文冠果叶总皂苷的提取工艺优化及减肥降脂功效

【目的】优化文冠果叶总皂苷的提取工艺，并对其减肥降脂功效进行分析。【方法】采用单因素试验并结合Box-Behnken响应面法，对文冠果叶总皂苷的提取温度、液(mL)料(g)比、乙醇体积分数进行优化。采用高脂饲料喂养小鼠建立高血脂症模型，建模4周后，以奥利司他为阳性对照，分别采用高（200 mg/kg）、中（100 mg/kg）、低（50 mg/kg）剂量组文冠果叶总皂苷连续灌胃4周，检测小鼠血清总胆固醇（TC）、甘油三酯（TG）、低密度脂蛋白（LDL-C）和高密度脂蛋白（HDL-C）的浓度，分析不同剂量文冠果叶总皂苷对小鼠体内胰脂肪酶的抑制作用。【结果】文冠果叶总皂苷的最佳提取工艺条件为：提取温度60 ℃，乙醇体积分数70%，液(mL)料(g)比30∶1，此时文冠果叶总皂苷得率为4.952%。对小鼠的减肥降脂试验表明，文冠果叶总皂苷对胰脂肪酶的抑制活力最高可达68.29%，且在高血脂模型中，高、中、低剂量文冠果叶总皂苷均可显著或极显著降低血清中的TC、TG、LDL-C浓度，提高HDL-C浓度，其中高剂量组的降脂作用与阳性对照药物奥利司他效果相当。【结论】文冠果叶总皂苷减肥降脂功效显著，能够有效抑制胰脂肪酶活力，降低胆固醇和甘油三酯含量，进而促进脂肪代谢。     

氮肥施用对直播冬油菜产量及氮肥利用率的影响

为探明安徽省直播冬油菜种植中适宜的氮肥用量、氮肥种类和施氮方式，通过田间小区试验，研究尿素不同用量及等氮量尿素和控释尿素不同施用方式对直播冬油菜产量、氮肥累积量及氮肥利用率的影响。结果表明：施氮水平和施氮方式对直播冬油菜产量具有显著影响，成株率与产量之间呈显著正相关，施氮量180 kg N·hm^-2条件下，尿素分次施用处理（N180）和控释尿素一次性施用处理（CRU180）在生育中后期能有效提高直播冬油菜密度。施氮量240 kg N·hm^-2、尿素分次施用处理（N240）角壳和茎秆氮素累积量分配比例增加，籽粒分配比例减少，氮肥表观利用率、氮肥农学效率、氮肥生理效率和氮肥偏生产力显著降低，籽粒产量不增反降，较CRU180和N180分别降低2.87%和9.67%。各施氮处理中，N180处理产量最高，较其他施氮处理显著增产7.53%~82.15%。施氮量180 kg N·hm^-2条件下，相比尿素一次性施用处理（U180），CRU180和N180显著增产8.53%和16.69%，籽粒氮素累积量显著增加8.80%和16.02%，氮肥表观利用率显著增加11.68%和14.30%，氮素农学效率显著增加12.53%和24.46%，氮素生理效率增加0.74%和9.13%，氮肥偏生产力显著增加8.59%和16.76%。综合本试验直播冬油菜产量、氮素累积量和氮肥利用率结果来看，合理的氮肥用量和氮肥品种可以有效增加直播冬油菜的成株率和氮素累积量，进而增加产量、提高氮肥利用率。安徽省直播冬油菜施氮量180 kg N·hm^-2，尿素分次施用和控释尿素一次性施用，均能达到产量和氮肥利用率的双向提升。考虑到直播冬油菜轻简化发展大趋势，建议采用控释尿素一次性基施。     

Characterization of resistance to the wheat stem sawfly in spring wheat landrace accessions from targeted geographic regions of the world

Plant landraces have long been recognized as potential gene pools for biotic and abiotic stress-related genes. This research used spring wheat landrace accessions to identify new sources of resistance to the wheat stem sawfly (WSS) (Cephus cinctus Norton), an important insect pest of wheat in the northern Great Plains of North America. Screening efforts targeted 1409 accessions from six geographical areas of the world where other species of grain sawflies are endemic or where a high frequency of accessions possesses the resistance characteristic of solid stems. Resistance was observed in approximately 14% of accessions. Half of the lines displayed both antixenosis and antibiosis types of resistance. Among the resistant accessions, 41% had solid or semi-solid stems. Molecular genetic screening for haplotypes at the solid stem QTL, Qss.msub.3BL, showed that 15% of lines shared the haplotype derived from ‘S-615’, the original donor of the solid stem trait to North American germplasm. Other haplotypes associated with solid stems were also observed. Haplotype diversity was greater in the center of origin of wheat. Evaluation of a representative set of resistant landrace accessions in replicated field trials at four locations over a three year period identified accessions with potential genes for reduced WSS infestation, increased WSS mortality, and increased indirect defense via parasitoids. Exploitation of distinct types of plant defense will expand the genetic diversity for WSS resistance currently present in elite breeding lines.     

