花色变异的分子基础与进化模式研究进展

近年来国际上风行的生态学与进化生物学的学科整合已成为生物学发展的一个趋势.寻找适合的生物学系统来进行从表型到基因型的综合研究是推动这一整合向纵深发展的一项必要的和带探索性的工作.被子植物花色的形成机理和有关代谢途径上的结构和调控基因在若干模式植物中已有相当了解,使花色成为适合生态与进化生物学研究的一个首选性状,为进一步了解野生种中花色的形成机制奠定了基础.本文着重介绍旋花科（Convolvulaceae）番薯属（Ipomoea）花青素代谢途径的分子遗传学、生物化学和生态学工作,试图从多学科的角度提供有关花色自然变异的知识背景,并指出未解决的生物学问题和预期今后可能出现的发展.     

花色变异的分子基础与进化模式研究进展

近年来国际上风行的生态学与进化生物学的学科整合已成为生物学发展的一个趋势。寻找适合的生物学系统来进行从表型到基因型的综合研究是推动这一整合向纵深发展的一项必要的和带探索性的工作。被子植物花色的形成机理和有关代谢途径上的结构和调控基因在若干模式植物中已有相当了解,使花色成为适合生态与进化生物学研究的一个首选性状, 为进一步了解野生种中花色的形成机制奠定了基础。本文着重介绍旋花科(Convolvulaceae)番薯属(Ipomoea)花青素代谢途径的分子遗传学、生物化学和生态学工作, 试图从多学科的角度提供有关花色自然变异的知识背景, 并指出未解决的生物学问题和预期今后可能出现的发展。     

花对称性的研究进展

花对称性(floral symmetry)是被子植物花部结构的典型特性之一,主要有辐射对称和两侧对称两种形式。被子植物初始起源的花为辐射对称,而两侧对称的花则是由辐射对称的花演变而来。两侧对称的花部结构是被子植物进化过程中的一个关键的革新,被认为是物种形成和分化的关键推动力之一。近年来有关花对称性的形成和进化机制的研究在植物学科的不同领域均取得了长足的进展。本文综述了花对称性在发育生物学、传粉生物学、生殖生态学及分子生物学等方面的研究进展。两侧对称形成于被子植物花器官发育的起始阶段,随后贯穿整个花器官发育过程或者出现在花器官发育后期的不同阶段。花器官发育过程中一种或多种类型器官的败育以及特异性花器官结构的形成是两侧对称形成的主要原因。研究表明,在传粉过程的不同阶段,花对称性均会受到传粉昆虫介导的选择作用。相比辐射对称的花,两侧对称的花提高了特异性传粉者的选择作用,增加了花粉落置的精确性,进而确保了其生殖成功。花对称性的分子机理已经在多种双子叶植物中进行了深入的研究。现有的证据表明,CYC同源基因在花对称性的分子调控方面起着非常重要的作用。花对称性在被子植物进化过程中是如何起源,与其他花部构成之间是否协同作用,一些不符合一般模式的科属其花对称性的形成机制等都是今后要进一步研究的命题。     

Molecular markers: progress and prospects for understanding reproductive ecology in elasmobranchs

Application of modern molecular tools is expanding the understanding of elasmobranch reproductive ecology. High-resolution molecular markers provide information at scales ranging from the identification of reproductively isolated populations in sympatry (i.e. cryptic species) to the relationships among parents, offspring and siblings. This avenue of study has not only augmented the current understanding of the reproductive biology of elasmobranchs but has also provided novel insights that could not be obtained through experimental or observational techniques. Sharing of genetic polymorphisms across ocean basins indicates that for some species there may be gene flow on global scales. The presence, however, of morphologically similar but genetically distinct entities in sympatry suggests that reproductive isolation can occur with minimal morphological differentiation. This review discusses the recent findings in elasmobranch reproductive biology like philopatry, hybridization and polyandry while highlighting important molecular and analytical techniques. Furthermore, the review examines gaps in current knowledge and discusses how new technologies may be applied to further the understanding of elasmobranch reproductive ecology.     

Where's the ecology in molecular ecology?

