塔额盆地草原蝗虫空间生态位研究

本文分析塔额盆地草原蝗虫的生态位,旨在为当地的蝗灾监控、治理及生态平衡保护提供理论依据。本研究对塔额盆地冲积平原、山前洪积倾斜平原、山地3种地形的草原蝗虫的空间生态位进行分析,统计得出了蝗虫优势度、群落组成差异、Levins生态位宽度和Shannon生态位宽度、Pianka生态位重叠等相关参数。结果表明：3种地形共采集蝗虫6科19种1 023头,不同地形优势种、常见种及稀有种均存在差异。山地与山前洪积倾斜平原、冲积平原的蝗虫群落组成差异较大。黑条小车蝗Oedaleus decorus decorus、蓝胫戟纹蝗Dociostaurus tartarus、意大利蝗Calliptamus italicus、红胫戟纹蝗Dociostaurus kraussi kraussi、伪星翅蝗Calliptamus coelesyriensis的生态位较宽且与其他蝗虫存在生态位重叠。塔额盆地草原蝗虫发生种类较多,绝大部分优势种蝗虫对空间资源的利用能力较强、竞争较激烈,对优势危害种加大监测力度,而针对山前洪积倾斜平原中的稀有种类,应加以保护以确保生物多样性。     

Flotillin‐1 is a prognostic biomarker for glioblastoma and promotes cancer development through enhancing invasion and altering tumour microenvironment

Flotillin‐1(FLOT1) has long been recognized as a tumour‐promoting gene in several types of cancer. However, the expression and function of FLOT1 in glioblastomas (GBM) has not been elucidated. Here, in this study, we find that the expression level of FLOT1 in GBM tissue was much higher than that in normal brain, and the expression was even higher in the more aggressive subtypes and IDH status of glioma. Kaplan–Meier survival revealed that high FLOT1 expression is closely associated with poor outcome in GBM patients. FLOT1 knockdown markedly reduced the proliferation, migration and invasiveness of GBM cells, while FLOT1 overexpression significantly increases GBM cell proliferation, migration and invasiveness. Mechanistically, FLOT1 expression may play a potential role in the microenvironment of GBM. Therefore, FLOT1 promotes GBM proliferation and invasion in vitro and in vivo and may serve as a biomarker of prognosis and therapeutic potential in the fight against GBM.     

盐生荒漠地表水热与二氧化碳通量的季节变化及驱动因素

以古尔班通古特沙漠南缘原始盐生荒漠为对象,利用涡度相关法,对原始盐生荒漠地表水热、二氧化碳通量进行了连续观测,对通量的季节变化、浅层土壤水分条件改变对盐生荒漠植物群落水汽、二氧化碳通量以及水分利用效率的影响进行了系统的分析.结果表明:净辐射通量、潜热通量和二氧化碳通量都具有明显的季节变化趋势,而显热通量的季节变化不明显.在有效能量的分配上,显热通量是有效能量的主要输出项.在降水影响期和非影响期,二氧化碳通量没有明显的变化;而在非降水影响期潜热通量明显降低,表明土壤水分处于亏缺状态,但二氧化碳通量并没有降低的趋势,而与前期保持高度的一致性.以此可以推断,该荒漠盐生植物群落并不以降水为主要水分来源,降水后水汽通量和二氧化碳通量变化的不一致性是该原始盐生荒漠独特植物特征决定的.降水影响期原始盐生荒漠植物群落的水分利用效率低于非影响期,是由于降水后土壤蒸发迅速增加,而植物蒸腾与光合并未随之增加造成的.     

辽宁省地表温度时空变化及影响因素

地温是评价气候变化的重要指标,对土壤的成分、结构以及形成和演化都具有很大影响。分析地温自身的时空变化规律以及与气候间的相互关系,对深入了解地气间相互作用的机理、明确气候变化的响应规律、预测未来地温的发展趋势等方面具有重要的科学意义。辽宁省位于内蒙古高原向渤海湾的过渡地带,地形地势复杂,此外辽宁省又处在季节性冻土区,地温的变化机制更具复杂性。利用辽宁省24个气象站点1960—2016年0cm地温(地表温度)数据和各气象要素(气温、日照时数、风速、降水量)数据资料,采用气候倾向率法、Mann-Kendall突变分析、小波周期分析等方法,系统的分析辽宁省地表温度的时空变化特征以及与气候要素间的关系。结果表明:辽宁省地表温度年际变化随时间向暖趋势发展,气候倾向率达0.36℃/10a,不同年代际存在不同的变化趋势,其中20世纪60—80年代低于多年平均地表温度,90年代至21世纪10年代高于多年平均地表温度,此外冬季地表温度增温幅度最大;突变分析显示在1995年发生突变,经检验其升高趋势显著;经周期分析显示辽宁省年地表温度具有30—46a和19—25a的两种时间尺度的周期变化;年地表温度呈西南向东北逐渐降低分布特征。相关分析表明,地表温度与气温的相关性最大,并且其大小在整个区域内呈西高东低的分布特点;在与降水的关系中,降水量高的年份地表温度均比较低,夏季受降水和日照时数的影响最显著,地表温度与风速均呈负相关,但夏季相关性较小,考虑夏季地表温度主要是受气温、日照和降水共同的作用,弱化了风速对地表温度的影响。     

