Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome and related disorders of organelle formation

Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS) consists of a group of genetically heterogeneous disorders which share the clinical findings of oculocutaneous albinism, a platelet storage pool deficiency, and some degree of ceroid lipofuscinosis. Related diseases share some of these findings and may exhibit other symptoms and signs but the underlying defect in the entire group of disorders involves defective intracellular vesicle formation, transport or fusion. Two HPS-causing genes, HPS1 and ADTB3A, have been isolated but the function of only the latter has been determined. ADTB3A codes for the beta 3A subunit of adaptor complex-3, responsible for vesicle formation from the trans-Golgi network (TGN). The many HPS patients who do not have HPS1 or ADTB3A mutations have their disease because of mutations in other genes. Candidates for these HPS-causing genes include those responsible for mouse models of HPS or for the 'granule' group of eye color genes in Drosophila. Each gene responsible for a subset of HPS or a related disorder codes for a protein which almost certainly plays a pivotal role in vesicular trafficking, inextricably linking clinical and cell biological interests in this group of diseases.     

Genetic diversity of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) ecotypes from Pakistan using Simple Sequence Repeats

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a legume crop grown all over the world and is a very important food of mountain population of Pakistan for protein intake. The Western Himalayan Mountains are rich in biodiversity including unexplored landraces of the common bean crop. Unfortunately, very little attention has been given to this valuable crop in Pakistan, and it is being exported, majorly from Ethiopia, to meet the country’s requirements. The exploitation, utilization, preservation and multiplication of existing germplasm within the area are very important for sustainable production of the crop and enhancing the nutrition value for the local community in mountain regions. A research study was conducted for evaluation of biological diversity of common bean landraces from Azad Kashmir and Northern areas of Pakistan using morpho-physiological and molecular markers. Thirty-five common bean ecotypes along with one check variety were collected from different altitudes of Azad Kashmir and Northern Pakistan and screened for biological diversity. Morphological characterization revealed high genetic diversity in parameters including stem anthocyanin, growth type, days to flowering, pods/plant and 100 seeds weight. Genomic characterization using SSR markers, for allelic diversity evaluation among germplasm, also provided diverse profile with 83.3% polymorphism in banding pattern. The bulk of gene pool diversity evaluated within bean landraces may help to initiate breeding program for common bean improvement.     

论短期农作物生境中节肢动物群落的重建Ⅲ.群落重建与天敌保护利用

保护利用天敌是农田害虫生物防治的基本手段。短期农作物生境中的天敌亚群落周期性地呈现出群落重建、群落发展和群落瓦解3个阶段。其中的重建阶段对抑制害虫的发生和危害至关重要。天敌亚群落的重建与其种库、群落本身和作物生态系统之间的相互作用关系,是群落水平上保护利用天敌的理论基础之一。因此,可以指导自然天敌的保护和持续利用,促进短期农作物生境中的害虫生物防治。     

四川都江堰地区桢楠林、杉木林和常绿阔叶林土壤N库的季节变化

通过对四川都江堰地区桢楠（Phoebe zhennan）林、杉木（Cunninghamia lanceolata（Lamb．））林以及常绿阔叶林为期1a的研究,比较不同森林群落类型中N库各组分的大小以及季节动态,同时研究不同群落类型中N库各组分之间的关系,探讨植被、土壤特性以及微生物对N转化的影响。结果表明：①3种群落类型中土壤NH4^＋-N含量有明显的季节变化,均在冬季（12月份）达到最大。随着植物的生长,NH4^＋-N含量逐渐下降;②3种类型的群落土壤中NO3^--N含量的平均值差别很大,同一个森林群落类型在不同季节NO3^--N含量有明显的季节变化,但并不是所有的季节之间都存在显著差异;③3种森林群落类型在采样期内的土壤平均全N含量存在显著差别,在不同季节,土壤全N含量变化并不大;④微生物量N在采样期内的波动很大,就每个样地来说也具有一定的规律。得出的结论认为：不同的森林群落类型中的N循环同该群落内的土壤和植被类型有密切的联系,土壤微生物量N同环境因素（土壤温度和湿度）的关系存在时空变化。     

Differential responses of carbon‐degrading enzyme activities to warming: Implications for soil respiration

Extracellular enzymes catalyze rate‐limiting steps in soil organic matter decomposition, and their activities (EEAs) play a key role in determining soil respiration (SR). Both EEAs and SR are highly sensitive to temperature, but their responses to climate warming remain poorly understood. Here, we present a meta‐analysis on the response of soil cellulase and ligninase activities and SR to warming, synthesizing data from 56 studies. We found that warming significantly enhanced ligninase activity by 21.4% but had no effect on cellulase activity. Increases in ligninase activity were positively correlated with changes in SR, while no such relationship was found for cellulase. The warming response of ligninase activity was more closely related to the responses of SR than a wide range of environmental and experimental methodological factors. Furthermore, warming effects on ligninase activity increased with experiment duration. These results suggest that soil microorganisms sustain long‐term increases in SR with warming by gradually increasing the degradation of the recalcitrant carbon pool.     

