硝酸镧提高黑麦草种子活力和幼苗生物量的生理效应

研究了不同浓度硝酸镧对黑麦草种子萌发和幼苗生长的影响及其生理生化变化。结果表明,低浓度硝酸镧（1000mg·L^-1）处理能够提高黑麦草种子的活力和萌发种子的淀粉酶、蛋白酶和脂肪酶活性及IAA、GA和CTK含量;促进幼苗光合速率提高和干物质积累,这可能与硝酸镧提高幼苗叶片叶绿素含量和叶绿体希尔反应活力,促进光合电子传递和磷酸化反应及激活Rubisco羧化活性、PEP羧化酶活性有密切关系,其中以30mg．L^-1浓度处理的效果最佳;高浓度硝酸镧（70-100mg·L-1）处理则降低种子活力和抑制幼苗生长。而10-100mg．L-1硝酸镧对种子的萌发率、ABA含量和Rubisco的加氧活性影响不大。由此可见,低浓度硝酸镧可通过参与萌发和光合过程的调控提高黑麦草种子的活力,促进幼苗生长。     

硝酸镧对香蕉幼苗两个抗寒生理指标的影响

在人工气候箱中进行人工模拟寒潮对香蕉的冷害 ,研究硝酸镧对改善香蕉抗寒性的生理作用。结果表明 :香蕉幼苗叶面喷施 0 .2 5～ 0 .2 8mmol/L浓度硝酸镧后 ,可提高香蕉叶片过氧化物酶的活性 44.2 %～61 .5 %及降低相对电导率 1 7.6%～ 2 7.7%。     

镧胁迫下外源H2O2对裸燕麦幼苗叶绿素荧光参数和光合碳同化酶活性的影响

稀土污染已成为制约农业发展的一种重要因素,为探讨外源过氧化氢(H_2O_2)缓解裸燕麦镧(La)胁迫伤害的光合生理机制,以‘白燕7号’裸燕麦幼苗为材料,采用砂培方法,研究了5 mmol/L H_2O_2喷施预处理对1.20 mmol/L La~(3+)胁迫下裸燕麦幼苗生长、叶片叶绿素荧光参数和碳同化关键酶活性的影响。结果表明:La胁迫下,H_2O_2预处理的裸燕麦幼苗根长、株高和生长量的降幅及叶片叶黄素循环脱环氧化状态(A+Z)/(V+A+Z)显著下降,PSⅡ最大光化学效率(F_v/F_m)、实际光化学效率(Φ_(PSⅡ))、光化学猝灭系数(qP)和吸收光能用于光化学反应的份额(P)显著提高,PSⅡ非光化学猝灭系数(NPQ)、调节性能量耗散Y(NPQ)、非调节性能量耗散Y(NO)、吸收光能用于天线热耗散的份额(D)、PSⅡ反应中心非光化学耗散的份额(E_x)和双光系统间激发能分配不平衡偏离系数(β/α-1)明显降低,同时1, 5-二磷酸核酮糖羧化酶(Rubisco)、1, 7-二磷酸景天庚酮糖酯酶(SBPase)和1, 6-二磷酸果糖醛缩酶(FBAase)活性显著提高,但转酮醇酶(TKase)活性无显著变化。表明外源H_2O_2能够通过提高PSⅡ光化学效率和碳同化关键酶活性而非依赖叶黄素循环的热耗散来减轻La胁迫导致的光抑制,从而缓解La胁迫幼苗生长的受抑程度,增强裸燕麦对La胁迫的适应性。     

Experimental assemblage of novel plant–herbivore interactions: ecological host shifts after 40 million years of isolation

Geographic isolation is the first step in insect herbivore diet specialization. Such specialization is postulated to increase insect fitness, but may simultaneously reduce insect ability to colonize novel hosts. During the Paleocene‐Eocene, plants from the order Zingiberales became isolated either in the Paleotropics or in the Neotropics. During the Cretaceous, rolled‐leaf beetles diversified in the Neotropics concurrently with Neotropical Zingiberales. Using a community of Costa Rican rolled‐leaf beetles and their Zingiberales host plants as study system, we explored if previous geographic isolation precludes insects to expand their diets to exotic hosts. We recorded interactions between rolled‐leaf beetles and native Zingiberales by combining DNA barcodes and field records for 7450 beetles feeding on 3202 host plants. To determine phylogenetic patterns of diet expansions, we established 20 experimental plots in the field, in which we planted plots five exotic Zingiberales, recording beetles feeding on these exotic hosts. In the laboratory, using both native and exotic host plants, we reared a subset of insect species that had expanded their diets to the exotic plants. The original plant–herbivore community comprised 24 beetle species feeding on 35 native hosts, representing 103 plant–herbivore interactions. After exotic host plant introduction, 20 percent of the beetle species expanded their diets to exotic Zingiberales. Insects only established on exotic hosts that belong to the same plant family as their native hosts. Laboratory experiments show that beetles are able to complete development on these novel hosts. In conclusion, rolled‐leaf beetles are preadapted to expand their diets to novel host plants even after millions of years of geographic isolation.     