Molecular techniques have had a profound impact in biology. Major disciplines, including evolutionary biology, now consistently utilize molecular tools. In contrast, molecular techniques have had a more limited impact in ecology. This discrepancy is surprising. Here, we describe the unexpected paucity of ecological research in the field colloquially referred to as 'molecular ecology.' Publications over the past 15 years from the journals Ecology , Evolution and Molecular Ecology reveal that much of the research published under the molecular ecology banner is in fact evolutionary in nature, and that comparatively little ecological research incorporates molecular tools. This failure to more broadly utilize molecular techniques in ecology is alarming because several promising lines of ecological inquiry could benefit from molecular approaches. Here we summarize the use of molecular tools in ecology and evolution, and suggest several ways to renew the ecological focus in 'molecular ecology'.     

From molecules to dynamic biological communities

Microbial ecology is flourishing, and in the process, is making contributions to how the ecology and biology of large organisms is understood. Ongoing advances in sequencing technology and computational methods have enabled the collection and analysis of vast amounts of molecular data from diverse biological communities. While early studies focused on cataloguing microbial biodiversity in environments ranging from simple marine ecosystems to complex soil ecologies, more recent research is concerned with community functions and their dynamics over time. Models and concepts from traditional ecology have been used to generate new insight into microbial communities, and novel system-level models developed to explain and predict microbial interactions. The process of moving from molecular inventories to functional understanding is complex and challenging, and never more so than when many thousands of dynamic interactions are the phenomena of interest. We outline the process of how epistemic transitions are made from producing catalogues of molecules to achieving functional and predictive insight, and show how those insights not only revolutionize what is known about biological systems but also about how to do biology itself. Examples will be drawn primarily from analyses of different human microbiota, which are the microbial consortia found in and on areas of the human body, and their associated microbiomes (the genes of those communities). Molecular knowledge of these microbiomes is transforming microbiological knowledge, as well as broader aspects of human biology, health and disease.     

水稻花发育的分子生物学研究进展

水稻是世界上最重要的粮食作为之一,也是单子叶植物发育生物学研究较理想的模式植物。水稻花器官还是粮食赖以形成的基础。对水稻花发育的研究已开始成为植物分子遗传学的一个新的焦点。近年来有关水稻花发育基因调控的研究已取得了长足的进展,本文从水稻花的诱导、花分生组织的形成和花器官的发育三个方面综述近年来国内外的研究进展。 Abstract:Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is not only one of the most important food crops in the world,but also a model plant for study of molecular developmental biology in monocots.In addition,the rice floral organs provide the basis for grain formation.Study of rice floral development has become a new focus of plant molecular genetics.Recently,notable progress has been made in study of gene regulation in rice floral development.In the review,genetic and molecular mechanisms of floral induction,floral meristem formation,and floral organ development in rice are summarized.     

基因工程微生物生态学研究进展

基因工程微生物(genctically enginccred microorganism,GEM)生态学的研究已成为微生物分子生态学的一项主要研究内容之一．随着分子标记和分子生物学检测手段的引入,传统的微生物生态学研究被注入了新的活力,在分子水平上探讨基因工程微生物与环境及环境中土著生物之间的关系已成为可能．基因工程微生物生态学是一门内容涉及分子生物学、微生物学、生态学等诸多学科的新型交叉边缘学科．本文提出加紧进行转基因生物生态学和转基因生物的风险评价的研究工作,建立适合中国国情的检测手段和评价标准,有助于我国基因工程微生物生态学的健康发展．     

