Modeling of Branching Patterns in Plants

A major determinant of plant architecture is the arrangement of branches around the stem, known as phyllotaxis. However, the specific form of branching conditions is not known. Here we discuss this question and suggest a branching model which seems to be in agreement with biological observations. Recently, a number of models connected with the genetic network or molecular biology regulation of the processes of pattern formation appeared. Most of these models consider the plant hormone, auxin, transport and distribution in the apical meristem as the main factors for pattern formation and phyllotaxis. However, all these models do not take into consideration the whole plant morphogenesis, concentrating on the events in the shoot or root apex. On the other hand, other approaches for modeling phyllotaxis, where the whole plant is considered, usually are mostly phenomenological, and due to it, do not describe the details of plant growth and branching mechanism. In this work, we develop a mathematical model and study pattern formation of the whole, though simplified, plant organism where the main physiological factors of plant growth and development are taken into consideration. We model a growing plant as a system of intervals, which we will consider as branches. We assume that the number and location of the branches are not given a priori, but appear and grow according to certain rules, elucidated by the application of mathematical modeling. Four variables are included in our model: concentrations of the plant hormones auxin and cytokinin, proliferation and growth factor, and nutrients—we observe a wide variety of plant forms and study more specifically the involvement of each variable in the branching process. Analysis of the numerical simulations shows that the process of pattern formation in plants depends on the interaction of all these variables. While concentrations of auxin and cytokinin determine the appearance of a new bud, its growth is determined by the concentrations of nutrients and proliferation factors. Possible mechanisms of apical domination in the frame of our model are discussed.     

Evaluation of relative importance of different microbial reactions on organic matter removal in horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetlands using a 2D simulation model

In this study, we used a two-dimensional (2D) mechanistic mathematical model in order to evaluate the relative contribution of different microbial reactions to organic matter removal (in terms of COD) in horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetlands that treated urban wastewater. We also used the model to analyse the effect of increasing or decreasing the organic loading rate (changing the hydraulic loading rate (HLR) at a constant influent organic matter concentration, or changing the organic matter concentration at a constant HLR) on both the removal efficiency and the relative importance of the microbial reactions. The model is based on the code RetrasoCodeBright, which we modified to include the main microbial processes related to organic matter and nitrogen transformations in the wetlands: hydrolysis, aerobic respiration, nitrification, denitrification, sulphate reduction and methanogenesis. The model was calibrated and validated with data from two wetlands (each with a surface area of 55 m²) located in a pilot plant near Barcelona (Spain). According to the simulations, anaerobic processes (methanogenesis and sulphate reduction) are more widespread in the wetlands and contribute to a higher COD removal rate (60–70%) than anoxic (denitrification) and aerobic reactions do. These model results are confirmed by experimental observations. In all the cases tested, the reaction that most contributed to COD removal was methanogenesis (33–52%). According to our simulations, decreasing the HLR (for example, from 40 to 25 mm/d) while maintaining a constant COD influent concentration has a clear positive impact on COD removal efficiency (which increases from 65% to 89%). Changing influent COD concentration (for example, from 290 to 190 mg/L) while maintaining a constant HLR has a smaller impact, causing efficiency to increase from 79% to 84%. Changes in influent COD concentration (at a constant HLR) affect the relative contribution of the microbial reactions to organic matter removal. However, this trend is not seen when the HLR changes and the COD influent concentration remains constant.     

