植物与传粉者物候错配效应研究进展

开花植物与传粉者之间稳定互惠模式的建立是维持互作双方种群适合度的关键。在全球变化的背景下,植物与传粉者对温度、融雪、人类活动等外界扰动的响应差异,易于引起两者关键物候期的不同步发生,由此可能减少传粉互作的重叠时间,改变相互作用的成本和收益,进而对两者的种群动态产生潜在的深远影响（即物候错配效应）。近年来国内外对植物花期与传粉者活动物候的错配研究主要集中在两方面：一是物候错配现象发生的原因及机制;二是这种物候错配带来的生态后果,尤其是对互惠双方种群动态的影响。但由于研究方法及数据获取等方面的局限性,物候错配研究仍存在一些薄弱环节,如物候匹配模式对环境变化的响应机制、传粉效率对错配效应的调节影响、物候数据获取的独立性等。本文综述了植物-传粉者物候错配效应的最新研究进展,并对未来的研究展望进行初步探讨,以期为物种多样性、动植物种群动态的合理预测等方面的研究提供有益的参考。     

Interactions between invasive plants and heavy metal stresses: a review

入侵植物与重金属胁迫的相互作用研究进展 全球变化改变了植物群落的分布格局,包括入侵植物,而人为污染可能降低本地植物对入侵植物的抗性。因此,本文总结了近几十年本地植物、入侵植物和植物-土壤生态系统中重金属生物地球化学行为的研究,以加深我们对入侵植物与环境胁迫因子相互作用的认识。我们的研究结合已有文献报道表明：(i)入侵物种对环境胁迫的影响具有异质性, (ii)影响的大小是多变的, (iii)即使在同一影响类型内,影响类型也具有多向性。然而,入侵植物暴露在重金属环境中表现出更强的自我保护机制,对重金属的生物可利用性和毒性有正向或负向的影响。另一方面,由于入侵植物普遍具有较高的耐受性,加之本地植物暴露于有毒重金属污染时具有“逃逸行为”,重金属胁迫环境更有利于植物的成功入侵。但是,对于入侵植物的重金属等元素组成是否与污染地区的本地植物不同,目前尚无共识。因此,在全球范围内对外来入侵植物与本土植物的植物体内、凋落物和土壤污染物含量进行定量比较是今后研究的一个重要方向。     

入侵植物与丛枝菌根真菌的相互作用

入侵植物的入侵改变了入侵地生物群落的结构,导致生物多样性的丧失.丛枝菌根真菌(AMF)作为陆地生态系统中土壤微生物普遍的组成部分,它的种类和组成能够影响入侵植物的生长表现.这种真菌与寄主(入侵植物)特殊的关系也暗示了AMF能够影响入侵植物的入侵.反之,入侵植物的入侵同样也会影响AMF的群落结构和功能.本文在简要总结我国入侵植物种类及其危害的基础上,着重探讨了AMF与入侵植物入侵之间的关系,即AMF对入侵植物入侵过程中的作用、入侵植物入侵后如何影响AMF以及两者之间的相互作用机制.     

Biotechnological approaches for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates in microorganisms and plants - a review

The increasing effect of non-degradable plastic wastes is a growing concern. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), macromolecule-polyesters naturally produced by many species of microorganisms, are being considered as a replacement for conventional plastics. Unlike petroleum-derived plastics that take several decades to degrade, PHAs can be completely bio-degraded within a year by a variety of microorganisms. This biodegradation results in carbon dioxide and water, which return to the environment. Attempts based on various methods have been undertaken for mass production of PHAs. Promising strategies involve genetic engineering of microorganisms and plants to introduce production pathways. This challenge requires the expression of several genes along with optimization of PHA synthesis in the host. Although excellent progress has been made in recombinant hosts, the barriers to obtaining high quantities of PHA at low cost still remain to be solved. The commercially viable production of PHA in crops, however, appears to be a realistic goal for the future.     

