Evolutionary renovation of L/M opsin polymorphism confers a fruit discrimination advantage to ateline New World monkeys

New World monkeys exhibit prominent colour vision variation due to allelic polymorphism of the long‐to‐middle wavelength (L/M) opsin gene. The known spectral variation of L/M opsins in primates is broadly determined by amino acid composition at three sites: 180, 277 and 285 (the ‘three‐sites’ rule). However, two L/M opsin alleles found in the black‐handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) are known exceptions, presumably due to novel mutations. The spectral separation of the two L/M photopigments is 1.5 times greater than expected based on the ‘three‐sites’ rule. Yet the consequence of this for the visual ecology of the species is unknown, as is the evolutionary mechanism by which spectral shift was achieved. In this study, we first examine L/M opsins of two other Atelinae species, the long‐haired spider monkeys (A. belzebuth) and the common woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha). By a series of site‐directed mutagenesis, we show that a mutation Y213D (tyrosine to aspartic acid at site 213) in the ancestral opsin of the two alleles enabled N294K, which occurred in one allele of the ateline ancestor and increased the spectral separation between the two alleles. Second, by modelling the chromaticity of dietary fruits and background leaves in a natural habitat of spider monkeys, we demonstrate that chromatic discrimination of fruit from leaves is significantly enhanced by these mutations. This evolutionary renovation of L/M opsin polymorphism in atelines illustrates a previously unappreciated dynamism of opsin genes in shaping primate colour vision.     

竹黄菌固态发酵竹红菌素条件的研究

研究了竹黄菌固体发酵培养生成竹红菌素过程中培养条件的影响。结果表明,竹黄菌生长及竹红菌素生成适宜的温度、pH分别为26℃、5．5—6。最佳的培养基物料厚度为5cm左右。固态发酵过程中最适的水份含量为50％。玉米粉是一种适宜的培养基基本组成。在以上发酵条件下竹红菌素产量为4mg/kg。     

A novel role of BELL1-like homeobox genes, PENNYWISE and POUND-FOOLISH, in floral patterning

Flowers are determinate shoots comprised of perianth and reproductive organs displayed in a whorled phyllotactic pattern. Floral organ identity genes display region-specific expression patterns in the developing flower. In Arabidopsis, floral organ identity genes are activated by LEAFY (LFY), which functions with region-specific co-regulators, UNUSUAL FLORAL ORGANS (UFO) and WUSCHEL (WUS), to up-regulate homeotic genes in specific whorls of the flower. PENNYWISE (PNY) and POUND-FOOLISH (PNF) are redundant functioning BELL1-like homeodomain proteins that are expressed in shoot and floral meristems. During flower development, PNY functions with a co-repressor complex to down-regulate the homeotic gene, AGAMOUS (AG), in the outer whorls of the flower. However, the function of PNY as well as PNF in regulating floral organ identity in the central whorls of the flower is not known. In this report, we show that combining mutations in PNY and PNF enhance the floral patterning phenotypes of weak and strong alleles of lfy, indicating that these BELL1-like homeodomain proteins play a role in the specification of petals, stamens and carpels during flower development. Expression studies show that PNY and PNF positively regulate the homeotic genes, APETALA3 and AG, in the inner whorls of the flower. Moreover, PNY and PNF function in parallel with LFY, UFO and WUS to regulate homeotic gene expression. Since PNY and PNF interact with the KNOTTED1-like homeodomain proteins, SHOOTMERISTEMLESS (STM) and KNOTTED-LIKE from ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA2 (KNAT2) that regulate floral development, we propose that PNY/PNF-STM and PNY/PNF-KNAT2 complexes function in the inner whorls to regulate flower patterning events.     

