Can Coral Cover be Restored in the Absence of Natural Recruitment and Reef Recovery?

With many coral reef areas being degraded whether by anthropogenic or natural causes, a search is on for resilient species of corals that can restore coral cover where needed, if coral reefs are to continue to provide adequate ecosystem services. A series of experiments were undertaken in two sites with different environmental attributes and substrates in a lagoonal area in the northwestern Philippines to test the potentials of a local species, Porites cylindrica, for reef rehabilitation. With the use of asexual fragmentation of donor colonies, different treatments were tested, particularly to determine if the species would survive on different substrates, that is, solid, massive versus digitate/anastomosing, dead colonies. The results after nearly 2 years of the experiment were extraordinarily successful, with survival of transplants ranging from a high of 98% to a low of 80% of colonies, resulting in extensive coral cover on both original and new or different substrate from the original. A subsequent observation after another 16 months showed the coral cover to have been complete or nearly complete in the experimental plots, with the transplanted colonies fusing, and with evident reef fish communities where there were none before. Had there been no intervention, it is highly likely that the reefs would have remained in a degraded state .     

Golgi fragmentation induced by heat shock or inhibition of heat shock proteins is mediated by non-muscle myosin IIA via its interaction with glycosyltransferases

The Golgi apparatus is a highly dynamic organelle which frequently undergoes morphological changes in certain normal physiological processes or in response to stress. The mechanisms are largely not known. We have found that heat shock of Panc1 cells expressing core 2 N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-M (Panc1-C2GnT-M) induces Golgi disorganization by increasing non-muscle myosin IIA (NMIIA)–C2GnT-M complexes and polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of C2GnT-M. These effects are prevented by inhibition or knockdown of NMIIA. Also, the speed of Golgi fragmentation induced by heat shock is found to be positively correlated with the levels of C2GnT-M in the Golgi. The results are reproduced in LNCaP cells expressing high levels of two endogenous glycosyltransferases—core 2 N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-L:1 and β-galactoside:α2-3 sialyltransferase 1. Further, during recovery after heat shock, Golgi reassembly as monitored by a Golgi matrix protein giantin precedes the return of C2GnT-M to the Golgi. The results are consistent with the roles of giantin as a building block of the Golgi architecture and a docking site for transport vesicles carrying glycosyltransferases. In addition, inhibition/depletion of HSP70 or HSP90 in Panc1-C2GnT-M cells also causes an increase of NMIIA–C2GnT-M complexes and NMIIA-mediated Golgi fragmentation but results in accumulation or degradation of C2GnT-M, respectively. These results can be explained by the known functions of these two HSP: participation of HSP90 in protein folding and HSP70 in protein folding and degradation. We conclude that NMIIA is the master regulator of Golgi fragmentation induced by heat shock or inhibition/depletion of HSP70/90.     

Phylogeography and genetic effects of habitat fragmentation on endangered Taxus yunnanensis in southwest China as revealed by microsatellite data

It is not known how the profoundly complex topography and habitat heterogeneity generated by the uplift of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (QTP) during the late Tertiary affected population genetic structure of endangered Taxus yunnanensis. In addition, the effects of habitat fragmentation due to anthropogenic disturbance on genetic diversity and population differentiation of this species have not been studied. T. yunnanensis is an ancient tree/shrub mainly distributed in southwest China. Recently, the species has suffered a sharp decline due to excessive logging for its famous anticancer metabolite taxol, resulting in smaller and more isolated populations. To understand the phylogeography and genetic consequences of habitat fragmentation of this endangered species, using 11 polymorphic microsatellites, we genotyped 288 individuals from 14 populations from a range‐wide sampling in China. Our results suggest that two different population groups that were once isolated have persisted in situ during glacial periods in both areas, and have not merged since. Habitat fragmentation has led to significant genetic bottlenecks, high inbreeding and population divergence in this species. The two different population groups of T. yunnanensis could be attributed to restricted gene flow caused through isolation by geographical barriers and by habitat heterogeneity during uplift of the QTP, or the existence of two separate glacial refugia during the Pleistocene. In situ and ex situ conservation of the two Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs), artificial gene flow between populations and a comprehensive understanding of the pollination system in this endangered species are suggested from this study.     

