A population genomics insight into the Mediterranean origins of wine yeast domestication

The domestication of the wine yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is thought to be contemporary with the development and expansion of viticulture along the Mediterranean basin. Until now, the unavailability of wild lineages prevented the identification of the closest wild relatives of wine yeasts. Here, we enlarge the collection of natural lineages and employ whole‐genome data of oak‐associated wild isolates to study a balanced number of anthropic and natural S. cerevisiae strains. We identified industrial variants and new geographically delimited populations, including a novel Mediterranean oak population. This population is the closest relative of the wine lineage as shown by a weak population structure and further supported by genomewide population analyses. A coalescent model considering partial isolation with asymmetrical migration, mostly from the wild group into the Wine group, and population growth, was found to be best supported by the data. Importantly, divergence time estimates between the two populations agree with historical evidence for winemaking. We show that three horizontally transmitted regions, previously described to contain genes relevant to wine fermentation, are present in the Wine group but not in the Mediterranean oak group. This represents a major discontinuity between the two populations and is likely to denote a domestication fingerprint in wine yeasts. Taken together, these results indicate that Mediterranean oaks harbour the wild genetic stock of domesticated wine yeasts.     

山西阳泉老窑水硫酸盐还原菌的分离鉴定及其还原功能驯化

【背景】含硫煤矿开采后,地表水/地下水回流至采空区形成酸性老窑水,含有高浓度重金属离子和硫酸盐,严重危害生态系统健康。利用微生物自身生长处理老窑水具有成本低、环境友好等特点,具有良好的应用前景。目前利用的硫酸盐还原菌大多只在适宜温度和中性pH条件下具有较高活性,在北方低温和酸性条件下难以发挥作用。【目的】本研究旨在从山西阳泉山底河流域的老窑水环境中分离硫酸盐还原菌,并调节温度和pH进行驯化,从而得到高效耐低温耐酸菌株,为北方老窑水微生物治理提供可用菌种资源。【方法】对山底河流域典型老窑水样品中的微生物进行富集培养,并筛选硫酸盐还原菌。通过革兰氏染色、扫描电镜对菌株形貌特性进行表征,利用16SrRNA基因序列比对进行菌种鉴定,探究其生长特性和硫酸盐还原性能。在此基础上降低温度和pH,对高效还原硫酸盐菌株进行驯化,探讨其在北方老窑水污染治理中的应用潜力。【结果】本研究筛选得到2株硫酸盐还原菌,命名为YQ-1和YQ-2,分别属于革兰氏阴性瘤胃解蛋白质菌属(Proteiniclasticum)和脱硫弧菌属(Desulfovibrio)。在30°C、pH 7.5条件下,YQ-1和YQ-2对1 1...     

Curvature in models of the photosynthesis‐irradiance response

An equation for the rate of photosynthesis as a function of irradiance introduced by T. T. Bannister included an empirical parameter b to account for observed variations in curvature between the initial slope and the maximum rate of photosynthesis. Yet researchers have generally favored equations with fixed curvature, possibly because b was viewed as having no physiological meaning. We developed an analytic photosynthesis‐irradiance equation relating variations in curvature to changes in the degree of connectivity between photosystems, and also considered a recently published alternative, based on changes in the size of the plastoquinone pool. When fitted to a set of 185 observed photosynthesis‐irradiance curves, it was found that the Bannister equation provided the best fit more frequently compared to either of the analytic equations. While Bannister's curvature parameter engendered negligible improvement in the statistical fit to the study data, we argued that the parameter is nevertheless quite useful because it allows for consistent estimates of initial slope and saturation irradiance for observations exhibiting a range of curvatures, which would otherwise have to be fitted to different fixed‐curvature equations. Using theoretical models, we also found that intra‐ and intercellular self‐shading can result in biased estimates of both curvature and the saturation irradiance parameter. We concluded that Bannister's is the best currently available equation accounting for variations in curvature precisely because it does not assign inappropriate physiological meaning to its curvature parameter, and we proposed that b should be thought of as the expression of the integration of all factors impacting curvature.     

Responses of two semiarid conifer tree species to reduced precipitation and warming reveal new perspectives for stomatal regulation

Relatively anisohydric species are predicted to be more predisposed to hydraulic failure than relatively isohydric species, as they operate with narrower hydraulic safety margins. We subjected co‐occurring anisohydric Juniperus monosperma and isohydric Pinus edulis trees to warming, reduced precipitation, or both, and measured their gas exchange and hydraulic responses. We found that reductions in stomatal conductance and assimilation by heat and drought were more frequent during relatively moist periods, but these effects were not exacerbated in the combined heat and drought treatment. Counter to expectations, both species exhibited similar g_s temporal dynamics in response to drought. Further, whereas P. edulis exhibited chronic embolism, J. monosperma showed very little embolism due to its conservative stomatal regulation and maintenance of xylem water potential above the embolism entry point. This tight stomatal control and low levels of embolism experienced by juniper refuted the notion that very low water potentials during drought are associated with loose stomatal control and with the hypothesis that anisohydric species are more prone to hydraulic failure than isohydric species. Because direct association of stomatal behaviour with embolism resistance can be misleading, we advocate consideration of stomatal behaviour relative to embolism resistance for classifying species drought response strategies.     

