南京地区12种常绿阔叶树种冬季抗寒性动态变化

选取南京地区露地引种的12种常绿阔叶树种,借助电导法对其抗寒性进行研究,结果表明:12种常绿树种在2003年与2005年冬季期间,抗寒能力高低排序具有很好的一致性与重复性.12种常绿树种在2005年10月至2006年3月期间随冬季低温诱导进行其抗寒能力呈逐渐增强趋势,其中在1月中旬树种抗寒能力均达到最强,而通常在10月份或3月份期间树种抗寒能力最弱.比较而言,12种常绿阔叶树种对冬季低温条件响应的快慢程度各有差异,其中樟科的香樟(Cinnamomum camphora)、浙江樟(Cinnamomum japonicum)属于低温快速响应型,而冬青科的冬青(Ilex purpurea)、大叶冬青(Ilex latifolia)属于低温滞缓响应型,其余树种为正常响应型.12种常绿阔叶树种试验所得抗寒能力结果与引种地冬季观察结果具有很好的对应性.研究结果可为常绿阔叶树种进一步向较高纬度地区的引种与栽培管理工作提供重要的参考.     

乌头及其同属近缘种的SSR指纹图谱研究

乌头(Aconitum carmichaeli Debx.)为中国重要的药用植物,种质资源丰富,同属近缘种繁多。该研究采用SSR分子标记技术对采自17个种群的51份乌头样本和13个同属近缘种的65份样本进行扩增和聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳检测,分析了乌头及其同属近缘种的遗传多样性、遗传分化和系统发育关系,筛选出稳定性好、多态性高的SSR引物构建乌头及其近缘种的指纹图谱。结果表明:(1)11对乌头微卫星引物均表现出高的多态性,共检测出109个复等位基因,平均每个位点9.91。(2)乌头在物种水平上遗传多样性丰富(A=3.090 9,I=0.889 7,h=0.540 2),种群间的遗传分化显著(Gst=0.277 4);乌头属14种植物表现出了较高的遗传多样性(A=9.909 1,I=1.526 2,h=0.690 5),物种间遗传分化显著(Fst=0.437),基因流微弱(Nm=0.451 8)。(3)聚类分析表明,同一种群的乌头样本首先聚在一起各自形成小支,17个小支聚为一支;13个乌头近缘种材料中,相同物种的样本分别聚为一支;乌头属14个物种聚为5个大支,与形态分类结果一致。(4)利用基因型丰富、多态性高的6对SSR引物(Tchin03、Tchin04Tchin20、Tchin26、Tchin29、Tchin32)可有效区分14种乌头属植物,并以此建立了乌头种质资源和近缘种的DNA指纹图谱。该研究为乌头的种质资源鉴定及混伪品鉴定提供了重要的技术支撑。     

Role of a reaction coordinate in free energy calculations

Abstract

The free energy calculation method emerges as a viable technique for ‘in-silico’ calorimetry. Efficient sampling techniques and the good choice of a reaction path connecting the reactant and the product state enable accurate computations of the free energy differences. We argue that in many cases the thermodynamic integration technique has the lowest variance when the transformation between the reactant and the product state proceeds along the natural path of the studied chemical reaction. We provide examples of free energy calculations for the fragmentation of the charged clusters and the swapping reaction of oligomer formation in proteins that follow a tentative reaction mechanism.     

鼎突多刺蚁脑部组织切片方法初探及其脑部结构

膜翅目昆虫蚂蚁具有明显的多态现象,社会性生活中的分工亦非常明确。而作为蚁科中的鼎突多刺蚁还有着较高的药用保健价值。因此对其神经系统的研究有着重要的生物学意义。但蚂蚁脑部坚硬的外骨骼使得对其的组织学切片有一定难度。本试验即对鼎突多刺蚁的脑部组织切片方法进行了摸索和研究。     

Electron Density Sharpening as a General Technique in Crystallographic Studies

Sharpening is a powerful method to restore the details from blurred electron density in crystals with high overall temperature factors (B-factors). This valuable technique is currently not optimally used because of the uncertainty in the scope of its application and ambiguities in practice. We performed an analysis of ~ 2000 crystal data sets deposited in the Protein Data Bank and show that sharpening improves the electron density map in many cases across all resolution ranges, often with dramatic enhancement for mid- and low-resolution structures. It is effective when used with either experimental or model phases without introducing additional bias. Our tests also provide a practical guide for optimal sharpening. We further show that anisotropic diffraction correction improves electron density in many cases but should be used with caution. Our study demonstrates that a routine practice of electron density sharpening may have a broad impact on the outcomes of structural biology studies.     

Four new limonoids from the seeds of Chukrasia tabularis A. Juss.

Two new C-15 enolic acyl phragmalin-type limonoid orthoesters (1-2) which possessed a C-15-propionyl phragmalin skeleton and two new mexicanolide-type limonoids (3-4) were isolated from the ethanol extract of seeds of Chukrasia tabularis A. Juss. Their structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic analyses and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) exciton chirality method. Additionally, all of the compounds were screened against three human tumor cell lines MCF-7, SMMC-7721, and U2OS.     

Preservation and computer-aided microscopic analysis of planktonic Protozoa and algae

Samples of microplankton and larger nanoplankton (5 to 200 m) are preserved with a combination of Lugol's solution and DaFano's fixative. Organisms are then settled on a gelatin-coated slide, dried and embedded in 40 percent glycerin. Counting and sizing is performed under a microscope using a drawing tube, which facilitates measuring the organisms with a microcomputer-interfaced caliper. An interactive computer program, written in BASIC, allows for estimating the volumes of cells in up to 40 shape/species categories. The program then saves data on a disk, retrieves them, and calculates the results either for individual species (abundance, biomass, and mean cell volume) or as a pooled size spectrum of all organisms measured.     

Selective light transmittance of translucent bracts in the Himalayan giant glasshouse plant Rheum nobile Hook. f. & Thomson (Polygonaceae)

Translucent bract transmittance of ultraviolet (UV) to infrared (IR) radiation (between 320 and 800 nm) and leaf anatomy were examined in a glasshouse plant, Rheum nobile Hook. f. & Thomson (Polygonaceae) to assess the function of avoiding injury by UV radiation while keeping the inflorescence warm by photosynthetically active (PA) and IR radiation. Although the translucent bracts and rosulate leaves transmitted little UV radiation, the former always transmit more PA and IR radiation. Additionally, the bracts transmit much more scattered solar radiation than direct radiation. The bracts are also anatomically different from the rosulate leaves. They have two or three layers of mesophyll cells with neither palisade nor spongy parenchymatous cells; in addition, the uppermost layer of mesophyll and the epidermis stain easily, and both are thought to play a role in attenuating UV radiation. The leaf epidermis of many land plants has UV absorbing pigments such as flavonoids, which absorb almost all UV radiation. Thus the role of the bracts of R. nobile is to protect the reproductive organs by absorbing UV radiation and to keep them warm by transmitting PA and IR radiation. The bracts are believed to have adapted function and form to the environment, in particular, to the weather conditions of the eastern Himalaya.     

鲜花的光学性质

本文采用反射光谱、荧光光谱、激发光谱研究了迎春花、紫红色芍药、大红月季和橙红月季的光生态。结果表明,不同的鲜花光生态有明显的差异,鲜花中的花青素和类胡萝卜素在紫外光、可见光的激发下发出荧光,使鲜花更加鲜艳靓丽。通过对鲜花光生态的讨论,揭示出阳光对花儿的影响与作用,为鲜花光生态膜的开发以及人工照明的应用提供一定的生态依据。