荷花“重瓣化”的花器官形态发育比较观察

荷花（Nelumbo nucifera）的花型可分5种,最原始为单瓣型,然后由单瓣演化出半重瓣、重瓣、重台和千瓣型。为了揭示荷花重瓣化的分子机理,有必要从花器官的形态发育特征探究荷花花型成因及“重瓣化”的形态发育特征。实验分别选取5种荷花花型的代表品种：‘单洒锦’（单瓣型）、‘大洒锦’（重瓣型）、‘中山红台’（重台型）、‘至尊千瓣’（全重瓣型）、‘千瓣莲’（千瓣型）为材料,进行花芽分化过程形态的石蜡切片比较观察。结果发现：花芽分化过程中5个品种的萼片原基分化期和花瓣原基分化期相似,而雄蕊和雌蕊原基发育存在明显差异：单瓣、重瓣和重台品种均有正常的雄蕊和雌蕊原基分化;全重瓣品种发育初期有雄蕊及雌蕊原基分化,但后期全部瓣化;‘千瓣莲’品种不形成雄蕊和雌蕊原基,而是直接形成2至多个“花瓣增殖中心”,并由此不断分化出细小花瓣。研究认为重瓣型荷花品种的“重瓣化”花瓣主要来源于雄蕊的向心式瓣化,其次是雌蕊瓣化,属于雌雄蕊起源。而对于‘千瓣莲’型品种,花瓣的具体来源方式、花托是否直接参与瓣化及其在重瓣化过程中的作用有待于结合分子生物学手段开展进一步研究。     

洱海蓝藻爆发的时空特征及影响因子

湖泊生态环境对区域气候变化和流域人类活动十分敏感。随着流域的持续开发,洱海作为云贵高原第二大淡水湖泊面临着严重的生态与环境问题,主要包括水质恶化和生态功能的衰退,其中蓝藻水华问题尤为突出。针对湖泊现代监测数据存在时间序列较短、连续监测记录缺乏、监测位点不完全一致等问题,应用沉积物记录开展色素等多指标分析和环境变化重建研究,并对洱海湖区南、中、北3个湖盆的沉积物记录进行对比分析,从而探讨洱海富营养化与蓝藻爆发的历史与变化特征,并识别藻类响应模式的空间异同。沉积物色素记录结果表明,洱海蓝藻生物量变化具有明显的时空差异性,呈现由南至北,先后增加、最后呈现蓝藻水华全湖性持续爆发的模式。进一步的简约模型方差分解结果表明气候变暖和营养盐富集是洱海蓝藻生物量变化的主要驱动因子,此外相对较浅的南部湖盆还受到水位波动、水动力减弱、水生植物演化的综合影响。因此,在气候变暖的背景下,控制水体营养盐输入、合理调控湖泊水位、提高水体透明度并恢复水生植物是控制洱海蓝藻水华爆发和进行生态恢复的重要措施。     

Avian egg colour and sexual selection: does eggshell pigmentation reflect female condition and genetic quality?

Avian egg colour has been explained as mainly serving crypsis or mimetism, although the function of certain colours (e.g. blue and green) has not yet been demonstrated. We interpret egg colour as a sexually selected signal of the laying female's genetic quality to its mate in order to induce a higher allocation of paternal care. The blue–green pigment biliverdin is an antioxidant, the deposition of which may signal antioxidant capacity whereas the deposition of the brown pigment protoporphyrin, a pro‐oxidant, may signal tolerance of oxidative stress. Egg ground colour is presumably heritable and phylogenetically labile. The hypothesis can be applied to animals with colourful eggs and paternal care.     

Determination for inflorescence development is a stable state,separable from determination for flower development in Pisum sativum L. buds

Terminal meristems of Pisum sativum (garden pea) transit from vegetative to inflorescence development, and begin producing floral axillary meristems. Determination for inflorescence development was assessed by culturing excised buds and meristems. The first node of floral initiation (NFI) for bud expiants developing in culture and for adventitious shoots forming on cultured meristems was compared with the NFI of intact control buds. When terminal buds having eight leaf primordia were excised from plants of different ages (i.e., number of unfolded leaves) and cultured on 6-benzylaminopurine and kinetin-supplemented medium, the NFI was a function of the age of the source plant. By age 3, all terminal buds were determined for inflorescence development. Determination occurred at least eight nodes before the first axillary flower was initiated. Thus, the axillary meristems contributing to the inflorescence had not formed at the time the bud was explanted. Similar results were obtained for cultured axillary buds. In addition, meristems excised without leaf primordia from axillary buds three nodes above the cotyledons of age-3 plants gave rise to adventitious buds with an NFI of 8.3 ±0.3 nodes. In contrast seed-derived plants had an NFI of 16.5 ±0.2. Thus cells within the meristem were determined for inflorescence development. These findings indicate that determination for inflorescence development in P. sativum is a stable developmental state, separable from determination for flower development, and occurring prior to initiation of the inflorescence at the level of meristems.     

