代谢异速生长理论及其在微生物生态学领域的应用

新陈代谢是生物的基本生理过程,影响生物在不同环境中参与物质循环和能量转化的过程.代谢速率作为生物体重要的生命过程指标,几乎影响所有的生物活性速率,且在很多研究中均表现出异速生长现象.所谓代谢异速是指生物体代谢速率与其个体大小(或质量)之间存在的幂函数关系.代谢异速生长理论的提出,从机制模型角度解释了代谢异速关系这一普遍存在的生命现象.该理论利用分形几何学及流体动力学等原理,从生物能量学角度阐释了异速生长规律的机理,证实了3/4权度指数的存在;但同时有研究表明,权度指数因环境因素等影响处于2/3-1范围之间而非定值.随着研究工作的深入,代谢异速生长理论研究从起初的宏观动植物领域拓展到了微生物领域,在研究微生物的代谢异速生长理论时,可将微生物的可操作分类单元(Operational taxonomic unit,OTU)或具有特定功能的功能群视为一个微生物个体,基于其遗传多样性和功能多样性特征进行表征,以便于将微生物群落多样性与其生态功能性联系起来,使该理论在微生物生态学领域得到有效的补充和完善.尽管细菌具有独特的生物学特性,但与宏观生物系统中观测到的现象表现出明显的一致性.有研究表明,3个农田土壤细菌基于遗传多样性的OTU数的平均周转率分别为0.71、0.80和0.84,介于2/3与1之间,可能与生物代谢异速指数有一定关联,为微生物代谢异速指数的研究提出了一个参考解决方案.鉴于微生物个体特征和生物学特性,在分析代谢速率与个体大小关系中,从微生物单位个体的定义、个体大小表征到计量单位的统一,仍需更多的理论支持.分析了代谢异速生长理论在微生物与生态系统功能关系研究中的可能应用,延伸了该理论的应用范围,并对尚待加强的研究问题进行了评述和展望.     

Energy uptake and allocation during ontogeny

All organisms face the problem of how to fuel ontogenetic growth. We present a model, empirically grounded in data from birds and mammals, that correctly predicts how growing animals allocate food energy between synthesis of new biomass and maintenance of existing biomass. Previous energy budget models have typically had their bases in rates of either food consumption or metabolic energy expenditure. Our model provides a framework that reconciles these two approaches and highlights the fundamental principles that determine rates of food assimilation and rates of energy allocation to maintenance, biosynthesis, activity, and storage. The model predicts that growth and assimilation rates for all animals should cluster closely around two universal curves. Data for mammals and birds of diverse body sizes and taxa support these predictions.     

Oxygen consumption of red and white muscles from tuna fishes

Metabolic rates of unstimulated, minced preparations of red and white muscles from two species of Pacific tuna fishes (Katsuwonus pelamis and Thunnus obesus) were determined from respirometric measurements of oxygen consumption. Ratios of mean metabolic rates for red muscles to those of white muscles averaged 6.2 at five temperatures over the range of 5 degrees to 35 degrees C. Temperature coefficients (Q10's) for mean metabolic rates for both types of muscle were between 1.0 and 1.2 over the entire temperature range. Metabolic rates of tuna red muscles were equal to those of preparations of mixed red and white muscle from the white rat at 25 degrees and 35 degrees C, and were higher than the mammalian rates at lower temperatures.     

Erratum

The "turritid gastropod" referred to on page 713 (column 2, line 22) of the article "Hydrothermal vent animals: Distribution and biology" by J. Frederick Grassle (23 Aug.) should have been a "turrid gastropod." The first reference 26 on page 716 (column 2, line 14) should have been to R. A. Lutz and D. C. Rhoads, Eos 64, 1017 (1983). The statement at the end of page 716 that vent animals have metabolic rates that are orders of magnitude higher than relatives in other parts of the deep sea cannot be substantiated because, although many deep-sea organisms have low metabolic rates, benthic decapod crustacea and echinoderms from areas away from hydrothermal vents in the deep sea have metabolic rates similar to those of vent species when measured at the same temperature. This is further discussed in a forthcoming issue of the Bulletin of the Biological Society of Washington.     

