Origin and differentiation of endemism in the flora of China

The present paper analyzed 239 endemic genera in 67 families in the flora of seed plants in China.The results showed that there are five families containing more than ten endemic genera,namely,Gesneriaceae (27),which hereafter refers to the number of endemic genera in China,Composite (20),Labiatae (12),Cruciferae (11),and Umbelliferae (10),15 families with two endemic genera,and another 30 families with only one endemic genus.Four monotypic families (Ginkgoaceae,Davidiaceae,Eucommiaceae and Acanthochlamydaceae)are the most ancient,relict and characteristic in the flora of seed plants in China.Based on integrative data of systematics,fossil history,and morphological and molecular evidence of these genera,their origin,evolution and relationships were discussed.In gymnosperms,all endemic genera are relicts of the Arctic-Tertiary flora,having earlier evolutionary history,and can be traced back to the Cretaceous or to the Jurassic and even earlier.In angiosperms,the endemic genera are mostly relicts,and are represented in all lineages in the"Eight-Class System ofClassification of Angiosperms",and endemism can be found in almost every evolutionary stage of extant angiosperms.The relict genera once occupied huge areas in the northern hemisphere in the Tertiary or the late Cretaceous,while neo-endemism mostly originated in the late Tertiary.They came from Arctic-Tertiary,Paleo-tropical-Tertiary and Tethys-Tertiary florisitic elements,and the blend of the three elements with many genera of autochthonous origin.The endemism was formed when some dispersal routes such as the North Atlantic Land Bridge,and the Bering Bridge became discontinuous during the Tertiary,as well as the climate change and glaciations in the late Tertiary and the Quaternary.Therefore,the late Tertiary is the starting point of extant endemism of the flora in China.     

Hyposensitive canopy conductance renders ecosystems vulnerable to meteorological droughts

Increased meteorological drought intensity with rising atmospheric demand for water (hereafter vapor pressure deficit [VPD]) increases the risk of tree mortality and ecosystem dysfunction worldwide. Ecosystem-scale water-use strategy is increasingly recognized as a key factor in regulating drought-related ecosystem responses. However, the link between water-use strategy and ecosystem vulnerability to meteorological droughts is poorly established. Using the global flux observations, historic hydroclimatic data, remote-sensing products, and plant functional-trait archive, we identified potentially vulnerable ecosystems, examining how ecosystem water-use strategy, quantified by the percentage bias (δ) of the empirical canopy conductance sensitivity to VPD relative to the theoretical value, mediated ecosystem responses to droughts. We found that prevailing soil water availability substantially impacted δ in dryland regions where ecosystems with insufficient soil moisture usually showed conservative water-use strategy, while ecosystems in humid regions exhibited more pronounced climatic adaptability. Hyposensitive and hypersensitive ecosystems, classified based on δ falling below or above the theoretical sensitivity, respectively, achieved similar net ecosystem productivity during droughts, employing different structural and functional strategies. However, hyposensitive ecosystems, risking their hydraulic system with a permissive water-use strategy, were unable to recover from droughts as quickly as hypersensitive ones. Our findings highlight that processed-based models predicting current functions and future performance of vegetation should account for the greater vulnerability of hyposensitive ecosystems to intensifying atmospheric and soil droughts.     

一株肠膜明串珠菌的分离鉴定及其抑菌特性

[背景] 水产病原细菌严重威胁水产动物健康且制约水产养殖业发展,细菌性鱼病的有效防治成为水产养殖领域亟待解决的问题。[目的] 筛选对水产病原细菌有抑制效果的菌株,并研究其抑菌特性及其在水产细菌病害防治中的实际效果。[方法] 通过16S rRNA基因测序、构建系统发育树和生理生化鉴定确定筛选菌株的进化地位,通过乙酸乙酯萃取获得抑菌物质粗提物,通过偶氮酪蛋白法检测菌株胞外蛋白酶活力,采用结晶紫染色法对菌株的生物膜形成能力进行测定,通过浸浴攻毒模型确定所筛菌株对维氏气单胞菌的防治作用。[结果] 从泡菜发酵物中筛选出一株乳酸菌DH,经16S rRNA基因测序、发育树分析和生理生化鉴定确定其为肠膜明串珠菌,该菌分泌的胞外抑菌物质对鼠伤寒沙门氏菌、大肠埃希氏菌、铜绿假单胞菌、杀鲑气单胞菌、希瓦氏菌和维氏气单胞菌表现出抑菌效果,其抑菌物质能被乙酸乙酯萃取并且具有热稳定性。菌株DH能够显著抑制待测菌株的蛋白酶产量和生物膜形成能力,并且对维氏气单胞菌浸浴攻毒有防治作用。[结论] 肠膜明串珠菌DH通过分泌抑菌物质抑制水产病原细菌的生长,能够为细菌性鱼病的防治提供一定的理论和应用潜力。     

