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.     

Otolith chemistry indicates walleye movement and entrainment in a large serial reservoir system

Understanding fish movement in impounded river systems is important for fisheries management. Otolith chemistry was used to examine walleye Sander vitreus (Mitchill) intra‐ and inter‐reservoir movement in four Missouri River impoundments. Age‐0 individuals were reclassified with 75%–93% accuracy to known natal sites, allowing for reliable evaluation of movement patterns of age‐1 and older fish. Nearly half of walleye occupied the same location annually (i.e. site residency) between 2009 and 2010. In 2011, during the largest flood on record since 1898, downstream movement (49% of age‐1 and older fish) exceeded upstream movement (7%) and site residency (33%) across the study area. After the flood, most walleye moved downstream within reservoirs (45%) or were site residents (37%). Entrainment occurred most frequently during the flood year and was proportionally greatest in downstream reservoirs. Otolith chemistry is useful for understanding walleye movement and entrainment and is a tool for fisheries management with applications such as informing reservoir water releases, harvest regulations and habitat protection and rehabilitation within and outside the Missouri River reservoir system.     

用线粒体D-loop和Cyt b基因序列分析拉氏(鲮)3个群体的遗传结构和遗传分化

用线粒体DNA的D-loop和Cytb基因序列分析方法研究了吉林延吉、敦化和辽宁法台3个区域的29尾拉氏鱼岁Phoxinus lagowskii Dybowsky的遗传多样性.经PCR扩增和测序,获得了783～785bp D-loop和818bpCyt b的同源序列.两者多态性遗传参数统计显示,29尾个体分别存在47(D-loop)和89(Cyt b)个变异位点,分别检测出15 (D-loop)和1l(Cyt b)个单倍型,总群体单倍型(Hd)分别为0.8966 (D-loop)和0.8990(Cyt b),核苷酸多样性指数(Px)分别为0.0246(D-loop)和0.0498 (Cyt b),平均核苷酸差异数(K)分别为19.2857(D-loop)和40.7365(Cytb).分子方差分析(AMOVA)结果表明,79.02％(D-loop)和81.69％(Cyt b)变异来自群体间,20.98％(D-loop)和18.31％(Cyt b)来自群体内.单倍型呈明显的地理差异,分成2个分支,一个以延吉群体为主,一个以法台群体为主.拉氏(鲮)的遗传多样性水平较高,群体间遗传分化明显.该结果可为拉氏(鲮)的种质资源保护提供参考.     

Pansteatitis in polluted Olifants River impoundments: nutritional perspectives on fish in a eutrophic lake,Lake Loskop,South Africa

This study compares the aetiology of pansteatitis in Lake Loskop, relative to two other impoundments along the Olifants River. Macroscopic and microscopic pathology, age determination and analysis of stomach content, fatty acids and stable isotopes explain the high prevalence of pansteatitis in Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters) and several other species in Lake Loskop. All the dietary indicator comparisons between pansteatitis‐affected and healthy fish fail to support a systemic cause. Pansteatitis in Lake Loskop was linked to size and weight of O. mossambicus, but not to ontogenic age. Fish in Lake Loskop showed abnormally high omega‐3 to omega‐6 fatty acid ratios normally only found in marine fish with no significant difference in degree of assimilation of these fatty acids between pansteatitis‐affected and healthy fish. This explains the vulnerability to, but not the occurrence of, pansteatitis. As a cause for the pansteatitis, these results point towards sporadic vitamin E‐depleting trigger events, known sporadic fish die‐off occurrences that provide surviving fish with a rich source of rancid fats on which to scavenge. The mechanism ties pansteatitis to eutrophication and trophic cascade effects, the intrinsic drivers of the disease and suggests an adaptive management strategy that might be applied by relevant conservation authorities.     

