Foraging Association between Coatis (Nasua nasua) and Birds of the Atlantic Forest, Brazil

Two bird species, Leucopternis polionota and Dendrocincla fuliginosa , frequently follow coatis ( Nasua nasua) while they forage in the Atlantic forest of southeastern Brazil. Two other avian species, Trogon rufus and Habia rubica , have also been observed following coatis. This "following foraging behavior" is more frequent during the dry season when coatis forage in trees. For the birds, this can represent a coping strategy with the reduced resource availability during the drier season.     

杀虫环对昆虫血淋巴糖和游离氨基酸的影响

 用毛细管色谱和离子交换色谱法分析了黑胸大蠊雄性成虫血淋巴糖和游离氨基酸的组分、合量及杀虫环对它们的影响,并与电生理记录的EPSP电位比较,表明:1.黑胸大蠊血淋巴有五种糖,海藻糖、葡萄糖含量最多。2×10~(-5)mol/L杀虫环作用于虫体5分钟后,五种糖含量迅速增加;30分钟后下降23～47％。2.血淋巴中含有16种游离氨基酸及大量的NH_3。杀虫环可降低14种氨基酸的含量,尤其对生糖氨基酸(丙、异亮、酪、脯)的影响显著。3.2×10~(-5)mol/L杀虫环作用5分钟可增加中枢第Ⅵ腹神经节自发电位的释放频率和振幅,6～7分钟后迅速减少并消失,此时诱发EPSP电位振幅下降。18～20分钟突触传递被阻断。此过程恰巧与血淋巴糖代谢的加快而减缓的过程一致。     

Mixed-species flocking of forest birds on Little Barrier Island

Abstract

Three aspects of mixed-species flocking of forest birds on Little Barrier Island were investigated. Whiteheads, fantails, parakeets, and grey warblers occurred more often in flocks than in “non-flocking” situations. Whiteheads were the main lead species, although parakeets formed groups within flocks and occasionally appeared to lead. Whitehead clumps defined the flock centre; only fantails were found commonly in the centre with whiteheads. Birds other than whiteheads generally orientated below or to the side of their nearest neighbours. We suggest that mixed-species flocking is a significant factor influencing the structure of forest bird communities in New Zealand during winter.     

Isolation of Sphingomonas Strains from Ears of Rice and Other Plants of Family Gramineae

Sphingomonas strains were isolated in high frequency from ears of rice (Oryza sativa), Echinochloa crus-galli, and Setaria viridis. Isolates were identified by the rapid method of cellular fatty acid analysis. Isolated Sphingomonas strains have 2-hydroxymyristate as a sole hydroxy fatty acid, ubiquinone Q-10, and glycosphingolipid. This study demonstrated that sphingomonads are members of a natural flora of microorganisms in ears of rice and taxonomically related plants.     

黑胸大蠊浓核症病毒对雌成虫生殖的亚致死影响

用黑胸大蠊浓核症病毒(Periplaneta fuliginosa densonucleosis virus,PfDNV)三种浓度处理黑胸大蠊8-9龄雌性若虫,对雌成虫生殖有亚致死影响。试验结果表明,雌成虫寿命分别平均减少121d、145d和179d;产卵期分别平均缩短62d、56d和121d;每雌成虫产卵鞘数分别平均减少16个(占57％)、20个(占72％)和25个(占88％),每雌成虫产卵数分别平均减少354粒(占55％)、453粒(占71％)和558粒(占86％);生殖力分别平均下降177倍(占55％)、226倍(占71％)和279倍(占88％)。卵鞘活力分别下降28％、28％和20％。雌成虫在产卵盛期的前4个月持续受到DNV的影响,每雌每月平均产卵数分别减少30粒(占40％)、69粒(占48％)、63粒(占47％)和55粒(占50％),生殖力分别下降15倍、34倍、31倍和28倍。     

黑胸大蠊浓核病毒磷脂酶A2功能区的克隆及其表达

通过RT-PCR扩增获得PfDNV结构蛋白基因VP1含磷脂酶A2(PLA2)功能区片段,将其连接到pMD18-T载体上并亚克隆到原核表达载体pET28a和pET26b,构建阅读框架正确的重组表达载体pET28a-PLA和pET26b-PLA,转化大肠杆菌BL21-codonplus(DE3)-RIL,经IPTG诱导,SDS-PAGE显示得到了目的融合蛋白,以抗组氨酸的单克隆抗体对经Ni-NTA亲和层析柱纯化的目的蛋白进行了westernblot鉴定,结果表明成功表达PfDNV结构蛋白PLA2,对于研究该酶的生物学特性及其在病毒对细胞侵染过程中的功能奠定了基础。     

