Putting the genes into community genetics

As part of the long‐term fusion of evolutionary biology and ecology (Ford, 1964), the field of community genetics has made tremendous progress in describing the impacts of plant genetic variation on community and ecosystem processes. In the “genes‐to‐ecosystems” framework (Whitham et al., 2003), genetically based traits of plant species have ecological consequences, but previous studies have not identified specific plant genes responsible for community phenotypes. The study by Barker et al. (2019) in this issue of Molecular Ecology uses an impressive common garden experiment of trembling aspen (Figure 1) to test for the genetic basis of tree traits that shape the insect community composition. Using a Genome‐Wide Association Study (GWAS), they found that genomic regions associated with phytochemical traits best explain variation in herbivore community composition, and identified specific genes associated with different types of leaf‐modifying herbivores and ants. This is one of the first studies to identify candidate genes underlying the heritable plant traits that explain patterns of insect biodiversity.     

基于奥马哈理论的护理模式 对慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者肺功能及细菌感染率的影响

目的探讨基于奥马哈理论的护理模式对慢性阻塞性肺疾病(COPD)患者肺功能、症状控制、细菌感染率及生活质量的影响。方法选取2018年1月至2019年1月我院收治的134例COPD患者,采用随机数字表法将研究对象分为观察组(n=69)与对照组(n=65),对两组患者住院期间肺功能、症状控制情况、细菌感染率、睡眠情况以及生活质量进行评估和分析。结果观察组患者肺功能情况优于入院时(P0.05)。两组患者泌尿系统感染发生率最高,其次为褥疮创面感染和口腔感染。观察组患者泌尿系感染的发生率低于对照组(P0.05)。两组患者干预后PSQI量表评分和CAT评分均低于入院前,且观察组患者总分低于对照组(均P0.05)。干预后观察组患者SF-36评分均高于对照组(均P0.05)。结论在基于奥马哈理论的护理模式下,COPD患者的肺功能得到加强,继发感染的发生减少,生活质量得到提高。     

中国东部主要松林营养元素循环的比较研究

 中国的松林主要分布在亚热带和温带地区,在亚热带和温带地区东部主要是马尾松林、华山松林、油松林、红松林和樟子松林。松林由于树种、起源和年龄的差别,其生物量的变化幅度较大,在65～200t·hm-2之间(东北地区的原始红松林最高生物量可达360t·hm-2),松林的生物量表现出区域分异的特点。即从南到北随着纬度的增加,林分的生物量有逐渐降低的趋势。松树针叶中5种主要营养元素含量表现为[N]>[K]≥[Ca]>[Mg]≥[P],而且营养元素表现出因种而异,N的含量为华山松≥马尾松>油松≥红松>樟子松,而P和K在油松和红松针叶中含量较高;Ca的含量表现出较大的波动,与其母岩关系密切。松林主要营养元素(N、P、K、Ca、Mg)的积累量中N一般占25％～40％,松林营养元素循环速率受生境,树种、年龄的影响,但总的来说,亚热带地区松林营养元素的循环速率高于温带地区松林。     

PCR—SSCP技术及其在植物研究中的应用

简单介绍了PCR—SSCP技术的原理、方法、特点,并阐述了其在植物研究中的应用及发展前景。     

Cytoplasmic incompatibilities in the mosquito Culex pipiens: How to explain a cytotype polymorphism?*

Although cytoplasmic incompatibilities have been used as a means of eradicating the mosquito Culex pipiens, the population dynamics of these sterilities in relation to the coexistence of multiple incompatible cytotypes in a single area has not been investigated, except in the case of two unidirectionally incompatible cytotypes. An analytical model of the evolution of n cytotypes in an infinite panmictic population has been developed in order to investigate polymorphic equilibrium. A necessary criterion for the stability of such an equilibrium is established; it is shown that a stable polymorphism cannot exist between incompatible cytotypes. This result is discussed in the light of population dynamics and genetics of Culex pipiens, and of our present knowledge on incompatibilities. The consequences of a geographic structuring and of homogamy are considered. A careful reconsideration of previous experimental results disclosed probable nuclear effects and a serious experimental weakness: with the common procedure of backcrossing hybrid females to males of constant genotype it is not possible to rule out probable nuclear effects with paternal expression. It is concluded that incompatibilities in Culex pipiens may have a nuclear-cytoplasmic determinism.     

