元江干热河谷肉质多利灌丛的研究

以内质多刺植物霸王鞭(Euphorbia royleana)和仙人掌(Opuntia monacantha)为特征的具有荒漠植被景观的元江干热河谷肉质多刺灌丛是一种特殊的次生植被,是在近代原生植被的强烈破坏下,栽培逸生的霸王鞭和仙人掌在局部特别千热土薄多石之处发展而形成的。该群落外貌和结构特殊,可初步定为一个群丛,下分两个亚群丛。在种类组成上,该群落与热带亚洲干早植物区系联系密切,在区系起源上具有古南大陆残余背景,在群落形成和发展上又与人为活动相联系。     

Bacterial isolates harboring antibiotics and heavy-metal resistance genes co-existing with mobile genetic elements in natural aquatic water bodies

The rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and contamination of water bodies is a serious issue that demands immense attention of scientific acumen. Here, we examined the pervasiveness of ESBL producing bacteria in Dal Lake and Wular Lake of Kashmir valley, India. Isolates were screened for antibiotic, heavy metal resistant elements, and their coexistence with mobile genetic elements. Out of two hundred one isolates screened, thirty-eight were found positive for ESBL production. Antibiotic profiling of ESBL positive isolates with 16 different drugs representing β-lactam or -non-β-lactam, exhibited multidrug resistance phenotype among 55% isolates. Molecular characterization revealed the occurrence of drug resistance determinants blaTEM, AmpC, qnrS, and heavy metal resistance genes (MRGs) merB, merP, merT, silE, silP, silS, and arsC. Furthermore, mobile genetic elements IntI, SulI, ISecp1, TN3, TN21 were also detected. Conjugation assay confirmed the transfer of different ARGs, HMRGs, and mobile elements in recipient Escherichia coli J53 AZ^R strain. Plasmid incompatibility studies showed blaTEM to be associated with Inc groups B/O, HI1, HI2, I1, N, FIA, and FIB. Co-occurrence of blaTEM, HMRGs, and mobile elements from the aquatic milieu of Kashmir, India has not been reported so far. From this study, the detection of the blaTEM gene in the bacteria Bacillus simplex and Brevibacterium frigoritolerans are found for the first time. Considering all the facts it becomes crucial to conduct studies in natural aquatic environments that could help depict the epidemiological situations in which the resistance mechanism might have clinical relevance.     

Histone H3K27 dimethylation landscapes contribute to genome stability and genetic recombination during wheat polyploidization

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is an allohexaploid that was formed via two allopolyploidization events. Growing evidence suggests histone modifications are involved in the response to ‘genomic shock’ and environmental adaptation during polyploid formation and evolution. However, the role of histone modifications, especially histone H3 lysine-27 dimethylation (H3K27me2), in genome evolution remains elusive. Here we analyzed H3K27me2 and H3K27me3 profiles in hexaploid wheat and its tetraploid and diploid relatives. Although H3K27me3 levels were relatively stable among wheat species with different ploidy levels, H3K27me2 intensities increased concurrent with increased ploidy levels, and H3K27me2 peaks were colocalized with massively amplified DTC transposons (CACTA family) in euchromatin, which may silence euchromatic transposons to maintain genome stability during polyploid wheat evolution. Consistently, the distribution of H3K27me2 is mutually exclusive with another repressive histone mark, H3K9me2, that mainly silences transposons in heterochromatic regions. Remarkably, the regions with low H3K27me2 levels (named H3K27me2 valleys) were associated with the formation of DNA double-strand breaks in genomes of wheat, maize (Zea mays) and Arabidopsis. Our results provide a comprehensive view of H3K27me2 and H3K27me3 distributions during wheat evolution, which support roles for H3K27me2 in silencing euchromatic transposons to maintain genome stability and in modifying genetic recombination landscapes. These genomic insights may empower breeding improvement of crops.     

元江干热河谷木质藤本的多样性及其与宿主树木的关系

木质藤本是森林生态系统的重要组分。本研究在元江干热河谷地区随机设置了30个20 m×20 m的样方,调查样方中胸径≥0.5 cm的木质藤本多样性及其与宿主树木之间的关系。结果显示:30个样方中记录到胸径≥0.5 cm的木质藤本植物共945株(隶属于22种20属11科),其中,豆科木质藤本的丰富度和多度最高;胸径≤2 cm的木质藤本占个体总数的63.7%;茎缠绕类木质藤本的个体数最多。样方中胸径≥5 cm的树木共有1060株(隶属于38种31属16科),36.0%的树木上至少附藤1株。不同径级和不同树皮粗糙度的树木被木质藤本侵扰的百分比之间存在极显著差异(P0.001)。随着宿主树木平均枝下高的增加,附藤率呈下降趋势。76.5%的木质藤本选择离其根生长点最近的树木进行攀援。表明元江干热河谷中的木质藤本以小径级占优势,树木胸径、枝下高、树皮粗糙度和木质藤本根生长点到树木的距离是影响木质藤本侵扰树木的重要因素,支持木质藤本对宿主树木的侵扰具有选择性的假说。研究结果对中国西南干热河谷退化植被的恢复与物种多样性保护具有重要意义。     

Determination of species-area relationships and minimum sampling area for the shrub communities in the arid valley in the upper reach of the Minjiang River, China

The minimum sampling areas (MSAs) for the shrub communities in the arid valley in the upper reach of the Minjiang River, China, were studied by fitting community species-area relationships using 3 types of equations. The MSAs were determined at the proportional factor (ρ) 0.6, 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9. The proportional factors represent the proportion of the number of species within a sampling plot in the total number of species. The MSAs of the shrub communities at different elevations and on different slope faces for ρ = 0.6, 0.7 and 0.8 were all around 100 m². Hence, the MSAs could be set to be 100 m² (10 m × 10 m) at 60%–80% precision levels. For ρ = 0.9, that is, for a 90% precision level, the MSAs were less than 200 m² (10 m × 20 m). The MSAs and species richness increased gradually with the rising elevation. At the elevation below 2000 m, the MSAs and species richness on the north-facing slope were larger than those on the south-facing slope. However, at the elevation around 2200 m, there was no difference amongst different facing slopes. For the shrub communities in the arid valley in the upper reach of the Minjiang River, the species-area curves by fitting the first two equations are better than that by fitting the third equation.     

