Site‐specific management is crucial to managing Mikania micrantha

Increasingly, weeds have been taking on global distributions. With the proliferation of invasive weeds has come the challenge of managing these species over broad geographical regions, with diverse habitats and political jurisdictions. Here, we review the management of Mikania micrantha Kunth (Asteraceae; mile‐a‐minute) throughout its invaded range, extending through most of the Pacific islands and southern and south‐east Asia. Context matters when determining the best course of action for managing M. micrantha, as it has invaded a large variety of agricultural and natural systems. In Queensland, Australia and Florida, USA, M. micrantha has been targeted in relatively successful eradication campaigns, highlighting the importance of early detection and rapid response methods, while elsewhere in its invaded range, populations are either still increasing or showing limited signs of decline. An inter‐regional approach to research and management should incorporate successful management strategies employed throughout the invaded range including, but not limited to, chemical and cultural control practices, manual and mechanical control, classical biological control using the rust fungus Puccinia spegazzinii, plant–plant competition and integrated approaches utilising two or more control methods concurrently. Additional knowledge of M. micrantha genetics is required to determine if management approaches could be fine‐tuned for particular populations. Countries bordering the Mekong River formed a network in 2011 to co‐ordinate the management of invasive species such as M. micrantha. Expanding such a collaborative approach to other regions could further reduce populations of M. micrantha and limit its spread.     

防御信号途径在B型烟粉虱取食烟草诱导抗蚜防御中的作用

B型烟粉虱取食能够诱导烟草产生对烟蚜的抗性反应,为了明确水杨酸和茉莉酸防御信号途径与烟粉虱诱导抗蚜防御之间的关系,采用生化分析、实时定量PCR、蚜虫生物活性测定等方法比较了烟粉虱若虫取食对烟草水杨酸、茉莉酸含量、通路下游防御基因表达水平的影响及外源水杨酸、茉莉酸对烟蚜生长发育的影响。结果显示：烟粉虱侵染能够显著激活水杨酸防御途径,在取食15天后,水杨酸水平较对照升高1.40倍,水杨酸下游防御基因PR-1a及PR-2a分别较对照升高3.22和0.74倍;然而烟粉虱侵染后烟草叶片茉莉酸含量与对照相比无显著变化,JA下游防御基因PI-II和TPI的转录水平分别较对照降低73.91%和56.73%。生测结果显示,外源施用水杨酸对烟蚜的存活率和相对平均生长率具有显著不利影响。烟草叶片施用1 mmol/L水杨酸后,蚜虫的存活率及相对生长率分别较对照降低43.2%和11.54%;然而喷施茉莉酸甲酯对蚜虫的生长发育无不利影响。上述结果表明,水杨酸介导的防御应答在B型烟粉虱取食诱导烟草的抗蚜防御中起重要作用。     

凤梨草莓与黄毛草莓种间杂种果实香气成分的代谢谱分析

【目的】通过比较黄毛草莓和凤梨草莓的2个种间杂种PF（具黄毛草莓浓郁的蜜桃香气）和NF（无蜜桃香气）完熟期果实香气成分的代谢谱,为黄毛草莓蜜桃香气特征成分鉴定及野生草莓优异资源的开发利用提供参考。【方法】采用顶空固相微萃取和气相色谱/质谱联用技术（gas chromatograph tandem mass spectrometer technology,GC-MS）,对供试材料的香气成分进行检测。采用偏最小二乘法判别分析（partial least squares discrimination analysis,PLS-DA）模型第一主成分的变量投影重要度（variable importance in the projection,VIP）值和log2FC（Fold Change,FC）,结合T-test的P值来筛选差异性代谢物,PF相对于NF,设置阈值VIP>1.0, log2FC>1.0或log2FC<-1.0且P value<0.05,差异代谢物的相对含量采用峰面积归一化法计算,CAS号（Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number）在https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov网站查阅。【结果】从检测到的383种总代谢物中筛选出67种差异代谢物,其中58种上调,9种下调,上调幅度较大的差异代谢物为内酯类物质,log2FC排在前3名的依次是(Z)-7-癸烯-5-酸（5.60）、丁位十一内酯（5.33）、δ-癸内酯（5.30）,下调幅度较大的差异代谢物为酯类物质,-log2FC排在前3名的依次是肉桂酸乙酯、亚硫酸（-7.19）,2-乙基己基异己酯（-6.65）和3-羟基丁酸乙酯（-4.14）。从相对含量来看,酯类在PF（37.69%）中大幅低于NF（57.20%）,内酯类在PF（20.91%）中大幅高于NF（6.12%）,酮类在PF（15.30%）中略高于NF（9.12%）,醇类、醛类、酸类、烯烃类和其他代谢物在PF和NF中的含量相当,NF中相对含量最大的酯是丁酸乙酯（17.92%）,PF中相对含量最大的内酯是δ-癸内酯（12.53%）,PF相对含量最大的酮与NF相同,均为2-庚酮。【结论】肉桂酸乙酯、丁酸乙酯和3-羟基丁酸乙酯等酯类可能是NF的关键香气成分,(Z)-7-癸烯-5-酸、丁位十一内酯和δ-癸内酯等内酯类可能是形成PF蜜桃香气的关键物质。     

