多道检索表的研究进展

在没有利用计算机技术之前, 多道检索表停留在“穿孔卡”检索表形式, 目前, 在计算机辅助下的多道检索表已很快发展出多种检索系统, 如DELTA、Lucid和NaviKey等。本文主要比较了在国内外影响较大的6种多道检索系统在体系结构、用户界面、数据库和检索策略等方面的异同, 并从性状选取自由、容错度、模糊表达、数值型性状、最佳检索性状、保留性状未知的分类群以及检索特征等7个方面对检索策略进行了深入分析。鉴于多道检索表存在多种异名, 不便于研究交流, 我们建议使用“Multi-access keys”作为正式名称。最后本文就多道检索表的发展趋势提出了展望。     

Target theory and survival curves

A general theoretical treatment of cellular radiation damage is presented. The basic assumptions are: (1) the initial damage (“hit”) is not harmful per se, but may be either developed into a biologically significant “lesion” or repaired; (2) each lesion has a certain probability to be lethal, this probability does not depend on the number of lesions per cell; (3) the initial “hits” follow Poisson's distribution. It is shown that under these assumptions the shape of survival curves can be explained. The classical “single-hit” and “multi-hit” curves are obtained as limiting cases.     

斑痣悬茧蜂寄生、发育和生殖特征与寄主幼虫日龄的关系

【目的】“圆屋顶形”假说认为,对单寄生性姬蜂和茧蜂适合度而言,中间龄期幼虫寄主的品质高于更早和更晚龄期幼虫。该假说得到许多研究支持,但这些研究常以寄主幼虫脱皮划分虫龄,很少观测生殖特征,从而难以确切和全面描述适合度随寄主生长发育变化而变化的关系。本研究旨在检验“圆屋顶形”假说。【方法】本研究以斜纹夜蛾Spodoptera litura不同日龄幼虫为寄主,观测斑痣悬茧蜂Meteorus pulchricornis寄生和发育特征,并测定成蜂生殖力。【结果】线性回归分析表明,雌蜂对中间日龄寄主幼虫的寄生率大于对两端日龄寄主幼虫的寄生率;蜂卵至成虫的存活、成虫体型大小及其生殖力（产卵量）等适合度相关特征均表现出中间日龄寄主幼虫处理大于两端日龄幼虫处理。【结论】研究结果支持“圆屋顶形”假说。     

Effects of data incompleteness on the relative performance of parsimony and Bayesian approaches in a supermatrix phylogenetic reconstruction of Mustelidae and Procyonidae (Carnivora)

Missing data are commonly thought to impede a resolved or accurate reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships, and probabilistic analysis techniques are increasingly viewed as less vulnerable to the negative effects of data incompleteness than parsimony analyses. We test both assumptions empirically by conducting parsimony and Bayesian analyses on an approximately 1.5 × 10⁶‐cell (27 965 characters × 52 species) mustelid–procyonid molecular supermatrix with 62.7% missing entries. Contrary to the first assumption, phylogenetic relationships inferred from our analyses are fully (Bayesian) or almost fully (parsimony) resolved topologically with mostly strong support and also largely in accord with prior molecular estimations of mustelid and procyonid phylogeny derived with parsimony, Bayesian, and other probabilistic analysis techniques from smaller but complete or nearly complete data sets. Contrary to the second assumption, we found no compelling evidence in support of a relationship between the inferior performance of parsimony and taxon incompleteness (i.e. the proportion of missing character data for a taxon), although we found evidence for a connection between the inferior performance of parsimony and character incompleteness (i.e. no overlap in character data between some taxa). The relatively good performance of our analyses may be related to the large number of sampled characters, so that most taxa (even highly incomplete ones) are represented by a sufficient number of characters allowing both approaches to resolve their relationships. © The Willi Hennig Society 2009.     

Evolvability and genetic constraint in Dalechampia blossoms: components of variance and measures of evolvability

Many evolutionary arguments are based on the assumption that quantitative characters are highly evolvable entities that can be rapidly moulded by changing selection pressures. The empirical evaluation of this assumption depends on having an operational measure of evolvability that reflects the ability of a trait to respond to a given external selection pressure. We suggest short-term evolvability be measured as expected proportional response in a trait to a unit strength of directional selection, where strength of selection is defined independently of character variation and in units of the strength of selection on fitness itself. We show that the additive genetic variance scaled by the square of the trait mean, IA, is such a measure. The heritability, h2, does not measure evolvability in this sense. Based on a diallel analysis, we use IA to assess the evolvability of floral characters in a population of the neotropical vine Dalechampia scandens (Euphorbiaceae). Although we are able to demonstrate that there is additive genetic variation in a number of floral traits, we also find that most of the traits are not expected to change by more than a fraction of a percent per generation. We provide evidence that the degree of among-population divergence of traits is related to their predicted evolvabilities, but not to their heritabilities.     

