The Commelina Yellow Mottle Virus Promoter Is a Strong Promoter in Vascular Tissue of Transgenic Gossypium hirsutum Plants

Explants of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. cv. Jingmian 7) were transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Smith et Townsend ) Conn LBA4404 harboring an expression cassette composed of CoYMV (Commelina Yellow Mottle Virus) promoter-gus-nos terminator on the plant expression vector pBcopd2. Transgenic plants were regenerated and selected on a medium containing kanamycin. GUS (β-glucuronidase) activity assays and Southern blot analysis confirmed that the chimerical gus gene was integrated into and expressed in the regenerated cotton plants. Plant expression vector pBI121 was also transferred into the same cotton variety and the regenerated transgenic plants were used as a positive control in GUS activity analysis. Evidences from histochemical analysis of GUS activity demonstrated that under the control of a 597 bp CoYMV promoter the gus gene was highly expressed in the vascular tissues of leaves, petioles, stems, roots, hypocotyls, bracteal leaves and most of the flower parts while GUS activity could not be detected in stigma, anther sac and developing cotton fibers of the transgenic cotton plants. GUS specific activity in various organs and tissues from transgenic cotton lines was determined and the results indicated that the CoYMV promoter-gus activities were at the same level or higher than that of CaMV 35S promoter-gus in leaf veins and roots where the vascular tissues occupy a relatively larger part of the organs, but in other organs like leaves, cotyledons and hypocotyls where the vascular tissues occupy a smaller part of the organs the CoYMV promoter-gus activity was only 1/3-1/5 of the CaMV 35S promoter-gus activity. The GUS activity ratio between veins and leaves was averaged 0.5 for 35S-GUS plants and about 2.0 for CoYMV promoter-gus transgenic plants. These results further demonstrated the vascular specific property of the promoter in transgenic cotton plants. An increasing trend of GUS activity in leaf vascular tissues of transgenic cotton plants developing from young to older was observed.     

基于PSR的黄河河口区生态系统健康评价

根据压力-状态-响应(PSR)框架模型,从广义上定义河口区生态系统,将河口及毗邻的陆域、海域生态系统作为一个整体,从压力指标、状态指标、响应指标3个方面构建了黄河河口区生态系统健康评价的指标体系,以研究区1991年数据和相关国家标准为基准,2013年代表现况,利用综合指数法(CEI)评价了黄河河口区的生态系统健康状况。结果显示:黄河河口区生态系统健康评价的响应指数最高(0.9055),压力指数居中(0.8288),状态指数最低(0.6458),综合指数为0.7427。总体来看,与1991年相比,目前黄河河口区生态系统仍处于"健康"状态,但健康状况明显下降,其中状态指数下降最为严重。从区域轻度开发到人类活动强烈干扰阶段,黄河河口区存在过度捕捞、湿地不合理开发、浅海养殖过度及污染物排放等一系列影响生态系统健康的问题,应进行区域的生态恢复和科学管理。     

不同叶色矢竹叶绿体结构和光系统特性差异

以矢竹(Pseudosasa japonica)、花叶矢竹(P. japonica f. akebonosuji)和曙筋矢竹(P. japonica f. akebono)为研究对象, 借助叶绿体超微结构和荧光动力学曲线的变化揭示不同叶色矢竹的光系统活性及光合特性差异。结果表明: 3个竹种的光合色素含量差异明显, 除花叶矢竹条纹叶白色部分叶绿体内无完整类囊体片层结构外, 花叶矢竹绿条纹和曙筋矢竹的基粒数明显少于矢竹, 叶绿体发育成熟度不一致; OJIP曲线及参数表明, 花叶矢竹条纹绿叶和曙筋矢竹光系统II (PSII)反应中心开放降低程度低于矢竹, 捕获能量用于电子传递的份额变小, PSII活性变弱; 而曙筋矢竹叶片P700至初级电子受体(Q_A)的电子传递链氧化还原平衡偏向于还原侧, 推测其光系统I (PSI)反应中心P700至PSII Q_A电子传递链受损。因此, PSII活性变化导致叶绿体发育不成熟, 可能是引起矢竹类叶色差异的直接原因。     

To what extent is a breed-specific database necessary to differentiate meat from pasture-fed and stall-fed lambs using visible spectroscopy?