湖南张家界的丝孢菌 Ⅱ.尾孢菌属和假尾孢属

本文报道尾孢菌属的4个种和假尾孢属的5个种,其中有3个新组合:乌黑假尾孢[Pseudocercospora fuliginosa(Ell.& Kell.)Zhao & Guo,comb.nov.],安息香假尾孢[Pse-udocercospora styracae(Chupp)Guo & Zhao,comb.nov.],水红木假尾孢[Pseudocercosporaviburni-cylindrici(Tai)Guo & Zhao,comb.nov.]和一个中国新记录。文中对新组合进行了简要描述并绘图。研究的标本分别保存在中国科学院微生物研究所真菌标本室(HMAS)和中国林业科学研究院林业研究所(HPAF)。     

黑胸大蠊浓核病毒分类的相关研究

黑胸大蠊浓核病毒(pfDNV)是在我国首先发现并正式分类鉴定的蟑螂浓核病毒.该病毒属细小病毒科(Parvoviridae),浓核病毒亚科(Densovirinae).但对该病毒的归属问题却一直没有确定,本文对此予以探讨.pfDNV的最新研究进展包括两个方面全基因组核苷酸序列的测定,以及利用低温电镜技术和像重构方法对该病毒的三维重构(分辨率23(A)).在此基础上,本文将pfDNV与其它病毒在基因组结构和三维结构方面进行了全面的对比分析,其结果并不支持目前对pfDNV的分类,因此建议对该病毒重新进行分类.     

蟑螂浓核病毒(pfDNV)非结构基因启动子的活性研究

为了研究蟑螂 Periplaneta fuliginosa 浓核病毒(pfDNV)非结构基因转录调控的机制,用 PCR 的方法从蟑螂浓核病毒基因组 DNA 中扩增了非结构蛋白基因 ns3 翻译起始密码子上游 325 bp 的启动子序列;并进一步以其作为模板,利用聚合酶链式反应技术,得到 6 个不同长度的启动子片段和两个定点突变体片段,构建由其驱动的萤火虫荧光素酶基因报告质粒,在 脂质体介导下转染多种昆虫细胞,体外分析了该启动子的活性。结果表明：该 325 bp DNA 片段在 Sf9,S2,Tn368 及 Ld652 细胞中均具有较高的启动子活性;其转录起始基序 CAGT 对维持该启动子的基本转录活性而言是必需的,而 TATA 盒对此则是非必需的,但它的存在可显著提高启动子的转录活性。同时,我们还发现,病毒非结构蛋白 NS1 对该启动子具有反式激活作用,并且这种激活作用的大小取决于 NS1 蛋白在细胞中的浓度。     

Miocene divergence,phenotypically cryptic lineages,and contrasting distribution patterns in common lichen‐forming fungi (Ascomycota: Parmeliaceae)

Despite the recent advancements in recognizing diversity in lichen‐forming fungi, assessing the timing of diversification remains largely unexplored in these important fungal symbionts. To better understand the evolutionary processes driving diversification in common lichen‐forming fungi, we investigated the phylogeny and biogeography of the broadly distributed Melanelixia fuliginosa/M. glabratula group, using molecular data from six nuclear markers. Phylogenetic analyses of individual gene alignments and combined data provide strong evidence for five species‐level lineages within this species complex. Three of these lineages correspond to the previously described species M. fuliginosa, M. glabratula, and M. subaurifera. The remaining two lineages, ‘M. sp. 1’ and ‘M. sp. 2’, merit species recognition based on genealogical concordance. Both M. glabratula and M. subaurifera had broad intercontinental distributions, sharing identical haplotypes among intercontinental populations. Based on the current sampling, M. fuliginosa s.s. was represented exclusively by European material and was not collected in North America. ‘M. sp. 1’ was represented by collections from Scotland and Spain; and ‘M. sp. 2’ was represented by collections in California, USA. Environmental factors driving the contrasting distribution patterns in this group remain unknown. Divergence times estimated using a coalescence‐based multilocus species‐tree approach suggest that diversification within the M. fuliginosa/M. glabratula group occurred exclusively during the Miocene. The results of the present study indicate that phenotypically cryptic lichen‐forming fungal species‐level lineages may be relatively ancient and do not necessarily reflect recent divergence events. Furthermore, diagnosable phenotypic differences may be absent even millions of years after the initial divergence. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, ●●, ●●–●●.