Restoration of Young Forests in Eastern Finland: Benefits for Saproxylic Beetles (Coleoptera)

Effective fire suppression in combination with intensive forestry has caused a large number of dead wood‐dependent (saproxylic) species to become threatened in Fennoscandia. In order to return the fire disturbance dynamics and to increase the amount of dead wood, restoration actions are urgently needed. We studied the effects of restoring young (under 30 years old) pine‐dominated (Pinus sylvestris L.) forest stands on saproxylic beetle assemblages in eastern Finland, focusing especially on rare, red‐listed, and pyrophilous (RRLP) species. Our experiment included a restoration treatment including two tree felling levels for fuel load (10 or 20 m³/ha) followed by burning, and an untreated control. We sampled beetles before restoration in 2005, during the year of restoration in 2006, and in two post‐treatment years in 2007 and 2011. Both restoration treatments increased the number of saproxylic and RRLP species. The species richness increased most in the year of restoration in 2006 and this trend continued in the following year 2007, but no differences in species assemblages were detected between the two fuel load levels. By 2011, however, the species richness and abundance had declined back to the pre‐treatment level. We suggest that restoration burning can also be directed to young forests where biodiversity values are initially low. On the basis of the observed decline in the species richness, we suggest that fire could be introduced in neighboring areas in approximately 5‐year intervals to maintain populations of the most demanding pyrophilous species .     

一个增加渔业产量的最优策略

本文研究了Logistic模型在渔业收获中的应用．我们脉冲的在湖泊中增加鱼的食物（水草）,以此来增大湖泊的环境容纳量．因此,经过一段时间后,鱼的数量可以达到一个很高的水平．我们从生态和经济学的角度出发,找到了最优策略,通过例子（表1一表10）给出了具体的策略．在最后一个例子（表11）中,我们比较了参数A和T对模型的不同影响．最后,我们指出了本文的数学和数值模拟结果在生态学和经济学中的应用,并且作了简短的讨论．     

Comparison of automatic and conventional physical and chemical analyses in Lake Saimaa,Eastern Finland

Hydrobiologia - The Saimaa lake complex (4460&;nbsp;km2) is a mosaic of interconnected basins draining into the Gulf of Finland via Lake Ladoga. Limnologically, most of the basins are...     

Chemical Production from Methanol Using Natural and Synthetic Methylotrophs

Methanol as a chemical feedstock is becoming increasingly important as it is derived from natural gas and is a feasible end‐product for captured carbon dioxide. Biological conversion of methanol through natural and synthetic methylotrophs increases the chemical repertoire and is an important direction for one carbon (C1) based chemical economy. Advances in the metabolic engineering and synthetic biology enable development of microbial cell factories for converting methanol into various platform chemicals. In this review, the current status of methanol utilizing microbial factory development is summarized. Also the development of synthetic methylotrophy and methanol‐augmented bioproductions is discussed.     

Phytochemical Profiles and Antioxidant Activity of Rehmannia glutinosa from Different Production Locations

The chemical components and antioxidant activity of 16 Rehmannia glutinosa samples were investigated to reveal the high‐quality raw resource for pharmaceutical products. 22 main chemical components were detected with significant content differences (P<0.05). The contents of 14 substances reached the maximum in S1 sample such as catalpol (6.74 mg g^?1), rehmaionoside A (1.93 mg g^?1) and rehmannioside D (5.13 mg g^?1). However, the content distribution of the other eight substances had no obvious change regulation. Three antioxidant evaluation methods commonly showed that S1 sample had strong antioxidant activity with a low IC₅₀ value of 0.022 mg mL^?1, a high ABTS value of 524.196 μmol equiv. Trolox g^?1, and a high FRAP value of 200.517 μmol equiv. Trolox g^?1. Considered the medicinal value, S1 had high quality based on the present phytochemical profiles and antioxidant activity. These results also indicated that the root extracts of R. glutinosa could become useful supplement for pharmaceutical products as new antioxidant agents.     

