Intraspecific conflict over host manipulation between different larval stages of an acanthocephalan parasite

Competitive interactions between coinfecting parasites are expected to be strong when they affect transmission success. When transmission is enhanced by altering host behaviour, intraspecific conflict can lead to 'coinfection exclusion' by the first-in parasite or to a 'sabotage' of behavioural manipulation by the youngest noninfective parasite. We tested these hypotheses in the acanthocephalan parasite Pomphorhynchus laevis, reversing phototaxis in its intermediate host Gammarus pulex. No evidence was found for coinfection exclusion in gammarids sequentially exposed to infection. Behavioural manipulation was slightly weakened but not cancelled in gammarids infected with mixed larval stages. Therefore, coinfecting infective and noninfective larvae both suffered competition, potentially resulting in delayed transmission and increased risk of mortality, respectively. Consequently, noninfective larva is not just a 'passive passenger' in the manipulated host, which raises interesting questions about the selective pressures at play and the mechanisms underlying manipulation.     

Metal-directed affinity labeling of zinc(II), cobalt(II) and cadmium(II) horse liver alcohol dehydrogenases

The active site metal in horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase has been studied by metal-directed affinity labeling of the native zinc(II) enzyme and that substituted with cobalt(II) or cadmium(II). Reversible binding of bromoimidazolyl propionic acid to the cobalt enzyme blueshifts the visible absorption band originating from the catalytic cobalt atom at 655 to 630 nm. Binding of imidazole to the cobalt(II) enzyme redshifts the 655 nm band to 667 nm. Addition of bromoimidazolyl propionic acid blueshifts this 667 nm band back to 630 nm. This proves direct binding of the label to the active site metal in competition with imidazole. The affinity of the label for the reversible binding site in the three enzymes follows the order Zn ? Cd ? Co. After reversible complex formation, bromoimidazolyl propionic acid alkylates cysteine-46, one of the protein ligands to the active site metal. The nucleophilic reactivity of this metal-mercaptide bond in each reversible complex follows the order Co ? Zn ? Cd.     

Global synthesis of leaf area index observations: implications for ecological and remote sensing studies

Aim We present the first global synthesis of plant canopy leaf area index (LAI) measurements from more than 1000 published estimates representing ～400 unique field sites. LAI is a key variable for regional and global models of biosphere‐atmosphere exchanges of energy, carbon dioxide, water vapour, and other materials. Location The location is global, geographically distributed. Results Biomes with LAI values well represented in the literature included croplands, forests and plantations. Biomes not well represented were deserts, shrublands, tundra and wetlands. Nearly 40% of the records in the database were published in the past 10 years (1991–2000), with a further 20% collected between 1981 and 1990. Mean (± SD) LAI, distributed between 15 biome classes, ranged from 1.3 ± 0.9 for deserts to 8.7 ± 4.3 for tree plantations, with temperate evergreen forests (needleleaf and broadleaf) displaying the highest average LAI (5.1–6.7) among the natural terrestrial vegetation classes. Following a statistical outlier analysis, the global mean (± SD) LAI decreased from 5.2 (4.1) to 4.5 (2.5), with a maximum LAI of 18. Biomes with the highest LAI values were plantations > temperate evergreen forests > wetlands. Those with the lowest LAI values were deserts < grasslands < tundra. Mean LAI values for all biomes did not differ statistically by the methodology employed. Direct and indirect measurement approaches produced similar LAI results. Mean LAI values for all biomes combined decreased significantly in the 1990s, a period of substantially more studies and improved methodologies. Main conclusions Applications of the LAI database span a wide range of ecological, biogeochemical, physical, and climate research areas. The data provide input to terrestrial ecosystem and land‐surface models, for evaluation of global remote sensing products, for comparisons to field studies, and other applications. Example uses of the database for global plant productivity, fractional energy absorption, and remote sensing studies are highlighted.     

