特异性适应稻作系统的稗草种群生活史特性

长期进行除草剂药效试验可能会导致田间杂草种群发生适应性进化。本研究在安徽南陵县除草剂药效试验专用稻田中采集了1个稗草种群A,并以从常规稻田采集的3个稗草种群为对照,开展同质园栽培试验。结果表明: 与3个对照种群相比,A种群稗草植株的单株种子产量显著减少,种子千粒重显著增加,幼苗生长速率显著加快,结实分蘖数显著增多,生育期显著缩短;A种群稗草成株的株高、生物量及对除草剂五氟磺草胺的敏感性均显著降低。A种群稗草幼苗3～4叶期时经五氟磺草胺推荐剂量2倍量(有效成分60 g·hm^-2)处理后,其株高、生物量及成熟种子产量(平均每株1066粒)显著降低,而抽穗期、结实分蘖数、单个总状花序的种子数及种子千粒重无显著差异。因此,种子较重、生活史周期短、植株矮小、结实分蘖多及对除草剂五氟磺草胺具有抗药性,使得A种群稗草对稻作系统具有特异适应性,应防止此类种群扩散至常规稻田。     

A new biological method to control Anobium punctatum,by using the parasitoid wasp Spathius exarator

Biological pest control by means of beneficial organisms is for long part of agriculture and Integrated Pest Management (IPM). A new and efficient strategy to control the most common timber pest species in churches and museums, the furniture beetle Anobium punctatum (De Geer) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae), is based on the parasitoid wasp species Spathius exarator (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Once this braconid wasp detects its host species beneath the surface, it pierces the wood with its ovipositor to lay one single egg onto the beetle larva. After hatching, the wasp larva feeds on the beetle larva thereby killing it. Afterwards, it pupates and emerges through a self-gnawed hole as an adult wasp. The tiny, 0.5-mm-wide exit hole can easily be distinguished from the 1- to 2-mm-wide exit hole of A. punctatum. Laboratory tests revealed that female wasps have an average life span of 85 days and produce a total of 24 offspring, when nutrition is provided. Between 2012 and 2019, braconid wasps were introduced into 54 different A. punctatum infested buildings. Treatment success was monitored by examining exit holes of new beetles and wasps thereby calculating corresponding parasitism rates. After the first year of treatment, parasitism rates were significantly higher with a mean value of 0.15 when compared to untreated objects with a natural parasitism and a mean value of 0.08 (n = 54). Following treatment of three objects over a period of eight years, parasitism rates continuously increased from 0.02 up to 0.31. In a church organ, which was treated during this period, the monitoring revealed a complete suppression of pest activity. These data prove that this biological method of pest control is an efficient, sustainable and non-toxic option to manage the common furniture beetle.     

基于野外调查和同质种植园实验的芦苇植物功能性状变异研究

研究表型可塑性和遗传变异在植物表型分化中的相对作用,有助于预测全球环境变化下的植物群落组成和生态系统功能的变化。芦苇（Phragmites australis）是全球性广布的草本植物,种内变异丰富,在我国西北和东部均存在多个分化稳定的生态型,但中国芦苇在更大尺度上的表型研究还非常匮乏。将位于黄河上游的宁夏平原和黄河下游的黄河三角洲作为研究区域,通过野外调查和同质种植园实验对芦苇自然种群的植物功能性状变异进行观测。结果表明,无论在野外还是同质种植园,黄河三角洲芦苇的基径、叶长和叶宽均显著大于宁夏平原芦苇,说明两个地区的芦苇种群之间存在着受遗传决定的表型分化,这可能与两个地区间的降水等气候差异有关。在野外,宁夏芦苇的株高和叶厚显著大于黄河三角洲芦苇,但在同质园中差异消失或相反,说明株高、叶厚受环境影响较大,表型可塑性也是芦苇适应环境变化的重要机制。在同质种植园中,宁夏平原芦苇的叶片氮磷含量较低,但株数却显著多于黄河三角洲芦苇,反映了不同地区芦苇之间存在不同的适应策略,宁夏平原芦苇更偏向于高扩散率的杂草策略,而黄河三角洲芦苇更偏向于竞争策略。此外,宁夏平原芦苇的株高、叶长两个性状以及基径-比叶面积相关性在野外和同质园两个环境中存在一致性,表明了性状变异和权衡策略的遗传稳定性。综上,位于黄河上下游的芦苇种群间存在着适应性分化,这是表型可塑性和遗传变异共同作用的结果,不同来源芦苇对全球变化下的多重环境因子的响应还需要进一步研究。     