Invasive plants: approaches and predictions

Successful management of invasive weeds will require active attempts to prevent new introductions, vigilant detection of nascent populations and persistent efforts to eradicate the worst invaders. To achieve these objectives, invasion ecology offers five groups of complementary approaches. (i) Stochastic approaches allow probabilistic predictions about potential invaders based on initial population size, residence time and number of introduction attempts. (ii) Empirical taxon‐specific approaches are based on previously documented invasions of particular taxa. (iii) Evaluations of the biological characters of non‐invasive taxa and successful invaders give rise either to general or to habitat‐specific screening procedures. (iv) Evaluation of environmental compatibility helps to predict whether a particular plant taxon can invade specific habitats. (v) Experimental approaches attempt to tease apart intrinsic and extrinsic factors underlying invasion success. An emerging theory of plant invasiveness based on biological characters has resulted in several rather robust predictions which are presented in this paper.     

Canopy spectral characteristics of typical invasive and native plants in the coastal wetland of Yancheng City,China

Spartina alterniflora (S. alterniflora) is a dominant invasive alien species that occurs in Yancheng Wetland National Nature Reserve, the largest coastal wetland in China. It expands rapidly and exerts great threats to local ecosystem. The main native species there are Phragmites australis (P. australis) and Suaeda salsa (S. salsa), respectively. In order to monitor their dynamics, it is of great significance to analyze their spectral discrimination. Canopy spectra of these typical species were measured in July and October in order to compare species differences, as well as the seasonal variation. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was calculated based on canopy spectra. The significances of differences in spectral characteristic among species were tested using the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (P < 0.05). The results showed that the visible (VI) bands were the optimum wavelengths for species discrimination in both seasons. S. alterniflora always had the greatest green peak height and red absorption depth. S. salsa had no obvious green peak, but an obvious red reflection peak. P. australis generally had intermediate values. Spectra in the near-infrared (NIR) bands were not appropriate for delineating S. alterniflora and P. australis in summer, as they showed similar values in these wavelengths. But NIR bands could be used to distinguish S. salsa in summer, as it had significantly lower reflectance in NIR bands than the others. Meanwhile, the reflectance in short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) bands became another suitable approach for distinguishing species in autumn. S. salsa had significantly higher values than the others in SWIR regions. Significant NDVI differences between different species proved that it could improve the species discrimination. S. alterniflora always had the highest NDVI values, while S. salsa had the lowest values. The seasonal trend of canopy spectra was also revealed. With plant maturity, the reflectance values in green bands and NIR bands decreased significantly, but increased significantly around the yellow-red wavelengths. The green peak heights, red absorption depths, and NDVI values of the species decreased remarkably. Furthermore, S. alterniflora and P. australis illustrated obvious ‘blue shift’ of the red edge with senescence. These results pointed out the the potential bands and appropriate spectral parameters appropriate for species discrimination, and highlighted the influence of seasonality on spectral information. They provided an important basis for salt marshes identification and dynamic monitoring on a large scale.     

Allometric growth, disturbance regime, and dilemmas of controlling invasive plants: a model analysis

Disturbed communities are observed to be more susceptible to invasion by exotic species, suggesting that some attributes of the invaders may interact with disturbance regime to facilitate invasion success. Alternanthera philoxeroides, endemic to South America, is an amphibious clonal weed invading worldwide. It tends to colonize disturbed habitats such as riparian zones, floodplain wetlands and agricultural areas. We developed an analytical model to explore the interactive effects of two types of physical disturbances, shoot mowing and root fragmentation, on biomass production dynamics of A. philoxeroides. The model is based on two major biological assumptions: (1) allometric growth of root (belowground) vs. shoot (aboveground) biomass and (2) exponential regrowth of shoot biomass after mowing. The model analysis revealed that the interaction among allometric growth pattern, shoot mowing frequency and root fragmentation intensity might lead to diverse plant ‘fates’. For A. philoxeroides whose root allocation decreases with growing plant size, control by shoot mowing was faced with two dilemmas. (1) Shoot regrowth can be effectively suppressed by frequent mowing. However, frequent shoot mowing led to higher biomass allocation to thick storage roots, which enhanced the potential for faster future plant growth. (2) In the context of periodic shoot mowing, individual shoot biomass converged to a stable equilibrium value which was independent of the root fragmentation intensity. However, root fragmentation resulted in higher equilibrium population shoot biomass and higher frequency of shoot mowing required for effective control. In conclusion, the interaction between allometric growth and physical disturbances may partially account for the successful invasion of A. philoxeroides; improper mechanical control practices could function as disturbances and result in exacerbated invasion.     