Scavenging effect of benzophenones on the oxidative stress of skeletal muscle cells.

Benzophenone is an ultraviolet (UV)-absorbing agent that has been used in industry and medicine for more than 30 years. Consumers of cosmetics and sunscreens containing UV-absorbers are exposed to benzophenones on a daily basis, owing to the widespread use of these compounds. However, the efficacy of these compounds as scavengers of oxidative stress is still not well established. In the present study, we investigate the antioxidative capacity of six sunscreen benzophenone compounds. A primary myoblast culture was mixed in vitro with 100 microM menadione. The cytotoxic effect by menadione-induced oxidative stress was monitored by the lucigenin- or luminol-amplified chemiluminescence, methylthiotetrazole (MTT) assay, and the antioxidative effects of various benzophenone compounds were evaluated. The results showed that the addition of menadione can induce oxidative stress on myoblasts by superoxide and hydrogen peroxide production, which can be eradicated by superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, respectively, in a dose-dependent mode. The catalase has a protective effect on the cytotoxicity induced by menadione as measured by the MTT assay, while the SOD does not. The selected benzophenones also have a significant scavenging effect on the menadione-induced cell death on the myoblasts. The ortho-dihydroxyl structure and other hydroxy groups in the same ring have a stronger scavenging effect on the superoxide anion on myoblasts; thus, a stable penoxy radical may be formed. The mechanism of this effect remains to be clarified.     

肠道菌群核酸提取自动化流程的优化

目的:优化肠道菌群核酸提取自动化流程。方法:收集粪便样本,分别采用手工方法、核酸提取工作站提取核酸,然后利用液体工作站制备PCR反应液进行PCR扩增,最后采用文库工作站建库测序。结果:400μl样品用QIAamp~ Fast DNA Stool Mini Kit试剂盒裂解液裂解后,用MagMAX~(TM) Express 96机器提取核酸的方法与用QIAamp~ Fast DNA Stool Mini Kit试剂盒手工提取核酸的方法相比,测序得到的序列数基本一致,分析结果也没有明显区别;而单独采用MagMAX~(TM)Viral RNA Isolation Kit试剂盒提取核酸由于样品投入体积受限(50μl)、核酸浓度低、测序得到的序列数太少,不能满足后续的分析要求。结论:通过结合使用两种不同的试剂盒,可以实现核酸提取、PCR反应液配制及文库制备的全流程自动化操作,从而大大提高工作效率和结果的稳定性。     

Enhanced uptake of soil Pb and Zn by Indian mustard and winter wheat following combined soil application of elemental sulphur and EDTA