普通烟草NtODB基因的电子克隆、表达及生物信息学分析

ODB基因在植物同源重组依赖性的DNA双键断裂修复过程中起重要作用,对植物诱变育种具有潜在的应用价值。克隆烟草NtODB基因并分析其表达特征为丰富ODB基因在同源重组DNA修复过程中的作用提供证据。为得到烟草NtODB基因序列,采用电子克隆技术获得该基因cDNA序列并克隆验证。进一步使用生物信息学方法分析该基因表达特征,对预测蛋白的理化性质、信号肽、高级结构等进行预测。生物信息学分析结果表明,NtODB基因开放阅读框包含579个碱基,蛋白含192个氨基酸残基,NtODB蛋白具有碱性和亲水性,主要定位于细胞质内;实时荧光定量PCR检测结果显示NtODB基因在不同组织中呈现组成型表达特征;亚细胞定位检测提示NtODB主要表达于细胞膜和叶绿体。NtODB基因的克隆与表达分析及其蛋白高级结构和理化性质的预测,可为进一步丰富ODB基因在同源重组依赖的DNA修复系统中的作用机制提供证据。     

Evidence of egg-laying grounds for critically endangered flapper skate (Dipturus intermedius) off Orkney,UK

Essential fish habitats (EFHs) are critical for fish life-history events, including spawning, breeding, feeding or growth. This study provides evidence of EFHs for the critically endangered flapper skate (Dipturus intermedius) in the waters around the Orkney Isles, Scotland, based on citizen-science observation data. The habitats of potential egg-laying sites were parametrised as >20 m depth, with boulders or exposed bedrock, in moderate current flow (0.3–2.8 knots) with low sedimentation. This information provides a significant contribution to the understanding of EFHs for flapper skate.     

Evolution of herbs: key to the conundrum might be tolerance not avoidance

草本植物的进化：解决难题的关键在于忍耐而非逃避 木本植物延续了其祖先被子植物的生长形态,而草本植物则不断地从中进化演变。虽然关于驱动草本植物习性进化的因素已有许多假设,但是通过舍弃地上生物质从而避免冬季冻害的能力常常被认为是促使其进化的主要力量。然而,鉴于草本植物在反复干扰中依旧能够轻松存活,我们提出了不可预测的干扰可能比季节性霜冻更为重要的假设。我们通过比较草本植物和木本植物应对3种模拟干扰(容易预测的冬季冰冻、不易预测的春季冰冻和食草作用)的能力来验证这一假设。通过比较20种不同植物在同质园实验中的表现,我们评估了这些干扰对植物死亡和再生方面的影响。研究结果表明,在冬季冰冻条件下,比起木本植物,草本植物在存活率上并没有优势。在不易预测的春季冰冻条件下,草本植物比木本植物的存活率更高。而在模拟食草作用的条件下,草本植物的这种生存优势更大。在不可预测的条件下,草本植物相较于木本植物的生存优势表明,草本植物的生长形式可能是对不可预测的干扰的适应,这种逆境忍耐通过其损失地上生物质也能够生存的能力得以实现。因此,哺乳动物的食草行为或火灾等原因或许最有可能是木本植物向草本植物过渡的因素。     

Widespread phenotypic and genetic divergence along altitudinal gradients in animals

