Genetic diversity and multilocus associations in Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook from The People's Republic of China

Open-pollinated seeds were assayed for allozyme polymorphisms at 24 loci to assess genetic diversity and multilocous associations in 16 populations of Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook in the People's Republic of China. On average, the percentage of polymorphic loci was 88.0, the number of alleles per locus was 3.0, and the expected heterozygosity was 0.394. The distribution of genetic diversity was not correlated with the geographic and climatic variables of the populations. However, allele frequencies correlated linearly with the mean annual temperature of the populations at Mdh-1, Mdh-2, Mnr-2, Pgi-1, and Skdh-1 and with the altitude of the populations at Aph-4 and 6Pg-2. Of the total gene diversity 6% was attributed to among-population differentiation; 94% resided within populations. Two-locus gametic disequilibria were found in 15 of the 16 populations, and higher-order gametic disquilibria were significant in most populations. The gametic disequilibria did not correlate with geographic and climatic variables. The results suggest that population subdivision, founder effect, occurrence across diverse environments, a mating system dominated by inbreeding, and historical events from 2000 years of cultivation are contributing factors in the generation and maintenance of the multilocus genetic structure in this conifer.     

凋落物的树种多样性与杉木人工林土壤生态功能

通过模拟试验和野外调查对凋落物的树种多样性与杉木人工林土壤生态功能之间关系进行了研究。林分取样调查的结果表明 ,有两个树种凋落物覆盖的几个杉阔混交林土壤脲酶和蔗糖酶活性均明显高于只有杉木凋落物覆盖的杉木纯林土壤 ,酸性磷酸酶活性也呈现相同的变化趋势 ,这 3种土壤酶活性均以具有凋落物种类最多的次生常绿阔叶林土壤最高。除了土壤酶活性升高之外 ,杉阔混交林的土壤有机质和全氮含量也明显高于仅有一种杉木凋落物覆盖的杉木纯林土壤。采用杉木叶凋落物与不同阔叶树种凋落物处理土壤的模拟试验结果表明 ,在凋落物投放量和 (1 5NH4 ) 2 SO4 施用量相同的控制条件下 ,随着投放的凋落物树种组成的增加 ,土壤中 1 5N的残留量也随之增加 ,而其损失量却随之减少 ;土壤中杉木幼树对于 1 5N的吸收量以及杉木幼树的单株鲜重也随着处理凋落物组成树种的增加而增加 ,具有不同树种数量的凋落物处理之间差异显著 (p<0 .0 5 )。可见随着凋落物树种多样性的增加 ,不仅土壤有机质和全氮含量这两个基本的质量指标得到明显改善 ,而且土壤酶活性、土壤养分保蓄功能以及保证幼树良好生长等的生态功能明显改善     

A Preliminary Study on the Relationships between the Main Climatic Ecological Factors and the Physiological Activities and the Growth of Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook in Its Northernmost Marginal Regions

Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook is a native plant of the moist subtropics in eastern China. In the present paper, the C. lanceolata artifical forests, which were cultivated in the Taiping and Jinzhai counties of Anhui province where were their northernmost marginal regions, were mainly studied on the relations between the climatic ecological factors and the physiological activities and the growth of the annual ring width. The results based on surveying and companing the microclimatic ecological factors including the intensity of light, temperature, relative humidity and wind velocity and the physiological activities of photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration and water potential of leaf tissues showed that the astigamitic light was more effective than the direct light to the growth of C. lanceolata, and the optimum temperature scope of net photosynthesis of C. lanceolata is from 25℃ to 29 ℃ in the Taiping County. According to the analysis of the annual ring width of C. lanceolata regarding the climatic ecological factors by the mono-correlative, polycorrelative and stepwise multiple linear regression, the author is convinced that the relative humidity and percentage of sunshine time during the growth period (from April to October) are the most important factors among the climatic ecological factors affecting the growth of C. lanceolata in the Jinzhai county. So the author suggests that C. lanceolata has some potentiality for development in these regions mentioned above.     