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Taxus chinensis var. mairei (Taxaceae): loss of an inverted repeat region and comparative analysis with related species

Taxus chinensis var. mairei (Taxaceae) is a domestic variety of yew species in local China. This plant is one of the sources for paclitaxel, which is a promising antineoplastic chemotherapy drugs during the last decade. We have sequenced the complete nucleotide sequence of the chloroplast (cp) genome of T. chinensis var. mairei. The T. chinensis var. mairei cp genome is 129,513 bp in length, with 113 single copy genes and two duplicated genes (trnI-CAU, trnQ-UUG). Among the 113 single copy genes, 9 are intron-containing. Compared to other land plant cp genomes, the T. chinensis var. mairei cp genome has lost one of the large inverted repeats (IRs) found in angiosperms, fern, liverwort, and gymnosperm such as Cycas revoluta and Ginkgo biloba L. Compared to related species, the gene order of T. chinensis var. mairei has a large inversion of ~ 110 kb including 91 genes (from rps18 to accD) with gene contents unarranged. Repeat analysis identified 48 direct and 2 inverted repeats 30 bp long or longer with a sequence identity greater than 90%. Repeated short segments were found in genes rps18, rps19 and clpP. Analysis also revealed 22 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci and almost all are composed of A or T.     

紫金山森林公园降温效应影响因素

城市绿地是城市自然景观的重要组成部分,探讨不同影响因素对城市绿地降温效应的影响规律,有助于城市绿地的空间布局规划与管理,以便更好地缓解城市热环境。以南京紫金山森林公园为研究区,沿陵园路—中山陵方向选取了5个植被结构相似的林地作为观测点,并以水泥地面为参照点,利用HOBO小型气象观测站对温度、湿度和风速等因子进行定点同步观测,并分别采用LAI-2200植物冠层分析仪、鱼眼相机和GPS手持导航仪获取各观测点的叶面积指数、天空可见度和高程信息,然后采用统计分析和相关分析方法,分别对绿地降温效应的日变化规律及其影响因素进行了定量分析。结果表明:各站点的温度变化趋势基本一致;与参考点相比,5个观测点在白天均有明显降温效果,13:00—16:00降温效应最强,而晚上降温效果很弱,甚至出现轻微的保温效应;降温幅度随大气温度的升高而增大,随相对湿度和风速的增大而减小;绿地叶面积指数、天空可见度和高程等因子对绿地降温效应在不同时段会产生不同程度的影响:叶面积指数与天空可见度在9:00—19:00间对降温效应的影响作用较为明显,但由于高温的影响,午后(13:00—15:00)影响作用较弱;在夜间,高程是主要影响因子。研究结果可为城市公园绿地的合理布局与绿化建设提供依据和参考。     

木本植物种子综合特征与催芽促进类型相关性的研究

木本植物种子的形态、解剖特征、大小、科属与催芽促进类型之间存在着五种相关性,即无胚乳的胚根裸露型种子--用低温或低温层积(0~5℃)处理;胚未分化或极细小或深休眠的种子--用低温(0~10℃)与高中温相结合处理;硬实种子及种皮障碍型种子--用热沸水浸种、化学药剂、机械破碎、干湿交替、细菌侵入、隔年埋藏等处理方法;小粒型种子--直播、变温或激素处理;直播即可发芽的种子--常温下(10~25℃)时,满足其必要的水分、空气等条件即可萌发。很多试验证明了方法的可靠性。     

