Hybridization between tetraploid species of Alopecurus L. (Poaceae): chromosome behaviour of natural and artificial hybrids

The meiotic behaviour of plants from mixed populations of Alopecurus pratensis × A. geniculatus and of A. pratensis × A. arundinaceus ( 2n = 4×(= 28) is reported together with observations on some artificially produced hybrids. This meiotic behaviour is correlated with the degree of hybridity as shown by the hybrid index values of the plant. In A. pratensis × A. geniculatus hybrids there are marked differences between populations in the degree of meiotic disturbance and in one population there was an almost complete breakdown of meiosis. Alopecurus pratensis × A. arundinaceus hybrids show fairly regular meiotic pairing but in most plants there are a few univalent chromosomes at metaphase I. Artificially produced hybrids of A. pratensis × A. aequalis gave meiotic configurations that suggest that the genomes of the parent species are very similar. Taken together with the results from artificially produced hybrids of A. pratensis × A. geniculatus , it is suggested that bivalent-promoting mechanisms reduce multivalent formation both in the species and the hybrids. The interaction of different genotypes involved in the control of meiosis may account for the variation in meiotic behaviour in the different populations of hybrids. Pollen fertility is reduced in most populations of hybrids and likely to be an important factor permitting introgressive hybridization.     

Variations in the response of five strains of mice to Leishmania mexicana.

Five strains of mice were studied in their ability to support Leishmania mexicana infection. Four strains, AKR, C57BL/6, DBA/2 and NMRI, were relatively resistant to cutaneous leishmaniasis. These strains developed delayed type hypersensitivity responses to leishmanial antigens and produced agglutinating antibodies. On the other hand Balb/c mice, highly susceptible to infection, failed to develop delayed type hypersensitivity responses and showed an impaired production of antibodies. Hybrids produced by mating C57BL/6 males and Balb/c females were no more susceptible than C57BL/6 mice, suggesting that resistance is inherited as a dominant character.     

Effect of papaya (Carica papaya) leaf extract as dietary growth promoter supplement in red hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus × Oreochromis niloticus) diet

The purpose of this experiment was to examine the potential use of Carica papaya leaf extract as a supplement to promote growth and improve feed utilization in red hybrid tilapia. Five diets were formulated containing isolipidic (80 g/kg) and isonitrogenic (350 g/kg) levels. All feeds contained similar types and amounts of raw materials but differed in the inclusion of papaya leaf extract (0, 5, 10, 20 and 40 g/kg feed). The initial size of fish used was 2.3 ± 0.01 g. Each diet was performed in triplicate tanks, and the feeding period was 12 weeks. Fish fed diet containing 2% papaya leaf extract (PLE) had the highest final weight, 31.14 ± 1.47 g, followed by 1% PLE (27.27 ± 1.75 g). These two diets (1% and 2%) were also showed significant improvements of weight gain, SGR, and feed efficiency of the red hybrid tilapia (p < 0.05). However, papaya leaf extract did not affect the HSI, VSI, PER, digestive enzymes activity, blood composition, and survival rate. Supplementing the diets with papaya leaf extract lowered serum urea. Findings of this research suggest that adding papaya leaf extract to the diet of red hybrid tilapia improves growth and feed efficiency without adversely affecting blood parameters. Therefore, an inclusion level between 1% and 2% of the papaya leaf extract is recommended as a feed additive to promote red hybrid tilapia fry growth.     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of novel diosgenin–benzoic acid mustard hybrids with potential anti-proliferative activities in human hepatoma HepG2 cells

To discover new lead compounds with anti-tumour activities, in the present study, natural diosgenin was hybridised with the reported benzoic acid mustard pharmacophore. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the resulting newly synthesised hybrids (8–10, 14a–14f, and 15a–15f) was then evaluated in three tumour cells (HepG2, MCF-7, and HeLa) as well as normal GES-1 cells. Among them, 14f possessed the most potential anti-proliferative activity against HepG2 cells, with an IC₅₀ value of 2.26 µM, which was 14.4-fold higher than that of diosgenin (IC₅₀ = 32.63 µM). Furthermore, it showed weak cytotoxicity against GES-1 cells (IC₅₀ > 100 µM), thus exhibiting good antiproliferative selectivity between normal and tumour cells. Moreover, 14f could induce G0/G1 arrest and apoptosis of HepG2 cells. From a mechanistic perspective, 14f regulated cell cycle-related proteins (CDK2, CDK4, CDK6, cyclin D1 and cyclin E1) as well mitochondrial apoptosis pathway-related proteins (Bax, Bcl-2, caspase 9, and caspase 3). These findings suggested that hybrid 14f serves as a promising anti-hepatoma lead compound that deserves further research.     

不同水稻品系幼苗对砷（As）的耐性、吸收及转运

利用琼脂培养基模拟水稻生长的厌氧环境,研究了As对不同水稻品系幼苗生长的影响以及As在其体内的积累及转运特性.结果表明,不同浓度(0～4.0mg/L)的As对供试水稻品系根部干物质积累无显著影响(P>0.05).杂交稻与糯稻的地上部干物质积累随基质中As浓度的增加呈减小趋势,但低剂量的As(0.5mg/L)促进常规稻的生长.水稻地上部的As积累量随基质中As浓度的升高总体均呈增加趋势.水稻根系对As具有较强的吸收与累积能力.水稻根部As的积累量为156.31～504 03mg/kg,占总As含量的63.40～81.90%,远远高于其地上部As的积累量.相比于其它两个品系,糯稻的生物量积累高,耐性指数较大,根部及地上部对As的积累量较低,因此更适合种植在As污染土壤.     

