淡水藻类产毒研究进展

淡水藻类的许多种属都可产生毒素,如微囊藻属(Microcystis)、节球藻属(Nodularia)、鱼腥藻属(Anabaena)等。藻类毒素可通过多种途径,直接或间接引起人类或动物的健康问题。严重者,甚至导致死亡。试就国内外近年来对藻类毒素的毒理、性质、结构和检测方法等方面的研究作一简要综述。     

节球藻毒素对草鱼淋巴细胞凋亡毒性效应及机理

节球藻毒素是水华水体中发现的一种新型蓝藻毒素,鱼类很容易受到节球藻毒素的影响.本研究发现节球藻毒素能够体外诱导草鱼淋巴细胞发生凋亡.电镜观察从形态学上发现节球藻毒素诱导的草鱼淋巴细胞呈现明显的细胞质浓缩、染色质凝集以及边缘化等典型细胞凋亡特征.梯队状DNA进一步证实凋亡的发生.1、10和 100 μg·L^-1的节球藻毒素体外诱导草鱼淋巴细胞12 h后,凋亡率分别达到19.4%、31.6%和71.6%,具有明显的剂量效应特征.节球藻毒素诱导的草鱼淋巴细胞凋亡与胞内活性氧物质增加、线粒体膜电位下降、胞钙含量上升、Bcl₂基因下调和Bax基因上调有关;此外,Caspase-3和Caspase-9两种酶参与该凋亡过程.表明节球藻毒素能够通过线粒体通路诱导鱼体淋巴细胞发生凋亡.
     

水华藻类的分子鉴定研究进展

水华藻类包含有原核藻类和真核藻类,广泛存在于淡水水体和海水中,其中包括形成赤潮的生物和使湖泊和沼泽发生水华的蓝藻。这些生物产生的毒素往往是次生代谢产物,种类繁多,包括肝毒素(Hepatotoxins),神经毒素(Neurotoxins)和皮炎毒素(Dermatoxins),其中淡水水华产生的最主要的两种毒素为微囊藻毒素(Microcystin)和节球藻毒素(Nodularins),其毒性作用的位点是抑制蛋白磷酸酶活性,从而影响细胞功能,因此对公共卫生、人体安全和动物安全造成了极大的威胁。       

难辨梭菌产毒情况的初步观察

以分离自临床的30株难辨梭菌的培养滤液作了细胞毒性(B毒素所致)及小白鼠致死性(A毒素所致)的对比观察。结果表明该菌B毒素及A毒素产生的一致性:凡能使细胞产生病变的菌株也能使小白鼠致死,反之亦然。     

志贺毒素及其分子生物学研究进展

志贺毒素(ShT)是由Ⅰ型痢疾志贺菌产生的一种重要的致病毒力因子,具有细胞毒、肠毒和神经毒三种毒性作用。近年来,ShT已被列入生物武器核查清单剂中禁控毒素之一,成为潜在的生物毒素战剂和生物恐怖病原。本主要概述了ShT的生物学特性、分子结构与作用机制、检测与预防,以及分子生物学的研究进展。     

微囊藻毒素对鱼类毒性影响的研究进展

微囊藻毒素 (Microcystins,简称MC)是一些有毒蓝藻,如微囊藻、颤藻和鱼腥藻等,产生的一种具有肝毒性的环状七肽。       

蜘蛛毒素的研究进展及其相关应用

蜘蛛毒素含有多种化学成分,除毒性作用外这些物质对机体产生多重影响并具有多种活性。近年来,大量新的毒性组分不断被分离纯化,其结构和功能性作用被广泛深入研究,蜘蛛毒素成为了生物毒素领域新的研究热点。本文对蜘蛛毒素在离子通道作用机制方面的最新研究进展进行了阐述,同时还探讨了蜘蛛毒素在医学实践中新的应用和发展。     

