动物入侵的行为机制

行为特征可在外来动物建立种群和扩张过程中发挥重要作用,因此,要正确理解动物入侵,常常需要仔细研究其行为机制。20世纪80年代以来,随着动物入侵规模在世界各地的迅速加剧,有关其行为机制的研究也受到了广泛关注。最近一些研究表明,一些入侵动物种内攻击和觅食等行为具有可塑性,因此它们能够灵活应对多变的环境条件,这对于种群的建立和维持至关重要;入侵动物与土著物种发生行为互作时,往往占据优势,从而取代土著物种,并有助于其地域扩张;入侵动物长距离扩散可以提高其地域扩张速度,许多行为可与扩散行为结合进一步促进扩张。今后需要加强对入侵动物的行为分析,使之全面地融合到生物入侵的研究之中。这不仅可以提高对外来物种入侵的预警和治理能力,而且为探索动物行为的奥秘以及动物间行为互作在物种进化中的意义提供了独特的机会。     

Non-invasive Parenchymal,Vascular and Metabolic High-frequency Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Rat Deep Brain Imaging

Photoacoustics and high frequency ultrasound stands out as powerful tools for neurobiological applications enabling high-resolution imaging on the central nervous system of small animals. However, transdermal and transcranial neuroimaging is frequently affected by low sensitivity, image aberrations and loss of space resolution, requiring scalp or even skull removal before imaging. To overcome this challenge, a new protocol is presented to gain significant insights in brain hemodynamics by photoacoustic and high-frequency ultrasounds imaging with the animal skin and skull intact. The procedure relies on the passage of ultrasound (US) waves and laser directly through the fissures that are naturally present on the animal cranium. By juxtaposing the imaging transducer device exactly in correspondence to these selected areas where the skull has a reduced thickness or is totally absent, one can acquire high quality deep images and explore internal brain regions that are usually difficult to anatomically or functionally describe without an invasive approach. By applying this experimental procedure, significant data can be collected in both sonic and optoacoustic modalities, enabling to image the parenchymal and the vascular anatomy far below the head surface. Deep brain features such as parenchymal convolutions and fissures separating the lobes were clearly visible. Moreover, the configuration of large and small blood vessels was imaged at several millimeters of depth, and precise information were collected about blood fluxes, vascular stream velocities and the hemoglobin chemical state. This repertoire of data could be crucial in several research contests, ranging from brain vascular disease studies to experimental techniques involving the systemic administration of exogenous chemicals or other objects endowed with imaging contrast enhancement properties. In conclusion, thanks to the presented protocol, the US and PA techniques become an attractive noninvasive performance-competitive means for cortical and internal brain imaging, retaining a significant potential in many neurologic fields.     

基因打靶方法制备乳腺生物反应器

基因打靶技术制备乳腺生物反应器,克服了显微注射法的众多缺陷,并随着第一例基因打靶家畜的诞生而成为这一研究领域的热点。本文从制备乳腺生物反应器过程中基因打靶策略、打靶细胞到打靶位点的选择等各个方面,详细分析了其中的技术难点、解决问题的对策、国内外研究进展以及应用前景。     

兔慢性肾功能衰竭模型的建立与评价

目的建立兔慢性肾功能衰竭模型,为干细胞移植治疗和相关研究奠定基础。方法普通级大耳白兔随机分为正常对照组和单侧输尿管结扎（unilateral ureteral obstruction,UUO）组。UUO组于输尿管结扎后2、4、6、8周进行血生化肾功能指标检测,并取肾组织观察肾脏病理学改变,通过SPECT动态观察肾小球滤过率的变化,采用免疫组织化学方法观察肾组织转化生长因子-β1（TGF-β1）的表达情况。结果①UUO组术后第2周,出现明显的血肌酐升高,尿素氮术后第8周开始升高（P〈0.01）。②UUO组术后第4周,肾脏组织出现了早期间质纤维化的病理改变,术后第8周肾小球开始出现硬化,间质纤维化明显,皮质明显变薄。术后第12周,肾小球硬化比例增加,肾小管玻璃样变性,间质纤维化进一步加重（P〈0.05）。③SPECT动态观察肾小球滤过率,UUO组第4周GFR值比正常对照组降低,到第8周时,GFR值进一步下降,结扎侧肾脏功能降低甚至丧失。④免疫组织化学染色显示,TGF-β1在术后第4、8、12周均明显增强,并且各时间点表达均有显著差异（P〈0.05）。结论单侧输尿管结扎法成功制作比较稳定的慢性肾功能不全模型,UUO后第8周符合肾脏间质纤维化模型标准。     

转基因动物在输血医学中的应用

转基因动物技术是在动物整体水平研究和表达目的基因的生物技术,其基本特点是：分子及细胞水平操作,组织及整体水平表达,是常规分子生物学理论和技术的拓展和延伸,也是现代生物高技术研究和开发的热点之一。本简述了转基因动物在输血医学领域的应用及其发展前景,包括利用转基因动物生物反应器制备人血浆蛋白和人血红蛋白、建立血传播病毒的感染模型和血液相关遗传模型以及转基因动物与输血医学的基础研究等。     

Beyond trophic morphology: stable isotopes reveal ubiquitous versatility in marine turtle trophic ecology