不同麻醉方式对老年冠心病患者围术期血流动力学及ECG的影响

目的：探讨对择期腹部手术的老年冠心病患者心脏血流动力学及心脏电活动影响较小的麻醉方式。方法：133例择期腹腔手术的老年冠心病患者随机分为硬膜外麻醉组（EA）,全麻组（GA）和腰-硬联合麻醉组（CSEA）。术中连续监测,分时段记录平均动脉压（MAP）、心率（HR）、血氧饱和度（SaO2）及异常心电图,比较3组组间及组内差异。结果：麻醉后15 min和麻醉后30 min,GA组的SaO2明显高于EA组（P〈0.05）。麻醉后15min、30 min和60 min CSEA组MAP值比EA组明显升高（P〈0.05）;麻醉后30 min,CSEA组的HR比EA组明显升高（P〈0.05）;麻醉后15 min和30 min,CSEA组的SaO2比EA组明显升高（P〈0.05）。组内比较,EA组麻醉后15min、30 min、60 min,MAP、HR、SaO2三个指标均比麻醉前明显降低（P〈0.05）,GA组和CSEA组前后比较差异不明显（P〉0.05）。异常ECG,组间比较,GA组和CSEA组ST-T改变发生率在麻醉后15 min、30 min、60 min、术毕时均明显低于EA组（P〈0.05,P〈0.01）,GA组和CSEA组心律失常发生率在麻醉后15 min、30 min、60 min均明显低于EA组（P〈0.05,P〈0.01）;组内比较,GA组和CSEA组的ST-T改变和心律失常发生率在麻醉后15 min、30min、60 min、术毕时均明显低于麻醉前（P〈0.05,P〈0.01）。结论：老年冠心病患者腹腔手术时全麻和腰-硬联合麻醉术中血流动力学较稳定,心电异常发生率较小。     

NMR analyses on the interactions of the yeast Tim50 C-terminal region with the presequence and Tim50 core domain

The mitochondrial targeting signal in the presequence of mitochondrial precursor proteins is recognized by Tom20 and subsequently by Tim50 in mitochondria. Yeast Tim50 contains two presequence binding sites in the conserved core domain and in the fungi-specific C-terminal presequence binding domain (PBD). We report the NMR analyses on interactions of a shorter variant of PBD (sPBD), a shorter variant of PBD, with presequences. The presequence is recognized by sPBD in a similar manner to Tom20. sPBD can also bind to the core domain of Tim50 through the presequence binding region, which could promote transfer of the presequence from sPBD to the core domain in Tim50.     

Inclusive fitness in agriculture

Trade-offs between individual fitness and the collective performance of crop and below-ground symbiont communities are common in agriculture. Plant competitiveness for light and soil resources is key to individual fitness, but higher investments in stems and roots by a plant community to compete for those resources ultimately reduce crop yields. Similarly, rhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi may increase their individual fitness by diverting resources to their own reproduction, even if they could have benefited collectively by providing their shared crop host with more nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively. Past selection for inclusive fitness (benefits to others, weighted by their relatedness) is unlikely to have favoured community performance over individual fitness. The limited evidence for kin recognition in plants and microbes changes this conclusion only slightly. We therefore argue that there is still ample opportunity for human-imposed selection to improve cooperation among crop plants and their symbionts so that they use limited resources more efficiently. This evolutionarily informed approach will require a better understanding of how interactions among crops, and interactions with their symbionts, affected their inclusive fitness in the past and what that implies for current interactions.     

Melanocyte stem cells: a melanocyte reservoir in hair follicles for hair and skin pigmentation

Most mammals are coated with pigmented hair. Melanocytes in each hair follicle produce melanin pigments for the hair during each hair cycle. The key to understanding the mechanism of cyclic melanin production is the melanocyte stem cell (MelSC) population, previously known as 'amelanotic melanocytes'. The MelSCs directly adhere to hair follicle stem cells, the niche cells for MelSCs and reside in the hair follicle bulge-subbulge area, the lower permanent portion of the hair follicle, to serve as a melanocyte reservoir for skin and hair pigmentation. MelSCs form a stem cell system within individual hair follicles and provide a 'hair pigmentary unit' for each cycle of hair pigmentation. This review focuses on the identification of MelSCs and their characteristics and explains the importance of the MelSC population in the mechanisms of hair pigmentation, hair greying, and skin repigmentation.