Population genetics of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Collisella subrugosa</Emphasis> (Patellogastropoda: Acmaeidae): evidence of two scales of population structure

Marine invertebrate populations usually show high levels of genetic variability that has frequently been associated with spatial and temporal environmental heterogeneity. One of the most heterogeneous marine environments is the intertidal zone, the habitat of Collisella subrugosa, the most widespread and abundant Brazilian limpet. C. subrugosa has planktonic larvae that can disperse over long distances, what can promote gene flow among shores, working against interpopulational differentiation. In this study we investigated the genetic variability and populational substructure of C. subrugosa through analysis of 24 allozyme loci in 14 samples (590 individuals) collected along 2,700 km of the Brazilian coast. The genetic variability was high ( and ), as expected for intertidal species. Genetic differentiation among samples was low (F _ST = 0.03) what may reflect intensive gene flow associated with larval dispersal. However, we detected an isolation-by-distance pattern of population substructure in one sampled region. High levels of heterozygote deficiency were also observed for many loci in each sample. Alternative hypothesis are discussed, and the “breeding groups” is suggested to explain these pattern, indicating the main cause as environmental heterogeneity.     

Tricin‐lignins: occurrence and quantitation of tricin in relation to phylogeny

Tricin [5,7‐dihydroxy‐2‐(4‐hydroxy‐3,5‐dimethoxyphenyl)‐4H‐chromen‐4‐one], a flavone, was recently established as an authentic monomer in grass lignification that likely functions as a nucleation site. It is linked onto lignin as an aryl alkyl ether by radical coupling with monolignols or their acylated analogs. However, the level of tricin that incorporates into lignin remains unclear. Herein, three lignin characterization methods: acidolysis; thioacidolysis; and derivatization followed by reductive cleavage; were applied to quantitatively assess the amount of lignin‐integrated tricin. Their efficiencies at cleaving the tricin‐(4′–O–β)‐ether bonds and the degradation of tricin under the corresponding reaction conditions were evaluated. A hexadeuterated tricin analog was synthesized as an internal standard for accurate quantitation purposes. Thioacidolysis proved to be the most efficient method, liberating more than 91% of the tricin with little degradation. A survey of different seed‐plant species for the occurrence and content of tricin showed that it is widely distributed in the lignin from species in the family Poaceae (order Poales). Tricin occurs at low levels in some commelinid monocotyledon families outside the Poaceae, such as the Arecaceae (the palms, order Arecales) and Bromeliaceae (Poales), and the non‐commelinid monocotyledon family Orchidaceae (Orchidales). One eudicotyledon was found to have tricin (Medicago sativa, Fabaceae). The content of lignin‐integrated tricin is much higher than the extractable tricin level in all cases. Lignins, including waste lignin streams from biomass processing, could therefore provide a large and alternative source of this valuable flavone, reducing the costs, and encouraging studies into its application beyond its current roles.     

Seed anatomy and water uptake in relation to seed dormancy in Opuntia tomentosa (Cactaceae, Opuntioideae)

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There is considerable confusion in the literature concerning impermeability of seeds with 'hard' seed coats, because the ability to take up (imbibe) water has not been tested in most of them. Seeds of Opuntia tomentosa were reported recently to have a water-impermeable seed coat sensu lato (i.e. physical dormancy), in combination with physiological dormancy. However, physical dormancy is not known to occur in Cactaceae. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine if seeds of O. tomentosa are water-permeable or water-impermeable, i.e. if they have physical dormancy. METHODS: The micromorphology of the seed coat and associated structures were characterized by SEM and light microscopy. Permeability of the seed-covering layers was assessed by an increase in mass of seeds on a wet substrate and by dye-tracking and uptake of tritiated water by intact versus scarified seeds. KEY RESULTS: A germination valve and a water channel are formed in the hilum-micropyle region during dehydration and ageing in seeds of O. tomentosa. The funicular envelope undoubtedly plays a role in germination of Opuntia seeds via restriction of water uptake and mechanical resistance to expansion of the embryo. However, seeds do not exhibit any of three features characteristic of those with physical dormancy. Thus, they do not have a water-impermeable layer(s) of palisade cells (macrosclereids) or a water gap sensu stricto and they imbibe water without the seed coat being disrupted. CONCLUSIONS: Although dormancy in seeds of this species can be broken by scarification, they have physiological dormancy only. Further, based on information in the literature, it is concluded that it is unlikely that any species of Opuntia has physical dormancy. This is the first integrative study of the anatomy, dynamics of water uptake and dormancy in seeds of Cactaceae subfamily Opuntioideae.     

Retrospective and perspective of rice breeding in China

Breeding is the art and science of selecting and changing crop traits for the benefit of human beings. For several decades, tremendous efforts have been made by Chinese scientists in rice breeding in improving grain yield, nutrition quality, and environmental performance, achieving substantial progress for global food security. Several generations of crop breeding technologies have been developed, for example, selection of better performance in the field among variants (conventional breeding), application of molecular markers for precise selection (molecular marker assisted breeding), and development of molecular design (molecular breeding by rational design). In this review, we briefly summarize the advances in conventional breeding, functional genomics for genes and networks in rice that regulate important agronomic traits, and molecular breeding in China with focuses on high yield, good quality, stress tolerance, and high nutrient-use efficiency. These findings have paved a new avenue for rational design of crops to develop ideal varieties with super performance and productivity.     

