Bats respond to polarity of a magnetic field

Bats have been shown to use information from the Earth's magnetic field during orientation. However, the mechanism underlying this ability remains unknown. In this study we investigated whether bats possess a polarity- or inclination-based compass that could be used in orientation. We monitored the hanging position of adult Nyctalus plancyi in the laboratory in the presence of an induced magnetic field of twice Earth-strength. When under the influence of a normally aligned induced field the bats showed a significant preference for hanging at the northern end of their roosting basket. When the vertical component of the field was reversed, the bats remained at the northern end of the basket. However, when the horizontal component of the field was reversed, the bats changed their positions and hung at the southern end of the basket. Based on these results, we conclude that N. plancyi, unlike all other non-mammalian vertebrates tested to date, uses a polarity-based compass during orientation in the roost, and that the same compass is also likely to underlie bats' long-distance navigation abilities.     

Mechanisms,origin and heredity of Glu-1Ay silencing in wheat evolution and domestication

Key message

Allotetraploidization drives Glu-1Ay silencing in polyploid wheat.

Abstract

The high-molecular-weight glutenin subunit gene, Glu-1Ay, is always silenced in common wheat via elusive mechanisms. To investigate its silencing and heredity during wheat polyploidization and domestication, the Glu-1Ay gene was characterized in 1246 accessions containing diploid and polyploid wheat worldwide. Eight expressed Glu-1Ay alleles (in 71.81% accessions) and five silenced alleles with a premature termination codon (PTC) were identified in Triticum urartu; 4 expressed alleles (in 41.21% accessions), 13 alleles with PTCs and 1 allele with a WIS 2-1A retrotransposon were present in wild tetraploid wheat; and only silenced alleles with PTC or WIS 2-1A were in cultivated tetra- and hexaploid wheat. Both the PTC number and position in T. urartu Glu-1Ay alleles (one in the N-terminal region) differed from its progeny wild tetraploid wheat (1–5 PTCs mainly in the repetitive domain). The WIS 2-1A insertion occurred?~?0.13 million years ago in wild tetraploid wheat, much later than the allotetraploidization event. The Glu-1Ay alleles with PTCs or WIS 2-1A that arose in wild tetraploid wheat were fully succeeded to cultivated tetraploid and hexaploid wheat. In addition, the Glu-1Ay gene in wild einkorn inherited to cultivated einkorn. Our data demonstrated that the silencing of Glu-1Ay in tetraploid and hexaploid wheat was attributed to the new PTCs and WIS 2-1A insertion in wild tetraploid wheat, and most silenced alleles were delivered to the cultivated tetraploid and hexaploid wheat, providing a clear evolutionary history of the Glu-1Ay gene in the wheat polyploidization and domestication processes.

     

贵州紫云刺葡萄自然发酵中野生酿酒酵母基因型多样性分析

[目的] 研究贵州紫云县刺葡萄自然发酵过程中野生酿酒酵母的基因型多样性,分析不同基因型酵母在不同发酵时期的动态变化,为优良酿酒酵母资源的开发利用提供理论依据。[方法] 采用Interdelta指纹图谱分析方法和微卫星分子标记法,研究贵州紫云县刺葡萄自然发酵中野生酿酒酵母的基因型多样性,并通过DPS软件分析不同基因型之间的遗传关系。[结果] 贵州紫云县刺葡萄自然发酵中共分离野生酿酒酵母75株,经Interdelta指纹图谱分析方法和微卫星分子标记法鉴定为10个基因型,其中基因型6、9、10、11、14、15、16为野生酿酒酵母独有的7个基因型,7、17和18为野生与商业酿酒酵母共有的3个基因型,此外,本研究所用其他商业酿酒酵母另有独有的9个基因型（1、2、3、4、5、8、12、13和19）。75株野生酿酒酵母中基因型17的占比最高为36%,其次为基因型10占比为13.3%。在自然发酵过程中不同基因型呈现此消彼长的变化,每一种基因型的菌株细胞密度在10⁴-10⁷ CFU/mL之间。[结论] 贵州紫云县刺葡萄自然发酵样品展现了丰富的酿酒酵母菌株基因型多样性,其中基因型10和17为主导基因型,该研究为贵州刺葡萄优良野生酿酒酵母资源的开发奠定了基础。     

