Could the glycosylation analysis of seminal plasma clusterin become a novel male infertility biomarker?

Male infertility is becoming a rapidly growing problem around the world, mainly in the highly developed countries. Seminal proteome composition seems to be one of the crucial factors of the proper course of fertilization ‐ clusterin (CLU) is among the most important ones. CLU, as one of the crucial seminal plasma glycoproteins, plays a very important role in sperm capacitation and immune tolerance in the female reproductive tract. CLU is also known as a sensitive marker of oxidative stress. It has six n ‐glycosylation sites and also exhibits chaperone activity. An analysis of changes in the profile and degree of CLU glycosylation may shed some new light on the molecular mechanisms of the fertilization process and may be used as an additional diagnostic marker of male fertility. This study constitutes a review of the recently available literature concerning human seminal CLU, including changes in its glycosylation, analyzed in the context of human reproduction.     

模拟氮沉降对长白山岳桦林下草本植物和土壤肥力的短期影响

选取长白山岳桦林中的岳桦-蟹甲草群落（Comm.Betula ermanii-Parasenecio forrestii）、岳桦-藜芦群落（Comm.Betula ermanii-Veratrum nigrum）和岳桦-小叶章群落（Comm.Betula ermanii-Deyeuxia purpurea）开展野外模拟氮沉降实验,采用野外原位模拟实验方法,设置对照（0 kg·hm^-2·a^-1）、低氮（30 kg·hm^-2·a^-1）、中氮（50 kg·hm^-2·a^-1）和高氮（100 kg·hm^-2·a^-1）4个氮处理水平,测定草本植物生长状况和土壤肥力,研究岳桦林下草本层植物和土壤肥力对氮沉降的短期响应。结果显示：（1）岳桦林下草本植物随氮沉降量的增加而加速生长,小叶章对氮沉降的响应较为敏感,藜芦次之,蟹甲草最弱;（2）氮添加造成林下土壤肥力发生变化,有机质含量下降,特别是岳桦-小叶章群落下的土壤有机质含量下降最明显;土壤总氮和速效氮含量增大,岳桦-蟹甲草群落下的土壤总氮和速效氮增加最多;土壤总磷和速效磷含量减小,岳桦-小叶章群落下的土壤总磷和速效磷含量的减少最多。本研究结果表明氮添加在短期内会促进长白山岳桦林下草本植物生长,尤其是小叶章的生长,加快土壤有机质的分解和磷的释放,逐步改变土壤肥力并反馈给植物,促使其进一步变化。     

Evaluating the Mechanisms of Landscape Change on White-Tailed Deer Populations

Understanding how landscape change influences the distribution and densities of species, and the consequences of these changes, is a central question in modern ecology. The distribution of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is expanding across North America, and in some areas, this pattern has led to an increase in predators and consequently higher predation rates on woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou)—an alternate prey species that is declining across western Canada. Understanding the factors influencing deer distribution has therefore become important for effective conservation of caribou in Canada. Changing climate and anthropogenic landscape alteration are hypothesized to facilitate white-tailed deer expansion. Yet, climate and habitat alteration are spatiotemporally correlated, making these factors difficult to isolate. Our study evaluates the relative effects of snow conditions and human-modified habitat (habitat alteration) across space on white-tailed deer presence and relative density. We modeled deer response to snow depth and anthropogenic habitat alteration across a large latitudinal gradient (49° to 60°) in Alberta, Canada, using motion-sensitive camera data collected in winter and spring from 2015 to 2019. Deer distribution in winter and spring were best explained by models including both snow depth and habitat alteration. Sites with shallower snow had higher deer presence regardless of latitude. Increased habitat alteration increased deer presence in the northern portion of the study area only. Winter deer density was best explained by snow depth only, whereas spring density was best explained by both habitat alteration and the previous winter's snow depth. Our results suggest that limiting future habitat alteration or restoring habitat can alter deer distribution, thereby potentially slowing or reversing expansion, but that climate plays a significant role beyond what managers can influence. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.     

Reducing Biotic and Abiotic Land‐Use Legacies to Restore Invaded,Abandoned Citrus Groves

Land‐use legacies associated with agriculture, such as increased soil fertility and elevated soil pH, promote invasions by non‐native plant species on former agricultural lands. Restoring natural soil conditions (i.e. low fertility and low pH) may be an effective, long‐term method to control and reduce the abundance of non‐native and ruderal species that invade abandoned agricultural lands. In this study, we examined how soil manipulation treatments of lowering soil fertility with carbon additions and lowering soil pH by applying sulfur affect non‐native and ruderal native plant species abundance in two former citrus groves in central Florida. Non‐native plant biomass was removed by one of two methods (tilling or topsoil removal), and was combined with a soil amendment of sulfur, carbon, sulfur + carbon, or none. The biomass removal treatments significantly decreased non‐native abundance, with topsoil removal as the most effective. Carbon additions did not affect soil fertility or vegetation. Sulfur and sulfur + carbon additions significantly decreased soil pH in both groves for at least 1 year post‐treatment; however, we did not see a significant vegetation response. Overall, our results suggest that removing vegetation by tilling and topsoil removal is an effective method for reducing non‐target species cover. Although we did not see a response of vegetation to our treatments, we were able to restore the initial soil characteristics, which can be a first step toward complete restoration.     

