The effect of coil phenotypes and genotypes on the fecundity and viability of Partula suturalis and Lymnaea stagnalis: implications for the evolution of sinistral snails

Why are sinistral snails so rare? Two main hypotheses are that selection acts against the establishment of new coiling morphs, because dextral and sinistral snails have trouble mating, or else a developmental constraint prevents the establishment of sinistrals. We therefore used an isolate of the snail Lymnaea stagnalis, in which sinistrals are rare, and populations of Partula suturalis, in which sinistrals are common, as well as a mathematical model, to understand the circumstances by which new morphs evolve. The main finding is that the sinistral genotype is associated with reduced egg viability in L. stagnalis, but in P. suturalis individuals of sinistral and dextral genotype appear equally fecund, implying a lack of a constraint. As positive frequency‐dependent selection against the rare chiral morph in P. suturalis also operates over a narrow range (< 3%), the results suggest a model for chiral evolution in snails in which weak positive frequency‐dependent selection may be overcome by a negative frequency‐dependent selection, such as reproductive character displacement. In snails, there is not always a developmental constraint. As the direction of cleavage, and thus the directional asymmetry of the entire body, does not generally vary in other Spiralia (annelids, echiurans, vestimentiferans, sipunculids and nemerteans), it remains an open question as to whether this is because of a constraint and/or because most taxa do not have a conspicuous external asymmetry (like a shell) upon which selection can act.     

Ha-ras-transformation alters the metabolism of phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts

Cultured NIH 3T3 fibroblasts were employed to investigate the changes in the phospholipid metabolism induced by Ha-ras transformation. All phospholipid fractions were reduced in ras-transformed fibroblasts except phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). The incorporation of labeled choline and ethanolamine into phosphatidylcholine (PC), PE and their corresponding metabolites were elevated in a similar manner in the transformed cells. The enhanced uptake of choline and ethanolamine correlated with the activation of choline kinase and ethanolamine kinase. Similarly, the uptake of arachidonic, oleic and palmitic acids by PC and PE was higher in ras-cells. Acyl-CoA synthetases, which esterify fatty acid before their incorporation into lysophospholipids, were also activated. However, both CTP:phosphocholine-cytidylyltransferase and CTP:phosphoethanolamine-chytidyltransferase were inhibited in the transformed cells. This fact, taken together with the observed activation of choline- and ethanolamine kinases, led to accumulation of phosphocholine and phosphoethanolamine, which have been presumed to participate in the processes of tumor development. PC biosynthesis seemed to be carried out through the CDP-choline pathway, which was stimulated in the oncogenic cells, whereas PE was more likely, a product of phosphatidylserine decarboxylation rather than the CDP-ethanolamine pathway.     

凋落物分解过程中土壤微生物群落的变化

凋落物分解是生态系统碳循环和营养物质循环的关键过程, 受多种因素共同影响。土壤微生物是影响凋落物分解的重要因素, 其群落组成在一定程度上依赖于所处植物群落的特征。因此, 研究分解过程中微生物群落组成的变化及其对植物多样性的响应, 有利于对凋落物分解机制的理解。本文采用分解袋野外原位分解的方法, 对凋落物分解过程中微生物群落的变化及其对所处森林环境中树木的种类和遗传多样性的响应进行了研究。结果表明: (1)凋落物分解183天后, 土壤中微生物群落的多样性降低, 并且森林群落的物种多样性与微生物群落多样性呈负相关关系; (2)凋落物分解前后, 土壤中真菌和细菌群落的磷脂脂肪酸(PLFA)量均有所增加, 说明凋落物分解为微生物生存和繁殖提供了养分; (3)地形因素是影响微生物群落变化最显著的因素, 可解释微生物群落变化的29.55%; 其次是凋落物的基质质量, 可以解释15.39%; 最后是森林群落的多样性, 可以解释8.45%; 这3种因素共同解释率为2.97%。综上所述, 与森林群落的植物多样性相比, 样地的地形因素与凋落物的基质质量对微生物群落的影响更显著。     

