使用Biotracks 采集植物标本

Biotracks 是一款自然观察类的公众科学应用,目前已经被各类科学调查和自然观察项目广泛使用。该文利用Biotracks 的标本采集项目将野外采集的数据与标本馆的数字馆藏系统连接起来,使用户在手机上记录的信息可以被应用到标本馆的标本数字化中。这种方式不仅提升了数字标本的转录效率,而且从根本上改变了整个标本收集流程中的数据整合方式,使得标本从采集到收藏的各个环节都能获得高质量的效率提升。同时,新的标本收集模式还能自然地将标本的野外照片与数字标本融为一体,从而使得传统标本原本很难呈现的颜色、行为、立体结构、环境等信息最终可以通过数字标本再次展现给研究者。这在信息维度上不仅拓展了传统标本的内涵,结合公众科学,未来还有望进一步延伸馆藏标本鉴定和讨论的时空范围。此外,公众科学在解决标本馆问题中所展现出来的潜质,为重新审视标本馆的领域价值提供了新的视角。     

几种特殊植物标本的采集与压制

几种特殊植物标本的采集与压制尹秀玲张凤娟（河北农业技术师范学院０６６６００）植物界千姿百态,纷繁复杂,充分表现出植物的多样性。采集植物标本是了解植物资源的较好的方法和途径。现将几种特殊植物标本的采集与制作介绍如下：１肉质多汁植物标本的采集与压制肉质多...     

英国邱园和外国人在中国的植物采集活动

英国邱园(Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew)是英国最大的植物标本保藏机构,也是世界顶级植物园之一。截止2012年12月31日,该园共有11 635份采自中国的植物标本,含206科1 102属6 056种植物。它们采自除黑龙江、吉林和天津以外的所有中国省份、直辖市和特别行政区,且90%以上的标本来自云南、四川、湖北、西藏、海南和台湾。绝大部分标本采集于1840-1949年间,也有一小部分集中在1975-2000年间。采集者来自多个国家,其中以爱尔兰人亨瑞(Augustine Henry)、英国人威尔逊(Ernest Henry Wilson)、英国人福利斯特(George Forrest)、法国人戴乐维(Pierre Jean Marie Delavay)和法国人卡瓦勒瑞(Pierre Julien Cavalerie)的贡献最大。邱园中采自中国的植物标本虽然绝大多数来自于西方人对中国植物资源的抢掠,但是对于早期中国植物学的研究以及《中国植物志》的编纂起到了极其重要的推动作用。     

秦仁昌与植物标本馆

经典植物分类学家与植物标本馆密不可分,标本馆所藏标本为其研究提供材料,而分类学家在野外标本采集则丰富标本馆馆藏。中国许多植物分类学家既做深入研究,又做艰辛之采集,秦仁昌便是其中一位,只是其蕨类植物研究名声过大,以致掩盖了他对标本馆的贡献。     

中国植物分类及标本采集史简述

植物分类学是一门古老的科学,其发展也受到了社会历史变革的深刻影响。该文通过对我国植物分类学研究和发展史进行简要回顾,根据人们对植物分类学科的认识程度以及社会重大历史事件等,将我国植物分类的发展史大体分为原始、古代、近代和现代4个阶段,并对各阶段进行了简要说明。植物标本是植物分类研究最基本和最重要的凭证材料,因此我国的植物标本采集史也见证了植物采集人员在我国植物分类学研究发展的历史过程中所付出的血汗、泪水甚至生命。植物资源的保护和种质资源的收集和保存正日益成为我国生态文明建设的主要内容,在新时代生物多样性保护的背景下,植物分类学和植物分类研究人员将会发挥更重要的作用,为我国的生物多样性保护提供更加有力的支撑。     

植物模式标本数据整合新的机遇与挑战

命名模式是分类群名称永久依附的成分,在分类学研究中有不可替代的价值。中国复杂的植物采集历史以及对中国植物标本开展研究的单位各异,导致我国植物模式标本零散分布于全球各大标本馆,给分类工作的开展带来了极大的困难。标本数字化的开展为模式标本数据整合提供了新的机遇,同时也给我们带来了人名和地名标准化以及模式类型确认等方面的挑战。我国于2006年开始对模式标本数据进行收集和整理,迄今已完成国内外20余家标本馆9万余条标本数据的收集。模式考证和模式类型清理是我们下一步亟须开展的工作,同时我们应将地名变更资料、人名考证资料进行整合并建立相应的数据库以推动模式标本数据的标准化。这将在很大程度上有助于我们摸清中国模式标本的家底。     

