Molecular phylogenetics reveals a complex history underlying cryptic diversity in the Bush Squeaker Frog (Arthroleptis wahlbergii) in southern Africa

Throughout the Miocene, the African landscape underwent broad climatic shifts that profoundly influenced the distribution of fauna and flora. Since the late Miocene, these shifts have created a landscape in southern Africa that is strongly characterised by savanna and arid environments. Forests persist in small fragments, primarily in mountainous or heterogeneous landscapes. Arthroleptis wahlbergii is a small frog endemic to eastern South Africa that has presumed low dispersal ability. Because of its preference for forests, the dynamics of forests since the late Miocene in this region might have promoted diversification within A. wahlbergii. To investigate whether habitat fragmentation might have driven divergences among populations, we carried out species distribution modelling and population level and phylogenetic analyses using two genetic loci (16S, mitochondrial; RAG-1, nuclear) sequenced for 48 individuals from 14 forests across the c. 500 km range of this species. There is substantial population-level structuring within A. wahlbergii, however the structure does not relate to forest types or catchments. We instead propose that the structure is a result of dynamic and idiosyncratic changes in forest connectivity over the Pleistocene. We identified two geographically circumscribed clades, the northern of which corresponds to true A. wahlbergii. The southern clade corresponds to populations from which Arthroleptis wageri FitzSimons, 1930 was described. This has long been considered a synonym of A. wahlbergii, but our molecular phylogenetic and distribution modelling supports recognising A. wageri as a distinct species.     

A morphological analysis of the skull size and shape of Kerivoulinae (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Vietnam

Southeast Asia is a region of high biodiversity, containing species of plants and animals that are yet to be discovered. In this region, bats of the subfamily Kerivoulinae are widespread and diverse with six species recorded in Vietnam. However, the taxonomy of the Kerivoulinae in Asia is complicated. In our study, we used diagnostic characters and multivariate analysis to determine morphological differences between the genera Kerivoula and Phoniscus. We showed that the two genera are distinguishable by the size of second upper incisors, the shape of skull, nasal sinus, canines, second upper and lower premolars. In addition, the two genera can be osteometrically separated by measurements of the braincase height, interorbital width and shape of anterior palatal emargination. Our data clearly revealed the morphological variations in the skull shape of Kerivoula hardwickii in Vietnam. This suggests a possible separation into three morphotypes, representing cryptic species supported by statistical differences with wide variation in skull shape, size and teeth. These results demonstrated Kerivoula hardwickii can be separated three subspecies, and the result will serve as the basis for the future assessment and classification of this group in Southeast Asia.     

Can incidental sighting data be used to elucidate habitat preferences and areas of suitable habitat for a cryptic species?

The involvement of communities in ecological studies has been shown to augment conservation efforts, especially for cryptic species. However, there is a lack of studies addressing the utility of incidental sighting records from community members in gaining knowledge on habitat preferences and distribution of suitable habitat for these organisms. This study compares preferences of the Lumholtz's tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi ; LTK), a cryptic rainforest folivore in northeastern Australia, for various habitat and climatic variables derived from data collected during scientific projects to those derived from incidental sighting records using ArcGIS and Maxent. Incidental sighting records suggest that the species uses a wider range of altitudes, annual rainfalls, annual mean temperatures and vegetation types than predicted by scientific studies. Incidental records also show that the species can persist in areas of lower rainfall during the wettest month and lower minimum temperature during the coldest month. Both data place the species within a comparable range of rainfalls during the driest month, maximum temperatures of the warmest month and soil types. When using identified preferences to assess the extent and distribution of suitable habitat, incidental records predicted more areas of suitable habitat than scientific records with an overlap of up to 91% between them. The present study proves that incidental sighting records can be a valuable part of the study of cryptic species and should be considered complementarily alongside scientific studies to obtain comprehensive ecological information of a species that can assist in its conservation.     

