Sleeping Site Use by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trachypithecus francoisi</Emphasis> at Nonggang Nature Reserve,China

We collected data on sleeping site use of the François’ langur (Trachypithecus francoisi) between August 2003 and July 2004 at Nonggang Nature Reserve, China. We tested hypotheses regarding possible ultimate causes of sleeping site selection in light of our results. Langurs selected the ledges and caves on cliffs as sleeping sites. Of 23 identified sleeping sites, 7 were more frequently used than the others (≥9 times each, accounting for 64% of total observed nights). Langurs used most sleeping sites repeatedly, and reused some of them on consecutive nights; 4 consecutive nights were the longest run. We suggest that langurs choose sleeping sites to make approach and attack difficult by predators, and to increase familiarity so as to improve chances for escape. Langurs’ cryptic behaviors before entering sleeping sites and the rapid movement toward sleeping sites (4 min on average) with an increased level of vigilance may help to decrease the possibility of detection by predators. Access to food appears to have a profound influence on sleeping site selection in François’ langurs, as demonstrated by the langurs’ tendency to select sleeping sites close to their current main feeding sites. The position of sleeping site relative to the last feeding site of the day and the first feeding site of the subsequent morning indicated a strategy closer to that of a multiple central place forager than of a central place forager. Our results do not support the influences of other factors, e.g., avoidance of parasites, seeking comfort, and range or resource defense, on sleeping site selection.     

Diet and Food Choice of Trachypithecus francoisi in the Nonggang Nature Reserve, China

We studied the diet and food choice of 1 group of Fran?ois’ langurs (Trachypithecus francoisi) from August 2003 to July 2004 in the Nonggang Nature Reserve, Guangxi province, China. The langurs consumed 90 plant species, including 14 unidentified species. Leaves constituted 52.8% of the diet (38.9% young leaves and 13.9% mature leaves). Fruits and seeds accounted for 17.2% and 14.2%, respectively. Flowers and other items—including petioles, stems, roots, and bark—contributed to 7.5% and 7.4% of the diet, respectively. The langur diet varied according to season. They fed on more young leaves from April to September. Consumption of seeds, petioles, and stems increased between October and March, when young leaves were scarce. The diet shift corresponded to higher dietary diversity during the young leaf-lean period. Though the langurs fed on many plant species, 10 species accounted for 62.2% of the diet, only 2 of which were among the 10 most common tree species in vegetation quadrants, and the percentage of feeding records on a plant species and the percentage of individuals of the species in vegetation quadrants does not correlate significantly. Fran?ois’ langurs fed selectively, and they did not base their diet simply on the abundance of plant species in the habitat.     

Factors Influencing Interannual and Intersite Variability in the Diet of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trachypithecus francoisi</Emphasis>

Comparative studies of the diet of the same species in different habitats, and over the long term, are essential to understanding a species’ behavioral and ecological plasticity. Moreover, such studies can help researchers and managers evaluate a species’ capacity to cope with changes in habitat quality resulting from natural processes or human disturbance, which is important for developing conservation strategies. We compared dietary data for François’ langur (Trachypithecus francoisi) collected at Nonggang and Fusui Nature Reserves, Guangxi Province, China, over 2 separate study periods to evaluate interannual and intersite variation in diet. Young leaves were the preferred staple foods for langurs, whereas mature leaves and seeds served as fallback foods in response to seasonal shortage in the abundance of young leaves. Species composition of the diets and the percentage of feeding records for plant species varied between the 2 study periods. The langurs at both study sites fed selectively, and they did not base their diet simply on the abundance of plant species in the habitat. However, the plant species eaten by langur groups inhabiting the 2 different reserves were markedly different, and the top 10 food species eaten by the Fusui group showed no overlap with those eaten by the Nonggang group. The variation may be related to differences in forest composition resulting from different level of human disturbance. In summary, our results indicate that François’ langurs exhibit a comparable dietary pattern both temporally and geographically, but there is marked interannual and intersite difference in species composition of the langur diet.     

