Variability of qualitative and quantitative secondary metabolites traits among wild genetic resources of Lavandula stoechas L.

Lavandula stoechas L. (Lamiaceae) is an attractive shrub native to the Mediterranean regions used for ornamental, melliferous, aromatic and medicinal purposes. Furthermore, this species presents an increasing interest in cosmetics, perfumery and pharmaceutical industries. The variability of qualitative and quantitative metabolic traits among nine wild germplasms representing the distribution area of this species in Tunisia was undertaken. A total of 45 essential oil components were identified in the aerial parts of the studied germplasms. The main essential oil components were camphor (15.32–50.63%), fenchone (6.57–34.70%), 1,8-cineole (0.05–13.45%) and γ-gurjunene (1.10–12.15%). In addition to the well known chemotypes camphor/fenchone and camphor/1.8-cineole, a new chemotype camphor/γ-gurjunene was detected in Tunisian L. stoechas L. Six phenolic acids (quinic acid, gallic acid, p-coumaric acid, 4,5-di-O-caffeoyquinic acid, salviolinic acid and trans cinnamic acid) and five flavonoids (luteolin-7-o-glucoside, naringin, apegenin-7-o-glucoside, quercetin and kampherol) were identified in the ethanolic extracts. Salviolinic acid (46.30–615.18 μg/g) and luteolin-7-o-glucoside (5.98–38.54 μg/g) were the most abundant phenolic compounds. A high significant phytochemical variability (p ˂ 0.01) in the accumulation of volatile and phenolic secondary metabolites among the studied germplasms was recorded. The conducted multivariate (PCA) and clustering (HCA) analyses revealed different classification pattern for essential oil and phenolic compounds. The detected phytochemical polymorphism among the investigated lavender ecotypes didn't show accordance with bioclimatic and geographical areas which suggests genetic background as the main explaining factor. The detected secondary metabolites polymorphism valorises Tunisian L. stoechas L. genetic resources as valuable plant material in further breeding programs. Moreover, an urgent in situ and ex situ conservation measures are required for these wild germplasms threatened by human over-harvesting practices and the occurring dramatic changes in climatic conditions.     

Distribution of Competition Potential Between Native Ungulates and Free-Roaming Equids on Western Rangelands

Free-roaming equids (i.e., feral horses [Equus caballus] and burros [Equus asinus]) are widely distributed and locally abundant across the rangelands of the western United States. The 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act (WFRHBA) gave the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and United States Forest Service (USFS) the legal authority to manage these animals on designated public lands. To fulfill this responsibility, federal agencies established an Appropriate Management Level (AML), defined as the number of horses or burros that can be sustained on a given management unit under prevailing environmental conditions and land uses. Although the WFRHBA specifies that feral equids must be managed in ecological balance with other land uses, including conservation of native wildlife, population control measures such as gathers, contraception, and adoptions have failed to keep pace with intrinsic growth rates. Over 80% of federally managed herds currently exceed prescribed population levels, making the potential for competition between native ungulates and feral equids a growing concern among state wildlife agencies. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), elk (Cervus canadensis), and bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) are of ecological and economic value to the states where they occur, and all exhibit some degree of distributional, habitat, or dietary overlap with horses or burros. Notwithstanding the scale of the problem, to date there have been no range-wide assessments of competition potential among native and feral ungulates for space, forage, or water. To address this need, we compiled demographic, jurisdictional, and species occurrence data collected from 2010–2019 by federal and state agencies. We used these data to map the distributions of 4 native ungulate species across federal equid management units (FEMUS) in 10 western states (n = 174). We then made within-state rankings of the 50 units that were ≥2 times over AML and encompassed ≥3 native ungulates. Collectively, FEMUs covered approximately 225,000 km², representing 18% of all BLM and USFS lands in affected states. Each FEMU supported ≥1 native ungulate and 14% contained all 4. The degree of overlap between native and feral species varied by state, ranging from <1% for mule deer in Montana, to 40% for bighorn sheep in Nevada. Oregon had the largest proportion of units that supported all 4 native ungulates (58%), whereas Montana and New Mexico had the fewest equids, but all populations were over target densities. Despite the perception that the problem of equid abundance is limited to the Great Basin states, high intrinsic growth rates and social constraints on management practices suggest all affected states should monitor range conditions and native ungulate demography in areas where forage and water resources are limited and expanding equid populations are a concern. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.     