微囊藻毒素对水环境的影响研究进展

微囊藻毒素是富营养化淡水水体中最常见的藻类毒素,是湖泊蓝藻产生的一类肽类毒素,它的产生受到藻类的遗传和环境因素的共同影响。由于其毒性大,分布广,结构稳定,从而成为水环境中的潜在危害物质。有关微囊藻毒素性质、毒理毒性、在环境中的迁移、转化以及控制预防已成为关注热点。在总结国内外研究的基础上,综述了微囊藻毒素的性质、产生机理以及其与水环境、水生生物(水生植物、鱼类、无脊椎动物)间的相互作用,讨论了微囊藻毒素对水生生物的影响以及水生生物对微囊藻毒素的降解作用,为水体中微囊藻毒素的防治提供科学的依据。     

日粮中霉菌毒素引发小熊猫中毒性肝炎的临床调查

本文报道了小熊猫霉菌毒素中毒性肝炎的群发病案。35 只小熊猫中,21 只发病,5 只死亡。通过日粮成分调查,饲料中霉菌毒素检测,病原微生物检查,血液参数测定,病理学检查和动物试验,确诊为呕吐毒素(DON)和玉米赤霉烯酮(F-2)毒素中毒。依据调查结果对小熊猫进行治疗,小熊猫预后良好。结论:(1)小熊猫对霉菌毒素(DON 和F-2 毒素)极其敏感,应予以高度重视;(2)DON 和F-2 毒素存在相互增强作用,对小熊猫的毒性作用主要为肝毒性和肾毒性,并可导致小熊猫机体免疫功能降低;(3)小熊猫对霉菌毒素的耐受性与环境的适应性有关,应激因素能提高小熊猫对霉菌毒素的敏感性。      

霍乱弧菌肠毒素基因在大肠杆菌的表达

霍乱毒素基因在大肠杆菌获得了表达,在大肠杆菌中产生的毒素,具有霍乱毒素同样的生物活性、抗原性和免疫原性。但它产生的霍乱毒索,90％是保持在胞内的,其毒性可被胰酶激活。     

Are behavioral responses to eyespots in sticklebacks influenced by the visual environment? An experimental examination

Eyespots are taxonomically widespread color patterns consisting of large concentric rings that are commonly assumed to protect prey by influencing the behaviors of predators. Although there is ample experimental evidence supporting an anti‐predator function of eyespots in terrestrial animals, whether eyespots have a similar deterring function in aquatic animals remains unclear. Furthermore, studies in terrestrial systems suggest that the protective function of eyespots depends on ambient light conditions where predators encounter them, but this effect has never been tested in aquatic environments. Here, we examine how eyespots influence behavioral responses in an aquatic environment under different visual environments, using laboratory‐reared three‐spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) as model predators. Specifically, we experimentally examined behavioral responses of sticklebacks toward artificial prey patterns (control vs. eyespots) under two different light environment treatments (low vs. high). We found that eyespots did not postpone attacks from sticklebacks. However, sticklebacks approaching eyespots stopped more frequently than sticklebacks approaching prey items with a control pattern. Sticklebacks were (marginally) slower to attack prey in the low‐light treatment, but the light level did not influence stickleback behavioral responses toward eyespots. We conclude that eyespots can modulate some behaviors of an aquatic predator, albeit with a different functional role from that previously demonstrated in terrestrial species.     

Iningainema pulvinus gen nov., sp nov. (Cyanobacteria,Scytonemataceae) a new nodularin producer from Edgbaston Reserve,north-eastern Australia

A new nodularin producing benthic cyanobacterium Iningainema pulvinus gen nov., sp nov. was isolated from a freshwater ambient spring wetland in tropical, north-eastern Australia and characterised using combined morphological and phylogenetic attributes. It formed conspicuous irregularly spherical to discoid, blue-green to olive-green cyanobacterial colonies across the substratum of shallow pools. Morphologically Iningainema is most similar to Scytonematopsis Kiseleva and Scytonema Agardh ex Bornet & Flahault. All three genera have isopolar filaments enveloped by a firm, often layered and coloured sheath; false branching is typically geminate, less commonly singly. Phylogenetic analyses using partial 16S rRNA sequences of three clones of Iningainema pulvinus strain ES0614 showed that it formed a well-supported monophyletic clade. All three clones were 99.7–99.9% similar, however they shared less than 93.9% nucleotide similarity with other cyanobacterial sequences including putatively related taxa within the Scytonemataceae. Amplification of a fragment of the ndaF gene involved in nodularin biosynthesis from Iningainema pulvinus confirmed that it has this genetic determinant. Consistent with these results, analysis of two extracts from strain ES0614 by HPLC–MS/MS confirmed the presence of nodularin at concentrations of 796 and 1096 μg g⁻¹ dry weight. This is the third genus of cyanobacteria shown to produce the cyanotoxin nodularin and the first report of nodularin synthesis from the cyanobacterial family Scytonemataceae. These new findings may have implications for the aquatic biota at Edgbaston Reserve, a spring complex which has been identified as a priority conservation area in the central Australian arid and semiarid zones, based on patterns of endemicity.     