Ranging behavior of the François’ langur (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Trachypithecus francoisi</Emphasis>) in the Fusui Nature Reserve,China

Data on activity budgets and ranging patterns were collected from March to December 2001 for one group of François’ langurs (Trachypithecus francoisi) inhabiting a forested part of the Fusui Nature Reserve, Guangxi province, China. Our results indicate that the total size of the home range of the study group during the study period was 19 ha. The majority of their activities (52%) occurred within a small area, 22%, of their home range, and was concentrated in or near quadrats containing their sleeping sites, which may reduce the time and energetic cost of travel. The extent of the ranging behavior varied between months, with the smallest, 7 ha, recorded in July and the largest, 13.5 ha, in November. There was no significant difference between seasons. The monthly mean daily path lengths varied from 341 to 577 m. The daily path lengths showed significant seasonal changes: the path lengths were longer during the dry season than in the rainy season, which may be related to the scarcity of preferred food resources during the dry season.     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">Caenorhabditis</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">briggsae</Emphasis> genome contains active <Emphasis Type="Italic">CbmaT1</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tcb1</Emphasis> transposons

The maT clade of transposons is a group of transposable elements intermediate in sequence and predicted protein structure to mariner and Tc transposons, with a distribution thus far limited to a few invertebrate species. We present evidence, based on searches of publicly available databases, that the nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae has several maT-like transposons, which we have designated as CbmaT elements, dispersed throughout its genome. We also describe two additional transposon sequences that probably share their evolutionary history with the CbmaT transposons. One resembles a fold back variant of a CbmaT element, with long (380-bp) inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) that show a high degree (71%) of identity to CbmaT1. The other, which shares only the 26-bp ITR sequences with one of the CbmaT variants, is present in eight nearly identical copies, but does not have a transposase gene and may therefore be cross mobilised by a CbmaT transposase. Using PCR-based mobility assays, we show that CbmaT1 transposons are capable of excising from the C. briggsae genome. CbmaT1 excised approximately 500 times less frequently than Tcb1 in the reference strain AF16, but both CbmaT1 and Tcb1 excised at extremely high frequencies in the HK105 strain. The HK105 strain also exhibited a high frequency of spontaneous induction of unc-22 mutants, suggesting that it may be a mutator strain of C. briggsae.     

The Emergence of an Endangered Species: Evolution and Phylogeny of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trachypithecus geei</Emphasis> of Bhutan

Golden langurs (Trachypithecus geei) are an endangered primate species in Bhutan. We discuss their evolution in terms of phylogeny, ecology, and biogeography. We test the hypothesis that rivers and mountains in Bhutan isolated a population of capped langurs (Trachypithecus pileatus) that later speciated into the morphologically distinct T. geei. Trachypithecus, the genus to which both capped and golden langurs belong, spread north from a paleorefuge in south China, and Semnopithecus (gray langurs) spread east and northward from a refuge in south India. We show that the 2 genera both arrived in Bhutan and were separated from each other by the Sunkosh River and Black Mountains. Likewise, a population of capped langurs isolated from parental populations by rivers speciated into the distinct golden langurs. We conducted field surveys covering the entire range of langurs in Bhutan. The Sunkosh River and Black Mountain range in west Bhutan isolate gray langurs and golden langurs from each other. In the east, the Manas River system (Manas-Mangde) served as a barrier between golden and capped langurs. However, it is an imperfect barrier and a contact zone between the 2 species occurred on the banks of the Mangde River. Second, we reconstructed the evolutionary history of the langurs of Bhutan via molecular phylogenetic tools. We sequenced the cytochrome b region (cyt b) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to model a phylogeny. It revealed the distinct evolutionary paths of the golden, capped, and gray langurs. As predicted, golden and capped langurs are closely related to each other and to other species in Trachypithecus from Southeast Asia. The gray langur of Bhutan grouped into a distinct clade with conspecifics in Semnopithecus from India and Nepal. The south Indian clade of gray langurs is more ancient, with the Bhutan and Nepal gray langurs having diverged later, which fits with the glacial models of ice sheet retreats and colonization of South Asia by gray langurs from south India north toward the Himalayas. Likewise, the golden and capped langur clade are the most derived and divergent from the older groups of Trachypithecus in Southeast Asia, which also fits with paleorefuge models of recolonization by Trachypithecus into the rest of Southeast Asia and north toward the Himalayas from paleorefuges in Southeast Asia. As predicted, golden and capped langurs are closely related to each other and gray langurs are only distantly related to them. The divergence between capped and golden langurs is more recent, while the split between Trachypithecus and Semnopithecus is more ancient and took place before the Pliocene.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">P</Emphasis> transposons of the urochordata <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ciona intestinalis</Emphasis>