《国家重点保护野生植物名录》调整的必要性、原则和程序

我国是世界上植物多样性最丰富的国家之一, 1999年发布的《国家重点保护野生植物名录》(下称《名录》(第一批))明确了国家重点保护野生植物的范围, 为依法强化保护、规范无序开发利用、提高公众保护意识奠定了基础。20多年来, 我国野生植物多样性保护形势发生了很大变化, 需要对《名录》进行调整。2018年, 国家林业和草原局、农业农村部启动《名录》调整工作, 物种的遴选遵循了5条基本原则和4条补充性原则, 这些原则主要涉及中国珍稀濒危物种, 具有重要经济、文化、科研、生态等价值物种的入选以及部分物种的排除。经国务院批准, 2021年9月7日, 国家林业和草原局、农业农村部发布了调整后的《名录》, 包括真菌类、藻类、苔藓、石松类和蕨类植物、裸子植物和被子植物, 共计约1,101种(455种和40类)野生植物列入其中。本文简要介绍了《名录》调整的必要性、原则和程序及调整后的情况。     

Human‐horse sensory engagement through horse archery

The Mongol horse stems from ancient stock, similar to the first horses ridden on the Central Asian grassland steppe. Mongol horses subsequently migrated with their human counterparts throughout Eurasia, as far to the east as Japan. During archery festivals in Japan, horses gallop along a narrow runway within a temple complex in the heavily populated city of Kyoto. In Mongolia, with the recent re‐emergence of the ancient practice, horse and rider still gallop across the expansive grassland steppe. The euphoria one feels in riding fast on horseback with the wind against one's face can be symbolised by the concept of khii mor’ in Mongolia, which is connected with the vitality between human and horse in the practice of horse archery. Through sensory ethnography, in combination with multi‐species ethnography, this article explores embodiment between horse and rider in two quite different socio‐ecological contexts.     

Ricerche Morfologiche e Anatomiche Su Mimosa Pudica L.

Summary

Firstly, the author describes the anatomical and histological structures of Mimosa pudica L. during the stages of development of the young plant prior to the appearing of cambium. She then discusses, in the light of previous literature on the subject, the three principal features of Mimosa pudica: herbaceous bearing, stable tetrarchy with intercotyledonal bundles along the plumule, and small sized germination.

Finally, the author concludes that Mimosa pudica appears to be an individual with tree-like rather than herbaceous symmetry (stable tetrarchy), in which the size of germination has diminished parallelly to reduction in size of the adult individual.     

云南及周边地区野菜和野果资源

本文是根据“云南及周边地区生物资源调查”项目的系统调查结果汇总的。云南及周边地区野菜和野果资源,指的是该地区栽培蔬菜、果树及其野生近缘植物之外的可食的野菜和野果。云南及周边地区是多个少数民族聚居区,各少数民族都有采食野菜和野果的习俗,并且在长期采食野菜和野果中,积累了丰富的食用方法。本文介绍云南及周边地区的野菜和野果,旨在为深入研究和开发利用这些资源,并为国家制定野生植物保护有关政策提供基础数据和信息。     

云南及周边地区农作物野生近缘植物

"云南及周边地区生物资源调查"项目是国家科技部基础性工作专项,现已通过国家验收。云南及周边地区是低纬度高海拔地区,也是我国少数民族聚居区,农作物的种类和物种多样性及遗传多样性都十分丰富,并且孕育了丰富的农作物野生近缘植物。本文仅介绍云南及周边地区粮食作物、经济作物、蔬菜作物、果树作物的野生近缘植物,旨在为这些野生近缘植物的研究和开发,制定国家野生植物多样性保护政策提供基础数据和相关信息。     

