Host-plant shifts and adult survival in the cactus breeding Drosophila mojavensis

Abstract. 1. In order to gain insight into how Drosophila mojavensis Patterson and Crow (which lives on the rotting tissue of cactus) successfully shifted host plants, from an Opuntia species to columnar cactus species, over evolutionary time, specific components of columnar cactus and Optunia tussue were examined for their effects on adult longevity.
2. The availability of free sugars affects the survival of adult D.mojavensis . The addition of a sugar to columnar cactus tissue significantly increased the longevity of adults that fed on those tissues. This increase in adult longevity was equal to the longevity observed on unsupplemented Opuntia tissue, which has free sugars present.
3. Live microorganisms added to Opuntia tissue had a slight detrimental effect on adult longevity (longevity was decreased by approximately 1 week).
4. Low concentrations of atmospheric ethanol (independent of diet) increased the longevity of adult D.mojavensis to levels comparable in magnitude to that provided by the addition of free sugars to the diet.
5. This information and the apparent lack of a year-round supply of free sugars for D.mojavensis in nature suggests that the ethanol (produced by fermentation) rather than free sugars per se is the most important component of rotting cactus tissue for the survival of this species and may explain its successful host-plant shift.     

食用仙人掌的营养成分分析

对新近引进的菜用品种－米邦塔仙人掌进行了营养成分（维生素Ｃ、β－胡萝卡素、矿物质、水溶性氨基酸、粗蛋白、中性洗涤纤维、有机酸、可溶性糖等）的分析,并与经常食用的结球甘蓝、生菜及黄瓜作了比较。结果表明：米邦塔仙人掌中的钾、钙、铜、铁、锰、锶及硅的含量较高,尤以钙、钾的含量明显高于其它蔬菜,且不含草酸;水溶性氨基酸以酷氨酸为主;另外还含有丰富的黄酮类物质。     

仙人掌在美容化妆品行业中的应用及开发

简要介绍了仙人掌在美容化妆品行业的应用方向,仙人掌原料的制备工艺以及仙人掌化妆品的设计理念,以期为仙人掌在美容化妆品领域的应用开发提供一些建议.     

仙人掌类嫁接繁殖技术

本文介绍仙人掌类嫁接技术的具体操作方法,指出影响嫁接成活率的主要因素,认为嫁接是仙人掌类繁殖的重要手段。     

In vitro axillary shoot proliferation and somatic embryogenesis of yellow pitaya Mediocactus coccineus (Salm-Dyck)

Yellow pitaya (Mediocactus coccineus) seeds were sown on Murashige and Skoog (1962) mineral salt medium. After germination, epicotyls were placed on media enriched with a combination of naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) (0.05, 0.27 or 0.54 M) and benzyladenine (BA) (2.2 or 4.4 M). The apical tip was excised from half of the shoots and the other half were kept intact. Different values for proliferation rate, shoot length and thickness were observed on each medium. The cotyledons and roots were placed on MS medium supplemented with NAA (2.7 or 5.4 M) and embryogenic calluses were formed. Somatic embryos were induced on these media and then they normally developed on a growth regulator-free medium.Abbreviations BA benzyladenine - MS Murashige and Skoog - NAA -naphthalenacetic acid     

Synthesis and reactivity of nonstabilized diazo sugars

1,6-Anhydro-4-deoxy-4-diazo-2,3-O-isopropylidene-beta-D-lyxo-hexopyranose (4) is a stable crystalline compound readily accessible by an improved synthetic procedure. It has been used as a model for evaluating the reactivity of the diazo group, when not stabilized by an adjacent carbonyl function, in a rigid chiral matrix. A range of carbene-type, electrophile-promoted, and 1,3-dipolar reactions were evaluated, leading to 4,4'-alkene dimers, 4-deoxy-3-enose and related derivatives, 4,4-dihalo compounds, 4-spirocyclopropane derivatives, 4-spiropyrazole structures, and by skeletal rearrangement, branched-chain anhydropentose structures having a bicyclo[2.2.2] skeleton.     

