五大连池火山山杨叶功能性状的变异特征

  目的  探讨五大连池火山山杨叶功能性状特征，揭示植物对火山生境的适应，以及对不同坡向的生存策略，为特殊生境和微地形生境下植物的适应机制提供参考依据。  方法  以5座火山共有植物山杨为对象，测定叶面积（LS）、叶厚度（LT）、比叶面积（SLA）、叶干物质量（LDMC）、叶碳含量（LCC）、叶氮含量（LNC）、叶磷含量（LPC）和叶氮磷比（LNP）等8种功能性状在坡向间、火山间的变化规律和变异特征，分析叶功能性状间相互关系和主成分。  结果  （1）除LCC外，其他7种功能性状在南北坡向间均具有显著差异，LT、LDMC、LNC、LNP表现为南坡大于北坡，而LS、LCC、LPC表现为南坡小于北坡。（2）山杨SLA、LCC、LPC在新、老期火山间差异显著，但在老期火山间差异不显著。（3）火山南坡、北坡山杨LT与LDMC呈显著负相关，南、北坡向及火山间山杨LNP与LNC均呈极显著正相关、与LPC呈极显著的负相关关系。（4）火山环境中山杨LNP、LPC、LNC和LS在叶功能性状分化中起到主要贡献作用。  结论  五大连池火山山杨叶功能性状的变异与火山喷发的特殊性有关，山杨通过调节自身功能性状形成不同的生存策略来适应南、北坡向和不同火山环境，在生长过程中更容易受到氮元素缺乏的限制。火山森林生态系统是一个特殊环境，研究火山植被演替和植物功能性状等问题需要结合火山喷发的特殊情况深入讨论。      

New Grouped Harvesting-Based Population Structures of Cotton

The construction of rational population structures is an important cultivation basis to achieve high yield and quality of cotton. ‘Small-sized plant under high plant density’, ‘moderate-sized plant under moderate plant density’ and ‘large-sized plant under low plant density’ are three types of traditional cotton population structures in China, which have been widely used in China's major cotton planting regions of Northwest inland, Yellow River and Yangtze River valley, respectively, and have played key roles in achieving stable and high yields of cotton in the nation. However, in the new era of cotton industry development, there occur such disadvantages that the traditional population structures are not suitable for grouped harvesting as well as both fiber quality and production efficiency improvements. The exploration of new population structures has become an important approach in the new period of cotton cultivation. In this paper, we concisely reviewed the main features and the disadvantages of traditional population structures. Based on the needs of light and cost-saving cultivation as well as quality improving and efficiency increasing in the new era, it was suggested that constructing 3 new types of population structures adapted to grouped harvesting, ‘reduced plant density with healthy plants’, ‘increased plant density with robust plants’, and ‘direct seeding and close planting with short plants’ to substitute the three traditional structures. On this basis, the key indicators and regulation technologies of the 3 new population structures were mainly discussed, and the future development of the new population structures both in research and practice were also prospected.     

粪肠球菌生长曲线的测定及其对小鼠脑组织的影响

为测定致羔羊脑炎粪肠球菌（Enterococcus faecalis）的生长曲线，寻求一种快速而准确的方法测定不同生长时期粪肠球菌数量，并客观评价其毒性强弱及其对小鼠脑组织的影响，试验采用平板菌落计数法和OD-Monitor振荡比浊法（D_λ值法）测定粪肠球菌的生长曲线，探究该菌在合适时间段内的吸光值（D_{600 nm}）与平板菌落计数法测定的活菌数（CFU）的关系。用粪肠球菌感染小鼠，观察记录小鼠的死亡情况，最后采用Karber法计算粪肠球菌感染小鼠的半数致死量（LD₅₀）。用LD₅₀的剂量感染小鼠，及时采集死亡小鼠脑组织，未死亡的小鼠72 h后全部剖杀取脑组织，一部分做涂片染色，制作病理切片，观察病理变化；一部分进行培养，用于PCR方法进行细菌的回收鉴定。结果显示，用两种方法测定此株粪肠球菌的生长曲线基本一致，在2~8 h生长迅速，为对数生长期，8~14 h生长缓慢，为稳定期，14 h之后死亡数增加，进入衰亡期；对12 h粪肠球菌D_{600 nm}与CFU的关系进行探讨，成功建立回归方程：y=20.769x-1.3422，R²=0.997；其感染小鼠的LD₅₀为7.77×10¹¹个活菌。以此剂量感染小鼠，脑组织涂片染色和培养染色，均能看到革兰氏阳性球菌；PCR结果显示，均出现了大小为112 bp的条带。对脑组织进行病理学观察发现该菌可导致脑组织充血、出血、形成微血栓，脑膜充血。通过生长曲线和其D_{600 nm}与CFU关系的建立，可实时监测粪肠球菌数量，为后期更深入研究粪肠球菌穿越血脑屏障的机制奠定重要的理论基础。     

