普氏原羚的活动规律与生境选择

普氏原羚生活在沙漠与干旱草原生态交错区(Ecotone)。青海湖畔沙漠中植被盖度较高, 沙地沙蒿群落中普氏原羚活动较多, 而沙地柏群落中普氏原羚活动较少。普氏原羚在沙地和距离沙地2～3 km以内的地域内活动, 利用起伏沙丘作为隐蔽生境。草原中的芨芨草群落、冷蒿—紫花针茅群落是普氏原羚的主要取食场所。普氏原羚具晨昏型活动规律, 在傍晚和清晨取食, 其活动避开牛羊的取食时间。普氏原羚常常聚群活动, 它们在繁殖期、育幼期和交配期形成大小不同的群体。群体的类型包括同性群、混合群和单一个体群。非繁殖季节普氏原羚雌雄分群活动。目前在人为活动影响下, 普氏原羚很难进行季节性迁移。     

The Lusitano horse maternal lineage based on mitochondrial D-loop sequence variation

The analysis of mitochondrial D-loop sequences (408 bp) from 145 Lusitano founder mares yielded a total of 27 different haplotypes. The distribution of these mtDNA sequences was quite unequal, with the three most frequent ones representing 56.5% of all the Lusitano founder mares and 14 haplotypes (51.9%) being rare variants found only once in the sampling. Four main haplotype clusters were present in the Lusitano breed. The comparison of these sequences with other equine haplotypes shows that they fall in groups shared with other horse breeds. These data support the hypothesis of multiple domestication events in many distinct geographic areas over a broad time span. However, the analysis of 145 Lusitano, 55 Pura Raza Espanola and 18 Sorraia sequences indicates that half of the samples (50.9%) fall in one specific-cluster (A), which has previously been described as characteristic of the Iberian and Northern African horse breeds. The presence of a phylogeographic structure in cluster A associated with its star-like structure was interpreted as suggestive of a centre of horse domestication in the Iberia Peninsula.     

Age-specific fertility rates of the Jeju pony (<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Equus caballus</Emphasis>)

Age-specific fertility is an essential parameter of life history. Here we report age-specific fertility rates, measured as the number of foals per mare per year, for Jeju ponies aged 2–28 years. The total sample consisted of 545 foals produced by 178 mares from 1988 to 2002. The mean fertility rate across all ages of the mares was 0.65 foals/mare per year (±0.24 SD). The fertility rates were above average for the 7- to 8- and 19- to 20-year-old mares, whereas they were relatively low for mares under 4 years old. The fertility rates tended to increase with the age of the stallion, but the relationship was not significant (n =15, P =0.09). The incidence of inter-birth interval was not associated with the age that the mare first reproduced (n =64 mares, P =0.99). However, mares that reproduced later in life tended to have a reduced fertility rate due to an increase in the duration of inter-birth intervals relative to mares that reproduced earlier (n =4 years of first reproduction, P =0.068). The fertility rates of Jeju ponies were lower than for other horses, perhaps because only one stallion was introduced to a relatively large herd every year. We suggest that the introduction of more stallions to the herd each year would increase fertility rates.     

Evaluation of Compass as a comparative mapping tool for ESTs using horse radiation hybrid maps

Loci for 9322 equine expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were predicted using the Comparative Mapping by Annotation and Sequence Similarity (Compass) strategy in order to evaluate the programme's ability to make accurate locus predictions in species with comparative gene maps. Using human genome sequence information from Build 35 (May 2004) and published marker information from the radiation hybrid (RH) maps for equine chromosomes (ECA) 17 and X, 162 ESTs were predicted to locations on ECA17 and 328 ESTs to locations on ECAX by selection of the 'top blast hit'. The locations of 30 ESTs were assessed experimentally by RH mapping analysis to evaluate the accuracy of the Compass predictions. The data revealed that 53% (16 of 30) of the ESTs predicted on ECA17 and ECAX mapped to those chromosomes. Analysis of the results suggested the need to identify expressed orthologous sequences in order to generate more accurate predictions for ESTs. Locus predictions were reassessed with three modifications to the Compass strategy's orthologue selection parameters. Selection of the 'top gene hit' improved accuracy to 72% (21 of 29), while selection of the 'top expressed gene hit' improved accuracy to 86% (24 of 28). Using the default Compass parameters with the UniGene database improved prediction accuracy to 96% (22 of 23); however, this level of accuracy came with a substantial decrease in the total number of predictions. When used with optimized prediction parameters, the Compass strategy can be a practical in silico map location prediction tool for large EST sample sets from unsequenced animal genomes.     

Faecal nutritional indicators in relation to the comparative population performance of sable antelope and other grazers

In the Kruger National Park, sable antelope underwent a substantial decline in abundance after 1987. Our study investigated whether forage quality as reflected by faecal nutrient contents could be restricting population recovery. Faecal samples were collected from sable, zebra and buffalo in one study area and from sable only in a second study area with higher mean rainfall, during the dry seasons of two successive years. Faecal samples were analysed for nitrogen, phosphorus, sodium and crude fibre. Faecal nitrogen and phosphorus levels were similar for sable and buffalo and remained around or slightly above putative maintenance levels, but were higher than shown by nonruminant zebra. Faecal sodium levels were substantially lower for sable than for the other two grazers. In the wetter study area, faecal nitrogen levels for sable herds fell below the minimum maintenance level throughout the dry season in the drier year. Although faecal nutrient levels for sable appeared only marginally limiting under the conditions that prevailed during the study, malnutrition could have contributed to the population decline by sable during a persistently low‐rainfall period.     

