Prominent genetic structure across native and introduced ranges of Pluchea indica,a mangrove associate,as revealed by microsatellite markers

阔苞菊(Pluchea indica)是一种红树林伴生植物，以其在原产地的药用特性和部分引入地的入侵性而闻名。本研究旨在评估阔苞菊在其分布范围内遗传变异的地理分布，确定影响其遗传结构的因素，并利用这些信息对阔苞菊在原产地和引入地的保护和管理策略提出建议。 我们以来自阔苞菊原产地(亚洲)和引入地(美国)的31个种群共348个个体的15个核微卫星位点数据对阔苞菊的遗传多样性和种群结构进行了评估。在大尺度范围以及局部区域两种空间尺度上对阔苞菊遗传变异的空间格局进行了探讨，并验证了以下假说：地理距离和自然地理屏障将影响种群结构并在空间尺度上产生不同程度的分化。研究结果表明，与所研究区域内的其它红树林物种的遗传多样性参数相比， 我们发现阔苞菊在种群水平上具有相对较高的遗传多样性以及在物种水平上具有明显的遗传分化。大多数阔苞菊种群显示杂合子缺失， 这主要是由于近交和有限的基因流所导致。在较大空间尺度上进行的种群结构分析显示，该物种自然分布范围内存在两个主要遗传谱系，中国的种群与印度尼西亚、马来西亚、新加坡、泰国、柬埔寨和菲律宾的种群分别属于不同的谱系，而美国的种群可能来自于中国的谱系。 此外，在局部区域范围内也同样检测到种群之间的遗传分化。大部分阔苞菊种群所表现出的遗传瓶颈效应强调了其具有本地灭绝的风险。基于上述研究结果，我们建议采用原位保护策略对阔苞菊进行管理，并开展对优先保护种群的保护行动以维持遗传多样性。     

WHO at country level--a little impact,no strategy.

The acid test of WHO''s effect on the world''s health is its impact at country level. Unless it has an impact there, all of its declarations, its debates at the World Health Assembly, its conferences, its pamphlets, its political manouvering in Geneva and the regions, all of these come to nothing. Working as it does through national governments, WHO insists that it has no role in directly managing or delivering health care. Judging WHO''s impact in individual countries is therefore difficult--its approaches are largely indirect, and initiatives may take years to bear fruit. But from the meagre resources that WHO makes available at country level it is clear why its country operations are criticised as the weakest link in an already weak chain of influence from its headquarters in Geneva to the people in its member states. Poorly funded, undertrained, and with no clear strategy to follow, its staff at country level stand little chance of making an impact.     

Zinc essentiality and toxicity. Biophysical aspects

The current concepts concerning zinc biology, its metabolism and transport into cells, its homeostasis, its role in the functioning of the human immune and endocrine systems, its participation in cell signaling, and its cytotoxicity, as well as the biophysical mechanisms of action of zinc ions at elevated concentrations on human blood cells are reviewed and analyzed.     

The role of posttranslational modification in moonlighting glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase structure and function

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is a moonlighting protein exhibiting distinct activities apart from its classical role in glycolysis. Regulation of its moonlighting functions and its subcellular localization may be dependent on its posttranslational modification (PTM). The latter include its phosphorylation, which is required for its role in intermembrane trafficking, synaptic transmission and cancer survival; nitrosylation, which is required for its function in apoptosis, heme metabolism and the immune response; acetylation which is necessary for its modulation of apoptotic gene regulation; and N-acetylglucosamine modification which may induce changes in GAPDH oligomeric structure. These findings suggest a structure function relationship between GAPDH posttranslational modification and its diverse moonlighting activities.

     

紫花凤梨的生物学习性

在南亚热带的广州对荷兰引进的紫花凤梨的生物学习性观察研究。考察了紫花凤梨的分芽发生与叶片生长;花序生长发育与开花;耐性、抗性表现等多个方面的生物学习性,并进行综合评价,并提出掌握和利用其习性的建议。     

甲壳素及其衍生物在医药卫生领域中的应用

甲壳素是自然界储存量仅次于纤维素的第二大天然多糖化合物 ,本文综述了其药理作用、在医药卫生方面的应用研究情况 ,如甲壳素抗感染、抗凝血、抗癌及降血脂等作用及在制剂方面的应用等     

Phylogeny and life cycle of the zoonotic pathogen Vibrio vulnificus

Vibrio vulnificus is a zoonotic pathogen able to cause diseases in humans and fish that occasionally result in sepsis and death. Most reviews about this pathogen (including those related to its ecology) are clearly biased towards its role as a human pathogen, emphasizing its relationship with oysters as its main reservoir, the role of the known virulence factors as well as the clinic and the epidemiology of the human disease. This review tries to give to the reader a wider vision of the biology of this pathogen covering aspects related to its phylogeny and evolution and filling the gaps in our understanding of the general strategies that V. vulnificus uses to survive outside and inside its two main hosts, the human and the eel, and how its response to specific environmental parameters determines its survival, its death, or the triggering of an infectious process.     

