Blood vessel adaptation to gravity in a semi-arboreal snake

The effects of vasoactive agonists on systemic blood vessels were examined with respect to anatomical location and gravity acclimation in the semi-arboreal snake, Elaphe Obsoleta. Major blood vessels were reactive to putative neurotransmitters, hormones or local factors in vessel specific patterns. Catecholamines, adenosine triphosphate, histamine and high potassium (80 mM) stimulated significantly greater tension per unit vessel mass in posterior than anterior arteries. Anterior vessels were significantly more sensitive to catecholamines than midbody and posterior vessels. Angiotensin II stimulated significantly greater tension in carotid artery than in midbody and posterior dorsal aorta. Arginine vasotocin strongly contracted the left and right aortic arches and anterior dorsal aorta. Veins were strongly contracted by catecholamines, high potassium and angiotensin II, but less so by adenosine triphosphate, arginine vasotocin and histamine. Precontracted vessels were relaxed by acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside, but not by atrial natriuretic peptide or bradykinin. Chronic exposure of snakes to intermittent hypergravity stress (+1.5 G_z at tail) did not affect the majority of vessel responses. These data demonstrate that in vitro tension correlates with known patterns of sympathetic innervation and suggest that catecholamines, as well as other agonists, are important in mediating vascular responses to gravitational stresses in snakes.Abbreviations ACH acetylcholine - ADA anterior dorsal aorta - ANG II salmon asn¹-val⁵-angiotensin II - ANP rat ile²⁶-atrial natriuretic peptide - ATP adenosine triphosphate - AVT arginine vasotocin - BK human bradykinin - BL total body length - CA carotid artery - CONT control - EC ₅₀ effective concentration producing 50% maximal response - EPI epinephrine - + G _z earth's gravity force - HI-G high gravity acclimation - HI K ⁺ 80 mM high potassium - JV jugular vein - LAA left aortic arch - MDA midbody dorsal aorta - MPV midbody portal vein - MS Mackenzie's solution - NEPI norepinephrine - pD ₂ log EC₅₀ - PDA posterior dorsal aorta - PPV posterior portal vein - RAA right aortic arch - SNP sodium nitroprusside     

贵州省荔波发现百花锦蛇

2010年7月～2012年8月,在贵州省荔波南方喀斯特世界自然遗产地进行脊椎动物物种多样性调查时,分别在板寨、瑶山、翁昂和洞塘采集到游蛇科蛇类标本共5条,经分类鉴定为锦蛇属(Elaphe)的百花锦蛇(E.moellendorffi),为该物种在贵州省内首次发现,增加了其在国内的分布点.     

人工养殖条件下三种锦蛇的粪便微生物多样性

采用高通量测序技术,分析比较了实验室人工饲养的王锦蛇(Elaphecarinata)、棕黑锦蛇(E.schrenckii)和赤峰锦蛇(E. anomala)3种锦蛇粪便样本的微生物多样性。结果显示,在送检的粪便样本中,Shannon多样性指数(P 0.05)和Simpson多样性指数(P 0.05)在王锦蛇和棕黑锦蛇之间有显著性差异,赤峰锦蛇与前两者均没有差异;ace与chao1指数在3种锦蛇之间没有显著性差异。共检测出8个菌门,厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)、拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)和变形菌门(Proteobacteria)是3种锦蛇共享菌门。在属水平上3种锦蛇的优势菌群明显不同,志贺氏菌属(Shigella)、梭状芽胞杆菌属(Clostridium_sensu_stricto_11)及拟杆菌属(Bacteroides)分别是王锦蛇、棕黑锦蛇和赤峰锦蛇粪便样本中相对丰度最高的菌属。3种锦蛇粪便微生物多样性存在着明显的差异,但其是否可以作为区分这3种锦蛇的依据还需要进一步研究。     

Mitochondrial DNA phylogeography of the polytypic North American rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta): a critique of the subspecies concept

Subspecies have been considered artificial subdivisions of species, pattern classes, or incipient species. However, with more data and modern phylogenetic techniques, some subspecies may be found to represent true species. Mitochondrial DNA analysis of the polytypic snake, Elaphe obsoleta, yields well-supported clades that do not conform to any of the currently accepted subspecies. Complete nucleotide sequences of the cytochrome b gene and the mitochondrial control region produced robust maximum-parsimony and maximum-likelihood trees that do not differ statistically. Both trees were significantly shorter than a most parsimonious tree in which each subspecies was constrained to be monophyletic. Thus, the subspecies of E. obsoleta do not represent distinct genetic lineages. Instead, the evidence points to three well-supported mitochondrial DNA clades confined to particular geographic areas in the eastern United States. This research underscores the potential problems of recognizing subspecies based on one or a few characters.     

