Triterpenoids from ten Lithocarpus species of Hong Kong

From the petrol extracts of the leaves and stems of ten Lithocarpus species (L. attenuata, L. cornea, L. elizabethae, L. glabra, L. haipinii, L. hancei, L. harlandi, L. irwinii, L. litchioides, and L. polystachya) of the Fagaceae family, were isolated 23 different triterpenoids, and sitosterol and stigmasterol. Of the triterpenoids, 11 belonged to the oleanane and rearranged oleanane group [β-amyrin, friedelin, friedelan-3β-ol, glutinol, taraxerone, taraxerol and its acetate, canophyllol (28-hydroxyfriedelan-3-one), friedelan-2,3-dione (3-hydroxyfriedel-3-en-2-one), pachysandiol-A (2α,3β-dihydroxyfriedelane) and a new compound lithocarpic lactone C₃₀H₅₀O₂]. Four compounds were from the lupane and rearranged lupane group (lupenone, lupeol, betulin and taraxasterol), 2 from the hopane group (22-hydroxyhopan-3-one and 3β,22-dihydroxyhopane), and 6 were probably new compounds.     

成都市沙河主要绿化树种固碳释氧和降温增湿效益

以成都市沙河植物廊道广泛应用的8种绿化植物为材料,利用LI-6400XT便携式光合测定系统进行了光合生理生态指标的测定,并对其固碳释氧与降温增湿效应进行了量化研究.结果表明:整个生长季节同类植物各季节的单位叶面积固碳释氧和 降温增湿能力表现出夏季＞秋季＞春季.日固碳释氧能力由强到弱为桂花、垂柳、香樟、黄葛树、山杜英、银杏、天竺桂、水杉,年固碳释氧能力由强到弱为垂柳、香樟、黄葛树、银杏、桂花、天竺桂、水杉、山杜英,日降温增湿效果由强到弱为垂柳、山杜英、水杉、天竺桂、黄葛树、香樟、银杏、桂花.据估算,整个沙河植物群落中乔木树种年总固碳量约为5.87×104 t,总释氧量约为4.27×104 t.根据对主要树种固碳释氧和降温增湿能力的分析表明,在树种配置时,垂柳、桂花、山杜英、香樟为优选乔木树种,而银杏的固碳释氧和降温增湿能力较弱,可作为长寿树种和观赏树种适量引种,不宜大面积绿化.     

Flavonoids and tannins of Acacia species

The heartwoods of Acacia giraffae and A. galpinii were selected from South African Acacias as representative of those with abnormally high and minimal tannin contents respectively. A. galpinii contains amongst other analogues, the first natural (+)-2,3-trans-3,4-trans-teracacidin (7,8,4′-trihydroxy-flavan-3,4-diol and novel 3-O-methyl-, 7,8-di-O-methyl- and 7,8,4′-tri-O-methylflavonol analogues. (−)-2,3-cis-3,4-cis-Melacacidin (7,8,3′,4′-tetrahydroxyflavan-3,4-diol) is also present, but tannins are absent. By contrast, from the large excess of leueofisetinidin tannins which characterizes the wood of A. giraffae, only (+)-catechin, (+)-2,3-trans-3,4-trans-leucofisetinidin (7,3′,4′,trihydroxyflavan-3,4-diol and all-trans-(+)-leueofisetinidin-(+)-catechin could be isolated.     

Oral transmission of Brugia pahangi and Dipetalonema viteae to adult and neonatal jirds

Sullivan J. J. and Chernin E. 1976. Oral transmission of Brugia pahangi and Dipetalonema viteae to adult and neonatal jirds. International Journal for Parasitology6: 75–78. Confirming previous studies, anaesthetized adult jirds became infected after oral doses of 100 infective larvae of B. pahangi; 4 of 5 jirds became microfilaria-positive and all 5 harbored adult worms. Among 7 unanaesthetized adult jirds similarly exposed, none developed microfilaraemia although 5 each harbored a few adult worms. In these unanaesthetized jirds, presumably, rapid passage of the inoculum through the mouth permitted fewer larvae to penetrate the mucosa, and the rest were probably killed in the stomach. Unanaesthetized 4-day old jirds proved highly and equally susceptible to oral or subcutaneous infection with B. pahangi as indicated by microfilaraemias and large worm-burdens. Direct and indirect evidence suggest that the baby's stomach and small intestine are not inimical to swallowed larvae, thus accounting for the relatively numerous mature worms in the peritoneal cavity. Third-stage larvae of D. viteae, readily infective subcutaneously, succeeded relatively infrequently in maturing when given orally to anaesthetized adult or to unanaesthetized baby jirds. Consistent oral infectivity may thus be a feature of filariae more closely related to B. pahangi.     

