DNA barcoding of Gaultheria L.in China (Ericaceae: Vaccinioideae)

Four DNA barcoding loci,chloroplast loci rbcL,matK,trnH-psbA,and nuclear locus internal transcribed spacer (ITS),were tested for the accurate discrimination of the Chinese species of Gaultheria by using intraspecific and interspecific pairwise P-distance,Wilcoxon signed rank test,and tree-based analyses.This study included 186 individuals from 89 populations representing 30 species.For all individuals,single locus markers showed high levels of sequencing universality but were ineffective for species resolvability.Polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing were successful for all four loci.Both ITS and matK showed significantly higher levels of interspecific species delimitation than rbcL and trnH-psbA.A combination ofmatK and ITS was the most efficient DNA barcode among all studied regions,however,they do not represent an appropriate candidate barcode for Chinese Gaultheria,by which only 11 out of 30 species can be separated.Loci rbcL,matK,and trnH-psbA,which were recently proposed as universal plant barcodes,have a very poor capacity for species separation for Chinese Gaultheria.DNA barcodes may be reliable tools to identify the evolutionary units of this group,so further studies are needed to develop more efficient DNA barcodes for Gaultheria and other genera with complicated evolutionary histories.     

丹霞地貌沟谷生态效应

以广东省丹霞山为研究实例,探讨丹霞地貌特殊的沟谷生态效应.结果表明,丹霞地貌的特殊沟谷生态效应体现在以下两个方面:第一是丹霞地貌演变过程中形成了众多石峰隆起和沟谷凹陷,特殊的地貌环境使得沟谷中的生态因子与其它非丹霞地貌开阔区域产生差异,小气候相对封闭,水湿条件极好,为喜高温高湿的热带物种提供了较好的生存环境;沟谷所处位置的地理环境,如四周崖壁的光滑程度会影响到太阳光反射到沟谷的光强,这些都会对沟谷中的温湿度产生影响.第二是丹霞地貌特殊的生态条件,为沟谷地带孕育出一批热带性较强的分类群提供了可能,与相近纬度的诸多植被相比,丹霞地貌植物区系热带性明显增强,热带分布区类型所占比重比同纬度区域要大10%以上,大多数沟谷中热带性物种分布现象比较明显,藤本分布较多,蕨类植物也较丰富,耐水湿的植物区系发育良好;这实际上造成了植物水平分布上的移位,使中亚热带区域中分布有南亚热带甚至热带区域的物种,出现了由于其特殊的沟谷地貌效应而形成的与其地貌条件保持协调和平衡的演替顶级群落类型,称为地貌顶级群落.     

中国云南巨须隐翅虫亚属的新种和新纪录(鞘翅目,隐翅虫科,巨须隐翅虫亚科)(英文)

报道中国云南巨须隐翅虫属Oxyporus Fablicius和巨须隐翅虫亚属subgenus Oxyporus的4个种,其中包括2新种,玉龙巨须隐翅虫Oxyporus (Oxyporus) yulong sp.nov.和李氏巨须隐翅虫O.(O.)lii sp.nov.,补充了仙台巨须隐翅虫O.germanus Sharp和横沟巨须隐翅虫O.transversesulcatus Bernhauer新的地理分布。     

Ubiquitin‐specific protease‐like 1 (USPL1) is a SUMO isopeptidase with essential,non‐catalytic functions

Isopeptidases are essential regulators of protein ubiquitination and sumoylation. However, only two families of SUMO isopeptidases are at present known. Here, we report an activity‐based search with the suicide inhibitor haemagglutinin (HA)‐SUMO‐vinylmethylester that led to the identification of a surprising new SUMO protease, ubiquitin‐specific protease‐like 1 (USPL1). Indeed, USPL1 neither binds nor cleaves ubiquitin, but is a potent SUMO isopeptidase both in vitro and in cells. C13orf22l—an essential but distant zebrafish homologue of USPL1—also acts on SUMO, indicating functional conservation. We have identified invariant USPL1 residues required for SUMO binding and cleavage. USPL1 is a low‐abundance protein that colocalizes with coilin in Cajal bodies. Its depletion does not affect global sumoylation, but causes striking coilin mislocalization and impairs cell proliferation, functions that are not dependent on USPL1 catalytic activity. Thus, USPL1 represents a third type of SUMO protease, with essential functions in Cajal body biology.     

Antiviral flavonoids from the root bark of Morus alba L

A prenylated flavonoid, moralbanone, along with seven known compounds kuwanon S, mulberroside C, cyclomorusin, eudraflavone B hydroperoxide, oxydihydromorusin, leachianone G and alpha-acetyl-amyrin were isolated from the root bark of Morus alba L. Leachianone G showed potent antiviral activity (IC(50) = 1.6 microg/ml), whereas mulberroside C showed weak activity (IC(50) = 75.4 microg/ml) against herpes simplex type 1 virus (HSV-1). Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods.     

Biological soil crusts in ecological restoration: emerging research and perspectives

Drylands encompass over 40% of terrestrial ecosystems and face significant anthropogenic degradation causing a loss of ecosystem integrity, services, and deterioration of social‐ecological systems. To combat this degradation, some dryland restoration efforts have focused on the use of biological soil crusts (biocrusts): complex communities of cyanobacteria, algae, lichens, bryophytes, and other organisms living in association with the top millimeters of soil. Biocrusts are common in many ecosystems and especially drylands. They perform a suite of ecosystem functions: stabilizing soil surfaces to prevent erosion, contributing carbon through photosynthesis, fixing nitrogen, and mediating the hydrological cycle in drylands. Biocrusts have emerged as a potential tool in restoration; developing methods to implement effective biocrust restoration has the potential to return many ecosystem functions and services. Although culture‐based approaches have allowed researchers to learn about the biology, physiology, and cultivation of biocrusts, transferring this knowledge to field implementation has been more challenging. A large amount of research has amassed to improve our understanding of biocrust restoration, leaving us at an opportune time to learn from one another and to join approaches for maximum efficacy. The articles in this special issue improve the state of our current knowledge in biocrust restoration, highlighting efforts to effectively restore biocrusts through a variety of different ecosystems, across scales and utilizing a variety of lab and field methods. This collective work provides a useful resource for the scientific community as well as land managers.     

Burn‐in Free Nonfullerene‐Based Organic Solar Cells

Organic solar cells that are free of burn‐in, the commonly observed rapid performance loss under light, are presented. The solar cells are based on poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) with varying molecular weights and a nonfullerene acceptor (rhodanine‐benzothiadiazole‐coupled indacenodithiophene, IDTBR) and are fabricated in air. P3HT:IDTBR solar cells light‐soaked over the course of 2000 h lose about 5% of power conversion efficiency (PCE), in stark contrast to [6,6]‐Phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)‐based solar cells whose PCE shows a burn‐in that extends over several hundreds of hours and levels off at a loss of ≈34%. Replacing PCBM with IDTBR prevents short‐circuit current losses due to fullerene dimerization and inhibits disorder‐induced open‐circuit voltage losses, indicating a very robust device operation that is insensitive to defect states. Small losses in fill factor over time are proposed to originate from polymer or interface defects. Finally, the combination of enhanced efficiency and stability in P3HT:IDTBR increases the lifetime energy yield by more than a factor of 10 when compared with the same type of devices using a fullerene‐based acceptor instead.     

陕西植物地理新分布

报道１７种、３变种、１亚种和１变型为陕西植物地理新分布,４属（毛药藤属、白接骨属、马蓝属、赤车属）为陕西植物地理新分布属。