西部某些根瘤菌的数值分类和16S rDNA PCR-RFLP分析

选用61株分离自我国西北地区的野豌豆、棘豆、苜蓿和草木樨根瘤菌和4株已知参比菌株,进行了营养利用、抗生素抗性和耐逆性等13个表型性状研究,通过MINTS软件分析,得到了数值分类树状图,发现全部供试菌株在79％的相似性水平上,分为5个群。对57株未知菌株和10株参比菌株16SrDNAPCR－RFLD分析,发现共具有20个遗传图谱类型,聚类分析树状图表明所有菌株共分为5个系统发育分支,与数值分类结果有较好的一致性。     

A numerical taxonomic study of some pigmented bacteria isolated from Organic Lake,an antarctic hypersaline lake

A study was made of a group of moderately halophilic, heterotrophic, pigmented strains isolated from Organic Lake, Antarctica. These strains were Gram-negative, non-motile, had an aerobic metabolism and a mol% G+C content of their DNA in the range 35–41, indicating that they may be members of the Flavobacterium-Cytophaga group. A numerical taxonomic study involving 134 characteristics compared the antarctic strains with reference strains from Flavobacterium, Cytophaga and Flectobacillus. The antarctic strains formed two clusters that did not contain any reference strains suggesting that they may represent two new species of the genus Flavobacterium.     

Modeling aggregation and growth processes in an algal population model: analysis and computations

 Aggregation, the formation of large particles through multiple collision of smaller ones is a highly visible phenomena in oceanic waters which can control material flux to the deep sea. Oceanic aggregates more than 1 cm in diameter have been observed and are frequently described to consist of phytoplankton cells as well as other organic matter such as fecel pellets and mucus nets from pteropods. Division of live phytoplankton cells within an aggregate can also increase the size of aggregate (assuming some daughter cells stay in the aggregate) and hence could be a significant factor in speeding up the formation process of larger aggregate. Due to the difficulty of modeling cell division within aggregates, few efforts have been made in this direction. In this paper, we propose a size structured approach that includes growth of aggregate size due to both cell division and aggregation. We first examine some basic mathematical issues associated with the development of a numerical simulation of the resulting algal aggregation model. The numerical algorithm is then used to examine the basic model behavior and present a comparison between aggregate distribution with and without division in aggregates. Results indicate that the inclusion of a growth term in aggregates, due to cell division, results in higher densities of larger aggregates; hence it has the impact to speed clearance of organic matter from the surface layer of the ocean. Received 1 July 1994; received in revised form 23 February 1996     

Geographical variation in frond size,rootstock density,and sexual reproduction in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Matteuccia struthiopteris</Emphasis> populations in Norway

The main aim of this study was to quantify differences in the structure of dense Matteuccia struthiopteris (L) Todaro among geographically separated populations in Norway, and to relate these differences to variation in environmental variables. A stratified random sampling procedure was applied to select 4 m² quadrats restricted to populations dominated (>75% cover) by the fern. This dimorphic fern can produce three types of leaves (fronds): fertile (sporophyll) and sterile (trophophyll), and in addition also intermediate fronds. In all, 178 populations from different parts of the country were analysed, and in total 9,346 rootstocks were measured. Fifteen percent of the rootstocks were fertile, each producing from one to eight sporophylls, and 2.0% had developed intermediate fronds. Rootstocks with five or more sporophylls were mainly found in Southern Norway. Within the plots, there were major variations in density (10–112), number of small (new) ramets (0–58), total number of sporophylls (0–94) and estimated total fern wet-weight (0.33–22.8 kg). All new additions to the populations were connected to a mother plant (ramets), and none were of sexual origin (genets). The main environmental variables associated with the variation in population structure were mean July temperature (highly correlated with altitude and latitude), mean precipitation and density of the canopy cover. The density of small ramets and number of intermediate fronds increased from south to north. The latitudinal variation in sporophyll development and maximum trophophyll height was best explained by a unimodal model. There were statistically significant differences in the population structure between the eight studied geographic areas in Norway.     

