Mitochondrial DNA of pre‐last glacial maximum red deer from NW Spain suggests a more complex phylogeographical history for the species

The major climatic oscillations that characterized the Quaternary had a great influence on the evolution and distribution of several species. During cold periods, the distribution of temperate‐adapted species became fragmented with many surviving in southern refugia (Iberian, Italian, and Balkan Peninsulas). Red deer was one of the species that contracted its original range to southern refugia. Currently, two main lineages have been described for the species: western and eastern. We have analyzed fossils pre‐dating the last glacial maximum (LGM) from Liñares cave (NW Spain) that belongs to the peripheral range of the western clade, and fossils from the Danish Holocene belonging to the central part of the same clade. Phylogenetic analyses place our samples in the western clade. However, some specimens from Liñares represent an early split in the tree along with other pre‐LGM western samples from previous studies. Despite low bootstrap values in the Bayesian phylogenies, haplotype networks connect these foreign haplotypes to the eastern clade. We suggest a mixed phylogeographical model to explain this pattern with range expansions from the east during the expansion phase after the cold periods in marine isotope stage 3. We find slight isolation by distance in post‐LGM populations that could be a consequence of the recolonization from southern refugia after the LGM.     

Effects of peroxidase substrates on the Amplex red/peroxidase assay: antioxidant properties of anthracyclines

Oxidation of Amplex red (AR) by H(2)O(2) in the presence of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) gives rise to an intensely colored product, resorufin. This reaction has been frequently employed for measurements of low concentrations of H(2)O(2) in biological samples. In the current study, we show that alternative peroxidase substrates, such as p-hydroquinone, acetaminophen, anticancer mitoxantrone, and ametantrone, inhibit AR oxidation by consuming H(2)O(2) in a competitive process. In contrast, the anthracycline agents doxorubicin, daunorubicin, and 5-iminodaunorubicin are markedly less efficient as competitors in these reactions, as is salicylic acid. When [H(2)O(2)]>[AR], the generated resorufin was oxidized by HRP and H(2)O(2). In the presence of anthracyclines, this process was inhibited and occurred with a lag time, the duration of which depended on the concentration of anthracycline. We propose that the mechanism of this inhibition is due to the antioxidant activity of anthracyclines involving the reduction of the resorufin-derived phenoxyl radical by the drugs' hydroquinone moiety back to resorufin. In addition to HRP, lactoperoxidase, myeloperoxidase, and HL-60 cells, naturally rich in myeloperoxidase, also supported these reactions. Results of this study suggest that extra caution is needed when using AR to measure cellular H(2)O(2) in the presence of alternative peroxidase substrates. They also demonstrate that the anticancer anthracyclines may function as antioxidants.     

Improved plant regeneration in Capsicum annuum L. from nodal segments

Multiple shoots were induced by culturing nodal explants excised from 1-month-old aseptic seedlings of red pepper (Capsicum annuum L. cv. Pusa Jwala) on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with (0.1–10 μM) thidiazuron (TDZ). The rate of multiple shoot induction per explant was maximum (14.4 ± 0.06) on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 μM TDZ. Regenerated shoots were elongated well on growth regulator free MS medium. Adventitious roots were induced two weeks after transfer of elongated shoots to MS medium supplemented with auxins (IAA, IBA or NAA) in different concentrations. Optimum root formation frequency was obtained in medium containing 1.0 μM IBA. Ex-vitro rooting was also achieved by pulse treatment with 300 μM IBA for 10 min. Rooted shoots were transplanted in plastic pots containing garden soil (with 90 % survival rate), where they grew well and attained maturity. Regenerated plants were phenotypically and cytologically normal.     