Growth and Polysaccharide Production by Methylocystis parvus OBBP on Methanol

Methylocystis parvus OBBP, an obligate methylotroph originally isolated as a methane-utilizing bacterium, was cultivated on methanol as a sole source of carbon. After adaptation to high methanol levels, this organism grew on methanol with a maximum specific growth rate of 0.65 h. The pH optimum for growth was between 7 and 9, and the temperature optimum was between 30 and 37 degrees C. Methanol concentrations higher than 5% (by weight) were toxic. Formaldehyde, at a concentration greater than 1 mM, inhibited growth. Formate was neither a substrate nor an inhibitor. An extracellular viscous heteropolysaccharide was produced during growth. The maximum production of the total biomass was 14.5 g (dry weight) per liter of broth. The dried biomass contained 22% (wt/wt) crude protein and 62% (wt/wt) polysaccharide. The main components of the polysaccharide were d-glucose (82%) and l-rhamnose (14%).     

基于动力学模型的法夫酵母发酵生产虾青素的补料策略优化

对法夫酵母的不同补料发酵方式进行了研究.基于底物抑制模型,提出了一种优化的两阶段补料策略,用于法夫酵母产虾青素的高密度发酵.在发酵的延迟期和对数生长期早期,糖浓度控制在25 g/L左右,在此条件下,生物量可以达到最大,且时间缩短.在对数生长期后期及稳定期,糖浓度控制在5 g/L,虾青素的合成时间可以有效延长.与传统的补料方式相比,采用此补料策略取得了较好的发酵效果.发酵终点细胞干重达到23.8g/L,虾青素产量达到29.05 mg/L,分别比分批发酵提高了52.8%和109%.     

反应分离耦合技术生产L-苹果酸工艺过程的优化研究

运用生物反应分离耦合原理,以富马酸钙为底物,采用游离延胡索酸酶,直接转化生产苹果酸钙。该法相对目前广泛采用的包埋式固定化方法具有工艺流程短、操作简便、转化率、收率高等特点,研究结果表明,转化温度为40℃,PH为7．0－7．5时,每升延胡索酸酶液能在20－28h间将3．2kg的富马酸钙转化生产成苹果酸钙,转化率高达99．9％,富马酸在产品中的残留在0．1％左右,产品符合美国药典标准,成本与化学合成法生产的DL－苹果酸相当。     

粘质沙雷氏菌XJ-01几丁质酶合成条件的优化

目的:对粘质沙雷氏菌(Serratia marcescens)XJ-01几丁质酶合成条件优化.方法:研究了碳源、氮源、温度、pH等单个因素对该菌几丁质酶合成的影响,并通过正交实验确定了该菌的最适酶合成条件.结果:该茵几丁质酶最优合成条件为:胶体几丁质5g/L、硫酸铵5 g/L、培养温度32℃、最适pH 8.结论:优化了S.marcescens XJ-01几丁质酶的合成条件.     

AhpC Is Required for Optimal Production of Enterobactin by Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli alkyl hydroperoxide reductase subunit C (AhpC) is a peroxiredoxin that detoxifies peroxides. Here we show an additional role for AhpC in cellular iron metabolism of E. coli. Deletion of ahpC resulted in reduced growth and reduced accumulation of iron by cells grown in low-iron media. Liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) analysis of culture supernatants showed that the ahpC mutant secreted much less enterobactin, the siderophore that chelates and transports ferric iron under iron-limiting conditions, than wild-type E. coli did. The ahpC mutant produced less 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate, the intermediate in the enterobactin biosynthesis pathway, and providing 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate restored wild-type growth of the ahpC mutant. These data indicated that the defect was in an early step in enterobactin biosynthesis. Providing additional copies of entC, which functions in the first dedicated step of enterobactin biosynthesis, but not of other enterobactin biosynthesis genes, suppressed the mutant phenotype. Additionally, providing either shikimate or a mixture of para-aminobenzoate, tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylalanine, which, like enterobactin, are synthesized from the precursor chorismate, also suppressed the mutant phenotype. These data suggested that AhpC affected the activity of EntC or the availability of the chorismate substrate.     