胡枝子属根瘤菌的多相分类研究

采用了数值分类、全细胞可溶性蛋白电泳分析、ＤＮＡＧ＋Ｃｍｏｌ％和ＤＮＡ相关性的测定以及１６ＳｒＤＮＡＰＣＲＲＦＬＰ分析等多相分类技术对来源于不同地区的１６种寄主的胡枝子根瘤菌进行了系统的分类研究。数值分类的结果表明,在６７％的相似性水平上,全部供试菌可以分为快生型根瘤菌和慢性型根瘤菌两大群,在８０％的相似性水平上又可分为四个亚群。在此基础上,对各亚群的胡枝子根瘤菌进行了ＤＮＡ相关性的测定,以进一步证实和确定它们的分类地位,并通过１６ＳｒＤＮＡＰＣＲＲＦＬＰ分析对各亚群的系统发育关系进行了初步研究。     

An Algorithm for Cladistic Taxonomy—Method of Maximal Same Step Length

This paper deals with the numerical cladistic taxonomy. A method for constructing evolutionary tree (method of maximal same step length) is proposed in the applications and practice of cladistic taxonomy. Its algorithm runs as follows: 1) According to the order of evolution, characters are coded with nonnegative integers, producing the original data matrix. 2) Calculate the same step coefficients Sij (i≠j) by the formula (3) and form the coefficient matrix. 3. Find the maximal value S_pq of the same step coefficients in the coefficient matrix. 4) According to the maximal same step length S_pq, the most recent common ancestor CTU, of CTUp and CTUq can be determinated by (2). 5) draw the cladistic edges of cladogram representing the evolutionary relationship from OTUT to OTUp and OTUq. If the number of CTUs in the data matrix≤2, go to (2), otherwise stop. An example of 6 species from the family Campanulaceae is given for illustration (See Table 1). In general case, the evolutionary length of the cladogram obtained by this method is shorter than that by monothetic and other methods. Its algorithm is easily performed and is especially suitable for computerizing.相似文献   

Numerical Characteristics of Pollen Assemblages of Surface Samples from the West Kunlun Mountains

A total of 31 suface sediment samples were collected from West Kunlun Mountain in south Xinjiang Autonomous Region in northwest China. These samples are from seven types of vegetation: Picea schrenkiana Fisch. et Mey. forest, Sabina Spach. woodland, sub-alpine steppe, alpine meadow, desert vegetion, cushion-vegetation and vegetation adjancent to glaciers. Pollen percentages and pollen concentrations were calculated in all samples. The dominant pollen types in the region are Chenopodiaceae, Artemisia, Picea, Ephedra, Gramineae, Cyperaceae, Rosaceae, Leguminosae, Compositae etc. In order to reveal the relationship between pollen composition and the vegetation type from which the soil sample was collected, principal component analysis and group average cluster analysis were employed on the pollen data. The results revealed that the major vegetation types in this region could be distinguished by pollen composition: a. Samples from desert vegetation were dominated by pollen of Chenopodiaceae (about 60195%). The percentages of all other pollen types were low. b. Picea forest samples were rich in Picea pollen (about 20%) Sabina forest had more Sabina pollen grains than other vegetation types (about 5%, others <1%). Pollen percentages of Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae and Ephedra were comparatively higher (each about 20%) in these samples from the two types of vegetations. C. Pollen percentages of Artemisia, Cyperaceae, Gramineae and Chenopodiaceae were high in both sub-alpine steppe and alpine meadow. But steppe containal more Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae (steppe 33.75% and 32.30%, meadow 15.57% and 19.48% in average), less Cyperaceae and Gramineae (steppe 2.58% and 7.60%, meadow 22.35% and 12.93% in average) than meadow. d. Samples from cushion-vegetation and vegetation adjacent to glaciers were mainly composed of pollen grains transported from other sites. It was not easy to distinguish them from other vegetation types. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis distinguish samples from Picea forest, Sabina woodland, sub-alpine steppe, alpine meadow and desert vegetation. Therefore we think it will be possible to apply the module to reconstruct past vegetation in this region and other similar regions. Regression analysis was also applied to reveal the relationships between pollen and plant percentages of Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae, Cyperaceae and Gramineae. The results indicated that a linear relationship existed between pollen and plant percentages for Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae and Cyperaeeae.