Temporal Changes in the Inequality of Early Growth of Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.: A Novel Application of the Gini Coefficient and Lorenz Asymmetry

Growth within tree populations varies among individuals due to changes in biotic and abiotic factors. The degree of such variation, defined as growth inequality, serves as a useful indicator of the uniformity of growth within a population in response to the prevalent environmental conditions. By application of the Gini coefficient (G), an index for inequality, we characterized the early growth inequality of ninety crosses of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) and their open-pollinated parental lines. Tree cumulative height was measured annually for 8 consecutive years. Both the crosses and parental lines exhibited temporal changes in growth inequality. The inequality of total height among the crosses decreased logarithmically with age by nearly 3-fold after 13 growing seasons, suggesting that tree height became less variable among the crosses as trees grew larger. Interestingly, the Lorenz asymmetry, an index reflecting the shape of the Lorenze curve from which G is derived, revealed that the inequality of annual height increment among the crosses resulted from an alternate contribution of the fast-growing and slow-growing trees. Among parental lines, two provenances with the smallest and the largest overall inequality in total height showed a similar pattern of changes in annual growth inequality, and the provenance differences were consistent over time. Compared to the other provinces, a local provenance exhibited less variation in total height among individual trees as reflected by a smaller value of inequality, and was better adapted to the field conditions. Our results demonstrated the sensitivity and usefulness of the Gini coefficient and Lorenz asymmetry for the analysis of growth inequality in non-natural populations. Growth inequality is a potentially useful evaluation criterion for early selection. Given comparable initial growth, provenances/families with lower growth inequality values would likely outperform those with higher growth inequality, and eventually tree size of the latter would be more variable due to greater variations among individual trees. Assessment of growth inequality at early ages will advance our understanding of variability of tree growth within a population, facilitate forest genetics improvement programs, and enhance the efficiency of tree breeding.     

Dynamic of polysaccharide and lipid in the developing microsporangiums of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata)

Microsporongium development in Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) was investigated using cytochemical methods with a special attention to the fluctuations (in amount and distribution) of polysaccharide and lipid reserves along the development of the microsporangium. Semi-thin sections of microsporangia at different developmental stages were stained with periodic acid–Schiff (PAS) reagent and Sudan Black B to detect insoluble polysaccharides and neutral lipids, respectively. In young microsporangia, microspore mother cells began to accumulate starch grains and lipids, which disappeared during microspore development. Following microspore division, the starch grains present in bicellular pollen disappeared and abundant lipid deposits were accumulated. In mature pollen, only abundant lipids accumulated as storage material. The pollen wall of C. lanceolata is predominantly composed of polysaccharidic intine, and the sporopollenin-containing exine is weakly developed and only forms a thin layer covering the intine.     

Efficient organogenesis and plantlet regeneration in the timber species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cunninghamia lanceolata</Emphasis> (Lamb.) Hook

Two efficient regeneration systems were developed in Cunninghamia lanceolata, the most important conifer for industrial wood production in China. Cotyledons and hypocotyls derived from greenhouse-grown seedlings were used as initial explants in our research. A high frequency (95.1?±?1.84%) of adventitious buds were initiated directly from cotyledons cultured on Douglas-fir cotyledon revised (DCR) medium supplemented with 1 mg l^?1 benzyladenine (BA), 0.1 mg l^?1 α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and 0.004 mg l^?1 thidiazuron (TDZ) with a maximum mean number of adventitious buds per cotyledon explant of 3.76?±?0.08. In contrast, a high percentage (93.73?±?0.55%) of adventitious buds regenerated via callus produced from hypocotyls cultured on DCR medium supplemented with plant growth regulators with a maximum number of adventitious buds per explant (16.71?±?0.34). Adventitious buds elongated on DCR medium supplemented with 0.2 mg l^?1 BA and 0.02 mg l^?1 NAA. After liquid pretreatment with 50 mg l^?1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), over 95% of the shoots successfully rooted on ½ DCR medium supplemented with 0.3 mg l^?1 IBA. The innovated systems reported in this study will be useful tools for future genetic manipulation of C. lanceolata and may be adapted for large-scale propagation in other conifers.     

A Two Phase Photoperiodic Response Controlling the Annual Gametogenic Cycle in Harmothoe imbricata (L.) (Polychaeta: Polynoidae)

Summary

In the polychaete Harmothoe imbricata, a photoperiodic mechanism stabilises oogenesis during its early stages and prevents oocyte breakdown. During the autumn, photoperiods of 14 hr light per day or more cause the animals to abort gametogenesis and resorb their oocytes. Conversely, photoperiods of 13 hr or less stabilise gametogenesis and allow normal oocyte growth. The length of the exposure required to stabilise gametogenesis and prevent abortion lies between 42 and 55 days. This effect is in addition to a previously described phenomenon causing accelerated oocyte growth in the spring in response to moderately long photoperiods. The interaction between these two different photoperiodic responses is discussed.     

Transcriptome Profiles in the Spleen of the Chinese Giant Salamander (Andrias davidianus) Challenged with Citrobacter freundii

Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry - The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is one of the most important ecological breeding species with distinct characteristics and is cultured in...