‘培矮64S’与其eui突变体‘长选3S’穗颈节间蛋白质组差异分析

为从蛋白质表达水平了解长穗颈温敏核不育水稻穗颈节间伸长机理,该研究以长穗颈(EUI)温敏核不育水稻‘长选3S’为材料,温敏核不育水稻‘培矮64S’为对照,采用固相pH梯度双向凝胶电泳和质谱分析方法,对2个水稻材料抽穗前2 d的穗颈节间蛋白质进行分离,并进行差异蛋白质组学的比较研究。结果表明:(1)获得了分辨率和重复性较好的双向凝胶电泳图谱。(2)对40个差异蛋白质点进行MALDI-TOF-TOF-MS肽质谱指纹图谱分析,成功鉴定其中27个差异蛋白质点;与‘培矮64S’相比,‘长选3S’中有17个上调表达和10个下调表达的蛋白质。(3)差异蛋白质按照其功能可分为6类,其中主要是与细胞代谢相关蛋白,其次是与细胞壁重建相关蛋白;并且这些差异蛋白质可能与‘长选3S’抽穗期穗颈节间剧烈伸长生长有关,尤其是细胞壁重建相关蛋白与细胞的伸长密切相关。(4)实时荧光定量PCR对随机挑选的蛋白点2、7、8、24、35和36所对应的基因在两个材料最上节间的表达结果显示,‘长选3S’的2(Os10g08550)、7(Os12g42876)、8(Os01g55830)基因的表达量较‘培矮64S’明显下调,而24(Os06g48760)、35(Os05g25850)、36(Os07g42300)基因的表达量较‘培矮64S’显著上调,表明q-PCR的结果与蛋白凝胶图分析结果一致。研究认为,水稻eui基因可能是通过调节抽穗期穗颈节间这些蛋白质的表达,从而促进穗颈节间细胞分裂,尤其是细胞的伸长生长。     

基于DNA变异在亚欧混合人群中预测男性型脱发

男性型脱发(male pattern baldness,MPB)是一种雄激素依赖性的遗传性脱发疾病,对个人形象、心理产生较大的消极影响.近期欧美人群中进行的大样本全基因组关联分析(genome wide association studies,GWAS)已报道大量与MPB相关的遗传易感性单核苷酸多态性(single nucleotide polymorphisms,SNPs)位点,但这些位点在东亚人群中的遗传效应尚不清楚.本研究基于我国684个亚欧混合人群(Eurasian)样本,对在英国生物样本库(UK Biobank) 205 327个欧洲男性GWAS分析发现的624个与MPB相关的SNPs进行人群异质性分析,基于多基因风险打分(polygenic risk scores,PRS)建立预测模型,并对预测因子数量与模型预测性能的关系进行了研究.通过质控的467个SNPs中6.9%与MPB显著相关(P0.05).结合年龄、体质指数(body mass index,BMI)和25个SNPs建立的线性回归和逻辑回归模型,效果较好(R~2=28.9%,AUC=0.82).年龄对模型效果影响较大(R~2=22.9%,AUC=0.77),结合BMI及68个SNPs时AUC达到最大(约0.89).本研究表明MPB在欧洲和东亚人群中存在较强的遗传异质性,选取SNPs子集能达到与全集相近的预测准确性,预测模型有助于东亚人群MPB遗传机制的理解及疾病的早期诊断和预防.     

安荔赤眼蜂在中国野外首次发现及其体内Wolbachia的检测

【目的】为丰富赤眼蜂Trichogramma的种类资源,明确野外新采集的一种赤眼蜂的种类,探明该赤眼蜂所感染Wolbachia的类型。【方法】采用挂米蛾Corcyra cephalonica卵卡法在华南农业大学树木园诱集到两批赤眼蜂,通过形态鉴定和PCR扩增ITS2序列并测序分析的分子鉴定手段对野外采集的赤眼蜂材料进行种类鉴定;通过PCR扩增Wolbachia的外膜蛋白基因(wsp)序列,检测赤眼蜂体内Wolbachia的感染情况;通过PCR扩增wsp序列和多位点序列分型(multilocus sequence typing, MLST)对检测到的赤眼蜂体内的Wolbachia进行同源性分析。【结果】所诱集到的两批赤眼蜂均被鉴定为安荔赤眼蜂Trichogramma oleae Voegelé & Pointel,体内Wolbachia的感染率达100%。该Wolbachia株系与安荔赤眼蜂(前南斯拉夫品系)、短管赤眼蜂T. pretiosum(乌拉圭品系)以及T. deion(荷兰品系)体内Wolbachia亲缘关系较近,属于B超组Sib亚组,对应MLST序列型为ST486。【结论】安荔赤眼蜂T. oleae为中国野外首次发现,是完全感染Wolbachia的产雌孤雌生殖品系。本研究为害虫生物防治提供了一种新的天敌种类资源,并为进一步探明Wolbachia与赤眼蜂的互作提供了研究材料。     

