Microhabitat amelioration and reduced competition among understorey plants as drivers of facilitation across environmental gradients: Towards a unifying framework

Studies of facilitative interactions as drivers of plant richness along environmental gradients often assume the existence of an overarching stress gradient that equally affects the performance of all the species in a given community. However, co-existing species differ in their ecophysiological adaptations, and do not experience the same stress level under particular environmental conditions. Moreover, these studies assume a unimodal relationship between richness and biomass, which is not as general as previously thought. We ignored these assumptions to assess changes in plant–plant interactions and their effect on local species richness across environmental gradients in semi-arid areas of Spain and Australia. We aimed to understand the relative importance of direct (microhabitat amelioration) and indirect (changes in the competitive relationships among the understorey species: niche segregation, competitive exclusion or intransitivity) mechanisms that might underlie the effects of nurse plants on local species richness. By jointly studying these direct and indirect mechanisms using a unifying framework, we found that nurse plants (trees, shrubs and tussock grasses) increased local richness not only by expanding the niche of neighbouring species but also by increasing niche segregation among them, though the latter was not important in all cases. The outcome of the competition-facilitation continuum varied depending on the study area, likely because the different types of stress gradient considered. When driven by both rainfall and temperature, or rainfall alone, the community-wide importance of nurse plants remained constant (Spanish sites), or showed a unimodal relationship along the gradient (Australian sites). This study expands our understanding of the relative roles of plant–plant interactions and environmental conditions as drivers of local species richness in semi-arid environments. The results can also be used to refine predictions about the response of plant communities to environmental change, and to clarify the relative importance of biotic interactions as drivers of such responses.     

New insights into the dispersion history and adaptive evolution of taxon Aegilops tauschii in China

Aegilops tauschii, the wild progenitor of wheat D-genome and a valuable germplasm for wheat improvement, has a wide natural distribution from eastern Turkey to China. However, the phylogenetic relationship and dispersion history of Ae. tauschii in China has not been scientifically clarified. In this study, we genotyped 208 accessions (with 104 in China) using ddRAD sequencing and 55K SNP array, and classified the population into six sublineages. Three possible spreading routes or events were identified, resulting in specific distribution patterns, with four sublineages found in Xinjiang, one in Qinghai, two in Shaanxi and one in Henan. We also established the correlation of SNP-based, karyotype-based and spike-morphology-based techniques to demonstrate the internal classification of Ae. tauschii, and developed consensus dataset with 1245 putative accessions by merging data previously published. Our analysis suggested that eight inter-lineage accessions could be assigned to the putative Lineage 3 and these accessions would help to conserve the genetic diversity of the species. By developing the consensus phylogenetic relationships of Ae. tauschii, our work validated the hypothesis on the dispersal history of Ae. tauschii in China, and contributed to the efficient and comprehensive germplasm-mining of the species.     

Do vine species in neotropical forests see the forest or the trees?

Questions: Is the occurrence of vine species in neotropical rain forests primarily determined by properties of the forest (environmental factors), by properties of the trees (tree species or tree size) or are vines randomly distributed? Location: Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala. Methods: In five 1‐ha plots that span variation from unlogged forest to forest impacted by recurrent human disturbance we recorded the presence of all climbing vine species on every tree. The presence of all free standing vine species and 11 environmental variables were recorded in 100‐m² subplots. The relationship of host tree diameter and host tree identity on single tree vine species richness was investigated by GLM modelling. Partial redundancy analyses were used to partition the variation in vine species composition on two sources: environmental factors and tree species identity. Results: Single tree vine richness increased with increasing host tree DBH and differed significantly among host species. For climbing vines, the ratio of variation in subplot presence explained by tree species and by environmental variables was ca. 4:1 (in the most disturbed logged plots slightly lower), for free standing vines this ratio varied from 1:2 in the most disturbed logged plots to 9:1 in reserve plots, while a ratio of ca. 1:1 was found for all plots analysed together. Conclusion: Different tree species have different probabilities of being infested by vines. Vines see both the forest and the trees; the environment is more important in earlier developmental stages, properties of individual trees become more important from the time vines start to climb.     

温度和水分对草甸草原土壤氧化亚氮产生速率的调控

通过试验室模拟试验,研究了调控草甸草原黑钙土N₂O产生速率的因素.结果表明,土壤水分对草甸草原土壤N₂O产生速率有重要影响(F=6.149,P＜0.01).但相关性分析表明,草甸草原土壤含水量与N₂O的产生速率间线性相关不显著.就土壤N₂O的产生速率而言,温度的影响远低于土壤水分的影响(F=2.275,P=0.106).土壤水分和温度对不同生长阶段的草甸草原土壤N₂O产生速率的调控作用主要表现为阶段性的多阶多项式关系：y=ax³+bx²+cx+d,其中a、b、c、d是常数.     

TAI系列Ⅱ天兰冰草染色体上的酯酶同工酶基因定位

本文分析了小冰麦异附加系列Ⅱ,八倍体小冰麦,普通小麦和天兰冰草的叶片酯酶（ESTL）,胚乳酯酶（ESTE）,根酯酶（ESTR）和胚芽鞘酯酶（ESTG）的酶谱表型。把冰草同工酶基因Estl-Ag1,Este-Agi1,Estr-Agij,Estc-Agi1,Estl-Agi2和Este-Agi2定位到异附加系TAI－23,把基因Estr-Agi4和Estc-Agi4定位到TAI－24中的冰草染色体上,根据这些基因定位,结合某些植株形态学特征,推测TAI－23和TAI－24中的冰草染色体分别与小麦第3和6同祖群有一定的部分同源关系。     