Tree functional traits as predictors of microburst-associated treefalls in tropical wet forests

On 19 May 2018, a microburst caused 600 isolated forest gaps in a Costa Rican tropical forest. We surveyed fallen and standing trees within gaps to determine whether certain variables are associated with treefalls. Our results highlight considerations for future research to understand the impacts of microbursts in tropical forests.     

A new Late Cretaceous snake from Patagonia: Phylogeny and trends in body size evolution of madtsoiid snakes

Madtsoiids constitute a successful group of extinct snakes widely distributed across Gondwana and the European archipelago during Late Cretaceous times, surviving in reduced numbers to the Pleistocene. They are renowned for including some of the largest snakes that have ever crawled on earth, yet diverse small madtsoiids are also known. Uncovering the evolutionary trends that led these snakes into disparate body sizes has been hampered mainly by the lack of phylogenetic consensus and the paucity of taxa with novel combinations of features. Here we describe a new large madtsoiid snake based on isolated vertebrae from the La Colonia Formation (Maastrichtian–Danian) of Patagonia, Argentina. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis recovers Madtsoiidae as a basal ophidian lineage and the new snake as sister to a clade of mostly big-to-gigantic taxa, providing insights into early stages and evolutionary trends towards madtsoiid gigantism.     

Molecular mechanisms of congenital heart block

Autoantibody-associated congenital heart block (CHB) is a passively acquired autoimmune condition associated with maternal anti-Ro/SSA antibodies and primarily affecting electric signal conduction at the atrioventricular node in the fetal heart. CHB occurs in 1–2% of anti-Ro/SSA antibody-positive pregancies and has a recurrence rate of 12–20% in a subsequent pregnancy. Despite the long-recognized association between maternal anti-Ro/SSA autoantibodies and CHB, the molecular mechanisms underlying CHB pathogenesis are not fully understood, but several targets for the maternal autoantibodies in the fetal heart have been suggested. Recent studies also indicate that fetal susceptibility genes determine whether an autoantibody-exposed fetus will develop CHB or not, and begin to identify such genes. In this article, we review the different lines of investigation undertaken to elucidate the molecular pathways involved in CHB development and reflect on the hypotheses put forward to explain CHB pathogenesis as well as on the questions left unanswered and that should guide future studies.     

Pollen competition in a natural population of Cucurbita foetidissima (Cucurbitaceae)

The pollen competition hypothesis predicts that when the number of pollen grains deposited onto stigmas exceeds the number of ovules, selection can operate in the time frame between deposition and fertilization. Moreover, because of the overlap in gene expression between the two phases of the life cycle, selection on microgametophytes may alter the resulting sporophytic generation. The extent to which pollen competition occurs in nature has been unclear, because tests of the predictions of the pollen competition hypothesis have used cultivars and/or artificial growth conditions and hand-pollination techniques. In this study we used a wild species, Cucurbita foetidissima, in its natural habitat (southern New Mexico) to determine the amount and timing of the arrival of pollen onto stigmas, the relationship between pollen deposition and seed number, and the effects of the intensity of pollen competition on progeny vigor. We found that ～900 pollen grains are necessary for full seed set and that a single visit by a pollinator results in the deposition of 653.0 ± 101.8 pollen grains. About 29% of the flowers receiving a single pollinator visit had 900 or more pollen grains on its stigma. Moreover, within 2 h of anthesis, >4000 pollen grains were deposited onto a typical stigma, indicating that multiple pollinator visits must have occurred. Fruits produced by multiple visits had greater seed numbers (206 vs. 147) than fruits produced by a single visit. Finally, the progeny produced by multiple pollinator visits were more vigorous than those produced by single visits with respect to five measures of vegetative growth (MANCOVA, Wilks' lambda = 0.96, F(6,370) = 2.54, P < 0.02. These data demonstrate that conditions for pollen competition exist in nature and support the prediction that pollen competition enhances offspring vigor.     

Why we need mechanics to understand animal regeneration

Mechanical forces are an important contributor to cell fate specification and cell migration during embryonic development in animals. Similarities between embryogenesis and regeneration, particularly with regards to pattern formation and large-scale tissue movements, suggest similarly important roles for physical forces during regeneration. While the influence of the mechanical environment on stem cell differentiation in vitro is being actively exploited in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, comparatively little is known about the role of stresses and strains acting during animal regeneration. In this review, we summarize published work on the role of physical principles and mechanical forces in animal regeneration. Novel experimental techniques aimed at addressing the role of mechanics in embryogenesis have greatly enhanced our understanding at scales from the subcellular to the macroscopic – we believe the time is ripe for the field of regeneration to similarly leverage the tools of the mechanobiological research community.