Centennial clonal stability of asexual Daphnia in Greenland lakes despite climate variability

Climate and environmental condition drive biodiversity at many levels of biological organization, from populations to ecosystems. Combined with paleoecological reconstructions, palaeogenetic information on resident populations provides novel insights into evolutionary trajectories and genetic diversity driven by environmental variability. While temporal observations of changing genetic structure are often made of sexual populations, little is known about how environmental change affects the long‐term fate of asexual lineages. Here, we provide information on obligately asexual, triploid Daphnia populations from three Arctic lakes in West Greenland through the past 200–300 years to test the impact of environmental change on the temporal and spatial population genetic structure. The contrasting ecological state of the lakes, specifically regarding salinity and habitat structure may explain the observed lake‐specific clonal composition over time. Palaeolimnological reconstructions show considerable regional environmental fluctuations since 1,700 (the end of the Little Ice Age), but the population genetic structure in two lakes was almost unchanged with at most two clones per time period. Their local populations were strongly dominated by a single clone that has persisted for 250–300 years. We discuss possible explanations for the apparent population genetic stability: (a) persistent clones are general‐purpose genotypes that thrive under broad environmental conditions, (b) clonal lineages evolved subtle genotypic differences unresolved by microsatellite markers, or (c) epigenetic modifications allow for clonal adaptation to changing environmental conditions. Our results motivate research into the mechanisms of adaptation in these populations, as well as their evolutionary fate in the light of accelerating climate change in the polar regions.     

肾阴虚证的现代研究进展

肾阴虚证是中医学的基本证型之一。对中医证的研究,基本方法是运用现代科技手段,通过动物实验与临床研究,探讨疾病发生后“证”与人体生理变化、病理、生化等客观指标的关系,尝试揭示证的实质。几十年来,不少学者从细胞、分子等水平上对肾阴虚证本质做了深入地研究,并已取得了一定的成果,某些方面已形成了共识。这不仅丰富和发展了传统的中医’肾阴虚理论,而且为肾阴虚证的临床诊断、治疗、预后判断提供了更客观的、更全面的指导作用．．本文从神经内分泌、免疫、微量元素、脂代谢、自由基、细胞因子与介质、基因等方面对肾阴虚证病理生理的客观化研究进展进行了详细地阐述．     

磁生物学效应的研究进展

磁场作用于生物体后产生一系列的生物学效应,这种观点已被多年来的许多实验所证实。早在1896年,磁场对神经系统作用的研究就已被报道。后来,磁场抗炎,促进骨生成,促进血管神经再生等作用相继被发现。近几十年来,关于磁场对生物体的作用,从流行病学调查到实验室研究也都有了一定进展。如今,磁场的生物学效应研究已成为物理医学研究的热点。本文就近年来磁场生物学效应研究的热点与进展作一简要综述。     

Measurement of hemolytic complement and the third component of complement in nonhuman primates.

Complement, determined by hemolytic assay, and the third component of complement (C3), determined by radial immunodiffusion assay, were measured in nine nonhuman primate species. The species studied were the titi (Callicebus mollach). The sooty mangabey (Cercocebus atys), the thick-tailed galago or bushbaby (Galago crassicaudatus panganiensis), the crab-eating monkey (Macaca fascicularis), the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta), the bonnet monkey (Macaca radiata), the stumptailed macaque (Macaca speciosa), the yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus), and the black-and-red tamarin (Saguinus nigricollis). Both sheep and bovine erythrocytes were used in the hemolytic complement assays. With the sheep erythrocyte system, sera from four species (yellow baboon, sooty mangabey, bonnet monkey, black-and-red tamarin) had similar titers with both antibody sensitized and non-sensitized erythrocytes. In contrast, the titers obtained using sensitized bovine erythrocytes was always higher than the values obtained using non-sensitized bovine erythrocytes. In all species, the titers for non-sensitized sheep erythrocytes was higher than the titer for non-sensitized bovine erythrocytes. When the species were compared for cross reactivity using the radial immunodiffusion assay for human C3, the rhesus monkey showed the strongest cross reaction; the thick-tailed galago, a prosimian, showed no detectable cross reactivity; and the other species examined showed intermediate degrees of reactivity.     

