Predicting greater sage‐grouse habitat selection at the southern periphery of their range

Mapping suitable habitat is an important process in wildlife conservation planning. Species distribution reflects habitat selection processes occurring across multiple spatio‐temporal scales. Because habitat selection may be driven by different factors at different scales, conservation planners require information at the scale of the intervention to plan effective management actions. Previous research has described habitat selection processes shaping the distribution of greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage‐grouse) at the range‐wide scale. Finer‐scale information for applications within jurisdictional units inside the species range is lacking, yet necessary, because state wildlife agencies are the management authority for sage‐grouse in the United States. We quantified seasonal second‐order habitat selection for sage‐grouse across the state of Utah to produce spatio‐temporal predictions of their distribution at the southern periphery of the species range. We used location data obtained from sage‐grouse marked with very‐high‐frequency radio‐transmitters and lek location data collected between 1998 and 2013 to quantify species habitat selection in relation to a suite of topographic, edaphic, climatic, and anthropogenic variables using random forest algorithms. Sage‐grouse selected for greater sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) cover, higher elevations, and gentler slopes and avoided lower precipitations and higher temperatures. The strength of responses to habitat variables varied across seasons. Anthropogenic variables previously reported as affecting their range‐wide distribution (i.e., roads, powerlines, communication towers, and agricultural development) were not ranked as top predictors at our focal scale. Other than strong selection for sagebrush cover, the responses we observed differed from what has been reported at the range‐wide scale. These differences likely reflect the unique climatic, geographic, and topographic context found in the southern peripheral area of the species distribution compared to range‐wide environmental gradients. Our results highlight the importance of considering appropriateness of scale when planning conservation actions for wide‐ranging species.     

青藏高原地区3种蒿属植物转录组比较分析

米蒿（Artemisia dalai-lamae）、冷蒿（Artemisia frigida）和臭蒿（Artemisia hedinii）作为西北干旱半干旱地区常见植物,具有防风固沙、阻止草原退化、杀菌消炎和治疗多种疾病的功效。通过Illumina测序技术分别对3种蒿属植物进行转录组测序和分析,分别获得54 268 322,46 434 864和43 971 646条Clean reads,并对测序结果进行了SNP和可变剪接分析。在米蒿和冷蒿对比组（ADL vs AF）中筛选到6 107个差异基因,在米蒿和臭蒿对比组（ADL vs AH）中筛选到4 822个差异基因,在冷蒿和臭蒿对比组（AF vs AH）中筛选到3 755个差异基因。GO富集将差异基因注释到生物过程、细胞组成和分子功能这3个类别共47个条目。KEGG代谢通路分析将3个对比组的差异基因分别富集到198、198和197条通路。对每个对比组的前10个高表达差异基因进行了分析,并筛选出25个生物碱、萜类和类黄酮的活性成分可能相关的差异基因。本研究为蒿属植物的物种鉴定、抗逆性研究和资源利用提供一定的科学依据。     

毛乌素沙地油蒿叶建成成本及相关叶性状沿降水梯度的变化

干旱区植物在如何提高水分利用效率与降低叶建成成本之间可能存在一种权衡。我们假设: 与湿润区植物相比, 干旱区植物能通过调节叶功能性状之间的关系(如通过提高单位面积叶氮含量(N_area)), 实现在相同的叶建成成本下具有更高的水分利用效率。为了验证这一假设, 该研究以毛乌素沙地的广布物种油蒿(Artemisia ordosica)为研究对象, 分析了油蒿叶建成成本沿降水梯度的变化规律及其与比叶面积(SLA)、单位质量叶氮含量(N_mass)、N_area和叶碳稳定同位素比率(δ ¹³C)的关系。结果表明: 油蒿单位质量叶建成成本(CC_m)在不同降水条件下差异不显著, 而单位面积叶建成成本(CC_a)在不同降水条件下虽有显著差异, 但并未随降水减少而明显增加。油蒿CC_m与SLA无显著相关性, 与叶δ ¹³C值呈显著正相关关系。油蒿叶建成成本与N_area呈显著正相关关系, 但这种关系格局在低降水量(264 mm)区与高降水量(310-370 mm)区之间存在策略位移现象——即在相同叶建成成本下, 低降水量区植物比高降水量区植物具有更高的N_area。以上结果表明, 尽管高水分利用效率与高叶建成成本相关, 但与高降水量区植物相比, 低降水量区植物具有较高的N_area并没有导致其叶建成成本增加。     

Activity of Six Essential Oils Extracted from Tunisian Plants against Legionella pneumophila