Human longevity and common variations in the LMNA gene: a meta-analysis

A mutation in the LMNA gene is responsible for the most dramatic form of premature aging, Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS). Several recent studies have suggested that protein products of this gene might have a role in normal physiological cellular senescence. To explore further LMNA's possible role in normal aging, we genotyped 16 SNPs over a span of 75.4 kb of the LMNA gene on a sample of long-lived individuals (LLI) (US Caucasians with age ≥ 95 years, N=873) and genetically matched younger controls (N=443). We tested all common nonredundant haplotypes (frequency ≥ 0.05) based on subgroups of these 16 SNPs for association with longevity. The most significant haplotype, based on four SNPs, remained significant after adjustment for multiple testing (OR=1.56, P=2.5 × 10(-5) , multiple-testing-adjusted P=0.0045). To attempt to replicate these results, we genotyped 3619 subjects from four independent samples of LLI and control subjects from (i) the New England Centenarian Study (NECS) (N=738), (ii) the Southern Italian Centenarian Study (SICS) (N=905), (iii) France (N=1103), and (iv) the Einstein Ashkenazi Longevity Study (N= 702). We replicated the association with the most significant haplotype from our initial analysis in the NECS sample (OR=1.60, P=0.0023), but not in the other three samples (P > 0.15). In a meta-analysis combining all five samples, the best haplotype remained significantly associated with longevity after adjustment for multiple testing in the initial and follow-up samples (OR=1.18, P=7.5 × 10(-4) , multiple-testing-adjusted P=0.037). These results suggest that LMNA variants may play a role in human lifespan.     

仙人掌科果类植物的品种及生产(综述)

仙人掌科的主要果类植物有５属１８个品种。本文重点介绍以红龙果为代表的柱形仙人掌果的繁殖、栽培与加工利用。     

Two simple tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid N-oxides from cacti

Tehuanine N-oxide was isolated from Pachycereus pringlei, and deglucopterocereine N-oxide was isolated from Pterocereus gaumeri. These     

Molecular evolution and population genetics of two Drosophila mettleri cytochrome P450 genes involved in host plant utilization

Understanding the genetic basis of adaptation is one of the primary goals of evolutionary biology. The evolution of xenobiotic resistance in insects has proven to be an especially suitable arena for studying the genetics of adaptation, and resistant phenotypes are known to result from both coding and regulatory changes. In this study, we examine the evolutionary history and population genetics of two Drosophila mettleri cytochrome P450 genes that are putatively involved in the detoxification of alkaloids present in two of its cactus hosts: saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) and senita (Lophocereus schottii). Previous studies demonstrated that Cyp28A1 was highly up-regulated following exposure to rotting senita tissue while Cyp4D10 was highly up-regulated following exposure to rotting saguaro tissue. Here, we show that a subset of sites in Cyp28A1 experienced adaptive evolution specifically in the D. mettleri lineage. Moreover, neutrality tests in several populations were also consistent with a history of selection on Cyp28A1. In contrast, we did not find evidence for positive selection on Cyp4D10, although this certainly does not preclude its involvement in host plant use. A surprising result that emerged from our population genetic analyses was the presence of significant genetic differentiation between flies collected from different host plant species (saguaro and senita) at Organ Pipe National Monument, Arizona, USA. This preliminary evidence suggests that D. mettleri may have evolved into distinctive host races that specialize on different hosts, a possibility that warrants further investigation.     

