网柄细胞状黏菌生物学特性及其应用研究进展

网柄细胞状黏菌是一类介于植物和动物之间的原生生物。尽管形态微小,但因为同时具有动物细胞和植物细胞的特点,且生命周期短暂易重复,故而对其进行生物学特性及应用的研究具有重要价值。本文从网柄细胞状黏菌的生活史循环、生物学特性、生态多样性、在医学和药物领域的探索及其与其他微生物关系等5个方面探讨网柄细胞状黏菌的生物学特性及应用的研究进展及意义,展望网柄细胞状黏菌未来在医学和生态等方面的研究前景及其潜在的应用价值,旨在为我国网柄细胞状黏菌同其他领域的交叉研究相结合提供视野,探索其在促进人类的科学进步、改善生活环境及攻克疾病方面的作用及意义。     

浙江大学生命科学学院生物科学系 生态学与生态技术实验室研究简介

浙江大学的生态学学科自20世纪50年代以来,在植物生态学、动物生态学和农业生态学等领域积累了丰硕的成果。拥有《生态学》国家重点学科,“生物学”一级学科博士点和博士后流动站,有生物学国家理科人才培养基地。     

进展中的原生动物学研究:热点领域与新格局

原生动物是一大类动物性单细胞真核生物.其高度特化的细胞结构与生理特征,独具的进化地位以及与环境、资源、人类健康和动物疾病间的密切关系,特别是其兼具的"细胞"与"动物"这个二元性统一体特性,使得以原生动物为模式或对象的研究在以细胞学、遗传学、适应与进化为代表的基础生物学、环境生物学、人类的健康与疾病防治、水产养殖及畜牧业等应用学科均具有十分广泛的科学意义和重要的应用价值.半个多世纪以来,伴随着研究队伍的不断壮大和发展,我国的原生动物学研究从早期经典的分类学、寄生虫学、生态学,逐步拓展到今天全面、深入地涉足涵盖基础与应用生物学各学科分支领域.在最近的几十年中,我国聚焦在海洋纤毛虫的多样性与系统学、表观遗传学、细胞生物学、比较基因组学、以寄生原虫为核心的免疫生物学、病害生物学、以鞭毛虫为核心的进化生物学、以海淡水纤毛虫和阿米巴等为核心的原生动物生态学等方向并取得了全面和长足的进展,许多代表性成果处于该领域国际前沿水平.本文扼要陈述了我国原生动物学各主流团队近年来的工作进展,介绍了该领域当前的研究热点和前沿性科学问题,同时对相关领域未来的发展进行了前瞻性描绘和规划.     

扩散生态学及其意义

扩散研究是生态学研究中的一个热点领域 ,而扩散生态学则是生物学领域一门新的分支学科。本文综述了扩散生态学研究的一些基本理论问题 ,包括扩散的定义、扩散生态学的研究内容及其与生物学其它分支学科的关系 ,并阐述了研究扩散的重要意义。扩散生态学的研究内容十分广泛 ,既涉及所有生物 (从微生物到脊椎动物 )的生态学 (如复合种群、群落、生态系统多样性、复杂性和稳定性 )和进化 (如种化 )等理论问题 ,又涉及物种保护、生物多样性保育、有害生物 (包括外来物种 )的控制、流行病防范、环境保护和人口管理等应用问题。因此 ,研究生物的扩散具有十分重要的理论和实践意义。     

基于学科类别和富集分析的生物安全研究领域学科交叉研究*

随着合成生物学、基因编辑等典型两用性新兴生物技术的发展,生物安全作为一个具有显著交叉性的研究领域引起了国际各界的广泛关注。利用Web of Science数据库的论文数据,基于期刊学科类别分析了生物安全研究的学科交叉现状和时序演化,并采用富集分析方法研究了不同国家的学科交叉倾向差异。结果表明,20世纪以来,生物安全研究与其他学科的交叉融合日益广泛,动植物科学、环境和生态学、社会科学、微生物学、农业科学是其交叉融合最多的学科领域。不同国家生物安全研究的学科交融情况有所差异,欧美主要国家的学科交叉情况对我国有很好的借鉴之处。以期为生物安全特定研究领域的学科交叉研究提供一种新的方法探索,并为强化我国生物安全研究领域学科交叉和探索新的科研方向提供参考。     