Carotenoid pigments signature in the fat using visible reflectance spectroscopy has shown high potential for distinguishing pasture-fed (P) from stall concentrate-fed (S) lamb carcasses. However, a recent study demonstrated a between-breed variability in the digestive and metabolic fate of carotenoids pigments. The present study was therefore designed to investigate the extent to which this between-breed variability may affect the reliability of diet authentication using visible spectroscopy of the fat. We used 1054 male lambs from three breeds (Romane (ROM), Ile-de-France (OIF) and Limousine (LIM)). The breed-feed breakdown was 148 P and 258 S ROM, 102 P and 92 S OIF and 168 P and 286 S LIM lambs. The reflectance spectrum of perirenal fat was measured at 24 h postmortem at wavelengths between 400 and 700 nm. We quantified light absorption in the 450 to 510 nm area by calculating a traceability index (AVMI_{450 to 510}) considered as an indicator of the carotenoid concentration in the fat (method 1) and we performed a multivariate analysis over the full set of reflectance data between 400 and 700 nm (method 2). The reliability of method 1 proved very variable across breeds, with a percentage of correctly classified lambs reaching 95.3%, 90.5% and 79.4% in ROM, LIM and OIF lambs, respectively. Despite these between-breeds differences, the threshold of the linear discriminant analysis performed on AVMI_{450 to 510} was fairly similar between breeds; when all the data for the three breeds were pooled, the threshold cut-off value was 224 units and the method correctly classified 90.2% of the 1054 lambs. Using the full range of reflectance data (method 2) enabled to significantly increase the proportion of correctly classified lambs for both OIF and LIM breeds, but not for ROM breed. It enabled to correctly classify 96.1%, 94.5% and 94.8% of the ROM, LIM and OIF lambs. The reliability of the discrimination was not significantly different when pooling all lambs for the three breeds than when using a breed-specific database (93.9% and 95.2%, respectively).     

Impacts of forestry planting on primary production in upland lakes from north‐west Ireland

Planted forests are increasing in many upland regions worldwide, but knowledge about their potential effects on algal communities of catchment lakes is relatively unknown. Here, the effects of afforestation were investigated using palaeolimnology at six upland lake sites in the north‐west of Ireland subject to different extents of forest plantation cover (4–64% of catchment area). ²¹⁰Pb‐dated sediment cores were analysed for carotenoid pigments from algae, stable isotopes of bulk carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N), and C/N ratios. In lakes with >50% of their catchment area covered by plantations, there were two‐ to sixfold increases in pigments from cryptophytes (alloxanthin) and significant but lower increases (39–116%) in those from colonial cyanobacteria (canthaxanthin), but no response from biomarkers of total algal abundance (β‐carotene). In contrast, lakes in catchments with <20% afforestation exhibited no consistent response to forestry practices, although all lakes exhibited fluctuations in pigments and geochemical variables due to peat cutting and upland grazing prior to forest plantation. Taken together, patterns suggest that increases in cyanobacteria and cryptophyte abundance reflect a combination of mineral and nutrient enrichment associated with forest fertilization and organic matter influx which may have facilitated growth of mixotrophic taxa. This study demonstrates that planted forests can alter the abundance and community structure of algae in upland humic lakes of Ireland and Northern Ireland, despite long histories of prior catchment disturbance.     

Optical Feedback Loop Involving Dinoflagellate Symbiont and Scleractinian Host Drives Colorful Coral Bleaching

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Population genetic diversity of the clonal self‐incompatible herbaceous plant Linaria vulgaris along an urbanization gradient

How increasing urbanization affects biodiversity is one of the most understudied aspects of global change biology. It is, however, known that it may negatively affect plant population genetic diversity in numerous ways, for example through its negative effects on plant population size, between‐population connectivity, and reproductive success. Therefore, it is important to investigate to what extent different levels of urbanization result in these negative phenomena. Here we used microsatellite markers to investigate urbanization effects on the population genetic structure of 23 populations of the self‐incompatible, partially clonal herb Linaria vulgaris which were sampled across a gradient of urbanization. Clonal diversity as measured by the Pareto‐parameter varied between 1.11 and 2.97 and was negatively correlated to both the degree of urbanization and to population size. Urbanization and population size were not interrelated. The least clonally rich populations also experienced significantly reduced seed set. Irrespective of the degree of urbanization, L. vulgaris populations exhibited strong genetic differentiation (F_ST = 0.33) and there was no significant correlation between genetic and geographic distances, suggesting low gene flow among populations. In conclusion, we showed that urbanization negatively affected fitness of L. vulgaris populations through decreasing their clonal diversity and reproductive success, an effect that may be exacerbated by the low gene flow between populations. Although the effect was modest, the results could probably be extrapolated to bigger cities where it would be considerably more pronounced.     