对我国分子生态学研究近期发展战略的一些思考

分子生态学是多学科交叉的整合性研究领域, 是运用进化生物学理论解决宏观生物学问题的科学。经过半个多世纪的发展, 本学科已日趋成熟, 它不仅已经广泛渗透到宏观生物学的众多学科领域, 而且已经成为连接和融合很多不同学科的桥梁, 是目前最具活力的研究领域之一。其研究的范畴, 从最基础的理论和方法技术, 到格局和模式的发现和描述, 到对过程和机制的深入探讨, 再到付诸于实践的行动和规划指导等各个层次。分子生态学的兴起给宏观生物学带来了若干飞跃性的变化, 使宏观生物学由传统的以观察、测量和推理为主的描述性研究转变为以从生物和种群的遗传构成的变化和历史演化背景上检验、证明科学假设及揭示机制和规律为主的机制性/解释性研究, 因而使得对具有普遍意义的科学规律、生态和进化过程及机制的探索成为可能。分子生态学已经进入组学研究时代, 这使得阐明复杂生态过程、生物地理过程和适应性演化过程的机制性研究由原来难以企及的梦想变成完全可以实现的探求; 它也带来了全新的挑战, 其中最有深远影响的将是对分子生态学研究至关重要的进化生物学基础理论方面的突破, 例如遗传变异理论、种群分化理论、表观遗传因素的作用, 乃至进化生物学的基本知识构架等等。这些方面的进展必将使宏观生物学迎来一场空前的革命, 并对生态学的所有分支学科产生重大影响, 甚至催生诸如生态表观组学这样的新分支学科。对于中国科学家来说, 分子生态学组学时代的开启, 更是一个千载难逢的机遇, 为提出和建立生命科学的新方法、新假说、新思想和新理论提供了莫大的探索空间——此前我们对宏观生物学方法、理论和思想的发展贡献很小。然而, 限制组学时代重大突破的关键因素是理论、概念、理念、实验方法或分析方法方面的创新和突破, 这正是我国分子生态学研究最薄弱的环节。我国教育部门应尽快调整生命科学本科生培养的理念和方法, 以培养具备突出创新潜力的年轻一代后备人才; 同时, 科研项目资助部门和研究人员不仅应清醒地认识本学科领域的发展态势, 更要及时调整思路, 树立新的项目管理理念和治学 理念。     

Orchid biology: from Linnaeus via Darwin to the 21st century

Orchidaceae are the largest family of flowering plants, with at least 24 000 species, and perhaps better than any other family of flowering plants, orchids represent the extreme specializations that are possible. As a result, they have long fascinated luminaries of the botanical world including Linnaeus and Darwin, but the size of the family has historically been an impediment to their study. Specifically, the lack of detailed information about relationships within the family made it difficult to formulate explicit evolutionary hypotheses for such a large group, but the advent of molecular systematics has revolutionized our understanding of the orchids. Their complex life histories make orchids particularly vulnerable to environmental change, and as result many are now threatened with extinction. In this Special Issue we present a series of 20 papers on orchid biology ranging from phylogenetics, floral evolutionary development, taxonomy, mycorrhizal associations, pollination biology, population genetics and conservation.     

Integrating floral scent, pollination ecology and population genetics

1 . Floral scent is a key factor in the attraction of pollinators. Despite this, the role of floral scent in angiosperm speciation and evolution remains poorly understood. Modern population genetic approaches when combined with pollination ecology can open new opportunities for studying the evolutionary role of floral scent.
2 . A framework of six hypotheses for the application of population genetic tools to questions about the evolutionary role of floral scent is presented. When floral volatile chemistry is linked to pollinator attraction we can analyse questions such as: Does floral volatile composition reflect plant species boundaries? Can floral scent facilitate or suppress hybridization between taxa? Can the attraction of different pollinators influence plant mating systems and pollen-mediated gene flow? How is population genetic structure indirectly influenced by floral scent variation?
3 . The application of molecular tools in sexually deceptive orchids has confirmed that volatile composition reflects species boundaries, revealed the role of shared floral odour in enabling hybridization, confirmed that the sexual attraction mediated by floral odour has implications for pollen flow and population genetic structure and provided examples of pollinator-mediated selection on floral scent variation. Interdisciplinary studies to explore links between floral volatile variation, ecology and population genetics are rare in other plant groups.
4 . Ideal study systems for future floral scent research that incorporate population genetics will include closely related taxa that are morphologically similar, sympatric and co-flowering as well as groups that display wide variation in pollination mechanisms and floral volatiles.     

