Retinular fine structure in compound eyes of diurnal and nocturnal sphingid moths

Summary Retinular fine structure has been compared in the superposition compound eyes of three sphingid moths, one nocturnal, Cechenena, and two diurnal, Cephonodes and Macroglossum. Cechenena and Cephonodes have tiered retinas with three kinds of retinular cells: two distal, six regular and one basal. The distal retinular cells in Cechenena are special in having a complex partially intracellular rhabdomere not present in Cephonodes. Macroglossum lacks the distal retinular cell. In Cephonodes a unique rhabdom type, formed by the six regular retinular cells in the middle region of the retinula, is divided into three separate longitudinal plates arranged closely parallel to one another. Their constituent microvilli are consequently all nearly unidirectional. The ratio of rhabdom volume to retinular cell volume in the two diurnal sphingids is 10–27%; this is about the same as that (25%) of skipper butterflies, but significantly smaller than in the nocturnal Cechenena (60%). In the diurnal sphingids retinular cell membranes show elongate meandering profiles with septate junctions between adjacent retinular cells. From the comparative fine structure of their eyes the diurnal sphingids and the skippers would appear to be phylogenetically closely related.Supported in part by grants from Ministry of Education Japan (Special Project Research in Animal Behaviors)     

The use of bridging systems to increase genetic variability in compound chromosome strains for genetic control of Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann)

Summary Genetic variability in the non-compound portion of the genomes of compound-chromosome (CC) strains intended for genetic control can be increased by the use of bridging strains which can be crossed to both CC and normal strains. Two bridging systems are described for chromosome-5 CC strains of Lucilia cuprina. The first system relies on the established viability and fertility of males trisomic for chromosome 5R. Males carrying the (5L.YL)23 half-translocation, a C(5R), and a normal chromosome 5 were crossed successfully to a CC strain and a normal strain. The second system uses a pair of reciprocal whole-arm 4;5 translocations to generate gametes disomic for 5R and nullosomic for 5L, which in combination with C(5L)-bearing gametes form viable near-euploid offspring with only small duplications and deficiencies. These offspring (C(5L); (4L.5R)357; (4R.5R)194; (4L.4R)) were crossed successfully with both CC and T(4;5)357/ + individuals. The latter were in turn crossed successfully with normal strains. The T(Y;5)23 system allows replacement of the non-CC genome with wild material more rapidly than the T(4;5)357/T(4;5)194 system, but unlike the latter does not allow replacement of the Y chromosome in the CC strain. The double translocation system is currently being used in L. cuprina.     

cell clones and pattern formation: Studies onsevenless,a mutant ofDrosophila melanogaster

Summary sev ^LY3,the only existing allele at thesev locus (1–33,2±0,2), behaves as strongly hypomorph or even as amorph. Ommatidia in asev compound eye have only seven receptor cells, the position of the R7 pattern element being vacant. Various criteria showing that the missing cell is R7 have been verified. These include (i) anatomical characteristics ofsev ommatidia; (ii) behaviour of central R cells insev rdgB double mutants; (iii) medullary projection of central R cell axons; and (iv) mitotic pattern ofsev imaginal discs. The analysis of morphogeneticsev-sev ⁺ mosaics has shown thatsev is expressed autonomously by R7 cells, indicating that thesev phenotype is not due to asev genotype of ommatidial pattern elements other than R7. The study of third instarsev imaginal discs has not brought any direct evidence for death of clustered presumptive R7 cells; however, clonal analysis of the developingsev compound eye has given evidence of developmental parameters comparable to those ofsev ⁺, therefore favouring the hypothesis that R7 cells die insev mutants. On the other hand,sev ⁺ seems to be required for the determination of the R7 cells, since thesev phenotype cannot be uncovered during the last mitoses of heterozygous mutant cells.     

Ultrastructure of the compound eye of the diploid female beetle,Xyleborus ferrugineus

Summary The compound eye of female (diploid) Xyleborus ferrugineus beetles was examined with scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The eye is emarginate, and externally consists of roughly 70–100 facets. Each ommatidium is composed of a thickly biconvex lenslet with about 50 electron dense and rare layers. The lens facet overlies a crystalline cone of the acone type which is roughly hourglass-shaped. Pigment cells envelop the entire ommatidium, and pigment granules also are abundant throughout the cytoplasm of the 8 retinular cells. The rhabdomeres of 2 centrally situated photoreceptor cells effectively fuse into a rhabdom that extends from the base of the crystalline cone deeply into the ommatidium. Six distal peripheral retinular cells encircle the 2 central cells, and their rhabdomeres join laterally to form a rhabdomeric ring around the central rhabdom. The rhabdom and rhabdomeric ring are effectively separated by the cytoplasm of the two central retinular cells which contains the usual organelles and an abundance of shielding pigment granules. Eight axons per ommatidium gather in a tracheae-less fascicle before exiting the eye through the fenestrate basement membrane. No tracheation was observed among the retinular cells. Each Semper cell of each observed crystalline cone contained an abundance of virus-like particles near the cell nucleus. The insect is laboratory reared, and the visual system seems very amenable to photoreceptor investigations.This research was supported by the Director of the Research Division, C.A.L.S., University of Wisconsin, Madison; and in part by research grant No. RR-00779 from the Division of Research Resources, National Institutes of Health and by funds from the Schoenleber Foundation, Milwaukee, WI to D.M.N.     

