Apostatic selection by song thrushes (Turdus philomelos) feeding on the snail Cepaea hortensis

There is no direct evidence that predators exert apostatic selection (the systematic overpredation of commoner forms) on live, naturally polymorphic prey. This study tested whether captive song thrushes ( Turdus philomelos ) select apostatically when presented with dimorphic populations of yellow five-banded and yellow unhanded morphs of the snail Cepaea hortensis. Four thrushes were used. Two were presented with a 9: 1 ratio of five-bandeds to unbandeds and two were presented with 1:9 ratios. Each thrush was given four trials in succession. In each trial 30 snails were presented and the trial was stopped when 15 had been eaten. There were no differences in shell size between morphs or between eaten and uneaten snails of each morph. Three thrushes selected apostatically and one thrush exerted virtually no selection. Overall, there was statistically significant apostatic selection.     

Cloning and expression of a sialic acid-binding lectin from the snail Cepaea hortensis

Highly degenerated gene-specific oligonucleotide primers (GSPs) were constructed from the amino acid sequence of tryptic fragments produced from the purified sialic acid-specific lectin of the garden snail Cepaea hortensis. From the albumin glands, the total RNA or the mRNA was prepared. Combination of a universal primer with the GSPs delivered gene-specific fragments of about 650, 620 and 280 bp by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). These fragments were cloned into the vector pDrive (Qiagen) and sequenced. The resulting cDNA sequence consisted of 744 bp, including an open reading frame of 480 bp. The encoded protein consists of 159 amino acids, including the putative signal sequence peptide. The mature protein should comprise 141 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 15,529 Da. The expression of the recombinant lectin in Escherichia coli resulted in a soluble protein reacting specifically with rabbit antiserum raised against the native lectin.     

Cu污染土壤中溪荪和花菖蒲的生长状况及对Cu的积累及转运能力

采用土壤栽培方法,研究了在Cu添加量为0(CK)、200、400、600、800和1 000μg·g-1的土壤中溪荪(Iris sanguinea Donn es Horn.)和花菖蒲(I.ensata Thunb.var.hortensis Makino et Nemoto)叶和根的数量、长度及生物量(干质量)6个生长指标的变化趋势,并对叶和根中的Cu含量和积累量、全株的Cu积累量、Cu的富集系数及转运系数进行了比较分析.结果表明:随土壤中Cu添加量的提高,溪荪的根数逐渐降低且显著低于对照;而溪荪的其余5个生长指标和花菖蒲的6个生长指标均总体呈现出在Cu添加量较低的条件下逐渐增加并显著高于对照、在Cu添加量较高的条件下逐渐减小且显著小于对照的变化趋势;其中在Cu添加量1 000μg·g-1的土壤中2种植物的生长均受到显著抑制(P＜0.05);而添加400和600μg·g-1Cu则分别对2种植物的生长有一定的促进作用.随土壤中Cu添加量的增加,溪荪和花菖蒲叶及根中的Cu含量均逐渐提高;溪荪对Cu的富集系数和转运系数以及花菖蒲对Cu的富集系数均显著小于对照,而花菖蒲对Cu的转运系数则呈现在Cu添加量较低的条件下高于对照、Cu添加量较高的条件下低于对照并逐渐减小的趋势;在添加了Cu的土壤中,溪荪叶、根和全株对Cu的积累量均低于花菖蒲,但均显著高于对照,且2种植物根的Cu含量及积累量均大于叶片,表明溪荪和花菖蒲均具有一定的Cu积累能力,且主要积累在根中,花菖蒲对Cu的积累能力优于溪荪.综合分析结果显示:溪荪和花菖蒲不是Cu超积累植物,但对Cu胁迫均具有一定的耐性,且花菖蒲的耐性略强于溪荪;溪荪和花菖蒲分别适宜栽植于Cu含量400和600μg·g-1以下的土壤中,可用于轻度和中度Cu污染土壤的植物修复和环境美化.     

