Why Helicobacter pylori has Lewis antigens

In mimicry with human gastric epithelial cells, the lipopolysaccharide of Helicobacter pylori expresses Lewis blood group antigens. Recent data suggest that molecular mimicry does not promote immune evasion, nor does it lead to induction of autoantibodies, but that H. pylori Lewis X mediates adhesion to gastric epithelial cells and is essential for colonization.     

Measurement error in racial and ethnic statistics

In the United States, the racial and ethnic statistics published by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) assume that each member of the U.S. population has a race and ethnicity and that if a member is black or white with respect to his risk of one disease, he is the same race with respect to his risk of another. Such an assumption is mistaken. Race and ethnicity are taken by the NCHS to be an intrinsic property of members of a population, when they should be taken to depend on interest. The actual or underlying race or ethnicity of members of a population depends on the risk whose variation within the population we wish to describe or explain.

中国沿海日本囊对虾线粒体16S rRNA基因序列变异及遗传分化

对中国东南沿海4个日本囊对虾地理群体16S rRNA基因片段进行了序列测定和分析.在获得的467bp 序列中,共检测到45个变异位点,多态位点比例为9.64%.具有10种单倍型,三亚群体单倍型多样性最高(0.900±0.161).各群体的核苷酸多样性(π)为0.0007～0.0082,其中三亚群体核苷酸多样性最为丰富,远高于湛江、北海和海口群体.群体间遗传分化指数(F_(st))为0.000～0.945.结合已报道的16S rRNA基因序列,构建了NJ分子系统树,中国海域日本囊对虾可分为3支.香港至台湾沿岸所有单倍型聚集为一分支,湛江、海口和北海群体内的所有单倍型聚集成另一分支,两分支分别属于已报道的变种Ⅰ和变种Ⅱ,但三亚群体内的4个单倍型单独聚集成一分支,与前两分支的核苷酸序列差异大(7.95%～8.35%),遗传分化明显,可能为一亲缘关系很远的新种(或变种).研究结果可为日本囊对虾的资源管理和遗传选育提供参考.     

Biogeographic constraints on the world‐wide leaf economics spectrum

Aim The world‐wide leaf economic spectrum (LES) describes tight coordination of leaf traits across global floras, reported to date as being largely independent of phylogeny and biogeography. Here, we present and test an alternative, historical perspective that predicts that biogeography places significant constraints on global trait evolution. These hypothesized constraints could lead to important deviations in leaf trait relationships between isolated floras that were influenced by different magnitudes of genetic constraint and selection. Location Global, including floristic regions of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, eastern North America, East Asia (EAS), the Hawaiian Islands and tropical mainland floras. Methods We use a large leaf‐trait database (GLOPNET) and species native distribution data to test for variation in leaf trait relationships modulated by floristic region, controlling for climatic differences. Standardized major axis analyses were used to evaluate biogeographic effects on bivariate relationships between LES traits, including relationships of photosynthetic capacity and dark respiration rate (A_mass–R_d‐mass), leaf lifespan and mass per area ratio (LL–LMA), and photosynthetic capacity and nitrogen content (A_mass–N_mass). Results Independent of climate or biome, floras of different evolutionary histories exhibited different leaf trait allometries. Floras of the Northern Hemisphere exhibited greater rates of return on resource investment (steeper slopes for the trait relationships analysed), and the more diverse temperate EAS flora exhibited greater slopes or intercepts in leaf trait relationships, with the exception of the A_mass–N_mass relationship. In contrast to our hypothesis, plants of the floristically isolated Hawaiian Islands exhibited a similar A_mass–N_mass relationship to those of mainland tropical regions. Main conclusions Differences in leaf trait allometries among global floristic regions support a historical perspective in understanding leaf trait relationships and suggest that independent floras can exhibit different tradeoffs in resource capture strategies.     

Individual phenotypic variation reduces interaction strengths in a consumer–resource system

Natural populations often show variation in traits that can affect the strength of interspecific interactions. Interaction strengths in turn influence the fate of pairwise interacting populations and the stability of food webs. Understanding the mechanisms relating individual phenotypic variation to interaction strengths is thus central to assess how trait variation affects population and community dynamics. We incorporated nonheritable variation in attack rates and handling times into a classical consumer–resource model to investigate how variation may alter interaction strengths, population dynamics, species persistence, and invasiveness. We found that individual variation influences species persistence through its effect on interaction strengths. In many scenarios, interaction strengths decrease with variation, which in turn affects species coexistence and stability. Because environmental change alters the direction and strength of selection acting upon phenotypic traits, our results have implications for species coexistence in a context of habitat fragmentation, climate change, and the arrival of exotic species to native ecosystems.     

