Sexual dimorphism in the pyrgomorphid grasshopper Phymateus morbillosus: from wing morphometry and flight behaviour to flight physiology and endocrinology

Abstract In the field, adult males of the grasshopper Phymateus morbillosus are able to fly for up to 1 min and cover up to c. 100 m, whereas females, although fully winged, are apparently unable to get airborne. Morphometric data indicate that the males are lighter, have longer wings, a higher ratio of flight muscles to body mass, and a lower wing load value than females. It was investigated whether this inability of females to fly is related to fuel storage, flight muscle enzymatic design and/or the presence and quantitative capacity of the endocrine system to mobilize fuels. In both sexes, readily available potential energy substrates are present in the haemolymph in similar concentrations, and the amount of glycogen in flight muscles and fat bodies does not differ significantly between males and females. Mass-specific activities of the enzymes GAPDH (glycolysis), HOAD (fatty acid oxidation) and MDH (citric acid cycle) in flight muscles are significantly lower in females compared with males, and mitochondria are less abundant in the flight muscles of females. There is no significant difference between the ability of the two sexes to oxidize various important substrates. Both sexes contain three adipokinetic peptides in their corpora cardiaca; the amount of each peptide in female grasshoppers is higher than in males.
Thus, despite some differences listed above, both sexes appear to have sufficient substrates and the necessary endocrine complement to engage in flight. It seems more likely, from the morphometric data above, that the chief reason for flightlessness is that P. morbillosus females cannot produce sufficient lift for flight; alternatively, the neuronal functioning associated with the flight muscles may be impaired in females.     

Analysis of genetic changes in radiated and non-radiated bulk oat (Avena sativa L.) populations

Summary In both radiated and non-radiated oat populations inbreeding coefficients increased more slowly than was expected on the assumption of full selfing and equal selective values for homozygotes and heterozygotes. Assuming 1% outcrossing for oats and a selective value of 1.0 for the mean, the heterozygotes for two loci governing crown rust reaction have an advantage of 50% over the homozygotes. This study supports previous observations that the heterozygote often has a decided advantage in predominantly self-pollinated crops.     

Wood preservation hygiene and environment in the lime-light of actually

Summary Under the ?Bois plus? scheme, the CTBA is currently developing a third party certification, based on the Scrivener law, with the aim of defending the consumers' interests. At this early stage, wood preservatives and treated wood are checked for the efficacy of treatments in order to ensure the stability and security of works in buildings and civil engineering. According to the different classes of risks in service, ?Bois plus? provides the most adeguate level of protection. In the close future, the industry is planning to incorporate, with the help of the CTBA and experts, health criteria within the frame of the ?Bois plus? certification scheme. The means could beSafety indexes, which are objectives of quality for professionals.Safety indexes are concentrations of substances in wood which can be taken as safe for humans and the general environment, while still toxic for the wood pests. This attractive experience aims to make with the brandname ?Bois plus? a synonym of efficacy and safety. This approach meets the essential requirements 1, 3, 4 of the 89/106 EEC directive: mechanical resistance and stability/hygiene, health and environment/safety in use.     

The Treatment of Missing Values in Logistic Regression

The efficiencies of the estimators in the linear logistic regression model are examined using simulations under six missing value treatments. These treatments use either the maximum likelihood or the discriminant function approach in the estimation of the regression coefficients. Missing values are assumed to occur at random. The cases of multivariate normal and dichotomous independent variables are both considered. We found that in general, there is no uniformly best method. However, mean substitution and discriminant function estimation using existing pairs of values for correlations turn out to be favourable for the cases considered.     

Isolation of a brain peptide identical to the intestinal PHI (peptide HI)

The isolation of a brain peptide identical to the intestinal peptide PHI (peptide HI) is described. The peptide was isolated from porcine brain extract using a chemical assay method based on its C-terminal isoleucine amide structure. The complete amino acid sequence of the peptide was found to be: His-Ala-Asp-Gly-Val-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Phe-Ser-Arg-Leu-Leu-Gly-Gln-Leu-Ser-Ala- Lys-Lys-Tyr-Leu-Glu-Ser-Leu-Ile-NH2. This sequence is identical to the intestinal peptide thus demonstrating PHI to be a brain-gut peptide. The role of PHI in the central nervous system as a neurotransmitter or neuromodulator is discussed.     

Geographic variation for colour in the sandburrowing beetle Chaerodes trachyscelides White (Goleoptera: Tenebrionidae) on New Zealand beaches analysed using CIELAB L * values

