Algal Carotenoids 51. Secondary carotenoids 2.Haematococcus pluvialis aplanospores as a source of (3S, 3′S)-astaxanthin esters

Aplanospores ofHaematococcus pluvialis MUR 145 contained 0.7% carotenoids (dry wt. basis) consisting of β,β-carotene (5% of total carotenoid), echinenone (4%), canthaxanthin (4%), (3S,3′S)-astaxanthin diester (34%), (3S,3′S)-astaxanthin monoester (46%), (3S,3′S)-astaxanthin (1%) and (3R,3′R,6′R)-lutein (6%). The astaxanthin esters were examined by TLC and HPLC and VIS,¹H NMR and mass spectra recorded. Their chirality was determined by the camphanate method (Vecchi & Müller, 1979) after anaerobic hydrolysis. The tough cell wall of the aplanospores required enzymatic treatment prior to pigment extraction. The potential use of this microalga as a feed ingredient in aquaculture is discussed briefly.     

Physico‐chemical mechanisms of resistance to shoot fly,Atherigona soccata in sorghum,Sorghum bicolor

Sorghum shoot fly, Atherigona soccata is an important pest of sorghum, and host plant resistance is one of the important components for minimizing the losses due to this pest. Therefore, we evaluated a diverse array of sorghum genotypes to identify physico‐chemical characteristics conferring resistance to A. soccata. Susceptibility to shoot fly was associated with high amounts of soluble sugars, fats, leaf surface wetness and seedling vigour; while leaf glossiness, plumule and leaf sheath pigmentation, trichome density and high tannin, Mg and Zn showed resistance to shoot fly. Stepwise regression indicated that Mg, Zn, soluble sugars, tannins, fats, leaf glossiness, leaf sheath and plumule pigmentation and trichome density explained 99.8% of the variation in shoot fly damage. Path coefficient analysis suggested that leaf glossiness, trichome density, Mg and fat content and plant plumule pigmentation can be used as markers traits to select for shoot fly resistance in sorghum.     

贵州百花湖鱼体汞污染现状

以西南汞污染严重的贵州百花湖为对象,选取湖中优势鱼、贝类,通过测定其总汞和甲基汞含量,并结合水体、沉积物汞含量和相关水质参数,探讨了百花湖鱼类汞污染的现状及其影响因素.百花湖鱼体总汞平均含量为28.0ng·g-1,变化范围为4.2～143ng·g-1;甲基汞的平均含量为10.9ng·g-1,变化范围为3.0～39.3ng·g-1.虽然百花湖遭受上游贵州有机化工厂含汞废水的严重污染,但鱼体汞含量并没有超过国家食品卫生标准.其主要原因可能是:百花湖的鱼主要是人工养殖的草食性或杂食性鱼类,鱼龄较小,且其摄取的食物汞含量低、食物链简单,不利于汞的富集;其次,其较快的生长速度对鱼体汞具有生物稀释的作用.     

Sex allocation according to multiple sexually dimorphic traits of both parents in the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica)

Parents should differentially invest in sons or daughters depending on the sex‐specific fitness returns from male and female offspring. In species with sexually selected heritable male characters, highly ornamented fathers should overproduce sons, which will be more sexually attractive than sons of less ornamented fathers. Because of genetic correlations between the sexes, females that express traits which are under selection in males should also overproduce sons. However, sex allocation strategies may consist in reaction norms leading to spatiotemporal variation in the association between offspring sex ratio (SR) and parental phenotype. We analysed offspring SR in barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) over 8 years in relation to two sexually dimorphic traits: tail length and melanin‐based ventral plumage coloration. The proportion of sons increased with maternal plumage darkness and paternal tail length, consistently with sexual dimorphism in these traits. The size of the effect of these parental traits on SR was large compared to other studies of offspring SR in birds. Barn swallows thus manipulate offspring SR to overproduce ‘sexy sons’ and potentially to mitigate the costs of intralocus sexually antagonistic selection. Interannual variation in the relationships between offspring SR and parental traits was observed which may suggest phenotypic plasticity in sex allocation and provides a proximate explanation for inconsistent results of studies of sex allocation in relation to sexual ornamentation in birds.     

Fill Factor Losses in Cu2ZnSn(SxSe1−x)4 Solar Cells: Insights from Physical and Electrical Characterization of Devices and Exfoliated Films

Besides the open circuit voltage (V_OC) deficit, fill factor (FF) is the second most significant parameter deficit for earth‐abundant kesterite solar cell technology. Here, various pathways for FF loss are discussed, with focus on the series resistance issue and its various contributing factors. Electrical and physical characterizations of the full range of bandgap (E_g = 1.0–1.5 eV) Cu₂ZnSn(S_xSe_1?x)₄ (CZTSSe) devices, as well as bare and exfoliated films with various S/(S + Se) ratios, are performed. High intensity Suns‐V_OC measurement indicates a nonohmic junction developing in high bandgap CZTSSe. Grazing incidence X‐ray diffraction, Raman mapping, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicate the formation of Sn(S,Se)₂, Mo(S,Se)₂, and Zn(S,Se) at the high bandgap CZTSSe/Mo interface, contributing to the increased series resistance (R_S) and nonohmic back contact characteristics. This study offers some clues as to why the record‐CZTSSe solar cells occur within a bandgap range centered around 1.15 eV and offers some direction for further optimization.     