Enhancement of Pb and Zn uptake by Indian mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.) and winter wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) grown for 50 days in pots of contaminated soil was studied with application of elemental sulphur (S) and EDTA. Sulphur was added to the soil at 5 rates (0–160 mmol kg^?1) before planting, and EDTA was added in solution at 4 rates (0–8 mmol kg^?1) after 40 days of plant growth. Additional pots were established with the same rates of S and EDTA but without plants to monitor soil pH and CaCl₂-extractable heavy metals. The highest application rate of S acidified the soil from pH 7.1 to 6.0. Soil extractable Pb and Zn and shoot uptake of Pb and Zn increased as soil pH decreased. Both S and EDTA increased soil extractable Pb and Zn and shoot Pb and Zn uptake. EDTA was more effective than S in increasing soil extractable Pb and Zn, and the two amendments combined had a synergistic effect, raising extractable Pb to ¿1000 and Zn to ¿6 times their concentrations in unamended control soil. Wheat had higher shoot yields than Indian mustard and increasing application rates of both S and EDTA reduced the shoot dry matter yields of both plant species to as low as about half those of unamended controls. However, Indian mustard hyperaccumulated Pb in all EDTA treatments tested except the treatment with no S applied, and the maximum shoot Pb concentration was 7100 mg kg^?1 under the highest application rates of S and EDTA combined. Wheat showed similar trends, but hyperaccumulation (1095 mg kg^?1) occurred only at the highest rates of S and EDTA combined. Similar trends in shoot Zn were found, but with lower concentrations than Pb and far below hyperaccumulation, with maxima of 777 and 480 mg kg^?1 in Indian mustard and wheat. Despite their lower yields, Indian mustard shoots extracted more Pb and Zn from the soil (up to 4.1 and 0.45 mg pot^?1) than did winter wheat (up to 0.72 and 0.28 mg pot^?1), indicating that the effects of S and EDTA on shoot metal concentration were more important than yield effects in determining rates of metal removal over the growth period of 50 days. Phytoextraction of Pb from this highly contaminated soil would require the growth of Indian mustard for nearly 100 years and is therefore impractical.     

宁夏同心中新世铲齿象化石

本文记述了宁夏同心地区中中新世哺乳动物群中铲齿象化石——同心铲齿象 (Platybelodon tongxinensis) (原定为同心嵌齿象 (Gomphotherium tongxinensis). 通过与国内外已现的有关铲齿象对比,确认其与国内已发现的葛氏种关系最近,可能属同一枝系.同心种与葛氏种相比,是性质相对原始分布层位较低的我国第二个铲齿象种.文章初步讨论了其 M_3 的某些变异性状.并结合现有的其它标本初步阐述了铲齿象类下门齿的两种结构类型,原始型的同心层状结构和衍生型的齿质柱状结构.建议根据这两种结构仍将铲齿象类划分为 Platybelodontinae 和 Amebelodontinae.     

Use of Tregs as a cell‐based therapy via CD39 for benign prostate hyperplasia with inflammation

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) occurs most commonly among older men, often accompanied by chronic tissue inflammation. Although its aetiology remains unclear, autoimmune dysregulation may contribute to BPH. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) prevent autoimmune responses and maintain immune homeostasis. In this study, we aimed to investigate Tregs frequency, phenotype, and function in BPH patients and to evaluate adoptive transfer Tregs for immunotherapy in mice with BPH via CD39. Prostate specimens and peripheral blood from BPH patients were used to investigate Treg subsets, phenotype and Treg‐associated cytokine production. Sorted CD39^+/? Tregs from healthy mice were adoptively transferred into mice before or after testosterone propionate administration. The Tregs percentage in peripheral blood from BPH patients was attenuated, exhibiting low Foxp3 and CD39 expression with low levels of serum IL‐10, IL‐35 and TGF‐β. Immunohistochemistry revealed Foxp3+ cells were significantly diminished in BPH prostate with severe inflammatory. Although the Tregs subset was comprised of more effector/memory Tregs, CD39 was still down‐regulated on effector/memory Tregs in BPH patients. Before or after testosterone propionate administration, no alterations of BPH symptoms were observed due to CD39‐ Tregs in mice, however, CD39⁺Tregs existed more potency than Tregs to regulate prostatic hyperplasia and inhibit inflammation by decreasing IL‐1β and PSA secretion, and increasing IL‐10 and TGF‐β secretion. Furthermore, adoptive transfer with functional Tregs not only improved prostate hyperplasia but also regulated muscle cell proliferation in bladder. Adoptive transfer with Tregs may provide a novel method for the prevention and treatment of BPH clinically.     

Genome sequence of the facultative anaerobic arsenite-oxidizing and nitrate-reducing bacterium Acidovorax sp. strain NO1

Acidovorax sp. strain NO1, isolated from gold mine soil, was shown to be a facultative anaerobic arsenite-oxidizing and nitrate-reducing bacterium. The reported draft genome predicts the presence of genes involved in arsenic metabolism, nitrate reduction, phosphate transport, and multiple metal resistances and indicates putative horizontal gene transfer events.