Evolution of GCYC, a Gesneriaceae homolog of CYCLOIDEA, within Gesnerioideae (Gesneriaceae)

Through recent advances in molecular developmental biology it has become clear that similar morphological traits may sometimes arise from different genetic bases. The molecular developmental biology of floral symmetry has been examined recently in detail and several genes important in controlling floral symmetry in diverse Asteridae have been identified. One of the most important among these is the floral symmetry gene CYCLOIDEA (CYC). We compared GCYC (the Gesneriaceae homolog of CYC) sequences in Gesneriaceae genera with the typical bilaterally symmetric flowers and genera with radial or near radial symmetry. Parsimony, Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses of GCYC sequences among members of Gesnerioideae are mostly congruent with previous phylogenetic hypotheses, but suggest two unexpected generic positions: Diastema as sister to Gesneria, and Bellonia within Gloxinieae. In order to evaluate whether these results might be artifactual we obtained new gene sequences from chloroplast and nuclear ribosomal regions. These data disagree with GCYC regarding the placement of Diastema, but agree with GCYC regarding Bellonia. We did not find any mutations in GCYC that could explain the shift in symmetry and there were no consistent differences in molecular evolution between taxa with bilaterally or radially symmetric flowers. Likewise taxa with radial floral symmetry are not sister to each other showing that the loss of bilateral symmetry has occurred multiple times in parallel. Further investigations of GCYC expression will be necessary to determine if any of these independent events involved changes in the regulation of GCYC.     

生态学研究的新领域--分子生态学

分子生态是生态学的一个新的研究领域。它采用分子生物学的技术与方法来研究生态活动规律的分子机理。本文简要介绍了分子生态学的定义、研究内容、研究方法和研究热点等,以期描述出分子生态学的概貌。     

噬藻体研究进展

噬藻体（Cyanophage）是以蓝藻为寄主的浮游病毒类群,因其能特异性地感染蓝藻而具有重要的生态地位,是蓝藻＂水华＂潜在的控制因子。噬藻体的生物学、生态学特征是了解噬藻体的一扇窗,分子生物学研究仍将是主要的研究方向之一。同时,噬藻体研究手段也在不断更新。该文从这几个方面综述了噬藻体相关研究进展。     

分子粪便学及其应用—可靠性、局限性和展望

由于珍稀濒危动物的各种生存状况相当脆弱,已不允许进行破坏性的取样活动,因而长期以来,对这些动物的遗传结构及遗传多样性现状的研究一直都很薄弱。而近年来以分子粪便学为基础的粪便取样分析方法,在很大程度上解决了这一问题。传统的粪便分析方法与分子生物学技术相结合,在不干扰野生动物正常活动的情况下,可对这物种进行物种识别、性别确定、数量调查、遗传多样性、行为生态学、系统地理学、食性及疾病、巢域及分布区范围等多方面的深入研究。虽然分子粪便学由于粪便样品质量问题而具有一定的局限,从而导致其研究结果曾受到怀疑,但是该方法在近10年的发展应用中,其局限性已逐渐被克服而目趋完善,研究结果也得到了国际上的认同。因此,今后该研究方法在珍稀濒危动物行为生态学和保护生物学等研究领导中将具有很大的发展潜力,越来越多的有关珍稀濒危动物保护遗传学的研究将采用该方法进行。     

Molecular assays of pollen use consistently reflect pollinator visitation patterns in a system of flowering plants

Determining how pollinators visit plants vs. how they carry and transfer pollen is an ongoing project in pollination ecology. The current tools for identifying the pollens that bees carry have different strengths and weaknesses when used for ecological inference. In this study we use three methods to better understand a system of congeneric, coflowering plants in the genus Clarkia and their bee pollinators: observations of plant–pollinator contact in the field, and two different molecular methods to estimate the relative abundance of each Clarkia pollen in samples collected from pollinators. We use these methods to investigate if observations of plant–pollinator contact in the field correspond to the pollen bees carry; if individual bees carry Clarkia pollens in predictable ways, based on previous knowledge of their foraging behaviors; and how the three approaches differ for understanding plant–pollinator interactions. We find that observations of plant–pollinator contact are generally predictive of the pollens that bees carry while foraging, and network topologies using the three different methods are statistically indistinguishable from each other. Results from molecular pollen analysis also show that while bees can carry multiple species of Clarkia at the same time, they often carry one species of pollen. Our work contributes to the growing body of literature aimed at resolving how pollinators use floral resources. We suggest our novel relative amplicon quantification method as another tool in the developing molecular ecology and pollination biology toolbox.     

