Longitudinal Variability of Phosphorus Fractions in Sediments of a Canyon Reservoir Due to Cascade Dam Construction: A Case Study in Lancang River,China

Dam construction causes the accumulation of phosphorus in the sediments of reservoirs and increases the release rate of internal phosphorus (P) loading. This study investigated the longitudinal variability of phosphorus fractions in sediments and the relationship between the contents of phosphorus fractions and its influencing factors of the Manwan Reservoir, Lancang River, Yunnan Province, China. Five sedimentary phosphorus fractions were quantified separately: loosely bound P (ex-P); reductant soluble P (BD-P); metal oxide-bound P (NaOH-P); calcium-bound P (HCl-P), and residual-P. The results showed that the total phosphorus contents ranged from 623 to 899 µg/g and were correlated positively with iron content in the sediments of the reservoir. The rank order of P fractions in sediments of the mainstream was HCl-P>NaOH-P>residual-P>BD-P>ex-P, while it was residual-P>HCl-P>NaOH-P>BD-P>ex-P in those of the tributaries. The contents of bio-available phosphorus in the tributaries, including ex-P, BD-P and NaOH-P, were significantly lower than those in the mainstream. The contents of ex-P, BD-P, NaOH-P showed a similar increasing trend from the tail to the head of the Manwan Reservoir, which contributed to the relatively higher content of bio-available phosphorus, and represents a high bio-available phosphorus releasing risk within a distance of 10 km from Manwan Dam. Correlation and redundancy analyses showed that distance to Manwan Dam and the silt/clay fraction of sediments were related closely to the spatial variation of bio-available phosphorus.     

甘草质膜水通道蛋白GuPIP1对甘油的转运

旨在进行甘草质膜水通道蛋白GuPIP1对水和溶质通透性的鉴定.将GuPIP1全长编码区的cDNA构入非洲爪蟾卵母细胞检测系统的表达栽体psp64 Poly(A),并将体外转录获得GuPI1的cRNA显微注射入卵母细胞,使GuPIP1基因在卵母细胞中表达,通过测定卵母细胞对水和溶质的转运功能来鉴定GuPIP1的转运功能.结果表明,GuPIP1在异源表达系统非洲爪蟾卵母细胞中具水和甘油通透性,但不能转运尿素,为探讨GuPIP1在植株生理中的作用奠定基础.     

Chromosome‐level de novo genome assembly of Sarcophaga peregrina provides insights into the evolutionary adaptation of flesh flies

Sarcophaga peregrina is considered to be of great ecological, medical and forensic significance, and has unusual biological characteristics such as an ovoviviparous reproductive pattern and adaptation to feed on carrion. The availability of a high‐quality genome will help to further reveal the mechanisms underlying these charcateristics. Here we present a de novo‐assembled genome at chromosome scale for S. peregrina. The final assembled genome was 560.31 Mb with contig N50 of 3.84 Mb. Hi‐C scaffolding reliably anchored six pseudochromosomes, accounting for 97.76% of the assembled genome. Moreover, 45.70% of repeat elements were identified in the genome. A total of 14,476 protein‐coding genes were functionally annotated, accounting for 92.14% of all predicted genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that S. peregrina and S. bullata diverged ~ 7.14 million years ago. Comparative genomic analysis revealed expanded and positively selected genes related to biological features that aid in clarifying its ovoviviparous reproduction and carrion‐feeding adaptations, such as lipid metabolism, olfactory receptor activity, antioxidant enzymes, proteolysis and serine‐type endopeptidase activity. Protein‐coding genes associated with ovoviparity, such as yolk proteins, transferrin and acid sphingomyelinase, were identified. This study provides a valuable genomic resource for S. peregrina, and sheds insight into further revealing the underlying molecular mechanisms of adaptive evolution.     

油蒿(Artemisia ordosica)的蒸腾作用及其群落的水分状况

 本文对比研究了处于不同生境的油蒿群落中油蒿的水分生理生态特性。结果表明：(1)半固定沙丘的油蒿比固定沙丘油蒿长势好,前者的生物量约为后者的4—5倍;(2)半固定沙丘土壤导水率是固定沙丘的10倍左右;(3)叶温与气温之差和水势能较好地反映油蒿的生长状况,而蒸腾速率与扩散阻力反映不十分敏感。     

Membrane subproteomic analysis of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin

Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has been known for a long time to prevent tuberculosis (TB) worldwide since 1921. Nonetheless, we know little about BCG membrane proteome. In the present study, we utilized alkaline incubation and Triton X-114-based methods to enrich BCG membrane proteins and subsequently digested them using proteolytic enzyme. The recovered peptides were further separated by 2-D LC and identified by ESI-MS/MS. As a result, total 474 proteins were identified, including 78 integral membrane proteins (IMPs). Notably, 18 BCG IMPs were described for the first time in mycobacterium. Further analysis of the 78 IMPs indicated that the theoretical molecular mass distribution of them ranged from 8.06 to 167.86 kDa and pI scores ranged from 4.40 to 11.60. Functional classification revealed that a large proportion of the identified IMPs (67.9%, 53 out of 78) were involved in cell wall and cell processes functional group. In conclusion, here we reported a comprehensive profile of the BCG membrane subproteome. The present investigation may allow the identification of some valuable vaccine and drug target candidates and thus provide basement for future designing of preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies against TB.     

