Fraying around the edges: negative effects of the invasive Tradescantia zebrina Hort. ex Bosse (Commelinaceae) on tree regeneration in the Atlantic Forest under different competitive and environmental conditions

Aims Invasive plants modify the structure and functioning of natural environments and threat native plant communities. Invasive species are often favored by human interference such as the creation of artificial forest edges. Field removal experiments may clarify if invasive plants are detrimental to native plant regeneration and how this is related to other local factors. We assessed the joint effect of environment and competition with the invasiveTradescantia zebrinaon tree species recruitment in an Atlantic Forest fragment.     

NPM1突变基因表达抑制K562白血病细胞体外增殖和侵袭

核仁磷酸蛋白(nucleophosmin,NPM1)突变是近年发现的在急性髓系白血病中发挥重要作用的基因改变,为探讨NPM1突变对K562白血病细胞体外增殖和侵袭能力的影响,将载体pEGFPC1-NPM1-mA转染K562细胞系,构建稳定表达NPM1突变蛋白的白血病细胞株(K562-mA)。利用细胞生长曲线观察细胞体外增殖能力;流式细胞仪检测细胞周期进程改变;细胞粘附、Transwell实验分别用以观察细胞体外粘附、迁移及侵袭能力。结果发现,NPM1突变转染后K562细胞体外增殖能力明显减弱;同时G1期细胞比例明显增高,S期细胞比例显著减低。与未处理组和空载体转染组细胞相比,K562-mA细胞体外迁移能力有所增加,但细胞粘附及侵袭能力却明显减弱。提示NPM1突变基因的表达能够抑制白血病细胞体外增殖和侵袭能力,为进一步深入探讨NPM1突变在白血病发生发展中的调控机制奠定了良好的基础。     

Identifying climatic niche shifts using coarse‐grained occurrence data: a test with non‐native freshwater fish

Aim We tested whether coarse‐grained occurrence data can be used to detect climatic niche shifts between native and non‐native ranges for a set of widely introduced freshwater fishes. Location World‐wide. Methods We used a global database of freshwater fish occurrences at the river basin scale to identify native and non‐native ranges for 18 of the most widely introduced fish species. We also examined climatic conditions within each river basin using fine‐grained climate data. We combined this information to test whether climatic niche shifts have occurred between native and non‐native ranges. We defined climatic niche shifts as instances where the ranges of a climatic variable within native and non‐native basins exhibit zero overlap. Results We detected at least one climatic niche shift for each of the 18 studied species. However, we did not detect common patterns in the thermal preference or biogeographic origin of the non‐native fish, hence suggesting a species‐specific response. Main conclusions Coarse‐grained occurrence data can be used to detect climatic niche shifts. They also enable the identification of the species experiencing niche shifts, although the mechanisms responsible for these shifts (e.g. local adaptation, dispersal limitation or physiological constraints) have yet to be determined. Furthermore, the coarse‐grained approach, which highlights regions where climatic niche shifts have occurred, can be used to select specific river basins for more detailed, fine‐grained studies.     

中国外来陆生草本植物: 多样性和生态学特性

构建包含基本生物学和生态学信息的外来物种数据库不仅对理解生物入侵分布格局至关重要, 同时也是制定外来种管理策略和解释生物入侵过程的重要一步。作者在前人研究的基础上构建了中国外来陆生草本植物数据库, 共收集到中国外来陆生草本植物800种, 分属37目72科; 其中约有60%集中在菊科、豆科、仙人掌科、禾本科、十字花科等10个优势科。中国外来陆生草本植物主要来源于美洲(407种, 占总数的47%), 主要分布在南亚热带—热带区(46%, 密度为4种/10⁴km²), 其次为温带湿润区(26%, 密度约2种/10⁴km²)和亚热带区(23%, 密度约2种/10⁴km²), 旱—寒区(5%, 密度小于1种/10⁴km²)分布较少。从生活型上看, 以多年生 (293种, 40%)和一年生 (272种, 37%)为主; 而从生境类型来看, 约有一半(46%)分布于“高养分高干扰”类型的生境。约有80%的物种属有意引入, 因此有意引入是陆生外来草本植物进入中国的主要途径。近2个世纪来, 外来陆生草本植物进入中国的速度快速增加, 约90%的物种在这个时期进入; 而近半个世纪以来, 外来陆生草本植物进入中国的速度快速增长, 约60%的物种在这个时期进入中国。本文所提供的中国外来陆生草本植物的生物学和生态学特征, 可以为管理层制定外来种相关管理和控制策略提供参考信息。     

Estrogen-induced lysosomal proteases secreted by breast cancer cells: A role in carcinogenesis?