Exploring connectivity between spawning and nursery areas of Mullus barbatus (L., 1758) in the Mediterranean through a dispersal model

Connectivity between spawning and nursery areas plays a major role in determining the spatial structure of fish populations and the boundaries of stock units. Here, the potential effects of surface current on a red mullet population in the Central Mediterranean were simulated using a physical oceanographic model. Red mullet larvae were represented as Lagrangian drifters released in known spawning areas of the Strait of Sicily (SoS), which represents one of the most productive demersal fishing‐grounds of the Mediterranean. To consider the effect of inter‐annual variability of oceanographic patterns, numerical simulations were performed for the spawning seasons from 1999 to 2012. The main goal was to explore connectivity between population subunits, in terms of spawning and nursery areas, inhabiting the northern (Sicilian‐Maltese) and southern (African) continental shelves of the SoS. The numerical simulations revealed a certain degree of connectivity between the Sicilian–Maltese and the African sides of the SoS. Connectivity is present in both directions, but it is stronger from the Sicilian–Maltese spawning areas to the African nurseries owing to the marine circulation features of the region. However, because the majority of the larvae are transported to areas unsuitable for settlement or outside the SoS, the dispersal process is characterized by a strong loss of potential settlers born in the spawning areas. These results are in agreement with the low genetic heterogeneity reported for this species in the Mediterranean Sea and support the existence of a metapopulation structure of red mullet in the SoS and the adjacent areas.     

Variation in prey selection and foraging success associated with early‐life ontogeny and habitat use of American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula)

Many fishes are planktivorous during early life and switch to piscivory or consume larger food items as ontogeny progresses. In contrast, paddlefish start as particulate feeders and later become filter feeders. Few studies have identified food items essential for paddlefish growth, survival and recruitment surrounding this ontogenetic diet shift. The objectives of this study were to investigate (i) prey types consumed by paddlefish, (ii) variability in prey selection surrounding an ontogenetic diet shift and (iii) whether habitat affected paddlefish prey selection or foraging success. We analysed gut contents of 189 wild age‐0 paddlefish from the middle Mississippi River (MMR) and also conducted a laboratory experiment to address these objectives. We found that paddlefish primarily foraged on benthic macroinvertebrates in the MMR, which differed from previous studies in lentic systems, suggesting young paddlefish prey selection may be labile depending on habitat (i.e., lotic versus lentic). Dominant prey of wild‐caught and experimental age‐0 paddlefish were caddisfly larvae (Trichoptera), followed by hemipterans and amphipods. We found little evidence that habitat attributes affected foraging success, but the most common prey items consumed were associated with wing dike habitat and the upstream and downstream tips of alluvial islands. Our experimental study revealed that if provided a mixture of organisms, age‐0 paddlefish will primarily consume macroinvertebrates while age‐1 paddlefish will mainly filter zooplankton. Overall results suggest young paddlefish prey selection can be highly variable, but also heavily reliant on a narrow group of prey resources.     

茶树GGPS基因家族的克隆、生物信息学和表达分析

牻牛儿基牻牛儿基焦磷酸合酶(Geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase,GGPS)是萜类合成途径的结构酶,对植物生长发育具有重要意义。本研究通过RACE和RT-PCR方法克隆得到5条潜在的茶树GGPS序列,分别命名为CsGGPS1-4和CsGGPS9,其中CsGGPS9存在3条等位基因,分别是CsGGPS9-1、CsGGPS9-2和CsGGPS9-3,在系统进化树上与其他基因分成两支。蛋白质序列分析表明,茶树GGPS家族成员都具有polyprenyl_synt结构域,不存在信号肽序列。亚细胞定位预测结果显示,CsGGPS1、CsGGPS2和CsGGPS4定位在叶绿体上,CsGGPS3和CsGGPS9定位在线粒体上。通过Swiss Model进行三维建模,结合"three-floor"模型对茶树GGPS家族成员的功能进行预测,预测结果显示,CsGGPS1、CsGGPS2和CsGGPS4是GGPS;CsGGPS3是异源二聚体形式的牻牛儿基焦磷酸合酶的小亚基;CsGGPS9的催化主产物是碳链数大于30的异戊烯基焦磷酸。q RT-PCR分析表明,CsGGPS1整体表达丰度较低,仅在一芽二叶中表达量稍高;CsGGPS2在茶树各个组织中均有表达,在花中表达量最高,且花发育过程中表达量先上升后下降;CsGGPS3在叶和幼根中的表达量高于花,花发育过程中表达平稳;CsGGPS4在茶树各个组织中表达量数值相近,在花发育过程中表达量变化趋势与CsGGPS2相同;CsGGPS9的表达量在成熟叶中显著低于幼嫩叶片。     

Phenotypic indicators for cultured pearl size improvement in the black‐lipped pearl oyster (Pinctada margaritifera): towards selection for the recipient growth performance

