树鼩在医学生物学中的应用

目的树鼩是一种新型实验动物,由于它的许多分子与细胞结构近似于人类,已成功建立了多种人类病毒感染的动物模型,并在神经生物学、生殖生物学、免疫学和社会心理学等方面有相当广泛和深入的应用和研究。     

Comparison of Photosynthetic Adaptability Between Kobresia humilis and Polygonum viviparum on Qinghai Plateau

The chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of Kobresia humilis Serg. and Polygonum viviparum L. grown at two different altitudes (3200 m, 3980 m) were measured and the ultrastructure of chloroplasts were observed for studying the photosynthetic adaptability of plants to the influences of stress conditions in alpine environment. Rfd -values, the vitality index, in leaves of K. humilis and P.viviparum grown at 3980 m were higher than those at 3200 m. The higher ratio of Fv/Fo and Fv/Fm in leaves of K. humilis and P.viviparum indicated that the rate of photosynthetic conversion of light energy increased at higher altitude. Ratios of Fv/Fo and Fv/Fm and Rfd -values in K.humilis were higher than that in P.viviparum grown at the same altitude. There were more irregular chloroplasts in leaves of both species grown at higher altitude. Many irregular chloroplasts such as swollen thylakoid, deformed chloroplast envelope, were observed in P.viviparum grown at 3980 m, but few in K.　humilis . These results were discussed in relation to the photosynthetic adaptability of alpine plants and the different adaptive competence between K.humilis and P.viviparum.     

Systematic and phylogenetic value of wood anatomy in Heteromorpheae (Apiaceae,Apioideae)

The wood anatomy of all four woody genera of the tribe Heteromorpheae (Apiaceae, subfamily Apioideae) has been described and compared, based on 40 wood samples (representing nine species of Anginon, one species of Glia, three species of Heteromorpha and two species of Polemannia). The four genera were found to be relatively similar in their wood anatomy. Helical thickenings on the vessel walls occur in all species investigated and appear to represent an ancestral character state and a symplesiomorphy for the tribes Bupleurieae and Heteromorpheae. Each of four genera has a diagnostically different combination of character states relating to the diameter of vessels, size of intervessel pits, length of fibres, presence and arrangement of banded axial parenchyma, size of rays and ray cells, and presence of septate fibres and crystals in the ray cells. The occurrence of marginal axial parenchyma in Anginon and Glia may be an additional synapomorphy for these taxa. Variation in the wood anatomy of 31 samples from nine species of Anginon is not correlated with habitat (Fynbos or Succulent Karoo Biomes), but instead appears to reflect adaptations to seasonal aridity found in both ecosystems. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 158 , 569–583.     

高山植物短管兔儿草光合作用特性及其对冰冻胁迫的反应

短管兔儿草为典型的高山植物,具较强的光合能力,但光合效率较低。叶片具有发达的通气贮气组织;栅栏组织发达,叶绿体基粒片层较少。短管兔儿草光合作用特性易受生长环境因素的影响。低温胁迫使短管兔儿草光合速率、光合量子产额降低。低温下的光照加剧了光合作用受抑制的程度。本研究表明,短管兔儿草具较强的抗冻能力,是研究植物抗冻机理及筛选抗冻基因的理想材料。     

Are there two cryptic species of the lesser jerboa Jaculus jaculus (Rodentia: Dipodidae) in Tunisia? Evidence from molecular,morphometric, and cytogenetic data

Jerboas belonging to the genus Jaculus are widely distributed rodents inhabiting Palearctic desert and semi‐desert areas. Previous studies on the lesser Egyptian jerboa Jaculus jaculus showed the existence of various morphological forms of controversial taxonomic status. They were sometimes related to two different species, J. jaculus and Jaculus deserti, although this has not been recognized in recent taxonomic updates. To clarify the systematic status of J. jaculus in Tunisia, we performed molecular (phylogenetic analyses of cytochrome b sequences), morphological (multivariate analyses of 13 skull measurements) and karyotypic (standard preparations from bone marrow cells) analyses on a number of specimens collected from ten localities. Our analyses revealed two monophyletic, well differentiated clades, with a mean genetic divergence value (K2P = 10.9 ± 0.01%), which is within the range of distances generally observed between rodent species. Morphometric analyses clearly separated populations of the two genetic clades from each other. However, karyotypes of individuals from both clades appeared similar. Individuals from both molecular clades/morphometric groups were found in sympatry in most of the localities sampled. These results, as obtained from a restricted area of the total distribution, suggest that there are two separate species within the currently accepted J. jaculus in Tunisia. Alternative hypotheses such as the occurrence of a strong, ancient phylogeographic structure, or the presence of pseudogenes, are also considered to account for the results obtained. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 99 , 673–686.     

