鼎湖山生物圈保护区层间植物物种多样性的研究

本文研究了鼎湖山生物圈保护区的层间植物（含藤本植物和附生、寄生维管植物）的特点及其在8个自然植被类型的分布格局。结果表明,低海拔的河岸林和沟谷雨林中的层间植物不仅物种数和个体数多,而且多样性指数高。反映了层间植物与环境湿度呈正相关。季风常绿阔叶林中的藤本植物的种类和个体数最少,而且多样性指数最低,这与其郁闭度较大导致林下光照强度弱有关。就演替系列而言,附生植物物种多样性的顺序为：季风常绿阔叶林＞针阔混交林＞针叶林＞稀树灌丛。但藤本植物多样性指数的顺序排列为：稀树灌丛＞针叶林＞针阔混交林＞季风常绿阔叶林。在没有人类干扰的条件下,随着群落演替的进行,藤本植物的物种多样性逐渐减少。因此在某些地区,可以将藤本植物物种多样性的高低作为衡量森林演替阶段的一个指标。     

Genetic diversity and population history of the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) as inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequence variations

The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is one of the flagship species in worldwide conservation and is of special interest in evolutionary studies due to its taxonomic uniqueness. We sequenced a 236-bp fragment of the mitochondrial D-loop region in a sample of 53 red pandas from two populations in southwestern China. Seventeen polymorphic sites were found, together with a total of 25 haplotypes, indicating a high level of genetic diversity in the red panda. However, no obvious genetic divergence was detected between the Sichuan and Yunnan populations. The consensus phylogenetic tree of the 25 haplotypes was starlike. The pairwise mismatch distribution fitted into a pattern of populations undergoing expansion. Furthermore, Fu's F(S) test of neutrality was significant for the total population (F(S) = -7.573), which also suggests a recent population expansion. Interestingly, the effective population size in the Sichuan population was both larger and more stable than that in the Yunnan population, implying a southward expansion from Sichuan to Yunnan.     

Molecular taxonomic identification in the absence of a ‘barcoding gap’: a test with the endemic flora of the Canarian oceanic hotspot

We use a comprehensive subset of Canarian angiosperms corresponding to 23 families, 35 genera and 60 Canarian endemic taxa to test whether this flora is suitable to taxonomic identification with the two proposed plant DNA barcode sequences and whether these sequences may reveal the existence of cryptic species overlooked by morphology. The rate of discrimination success between the insular congeneric samples using the rbcL+matK combination and a ‘character‐based’ approach (where we use only the combination of nucleotide positions in an alignment that allows unambiguous species identification) is higher (82.29%) than that obtained with the ‘distance‐based’ approach (80.20%) used by the CBOL Plant Working Group in 2009 and also when compared with tests conducted in other floras. This suggests that the molecular identification of the Canarian endemic flora can be achieved as successfully as in other floras where the incidence of radiation is not as relevant. The facts that (i) a distance‐based criterion was unable to discriminate between congeneric and conspecific comparisons and (ii) only the character‐based discrimination criterion resolved cases that the distance‐based criterion did not, further support the use of a character discrimination approach for a more efficient DNA barcoding of floras from oceanic islands like the Canaries. Thus, a barcoding gap seems not to be necessary for the correct molecular characterization of the Canarian flora. DNA barcodes also suggest the possible existence of cryptic taxa to be further investigated by morphology and that the current taxonomic status of some of the taxa analysed may need revision.     

Epidemiology,Evolution, and Recent Outbreaks of Avian Influenza Virus in China

Novel reassortants of H7N9, H10N8, and H5N6 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are currently circulating in China''s poultry flocks, occasionally infecting humans and other mammals. Combined with the sometimes enzootic H5N1 and H9N2 strains, this cauldron of genetically diverse AIVs pose significant risks to public health. Here, we review the epidemiology, evolution, and recent outbreaks of AIVs in China, discuss reasons behind the recent increase in the emergence of novel AIVs, and identify warning signs which may point to the emergence of a potentially virulent and highly transmissible AIV to humans. This review will be useful to authorities who consider options for the detection and control of AIV transmission in animals and humans, with the goal of preventing future epidemics and pandemics.     