Antiplasmodial activity study of angiotensin II via Ala scan analogs

Angiotensin II (AII) as well as analog peptides shows antimalarial activity against Plasmodium gallinaceum and Plasmodium falciparum, but the exact mechanism of action is still unknown. This work presents the solid‐phase synthesis and characterization of eight peptides corresponding to the alanine scanning series of AII plus the amide‐capped derivative and the evaluation of the antiplasmodial activity of these peptides against mature P. gallinaceum sporozoites. The Ala screening data indicates that the replacement of either the Ile⁵ or the His⁶ residues causes minor effects on the in vitro antiplasmodial activity compared with AII, i.e. AII (88%), [Ala⁶]‐AII (79%), and [Ala⁵]‐AII (75%). Analogs [Ala³]‐AII, [Ala¹]‐AII, and AII‐NH₂ showed antiplasmodial activity around 65%, whereas the activity of the [Ala⁸]‐AII, [Ala⁷]‐AII, [Ala⁴]‐AII, and [Ala²]‐AII analogs is lower than 45%. Circular dichroism data suggest that AII and the most active analogs adopt a β‐fold conformation in different solutions. All AII analogs, except [Ala⁴]‐AII and [Ala⁸]‐AII, show contractile responses and interact with the AT₁ receptor, [Ala⁵]‐AII and [Ala⁶]‐AII. In conclusion, this approach is helpful to understand the contribution of each amino acid residue to the bioactivity of AII, opening new perspectives toward the design of new sporozoiticidal compounds. Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis,biological evaluation,and molecular docking studies of novel 2-styryl-5-nitroimidazole derivatives containing 1,4-benzodioxan moiety as FAK inhibitors with anticancer activity

A series of 2-styryl-5-nitroimidazole derivatives containing 1,4-benzodioxan moiety (3a–3r) has been designed, synthesized and their biological activities were also evaluated as potential antiproliferation and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitors. Among all the compounds, 3p showed the most potent activity in vitro which inhibited the growth of A549 with IC₅₀ value of 3.11 μM and Hela with IC₅₀ value of 2.54 μM respectively. Compound 3p also exhibited significant FAK inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ = 0.45 μM). Docking simulation was performed for compound 3p into the FAK structure active site to determine the probable binding model.     

棉铃虫核型多角体病毒多角体蛋白聚集体特性及与其它包涵体蛋白的血清学关系

纯化的多角体碱解释放多角体蛋白,经等电点沉淀和柱层析对多角体蛋白进行分离纯化,结合SDS-PAGE、免疫双向扩散、免疫电镜等方法,证明棉铃虫核型多角体病毒(HaNPV)的多角体蛋白以聚集体形式存在。用ELISA法检测包涵体蛋白之间的血清学关系,结果表明,与黄地老虎颗粒体病毒(AsGV)和粘虫颗粒体病毒(PsGV)颗粒体蛋白相比较,HaNPV多角体蛋白与葡萄天蛾核型多角体病毒(ArNPV)和黄地老虎核型多角体病毒(AsNPV)多角体蛋白之间的血清学关系更为密切。     

4种红豆杉属植物遗传多样性和遗传关系的RAPD分析

采用RAPD标记研究了分属于4种红豆杉属(Taxus Linn.)植物的68个单株的遗传多样性,并采用UPGMA方法分析68个单株的遗传关系.结果表明:12条RAPD引物共扩增出109条带,其中多态性条带108条,多态性条带百分率为99.1％;平均每条引物扩增出9.1条带.南方红豆杉[T.wallichiana var.mairei (Lemée et Lévl)L.K.Fu et Nan Li.]种内的多态性条带百分率和观察等位基因数均最高;欧洲红豆杉(T.baccata Linn.)种内的有效等位基因数、Nei's基因多样度和Shannon's信息指数均最高;须弥红豆杉(T.wallichiana Zucc.)种内的各项遗传多样性指数均最低.供试4种植物的种内遗传多样度、种间遗传多样度、基因流和种间遗传分化系数分别为0.1745、0.358 6、0.401 7和0.554 5,表明55.45％的遗传变异发生在种间.南方红豆杉和须弥红豆杉遗传距离最近;曼地亚红豆杉(Taxus×media Rehd.)和须弥红豆杉的遗传距离最远.通过聚类分析可将68个单株分为3组,欧洲红豆杉的18个单株和曼地亚红豆杉的18个单株分别各自聚为1组;须弥红豆杉的16个单株和南方红豆杉的16个单株聚为1组,其中须弥红豆杉的16个单株和南方红豆杉的16个单株又各自聚为1个亚组,且南方红豆杉的雌、雄单株也分别聚在同一分支上,表明须弥红豆杉和南方红豆杉遗传关系较近,而欧洲红豆杉与其他3种植物的遗传关系较远.     

云南中度退化的喀斯特天坑草地植物群落优势种种间关系

喀斯特天坑作为独特的宏大地表负地形,其坑底生境与外界环境相互独立,呈现出独特的植物群落格局及特征.本研究选取云南沾益天坑群中可进入性较强的中度退化天坑--巴家陷塘为对象,筛选出重要值大于1的优势种,结合总体关联性分析、χ²检验、AC联结系数及Spearman秩相关系数对巴家陷塘退化天坑植物群落中11种优势种的种间关联性和相关性进行研究.结果表明: 巴家陷塘退化天坑植物群落种间联结指数VR=1.377>1,总体呈显著正关联,但正负关联差异较大,阳生型植物和阴生型植物呈极显著负关联,现阶段仍具有独立的分布格局,但呈逐渐趋于稳定的趋势;Spearman分析中种间正相关对数(26对)少于种间负相关对数(29对),结合天坑微环境的差异,将退化天坑的优势物种划分为3个生态种组,群落总体呈现出一定的圈层分布规律.