中国高等植物数字化标本分析

传统上馆藏标本,主要用于植物分类学、植物资源学的研究。数字标本的出现将标本的使用拓展到从研究生物多样性时间空间分布到生态学和进化学理论、生物多样性保护、农业和人类健康等广泛领域。截至目前,从互联网上获取的采自中国的植物标本数量已有1 200多万份。该文通过整理和分析这些数据以了解中国植物标本的数字化精度、采集时间和采集地区规律以及采集空缺等状况。结果表明:中国标本采集形成了4个高峰,即20世纪30年代、60年代、80年代和21世纪初,中国植物标本采集和研究工作主要在20世纪50年代后由中国学者完成。标本采集地区覆盖度在省级较好,县级标本采集则很不平衡; 标本采集类群在科属层面覆盖率高,但近五分之一的物种采集不足; 标本的采集量既与植物分布幅度相关,也与采集地区的知名度、所获科研项目及采集者偏好有关。未来中国植物标本数字化方向应该在继续挖掘馆藏标本的同时,一方面开展对现有数字化标本信息再审核及补充,并加强与欧美大馆的信息共享以获取早期历史标本信息; 另一方面应用数字化标本信息分析结果,指导境内标本的精准采集,包括采集薄弱/空白地区、采集薄弱/空白属种的采集,以进一步增强实体标本馆能力,提高数字化标本质量,为进一步完善植物标本数字化和精准化采集提供依据,更好地服务科学和社会的发展。     

中国古植物馆

中国古植物馆是中国科学院植物研究所植物标本馆的一个分馆 ,于１９９６年落成 ,１９９８年经中国科学院正式批准成立 ,由中国科学院前任院长 ,现人大副委员长周光召题写了馆名。该馆位于北京香山中国科学院植物研究所内 ,是该所古植物学研究室的化石标本保存之处。它集植物化石采集、保藏、陈列、国际交换和科学研究为一体 ,已收藏中国各地质时期珍贵植物化石标本７万余号 ,并与美国、英国、德国、法国、瑞典、波兰及俄罗斯等国家开展了国际交流与合作。该馆是我国古植物学研究的重要基地之一 ,为我国古植物学家提供了研究生命起源、陆地植…     

神农架国家公园植物采集史及模式标本名录

本文基于标本及文献数据对神农架国家公园高等植物标本采集史进行简要概述。该地区有着近140年的标本采集历史, 最早对神农架地区进行植物标本采集的是爱尔兰植物学家Augustine Henry。中国科学院武汉植物园标本馆(HIB)收藏了采自该地区的21,402份标本, 居首位; 其次为中国科学院植物研究所标本馆(PE) 16,483份、华中农业大学博物馆(CCAU) 1,851份。标本采集年份主要集中在1956-1959、1976-1981、1985-1987三个时间段, 其中以1976年采集数量为最多。标本采集月份主要集中在4-11月, 8月采集量最大。不同植物的标本数量两极分化严重, 标本量多的如桦叶荚蒾(Viburnum betulifolium), 高达295份, 然而有612种植物的标本量仅1份, 约2/3的植物标本量少于10份。因而, 在今后的采集工作中我们应该将重心置于标本数量不足的物种和类群, 而标本数量过剩的类群则应减少或停止采集; 植物标本的采集过程应尽可能全覆盖, 突出对高海拔、峡谷、石壁、无人区等特殊生境的调查。采集时间上应该注重春、冬二季。此外, 我们对该地区的维管植物模式标本进行了考证, 编制了《神农架国家公园维管植物模式标本名录》。该地区共有维管植物模式标本39种2变种3变型, 隶属24科34属。对神农架国家公园维管植物模式标本的整理为履行联合国教科文组织世界遗产中心的要求及进一步开展神农架遗产的管理与保护提供了依据。     

美国在华采集竹类植物标本的历史(1840-2010年)

植物标本采集是植物学研究的重要内容, 与植物引种密切相关。自19世纪以来, 美国植物采集者在全球尤其是中国进行了广泛的植物采集。在众多的植物类群中, 中国的竹类植物引起了美国采集者的极大关注, 并开展了大量调查研究和标本采集工作。研究美国植物采集者在中国采集竹类植物标本的历史, 对了解竹类植物从中国引种到美国的历史具有重要意义。本文基于国内外有关美国在华采集的竹类植物标本数据, 对其学名、采集地、采集人以及采集时间进行整理校对, 分析了美国采集者在华采集竹类植物标本的历史。结果表明: 1840-2010年, 美国在华共采集竹类植物标本960号2,238份, 隶属于25属120种(含变种和变型), 分别占中国竹类属和种数的73.5%和22.5%; 有45位(支)采集者(采集队), 在这些采集者中莫古礼最为重要; 采集地涉及20个省级行政区; 采集时间前后跨度约170年, 主要集中在20世纪上半叶。     