Development of male-specific markers and identification of sex reversal mutants in papaya

Papaya is a productive and nutritious fruit grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions worldwide. It is polygamous with three sex types: female, male and hermaphrodite. Sex determination in papaya is controlled by an XY sex chromosome system with two slightly different Y chromosomes, Y for males and Y^h for hermaphrodites. Comparative analysis of the hermaphrodite-specific region of Y^h chromosome (HSY) and male-specific region of Y chromosome (MSY) revealed 99.6% sequence identity, which explains why DNA markers that amplify for both males and hermaphrodites have easily been developed, but not for the male trait specifically. We examined the 0.4% sequence differences, and found 1887 indels and 21,088 SNPs between MSY and HSY. The vast majority of indels are single nucleotide or few base pairs. A large male-specific retrotransposon insertion of 8396 bp was used to develop two papaya male-specific markers, PMSM1 and PMSM2 that amplify 585 and 548 bp fragments, respectively. These two markers were tested in 11 gynodioecious and four dioecious varieties along with autosomal DNA marker 71E and male/hermaphrodite marker W11, and the results showed clear separation of male from hermaphrodite and female. PMSM1 and PMSM2 were also used to test the sex type of six sex male-to-hermaphrodite reversal mutants which are crucial materials for validating candidate genes for sex determination in papaya. Our result showed all six mutants were positive for the male-specific markers. These male-specific markers can be used to distinguish gynodioecious and dioecious cultivars in papaya seed market, and facilitate genetic and genomic research for papaya improvement.     

Association mapping reveals loci associated with multiple traits that affect grain yield and adaptation in soft winter wheat

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are useful to facilitate crop improvement via enhanced knowledge of marker-trait associations (MTA). A GWAS for grain yield (GY), yield components, and agronomic traits was conducted using a diverse panel of 239 soft red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) genotypes evaluated across two growing seasons and eight site-years. Analysis of variance showed significant environment, genotype, and genotype-by-environment effects for GY and yield components. Narrow sense heritability of GY (h ²  = 0.48) was moderate compared to other traits including plant height (h ²  = 0.81) and kernel weight (h ²  = 0.77). There were 112 significant MTA (p < 0.0005) detected for eight measured traits using compressed mixed linear models and 5715 single nucleotide polymorphism markers. MTA for GY and agronomic traits coincided with previously reported QTL for winter and spring wheat. Highly significant MTA for GY showed an overall negative allelic effect for the minor allele, indicating selection against these alleles by breeders. Markers associated with multiple traits observed on chromosomes 1A, 2D, 3B, and 4B with positive minor effects serve as potential targets for marker assisted breeding to select for improvement of GY and related traits. Following marker validation, these multi-trait loci have the potential to be utilized for MAS to improve GY and adaptation of soft red winter wheat.     

Performance evaluation of forest co-management: a case study of Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary,Bangladesh

The objective was to evaluate the performance of the co-management of Nishorgo Support Project at Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary in Bangladesh. I adopted the Focus Groups Discussion method for opinion survey and applied the SWOTAHP technique for data analysis. Local people did not participate in the decision-making process of forest management and they perceived co-management as a threat to their livelihoods. Moreover, mistrust and misunderstanding among different stakeholders, political and ethical conflicts, lack of property rights of tribal communities, and lack of accountability and transparency were identified as the drawbacks of co-management.     

Segmentation of 3D images of plant tissues at multiple scales using the level set method

Background

Developmental biology has made great strides in recent years towards the quantification of cellular properties during development. This requires tissues to be imaged and segmented to generate computerised versions that can be easily analysed. In this context, one of the principal technical challenges remains the faithful detection of cellular contours, principally due to variations in image intensity throughout the tissue. Watershed segmentation methods are especially vulnerable to these variations, generating multiple errors due notably to the incorrect detection of the outer surface of the tissue.

Results

We use the level set method (LSM) to improve the accuracy of the watershed segmentation in different ways. First, we detect the outer surface of the tissue, reducing the impact of low and variable contrast at the surface during imaging. Second, we demonstrate a new edge function for a level set, based on second order derivatives of the image, to segment individual cells. Finally, we also show that the LSM can be used to segment nuclei within the tissue.

Conclusion

The watershed segmentation of the outer cell layer is demonstrably improved when coupled with the LSM-based surface detection step. The tool can also be used to improve watershed segmentation at cell-scale, as well as to segment nuclei within a tissue. The improved segmentation increases the quality of analysis, and the surface detected by our algorithm may be used to calculate local curvature or adapted for other uses, such as mathematical simulations.

     

Edge effects in tropical dry forests of Madagascar: additivity or synergy?

Context

The study of habitat fragmentation is complex because multiple, potentially synergistic, ecological processes may be acting simultaneously. Further, edge effects themselves may be complex in that additivity from multiple edges can give rise to heterogeneous nearest–edge gradients.

Objectives

We used heat diffusion as a proxy for additive edge effects in two study landscapes in order to test whether two key observations recently attributed to synergy between edge and area effects could be more simply explained by additivity; namely, steeper edge gradients in larger fragments and variation in slopes of species–area relationships as a function of distances to fragment edges.

Methods

We sampled forest structure in northwestern Madagascar at various distances from the edge in fragments and continuous forest and used an inverse modelling approach to parameterize the model. In addition, we applied the model to data from a published study of beetle communities in fragmented forests in New Zealand.

Results

With increasing proximity to edges, woody stem densities decreased and, as predicted, smaller fragments had lower stem densities and less steep edge gradients than larger ones. The model successfully predicted shifts in species–area relationships as a function of nearest–edge distances for beetle species, although observed richness for forest specialists in the smallest fragments was lower than predicted.

Conclusions

Two key observations attributed to synergy between edge and area effects were explained by edge additivity. The model is particularly useful in that it can help to disentangle the complex sets of processes acting in fragmented landscapes.