Specific Isolation of Glycoproteins with Mesoporous Zirconia‐Polyoxometalate Hybrid

A novel mesoporous zirconia‐polyoxometalate ZrO₂‐P₈W₄₈ hybrid was prepared using a surfactant‐assisted solvent evaporation technique. The acid–base reaction between the Zr‐OH groups of zirconium oxides and P₈W₄₈ was followed by self‐assembly with an amphiphilic triblock copolymer as template to obtain a polyoxometalate‐based hybrid. The ZrO₂‐P₈W₄₈ hybrid was characterized by Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), thermal gravimetric assay (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR‐TEM), energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDXS), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and nitrogen sorption/desorption. Owing to the multiple hydrogen‐bonding interactions between the P₈W₄₈ moiety and the hydroxyl groups of glycoproteins, the ZrO₂‐P₈W₄₈ hybrid exhibited highly selective isolation of glycoproteins from complex matrices that included various non‐glycoproteins. The retained glycoproteins could be readily recovered using a 0.01 mol L^?1 cetane trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) solution as stripping reagent, with recovery rates of 92, 100, 100, 100, and 74% for the five target glycoproteins, Ovalbumin (Ova), conalbumin (ConA), immunoglobulin G from human serum (IgG), γ‐globulin from bovine milk (γ‐Glo), and horseradish peroxidase (HRP), respectively. The ZrO₂‐P₈W₄₈ hybrid was successfully applied to the isolation of glycoproteins from egg white and human serum samples, as confirmed by SDS‐PAGE and LC‐MS/MS assays.     

小鼠急慢性结肠炎模型的建立及结肠上皮组织分离方法的探讨

目的:采用葡聚糖硫酸钠(Dextran Sulfate Sodium,DSS)诱导小鼠急慢性结肠炎模型,并探讨小鼠结肠上皮组织分离技术的可行性。方法:将40只8周龄C57小鼠随机分为急性和慢性结肠炎模型DSS组和急慢和性结肠炎对照组,每组10只小鼠。急性结肠炎模型:给予C57小鼠3%DSS自由饮水7天,蒸馏水3天;慢性结肠炎模型:给予C57小鼠2.5%DSS水5天,换蒸馏水自由饮水7天,再给予2.5%DSS水5天后换蒸馏水水7天,重复3个循环,共36天,对照组蒸馏水自由饮水。期间每天观察并记录小鼠体重、便隐血、大便性状并评分。造模完成后对结肠组织行苏木素-伊红(HE)染色评价有无组织学炎性损伤。小鼠肠上皮分离采用运用机械涡旋的方法。结果:与对照组相比,小鼠急性结肠炎模型小鼠体重减轻明显(P0.001)、便隐血阳性、大便性状发生改变,结肠长度明显缩短(P0.01)。小鼠慢性结肠炎模型小鼠体重随着DSS和蒸馏水的交替出现下降和上升的变化趋势,HE染色提示急性和慢性小鼠结肠炎模型结肠上皮发生急性和慢性的炎症伤;分离得到的肠上皮组织样本提取总蛋白证实蛋白未发生降解,Actin和GAPDH内参条带清晰。结论:小鼠急性和慢性结肠炎模型的建立成功,本实验采用的小鼠结肠上皮分离方法稳定可行。     

Male mate choice via cuticular hydrocarbon pheromones drives reproductive isolation between Drosophila species

Mate discrimination is a key mechanism restricting gene flow between species. While studied extensively with respect to female mate choice, mechanisms of male mate choice between species are far less studied. Thus, we have little knowledge of the relative frequency, importance, or overall contribution of male mate discrimination to reproductive isolation. In the present study, we estimated the relative contributions of male and female choice to reproductive isolation between Drosophila simulans and D. sechellia, and show that male mate discrimination accounts for the majority of the current isolation between these species. We further demonstrate that males discriminate based on female cuticular hydrocarbon pheromones, and collect evidence supporting the hypothesis that male mate discrimination may alleviate the costs associated with heterospecific courtship and mating. Our findings highlight the potentially significant contribution of male mate choice to the formation of reproductive isolating barriers, and thus the speciation process.     

Climate‐driven build‐up of temporal isolation within a recently formed avian hybrid zone

Divergence in the onset of reproduction can act as an important source of reproductive isolation (i.e., allochronic isolation) between co‐occurring young species, but evidence for the evolutionary processes leading to such divergence is often indirect. While advancing spring seasons strongly affect the onset of reproduction in many taxa, it remains largely unexplored whether contemporary spring advancement directly affects allochronic isolation between young species. We examined how increasing spring temperatures affected onset of reproduction and thereby hybridization between pied and collared flycatchers (Ficedula spp.) across habitat types in a young secondary contact zone. We found that both species have advanced their timing of breeding in 14 years. However, selection on pied flycatchers to breed earlier was weaker, resulting in a slower response to advancing springs compared to collared flycatchers and thereby build‐up of allochronic isolation between the species. We argue that a preadaptation to a broader niche use (diet) of pied flycatchers explains the slower response to raising spring temperature, but that reduced risk to hybridize may contribute to further divergence in the onset of breeding in the future. Our results show that minor differences in the response to environmental change of co‐occurring closely related species can quickly cause allochronic isolation.     

Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes are major phyla of filterable bacteria passing through 0.22 μm pore size membrane filter,in Lake Sanaru,Hamamatsu, Japan

141 filterable bacteria that passed through a 0.22 μm pore size filter were isolated from Lake Sanaru in Hamamatsu, Japan. These belonged to Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, or Actinobacteria among which the first two phyla comprised the majority of the isolates. 48 isolates (12 taxa) are candidates assignable to new bacterial species or genera of Proteobacteria or Bacteroidetes.     

青藏高原东缘同域分布的2种橐吾属杂草的合子前生殖隔离

生殖隔离是阻止种间杂交、保持物种完整性和独立性的关键,对生物多样性的产生和维持有重要意义.不同物种间的生殖隔离形成阶段、方式和强度不完全相同,因而对物种间隔离机制的研究有助于揭示物种形成和维持机制.对青藏高原东缘同域分布的2种橐吾属杂草黄帚橐吾和箭叶橐吾的花期物候观察、访花昆虫观察及花粉-柱头亲和性进行研究,分析了2种橐吾多种合子前生殖隔离机制的特点及其在生殖隔离中的作用.结果表明: 黄帚橐吾种群花期比箭叶橐吾早20 d左右,虽然盛花期存在差异,但是2种群花期存在10 d左右的重叠期,并且在重叠期内2种橐吾花粉和柱头均具有活性.2种橐吾共享传粉昆虫,为泛化传粉模式,并且传粉者对2种植物的访花行为相似,存在2种植物间交叉访问.尽管2种橐吾花期不存在完全的时间隔离,也不存在完全的传粉者隔离,但2种橐吾柱头对异源花粉的亲和性差,表现为柱头对异源花粉有明显的排斥反应,异源花粉管在柱头上的生长过程明显受阻.这种花粉-柱头排异形式很有可能是2种橐吾属植物重要的合子前隔离机制,从而避免了种间的自然杂交,更好地维持了自然种群的多样性和遗传结构的稳定性.     

Persistence of antipredator behavior in an island population of California quail

Island populations may provide unique insights into the evolution and persistence of antipredator behavior. If antipredator behavior is costly and islands have reduced predation risk, then we expect the reduction or loss of antipredator behavior on islands. However, if even a single predator remains, the multipredator hypothesis predicts that antipredator behaviors will be conserved. We compared the flight initiation distances (FID) of California quail (Callipepla californica) on Santa Catalina Island (a location with reduced predation pressure) with quail on the mainland. We found no differences in FID between mainland and island quail. However, despite employing consistent testing methods, the starting distance from which quail were approached was significantly reduced for quail studied on the island when compared with quail studied on the mainland. Our results are consistent with the multipredator hypothesis because, while the island population had substantially fewer predators, some predators remained and some antipredator behavior persisted.     

Evidence for interannual variation in genetic structure of Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) along the California Current System

Using a combination of population‐ and individual‐based analytical approaches, we provide a comprehensive examination of genetic connectivity of Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) along ~1,200 km of the California Current System (CCS). We sampled individuals at 33 sites in 2012 to establish a baseline of genetic diversity and hierarchal population genetic structure and then assessed interannual variability in our estimates by sampling again in 2014. Genetic diversity showed little variation among sites or across years. In 2012, we observed weak genetic differentiation among sites (F_ST range = ?0.005–0.014) following a pattern of isolation by distance (IBD) and significantly high relatedness among individuals within nine sampling sites. In 2014, pairwise F_ST estimates were lower (F_ST range = ?0.014–0.007), there was no spatial autocorrelation, and fewer sites had significant evidence of relatedness. Based on these findings, we propose that interannual variation in the physical oceanographic conditions of the CCS influences larval recruitment and thus gene flow, contributing to interannual variation in population genetic structure. Estimates of effective population size (N_e) were large in both 2012 and 2014. Together, our results suggest that Dungeness crab in the CCS may constitute a single evolutionary population, although geographically limited dispersal results in an ephemeral signal of IBD. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that populations of marine organisms may be susceptible to temporal changes in population genetic structure over short time periods; thus, interannual variability in population genetic measures should be considered.     

Integrating Bayesian genomic cline analyses and association mapping of morphological and ecological traits to dissect reproductive isolation and introgression in a Louisiana Iris hybrid zone

Hybrid zones provide unique opportunities to examine reproductive isolation and introgression in nature. We utilized 45,384 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci to perform association mapping of 14 floral, vegetative and ecological traits that differ between Iris hexagona and Iris fulva, and to investigate, using a Bayesian genomic cline (BGC) framework, patterns of genomic introgression in a large and phenotypically diverse hybrid zone in southern Louisiana. Many loci of small effect size were consistently found to be associated with phenotypic variation across all traits, and several individual loci were revealed to influence phenotypic variation across multiple traits. Patterns of genomic introgression were quite heterogeneous throughout the Louisiana Iris genome, with I. hexagona alleles tending to be favoured over those of I. fulva. Loci that were found to have exceptional patterns of introgression were also found to be significantly associated with phenotypic variation in a small number of morphological traits. However, this was the exception rather than the rule, as most loci that were associated with morphological trait variation were not significantly associated with excess ancestry. These findings provide insights into the complexity of the genomic architecture of phenotypic differences and are a first step towards identifying loci that are associated with both trait variation and reproductive isolation in nature.