The aim of this study was to investigate the composition of six essential oils extracted from Tunisian plants, i.e., Artemisia herba‐alba Asso , Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck , Juniperus phoenicea L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Ruta graveolens L., and Thymus vulgaris L., and to evaluate their activity against Legionella pneumophila (microdilution assays). Eight Legionella pneumophila strains were studied, including the two well‐known serogroup 1 Lens and Paris strains as controls and six environmental strains isolated from Tunisian spas belonging to serogroups 1, 4, 5, 6, and 8. The essential oils were generally active against L. pneumophila. The activities of the A. herba‐alba, C. sinensis, and R. officinalis essential oils were strain‐dependent, whereas those of the J. phoenicea and T. vulgaris oils, showing the highest anti‐Legionella activities, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) lower than 0.03 and lower than or equal to 0.07 mg/ml, respectively, were independent of the strains' serogroup. Moreover, the microorganisms treated with T. vulgaris essential oil were shorter, swollen, and less electron‐dense compared to the untreated controls. Isoborneol (20.91%), (1S)‐α‐pinene (18.30%) β‐phellandrene (8.08%), α‐campholenal (7.91%), and α‐phellandrene (7.58%) were the major components isolated from the J. phoenicea oil, while carvacrol (88.50%) was the main compound of the T. vulgaris oil, followed by p‐cymene (7.86%). This study highlighted the potential interest of some essential oils extracted from Tunisian plants as biocides to prevent the Legionella risk.     

基于生态位理论的典型草原铁杆蒿种群化感作用

运用改进的Levins生态位宽度指数和Pianka生态位重叠指数,研究了典型草原草地建群种与优势种之间的生态竞争关系;并利用建群种(铁杆蒿)茎叶浸提液对不同优势种的化感种子进行发芽试验,分析铁杆蒿的化感潜力及其在封育草地中的生态地位.结果表明:封育草地中,本氏针茅的生态位最宽(0.99),其次为百里香(0.94)、铁杆蒿(0.82)和大针茅(0.76),赖草最窄(0.73);铁杆蒿与本氏针茅、本氏针茅与百里香、百里香与大针茅、铁杆蒿与百里香之间的生态位重叠值分别为0.90、0.95、0.94和0.86.不同浓度的铁杆蒿浸提液对植物的化感作用强度不同,表现为“低促高抑”.铁杆蒿浸提液对本氏针茅幼苗根系生长的化感促进作用要强于百里香,而对百里香幼苗芽生长的抑制作用要强于本氏针茅.甲醇浸提液的化感作用要强于水浸提液.铁杆蒿、本氏针茅、百里香和大针茅之间高的生态位重叠,说明该草地群落将继续向本氏针茅群落演替,铁杆蒿群落仅是一个重要的过渡演替阶段.铁杆蒿的化感作用在其中担负着驱动力的角色.     

艾叶多糖提取率影响因素分析及提取条件优化

艾叶是菊科(Compositae)植物艾(Artemisia argyi Lévl.et Vant.)的干燥叶,为常用中药材之一,药用历史悠久,具有苦燥辛散、理气血、温经脉、逐寒湿、止冷痛等功效,为重要的妇科用药,可用于治疗脘腹冷痛、经寒不调、宫冷不孕等证.此外,利用艾叶预防瘟疫已有悠久的历史.现代药理研究表明:艾叶是一种广谱抗菌抗病毒中药,对多种病毒和细菌有抑制和杀伤作用,对呼吸系统疾病以及心血管等慢性疾病有一定的防治作用[1-3].因此,将艾叶中的有效成分分别提取和纯化并加以分析以及功能检测,具有深远意义.     

Abscisic acid (ABA) treatment increases artemisinin content in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Artemisia annua</Emphasis> by enhancing the expression of genes in artemisinin biosynthetic pathway

Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone endoperoxide derived from Artemisia annua L., is the most effective antimalarial drug. In an effort to increase the artemisinin production, abscisic acid (ABA) with different concentrations (1, 10 and 100 μM) was tested by treating A. annua plants. As a result, the artemisinin content in ABA-treated plants was significantly increased. Especially, artemisinin content in plants treated by 10 μM ABA was 65% higher than that in the control plants, up to an average of 1.84% dry weight. Gene expression analysis showed that in both the ABA-treated plants and cell suspension cultures, HMGR, FPS, CYP71AV1 and CPR, the important genes in the artemisinin biosynthetic pathway, were significantly induced. While only a slight increase of ADS expression was observed in ABA-treated plants, no expression of ADS was detected in cell suspension cultures. This study suggests that there is probably a crosstalk between the ABA signaling pathway and artemisinin biosynthetic pathway and that CYP71AV1, which was induced most significantly, may play a key regulatory role in the artemisinin biosynthetic pathway.