Influence of intra-row cruciferous surrogate weed growth on crop yield in organic spring cereals

In Northern Europe, inter-row hoeing has become a popular tactic for controlling weeds in organic cereals. Hoeing is highly effective and can be implemented from crop emergence until stem elongation to maintain a nearly weed-free inter-row zone. However, hoeing has a lesser effect on weeds growing in the intra-row zone, where crop–weed proximity results in heightened competition. In the hoed cereal system, it is investigated whether tall-growing, competitive, cruciferous weeds in the intra-row zone affect crop biomass, yield and thousand kernel weight (TKW). An additive experimental design is employed to enable the fitting of rectangular hyperbolas, describing and quantifying the effects of increasing intra-row surrogate weed density on crop growth parameters. Regressions were studied under the influence of crop (spring barley and spring wheat), row spacing (narrow [12.5 or 15.0 cm] and wide [25.0 cm]) and nitrogen rate (50 and 100 kg NH₄-N/ha). Cruciferous surrogate weeds were found to impact crop yield and quality severely. For example, ten intra-row plants/m² of surrogate weed Sinapis alba reduced grains yields by 7%–14% in spring barley and by 7%–32% in spring wheat with yield losses becoming markedly greater in wheat compared to barley as weed density increases. Compared to wheat, barley limited yield and quality losses and suppressed intra-row weed growth more. Row spacing did not have a consistent effect on crop or weed parameters; in one of six experiments, the 25 cm row spacing reduced yields and increased intra-row weed biomass in wheat. Nitrogen rate did not affect crop or weed parameters. Results warrant the implementation of additional tactics to control intra-row weeds and limit crop losses.     

Stable isotopes and gut contents indicate differential resource use by coexisting asp (Leuciscus aspius) and pikeperch (Sander lucioperca)

Differential use of habitat and prey resources is an important mechanism that may allow coexistence of sympatric species. Unlike interactions between smaller cyprinid and percid fishes, the resource use by coexisting predatory asp (Leuciscus aspius) and pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) is relatively unknown. Here, gut content and stable isotope analyses were used to study ontogenetic dietary shifts and interspecific trophic niche overlap between asp and pikeperch coexisting in two reservoirs. The hypothesis that both species show an ontogenetic dietary shift from small invertebrates to large fish prey, but at the same time use different prey resources to reduce potential competitive interactions, was validated. The isotopic niches of the two predators showed no, or only a moderate, degree of overlap (0%–65%). The ontogenetic changes in the degree of interspecific isotopic niche overlap were different in the two reservoirs, suggesting that trophic segregation can be dynamic and variable among systems. Gut contents revealed that small (<100 mm standard length) asp consumed mostly terrestrial invertebrates and emerged aquatic insects, whereas small pikeperch foraged on zooplankton, larval and pupal stages of aquatic insects and fish. Larger individuals (>100 mm) of both species were predominantly piscivorous, with asp consuming more cyprinid prey and pikeperch more percid prey. Coexisting asp and pikeperch populations are able to utilise different prey resources, thereby reducing potential negative competitive interactions.     

QTL Mapping of Important Agronomic Traits on Chromosomes Showing Marker Segregation Distortion in Interspecific Backcross Cotton Populations