淮河流域暖季极端高温干旱复合事件的演变特征及其与气候和植被的关系

使用淮河流域1981年至2020年的149个气象站点的气温和相对湿度数据,分析了流域暖季极端高温干旱复合事件(Compound Drought and Heat Events,CDHEs)的时空演变特征,并通过趋势分析和相关分析法探讨了CDHEs与气候和植被的关系。结果表明:①CDHEs的发生日数在年代际尺度上呈现明显的增加趋势,并且范围扩大,频发区逐渐向淮河流域中西部移动;②在年际尺度上,CDHEs随时间序列呈显著的波动上升趋势,空间分布上以西北部为中心向四周递减。连续CDHEs事件呈年际变化,最大2至4天的连续事件存在波动,2019年达到高峰,并且在流域内零散或成片出现;③在月际尺度上,CDHEs的发生日数在6月最多,其次是5月、7月、9月和8月。淮河流域入汛前的旱情和入汛后的旱涝急转都容易导致CDHEs发生,而且随着月际变化向南移动;④CDHEs对水热条件和大气环流具有特别的敏感性。在850hPa反气旋和500hPa显著高压异常的控制下,高温、低湿、高蒸发和降水少的气候背景有利于淮河地区CDHEs的形成,尤其是在淮河中西部地区。因此,CDHEs的发生与气候变化密切相关;⑤CDHEs与植被生长也存在显著关系。CDHEs与GPP呈显著的负相关,而与NDVI呈显著的正相关,显著地区的土地类型以耕地和城乡、工矿、居民用地为主。GPP和NDVI的不同步可能是因为多种因素的非线性相互作用,而不仅仅是单一因素的影响。此外,对于GPP和NDVI来说,土壤含水量至关重要。总之,本文对淮河流域CDHEs的时空分布特征进行了深入研究,并探讨了其与气候和植被的关系。研究结果可以为该地区的气象灾害防御和生态环境保护提供科学依据和参考。     

Visual ecology of Indian carpenter bees I: Light intensities and flight activity

Bees are mostly active during the daytime, but nocturnality has been reported in some bee families. We studied temporal flight activity in three species of carpenter bees (genus Xylocopa) in relation to light intensities. X. leucothorax is diurnal, X. tenuiscapa is largely diurnal being only occasionally crepuscular, while X. tranquebarica is truly nocturnal. Occasional forays into dim light by X. tenuiscapa are likely to be due to the availability of richly rewarding Heterophragma quadriloculare (Bignoniaceae) flowers, which open at night. X. tranquebarica can fly even during the moonless parts of nights when light intensities were lower than 10⁻⁵ cd m⁻², which makes this species the only truly nocturnal bee known so far. Other known dim-light species fly during crepuscular or moonlit periods. We compare eye and body sizes with other known diurnal and dim-light bees. We conclude that while extremely large ocellar diameters, large eye size:body size ratio, large number of ommatidia and large ommatidial diameters are all adaptations to dim-light foraging, these alone do not sufficiently explain the flights of X. tranquebarica in extremely dim light. We hypothesise that additional adaptations must confer extreme nocturnality in X. tranquebarica.     

原人参二醇型皂苷水解酶及制备人参皂苷Compound K的研究进展

人参皂苷Compound K (CK)是一种具有抗癌抗炎等药理活性的化合物。目前在天然人参中暂未鉴定出,工业上主要通过原人参二醇型皂苷的去糖基化进行制备。相对于传统的物理、化学的去糖基化法,利用原人参二醇型皂苷水解酶制备CK具有特异性强、绿色环保和高效稳定的优点。本文根据水解酶作用的糖基连接碳原子的差异将原人参二醇型皂苷水解酶分成了3类,发现大多数能制备CK的水解酶为Ⅲ型原人参二醇型皂苷水解酶。此外,对水解酶在制备CK中的应用进行了总结评估,旨在为人参皂苷CK的大规模制备及其在食品和药品行业中的开发提供参考。     

Intracellular recording from a spider vibration receptor

The present study introduces a new preparation of a spider vibration receptor that allows intracellular recording of responses to natural mechanical or electrical stimulation of the associated mechanoreceptor cells. The spider vibration receptor is a lyriform slit sense organ made up of 21 cuticular slits located on the distal end of the metatarsus of each walking leg. The organ is stimulated when the tarsus receives substrate vibrations, which it transmits to the organ’s cuticular structures, reducing the displacement to about one tenth due to geometrical reasons. Current clamp recording was used to record action potentials generated by electrical or mechanical stimuli. Square pulse stimulation identified two groups of sensory cells, the first being single-spike cells which generated only one or two action potentials and the second being multi-spike cells which produced bursts of action potentials. When the more natural mechanical sinusoidal stimulation was applied, differences in adaptation rate between the two cell types remained. In agreement with prior extracellular recordings, both cell types showed a decrease in the threshold tarsus deflection with increasing stimulus frequency. Off-responses to mechanical stimuli have also been seen in the metatarsal organ for the first time.     

重金属复合污染对土壤植物系统的生态效应Ⅱ.对作物、苜蓿、树木吸收元素的影响

研究Cd、Pb、Cu、Zn、As 5元素复合污染对农作物、苜蓿、树木吸收元素的影响,供试污染物浓度以接近国内外土壤环境标准值作为高剂量处理,结果表明,5种元素间存在交互作用,可提高作物对Cd、Pb、Zn吸收系数,籽实超出粮食卫生标准的超标率在低剂量处理时Cd为16.6～42.85%,高剂量时达16.6～71.42%.苜蓿茎叶中Cd、Pb含量超出饲料卫生标准,树叶中含量也有所增加,在中、酸性土壤上尤甚.