Generation of Multicellular Tumor Spheroids with Microwell-Based Agarose Scaffolds for Drug Testing

Three dimensional multicellular aggregate, also referred to as cell spheroid or microtissue, is an indispensable tool for in vitro evaluating antitumor activity and drug efficacy. Compared with classical cellular monolayer, multicellular tumor spheroid (MCTS) offers a more rational platform to predict in vivo drug efficacy and toxicity. Nevertheless, traditional processing methods such as plastic dish culture with nonadhesive surfaces are regularly time-consuming, laborious and difficult to provide uniform-sized spheroids, thus causing poor reproducibility of experimental data and impeding high-throughput drug screening. In order to provide a robust and effective platform for in vitro drug evaluation, we present an agarose scaffold prepared with the template containing uniform-sized micro-wells in commercially available cell culture plates. The agarose scaffold allows for good adjustment of MCTS size and large-scale production of MCTS. Transparent agarose scaffold also allows for monitoring of spheroid formation under an optical microscopy. The formation of MCTS from MCF-7 cells was prepared using different-size-well templates and systematically investigated in terms of spheroid growth curve, circularity, and cell viability. The doxorubicin cytotoxicity against MCF-7 spheroid and MCF-7 monolayer cells was compared. The drug penetration behavior, cell cycle distribution, cell apoptosis, and gene expression were also evaluated in MCF-7 spheroid. The findings of this study indicate that, compared with cellular monolayer, MCTS provides a valuable platform for the assessment of therapeutic candidates in an in vivo-mimic microenvironment, and thus has great potential for use in drug discovery and tumor biology research.     

Propofol prevents lung injury after intestinal ischemia–reperfusion by inhibiting the interaction between mast cell activation and oxidative stress

Aims

Both mast cells and oxidative stress are involved in acute lung injury (ALI) induced by intestinal ischemia–reperfusion (IIR). The aim of this study was to investigate whether propofol could improve IIR-induced ALI through inhibiting their interaction.

Main methods

Repetitive, brief IIR or IIR + compound 48/80 was performed in adult Sprague–Dawley rats pretreated with saline, apocynin or propofol. And their lungs were excised for histology, ELISA and protein-expression measurements 2 h after reperfusion.

Key findings

Rats pretreated with saline developed critical ALI 2 h after IIR. We found significant elevations in lung injury scores, lung wet/dry ratio and gp91phox, p47phox, intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 protein expressions and higher level of malondialdehyde, interleukin-6 contents, and myeloperoxidase activities, as well as significant reductions in superoxide dismutase activities, accompanied with increases in mast cell degranulation evidenced by significant increases in mast cell counts, β-hexosaminidase concentrations, and tryptase expression. And the lung injury was aggravated in the presence of compound 48/80. However, pretreated with propofol and apocynin not only ameliorated the IIR-mediated pulmonary changes beyond the biochemical changes but also reversed the changes that were aggravated by compound 48/80.

Significance

Propofol protects against IIR-mediated ALI, most likely by inhibiting the interaction between oxidative stress and mast cell degranulation.     

Tolerance of soil algae and cyanobacteria to drought stress

Tolerance to drought stress in soil crust microorganisms is essential for exploiting suitable organisms for restoring soil. In this study, the responses to drought stress of two drought‐tolerant species, a green alga and a cyanobacterium, were compared with those of two non‐tolerant green algae. In response to drought stress, induced by treatment with polyethylene glycol, the intracellular proline levels increased and were associated with increases in malondialdehye, pigment contents, and enzyme activities such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD). Our results suggest that tolerance to drought stress could be indicated by the intracellular levels of proline, SOD, and carotenoids. This study provides insights into the drought physiology of the photosynthetic microorganisms and suggests that Leptolyngbya boryana and Chlorella vulgaris are suitable pioneer organisms for soil restoration.