Xylem structure and connectivity in grapevine (Vitis vinifera) shoots provides a passive mechanism for the spread of bacteria in grape plants

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Bacterial leaf scorch occurring in a number of economically important plants is caused by the xylem-limited bacterium Xylella fastidiosa (Xf). In grapevine, Xf systemic infection causes Pierce's disease and is lethal. Traditional dogma is that Xf movement between vessels requires the digestion of inter-vessel pit membranes. However, Yersinia enterocolitica (Ye) (a bacterium found in animals) and fluorescent beads moved rapidly within grapevine xylem from stem into leaf lamina, suggesting open conduits consisting of long, branched xylem vessels for passive movement. This study builds on and expands previous observations on the nature of these conduits and how they affect Xf movement. METHODS: Air, latex paint and green fluorescence protein (GFP)-Xf were loaded into leaves and followed to confirm and identify these conduits. Leaf xylem anatomy was studied to determine the basis for the free and sometimes restricted movement of Ye, beads, air, paint and GFP-Xf into the lamina. KEY RESULTS: Reverse loading experiments demonstrated that long, branched xylem vessels occurred exclusively in primary xylem. They were observed in the stem for three internodes before diverging into mature leaves. However, this stem-leaf connection was an age-dependent character and was absent for the first 10-12 leaves basal to the apical meristem. Free movement in leaf blade xylem was cell-type specific with vessels facilitating movement in the body of the blade and tracheids near the leaf margin. Air, latex paint and GFP-Xf all moved about 50-60% of the leaf length. GFP-Xf was never observed close to the leaf margin. CONCLUSIONS: The open vessels of the primary xylem offered unimpeded long distance pathways bridging stem to leaves, possibly facilitating the spread of bacterial pathogens in planta. GFP-Xf never reached the leaf margins where scorching appeared, suggesting a signal targeting specific cells or a toxic build-up at hydathodes.     

Termination of the afferent fiber in the spinal cord of the turtle Testudo horsfieldi and three-dimensional reconstruction of the sensory-motoneuron connection

Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) tracing methods and subsequent computer reconstruction were used to study the structural organization of sensory-motoneuron connections in turtles. HRP was applied through suction electrodes to thin dorsal and ventral root filaments of superfused isolated lumbar spinal cord of the turtle Testudo horsfieldi. Single motoneurons were labeled ionophoretically with intracellular glass microelectrodes. Labeled elements were examined under a light microscope. The Eutectic neuron tracing system and its associated program were used for three-dimensional reconstructions and morphometry. The distribution of afferent fibers of the dorsal root and their terminations were presented in a new scheme in which new zones, in addition to those that were already well known, were shown, including the following: in the Lissauer zone, motor nuclei, and ventrolateral funiculus, as well as in the contralateral medial gray matter (laminae IV–V). Unlike in frogs, the motoneuron dendritic field in turtles was restricted to an ellipsoid space with a short axis in the rostrocaudal direction (300–500 µm). The afferent fibers of the dorsal root connected to motoneurons produced very short branches in a restricted rostrocaudal direction (50–70 μm). One fiber collateral of the dorsal root had about 80 synapse-like enlargements (approximately tenfold fewer than in frogs). Putative sensory-motoneuron contacts were found on the I–VII-order dendritic segments of the dorsal and ventro-medial dendritic trees. It was shown that, in turtles, only one first-order collateral of the dorsal root fiber participated in the sensory-motoneuron connection with a small number (about 4) of putative contacts, which is also one order less than in frogs. It is likely that the simplification of the synapse structure in turtles is compensated by a higher efficiency of the signal transmission comparable to that in mammals.     

Microbially initiated pitting on 316L stainless steel

Pitting corrosion of 316L stainless steel ennobled in the presence of manganese-oxidizing bacteria, Leptothrix discophora, was studied in a low-concentration sodium chloride solution. Corrosion coupons were first exposed to the microorganisms in a batch reactor until ennoblement occurred, then sodium chloride was added, which initiated pitting. The pits had aspect ratios (length divided by width) and shapes closely resembling the aspect ratio and the shape of the bacteria, which suggested that the microorganisms were involved in pit initiation.     