鄱阳湖流域极端降水时空分布和非平稳性特征

全球变暖背景下的极端天气气候事件显著增加.本研究基于PreWhitening Mann-Kendall(PWMK)、极点对称模态分解法和广义可加模型,利用鄱阳湖流域1959-2019年16个国家级气象站点的逐日降水数据,从极端降水的强度、频率和持续性3个维度系统检测和分析流域极端降水的时空分布和非平稳性特征.结果 表明...     

鲤科鱼蓝黑鲮微卫星位点的种间扩增(英文)

本研究使用105对微卫星引物对7种鲤科鱼类进行跨越种间PCR扩增,共得到14个多态性微卫星位点.其中9个扩增效果较好的位点用于分析来自帕吉勒提河(Bhagirathi, n=20)和戈达瓦里河(Godavari, n=25)的蓝黑鲮(Labeo calbasu)样品的遗传多样性.结果显示,前者在每个位点的平均等位基因数为7.33,而后者为8 1,期望杂合度介于0.795(Bhagirathi)和0.801(Godavari)之间;4个位点MFW11* (Godavari)、R1*(Godavari)、R3* (Bhagirathi) 和 Lr38*(Bhagirathi和Godavari)都表现出明显的杂合子缺失和哈迪温伯格平衡偏离;而任意两位点间都未观测到连锁不平衡现象;位点R3*极可能存在无效等位基因.上述结果表明这些多态性微卫星位点作为共显性标记在蓝黑鲮群体遗传学研究中有着较好的应用前景.     

TWO TYPES OF BLUE WHALE CALLS RECORDED IN THE GULF OF ALASKA

At one time blue whales were found throughout the Gulf of Alaska, however, none have been sighted there in post-whaling era surveys. To determine if blue whales ( Balaenoptera musculus ) might now occur in the Gulf of Alaska, an array of hydrophones was deployed there in October 1999. Data were retrieved in May 2000 and in June 2001. Spectrograms from a random subsample comprising 15% of the ∼63,000 h of data were visually examined for blue whale calls. Call types attributed to both northeastern and northwestern Pacific blue whales were recorded. Both of these call types were recorded seasonally from the initial deployment date in October 1999 through the third week of December 1999 and then from July 2000 through mid-December 2000. Both call types were regularly recorded on the same hydrophone at the same time indicating clear temporal and spatial overlap of the animals producing these calls. Two blue whale call types were recorded in the Gulf of Alaska suggesting that perhaps two stocks use this area. The northeastern call type has now been documented from the equator up to at least 55°N in the eastern North Pacific.     

On the evolution of clonal plant life histories

Clonal plant life histories are special in at least four respects: (1) Clonal plants can also reproduce vegetatively, (2) vegetative reproduction can be realised with short or long spacers, (3) and it may allow to plastically place vegetative offspring in benign patches. (4) Moreover, ramets of clonal plants may remain physically and physiologically integrated. Because of the apparent utility of such traits and because ecological patterns of distribution of clonal and non-clonal plants differ, adaptation is a tempting explanation of observed clonal life-history variation. However, adaptive evolution requires (1) heritable genetic variation and (2) a trait effect on fitness, and (3) it may be constrained if other evolutionary forces are overriding selection or by constraints, costs and trade-offs. (1) The few studies undertaken so far reported broad-sense heritability for clonal traits. Variation in selectively neutral genetic markers appears as pronounced in populations of clonal as non-clonal plants. However, neutral markers may not reflect heritable variation of life-history traits. Moreover, clonal plants may have been sampled at larger spatial scales. Empirical information on the contribution of somatic mutations to heritable variation is lacking. (2) Clonal life-history traits were found to affect fitness. However, much of this evidence stems from artificial rather than natural environments. (3) The relative importance of gene flow, inbreeding, and genetic drift, compared with selection, in the evolution of clonal life histories is hardly explored. Benefits of clonal life-history traits were frequently studied and found. However, there is also evidence for constraints, trade-offs, and costs. In conclusion, though it is very likely, that clonal life-history traits are adaptive, it is neither clear to which degree this is the case, nor which clonal life-history traits constitute adaptations to which environmental factors. Moreover, evolutionary interactions among clonal life-history traits and between clonal and non-clonal ones, such as the mating system, are not well explored. There remains much interesting work to be done in this field – which will be particularly interesting if it is done in the field.     

Iksookimia yongdokensis, a new cobitid fish (Pisces: Cobitidae) from Korea with a key to the species ofIksookimia

A new cobitid fish,Iksookimia yongdokensis, is described from rivers flowing to the southeastern coast of Korea. The species is distinguishable from its congeners by the following characteristics: reduced laminar circularis at the base of the pectoral fins in males; color pattern including 9–13 vertical bars on the body; 13–14 gill rakers; 17–20 caudal vertebrae; and small scales with a large focal area. Its unique discontinuous distribution on the Korean Peninsula is discussed and the biogeographic implications considered.