Mercury-induced genes in Arabidopsis thaliana: identification of induced genes upon long-term mercuric ion exposure

Mercuric‐ion‐induced gene expression was studied in Arabidopsis thaliana Columbia wild type. Rosettes of plants grown for 21 d on agar medium supplemented with 20, 30 and 40 µm HgCl₂ were pooled and used to isolate cDNAs of induced genes by suppression subtractive hybridization. Of the 576 clones isolated initially, 31 turned out to be mercury‐induced by Northern hybridization. However, kinetic studies using cDNA arrays clearly showed that seven genes were exclusively mercuric‐ion‐induced, 14 were induced by mercury but also affected by a diurnal rhythm, and 10 clones were only modulated by the day–night cycle. The expression levels of the metal‐induced genes increased from 1·5‐fold to 10‐fold. Functional classification resulted in genes encoding proteins for the photosynthetic apparatus and for the antioxidative system. In addition, unexpected genes, whose connection to mercury ion stress is not evident, were identified.     

Annual, daily and intradiurnal variation of Celtis pollen in the city of La Plata, Argentina

The behaviour of Celtis airborne pollenwas studied for a period of three years(1998–2000) in the city of La Plata. The pollengrains were captured with a Lanzoni trap andthe maximum pollination period was observed tooccur during the end of winter and spring inthe three years. The annual values of pollenconcentration varied, and a significantdecrease was observed during 2000. The greatestairborne pollen record was in October with anaverage of 82.3% in relation to its totalconcentration during 1998–2000. Based on theintradiurnal behaviour analysis, it wasobserved that the maximum pollination peakoccurs at 2H when the temperaturereaches its maximum values. Considering thethree sampling years, the meteorologicalvariables that most influenced the processes of pollen emission,dispersion and transportation in the atmospherewere: maximum and minimum temperature andrainfall.     

Spatial variation in vegetation and abiotic factors related to the occurrence of a ring‐forming sedge

Abstract. The clonal sedge Carex humilis forms rings of densely aggregated ramets in a dry grassland community in Central Europe. We describe the small‐scale spatial variation, both in abiotic factors and vegetation, in relation to these rings. Compared to the surrounding vegetation the cover of plants, other than C. humilis, was significantly lower both in the central area of rings and within the rings themselves. The vegetation structure was also different. The soil was more fertile in the central area and within the ring than in the surroundings, measured both directly and by the abiotic response values of the vascular plants. We conclude that neither resource depletion nor competition from other plants were likely to be responsible for the low ramet density in the central area of C. humilis rings. Instead, we suggest that the ring form is caused either by the deposition of growth inhibiting substances or by intrinsic morphological rules.     

Avian richness and abundance in temperate Danish forests: tree variables important to birds and their conservation

Many studies on avian diversity and forest structure have focused onfiner scale forest variables such as foliage height diversity, foliagediversity, foliage density, vertical distribution of vegetation and horizontalvegetation density. From a conservation and forestry operational point of viewit would be of great interest if tree variables influenced directly by forestrymanagement decisions also had significant influence on avian richness andabundance. The species, age and size of a tree are examples of such treevariables. A great number of studies also have focused on avian diversityindices to reveal relationships with vegetation variables. However, it may bemore appropriate for foresters and conservation officers to operate withrichness and abundance measures directly, because indices complicateinterpretations on the relative importance of the two variables (richness andabundance) constituting the index. Fourteen managed temperate forests in Denmarkwere investigated for avian species richness and abundance and related tomeasures on different tree variables influenced directly by forestry managementdecisions. A rapid assessment method of avian richness and abundance wasemployed. It consisted of point-counts of bird richness and abundance within 1km² of forest. General linear models were tested byanalyses of variance statistics to reveal the tree variables most important toavian richness and abundance. It was found that more old trees, more treespecies and more tree size-classes correlated with more bird species andindividuals. However, some variation in bird richness and abundance was alsorelated to site quality and/or chance colonization. Moreover, it was shown thatthe guild of cavity-nesting birds correlated positively to age of tree stand.The potential number of bird species in Danish forest is similar to that innearly pristine forest in Poland, and much larger than that recorded in any ofthe forests investigated. Together with the results above, this indicates a highpotential for squeezing in more avian species in a higher quality forest from abiodiversity point of view. Modern Danish forestry affects tree variablesinfluenced directly by forestry management decisions. Such tree variables havegreat influence on avian richness and abundance, but simple measures in forestrypractices can be taken to enhance the conservation of bird richness andabundance.     

EGTA和La3+对几种逆境诱导辣椒样半萜环化酶基因表达的影响

用钙离子螯合剂EGTA及细胞膜钙离子通道拮抗剂La³⁺预处理辣椒叶片,以破坏辣椒叶片中的钙信使系统,再用紫外线、CuCl₂、HgCl₂处理辣椒叶片,研究表明EGTA和La³⁺预处理未能降低CuCl₂、HgCl₂、UV诱导辣椒倍半萜环化酶活化的作用,EGTA预处理反而对CuCl₂、HgCl₂、UV的诱导辣椒倍半萜环化酶活性作用有一定的促进效应.单独用EGTA处理也能诱导离体辣椒叶片表现出倍半萜环化酶活性.Northen Blot分析结果表明,EGTA能诱导辣椒倍半萜环化酶基因转录.研究表明,在辣椒倍半萜环化酶基因表达过程中,还存在钙信使系统以外的信号传递途径;非生物诱发因子对倍半萜环化酶基因表达诱导作用与生物Elicitor的诱导作用在信号传递上有差异.     

On Model-Choice in Discrimination with Categorical Variables

An algorithm for model selection in discrimination with categorical variables is presented. It is based on four models applied hierarchically and linked with a build-up procedure of feature-selection. The choice of models and features is ensured by a consequent cross-validation. Results of an application in medical diagnostics are described.     

Randomized Blocks Analysis for the Exponential Distribution

A procedure for analyzing randomized blocks experiments for uncensored exponential random variables is presented. Its small sample behavior is studied in several simulations. Sample size requirements are given.