The influence of pool volume and summer desiccation on the production of the resting and dispersal stage in a Daphnia metapopulation

Dispersal is a key process in metapopulations, as migrants genetically connect populations and enable the colonization of empty habitat patches. Sub-populations may differ in their numerical contribution of migrants within a metapopulation. This has strong implications on evolutionary and ecological dynamics and has led to two different hypotheses about the Daphnia metapopulation studied here: the assessment by some authors is that sub-populations contribute equally to the production of migrants, while others have postulated long-lived core populations in large "mainland" habitat patches as the dominant source of migrants. We have studied the resting and dispersal stage (ephippium) in a natural Daphnia metapopulation and in mesocosm experiments, and tested for effects of habitat size and summer desiccation. We found that a 1000-fold increase in rock pool volume resulted on average in only in a 2.8-fold increase in ephippium production. Mesocosm experiments confirmed these results: a 1000-fold increase of the mesocosms' volume resulted in a 7.2-fold increase in ephippium production. Additionally, we showed that ephippium production did not depend on the initial population size. Thus, populations in small pools may contribute only marginal fewer potential migrants in the whole metapopulation than populations in large pools. In a second mesocosm experiment we found that summer desiccation, which is a typical occurrence in small pools, is not detrimental for the populations. Daphnia hatched out of ephippia that were produced earlier within the same season and built up viable populations again. The substantial production of ephippia by populations in small pools suggests that these populations might be important for both the dynamics and global stability of metapopulations.     

DNA Replication-Coupled PCNA Mono-Ubiquitination and Polymerase Switching in a Human InVitro System

Translesion DNA synthesis is a mechanism of DNA damage tolerance, and mono-ubiquitination of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is considered to play a key role in regulating the switch from replicative to translesion DNA polymerases (pols). In this study, we analyzed effects of a replicative pol δ on PCNA mono-ubiquitination with the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme and ligase UBE2A/HHR6A/RAD6A-RAD18. The results revealed that PCNA interacting with pol δ is a better target for ubiquitination, and PCNA mono-ubiquitination could be coupled with DNA replication. Consequently, we could reconstitute replication-coupled switching between pol δ and a translesion pol, pol η, on an ultraviolet-light-irradiated template. With this system, we obtained direct evidence that polymerase switching reactions are stimulated by mono-ubiquitination of PCNA, depending on a function of the ubiquitin binding zinc finger domain of pol η. This study provides a framework for detailed analyses of molecular mechanisms of human pol switching and regulation of translesion DNA synthesis.     

秦岭太白山不同植被带土壤团聚体碳库变化及温度敏感性

森林土壤碳库对全球变暖的响应是气候变暖下预测CO₂不确定性的潜在主要来源。然而,不同植被带上各粒径团聚体的SOC矿化的温度敏感性(Q10)及机理尚不明确。收集了中国太白山4个不同海拔的植被带的土壤,将土壤按粒径大小筛分为大、中、小3类团聚体,并进行了100天的土壤培养实验,以监测在3个恒定温度(5℃、15℃和25℃)下土壤呼吸速率、微生物量碳和胞外酶活性等指标。研究表明(1)团聚体占全土比例随粒径增大而增大,而有机碳含量随粒径的增大而减小。(2)随着海拔的升高,大团聚体、中团聚体、小团聚体的惰性碳库比例分别从45.11%、36.37%、64.72%升高到45.71%、38.11%、67.12%,缓效碳库比例分别从28.81%、37.20%、14.54%下降到28.41%、36.16%、13.78%,活性碳库比例从26.06%、26.42%、20.73%下降到25.35%、25.72%、19.09%。(3)各团聚体温度敏感性(Q10)表现出随海拔升高而增加,随温度升高而降低(T1Q10>T2Q10),并且具有惰性碳库Q10>缓效碳库Q10>活性碳库...     

抗除草剂转基因植物的杂草化类型与机理探讨

抗除草剂转基因植物(herbicide—resistant genetically-modified plant(HRGMP))己在全世界广为种植。由于种内、种间抗性基因的转移、互渗和某些转基因植物类型自身具有较强的杂草性,转基因植物的田间试验和商业化种植都存在着产生新的杂草类型,甚至超级杂草的风险。即形成：(1)逸生型杂草,(2)衰退型杂草,(3)超级杂草,对生物多样性构成威胁。