内蒙古蛇类新纪录——双斑锦蛇

2007年8月17日在内蒙古赤峰市巴林右旗北部的赛罕乌拉国家级自然保护区进行野生动物多样性调查时,首次发现双斑锦蛇(Elaphe bimaculata),随后又分别于2008年8月、2009年10月4次在保护区内发现该蛇种,2次为成年个体,1次为幼体,经核查鉴定该蛇为内蒙古蛇类新纪录。     

黑眉锦蛇消化道6种酶的组织化学定位

目的研究黑眉锦蛇消化道酸性磷酸酶(ACP)、碱性磷酸酶(ALP)、过氧化物酶(POX)、非特异性酯酶(NSE)、腺苷三磷酸酶(ATPase)、琥珀酸脱氢酶(SDH)等酶的分布。方法消化道分8个部位取材,应用冰冻切片、石蜡切片、酶组织化学技术及光密度定量分析。结果 ACP主要分布于十二指肠至回肠的黏膜上皮,十二指肠和空肠酶活性显著较高(P<0.05);ALP分布于食管、十二指肠至回肠的黏膜上皮,十二指肠酶活性最高(P<0.05);POX和NSE在整个消化道黏膜上皮和黏膜固有层中均有分布,胃幽门和直肠酶活性较低(P<0.05);ATPase在消化道除直肠未检测到酶活性外,其它部位均有分布,以十二指肠酶活性最高(P<0.05);SDH除食管未检测到酶活性外,其它部位均有分布,胃中胃腺部酶活性较高(P<0.05)。结论黑眉锦蛇消化道黏膜酶的分布同其它动物有相似之处,也有其自身特点。不同酶的分布和消化道各部位的生理机能密切相关。     

Apparent decoupling of prey recognition ability with prey availability in an insular snake population

Numerous studies on the feeding behavior of snakes have reported the consistency of tongue-flick responses with their natural diets. For representatives of widely distributed, dietary generalist species from particular localities, we can expect that their tongue-flick responses to potential prey unavailable in their original habitats have been reduced whereas those to prey common in the habitats have been enhanced. To test this hypothesis, intraspecific variation in tongue-flick responses to prey chemicals was examined using ingestively naive snakes (Elaphe quadrivirgata) from dietarily different populations: populations from the main Japanese island, where the snakes' diet predominantly consists of sympatric frogs, and from Mikura-jima Island, where no frogs occur and the snakes thus chiefly prey on lizards. We presented chemical stimuli from six items including those from their natural and potential prey (fish, frog, lizard, mouse, water, and cologne) to newborn snakes. Significant effects of stimuli on the tongue-flick responses were detected. On the other hand, effects of population and interaction between stimuli and population were not significant, and individual comparisons revealed no significant interlocality differences in responses to either frog or lizard chemicals. Thus, our hypothesis was not supported. However, in the Mikura-jima sample, significantly fewer snakes responded to frog chemicals than in the main island sample. The significance of the inconsistency between prey recognition ability and prey availability in the Mikura-jima population are discussed. Received: October 17, 2000 / Accepted: December 14, 2000     

棕黑锦蛇赤峰亚种染色体组型、C带和Ag-NORs研究

以骨髓细胞为材料研究了棕黑锦蛇赤峰亚种的染色体, 结果表明,该物种的2n=36,由8对大型的和10对微小的染色体组成,AF=50。No.4为性染色体(ZW型);所有大型染色体均显示端粒深染C带,但仅NO.2、3、5和Z染色体显示着丝粒浅染C带。W染色体为整条C带阳性;该物种一对NOR分布于微小染色体。锦蛇属核型可能经历过染色体间的着丝粒融合的罗伯逊易位。 Abstract:This paper reports the karyotype,C-bands and Ag-NORs of Elaphe schrenckii anomala(Boulenger).The diploid number,2n=36,comprising 8 pairs of macro- and 10 pairs of microchromosomes in the E.s.anomala.AF=50.The No.4 is sex chromosome,which belong to ZW type.The C-banding technique revealed telomeric constitutive heterochromatin in the whole macrochromosome.But the centromeric C band was only observed in No.2,3,5 and Z chromosome,while a whole W chromosome is constitutive heterochromatinization.Two NORs was observed in group of microchromosome.     

Molecular systematics of New World lampropeltinine snakes (Colubridae): implications for biogeography and evolution of food habits

We used mitochondrial gene sequences to infer phylogenetic relationships among North American snakes of the colubrid tribe Lampropeltini (Arizona, Bogertophis, Cemophora , New World Elaphe, Lampropellis, Pituophis, Rhinocheilus, Senticolis, Stilosoma) , and assessed the implications of our findings for the biogeography and evolution of food habits among these serpents. The maximum likelihood phylogeny identified Rhinocheilus as the sister taxon to all other lampropeltinines, and supported the monophyly of Lampropeltis (including Stilosoma) , New World Elaphe , and Pituophis , but not that of Bogertophis. This phylogeny also suggested a sister group relationship between Cemophora and Lampropeltis , and between New World Elaphe and Pituophis , and strongly supported that Sentkolis belongs within Lampropeltini, thus contradicting previous suggestions that Senticolis is not a lampropeltinine. Using a method for approximating ancestral areas of clades, we determined that western North America was most likely the ancestral area of lampropeltinines. Our survey of published studies, combined with unpublished data, indicated that lampropeltinines as a group feed mainly on mammals, less frequently on lizards, birds, and bird eggs, and only rarely on squamate eggs, snakes, anurans, and insects. Some individual species indeed emphasize mammals in their diets, but others most frequently eat lizards, squamate eggs, bird eggs, or snakes, whereas others take two prey types with similar frequency. Our reconstruction of the evolution of food habits among lampropeltinines suggests that a diet emphasizing lizards is ancestral, and therefore diets that mosdy consist of mammals, squamate and bird eggs, and snakes are derived within the clade. In at least some species, smaller individuals prey mostly on lizards and larger ones add mammals to their diets.