Distribution and recovery of15N after fertilization of Douglas-fir saplings with different nitrogen sources

Summary Four-year-old Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) saplings planted in pots with a sand and peat mix (11) were fertilized at the rate of 200 kg N/ha of (¹⁵NH₂)₂CO (U-15),¹⁵NH₄NO₃ (A-15) and NH₄ ¹⁵NO₃(An-15). They were placed in a shadehouse and watered regularly to maintain soil moisture at field capacity over periods of one and two years. Quantity of¹⁵N in foliage generally increased from old to current growth, irrespective of the nitrogen source. Utilization of¹⁵N fertilizers by saplings after the first and second growing seasons following fertilization was greatest with nitrate labelled ammonium nitrate AN-15, and nearly equal for urea U-15 and ammonium labelled ammonium nitrate A-15. The soil immobilized more fertilizer nitrogen-15 from U-15 and A-15 than from AN-15. Data from the present study, in which leaching losses of fertilizer were minimized, demonstrated that in terms of nitrogen uptake by the saplings the nitrate fertilizer was superior to ammonium fertilizer.     

黑果腺肋花楸扦插生根特性及不定根发生模式研究

【目的】为了解黑果腺肋花楸扦插不定根起源及发育过程,揭示其扦插生根机理。【方法】以‘福康源1号’当年生半木质化插穗为研究材料,利用水培扦插技术和石蜡切片法对不定根形成过程中插穗内部组织结构及外部形态的变化规律进行观察。【结果】在水培条件下,IBA处理扦插生根期为30~40 d,扦插过程中皮孔处10~15 d出现不定根,插穗切口处15~20 d出现不定根,生根速度、不定根数量及根长均优于对照,外源诱导可显著提高生根率和生根质量。扦插前的插穗内无潜伏根原基存在,不定根原基在插后形成;不定根形成为愈伤组织生根型和内部分生组织生根型。皮部产生的不定根起源于维管形成层、韧皮薄壁细胞或皮层;愈伤组织产生的不定根是由愈伤组织内的薄壁细胞团特化而成;叶隙或枝隙是形成不定根原基和产生愈伤组织的主要区域。【结论】扦插生根属于多位点发生模式,属于诱导生根型。     

The nitrite-oxidizing community in activated sludge from a municipal wastewater treatment plant determined by fatty acid methyl ester-stable isotope probing

Metabolically-active autotrophic nitrite oxidizers from activated sludge were labeled with ¹³C-bicarbonate under exposure to different temperatures and nitrite concentrations. The labeled samples were characterized by FAME-SIP (fatty acid methyl ester-stable isotope probing). The compound cis-11-palmitoleic acid, which is the major lipid of the most abundant nitrite oxidizer in activated sludge, Candidatus Nitrospira defluvii, showed ¹³C-incorporation in all samples exposed to 3 mM nitrite. Subsequently, the lipid cis-7-palmitoleic acid was labeled, and it indicated the activity of a nitrite oxidizer that was different from the known Nitrospira taxa in activated sludge. The highest incorporation of cis-7-palmitoleic acid label was found after incubation with a nitrite concentration of 0.3 mM at 17 and 22 °C. While activity of Nitrobacter populations could not be detected by the FAME-SIP approach, an unknown nitrite oxidizer with the major lipid cis-9 isomer of palmitoleic acid exhibited ¹³C-incorporation at 28 °C with 30 mM nitrite. These results indicated flexibility of nitrite-oxidizing guilds in a complex community responding to different conditions. Labeled lipids so far not described for activated sludge-associated nitrifiers indicated the presence of unknown nitrite oxidizers in this habitat. The FAME-SIP-based information can be used to define appropriate conditions for the enrichment of nitrite-oxidizing guilds from complex samples.     

Modeling transport of a pulse of radiolabeled organelles in a Drosophila unipolar motor neuron

Based on published experimental evidence, this paper develops a model for the transport of a pulse of radiolabeled organelles in a unipolar Drosophila motor neuron. In particular, since published data indicate that no microtubules (MTs) travel from the primary neurite into the dendrite, it is investigated how organelles are transported into the dendrite. Analytical solutions describing concentrations of kinesin- and dynein-driven organelles in the primary neurite, axon, and dendrite are obtained. The effects of increasing the width of the pulse and increasing the rate of organelle transition rate from the kinesin-driven to the dynein-driven state are investigated.     

HPV18 Utilizes Two Alternative Branch Sites for E6~*I Splicing to Produce E7 Protein

Human papillomavirus 18(HPV18) E6 and E7 oncogenes are transcribed as a single bicistronic E6 E7 pre-mRNA. The E6 ORF region in the bicistronic E6 E7 pre-mRNA contains an intron. Splicing of this intron disrupts the E6 ORF integrity and produces a spliced E6~*I RNA for efficient E7 translation. Here we report that the E6 intron has two overlapped branch point sequences(BPS) upstream of its 30 splice site, with an identical heptamer AACUA■C, for E6~*I splicing. One heptamer has a branch site adenosine(underlined) at nt 384 and the other at nt 388. E6~*I splicing efficiency correlates to the expression level of E6 and E7 proteins and depends on the selection of which branch site. In general, E6~*I splicing prefers the 30 ss-proximal branch site at nt 388 over the distal branch site at nt 384. Inactivation of the nt 388 branch site was found to activate a cryptic acceptor site at nt 636 for aberrant RNA splicing. Together, these data suggest that HPV18 modulates its production ratio of E6 and E7 proteins by alternative selection of the two mapped branch sites for the E6~*I splicing, which could be beneficial in its productive or oncogenic infection according to the host cell environment.     