Dual character of Toll-like receptor signaling: Pro-tumorigenic effects and anti-tumor functions

As a major class of pattern-recognition receptors, Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a critical role in defense against invading pathogens. Increasing evidence demonstrates that, in addition to infection, TLRs are involved in other important pathological processes, such as tumorigenesis. Activation of TLRs results in opposing outcomes, pro-tumorigenic effects and anti-tumor functions. TLR signaling can inhibit apoptosis and promote chronic inflammation-induced tumorigenesis. TLR activation in tumor cells and immune cells can induce production of cytokines, increase tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis resistance, promote invasion and metastasis, and inhibit immune cell activity resulting in tumor immune escape. In contrast, the engagement of other TLRs directly induces growth inhibition and apoptosis of tumor cells and triggers activation of immune cells enhancing anti-tumor immune responses. Thus, the interpretation of the precise function of each TLR in tumors is very important for targeting TLRs and using TLR agonists in tumor therapy. We review the role of TLR signaling in tumors and discuss the factors that affect outcomes of TLR activation.     

Disulfide reduction abolishes tissue factor cofactor function

Background

Tissue factor (TF), an in vivo initiator of blood coagulation, is a transmembrane protein and has two disulfides in the extracellular domain. The integrity of one cysteine pair, Cys186–Cys209, has been hypothesized to be essential for an allosteric “decryption” phenomenon, presumably regulating TF procoagulant function, which has been the subject of a lengthy debate. The conclusions of published studies on this subject are based on indirect evidences obtained by the use of reagents with potentially oxidizing/reducing properties.

Methods

The status of disulfides in recombinant TF_1–263 and natural placental TF in their non-reduced native and reduced forms was determined by mass-spectrometry. Functional assays were performed to assess TF cofactor function.

Results

In native proteins, all four cysteines of the extracellular domain of TF are oxidized. Reduced TF retains factor VIIa binding capacity but completely loses the cofactor function.

Conclusion

The reduction of TF disulfides (with or without alkylation) eliminates TF regulation of factor VIIa catalytic function in both membrane dependent FX activation and membrane independent synthetic substrate hydrolysis.

General significance

Results of this study advance our knowledge on TF structure/function relationships.     

Long-term spatio-temporal expansion of the native-invasive Retama monosperma on coastal dunes: Importance of land-use and natural dispersal vectors

Expansion of invasive species inducing sands stabilization is becoming an important ecological problem in coastal dunes in some parts of the world. Retama monosperma, an endemic to coasts of SE Spain and NE of Morocco, late-colonizing shrub occurring in sandy coastal areas, was planted along the coast of SW Spain during the 20th century to stabilize dunes. In recent decades, the species has spread rapidly, becoming invasive, and sometimes incurring notable changes in its environment and plant community. The expansion patterns of R. monosperma from 1956 to 2001 were described and quantified at the landscape scale within a protected dune system, using GIS. The differential effects on expansion patterns of the main factor controlling the population spread, grazing by domestic livestock and the abundance of wild rabbits, were analyzed comparatively. R. monosperma displays an exponential, invasive-type expansion trend, presenting a mean annual coverage increase of 15% and a mean lateral spread rate of 65.5 m yr⁻¹ from the original population nucleus to the Western and Eastern ends of the study area. The dispersal activity primarily of rabbits and the absence of competing woody species contribute to this rapid expansion. The highest local increases in plant coverage could be related to increased rabbit abundance and to the improved germination rates of seeds which have passed through the rabbit gut. In contrast, areas highly grazed by livestock present the lowest increases, and an open-type plant community is maintained there for a longer time.