Low-Fat Diets May Prevent Weight Gain in Sedentary Women: Prospective Observations From the Population Study of Women in Gothenburg,Sweden

The Population Study of Women in Gothenburg, Sweden is an ongoing prospective study of female residents who were recruited from the local registry in 1968–1969 when they were 38–60 years old. The data presented here were collected from 361 healthy women who underwent a baseline physical examination including a supplementary dietary history interview and returned for a second general health examination 6 years later. This report identifies a subgroup of 57 women who were sedentary during their leisure time and appear to have been particularly susceptible to gaining weight as a function of the fat content of their diets. Specifically, longitudinal analysis of body weights in the whole sample revealed a statistical interaction between leisure-time physical activity and habitual dietary fat intake (energy-%), as reported at the baseline examination, in the prediction of subsequent weight change. Further stratified analysis suggested that weight changes were significantly dependent on dietary fat intake among the sedentary women only. High energy intake also predicted weight gain in the sedentary group, although the predictive value for a high-fat diet was of marginal significance after adjusting for total energy consumption. These results suggest that sedentary recreational activity plus a low-fat diet may have a combined contribution to weight change that is not equivalent to the sum of the separate effects. Such a synergy between two modifiable lifestyle factors seems highly relevant for prevention of obesity.     

Biology and comparative predation efficacy of three heteropteran species recorded as predators ofBemisia tabaci in Maharashtra

Two mirids,Deraeocoris sp. andCampylomma nicolasi Reuter and one lygaeid,Geocoris ochropterus Fieber were found preying onB. tabaci (Gennadius) for the first time in Maharashtra State of India during 1987–88. Their biology and predation capacity onB. tabaci were studied in detail under laboratory conditions. The nymphal stage ofDeraeocoris sp. passed through 6 instars, whereas 5 instars in case of the remaining species.G. ochropterus, Deraeocoris sp. andC. nicolasi consumed on an average 482.5, 275.3 and 128.8 nymphs of 57.3, 25.5 and 20.6 days, respectively. On the basis of consumption rate per day,Deraeocoris sp. proved to be a superior predator. Part of Ph. D. Thesis submitted to Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani 431402, India.     

Genomic atlases of introgression and differentiation reveal breeding footprints in Chinese cultivated rice

The long history of cultivation and breeding has left a variety of footprints in the genomes of Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.). In this study, we focus on two types of genomic footprints, introgression and differentiation, in a population of more than 1200 Chinese rice accessions. We found that a Xian/indica and a temperate Geng/japonica accession respectively contained an average of 19.3-Mb and 6.8-Mb alien introgressed chromosomal segments, of which many contained functional sequence variants, quantitative trait loci, or genes controlling flowering, grain, and resistance traits. Notably, we found most introgressions, including the known heterotic loci Hd3a and TAC1, were distributed differentially between the female and male parents of three-line indica hybrid rice, indicating their potential contribution to heterosis. We also found many differentiated regions between subgroups within a subpopulation contained agronomically important loci, such as DTH7, Hd1 for heading date, and qCT7 for cold tolerance, providing new candidates for studying local adaptation or heterosis. Tracing these footprints allows us to better understand the genetic exchange or differentiation underlying agronomic traits in modern Chinese rice cultivars. These findings also provide potential targets for rice genetic research and breeding.     

Genomic imprinting and evolution of insect societies

Reproductive division of labor is a hallmark of social insect societies where individuals follow different developmental pathways resulting in distinct morphological castes. There has been a long controversy over the factors determining caste fate of individuals in social insects. Increasing evidence in the last two decades for heritable influences on division of labor put an end to the assumption that social insect broods are fully totipotent and environmental factors alone determine castes. Nevertheless, the genes that underlie hereditary effects on division of labor have not been identified in any social insects. Studies investigating the hereditary effects on caste determination might have overlooked non-genetic inheritance, while transmission to offspring of factors other than DNA sequences including epigenetic states can also affect offspring phenotype. Genomic imprinting is one of the most informative paradigms for understanding the consequences of interactions between the genome and the epigenome. Recent studies of genomic imprinting show that genes can be differentially marked in egg and sperm and inheritance of these epigenetic marks cause genes to be expressed in a parental-origin-specific manner in the offspring. By reviewing both the eusocial Hymenoptera and termites, I highlight the current theoretical and empirical evidence for genomic imprinting in eusocial insects and discuss how genomic imprinting acts in caste determination and social behavior and challenges for future studies. I also introduce the new idea that genomic imprinting plays an essential role in the origin of eusociality.