淹水和干旱条件下水稻根系形成的QTLs及候选基因分析

为了研究不同水分条件下组成型根系性状和适应性根系性状的遗传机制,利用由IR64／Azucena发展的双单倍体（DH）群体分析了淹水和干旱条件下水稻幼苗种子根长（SRL）、不定根数（ARN）、总根干重（RW）及其对应的相对参数（干旱和淹水条件下根系性状的比值）的QTLs。淹水与干旱条件下检测到一个共同的种子根长QTL和一个共同的总根干重QTL。同时对前人发表的遗传群体定位的根系性状QTLs进行比较分析,检测到几个共同的根系性状QTLs。对与细胞伸长、分裂相关的候选基因进行了定位,其中4个细胞壁相关的ESTs（OsEXP2,OsEXP4,EXT和Xet）被定位在与不同水分条件下检测出的根系性状QTLs的相同区间。     

Optimal Transmission Radius for Flooding in Large Scale Sensor Networks

One of the principal characteristics of large scale wireless sensor networks is their distributed, multi-hop nature. Due to this characteristic, applications such as query propagation rely regularly on network-wide flooding for information dissemination. If the transmission radius is not set optimally, the flooded packet may be holding the transmission medium for longer periods than are necessary, reducing overall network throughput. We analyze the impact of the transmission radius on the average settling time—the time at which all nodes in the network finish transmitting the flooded packet. Our analytical model takes into account the behavior of the underlying contention-based MAC protocol, as well as edge effects and the size of the network. We show that for large wireless networks there exists an intermediate transmission radius which minimizes the settling time, corresponding to an optimal tradeoff between reception and contention times. We also explain how physical propagation models affect small wireless networks and why there is no intermediate optimal transmission radius observed in these cases. The mathematical analysis is supported and validated through extensive simulations.Marco Zuniga is currently a PhD student in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Southern California. He received his Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru in 1998, and his Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 2002. His interests are in the area of Wireless Sensor Networks in general, and more specifically in studying the interaction amongst different layers to improve the performance of these networks. He is a member of IEEE and the Phi Kappa Phi Honor society.Bhaskar Krishnamachari is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC), where he also holds a joint appointment in the Department of Computer Science. He received his Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering with a four-year full-tuition scholarship from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 1998. He received his Masters degree and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University in 1999 and 2002, under a four-year university graduate fellowship. Dr. Krishnamacharis previous research has included work on critical density thresholds in wireless networks, data centric routing in sensor networks, mobility management in cellular telephone systems, multicast flow control, heuristic global optimization, and constraint satisfaction. His current research is focused on the discovery of fundamental principles and the analysis and design of protocols for next generation wireless sensor networks. He is a member of IEEE, ACM and the Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu Engineering Honor Societies     

Gauging resource exploitation by juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in restoring estuarine habitat

In the context of delta restoration and its impact on salmonid rearing, success is best evaluated based on whether out‐migrating juvenile salmon can access and benefit from suitable estuarine habitat. Here, we integrated 3 years of post‐restoration monitoring data including habitat availability, invertebrate prey biomass, and juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) physiological condition to determine whether individuals profited from the addition of 364 ha of delta habitat in South Puget Sound, Washington, United States. Productivity in the restored mudflat was comparable to reference sites 3 years after dike removal, surpassing a mean total of 6 million kJ energy from invertebrate prey. This resulted from the development of a complex network of tidal channels and a resurgence in dipteran biomass that was unique to the restoration area. Consequently, a notable shift in invertebrate consumption occurred between 2010 and 2011, whereby individuals switched from eating primarily amphipods to dipteran flies; however, dietary similarity to the surrounding habitat did not change from year to year, suggesting that this shift was a result of a change in the surrounding prey communities. Growth rates did not differ between restored and reference sites, but catch weight was positively correlated with prey biomass, where greater prey productivity appeared to offset potential density‐dependent effects. These results demonstrate how the realized function of restoring estuarine habitat is functionally dependent. High prey productivity in areas with greater connectivity may support healthy juvenile salmon that are more likely to reach the critical size class for offshore survival.     