The idea that interspecific variation in trophic morphology among closely related species effectively permits resource partitioning has driven research on ecological radiation since Darwin first described variation in beak morphology among Geospiza. Marine turtles comprise an ecological radiation in which interspecific differences in trophic morphology have similarly been implicated as a pathway to ecopartition the marine realm, in both extant and extinct species. Because marine turtles are charismatic flagship species of conservation concern, their trophic ecology has been studied intensively using stable isotope analyses to gain insights into habitat use and diet, principally to inform conservation management. This legion of studies provides an unparalleled opportunity to examine ecological partitioning across numerous hierarchical levels that heretofore has not been applied to any other ecological radiation. Our contribution aims to provide a quantitative analysis of interspecific variation and a comprehensive review of intraspecific variation in trophic ecology across different hierarchical levels marshalling insights about realised trophic ecology derived from stable isotopes. We reviewed 113 stable isotope studies, mostly involving single species, and conducted a meta‐analysis of data from adults to elucidate differences in trophic ecology among species. Our study reveals a more intricate hierarchy of ecopartitioning by marine turtles than previously recognised based on trophic morphology and dietary analyses. We found strong statistical support for interspecific partitioning, as well as a continuum of intraspecific trophic sub‐specialisation in most species across several hierarchical levels. This ubiquity of trophic specialisation across many hierarchical levels exposes a far more complex view of trophic ecology and resource‐axis exploitation than suggested by species diversity alone. Not only do species segregate along many widely understood axes such as body size, macrohabitat, and trophic morphology but the general pattern revealed by isotopic studies is one of microhabitat segregation and variation in foraging behaviour within species, within populations, and among individuals. These findings are highly relevant to conservation management because they imply ecological non‐exchangeability, which introduces a new dimension beyond that of genetic stocks which drives current conservation planning. Perhaps the most remarkable finding from our data synthesis is that four of six marine turtle species forage across several trophic levels. This pattern is unlike that seen in other large marine predators, which forage at a single trophic level according to stable isotopes. This finding affirms suggestions that marine turtles are robust sentinels of ocean health and likely stabilise marine food webs. This insight has broader significance for studies of marine food webs and trophic ecology of large marine predators. Beyond insights concerning marine turtle ecology and conservation, our findings also have broader implications for the study of ecological radiations. Particularly, the unrecognised complexity of ecopartitioning beyond that predicted by trophic morphology suggests that this dominant approach in adaptive radiation research likely underestimates the degree of resource overlap and that interspecific disparities in trophic morphology may often over‐predict the degree of realised ecopartitioning. Hence, our findings suggest that stable isotopes can profitably be applied to study other ecological radiations and may reveal trophic variation beyond that reflected by trophic morphology.     

2016年动物胃肠道微生物组研究十大亮点成果

动物胃肠道微生物对生产性能提高具有重要的作用,因此营养、微生物组与生产表型的互作研究已经成为国际研究热点。综述了2016年动物胃肠道微生物组学研究取得的十项重要成果,这些成果通过组学方法,研究了瘤胃纤维分解菌和尿素分解菌的功能基因多样性,揭示了微生物群落与日粮营养素、宿主基因型、环境的互作关系,阐明了反刍动物生产表型相关的瘤胃微生物种类和功能;首次构建猪肠道微生物组参考基因集,解析猪全肠道黏膜微生物组成,阐明了猪增重相关肠道微生物种类。这十大亮点成果将为国内动物营养学家开展动物胃肠道微生物组学研究提供参考。     

cis‐Regulatory analysis for later phase of anterior neuroectoderm‐specific foxQ2 expression in sea urchin embryos

The specification of anterior neuroectoderm is controlled by a highly conserved molecular mechanism in bilaterians. A forkhead family gene, foxQ2, is known to be one of the pivotal regulators, which is zygotically expressed in this region during embryogenesis of a broad range of bilaterians. However, what controls the expression of this essential factor has remained unclear to date. To reveal the regulatory mechanism of foxQ2, we performed cis‐regulatory analysis of two foxQ2 genes, foxQ2a and foxQ2b, in a sea urchin Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus. In sea urchin embryos, foxQ2 is initially expressed in the entire animal hemisphere and subsequently shows narrower expression restricted to the anterior pole region. In this study, as a first step to understand the foxQ2 regulation, we focused on the later restricted expression and analyzed the upstream cis‐regulatory sequences of foxQ2a and foxQ2b by using the constructs fused to short half‐life green fluorescent protein. Based on deletion and mutation analyses of both foxQ2, we identified each of the five regulatory sequences, which were 4–9 bp long. Neither of the regulatory sequences contains any motifs for ectopic activation or spatial repression, suggesting that later mRNA localization is regulated in situ. We also suggest that the three amino acid loop extension‐class homeobox gene Meis is involved in the maintenance of foxQ2b, the expression of which is dominant during embryogenesis.     

黄丘区特色治理开发小流域土壤侵蚀变化对景观格局演变的响应

研究土壤侵蚀与景观格局变化的关系对小流域的治理开发具有重要的指导意义。本研究以实施退耕还林草、生态农业、生态旅游及科技示范的黄土高原安塞南沟特色治理小流域为研究对象,基于GIS平台和通用土壤流失方程,分析小流域1981—2018年景观格局和土壤侵蚀量的时空演化特征,并利用主成分回归法,从斑块类型水平和景观水平两个尺度分析土壤侵蚀模数与3类9个景观格局指标的关系。结果表明: 研究期间,在5种景观类型中,耕地和林地面积的时空变化主导了南沟小流域景观格局的演化,并且影响整个小流域的聚集分散程度;南沟小流域的土壤侵蚀量逐年减少,1981—2018年土壤侵蚀面积减少29.7%,侵蚀模数减少61.2%,且有73.4%的区域土壤侵蚀强度减轻;耕地和林地面积的变化决定了整个小流域土壤侵蚀模数的变化,其景观格局指数的变化方向与该景观类型土壤侵蚀的变化方向一致;退耕还林草工程是流域景观格局变化、土壤侵蚀减轻的主要原因,特色开发治理可以减弱局部地区土壤侵蚀强度。景观类型的合理化配置能有效地防治小流域土壤侵蚀,将其与特色治理开发相结合有助于实现小流域可持续高质量发展。