对沼泽红假单胞菌生产CoQ10添加前体物的优化

CoQ10因其具有多种生理生化功能而不仅用于药物也用作食品添加剂.本研究采用全因析中心复合设计及响应面法对茄尼醇、对羟基苯甲酸及甲硫氨酸三种CoQ10前体物的添加量进行了优化,以达到沼泽红假单胞菌J001最大量地生产CoQ10的目的.结果表明:经过对所得模型进行响应曲面法分析,当茄尼醇、对羟基苯甲酸及甲硫氨酸最佳添加量分别为124.8mg1-1,267.7mg1-1,130.2mg1-1时,得最大CoQ10产量预测值40.6[(mgCoQ10)(g干细胞)-1].对上述最佳组合进行试验验证得40.5±0.2[(mg CoQ10)(g干细胞)-1],很接近预测值,比对照(未加三种CoQ10前体物)CoQ10产量提高了109.8%.     

Normal and Extreme Wind Conditions for Power at Coastal Locations in China

In this paper, the normal and extreme wind conditions for power at 12 coastal locations along China’s coastline were investigated. For this purpose, the daily meteorological data measured at the standard 10-m height above ground for periods of 40–62 years are statistically analyzed. The East Asian Monsoon that affects almost China’s entire coastal region is considered as the leading factor determining wind energy resources. For most stations, the mean wind speed is higher in winter and lower in summer. Meanwhile, the wind direction analysis indicates that the prevalent winds in summer are southerly, while those in winter are northerly. The air densities at different coastal locations differ significantly, resulting in the difference in wind power density. The Weibull and lognormal distributions are applied to fit the yearly wind speeds. The lognormal distribution performs better than the Weibull distribution at 8 coastal stations according to two judgement criteria, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test and absolute error (AE). Regarding the annual maximum extreme wind speed, the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution performs better than the commonly-used Gumbel distribution. At these southeastern coastal locations, strong winds usually occur in typhoon season. These 4 coastal provinces, that is, Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan, and Zhejiang, which have abundant wind resources, are also prone to typhoon disasters.     

Detritus Production and Soil N Transformations in Old-Growth Eastern Hemlock and Sugar Maple Stands

To examine the linkage between forest cover type, litter inputs, and patterns of net N mineralization versus the turnover of N among soil microbes, we measured both the net and gross rates of N mineralization in replicated, adjacent old-growth eastern hemlock [Tsuga canadensis(L.) Carr.] or sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) stands in upper Michigan. Mean aboveground net primary production and annual litterfall mass were significantly higher (P < 0.01) in the maple forests (870 g·m^-2·y^-1 and 439 g·m^-2·y^-1, respectively) than in the hemlock forests (480 g·m^-2·y^-1 and 344 g·m^-2·y^-1, respectively). Forest floor and coarse woody debris mass, however, were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the maple forests (2.2 and 0.1 kg·m^-2, respectively) than in the hemlock forests (2.9 and 0.2 kg·m^-2, respectively). Litterfall N concentration was not significantly different (P > 0.10) between the two forest types. In situ gross rates of N mineralization were higher (P < 0.06) in the maple forests than in the hemlock forests (7.5 and 6.1 mg N·kg soil^-1·d^-1 respectively), but in situ net N mineralization varied independently of forest type and stand-level litterfall N concentration. Cover type–dependent differences in detritus production and detritus C quality appear to result in different N turnover rates, but the balance between gross mineralization and immobilization of N is very sensitive to within stand variability and varies at a scale smaller than cover type alone can predict. Received 3 Feburary 1999; accepted 27 August 1999.     

Galactonolactone Dehydrogenase Requires a Redox-Sensitive Thiol for Optimal Production of Vitamin C