Phytochemical and morphological characterization of Satureja khuzistanica Jamzad populations from Iran

Satureja khuzistanica is an endemic herb growing wild in Iran with interesting pharmacological and biological properties. Here, as an initial step of the domestication process, the variability of phytochemical and morphological traits among 69 individuals of eight natural populations of the plant was studied. The investigated characteristics were the essential oil content and composition, the rosmarinic acid (RA) content, and the leaf and flower morphologies. The Abdanan and Kaver populations showed the highest oil contents. The characterization by GC-FID and GC/MS analyses of the oils revealed that all 69 sampled individuals had carvacrol as the main component with very high contents (89.59-95.41%). The content of RA of the MeOH extracts of S. khuzistanica showed a high level of variability (coefficient of variation (CV) 50.0%) ranging from 0.59% (w/w) in the Paalam population to 1.81% (w/w) in the Abdanan population. The peduncle length and the leaf surface area (CVs of 47.39 and 47.21%, resp.) were the most variable morphological characteristics among the examined populations. The high level of phytochemical and morphological variability among the studied populations suggests a breeding approach during the domestication, to gain new, promising, and homogenous cultivars, attractive for the industry and agriculture.     

Essential oil composition is related to the natural habitats: Coridothymus capitatus and Satureja thymbra in NATURA 2000 sites of Crete

The study of essential oils obtained from Coridothymus capitatus and Satureja thymbra collected from different natural habitat types of 11 NATURA 2000 sites scattered all over Crete has shown that they are characterized either by a high amount of carvacrol (up to 75.7%) or thymol (up to 65.6%) or by a more or less equal amount of the two phenols. The results of a discriminant analysis with predefined groups the natural habitat types wherefrom the plants were collected have shown that the oils of both species collected from the dry dwarf-shrub formations of the lowland have a high carvacrol content whereas those collected from the more mesic timber or highland formations have a high thymol content. Furthermore, the results of this study introduce the use of natural habitat unit as a tool for the assessment of essential oil variation.     

Phytochemical analysis and in vitro antiviral activities of the essential oils of seven Lebanon species

The chemical composition of the essential oils of Laurus nobilis, Juniperus oxycedrus ssp. oxycedrus, Thuja orientalis, Cupressus sempervirens ssp. pyramidalis, Pistacia palaestina, Salvia officinalis, and Satureja thymbra was determined by GC/MS analysis. Essential oils have been evaluated for their inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV and HSV-1 replication in vitro by visually scoring of the virus-induced cytopathogenic effect post-infection. L. nobilis oil exerted an interesting activity against SARS-CoV with an IC(50) value of 120 microg/ml and a selectivity index (SI) of 4.16. This oil was characterized by the presence of beta-ocimene, 1,8-cineole, alpha-pinene, and beta-pinene as the main constituents. J. oxycedrus ssp. oxycedrus oil, in which alpha-pinene and beta-myrcene were the major constituents, revealed antiviral activity against HSV-1 with an IC(50) value of 200 microg/ml and a SI of 5.     

The effect of fire on flower visitation rate and fruit set in four core-species in east Mediterranean scrubland

The recovery of vegetation following fire has been studied intensively in Mediterranean-type ecosystems. Little attention, however, has been given to floral traits, and almost no data have been collected on the effects of fire on pollinator activity and fruit-set. This paper reports the effects of fire on flower visitation rates and the possibly related fruit-set. We compared visitation rates of the main pollinators on four plant core-species in burned and adjacent unburned areas. Measurements were performed at an unburned phrygana (scrub lands), and at a burned area (5–7 years post-fire). Bumble bees and solitary bees were the main taxa of visitors, while few honeybees were recorded. Solitary bees were almost absent from the burned area. Fruit-set was significantly higher in the unburned area for three out of the four plant species. The lower fruit-set in the burned area was possibly the result of low activity of solitary bees which are the main effective pollinators of the examined species. We hypothesize that the populations of the solitary bees were diminished or extirpated either directly by the fire, or indirectly by the scarcity of nectar in the early post-fire years due to dominance of young pine and Cistus spp. seedlings. The short foraging range of the solitary bees and their slow invasion rate into the burned area may explain our results.     

猫叫综合征一家系高分辨染色体分析

本文采用高分辨染色体技术,对一例猫叫综合征患儿及其家系进行了分析,结 果提示,猫叫综合征染色体关键片段位于5p15.3→5pter。