恒河猴、懒猴和树鼩的短时空间记忆功能与前额叶背侧部进化水平的相关性(英文)

本文研究探讨了进化地位不同的三种动物的短时空间记忆功能及其与前额叶背侧部进化水平的相关性。结果表明,在延缓反应作业中,经1000次训练后,7只恒河猴对空间位置的记忆时间平均为7.7±3.2min,懒猴为3.8±0.44min,而树鼩即使在延缓时间几乎为零秒的延缓反应中,其正确反应率也未达到90％标准。一种延缓时间仅测试一个单元,即不经训练的实验表明,恒河猴在延缓期为“0”—5min的各测试单元中,正确反应率稳定在80％以上;懒猴在延缓时间为“0”—4min的各测试单元中,平均正确反应率与恒河猴无明显差异,而当延缓时间增加到5min时,在延缓反应作业中取得的成绩显著下降;树鼩在延缓时间为1—5min的作业中取得的正确反应率在70％以下。3种动物在视觉辨别学习作业中却无明显差异。形态学研究表明,灵长类大脑前额叶的面积和结构的复杂性在进化过程中逐渐增大,如恒河猴大脑前额叶的表面积占大脑半球表面积的11.5％(Brodmann,1929),其内颗粒层发达,背侧部明显凸起,主沟区发达;懒猴的前额叶表面积占其大脑半球表面积的8.3％,背侧部凸起不显著,主沟未形成,额极内颗粒层分化明显,背侧部的内颗粒层较内侧部的发达程度差(Sanides,1967);树鼩的前额叶表面积占7.5％,额极的内颗粒层分化不明显,为非颗粒化区,此区之后为颗粒区     

蛋白质中二硫键附近肽段识别规律研究

本文对蛋白质中二硫键附近的残基进行了计算机统计分析,结果发现平行和反平行残基间存在着特异的配对规律。这种残基间的相互作用或识别,可能与蛋白质折叠过程中正确地形成二硫键有关。该结果有助于蛋白质工程设计。     

Ecological and methodological drivers of non-stationarity in tree growth response to climate

Radial tree growth is sensitive to environmental conditions, making observed growth increments an important indicator of climate change effects on forest growth. However, unprecedented climate variability could lead to non-stationarity, that is, a decoupling of tree growth responses from climate over time, potentially inducing biases in climate reconstructions and forest growth projections. Little is known about whether and to what extent environmental conditions, species, and model type and resolution affect the occurrence and magnitude of non-stationarity. To systematically assess potential drivers of non-stationarity, we compiled tree-ring width chronologies of two conifer species, Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris, distributed across cold, dry, and mixed climates. We analyzed 147 sites across the Europe including the distribution margins of these species as well as moderate sites. We calibrated four numerical models (linear vs. non-linear, daily vs. monthly resolution) to simulate growth chronologies based on temperature and soil moisture data. Climate–growth models were tested in independent verification periods to quantify their non-stationarity, which was assessed based on bootstrapped transfer function stability tests. The degree of non-stationarity varied between species, site climatic conditions, and models. Chronologies of P. sylvestris showed stronger non-stationarity compared with Picea abies stands with a high degree of stationarity. Sites with mixed climatic signals were most affected by non-stationarity compared with sites sampled at cold and dry species distribution margins. Moreover, linear models with daily resolution exhibited greater non-stationarity compared with monthly-resolved non-linear models. We conclude that non-stationarity in climate–growth responses is a multifactorial phenomenon driven by the interaction of site climatic conditions, tree species, and methodological features of the modeling approach. Given the existence of multiple drivers and the frequent occurrence of non-stationarity, we recommend that temporal non-stationarity rather than stationarity should be considered as the baseline model of climate–growth response for temperate forests.     

The ant Lasius niger shows no relationship between task efficiency and body size variation among workers

In ants, workers of different sizes may perform various tasks, even in so-called monomorphic species with relatively low body size variation. However, it is unclear if the body size diversity of monomorphic workers correlates with task efficiency, especially in stressful contingencies. Here we tested if the body size variation of workers corresponds with its efficiency in transferring pupae. Transferring brood is a pre-set behavioral response to stress, e.g. suboptimal temperature. Here we applied a laboratory experiment simulating nest damage. The study was performed on the common garden ant (Lasius niger (Linnaeus, 1758)) – a species with no distinct worker subcastes. The efficiency of workers was measured as the latency of transferring pupae from a lit part of the experimental colony to a darkened part, while the body size diversity was expressed as the within-colony coefficient of variation in head width. We did not find any significant correlation between efficiency and body size variation. Summarizing the existing studies and the present results, we propose the hypothesis that the body size diversity of L. niger may have implications for workers’ division of labor but not for their task efficiency in a stressful contingency.     

