温度对拟小食螨瓢虫捕食皮氏叶螨成螨功能反应的影响

在5个温度(16℃、20℃、24℃、28℃和32℃)条件下,测定了拟小食螨瓢虫雌成虫对皮氏叶螨成螨的捕食功能反应。结果表明,在试验温度范围内,各温度下的功能反应均能用Holling圆盘方程(Ⅱ型)拟合,但各温度间功能反应的参数存在差异。以瞬时攻击率和捕食处理时间为评价指标,在16℃～28℃,拟小食螨瓢虫雌成虫对皮氏叶螨成螨的捕食效能随温度的上升而提高,28℃时达到最高,此时的瞬时攻击率和捕食处理时间分别为0.5899和0.0169d。温度上升至32℃时,捕食效能略为下降,此时的瞬时攻击率和捕食处理时间分别为0.5740和0.0184d,与28℃时的瞬时攻击率和捕食处理时间差异不显著。表明较高温度有利于拟小食螨瓢虫发挥对皮氏叶螨成螨的控制作用。在试验的密度和温度范围内,以三次多项方程描述了在不同猎物密度和温度组合下拟小食螨瓢虫雌成虫对皮氏叶螨成螨的捕食作用,以软件Surfer8.0生成了皮氏叶螨成螨密度和温度组合下的拟小食螨瓢虫雌成虫捕食量模拟值等值线图。同时,还对拟小食螨瓢虫在热带作物害虫生物防治中的应用潜力进行了讨论。     

食物温度对大鼠体重、血糖、血脂及抗氧化作用的影响

目的：观察食物温度对大鼠体重、血糖、血脂及抗氧化作用的影响。方法：将40只Wistar大鼠随机分为4组（A组、B组、C组、D组）,分别喂食不同温度（10～15℃、22～32℃、42～52℃、52～62℃）的食物和饮水,饲养35d后测量体重,测定血糖（G）、总胆固醇（TC）、甘油三脂（TG）,测定血清中超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性、谷光甘肽过氧化物酶（GSH-Px）活力及丙二醛（MDA）和蛋白含量。结果：采用不同温度的饮食喂养35d后,各组大鼠的体重、血糖、血脂无显著差异（P〉0．05）;C组大鼠的血浆SOD和GSH-Px活性明显高于A组（P〈0．05）,MDA和蛋白含量显著低于A组（P〈0．05）。结论：不同温度的饮食对代谢的影响不明显．42～52℃饮食组大鼠的生化指标较为稳定,有较强的抗氧化作用,过低温度的饮食使机体处于应急状态。     

极地雪衣藻的研究进展

综述了富含类胡萝卜素(虾青素)的极地雪衣藻(Chlamydomonas nivalis)研究的最新进展,并对其研究前景作了分析。     

山杨白桦混交次生林与原始阔叶红松林土壤呼吸作用比较

 比较利用静态箱式法测定长白山原始阔叶红松林(Pinus koraiensis)和次生杨桦混交林的土壤呼吸作用表明,两者土壤呼吸作用的日动态均主要受温度影响,次生林土壤呼吸作用的日变化极值出现时间较原始林提前1～2 h;两者具有明显的季节动态,其中8月土壤呼吸速率最大;在生长季,土壤呼吸速率与土壤含水量关系不显著,而与土壤5 cm温度呈显著的指数关系;生长季(5～9月)次生林土壤释放CO₂量(3 449.4 g·m^－2)约为原始林(2 674.4 g·m^－2)的1.3倍,这可能是由于次生林内具有比原始林较高的温度和较低的土壤含水量,更有利于根系生长代谢和土壤微生物的活动引起的。     

Efficient optimization of crystallization conditions by manipulation of drop volume ratio and temperature

An efficient optimization method for the crystallization of biological macromolecules has been developed and tested. This builds on a successful high-throughput technique for the determination of initial crystallization conditions. The optimization method takes an initial condition identified through screening and then varies the concentration of the macromolecule, precipitant, and the growth temperature in a systematic manner. The amount of sample and number of steps is minimized and no biochemical reformulation is required. In the current application a robotic liquid handling system enables high-throughput use, but the technique can easily be adapted in a nonautomated setting. This method has been applied successfully for the rapid optimization of crystallization conditions in nine representative cases.     