P transposons belong to the eukaryotic DNA transposons, which are transposed by a cut and paste mechanism using a P-element-coded transposase. They have been detected in Drosophila, and reside as single copies and stable homologous sequences in many vertebrate species. We present the P elements Pcin1, Pcin2 and Pcin3 from Ciona intestinalis, a species of the most primitive chordates, and compare them with those from Ciona savignyi. They showed typical DNA transposon structures, namely terminal inverted repeats and target site duplications. The coding region of Pcin1 consisted of 13 small exons that could be translated into a P-transposon-homologous protein. C. intestinalis and C. savignyi displayed nearly the same phenotype. However, their P elements were highly divergent and the assumed P transposase from C. intestinalis was more closely related to the transposase from Drosophila melanogaster than to the transposase of C. savignyi. The present study showed that P elements with typical features of transposable DNA elements may be found already at the base of the chordate lineage. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Patterns of DNA Variation Among Three Centromere Satellite Families in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis halleri</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">A</Emphasis>. <Emphasis Type="Italic">lyrata</Emphasis>

We describe patterns of DNA variation among the three centromeric satellite families in Arabidopsis halleri and lyrata. The newly studied subspecies (A. halleri ssp. halleri and A. lyrata ssp. lyrata and petraea), like the previously studied A. halleri ssp. gemmifera and A. lyrata ssp. kawasakiana, have three different centromeric satellite families, the older pAa family (also present in A. arenosa) and two families, pAge1 and pAge2, that probably evolved more recently. Sequence variability is high in all three satellite families, and the pAa sequences do not cluster by their species of origin. Diversity in the pAge2 family is complex, and different from variation among copies of the other two families, showing clear evidence for exchange events among family members, especially in A. halleri ssp. halleri. In A. lyrata ssp. lyrata there is some evidence for recent rapid spread of pAge2 variants, suggesting selection favoring these sequences. Electronic Supplementary Material Electronic Supplementary material is available for this article at and accessible for authorised users. [Reviewing Editor: Dr. Brian Morton]     

In planta transformation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Notocactus scopa</Emphasis> cv. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Soonjung</Emphasis> by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrobacterium </Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">tumefaciens</Emphasis>

Notocactus scopa cv. Soonjung was subjected to in planta Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation with vacuum infiltration, pin-pricking, and a combination of the two methods. The pin-pricking combined with vacuum infiltration (20-30 cmHg for 15 min) resulted in a transformation efficiency of 67-100%, and the expression of the uidA and nptII genes was detected in transformed cactus. The established in planta transformation technique generated a transgenic cactus with higher transformation efficiency, shortened selection process, and stable gene expression via asexual reproduction. All of the results showed that the in planta transformation method utilized in the current study provided an efficient and time-saving procedure for the delivery of genes into the cactus genome, and that this technique can be applied to other asexually reproducing succulent plant species.     

