DISTINCTIVE LOCALIZATION OF GROUP 3 LATE EMBRYOGENESIS ABUNDANT SYNTHESIZING CELLS DURING BRINE SHRIMP DEVELOPMENT

Despite numerous studies on late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins, their functions, roles, and localizations during developmental stages in arthropods remain unknown. LEA proteins protect crucial proteins against osmotic stress during the development and growth of various organisms. Thus, in this study, fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to determine the crucial regions protected against osmotic stress as well as the distinctive localization of group 3 (G3) LEA⁺ cells during brine shrimp development. Several cell types were found to synthesize G3 LEA RNA, including neurons, muscular cells, APH‐1⁺ cells, and renal cells. The G3 LEA⁺ neuronal cell bodies outside of the mushroom body projected their axonal bundles to the central body, but those inside the mushroom body projected their axonal bundles toward the deutocerebrum without innervating the central body. The cell bodies inside the mushroom body received axons of the G3 LEA⁺ sensory cells at the medial ventral cup of the nauplius eye. Several glands were found to synthesize G3 LEA RNA during the nauplius stages of brine shrimp, including the sinus, antennal I and II, salt, and three ectodermal glands. This study provides the first demonstration of the formation of G3 LEA⁺ sinus glands at the emergence stages of brine shrimp. These results suggest that G3 LEA protein is synthesized in several cell types. In particular, specific glands play crucial roles during the emergence and nauplius stages of brine shrimp.     

Post‐dispersal seed predation and its relations with seed traits: a thirty‐species‐comparative study

Post‐dispersal seed predation is a key process determining the variability in seed survival in forests, where most seeds are handled by rodents. Seed predation is thought to affect seedling regeneration, colonization ability and spatial distribution of plants. Basic seed traits are the essential factors affecting rodent foraging preferences and thus seed survival and seedling recruitment. Many studies have discussed several seed traits and their effects upon seed predation by rodents. However, the results of those previous studies are usually equivocal, likely because few seed traits and/or plant species tend to be incorporated into these studies. In order to elucidate the relationships between seed predation and seed traits, we surveyed the predation of 48 600 seeds in a natural pine forest, belonging to 30 species, for three consecutive years. The results demonstrated that: (i) seed size and seed coat hardness did not significantly affect seed predation; (ii) total phenolics had a negative effect upon seed predation; (iii) positive effects of nitrogen content upon seed predation were found. From our study, it seems that the better strategy to prevent heavy predation is for plants to produce seeds with higher total phenolics content rather than physical defenses (i.e. hard seed coat) or larger seeds. Additionally, rodent foraging preference may depend more on Nitrogen content than other nutrient content of seeds.     

Apoptotic and autophagic pathways with relevant small‐molecule compounds,in cancer stem cells

Accumulating evidence demonstrates existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are suspected of contributing to cancer cell self‐renewal capacity and resistance to radiation and/or chemotherapy. Including evasion of apoptosis and autophagic cell death, CSCs have revealed abilities to resist cell death, making them appealing targets for cancer therapy. Recently, molecular mechanisms of apoptosis and of autophagy in CSCs have been gradually explored, comparing them in stem cells and in cancer cells; distinct expression of these systems in CSCs may elucidate how these cells exert their capacity of unlimited self‐renewal and hierarchical differentiation. Due to their proposed ability to drive tumour initiation and progression, CSCs may be considered to be potentially useful pharmacological targets. Further, multiple compounds have been verified as triggering apoptosis and/or autophagy, suppressing tumour growth, thus providing new strategies for cancer therapy. In this review, we summarized regulation of apoptosis and autophagy in CSCs to elucidate how key proteins participate in control of survival and death; in addition, currently well‐studied compounds that target CSC apoptosis and autophagy are selectively presented. With increasing attention to CSCs in cancer therapy, researchers are now trying to find responses to unsolved questions as unambiguous as possible, which may provide novel insight into future anti‐cancer regimes.     

Reticulate evolution and sea‐level fluctuations together drove species diversification of slipper orchids (Paphiopedilum) in South‐East Asia

South‐East Asia covers four of the world's biodiversity hotspots, showing high species diversity and endemism. Owing to the successive expansion and contraction of distribution and the fragmentation by geographical barriers, the tropical flora greatly diversified in this region during the Tertiary, but the evolutionary tempo and mode of species diversity remain poorly investigated. Paphiopedilum, the largest genus of slipper orchids comprising nearly 100 species, is mainly distributed in South‐East Asia, providing an ideal system for exploring how plant species diversity was shaped in this region. Here, we investigated the evolutionary history of this genus with eight cpDNA regions and four low‐copy nuclear genes. Discordance between gene trees and network analysis indicates that reticulate evolution occurred in the genus. Ancestral area reconstruction suggests that vicariance and long‐distance dispersal together led to its current distribution. Diversification rate variation was detected and strongly correlated with the species diversity in subg. Paphiopedilum (~80 species). The shift of speciation rate in subg. Paphiopedilum was coincident with sea‐level fluctuations in the late Cenozoic, which could have provided ecological opportunities for speciation and created bridges or barriers for gene flow. Moreover, some other factors (e.g. sympatric distribution, incomplete reproductive barriers and clonal propagation) might also be advantageous for the formation and reproduction of hybrid species. In conclusion, our study suggests that the interplay of reticulate evolution and sea‐level fluctuations has promoted the diversification of the genus Paphiopedilum and sheds light into the evolution of Orchidaceae and the historical processes of plant species diversification in South‐East Asia.     