Effects of adding sucrose on Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798) growth performance and water quality in a biofloc system

A 60‐day indoor growth trial was conducted to study the effects of biofloc on the growth performance of a Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798), water quality and biological indicators including biofloc volume, chlorophyll‐a, heterotrophic bacteria and Bacillus quantity. Two concentrations of sucrose (0 and 75%) were added daily to the P. monodon culture systems (2.94 ± 0.11 g), which were conducted indoors in fibre‐glass tanks (500 L). Results showed that the final body weight and weight gain of the adding 75% sucrose group were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that of the control, as well as significantly (P < 0.05) improved specific growth rates and survival rates, and reduced feed coefficient. Adding 75% sucrose promoted heterotrophic bacteria, Bacillus and phytoplankton reproduction, and significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the concentration of ammonia‐N (NH₄‐N), nitrite‐N (NO₂‐N) and nitrate‐N (NO₃‐N). The changes of water quality indicators in the two groups showed the similar trend at the end of the experiment, and the ammonia‐N, nitrite‐N, nitrate‐N and phosphate‐P concentrations in the 75% sucrose group were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than those of the control group, Chlorophyll‐a concentrations peaked at 389.12 μg/L in the biofloc sucrose group at 18:00 h, and heterotrophic bacteria peaked 8 h after sucrose was added. The addition of sucrose also reduced the pH of the water. Our research showed that adding sucrose promoted biofloc formation and shortened the formation time; increased the number of heterotrophic bacteria and algae which might play a role in improving water quality by assimilating ammonia‐N and other harmful substances in the water; supplemented food for P monodon growth; and reduced the feed coefficient.     

南繁区稻瘟病菌遗传多样性和群体遗传结构的AFLP分析

【目的】为了明确南繁区稻瘟病菌(Magnaporthe oryzae)的遗传分化情况,【方法】采用AFLP分子标记技术对南繁核心区(三亚、乐东和保亭)和非核心区(琼中、屯昌和定安)共60个稻瘟病菌菌株的遗传多样性和群体遗传结构进行了比较分析。【结果】聚类分析表明,几乎所有菌株都聚在同一个谱系里,并且该谱系没有明显的亚群;群体遗传结构分析表明,核心区群体的多态性位点百分率、Shannon信息指数和基因流分别为87.89%、0.2738和4.2897,高于非核心区群体的81.37%、0.2703和3.5892;然而,核心区群体的Nei基因多样性指数和基因分化系数分别为0.1657和0.1044,低于非核心区群体的0.1662和0.1223。【结论】这些结果表明核心区和非核心区菌株都存在丰富的遗传多样性,不同群体间均存在较多的基因交流,但遗传变异均主要来自群体内;相比之下,核心区菌株的遗传多样性和遗传分化程度较高。     

Tracking escaped Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) aggregated around Norwegian farms: Considerations for management strategies

To examine site fidelity and potential for ecosystem impacts, 20 escapee cod (Gadus morhua L.) from fjord‐based cod farms were tagged with acoustic transmitters, released in the vicinity of the same farm, and their subsequent behaviour and survival monitored using a fixed array of acoustic receivers. Most individuals demonstrated high fidelity to their farm where tagged, and this increased during the polar night. Only five individuals (25%) were occasionally detected at another farm (4 km distance), and only three cod (15%) migrated out of the fjord during the 6‐month study period. Vertical movements were consistently greater in the hours around noon than at night, a behaviour inconsistent with that observed for wild fish. A high mortality rate (40%) was observed during the first 4 months post‐release, and actual mortality may have been even higher, limiting the potential for negative ecosystem effects from cod escapees. Findings from this study are used to discuss the development of recapture strategies for minimising potential impacts from cod escapees to ensure sustainable farming activity.     

