Scanning electron microscopic study on the structure of the lingual papillae of the Saanen goat

The morphology of lingual papillae of the ten male mature Saanen goats (11 months old, approximately 42 kg in weight and of a known pedigree) was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Tissues were taken from the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the apex, body and root of the tongue, and were prepared accordingly and observed under the scanning electron microscope. On the dorsal and ventro-lateral surfaces of the lingual mucosa, three types of mechanical papillae (filiform, lenticular, and conical) and two types of gustatory papillae (vallate and fungiform) were observed. The structure and density of the filiform papillae differentiated on the anterior, posterior and ventro-lateral aspects of the tongue. Two types of lenticular papillae, both possessing a prominent surrounding papillary groove, were determined. The pyramidal-shaped type I lenticular papilla had a pointed apex while the round-shaped type II lenticular papilla possessed a blunt apex. Certain number of the type I lenticular papillae had double apices. The larger conical papillae were hollow structures, differing structurally from the filiform papillae with their larger size, a tip without projections and lack of the secondary papillae. The vallate papillae were present on both rims of the torus linguae, were encircled by a prominent gustatory furrow which was also surrounded by a thick annular fold. The fungiform papillae were scattered among the filiform papillae in the anterior two-thirds of the dorsal and lateral surfaces, and each of them was highly protected by surrounding filiform papillae, yet encircled by a papillary groove. Our findings indicate that Saanen goat have profuse distribution of papillae on the tongue displaying morphological features characteristic of mechanical function.     

Metabolic dynamics across prolonged diapause development in larvae of the sawfly,Cephalcia chuxiongica (Hymenoptera: Pamphiliidae)

Nutrient metabolism is crucial for the survival of insects through the diapause. However, little is known about the metabolic mechanism of prolonged diapause. The sawfly, Cephalcia chuxiongica (Hymenoptera: Pamphiliidae), is a notorious defoliator of pine trees in southwest China. One of the distinguishing biological characteristics of this pest is the prolonged diapause of about 1.5 years. In this study, the body lipid, carbohydrate (total body sugar, glycogen, trehalose, and glucose), protein, and glycerol contents were measured in diapausing larvae of C. chuxiongica. The results showed that the changes of biochemical composition in C. chuxiongica are associated with the diapause initiation, maintenance, and termination phases. During the initiation phase, trehalose, glucose, and glycerol increased significantly, but glycogen decreased sharply. In general, the lipid, carbohydrate, and glycerol levels decreased gradually across the maintenance phase. At termination phase, the contents of glycogen and lipid persistently decreased, while an increase of trehalose, glucose, and glycerol contents were detected. The protein level was significantly higher at maintenance phase than at initiation and termination phases. It was also found that elevation of trehalose, glucose, and glycerol contents occurred in winter. These implies that the metabolites with altered levels in diapausing larvae of C. chuxiongica are responsible for maintaining a prolonged development and overwintering.     

高等植物铁氧还蛋白-NADP＋氧化还原酶研究进展

高等植物叶绿体定位的铁氧还蛋白-NADP＋氧化还原酶（LFNR）负责催化光合线性电子传递的最后一步反应,催化电子由还原态的铁氧还蛋白（Fd）传递给NADP＋。LFNR分布在叶绿体的3个不同的组分中,即叶绿体基质中、类囊体膜上和叶绿体内膜上。最近的研究表明,大多数膜定位的LFNR并非光合作用所必需的,叶绿体基质中的LFNR足以维持光合作用的正常进行。叶绿体中的两个蛋白——Tic62和TROL作为LFNR的锚定蛋白,可以与LFNR在类囊体膜上形成高分子量的蛋白复合体。Tic62-LFNR复合体主要负责在夜间保护LFNR的活性,但它不直接在光合作用中起作用。然而,TROL-LFNR复合体对植物的光合作用有一定的影响。本文将概述植物LFNR的最新研究进展。     

Colony Structure of a Consortium of Nitrifying Bacteria

Colonies produced by a consortium of nitrifying bacteria were studied using light and electron microscopy. The colonies were obtained by direct plating of inoculum from a two-stage nonsterile chemostat fermentor and by repeatedly passing the microbial community of the fermentor through selective media containing ammonium or nitrite. The colonies studied can be characterized by a specific combination of six types of cells differing in their ultrastructure and spatial location within the colony. The types of cells occurring within a given colony were found to depend on the nitrogen compound present in the medium. As a result of our study, morphological features of colonial bacterial communities were identified. The proposed approach can be viewed as a method to describe microbial associations and communities.     

