‘Prudent habitat choice’: a novel mechanism of size‐assortative mating

Assortative mating, an ubiquitous form of nonrandom mating, strongly impacts Darwinian fitness and can drive biological diversification. Despite its ecological and evolutionary importance, the behavioural processes underlying assortative mating are often unknown, and in particular, mechanisms not involving mate choice have been largely ignored so far. Here, we propose that assortative mating can arise from ‘prudent habitat choice’, a general mechanism that acts under natural selection, and that it can occur despite a complete mixing of phenotypes. We show that in the cichlid Eretmodus cyanostictus size‐assortative mating ensues, because individuals of weaker competitive ability ignore high‐quality but strongly competed habitat patches. Previous studies showed that in E. cyanostictus, size‐based mate preferences are absent. By field and laboratory experiments, here we showed that (i) habitat quality and body size are correlated in this species; (ii) territories with more stone cover are preferred by both sexes in the absence of competition; and (iii) smaller fish prudently occupy vacant territories of worse quality than do larger fish. Prudent habitat choice is likely to be a widespread mechanism of assortative mating, as both preferences for and dominance‐based access to high‐quality habitats are generic phenomena in animals.     

质膜NAD(P)H氧化酶参予金瓜炭疽(Colletotrichum lagerarium)细胞壁激发子诱导人参细胞产生激发反应(英文)

在人参(Panax ginseng C.A.Meyer)悬浮细胞质膜上测出了NAD(P)H氧化酶活性。这类NAD(P)H氧化酶活性可以被金瓜炭疽细胞壁激发子(Cle)诱导。Cle处理还能诱导人参悬浮细胞的氧进发、促进人参悬浮细胞的皂苷合成、提高苯丙氨酸解氨酶(PAL)的活力、以及诱导查尔式酮酶(CHS)的累积和细胞壁上抗性相关蛋白基因脯氨酸富裕蛋白基因hrgp(Hydroxyprolin-rich glycoproleins)的表达。当用哺乳动物白细胞质膜NADPH氧化酶的特异性抑制剂二亚苯基碘(Diphenylene iodonium,DPI)与奎吖因(quinacrine)预处理人参悬浮细胞30 min 后,Cle诱导的H2O2释放与Cle激活的质膜NAD(P)H氧化酶活性被抑制,同时Cle诱导的PAL活性及CHS的积累下降,皂苷合成与hrgp的表达被抑制。由此推测:人参细胞质膜NAD(P)H氧化酶与哺乳动物白细胞质膜NADPH氧化酶有很大的相似性。在Cle激发人参悬浮细胞产生氧进发的过程中,NAD(P)H氧化酶活性被诱导从而导致H2O2的产生,H2O2作为第二信使,激活苯丙氨酸途径,诱发人参皂苷的合成及hrgp防御基因的表达。这一过程中还涉及到Ca2+内流,胞内Ca2+浓度的升高,蛋白磷酸化与去磷酸化。人参细胞质膜NAD(P)H氧化酶在人参细胞对Cle的反应过程中起一种介导作用。因此可能存在由Cle刺激,NAD(P)H氧化酶被诱导,H2O2释放,到人     

Genetic tailoring of N-linked oligosaccharides: the role of glucose residues in glycoprotein processing of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in vivo

In higher eukaryotes a quality control system monitoring the folding state of glycoproteins is located in the ER and is composed of the proteins calnexin, calreticulin, glucosidase II, and UDP-glucose: glycoprotein glucosyltransferase. It is believed that the innermost glucose residue of the N- linked oligosaccharide of a glycoprotein serves as a tag in this control system and therefore performs an important function in the protein folding pathway. To address this function, we constructed Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains which contain nonglucosylated (G0), monoglucosylated (G1), or diglucosylated (G2) glycoproteins in the ER and used these strains to study the role of glucose residues in the ER processing of glycoproteins. These alterations of the oligosaccharide structure did not result in a growth phenotype, but the induction of the unfolded protein response upon treatment with DTT was much higher in G0 and G2 strains as compared to wild-type and G1 strains. Our results provide in vivo evidence that the G1 oligosaccharide is an active oligosaccharide structure in the ER glycoprotein processing pathway of S.cerevisiae. Furthermore, by analyzing N- linked oligosaccharides of the constructed strains we can directly show that no general glycoprotein glucosyltransferase exists in S. cerevisiae.      