Chaerodes trachyscelides White is a highly specialized, flightless burrowing beetle confined to the narrow strip of sand at and just above high water level on sandy marine beaches in New Zealand. Although the ventral surface of the beetle is always pale, the dorsal surface varies from pale to almost black. Large samples of this beetle were taken, together with the sand, from 11 beaches on New Zealand's three main islands. The colour of the dorsal surface of each individual beetle and that of the sand samples was measured using reflectance spectroscopy and expressed as CIE L*,a*,b* (CIELAB) values. The L* values, which are objective, quantitative measures of the degree of lightness of the beetles, were subjected to statistical and frequency analysis. Although the species was very variable in colour and the variation appeared to be continuous, a highly significant correlation was obtained between the mean of the L* values for the samples on each beach and that of the sand, the correlation coefficient being 0.961. This close association between the lightness of the beetles and that of the sand suggests the variable melanism functions as cryptic colouration. On most beaches, the distribution oflightness among the beetles sampled conformed to a normal curve. For beetles from sites where the sand was relatively uniform, such as the black Taranaki beaches, the L* frequency distribution curves were narrow and the coefficient of variation of mean beetle colour was relatively small indicating low colour variability. In contrast, the greatest within-site variability occurred on the two Stewart Island beaches sampled, where in each case there was less uniformity in the colour of the sand. At one of these sites, Maori Beach, darker sand present below the high water level is often deposited on the zone occupied by the beetles after storms. On Lonneker's Beach, the distribution of L* values among the beetles sampled was actually bimodal. On this small beach, there was an area of intensely black sand in the zone occupied by the beetles, but most of the rest was covered with light golden sand. These results are interpreted as evidence that the variability of colour of Chaerodes beetles has the effect of populations being able to match the colour of the sand of their home beaches, presumably as a consequence of the differential survival of individuals.     

茄子果实相关农艺性状全基因组关联分析研究进展与展望

茄子是重要的园艺作物,也是茄科植物中种植最广泛的蔬菜之一。茄子果实相关农艺性状是一种复杂的数量性状,传统育种选育效率低、周期长。高通量测序技术与生物信息学技术的快速发展,使得全基因组关联分析(genome-wide association study, GWAS)在解析茄子果实相关复杂农艺性状的遗传规律方面展现出巨大的应用前景。本文对全基因组关联分析在茄子的果形、果色等果实相关农艺性状中的研究进展进行了综述;针对茄子数量性状遗传研究中普遍存在的“丢失遗传力”(missing heritability)问题,从4个GWAS策略在茄子果实相关农艺性状研究中的应用热点出发,提出了未来茄子GWAS的发展对策;并结合当前茄子遗传改良的实践需求,展望了GWAS策略在茄子分子育种领域的广阔应用前景。本文为今后利用GWAS解析各种茄子果实相关性状的遗传基础以及选育符合消费者需求的果实材料提供了理论依据和参考。     

Trait variations of ground flora species disentangle the effects of global change and altered land‐use in Swedish forests during 20 years

Northern forest ecosystems are exposed to a range of anthropogenic processes including global warming, atmospheric deposition, and changing land‐use. The vegetation of northern forests is composed of species with several functional traits related to these processes, whose effects may be difficult to disentangle. Here, we combined analyses of spatio‐temporal dynamics and functional traits of ground flora species, including morphological characteristics, responses to macro‐ and microclimate, soil conditions, and disturbance. Based on data from the Swedish National Forest Inventory, we compared changes in occurrence of a large number of ground flora species during a 20‐year period (1994–2013) in boreal and temperate Sweden respectively. Our results show that a majority of the common ground flora species have changed their overall frequency. Comparisons of functional traits between increasing and declining species, and of trends in mean trait values of sample plots, indicate that current floristic changes are caused by combined effects of climate warming, nitrogen deposition and changing land‐use. Changes and their relations with plant traits were generally larger in temperate southern Sweden. Nutrient‐demanding species with mesotrophic morphology were favored by ongoing eutrophication due to nitrogen deposition in the temperate zone, while dwarf shrubs with low demands on nitrogen decreased in frequency. An increase of species with less northern and less eastern distribution limits was also restricted to temperate Sweden, and indicates effects of a moister and milder macroclimate. A trend toward dense plantation forests is mirrored by a decrease of light‐demanding species in both vegetation zones, and a decrease of grassland species in the temperate zone. Although denser tree canopies may buffer effects of a warmer climate and of nitrogen deposition to some extent, traits related to these processes were weakly correlated in the group of species with changing frequency. Hence, our results indicate specific effects of these often confounded anthropogenic processes.     

鲇的消化能力与营养价值分析

采用常规方法测定了鲇(Silurusasotus)的消化道指数,其比肠长、比胃重、比肠重、比肝胰脏重和比内脏重分别为0726±0087、0027±0015、0013±0008、0022±0004和0081±0041。体重与体长的回归方程Y=00124X2.8451(r=09940,P<001);鲇的胃、前肠、中肠和后肠中消化液的pH值分别为48～62、66～70、69～75、72～77,且消化道各部分具有较高的蛋白酶和淀粉酶活性,蛋白酶的活性为前肠>胰脏>胃>中肠>后肠;而淀粉酶的活性则为胰脏>胃>前肠>中肠>后肠;肌肉中粗蛋白的含量1881%,粗脂肪含量152%;必需氨基酸含量占氨基酸总量的4451%,鲜味氨基酸含量占氨基酸总量的4598%,综合肌肉的常规营养成分和氨基酸分析的结果,鲇是一种营养价值较高的优质鱼类。     

一种快速鉴定转基因植物纯合体的新方法

植物转化中鉴定转基因植物的整合性是一个很重要的步骤,常规方法是对独立分离的转基因T1代植株产生的T2代进行转基因分离比率研究,以检测T1代的转基因整合状态,不仅费时费力,而且浪费了T1代资源。本介绍一种应用双重定量实时PCR技术鉴定转基因植物纯合子的新方法：以T1代植物DNA为模板,根据转基因后代的Ct表型值鉴定其转基因整合状态,Ct值接近2的为转基因纯合型,Ct值接近1的为转基因杂合型。用这种方法,可以同时对数十个T1代转基因幼苗的整合状态进行快速鉴定,准确率为100％。