Genetic differentiation in relation to marine landscape in a broadcast-spawning bivalve mollusc (Placopecten magellanicus)

Marine bivalves are sessile or sedentary as adults but have planktonic larvae which can potentially disperse over large distances. Consequently larval transport is expected to play a prominent role in facilitating gene flow and determining population structure. The sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) is a dioecious species with high fecundity, broadcast spawning and a c. 30-day planktonic larval stage, yet it forms discrete populations or 'beds' which have significantly different dynamics and characteristics. We analysed variation at six microsatellite loci in 12 locations throughout the geographic range of the species from Newfoundland, Canada, to New Jersey, USA. Significant differentiation was present and the maximum pairwise theta value, between one of the Newfoundland samples in the north and a sample from the southern portion of the range, was high at 0.061. Other proximate pairs of samples had no detectable genetic differentiation. Mantel tests indicated a significant isolation by distance, but only when one of the populations was excluded. A landscape genetic approach was used to detect areas of low gene flow using a joint analysis of spatial and genetic information. The two major putative barriers inferred by Monmonier's algorithm were then used to define regions for an analysis of molecular variance (amova). That analysis showed a significant but low percentage (1.2%) of the variation to be partitioned among regions, negligible variation among populations within regions, and the majority of the variance distributed between individuals within populations. Prominent currents were concordant with the demarcation of the regions, while a novel approach of using particle tracking software to mimic scallop larval dispersal was employed to interpret within-region genetic patterns.     

The nature of plant growth-promoting effects of a pseudoalteromonad associated with the marine algae Laminaria japonica and linked to catalase excretion

AIMS: The goal of this study was to identify a marine algae-associated bacterium isolated from Laminaria japonica and investigate this microorganism's growth-promoting effects on plants. METHODS AND RESULTS: The bacterium, identified as Pseudoalteromonas porphyrae, was determined to display a biostimulatory activity for seed germination and shoot growth in several agricultural plants and also for growth in ginseng callus cell culture. This biostimulatory activity was linked to a catalase enzyme that was excreted in the maximal amount during the transition from logarithmic growth phase to stationary growth phase. In addition, selected shifts in growth temperature and medium salinity affected the amount of enzyme excreted. The purified catalase was determined to be composed of identical subunits. The catalase of interest displayed significantly higher biostimulatory activity than the catalase from bovine liver. CONCLUSIONS: The catalase investigated in this study is unique in that it promotes growth in and possibly contributes to stress tolerance of plants. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The catalase of interest has the potential for use in treatments that aim to improve percent seed germination as well as obtaining tall shoots in a shorter time period.     

亚热带典型常绿阔叶树种叶片叶绿素含量与其高光谱特征间的关系

叶绿素在植物的生理生态过程中非常重要.利用高光谱数据,揭示光谱反射率上特征光谱与叶绿素含量间的关系将有助于理解叶绿素光谱反射特征的规律.选取了6种亚热带常绿阔叶树种,抽取一定数量的叶片样品,分别测量了叶片的光谱反射率及其叶绿素含量,并建立了光谱反射率曲线上的红边位置附近的光谱反射率和叶绿素总量间的回归模型.结果显示:对所研究的树种而言,红边位置处一窄波长范围内的平均光谱反射率与叶绿素总量间的相关性普遍较高,回归效果显著.从高光谱遥感的角度结合植物的生理生态特点分析了其机理.建立的有关红边位置处的光谱反射率与叶绿素总量间的回归模型普遍具有较高的拟合度,其应用前景较好.     

人类最大可持续海洋足迹的模拟

在William Rees ＆ Mathis Wackernagel最初提出的生态足迹模型理论所划分的六类基本生态生产性土地面积中,海洋以其能为人类提供鱼类等海产品而被单独列为水域一项。海洋生物资源是一种典型的可再生资源,人类只有采取合理的开发策略方可保证海洋生物资源最大的可持续生产量。借用生态足迹、生物承载力概念的内涵,提出海洋足迹、海洋承载力两个新概念;运用非线性科学理论在海洋足迹与海洋承载力呈二次非线性关系的假设下,建立海洋承载力二次非线性开发的动力模式,并运用稳定性分析理论对其求解、分析。结果表明：（1）海洋承载力与其增长率呈正相关关系,与海洋足迹增长率呈负相关关系;（2）为保证海洋生物资源的可持续利用,人类必须控制最大海洋足迹增长率为r/xm（r为海洋承载力增长率,xm为最大海洋承载力）,方可获得可持续的最大海洋足迹为rxm/4,此时海洋承载力可以维持在稳定的平衡态（为其最大承载力的一半）。