盐度和淹水对长江口潮滩盐沼植物碳储量的影响

盐生植物是盐沼有机碳储存的"临时库",也是土壤有机碳累积的主要来源,其碳储量大小对盐沼生态系统"碳汇"功能的发挥十分重要。以长江口潮滩本地种芦苇(Phragmites australis)和海三棱藨草(Scirpus mariqueter),及入侵种互花米草(Spartina alterniflora)为研究对象,采用单因素盆栽实验,模拟分析淹水盐度(0、5、10、15、25和35)、淹水深度(0、10、20、40、60cm和80cm)和淹水频率(每天、每3天、每7天、每10天和每15天)变化对各盐生植物地上、地下和总体碳储量大小的影响。研究结果表明,随着淹水盐度增加,芦苇、互花米草和海三棱藨草地上部分与总体碳储量均显著降低。土壤盐度可分别解释其地上部分碳储量变异的47.2%、66.5%和72.7%,与总体碳储量变异的34.7%、45.0%和62.0%。随着淹水深度增加,芦苇地上部分、总体碳储量和海三棱藨草地上部分碳储量均显著降低,其变异的68.6%、28.5%和71.1%可由淹水深度变化(10—80cm)解释。互花米草在80cm淹水深度下仍有较高的地上部分碳储量和总体碳储量。3种盐生植物碳储量对淹水频率变化的响应差异均不显著,所有处理地下部分碳储量差异也未达到显著水平。总体而言,互花米草对水盐胁迫的耐受性要强于本地种芦苇和海三棱藨草。尽管互花米草和芦苇具有相对较高的碳储量,但水盐胁迫对其碳储量的显著抑制作用不容忽视。海三棱藨草碳储量本就不高,输入土壤的有机碳量较为有限,海平面上升及盐水入侵等逆境胁迫会使其对盐沼"碳汇"贡献更加微弱。     

Total ecosystem carbon stocks at the marine‐terrestrial interface: Blue carbon of the Pacific Northwest Coast,United States

The coastal ecosystems of temperate North America provide a variety of ecosystem services including high rates of carbon sequestration. Yet, little data exist for the carbon stocks of major tidal wetland types in the Pacific Northwest, United States. We quantified the total ecosystem carbon stocks (TECS) in seagrass, emergent marshes, and forested tidal wetlands, occurring along increasing elevation and decreasing salinity gradients. The TECS included the total aboveground carbon stocks and the entire soil profile (to as deep as 3 m). TECS significantly increased along the elevation and salinity gradients: 217 ± 60 Mg C/ha for seagrass (low elevation/high salinity), 417 ± 70 Mg C/ha for low marsh, 551 ± 47 Mg C/ha for high marsh, and 1,064 ± 38 Mg C/ha for tidal forest (high elevation/low salinity). Soil carbon stocks accounted for >98% of TECS in the seagrass and marsh communities and 78% in the tidal forest. Soils in the 0–100 cm portion of the profile accounted for only 48%–53% of the TECS in seagrasses and marshes and 34% of the TECS in tidal forests. Thus, the commonly applied limit defining TECS to a 100 cm depth would greatly underestimate both carbon stocks and potential greenhouse gas emissions from land‐use conversion. The large carbon stocks coupled with other ecosystem services suggest value in the conservation and restoration of temperate zone tidal wetlands through climate change mitigation strategies. However, the findings suggest that long‐term sea‐level rise effects such as tidal inundation and increased porewater salinity will likely decrease ecosystem carbon stocks in the absence of upslope wetland migration buffer zones.     

An active learning approach to investigate the ecosystem of tide flats using 3D modeling and printing

ABSTRACT

This paper presents an active learning approach that focuses on practical investigation of the ecosystem of tidal flats using 3D modeling and printing for biology students in order to enhance understanding of natural selection. The learning approach for the study followed a 5-step procedure: i) learning about 3D modeling and printing, ii) exploration of the ecosystem of tidal flats, iii) 3D designing of a bird beak, iv) 3D printing of a constructed beak, and v) a natural selection simulation activity. The learning method presented in this study centered on active student exploration of the tidal flats ecosystem using 3D modeling and printing. The learning approach presented in this paper could be implicated at schools to aid in students’ understanding of natural selection as it allows students to firsthand examine simulation changes to a bird beak and benthic communities. This study suggested the active learning method for natural selection as it incorporates student-designed exploration and direct investigative appraisal of the selection process.     