Homeostatic responses of plants to modern climate change: Spatial and phenological aspects

A series of dates of unfolding of the first leaves and duration of the season of vegetation in the silver birch (Betula pendula Roth. (B. verrucosa Ehrh.)), as well as the duration of flowering of the bird cherry (Padus avium), mountain ash (Sórbus aucupária), and small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata Mill.) for the period 1970–2010 in the central part of European Russia were studied in order to assess the trends. Differences in phenological responses to homogeneous climate changes in the trees of the same species from the northern and southern parts of the range were revealed. If spring events occur 3–7 days earlier in the northern part, no such effect is observed in the south. This fact can be interpreted as a manifestation of the different mechanisms of homeostasis in different populations determined by their biological characteristics (in particular, by the need to pass successfully the periods of organic rest and vegetation).     

糖皮质激素与侵袭性真菌感染

糖皮质激素(激素)是诱发真菌感染、特别是机会性真菌感染重要的因素,可通过抑制免疫反应的多个环节而影响真菌感染的发生与进程.内源性激素相关的疾病如Chushing综合征的患者,以及医源性皮质激素使用的患者均可成为真菌感染的易患人群.正确理解糖皮质激素免疫抑制作用和真菌感染发生的相互关系,可以提高对相关真菌感染的认识并针对性开展防治策略,改善激素应用条件下发生真菌感染的预后.     

Starting dates and basic temperatures in phenological observations of plants

 Several methods have been used in plant phenology to find the best starting date in spring and the best threshold or basic temperature for growth and development of perennial plants. In the present paper the date giving the highest correlation coefficient for development to various phenophases, in relation to 24-hourly mean air temperatures was chosen as the best starting value in further analyses. For many woody plants this date was very often found to be 1 April based on phenological and climatological observations at about 60 sites in western Norway (at about 61°N). The early flowering species Corylus avellana and Salix caprea and the early leaf-bud breaking Prunus padus seemed to start development earlier in Spring, while the late sprouting Fraxinus excelsior showed the highest correlation coefficient using 15 April. If daytime temperatures were used in the calculations, the ”best” starting date was generally found to be later than for the 24-hour mean temperatures. This variation must be seen as resulting from the different basic temperatures for the development of various species. Estimates of basic temperatures in various species and periods may be given, for example by finding the value having the least variance in heat sums or by various regression analyses. A technique has been developed to minimise the influence of significance of correlation, using the intercept with the temperature axis by merging the two least squares rectilinear regression lines that can be found between plant development and mean air temperature (from the estimated best starting date) at r=+1 or –1. The basic temperature seemed to vary from –5.9°C for leaf-bud break of P. padus to 5.5°C for leaf-bud break of F. excelsior, with basic temperatures of several other woody plants having intermediate values. These values are compared with those found by other methods. Received: 26 May 1998 / Accepted: 7 September 1998     