淮河下游地区针叶林多样性研究

淮河下游地区针叶林多样性研究阎传海（徐州师范大学地理系,２２１００９）ＡＳｔｕｄｙｏｆＤｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙｏｆｔｈｅＣｏｎｉｆｅｒｏｕｓＦｏｒｅｓｔｉｎｔｈｅＬｏｗｅｒＨｕａｉｈｅＶａｌｅｙ．ＹａｎＣｈｕａｎｈａｉ（ＤｅｐａｒｔｍｅｎｔｏｆＧｅｏｇｒ...     

Phenological mapping in a topographically complex landscape by combining field survey with an irradiation model

Abstract. A phenological map has been prepared for the Podyjí/Thayatal National Park, located on the border between the Czech Republic and Austria. The area is characterized by V-shaped river valleys deeply incised into a gently undulating landscape. Five stages of phenological development were defined, based upon phenological spectra of plant communities in late April; 96 sites, more or less regularly spaced over the area, were assigned to one of these stages using field observations of these spectra. Potential direct solar irradiation was calculated from a digital elevation model for a 25 m x 25 m grid extending over the study area. A method was developed for interpolation of phenological observations by weighted regression of phenology on the irradiation model. This interpolation enables the prediction of the local stage of phenological development across the study area without levelling out phenological patterns dependent upon small-scale topographic variation. Spring phenological events appear to be more advanced in the valleys (except for steep north-facing slopes) than in the adjacent landscape. Possible climatic processes underlying this pattern are discussed with emphasis on temperature inversions in the river valleys. Cold-air-drainage inversions reported from the valleys are probably too infrequent and of too short duration to delay plant phenology. The combined effects of advanced phenology and the increased risk of spring frost injury due to these inversions in the valleys may be an explanation for local distributional patterns of flora and vegetation.     

Plant community distribution and variation along the Awash river corridor in the main Ethiopian rift

The vegetation along the Awash River (1200-km long) in the main Ethiopian Rift, and its relationship with environmental factors was studied. Seven plant communities were described from the study area: (1) Acacia nilotica subsp . leiocarpa. – Carissa edulis type; (2) Acacia robusta subsp . usambarensis – Acokanthera schimperi type; (3) Celtis africana – Mimusops laurifolia type; (4) Acacia senegal – Acacia mellifera – Dobera glabra type; (5) Acacia nilotica subsp. indica – Ficus capreaefolia type; (6) Lannea schimperi – Glycine wightii type; and (7) Tamarix nilotica – Acacia hocki community type. It has been shown that the plant communities along the river follow an altitudinal gradient. The vegetation of the Awash River is mainly the result of the interactions between edaphic factors, the hydrology, altitude, slope and climate.     

Sequence stratigraphy of Eocene incised valley clastics and associated sediments,Island of Rab,northern Adriatic Sea,Croatia

Clastic sediments of Middle–Late Eocene age were studied on the Island of Rab (northern Adriatic Sea, Croatia) in order to reconstruct their depositional history, depositional environments, and geometry of sandstone bodies. Detailed outcrop logging and mapping revealed the response of depositional systems to frequent relative sea-level changes, which initiated significant basinward and landward shifts of facies, respectively. Tidal sandstones are commonly underlain by shoreface sandstones, and overlain by offshore sandy marls, whereas the latter are again overlain by shoreface sandstones. Major relative sea-level falls initiated basinward shift of depositional systems and the incision of incised valleys or estuaries, and consequently truncated the underlying shelf sediments. In some cases, the accelerated sea-level fall caused rapid shoreface progradation which is interpreted as a forced regression. Relative sea-level rise caused flooding of the incised relief, and deposition of tidal sandstone bodies which overlie type-I sequence boundaries. The coarse lag sediment of these sequence boundaries locally disappears laterally, and the boundary is granulometrically less prominent. All of the major bounding surfaces have been recognized in the sections studied, although the maximum flooding surface is recognized as a thin “zone” instead of a single surface. Altogether, 28 complete sequences, and 15 parasequences are recognized in the informal unit of the Lopar sandstones, documenting the depositional response to high-frequency relative sea-level oscillations. They have so far not been recognized in the Eocene of the eastern Adriatic region.     

Managing Plant Resources: How Intensive Can it be?

Previous studies have shown there is a wide spectrum of incipient management practices between gathering and agriculture, that include resources commonly considered “wild.” Based on the study of 20 species used as foodstuffs in the community of Santa María Tecomavaca (Mexico), we evaluated nonagricultural management forms such as gathering, incipient nonselective management, incipient selective management and occasional ex situ cultivation to learn if they represent a gradient in the intensity of manipulation of a resource. The way in which the intensity of manipulation of a resource can vary as a function of cultural importance and the species’ biology was also analyzed. Using an index that measures the intensity of management of a resource, it has been established that the degree of intensity depends on: the specialization of the practices directed to the environment as well as to the individuals; the number of persons performing these practices; and the number of different practices taking place. The degree of management intensity is also a consequence of the joint action of cultural importance and of species’ biology.