云杉腐烂病菌Cytospora piceae全基因组测序及比较基因组分析

【目的】壳囊孢属(Cytospora)真菌引起的林木腐烂病和枝枯病,是一类重要的、分布广泛的枝干病害,可引起重大经济损失和生态破坏。通过全基因组测序和比较基因组学分析,探究不同腐烂病菌的全基因组特征,分析其与寄主选择和致病性相关的基因或基因家族的差异性,将有助于进一步揭示腐烂病菌与寄主互作的分子机制,为腐烂病的有效防治提供基础资料。【方法】采用PacBio测序技术对云杉腐烂病菌Cytosporapiceae进行了全基因组测序和组装,并通过比较基因组学方法,从基因组水平探究引起腐烂病的4种腐烂病菌的基因组的差异,分析其共有的和特有的与致病相关的基因家族。【结果】C. piceae基因组大小为39.25 Mb,GC含量为51.79%。基于单拷贝直系同源基因构建的系统发育树显示,C. piceae与Cytospora chrysosperma的进化关系相近,Valsamali和Valsapyri则更相近。比较基因组学分析表明,4种腐烂病菌均具有重复诱导的点突变(RIP)活性,其中,C. piceae的RIP活性最强。与其他3种腐烂病菌相似,与木质素降解相关的AA3和AA7家族在C. piceae中显著扩张,但木质素降解关键酶AA5家族均缺失;C. piceae和C. chrysosperma基因组中果胶降解关键酶GH28和CE8家族基因的数量与V. mali和V. pyri相近。4种腐烂病菌都含有较多数量的MFS(major facilitator superfamily)超家族转运蛋白和较少的ABC(ATP-binding cassette transporter)超家族转运蛋白,但C. piceae含有更多DHA2、PDR和MDR类转运蛋白。4种腐烂病菌的分泌蛋白的GO分类分子功能主要集中在水解酶活性,其中V. mali含有最多数量的该类别基因;而生物学过程则集中在碳水化合物代谢过程、果胶分解过程和氧化还原过程。在次生代谢核心基因中,C.piceae的PKS基因明显少于V.mali和V.pyri;在C.piceae含有的4个特异性次生代谢基因中,3个为NRPS基因。【结论】4种腐烂病菌含有的碳水化合物活性酶的种类和数量相似,且都具有较强的果胶降解能力。不同腐烂病菌的膜转运蛋白中多药转运体的选择性扩增,以及次生代谢核心基因中NRPS类基因的特异性存在和缺失,表明它们作为重要的致病因子很可能在腐烂病菌寄主选择中发挥了重要的作用。     

单细胞自由生物基因组全序列的测定和比较基因组研究

近几年来五种单细胞生物的基因组计划得以完成。本文介绍了从五种生物的全基因组序列获得的一些成果,包括全基因组鸟枪法测序、基因组分析和新比较基因组等三个方面,并对生物基因组计划的研究方法作一些探讨。     

Interactive effects of environmental stress and inbreeding on reproductive traits in a wild bird population

1. Conservation biologists are concerned about the interactive effects of environmental stress and inbreeding because such interactions could affect the dynamics and extinction risk of small and isolated populations, but few studies have tested for these interactions in nature. 2. We used data from the long-term population study of song sparrows Melospiza melodia on Mandarte Island to examine the joint effects of inbreeding and environmental stress on four fitness traits that are known to be affected by the inbreeding level of adult birds: hatching success, laying date, male mating success and fledgling survival. 3. We found that inbreeding depression interacted with environmental stress to reduce hatching success in the nests of inbred females during periods of rain. 4. For laying date, we found equivocal support for an interaction between parental inbreeding and environmental stress. In this case, however, inbred females experienced less inbreeding depression in more stressful, cooler years. 5. For two other traits, we found no evidence that the strength of inbreeding depression varied with environmental stress. First, mated males fathered fewer nests per season if inbred or if the ratio of males to females in the population was high, but inbreeding depression did not depend on sex ratio. Second, fledglings survived poorly during rainy periods and if their father was inbred, but the effects of paternal inbreeding and rain did not interact. 6. Thus, even for a single species, interactions between the inbreeding level and environmental stress may not occur in all traits affected by inbreeding depression, and interactions that do occur will not always act synergistically to further decrease fitness.     

Characterization of Pythium spp. associated with root rot of tobacco seedlings produced using the float tray system in Zimbabwe

The study was undertaken to identify and characterize Pythium isolates associated with root rot disease of tobacco seedlings as a first step towards developing management strategies for the pathogen. A total of 85 Pythium isolates were collected from diseased tobacco seedlings during 2015–2016 tobacco growing season. The isolates were identified to species level using sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region. Thereafter, a subset of the isolates was tested for sensitivity to the commonly used fungicides, metalaxyl, azoxystrobin and a combination of fenamidone/propamocarbby growing isolates on Potato Dextrose Agar plates amended with the fungicides. The sequence analysis of the ITS‐rDNA identified Pythium myriotylum as the dominant Pythium species associated with the root rot of tobacco seedlings in Zimbabwe. Pythium aphanidermatum and P. insidiosum were also identified albeit at lower frequencies. Phylogenetic analyses of the ITS region of the P. myriotylum isolates showed little sequence diversity giving rise to one distinct clade. The fungicide sensitivity tests showed that metalaxyl provided the best control of P. myriotylum in vitro, as compared to other fungicides. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study to determine and characterize Pythium species associated with root rot of tobacco in the float seedling production system in Zimbabwe.