CRISPR screens in plants: approaches,guidelines, and future prospects

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated systems have revolutionized genome engineering by facilitating a wide range of targeted DNA perturbations. These systems have resulted in the development of powerful new screens to test gene functions at the genomic scale. While there is tremendous potential to map and interrogate gene regulatory networks at unprecedented speed and scale using CRISPR screens, their implementation in plants remains in its infancy. Here we discuss the general concepts, tools, and workflows for establishing CRISPR screens in plants and analyze the handful of recent reports describing the use of this strategy to generate mutant knockout collections or to diversify DNA sequences. In addition, we provide insight into how to design CRISPR knockout screens in plants given the current challenges and limitations and examine multiple design options. Finally, we discuss the unique multiplexing capabilities of CRISPR screens to investigate redundant gene functions in highly duplicated plant genomes. Combinatorial mutant screens have the potential to routinely generate higher-order mutant collections and facilitate the characterization of gene networks. By integrating this approach with the numerous genomic profiles that have been generated over the past two decades, the implementation of CRISPR screens offers new opportunities to analyze plant genomes at deeper resolution and will lead to great advances in functional and synthetic biology.

Advances in CRISPR screening techniques in plants offer new opportunities to analyze plant genomes at higher resolution and scale and will greatly enhance functional and synthetic biology studies.     

Testing a growth efficiency hypothesis with continental-scale phenological variations of common and cloned plants

Variation in the timing of plant phenology caused by phenotypic plasticity is a sensitive measure of how organisms respond to weather and climate variability. Although continental-scale gradients in climate and consequential patterns in plant phenology are well recognized, the contribution of underlying genotypic difference to the geography of phenology is less well understood. We hypothesize that different temperate plant genotypes require varying amount of heat energy for resuming annual growth and reproduction as a result of adaptation and other ecological and evolutionary processes along climatic gradients. In particular, at least for some species, the growing degree days (GDD) needed to trigger the same spring phenology events (e.g., budburst and flower bloom) may be less for individuals originated from colder climates than those from warmer climates. This variable intrinsic heat energy requirement in plants can be characterized by the term growth efficiency and is quantitatively reflected in the timing of phenophases—earlier timing indicates higher efficiency (i.e., less heat energy needed to trigger phenophase transitions) and vice versa compared to a standard reference (i.e., either a uniform climate or a uniform genotype). In this study, we tested our hypothesis by comparing variations of budburst and bloom timing of two widely documented plants from the USA National Phenology Network (i.e., red maple-Acer rubrum and forsythia-Forsythia spp.) with cloned indicator plants (lilac-Syringa x chinensis ‘Red Rothomagensis’) at multiple eastern US sites. Our results indicate that across the accumulated temperature gradient, the two non-clonal plants showed significantly more gradual changes than the cloned plants, manifested by earlier phenology in colder climates and later phenology in warmer climates relative to the baseline clone phenological response. This finding provides initial evidence supporting the growth efficiency hypothesis, and suggests more work is warranted. More studies investigating genotype-determined phenological variations will be useful for better understanding and prediction of the continental-scale patterns of biospheric responses to climate change.     

DNA barcoding of invasive plants in China: A resource for identifying invasive plants

Invasive plants have aroused attention globally for causing ecological damage and having a negative impact on the economy and human health. However, it can be extremely challenging to rapidly and accurately identify invasive plants based on morphology because they are an assemblage of many different families and many plant materials lack sufficient diagnostic characteristics during border inspections. It is therefore urgent to evaluate candidate loci and build a reliable genetic library to prevent invasive plants from entering China. In this study, five common single markers (ITS, ITS2, matK, rbcL and trnH‐psbA) were evaluated using 634 species (including 469 invasive plant species in China, 10 new records to China, 16 potentially invasive plant species around the world but not introduced into China yet and 139 plant species native to China) based on three different methods. Our results indicated that ITS2 displayed largest intra‐ and interspecific divergence (1.72% and 91.46%). Based on NJ tree method, ITS2, ITS, matK, rbcL and trnH‐psbA provided 76.84%, 76.5%, 63.21%, 52.86% and 50.68% discrimination rates, respectively. The combination of ITS + matK performed best and provided 91.03% discriminatory power, followed by ITS2 + matK (85.78%). For identifying unknown individuals, ITS + matK had 100% correct identification rate based on our database, followed by ITS/ITS2 (both 93.33%) and ITS2 + matK (91.67%). Thus, we propose ITS/ITS2 + matK as the most suitable barcode for invasive plants in China. This study also demonstrated that DNA barcoding is an efficient tool for identifying invasive species.     