疏叶骆驼刺和多枝柽柳不同时期光合特性日变化及其与环境因子的关系

在自然条件下,利用Li-6400光合仪测定疏叶骆驼刺(Alhagi sparsifolia Shap.)和多枝柽柳(Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb.)7~9月份的气体交换参数,分析2种植物净光合速率(Pn)与环境因子——光合有效辐射(PAR)、空气温度(Ta)、大气CO2浓度(Ca)、相对湿度(RH)之间的关系,以明确影响其光合作用的主导环境因子,为恢复和重建过渡带植被提供理论依据。结果显示:(1)疏叶骆驼刺不同时期Pn的日变化均为单峰曲线,多枝柽柳7、8月份的Pn日变化为单峰曲线,9月份为双峰曲线,且疏叶骆驼刺Pn的平均值(7.08μmol·m-2·s-1)高于多枝柽柳(5.54μmol·m-2·s-1)。(2)2种植物7~9月份的蒸腾速率(Tr)日变化均为单峰曲线,且疏叶骆驼刺Tr的平均值(5.46mmol·m-2·s-1)高于多枝柽柳(4.40mmol·m-2·s-1);疏叶骆驼刺和多枝柽柳的胞间CO2浓度(Ci)的日变化趋势均呈"倒钟型"曲线,与Pn日变化趋势相反。(3)2种植物7~9月份的WUE日变化进程与各自的Pn日变化规律基本一致,多枝柽柳的WUE日均值(1.21 mmol·mol-1)明显高于疏叶骆驼刺(0.97mmol·mol-1)。(4)偏相关分析显示,骆驼刺和柽柳的Pn与PAR呈显著正相关关系,而与RH呈显著负相关关系;回归分析显示,骆驼刺和柽柳Pn日变化的变异分别有35.6%和42.4%是由环境因子的日变化造成的;通径分析显示,各环境因子对Pn都具有显著的影响,其大小顺序分别为:TaRHPARCa(骆驼刺)和PARCaTaRH(柽柳),且骆驼刺在7~9月份内PAR均为决策变量,RH为限制变量(除7月份外);而柽柳在8、9月份内PAR均是决策变量,RH、Ca是限制变量。研究表明,疏叶骆驼刺属于高光合高蒸腾低水分利用效率型,多枝柽柳属于低蒸腾低光合高水分利用效率型;7月份骆驼刺和柽柳Pn的下降主要是由于气孔限制引起,而8、9月份主要是由非气孔因素限制所致;PAR和RH是影响骆驼刺和柽柳最重要的环境因子,其次是Ca,而Ta在不同时期的影响程度不同;疏叶骆驼刺和多枝柽柳与环境协同进化过程中产生了一定的生态适应性,但柽柳的WUE明显高于骆驼刺,推测柽柳的抗旱能力强于骆驼刺。     

Three-dimensional human facial morphologies as robust aging markers

Aging is associated with many complex diseases. Reliable prediction of the aging process is important for assessing the risks of aging-associated diseases. However, despite intense research, so far there is no reliable aging marker. Here we addressed this problem by examining whether human 3D facial imaging features could be used as reliable aging markers. We collected > 300 3D human facial images and blood profiles well-distributed across ages of 17 to 77 years. By analyzing the morphological profiles, we generated the first comprehensive map of the aging human facial phenome. We identified quantitative facial features, such as eye slopes, highly associated with age. We constructed a robust age predictor and found that on average people of the same chronological age differ by ± 6 years in facial age, with the deviations increasing after age 40. Using this predictor, we identified slow and fast agers that are significantly supported by levels of health indicators. Despite a close relationship between facial morphological features and health indicators in the blood, facial features are more reliable aging biomarkers than blood profiles and can better reflect the general health status than chronological age.     

Long-distance dispersal of a wolf, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Canis lupus</Emphasis>, in northwestern Europe

Several mammal species have recolonized their historical ranges across Europe during the last decades. In November 2012, a wolf-looking canid was found dead in Thy National Park (56° 56′ N, 8° 25′ E) in Jutland, Denmark. DNA from this individual and nine German wolves were genotyped using a genome-wide panel of 22,163 canine single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and compared to existing profiles based on the same marker panel obtained from northeastern Polish (n?=?13) wolves, domestic dogs (n?=?13) and known wolf-dog hybrids (n?=?4). The Thy canid was confirmed to be a wolf from the German-western Polish population, approximately 800 km to the southeast. Access to the German reference database on DNA profiles based on 13 autosomal microsatellites of German wolves made it possible to pinpoint the exact pack origin of the Thy wolf in Saxony, Germany. This was the first documented observation of a wolf in Denmark in 200 years and another example of long-distance dispersal of a carnivore.     

Dynamics of Membrane Tethers Reveal Novel Aspects of Cytoskeleton-Membrane Interactions in Axons

Mechanical properties of cell membranes are known to be significantly influenced by the underlying cortical cytoskeleton. The technique of pulling membrane tethers from cells is one of the most effective ways of studying the membrane mechanics and the membrane-cortex interaction. In this article, we show that axon membranes make an interesting system to explore as they exhibit both free membrane-like behavior where the tether-membrane junction is movable on the surface of the axons (unlike many other cell membranes) as well as cell-like behavior where there are transient and spontaneous eruptions in the tether force that vanish when F-actin is depolymerized. We analyze the passive and spontaneous responses of axonal membrane tethers and propose theoretical models to explain the observed behavior.