[Objective] The purpose of this study was to map QTLs for yield, maturity, and fiber quality traits of cotton interspecific hybrid populations and to mine favorable alleles from the cotton genome for QTL fine mapping, gene cloning, and molecular marker-assisted selection. [Method] Four BC₁F₁ populations, E(E3), E(3E), (E3)E, and (3E)E, were developed by crossing sea island cotton 3-79 ("3") and upland cotton 'Emian 22' ("E"), and with "Emian 22" as the recurrent parent. BC1F2 populations derived from BC1F1 populations were phenotyped to allow mapping of QTLs for yield-, maturity-, and fiber quality-related traits on chromosomes showing segregation distortion. [Result] A normal distribution test indicated that six fiber quality-related traits, except for the micronaire value in E (E3) and the short fiber ratio in all populations, followed a normal distribution pattern; in contrast, earliness-related traits were not normally distributed in all populations, which suggests that genotype-environment interactions have strong effects on maturity-related traits. Using composite interval mapping, 47 QTLs were detected on three chromosomes (2, 16, and 18): 15 in (E3)E, 13 in (3E)E, 12 in E(E3), and 7 in E(3E), with the phenotypic variation explained (PVE) ranging from 8.8%–30.9%. A total of 27 fiber-related QTLs were discovered, with the PVE ranging from 9.0%–30.9%. Five yield-related QTLs (PVE = 8.8%–17.4%) and 13 maturity-related QTLs (PVE = 9.4%–19.4%) were also identified. [Conclusion] Comparison analysis showed that most QTLs in our study were consistent with the MetaQTL, including QTLs for boll weight, fiber length, fiber length uniformity, lint percentage, and micronaire value on chromosome 2; QTLs for fiber length, fiber strength, and fiber length uniformity on chromosome 16; and QTLs for boll weight, date of boll opening, fiber length, fiber strength, fiber length uniformity, and micronaire value on chromosome 18. Several detected QTLs in our study were not found in the MetaQTL, such as QTLs for date of boll opening and lint percentage on chromosome 16 and a QTL for the date from seedling to flowering stages on chromosome 18. These newly identified QTLs may provide novel insights for cotton QTL analysis.     

Invasive Chinese pond mussel Sinanodonta woodiana threatens native mussel reproduction by inducing cross‐resistance of host fish

1. The effects of invasive alien species (IAS) on host–affiliate relationships are often subtle and remain unnoticed or insufficiently quantified. The global decline of freshwater unionid mussel species has been attributed to many causes, but little is known about the interactions of IAS, with their complex life cycle, which includes an obligatory parasitic stage (the glochidium) that develops on fishes.
2. The capacity of a European freshwater mussel, Anodonta anatina, to develop on its widespread fish host, Squalius cephalus was tested experimentally, after previous infestations by the IAS, Sinanodonta (Anodonta) woodiana. The initial attachment of glochidia, the length of the parasitic period, and the metamorphosis success rate of A. anatina glochidia were compared among treatments of different priming infestation intensities.
3. The metamorphosis success rate of the native A. anatina glochidia was strongly reduced (Wilcoxon Signed‐Rank Test, P < 0.001) and declined by 42.1 and 45.4% on fish hosts that were previously exposed to S. woodiana by single and multiple priming infestations, respectively, in comparison with the control group. Such cross‐resistance is expected to decrease significantly the quality of the host resources available to native mussels.
4. This study provides the first evidence of the host‐mediated adverse impact of invasive S. woodiana on native mussel species. These results also highlight the importance of potential competition for hosts between threatened groups of affiliate species and their invasive counterparts, which should be reflected in conservation strategies.

     

天山北坡不同区域及海拔对天然草地鸭茅群落物种种间关系影响

以天山北坡不同区域与海拔地段鸭茅群落主要物种为研究对象,采用邻接格子样方法测定鸭茅群落物种优势度,通过方差比率计算、χ2检验、联结指数即秩相关分析种间联结性,分析鸭茅群落主要优势物种在群落中的分布及优势物种鸭茅与其他物种之间的关系,探讨区域与海拔梯度变化对鸭茅群落物稳定性的影响。结果表明,1)东、西两段山地鸭茅群落主要物种种间联结性在海拔1800~2200m间呈现出由正关联逐渐向负关联过渡,群落稳定性有随海拔升高呈逐渐减弱趋势。2)联结系数及联结指数结果均说明不同区域与海拔梯度对的鸭茅群落物种间的联结程度有一定影响,但均表现不强,而处于弱联结的较多或无联结,群落中各物种间较松散。3)鸭茅种群与群落内其他种之间的相关性有时呈正联结,有时呈负联结,这与区域与海拔地段所处的环境因素存在异质性有关。研究结果为揭示影响鸭茅群落物稳定性因素,预测鸭茅种群动态和种间竞争与共存机制提供重要的理论依据。     

Effect of weed interference on Zea mays: Growth analysis

In order to investigate the effect of weed competition on corn, growth trials were conducted in Shushtar, Iran, using a comparative growth analysis. In this study, two sets of treatments were imposed, based on the phenological stages of corn development, using a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The results showed that barnyardgrass and redroot pigweed were the most dominant weeds in these trials. Increasing the duration of weed interference reduced the corn leaf area index gradually. The reduction in the corn leaf area index led to a decline in the crop growth rate as a result of a reduction in the ability of corn to capture light and its photosynthetic ability. The total dry matter and relative growth rate of corn were decreased when the weeds were removed later as a result of a reduction in the leaf area index. According to these results, the leaf area index has a critical role in weed–crop competition.