High Temperature Increases the Masculinization Rate of the All-Female (XX) Rainbow Trout “Mal” Population

Salmonids are generally considered to have a robust genetic sex determination system with a simple male heterogamety (XX/XY). However, spontaneous masculinization of XX females has been found in a rainbow trout population of gynogenetic doubled haploid individuals. The analysis of this masculinization phenotype transmission supported the hypothesis of the involvement of a recessive mutation (termed mal). As temperature effect on sex differentiation has been reported in some salmonid species, in this study we investigated in detail the potential implication of temperature on masculinization in this XX mal-carrying population. Seven families issued from XX mal-carrying parents were exposed from the time of hatching to different rearing water temperatures ((8, 12 and 18°C), and the resulting sex-ratios were confirmed by histological analysis of both gonads. Our results demonstrate that masculinization rates are strongly increased (up to nearly two fold) at the highest temperature treatment (18°C). Interestingly, we also found clear differences between temperatures on the masculinization of the left versus the right gonads with the right gonad consistently more often masculinized than the left one at lower temperatures (8 and 12°C). However, the masculinization rate is also strongly dependent on the genetic background of the XX mal-carrying families. Thus, masculinization in XX mal-carrying rainbow trout is potentially triggered by an interaction between the temperature treatment and a complex genetic background potentially involving some part of the genetic sex differentiation regulatory cascade along with some minor sex-influencing loci. These results indicate that despite its rather strict genetic sex determinism system, rainbow trout sex differentiation can be modulated by temperature, as described in many other fish species.     

Activation of Chlororespiration Increases Chlorophyll Fluorescence Yield in Chlorella Adapted to Darkness at High Temperature

A tenfold increase in chlororespiration during dark incubation of Chlorella perynoidosa Chick CALU-175 at high temperature doubled the initial chlorophyll fluorescence yield (F ₀). The presence of iodacetamide or unmetabolizable glucose analog 2-deoxy-D-glucose prevented increase in both chlororespiration and F ₀ yield. The rates of chlororespiration and F ₀ yield growth demonstrated a similar pattern of temperature dependence. Inhibition of electron transport between Q _A and plastoquinone with diuron prevented increase in F ₀ during dark incubation of the cells at high temperature. Apparently, a pool of plastoquinone was restored in the chlororespiratory chain during the dark incubation at 37.5–41°C, and plastoquinone exchanged electrons with Q _A. This is the cause of Q _A reduction and subsequent increase in F ₀ yield.     

Surface Elevation Change and Susceptibility of Different Mangrove Zones to Sea-Level Rise on Pacific High Islands of Micronesia

Mangroves on Pacific high islands offer a number of important ecosystem services to both natural ecological communities and human societies. High islands are subjected to constant erosion over geologic time, which establishes an important source of terrigeneous sediment for nearby marine communities. Many of these sediments are deposited in mangrove forests and offer mangroves a potentially important means for adjusting surface elevation with rising sea level. In this study, we investigated sedimentation and elevation dynamics of mangrove forests in three hydrogeomorphic settings on the islands of Kosrae and Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Surface accretion rates ranged from 2.9 to 20.8 mm y^?1, and are high for naturally occurring mangroves. Although mangrove forests in Micronesian high islands appear to have a strong capacity to offset elevation losses by way of sedimentation, elevation change over 6½ years ranged from ?3.2 to 4.1 mm y^?1, depending on the location. Mangrove surface elevation change also varied by hydrogeomorphic setting and river, and suggested differential, and not uniformly bleak, susceptibilities among Pacific high island mangroves to sea-level rise. Fringe, riverine, and interior settings registered elevation changes of ?1.30, 0.46, and 1.56 mm y^?1, respectively, with the greatest elevation deficit (?3.2 mm y^?1) from a fringe zone on Pohnpei and the highest rate of elevation gain (4.1 mm y^?1) from an interior zone on Kosrae. Relative to sea-level rise estimates for FSM (0.8–1.8 mm y^?1) and assuming a consistent linear trend in these estimates, soil elevations in mangroves on Kosrae and Pohnpei are experiencing between an annual deficit of 4.95 mm and an annual surplus of 3.28 mm. Although natural disturbances are important in mediating elevation gain in some situations, constant allochthonous sediment deposition probably matters most on these Pacific high islands, and is especially helpful in certain hydrogeomorphic zones. Fringe mangrove forests are most susceptible to sea-level rise, such that protection of these outer zones from anthropogenic disturbances (for example, harvesting) may slow the rate at which these zones convert to open water.     