The mitochondrial flavoenzyme l-galactono-γ-lactone dehydrogenase (GALDH) catalyzes the ultimate step of vitamin C biosynthesis in plants. We found that recombinant GALDH from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) is inactivated by hydrogen peroxide due to selective oxidation of cysteine (Cys)-340, located in the cap domain. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry revealed that the partial reversible oxidative modification of Cys-340 involves the sequential formation of sulfenic, sulfinic, and sulfonic acid states. S-Glutathionylation of the sulfenic acid switches off GALDH activity and protects the enzyme against oxidative damage in vitro. C340A and C340S GALDH variants are insensitive toward thiol oxidation, but exhibit a poor affinity for l-galactono-1,4-lactone. Cys-340 is buried beneath the protein surface and its estimated pK_a of 6.5 suggests the involvement of the thiolate anion in substrate recognition. The indispensability of a redox-sensitive thiol provides a rationale why GALDH was designed as a dehydrogenase and not, like related aldonolactone oxidoreductases, as an oxidase.l-Ascorbate (vitamin C) is the most consumed vitamin on earth. It is a multifunctional antioxidant that is particularly abundant in plants where it can reach millimolar concentrations, representing over 10% of the soluble carbohydrate content. l-Ascorbate is a cofactor for a number of enzymes and it is a major constituent of the intracellular redox buffer. Its main function in plants is to scavenge reducing equivalents originating from respiration and photosynthetic activity, protecting proteins, unsaturated fatty acids, and DNA from irreversible oxidative damage (Smirnoff and Wheeler, 2000).The terminal step of l-ascorbate biosynthesis in plants is catalyzed by the mitochondrial flavoenzyme l-galactono-γ-lactone dehydrogenase (GALDH; l-galactono-1,4-lactone:ferricytochrome c oxidoreductase; EC 1.3.2.3). GALDH mediates the two-electron oxidation of l-galactono-1,4-lactone into l-ascorbic acid with the concomitant reduction of cytochrome c (Scheme 1):Open in a separate windowScheme 1.Besides from producing l-ascorbate, the exploitation of the electron transport chain by GALDH is important for the proper functioning of plant mitochondria (Alhagdow et al., 2007). Furthermore, it has been reported that GALDH is required for the correct assembly of respiratory complex I (Pineau et al., 2008).GALDH and other aldonolactone oxidoreductases are two-domain proteins with a conserved vanillyl-alcohol oxidase (VAO)-type FAD domain (Fraaije et al., 1998; Leferink et al., 2008a). Most aldonolactone oxidoreductases are hydrogen peroxide-producing oxidases containing covalently bound FAD, while GALDH reacts poorly with molecular oxygen and contains noncovalently bound FAD (Leferink et al., 2008b). Aldonolactone oxidoreductases have been isolated from various sources, but they are not well characterized. No crystal structure is available, and little is known about the nature of the active site and the catalytic mechanism. Several aldonolactone oxidoreductases, including GALDH from plants (Mapson and Breslow, 1958; Ôba et al., 1995; Østergaard et al., 1997; Imai et al., 1998; Yabuta et al., 2000), l-gulono-1,4-lactone oxidase from animals (Nishikimi, 1979), d-arabinono-1,4-lactone oxidase from yeast (Huh et al., 1994), and trypanosomal aldonolactone oxidoreductases (Logan et al., 2007), are sensitive toward inactivation by thiol-modifying agents. In line with this, we previously found that recombinant GALDH from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) is slowly inactivated during storage and that the activity can be completely restored by treatment with the reducing agent dithiothreitol (DTT; Leferink et al., 2008b).So far nothing is known about the nature of the thiol inactivation, and to our knowledge the effect of oxidants on the activity of aldonolactone oxidoreductases has not been studied before. Here we investigated the susceptibility of GALDH to oxidative stress and identified a critical Cys in the substrate binding site that makes the enzyme vulnerable toward irreversible inactivation.     

Mutant of Methylomonas methanolica and Its Characterization with Respect to Biomass Production from Methanol

A stable variant of Methylomonas methanolica, with a higher temperature optimum for growth, was obtained after mutagenic treatment and selection. The mutant strain M13V has an optimum growth temperature of 35 to 37°C and a maximum at 43°C, as compared with 30 and 40°C for the wild strain. Strain M13V and M. methanolica have similar basic characteristics and cell composition. An extracellular polysaccharide is produced by both strains, but this property is more pronounced in strain M13V. In strain M13V the production is favored by high temperature, low growth rate, and oxygen limitation. In continuous culture of strain M13V, the polysaccharide production was partly growth associated and partly independent of the growth rate. The extracellular polysaccharide acted as a flocculating agent. A relationship between polysaccharide concentration and sedimentation rate was found. Biomass production from strain M13V is most effective at 35°C with respect to both growth rate and substrate utilization. It was found that the yield coefficient for methanol was independent of the dilution rate, whereas the yield coefficient for oxygen increased and the production coefficient for carbon dioxide decreased at increasing dilution rates. These results are discussed in connection with the polysaccharide production.     