脯氨酸代谢与植物抗渗透胁迫的研究进展

脯氨酸被认为是植物和细菌内的一种相容渗透剂,有助于植物和细菌抵御渗透胁迫。本文就近年来有关植物体内脯氨酸合成和代谢、脯氨酸含量受渗透胁迫的影响情况、脯氨酸合成降解有关的酶及其基因、脯氨酸在细胞中的运输和定位、ＡＢＡ与脯氨酸的诱导合成以及脯氨酸和植物抗渗透胁迫关系的研究进展作了简要综述。     

脯氨酸代谢与植物抗渗透胁迫的研究进展

脯氨酸被认为是植物和细菌内的一种相容渗透剂,有助于植物和细菌抵御渗透胁迫。本文就近年来有关植物体内脯氨酸合成和代谢、脯氨酸含量受渗透胁迫的影响情况、脯氨酸合成降解有关的酶及其基因、脯氨酸在细胞中的运输和定位、ABA与脯氨酸的诱导合成以及脯氨酸和植物抗渗透胁迫关系的研究进展作了简要综述。     

Ribonucleic acid of Echinococcus granulosus protoscolices

Echinococcus granulosus protoscolices RNA has been characterized in terms of its nucleotide composition, its behavior in sucrose density gradients and methylated albuminkieselguhr columns, its template activity, its biosynthesis kinetics, and the effect of actinomycin D.     

State‐dependent cooperation in burying beetles: parents adjust their contribution towards care based on both their own and their partner's size

Handicapping experiments on species with biparental care show that a focal parent increases its contribution when its partner is handicapped. Such results are interpreted as evidence for negotiation, whereby each parent adjusts its amount of care to that of its partner. However, it is currently unclear whether the focal parent responds to a change in its handicapped partner's behaviour or state. To address this gap, we conducted an experiment on the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides where we first generated different‐sized males and females by varying the duration of larval development. We then used a 2 × 2 factorial design in which a small or large male was paired with a small or large female. Small females provided less direct care (food provisioning and interactions with larvae) than large females, and both males and females provided less direct care when paired with a small partner. Thus, the focal parent adjusted its contribution towards care based on both its own state and that of its partner. There was also evidence for negotiation between the two parents as the focal parent adjusted its contribution based on the amount of care by its partner. However, there was no evidence that negotiation accounted for how the focal parent responded to its partner's size. Our results have important implications for our understanding of biparental cooperation as they show that each parent adjusts its contribution not only based on the amount of care provided by its partner but also based on its own state and its partner's state.     

Three new species of Potamothrix (Oligochaeta, Naididae, Tubificinae) from Fuxian Lake, the deepest lake of Yunnan Province, Southwest China

Three new species of Potamothrix Vejdovsky & Mrázek, 1902 (Oligochaeta: Tubificinae), Potamothrix praeprostatussp. n., Potamothrix paramoldaviensissp. n. and Potamothrix parabedotisp. n., are reported from Fuxian Lake of Yunnan Province, Southwest China. Potamothrix praeprostatusdiffers from its allies by its prostate glands joining atria in its proximal to middle portion, and spermathecal chaetae. Potamothrix paramoldaviensis is distinguishable from its allies by having penial chaeta but no penes, and differs from Potamothrix moldaviensisby its homogenous atrium. Potamothrix parabedoti is distinctive in the position of its reproductive organs, and differs from Potamothrix bedoti by its homogenous atrium. Hitherto, 34 freshwater oligochaete species have been recorded in Yunnan Province, including nine endemic species from the plateau lakes.     

世界麦双尾蚜研究进展：分布、

The Russian wheat aphid (RWA), Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), has become a worldwide cereal pest with its dispersion to over 30 countries in this century. According to the natural history of its occurrence around the world, it is postulated RWA originated from western or central Asia. The aphid dispersed gradually to Europe and northern Africa, but its big jump across the ocean to North America is still a mystery. There are two overwintering strategies in RWA. The anholocyclic biotype, often reproducing earlier and more offsprings than the holocyclic one, has greater impact on crops in South Africa and United States. According to the experiments on its thermal response, RWA could withstand temperatures below -20℃, while temperatures above 30℃ would be harmful to its survival. The preference to colder condition may determine its distribution on the world. RWA has made great damages to cereal crops worldwide. It caused loss in crop yield by directly feeding on plant nutrition and disturbing the plant metabolism. But its status as plant virus transporter is open to question. By now, the aphid is still a serious pest in many countries and its invasion to more countries and areas maybe continues. Therefore, the research on its biological characteristics as well as its dispersion apparently needs to be enhanced in the future.     