千岛湖岛屿化对社鼠的肥满度之影响

2008年5月以夹夜法对千岛湖区部分岛屿开展小型兽类种群数量调查,对其间捕获的优势鼠种——社鼠（Niviventer confucianus）进行解剖观察以及相应的测量,计算其肥满度指标K值（K=100W/L³）;同时对岛屿化环境下,社鼠的肥满度与性别、年龄、生境类型、岛屿面积和捕获率等生态因子的关系进行了研究。结果显示：岛屿化对社鼠两性之间的肥满度产生影响,其差异程度由大型岛屿的显著差异（P=0.015）至中小型岛屿的无显著差异（中：P=0.063;小：P=0.288）;年龄组间,除个别相邻年龄组差异显著（大：♂,I与II,P=0.042;中：♀和♂皆为II与III,P=0.013和P=0.044）或极显著（大：♀,III与IV,P=0.000）外,其余均未达到显著水平（P>0.05）。社鼠肥满度年龄组间的变化主要与其自身生理特征变化有关,与岛屿化关系不明显;岛屿的隔离作用,致使不同类型岛屿上的植被优势种及丰富度存在明显差异,从而影响到社鼠的肥满度差异;各岛捕获率所示的社鼠种群的相对数量与其肥满度并无显著相关性（Pearson-test,♀,r=−0.226,P=0.437;♂,r=−0.019,P=0.949）,岛屿化对其种群数量不产生影响;不同面积岛屿之间社鼠的肥满度差异极显著（P=0.000）,且肥满度均值与岛屿面积呈显著正相关（Pearson test,r=0.561,P=0.037）,岛屿面积不同,对社鼠的肥满度之变化产生影响。总之,千岛湖岛屿社鼠的肥满度差异的产生,除了性别、年龄等因素外,与岛屿的面积、生境及种群压力有直接或间接的关系,从侧面也反映了社鼠对岛屿环境的适应性。     

Hidden phylogeographic complexity in the Sierra Madre Oriental: the case of the Mexican tulip poppy Hunnemannia fumariifolia (Papaveraceae)

Aim A phylogeographic study of the endemic Mexican tulip poppy Hunnemannia fumariifolia (Papaveraceae) was conducted to determine: (1) the historical processes that influenced its geographical pattern of genetic variation; (2) whether isolation by distance was one of the main factors that caused genetic divergence in populations of this species; and (3) whether genetic flow still exists between populations from northern arid zones (Chihuahuan Desert and Sierra Madre Oriental) and those from southern arid zones (Tehuacán‐Cuicatlán Valley) – populations that are separated by the Transvolcanic Belt. Location Xerophytic vegetation in Mexico. Methods Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) sequences of three regions, trnH‐psbA, rpl32‐trnL(UAG) and ndhF‐rpl32, were obtained for 85 individuals from 17 populations sampled in the field, covering the entire range of H. fumariifolia. The evolutionary history of these populations was investigated using a nested clade phylogeographic analysis and also by conducting various population genetic analyses. Results In total, 17 haplotypes were detected, 14 of which were found in the Sierra Madre Oriental. Differentiation among populations based on cpDNA variation (G_ST = 0.787, SE 0.0614) indicated population structure in H. fumariifolia, corroborated by a fixation index (F_ST) of 0.907. Results from analysis of molecular variance found that most of the total variation (90.71%, P < 0.001) was explained by differences among populations. Three regions were determined based on geological correspondence – the Chihuahuan Desert, Sierra Madre Oriental and Tehuacán‐Cuicatlán Valley – and the variation between them was significant (43.39%, P < 0.001). Results of a Mantel test showed a significant correlation between genetic and geographic distances (r = 0.511; P = 0.0001), suggesting a pattern of isolation by distance, which was corroborated by nested clade phylogeographic analysis. Mismatch distribution analysis indicated a sudden demographic expansion. Main conclusions Our study found that isolation by distance influenced genetic divergence in populations of H. fumariifolia. The finding that allopatric fragmentation influenced genetic divergence in populations in the Sierra Madre Oriental may be a reflection of the complex geology of the area. Our results suggest that the areas located in the north of the Sierra Madre Oriental acted as post‐glacial refugia for some populations.     

Beckmann reactions of steroidal spirocyclic oximes derived from the 16beta,23:23,26-diepoxy-22-oxo moiety

The Beckmann rearrangement of the syn and anti isomers of the spirocyclic oxime derived from a 16β,23:23,26-diepoxy-5β-cholestan-22-one was studied. Whereas the anti isomer always follows the Beckmann fragmentation course, the syn isomer, depending on the reaction conditions, follows the normal Beckmann rearrangement course and/or the isomerization to the anti isomer followed by the fragmentation course.