Physiological and Molecular Basis of Susceptibility and Tolerance of Rice Plants to Complete Submergence

Rice plants are much damaged by several days of total submergence.The effect can be a serious problem for rice farmers in therainfed lowlands of Asia, and runs contrary to a widespreadbelief amongst plant biologists that rice is highly tolerantof submergence. This article assesses the characteristics ofthe underwater environment that may damage rice plants, examinesvarious physiological mechanisms of injury, and reviews recentprogress achieved using linkage mapping to locate quantitativetraits loci (QTL) for tolerance inherited from a submergence-tolerantcultivar FR13A. Progress towards identifying the gene(s) involvedthrough physical mapping of a dominant tolerance locus on chromosome9 is also summarized. Available physiological evidence pointsaway from responses to oxygen shortage as being inextricablyinvolved in submergence injury. An imbalance between productionand consumption of assimilates is seen as being especially harmful,and is exacerbated by strongly accelerated leaf extension andleaf senescence that are ethylene-mediated and largely absentfrom FR13A and related cultivars. DNA markers for a major QTLfor tolerance are shown to be potentially useful in breedingprogrammes designed to improve submergence tolerance.     

水淹生境下秋华柳对Cd污染土壤微生物数量及酶活性的影响

三峡库区消落带面临水淹及Cd污染双重胁迫,为探究秋华柳(Salix variegata Franch.)在水淹条件下对Cd污染土壤的修复能力,以秋华柳扦插苗为试验材料,设置正常供水(CK)和水淹组(FL)两个水分处理方式,4个Cd浓度梯度:对照组(0mg/kg)、低浓度(0.5mg/kg)、中浓度(2mg/kg)及高浓度(10mg/kg),分别对处理60 d和120 d的土壤微生物数量及酶活性变化特征进行研究。试验结果表明:(1)Cd浓度处理均未显著影响土壤微生物数量(P0.05),水淹显著降低处理60 d土壤细菌数、真菌数及处理120 d的土壤放线菌数及真菌数(P0.05)。(2)种植秋华柳显著提高处理60 d土壤细菌数量(P0.05),对土壤放线菌、真菌数量也有一定提升。(3)Cd浓度处理显著影响处理60 d土壤磷酸酶活性及处理120 d脲酶活性(P0.05),水淹显著降低处理60 d土壤磷酸酶活性及处理120 d脲酶、蔗糖酶和磷酸酶活性(P0.05)。(4)正常供水及水淹条件下,种植秋华柳对土壤酶活均有一定改善作用。种植秋华柳显著提高了处理60 d土壤磷酸酶活性以及处理120 d脲酶和蔗糖酶活性(P0.05)。研究结果表明:水淹生境中,秋华柳对Cd污染土壤微生物数量及酶活性具有改善作用,在Cd污染土壤修复方面有一定应用前景。     

Acclimation to Soil Flooding–sensing and signal-transduction

Flooding results in major changes in the soil environment. The slow diffusion rate of gases in water limits the oxygen supply, which affects aerobic root respiration as well as many (bio)geochemical processes in the soil. Plants from habitats subject to flooding have developed several ways to acclimate to these growth-inhibiting conditions, ranging from pathways that enable anaerobic metabolism to specific morphological and anatomical structures that prevent oxygen shortage. In order to acclimate in a timely manner, it is crucial that a flooding event is accurately sensed by the plant. Sensing may largely occur in two ways: by the decrease of oxygen concentration, and by an increase in ethylene. Although ethylene sensing is now well understood, progress in unraveling the sensing of oxygen has been made only recently. With respect to the signal-transduction pathways, two types of acclimation have received most attention. Aerenchyma formation, to promote gas diffusion through the roots, seems largely under control of ethylene, whereas adventitious root development appears to be induced by an interaction between ethylene and auxin. Parts of these pathways have been described for a range of species, but a complete overview is not yet available. The use of molecular-genetic approaches may fill the gaps in our knowledge, but a lack of suitable model species may hamper further progress.