现代生物声学的学科发展趋势及中国机遇

随着数字录音技术、电子学和微电子学、人工智能、信息科学等跨学科领域的技术革新,现代生物声学逐渐与生物学、生态学等学科及关联学科之间形成了广泛的交叉前沿领域。现阶段,现代生物声学主要以生物学、生态学等基础学科的理论方法为指导,着重于揭示环境中各类声音在生物之间以及生物与人类、环境之间的相互作用及相关科学规律,为人类认识、保护和利用生物声学资源提供理论基础和解决方案。本文重点阐述了现代生物声学的学科内涵和学科特征,介绍了动物生物声学、生态声学、水下生物声学、环境生物声学、保护生物声学、计算生物声学以及现代生物声学研究的技术框架等前沿热点和发展趋势,评估了中国生物声学研究的学科现状与发展机遇,并对未来学科建设进行了展望。     

真黏菌生活史研究概述

真黏菌是世界性普遍分布的一类原生动物,其生活史具有单核黏变形体和游动胞、多核原质团和具孢子的子实体等阶段。掌握真黏菌生活史的全貌是该类群生物学研究的重要方面,同时也为分类学和系统发育学研究提供理论支持。本文回顾了真黏菌生活史的研究发展,对已报道生活史的物种进行统计分析,以加深对真黏菌生活史的科学认知,为深入研究真黏菌生活史特征等生物学问题提供理论参考。     

黏菌分布格局与生态学研究进展

黏菌是一类广泛分布于全球各种陆地生态系统的菌物,生态功能独特。随着物种资源调查的极大拓展以及分子标记和高通量测序技术等的成熟应用,黏菌的生态学研究在近年来取得了长足的发展。本文综述了国内外黏菌物种分布与群落生态学的研究进展,旨在为基于经典分类和分子标记研究黏菌的物种演替、群落结构和生态作用等提供重要参考和有益借鉴。     

黏菌物种多样性及其与影响因子关系的研究进展

黏菌是一类具有独特特征且广泛分布在陆地生态系统中的菌物,具有调节微生境微生物群落、影响营养和生物量分配等作用。黏菌的物种多样性及影响因素一直是黏菌生态学的研究热点。本文综述了不同微生境中黏菌的发生情况以及影响黏菌物种多样性的非生物因子和生物因子3个方面的研究进展,进一步揭示黏菌在生态系统中的生态功能。     

合成生物学在基础生命科学研究中的应用

合成生物学作为一门新兴的交叉学科,吸引了来自生物学、数理科学和工程学等不同学科的研究人员以及产业界的广泛关注和参与。它旨在通过从头创造全新的或改造已有的生物系统,实现天然生物系统不具备的功能与特性。合成生物学研究不仅具有广阔的生物产业应用前景,更为基础科研提供了全新的手段和思路。本文着眼于合成生物学―建物致知‖的理念,跟踪合成生物学研究在回答生命科学基础问题方面取得的相关成果,简述了其在细胞内分子调控网络、细胞生理学、多细胞群体形态与行为以及多物种微生态学等研究中的应用。     

Inflorescences of Neotropical herbs as a newly discovered microhabitat for myxomycetes

An assemblage of myxomycetes associated with inflorescences of large Neotropical herbs, a microhabitat not previously known to support these organisms, is described and characterized ecologically from a number of study sites in Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Puerto Rico. Thirty-one different taxa were found among 652 specimens of myxomycetes recorded in the field or obtained from 358 moist chamber cultures prepared with decaying floral parts. A comparison with the results of 696 moist chamber cultures prepared with various other litter substrates showed that thirteen myxomycete taxa occurred more often on inflorescences. Six taxa had a strong preference for this microhabitat, and three of those seem to be new for the Neotropics. Correspondence analysis of the data set compiled for inflorescences indicated that the assemblage of myxomycetes was relatively consistent across all of the various study sites. The actual myxomycete substrates were the rapidly decaying floral parts enclosed by the massive, still living bracts. Richest in myxomycetes were species of Heliconia and Costus. Here, nectar residuals probably promoted a rapidly developing community of yeasts and bacteria. A high density of these organisms was indicated by the frequent occurrence of myxobacteria in the moist chamber cultures prepared with floral parts. Results from canonical correspondence analysis suggested that a substrate pH between 8 and 9 and the presence of massive, compact inflorescences on plants occurring at lower elevations in localities with moderate annual rainfall provide optimal conditions for inflorescence-inhabiting myxomycetes. An incidental dispersal of myxomycete spores by birds that pollinate the flowers or feed upon the fruits seems possible and may have accounted for the high degree of preference exhibited by some of the inflorescence-inhabiting myxomycetes, for which the term "floricolous" is proposed.     