中国翼手类新记录———高鞍菊头蝠

1999年 1 2月初在广西省扶绥县 (2 3°2 0′Ｎ ,1 0 7°5 0′Ｅ)进行的翼手类区系调查中获得一号蝙蝠标本 ,经鉴定为高鞍菊头蝠 (Ｒｈｉｎｏｌｏｐｈｕｓｐａｒａｄｏｘｏｌｏｐｈｕｓ) ,为中国翼手类新记录。正模 :ＲｈｉｎｏｍｅｇａｐｈｙｌｌｕｓｐａｒａｄｏｘｏｌｏｐｈｕｓＢｏｕｒｒｅｔ,1 95 1 :6 0 7[1 ] 越南北部 ,1 70 0ｍ ;Ｄｏｒｓｔ,1 95 4 :2 1 2 [2 ] ,Ｒｈｉｎｏｌｏｐｈｕｓｐａｒａｄｏｘｏｌｏｐｈｕｓ,Ｈｉｌｌ,1 972 :43 1 [3] 配模 :Ｒｈｉｎｏｌｏｐｈｕｓｐａｒａｄｏｘｏｌｏｐｈｕｓ,Ｔｈｏｎｇｌｏｎｇｙａ,…     

NMR structural study of the intracellular loop 3 of the serotonin 5-HT(1A) receptor and its interaction with calmodulin

The serotonin (5-HT(1A)) receptor, a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), plays important roles in serotonergic signaling in the central nervous system. The third intracellular loop (ICL3) of the 5-HT(1A) receptor has been shown to be important for the regulation of this receptor through interactions with proteins such as G-proteins and calmodulin. In this study, the ICL3 of 5-HT(1A) receptor was expressed in E. coli and purified. Gel filtration and mass spectrometry were used to confirm the molecular weight of the purified ICL3. Secondary structure analysis using circular dichroism (CD) demonstrated the presence of α-helical structures. Backbone assignment of ICL3 was achieved using three-dimensional experiments. A chemical shift index and Talos+ analysis showed that residues E326 to R339 form α-helical structure. Residues G256 to S269 of ICL3 were shown to be a novel region that has a molecular interaction with calmodulin in titration assays. Peptide derived from the ICL3 containing residues from G256 to S269 also showed molecular interaction with calmodulin.     

BGD: A Database of Bat Genomes

Bats account for ~20% of mammalian species, and are the only mammals with true powered flight. For the sake of their specialized phenotypic traits, many researches have been devoted to examine the evolution of bats. Until now, some whole genome sequences of bats have been assembled and annotated, however, a uniform resource for the annotated bat genomes is still unavailable. To make the extensive data associated with the bat genomes accessible to the general biological communities, we established a Bat Genome Database (BGD). BGD is an open-access, web-available portal that integrates available data of bat genomes and genes. It hosts data from six bat species, including two megabats and four microbats. Users can query the gene annotations using efficient searching engine, and it offers browsable tracks of bat genomes. Furthermore, an easy-to-use phylogenetic analysis tool was also provided to facilitate online phylogeny study of genes. To the best of our knowledge, BGD is the first database of bat genomes. It will extend our understanding of the bat evolution and be advantageous to the bat sequences analysis. BGD is freely available at: http://donglab.ecnu.edu.cn/databases/BatGenome/.     

Isolation and characterization of 13 microsatellite loci in Rhinolophus pusillus (least horseshoe bat) with cross-amplification in five related species

We used the enriched genomic library method to isolate and characterize dinucleotide microsatellite loci in the least horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus pusillus. Seventeen loci were obtained and tested on 31 individuals sampled from Guangxi Province in southern China. Thirteen of these markers were polymorphic with expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.821 to 0.909. A total of 164 alleles were detected and the number of alleles per locus ranged from 9 to 16 (mean 12.6). These polymorphic markers will be used to assess population structure in R. pusillus. In addition, successful cross-amplification in five congeneric bat species suggests most of these markers will also be useful for studying related species.     

Development of 19 polymorphic microsatellite loci for the intermediate horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus affinis (Rhinolophidae, Chiroptera)

The intermediate horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus affinis) is a widespread species in Southeast Asia. We developed 19 novel microsatellite loci from an enriched genomic library of the bat, and tested their polymorphism using a single population from Guangdong province, southern China. The number of alleles ranged from 3 to 15 per locus with the expected and observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.397 to 0.920 and 0.280–0.926, respectively. Three markers significantly deviated from the Hardy-Weinberg expectations after Bonferroni correction and no linkage disequilibrium was detected in any of loci. These microsatellite loci will be useful in studying the phylogeography of this species.