High-frequency P element loss in Drosophila is homolog dependent

P transposable elements in Drosophila melanogaster can undergo precise loss at a rate exceeding 13% per generation. The process is similar to gene conversion in its requirement for a homolog that is wild type at the insertion site and in its reduced frequency when pairing between the homologs is inhibited. However, it differs from classical gene conversion by its high frequency, its requirement for P transposase, its unidirectionality, and its occurrence in somatic and premeiotic cells. Our results suggest a model of P element transposition in which jumps occur by a "cut-and-paste" mechanism but are followed by double-strand gap repair to restore the P element at the donor site. The results also suggest a technique for site-directed mutagenesis in Drosophila.     

Villin function in the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. Correlation of in vivo effects to its biochemical activities in vitro.

Villin is an actin-binding protein of the intestinal brush border that bundles, nucleates, caps, and severs actin in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner in vitro. Villin induces the growth of microvilli in transfected cells, an activity that requires a carboxyl-terminally located KKEK motif. By combining cell transfection and biochemical assays, we show that the capacity of villin to induce growth of microvilli in cells correlates with its ability to bundle F-actin in vitro but not with its nucleating activity. In agreement with its importance for microfilament bundling in cells, the KKEK motif of the carboxyl-terminal F-actin-binding site is crucial for bundling in vitro. In addition, substitutions of basic residues in a second site, located in the amino-terminal portion of villin, impaired its activity in cells and reduced its binding to F-actin in the absence of Ca(2+) as well as its bundling and severing activities in vitro. Altogether, these findings suggest that villin participates in the organization and stabilization of the brush border core bundle but does not initiate its assembly by nucleation of actin filaments.     

Stress-free state of the red blood cell membrane and the deformation of its skeleton

The response of a red blood cell (RBC) to deformation depends on its membrane, a composite of a lipid bilayer and a skeleton, which is a closed, twodimensional network of spectrin tetramers as its bonds. The deformation of the skeleton and its lateral redistribution are studied in terms of the RBC resting state for a fixed geometry of the RBC, partially aspirated into a micropipette. The geometry of the RBC skeleton in its initial state is taken to be either two concentric circles, a references biconcave shape or a sphere. It is assumed that in its initial state the skeleton is distributed laterally in a homogeneous manner with its bonds either unstressed, presenting its stress-free state, or prestressed. The lateral distribution was calculated using a variational calculation. It was assumed that the spectrin tetramer bonds exhibit a linear elasticity. The results showed a significant effect of the initial skeleton geometry on its lateral distribution in the deformed state. The proposed model is used to analyze the measurements of skeleton extension ratios by the method of applying two modes of RBC micropipette aspiration.     

双褶贝母兰的重新发现及其植物地理学意义

自从1903年Rolfe报道双褶贝母兰产中国云南后,在中国一直未再采到标本,直到最近在云南省麻栗坡县发现了它的野外居群。作为中国国内首次采到的活体标本,对其进行野外生境、开花生物学调查和形态补充描述、绘图以及植物地理学意义讨论。     

Water? What's so special about it?

What is so special about water? Why does it have the properties it has, and how might these reasons be relevant to its apparent biological importance? By exploring the structure and dynamics of water, from the isolated molecule and its interactions, through its many crystalline phases and to its so-called anomalous liquid phase, some of its apparently unusual behaviour is rationalized. The way in which it interacts with some relatively simple interfaces is also discussed. As a result of this exploration, a checklist of possible molecular-level reasons for its biological importance is devised.     

Recent Advances in α-Synuclein Functions, Advanced Glycation, and Toxicity: Implications for Parkinson’s Disease

The toxicity of α-synuclein in the neuropathology of Parkinson’s disease which includes its hallmark aggregation has been studied scrupulously in the last decade. Although little is known regarding the normal functions of α-synuclein, its association with membrane phospholipids suggests its potential role in signaling pathways. Following extensive evidences for its nuclear localization, we and others recently demonstrated DNA binding activity of α-synuclein that modulates its conformation as well as aggregation properties. Furthermore, we also underscored the similarities among various amyloidogenic proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases including amyloid beta peptides and tau. Our more recent studies show that α-synuclein is glycated and glycosylated both in vitro and in neurons, significantly affecting its folding, oligomeric, and DNA binding properties. Glycated α-synuclein causes increased genome damage both via its direct interaction with DNA and by increased generation of reactive oxygen species as glycation byproduct. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of glycation and other posttranslational modifications of α-synuclein, including phosphorylation and nitration, and their role in neuronal death in Parkinson’s disease.     

The New Zealand biota: Historical background and new research

New Zealand's origin as part of Gondwana, the composition of its ancestral biota, its geographic isolation for 80 million years, its tectonic history of changing shorelines and mountain building, and its changing climate, have all influenced the composition and distribution of its plant and animal communities, and thus its ecology and evolutionary biology. Recent DNA-sequencing studies combined with palaeogeographic analysis suggest that an Oligocene marine transgression had a major genetic bottle-neck effect on the biota and, together with recent advances in avian biogeography and paleontology, are leading to new hypotheses on the origin of many bird groups.