基于SCoT分子标记的裸果木遗传多样性分析

为了揭示裸果木的遗传多样性和遗传结构,采用SCoT分子标记对新疆7个裸果木自然种群201个植株进行分析。结果表明12条引物共扩增出145个位点,在物种和种群水平上裸果木多态位点百分率分别为97.24%和76.45%,Nei's遗传多样性指数分别为0.263 8和0.213 7,Shannon's信息多样性指数分别为0.408 1和0.331 6,说明裸果木具有较高的遗传多样性,且物种水平遗传多样性略高于种群水平;遗传分化系数为0.183 9,说明其遗传变异主要来自种群内,种群间存在一定程度的分化;Mantel检验结果表明裸果木种群地理距离与遗传距离不存在显著相关性;运用主坐标分析（PCoA）和STRUCTURE分析对裸果木个体间亲缘关系聚类分析的结果存在一定差异,但总体上结果是一致的。裸果木的遗传多样性和遗传结构可能与进化历史、繁育系统、地理隔离和人为干扰有关。     

公骡精母细胞的减数分裂

关于骡不育以及个别母骡偶然生育的现象。历来存有争议,认为因亲本染色体歧异导致杂种不能进行减数分裂的理论,否认骡生育的事实,而为母骡生育提出解释的理论则认为一定是母骡产生了只含单一亲本染色体组的卵子,回交后代已回归为马或驴,但是一些新的研究却证明,事实与上述理论都存在明显矛盾,为了进一步探讨种间杂种生殖隔离现象的遗传机理,本研究采用性成熟公骡的睾丸为材料,制备组织切片和减数分裂联会复合体标本进行观察。发现个别性腺发育较好的个体虽然减数分裂存在大量异常,但确有少数精母细胞完成了减数分裂并产生精子,在骡的精母细胞内,发现有与马的联会复合体相似的线段状物,电镜下可辨其某完成了减数分裂并产生精子,在骡的精缚产细胞内,发现有与马的联会复合体相似的线段状物,电镜下可辨其某些片段呈双线性结构。据此结构对杂种不育的传统理论进行了讨论,认为应综合考虑杂种的异源染色体和异源细胞核与细胞质相互作用的双重影响,来认识和理解杂种不育多样性现象。     

青藏高原东部橐吾属三种植物的繁育系统

研究青藏高原东缘分布的箭叶橐吾、黄帚橐吾和掌叶橐吾的繁育系统,箭叶橐吾和黄帚橐吾各自居群中有性生殖和克隆繁殖的权衡关系,分析三种植物的的克隆繁殖与生态适应,探讨橐吾属植物对高寒环境胁迫条件下的适应与进化。结果显示三种橐吾的花果期在6月中旬到10月初,花序为头状花序组成的总状排列。三种橐吾的杂交指数(OCI)均为4,繁育系统以远交为主、部分自交亲和、虫媒、需要传粉者;影响有性生殖成功的因素除昆虫侵食以外,黄帚橐吾和箭叶橐吾低的结实率主要原因是传粉媒介限制。限制结实的主要因素是高寒多风的环境限制了昆虫的活动,访花昆虫数量减少,从而使花粉转移效率降低,导致了低的结实率。植物采取的适应对策:大量开花,延长雌雄配子体的功能期和传粉媒介的泛化等,可见三种橐吾有性生殖的潜力依然很大。箭叶橐吾和黄帚橐吾在自然条件下主要进行有性生殖,在保护草场时,应针对其有性生殖器官采取措施。     

荒漠沙蜥繁殖生态研究

荒漠沙蜥（Ｐｈｒｙｎｏｃｅｐｈａｌｕｓｐｒｚｅｗａｌｓｋｉｉ）１年繁殖１次,有明显的季节性周期。４月初出蛰时雄性精巢已相当发育,５月其重量和体积最大,６月变小,进入精子发生的晚期,７月降到最小,８月开始回升,１０月中旬入蛰时已接近春季出蛰时水平。１年内仅７月精巢中无精子。雌性出蛰后卵细胞开始发育,４月下旬进入成熟期,６月达高峰,７月下降,８月进入休止期。每雌年产卵１～３枚或１～４枚,平均１．８３（ｎ＝４８,１９８７）和２．１７（ｎ＝４８,１９９３）。特定体长组的生殖率是影响种群年平均生殖率的主要因素。生殖周期与光周期相符,光周期是影响荒漠沙蜥生殖周期的主要气候因子。     

不同海拔青海云杉与祁连圆柏叶片抗氧化系统

以祁连山寺大隆林区连续海拔梯度(2 665~3 365 m)上青海云杉(Picea crassifolia)和祁连圆柏(Sabina przewalskii)为材料, 测定叶片中抗氧化保护系统的变化, 探讨常绿木本植物抗氧化系统对高山极端环境的适应机制。结果显示, 祁连圆柏和青海云杉叶片中丙二醛(MDA)含量均与海拔高度呈正相关, 相同海拔上青海云杉MDA含量极显著高于祁连圆柏(p＜0.01)。随海拔升高, 两树种抗氧化保护酶超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)、抗坏血酸过氧化物酶(APX)、谷胱甘肽还原酶(GR)活性和非酶促抗氧化剂脯氨酸(Pro)、抗坏血酸(AsA)、还原性谷胱甘肽(GSH)含量均呈明显增加趋势。青海云杉叶片的AsA水平高于祁连圆柏, 但对海拔变化的敏感性较低; 祁连圆柏的GSH、Pro水平及其对海拔变化的敏感性均高于青海云杉。结果表明, 研究区青海云杉所受过氧化伤害较祁连圆柏更严重, 但两树种清除O₂^-·的能力相当而主要负责分解H₂O₂的酶种有所不同: 祁连圆柏中为POD, 青海云杉中则为CAT、APX和GR, AsA-GSH循环系统在青海云杉活性氧清除中的作用强于在祁连圆柏中, 祁连圆柏的活性氧清除物质可能以Pro为主。