Genomics of human longevity

In animal models, single-gene mutations in genes involved in insulin/IGF and target of rapamycin signalling pathways extend lifespan to a considerable extent. The genetic, genomic and epigenetic influences on human longevity are expected to be much more complex. Strikingly however, beneficial metabolic and cellular features of long-lived families resemble those in animals for whom the lifespan is extended by applying genetic manipulation and, especially, dietary restriction. Candidate gene studies in humans support the notion that human orthologues from longevity genes identified in lower species do contribute to longevity but that the influence of the genetic variants involved is small. Here we discuss how an integration of novel study designs, labour-intensive biobanking, deep phenotyping and genomic research may provide insights into the mechanisms that drive human longevity and healthy ageing, beyond the associations usually provided by molecular and genetic epidemiology. Although prospective studies of humans from the cradle to the grave have never been performed, it is feasible to extract life histories from different cohorts jointly covering the molecular changes that occur with age from early development all the way up to the age at death. By the integration of research in different study cohorts, and with research in animal models, biological research into human longevity is thus making considerable progress.     

Number of siblings and children of short and long living individuals

The work aimed at grasping eventual relations between the grandparents' life length and the number of their siblings and children. A poll of 2800 students of Wroclaw higher education institutions (1023 men and 1777 women) from 18 to 26 years of age was conducted. Information concerning the number of siblings and children of the examined students' grandparents, and in case of the dead—their age at the moment of death, were used. The material was divided into two categories (using death—rate tables and death age median: short living (SL) and long living (LL). The examined relations were analyzed separately for mothers' mothers (MM), fathers' mothers (FM), mothers' fathers (MF) and fathers' fathers (FF) of the students combined these groups were also analysed. Number of siblings in the families of grandparents of the same categories of longevity generally doesn't differ significantly for each group of grandparents. Short living grandparents have significantly fewer siblings than the long living ones. Number of children, similarly as the number of siblings, is also higher in case of long living individuals. The described relation shall probably be sought in the so—called protective role of the family.     

Molecular identification of phytoplasmas in fasciated cacti and succulent species and associated hormonal perturbation

Fasciation, a frequent phenomenon in Cactaceae, has been attributed to various causes. The present study reports on phytoplasma-induced fasciation in Euphorbia coerulescens (Euphorbiaceae), Orbea gigantea (Asclepiadaceae), Opuntia cylindrica (Cactaceae), and Senecio stapeliiformis (Asteraceae). DNA was extracted from symptomless and fasciated tissues and amplified by nested PCR using universal primers P1/P7 followed by R16F2n/R16R2 produced amplicons of 1.2 Kb. The nucleotide sequence analyses of the amplicons indicated that fasciated plants were infected by phytoplasma. Phylogenetic analysis placed the cacti fasciation phytoplasmas in 16SrII group. The hormonal content of symptomless and fasciated tissues including indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), kinetin (Kin), N⁶-benzyladenine (BA), abscisic acid (ABA), and gibberellic acid (GA₃) was quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results indicated that fasciation in O. gigantea was correlated with the accumulation of Kin and IAA increasing five and two times, respectively, as compared to symptomless tissue. However, there was no consistent pattern of hormones in other fasciated species (E. coerulescens, O. cylindrica, and S. stapeliiformis), suggesting that different plant species might have different mechanism to develop fasciation associated with phytoplasma infection.     

Interaction between the cactus Neobuxbaumia tetetzo and the nurse shrub Mimosa luisana

Abstract. Pattern analysis and association analysis showed that recruitment of the giant columnar cactus Neobuxbaumia tetetzo in the semi-arid valley of Zapotitlán is largely limited to areas beneath the canopies of perennial shrubs, acting as nurse plants. Chi-square and Haberman tests revealed that young cacti were more frequently found beneath canopies of leguminous shrubs, especially Mimosa luisana, than were older cacti. Segregation analysis indicated a positive association (= negative segregation) of young cacti and M. luisana canopies, but older cacti were randomly distributed with respect to M. luisana. This, and the height class distributions of cacti associated withM luisana or not, suggested the replacement of M. luisana by N. tetetzo. Mimosa luisana plants in association withiV. tetetzo had greater amounts of dead basal area thanM luisana lacking associated N tetetzo. This suggested competition from JV. tetetzo promotes the replacement process. The roots of N tetetzo are ≤ 30 cm deep. Interception of soil water before penetration to deeper roots of M luisana may be the mode of competition between the two species.