Evaluation of the enteric microflora of captive whooping cranes (Grus americana) and sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis)

The enteric flora of captive whooping cranes (Grus americana) and sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) has not been well described, despite its potential importance in the understanding of both the normal condition of the intestinal physiology of these animals and the altered colonization within disease states in these birds. Nineteen whooping cranes and 23 sandhill cranes housed currently at the Calgary Zoo or its affiliated Devonian Wildlife Conservation Centre (DWCC) in Calgary, Alberta were sampled from October 2004–February 2005 by collecting aerobic and anaerobic cloacal swabs from each bird. There were seven major groupings of bacteria isolated from both species of crane. Gram‐positive cocci, coliforms, and gram‐negative bacilli were the most prevalent types of bacteria isolated for both crane species, with Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Streptococcus Group D, not Enterococcus the bacterial species isolated most commonly. There was a significant difference in the average number of isolates per individual between the two crane species but no differences between age or gender categories within crane species. Campylobacter sp. were isolated from five whooping cranes. The potential zoonotic pathogen Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from one whooping crane and C. upsaliensis was isolated from a second. Three other isolates were unspeciated members of the Campylobacter genus and likely belong to a species undescribed previously. The evaluation of the enteric cloacal flora of whooping cranes and sandhill cranes illustrates that differences exist between these two closely related crane species, and highlights the potential implications these differences may have for current practices involving captive wildlife. Zoo Biol 0:1–13, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Occurrence of rhizobia in the gut of the higher termite Nasutitermes nigriceps

Wood-eating termites feed on a diet highly deficient in nitrogen. They must complement their diet with the aid of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Nitrogen fixation in the gut has been demonstrated, but information about nitrogen-fixing bacteria in pure culture is scarce. From the higher termite Nasutitermes nigriceps the symbiotic bacterial strain M3A was isolated, which thrives in the hindgut contents. The Gram-negative strain exhibited similarities to the species of the genus Ensifer (including Sinorhizobium) on the basis of morphological and physiological/biochemical features. The 16S rRNA gene analysis showed the highest sequence similarity of the isolate M3A to Ensifer adhaerens (>99%; ATCC 33499). The DNA-DNA hybridization revealed a similarity of 66% with E. adhaerens (NCIMB12342(T)). In contrast to the type strain the isolate M3A possesses the capacity to nodulate plant roots. This is the first report on the detailed identification of a rhizobia-related strain from the intestinal tract of animals. Strain M3A has been deposited with two culture collections (DSM10169; ATCC BAA-396).     

Disturbance persistence in managed grasslands: shifts in aboveground community structure and the weed seed bank

The length of time and form in which disturbances persist in systems depends on the intensity and frequency of disturbance and on the abilities of resident species to recover from such events. In grazed grasslands, trampling by large mammalian herbivores can periodically facilitate weed establishment by exposing patches of bare ground but whether an intense soil disturbance event results in a temporary increase in weed abundance or a persistent weed problem remains unclear. In May 2002, cattle trampling following heavy rain caused severe damage to nine-month old, rotationally grazed, cool-season pastures (Midwest USA). In September 2002, we compared the aboveground composition of paddocks (i.e., fenced pasture sections) that were heavily disturbed to those that received no damage. Relative to undisturbed paddocks, forage species relative cover was 17% lower in disturbed paddocks, and weed species and bare ground relative cover was 61% and 100% higher, respectively. By September 2004, paddock types did not differ in all aboveground community components. However, the abundance and species richness of weed seeds in the soil seed bank averaged respectively 82% and 30% higher in disturbed paddocks between 2003 and 2004. These findings indicate that a spatially extensive, intense soil disturbance event may soon become undetectable in components of aboveground pasture structure but can persist as an augmented weed seed bank. Because of high weed seed bank longevity, disturbances to formerly disturbed pastures would likely result in higher weed recruitment, with more species represented, than in those which lack previous disturbance. Disturbance history may thus be a useful predictor of weed community composition following subsequent disturbance. Based on empirical data supporting this proposition, we recommend that grassland managers explicitly incorporate disturbance history into dynamic management planning and do not rely exclusively on aboveground characters to evaluate the invasion status or colonization potential of an area by undesirable plants. We emphasize that the ecological legacies of past soil disturbance events cannot only influence the contemporary patterns and processes of grasslands, but importantly, affect their compositional trajectories following subsequent perturbation.     