Photoconsumption of molecular oxygen on both donor and acceptor sides of photosystem II in Mn-depleted subchloroplast membrane fragments

Oxygen consumption in Mn-depleted photosystem II (PSII) preparations under continuous and pulsed illumination is investigated. It is shown that removal of manganese from the water-oxidizing complex (WOC) by high pH treatment leads to a 6-fold increase in the rate of O₂ photoconsumption. The use of exogenous electron acceptors and donors to PSII shows that in Mn-depleted PSII preparations along with the well-known effect of O₂ photoreduction on the acceptor side of PSII, there is light-induced O₂ consumption on the donor side of PSII (nearly 30% and 70%, respectively). It is suggested that the light-induced O₂ uptake on the donor side of PSII is related to interaction of O₂ with radicals produced by photooxidation of organic molecules. The study of flash-induced O₂ uptake finds that removal of Mn from the WOC leads to O₂ photoconsumption with maximum in the first flash, and its yield is comparable with the yield of O₂ evolution on the third flash measured in the PSII samples before Mn removal. The flash-induced O₂ uptake is drastically (by a factor of 1.8) activated by catalytic concentration (5-10 μM, corresponding to 2-4 Mn per RC) of Mn²⁺, while at higher concentrations (> 100 μM) Mn²⁺ inhibits the O₂ photoconsumption (like other electron donors: ferrocyanide and diphenylcarbazide). Inhibitory pre-illumination of the Mn-depleted PSII preparations (resulting in the loss of electron donation from Mn²⁺) leads to both suppression of flash-induced O₂ uptake and disappearance of the Mn-induced activation of the O₂ photoconsumption. We assume that the light-induced O₂ uptake in Mn-depleted PSII preparations may reflect not only the negative processes leading to photoinhibition but also possible participation of O₂ or its reactive forms in the formation of the inorganic core of the WOC.     

科尔沁沙地丘间低地樟子松人工林水分利用来源的稳定同位素解析

20世纪50年代以来,樟子松(Pinus sylvestris var.mongolica在中国北方干旱半干旱地区沙地广泛引种.近年来一些早期引种的樟子松人工林出现了早衰现象.分析生境水分条件变化、判断樟子松采取何种水分利用策略对于认识其早衰现象很有裨益.因此,本研究利用稳定同位素示踪技术,研究了科尔沁沙地东南缘固定沙丘丘间低地30年生樟子松人工林的水分来源及其利用的季节动态,分析了降水和土壤水分变化对樟子松水分利用的影响,阐明了樟子松与伴生植物(黄柳Salix gordeieril)在水分来源方面的异同.结果表明,樟子松及其主要伴生植物黄柳枝条水的稳定18O同位素组成(δ18O)存在明显的季节变化;樟子松的水分来源主要来自20～ 40 cm或更深土层;樟子松和主要伴生植物黄柳之间存在明显的水分竞争,后者比樟子松先行利用最近较强降水(如降水量＞10 mm),从而影响樟子松水源的补给.本研究对于揭示沙地樟子松衰退与水分利用策略的关系具有重要意义.     

SWAT模型对景观格局变化的敏感性分析——以丹江口库区老灌河流域为例

景观的空间配置与类型组成能够对流域的产流、产沙及非点源污染产生影响。在以往SWAT模型研究中,往往默认水文模型考虑了该影响。为分析SWAT模型对不同景观格局变化的敏感性,根据老灌河流域2000年土地利用在各子流域的组成,模拟研究区更为破碎、复杂的景观空间配置,通过设置多套试验参数,利用SWAT模型生成基于不同景观格局的模拟结果。结果表明,SWAT模型不能反映除坡度和面积变化之外的景观水平下各斑块之间因景观空间格局改变对流域产流、产沙以及非点源污染的影响;模型通过其他参数的调整,弥补了模型分析数据的不足,使实测数据与模型部分结果高度吻合。这表明,一个能够反映流域部分水文特征的SWAT模型,未必是对研究区真实情形的模拟,而是各个参数间平衡的结果。因此,在利用SWAT模型分析模拟景观变化时,不应默认模型能够模拟景观空间格局改变对流域水文过程的影响,同时研究者可以通过划分坡度带,提高模型对不同坡度土地利用的敏感性。