The evolution of molluscs

Molluscs are extremely diverse invertebrate animals with a rich fossil record, highly divergent life cycles, and considerable economical and ecological importance. Key representatives include worm‐like aplacophorans, armoured groups (e.g. polyplacophorans, gastropods, bivalves) and the highly complex cephalopods. Molluscan origins and evolution of their different phenotypes have largely remained unresolved, but significant progress has been made over recent years. Phylogenomic studies revealed a dichotomy of the phylum, resulting in Aculifera (shell‐less aplacophorans and multi‐shelled polyplacophorans) and Conchifera (all other, primarily uni‐shelled groups). This challenged traditional hypotheses that proposed that molluscs gradually evolved complex phenotypes from simple, worm‐like animals, a view that is corroborated by developmental studies that showed that aplacophorans are secondarily simplified. Gene expression data indicate that key regulators involved in anterior–posterior patterning (the homeobox‐containing Hox genes) lost this function and were co‐opted into the evolution of taxon‐specific novelties in conchiferans. While the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)/decapentaplegic (Dpp) signalling pathway, that mediates dorso‐ventral axis formation, and molecular components that establish chirality appear to be more conserved between molluscs and other metazoans, variations from the common scheme occur within molluscan sublineages. The deviation of various molluscs from developmental pathways that otherwise appear widely conserved among metazoans provides novel hypotheses on molluscan evolution that can be tested with genome editing tools such as the CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats‐associated protein9) system.     

Causes and consequences of ontogenetic dietary shifts: a global synthesis using fish models

Ontogenetic dietary shifts (ODSs), the changes in diet utilisation occurring over the life span of an individual consumer, are widespread in the animal kingdom. Understanding ODSs provides fundamental insights into the biological and ecological processes that function at the individual, population and community levels, and is critical for the development and testing of hypotheses around key concepts in trophic theory on model organisms. Here, we synthesise historic and contemporary research on ODSs in fishes, and identify where further research is required. Numerous biotic and abiotic factors can directly or indirectly influence ODSs, but the most influential of these may vary spatially, temporally and interspecifically. Within the constraints imposed by prey availability, we identified competition and predation risk as the major drivers of ODSs in fishes. These drivers do not directly affect the trophic ontogeny of fishes, but may have an indirect effect on diet trajectories through ontogenetic changes in habitat use and concomitant changes in prey availability. The synthesis provides compelling evidence that ODSs can have profound ecological consequences for fish by, for example, enhancing individual growth and lifetime reproductive output or reducing the risk of mortality. ODSs may also influence food‐web dynamics and facilitate the coexistence of sympatric species through resource partitioning, but we currently lack a holistic understanding of the consequences of ODSs for population, community and ecosystem processes and functioning. Studies attempting to address these knowledge gaps have largely focused on theoretical approaches, but empirical research under natural conditions, including phylogenetic and evolutionary considerations, is required to test the concepts. Research focusing on inter‐individual variation in ontogenetic trajectories has also been limited, with the complex relationships between individual behaviour and environmental heterogeneity representing a particularly promising area for future research.     

茶树种子发育过程的转录组分析

该研究以‘铁观音’茶树品种的种子为试验材料,采用转录组测序技术分析种子发育的3个时期(幼果期、膨大期、成熟期)的表达差异,探究茶树种子油脂代谢的分子机制。结果表明:(1)经转录组测序、组装后共获得30 940 581个clean reads,经数据合并拼接最终得到36 951条非冗余Unigene序列,其中28 476个Unigene可得到功能注释;在转录本中能够被注释到GO分类的Unigene有11 201条(30.3%),KEGG分析发现共有17 172个基因参与了127个代谢通路。(2)经KEGG通路筛选出14条与脂肪酸代谢相关的通路,且随着茶籽的发育,大部分脂肪酸调控途径相关基因呈下调趋势,其中上调基因数最多的有α-亚麻酸代谢途径和脂肪酸降解途径(有17个基因表达量上调),下调基因数最多的是甘油磷脂代谢途径(有58个基因表达量下调);在茶籽发育幼果期α-亚麻酸代谢途径中表达量上调的基因数超过表达量下调的基因数。(3)研究发现茶籽脂肪酸合成相关的基因涉及14个脂类调控途径,共409条差异基因;随着茶树种子发育到成熟期,上调的差异表达基因数量在减少,下调的差异表达基因数量增加,其中α-亚麻酸途径中的基因PLA2G16、DAD1、pldA、FabF、FabI表达量上调显著,随后表达量下调。(4)qRT-PCR检测结果表明,7个茶树FAD和1个ACP差异表达基因的水平与转录组测序结果基本一致;随着茶籽的发育,基因CsFAD7和Δ6-CsFAD从幼果期、果实膨大期至果实成熟期都为差异下调表达,CsFAD2、CsFAD6和Δ7-CsFAD为差异上调表达,CsFAD8、Δ8-CsFAD和CsACP在幼果期至果实膨大期差异上调表达,在果实膨大期至果实成熟期差异下调表达。     

Resource conflicts and the anthropology of the dark and the good in highlands Papua New Guinea

In this article I consider why individuals sacrifice their lives for the collective. In the Porgera Valley of highlands Papua New Guinea, young men who are called ‘Rambos’ engage in sustained tribal conflicts due to increasing social inequalities in an area that is supposedly benefiting from socioeconomic development. The opening of the Porgera Gold Mine in 1990 ushered in an era of anticipated benefits that were hoped to transform the lives of the region's subsistence horticulturalists. Yet, anticipated flows of mining money and social benefits have largely failed to materialise. The abjection experienced by young men eventuated into a series of tribal fights, resulting in deaths, displacements, and the destruction of most infrastructure. I examine the fighting and its aftermath in relation to anthropologies of the dark and the good and argue that these polar opposites can hinder more subtle understandings of value plurality among Porgerans.     