Can an eel be a flatfish? Observations on enigmatic asymmetrical heterenchelyids from the Guinea coast of West Africa

Morphological asymmetry is described in the heterenchelyid mud eel Pythonichthys cf. macrurus from inshore coastal waters of Guinea, West Africa. The intensity of asymmetry differs between two examined specimens, with the more extreme case exhibiting strong asymmetry in both external and internal features, including unilateral depigmentation, reductive degeneration and embedding of a blind‐side eye, skewed jaws with reduced dentition and tooth loss. The extent and nature of asymmetry suggests that this individual probably lived primarily on its left lateral side, not unlike sinistral pleuronectiform flatfishes.     

Soil microbial community structure and activity in a 100-year-old fertilization and crop rotation experiment

Aims Nitrogen (N) fertilization and lime addition may affect soil microbial and nematode communities and ecosystem functions through changing environmental conditions, such as soil pH and soil organic carbon. The objectives of this experiment were to examine the impact of N input and liming on soil microbial and nematode communities and to identify the key environmental determinant of community composition in a century-old fertilization and crop rotation experiment.Methods The field experiment consisting of a 3-year crop rotation regime was established in 1911 in southeastern USA. Four treatments, (i) no-input control, (ii) NPK with winter legume, (iii) PK with legume and lime and (iv) NPK with legume and lime, were included in this study. Soil samples collected at the 0–5cm depth were used to determine the bacterial growth rate by the 3 H-thymidine incorporation technique. Incorporation of 13 C into neutral lipids, glycolipids and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) was measured after incubation of soil with 13 C-labeled acetate for 24h. Free-living nematodes in fresh soil were extracted using a density sucrose centrifugal flotation method and identified to trophic group level.Important findings Liming resulted in a 10-fold increase in bacterial growth rates compared with the no-input control, whereas N fertilization had no significant effect. Multivariate analysis of PLFA profiles showed that soil microbial community composition was different among the four treatments; the difference was primarily driven by soil pH. PLFAs indicative of Gram-negative bacteria covaried with soil pH, but not those of fungi and actinobacteria. Liming enhanced 13 C incorporation into neutral lipids, glycolipids and phospholipids by 2–15 times. In addition, 13 C incorporation into 16:0, 16:1ω9, 18:1ω9, 18:1ω7 and 18:2ω6 were greater than other PLFAs, suggesting that Gram-negative bacteria and fungi were more active and sensitive to simple C input. Bacterivorous nematodes were the dominant trophic group in the soil, but no significant differences in nematode communities were found among the treatments. Our results suggest that soil pH had a greater impact than N fertilization on soil microbial community composition and activity in a crop rotation system including legumes.     

林下植被剔除对杉木林土壤呼吸和微生物群落结构的影响

以湖南会同地区26年生杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)人工林为研究对象, 探讨剔除林下植被对土壤呼吸和微生物群落结构的影响。2012年6月将林下植被剔除后, 2012年7月-2014年7月每月测定一次土壤呼吸速率、5 cm土壤温度和含水量, 并分别于2013年7月和2014年7月测定了土壤微生物群落结构和土壤养分数据。研究结果表明: 杉木人工林土壤呼吸具有明显的季节变化规律, 且与5 cm深处的土壤温度呈极显著的正相关关系。林下植被剔除两年内土壤呼吸平均下降了32.8%, 2012年7月-2013年6月下降了42.9%, 2013年7月-2014年7月下降了22.2%。根据土壤呼吸与温度拟合的指数方程所计算出的土壤呼吸的温度敏感性Q₁₀值在对照区为2.10, 林下植被剔除区为1.87, 说明在杉木人工林系统中林下植被剔除2年降低了土壤呼吸的温度敏感性。此外, 林下植被剔除也改变了土壤微生物群落结构。林下植被剔除1年后, 土壤细菌的浓度没有发生改变, 但真菌的浓度降低, 导致真菌与细菌的浓度比值下降。此外, 革兰氏阳性细菌(G⁺)的浓度及其与革兰氏阴性菌(G^-)的比值升高。林下植被剔除2年后, G⁺浓度和G⁺与G^-的浓度比值降低。该研究表明林下植被剔除可以降低土壤呼吸, 从而减少土壤向大气中释放碳; 同时可改变土壤微生物群落结构, 而且其效应受作用时间的影响。     