Can ecology help genomics: the genome as ecosystem?

Ecologists study the rules that govern processes influencing the distribution and abundance of organisms, particularly with respect to the interactions of organisms with their biotic and abiotic environments. Over the past decades, using a combination of sophisticated mathematical models and rigorous experiments, ecologists have made considerable progress in understanding the complex web of interactions that constitute an ecosystem. The field of genomics runs on a path parallel to ecology. Like ecology, genomicists seek to understand how each gene in the genome interacts with every other gene and how each gene interacts with multiple, environmental factors. Gene networks connect genes as complex as the webs that connect the species in an ecosystem. In fact, genes exist in an ecosystem we call the genome. The genome as ecosystem is more than a metaphor – it serves as the conceptual foundation for an interdisciplinary approach to the study of complex systems characteristic of both genomics and ecology. Through the infusion of genomics into ecology and ecology into genomics both fields will gain fresh insight into the outstanding major questions of their disciplines.     

The evolution of molecular biology into systems biology

Systems analysis has historically been performed in many areas of biology, including ecology, developmental biology and immunology. More recently, the genomics revolution has catapulted molecular biology into the realm of systems biology. In unicellular organisms and well-defined cell lines of higher organisms, systems approaches are making definitive strides toward scientific understanding and biotechnological applications. We argue here that two distinct lines of inquiry in molecular biology have converged to form contemporary systems biology.     

生态学的实质浅析

生态学发展到今天,由于与人类的切身利益及社会经济发展等诸方面密切相关的特点,它在生物学领域中已占据了其独特的地位,显示出强大的生命力。自60年代始,生态学已从一个传统的经验性的描述性学科发展成为一个用现代理论与高技术武装起来的多学科交叉的现代化庞大学科,产生了许多边缘学科,也逐渐渗透到人文科学,如政治、管理、美学、伦     

Targeting and tinkering with interaction networks

Biological interaction networks have been in the scientific limelight for nearly a decade. Increasingly, the concept of network biology and its various applications are becoming more commonplace in the community. Recent years have seen networks move from pretty pictures with limited application to solid concepts that are increasingly used to understand the fundamentals of biology. They are no longer merely results of postgenome analysis projects, but are now the starting point of many of the most exciting new scientific developments. We discuss here recent progress in identifying and understanding interaction networks, new tools that use them in predictive ways in exciting areas of biology, and how they have become the focus of many efforts to study, design and tinker with biological systems, with applications in biomedicine, bioengineering, ecology and beyond.     

Application of proteomics to ecology and population biology

Proteomics is a relatively new scientific discipline that merges protein biochemistry, genome biology and bioinformatics to determine the spatial and temporal expression of proteins in cells, tissues and whole organisms. There has been very little application of proteomics to the fields of behavioral genetics, evolution, ecology and population dynamics, and has only recently been effectively applied to the closely allied fields of molecular evolution and genetics. However, there exists considerable potential for proteomics to impact in areas related to functional ecology; this review will introduce the general concepts and methodologies that define the field of proteomics and compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages with other methods. Examples of how proteomics can aid, complement and indeed extend the study of functional ecology will be discussed including the main tool of ecological studies, population genetics with an emphasis on metapopulation structure analysis. Because proteomic analyses provide a direct measure of gene expression, it obviates some of the limitations associated with other genomic approaches, such as microarray and EST analyses. Likewise, in conjunction with associated bioinformatics and molecular evolutionary tools, proteomics can provide the foundation of a systems-level integration approach that can enhance ecological studies. It can be envisioned that proteomics will provide important new information on issues specific to metapopulation biology and adaptive processes in nature. A specific example of the application of proteomics to sperm ageing is provided to illustrate the potential utility of the approach.     