Floral development and systematic position of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arillastrum</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Allosyncarpia</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stockwellia</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eucalyptopsis</Emphasis> (Myrtaceae)

We have investigated the floral ontogeny of Arillastrum, Allosyncarpia, Stockwellia and Eucalyptopsis (of the eucalypt group, Myrtaceae) using scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. Several critical characters for establishing relationships between these genera and to the eucalypts have been determined. The absence of compound petaline primordia in Arillastrum, Allosyncarpia, Stockwellia and Eucalyptopsis excludes these taxa from the eucalypt clade. Post-anthesis circumscissile abscission of the hypanthium above the ovary in Stockwellia, Eucalyptopsis and Allosyncarpia is evidence that these three taxa form a monophyletic group; undifferentiated perianth parts and elongated fusiform buds are characters that unite Stockwellia and Eucalyptopsis as sister taxa. No floral characters clearly associate Arillastrum with either the eucalypt clade or the clade of Stockwellia, Eucalyptopsis and Allosyncarpia.We gratefully acknowledge Clyde Dunlop and Bob Harwood (Northern Territory Herbarium) for collecting specimens of Allosyncarpia, and Bruce Gray (Atherton) for collecting specimens of Stockwellia. The Australian National Herbarium (CANB) kindly lent herbarium specimens of Eucalyptopsis for examination. This research was supported by a University of Melbourne Research Development Grant to Andrew Drinnan.     

Expression patterns of <Emphasis Type="Italic">engrailed</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">dpp</Emphasis> in the gastropod <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lymnaea stagnalis</Emphasis>

We isolated the full-length cDNAs of engrailed and dpp-BMP2/4 orthologues from the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis and examined their expression patterns during development by the whole mount in situ hybridization. At the gastrula and trochophore stages, engrailed is expressed in the peripheral ectoderm of the presumptive and invaginating shell gland, corroborating its role in the shell formation that is widely conserved among molluscs. At the same stages, dpp-BMP2/4 is expressed in the right-hand side ectoderm of the shell gland and in the invaginating stomodaeum. Unlike in the gastropod Patella vulgata, our results suggested that dpp-BMP2/4 has a role in the shell formation, rather than in the regional specification and that it could be involved in the specification pathway of the left–right asymmetry of the developing shell in L. stagnalis.     

Phylogenetic analyses of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Uromyces viciae-fabae</Emphasis> and its varieties on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vicia</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lathyrus</Emphasis>, and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pisum</Emphasis> in Japan

A pea rust fungus, Uromyces viciae-fabae, has been classified into two varieties, var. viciae-fabae and var. orobi, based on differences in urediniospore wall thickness and putative host specificity in Japan. In principal component analyses, morphological features of urediniospores and teliospores of 94 rust specimens from Vicia, Lathyrus, and Pisum did not show definite host-specific morphological groups. In molecular analyses, 23 Uromyces specimens from Vicia, Lathyrus, and Pisum formed a single genetic clade based on D1/D2 and ITS regions. Four isolates of U. viciae-fabae from V. cracca and V. unijuga could infect and sporulate on P. sativum. These results suggest that U. viciae-fabae populations on different host plants are not biologically differentiated into groups that can be recognized as varieties.Contribution no. 184, Laboratory of Plant Parasitic Mycology, Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Tsukuba, Japan     

Prevalence of full-size <Emphasis Type="Italic">P</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">KP</Emphasis> elements in North American populations of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila melanogaster</Emphasis>

The P transposable element invaded the Drosophila melanogaster genome in the middle of the twentieth century, probably from D. willistoni in the Caribbean or southeastern North America. P elements then spread rapidly and became ubiquitous worldwide in wild populations of D. melanogaster by 1980. To study the dynamics and long-term fate of transposable genetic elements, we examined the molecular profile of genomic P elements and the phenotype in the P-M system of the current North American natural populations collected in 2001-2003. We found that full-size P and KP elements were the two major size classes of P elements present in the genomes of all populations ("FP + KP predominance") and that the P-related phenotypes had largely not changed since the 1980s. Both FP + KP predominance and phenotypic stability were also seen in other populations from other continents. As North American populations did not show many KP elements in earlier samples, we hypothesize that KP elements have spread and multiplied in the last 20 years in North America. We suggest that this may be due to a transpositional advantage of KP elements, rather than to a role in P-element regulation.     

