土壤因子对府谷清水川流域砒砂岩区刺槐和沙棘AMF的影响

应用相关性分析和通径分析研究了府谷清水川流域砒砂岩区土壤因子对刺槐(Robinia pseudoacacia)和沙棘(Hippophae rhamnoides)根际丛枝菌根真菌(AMF)的影响.结果表明:AMF可以与刺槐和沙棘形成良好的共生关系;从两种植物根际土中共分离鉴定出AMF 13种,其中摩西囊霉(Glomus mosseae)、地球囊霉(Glomus geospo-rum)和缩球囊霉(Glomus constrictum)为优势种;AMF平均侵染率为90.6%,平均孢子密度为559.1个?100 g-1干土;AMF的孢子密度、侵染率和种类之间没有显著的相关性;刺槐和沙棘根际AMF侵染率均与pH呈显著正相关,在刺槐根际,pH和有效氮通过直接作用影响侵染率,有机质和有效磷通过间接作用影响侵染率;在沙棘根际,pH和有效磷通过直接作用影响侵染率,有机质和有效氮通过间接作用影响侵染率;在沙棘根际,有机质和pH主要是通过直接作用影响AMF种类,有效氮主要通过有效磷的间接作用影响AMF种类.     

Enamel thickness,microstructure and development in Afropithecus turkanensis

Afropithecus turkanensis, a 17-17.5 million year old large-bodied hominoid from Kenya, has previously been reported to be the oldest known thick-enamelled Miocene ape. Most investigations of enamel thickness in Miocene apes have been limited to opportunistic or destructive studies of small samples. Recently, more comprehensive studies of enamel thickness and microstructure in Proconsul, Lufengpithecus, and Dryopithecus, as well as extant apes and fossil humans, have provided information on rates and patterns of dental development, including crown formation time, and have begun to provide a comparative context for interpretation of the evolution of these characters throughout the past 20 million years of hominoid evolution. In this study, enamel thickness and aspects of the enamel microstructure in two A. turkanensis second molars were quantified and provide insight into rates of enamel apposition, numbers of cells actively secreting enamel, and the time required to form regions of the crown. The average value for relative enamel thickness in the two molars is 21.4, which is a lower value than a previous analysis of this species, but which is still relatively thick compared to extant apes. This value is similar to those of several Miocene hominoids, a fossil hominid, and modern humans. Certain aspects of the enamel microstructure are similar to Proconsul nyanzae, Dryopithecus laietanus, Lufengpithecus lufengensis, Graecopithecus freybergi and Pongo pygmaeus, while other features differ from extant and fossil hominoids. Crown formation times for the two teeth are 2.4-2.6 years and 2.9-3.1 years respectively. These times are similar to a number of extant and fossil hominoids, some of which appear to show additional developmental similarities, including thick enamel. Although thick enamel may be formed through several developmental pathways, most Miocene hominoids and fossil hominids with relatively thick enamel are characterized by a relatively long period of cuspal enamel formation and a rapid rate of enamel secretion throughout the whole cusp, but a shorter total crown formation time than thinner-enamelled extant apes.     

Homogeneity of recombination rate within a conserved region on BTA3 that contains QTL

The D3S20-D3S34-D3S3 region on BTA3 contains quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling milk production traits. This region also displays extensive conservation of synteny among several species including cattle, humans, mice and sheep. In this study, we evaluated the adjacent intervals D3S20-D3S34 and D3S34-D3S3 for differences in recombination rate (theta) among bulls in order to assess the suitability of population-based estimates of theta for marker assisted selection and to explore the relationship between variation in theta and chromosome breakpoints associated with mammalian evolution. Using sperm typing, thetaD3S20-D3S34 and theta D3S34-D3S3 were estimated for six triply heterozygous bulls. Recombination frequency ranged from 6.2 to 12.5% and from 9.7 to 19.2% for the D3S20-D3S34 and D3S34-D3S3 intervals, respectively. However, significant variation in theta was not detected between bulls for either interval (D3S20-D3S34 chi(2)5 d.f.=2.59, P < 0.90; D3S34-D3S3 chi(2)5 d.f.=3.72, P < 0.75). The observed differences in theta were most readily attributed to differences in allele-specific amplification efficiencies among bulls. Our results suggest that the positions of QTL in this region can be reliably determined from population data and therefore accurate marker-assisted selection can be performed for desirable alleles without concern for variation in theta. Furthermore, when considered with results of earlier studies, these findings support a correlation between the existence of evolutionary breakpoints or chromosome rearrangements and variation in theta.     

Predators marked with chemical cues from one prey have increased attack success on another prey species

1. To reduce the risk of being eaten by predators, prey alter their morphology or behaviour. This response can be tuned to the current danger if chemical or other cues associated with predators inform the prey about the risks involved. 2. It is well known that various prey species discriminate between chemical cues from predators that fed on conspecific prey and those that fed on heterospecific prey, and react stronger to the first. It is therefore expected that generalist predators are more successful in capturing a given prey species when they are contaminated with chemical cues from another prey species instead of cues from the same prey species. 3. Here, a generalist predatory mite was studied that feeds on thrips larvae as well as on whitefly eggs and crawlers. Mites were marked with cues (i.e. body fluids) of one of these two prey species and were subsequently offered thrips larva. 4. Predators marked with thrips cues killed significantly fewer thrips than predators marked with whitefly cues, even though the predator's tendency to attack was the same. In addition, more thrips larvae sought refuge in the presence of a predatory mite marked with thrips cues instead of whitefly cues. 5. This suggests that generalist predators may experience improved attack success when switching prey species.     