紫距淫羊藿的形态变异式样及描述修订

紫距淫羊藿为根据少量栽培个体描述的中国特有种,狭域分布于湖南省天平山,自发表以来未见后续形态学研究。为了掌握紫距淫羊藿形态变异式样并为该物种及其近缘种的分类提供依据,该研究在模式产地湖南省桑植县天平山,于花果期开展野外居群的形态观测,对紫距淫羊藿主要性状进行变异分析以及形态描述的完善或修订,并提供了该物种的形态图片资料。结果表明:基于野外观测,紫距淫羊藿主要形态性状的变异范围均远超出物种发表原始文献的描述,如株高12.0～68.0 cm,大幅度高于原始描述的12cm;居群内结节状根茎和细长根茎并存,且两种类型的个体数量相当;其余性状,如叶长、叶宽、花序轴长、花色等都呈现丰富变异。此外,还补充描述了紫距淫羊藿的果实和种子的性状,蓇葖果长8～13 mm,内含种子2～11粒,种子具油质体。因此,分类学描述应重视野外观察,特别要注意个体间的变异并进行性状分析,这是分类研究的基础。     

The influence of variation and of developmental constraints on the rate of multivariate phenotypic evolution

A model of multivariate phenotypic evolution is analysed under the assumption that all characters have the same variance or at least constant ratios of variance. The rate of evolution is examined as a function of the amount of phenotypic variance in a variety of adaptive landscapes (fitness functions). It is demonstrated that the effect of variation depends on the type of adaptive landscape. In “well behaved” adaptive landscapes the rate of evolution can theoretically increase without limits, depending on the amount of heritable phenotypic variation. However, in other adaptive landscapes there are upper limits to the rate of evolution which cannot be exceeded if phenotypic variation is developmentally unconstrained, i. e. if it is the same for all characters. Further it is shown that the maximal rate of evolution becomes small if the number of characters becomes large. Fitness functions of this type are called malignant. It is argued that malignant fitness functions are more adequate models for the evolution of typical organismic systems, because they are models of functionally interdependent characters. It is concluded that there are upper limits to the rate of phenotypic evolution if the variation of functionally interdependent characters is developmentally unconstrained. The possible role of developmental constraints in adaptive phenotypic evolution is discussed.     

Studies on a Gynoecious-specific ACC Synthase Gene in Different Sexual Phenotypes of Cucumber Genome

Using a pair of primers (Primer Ⅰ and Primer Ⅱ), the authors have amplified a fragment of ACC synthase gene about 1025 bp from four varieties of gynoecious species of cucumber （Cucumis sativus L.） viz.:“CORONA”,“DALEVE”,“Zhongnong No.5”,and “Ouzhou No.8”. Sequence analysis revealed that this fragment of ACC synthase gene was more than 99% homologous with the gene reported by Trebitsh et al (1997). The authors regard them as the same gene, but it exhibited less homology with this ACC synthase gene when expressed by other induction. Southern blot analysis showed that this fragment of ACC synthase gene is associated with the sexual phenotype of cucumber,and it is the specific gene of gynoecium. However, the number of its copies has no direct correlation with the degree of female expression; this seems to indicate that there might be other genes associated with the degree of feminization.     

Problems with the use of cladistic analysis in palaeoanthropology

Cladistic analysis is a popular method for reconstructing evolutionary relationships on the human lineage. However, it has limitations and hidden assumptions that are often not considered by palaeoanthropologists. Some researchers who are opposed to its use regard cladistics as the preferred method for taxonomic «splitters» and claim it has lead to a revitalisation of typology. Typology remains a part of human evolutionary studies, regardless of the acceptance or use of cladistics. The assumption/preference for «splitting» over «lumping» in cladistics (alpha) taxonomy and the general failure to evaluate (post-hoc) such taxonomies have served to reinforce this assertion.

Researchers have also adopted a number of practices that are logically untenable or introduce considerable error. The evolutionary trend of human encephalisation, apparently isometric with body size, and concurrent reduction in the gut and masticatory apparatus, suggests continuous cladistic characters are biased by problems of body size.

The method suffers a logical weakness, or circularity, leading to bias when characters with multiple states are used. Coding of such characters can only be done using prior criteria, and this is usually done using an existing phylogenetic scheme. Another problem with coding character states is the handling of variation within species. While this form of variation is usually ignored by palaeoanthropologists, when characters are recognised as varying, their treatment as a separate state adds considerable error to cladograms.

The genetic proximity of humans, chimpanzees and gorillas has important implications for cladistic analyses. It is argued that chimpanzees and gorillas should be treated as ingroup taxa and an alternative outgroup such as orangutans should be used, or an (hypothetical) ancestral body plan developed. Making chimpanzees and gorillas ingroup taxa would considerably enhance the biological utility of anthropological cladograms.

All published human cladograms fail to meet standard quality criteria indicating that none of them may be considered reliable. The continuing uncertainty over the number and composition of fossil human species is the largest single source of error for cladistics and human phylogenetic reconstruction.