Homeothermic response to reduced ambient temperature in a scarab beetle

Elephant beetles (Megasoma elephas; Scarabaeidae) weighing from 10 to 35 grams, respond homeothermically when ambient temperature is reduced below about 20 degrees C in the laboratory. This metabolic response is not associated with locomotion or any other overt activity. Warming is initiated when the body temperature reaches an apparent set point of 20 degrees to 22 degrees C. Unlike the case for euthermic birds and mammals, energy metabolism and body temperature in these beetles are conspicuously oscillatory, with a given cycle in oxygen consumption peaking before the corresponding cycle in body temperature.     

Size and shape in biology

Arguments based on elastic stability and flexure, as opposed to the more conventional ones based on yield strength, require that living organisms adopt forms whereby lengths increase as the (2/3) power of diameter. The somatic dimensions of several species of animals and of a wide variety of trees fit this rule well. It is a simple matter to show that energy metabolism during maximal sustained work depends on body cross-sectional area, not total body surface area as proposed by Rubner (1) and many after him. This result and the result requiring animal proportions to change with size amount to a derivation of Kleiber's law, a statement only empirical until now, correlating the metabolically related variables with body weight raised to the (3/4) power. In the present model, biological frequencies are predicted to go inversely as body weight to the (1/4) power, and total body surface areas should correlate with body weight to the (5/8) power. All predictions of the proposed model are tested by comparison with existing data, and the fit is considered satisfactory. In The Fire of Life, Kleiber (5) wrote "When the concepts concerned with the relation of body size and metabolic rate are clarified, . . . then compartive physiology of metabolism will be of great help in solving one of the most intricate and interesting problems in biology, namely the regulation of the rate of cell metabolism." Although Hill (23) realized that "the essential point about a large animal is that its structure should be capable of bearing its own weight and this leaves less play for other factors," he was forced to use an oversimplified "geometric similarity" hypothesis in his important work on animal locomotion and muscular dynamics. It is my hope that the model proposed here promises useful answers in comparisons of living things on both the microscopic and the gross scale, as part of the growing science of form, which asks precisely how organisms are diverse and yet again how they are alike.     

High macromolecular synthesis with low metabolic cost in Antarctic sea urchin embryos

Assessing the energy costs of development in extreme environments is important for understanding how organisms can exist at the margins of the biosphere. Macromolecular turnover rates of RNA and protein were measured at -1.5 degrees C during early development of an Antarctic sea urchin. Contrary to expectations of low synthesis with low metabolism at low temperatures, protein and RNA synthesis rates exhibited temperature compensation and were equivalent to rates in temperate sea urchin embryos. High protein metabolism with a low metabolic rate is energetically possible in this Antarctic sea urchin because the energy cost of protein turnover, 0.45 joules per milligram of protein, is 1/25th the values reported for other animals.     

Body Temperature of Dermochelys coriacea: Warm Turtle from Cold Water

The deep body temperature of a leatherback turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, taken out of cold water, was 18 degrees C above the water temperature. A large size favoring heat retention from muscular activity is probably responsible for this differential. Cooling rates (k) in water, measured on a second animal, were in the order of 0.001 degrees C per minute per degree of difference between body and ambient temperature.     

Temperatures of desert plants: another perspective on the adaptability of leaf size

Surface temperatures of perennial plants in the Sonoran Desert of California ranged from 20 degrees C above air temperature to over 18 degrees C below air temperature during rapid growth periods following rain. Desert cactus with large photosynthetic stem surfaces had the highest temperatures and lowest transpiration rates. Perennial plants with relatively small leaves had moderate transpiration rates and leaf temperatures close to air temperature. Desert perennials with relatively large leaves had leaf temperatures well below air temperature along with the greatest accompanying transpiration rates of over 20 micrograms per square centimeter per second, but also had correspondingly low temperatures for maximum photosynthesis. The low leaf temperatures measured for these large-leafed species are an exception to the more common pattern for desert plants whereby a smaller leaf size prevents overheating and leads to reductions in transpiration and increased water-use efficiency. The contribution of a larger leaf size to a lower leaf temperature, and thus higher rate of photosynthesis for these large-leafed species, may represent an adaptive pattern previously unrecognized for desert plants.     