Overexpression of the Tomato 13-Lipoxygenase Gene TomloxD Increases Generation of Endogenous Jasmonic Acid and Resistance to Cladosporium fulvum and High Temperature

Expression of the tomato gene encoding 13-lipoxygenase,TomloxD, is stimulated by wounding, pathogen infection, jasmonate, and systemin, but its role during growth and development of tomato (Lycopersicon Spp.) remains unclear. To assess the physiological role of TomloxD, we produced transgenic tomato plants with greatly increased TomloxD content using sense constructs under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter. Overexpression of TomloxD in transgenic tomatoes led to a marked increase in the levels of lipoxygenase activity and content of endogenous jasmonic acid (JA), which suggested that TomloxD can use α-linolenic acid as a substrate to produce (13S)-hydroperoxyoctadecatrienoic acid (13-HPOT); the 13-HPOT produced appears to be metabolized further to synthesize JA. Real-time RT-PCR revealed that the expression levels of defense genes LeHSP90, LePR1, LePR6 and LeZAT in the transformants were higher than those in non-transformed plants. Assay for resistance to pathogenic fungus and high temperature stresses suggested that transgenic plants harboring TomloxD were more tolerant to Cladosporium fulvum and high temperature stress than non-transformed tomato plants. The data presented here indicate clearly that TomloxD is involved in endogenous JA synthesis and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. The tomloxD gene has potential applications in engineering cropping plants that are resistant to biotic and/or abiotic stress factors.     

Fall and Early Winter Movements of Cutthroat Trout, Oncorhynchus clarki, in Relation to Water Temperature and Ice Conditions in Dutch Creek, Alberta

Fall and winter movement and behaviour of 28 cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki was determined using radiotelemetry to evaluate the effects of water temperature and ice conditions. As water temperatures decreased, cutthroat trout moved from more solitary positions to aggregations. With few exceptions, radiotagged fish aggregated with other fish in groups varying from 5 to approximately 70 fish. The percentage of fish aggregating and the mean size of aggregation was negatively correlated with water temperature. The mean distance moved by radiotagged cutthroat trout from 1 September to 12 January was 1.0km. After forming aggregations, fish tended to stay within a 120m length of stream until the end of tracking in mid-January. Fish that were less sedentary after their initial overwintering movement usually moved when their habitat was occluded by anchor ice. These fish moved thirty times farther and six times more often than fish in stable overwintering areas. In Dutch Creek multiple freezing events caused several ice related habitat exclusions and movements associated with large decreases in air temperature. Several bull trout and mountain whitefish were observed in groups with cutthroat trout.     

Artifactual Increases in the Concentration of Free GABA in Samples of Human Cerebrospinal Fluid Are Due to Degradation of Homocarnosine

Abstract: Samples of untreated human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were kept at room temperature (20±1°C) up to 72 h, and changes in γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and homocarnosine contents were measured. The concentration of free GABA increased with time, and concomitantly a similar decrease occurred in the concentration of homocarnosine. Total GABA after hydrolysis (present in human CSF at concentrations 40–100 times that of free GABA) did not change. After 2 h the increase in CSF GABA for seven subjects ranged from 42 to 244 pmol/ml. The rate of increase in CSF GABA was positively correlated with the initial homocarnosine concentration. Approximately 5% per h of the initial homocarnosine content was degraded during the first 7 h at room temperature; thereafter the rate gradually decreased. No free GABA was formed in CSF frozen at −70°C for 10 days. When this CSF was restored to room temperature, the formation of free GABA from homocarnosine occurred at essentially the same rate as that observed in fresh CSF. These results demonstrate that the well-known artifactual increase in GABA concentration of untreated human CSF depends on the concentration of homocarnosine. The rapidity of this increase (up to 2 pmollmlimin) could account for disparities among CSF free GABA concentrations previously reported from normal subjects. It is suggested that measurement of concentrations of total GABA in the CSF would provide a better index of human brain GABA concentration than determination of CSF free GABA.     