The tetrameric pheromone module SteC‐MkkB‐MpkB‐SteD regulates asexual sporulation,sclerotia formation and aflatoxin production in Aspergillus flavus

For eukaryotes like fungi to regulate biological responses to environmental stimuli, various signalling cascades are utilized, like the highly conserved mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. In the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans, a MAPK pathway known as the pheromone module regulates development and the production of secondary metabolites (SMs). This pathway consists five proteins, the three kinases SteC, MkkB and MpkB, the adaptor SteD and the scaffold HamE. In this study, homologs of these five pheromone module proteins have been identified in the plant and human pathogenic fungus Aspergillus flavus. We have shown that a tetrameric complex consisting of the three kinases and the SteD adaptor is assembled in this species. It was observed that this complex assembles in the cytoplasm and that MpkB translocates into the nucleus. Deletion of steC, mkkB, mpkB or steD results in abolishment of both asexual sporulation and sclerotia production. This complex is required for the positive regulation of aflatoxin production and negative regulation of various SMs, including leporin B and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), likely via MpkB interactions in the nucleus. These data highlight the conservation of the pheromone module in Aspergillus species, signifying the importance of this pathway in regulating fungal development and secondary metabolism.     

Pleistocene climatic cycling drives intra‐specific diversification in the intermediate horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus affinis) in Southern China

The repeated formation and loss of land‐bridges during the Pleistocene have had lasting impacts on population genetic structure. In the tropics, where island populations persisted through multiple glacial cycles, alternating periods of isolation and contact are expected to have driven population and taxonomic divergence. Here, we combine mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data with microsatellites to dissect the impact of Pleistocene climate change on intra‐specific diversification in the horseshoe bat Rhinolophus affinis. This taxon shows considerable morphological and acoustic variation: two parapatric subspecies (himalayanus and macrurus) occur on mainland China and a third (hainanus) on Hainan Island. Our phylogeographic reconstruction and coalescent analyses suggest the island subspecies formed from an ancestral population of himalayanus via two colonization events c. 800 000 years before present. R. a. hainanus then recolonized the mainland, forming macrurus and thus a secondary contact zone with himalayanus. Finally, macrurus recolonized Hainan following the LGM. We found that all three biological events corresponded to known periods of land‐bridge formation. Evidence of introgression was detected between macrurus and both its sister taxa, with geographical proximity rather than length of separation appearing to be the biggest determinant of subsequent genetic exchange. Our study highlights the important role of climate‐mediated sea level changes have had in shaping current processes and patterns of population structure and taxonomic diversification.     

Edaphic Factors are a More Important Control on Surface Fine Roots than Stand Age in Secondary Tropical Dry Forests

Although there are generalized conceptual models that predict how above and belowground biomass increase during secondary succession after abandonment from agriculture, there are few data to test these models for fine roots (defined as ≤2 mm diameter) in tropical forests. We measured live and dead fine roots (0–10 cm depth) in 18 plots of regenerating tropical dry forest in Costa Rica that varied in age from 5 to 60 yrs, as well as in soil properties. We predicted that both stand age and soil fertility would affect fine roots, with greater values in older forests on low fertility soils. Across two sampling dates and locations, live fine roots varied from 0.35 to 3.53 Mg/ha and dead roots varied from 0.15 to 0.93 Mg/ha. Surprisingly, there was little evidence that surface fine roots varied between sampling dates or in relation to stand age. By contrast, total, live, and dead fine roots averaged across sampling dates within plots were negatively correlated with a multivariate index of soil fertility (Pearson correlations coefficients were ?0.64, ?0.58, and ?0.68, respectively; P < 0.01) and other individual edaphic variables including pH, silt, calcium, magnesium, nitrogen, and phosphorus. These results suggest that soil fertility is a more important determinant of fine roots than forest age in tropical dry forests in Costa Rica, and that one‐way these plant communities respond to low soil fertility is by increasing fine roots. Thus, simple conceptual models of forest responses to abandonment from agriculture may not be appropriate for surface fine roots.     

Apoptotic microtubules delimit an active caspase free area in the cellular cortex during the execution phase of apoptosis

Apoptotic microtubule network (AMN) is organized during apoptosis, forming a cortical structure beneath plasma membrane, which has an important role in preserving cell morphology and plasma membrane permeability. The aim of this study was to examine the role of AMN in maintaining plasma membrane integrity during the execution phase of apoptosis. We demonstrated in camptothecin-induced apoptosis in H460 cells that AMN delimits an active caspase free area beneath plasma membrane that permits the preservation of cellular cortex and transmembrane proteins. AMN depolymerization in apoptotic cells by a short exposure to colchicine allowed active caspases to reach the cellular cortex and cleave many key proteins involved in plasma membrane structural support, cell adhesion and ionic homeostasis. Cleavage of cellular cortex and plasma membrane proteins, such as α-spectrin, paxilin, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), E-cadherin and integrin subunit β4 was associated with cell collapse and cell detachment. Otherwise, cleavage-mediated inactivation of calcium ATPase pump (PMCA-4) and Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger (NCX) involved in cell calcium extrusion resulted in calcium overload. Furthermore, cleavage of Na⁺/K⁺ pump subunit β was associated with altered sodium homeostasis. Cleavage of cell cortex and plasma membrane proteins in apoptotic cells after AMN depolymerization increased plasma permeability, ionic imbalance and bioenergetic collapse, leading apoptotic cells to secondary necrosis. The essential role of caspase-mediated cleavage in this process was demonstrated because the concomitant addition of colchicine that induces AMN depolymerization and the pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD avoided the cleavage of cortical and plasma membrane proteins and prevented apoptotic cells to undergo secondary necrosis. Furthermore, the presence of AMN was also critical for proper phosphatidylserine externalization and apoptotic cell clearance by macrophages. These results indicate that AMN is essential to preserve an active caspase free area in the cellular cortex of apoptotic cells that allows plasma membrane integrity during the execution phase of apoptosis.