Infection of tomato by Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus alters the foraging behavior and parasitism of the parasitoid Encarsia formosa on Bemisia tabaci

Encarsia formosa Gahan is a solitary endoparasitoid that is commercially reared and released for augmentative biological control of whiteflies including Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius). Bemisia tabaci biotypes B and Q are two most invasive species that greatly reduce crop yields in China by feeding on plant sap and by transmitting Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV). The effects of TYLCV infection of tomato on E. formosa foraging on B. tabaci B and Q are unknown. In Y-tube olfactometer assays in the present study, E. formosa significantly preferred TYLCV-infected tomato plants over TYLCV-free plants. The wasp females also significantly preferred TYLCV-infected tomato plants infested with 3rd-instar nymphs of B. tabaci biotype Q over TYLCV-free plants with biotype Q nymphs. However, no significant differences were observed when B. tabaci biotype B was infested on tomato plants. The oviposition bioassays confirmed that TYLCV infection on tomato plants resulted in the recruitment of parasitoids. These results indicate that TYLCV-infection of tomato increase the foraging of E. formosa on B. tabaci, as differs on the B and Q biotypes.     

Synthesis and antibacterial evaluation of novel 11-O-aralkylcarbamoyl-3-O-descladinosylclarithromycin derivatives

A series of novel 11-O-aralkylcarbamoyl-3-O-descladinosylclarithromycin derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activity. The results showed that the majority of the target compounds displayed potent activity against erythromycin-susceptible S. pyogenes, erythromycin-resistant S. pneumoniae A22072 expressing the mef gene and S. pneumoniae AB11 expressing the mef and erm genes. Besides, most of the target compounds exhibited moderate activity against erythromycin-susceptible S. aureus ATCC25923 and B. subtilis ATCC9372. In particular, compounds 11a, 11b, 11c, 11e, 11f and 11h were found to exert favorable antibacterial activity against erythromycin-susceptible S. pyogenes with the MIC values of 0.015–0.125?μg/mL. Furthermore, compounds 10e, 11a, 11b and 11c showed superior activity against erythromycin-resistant S. pneumoniae A22072 with the MIC values of 0.25–0.5?μg/mL. Additionally, compound 11c was the most effective against all the erythromycin-resistant S. pneumoniae strains (A22072, B1 and AB11), exhibiting 8-, 8- and 32-fold more potent activity than clarithromycin, respectively.     

Alkaloids of Uncaria longiflora

Six isomers of the pentacyclic oxindoie alkaloid mitraphylline and five of their N-oxides have been identified as being present in the leaves of Uncaria longiflora (Poir.) Merr. Isomitraphylline and mitraphylline N-oxides have been prepared and characterized.     

Development and validation of a quantitative PCR assay for the early detection and monitoring of the invasive diatom Didymosphenia geminata

Didymosphenia geminata is a large, invasive, freshwater diatom that can produce distinctive and robust mucilaginous stalks. Over the last two decades, there has been a worldwide increase in the distribution and severity of D. geminata blooms. These dense, persistent blooms can have severe impacts on native species and ecosystem functioning. D. geminata is usually identified by microscopic methods that are time consuming, resource intensive, and dependent upon expert taxonomic identification, so the extent of surveillance programs has been limited. As an alternative, we have developed a TaqMan quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) assay for sensitive and rapid detection and enumeration of D. geminata in environmental samples. Species-specific QPCR primers and probe were designed by aligning the D. geminata 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequence with closely related diatoms. The QPCR assay was linear (R² = 1.00) over a detection range of eight orders of magnitude with a lower limit of approximately two D. geminata cells. QPCR analysis of environmental samples employed the comparative cycle threshold (C_T)-method with an exogenous plasmid used as an internal reference standard. The assay was evaluated using samples collected during a survey of D. geminata in three rivers in the South Island, New Zealand, and from 13 international locations where D. geminata is known to be present. Positive QPCR amplifications were confirmed as the correct amplification product through direct DNA sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis of 18S rDNA sequences suggests that D. geminata is more closely related to species in the family Cymbellaceae rather than Gomphonemataceae as currently classified.     

