Cloning and characterization of chromosomal markers in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)

Eleven tandemly repetitive sequences were identified from a Cot-1 library by FISH and sequence analysis of alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Five repetitive sequences (MsCR-1, MsCR-2, MsCR-3, MsCR-4, and MsCR-5) were centromeric or pericentromeric, of which three were satellite DNAs and two were minisatellite DNAs. Monomers of 144, 148, and 168 bp were identified in MsCR-1, MsCR-2, and MsCR-3, respectively, while 15 and 39 bp monomers were identified in MsCR-4 and MsCR-5, respectively. Three repetitive sequences were characterized as subtelomeric; one repetitive sequence, MsTR-1, had a 184 bp monomer, and two repetitive sequences had fragments of 204 and 327 bp. Sequence analysis revealed homology (70–80 %) between MsTR-1 and a highly repeated sequence (C300) isolated from M. ssp. caerulea. Three identified repetitive sequences produced hybridization signals at multiple sites in a few of the chromosomes; one repetitive sequence was identified as the E180 satellite DNA previously isolated from M. sativa, while the other 163 and 227 bp fragments had distinct sequences. Physical mapping of the repetitive sequences with double-target FISH revealed different patterns. Thus, nine novel tandemly repetitive sequences that can be adopted as distinct chromosome markers in alfalfa were identified in this study. Furthermore, the chromosome distribution of each sequence was well described. Though significant chromosome variations were detected within and between cultivars, a molecular karyotype of alfalfa was suggested with the chromosome markers we identified. Therefore, these novel chromosome markers will still be a powerful tool for genome composition analysis, phylogenetic studies, and breeding applications.     

遮荫对月季光合特性及生长发育的影响

采用人工遮荫法研究不同程度遮荫(75%、50%和25%全光照,以全光照为对照)处理对月季的生长发育、光合特性及叶绿素荧光参数的影响。结果表明:(1)随着遮荫程度的增加,月季的叶片厚度、花径、成花率均呈降低趋势,叶绿素含量呈增加趋势;净光合速率(Pn)、蒸腾速率(Tr)、气孔导度(Gs)、胞间CO2浓度(Ci)降低,气孔限制值(Ls)升高,Pn下降的主要原因可能为气孔限制。(2)月季在遮荫条件下的光饱和点和光补偿点、暗呼吸速率下降,表现出其对光照降低的生理适应机制;其光饱和点在600~1 200μmol·m-2·s-1,光补偿点在29.89~62.95μmol·m-2·s-1,CO2补偿点在78.16~89.41μmol·mol-1,CO2饱和点在1 100μmol·mol-1左右,潜在光合能力13.06~25.63μmol·m-2·s-1,其对光的适应范围较宽,光照和CO2浓度对其光合能力的影响较大。(3)各处理条件下叶绿素荧光参数显示,月季在自然光和低光下(50%和25%全光照)叶片PSⅡ受到了明显伤害,光合作用原初反应过程受到抑制,光合电子传递受到影响。研究发现,月季虽是阳生植物,但光照生态幅较宽,轻度遮荫(75%全光照)能促进其光合作用效率,减少光抑制,植株长势好,成花率高。     

森林演替在南亚热带森林生态系统碳吸存中的作用

研究了鼎湖山南亚热带森林同一演替系列中3个不同演替阶段(马尾松针叶林、马尾松荷木混交林和季风常绿阔叶林)生态系统碳贮量和分配格局特征,并探讨了该地区森林演替过程中生态系统碳吸存潜力和速度。结果表明:(1)针叶林各组分碳素含量高于阔叶林对应组分的碳素含量(后者是前者的72.0%～94.5%)。两个森林植物碳素含量,不同层次比较,均为乔木层>灌木层>草本层,不同器官比较,以根或干最高。(2)乔木层生物量随森林演替进展而增加。针叶林、混交林和阔叶林乔木层生物量分别为:143.5t/hm2、270.1t/hm2和407.8t/hm2,其中大部分由干和皮组成(各器官占乔木层生物量的比例平均为:叶2.8%、枝19.3%、干和皮混合57.0%、根20.9%)。林下层生物量为4.23～14.10t/hm2,是乔木层的1.0%～9.8%,随森林演替进展而减少。(3)土壤容重随深度增加而增加,但随森林演替进展而减少。与土壤容重相反,土壤有机碳含量随深度增加而明显减少,但随森林演替进展而增加。(4)3种类型森林生态系统碳总贮量分别为135.8t/hm2、215.1t/hm2和259.7t/hm2。生态系统碳贮量在各组分的格局十分相似,植被、土壤和凋落物层所占比例均分别约为67.6%、30.2%和2.2%。与其它地带森林比较,鼎湖山保护区森林植被与土壤碳贮量之比和表层(0～20cm)的土壤碳占整个     