A Two-Layered Targeting Mechanism Underlies Nuclear RNA Sorting by the Human Exosome

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Climatic stability in the Brazilian Cerrado: implications for biogeographical connections of South American savannas,species richness and conservation in a biodiversity hotspot

Aim To investigate the historical distribution of the Cerrado across Quaternary climatic fluctuations and to generate historical stability maps to test: (1) whether the ‘historical climate’ stability hypothesis explains squamate reptile richness in the Cerrado; and (2) the hypothesis of Pleistocene connections between savannas located north and south of Amazonia. Location The Cerrado, a savanna biome and a global biodiversity hotspot distributed mainly in central Brazil. Methods We generated occurrence datasets from 1000 presence points randomly selected from the entire distribution of the Cerrado, as determined by two spatial definitions. We modelled the potential Cerrado distribution by implementing a maximum‐entropy machine‐learning algorithm across four time projections: current, mid‐Holocene (6 ka), Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka) and Last Interglacial (LIG, 120 ka). We generated historical stability maps (refugial areas) by overlapping presence/absence projections of all scenarios, and checked consistencies with qualitative comparisons with available fossil pollen records. We built a spatially explicit simultaneous autoregressive model to explore the relationship between current climate, climatic stability, and squamate species richness. Results Models predicted the LGM and LIG as the periods of narrowest and widest Cerrado distributions, respectively, and were largely corroborated by palynological evidence. We found evidence for two savanna corridors (eastern coastal during the LIG, and Andean during the LGM) and predicted a large refugial area in the north‐eastern Cerrado (Serra Geral de Goiás refugium). Variables related to climatic stability predicted squamate richness better than present climatic variables did. Main conclusions Our results indicate that Bolivian savannas should be included within the Cerrado range and that the Cerrado’s biogeographical counterparts are not Chaco and Caatinga but rather the disjunct savannas of the Guyana shield plateaus. Climatic stability is a good predictor of Cerrado squamate richness, and our stability maps could be used in future studies to test diversity patterns and genetic signatures of different taxonomic groups and as a higher‐order landscape biodiversity surrogate for conservation planning.     

Resurrection of Rabdophaga salicivora Shinji (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a Japanese gall midge formerly misidentified as a North American species, Rabdophaga rigidae (Osten Sacken), with observations on the phylogenetic relationships of its populations in Japan and the Russian Far East

Intercontinental biotic connections between Eurasia and North America are common in many gall midge genera (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), but only a few species have been recorded from both continents. In Japan, four gall midge species had been previously considered to be identical to North American species, but three of these cases have already been disproved. We examined the remaining species, Rabdophaga rigidae, which had been originally described from Japan as Rabdophaga salicivora in 1938, later recorded from the Russian Far East in 1967, and synonymized with a North American species, R. rigidae, in 1982. Morphological features and partial sequence data of the mtDNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) region suggested that the Japanese species is a distinct species and is identical to the species recorded from the Russian Far East. We therefore apply the original name, R. salicivora, to the Japanese and the Russian species. In addition, on the basis of a molecular phylogenetic analysis, we conclude that R. salicivora possibly came to the Japanese Archipelago through the Korean Peninsula and established itself first in the southern parts of Japan. Then, it expanded its distribution range to northern parts of Honshu, but could not reach Hokkaido, probably because of the Tsugaru Strait between Honshu and Hokkaido.     

高雄山虫草及其细脚拟青霉无性型

报道采自安徽省天堂寨自然保护区的高雄山虫草Cordyceps takaomontana及其无性型细脚拟青霉Paecilomyces tenuipes,应用单子囊孢子分离鉴定和微循环产孢的方法确证了两者的对应关系,并修订了高雄山虫草的原始描述。双梭孢虫草C．Bifusispora可能为高雄山虫草的同物异名。同时采集的具数个红色子座且有双梭形子囊孢子的虫草不是同一个种。     

学术类科技期刊正文转接的原则与技巧

通过编辑实践经验,对学术类科技期刊正文转接的原则和技巧进行总结提炼。阐述了尽量避免跳页排印、以少接多、顺势接排、尽量避免逆向转接、分段或分句转接、不能出现背题的接排、含图表和公式部分不宜转接、应避免转接错误和字体混乱等8条原则以及具体实施的技巧,认为处理正文转接的最适宜时期是清样"定版"环节,其目的在于不断提高编辑工作的效率和期刊的编辑质量。