2009年第五届“现代生态学讲座”国际会议综述

"现代生态学讲座"系列会议是由国内外华人生态学家联合发起、为加强现代生态学的新理论、新观点、新方法和热点问题的交流与合作的国际会议.总结了2009年6月27～29日在兰州大学举行的第五届现代生态学讲座国际会议的全部二十五场报告,围绕"宏观生态学和可持续发展科学"的会议主题,分别从森林生态学、草地生态学、全球变化生态学、根际和土壤生态学、分子和行为生态学以及农业生态学等角度进行了分类总结.全部报告可归纳为"生态系统服务功能的物质基础"和"生态系统服务的生态学机制"两个大的基础理论问题,而解决问题的途径必须在人类-自然耦合生态系统的大框架下进行探索.对该会议的进一步改善提出了一些建议.     

Biofuels in China: opportunities and challenges

With rapid economic development, energy consumption in China has tripled in the past 20 yr, exceeding 2.4 billion tons of standard coal in 2006. The search for new green energy as substitutes for the nonrenewable energy resources has become an urgent task. China has a variety of climates and is rich in potential biofuel plant species. Corn and cassava are used as the main raw materials for bioethanol production in China. At the end of 2005, bioethanol productivity had increased to 1.02 million tons produced by four companies, and bioethanol-blended petrol accounted for 20% of the total petrol consumption in China. According to the Mid- and Long-term Development Plan for Renewable Energy, the consumption of biodiesel in China will reach 0.2 million tons in 2010 and 2.0 million tons in 2020. This review is intended to provide an introduction to the distribution and development of biofuel crops and biofuel industry in China.     

Inhibition of retinal neovascularization by gene transfer of small interfering RNA targeting HIF-1alpha and VEGF

Retinal neovascularization (NV) occurs in various ocular disorders including proliferative diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity and secondary neovascular glaucoma, which often result in blindness. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an essential growth factor for angiogenesis, and is particularly regulated by hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) under hypoxic conditions. Therefore, HIF-1alpha and VEGF could provide targets for therapeutic intervention on retinal NV. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting HIF-1alpha and VEGF on the expression of HIF-1alpha and VEGF in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in vitro and on retinal NV in vivo. siRNA-expressing plasmids targeting human HIF-1alpha (HIF-1alpha siRNA) and human VEGF(165) (VEGF siRNA) were constructed. They were transfected and co-transfected to HUVEC and C57BL/6J mice of ischemic retinopathy model. HIF-1alpha siRNA and VEGF siRNA specifically downregulated HIF-1alpha and VEGF at both mRNA and protein levels in vitro and in vivo. Neovascular tufts and neovascular nuclei were decreased in gene therapy group compared to control hypoxia group. Co-transfection of HIF-1alpha siRNA and VEGF siRNA resulted in maximal effects on VEGF suppression in vitro and in vivo. It also manifested the maximal inhibitory effect on retinal NV. These results indicate that the application of HIF-1alpha siRNA and VEGF siRNA technology holds great potential as a novel therapeutic for retinal NV.     

Zn2+ mediates ischemia-induced impairment of the ubiquitin-proteasome system in the rat hippocampus

Deposition of ubiquitinated protein aggregates is a hallmark of neurodegeneration in both acute neural injuries, such as stroke, and chronic conditions, such as Parkinson's disease, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In the present study, we examined the role of Zn²⁺ in ischemia-induced impairment of the ubiquitin-proteasome system in the CA1 region of rat hippocampus after transient global ischemia. We found that scavenging endogenous Zn²⁺ reduced ischemia-induced ubiquitin conjugation and free ubiquitin depletion. Furthermore, exposure to zinc chloride increased ubiquitination and inhibited proteasomal enzyme activity in cultured hippocampal neurons in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Further studies of the underlying mechanisms showed that Zn²⁺-induced ubiquitination required p38 activation. These findings indicate that alterations in Zn²⁺ homeostasis impair the protein degradation pathway.     

Fishborne Trematode Metacercariae in Freshwater Fish from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China

A survey was performed to investigate the infection status of fishborne trematode (FBT) metacercariae in freshwater fish from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. A total of 307 freshwater fish of 31 species were collected from 5 administrative regions of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. They were examined by artificial digestion method from July 2003 to August 2004. No metacercariae were detected in fish from Fusui-xian. In fish from Mashan-xian and a market in Nanning, 3 species of metacercariae, Haplorchis taichui, Haplorchis pumilio, and Centrocestus formosanus, were mainly detected. Metacercariae (8 in number) of Clonorchis sinensis were found in 1 Chanodichthys dabryi purchased from a market in Nanning. In fish from Yangshuo, Metagonimus yokogawai metacercariae were detected from all 18 fish species examined. Total 13 C. sinensis metacercariae were found in 3 out of 10 Hemibarbus maculatus from Yangshuo. All 7 Zacco platypus from Yangshuo were infected with 8-112 Echinochasmus perfoliatus metacercariae. In fish from Binyang-xian, H. pumilo metacercariae were mainly detected in all 5 fish species examined, and only 1 metacercaria of C. sinensis was found in a Hemiculter leucisculus. From the above results, it was confirmed that some species of freshwater fish play a role of second intermediate hosts for FBT in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. In particular, 4 species of intestinal flukes, M. yokogawai, H. taichui, H. pumilio, and C. formosanus, were prevalent in fish hosts, whereas C. sinensis metacercariae were detected only in 3 fish species.