我国古代苜蓿物种考述

由于最早记载苜蓿的典籍没有明示其是紫花还是黄花,导致对我国古代苜蓿物种认识上存在分歧,目前大致有5种观点:一是古代苜蓿专指紫花苜蓿;二是南苜蓿;三是紫苜蓿与南苜蓿的合称;四是黄花苜蓿;五是不确定。本研究应用植物考据学原理,通过收集整理记载苜蓿植物生物学的典籍,结合近现代研究成果,考证苜蓿物种。研究表明,汉代从大宛国传入我国的苜蓿与紫花苜蓿的起源地相一致,并且唐代韩鄂《四时纂要》明确记载了苜蓿开紫花,主要分布在黄河流域,这与我国汉代苜蓿最初引种地相一致,在之后也有不少典籍同样记述了苜蓿开紫花,乃至苜蓿的生态生物学特性。可以确定,我国汉代引入的苜蓿应该是开紫花的苜蓿,即紫花苜蓿。宋梅尧臣和明李时珍记述的开黄花的苜蓿,至少说明在宋代和明代开黄花的苜蓿就在我国存在和被利用。据清《植物名实图考》记载,在古代我国有3种苜蓿被利用,即紫花苜蓿、南苜蓿和黄花苜蓿。     

Progress on the taxonomic classification of Medicago species北大核心CSCD

This review investigates the disordered status of the classification of Medicago genus,both domestically and internationally. Several definitions of a taxonomic species were considered and the names and characteristics of 13 Medicago species in China are reported,together with a detailed summary of the names,life forms,chromosome numbers,pollination methods and natural distribution of about 90 Medicago species worldwide,including the classification of 14 sections and 10 subsections in Medicago. The molecular evolutionary relationships between different species,and the geographical origin of Medicago are discussed,and the genetic relationships between different subspecies in the alfalfa complex are further explained. This study puts forward a method of identifying Medicago species on the basis of deep understanding of the concept of species. A wide collection of global Medicago germplasm resources,aiming to further clarify the evolutionary relationship among different sections and different species by molecular evolution methods is proposed. This review provides a reference framework for future Medicago classification and alfalfa cross breeding. © 2022 Editorial Office of Acta Prataculturae Sinica. All rights reserved.     

MHC基因对地方保护猪种抗病选育的应用前景

主要组织相容性复合体基因具有丰富多态性,不仅与猪种抗病性有关,而且还与其繁殖性能、生长性能以及肉质都有一定相关性。因此,主要组织相容性复合体基因作为分子遗传标记,应用于地方保护猪种的抗病选育等方面具有重要的科学研究前景和实际应用价值。     

11类哺乳类和鸟类动物红细胞免疫功能的对比研究

应用红细胞Ｃ３ｂ受体花环（Ｃ３ｂＲＲ）和免疫复合物花环（ＩＣＲ）试验,证实鸽、鹌鹑、鹅、鹿、瘤牛、牦牛、德宏水牛（沼泽型水牛）、摩拉水牛（江河型水牛）、驴、小耳猪和山羊红细胞表面存在补体Ｃ３ｂ受体（Ｃ３ｂｒｅｃｅｐｔｏｒ,Ｃ３ｂＲ）,表明红细胞免疫系统（Ｒｅｄｃｅｌｌｉｍｍｕｎｅｓｙｓｔｅｍ,ＲＣＩＳ）的概念亦适用于这１１类动物。文中对红细胞Ｃ３ｂＲＲ和ＩＣＲ分别代表红细胞表面Ｃ３ｂＲ“空位”和“占位”状态的会意做出了解释。对１１类动物中哺乳类与鸟类动物红细胞Ｃ３ｂＲＲ和ＩＣＲ测试的统计结果进行剖析,可知：总体上讲,３种鸟类红细胞表面补体Ｃ３ｂＲ活性显著小于８类哺乳动物（Ｐ＜０．０５,有少数例外）,而红细胞粘附免疫复合物能力则极显著地大于８类哺乳动物（Ｐ＜０．０１）;红细胞粘附免疫复合物能力和其表面Ｃ３ｂＲ活性在不同动物种、型间有相当的差异。