The black‐lipped pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera, is the most important farmed species in French Polynesia and the basis of the most valuable export industry. Mass production of black pearls relies on a surgical operation requiring tissue from a donor pearl oyster to be grafted, together with a nucleus made of shell, into the gonad of a recipient oyster. Improving pearl size through family selection remains one of the main challenges for future aquaculture development. This study analyses the relative contribution of donor and recipient oysters to pearl size. To this end, hatchery‐produced donor oysters of two batches, large and small (based on shell height), were used to supply grafts for recipients, which were then monitored individually for their growth performance by recording shell height, width, and thickness, and total live weight (flesh + shells) every 6 months (four biometric measurement times) over 20 months of culture. Pearls issued from the two batches of donors showed no significant differences in nacre weight or thickness. In contrast, recipient oyster shell height and total weight were increasingly positively correlated with these pearl size parameters over the culture period, becoming significant at 8 months post‐grafting. Potential therefore exists to use shell height and oyster weight as phenotypic indicators for selective breeding of recipient oysters with high growth performance to increase pearl size in P. margaritifera.     

天山云杉林冠层结构对草本物种多样性的影响

为研究天山云杉林冠层特征与林下草本物种多样性的相互关系，以新疆天格尔森林公园天山云杉林的4个龄级的林分（幼林龄、中林龄、近熟林、成熟林）为研究对象，以冠层分析仪获得的冠层结构特征和林下光环境指数等野外实际调查数据为依据，通过计算 α 多样性指数分析4个龄级的草本物种多样性，利用多元统计方法研究冠层结构对草本多样性的影响。结果表明，各个指标在不同龄级间均有一定的差异，且随着林分的生长和更新，天山云杉林呈现林冠开度逐渐减小、叶面积指数增大、林下光辐射均减弱、物种多样性指数均减小的趋势；典型模型表明林冠开度对冠层结构起到主要作用（呈极显著正相关P<0.01），叶面积指数次之（呈极显著负相关P<0.01）；在林下辐射中，林下总辐射对林内光环境起主要作用；相比冠层结构，林下光照对草本层物种多样性的作用更大，其中林冠开度和丰富度指数之间呈显著正相关，林下总辐射、林下直射辐射和多样性指数、均匀度指数之间均呈显著正相关。     

Seedling and adult plant resistance to leaf rust in 46 Chinese bread wheat landraces and 39 wheat lines with known Lr genes

Wheat leaf rust,caused by Puccinia triticina(Pt),is an important foliar disease that has an important influence on wheat yield.The most economic,safe and effective way to control the disease is growing resistant cultivars.In the present study,a total of 46 wheat landraces and 34 wheat lines with known Lr(leaf rust resistance)genes were inoculated with 16Pt pathotypes for postulating seedling resistance gene(s)in the greenhouse.These cultivars and five wheat differential lines with adult plant resistance(APR)genes(Lr12,Lr22b,Lr34,Lr35 and Lr37)were also evaluated for identification of slow rusting resistance in the field trials in Baoding,Hebei Province of China in the 2014–2015 and 2015–2016 cropping seasons.Furthermore,10 functional molecular markers closely linked to 10 known Lr genes were used to detect all the wheat genotypes.Results showed that most of the landraces were susceptible to most of the Pt pathotypes at seedling stage.Nonetheless,Lr1 was detected only in Hongtangliangmai.The field experimental test of the two environments showed that 38 landraces showed slow rusting resistance.Seven cultivars possessed Lr34 but none of the landraces contained Lr37 and Lr46.Lr genes namely,Lr9,Lr19,Lr24,Lr28,Lr29,Lr47,Lr51 and Lr53 were effective at the whole plant stage.Lr18,Lr36 and Lr45 had lost resistance to part of pathotypes at the seedling stage but showed high resistance at the adult plant stage.Lr34 as a slowing rusting gene showed good resistance in the field.Four race-specific APR genes Lr12,Lr13,Lr35 and Lr37 conferred good resistance in the field experiments.Seven race-specific genes,Lr2b,Lr2c,Lr11,Lr16,Lr26,Lr33 and LrB had lost resistance.The 38 landraces showed slow rusting resistance to wheat leaf rust can be used as resistance resources for wheat resistance breeding in China.