亚热带59个常绿与落叶树种不同根序细根养分及化学计量特征

不同根序的植物细根具有形态、结构和生理上的差异,基于根序的细根生理生态研究是当前生态学领域研究的重要组成部分。对不同生活型树种不同根序细根的研究可以为森林生态系统的地下细根养分策略提供理论依据。研究结果发现：（1）除了落叶树种P含量和N：P之外,两个生活型树种细根C、N和P含量与化学计量比在不同根序间均具有显著差异（P<0.05）;两者细根C含量、C：N和C：P随根序增加而升高,而N和P含量随根序增加而降低。（2）常绿与落叶树种C、N、P养分含量中C的变异系数最低,且两个生活型树种细根N、P含量的变异系数基本都随根序增加而变大。（3）常绿树种细根的N、P含量均显著低于落叶树种,但C：N和C：P都显著高于落叶树种,C含量和N：P无显著差异。（4）常绿与落叶树种细根养分（碳、氮和磷）异速关系在各个根序之间都存在共同斜率;常绿树种细根N和P含量存在等速生长关系,但落叶树种细根存在P含量增速大于N含量的异速生长关系（指数：α>1）。结论：随根序增加,常绿与落叶树种的细根具有相似的养分变化策略,N、P养分含量在低阶细根中的变异性更小。落叶树种细根生长受到缺P的影响大于常绿树种。落叶树种细根比常绿树种更高的N、P含量和更低C：N和C：P以及常绿与落叶树种细根N、P养分的异速生长关系差异说明落叶树种细根更倾向于采取快速的资源获取策略。     

Linking water relations and hydraulics with photosynthesis

For land plants, water is the principal governor of growth. Photosynthetic performance is highly dependent on the stable and suitable water status of leaves, which is balanced by the water transport capacity, the water loss rate as well as the water capacitance of the plant. This review discusses the links between leaf water status and photosynthesis, specifically focussing on the coordination of CO₂ and water transport within leaves, and the potential role of leaf capacitance and elasticity on CO₂ and water transport.     

A New Model to Estimate Prognosis in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Yttrium-90 Radioembolization

Aims

The current prognostic model to estimate the survival in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients treated with transarterial hepatic selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT) is not fully characterized. The aim of this study was to establish a new scoring model including assessment of both tumor responses and therapy-induced systemic changes in HCC patients to predict survival at an early time point post-SIRT.

Methods and materials

Between 2008 and 2012, 149 HCC patients treated with SIRT were included into this study. CT images and biomarkers in blood tested at one month post-SIRT were analyzed and correlated with clinical outcome. Tumor responses were assessed by RECIST 1.1, mRECIST, and Choi criteria. Kaplan-Meier methods were used to estimate survival curves. Cox regression was used in uni- and multivariable survival analyses and in the establishment of a prognostic model.

Results

A multivariate proportional hazards model was created based on the tumor response, the number of tumor nodules, the score of the model for end stage liver disease (MELD), and the serum C-reactive protein levels which were independent predictors of survival in HCC patients at one month post-SIRT. This prognostic model accurately differentiated the outcome of patients with different risk scores in this cohort (P<0.001). The model also had the ability to assign a predicted survival probability for individual patients.

Conclusions

A new model to predict survival of HCC patients mainly based on tumor responses and therapy-induced systemic changes provides reliable prognosis and accurately discriminates the survival at an early time point after SIRT in these patients.     

Characterization of Two Streptomyces Enzymes That Convert Ferulic Acid to Vanillin