In an attempt to understand the mechanism by which estrogens stimulate cell proliferation and mammary carcinogenesis, metastatic human breast cancer cell lines (MCF7, ZR75-1) were found to secrete a 52,000 dalton (52K) protein under estrogen stimulation. Following its purification to homogeneity, the 52K protein was identified as a secreted procathepsin-D-like aspartyl protease bearing mannose-6-phosphate signals. This precursor displays an in vitro autocrine mitogenic activity on estrogen-deprived MCF7 cells and is able to degrade basement membrane and proteoglycans following its autoactivation. The total protease (52K + 48K and 34K) was detected and assayed by monoclonal antibodies and was found to be highly concentrated in proliferative and cystic mastopathies. In breast cancer, its cytosolic concentration appears to be correlated more to tumor invasiveness than to hormone responsiveness. The mRNA of the 52K protease accumulates rapidly following estradiol treatment, as was shown by Northern blot analysis with cloned cDNA. The 52K cathepsin-D-like protease is the first example of a lysosomal protease induced by estrogens in cancer cells. Results obtained using different approaches suggest that two cysteinyl cathepsins are also related to cell transformation and invasiveness. It has been proposed that cathepsin-B is involved in breast cancer and metastatic melanoma, and its regulation by estrogen has been shown in the rat uterus. Cathepsin-L corresponds to the major excreted protein (MEP) whose synthesis and secretion are markedly increased by transformation of NIH 3T3 cells with Ki ras and are regulated by several growth factors. In addition to secreted autocrine growth factors and to other proteases (plasminogen activator, collagenase), lysosomal cathepsins may therefore play an important role in the process of tumor growth and invasion as long as their precursor is secreted abundantly.     

Population recovery of alien black rats Rattus rattus: A test of reinvasion theory

Reinvasion of pest animals after incomplete control is a major challenge for invasive species management, yet little is known about the behavioural and demographic categories of reinvaders or the mechanisms that drive population‐level responses to control. To understand the fine‐scale mechanisms of reinvasion, we examined changes in demography, movements and activity patterns of reinvading alien black rats Rattus rattus in the short (4 weeks) and longer term (3 months) following localised experimental pest removal. Using recovery and invasion theory, we tested three hypothesised mechanisms of reinvasion: the ‘in situ effect’, the ‘trickle effect’ and the ‘vacuum effect’. We created space for reinvasion by removing black rats from the core of replicate 1‐ha plots (short‐term experiment) and later by removing animals from the entire plot (longer‐term experiment). Reinvaders were characterised as dispersing juveniles, floaters or neighbours. Radio‐tracking quantified home range changes for adjacent resident animals (short‐term experiment only). In the short term, there was no net influx of rats after targeted removal. Radio‐tracked residents’ movements were highly variable and displayed no directional changes after nearby conspecifics were removed. However, in the longer term, removal led to slow population recovery through a mix of reinvading floaters, dispersing juveniles and shifting residents. These responses best support a hypothesis of reinvasion through a trickle effect, with rats being extremely mobile and having a high degree of population turnover, even in untreated sites. Our findings provide the first test of reinvasion theory at a small scale, demonstrating the importance of understanding the differing categories of reinvaders and mechanisms of reinvasion after population control. These mechanisms drive the rate of population recovery and, in turn, should help determine which strategy of pest control should be used, and the frequency with which they are implemented, in order to slow the recovery of pest populations.     

Facilitation promotes invasions in plant‐associated microbial communities

While several studies have established a positive correlation between community diversity and invasion resistance, it is less clear how species interactions within resident communities shape this process. Here, we experimentally tested how antagonistic and facilitative pairwise interactions within resident model microbial communities predict invasion by the plant–pathogenic bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum. We found that facilitative resident community interactions promoted and antagonistic interactions suppressed invasions both in the lab and in the tomato plant rhizosphere. Crucially, pairwise interactions reliably explained observed invasion outcomes also in multispecies communities, and mechanistically, this was linked to direct inhibition of the invader by antagonistic communities (antibiosis), and to a lesser degree by resource competition between members of the resident community and the invader. Together, our findings suggest that the type and strength of pairwise interactions can reliably predict the outcome of invasions in more complex multispecies communities.     

A processing product of the Plasmodium falciparum reticulocyte binding protein RH1 shows a close association with AMA1 during junction formation

Plasmodium falciparum responsible for the most virulent form of malaria invades human erythrocytes through multiple ligand‐receptor interactions. The P. falciparum reticulocyte binding protein homologues (PfRHs) are expressed at the apical end of merozoites and form interactions with distinct erythrocyte surface receptors that are important for invasion. Here using a range of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against different regions of PfRH1 we have investigated the role of PfRH processing during merozoite invasion. We show that PfRH1 gets differentially processed during merozoite maturation and invasion and provide evidence that the different PfRH1 processing products have distinct functions during invasion. Using in‐situ Proximity Ligation and FRET assays that allow probing of interactions at the nanometre level we show that a subset of PfRH1 products form close association with micronemal proteins Apical Membrane Antigen 1 (AMA1) in the moving junction suggesting a critical role in facilitating junction formation and active invasion. Our data provides evidence that time dependent processing of PfRH proteins is a mechanism by which the parasite is able to regulate distinct functional activities of these large processes. The identification of a specific close association with AMA1 in the junction now may also provide new avenues to target these interactions to prevent merozoite invasion.