Reproductive biology of two Himalayan alpine gingers (Roscoea spp., Zingiberaceae) in China: pollination syndrome and compensatory floral mechanisms

According to the concept of pollination syndromes, floral traits reflect specialisation to a particular pollinator or set of pollinators. However, the reproductive biology of endemic, and often specialised, plants may require increased attention as climate change accelerates worldwide. Species of Roscoea endemic to the Himalayan region have striking orchid-like flowers with long corolla tubes, suggesting pollination by long-tongued insects. Until now, the reproductive biology of species of Roscoea has been poorly documented. We investigated the floral biology, breeding system and pollination ecology of R. cautleoides and R. humeana, from Hengduan Mountains, a global biodiversity hotspot in southwest China. We also tested whether floral longevity increases pollination success. Pollination experiments showed that the two species were self-compatible and depended on insects for fruit production. Over several flowering seasons we did not observe any potential pollinators with long tongues that matched the corolla tube visiting flowers in centres of distribution. The principal pollinators observed were pollen-collecting generalist bees, with low visitation frequencies. In general, members of the ginger family are characterised by short-lived (usually 1 day) flowers, but flowers of R. cautleoides and R. humeana last 8 and 6 days, respectively. Removing stigmas decreased fruit set in both study populations. Our results suggest that the original pollinators may have been long-tongued insects that are now absent from the Chinese Himalayas because habitats have responded to climate change. However, long-lived and self-compatible flowers, coupled with the presence of generalist pollinators, are traits that have allowed these gingers to reproduce and continue to persist in the alpine habitats.     

Arabidopsis thaliana and its wild relatives: a model system for ecology and evolution

The postgenomics era will bring many changes to ecology and evolution. Information about genomic sequence and function provides a new foundation for organismal biology. The crucifer Arabidopsis thaliana and its wild relatives will play an important role in this synthesis of genomics and ecology. We discuss the need for model systems in ecology, the biology and relationships of crucifers, and the molecular resources available for these experiments. The scientific potential of this model system is illustrated by several recent studies in plant–insect interactions, developmental plasticity, comparative genomics and molecular evolution.     

萜烯类与苯丙酸类花香挥发物的生物合成与调节

随着花香挥发物提取和检测技术的不断发展以及该技术与分子生物学研究的结合,花香挥发物的生物合成途径和调节机制的研究取得了较大进展,为花香的遗传控制和育种研究奠定了良好的基础。萜烯类和苯丙酸类/苯环型化合物是植物花香挥发物的重要化学成分,它们分别由甲羟戊酸-甲基赤藓醇磷酸途径、莽草酸途径等途径生成,调节机制较为复杂,但以前体物生物合成调节为主。两类花香物质在许多行业得到了应用广泛,但相关研究有待于进一步深入。     

分子生态学研究进展

介绍了这个新学科的基本内容,其特征是ＤＮＡ标记的应用。结合我国最近几年动植物自然种群的分子研究,介绍国际分子生态学各个领域的进展：①分子生态学的技术;②分子种群生物学;③分子环境遗传学;④分子适应。实验结果显示：只要方法灵敏,ＤＮＡ具有最高水平的多样性。即使是原先认为遗传变异很少的大熊猫和野生大豆,使用灵敏的方法,也能证实生物个体遗传组成的唯一性。种群内ＤＮＡ的高度多态性,不同景观生态类型种群之间低水平遗传分化,说明自然种群绝大多数多态ＤＮＡ位点是中性、近中性突变。至今没有发现盐渍条件下植物个体耐盐性水平与多态ＤＮＡ有相关性,更证实这一点。发现少数多态ＤＮＡ位点与形态分化有关或呈明显的地理梯度,暗示其适应意义。自然种群这两种生态学功能不同的多态ＤＮＡ的存在,说明有必要重新讨论遗传多样性研究和保存中的取样策略。分子遗传研究也指导生态系统和物种的保育。文章最后从分子生物学的方法论和已经阐明的生态过程的众多分子信息提出分子生态学的新思路。建议分解生态系统,找出一个或少数物种和环境构成生态系统的基本功能单位,研究所涉及的基因及基因对基因的相互作用。进一步提议首先分析最简单的生态系统里发生的专一过程的分子细节。