Production of flavors from natural substrates by microbial transformation has become a growing and expanding field of study over the past decades. Vanillin, a major component of vanilla flavor, is a principal flavoring compound used worldwide. Streptomyces sp. strain V-1 is known to be one of the most promising microbial producers of natural vanillin from ferulic acid. Although identification of the microbial genes involved in the biotransformation of ferulic acid to vanillin has been previously reported, purification and detailed characterization of the corresponding enzymes with important functions have rarely been studied. In this study, we isolated and identified 2 critical genes, fcs and ech, encoding feruloyl-CoA synthetase and enoyl-CoA hydratase/aldolase, respectively, which are involved in the vanillin production from ferulic acid. Both genes were heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli, and the resting cell reactions for converting ferulic acid to vanillin were performed. The corresponding crucial enzymes, Fcs and Ech, were purified for the first time and the enzymatic activity of each purified protein was studied. Furthermore, Fcs was comprehensively characterized, at an optimal pH of 7.0 and temperature of 30°C. Kinetic constants for Fcs revealed the apparent K _m, k _cat, and V _max values to be 0.35 mM, 67.7 s⁻¹, and 78.2 U mg⁻¹, respectively. The catalytic efficiency (k _cat/K _m) value of Fcs was 193.4 mM⁻¹ s⁻¹ for ferulic acid. The characterization of Fcs and Ech may be helpful for further research in the field of enzymatic engineering and metabolic regulation.     

Comparative Genome Structure,Secondary Metabolite,and Effector Coding Capacity across Cochliobolus Pathogens

The genomes of five Cochliobolus heterostrophus strains, two Cochliobolus sativus strains, three additional Cochliobolus species (Cochliobolus victoriae, Cochliobolus carbonum, Cochliobolus miyabeanus), and closely related Setosphaeria turcica were sequenced at the Joint Genome Institute (JGI). The datasets were used to identify SNPs between strains and species, unique genomic regions, core secondary metabolism genes, and small secreted protein (SSP) candidate effector encoding genes with a view towards pinpointing structural elements and gene content associated with specificity of these closely related fungi to different cereal hosts. Whole-genome alignment shows that three to five percent of each genome differs between strains of the same species, while a quarter of each genome differs between species. On average, SNP counts among field isolates of the same C. heterostrophus species are more than 25× higher than those between inbred lines and 50× lower than SNPs between Cochliobolus species. The suites of nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS), polyketide synthase (PKS), and SSP–encoding genes are astoundingly diverse among species but remarkably conserved among isolates of the same species, whether inbred or field strains, except for defining examples that map to unique genomic regions. Functional analysis of several strain-unique PKSs and NRPSs reveal a strong correlation with a role in virulence.     

大兴安岭林区不同植被对冻土地温的影响

植被常常通过反射太阳辐射、遮阳、蒸腾散热、阻风挡雪、保水吸水等来影响下伏多年冻土.但是不同的植被类型,对下伏冻土热状况的影响也不尽相同.为了探讨大兴安岭林区不同植被对冻土的影响,选取大兴安岭森林生态站实验区杜香-真藓-落叶松林、真藓-落叶松林、塔头-落叶松林、柴桦落叶松林和伊图里河镇原冻土观测场塔头湿地5种典型林型,分析不同林型对冻土的温度和冻融作用的影响.研究发现不同林型的不同组分,由于反射率、覆盖度和根系吸水能力的差别,使得各种林型下的地面温度也不相同.在夏季,月平均地面温度从高到低依次为真藓-落叶松林、杜香-真藓-落叶松林、伊图里河塔头湿地、柴桦落叶松林和塔头落叶松林.由于塔头落叶松林存在乔木层和灌木层,与伊图里河塔头湿地相比,8月份平均地面温度差值低10℃以上.柴桦落叶松林两个钻孔的对比实验表明,铲除地表植被会使活动层0.8 m以上部分的地温升高,并且主要发生在8、9、10月份.对冻土而言,林区植被暖季降温的贡献大于冷季增温的贡献.另外,塔头一落叶松林根系吸水能力最强,这种林型下的土壤开始融化和冻结的日期最晚,冻结初期地面降温速率为0.1 ℃/d,而0.2 m以下降温速率几乎为零.同样柴桦落叶松林的塔头根系吸水能力使得其0.5 m和0.8 m的降温速率低于除塔头落叶松林外的其他林型,但是地面上植物的凋零和枯萎会加快地面的冻结速率.真藓-落叶松林的乔灌木层发育不好,地面降温速率大于杜香-真藓-落叶松林和伊图里河塔头湿地,而伊图里河塔头湿地由于没有乔灌木层的庇护,地面以下的降温速率高于其他林型.     