Studies on lead and cadmium toxicity in Dianthus carthusianorum calamine ecotype cultivated in vitro

• Information on metallophytes during reclamation of land contaminated with heavy metals is sparse. We investigated the response of D. carthusianorum calamine ecotype to Pb and Cd stress. We focused on in vitro selection of tolerant plant material for direct use in chemically degraded areas.
• Shoot cultures were treated with various concentrations of Pb or Cd ions. Plantlet status was estimated as micropropagation efficiency, growth tolerance index (GTI) and through physiological analysis. Moreover, determination of plant Pb, Cd and other elements was performed.
• The application of Pb(NO₃)₂ resulted in stronger growth inhibition than application of CdCl₂. In the presence of Pb ions, a reduction was observed of both, the micropropagation coefficient to 1.1–1.8 and the GTI to 48%. In contrast, Cd ions had a positive influence on tested cultures, expressed as an increase of GTI up to 243% on medium enriched with 1.0 μm CdCl₂. Moreover, photosynthetic pigment content in shoots cultivated on media with CdCl₂ was higher than in control treatment. The adaptation to Cd was associated with decreased accumulation of phenols in the order: 0.0 μm  > 1.0 μm > 3.0 μm  > 5.5 μm CdCl₂. It seems that high tolerance to Cd is related to K uptake, which is involved in antioxidant defence.
• This work presents an innovative approach to the impact of Cd ions on plant growth and suggests a potential biological role of this metal in species from metalliferous areas.

     

Soybean ubiquitous urease with purification facilitator: An addition to the moonlighting studies toolbox

Ureases are nickel-dependent enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide. In soybean (Glycine max), the embryo-specific urease (eSBU), the ubiquitous urease (uSBU), and a third isoform (SBU-III) are synthesized. Our group has previously demonstrated that eSBU, purified from seeds, has antifungal properties against phytopathogenic fungi, entomotoxicity against Dysdercus peruvianus, the ability to induce blood platelet aggregation, and these properties are independent of its enzymatic activity. Here we describe the biological properties of apo-uSBU fused to glutathione S-transferase (GST) produced in Escherichia coli. Removal of GST affected apo-uSBU stability. We performed a Response Surface Methodology to optimize GST-uSBU production to 5 mg per liter and then bioassays were carried out. The recombinant protein exhibited inhibitory effects on filamentous fungi and affected fungal secondary metabolism. Candida albicans and C. tropicalis were also susceptible to GST-uSBU and formed pseudo-hyphae. The fusion protein was toxic against Rhodnius prolixus, with the toxicity being accompanied by in vivo and in vitro hemocyte aggregation. Rabbit platelet also aggregated in the presence of GST-uSBU. Thus, uSBU displayed similar biological properties as previously described for eSBU even when fused to GST, reinforcing the proposed role of ureases in plant defense.     

猕猴桃观花品种‘江山娇’与中华猕猴桃回交后代的性别分离与开花性状变异

以猕猴桃种间杂种品种‘江山娇’（Actinidia chinensis Planch×A.eriantha Benth）与中华猕猴桃（A.chinensis Planch）雄株杂交得到的杂交后代群体为实验材料,于2012、2013和2016年分别对该群体的雌雄性别比及其开花性状进行了调查。结果表明,杂交群体的雌雄性别比例小于1：1,即雄株偏多。杂交后代的花瓣颜色以红色为基础,但红色的分布区域、深浅及类型出现明显分离。聚类分析显示,这些杂交后代可通过花瓣CMYK色卡取值分为4个类群,其中猩红色与紫罗兰红色2个变异类型与观察表型完全一致。杂交后代群体的始花期、开花天数、花朵大小、开花量及单花花瓣数等性状均出现广泛分离,且因不同年份而出现变化。群体中杂交个体进入始花期的平均时间跨度为14 d,群体的始花期进入高峰时个体平均比例仅占群体的25.5%。2016年群体开花时间最长,最多有47.4%的个体开放10~13 d;2013年杂交群体的开放时间最短,有55.2%的后代开花3~5 d。本研究筛选出一批花瓣数多、花朵较大或单花序花朵较多的优良单株,并在后代群体中共发现21个含不同花数的花序组合类型。