, i.e. diversity of biological rhythm. Circadian, circalunar and circannual rhythms, which control short- and long-term activities, are identified as universal phenomena in organisms. Analysis of a theoretical food web with diel, monthly and annual cycles in foraging activity for each organism shows that diverse biological cycles play key roles in maintaining complex communities. Each biological rhythm does not have a strong stabilizing effect independently but enhances community persistence when combined with other rhythms. Biological rhythms also mitigate inherent destabilization tendencies caused by food web complexity. Temporal weak interactions due to hybridity of multiple activity cycles play a key role toward coexistence. Polyrhythmic changes in biological activities in response to the Earth''s rotation may be a key factor in maintaining biological communities.     

禾谷镰刀菌蛋白激酶研究进展

由禾谷镰刀菌引起的小麦赤霉病是小麦生产最重要的真菌病害之一,除了造成严重的产量损失外,其病原菌还会产生多种真菌毒素危害人畜健康。蛋白激酶在禾谷镰刀菌生长发育、植物侵染和胁迫应答等方面具有重要作用。综述了禾谷镰刀菌主要蛋白激酶在生物学功能和分子作用机制等方面的研究进展,并对未来禾谷镰刀菌蛋白激酶的研究趋势进行了展望,以期为今后禾谷镰刀菌蛋白激酶的研究与小麦赤霉病的防治提供理论参考。     

Grand challenges in organismal biology

A renaissance in organismal biology has been sparked by recent conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and computational advances in the life sciences, along with an unprecedented interdisciplinary integration with Mathematics, Engineering, and the physical sciences. Despite a decades-long trend toward reductionist approaches to biological problems, it is increasingly recognized that whole organisms play a central role in organizing and interpreting information from across the biological spectrum. Organisms represent the nexus where sub- and supra-organismal processes meet, and it is the performance of organisms within the environment that provides the material for natural selection. Here, we identify five "grand challenges" for future research in organismal biology. It is intended that these challenges will spark further discussion in the broader community and identify future research priorities, opportunities, and directions, which will ultimately help to guide the allocation of support for and training in organismal biology.     

History of protein-protein interactions: from egg-white to complex networks

Today, it is widely appreciated that protein-protein interactions play a fundamental role in biological processes. This was not always the case. The study of protein interactions started slowly and evolved considerably, together with conceptual and technological progress in different areas of research through the late 19th and the 20th centuries. In this review, we present some of the key experiments that have introduced major conceptual advances in biochemistry and molecular biology, and review technological breakthroughs that have paved the way for today's systems-wide approaches to protein-protein interaction analysis.     

Progress in the study of algae and mosses in biological soil crusts

Algae and mosses are not only two of the familiar communities in the process of desert vegetational succession, but also have the highest biomass in biological soil crusts. Meanwhile, being the pioneer plants, algae and mosses are involved in the establishment of biological soil crusts, which have great importance in arid environments and play a major role in desert ecosystems, such as being the indicator of the vegetation type, soil-holding, preventing erosion by water and wind, and sand fixation. This paper reviews the advances in the study of algae and mosses in arid and semi-arid areas. It mainly describes the ecological functions of algae and mosses including their influences on water cycle, circulation of substances, and community succession. In addition, the relationships between algae and mosses are discussed. Finally, some suggestions are proposed for the research orientations of algae and mosses in biological soil crusts. Ecologically, algae and mosses have significant ecological importance in arid areas, especially in those areas where environmental problems are becoming increasingly serious.     

Progress in the study of algae and mosses in biological soil crusts

Algae and mosses are not only two of the familiar communities in the process of desert vegetational succession,but also have the highest biomass in biological soil crusts.Meanwhile,being the pioneer plants,algae and mosses are involved in the establishment of biological soil crusts,which have great importance in arid environments and play a major role in desert ecosystems,such as being the indicator of the vegetation type,soil-holding,preventing erosion by water and wind,and sand fixation.This paper reviews the advances in the study of algae and mosses in arid and semi-arid areas.It mainly describes the ecological functions of algae and mosses including their influences on water cycle,circulation of substances,and community succession.In addition,the relationships between algae and mosses are discussed.Finally,some suggestions are proposed for the research orientations of algae and mosses in biological soil crusts.Ecologically,algae and mosses have significant ecological importance in arid areas,especially in those areas where environmental problems are becoming increasingly serious.     

Environmental stress and adaptational responses: consequences for human health outcomes

With the dramatic pace of modernization of the world's population, human adaptation as a theoretical construct and paradigm will likely become a focal scientific issue involving scientists from many disciplinary areas during the 21st Century. Macro and micro environments are in rapid flux and human populations are exposed to rapid change. The concept of adaptation, at least in the field of biological anthropology and human biology, will likely remain tied to evolutionary processes and concepts of selection and fitness. In this paper, we discuss the theoretical constructs of adaptation and adaptability and select three current examples from our ongoing research that involve studies of adaptation and evolutionary processes in modernizing populations in different locations worldwide.     