Nodularin uptake and induction of oxidative stress in spinach (Spinachia oleracea)

The bloom-forming cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena produces toxic compounds, including nodularin, which is known to have adverse effects on various organisms. We monitored the primary effects of nodularin exposure on physiological parameters in Spinachia oleracea. We present the first evidence for the uptake of nodularin by a terrestrial plant, and show that the exposure of spinach to cyanobacterial crude water extract from nodularin-producing strain AV1 results in inhibition of growth and bleaching of the leaves. Despite drastic effects on phenotype and survival, nodularin did not disturb the photosynthetic performance of plants or the structure of the photosynthetic machinery in the chloroplast thylakoid membrane. Nevertheless, the nodularin-exposed plants suffered from oxidative stress, as evidenced by a high level of oxidative modifications targeted to various proteins, altered levels of enzymes involved in scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and increased levels of α-tocopherol, which is an important antioxidant. Moreover, the high level of cytochrome oxidase (COX II), a typical marker for mitochondrial respiratory protein complexes, suggests that the respiratory capacity is increased in the leaves of nodularin-exposed plants. Actively respiring plant mitochondria, in turn, may produce ROS at high rates. Although the accumulation of ROS and induction of the ROS scavenging network enable the survival of the plant upon toxin exposure, the upregulation of the enzymatic defense system is likely to increase energetic costs, reducing growth and the ultimate fitness of the plants.     

Deposit-feeders accumulate the cyanobacterial toxin nodularin

Blooms of toxic cyanobacteria may potentially affect food web productivity and even be a human health hazard. In the Baltic Sea, regularly occurring summer blooms of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria are often dominated by Nodularia spumigena, which produces the potent hepatotoxin nodularin. Evidence of sedimentation of these blooms indicates that benthic fauna can be exposed to nodularin. In a one month experiment, we simulated the settling of a summer bloom dominated by N. spumigena in sediment microcosms with three species of sediment-dwelling, deposit-feeding macrofauna, the amphipods Monoporeia affinis and Pontoporeia femorata and the bivalve Macoma balthica, and analyzed nodularin in the animals by HPLC–ESI–MS (high-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry). We found nodularin in quantities of 50–120 ng g⁻¹ DW. The results show that deposit-feeding macrofauna in the Baltic Sea may contribute to trophic transfer of nodularin.     

Mapping three invasive weeds using airborne hyperspectral imagery

Invasive plant species present a serious problem to the natural environment and have adverse ecological and economic impacts on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems they invade. This article presents three case studies on the use of hyperspectral remote sensing for mapping invasive plant species in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Methods and procedures for acquisition, processing and classification of airborne hyperspectral imagery as well as accuracy assessment are presented. Examples are excerpted and adapted from published work to illustrate how airborne hyperspectral imagery has been used to map two terrestrial weeds, Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei Buchholz) and Broom snakeweed [Gutierrezia sarothrae (Pursh.) Britt. and Rusby], and one aquatic weed, waterhyacinth [Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms], in Texas. In addition to the standard classification methods used in the previous studies, a spectral unmixing technique, mixture tuned matched filtering (MTMF), was applied to the three study cases and the classification results are reported in this paper. A brief discussion is provided on the considerations of different types of remote sensing imagery for mapping invasive weeds.     

Home Range,Movement, and Distribution Patterns of the Threatened Dragonfly Sympetrum depressiusculum (Odonata: Libellulidae): A Thousand Times Greater Territory to Protect?