黑线仓鼠种群数量动态预测研究

１９８４－１９９１年３－１０月,每月中旬在中国农科院草原研究所试验场的不同牧草和作物地进行调查,１９８４－１９９１年共捕获鼠４０９３只,其中黑线仓鼠２９２０只占７１．３４％。黑线仓鼠种群数量季节和年度变化明显,利用电子计算机对黑线仓鼠种数量进行分析,提出种群数量繁殖指数和动态模型以及短、中、长期预测公式、预测准确率为９０．０％。并对影响种群数量的因素进行了初步分析。     

大数据时代杂合酶的设计及其新趋势

酶分子的高效性和稳定性是工业广泛应用的物质基础。利用分子生物学技术可以将不同酶分子通过串联、插入、翻译后融合等方式构建成符合工业需求的杂合酶,但应用中多结构域杂合酶在表达量与酶活等方面仍存在弊端,而基于特定蛋白质结构域的多功能设计成为新趋势。高通量测序技术的发展,使得生物学家正面临着爆炸式增长的大数据集。近年来"蛋白质功能区"概念的提出,拓宽了人们对蛋白质结构与功能组织层次的认知,功能区残基聚簇的协同演化可导致同一家族不同蛋白质功能的差异。基于海量大数据分析可以快速定位特定功能区以及协同进化的关键位点,再利用合成生物学技术就可实现多种功能残基在同一蛋白质中的精准嫁接,完成天然酶分子的再设计。这将是杂合酶技术发展的新阶段,也会成为生物大数据时代下蛋白质设计的新趋势。     

内蒙古库布齐沙地黑线仓鼠食物构成的季节变化

黑线仓鼠 (Ｃｒｉｃｅｔｕｌｕｓｂａｒａｂｅｎｓｉｓ)是广泛分布于我国华北和中原地区草原、农田的一种农牧业害鼠[8] ,在这些生境中 ,其食物以各种农作物和牧草种子为主 ,并取食大量昆虫[1,3 ,5,6 ] 。在鄂尔多斯高原库布齐沙地环境中 ,由于该种耐受高温环境的能力相对较低 ,仅分布在郁蔽程度较高的固定沙地和农田。研究表明 ,本地区该种的数量近年呈上升趋势[2 ] 。结合研究其数量变动规律 ,我们于 1996年 4～ 10月对其食物构成的季节变化进行了研究 ,以分析其生态适应对策。1　研究方法研究点设在库布齐沙地东段的中国农业科学院草原研…     

长芒猬草与华山新麦草属间杂种的形态学和细胞学研究

为研究长芒猬草Hystrix duthiei ssp．longearistata的染色体组成,将其与华山新麦草Psathyrostachys huashanica进行了人工杂交,获得杂种F₁。对亲本及杂种F₁,花粉母细胞减数分裂染色体配对行为、繁育 特性和形态特征进行了比较分析。结果表明：杂种F₁的许多形态特征介于父母本之间,花粉完全不育, 结实率为0;杂种F₁花粉母细胞减数分裂中期Ⅰ染色体配对较高,55.12％的细胞形成5个或6个二价 体,其构型为：9.83Ⅰ+5.46Ⅱ+0.07Ⅲ,C-值为0.57。以上结果表明H．duthiei ssp．Longearistata含有Ns染色体组。本文还讨论了Hystrix与Leymus的关系。     

甘蓝型油菜与蔊菜属间杂种后代的苗期耐湿性综合评价

以生产上应用的耐湿性存在差异的3个甘蓝型油菜品种为对照,采用盆栽模拟湿害胁迫的方法,对15份源自甘蓝型油菜与蔊菜属间杂交获得的遗传稳定的创新种质进行苗期耐湿性鉴定和综合评价。结果显示:(1)湿害抑制根系生长,导致植株变矮,叶片发黄,生物量降低,湿害对根系影响最为严重,其次是植株总生物量积累和地上部分的生长。(2)通过主成分分析和隶属函数法,将全展叶数、绿叶率、苗高、根长、地上部分鲜重、根鲜重、植株总鲜重、地上部分干重、根干重和植株总干重等10个性状指标值转化成单一的综合评价值(D值),客观、科学、准确地对参试的18份材料进行了综合评价,为甘蓝型油菜苗期耐湿性评价提供了方法参考。(3)15份创新种质除绿叶率外的9个测定指标的耐湿性系数均高于对照品种,耐湿性综合评价结果显示,15份创新种质的D值均高于渝黄2号,13份创新种质的D值高于综合抗耐性俱佳的中油821,3份创新种质的D值高于高耐湿品种中双9号,聚类得到的高耐湿类群的7份材料中创新种质占6份(85.71%)。可见,创新种质的耐湿性平均要优于对照品种,说明通过远缘杂交获得的创新种质对甘蓝型油菜的耐湿性有了较为明显的改良和提高。