限制活动加剧2型糖尿病小鼠肠道菌群和糖脂代谢紊乱

【背景】久坐行为在2型糖尿病(type 2 diabetes mellitus,T2DM)患者群体中广泛存在,对于患者的血糖控制具有严重的不良影响,但是其具体机制还缺乏较为完善的阐述。【目的】通过限制小鼠活动模拟久坐行为,从而阐明久坐导致2型糖尿病小鼠糖脂代谢紊乱加剧的具体机制,为相应的健康教育和干预提供一定的理论基础。【方法】利用C57BL/6J雄性小鼠构建糖尿病模型,小鼠随机分为3组：正常组(CON)、2型糖尿病模型组(MOD)和2型糖尿病限制活动组(SED),通过限制小鼠活动的方法使其进行8周的久坐行为;采用试剂盒和形态学观察法测定小鼠糖脂代谢紊乱情况;HE和PAS染色观察小鼠回肠组织受损情况;采用RT-qPCR法测定小鼠粪便微生物的变化;采用TBA试剂盒测定小鼠血清和肝脏中总胆汁酸含量;分别通过荧光定量PCR(RT-qPCR)和Western blotting测定小鼠回肠和肝脏组织中法尼醇X受体(farnesoid X receptor,FXR)和G蛋白偶联胆汁酸受体5(G protein coupled bile acid receptor 5,TGR5)的mRNA和蛋白表达水平。【结果】与正常组相比,模型组小鼠血糖升高、血脂增加、胰岛素抵抗和口服葡萄糖耐量紊乱,而且肠道病理学变化明显,限制活动使T2DM小鼠糖脂代谢紊乱增加(P<0.05);T2DM小鼠肠道菌群失调,在门和属水平上的有益菌减少、有害菌增加,限制活动加剧了这一情况;与正常组相比,T2DM小鼠血清和肝脏组织中总胆汁酸含量增加,限制活动组总胆汁酸进一步增加(P<0.05);模型组小鼠胆汁酸受体FXR和TGR5表达较正常组显著降低(P<0.01),限制活动后进一步抑制了这些受体的表达。同时,Spearman相关性分析也显示小鼠糖脂代谢水平与肠道菌群及肠道菌群代谢物胆汁酸存在显著相关性。【结论】限制活动致使T2DM小鼠糖脂代谢紊乱加剧,其机制可能与肠道菌群和胆汁酸代谢失调,以及胆汁酸受体的进一步下调有关。     

Thorezia vezerensisgen. et sp. nov., a new seed plant with multiovulate cupules from the Late Devonian of Belgium

The multiovulate cupule of a new spermatophyte, Thorezia vezerensisgen. et sp. nov., is described from the Late Devonian aged sediments from Trooz Quarry in Belgium. In gross morphology, it conforms to the Moresnetia morphotype and has a cupule that is composed of four independent quarters that each dichotomises three times. Each cupule quarter contains one single ovoid preovule with a long pedicel and an integument that has small apical teeth surrounding a rudimentary micropyle. Morphological variability in the materials examined is interpreted as being related to preovule maturity, and from this a good understanding of the ontogenetic development from preceding dispersal has been developed. Up to now, 17 spermatophyte species have been described, 11 of which come from eastern Laurussia. This diversity in eastern Laurussia contrasts strongly with the low diversity characterizing contemporaneous floras from other phytogeographical areas. We suggest here that the arid climatic conditions prevailing in eastern Laurussia favoured the development of diverse spermatophyte communities and contributed to reduced diversity and abundance of contemporaneous free-sporing plant diversity.     

The not‐so‐Irish spurge: Euphorbia hyberna (Euphorbiaceae) and the Littletonian plant ‘steeplechase’

The disjunct distributions of the Lusitanian flora, which are found only in south‐west Ireland and northern Iberia, and are generally absent from intervening regions, have been of great interest to biogeographers. There has been much debate as to whether Irish populations represent relicts that survived the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; approximately 21 kya), or whether they recolonized from southern refugia subsequent to the retreat of the ice and, if so, whether this occurred directly (i.e. the result of long distance dispersal) or successively (i.e. in the manner of a ‘steeplechase’, with the English Channel and Irish Sea representing successive ‘water‐jumps’ that have to be successfully crossed). In the present study, we used a combined palaeodistribution modelling and phylogeographical approach to determine the glacial history of the Irish spurge, Euphorbia hyberna, the sole member of the Lusitanian flora that is also considered to occur naturally in south‐western England. Our findings suggest that the species persisted through the LGM in several southern refugia, and that northern populations are the result of successive recolonization of Britain and Ireland during the postglacial Littletonian warm stage, akin to the ‘steeplechase’ hypothesis. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 114 , 249–259.     

Estimating the age of fire in the Cape flora of South Africa from an orchid phylogeny

Fire may have been a crucial component in the evolution of the Cape flora of South Africa, a region characterized by outstanding levels of species richness and endemism. However, there is, to date, no critical assessment of the age of the modern fire regime in this biome. Here, we exploit the presence of two obligate post-fire flowering clades in the orchid genus Disa, in conjunction with a robust, well-sampled and dated molecular phylogeny, to estimate the age by which fire must have been present. Our results indicate that summer drought (winter rainfall), the fire regime and the fynbos vegetation are several million years older than currently suggested. Summer drought and the fynbos vegetation are estimated to date back to at least the Early Miocene (ca 19.5 Ma). The current fire regime may have been established during a period of global cooling that followed the mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (ca 15 Ma), which led to the expansion of open habitats and increased aridification. The first appearance of Disa species in the grassland biome, as well as in the subalpine habitat, is in striking agreement with reliable geological and palaeontological evidence of the age of these ecosystems, thus corroborating the efficacy of our methods. These results change our understanding of the historical mechanisms underlying botanical evolution in southern Africa, and confirm the potential of using molecular phylogenies to date events for which other information is lacking or inconclusive.     

广西下雷自然保护区种子植物区系研究

依据实地调查以及馆藏标本的整理和鉴定,对下雷自然保护区种子植物区系统计分析.结果表明:(1)下雷植物种类丰富,已知维管束植物182科637属1 069种(含变种、亚种和变型),其中蕨类植物24科44属65种,裸子植物3科4属4种,被子植物150科589属1 000种.(2)居热带与亚热带过渡区,区系热带边缘性明显,热带...