New taxonomy and old collections: integrating DNA barcoding into the collection curation process

Because they house large biodiversity collections and are also research centres with sequencing facilities, natural history museums are well placed to develop DNA barcoding best practices. The main difficulty is generally the vouchering system: it must ensure that all data produced remain attached to the corresponding specimen, from the field to publication in articles and online databases. The Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris is one of the leading laboratories in the Marine Barcode of Life (MarBOL) project, which was used as a pilot programme to include barcode collections for marine molluscs and crustaceans. The system is based on two relational databases. The first one classically records the data (locality and identification) attached to the specimens. In the second one, tissue-clippings, DNA extractions (both preserved in 2D barcode tubes) and PCR data (including primers) are linked to the corresponding specimen. All the steps of the process [sampling event, specimen identification, molecular processing, data submission to Barcode Of Life Database (BOLD) and GenBank] are thus linked together. Furthermore, we have developed several web-based tools to automatically upload data into the system, control the quality of the sequences produced and facilitate the submission to online databases. This work is the result of a joint effort from several teams in the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), but also from a collaborative network of taxonomists and molecular systematists outside the museum, resulting in the vouchering so far of ～41,000 sequences and the production of ～11,000 COI sequences.     

Biological collections and ecological/environmental research: a review,some observations and a look to the future

Housed worldwide, mostly in museums and herbaria, is a vast collection of biological specimens developed over centuries. These biological collections, and associated taxonomic and systematic research, have received considerable long‐term public support. The work remaining in systematics has been expanding as the estimated total number of species of organisms on Earth has risen over recent decades, as have estimated numbers of undescribed species. Despite this increasing task, support for taxonomic and systematic research, and biological collections upon which such research is based, has declined over the last 30‐40 years, while other areas of biological research have grown considerably, especially those that focus on environmental issues. Reflecting increases in research that deals with ecological questions (e.g. what determines species distribution and abundance) or environmental issues (e.g. toxic pollution), the level of research attempting to use biological collections in museums or herbaria in an ecological/environmental context has risen dramatically during about the last 20 years. The perceived relevance of biological collections, and hence the support they receive, should be enhanced if this trend continues and they are used prominently regarding such environmental issues as anthropogenic loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem function, global climate change, and decay of the epidemiological environment. It is unclear, however, how best to use biological collections in the context of such ecological/environmental issues or how best to manage collections to facilitate such use. We demonstrate considerable and increasingly realized potential for research based on biological collections to contribute to ecological/environmental understanding. However, because biological collections were not originally intended for use regarding such issues and have inherent biases and limitations, they are proving more useful in some contexts than in others. Biological collections have, for example, been particularly useful as sources of information regarding variation in attributes of individuals (e.g. morphology, chemical composition) in relation to environmental variables, and provided important information in relation to species' distributions, but less useful in the contexts of habitat associations and population sizes. Changes to policies, strategies and procedures associated with biological collections could mitigate these biases and limitations, and hence make such collections more useful in the context of ecological/environmental issues. Haphazard and opportunistic collecting could be replaced with strategies for adding to existing collections that prioritize projects that use biological collections and include, besides taxonomy and systematics, a focus on significant environmental/ecological issues. Other potential changes include increased recording of the nature and extent of collecting effort and information associated with each specimen such as nearby habitat and other individuals observed but not collected. Such changes have begun to occur within some institutions. Institutions that house biological collections should, we think, pursue a mission of ‘understanding the life of the planet to inform its stewardship’ ( Krishtalka & Humphrey, 2000 ), as such a mission would facilitate increased use of biological collections in an ecological/environmental context and hence lead to increased appreciation, encouragement and support from the public for these collections, their associated research, and the institutions that house them.     

The research on the mechanism of Tsoong inhibiting for colon cancer

The roots of Codonopis bulleynana Forest ex diels (cbFed), locally known as Tsoong, have been used as a tonic food. Tsoong has wide range of pharmacological effects, including anticancer effects. In the present study, the anticancer activity of Tsoong and its potential molecular mechanisms were investigated. Using high throughput sequencing the apoptotic pathway was ranked as one of the most important pathways and the differential expressions of apoptosis-related genes such as Casp3, Casp6 and Apaf1 were identified. The following experiments were qRT-PCR which were used to verify the genes. In vitro, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assays and flow cytometry in HCT116 and SW480 colon cancer cell were used to assess the anti‐proliferation and apoptosis-promoting activities of Tsoong. In vivo, the antitumor effect of Tsoong was assessed in colon cancer-bearing nude mice as a xenograft model. H&E staining was performed with oxaliplatin set as a positive control. The results showed that Tsoong up-regulated apoptosis-related genes, inhibited tumor cell proliferation, promoted tumor cellapoptosis in a dose-dependent manner and restrained the growth of colon neoplasm. The effects of a high dose of Tsoong on colon cancer cells were similar to those of oxaliplatin. Our results may ultimately help in the development of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to control this devastating disease. Therefore, Tsoong may be a promising Chinese herbal compound for development for use in cancer therapy.     