人肺腺癌细胞分化相关基因cDNAs的克隆

在用10^-5 mol/L全反式维甲酸(RA)诱导人肺腺癌细胞系GLC-82分化的基础上,以M13噬菌粒pSPORT1为载体,应用定向克隆技术,分别构建了未经RA诱导和RA诱导1d及4d细胞的3个cDNA文库.以含重组子的诱导文库单链DNA为靶标(Target)同未诱导文库的cDNA驱除子(Driver)进行消减杂交,富集RA特异性单链DNA,将富集的单链DNA回复为双链后转化感受态菌,建立细胞诱导分化过程中活化表达基因的cDNA消减文库,得到124个cDNA消减克隆.经同源性分析和与文库总cDNA作Southern印迹杂交,进而与RA诱导前后细胞的RNA作Northern印迹杂交,筛选出2个(RA5,RA28)诱导后呈早期瞬时表达和1个(RA42)呈早期并持续表达的cDNA克隆,cDNA全长分别为1.8,1.5和0.7kb.序列测定及初步功能分析结果表明,RA5,RA28和RA42这3个首次报道的序列,可能是人肺腺癌细胞分化相关基因的cDNA克隆.     

Tyrosine phosphorylation of Munc18‐1 inhibits synaptic transmission by preventing SNARE assembly

Tyrosine kinases are important regulators of synaptic strength. Here, we describe a key component of the synaptic vesicle release machinery, Munc18‐1, as a phosphorylation target for neuronal Src family kinases (SFKs). Phosphomimetic Y473D mutation of a SFK phosphorylation site previously identified by brain phospho‐proteomics abolished the stimulatory effect of Munc18‐1 on SNARE complex formation (“SNARE‐templating”) and membrane fusion in vitro. Furthermore, priming but not docking of synaptic vesicles was disrupted in hippocampal munc18‐1‐null neurons expressing Munc18‐1_Y473D. Synaptic transmission was temporarily restored by high‐frequency stimulation, as well as by a Munc18‐1 mutation that results in helix 12 extension, a critical conformational step in vesicle priming. On the other hand, expression of non‐phosphorylatable Munc18‐1 supported normal synaptic transmission. We propose that SFK‐dependent Munc18‐1 phosphorylation may constitute a potent, previously unknown mechanism to shut down synaptic transmission, via direct occlusion of a Synaptobrevin/VAMP2 binding groove and subsequent hindrance of conformational changes in domain 3a responsible for vesicle priming. This would strongly interfere with the essential post‐docking SNARE‐templating role of Munc18‐1, resulting in a largely abolished pool of releasable synaptic vesicles.     

Toxic,invasive treefrog creates evolutionary trap for native gartersnakes

Possession of unique defensive toxins by nonindigenous species may increase the likelihood of creating evolutionary traps for native predators. We tested the hypothesis that nonindigenous, toxic Cuban Treefrogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis) have created an evolutionary trap for native, generalist snakes. Additionally, we explored the possibility that populations of snakes that co-occur with Cuban Treefrogs have responded in ways that allow them to escape potential trap dynamics. To evaluate a potential fitness cost of consuming Cuban Treefrogs, we monitored growth of 61 wild-caught Common Gartersnakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) fed exclusive diets of either Cuban Treefrogs, native Green Treefrogs (Hyla cinerea), or native Golden Shiners (Notemigonus crysoleucas). Snakes in the Cuban Treefrog diet treatment gained less than half the mass of those consuming native prey, and Cuban Treefrogs were significantly less digestible than native prey. There was no difference in the response of gartersnakes to prey scent cues of Cuban Treefrogs and Green Treefrogs. Our results indicate that Cuban Treefrogs likely represent an evolutionary trap for snakes because consumption of these frogs carries fitness costs, yet snakes fail to recognize this prey as being costly. We found no difference in growth or response to prey cues between snakes from invaded and non-invaded regions, suggesting snakes have not responded to escape trap dynamics. Interactions of native snakes and Cuban Treefrogs support the idea that introduced species with novel toxins may increase the likelihood of evolutionary trap formation.     

铁皮石斛的离体开花

铁皮石斛(Dendrobium candidum),为一种野生兰科植物,在栽培条件下,从种子萌发到开花通常需要3～4a.研究了多种植物激素和多胺对该种石斛组织培养中花芽形成的影响,结果表明在培养基中加入合适浓度的亚精胺(spermidine)或BA(6-苄基腺嘌呤),或同时加入NAA(萘乙酸)和BA均可诱导原球茎或由之形成的无根小苗在3～6个月开花,频率在31.6%～45.8%.当将原球茎在加有ABA(脱落酸)的培养基上预培养后再移到加有BA的培养基上,花芽形成的频率可提高到平均达82.8%(个别实验中可达100%),这种诱导提早开花的现象也与实验材料的发育阶段(原球茎、无根小苗、已生根的小苗)有关,通常发生在根的形成受到完全或部分抑制的情况中.     

ConA激活小鼠胸腺T淋巴细胞增殖过程中c-myc与核骨架蛋白的结合

采用DNA-蛋白质体外吸附的方法研究伴刀豆球蛋白激活小鼠胸腺T淋巴细胞增殖过程中c-myc与核骨架蛋白的结合.实验结果显示,c-myc与核骨架蛋白的结合具有特异性,在淋巴细胞激活过程中c-myc与P₃₄/P₃₆核骨架蛋白及核纤层蛋白结合,并发生动态变化.