中国喀斯特地区微生物群落结构和功能的研究进展

频繁的人类生产活动使植被遭到破坏,造成基岩裸露的石漠化现象,严重制约了喀斯特地区自然和社会经济的发展,随着生态修复工程的大力开展,微生物群落的结构和功能在生态修复中逐渐受到重视,因为微生物作为喀斯特生态系统的重要组成部分,不仅在物质循环过程中起着重要作用,也在喀斯特生态系统修复中占有十分重要的地位。所以微生物群落结构和功能的研究可以作为衡量生态系统稳定性的重要指标。就中国喀斯特地区的典型植被恢复的不同阶段、成土过程、不同的土地利用方式、矿山修复过程以及不同水域中的微生物群落结构及功能等方面的研究状况进行系统梳理,结合实例综合论述喀斯特地区生态修复过程中微生物作用的研究进展,以期为喀斯特地区生态修复提供参考。     

Promises and limits of an agency perspective in evolutionary developmental biology

An agent-based perspective in the study of complex systems is well established in diverse disciplines, yet is only beginning to be applied to evolutionary developmental biology. In this essay, we begin by defining agency and associated terminology formally. We then explore the assumptions and predictions of an agency perspective, apply these to select processes and key concept areas relevant to practitioners of evolutionary developmental biology, and consider the potential epistemic roles that an agency perspective might play in evo devo. Throughout, we discuss evidence supportive of agential dynamics in biological systems relevant to evo devo and explore where agency thinking may enrich the explanatory reach of research efforts in evolutionary developmental biology.     

Proteins on the catwalk: modelling the structural domains of the CCN family of proteins

The CCN family of proteins (CCN1, CCN2, CCN3, CCN4, CCN5 and CCN6) are multifunctional mosaic proteins that play keys roles in crucial areas of physiology such as angiogenesis, skeletal development tumourigenesis, cell proliferation, adhesion and survival. This expansive repertoire of functions comes through a modular structure of 4 discrete domains that act both independently and in concert. How these interactions with ligands and with neighbouring domains lead to the biological effects is still to be explored but the molecular structure of the domains is likely to play an important role in this. In this review we have highlighted some of the key features of the individual domains of CCN family of proteins based on their biological effects using a homology modelling approach.     

长非编码RNA编码微肽的研究进展

长非编码RNA (long non-coding RNA, lncRNA)是长度超过200 nt的非编码RNA,具有一个或多个短开放阅读框,可编码功能性微肽。这些功能性微肽在各种生物过程中扮演着重要角色,例如Ca2+转运、线粒体代谢、肌细胞融合和细胞衰老等过程。同时,这些生物过程又在机体稳态调控、疾病和癌症的发生与发展、胚胎发育等重要生理过程中起关键作用。因此,研究由lncRNA编码的微肽在生物体的潜在的调控机制,将有助于进一步解析生物体潜在调控过程,并为后续疾病的靶向治疗及动物生长性能的提高提供新的理论依据。本文综述了现阶段lncRNA编码微肽领域的最新研究进展,并对当前微肽在肌肉生理、炎症与免疫、人类常见癌症、胚胎发育等领域的研究进展进行描述与总结,最后简单阐述了lncRNA编码微肽现阶段面临的问题和存在的挑战,以期为后续微肽的深入研究提供科学参考及新思路。     

受体酪氨酸激酶对自噬的调控及其研究进展*

自噬是真核生物进化上保守的溶酶体降解的生物学过程,在维护细胞内的稳态、消除有害组分等方面起到了重要作用。受体酪氨酸激酶家族(receptor tyrosine kinase,RTKs)是一类激酶蛋白,在正常细胞和癌症细胞的运动和侵袭中起着重要作用。RTKs蛋白既能促进自噬,也能抑制自噬。研究显示,RTKs能够在肿瘤和相关疾病中发挥自噬作用,比如表皮生长因子受体(epidermal growth factor receptor,EGFR)可以抑制自噬,从而促进肿瘤生长、增殖;还能通过RTK/Ras/ERK信号通路诱导自噬,进而参与诸如细胞免疫反应之类的相关疾病。主要综述了RTKs对自噬的调控作用和相关研究成果,为靶点靶向疗法的理论依据提供了基础。     

基于资源等价分析法的海洋溢油生物资源损害评估

评估海洋溢油造成的生物资源损害,对我国目前迫切需要制定的海洋生态补偿政策以及生态修复计划具有重要的现实意义。针对我国2011年渤海蓬莱19-3油田溢油事故,评估生物资源受损程度,利用资源等价分析法计算修复工程规模。结果表明,底栖生物和非底栖生物(包括浮游幼虫幼体、鱼卵、仔稚鱼等)的受损程度分别为30%和71.4%,受损面积分别为1600 km2和6400 km2。若以修建海洋生态保护区作为补偿修复工程,在修复期为20 a、贴现率为3%条件下,修复工程规模应为1059km2,才能补偿溢油造成的底栖和非底栖生物资源损失。其结论可以作为海洋管理部门进行溢油生物资源损害评估和生态修复管理的技术依据。     

The Measurement of Biological Age1,4

One of the objectives of gerontological research is to achieve, reproducibly and at will, a verifiable discrepancy between the chronological and biological age of organisms. To accomplish this, the experimenter must be in a position to measure biological age independently. In theory, this can be done in three ways: by actuarial analysis of large populations, assessment of overall morbidity, or observation of chronic degenerative changes that can be actually measured or graded according to a scale. Of these three approaches, only the last appears to be promising in experimental research. However, not all progressive degenerative changes represent practically useful parameters of biological age. Criteria for their evaluation are presented, and their theoretical prerequisites as well as concrete applications are discussed. In a more general way, one has to be aware that biological age is a statistical entity. It cannot be directly observed but only inferred from quantifiable epiphenomena, and is, as such, not measurable like temperature or weight.