Hibernation in black bears: independence of metabolic suppression from body temperature

Black bears hibernate for 5 to 7 months a year and, during this time, do not eat, drink, urinate, or defecate. We measured metabolic rate and body temperature in hibernating black bears and found that they suppress metabolism to 25% of basal rates while regulating body temperature from 30° to 36°C, in multiday cycles. Heart rates were reduced from 55 to as few as 9 beats per minute, with profound sinus arrhythmia. After returning to normal body temperature and emerging from dens, bears maintained a reduced metabolic rate for up to 3 weeks. The pronounced reduction and delayed recovery of metabolic rate in hibernating bears suggest that the majority of metabolic suppression during hibernation is independent of lowered body temperature.     

Energy scaling in marsupials and eutherians

Marsupials have been shown to have basal metabolic rates below those of eutherian mammals. Now metabolic rates below thermoneutrality are found to be equivalent in both taxa. Two models are proposed to explain the observed metabolic patterns: in one, marsupials differ only in having reduced basal metabolic rates; in the other, the reduced marsupial basal metabolic rates combined with a reduced body temperature and elevated conductance. The metabolic costs of existence below thermoneutrality appear to be similar for both taxa. The difference in basal metabolic rate may be of energetic significance or merely a phylogenetic coincidence.     

Temperature regulation by the inflorescence of philodendron

The inflorescence of Philodendron selloum temporarily maintains a core temperature of 38 degrees to 46 degrees C, despite air temperatures ranging from 4 degrees to 39 degrees C, by means of a variable metabolic rate. The heat is produced primarily by small, sterile male flowers that are capable of consuming oxygen at rates approaching those of flying hummingbirds and sphinx moths.     

Thermoregulation in endothermic insects

On the basis of body weight, most flying insects have higher rates of metabolism, and hence heat production, than other animals. However, rapid rates of cooling because of small body size in most cases precludes appreciable endothermy. The body temperature of small flies in flight is probably close to ambient temperature, and that of flying butterflies and locusts is 5 degrees to 10 degrees C above ambient temperature. Many moths and bumblebees are insulated with scales and hair, and their metabolism during flight can cause the temperature of the flight muscles to increase 20 degrees to 30 degrees C above ambient temperature. Curiously, those insects which (because of size, insulation) retain the most heat in the thorax during flight, also require the highest muscle temperature in order to maintain sufficient power output to continue flight. The minimum muscle temperature for flight varies widely between different species, while the maximum temperature varies over the relatively narrow range of 40 degrees to 45 degrees C. As a consequence, those insects that necessarily generate high muscle temperatures during flight must maintain their thoracic temperature within a relatively narrow range during flight. Active heat loss from the thorax to the abdomen prevents overheating of the flight motor and allows some large moths to be active over a wide range of ambient temperatures. Bumblebees similarly transfer heat from the flight musculature into the abdomen while incubating their brood by abdominal contact. Many of the larger insects would remain grounded if they did not actively increase the temperature of their flight muscles prior to flight. Male tettigoniid grasshoppers elevate their thoracic temperature prior to singing. In addition, some of the social Hymenoptera activate the "flight" muscles specifically to produce heat not only prior to flight but also during nest temperature regulation. During this "shivering" the "flight" muscles are often activated in patterns different from those during flight. The muscles contract primarily against each other rather than on the wings. However, the rate of heat production during shivering and flight is primarily a function of the action potential frequency rather than of the patterns of activation. Thermoregulation is a key factor in the energetics of foraging of some of the flower-visiting insects. The higher their muscle temperature the more flowers they can visit per unit time. When food supplies are ample, bees may invest relatively large amounts of energy for thermoregulation. While shivering to maintain high body temperatures during the short intervals they are perched on flowers (as well as while in the nest), bumblebees often expend energy at rates similar to the rates of energy expenditure in flight. Unlike vertebrates, which usually regulate their body temperature at specific set points, the body temperature of insects is labile. It often appears to be maintained near the lower temperature at which the muscles are able to perform the function at hand. The insects' thermal adaptations may not differ as much from those of vertebrates as previously supposed when size, anatomy, and energy requirements are taken into account.     