Amino-acid interactions in psychrophiles, mesophiles, thermophiles, and hyperthermophiles: insights from the quasi-chemical approximation

We investigate the mechanisms used by proteins to maintain thermostability throughout a wide range of temperatures. We use the quasi-chemical approximation to estimate interaction strengths for psychrophiles, mesophiles, thermophiles, and hyperthermophiles. Our results highlight the importance of core packing in thermophilic stability. Although we observed an increase in the number of charged residues, the contribution of salt bridges appears to be relatively modest by comparison. We observed results consistent with a gradual loosening of structure in psychrophiles, including a weakening of almost all types of interactions.     

Environmental constraints upon locomotion and predator-prey interactions in aquatic organisms: an introduction

Environmental constraints in aquatic habitats have become topics of concern to both the scientific community and the public at large. In particular, coastal and freshwater habitats are subject to dramatic variability in various environmental factors, as a result of both natural and anthropogenic processes. The protection and sustainable management of all aquatic habitats requires greater understanding of how environmental constraints influence aquatic organisms. Locomotion and predator-prey interactions are intimately linked and fundamental to the survival of mobile aquatic organisms. This paper summarizes the main points from the review and research articles which comprise the theme issue 'Environmental constraints upon locomotion and predator-prey interactions in aquatic organisms'. The articles explore how natural and anthropogenic factors can constrain these two fundamental activities in a diverse range of organisms from phytoplankton to marine mammals. Some major environmental constraints derive from the intrinsic properties of the fluid and are mechanical in nature, such as viscosity and flow regime. Other constraints derive from direct effects of factors, such as temperature, oxygen content of the water or turbidity, upon the mechanisms underlying the performance of locomotion and predator-prey interactions. The effect of these factors on performance at the tissue and organ level is reflected in constraints upon performance of the whole organism. All these constraints can influence behaviour. Ultimately, they can have an impact on ecological performance. One issue that requires particular attention is how factors such as temperature and oxygen can exert different constraints on the physiology and behaviour of different taxa and the ecological implications of this. Given the multiplicity of constraints, the complexity of their interactions, and the variety of biological levels at which they can act, there is a clear need for integration between the fields of physiology, biomechanics, behaviour, ecology, biological modelling and evolution in both laboratory and field studies. For studies on animals in their natural environment, further technological advances are required to allow investigation of how the prevailing physico-chemical conditions influence basic physiological processes and behaviour.     

Critical thermal limits depend on methodological context

A full-factorial study of the effects of rates of temperature change and start temperatures was undertaken for both upper and lower critical thermal limits (CTLs) using the tsetse fly, Glossina pallidipes. Results show that rates of temperature change and start temperatures have highly significant effects on CTLs, although the duration of the experiment also has a major effect. Contrary to a widely held expectation, slower rates of temperature change (i.e. longer experimental duration) resulted in poorer thermal tolerance at both high and low temperatures. Thus, across treatments, a negative relationship existed between duration and upper CTL while a positive relationship existed between duration and lower CTL. Most importantly, for predicting tsetse distribution, G. pallidipes suffer loss of function at less severe temperatures under the most ecologically relevant experimental conditions for upper (0.06 degrees C min(-1); 35 degrees C start temperature) and lower CTL (0.06 degrees C min(-1); 24 degrees C start temperature). This suggests that the functional thermal range of G. pallidipes in the wild may be much narrower than previously suspected, approximately 20-40 degrees C, and highlights their sensitivity to even moderate temperature variation. These effects are explained by limited plasticity of CTLs in this species over short time scales. The results of the present study have broad implications for understanding temperature tolerance in these and other terrestrial arthropods.     

Separation and quantification of the cellular thiol pool of pea plants treated with heat, salt and atrazine

A novel procedure for the separation of the cellular thiol pool according to the molecular weight and localization of compounds with sulphydryl groups is presented. This simple and rapid method allows the differentiation of thiols into three major fractions-low molecular weight (LMT, primarily glutathione and free cysteine), protein-bound (TPT) and pellet-bound (PBT, associated with cell walls and broken organelles). Moreover, determination of the ratio between surface (readily reactive) thiols (ATG) and those that are more or less buried in the protein structure (BTG) can be achieved. In intact pea leaves, the amounts of the total thiols (LMT+PBT+TPT) varies from 2.5 to 4.8 micromol/g of fresh material. The data for LMT, PBT and TPT were related to each other in the approximate ratio 1:2:7. Treatments of pea plants with high temperature, salinity and low amounts of atrazine affect these sulphydryl types differently. For a greater understanding of the applicability of this method to physiological research, the main mechanisms leading to alterations in the cellular thiol pool are discussed. Furthermore, it is suggested that the proportion of available to buried thiols (ATG/BTG) in proteins could be used as a convenient marker for stress impacts.