Climate oscillations and species interactions: large‐scale congruence but regional differences in the phylogeographic structures of an alpine plant and its monophagous insect

Aim To predict the fate of alpine interactions involving specialized species, using a monophagous beetle and its host plant as a case study. Location The Alps. Methods We investigated genetic structuring of the herbivorous beetle Oreina gloriosa and its specific host‐plant Peucedanum ostruthium. We used genome fingerprinting (in the insect and the plant) and sequence data (in the insect) to compare the distribution of the main gene pools in the two associated species and to estimate divergence time in the insect, a proxy for the temporal origin of the interaction. We quantified the similarity in spatial genetic structures by performing a Procrustes analysis, a tool from shape theory. Finally, we simulated recolonization of an empty space analogous to the deglaciated Alps just after ice retreat by two lineages from two species showing unbalanced dependence, to examine how timing of the recolonization process, as well as dispersal capacities of associated species, could explain the observed pattern. Results Contrasting with expectations based on their asymmetrical dependence, patterns in the beetle and plant were congruent at a large scale. Exceptions occurred at a regional scale in areas of admixture, matching known suture zones in Alpine plants. Simulations using a lattice‐based model suggested these empirical patterns arose during or soon after recolonization, long after the estimated origin of the interaction c. 0.5 million years ago. Main conclusions Species‐specific interactions are scarce in alpine habitats because glacial cycles have limited the opportunities for co‐evolution. Their fate, however, remains uncertain under climate change. Here we show that whereas most dispersal routes are paralleled at a large scale, regional incongruence implies that the destinies of the species might differ under changing climate. This may be a consequence of the host dependence of the beetle, which locally limits the establishment of dispersing insects.     

Intrinsic electrostatic potential in the BK channel pore: role in determining single channel conductance and block

The internal vestibule of large-conductance Ca(2+) voltage-activated K(+) (BK) channels contains a ring of eight negative charges not present in K(+) channels of lower conductance (Glu386 and Glu389 in hSlo) that modulates channel conductance through an electrostatic mechanism (Brelidze, T.I., X. Niu, and K.L. Magleby. 2003. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 100:9017-9022). In BK channels there are also two acidic amino acid residues in an extracellular loop (Asp326 and Glu329 in hSlo). To determine the electrostatic influence of these charges on channel conductance, we expressed wild-type BK channels and mutants E386N/E389N, D326N, E329Q, and D326N/E329Q channels on Xenopus laevis oocytes, and measured the expressed currents under patch clamp. Contribution of E329 to the conductance is negligible and single channel conductance of D326N/E329Q channels measured at 0 mV in symmetrical 110 mM K(+) was 18% lower than the control. Current-voltage curves displayed weak outward rectification for D326N and the double mutant. The conductance differences between the mutants and wild-type BK were caused by an electrostatic effect since they were enhanced at low K(+) (30 mM) and vanished at high K(+) (1 M K(+)). We determine the electrostatic potential change, Deltaphi, caused by the charge neutralization using TEA(+) block for the extracellular charges and Ba(2+) for intracellular charges. We measured 13 +/- 2 mV for Deltaphi at the TEA(+) site when turning off the extracellular charges, and 17 +/- 2 mV for the Deltaphi at the Ba(2+) site when the intracellular charges were turned off. To understand the electrostatic effect of charge neutralizations, we determined Deltaphi using a BK channel molecular model embedded in a lipid bilayer and solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation. The model explains the experimental results adequately and, in particular, gives an economical explanation to the differential effect on the conductance of the neutralization of charges D326 and E329.     

耐热嗜盐菌的分离及16S rRNA基因序列分析

从位于西藏自治区澜沧江边一个47℃的盐井中分离筛选到一株耐热嗜盐菌菌株 YJ0238.对其进行了生理生化特性研究,采用PCR方法扩增其16S rRNA基因序列,并进行了测定.基于生理生化特性和16S rRNA基因序列的同源性比较,以及系统发育分析,发现菌株YJ0238是Idiomarina属中成员zobellii的一个亚种,其16S rRNA基因序列已被GenBank数据库收录,序列号为EF693953.迄今为止,国内极少有关高温、高盐环境中微生物研究的报道,本研究可为今后研究同类极端环境中新的物种资源以及微生物多样性提供素材和参考.     

Combined Microbial-Fe(0) Treatment System to Remove Nitrate from Contaminated Groundwater

Experiments were conducted to delineate the applicability and limitations of biologically active Fe(0) barriers to remove nitrate under various geochemical and hydraulic conditions. Microcosm studies showed that, while no Fe(0) treatment was needed to remove nitrate from a high-carbon soil, adding Fe(0) to a low-carbon soil supplemented the electron donor pool and enhanced nitrate removal. Montmorillonite, an acidic aluminosilicate mineral, enhanced Fe(0) corrosion and nitrate removal (from about 1 to 3 mg/L NO₃-N per day), and reduced the transient accumulation of nitrite. Combining autotrophic denitrifiers (e.g., Paracoccus denitrificans) with Fe(0) significantly reduced the amount of nitrite eluted from aquifer columns, from up to 7 to less than 1 mg/L NO₂∼-N. Bacteria were observed to preferentially colonize the Fe(0) surface, which produces cathodic H₂ when corroded by water. The preferential colonization of Fe(0) suggests that hydrogenotrophic consortia are likely to develop around Fe(0) walls to exploit cathodic depolarization as a metabolic niche.     

农杆菌介导的紫色红曲霉遗传转化体系的建立和优化

通过优化各种转化因素,建立了根癌农杆菌(Agrobacterium tumefaciens)介导红曲霉(Monascus)的高效转化体系:红曲霉在PDA培养基培养21 d后收集孢子,制备红曲霉孢子悬浮液,浓度为106个/mL,根癌农杆菌浓度为OD600值0.5,诱导剂AS浓度为100μmol/L,农杆菌与红曲霉在25℃共培养3 d。采用此转化体系构建了含有530多个转化子的红曲霉T-DNA插入突变体库。随机选取50株转化子菌株进行分子验证和稳定性检测,证明T-DNA成功插入红曲霉基因组DNA中,并能稳定遗传。最后,通过形态观察筛选出8株变异较大的菌株,为以后的红曲霉基因功能研究奠定了一定的基础。     

二倍体矮牵牛花粉母细胞异常减数分裂的观察与核型分析

以夏季高温时期二倍体矮牵牛花蕾为材料,采用常规制片法,对花粉母细胞异常减数分裂进行观察并选取终变期进行染色体核型分析。结果发现:异常减数分裂主要表现为具有多核仁、二价体提前分离成单价体、赤道板外的染色体,姊妹染色单体提前分离、不均等分离,落后和丢失染色体,具有微核的三分体和四分体,中期Ⅱ纺锤体定位发生异常出现融合纺锤体和八字形纺锤体可导致2n花粉产生;矮牵牛终变期核型公式为K(2n)=2x=14=10m+4sm(2SAT),其中第1、4、5、6、7号为中部着丝粒染色体,第2号(具有随体)、3号为亚中部着丝粒染色体,染色体相对长度组成为2n=14=4M_1+10M_2,核型分类为2A型。研究表明,矮牵牛异常减数分裂可导致2n花粉和不育花粉的产生,利用终变期进行核型分析具有材料丰富、二价体形态清晰不需人为配对分析等优点,为矮牵牛细胞学研究提供了新方法。