THE LIPID COMPOSITION OF THORACOSPHAERA HEIMII: EVIDENCE FOR INCLUSION IN THE DINOPHYCEAE1

The fatty acid, sterol and chlorophyll composition of the calcified, unicellular alga Thoracosphaera heimii (Lohmann) Kamptner are reported. The presence of 4,23,24-termethyl-5α-cholest-22E-en-3β-ol (dinosterol), 4,23,24-trimethyl-5α-cholest-22E-en-3-one (dinosterone) and the predominance of C₁₈, C₂₀ and C₂₂ unsaturated fatty acids, including the acid 18:5ω3, indicates that T. heimii is a dinoflagellate. The fatty acid: sterol ratio (1.3), is typical of dinoflagellates. The geochemical significance of dinosterone, the high relative concentration of 4-desmethyl-5α-stanols and the role of 23-methyl-5α-cholest-22E-en-3β-ol in the biosynthesis of dinosterol in T. heimii are also discussed.     

藏黄牛β-乳球蛋白基因启动子部分序列特征

目的:阐明藏黄牛、牦牛、中国荷斯坦牛β-乳球蛋白(β-Lg)遗传变异体在乳中表达差异的分子基础。方法:采用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳确定乳中β-Lg遗传变异体及其相对表达量,然后利用PCR方法扩增β-Lg启动子部分序列(375bp)并直接测序。结果:在杂合型β-Lg个体中,中国荷斯坦牛乳中β-Lg A的相对表达量(63.7±2.9%)均一致性地高于β-Lg B,而藏黄牛乳中二者比例十分接近,但个体差异差异较大。16个测序样品中共检测到13处碱基突变,其中有5处为牦牛特异的。另外,在牦牛β-Lg启动子-452与-453之间,还存在一个插入碱基。结论:β-Lg启动子-430碱基在中国荷斯坦牛中表现为等位基因特异的,而在藏黄牛中无等位基因特异性。     

Effect of ultraviolet radiation on chlorophyll,carotenoid, protein and proline contents of some annual desert plants

Investigation was carried out to find whether enhanced ultraviolet radiation influences the Malva parviflora L., Plantago major L., Rumex vesicarius L. and Sismbrium erysimoids Desf. of some annual desert plants. The seeds were grown in plastic pots equally filled with a pre-sieved normal sandy soil for 1 month. The planted pots from each species were randomly divided into equal groups (three groups). Plants of the first group exposed to white-light tubes (400–700 nm) 60 w and UV (365 nm) 8 w tubes. The second group was exposed to white-light tubes (400–700 nm) 60 w and UV (302 nm) 8 w tubes. The third group was exposed to white-light tubes (400–700 nm) 60 w and UV (254 nm) 8 w tubes, respectively, for six days. The results indicated that the chlorophyll contents were affected by enhanced UV radiation. The chlorophyll a, b, and total contents were decreased compared with the control values and reduced with the enhanced UV radiation, but the carotenoid was increased compared with the control and also reduced with the enhanced UV radiation. So, the contents of chlorophylls varied considerably. M. parviflora showed the highest constitutive levels of accumulated chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll (0.463, 0.307 and 0.774 mg g⁻¹ f w) among the investigated plant species. P. major showed the lowest constitutive levels of the chloroplast pigments, 0.0036, 0.0038 and 0.0075 mg g⁻¹ f w for chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll at UV-365 nm, respectively. The protein content was decreased significantly in both root and shoot systems compared with the control values but, it was increased with increasing wave lengths of UV-radiation of all tested plants. R. vesicarius showed the highest protein contents among the investigated plants; its content was 3.8 mg g⁻¹ f w at UV-365 nm in shoot system. On the other hand, decreasing ultraviolet wave length induced a highly significant increase in the level of proline in both root and shoot of all tested plants. From the results obtained, it is suggested that proline can protect cells against damage induced by ultraviolet radiation. Statistically, the variations of the studied metabolic activities were significant due to UV radiation treatment in shoot and root system of all investigated plant species.