Explaining invasiveness from the extent of native range: new insights from plant atlases and herbarium specimens

Aim

We tested the relationship between the extent of the native range and the success (number of occurrences) in the introduced range of European vascular plant species naturalized in the province of Québec (Canada). We hypothesized that the performance of models linking native range size and species invasiveness can be improved if residence time and climate tolerance are taken into account.

Methods

The extent of the native range (Europe, Asia) was estimated using plant atlases. The number of occurrences in the introduced range (Québec) was estimated using the number of herbarium specimens stored in herbaria. Herbarium specimens were also used to obtain residence time. Plant hardiness was used as an indicator of the suitability of a species to the climate of the introduced range. Multiple linear regression models, corrected to take into account phylogenetic biases, were used to calculate correlations between the extent of the native range and the number of occurrences in the introduced range.

Results

The larger the native distribution area in Eurasia, the greater the number of occurrences (herbarium specimens) in Québec. The shorter the residence time and the less hardy the plant, the fewer the number of occurrences. In all models tested, the phylogenetic structure explained a significant proportion of the variance, but its influence decreased as the number of species or area studied (Europe versus Eurasia) increased.

Main conclusions

The extent of the native range is a good explanatory variable for the invasion success of vascular plants, especially once other factors (residence time, climate tolerance, phylogeny) are taken into account. Thus, a model using these variables could be used by environmental managers to flag species warranting further investigation. With the emergence of online databases, gathering the required information is becoming easier and cheaper. As online databases continue to improve and new analytical tools are developed, this approach will become even more powerful.

     

Explaining naturalization and invasiveness: new insights from historical ornamental plant catalogs

We identified plant attributes associated with naturalization and invasiveness using century‐old ornamental plant catalogs from Québec (Canada). We tested the hypothesis that naturalization is determined by fewer factors than invasiveness, as the latter also requires dispersal, which introduces additional complexity. The approach we used took into account not only plant attributes as explanatory factors, but also propagule pressure, while accounting for phylogenetic relationships among species. Museum collections were used, in combination with scientific journal databases, to assess invasiveness. Particular attention was given to species that never escaped from gardens and thus represent cases of “failed” invasions. Naturalization in cold‐temperate environments is determined by fewer factors than invasion, but only if phylogenetic links between species are taken into account, highlighting the importance of phylogenetic tools for analyzing species pools not resulting from a random selection of taxa. Hardiness is the main factor explaining naturalization in Québec. Invasion requires dispersal, as shown by three significant variables associated with the spread of diaspores in the invasiveness model (seed weight, hydrochory, number of seed dispersal modes). Plants that are not cold‐hardy are likely to disappear from the market or nature, but the disappearance phenomenon is more complex, involving also seed dispersal abilities and propagule pressure. Factors contributing to naturalization or invasiveness may differ greatly between regions. Differences are due in part to the plant traits used in the models and the methodology. However, this study, conducted in a cold‐temperate region, sheds new light on what is likely a context (climatic)‐dependant phenomenon.     

珍稀濒危植物珙桐不同采收期的种子特性研究

首次比较研究了国家一级保护濒危植物珙桐不同采收时期的种子特性。结果显示:不同采收期每50粒珙桐果实的出种量最高为101粒,最低为53粒,平均80.78粒,变异系数19.43%;果实出种量不随采收时间的推迟而增长,这表明在相似生境条件下珙桐植株间的有性生殖是非同步的。各采收期珙桐果实的出籽率都非常低,最高仅为1.63%,由于种子包装格局与果皮包装格局资源损耗的相对独立性,提示果实表型特征与种子发育程度不存在相关性。测定分析不同采收期珙桐种子电导率,11月5日所采集的种子在9份样品中种子质量最高。而种子形态数据与百粒重却显示11月5日所采集的种子在这两方面最小,长19.85cm、宽4.94cm、厚2.95cm,百粒重18.82g,这表明珙桐种子形态大小不能反映种子质量的高低。用0.5%TTC溶液测定珙桐种子活力,实验结果显示不同采收期珙桐种子活力均达90%以上。