Mutational analysis of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">gum</Emphasis> gene cluster required for xanthan biosynthesis in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xanthomonas</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">oryzae</Emphasis> pv <Emphasis Type="Italic">oryzae</Emphasis>

Genome sequence analysis of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae has revealed a cluster of 12 ORFs that are closely related to the gum gene cluster of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris. The gum gene cluster of X. oryzae encodes proteins involved in xanthan production; however, there is little experimental evidence supporting this. In this study, biochemical analyses of xanthan produced by a defined set of X. oryzae gum mutant strains allowed us to preliminarily assign functions to most of the gum gene products: biosynthesis of the pentasaccharide repeating unit for GumD, GumM, GumH, GumK, and GumI, xanthan polymerization and transport for GumB, GumC, GumE, and GumJ, and modification of the pentasaccharide repeating unit for GumF, GumG, and GumL. In addition, we found that the exopolysaccharides are essential but not specific for the virulence of X. oryzae. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Sang-Yoon Kim and Jeong-Gu Kim contributed equally to this work.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Paenibacillus camelliae</Emphasis> sp. nov., isolated from fermented leaves of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Camellia sinensis</Emphasis>

A novel bacterium, strain blls-2^T was isolated from Pu’er tea. The isolate was Gram-positive, endospore-forming motile rod that grew at 15∼42°C and pH 6.0∼10.2. The DNA G+C content was 48.3 mol%, the predominant isoprenoid quinone was MK-7, and the predominant cellular fatty acid was anteiso-C15:0 (54.2%) followed by C16:0 (15.5%) and iso-C16:0 (8.2%). The polar lipid pattern of blls-2^T was characterized by the presence of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylglycerol. Phy-logenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that the strain was affiliated within the Paenibacillaceae. The strain was most closely related to Paenibacillus granivorans A30^T, with a similarity of 97.1%. Based on the phylogenetic and phenotypic characteristics of strain blls-2^T, the isolate is thought to represent a novel taxon in the genus Paenibacillus. The name Paenibacillus camelliae sp. nov. is proposed for the fermented tea isolate; the type strain is blls-2^T (= KCTC 13220^T= CECT 7361^T).     

Flavonoids in the leaves of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oxalis corniculata </Emphasis>and sequestration of the flavonoids in the wing scales of the pale grass blue butterfly, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudozizeeria </Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">maha</Emphasis>

Three C-glycosylflavones in the leaves of Oxalis corniculata, the host plant of the lycaenid butterfly pale grass blue (Pseudozizeeria maha), were identified as 6-C-glucosylluteolin (isoorientin), 6-C-glucosylapigenin (isovitexin) and isovitexin 7-methyl ether (swertisin). Comparative spectral and HPLC analyses between the leaf extract of the host plants and the wings of P. maha showed selective uptake of the host-plant flavonoid isovitexin to the wings of the butterfly.     

Regulation of stipule development by <Emphasis Type="Italic">COCHLEATA</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">STIPULE</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">REDUCED</Emphasis> genes in pea <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pisum sativum</Emphasis>

Pisum sativum L., the garden pea crop plant, is serving as the unique model for genetic analyses of morphogenetic development of stipule, the lateral organ formed on either side of the junction of leafblade petiole and stem at nodes. The stipule reduced (st) and cochleata (coch) stipule mutations and afila (af), tendril-less (tl), multifoliate-pinna (mfp) and unifoliata-tendrilled acacia (uni-tac) leafblade mutations were variously combined and the recombinant genotypes were quantitatively phenotyped for stipule morphology at both vegetative and reproductive nodes. The observations suggest a role of master regulator to COCH in stipule development. COCH is essential for initiation, growth and development of stipule, represses the UNI-TAC, AF, TL and MFP led leafblade-like morphogenetic pathway for compound stipule and together with ST mediates the developmental pathway for peltate-shaped simple wild-type stipule. It is also shown that stipule is an autonomous lateral organ, like a leafblade and secondary inflorescence.