准噶尔盆地荒漠生物类群与环境的关系

对荒漠生态系统的研究,近期在我国乃至全球均极为活跃。由于开发的需要和全球沙漠化威胁日趋严重,引起有关人士的关注。就新疆而言,解放前虽有一些学者进行过研究,但仅限于某些方面,直到50年代后期展开大规模综合考察以来,对新疆的荒漠自然条件才有较全面认识。作者近年的研究过程,注意到此区生物类群与环境存在较特殊关系,     

Hyperkalaemia,not apoptosis,accurately predicts insect chilling injury

There is a growing appreciation that insect distribution and abundance are associated with the limits of thermal tolerance, but the physiology underlying thermal tolerance remains poorly understood. Many insects, like the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), suffer a loss of ion and water balance leading to hyperkalaemia (high extracellular [K⁺]) in the cold that indirectly causes cell death. Cells can die in several ways under stress, and how they die is of critical importance to identifying and understanding the nature of thermal adaptation. Whether apoptotic or necrotic cell death pathways are responsible for low-temperature injury is unclear. Here, we use a caspase-3 specific assay to indirectly quantify apoptotic cell death in three locust tissues (muscle, nerves and midgut) following prolonged chilling and recovery from an injury-inducing cold exposure. Furthermore, we obtain matching measurements of injury, extracellular [K⁺] and muscle caspase-3 activity in individual locusts to gain further insight into the mechanistic nature of chilling injury. We found a significant increase in muscle caspase-3 activity, but no such increase was observed in either nervous or gut tissue from the same animals, suggesting that chill injury primarily relates to muscle cell death. Levels of chilling injury measured at the whole animal level, however, were strongly correlated with the degree of haemolymph hyperkalaemia, and not apoptosis. These results support the notion that cold-induced ion balance disruption triggers cell death but also that apoptosis is not the main form of cell damage driving low-temperature injury.     

荒漠草原两种类型土壤的水分动态对比

基于2017—2018年的定位监测数据,分析了宁夏东部的盐池荒漠草原2种不同类型土壤(灰钙土和风沙土)的水分时空动态特征。结果表明:2017和2018年生长季(5—10月),研究区降雨量分别为208.2和274.8 mm,降雨在各月份的分配差异较大。2018年除5月存在极端降雨事件(129.6 mm)外,其余各月降雨量均低于2017年。土壤水分变化的季节动态规律大致可以分为两个阶段:土壤水分补偿期(5月初至6月初)和土壤水分波动期(6月中旬至9月底)。0～20 cm土层土壤含水量在降雨后呈骤增骤减的脉冲式特点,深层土壤含水量较稳定。灰钙土土壤含水量随土层加深表现为"升-降-升"的变化,风沙土土壤含水量在0～60 cm土层出现井喷式增加,而后增加缓慢,但随着土层深度的增加土壤含水量逐渐增大。2017年,灰钙土全剖面(0～100 cm)土壤水分表现为积累型,风沙土表现为消耗型;2018年,两种类型的土壤水分在全剖面均表现为消耗型。两种土壤类型土壤水分的时间稳定性随土壤深度的增加而增强,灰钙土和风沙土全剖面的平均土壤含水量代表性土层分别为80～100和40～60 cm。2种类型土壤的土壤水分...     

Sources of crown rot (Phytophthora cactorum) infection in strawberry and the effect of cold storage on susceptibility to the disease

Cold-stored plants of strawberry cultivars Tamella, Cambridge Favourite and Redgauntlet were more susceptible to pathogenic isolates of Phytophthora cactorum than similar plants which had not been cold-stored. Indigenous nonpathogenic isolates of P. cactorum did not cause crown rot in cold-stored plants, although a small number of symptomless latent infections occurred. The majority of P. cactorum isolates causing crown rot symptoms were taken from infected strawberry crowns, although two isolates from gooseberry plants, but of uncertain origin, were also pathogenic. Outbreaks of crown rot in areas with no previous history of the disease therefore probably result from the importation of non-indigenous inoculum with planting material. Assessments of the timing of infection in relation to cold storage revealed that a high incidence of death in the cold store and chronic wilt symptoms on planting from the store resulted from initiating symptomless infections prior to cold storage. However, infection during the period immediately after cold storage resulted in rapid wilt symptoms of Phytophthora crown rot. When plated in sterile distilled water for 24 h, pieces of tissue from infected plants which had died during cold storage produced large numbers of sporangia and zoospores. This indicates that such plant material could provide a potent source of inoculum for infections in the post storage thawing environment. It is proposed that a combination of heightened host susceptibility resulting from cold storage and the presence of scatted latent infections or infected debris among the plants could result in a sudden, large scale appearance of crown rot, as sometimes is seen with cold-stored plantings of strawberries.     