Crown development in Norway spruce [<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Picea abies </Emphasis>(L.) Karst.]

This study tests whether crown and stem development in Norway spruce could be described using a modified profile theory. 29 trees from three age-groups (25, 67, 86) with different treatments (unthinned, normally and intensively thinned) were destructively sampled. Crown ratio and crown length varied between age groups and treatments. Crown width was positively correlated with crown length, but branch length along the crown depended on tree age and growing space. Foliage mass density peaked at a relative crown height of 50–70% in middle-aged and mature stands, while young crowns were densest and widest at the base. Foliage mass was predictable from branch and stem cross-sectional area, provided the distance from the top was included. The ratio of foliage mass to branch cross-sectional area increased for 2–4 m down from the tip of the crown, then started to decrease. The relationship between cumulative foliage mass and stem cross-sectional area was non-linear along the stem in the upper crown, but the ratio of cumulative branch to stem cross-sectional area was linear. Trees in the mature and unthinned stands had more cross-sectional area in branches relative to stems than in the young and thinned stands. We conclude that the profile theory needs modification regarding (1) crown shape which varies with age and growing space, and (2) the ratio of foliage mass to branch area which varies along the stem. Both aspects emphasise the need to include impacts of disuse of sapwood pipes in models of crown and stem development.     

Relative performance of clumped vs. experimentally isolated plants in a South African winter-rainfall desert community

We conducted a factorial removal experiment in the arid strandveld onthe west coast of South Africa to test the hypothesis that perennial specieswith a preference for occurring in multi-species clumps shouldderive benefits from their association into clumps. Contrary to our hypothesis,we obtained evidence of competition for water in the clumped non-succulentspecies studied in the form of depressed water potentials. We were not able todetect any effect on leaf water contents associated with isolation, suggestingthat clumped plants are able to compensate physiologically in response tocompetitive stress. We also found that isolating individuals had no effect(positive or negative) on branch growth. Finally, we showed that isolatingindividuals exposed them to a far greater risk of damage by wind or animals. Inlight of these results we conclude that the spatial arrangement of plants inthis community does suggest a situation where the benefits associated withoccurring in clumps exceed any competitive costs.     

Analytical estimation of branchwood volume in sugar maple, linked to branchiness

 An analytical link is proposed between branchwood volume and branchiness. A segmented linear model with one parameter is used to describe the branch basal area density along the tree bole and integrated to find a function describing the cumulative branch basal area. It appears that the bases of insertion of the branches defining the base of the light crown correspond to the maximum branch basal area density along the bole. This function is then used together with an individual branch volume equation to find a model that estimates branchwood volume. This model is calibrated with data gathered in 15 stands dominated by sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) in southern Quebec. A comparison is made with other models of branchwood volume found in the literature. Received: 22 August 1997 / Accepted: 9 February 1998     

Branch growth of riparian cottonwoods: a hydrologically sensitive dendrochronological tool

 The conservation of riparian (river valley flood plain) forests relies on the provision of instream flows that are sufficient to sustain tree growth. In the present study, annual branch growth increments were investigated as an indicator of environmental favorability for riparian cottonwoods. Trees of three species, Populus angustifolia, P. balsamifera, and P. deltoides, and their natural interspecific hybrids, were studied at five sites along the Oldman and South Saskatchewan rivers in Alberta, Canada. Annual branch growth increments for the interval from 1983 to 1992 were positively correlated with stream flows (r ² = 0.79 at Lethbridge) and slightly negatively correlated with weather variables that contribute to water demand: evaporation, temperature, wind, and/or sunshine. The combination of January to May stream flow (water supply) and June evaporation (water demand) almost entirely accounted for the branch growth variation across years (r ² = 0.91 at Lethbridge). Tree ring increments were also investigated but were less closely correlated than branch increments across trees or with stream flow. Branch growth increments thus provide an accurate but short duration (1 or 2 decades) record of environmental favorability for growth. The close correlation between branch growth and stream flow indicates that water is the principal limitation to growth of these riparian cottonwoods and that these trees obtained their water from a source linked to the stream, the riparian water table. Analyses of branch increments should provide a management tool for (i) determining instream flow needs for riparian cottonwoods and (ii) analyzing impacts of stream flow alterations due to river damming or water diversion. Received: 8 May 1997 / Accepted: 23 September 1997     

Using multivariate adaptive regression splines to estimate subadult age from diaphyseal dimensions

Subadult age estimation is considered the most accurate parameter estimated in a subadult biological profile, even though the methods are deficient and the samples from which they are based are inappropriate. The current study addresses the problems that plague subadult age estimation and creates age estimation models from diaphyseal dimensions of modern children. The sample included 1,310 males and females between the ages of birth and 12 years. Eighteen diaphyseal length and breadth measurements were obtained from Lodox Statscan radiographic images generated at two institutions in Cape Town, South Africa, between 2007 and 2012. Univariate and multivariate age estimation models were created using multivariate adaptive regression splines. k‐fold cross‐validated 95% prediction intervals (PIs) were created for each model, and the precision of each model was assessed. The diaphyseal length models generated the narrowest PIs (2 months to 6 years) for all univariate models. The majority of multivariate models had PIs that ranged from 3 months to 5 and 6 years. Mean bias approximated 0 for each model, but most models lost precision after 10 years of age. Univariate diaphyseal length models are recommended for younger children, whereas multivariate models are recommended for older children where the inclusion of more variables minimized the size of the PIs. If diaphyseal lengths are not available, multivariate breadth models are recommended. The present study provides applicable age estimation formulae and explores the advantages and disadvantages of different subadult age estimation models using diaphyseal dimensions. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:376–386, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.