北京城区花粉致敏植物种类、分布及物候特征

为了解北京城区花粉致敏植物的种类、分布格局和物候特征,结合文献调研及专家访问,对北京5环以内的花粉致敏植物进行了调查.结果表明:1)北京城区五环内共有致敏花粉植物19科32属99种,其中北京本地种52种,占总数的52.5%,国内其他地区引进种和国外引进种各占总数的26.3%和21.2%;2)北京城区32属花粉致敏植物以北温带成分为主,占40.6%,其次是世界性分布与泛热带分布;3)公园内的花粉致敏植物种数最多,行道树种中花粉致敏植物的比例最高.北京城区各功能区中花粉强致敏草本的盖度,从大到小的顺序是城市废弃地>体育中心及机关单位>道路绿地>公园>居民区>学校>广场;4)北京城区木本花粉致敏植物的花期主要集中在3—4月,草本在7—9月.     

Metabolomics of forage plants: a review

Background

Forage plant breeding is under increasing pressure to deliver new cultivars with improved yield, quality and persistence to the pastoral industry. New innovations in DNA sequencing technologies mean that quantitative trait loci analysis and marker-assisted selection approaches are becoming faster and cheaper, and are increasingly used in the breeding process with the aim to speed it up and improve its precision. High-throughput phenotyping is currently a major bottle neck and emerging technologies such as metabolomics are being developed to bridge the gap between genotype and phenotype; metabolomics studies on forages are reviewed in this article.

Scope

Major challenges for pasture production arise from the reduced availability of resources, mainly water, nitrogen and phosphorus, and metabolomics studies on metabolic responses to these abiotic stresses in Lolium perenne and Lotus species will be discussed here. Many forage plants can be associated with symbiotic microorganisms such as legumes with nitrogen fixing rhizobia, grasses and legumes with phosphorus-solubilizing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and cool temperate grasses with fungal anti-herbivorous alkaloid-producing Neotyphodium endophytes and metabolomics studies have shown that these associations can significantly affect the metabolic composition of forage plants. The combination of genetics and metabolomics, also known as genetical metabolomics can be a powerful tool to identify genetic regions related to specific metabolites or metabolic profiles, but this approach has not been widely adopted for forages yet, and we argue here that more studies are needed to improve our chances of success in forage breeding.

Conclusions

Metabolomics combined with other ‘-omics’ technologies and genome sequencing can be invaluable tools for large-scale geno- and phenotyping of breeding populations, although the implementation of these approaches in forage breeding programmes still lags behind. The majority of studies using metabolomics approaches have been performed with model species or cereals and findings from these studies are not easily translated to forage species. To be most effective these approaches should be accompanied by whole-plant physiology and proof of concept (modelling) studies. Wider considerations of possible consequences of novel traits on the fitness of new cultivars and symbiotic associations need also to be taken into account.     

Competition among plants: Concepts, individual-based modelling approaches, and a proposal for a future research strategy

Competition is a key process in plant populations and communities. We thus need, if we are to predict the responses of ecological systems to environmental change, a comprehensive and mechanistic understanding of plant competition. Considering competition, however, only at the population level is not sufficient because plant individuals usually are different, interact locally, and can adapt their behaviour to the current state of themselves and of their biotic and abiotic environment. Therefore, simulation models that are individual-based and spatially explicit are increasingly used for studying competition in plant systems. Many different individual-based modelling approaches exist to represent competition, but it is not clear how good they are in reflecting essential aspects of plant competition. We therefore first summarize current concepts and theories addressing plant competition. Then, we review individual-based approaches for modelling competition among plants. We distinguish between approaches that are used for more than 10 years and more recent ones. We identify three major gaps that need to be addressed more in the future: the effects of plants on their local environment, adaptive behaviour, and below-ground competition. To fill these gaps, the representation of plants and their interactions have to be more mechanistic than most existing approaches. Developing such new approaches is a challenge because they are likely to be more complex and to require more detailed knowledge and data on individual-level processes underlying competition. We thus need a more integrated research strategy for the future, where empirical and theoretical ecologists as well as computer scientists work together on formulating, implementing, parameterization, testing, comparing, and selecting the new approaches.     