Cardiac regeneration as an environmental adaptation

Heart failure is a devastating disease that affects more than 26 million individuals worldwide and has a 5-year survival rate of less than 50%, with its development in part reflecting the inability of the adult mammalian heart to regenerate damaged myocardium. In contrast, certain vertebrate species including fish and amphibians, as well as neonatal mammals, are capable of complete cardiac regeneration after various types of myocardial injury such as resection of the ventricular apex or myocardial infarction, with this regeneration being mediated by the proliferation of cardiomyocytes, dissolution of temporary fibrosis, and revascularization of damaged tissue. In an effort to identify regulators of cardiac regeneration and to develop novel therapeutic strategies for induction of myocardial regeneration in the adult human heart, recent studies have adopted an approach based on comparative biology. These studies have pointed to cellular or tissue responses to environmental cues—including activation of the immune system, the reaction to mechanical stress, and the adoption of oxidative metabolism—as key determinants of whether the heart undergoes regeneration or nonregenerative scar formation after injury. We here summarize recent insight into the molecular mechanisms as well as environmental and systemic factors underlying cardiac regeneration based on the findings of inter- or intraspecific comparisons between regenerative and nonregenerative responses to heart injury. We also discuss how recent progress in understanding the molecular, systemic, and environmental basis of cardiac regeneration in a variety of organisms may relate to multiple scientific fields including ecology, evolutionary as well as developmental biology.     

In the shadow of Darwin: Anton de Bary’s origin of myxomycetology and a molecular phylogeny of the plasmodial slime molds

In his Origin of Species (John Murray, London, 1859), Charles Darwin described the theory of descent with modification by means of natural selection and postulated that all life may have evolved from one or a few simple kinds of organisms. However, Darwin’s concept of evolutionary change is entirely based on observations of populations of animals and plants. He briefly mentioned ‘lower algae’, but ignored amoebae, bacteria and other micro-organisms. In 1859, Anton de Bary, the founder of mycology and plant pathology, published a seminal paper on the biology and taxonomy of the plasmodial slime molds (myxomycetes). These heterotrophic protists are known primarily as a large composite mass, the plasmodium, in which single nuclei are suspended in a common ‘naked’ cytoplasm that is surrounded by a plasma membrane. Here we summarize the contents of de Bary’s 1859 publication and highlight the significance of this scientific classic with respect to the establishment of the kingdom Protoctista (protists such as amoebae), the development of the protoplasmic theory of the cell, the introduction of the concept of symbiosis and the rejection of the dogma of spontaneous generation. We describe the life cycle of the myxomycetes, present new observations on the myxamoebae and propose a higher-order phylogeny based on elongation factor-1 alpha gene sequences. Our results document the congruence between the morphology-based taxonomy of the myxomycetes and molecular data. In addition, we show that free-living amoebae, common protists in the soil, are among the closest living relatives of the myxomycetes and conclude that de Bary’s ‘Amoeba-hypothesis’ on the evolutionary origin of the plasmodial slime molds may have been correct.     

Linking biodiversity and ecosystems: towards a unifying ecological theory

Community ecology and ecosystem ecology provide two perspectives on complex ecological systems that have largely complementary strengths and weaknesses. Merging the two perspectives is necessary both to ensure continued scientific progress and to provide society with the scientific means to face growing environmental challenges. Recent research on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has contributed to this goal in several ways. By addressing a new question of high relevance for both science and society, by challenging existing paradigms, by tightly linking theory and experiments, by building scientific consensus beyond differences in opinion, by integrating fragmented disciplines and research fields, by connecting itself to other disciplines and management issues, it has helped transform ecology not only in content, but also in form. Creating a genuine evolutionary ecosystem ecology that links the evolution of species traits at the individual level, the dynamics of species interactions, and the overall functioning of ecosystems would give new impetus to this much-needed process of unification across ecological disciplines. Recent community evolution models are a promising step in that direction.