低温驯化和外源糖对爪哇伪枝藻冷胁迫的影响

低温是影响荒漠藻类生存的重要环境因子.研究了低温驯化和外源糖对爪哇伪枝藻冷胁迫的作用.实验测定了低温和外源糖处理下伪枝藻某些生理活性指标的变化.结果表明,低温胁迫导致伪枝藻生物量和光合活性的显著降低,低温驯化和外源糖在一定程度上对藻细胞叶绿素α含量和光合活性具有促进作用,低温驯化明显提高了细胞内可溶性蛋白的含量,而对丙二醛的含量影响不大.研究还发现,低温驯化明显降低了细胞膜的相对透性,而外源糖对细胞膜的相对透性影响不大.此外,低温驯化促进了伪枝藻胞外多糖的大量合成.研究结果初步证实了低温驯化和外源糖类对于提高伪枝藻的冷胁迫耐受性具有调节作用.     

Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in wild and domestic turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo)

We describe the isolation, development and application of seven microsatellite loci in the eastern wild turkey, Meleagris gallopavo silvestris, as well as their amplification and levels of polymorphism in the domestic turkey. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 5 to 15 and average heterozygosity was high for almost all loci. Domestic turkeys showed significantly reduced numbers of alleles per locus and overall heterozygosities when compared to eastern wild turkeys. The high variability in these markers should provide the level of resolution required to continue studies of wild turkey population genetics.     

Molecular Population Genetics of Rice Domestication

Domestication is a selection process that genetically modifies species to meet human needs. A most intriguing feature of domestication is the extreme phenotypic diversification among breeds. What could be the ultimate source of such genetic variations? Another notable outcome of artificial selection is the reduction in the fitness of domesticated species when they live in the wild without human assistance. The complete sequences of the two subspecies of rice cultivars provide an opportunity to address these questions. Between the two subspecies, we found much higher rates of non‐synonymous (N) than synonymous (S) substitutions and the N/S ratios are higher between cultivars than between wild species. Most interestingly, substitutions of highly dissimilar amino acids that are deleterious and uncommon between natural species are disproportionately common between the two subspecies of rice. We suggest strong selection in the absence of effective recombination may be the driving force, which we called the domestication‐associated Hill‐Robertson effect. These hitchhiking mutations may contribute to some fitness reduction in cultivars. Comparisons of the two genomes also reveal the existence of highly divergent regions in the genomes. Haplotypes in these regions often form highly polymorphic linkage blocks that are much older than speciation between wild species. Genes from such regions could contribute to the differences between indica and japonica and are likely to be involved in the diversifying selection under domestication. Their existence suggests that the amount of genetic variation within the single progenitor species Oryza rufipogon may be insufficient to account for the variation among rice cultivars, which may come from a more inclusive gene pool comprising most of the A‐genome wild species. Genes from the highly polymorphic regions also provide strong support for the independent domestication of the two subspecies. The genomic variation in rice has revealing implications for studying the genetic basis of indica‐japonica differentiation under rice domestication and subsequent improvement.     

点柄乳牛肝菌研究进展

点柄乳牛肝菌（Suillus granulatus）味道鲜美营养丰富,并具有良好的药用活性,是广受欢迎的野生食药用菌。从分类学、发生规律、药用活性、与植物关系及驯化研究方面系统阐述了点柄乳牛肝菌的现状,并对其未来发展及应用进行了展望。     

记忆水平依赖的海马-前额叶神经节律交互

海马(HPC)和前额叶皮层(PFC)的协同作用是记忆加工过程的关键,其相互作用对学习和记忆功能至关重要.大量证据表明,情景记忆的形成、巩固与检索依赖于特征神经节律在PFC和HPC脑区间的同步作用,这些节律包括theta节律、gamma节律和sharp wave ripples (SWRs)节律等.在精神类疾病中患者往往伴随出现学习记忆功能障碍,基于人类和动物的脑电研究均发现以上3种神经节律在HPC和PFC之间的同步性下降,可能作为反映精神病理下认知功能障碍的重要指标.本文从HPC-PFC网络中的神经节律研究出发,总结了theta节律、gamma节律和SWRs节律在两脑区间的协调交互模式在情景记忆中的作用,以及精神分裂症和抑郁症状态下HPC-PFC通路上神经节律的异常表现及其潜在损伤机制,为今后精神疾病的快速诊断提供客观依据.