Pterosaur dietary hypotheses: a review of ideas and approaches

Pterosaurs are an extinct group of Mesozoic flying reptiles, whose fossil record extends from approximately 210 to 66 million years ago. They were integral components of continental and marginal marine ecosystems, yet their diets remain poorly constrained. Numerous dietary hypotheses have been proposed for different pterosaur groups, including insectivory, piscivory, carnivory, durophagy, herbivory/frugivory, filter‐feeding and generalism. These hypotheses, and subsequent interpretations of pterosaur diet, are supported by qualitative (content fossils, associations, ichnology, comparative anatomy) and/or quantitative (functional morphology, stable isotope analysis) evidence. Pterosaur dietary interpretations are scattered throughout the literature with little attention paid to the supporting evidence. Reaching a robustly supported consensus on pterosaur diets is important for understanding their dietary evolution, and their roles in Mesozoic ecosystems. A comprehensive examination of the pterosaur literature identified 314 dietary interpretations (dietary statement plus supporting evidence) from 126 published studies. Multiple alternative diets have been hypothesised for most principal taxonomic pterosaur groups. Some groups exhibit a high degree of consensus, supported by multiple lines of evidence, while others exhibit less consensus. Qualitative evidence supports 87.3% of dietary interpretations, with comparative anatomy most common (62.1% of total). More speciose groups of pterosaur tend to have a greater range of hypothesised diets. Consideration of dietary interpretations within alternative phylogenetic contexts reveals high levels of consensus between equivalent monofenestratan groups, and lower levels of consensus between equivalent non‐monofenestratan groups. Evaluating the possible non‐biological controls on apparent patterns of dietary diversity reveals that numbers of dietary interpretations through time exhibit no correlation with patterns of publication (number of peer‐reviewed publications through time). 73.8% of dietary interpretations were published in the 21st century. Overall, consensus interpretations of pterosaur diets are better accounted for by non‐biological signals, such as the impact of the respective quality of the fossil record of different pterosaur groups on research levels. That many interpretations are based on qualitative, often untestable lines of evidence adds significant noise to the data. More experiment‐led pterosaur dietary research, with greater consideration of pterosaurs as organisms with independent evolutionary histories, will lead to more robust conclusions drawn from repeatable results. This will allow greater understanding of pterosaur dietary diversity, disparity and evolution and facilitate reconstructions of Mesozoic ecosystems.     

植物释放甲烷研究进展

植物是否在有氧条件下自身产生甲烷、其产生机制和释放速率等问题目前还存在很大争议,如果确证植物在有氧条件下产生较大量的甲烷,就必须重新认识和计算全球甲烷的源汇及其收支平衡。已有研究表明,植物排放的甲烷有一部分是由土壤或木本植物的根和树干内部产甲烷微生物产生,再通过植物传输进入大气中的;植物本身产生甲烷的机制可能主要是在活性氧自由基的作用下,将植物细胞壁成分果胶、木质素等中的甲氧基转化为甲烷,这一过程受到高温、强光和UV辐射等环境胁迫的刺激。根据植物排放速率或大气甲烷浓度与碳同位素组成的实测值,对区域和全球植物源甲烷排放率做出的估算还存在相当大的不确定性,需要对更多植物和更多地点开展实测研究,深入了解植物产甲烷的机制和过程,并结合大气传输模型才能进一步提高估算准确性。     

Concise,comprehensive reviews of how invasive plants interact with plants,animals, and microbes

Biological Invasions -