Altitudinal gradients offer valuable study systems to investigate how adaptive genetic diversity is distributed within and between natural populations and which factors promote or prevent adaptive differentiation. The environmental clines along altitudinal gradients tend to be steep relative to the dispersal distance of many organisms, providing an opportunity to study the joint effects of divergent natural selection and gene flow. Temperature is one variable showing consistent altitudinal changes, and altitudinal gradients can therefore provide spatial surrogates for some of the changes anticipated under climate change. Here, we investigate the extent and patterns of adaptive divergence in animal populations along altitudinal gradients by surveying the literature for (i) studies on phenotypic variation assessed under common garden or reciprocal transplant designs and (ii) studies looking for signatures of divergent selection at the molecular level. Phenotypic data show that significant between‐population differences are common and taxonomically widespread, involving traits such as mass, wing size, tolerance to thermal extremes and melanization. Several lines of evidence suggest that some of the observed differences are adaptively relevant, but rigorous tests of local adaptation or the link between specific phenotypes and fitness are sorely lacking. Evidence for a role of altitudinal adaptation also exists for a number of candidate genes, most prominently haemoglobin, and for anonymous molecular markers. Novel genomic approaches may provide valuable tools for studying adaptive diversity, also in species that are not amenable to experimentation.     

Limited plasticity in the phenotypic variance‐covariance matrix for male advertisement calls in the black field cricket,Teleogryllus commodus

Phenotypic integration and plasticity are central to our understanding of how complex phenotypic traits evolve. Evolutionary change in complex quantitative traits can be predicted using the multivariate breeders’ equation, but such predictions are only accurate if the matrices involved are stable over evolutionary time. Recent study, however, suggests that these matrices are temporally plastic, spatially variable and themselves evolvable. The data available on phenotypic variance‐covariance matrix ( P ) stability are sparse, and largely focused on morphological traits. Here, we compared P for the structure of the complex sexual advertisement call of six divergent allopatric populations of the Australian black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus. We measured a subset of calls from wild‐caught crickets from each of the populations and then a second subset after rearing crickets under common‐garden conditions for three generations. In a second experiment, crickets from each population were reared in the laboratory on high‐ and low‐nutrient diets and their calls recorded. In both experiments, we estimated P for call traits and used multiple methods to compare them statistically (Flury hierarchy, geometric subspace comparisons and random skewers). Despite considerable variation in means and variances of individual call traits, the structure of P was largely conserved among populations, across generations and between our rearing diets. Our finding that P remains largely stable, among populations and between environmental conditions, suggests that selection has preserved the structure of call traits in order that they can function as an integrated unit.     

Identification of ABCG2 Dysfunction as a Major Factor Contributing to Gout

The ATP-binding cassette, subfamily G, member 2 gene ABCG2/BCRP locates in a gout-susceptibility locus (MIM 138900) on chromosome 4q. Recent genome-wide association studies also showed that the ABCG2 gene relates to serum uric acid levels and gout. Since ABCG2 is also known as a transporter of nucleotide analogs that are structurally similar to urate, and is an exporter that has common polymorphic reduced functionality variants, ABCG2 could be a urate secretion transporter and a gene causing gout. To find candidate mutations in ABCG2, we performed a mutation analysis of the ABCG2 gene in 90 Japanese patients with hyperuricemia and found six non-synonymous mutations. Among the variants, ATP-dependent urate transport was reduced or eliminated in five variants, and two out of the five variants (Q126X and Q141K) were frequently detected in patients. Haplotype frequency analysis revealed that there is no simultaneous presence of Q126X and Q141K in one haplotype. As Q126X and Q141K are a nonfunctional and half-functional haplotype, respectively, their genotype combinations are divided into four estimated functional groups. The association study with 161 male gout patients and 865 male controls showed that all of those who had dysfunctional ABCG2 had an increased risk of gout, and that a remarkable risk was observed in those with ≤1/4 function (OR, 25.8; 95% CI, 10.3–64.6; p = 3.39 × 10^?21). In 2,150 Japanese individuals, the frequency of those with dysfunctional ABCG2 was more than 50%. Our function-based clinicogenetic analysis identified the combinations of dysfunctional variants of ABCG2 as a major contributing factor in Japanese patients with gout.