鼎湖山季风常绿阔叶林林下层3种优势树种游离氨基酸和蛋白质对模拟氮沉降的响应

报道了林下层3种优势树种光叶山黄皮（Randia canthioides）、黄果厚壳桂（Cryptocarya concinna）和厚壳桂（Cryptocarya chinensis）叶片游离氨基酸和蛋白质对模拟氮沉降的响应,并探讨这3种植物中重要氨基酸对氮沉降的指示作用,以及γ-氨基丁酸含量的变化对植食性动物的可能影响,为揭示氮沉降对森林植物生理生态影响及其机理,以及监测氮沉降对植被的影响等一系列问题提供初步的理论基础.结果表明,试验21个月后,3个树种叶片游离氨基酸和蛋白质的含量均发生了明显的变化.对总的游离氨基酸含量而言,光叶山黄皮和厚壳桂对氮处理的响应相似,氮处理样地的含量均高于对照,并且中氮处理显著高于对照（p＜0.05）,但两者在高氮处理下均出现了下降的趋势;黄果厚壳桂随着氮处理强度的增加,游离氨基酸总量呈现下降趋势.对于可溶性蛋白质含量来说,光叶山黄皮、黄果厚壳桂和厚壳桂在氮处理下都出现了增加的趋势,黄果厚壳桂和厚壳桂增加尤为明显.找出了对氮沉降响应敏感的指示剂.游离氨基酸丝氨酸、精氨酸和γ-氨基丁酸,特别是精氨酸,可以用来作为光叶山黄皮对氮沉降响应的指示剂;γ-氨基丁酸可以作为黄果厚壳桂对氮沉降响应的指示剂;丝氨酸和γ-氨基丁酸可以作为厚壳桂对氮沉降响应的指示剂.个别游离氨基酸的积累情况可被用来监测氮沉降对植被的影响.     

旅游环境系统研究进展与展望

旅游环境系统是旅游发展的基础,其协调性与完整性对旅游目的地的可持续发展具有重要推动作用。旅游环境系统具有复杂性、动态性与综合性,对人地关系的关注与研究为改善旅游环境系统的功能提供了科学依据,对旅游环境系统的研究体现了众多学者对旅游可持续发展领域达成的科学共识。文章从旅游环境系统的内涵、指标体系、量化模型、管理工具、应用研究等角度,对国内外学者的旅游环境系统的研究现状分析;根据其研究的不足,提出旅游环境系统研究展望,以期对提升旅游环境系统质量的进一步研究提供理论参考。     

Elevated CO2 differentially affects tobacco and rice defense against lepidopteran larvae via the jasmonic acid signaling pathway

Atmospheric CO_2 levels are rapidly increasing due to human activities. However, the effects of elevated CO_2(ECO_2) on plant defense against insects and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we show that ECO_2 increased the photosynthetic rates and the biomass of tobacco and rice plants, and the chewing lepidopteran insects Spodoptera litura and Mythimna separata gained less and more mass on tobacco and rice plants, respectively. Consistently, under ECO_2, the levels of jasmonic acid(JA), the main phytohormone controlling plant defense against these lepidopteran insects, as well as the main defense-related metabolites, were increased and decreased in insectdamaged tobacco and rice plants. Importantly, bioassaysand quantification of defense-related metabolites in tobacco and rice silenced in JA biosynthesis and perception indicate that ECO_2 changes plant resistance mainly by affecting the JA pathway. We further demonstrate that the defensive metabolites, but not total N or protein, are the main factors contributing to the altered defense levels under ECO_2. This study illustrates that ECO_2 changes the interplay between plants and insects, and we propose that crops should be studied for their resistance to the major pests under ECO_2 to predict the impact of ECO_2 on future agroecosystems.     

IFNgamma-inducible CXCL10/CXCR3 axis alters the sensitivity of HEp-2 cells to ionizing radiation

Radiotherapy is a conventional approach for anti-cancer treatment, killing tumor cells through damaging cellular DNA. While increasing studies have demonstrated that tumors generated the tolerance to radiation and tumor immune system was found to be correlated to radiotherapy resistance. Therefore, it is critical to identify potential immune factors associated with the efficacy of radiotherapy. Here in this study, we evaluated the sensitivities of different tumor cells to radiation and determined HEp-2 cells as the radio-resistant tumor cells for further investigation. IFNgamma as a key regulator of host immune response showed the potential to sensitize tumors to ionizing radiation (IR). Besides, IFNgamma-induced CXC chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10) was found to be necessary for effective IR-induced killing of cultured HEp-2 cells. Increased clonogenic survival was observed in CXCL10-depleted HEp-2 cells and CXCL10-KO cells. Additionally, the loss of CXCL10 in HEp-2 cells showed less progression of the G0/G1 phase to G2/M when exposed to IR (8 Gy). Local IR (20 Gy) to nude mice bearing HEp-2 tumors significantly reduced tumor burden, while fewer effects on tumor burden in mice carrying CXCL10-KO tumors were observed. We furtherly evaluated the possible roles the chemokine receptor CXCR3 plays in mediating the sensitivity of cultured HEp-2 cells to IR. Altered expression of CXCR3 in HEp-2 cells affected IR-induced killing of HEp-2 cells. Our data suggest the IFNgamma-activated CXCL10/CXCR3 axis may contribute to the effective radiation-induced killing of HEp-2 cells in vitro.     

Links between ER stress and autophagy in plants

Autophagy is a major pathway for the delivery of proteins or organelles to be degraded in the vacuole and recycled. It can be induced by abiotic stresses, senescence, and pathogen infection. Recent research has shown that autophagy is activated by ER stress. Here we review the major progress that has been made in the study of autophagy and ER stress in plants, and describe the links between ER stress and autophagy to guide further study on how autophagy is regulated in response to ER stress.