Ecological distribution and niche segregation of sibling species: the case of bean beetles, Acanthoscelides obtectus Say and A. obvelatus Bridwell

Abstract.  1. Molecular techniques have greatly added to the number of known sympatric cryptic species in insects. Ecological differences between these newly distinguished species are little explored, but niches often appear to overlap strongly. These cases are good models for exploring new ideas about species coexistence and community structure.
2.  Acanthoscelides obtectus and A. obvelatus are two sister species of bean bruchids, which have been confused until the last decade. One important ecological difference between them has emerged, however: A. obtectus is multivoltine and now distributed worldwide, whereas A. obvelatus is univoltine and restricted to Mesoamerica. Where their ranges overlap, the two species share the same host plants and larvae can sometimes complete development in the same seed.
3. The analysis of 27 622 Mexican individuals of the two species in 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 indicates that their niches overlap, but are differentiated with respect to altitude and the kind of beans (wild vs. domesticated). The principal patterns in their relative abundance in different habitats, and at different seasons, were constant from one year to the next.
4. As sympatry of these species seems to be of recent origin, the observed niche differentiation may not have evolved in response to competition, but could instead be the consequence of physiological differences, evolved independently in each species in allopatry, that pre-adapted them for different altitudes and kinds of resources.
5. The combination of biological and historical factors thus appears to allow these two sibling species to coexist in sympatry, despite their broadly overlapping ecological niches.     

Developmental downregulation of GABAergic drive parallels formation of functional synapses in cultured mouse neocortical networks

Networks of cortical neurons in vitro spontaneously develop synchronous oscillatory electrical activity at around the second week in culture. However, the underlying mechanisms and in particular the role of GABAergic interneurons in initiation and synchronization of oscillatory activity in developing cortical networks remain elusive. Here, we examined the intrinsic properties and the development of GABAergic and glutamatergic input onto presumed projection neurons (PNs) and large interneurons (L-INs) in cortical cultures of GAD67-GFP mice. Cultures developed spontaneous synchronous activity already at 5-7 days in vitro (DIV), as revealed by imaging transient changes in Fluo-3 fluorescence. Concurrently, spontaneous glutamate-mediated and GABA(A)-mediated postsynaptic currents (sPSCs) occured at 5 DIV. For both types of neurons the frequency of glutamatergic and GABAergic sPSCs increased with DIV, whereas the charge transfer of glutamatergic sPSCs increased and the charge transfer of GABAergic sPSCs decreased with cultivation time. The ratio between GABAergic and the overall charge transfer was significantly reduced with DIV for L-INs and PNs, indicating an overall reduction in GABAergic synaptic drive with maturation of the network. In contrast, analysis of miniature PSCs (mPSCs) revealed no significant changes of charge transfer with DIV for both types of neurons, indicating that the reduction in GABAergic drive was not due to a decreased number of functional synapses. Our data suggest that the global reduction in GABAergic synaptic drive together with more synaptic input to PNs and L-INs during maturation may enhance rhythmogenesis of the network and increase the synchronization at the level of population bursts.     

NEW MURID RODENTS FROM THE LATE CENOZOIC OF YUSHE BASIN, SHANXI

<正> As scientific collaborators of the Chinese-American joint project "Neogene Rocks and Faunas, Yushe Basin, Shanxi, PRC", the present authors, with William R. Downs, Northern Arizona University, sampled the Yushe microfauna in the fall of 1987 and 1988. The fossil temains were retrieved by surface collection and by wet-sieving bulk quantities of sediment.     

Comparison on the genotoxic effects of nuclear vs cytoplas-mic irradiation from the alteration of CD59 gene locus

Using microbeam to irradiate human-hamster hybrid AL cells with defined number of a particles in a highly localized spatial region, this paper showed that cytoplasmic irradiation induced very little toxicity. For example, the cell killing by 4α particle traversal through the cytoplasm was about 10%, and about 70% cells survived after their cytoplasm was irradiated with 32 a particles. In contrast, the survival fractions for nuclear irradiation at the same doses were 35% and less than 1% respectively. Mutation induction showed that while nuclear irradiation induced 3-4-fold more CD59- mutants than cytoplasmic irradiation at equivalent particle traversal, at an equitoxic dose level of 90% survival, the latter exposure mode induced 3.3-fold more mutants than nuclear irradiation. Moreover, using multiplex PCR to analyze five marker genes on chromosome 11 (WT, CAT, PTH, APO-A1 and RAS), the results showed that the majority of mutants induced by cytoplasmic irradiation had retained all of the marker genes ana     

Analysis of ESTs from multiple Gossypium hirsutum tissues and identification of SSRs.