Fluctuating asymmetry of leaves is a poor indicator of environmental stress and genetic stress by inbreeding in Silene vulgaris

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is often used as a measure of developmental instability and has been proposed as an indicator of both environmental and genetic stress. However, the empirical evidence for the effects of stress on FA in plants is inconsistent, and there are few controlled experimental studies. We analyzed different distance- and shape-based measures of the fluctuating asymmetry of the leaves of clonally replicated self- and cross-pollinated lineages of Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke (Caryophyllaceae) grown under a control and seven different stress treatments (drought, copper, simulated herbivory, and two levels of nutrient deficiency and of shade). Overall, FA differed among stress treatments, but was not generally higher under stress and even reduced in some treatments. Different measures of FA were only weakly correlated. Inbreeding increased only one measure of leaf FA, and only under high stress intensities. Our findings suggest that in S. vulgaris leaf fluctuating asymmetry does not serve as an indicator of environmental stress or of genetic stress by inbreeding.     

高山林线土壤微生物群落结构对模拟增温的响应

研究土壤微生物群落结构对模拟增温的响应,对预测全球气候变化背景下土壤碳氮磷循环具有重要意义.采用开顶式生长室(OTC)模拟增温,研究了土壤有机质层和矿质土壤层真菌(F)、细菌(B)、革兰氏阳性菌(G⁺)和革兰氏阴性菌(G^-)PLFAs微生物量,以及真菌/细菌(F/B)和革兰氏阴性菌/革兰氏阳性菌(G^-/G⁺)比值对模拟增温的响应.结果表明: OTC模拟增温使空气温度增加0.87 ℃,土壤有机质层温度增加0.5 ℃,矿质土壤层温度增加0.23 ℃.土壤有机质层微生物群落组成比矿质土壤层对模拟增温的响应更敏感.细菌比真菌对模拟增温的响应更加敏感,模拟增温显著影响了土壤有机质层的F/B和G^-/G⁺比值,对矿质土壤层的所有PLFAs含量或比值均没有显著影响.微生物的PLFAs含量及真菌/细菌和G^-/G⁺比值总体呈现非生长季低于生长季前期和生长季后期.冗余分析表明,土壤中的碳含量(可溶性有机碳DOC 12.1%、凋落物可溶性碳DC 9.5%和全碳TC 3%)是微生物群落结构的决定性因素,可溶性组分(DOC和DC)对微生物群落结构的影响大于全量养分(全碳和总氮).     

Multivariate sexual selection on male tegmina in wild populations of sagebrush crickets,Cyphoderris strepitans (Orthoptera: Haglidae)

Although the strength and form of sexual selection on song in male crickets have been studied extensively, few studies have examined selection on the morphological structures that underlie variation in males’ song, particularly in wild populations. Geometric morphometric techniques were used to measure sexual selection on the shape, size and symmetry of both top and bottom tegmina in wild populations of sagebrush crickets, a species in which nuptial feeding by females imposes an unambiguous phenotypic marker on males. The size of the tegmina negatively covaried with song dominant frequency and positively covaried with song pulse duration. Sexual selection was more intense on the bottom tegmen, conceivably because it interacts more freely with the subtegminal airspace, which may play a role in song amplification. An expanded coastal/subcostal region was one of the phenotypes strongly favoured by disruptive selection on the bottom tegmen, an adaptation that may form a more effective seal with the thorax to prevent noise cancellation. Directional selection also favoured increased symmetry in tegminal shape. Assuming more symmetrical males are better able to buffer against developmental noise, the song produced by these males may make them more attractive to females. Despite the strong stabilizing selection documented previously on the dominant frequency of the song, stabilizing selection on the resonator that regulates dominant frequency was surprisingly absent. Nonetheless, wing morphology had an important influence on song structure and appears to be subject to significant linear and nonlinear sexual selection through female mate choice.