Responses of Respiration to Increases in Carbon Dioxide Concentration and Temperature in Three Soybean Cultivars

The purpose of this experiment was to determine how respirationof soybeans may respond to potential increases in atmosphericcarbon dioxide concentration and growth temperature. Three cultivarsof soybeans (Glycine max L. Merr.), from maturity groups 00,IV, and VIII, were grown at 370, 555 and 740cm³m^-3carbon dioxideconcentrations at 20/15, 25/20, and 31/26°C day/night temperatures.Rates of carbon dioxide efflux in the dark were measured forwhole plants several times during exponential growth. Thesemeasurements were made at the night temperature and the carbondioxide concentration at which the plants were grown. For thelowest and highest temperature treatments, the short term responseof respiration rate to measurement at the three growth carbondioxide concentrations was also determined. Elemental analysisof the tissue was used to estimate the growth conversion efficiency.This was combined with the observed relative growth rates toestimate growth respiration. Maintenance respiration was estimatedas the difference between growth respiration and total respiration.Respiration rates were generally sensitive to short term changesin the measurement carbon dioxide concentration for plants grownat the lowest, but not the highest carbon dioxide concentration.At all temperatures, growth at elevated carbon dioxide concentrationsdecreased total respiration measured at the growth concentration,with no significant differences among cultivars. Total respirationincreased very little with increasing growth temperature, despitean increase in relative growth rate. Growth respiration wasnot affected by carbon dioxide treatment at any temperature,but increased with temperature because of the increase in relativegrowth rate. Values calculated for maintenance respiration decreasedwith increasing carbon dioxide concentration and also decreasedwith increasing temperature. Calculated values of maintenancerespiration were sometimes zero or negative at the warmer temperatures.This suggests that respiration rates measured in the dark maynot have reflected average 24-h rates of energy use. The resultsindicate that increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrationmay reduce respiration in soybeans, and respiration may be insensitiveto climate warming. Glycine max L. (Merr.); carbon dioxide; respiration; temperature; climate change     

Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of Global Warming in the Tibetan Plateau during the Last 50 Years Based on a Generalised Temperature Zone - Elevation Model

Temperature is one of the primary factors influencing the climate and ecosystem, and examining its change and fluctuation could elucidate the formation of novel climate patterns and trends. In this study, we constructed a generalised temperature zone elevation model (GTEM) to assess the trends of climate change and temporal-spatial differences in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) using the annual and monthly mean temperatures from 1961–2010 at 144 meteorological stations in and near the TP. The results showed the following: (1) The TP has undergone robust warming over the study period, and the warming rate was 0.318°C/decade. The warming has accelerated during recent decades, especially in the last 20 years, and the warming has been most significant in the winter months, followed by the spring, autumn and summer seasons. (2) Spatially, the zones that became significantly smaller were the temperature zones of −6°C and −4°C, and these have decreased 499.44 and 454.26 thousand sq km from 1961 to 2010 at average rates of 25.1% and 11.7%, respectively, over every 5-year interval. These quickly shrinking zones were located in the northwestern and central TP. (3) The elevation dependency of climate warming existed in the TP during 1961–2010, but this tendency has gradually been weakening due to more rapid warming at lower elevations than in the middle and upper elevations of the TP during 1991–2010. The higher regions and some low altitude valleys of the TP were the most significantly warming regions under the same categorizing criteria. Experimental evidence shows that the GTEM is an effective method to analyse climate changes in high altitude mountainous regions.     

Multiple Stressors in Agricultural Streams: A Mesocosm Study of Interactions among Raised Water Temperature,Sediment Addition and Nutrient Enrichment

Changes to land use affect streams through nutrient enrichment, increased inputs of sediment and, where riparian vegetation has been removed, raised water temperature. We manipulated all three stressors in experimental streamside channels for 30 days and determined the individual and pair-wise combined effects on benthic invertebrate and algal communities and on leaf decay, a measure of ecosystem functioning. We added nutrients (phosphorus+nitrogen; high, intermediate, natural) and/or sediment (grain size 0.2 mm; high, intermediate, natural) to 18 channels supplied with water from a nearby stream. Temperature was increased by 1.4°C in half the channels, simulating the loss of upstream and adjacent riparian shade. Sediment affected 93% of all biological response variables (either as an individual effect or via an interaction with another stressor) generally in a negative manner, while nutrient enrichment affected 59% (mostly positive) and raised temperature 59% (mostly positive). More of the algal components of the community responded to stressors acting individually than did invertebrate components, whereas pair-wise stressor interactions were more common in the invertebrate community. Stressors interacted often and in a complex manner, with interactions between sediment and temperature most common. Thus, the negative impact of high sediment on taxon richness of both algae and invertebrates was stronger at raised temperature, further reducing biodiversity. In addition, the decay rate of leaf material (strength loss) accelerated with nutrient enrichment at ambient but not at raised temperature. A key implication of our findings for resource managers is that the removal of riparian shading from streams already subjected to high sediment inputs, or land-use changes that increase erosion or nutrient runoff in a landscape without riparian buffers, may have unexpected effects on stream health. We highlight the likely importance of intact or restored buffer strips, both in reducing sediment input and in maintaining cooler water temperatures.     

