Accelerated growth rates in late‐hatched Rhinoceros Auklet Cerorhinca monocerata chicks depend on food conditions and growth stage: an experimental approach

In some bird species, the survival of chicks hatching later in the season is lower than those hatched earlier due to increased risk of predation and a seasonal decline in feeding conditions. To reduce these risks, it might be advantageous for late‐hatched chicks to grow faster and hence fledge at younger age. In this experimental study, the growth rates of early‐ and late‐hatched Rhinoceros Auklet Cerorhinca monocerata chicks were compared under average and poor food supplies in captivity. Controlling for potentially confounding effects of chick mass at 10 days old, chick age and nest‐chamber temperature, late‐hatched chicks had higher wing growth rate than early‐hatched chicks before attaining the minimum wing length required for fledgling under both average and poor food supplies. After attaining the minimum wing length, however, late‐hatched chicks had a lower fledging mass, indicating a potential cost that could diminish the early advantage of fast wing growth.     

Parents and offspring in an evolutionary game: the effect of supply on demand when costs of care vary

Current models of parent-offspring communication do not explicitly predict the effect of parental food supply on offspring demand (ESD). However, existing theory is frequently interpreted as predicting a negative ESD, such that offspring beg less when parental supply is high. While empirical evidence largely supports this interpretation, several studies have identified the opposite case, with well-fed offspring begging more than those in poorer condition. Here, we show that signalling theory can give rise to either a negative or a positive ESD depending on the precise form of costs and benefits. Introducing variation among parents in the cost of care, we show that the ESD may change sign depending upon the quantitative relation between two effects: (i) decreased supply leads to increased begging because of an increase in marginal fitness benefit of additional resources to offspring, (ii) decreased supply leads to reduced begging because it is associated with a decrease in parental responsiveness, rendering begging less effective. To illustrate the interplay between these two effects, we show that Godfray's seminal model of begging yields a negative ESD when care is generally cheap, because the impact of supply on the marginal benefits of additional resources then outweighs the associated changes in parental responsiveness to begging. By contrast, the same model predicts a positive ESD when care is generally costly, because the impact of care costs on parental responsiveness then outweighs the change in marginal benefits.     

Improvement of Photorhabdus temperata bioinsecticides production in low‐cost media through adequate fermentation technology

To develop a cost effective process for bioinsecticides production by Photorhabdus temperata, dissolved oxygen (DO) requirements were investigated in both the complex and the optimized media using diluted seawater as a source of micronutrients. By varying DO concentrations, tolerance to hydrogen peroxide was shown to be medium dependant. Indeed, P. temperata cells grown in the complex medium, exhibited higher tolerance than cells grown in the optimized medium (OM). Tolerance to H₂O₂ was shown to be related to intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation during soya bean meal or glucose assimilation, as shown by flow cytometry analysis. To avoid oxidative stress damages in P. temperata cells cultured in the OM, DO concentration should be constant 50% saturation throughout the fermentation. However, a DO‐shift control strategy was demonstrated to be beneficial for P. temperata bioinsecticide production in the complex medium. By using such a strategy biomass, culturability, and oral toxicity reached 16.5 × 10⁸, 1.15 × 10⁸ cells/mL and 64.2%, respectively, thus was 16.19, 26.37, and 12.2% more than in the cultures carried out at a constant 50% saturation. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2012     

绿色糖单孢菌木聚糖酶的分离纯化与酶学性质研究

木聚糖酶是一种重要的具有工业应用前景的木聚糖降解酶,在充分利用自然资源、保护生态环境等方面具有十分重要的意义.通过硫酸铵分级沉淀及Sephadex G-100凝胶柱层析方法从一株中度耐热耐碱放线菌—绿色糖单孢菌的胞外酶中纯化得到单一的木聚糖酶,相对分子质量为51 kD,酶纯度提高了13.01倍.纯酶最适反应温度为60℃,最适反应pH值为7.0;75℃以下该酶具有良好的热稳定性,在pH 7～10范围内具有较强的耐受力.金属离子Ca2+、Fe2+、Zn2+对该酶具有明显促进作用,Cu2+、Mn2+、Al3+和SDS具有抑制作用而K+,Na+,Mg2+没有明显的作用.该酶为大分子质量的糖基化蛋白,含糖量为21.96%.     

