Probing mode of action in plant cell cycle by the herbicide endothall, a protein phosphatase inhibitor

The mode of action of endothall, an herbicide which was reported to inhibit plant protein phosphatases 1 (PP1) and 2A (PP2A), was investigated. For initial characterization, a series of bioassays was used for comprehensive physiological profiling of endothall effects which suggested a phytotoxic mode of action similar to mitotic disrupter herbicides. Unlike known microtubule disrupters, endothall did not inhibit soybean tubulin polymerization in vitro. As shown in meristematic corn root tips, endothall distorted the orientation of cell division plane and microtubule spindle structures which led to cell cycle arrest in prometaphase. In tobacco BY-2 cells, malformed spindles together with prometaphase arrest of nuclei and abnormal perinuclear microtubule patterns were detected as early as 4 h of endothall treatment. These effects were also observed after treatment with other protein phosphatase inhibitors, cantharidin and okadaic acid, which phenocopied the mitotic changes described in tonneau1 (ton1) and tonneau2 (ton2) Arabidopsis mutants. These mutants are defective in TONNEAU2 (TON2) protein, a regulatory subunit of PP2A, which governs cell division plane and microtubule orientation. Therefore, PP2A/TON2 phosphatase complex is suggested to be an in planta molecular target of endothall. However, in BY-2 cells, additional effects of endothall, including inhibition of S-phase initiation and DNA synthesis, detected by 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation, and condensed nuclei arrested in late mitosis were observed which were not reported in Arabidopsiston1 and ton2 mutants. This result indicates that two additional checkpoints in cell cycle were blocked by endothall which are probably not associated with TON2-pathway inhibition. Possibly, inhibition of PP1 and/or other PP2A protein phosphatases are involved in the regulation of these cell cycle phenomena.     

不同预混料及缓冲剂对奶牛泌乳性能的影响

选择6头荷斯坦奶牛研究添加预混料和复合缓冲剂对奶牛产奶量和乳脂成分的影响。试验采用3×3重复拉丁方设计,分3组处理:(Ⅰ)基础日粮+1%市售商品预混料(对照组);(Ⅱ)基础日粮+1%新型预混料;(Ⅲ)基础日粮+1%新型预混料+复合缓冲剂。结果表明:1)试验Ⅲ组的粗蛋白质、粗脂肪、中性洗涤纤维和酸性洗涤纤维的表观消化率均高于其他两组,但差异不显著(P>0.05)。2)试验Ⅲ组产奶量为23.98kg/d,比试验Ⅰ组和试验Ⅱ组分别提高5.78%和3.67%,且差异极显著(P>0.05);试验Ⅲ组的乳脂率、乳蛋白、乳糖和非脂固形物均显著高于试验Ⅰ组和试验Ⅱ组。3)试验Ⅲ组奶牛血糖含量为86.83mg/dL,极显著高于试验Ⅰ组和试验Ⅱ组;试验各组血清尿素氮含量无显著差异(P>0.05)。     

Lime-induced growth depression in Lupinus species: Are soil pH and bicarbonate involved?

In a series of experiments, the effect of elevated pH on root growth of different lupin genotypes and lime-tolerant Pisum sativum was assessed. Seedlings were cultivated in pH-controlled but unbuffered nutrient or test solutions with pH 5—8 under constant light or constant darkness. Moderately increased solution pH did not affect root elongation. At high pH, root elongation rates were reduced by less than 35%, L. luteus being most sensitive. In a further experiment, effects of 10 mM bicarbonate (HCO₃^-) and organic buffers (MES, TES) were examined. Bicarbonate severely affected root elongation of lupins, sensitivity increasing in the order Lupinus albus < L. angustifolius < L. luteus. Since the reduced root elongation was not accompanied by a decreased root weight, specific root weight was increased. Shoot growth was not affected by HCO₃^-. Addition of organic buffers to alkaline nutrient solution, similarly to HCO₃^-, reduced elongation of main roots, but not that of laterals. Both treatments increased citrate concentrations in roots of sensitive L. luteus, but not of tolerant L. albus. Other carboxylates were not related to growth inhibition. Xylem exudate pH was always below 5.8, indicating that HCO₃^- was probably not translocated to the shoot. It is concluded that HCO₃^- is a key factor for lime-induced growth inhibition of calcifuge lupins, with the roots, not the shoots, being primarily affected.     

Habitat use by Thymallus thymallus in a chalk stream and implications for habitat management

Abstract Results of a number of studies on the interactions between grayling, Thymallus thymallus L., and its habitat in tributaries of the River Itchen, a chalk stream in Hampshire, southern England are reported. These include an investigation into the effect of riparian shading on T. thymallus growth and population density in relation to the development of in‐stream macrophyte cover, and the use of a multi‐point decoder system to record micro‐habitat use and preference of individual T. thymallus. In all stream sections, T. thymallus recruitment fluctuated greatly. Densities were generally low often restricting meaningful comparisons. However, where large differences occurred, wooded sections, with less aquatic macrophyte cover, generally had higher densities of T. thymallus. All age groups of T. thymallus (0+, 1+ and 2+) tended to occupy hard gravel substratum, both by day and by night in the autumn and winter, and used deeper and faster water with increasing age. The 1+ and 2+ groups were generally found in water 40–70‐cm deep with a velocity between 0.3 and 0.5 m s^?1, whilst the 0+ group showed a preference for shallower water with reduced velocity at night, particularly in the winter. The results are discussed in relation to habitat management where T. thymallus occur with other salmonids.     

