Invasive alien plants in China: role of clonality and geographical origin

Biological invasions have become a significant threat to the global environment. Unfortunately, to date there is no consensus on invasion mechanisms and predictive models. Controversies range from whether we can reliably predict which species may become invasive to which species characteristics (e.g., life history, taxonomic groups, or geographic origin) contribute to the invasion processes. We examined 126 invasive alien plant species in China to understand the role of clonality and geographical origin in their invasion success. These species were categorized into three groups (I, II, III) based on their invasiveness in terms of current spatial occupation and the degree of damage to invaded habitats. Clonal plants consisted of almost half (44%) of the 126 invasive species studied, and consisted of 66% of 32 the most invasive alien plant species (Group I). There was a significant positive relationship between clonality and species invasiveness. A 68% of the 126 species studied originated in the continent of America (North and/or South America). These preliminary findings support that America is the primary geographical origin of invasive alien plant species in China and that clonality of the invasive plant species contributed significantly to the their invasiveness. The results suggest an urgent need at the global scale to investigate the mechanisms whereby plant clonal growth influences plant invasions, and the need for a focus at regional scale to examine factors affecting the exchange of invasive plant species between America and China.     

Computational Model of Soil Adhesion and Resistance for a Non-smooth Bulldozing Plate

Adhesive forces exist between soil and the surfaces of soil-engaging components; they increase working resistance and energy consumption. This paper tries to find an approach to reduce the adhesion and resistance of bulldozing plate. A simplified mechanical model of adhesion and resistance between soil and a non-smooth bulldozing plate is proposed. The interaction force between moist soil and a non-smooth bulldozing plate is analyzed. The pressure and friction distribution on the bulldozing plate are computed, and the anti-adhesive effect of a corrugated bulldozing plate is simulated numerically. Numerical results show that the wavy bulldozing plate achieves an effective drag reduction in moist soil. The optimal wavy shape of the corrugated bulldozing plate with the minimal resistance is designed. The basic principle of reducing soil adhesion of the non-smooth surface is discovered.     

Isolation of SFRS3 gene and its differential expression during metamorphosis involving eye migration of Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

Both eyes of flatfishes are located on one side of the body due to asymmetrical eye migration. The molecular mechanisms underlying such asymmetry is poorly understood. As an initial step, we have adopted suppression subtractive hybridization for the identification of upregulated genes during metamorphosis involving eye migration in Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olicaceus. One of the upregulated genes was identified as the splicing factor arginine/serine rich-3 (SFRS3). Sequence analysis of SFRS3 revealed that it encodes a protein of 168 amino acids containing the typical eukaryotic RNA recognition motif (RRM) and an arginine/serine-rich region. The overall amino acid sequences of the Japanese flounder SFRS3 was highly conserved with that of other organisms. The expression of flounder SFRS3 gene increased sharply from the beginning of metamorphosis and reached a high level of expression at stage H of metamorphosis 43 days after hatching. The SFRS3 gene upregulation was mainly limited to the head region, particularly in the rapidly proliferative tissues, the lateral ethmoid and "skin thickness" on blind side, which are thought as two proliferative tissues to push the eye movement. In spite of the upregulated expression of SFRS3 during metamorphosis, its role in metamorphosis involving eye migration requires further studies.     

Protein restriction and cancer

Protein restriction without malnutrition is currently an effective nutritional intervention known to prevent diseases and promote health span from yeast to human. Recently, low protein diets are reported to be associated with lowered cancer incidence and mortality risk of cancers in human. In murine models, protein restriction inhibits tumor growth via mTOR signaling pathway. IGF-1, amino acid metabolic programing, FGF21, and autophagy may also serve as potential mechanisms of protein restriction mediated cancer prevention. Together, dietary intervention aimed at reducing protein intake can be beneficial and has the potential to be widely adopted and effective in preventing and treating cancers.     

WNK3 interacts with NCC

正Dear Editor,NCC(Na-Cl cotransporter)is a cotransporter mainly distributed in the distal tubule of the kidney,functioning to reabsorb sodium and chloride ions from the tubular fluid into the cells of the renal distal convoluted tubule.It is a