Explaining stasis: microevolutionary studies in natural populations

Microevolution, defined as a change in the genetic constitution of a population over time, is considered to be of commonplace occurrence in nature. Its ubiquity can be inferred from the observation that quantitative genetic divergence among populations usually exceeds that to be expected due to genetic drift alone, and from numerous observations and experiments consistent with local adaptation. Experimental manipulations in natural populations have provided evidence that rapid evolutionary responses may occur in the wild. However, there are remarkably few cases where direct observations of natural populations have revealed microevolutionary changes occurring, despite the frequent demonstration of additive genetic variation and strong directional selection for particular traits. Those few cases where responses congruent with expectation have been demonstrated are restricted to changes over one generation. In this article we focus on possible explanations as to why heritable traits under apparently strong directional selection often fail to show the expected evolutionary response. To date, few of these explanations for apparent stasis have been amenable to empirical testing. We describe new methods, derived from procedures developed by animal breeding scientists, which can be used to address these explanations, and illustrate the approach with examples from long-term studies of collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) and red deer (Cervus elaphus). Understanding why most intensively studied natural populations do not appear to be evolving is an important challenge for evolutionary biology.     

基于景观敏感度的森林公园景点评价

采用GIS空间分析技术,结合地形特征,选择相对坡度、相对距离、互视性、视觉几率和醒目程度5个分量,基于景观敏感度的测定原理和方法,对猴石国家森林公园内的主要景点进行了景观敏感度定量评价.结果表明：在猴石公园现有的23个景点中,景观敏感度综合评价为Ⅰ级的景点0个;景观敏感度综合评价为Ⅱ级的景点10个,占景点总数的43.5%,这类景点及其周围景观均需受到严格保护,以维持景观的自然特征;景观敏感度综合评价为Ⅲ级的景点有8个,占景点总数的34.8%,这类景点周围可结合自然景观发展人文景观,建设较宽的游览道,也可开发小规模的人工建筑,但建筑风格应与周围的自然景观协调统一,即在保护好自然景观的同时,实施开发建设;景观敏感度综合评价为Ⅳ和Ⅴ级的景点共计5个,占景点总数的21.7%,这两类景点周围可开展更大规模的综合性旅游设施和游道建设,为自然景观增色生辉.通过多角度定量化的景观敏感度评价,丰富了景观视觉评价和景观感知研究的理论,同时,为旅游区及森林公园总体开发建设和景观规划提供了重要依据和科学指导.     

培养基初始pH值对木聚糖酶合成的影响

本文探讨了培养基三种初始ｐＨ值对木聚糖酶合成的影响。试验结果表明,培养基初始ｐＨ值对木聚糖酶的合成有重大影响,低ｐＨ有利于提高木聚糖酶活力。在碳源为７ｇ／Ｌ条件下,初始ｐＨ值为４．０时合成的木聚糖酶活力高达３２．８７ＩＵ／ｍｌ,酶产率和得率分别为６５７４．０ＩＵ／Ｌ·ｄ和４６９５．７ＩＵ／ｇ木聚糖。酶活力和酶产率是初始ＰＨ５．０的１．７倍,分别是初始ＰＨ６．０的３．８倍和２．３倍。进一步研究表明,     

Accumulation of cadmium and its effects on growth, development and hemolymph biochemical compositions in Boettcherisca peregrina larvae （Diptera： Sarcophagidae）

Newly emerged larvae of the fleshfly, Boettcherisca peregrina were exposed to two different CdCl2 concentrations of 100μg/g and 400 mg/g diet fresh weight （DFW）. They were administered in the diets until the end of larval stage. Cd-exposed larvae accumulated significant amounts of Cd and this accumulation increased with the exposure dose and time. The body weights were lightened and lengths of larvae were shortened considerably after Cd exposure, especially at the higher Cd concentration. The total larval duration was also extremely affected due to Cd exposure. The average duration was prolonged significantly by 14 h at the lower Cd concentration, while it was increased by 33.7 h over controls at the higher Cd concentration. A significant decrease in contents of either soluble proteins, total lipids or caloric values in the hemolymph occurred due to Cd exposure throughout the entire tested period but after 120 h of Cd exposure. In contrast, when exposed to Cd with its higher concentration, total sugar contents in the hemolymph were increased strikingly over the whole tested time, except after 96 h of Cd exposure, while they were not apparently altered except after 24 h of Cd exposure at the lower concentration. Thus, it is suggested that Cd exposure shows significant adverse impact on the growth and development, as well as metabolism, in larvae of this fleshfly, depending on its exposure time and dose.     