Determinants and long‐term costs of early reproduction in males of a long‐lived polygynous mammal

In long‐lived polygynous species, male reproductive success is often monopolized by a few mature dominant individuals. Young males are generally too small to be dominant and may employ alternative tactics; however, little is known about the determinants of reproductive success for young males. Understanding the causes and consequences of variability in early reproductive success may be crucial to assess the strength of sexual selection and possible long‐term trade‐offs among life‐history traits. Selective pressures driven by fluctuating environmental conditions may depend on age class. We evaluated the determinants of reproduction in male bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) aged 2–4 years using 30 years of individual‐level data. These young males cannot defend estrous ewes and use alternative mating tactics. We also investigated how the age of first detected reproduction was correlated to lifetime reproductive success and longevity. We found that reproductive success of males aged 3 years was positively correlated to body mass, to the proportion of males aged 2–4 years in the competitor pool, and to the number of females available per adult male. These results suggest that reproductive success depends on both competitive ability and population age–sex structure. None of these variables, however, had significant effects on the reproductive success of males aged 2 or 4 years. Known reproduction before the age of five increased lifetime reproductive success but decreased longevity, suggesting a long‐term survival cost of early reproduction. Our analyses reveal that both individual‐level phenotypic and population‐level demographic variables influence reproductive success by young males and provide a rare assessment of fitness trade‐offs in wild polygynous males.     

Male competition reverses female preference for male chemical cues

Females must choose among potential mates with different phenotypes in a variety of social contexts. Many male traits are inherent and unchanging, but others are labile to social context. Competition, for example, can cause physiological changes that reflect recent wins and losses that fluctuate throughout time. We may expect females to respond differently to males depending on the outcome of their most recent fight. In Bolitotherus cornutus (forked fungus beetles), males compete for access to females, but copulation requires female cooperation. In this study, we use behavioral trials to determine whether females use chemical cues to differentiate between males and whether the outcome of recent male competition alters female preference. We measured female association time with chemical cues of two size‐matched males both before and after male–male competition. Females in our study preferred to associate with future losers before males interacted, but changed their preference for realized winners following male competitive interactions. Our study provides the first evidence of change in female preference based solely on the outcome of male–male competition.     

Female differential allocation in response to extrapair offspring and social mate attractiveness

Renewed debate over what benefits females might gain from producing extra‐pair offspring emphasizes the possibility that apparent differences in quality between within‐pair and extra‐pair offspring are confounded by greater maternal investment in extra‐pair offspring. Moreover, the attractiveness of a female''s social mate can also influence contributions of both partners to a reproductive attempt. Here, we explore the complexities involved in parental investment decisions in response to extra‐pair offspring and mate attractiveness with a focus on the female point of view. Adult zebra finches paired and reproduced in a colony setting. A male''s early‐life diet quality and his extra‐pair reproductive success were used as metrics of his mating attractiveness. Females paired with males that achieved extra‐pair success laid heavier eggs than other females and spent less time attending their nests than their mates or other females. Extra‐pair nestlings were fed more protein‐rich hen''s egg than within‐pair nestlings. Females producing extra‐pair offspring had more surviving sons than females producing only within‐pair offspring. Collectively, results show that females differentially allocate resources in response to offspring extra‐pair status and their social mate''s attractiveness. Females may also obtain fitness benefits through the production of extra‐pair offspring.     

Heterospecific courtship,minority effects and niche separation between cryptic butterfly species

Species interacting in varied ecological conditions often evolve in different directions in different local populations. The butterflies of the cryptic Leptidea complex are sympatrically distributed in different combinations across their Eurasian range. Interestingly, the same species is a habitat generalist in some regions and a habitat specialist in others, where a sibling species has the habitat generalist role. Previous studies suggest that this geographically variable niche divergence is generated by local processes in different contact zones. By varying the absolute and relative densities of Leptidea sinapis and Leptidea juvernica in large outdoor cages, we show that female mating success is unaffected by conspecific density, but strongly negatively affected by the density of the other species. Whereas 80% of the females mated when a conspecific couple was alone in a cage, less than 10% mated when the single couple shared the cage with five pairs of the other species. The heterospecific courtships can thus affect the population fitness, and for the species in the local minority, the suitability of a habitat is likely to depend on the presence or absence of the locally interacting species. If the local relative abundance of the different species depends on the colonization order, priority effects might determine the ecological roles of interacting species in this system.