Nitrogen addition promotes terrestrial plants to allocate more biomass to aboveground organs: A global meta-analysis

A significant increase in reactive nitrogen (N) added to terrestrial ecosystems through agricultural fertilization or atmospheric deposition is considered to be one of the most widespread drivers of global change. Modifying biomass allocation is one primary strategy for maximizing plant growth rate, survival, and adaptability to various biotic and abiotic stresses. However, there is much uncertainty as to whether and how plant biomass allocation strategies change in response to increased N inputs in terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we synthesized 3516 paired observations of plant biomass and their components related to N additions across terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. Our meta-analysis reveals that N addition (ranging from 1.08 to 113.81 g m⁻² year⁻¹) increased terrestrial plant biomass by 55.6% on average. N addition has increased plant stem mass fraction, shoot mass fraction, and leaf mass fraction by 13.8%, 12.9%, and 13.4%, respectively, but with an associated decrease in plant reproductive mass (including flower and fruit biomass) fraction by 3.4%. We further documented a reduction in plant root-shoot ratio and root mass fraction by 27% (21.8%–32.1%) and 14.7% (11.6%–17.8%), respectively, in response to N addition. Meta-regression results showed that N addition effects on plant biomass were positively correlated with mean annual temperature, soil available phosphorus, soil total potassium, specific leaf area, and leaf area per plant. Nevertheless, they were negatively correlated with soil total N, leaf carbon/N ratio, leaf carbon and N content per leaf area, as well as the amount and duration of N addition. In summary, our meta-analysis suggests that N addition may alter terrestrial plant biomass allocation strategies, leading to more biomass being allocated to aboveground organs than belowground organs and growth versus reproductive trade-offs. At the global scale, leaf functional traits may dictate how plant species change their biomass allocation pattern in response to N addition.     

戊型肝炎病毒中国XT—179株全基因组Cdna克隆及其核苷酸和氨基酸序列分析

本文报道对中国新疆东部一起戊型肝炎流行高峰期间,由ＨＥ患者烘便中分离到的型肝炎病毒中国ＸＴ－１７９株进行全基因ｃＤＮＡ克隆、核苷酸和氨基酸序列测定及分析结果。所阐明的ＨＥＶ－ＸＴ－１７９株基因组全序列由７１９４个核苷酸和３＇端的多聚腺嘌呤核苷酸尾组成。四种核苷酸的含量腺嘌呤（Ａ）为１７．０％,胞嘧啶（Ｃ）为３１．９％,鸟嘌呤（Ｇ）为２６．０,尿嘧啶（Ｕ）为２５．１％。Ｇ＋Ｃ含量为５７．９％。全基因     

G418对IL—2基因包装细胞的筛选

本文用高浓度的G418(800μg/ml)和低浓度的G418(200μg/ml)对包装细胞PLXSN/IL-2/PA317细胞进行40天的选择筛选培养,使其细胞呈稳定状态生长时,收集上清液转染NIH/3T3细胞,进行病毒滴度测定。试图在高选择标记的情况下筛选出高表达目的基因的包装细胞。实验结果表明:高、低浓度的G418对PLXSN/IL-2/PA317包装细胞的选择作用相同,即包装细胞的病毒滴度同选择标记物浓度无关。提示可用低浓度的G418来维持包装细胞的生命。     

四种主要大豆食叶害虫种群空间分布型及其应用研究

通过分层随机与连片调查获得114个样本．利用微机分别对豆天蛾卵和豆天蛾．银纹夜蛾．棉铃虫．豆灰蝶及混合种群的幼虫．进行了4种频次分布型检验和6项聚集度指标的测定．结果表明．上述害虫在豆田内均属零集分布．中分析了聚集原因．提出了“Z”字型10样点,每样点以1／3m双行为单位的抽样方法．确立了在两种允许误差下的抽样数量．进行了序贯抽样分析。     

Immunolocalization of the G protein alpha subunit encoded by the GPA1 gene in Arabidopsis.

Heterotrimeric GTP binding proteins (G proteins) are important signal transducers in lower eukaryotes and in animal cells. In plants, the occurrence of GTP binding proteins has been reported, but their biological function remains unclear. Two genes coding for G protein alpha subunits have been cloned: GPA1 in Arabidopsis and TGA1 in tomato. To gain some insights into the function of GPA1, we describe an extensive immunolocalization of GPalpha1, the gene product of GPA1, during Arabidopsis development. Our results show that the GPalpha1 is present through all stages of development and in all organs examined, with the exception of mature seeds. It is expressed in roots, floral stem, rosette leaves, cauline leaves, flowers, and seed pods. Interestingly, the level of GPalpha1 protein is higher in immature organs than in mature organs. GPalpha1 is present at a high level in the root meristem and elongation zone, in the shoot and floral meristems, and in the leaf primordium and floral organ (sepal, petal, stamen, and gynoecium) primordia. During flower development, dividing microspores, but not mature pollen, show high levels of GPalpha1. During pollination, GPalpha1 is present in the growing pollen tubes. The protein is also present in nectaries and developing ovules and, after fertilization, in developing embryos. In mature tissue, GPalpha1 is preferentially found in the vascular system but is also present in other cell types. The complexity of the GPalpha1 localization pattern suggests that GPalpha1 might be involved in different signaling pathways depending on the developmental stage.     

High-temperature stress in crops: male sterility,yield loss and potential remedy approaches

Global food security is one of the utmost essential challenges in the 21st century in providing enough food for the growing population while coping with the already stressed environment. High temperature (HT) is one of the main factors affecting plant growth, development and reproduction and causes male sterility in plants. In male reproductive tissues, metabolic changes induced by HT involve carbohydrates, lipids, hormones, epigenetics and reactive oxygen species, leading to male sterility and ultimately reducing yield. Understanding the mechanism and genes involved in these pathways during the HT stress response will provide a new path to improve crops by using molecular breeding and biotechnological approaches. Moreover, this review provides insight into male sterility and integrates this with suggested strategies to enhance crop tolerance under HT stress conditions at the reproductive stage.