植物代谢速率与个体生物量关系研究进展

植物的各项生理生态功能（例如,呼吸、生长和繁殖）都与个体生物量成异速生长关系。West, Brown及Enquist基于分形网络结构理论所提出的WBE模型认为：植物的代谢（呼吸）速率正比于个体生物量的3/4次幂。然而,恒定的“3/4异速生长指数”与实测数据、植物生理生态学等研究之间存在矛盾,引发激烈的争论。论文分析了不同回归方法对代谢指数的影响,重点对植物代谢速率与个体生物量异速生长关系研究进展进行了综述,分析并得出了植物代谢指数在小个体时接近1.0,并随着生物量的增加而系统减小,且其密切依赖于氮含量的调控的结论。据此,提出了进一步深入研究植物代谢速率个体生物量关系需要解决的一些科学问题。     

Copy number variation of KIR genes influences HIV-1 control

A genome-wide screen for large structural variants showed that a copy number variant (CNV) in the region encoding killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) associates with HIV-1 control as measured by plasma viral load at set point in individuals of European ancestry. This CNV encompasses the KIR3DL1-KIR3DS1 locus, encoding receptors that interact with specific HLA-Bw4 molecules to regulate the activation of lymphocyte subsets including natural killer (NK) cells. We quantified the number of copies of KIR3DS1 and KIR3DL1 in a large HIV-1 positive cohort, and showed that an increase in KIR3DS1 count associates with a lower viral set point if its putative ligand is present (p = 0.00028), as does an increase in KIR3DL1 count in the presence of KIR3DS1 and appropriate ligands for both receptors (p = 0.0015). We further provide functional data that demonstrate that NK cells from individuals with multiple copies of KIR3DL1, in the presence of KIR3DS1 and the appropriate ligands, inhibit HIV-1 replication more robustly, and associated with a significant expansion in the frequency of KIR3DS1+, but not KIR3DL1+, NK cells in their peripheral blood. Our results suggest that the relative amounts of these activating and inhibitory KIR play a role in regulating the peripheral expansion of highly antiviral KIR3DS1+ NK cells, which may determine differences in HIV-1 control following infection.     

Does preconception paternal exposure to a physiologically relevant level of bisphenol A alter spatial memory in an adult rat?

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a ubiquitous environmental endocrine disrupting compound (EDC); public health concerns have been fueled by findings that maternal BPA exposure can change sex differences in the brain and in some behaviors. We investigated whether a physiologically relevant dose of BPA ingested by male rats before conception would affect spatial memory and hippocampal acetylcholinesterase (AchE) in their adult offspring. Twenty-two 60-day-old male rats (F0) received either a BPA diet (50 μg/kg/day) or vehicle alone for 10 weeks before being mated with non-exposed females. The paternal rats and their forty adult offspring's (F1) behaviors were then examined in the Morris Water Maze (MWM) and their AchE activities in the hippocampus were evaluated. BPA exposure led to spatial memory deficits along with decreased AchE activities in the hippocampus (p = 0.01) in adult F0 rats. This paternal exposure also induced impairment in spatial memory acquisition in both sexes while retention only in females in F1 rats, as well as abolished sex differences in the hippocampus AchE. Overall, these data provide new evidence that paternal BPA exposure, at a “safe” dose, may induce transgenerational alterations in spatial memory in a sex-specific manner.     

Genome-wide identification and analysis of late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) genes in Prunus mume

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins play important roles in plant desiccation tolerance. In this study, 30 LEA genes were identified from Chinese plum (Prunus mume) through genome-wide analysis. The PmLEA genes are distributed on all Chinese plum chromosomes except chromosome 3. Twelve (40 %) and five PmLEA genes are arranged in tandem and segmental duplications, respectively. The PmLEA genes could be divided into eight groups (LEA_1, LEA_2, LEA_3, LEA_4, LEA_5, PvLEA18, dehydrin and seed maturation protein). Ten gene conversion events were observed and most of them (70 %) were identified in dehydrin group. Most PmLEA genes were highly expressed in flower (22/30) and up-regulated by ABA treatment (19/30).