In an effort to expand the Gossypium hirsutum L. (cotton) expressed sequence tag (EST) database, ESTs representing a variety of tissues and treatments were sequenced. Assembly of these sequences with ESTs already in the EST database (dbEST, GenBank) identified 9675 cotton sequences not present in GenBank. Statistical analysis of a subset of these ESTs identified genes likely differentially expressed in stems, cotyledons, and drought-stressed tissues. Annotation of the differentially expressed cDNAs tentatively identified genes involved in lignin metabolism, starch biosynthesis and stress response, consistent with pathways likely to be active in the tissues under investigation. Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified among these ESTs, and an inexpensive method was developed to screen genomic DNA for the presence of these SSRs. At least 69 SSRs potentially useful in mapping were identified. Selected amplified SSRs were isolated and sequenced. The sequences corresponded to the EST containing the SSRs, confirming that these SSRs will potentially map the gene represented by the EST. The ESTs containing SSRs were annotated to help identify the genes that may be mapped using these markers.     

粉纹夜蛾单粒包埋核型多角体病毒在同源细胞系中连续传代的研究(英文)

本文研究了粉纹夜蛾单粒包埋核型多角体病毒 (TnSNPV)在同源细胞连续传代及测定病毒特性的变化。结果表明 ,TnSNPV病毒的分子量为 115.8kbp。感染细胞 8小时后病毒开始复制 ,4 0h达到最大量。在整个传代期间 ,芽生病毒 (BV)对Tn 5B1 4细胞一直有很强的侵染力 ,大约可保持在 5.0logT CID50 /mL的侵染力。但随着传递代数的增加 ,多角体产量及对幼虫的侵染力明显下降 ;电镜观察结果发现 ,来自传代早期 (10代前 )的病毒克隆产生正常的多角体 ,内含大量的病毒粒子 ,而来自传代后期(15代以后 )的病毒克隆多为无粒子的多角体 ;内切酶分析和DNA杂交结果表明 ,分离的病毒克隆株与野生型病毒的基因组同源 ,通过连续传代后 ,发生某些DNA片段的缺失。因此 ,这些特性的改变是导致对幼虫毒力下降和产量降低的主要因素。     

Isolation of a Novel Early Drought Responding Partial cDNA Sequence from Rice by Differential Display of mRNA

Total RNA isolated from control as well as stressed rice seedlings was reverse transcribed and subjected to radioactive PCR for differential display. A partial cDNA corresponding to moisture stress was isolated and sequenced. The clone showed homology to lysine transport protein /lysine specific permease.     

Cloning of new members of heat shock protein HSP101 gene family in wheat (Triticum aestivum (L.) Moench) inducible by heat, dehydration, and ABA(1)

We have cloned two cDNAs, TaHSP101B and TaHSP101C, encoding two heat stress-inducible members of HSP101/ClpB family in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum (L.) Moench.). Proteins encoded by these cDNAs are highly similar at the primary sequence level and diverged from the previously reported TaHSP101 (designated TaHSP101A) both in the consensus ATP/GTP-binding region II and in the carboxy terminal region. The HSP101 gene was determined to be a single copy gene or a member of a small gene family in hexaploid wheat. Messages encoding HSP101 proteins were inducible by heat stress treatments in both wheat leaves and roots. Accumulation of the TaHSP101C mRNA was less abundant than that of TaHSP101B mRNA. We are showing for the first time that in addition to heat stress, expression of HSP101 mRNAs in wheat leaves was induced by a 2-h dehydration and a treatment with 5x10(-5)M ABA, but not affected by chilling or wounding, indicating that HSP101 proteins may be involved in both heat and drought responses in wheat.