荒漠结皮层藓类植物死亡对表层土壤水分蒸发和入渗的影响

水分是荒漠植物生长最主要的限制因子,藓类结皮作为荒漠土壤表层重要覆被物,对土壤水分蒸发入渗具有重要影响。研究表明,在全球气候变化背景下,不确定的降水格局变化导致结皮层藓类植物出现集群死亡现象,但这一过程对荒漠地表土壤水分蒸发与入渗过程的影响及其机理尚不清楚。以古尔班通古特沙漠齿肋赤藓结皮为研究对象,利用便携式渗透计和蒸发仪,研究了结皮层藓类植物死亡对土壤水分蒸发与入渗的影响。结果表明,与裸沙相比,藓类结皮的存在显著抑制了水分入渗,而藓类植物死亡的结皮层抑制作用最大,其初渗速率、稳渗速率和累积入渗量分别是活藓类结皮的39.89%、85.91%及64.48%,仅为裸沙的5.96%、13.13%及20.42%。在水分蒸发初期,裸沙的水分蒸发速率明显高于活藓类结皮和藓类植物死亡的结皮层,但藓类植物死亡的结皮层维持相对稳定的蒸发速率的时间长于裸沙和活藓类结皮,这也导致最终累计蒸发量以藓类植物死亡的结皮层最高、裸沙最低。可见,荒漠生物土壤结皮中藓类植物死亡会明显减少土壤水分入渗、增大水分蒸发,进一步影响荒漠表层土壤水分格局,从而影响生物土壤结皮与维管植物的水分利用关系。     

Activation of antifreeze proteins from larvae of the beetle Dendroides canadensis

Summary Purified antifreeze proteins (AFPs) from the larvae of the beetle Dendroides canadensis do not produce the high levels of antifreeze activity seen in the hemolymph of overwintering larvae, even when the purified AFPs are assayed at very high concentrations. However, addition of certain proteins or agar (at concentrations sufficiently low that the gel state does not result) to the Dendroides AFP resulted in a 2–3-fold increase in activity. A 70-kDa protein with AFP-activating capabilities was purified from Dendroides larvae. Addition of this endogenous activator protein to a 4 mg·ml^-1 solution of AFP increased the activity of the AFPs to values comparable to those of the hemolymph of overwintering larvae. Data derived from a modified immunoblot technique demonstrate that the activators bind to the AFP, or vice versa. Formation of this association must allow the AFP to block ice crystal growth by binding to the surface of potential seed crystals in the normal fashion. However, because the AFP-activator complex is much larger than the AFP alone, the complex probably blocks a greater surface area of the crystal and is thus a more efficient antifreeze.Abbreviations AFP antifreeze protein - BSA bovine serum albumine - DEAE diethylaminoethyl - Ig immunoglubolin - LPIN lipoprotein ice nucleator - PIN protein ice nucleator - SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate - PAGE polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - TH thermal hysteresis     

低温胁迫对灰飞虱种群生长发育与繁殖的影响

为了探讨低温在灰飞虱Laodelphax striatellus(Fallén)种群发生发展中的作用,本文以南京冬季的旬平均最低温为依据,设定出-6～2℃的低温,研究了用该低温处理3～4龄若虫不同时间后,灰飞虱的存活、生长与繁殖特性。结果表明,灰飞虱3～4龄若虫有较强的耐低温能力,-6～2℃的温度下,其半致迷和半致死时间分别为1.22和20.49d。低温抑制了若虫的生长发育,发育历期明显延长。低温处理后成虫的性比有所提高,并且短翅率显著增加。3～4龄若虫低温处理1～7d后羽化的成虫有产卵前期缩短、寿命延长的趋势,但对繁殖力没有显著影响,并且低温处理2d后的产卵量要稍高于没有处理的对照。由此可见,-6～2℃低温的短期胁迫对灰飞虱种群的发生发展不会产生抑制作用。     