Effects of drought stress and N supply on the growth, biomass partitioning and water-use efficiency of Sophora davidii seedlings

A greenhouse experiment was conducted in order to understand the adaptation responses to different water and N conditions, and further explore if additional N supply could improve the water-use efficiency (WUE) and adaptability of Sophora davidii seedlings under dry conditions. Two-month-old seedlings were subjected to a completely random design with three water (80, 40 and 20% water field capacity (FC)) and three N supply (N0: 0, Nl: 92 and Nh:184 mg N kg⁻¹ soil) regimes. Drought stress dramatically decreased seedlings height, basal diameter, leaf number, leaf area, root length, and biomass production. An increase in below-ground biomass was observed indicating a higher root/shoot ratio (R/S) under drought stress conditions, and drought further decreased relative water content (RWC) and WUE. On the other hand, S. davidii seedlings exhibited strong responses to N supply, but the responses were inconsistent with the various N supply levels. Low N supply (Nl) increased seedlings height, basal diameter, leaf number, leaf area, and biomass production, but decreased root length. In contrast, high N supply (Nh) decreased or had little effect on these growth characteristics. N supply increased leaf percentages, but decreased fine root percentages. In addition, Nl rather than the other two N treatments increased leaf area ratio (LAR), leaf/fine root mass ratio (L/FR), R/S and RWC under severe drought stress (20% FC), even though these parameters could increase with the Nh treatment under well-watered condition (80% FC). Moreover, Nl also increased WUE under three water conditions, but Nh had little effect on WUE under drought stress conditions (40% FC and 20% FC). The results suggested that water and N co-limited the growth of S. davidii seedlings, and the seedlings exhibited great positive responses to Nl in this study. Appropriate or low N supply, therefore, would be recommended to stimulate growth, enhance WUE, alleviate drought stress, and consequently contribute to S. davidii seedling establishment under dry condition, but excess N supply should be avoided.     

Going with the Flow: Legionellosis Risk in Toronto,Canada Is Strongly Associated with Local Watershed Hydrology

Legionella species are increasingly recognized as a cause of both healthcare- and community-acquired pneumonia (so-called “Legionnaire’s disease”). These pathogens are ubiquitous in the environment, but environmental factors in the occurrence of sporadic legionellosis remain poorly understood. We analyzed all legionellosis cases identified in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario from 1978 to 2006, and evaluated seasonal and environmental patterns in legionellosis case occurrence by using both negative binomial models and case-crossover analysis. A total of 837 cases were reported during the study period. After adjusting for seasonal effects, changes in the local watershed, rather than weather, were the strongest contributors to legionellosis risk. A 3.6-fold increase (95% confidence interval (CI), 2.4–5.3) in odds of disease was identified with decreasing watershed levels approximately 4 weeks before case-occurrence. We also found a 33% increase (95% CI, 8–64%) in odds of disease with decreasing lake temperature during the same period and a 34% increase (95% CI, 14–57%) with increasing humidity 5 weeks before case-occurrence. We conclude that local watershed ecology influences the risk of legionellosis, notwithstanding the availability of advanced water treatment capacity in Toronto. Enhancement of risk might occur through direct contamination of water sources or via introduction of micronutrients or commensal organisms into residential and hospital water supplies. These observations suggest testable hypotheses for future empiric studies.     

pH and carbon supply control the expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase genes in Arabidopsis thaliana

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) is thought to play many roles in C(3) plants including the provision of biosynthetic precursors and control of pH during N assimilation. Its activity is controlled via phosphorylation catalysed by PEPC kinases, which are encoded by PPCK genes. We examined PPCK expression in response to changes in the supply of N or C, and to changes in intracellular pH, using cultured Arabidopsis cells and seedlings. The results show that expression of both PPCK1 and PPCK2 is increased by C availability, but does not respond to N availability. Expression of the two PPCK genes and the phosphorylation state of PEPC are increased in response to increasing intracellular pH. Elevated pH also reduces the repression of PPCK gene expression by P(i). Expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), which catalyses the decarboxylation of oxaloacetate, is decreased in response to increasing intracellular pH. pH homeostasis may be mediated at least partly by reciprocal changes in the expression of PPCK genes and PEPCK.