Net woody vegetation increase confined to seasonally inundated lowlands in an Australian tropical savanna,Victoria River District,Northern Territory

Abstract Georeferenced digital aerial photographs were used to assess changes in overstorey vegetation cover since 1948 in the Victoria River District, Northern Territory, Australia, across a range of lowland tropical savanna habitats and with explicit consideration of known and variable site‐specific grazing and fire management histories. Vegetation surveys at corresponding locations on the ground identified five distinct woody vegetation communities defined primarily by water drainage and secondarily by soil characteristics. Air‐photo analyses revealed that, contrary to popular perceptions and in contrast to results from other habitats, there has been no generalized net increase in overstorey woody vegetation cover across the full range of lowland savanna habitats. Rather, different habitats exhibited distinctly different vegetation change mechanisms: low‐lying seasonally inundated ‘wet’ habitats have experienced woody vegetation increase since 1948, whereas well‐drained ‘dry’ habitats have experienced overstorey vegetation stability or loss. In almost every instance woody vegetation increase could be attributed to the invasion or proliferation of a single species, Melaleuca minutifolia F.Muell. The extent of M. minutifolia increase was unrelated to historical grazing/fire regime. Demographic analyses for this species revealed that recruitment was often episodic and that synchronized recruitment events occurred uniformly across the full range of historical management treatments, most likely as a consequence of favourable climatic conditions in years with an extended wet season. Heavy grazing facilitated juvenile survival and/or recruitment, most likely by reducing grassy fuel loads and eliminating landscape fire. We conclude that while there has been no generalized net increase in overstorey woody vegetation cover in lowland environments, savanna dynamics are complex, and multiple change mechanisms have occurred simultaneously in different habitats, some of which have been significantly transformed since 1948. Where net woody vegetation increase has occurred it is primarily a natural consequence of episodic M. minutifolia establishment in climatically favourable years, but the extent and magnitude of this effect is likely mediated by fire/grazing regime.     

Development of a stable isotope index to assess decadal-scale vegetation change and application to woodlands of the Burdekin catchment, Australia

Forty-four study sites were established in remnant woodland in the Burdekin River catchment in tropical north-east Queensland, Australia, to assess recent (decadal) vegetation change. The aim of this study was further to evaluate whether wide-scale vegetation ‘thickening’ (proliferation of woody plants in formerly more open woodlands) had occurred during the last century, coinciding with significant changes in land management. Soil samples from several depth intervals were size separated into different soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions, which differed from one another by chemical composition and turnover times. Tropical (C₄) grasses dominate in the Burdekin catchment, and thus δ¹³C analyses of SOC fractions with different turnover times can be used to assess whether the relative proportion of trees (C₃) and grasses (C₄) had changed over time. However, a method was required to permit standardized assessment of the δ¹³C data for the individual sites within the 13 Mha catchment, which varied in soil and vegetation characteristics. Thus, an index was developed using data from three detailed study sites and global literature to standardize individual isotopic data from different soil depths and SOC fractions to reflect only the changed proportion of trees (C₃) to grasses (C₄) over decadal timescales. When applied to the 44 individual sites distributed throughout the Burdekin catchment, 64% of the sites were shown to have experienced decadal vegetation thickening, while 29% had remained stable and the remaining 7% had thinned. Thus, the development of this index enabled regional scale assessment and comparison of decadal vegetation patterns without having to rely on prior knowledge of vegetation changes or aerial photography.     

磺酰化乳糖基神经酰胺表达水平对肝癌细胞转移潜能的影响

研究磺酰化乳糖基神经酰胺（SM3）的表达水平与肝癌细胞转移潜能的关系.采用免疫荧光染色和细胞酶联免疫两种方法,观察了不同转移潜能的肝癌细胞中磺酰化乳糖基神经酰胺的表达水平,发现高转移性肝癌细胞表达SM3的水平明显高于低转移性肝癌细胞.高转移性肝癌细胞经过10 μmol/L维甲酸处理,抑制肝癌细胞的转移潜能以后,SM3的表达水平显著下降（P＜0.05）,接近低转移性肝癌细胞水平,但是SM3的前体分子半乳糖基神经酰胺水平并不降低,提示磺酰化作用受到了抑制.通过脑苷脂磺酰基转移酶(CST)基因的转染,使Hep3B肝癌细胞高表达SM3.发现CST转染的肝癌细胞与转移相关的行为显著改变,经黏附试验发现,CST基因转染的肝癌细胞对层粘连蛋白和玻连蛋白（vitronectin）的黏附显著增强,比未转染的或转染载体的肝癌细胞升高3～4倍.裸鼠体内试验表明,这种具有高度表达CST基因的Hep3B细胞比对照组细胞具有更高的转移能力(P＜0.05).说明磺酰化乳糖基神经酰胺可能与肝癌细胞的转移有关.