On the lag phase and initial decline of microbial growth curves

The lag phase is generally thought to be a period during which the cells adjust to a new environment before the onset of exponential growth. Characterizing the lag phase in microbial growth curves has importance in food sciences, environmental sciences, bioremediation and in understanding basic cellular processes. The goal of this work is to extend the analysis of cell growth curves and to better estimate the duration of the lag phase. A non-autonomous model is presented that includes actively duplicating cells and two subclasses of non-duplicating cells. The growth curves depend on the growth and death rate of these three subpopulations and on the initial proportion of each. A deterministic and a stochastic model are both developed and give the same results. A notable feature of the model is the decline of cells during the early stage of the growth curve, and the range of parameters when this decline occurs is identified. A limited growth model is also presented that accounts for the lag, exponential growth and stationary phase of microbial growth curves.     

Some recommendations for the practitioner to improve the precision of experimentally determined protein folding rates and phi values

The mechanism by which proteins fold from an initially random conformation into a functional, native structure remains a major unsolved question in molecular biology. Of particular interest to the protein folding community is the structure that the protein adopts in the folding transition state (the highest free energy state on the pathway from unfolded to folded), as that state forms the barrier that defines the folding pathway. Unfortunately, however, unlike those of the initial, unfolded state and the final, folded state of the protein, the structure in the transition state cannot be directly assessed via experiment. Instead, experimentalists infer the structure of the transition state, often by estimating changes in its free energy by measuring the effects of amino acid substitutions on folding and unfolding rates (Phi-value analysis). In this article we show how to obtain more efficient estimates of these important quantities via improved experimental designs, and how to avoid common pitfalls in the analysis of kinetic data during the extraction of these parameters.     

pH及氧气对白念珠菌菌丝形成的影响

目的探讨pH值和氧气对白念珠菌菌丝形成的影响。方法通过调节Muller—Hinton液体培养基的pH值和去除培养基中的氧气来观察白念珠菌的生长曲线、倍增时间和菌丝形成率的变化。结果在无氧气的液体培养基中,白念珠菌生长缓慢,不能产生菌丝结构,只有酵母细胞形成。生长曲线的延缓期内各组没有明显差异,而在生长的对数期pH3和pH4的条件下念珠菌生长速度明显慢于pH5、pH6、pH7、pH8和pH9。菌丝形成率在pH3、pH4和pH5条件下〈20％,而在pH6、pH7、pH8和pH9条件下可高达70％。结论厌氧条件抑制白念珠菌的菌丝形成,只形成酵母细胞。白念珠菌在pH3—9的范围内均能生长,偏酸性环境有利于白念珠菌酵母形成,偏碱性的环境有助于菌丝的形成。     

红瓜叶营养成分及作为野生蔬菜的评价

分析了红瓜(Coccinia gradis)嫩茎叶的矿物质、微量元素、蛋白质、氨基酸和维生素含量,并与常用7种栽培蔬菜的含量进行了比较。结果发现,红瓜嫩茎叶中矿物质K、P(除芹菜),微量元素Fe、Mg(除蕹菜)、Se和Zn的含量均高于7种蔬菜。红瓜嫩叶中硫氨素、核黄素和尼克酸含量远高于对照的7种栽培蔬菜。采用模糊识别法和氨基酸系数比值法,分别以鸡蛋蛋白质为标准蛋白,以WHO／FAO必需氨基酸参考模式为评价标准,对红瓜嫩茎叶中蛋白质营养价值进行了评价,并与7种栽培蔬菜蛋白质进行对照比较。结果表明红瓜嫩茎叶蛋白质含量为2．1％(鲜重),蛋白质中氨基酸种类齐全,氨基酸含量93．8％,必需氨基酸占总氨基酸的42％,第一限制性氨基酸为含硫氨基酸(Met Cys)。红瓜嫩茎叶蛋白质中必需氨基酸贴近度(以鸡蛋蛋白质为标准)0．8070,氨基酸比值系数分(以WHO／FAO必需氨基酸参考模式)71．946,均高于对照的7种栽培蔬菜。     

小碎斑鱼蛉幼虫资源成分分析及价值评价

针对小碎斑鱼蛉Neochauliodes sparsus(Liu et Yang)幼虫,进行了资源成分测定,分析。结果表明:小碎斑鱼蛉幼虫干物质中蛋白质、氨基酸、脂肪、糖类及灰分含量分别为67.69%、56.02%、10.4%、1.59%、7.05%,含有18种氨基酸,包括8种人体必需氨基酸,其必需氨基酸占总氨基酸含量的45.32%,必需氨基酸与非必需氨基酸含量的比值为82.89%,第一限制性氨基酸为色氨酸;此外,还含有Ca、P、Fe、Zn等多种矿物质和微量元素。在分析了小碎斑鱼蛉幼虫资源成分的基础上,对其开发利用价值进行了评价。