Nrf2 regulates an adaptive response protecting against oxidative damage following diquat-mediated formation of superoxide anion

Mouse embryonic fibroblasts derived from Nrf2-/- mice (N0) and Nrf2+/+ mice (WT) have been used to characterize both basal and diquat (DQ)-induced oxidative stress levels and to examine Nrf2 activation during exposure to DQ-generated superoxide anion. Microarray analysis revealed that N0 cells have similar constitutive mRNA expression of genes responsible for the direct metabolism of reactive oxygen species but decreased expression of genes responsible for the production of reducing equivalents, repair of oxidized proteins and defense against lipid peroxidation, compared to WT cells. Nonetheless, the basal levels of ROS flux and oxidative damage biomarkers in WT and N0 cells were not different. Diquat dibromide (DQ), a non-electrophilic redox cycling bipyridylium herbicide, was used to generate intracellular superoxide anion. Isolated mitochondria from both cell lines exposed to DQ produced equivalent amounts of ROS, indicating a similar cellular capacity to generate ROS. However, N0 cells exposed to DQ for 24-h exhibited markedly decreased cell viability and aconitase activity as well as increased lipid peroxidation and glutathione oxidation, relative to WT cells. 2',7'-Dichlorofluorescein fluorescence was not increased in WT and N0 cells after 30-min of DQ exposure. However, increased levels of ROS were detected in N0 cells but not WT cells after 13-h of DQ treatment. Additionally, total glutathione concentrations increased in WT, but not N0 cells following a 24-h exposure to DQ. DQ exposure resulted in activation of an antioxidant response element-luciferase reporter gene, as well as induction of Nrf2-regulated genes in WT, but not N0 cells. Thus the enhanced sensitivity of N0 cells does not reflect basal differences in antioxidative capacity, but rather an impaired ability to mount an adaptive response to sustained oxidative stress.     

Increased Capacity for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Mineralization in Bioirrigated Coastal Marine Sediments

Bioirrigation of marine sediments by benthic infauna has the potential to increase both the rate and depth of bacterial mineralization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by recirculating oxygenated bottom water into sediment burrows. Rates of heterotrophic bacterial production and mineralization of PAHs (naphthalene, phenanthrene, and fluoranthene) were measured in sections of sediment cores sampled from stations in San Diego Bay. Data suggest that rates of PAH biodegradation and bacterial heterotrophy were influenced by bioirrigation by benthic infauna. PAH mineralization and heterotrophic production were higher in core sections where sulfide was not detected relative to core sections containing sulfide. Depth-integrated capacity of the upper 17 cm of sediment to mineralize PAHs was 4 to 10 times higher at the station with bioirrigation coefficients that increased with depth. Remedial dredging of sediments to remove contaminant mass (and presumable lower ecological risk) will also remove benthic infauna. Removal of infauna and the subsequent lowering of bioirrigation in surface sediments would be expected to lower the capacity of intrinsic PAH bioremediation. This could cause local increases in ambient PAH concentration and consequently increase the ecological risk at the site and potentially degrade the health of the ecosystem by removing a sink for PAHs.     

血虚证的现代研究概述

很多学者从血虚证的发病原因、病理、动物模型制作及传统方药等方面在整体、细胞、分子等水平上对血虚证作了深入地研究,在血虚病理变化、动物模型制作及四物汤、当归补血汤等相关方药研究上取得了一定的共识。血虚时,机体造血功能抑制,免疫功能降低,红细胞膜的酶如Na~ 、K~ -ATP酶活性降低,水盐代谢紊乱及细胞内一些信使物质含量异常等。通过放血、化学损伤、放射线损伤等造成血虚证的动物实验研究,人们进一步发现了传统方药对血虚证的治疗作用机制。这些经典方药都能增强机体免疫,促进造血干祖细胞的增殖分化,促进血细胞的生成从而发挥补血作用。这些研究大大丰富和发展了传统的中医血虚理论,为疾病的预防、诊断、治疗、预后判断提供了更客观、更全面的指导。