Dragonflies are good indicators of environmental health and biodiversity. Most studies addressing dragonfly ecology have focused on the importance of aquatic habitats, while the value of surrounding terrestrial habitats has often been overlooked. However, species associated with temporary aquatic habitats must persist in terrestrial environments for long periods. Little is known about the importance of terrestrial habitat patches for dragonflies, or about other factors that initiate or influence dispersal behaviour. The aim of this study was to reveal the relationship between population dynamics of the threatened dragonfly species Sympetrum depressiusculum at its natal site and its dispersal behaviour or routine movements within its terrestrial home range. We used a mark–release–recapture method (marking 2,881 adults) and exuviae collection with the Jolly–Seber model and generalized linear models to analyse seasonal and spatial patterns of routine movement in a heterogeneous Central European landscape. Our results show that utilisation of terrestrial habitat patches by adult dragonflies is not random and may be relatively long term (approximately 3 mo). Adult dragonflies were present only in areas with dense vegetation that provided sufficient resources; the insects were absent from active agricultural patches (p = 0.019). These findings demonstrate that even a species tightly linked to its natal site utilises an area that is several orders of magnitude larger than the natal site. Therefore, negative trends in the occurrence of various dragonfly species may be associated not only with disturbances to their aquatic habitats, but also with changes in the surrounding terrestrial landscape.     

CAM photosynthesis in submerged aquatic plants

Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) is a CO₂-concentrating mechanism selected in response to aridity in terrestrial habitats, and, in aquatic environments, to ambient limitations of carbon. Evidence is reviewed for its presence in five genera of aquatic vascular plants, includingIsoëtes, Sagittaria, Vallisneria, Crassula, andLittorella. Initially, aquatic CAM was considered by some to be an oxymoron, but some aquatic species have been studied in sufficient detail to say definitively that they possess CAM photosynthesis. CO₂-concentrating mechanisms in photosynthetic organs require a barrier to leakage; e.g., terrestrial C₄ plants have suberized bundle sheath cells and terrestrial CAM plants high stomatal resistance. In aquatic CAM plants the primary barrier to CO₂ leakage is the extremely high difrusional resistance of water. This, coupled with the sink provided by extensive intercellular gas space, generates daytime CO₂(pi) comparable to terrestrial CAM plants. CAM contributes to the carbon budget by both net carbon gain and carbon recycling, and the magnitude of each is environmentally influenced. Aquatic CAM plants inhabit sites where photosynthesis is potentially limited by carbon. Many occupy moderately fertile shallow temporary pools that experience extreme diel fluctuations in carbon availability. CAM plants are able to take advantage of elevated nighttime CO2 levels in these habitats. This gives them a competitive advantage over non-CAM species that are carbon starved during the day and an advantage over species that expend energy in membrane transport of bicarbonate. Some aquatic CAM plants are distributed in highly infertile lakes, where extreme carbon limitation and light are important selective factors. Compilation of reports on diel changes in titratable acidity and malate show 69 out of 180 species have significant overnight accumulation, although evidence is presented discounting CAM in some. It is concluded that similar proportions of the aquatic and terrestrial floras have evolved CAM photosynthesis. AquaticIsoëtes (Lycophyta) represent the oldest lineage of CAM plants and cladistic analysis supports an origin for CAM in seasonal wetlands, from which it has radiated into oligotrophic lakes and into terrestrial habitats. Temperate Zone terrestrial species share many characteristics with amphibious ancestors, which in their temporary terrestrial stage, produce functional stomata and switch from CAM to C₃. Many lacustrineIsoëtes have retained the phenotypic plasticity of amphibious species and can adapt to an aerial environment by development of stomata and switching to C₃. However, in some neotropical alpine species, adaptations to the lacustrine environment are genetically fixed and these constitutive species fail to produce stomata or loose CAM when artificially maintained in an aerial environment. It is hypothesized that neotropical lacustrine species may be more ancient in origin and have given rise to terrestrial species, which have retained most of the characteristics of their aquatic ancestry, including astomatous leaves, CAM and sediment-based carbon nutrition.     