Heterogeneity of Soils and Vegetation in an Eastern Amazonian Rain Forest: Implications for Scaling Up Biomass and Production

Transferring fine-scale ecological knowledge into an understanding of earth system processes presents a considerable challenge to ecologists. Our objective here was to identify and quantify heterogeneity of, and relationships among, vegetation and soil properties in terra firme rain forest ecosystems in eastern Amazonia and assess implications for generating regional predictions of carbon (C) exchange. Some of these properties showed considerable variation among sites; soil textures varied from 11% to 92% clay. But we did not find any significant correlations between soil characteristics (percentage clay, nitrogen [N], C, organic matter) and vegetation characteristics (leaf area index [LAI], foliar N concentration, basal area, biomass, stem density). We found some evidence for increased drought stress on the sandier sites: There was a significant correlation between soil texture and wood δ¹³C (but not with foliar δ¹³C); volumetric soil moisture was lower at sandier sites; and some canopy foliage had large, negative dawn water potentials (ψ_ld), indicating limited water availability in the rooting zone. However, at every site at least one foliage sample indicated full or nearly full rehydration, suggesting significant interspecific variability in drought vulnerability. There were significant differences in foliar δ¹⁵N among sites, but not in foliar % N, suggesting differences in N cycling but not in plant access to N. We used an ecophysiological model to examine the sensitivity of gross primary production (GPP) to observed inter- and intrasite variation in key driving variables—LAI, foliar N, and ψ_ld. The greatest sensitivity was to foliar N; standard errors on foliar N data translated into uncertainty in GPP predictions up to ±10% on sunny days and ±5% on cloudy days. Local variability in LAI had a minor influence on uncertainty, especially on sunny days. The largest observed reductions in ψ_ld reduced GPP by 4%–6%. If uncertainty in foliar N estimates is propagated into the model, then GPP estimates are not significantly different among sites. Our results suggest that water restrictions in the sandier sites are not enough to reduce production significantly and that texture is not the key control on plant access to N. Received 28 June 2001; accepted 13 March 2002.     

Ethanol and Methanol Can Improve Huperzine A Production from Endophytic Colletotrichum gloeosporioides ES026

Huperzine A (HupA) is a plant alkaloid that is of great interest as a therapeutic candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer''s disease. However, the current production of HupA from plants in large quantity is unsustainable because the plant resource is scarce and the content of HupA in plants is extremely low. Surprisingly, this compound was recently found to be produced by various endophytic fungi, which are much more controllable than the plants due to simpler genetics and ease of manipulation. However, it might be due to the innate properties of endophytic symbiosis, that production of this chemical in large quantity from endophytes has not yet been put into practice. Endophytic Colletotrichum gloeosporioides ES026 was previously isolated from a HupA producing plant and the fungi also proved to produce HupA. In this study, various fermentation conditions were tried to optimize the production of HupA from C. gloeosporioides ES026. Optimization of these parameters resulted in a 25.58% increase in HupA yield. Potato extracts supplemented with glucose or sucrose but not maltose facilitated HupA producing from the fungi. A final concentration of 0.5–2% ethanol stimulated the growth of fungi while methanol with the same treatment slightly inhibited the growth. However, both methanol and ethanol greatly increased the HupA production with the highest yield of HupA (51.89% increment) coming from ethanol treatment. Further analysis showed that both ethanol and methanol were strong inducers of HupA production, while ethanol was partially used as a carbon source during fermentation. It was noticed that the color of that ethanol treated mycelia gradually became dark while methanol treated ones stayed grey during fermentation. The present study sheds light on the importance of optimizing the fermentation process, which, combined with effective inducers, maximizes production of chemicals of important economic interest from endophytic fungi.