Association of chlorophyll a/b-binding Pcb proteins with photosystems I and II in Prochlorothrix hollandica

Action spectra for photosystem II (PSII)-driven oxygen evolution and of photosystem I (PSI)-mediated H₂ photoproduction and photoinhibition of respiration were used to determine the participation of chlorophyll (Chl) a/b-binding Pcb proteins in the functions of pigment apparatus of Prochlorothrix hollandica. Comparison of the in situ action spectra with absorption spectra of PSII and PSI complexes isolated from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803 revealed a shoulder at 650 nm that indicated presence of Chl b in the both photosystems of P. hollandica. Fitting of two action spectra to absorption spectrum of the cells showed a chlorophyll ratio of 4:1 in favor of PSI. Effective antenna sizes estimated from photochemical cross-sections of the relevant photoreactions were found to be 192 ± 28 and 139 ± 15 chlorophyll molecules for the competent PSI and PSII reaction centers, respectively. The value for PSI is in a quite good agreement with previous electron microscopy data for isolated Pcb-PSI supercomplexes from P. hollandica that show a trimeric PSI core surrounded by a ring of 18 Pcb subunits. The antenna size of PSII implies that the PSII core dimers are associated with ∼ 14 Pcb light-harvesting proteins, and form the largest known Pcb-PSII supercomplexes.     

龟鳖目淡水龟科系统发生关系的研究进展

淡水龟科是龟鳖目中物种数目最多、形态变异最多样的一个类群。其早期的系统学研究主要依据形态学和细胞学的特征,近年来,随着分子数据的不断增多,结合形态学等方法,淡水龟科系统发生学研究取得了诸多进展,但至今尚未有一致的结论。本文主要对近年来有关淡水龟科起源的单系性问题;潮龟属、闭壳龟属和拟水龟属重划分问题;潮龟属、草龟属和小棱背龟属属间关系问题;齿缘龟属、果龟属和东方龟属属间关系问题;齿缘龟属和木纹龟属属内种间关系问题研究进行了文献综述,以期为淡水龟科的系统发生关系和物种保护等研究提供参考。     

Observations on the role of simuliids and culicids in the transmission of avian and anuran trypanosomes

Although Trypanosoma rotatorium undergoes transformation and prolific multiplication in the mid and hindgut of Culex territans, several attempts to experimentally infect laboratory-reared, Rana pipiens by different routes were unsuccessful. Trypanosoma avium undergoes a similar pattern of development in the gut of Simulium rugglesi. Experimental infections of T. avium in ducklings indicates that S. rugglesi serves as an intermediate host and probably as an active and passive vector of the parasite in nature.     

Induction of dominant lethality by x-rays in radiosensitive strain of yeast

X-Ray-survival curves of haploid, diploid, triploid and tetraploid yeast strains homozygous for the X-ray-sensitive mutation rad52 (previously xs1 are presented. These curves suggest that strains carrying the rad52 mutation may be more susceptible than wild type to X-ray-induced dominant lethal damage. For the crosses (+ × +, rad52 × rad52, + × rad52, rad52 × +) in which only one parent was irradiated, the relationships between zygote survival and X-ray dose were similar except for rad52 × rad52. In this cross a considerably higher frequency of dominant lethal damage was observed. This observation indicates that the rad52 mutant lacks a repair system for X-ray damage and is consistent with the proposal that unrepaired chromosome damage is the event which leads to dominant lethality and reproductive cell death.     

Endophytic fungus Serendipita indica increased nutrition absorption and biomass accumulation in Cunninghamia lanceolata seedlings under low phosphate

Cunninghamia lanceolata is important forest tree species in southern China, and its successive plantations resulted in degradation of soil fertility in pure stands, causing decline in forest productivity. How to improve productivity in C. lanceolata pure stands is a tough task. Usage of mycorrhizal fungi might be a plausible access to the task. The objective is to study the possibility of the endophytic fungus Serendipita indica (named formerly as Piriformospora indica) in culture of C. lanceolata. Seeds were sowed in plastic pots with river sand. When seedlings had two true leaves, hyphae suspension solution of S. indica was added to near the roots of seedlings in each plastic pot. Such pots with seedlings were placed in a greenhouse and normal management was carried out for the seedlings. Symbiosis effects on root development, nutrition uptake and allocation, and biomass accumulation of C. lanceolata seedlings under low phosphate were investigated. The results showed that S. indica could symbiose with C. lanceolata. The symbiosis did not result in significant changes in root system architecture under low phosphate, but significantly increased nitrogen and phosphorus levels in leaves under low phosphate. Although the symbiosis did not significantly increased nitrogen allocation in leaves under low phosphate, it significantly increased phosphorus allocation in leaves. The interaction between S. indica and C. lanceolata resulted in increase in total biomass under low phosphate and changes in biomass allocation between shoots and roots. The results suggested that S. indica helps host plants to absorb more nutrients under low phosphate and to allocate more nitrogen and phosphate to leaves, promoting plant growth; the fungus might be used in pure stands of C. lanceolata because of its large-scaled axenic culture.     