荒漠沙蒿根围AM真菌和DSE的空间分布

2009年7月在内蒙古黑城子北、多伦县城东和正蓝旗元上都遗址3个样地分别从0-10 cm、10-20 cm、20-30cm、30-40 cm和40-50 cm 5个土层采集沙蒿(Artemisia sphaerocephala)根围土壤和根样,系统研究了沙蒿根围AM真菌和DSE(Dark septate endophytes)的空间分布及与土壤因子的相关性。结果表明,沙蒿根系能被AM真菌高度侵染形成典型的I-型(Intermediate type)丛枝菌根,并发育形成泡囊和丛枝结构, 并与DSE形成良好的共生关系,样地生态条件和采样深度对AM真菌分布和活动有显著影响。黑城子样地孢子密度最高,元上都样地泡囊定殖率最高,不同样地间丛枝、菌丝、总定殖率和DSE定殖率无显著差异。孢子密度峰值出现在0-10cm表层土,并随土壤剖面深度增加而降低;泡囊定殖率峰值出现在10-20cm土层;AM真菌其他结构定殖率及DSE定殖率在各土层间差异不显著或变化无规律。孢子密度与AM真菌不同结构定殖率无显著相关性,与各土壤因子极显著正相关。泡囊定殖率与脲酶和碱性磷酸酶极显著负相关,与酸性磷酸酶显著负相关。菌丝定殖率、总定殖率及DSE定殖率与各土壤因子均无显著相关性。土壤碱解N和有机C与脲酶、酸性磷酸酶和碱性磷酸酶极显著正相关;土壤速效P与碱性磷酸酶极显著正相关,与脲酶显著正相关。对沙蒿根系AM真菌和DSE真菌分布和定殖规律的研究,可进一步明确AM真菌和DSE的生态功能,为利用菌根生物技术促进荒漠植被恢复和生态重建提供依据。     

Reversible phosphorylation regulation of NADPH-linked polyol dehydrogenase in the freeze-avoiding gall moth, Epiblema scudderiana: role in glycerol metabolism

Larvae of the goldenrod gall moth, Epiblema scudderiana, use a freeze avoidance strategy of cold hardiness to survive the winter. A key metabolic adaption that supports subzero survival is the accumulation of large amounts of glycerol as a colligative antifreeze. Production of glycerol relies on polyol dehydrogenase (PDH) which catalyzes the NADPH‐dependent conversion of glyceraldehyde into glycerol. Kinetic analysis of PDH from E. scudderiana revealed significant changes in properties as a result of subzero temperature acclimation; the K_m for glyceraldehyde in 5°C‐acclimated larvae was 7.0 mM and doubled in ? 15°C‐exposed larvae. This change suggested that PDH is regulated by a state‐dependent covalent modification. Indeed, high and low K_m forms could be interconverted by incubating larval extracts in vitro under conditions that stimulated either endogenous protein kinases or protein phosphatases. Protein kinase incubations doubled the K_m glyceraldehyde of the 5°C enzyme, whereas protein phosphatase incubations decreased the K_m of the ? 15°C enzyme by about 50%. PDH was purified by ion exchange and affinity chromatography steps and then subjected to electrophoresis. Staining with ProQ Diamond phosphoprotein stain showed a much higher phosphate content of PDH from ? 15°C‐acclimated larvae, a result that was further confirmed by immunoblotting that showed a much greater phosphoserine content on the ? 15°C enzyme. These experiments established that PDH is regulated by state‐dependent reversible phosphorylation in E. scudderiana and suggest that this regulatory mechanism makes a significant contribution to controlling the synthesis, maintenance, and degradation of glycerol pools over the winter months. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.