Decay of TRPV3 as the genomic trace of epidermal structure changes in the land‐to‐sea transition of mammals

The epidermis plays an indispensable barrier function in animals. Some species have evolved unique epidermal structures to adapt to different environments. Aquatic and semi‐aquatic mammals (cetaceans, manatees, and hippopotamus) are good models to study the evolution of epidermal structures because of their exceptionally thickened stratum spinosum, the lack of stratum granulosum, and the parakeratotic stratum corneum. This study aimed to analyze an upstream regulatory gene transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 3 (TRPV3) of epidermal differentiation so as to explore the association between TRPV3 evolution and epidermal changes in mammals. Inactivating mutations were detected in almost all the aquatic cetaceans and several terrestrial mammals. Relaxed selective pressure was examined in the cetacean lineages with inactivated TRPV3, which might contribute to its exceptionally thickened stratum spinosum as the significant thickening of stratum spinosum in TRPV3 knock‐out mouse. However, functional TRPV3 may exist in several terrestrial mammals due to their strong purifying selection, although they have “inactivating mutations.” Further, for intact sequences, relaxed selective constraints on the TRPV3 gene were also detected in aquatic cetaceans, manatees, and semi‐aquatic hippopotamus. However, they had intact TRPV3, suggesting that the accumulation of inactivating mutations might have lagged behind the relaxed selective pressure. The results of this study revealed the decay of TRPV3 being the genomic trace of epidermal development in aquatic and semi‐aquatic mammals. They provided insights into convergently evolutionary changes of epidermal structures during the transition from the terrestrial to the aquatic environment.     

澜沧江两条支流捕食线虫真菌水陆分布差异及关联性

为探究微生物在流域中的水、陆分布差异和相互关系,对澜沧江两条支流捕食线虫真菌多样性水陆分布进行了调查研究。在枯水期,以澜沧江一级支流沘江和黑惠江为研究区域,系统布设12个采样点(水流交汇点),每个采样点采集水、陆对称样品各5份,共采集土样120份。结合传统分离纯化、形态学及分子生物学方法筛选和鉴定菌株,按照《Nematode-Trapping Fungi》进行分类,共获得2属13种88株捕食线虫真菌;其中,陆地样品中共分离到2属11种45株,水体底泥中分离出1属10种43株,检出率分别为41.67%和53.33%。结果表明,澜沧江两条支流捕食线虫真菌在物种、属、群落结构3个层面上均存在水陆差异,也相互联系;陆地土壤可能是流域内捕食线虫真菌多样性的源,水流是其重要的传播因子。在流域生态系统内,水陆间的扩散限制和水流的连通性都是维持微生物物种多样性的重要机制。     

Fluxes of terrestrial and aquatic carbon by emergent mosquitoes: a test of controls and implications for cross-ecosystem linkages

Adult aquatic insects are a common resource for many terrestrial predators, often considered to subsidize terrestrial food webs. However, larval aquatic insects themselves consume both aquatic primary producers and allochthonous terrestrial detritus, suggesting that adults could provide aquatic subsidy and/or recycled terrestrial energy to terrestrial consumers. Understanding the source of carbon (aquatic vs. terrestrial) driving aquatic insect emergence is important for predicting magnitude of emergence and effects on recipient food web dynamics; yet direct experimental tests of factors determining source are lacking. Here, we use Culex mosquitoes in experimental pools as an exemplar to test how variation in general factors common to aquatic systems (terrestrial plant inputs and light) may alter the source and amount of energy exported to terrestrial ecosystems in adult aquatic insects that rely on terrestrial resources as larvae. We found strong sequential effects of terrestrial plant inputs and light on aquatic insect oviposition, diet, and emergence of Culex mosquitoes. Ovipositing mosquitoes laid ~3 times more egg masses in high terrestrial input pools under low light conditions. This behavior increased adult emergence from pools under low light conditions; however, high input pools (which had the highest mosquito densities) showed low emergence rates due to density-dependent mortality. Mosquito diets consisted mainly of terrestrial resources (~70–90 %). As a result, the amount of aquatic carbon exported from pools by mosquitoes during the experiment was ~18 times higher from low versus high light pools, while exports of terrestrial carbon peaked from pools receiving intermediate levels of inputs (3–6 times higher) and low light (~6 times higher). Our results suggest that understanding the interplay among terrestrial plant inputs, light availability and biotic responses of aquatic insects may be key in predicting source and magnitude of emergence, and thus the strength and effects of aquatic–terrestrial linkages in freshwater systems.