A reappraisal of the Pleurotus eryngii complex – New species and taxonomic combinations based on the application of a polyphasic approach,and an identification key to Pleurotus taxa associated with Apiaceae plants

The Pleurotus eryngii species-complex comprises choice edible mushrooms growing on roots and lower stem residues of Apiaceae (umbellifers) plants. Material deriving from extensive sampling was studied by mating compatibility, morphological and ecological criteria, and through analysis of ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 and IGS1 rRNA sequences. Results revealed that P. eryngii sensu stricto forms a diverse and widely distributed aggregate composed of varieties elaeoselini, eryngii, ferulae, thapsiae, and tingitanus. Pleurotuseryngii subsp. tuoliensis comb. nov. is a phylogenetically sister group to the former growing only on various Ferula species in Asia. The existence of Pleurotusnebrodensis outside of Sicily (i.e., in Greece) is reported for the first time on the basis of molecular data, while P. nebrodensis subsp. fossulatus comb. nov. is a related Asiatic taxon associated with the same plant (Prangos ferulacea). Last, Pleurotusferulaginis sp. nov. grows on Ferulago campestris in northeast Italy, Slovenia and Hungary; it occupies a distinct phylogenetic position accompanied with significant differences in spore size and mating incompatibility versus other Pleurotus populations. Coevolution with umbellifers and host/substrate specificity seem to play key roles in speciation processes within this fungal group. An identification key to the nine Pleurotus taxa growing in association with Apiaceae plants is provided.     

Age-stage,two-sex life table and food utilization efficiencies of Galerucella placida Baly (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) on two Polygonaceae weeds

Rumex dentatus L. and Polygonum glabrum Willd. (Polygonaceae) are important weeds of wheat and rice fields, respectively, in India and Pakistan. Adults and larvae of Galerucella placida Baly (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) feed both weeds. Therefore, we studied the biology of G. placida on two weed leaves using age-stage, two-sex life table at 21 °C, 65 ± 5% r.h. and 12L: 12D. We also studied food utilization indices of G. placida on these leaves. Further, we investigated the quantities of nutrients (total carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, amino acids and nitrogen) and antinutrients (total phenols, flavonols and tannins) of the leaves. Correlation analysis suggested that fecundity and the intrinsic rate of increase (r_m) of G. placida were positively correlated with nutrients of leaves, while negatively correlated with antinutrients. Faster larval development, higher longevity of adults and greater fecundity of G. placida were recorded on R. dentatus than P. glabrum. The r_m was higher on R. dentatus than P. glabrum. The nutrients were greater in R. dentatus than P. glabrum, while antinutrients were lower in R. dentatus than P. glabrum. The growth rate and consumption index were greater on R. dentatus than P. glabrum. The above results suggested that better nutritional quality of R. dentatus than P. glabrum influenced faster larval development, higher longevity of adults and greater fecundity of G. placida on R. dentatus. This study concluded that R. dentatus could be used for mass rearing of G. placida in biocontol program prior to release in fields for control of both these weeds.     

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of RrNHX1 and RrVHA-c genes related to salt tolerance in wild Rosa rugosa

Salt stress is one important factor influencing the growth and development of plants, and salt tolerance of plants is a result of combined action of multiple genes and mechanisms. Rosa rugosa is not only an important ornamental plant, but also the natural aromatic plant of high value. Wild R. rugosa which is naturally distributed on the coast and islands of China has a good salt tolerance due to the special living environment. Here, the vacuolar Na⁺/H⁺ reverse transporter gene (NHX1) and the vacuolar H⁺-ATPase subunit C gene (VHA-c) closely related to plant salt tolerance were isolated from wild R. rugosa, and the expression patterns in R. rugosa leaves of the two genes under NaCl stress were determined by real-time quantitative fluorescence PCR. The results showed that the RrNHX1 protein is a constitutive Na⁺/H⁺ reverse transporter, the expression of the RrNHX1 gene first increased and then decreased with the increasing salt concentration, and had a time-controlled effect. The RrVHA-c gene is suggestive of the housekeeping feature, its expression pattern showed a similar variation trend with the RrNHX1 gene under the stress of different concentrations of NaCl, and its temporal expression level under 200 mM NaCl stress presented bimodal change. These findings indicated that RrNHX1 and RrVHA-c genes are closely associated with the salt tolerance trait of wild R. rugosa.