Fine Structure of an Unidentified Protozoon in the Epithelium of Rainbow Trout Exposed to Water with Myxosoma cerebralis*

SYNOPSIS. An intracellular protozoon was discovered in the epithelium of young rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) exposed for as short a time as 1 hr to water known to contain infective stages of Myxosoma cerebralis. Light- and electron-microscopic examination of this tissue revealed what appeared to be a proliferative stage (presumptive schizont) of a sporozoon; other possible stages in the life cycle were also observed. The relationship of this unidentified protozoon to M. cerebralis remains unresolved.     

高寒地区四倍体刺槐引种栽培试验

通过对四倍体刺槐进行引种栽培试验。结果表明：(1)四倍体刺槐苗在高寒地区引种栽培。平均成活率达85％以上;(2)1年生四倍体刺槐比2年生苗的适应能力强,移栽成活率为95％以上;(3)1年生苗的萌芽期、晨叶期比2年生苗平均早6～9d;(4)该树种可适应西藏地区特殊的高寒气候紊件。且生长旺盛。枝叶繁茂。成活率高．有较强的开发潜力。     

冬季小麦叶片光合作用对温度响应方式的变化

冬季田间生长的小麦离体叶片净光合速率（Ｐｎ）对温度的响应有两种方式。在１２月上旬可以观测到第一种方式。在离体叶片周围空气温度从１０℃逐步升到３０℃后的１ｈ内Ｐｎ逐渐升高,在随后气温逐步降低到１０℃的过程中,Ｐｎ都比先前升温过程中同样温度下的数值高。３０℃下叶片胞间ＣＯ２浓度（Ｃｉ）降低和叶片无机磷含量增高表明,这种响应方式可能起因于一些光合碳同化酶活性的增高。在１２月中旬以后可以观测到第二种方式。Ｐｎ在３０℃下的１ｈ内逐步下降,在随后的降温过程中Ｐｎ都比升温过程中同样温度下的数值低。３０℃下叶片Ｃｉ和膜透性增高表明,这种响应方式可能是适应冬季低温的光合机构膜系统在高温下遭受破坏的结果。     

Increase of Metallothionein-immunopositive Chloride Cells in the Gills of Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout After Exposure to Sewage Treatment Plant Effluents

Metallothionein, a biomarker of exposure and toxicity of heavy metals, has been detected in the gills of brown trout (Salmo trutta fario L.) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Richardson) by means of immunohistochemistry. A very prominent labelling of chloride cells was found after exposure to diluted sewage plant effluents. No significant increase was observed in either the number of labelled cells or their labelling intensity after exposure to water of a polluted river compared to fish kept in tap water. These results do not correlate with findings of a histopathological study, suggesting that the metal levels at the sewage treatment plant were too low to produce gross histopathology. A comparison between the species indicated that the rainbow trout showed a generally higher metallothionein expression than the brown trout.     

Effects of High Temperature and Water Stress on Seed Germination of the Invasive Species Mexican Sunflower

Mexican sunflower is native to Mexico and Central America and was introduced into China early last century. Now it has widely naturalized and is exhibiting increasing invasiveness in South China. As this species often dominates bare ground, a habitat characterized by extreme fluctuation in temperature and water, it is reasonable to hypothesize that it has special adaptations to high temperature and water stress. Using laboratory experiments to simulate these stresses, this study investigated the response of Mexican sunflower seed germination to temperature and water stress, and compared these responses with those previously reported for another invasive, bamboo piper, which is confined to relatively cool and moist habitats in Xishuangbanna. As expected, Mexican sunflower seeds exhibited higher tolerance to these stresses than bamboo piper. Germination of Mexican sunflower seeds was highest at 15–30°C, but significant numbers of seeds germinated and formed seedlings at 10°C and 35°C, at which no bamboo piper seeds formed seedlings, indicating a wider temperature range for germination than the latter. Roughly half the seeds survived 240 h continuous heat treatment and up to 15 h daily periodical heat treatment at 40°C, while bamboo piper seeds were mostly killed by these treatments. About 20% of Mexican sunflower but no bamboo piper seeds germinated after heat treatment for 30 min at 80°C. Germination was completely inhibited in bamboo piper seeds at -0.6 mPa, while 20–60% of Mexican sunflower seeds germinated depending on PEG or NaCl as osmoticum. This higher tolerance in Mexican sunflower seeds accords with its stronger invasiveness in this area. This comparison between two plant invaders demonstrates that invasiveness is not an all-or-nothing situation, and that adaptation to local habitats is a critical determinant of successful invasiveness for an alien plant.