A short-form C-type lectin from amphioxus acts as a direct microbial killing protein via interaction with peptidoglycan and glucan

To investigate the evolution and immune function of C-type lectin in amphioxus, the primitive representative of the chordate phylum, we identified three C-type lectins consisting solely of a carbohydrate recognition domain and N-terminal signal peptide and found that they had distinct express patterns in special tissues and immune response to stimulations analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. We characterized the biochemical and biological properties of AmphiCTL1, which was dramatically up-regulated in amphioxus challenged with Staphylococcus aureus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and zymosan. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the localization of AmphiCTL1 protein was exclusively detected in the inner folding tissues of the hepatic diverticulum. Recombinant AmphiCTL1 was characterized as a typical Ca2+-dependent carbohydrate-binding protein possessing hemagglutinating activity, preferentially bound to all examined four Gram-positive bacteria and two yeast strains, but had little binding activity toward four Gram-negative bacteria we tested. It aggregated S. aureus and S. cerevisiae in a Ca2+-dependent manner and specifically bound to insoluble peptidoglycan and glucan, but not to LPS, lipoteichoic acid, and mannan. Calcium increased the intensity of the interaction between AmphiCTL1 and those components, but was not essential. This lectin directly killed S. aureus and S. cerevisiae in a Ca2+-independent fashion, and its binding to microorganism cell wall polysaccharides such as peptidoglycan and glucan preceded microbial killing activity. These findings suggested that AmphiCTL1 acted as a direct microbial killing C-type lectin through binding microbial targets via interaction with peptidoglycan and glucan. Thus, AmphiCTL1 may be an evolutionarily primitive form of antimicrobial protein involved in lectin-mediated innate immunity.     

Fungicidal effect of pleurocidin by membrane-active mechanism and design of enantiomeric analogue for proteolytic resistance

Pleurocidin (Ple) is a 25-residue peptide which is derived from the skin mucous secretion of the winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus). In this study, we investigated antifungal effects and its mode of action of Ple on human pathogenic fungi. Ple showed potent antifungal activity with low hemolytic activity. To investigate the antifungal mechanisms of Ple, the cellular localization and membrane interaction of Ple were examined. Protoplast regeneration and membrane-disrupting activity by DPH-labeled membrane support the idea, that Ple exerts fungicidal activity against the human pathogenic fungus Candida albicans with the disruption of a plasma membrane. To aim for which was the application of a therapeutic agent, we designed a synthetic enantiomeric peptide composed of all-d-amino acids to enhance proteolytic resistance. The synthetic all-d-Ple also displayed two-fold more potent antifungal activity than that of all-l-Ple, and its antifungal activity showed proteolytic resistance against various proteases. Therefore, these results suggest a therapeutic potential of all-d-Ple with regard to its proteolytic resistance against human fungal infections.     

Genetic diversity within Oryza rufipogon germplasms preserved in Chinese field gene banks of wild rice as revealed by microsatellite markers

Nineteen microsatellite markers were employed to evaluate the genetic diversity of 92 accessions of common wild rice Oryza rufipogon Griff., which represent a significant portion of the distribution range from field gene banks of China. In comparison, a total of 57 varieties from most of the rice growing areas in China were also analyzed. The microsatellite analysis revealed a considerable amount of genetic diversity resided within the preserved wild rice germplasms. In all, the nineteen microsatellites revealed 328 alleles. The number of alleles per locus varied widely among these markers, ranging from 6 at RM242 to 30 at RM206. A comparison of the genetic parameters showed that wild rice strains preserved in the field gene banks (na = 17.27; R _S = 15.66; H _S = 0.86; H _T = 0.852; H _O = 0.307) possess much higher genetic diversity than cultivated rice varieties (na = 8.27; R _S = 8.14; H _S = 0.75; H _T = 0.758; H _O = 0.051). A total of 196 alleles detected in the wild rice could not be found in cultivated rice, suggesting that about 60% of the alleles of wild rice might be lost during the process of rice domestication. This result shows that these ex situ preserved wild rice strains are of great importance for the discovery and utilization of novel genes in the future rice breeding practices. Considerably abundant genetic variability detected within the studied wild rice germplasms could be comparable to that previously found in a wide sampling of 47 natural populations (na = 16.17; H _S = 0.67; H _O = 0.229), demonstrating that developing field gene banks of wild rice is a necessary and efficient way for preserving genetic diversity of wild rice resources. To determine minimum microsatellites that could distinguish these wild rice accessions, the phylogenetic trees constructed by means of the combinations of different microsatellites suggested that the five highly polymorphic microsatellites could clearly identify these samples. High polymorphisms of rice microsatellite loci and their great resolving power will be particularly helpful for germplasm evaluation and evolutionary studies for better strengthening the conservation and utilization of genetic diversity of wild rice in the field gene banks.     

冬小麦农田中净辐射的研究

本文对陕西泾阳地区冬小麦田净辐射进行了分段和分层模拟,取得了较好的拟合效果,相对误差在１０％以内。确定了麦田相对叶面积函数最大值的出现高度为４．５／７Ｈ,介于高粱（４／７Ｈ）和谷子（５／７Ｈ）之间。计算了不同发育期、不同层次至冠层顶部累积叶片的消光系数,结果表明,消光系数因发育期和叶片层次而异,拔节期,由旗叶向下,消光系数增大,乳熟期旗叶的消光系数最大,比拔节期大一倍,倒二叶以上两个层次叶片消光系数较小。就平均而言,冬小麦消光系数拔节期为０．５１,乳熟期为０．５６。本项成果为进一步开展麦田小气候研究提供了有意义的数据和方法。     

蜉蝣目化石的研究进展

回顾了世界蜉蝣目化石研究简史,列出已发表的化石种类名录、分布及年代,共40科、124属、218种,其中包括中国的8属13种;描述了不同地质时期主要蜉蝣化石的分类单元和分布地区.简要介绍了蜉蝣分类系统及系统发育、稚虫食性、与其它昆虫的关系和古生态等方面的研究成果.在本文的第2部分,初步分析了目前该类群所存在的一些问题,并对今后的研究工作进行了展望.