Polymerisation of gluten proteins in developing wheat grain as affected by desiccation

The breadmaking quality of wheat is affected by the composition of gluten proteins and the polymerisation of subunits that are synthesised and accumulated in developing wheat grain. The biological mechanisms and time course of these events during grain development are documented, but not widely confirmed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to monitor the accumulation of gluten protein subunits and the size distribution of protein aggregates during grain development. The effect of desiccation on the polymerisation of gluten proteins and the functional properties of gluten were also studied. The results showed that the size of glutenin polymers remained consistently low until yellow ripeness (YR), while it increased during grain desiccation after YR. Hence, this polymerisation process was presumed to be initiated by desiccation. A similar polymerisation event was also observed when premature grains were dried artificially. The composition of gluten proteins, the ratios of glutenin to gliadin and high molecular weight-glutenin subunits to low molecular weight-glutenin subunits, in premature grain after artificial desiccation showed close association with the size of glutenin polymers in artificially dried grain. Functional properties of gluten in these samples were also associated with polymer size after artificial desiccation.     

Disulphide structure of high-molecular-weight (HMW-) gliadins as affected by terminators

This study aimed at elucidating SS-bonds of HMW-gliadins (HGL) from wheat with the focus on terminators of glutenin polymerisation. HGL from wheat flour extracts non-treated or treated with the S-alkylation reagent N-ethylmaleinimide (NEMI) were compared. HGL from wheat flour Akteur were isolated, hydrolysed with thermolysin and the resulting peptides pre-separated by gel permeation chromatography and analysed by liquid chromatography/mass-spectrometry using alternating electron transfer dissociation/collision-induced dissociation. Altogether, 22 and 28 SS-peptides from samples without and with NEMI treatment, respectively, were identified. Twenty-six peptides included standard SS-bonds of α- and γ-gliadins, high-molecular-weight and low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits. Eleven SS-bonds were identified for the first time. Fifteen peptides unique to HGL contained cysteine residues from gliadins with an odd number of cysteines (ω5-, α- and γ-gliadins). Thus, gliadins with an odd number of cysteines, glutathione and cysteine had acted as terminators of glutenin polymerisation. Decisive differences between samples without and with NEMI treatment were not obvious showing that the termination of polymerisation was already completed in the flour. The two HGL samples, however, were different in the majority of ten peptides that included disulphide-linked low-molecular-weight (LMW) thiols such as glutathione and cysteine with the former being enriched in the non-treated HGL-sample.     

A rapid extensigraph protocol for measuring dough viscoelasticity and mixing requirement

The extensigraph is particularly useful in characterizing dough viscoelastic properties; however, testing throughput for standard method is low due to the prerequisite for farinograph water absorption, long dough resting and milling to prepare large amounts of flour. Therefore, a rapid extensigraph method was developed that reduced sample size (165 g wheat) for milling and more than tripled throughput. Wheat is milled in Quadrumat Junior mill with a modified sieving system. The resulting flour (100 g) was mixed with a pin mixer at constant water absorption to allow the evaluation of wheat genotypes at the absorption level they are expected to perform. Dough was subsequently stretched by an extensigraph after 15 min of floor time and 30 min resting. Strong correlations for extensigram R_max (r > 0.93), extensibility (r > 0.64) and area (r > 0.88) were found for the proposed method compared to the standard method. Mixing parameters (time and energy) obtained during dough preparation provided further information about dough strength and mixing requirement. By significantly reducing sample size requirement and increasing testing throughput, this rapid extensigraph method can be widely adopted in milling and baking industry and meets the need for a fast evaluation of dough strength in breeding trials.     

Conservation needs for the endangered New Zealand sea lion,Phocarctos hookeri

1. Understanding population size and trend is critical information in species management and conservation. To enable accurate population trend estimates, consistent robust monitoring of a species is essential, particularly for a species such as the New Zealand (NZ) sea lion, Phocarctos hookeri , which has experienced an almost continuous decline in pup production since the late 1990s.
2. This research examines the pup production estimates for all known breeding sites for this species, and using a stage‐structured matrix population model, estimates population size and trend between 1995 and 2015.
3. Overall, it is estimated that 2,316 pups were born in 2015, a decrease of 13% since 1995 and a 27% decline since the highest pup production estimate in 1998. This decline has been driven by the significant decline of 48% at the main breeding area, the Auckland Islands since 1998.
4. Using the stage‐structured matrix population model a total species population size of 11,767 sea lions (95% CrI: 10,790–12,923) was estimated. This is the lowest population size of any sea lion species. Trend data for the Auckland Islands indicated that pup and population numbers have decreased at 1.9% yr^?1 in the last 20 yr, while total species population decline is 0.6% yr^?1.
5. Estimates of population trends for this species have been hindered by inconsistent monitoring at most breeding sites. This study strengthens the growing field of research highlighting the need for consistent long‐term monitoring for the conservation management of endangered species.