我国自然保护区功能区划现状与展望

自然保护区是对野生动植物及其生境等进行就地保护最有效的方式,其功能区划是实现自然保护区可持续发展的重要途径。文中总结了我国自然保护区功能区划现状,以期促进我国自然保护区的规范化建设和管理。目前,我国自然保护区功能区划存在功能区缺失、缓冲区设置不合理和分区片段化等问题。实验区平均比例也要高于核心区和缓冲区,超过其总面积的1/3。在功能区划调整时,超过一半的自然保护区调减了其总面积。功能区划调整的主要原因涉及保护区与周边社区关系、保护区内工程建设项目和矿产资源开发等。未来自然保护区功能区划分或调整应更多地关注于其管理目标、连通性、最小面积、与相邻保护区的协调、功能分区的有效性以及相关科学理论的验证等。     

等维动态递补灰色模型改进及应用研究

针对等维动态递补灰色模型对波动性数据预测的局限性,提出了缓冲算子等维动态递补灰色模型,改进了原有模型对波动性数据预测误差较大的问题。利用成都市2008—2013年的用水统计资料,在验证了模型的实用性后,分别建立了传统的GM(1,1)模型、等维动态递补GM(1,1)模型以及带有弱化缓冲算子的等维动态递补GM(1,1)模型,对成都市2016、2020、2025年各类用水量进行预测分析。结果表明,改进后的模型预测精度高,实用性好,能给成都市未来的水资源规划与管理提供可靠的依据。     

不同pH值缓冲液对玉米叶片蒸腾速率和相对含水量的影响

利用磷酸缓冲液和人造缓冲液(artificialsolution,AS)研究了玉米去根地上部分和离体叶片的蒸腾速率。结果表明,不同pH处理能够显著影响蒸腾速率,同一缓冲液不同pH值下的蒸腾速率差异较大;不同缓冲液影响下的蒸腾速率更是不同。不同pH值AS缓冲液对玉米离体叶片的相对含水量(RWC)有不同影响,pH7.5时的RWC较低。     

Effects of weathering state of coarse‐soil fragments on tree‐seedling nutrient uptake

Fine earth accumulated within the weathering fissures of the coarse‐soil fraction (particles > 2 mm), so called “stone‐protected fine earth”, can provide a high short‐term nutrient release by cation exchange. It is thus hypothesized that unweathered gneiss particles cannot provide plants with exchangeable‐cation nutrients and that biological weathering is needed to include silicate‐bound nutrients into biochemical cycles. In a microcosm experiment, ectomycorrhizal Norway spruce (Picea abies) seedlings were grown on either weathered or unweathered paragneiss coarse‐soil fragments under natural hydraulic and climatic boundary conditions. A nutrient solution containing N, P, and K was added, however Mg and Ca could only be taken up from the coarse‐soil substrate. Solutes in drainage were analyzed during the experiment; plant nutrient uptake was determined after the experiment ended. Solute dynamics depended on the weathering state of the substrates: unweathered gneiss showed high initial Mg and Ca fluxes that diminished strongly afterwards, whereas weathered gneiss showed a much more gradual and sustainable release of these cations. Patterns in dissolved organic C and sulfate drainage indicated that the internal pores of weathered gneiss fragments contained organic material most likely as a result of living spaces from microorganisms. Plant biomass did not differ between treatments, however Mg content was higher in seedlings grown on weathered gneiss. Nutrient budgets demonstrated that the “stonesphere” of weathered gneiss can act as a quasi‐constant nutrient source whereas unweathered gneiss only provided high initial nutrients fluxes. In nutrient‐depleted, acidified fine‐earth environments, the coarse‐soil fraction may therefore act as a retreat for nutrient‐adsorbing tissues and as a buffer for nutrient shortages.     

宿鸭湖人工湿地植物物种多样性和群落演替初探

宿鸭湖湿地生态系统湿生带、交错带、旱生带物种多样性指数,丰富度指数、多样性指数和均匀性指数变化规律基本一致,丰富度指数交错带最大,其次是旱生带,最小的是湿生带.湿地草甸植被植物优势度的排序为:狗牙根群落>苔草群落>莎草群落>鳢肠群落,狗牙根群落、苔草群落构成湿地草甸植被的核心区,且狗牙根群落的分布密度大于苔草群落.莎草群落单位面积的生物量大,狗牙根群落次之,苔草群落和鳢肠群落的生物量变化较小.