Enhancement of Disease Control Efficacy of Chemical Fungicides Combined with Plant Resistance Inducer 2,3-Butanediol against Turfgrass Fungal Diseases

Turfgrass, the most widely grown ornamental crop, is severely affected by fungal pathogens including Sclerotinia homoeocarpa, Rhizoctonia solani, and Magnaporthe poae. At present, turfgrass fungal disease management predominantly relies on synthetic fungicide treatments. However, the extensive application of fungicides to the soil increases residual detection frequency, raising concerns for the environment and human health. The bacterial volatile compound, 2,3-butanediol (BDO), was found to induce plant resistance. In this study, we evaluated the disease control efficacy of a combination of stereoisomers of 2,3-BDO and commercial fungicides against turfgrass fungal diseases in both growth room and fields. In the growth room experiment, the combination of 0.9% 2R,3R-BDO (levo) soluble liquid (SL) formulation and 9% 2R,3S-BDO (meso) SL with half concentration of fungicides significantly increased the disease control efficacy against dollar spot and summer patch disease when compared to the half concentration of fungicide alone. In field experiments, the disease control efficiency of levo 0.9% and meso 9% SL, in combination with a fungicide, was confirmed against dollar spot and large patch disease. Additionally, the induction of defense-related genes involved in the salicylic acid and jasmonic acid/ethylene signaling pathways and reactive oxygen species detoxification-related genes under Clarireedia sp. infection was confirmed with levo 0.9% and meso 9% SL treatment in creeping bentgrass. Our findings suggest that 2,3-BDO isomer formulations can be combined with chemical fungicides as a new integrated tool to control Clarireedia sp. infection in turfgrass, thereby reducing the use of chemical fungicides.     

Focal adhesion kinase maintains,but not increases the adhesion of dental pulp cells

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) functions as a key enzyme in the integrin-mediated adhesion-signalling pathway. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of FAK on adhesion of human dental pulp (HDP) cells. We transfected lentiviral vectors to silence or overexpress FAK in HDP cells ex vivo. Early cell adhesion, cell survival and focal contacts (FCs)-related proteins (FAK and paxillin) were examined. By using immunofluorescence, the formation of FCs and cytoskeleton was detected, respectively. We found that both adhesion and survival of HDP cells were suppressed by FAK inhibition. However, FAK overexpression slightly inhibited cell adhesion and exhibited no change in cell survival compared with the control. A thick rim of cytoskeleton accumulated and smaller dot-shaped FCs appeared in FAK knockdown cells. Phosphorylation of paxillin (p-paxillin) was inhibited in FAK knockdown cells, verifying that the adhesion was inhibited. Less cytoskeleton and elongated FCs were observed in FAK-overexpressed cells. However, p-paxillin had no significant difference compared with the control. In conclusion, the data suggest that FAK maintains cell adhesion, survival and cytoskeleton formation, but excessive FAK has no positive effects on these aspects.     

Contributions of Speed and Accuracy to Translational Selection in Bacteria

Among bacteria, we have previously shown that species that are capable of rapid growth have stronger selection on codon usage than slow growing species, and possess higher numbers of rRNA and tRNA genes. This suggests that fast-growers are adapted for fast protein synthesis. There is also considerable evidence that codon usage is influenced by accuracy of translation, and some authors have argued that accuracy is more important than speed. Here we compare the strength of the two effects by studying the codon usages in high and low expression genes and on conserved and variable sites within high expression genes. We introduce a simple statistical method that can be used to assess the significance and the strength of the two types of bias in the same sets of sequences. We compare our statistical measure of codon bias to the common used codon adaptation index, and show that the new measure is preferable for three reasons for the purposes of this analysis. Across a large sample of bacterial genomes, both effects from speed and accuracy are clearly visible, although the speed effect appears to be much stronger than the accuracy effect and is found to be significant in a larger proportion of genomes. It is also difficult to explain the correlation of codon bias in the high expression genes with growth rates and numbers of copies of tRNA and rRNA genes on the basis of selection for accuracy. Hence we conclude that selection for translational speed is a dominant effect in driving codon usage bias in fast-growing bacteria, with selection for accuracy playing a small supplementary role.     

Ligand Extraction Properties of the GM2 Activator Protein and Its Interactions with Lipid Vesicles

The GM2 activator protein (GM2AP) is an accessory protein required for the enzymatic conversion of GM2 to GM3 by hydrolases in the lysosomal compartments of cells. Here, GM2AP interactions with lipid vesicles are investigated by sucrose-loaded vesicle sedimentation and gel filtration assays, and the effects of pH and lipid composition on membrane binding and lipid extraction are characterized. The sedimentation experiments allow for facile quantification of the percentage of protein in solution and on the bilayer surface, with detailed analysis of the protein:lipid complex that remains in solution. Optimum binding and ligand extraction is found for pH 4.8 where <15% of the protein remains surface associated regardless of the lipid composition. In addition to extracting GM2, we find that GM2AP readily extracts dansyl-headgroup-labeled lipids as well as other phospholipids from vesicles. The ability of GM2AP to extract dansyl-DHPE from vesicles is altered by pH and the specific ligand GM2. Although the unique endosomal lipid, bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate, is not required for ligand extraction, it does enhance the extraction efficiency of GM2 when cholesterol is present in the vesicles.