A High-throughput Method for Measurement of Glomerular Filtration Rate in Conscious Mice

The measurement of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is the gold standard in kidney function assessment. Currently, investigators determine GFR by measuring the level of the endogenous biomarker creatinine or exogenously applied radioactive labeled inulin (³H or ¹⁴C). Creatinine has the substantial drawback that proximal tubular secretion accounts for ~50% of total renal creatinine excretion and therefore creatinine is not a reliable GFR marker. Depending on the experiment performed, inulin clearance can be determined by an intravenous single bolus injection or continuous infusion (intravenous or osmotic minipump). Both approaches require the collection of plasma or plasma and urine, respectively. Other drawbacks of radioactive labeled inulin include usage of isotopes, time consuming surgical preparation of the animals, and the requirement of a terminal experiment. Here we describe a method which uses a single bolus injection of fluorescein isothiocyanate-(FITC) labeled inulin and the measurement of its fluorescence in 1-2 μl of diluted plasma. By applying a two-compartment model, with 8 blood collections per mouse, it is possible to measure GFR in up to 24 mice per day using a special work-flow protocol. This method only requires brief isoflurane anesthesia with all the blood samples being collected in a non-restrained and awake mouse. Another advantage is that it is possible to follow mice over a period of several months and treatments (i.e. doing paired experiments with dietary changes or drug applications). We hope that this technique of measuring GFR is useful to other investigators studying mouse kidney function and will replace less accurate methods of estimating kidney function, such as plasma creatinine and blood urea nitrogen.     

Multivariate multiple test procedures based on nonparametric copula estimation

Multivariate multiple test procedures have received growing attention recently. This is due to the fact that data generated by modern applications typically are high‐dimensional, but possess pronounced dependencies due to the technical mechanisms involved in the experiments. Hence, it is possible and often necessary to exploit these dependencies in order to achieve reasonable power. In the present paper, we express dependency structures in the most general manner, namely, by means of copula functions. One class of nonparametric copula estimators is constituted by Bernstein copulae. We extend previous statistical results regarding bivariate Bernstein copulae to the multivariate case and study their impact on multiple tests. In particular, we utilize them to derive asymptotic confidence regions for the family‐wise error rate (FWER) of multiple test procedures that are empirically calibrated by making use of Bernstein copulae approximations of the dependency structure among the test statistics. This extends a similar approach by Stange et al. (2015) in the parametric case. A simulation study quantifies the gain in FWER level exhaustion and, consequently, power that can be achieved by exploiting the dependencies, in comparison with common threshold calibrations like the Bonferroni or ?idák corrections. Finally, we demonstrate an application of the proposed methodology to real‐life data from insurance.     

Expression of the large isoform of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase activase gene driven by rbcS promoter in Oryza sativa enhances the photosynthetic capacity

In order to investigate the effect of large isoform of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBPCO) activase (RuBPCO-A) on photosynthesis, cDNA of the enzyme (rca) was transferred to rice cultivars (Oryza sativa f. japonica cv. Nipponbare) under the control of RuBPCO small subunit gene promoter (rbcS) via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Transgenic rice plants were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern and Western blot analyses. Net photosynthetic rate (P _N) values of the T₁ transgenic lines 34 (T34) and 40 (T40) were 45.26 and 46.32 % higher than that of the control plants, respectively. At the same time, their carboxylation efficiency and RuBPCO initial activity, quantum yield of electron transport in photosystem 2 (Φ_PS2), and steady state photochemical fluorescence quenching (q_P) increased. In addition, heading time of the transgenic rice was advanced. Thus increasing the amount of large isoform of RuBPCO-A in the transgenic rice might have a stimulatory effect on both photosynthesis and plant growth.     

Influence of environment upon the life history of gudgeon, Gobio gobio (L.): a recent and successful colonizer of the Iberian Peninsula

The growth and the reproductive tactics of gudgeon, Gobio gobio (L.) were assessed in three contrasting streams of the Iberian Peninsula: the Rivers Moros and Ucero, tributaries of the R. Duero, and the R. MatarrańGa, a tributary of the R. Ebro. The R. Duero gudgeon have spread in the last 50 years while their presence in the lower tributaries of the R. Ebro followed the construction of reservoirs in the mid 1960s. The life histories of the Moros and MatarrańnGa gudgeon are very similar; rapid growth in spring, early reproduction (1 -year-old), high reproductive cost, short life-span and trend to semelparity. Both populations are strongly influenced by the severe summer droughts that result in (I) reduction in the condition coefficient, (2) reduction in the growth rate (particularly in the River MatarrańGa), (3) single spawning and (4) no gonad development in the summer. The gudgeon in the Ucero delay maturity, grow slower, are multi-spawners and have a longer life span. All the Duero populations come from the same genetic pool and they are actually connected through the populations living along this river basin, whereas the MatarrańGa population is not genetically linked, we hypothesize that the differences between these populations are environmentally induced.