灌溉方法与施氮对土壤水分、硝态氮和小麦生长发育的调控效应

为探明玉米秸秆还田下小麦的合理灌溉与施肥方法,于田间研究了漫灌(FI)、微喷灌(SI)、滴灌(DI)和灌水施氮模式(N₁, 基施纯N 157.5 kg·hm^-2+拔节期施纯N 67.5 kg·hm^-2; N₂, 基施纯N 157.5 kg·hm^-2+拔节期施纯N 45.0 kg·hm^-2+灌浆期施N 22.5 kg·hm^-2)对土壤水分、硝态氮(NO₃^--N)含量和小麦生长发育的影响.结果表明: 灌溉方法和灌水施氮模式共同影响土壤含水量和贮水量的变化.其中,灌溉方法对越冬期和返青期0～60 cm、孕穗期和灌浆期0～160 cm、成熟期100～160 cm土层含水量影响相对较小,对越冬期和返青期80～160 cm、成熟期0～80 cm土层含水量影响大;FI对含水量和贮水量影响最大,DI次之,SI最小;SI和DI的灌水施氮模式中灌水量多,则土层含水量高、贮水量多,变化大.NO₃^--N含量受灌溉方法和施氮的影响,施氮对0～20 cm土层影响大,SI生育期NO₃^--N含量变化大,DI越冬期至孕穗期NO₃^--N含量变化小,此后变化大,FI与DI相反;生育前中期灌水量对NO₃^--N含量影响大,后期施氮对NO₃^--N含量影响大;SI和DI的2种灌水施氮模式中冬前灌水量多的NO₃^--N含量变化大.灌溉方法中SI越冬期总茎数和单株分蘖高,成穗率高,成穗数多,产量、水分利用效率(WUE)和氮素利用效率最高,滴灌次之,漫灌最低;SI和DI中N₁生育期总茎数、成穗数多,但穗粒数和千粒重低,产量、WUE和氮素利用效率低于N₂.因此,玉米秸秆还田后播种小麦,微喷灌代替漫灌生育期灌4水,施足基肥,拔节期和灌浆期分次追氮,是山西南部小麦-玉米一年两熟区小麦节水高产高效栽培模式.     

Resveratrol improved the developmental potential of oocytes after vitrification by modifying the epigenetics

Resveratrol (Res) has been reported to be able to improve oocyte vitrification because of its antioxidative properties. The objective of this study was to further assess the positive effect of Res addition on the developmental potential of vitrified mouse oocytes from the perspective of epigenetic alterations. First, 2 μM Res was chosen as the optimal concentration on the basis of its effects on survival and its antioxidative properties. We found that Res addition significantly promoted fertilization (63.8% vs. 42.9%) and blastocyst formation (68.3% vs. 50.2%) after oocyte vitrification. The quality of the derived blastocysts was also higher after Res treatment. Regarding epigenetic aspects, the expression of the important deacetylase SIRT1 was found to decrease significantly upon vitrification, but it was rescued by Res. The abnormal levels of H3K9 acetylation and DNA methylation in vitrified oocytes were restored by Res addition. Moreover, the expression of several imprinted genes was affected by oocyte vitrification. Among them, abnormal Gtl2 and Peg3 expression levels were restored by Res addition. Therefore, the methylation of their imprinted control regions (ICRs) was examined. Surprisingly, the abnormal patterns of Gtl2 and Peg3 methylation in blastocysts developed from vitrified oocytes were both restored by Res addition. Finally, the full‐term embryonic development showed that the birth rate was improved significantly by Res addition (56.2% vs. 38.1%). Collectively, Res was beneficial for the pre‐ and postimplantation embryonic development. Except for the antioxidative activity, Res also played a role in the correction of some abnormal epigenetic modifications caused by oocyte vitrification.     

Role of putrescine in ovary and embryo development in fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx during embryonic diapause

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of putrescine on ovarian activity and the rate of embryonic development in Cynopterus sphinx during delayed development. The result showed the presence of a rate‐limiting enzyme, ornithine decarboxylase‐1, in both ovary and utero‐embryonic unit of C. sphinx suggests a synthesis of putrescine in these sites. The corpus luteum showed increased, whereas utero‐embryonic unit showed decreased production of putrescine during delayed development as compared with the normal development. The bat treated in vivo with putrescine during delayed development showed increase in progesterone and estradiol synthesis, correlated with increased expression of luteinizing hormone receptor, steroidogenic acute receptor protein, and 3β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase through extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK1/2)‐mediated pathway in the ovary; but showed increase in the weight and expression of progesterone receptor (PR), B‐cell lymphoma 2, proliferating cell nucleus antigen, and vascular endothelial growth factor proteins in utero‐embryonic unit. The in vitro treatment of putrescine showed stimulatory whereas treatment with an inhibitor of putrescine, 2‐difluoromethylornithine caused an inhibitory effect on ovarian progesterone synthesis and cell proliferation, and cell survival in the utero‐embryonic unit. In conclusion, the putrescine showed two separate roles during embryonic diapause, high concentration of putrescine in the ovary may support corpus luteum and basal synthesis of progesterone, whereas a low level of putrescine causes retarded embryonic development by inhibiting cell proliferation in the utero‐embryonic unit. The bat treated with putrescine either directly promotes cell proliferation, cell survival, and angiogenic activities or acts indirectly increasing PR on utero‐embryonic unit thereby activating development in delayed embryo in C. sphinx.