The song of the old mother: Reproductive senescence in female drosophila

Among animals with multiple reproductive episodes, changes in adult condition over time can have profound effects on lifetime reproductive fitness and offspring performance. The changes in condition associated with senescence can be particularly acute for females who support reproductive processes from oogenesis through fertilization. The pomace fly Drosophila melanogaster is a well-established model system for exploring the physiology of reproduction and senescence. In this review, we describe how increasing maternal age in Drosophila affects reproductive fitness and offspring performance as well as the genetic foundation of these effects. Describing the processes underlying female reproductive senescence helps us understand diverse phenomena including population demographics, condition-dependent selection, sexual conflict, and transgenerational effects of maternal condition on offspring fitness. Understanding the genetic basis of reproductive senescence clarifies the nature of life-history trade-offs as well as potential ways to augment and/or limit female fertility in a variety of organisms.     

卷丹小孢子母细胞减数分裂染色体行为的研究

对引种于陕西汉中地区的三倍体卷丹的小孢子母细胞减数分裂进程、花粉生活力和可育性进行了分析。结果显示:减数分裂时期与花蕾、花药长度及花药壁颜色呈现出一定的相关性,处于减数分裂时期的卷丹花蕾长度在2.5～3.2 cm之间,花药长度在1.4～1.8 cm之间;从细线期到成熟花粉粒,花药壁的颜色呈现出淡绿色-淡黄绿色-黄绿色-橘黄色的变化趋势,花药内容物颜色也从透明逐渐变为粘稠的橘红色。减数分裂终变期染色体构型以三价体为主,平均构型为:11.6Ⅲ+2Ⅱ+1.1Ⅰ,可判断该种源地卷丹为同源三倍体。减数分裂中出现染色体不均等分裂、染色体落后、染色体桥及微核现象,同时观察到成熟花粉粒大小差异较大,极轴与赤道轴乘积在839.465～3327.907μm2范围内,趋于正态分布,为三倍体卷丹花粉的高度不育提供了细胞学证据。以卷丹为母本与大花卷丹进行杂交,得到一定数量的种子,其中有胚率达到了43.0%,成苗率为67.4%,说明三倍体卷丹在百合育种中具有一定的价值。     

Discovering lethal alleles across the turkey genome using a transmission ratio distortion approach

Deviation from Mendelian inheritance expectations (transmission ratio distortion, TRD) has been observed in several species, including the mouse and humans. In this study, TRD was characterized in the turkey genome using both allelic (specific- and unspecific-parent TRD) and genotypic (additive- and dominance-TRD) parameterizations within a Bayesian framework. In this study, we evaluated TRD for 23 243 genotyped Turkeys across 56 393 autosomal SNPs. The analyses included 500 sires, 2013 dams and 11 047 offspring (trios). Three different haplotype sliding windows of 4, 10 and 20 SNPs were used across the autosomal chromosomes. Based on the genotypic parameterizations, 14 haplotypes showed additive and dominance TRD effects highlighting regions with a recessive TRD pattern. In contrast, the allelic model uncovered 12 haplotype alleles with the allelic TRD pattern which showed an underrepresentation of heterozygous offspring in addition to the absence of homozygous animals. For regions with the allelic pattern, only one particular region showed a parent-specific TRD where the penetrance was high via the dam, but low via the sire. The gene set analysis uncovered several gene ontology functional terms, Reactome pathways and several Medical Subject Headings that showed significant enrichment of genes associated with TRD. Many of these gene ontology functional terms (e.g. mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint, DRM complex and Aneuploidy), Reactome pathways (e.g. Mismatch repair) and Medical Subject Headings (e.g. Adenosine monophosphate) are known to be related to fertility, embryo development and lethality. The results of this study revealed potential novel candidate lethal haplotypes, functional terms and pathways that may enhance breeding programs in Turkeys through reducing mortality and improving reproduction rate.     

Soil conservation practices for insect pest management in highly disturbed agroecosystems – a review

Decline in soil health is a serious worldwide problem that decreases complexity and stability of agricultural ecosystems, commonly making them more prone to outbreaks of herbivorous insect pests. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L., Solanaceae) and onion (Allium cepa L., Amaryllidaceae) production is currently characterized by high soil disturbance and heavy reliance on synthetic inputs, including insecticides. Evidence suggests that adopting soil conservation techniques often (but not always) increases mortality and decreases reproductive output for the major insect pests of these important vegetable crops. Known mechanisms responsible for such an effect include increases in density and activity of natural enemy populations, enhanced plant defenses, and modified physical characteristics of respective agricultural habitats. However, most research efforts focused on mulches and organic soil amendments, with additional research needed on elucidating effects and their mechanisms for conservation tillage, cover crops, and arbuscular mycorrhizae.