Thermophysiology of Tyrannosaurus rex: Evidence from Oxygen Isotopes

The oxygen isotopic composition of vertebrate bone phosphate (delta(p)) is related to ingested water and to the body temperature at which the bone forms. The delta(p) is in equilibrium with the individual's body water, which is at a physiological steady state throughout the body. Therefore, intrabone temperature variation and the mean interbone temperature differences of well-preserved fossil vertebrates can be determined from the deltap variation. Values of delta(p) from a well-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex suggest that this species maintained homeothermy with less than 4 degrees C of variability in body temperature. Maintenance of homeothermy implies a relatively high metabolic rate that is similar to that of endotherms.     

过表达蝶呤还原酶PTR1基因促进植物叶酸合成的研究

叶酸是生物体维持正常生命活动所必需的小分子代谢物,还原态的蝶呤参与叶酸的合成。通过利用组成型启动子驱动依赖NADPH的蝶呤还原酶基因（NADPH-dependent pterin reductase gene, PTR1）在模式植物拟南芥和烟草中进行过表达,探讨了来源于利什曼原虫的PTR1基因对植物叶酸合成代谢的影响。结果表明,在过表达PTR1的转基因拟南芥和烟草植株中,叶酸含量有不同程度的升高,其中转基因拟南芥的5-甲酰四氢叶酸有显著提高,而转基因烟草中5-甲基四氢叶酸有显著提高。说明将来源于原生动物的蝶呤还原酶引入植物,可以促进转基因植物中叶酸的合成代谢,为深入了解植物叶酸合成代谢的规律奠定了基础。     

次生代谢产物的生物分子特性决定基因适合度

种群内与生物代谢相关基因的突变,必然会导致新酶、新代谢产物的形成,从而使生物体具有化学物质的多样性。新物质对生物体及细胞的生存或有利,或不利。该研究从选择进化的角度论述了代谢相关基因发生突变所产酶产物的生物分子活性是决定该基因能否保存的必要条件。同时指出,鉴于产物的生物分子性质可分为3个基本类型,而且选择压力对每种类型的选择存在差异性,从而使生物体具有化学多样性,并进一步形成代谢的多样性。     

苹果酸酶的分子生物学研究进展

苹果酸酶（malic enzyme,ME）是调控苹果酸代谢的关键酶,可以催化苹果酸氧化脱羧的可逆反应,产生丙酮酸和CO2,以及伴随NAD（P）^＋的还原反应。根据辅酶特异性,苹果酸酶可分为NAD^＋或NADP^＋依赖性苹果酸酶,并广泛存在于自然界中。苹果酸酶广泛地参与不同的代谢途径,包括C4植物中的固碳作用、真菌和动物中脂质合成的NADPH源泉、以及组织快速繁殖时线粒体能量的供给等。对苹果酸酶的生化特性、空间结构特点、催化机理的研究,将为代谢工程奠定基础。     

转基因植物对土壤生态系统的影响

土壤生态系统的功能是否正常直接关系到农业系统的稳定。随着转基因技术的发展和转基因作物商品化应用的增多,转基因植物对土壤生物存在的潜在危害及可能造成的对土壤生态系统的影响成为研究热点,但至今并没有确切证据证实当前释放的转基因植物(包括抗除草剂和抗虫作物)对土壤生态系统具有重大的直接影响。文章综述了转基因植物表达产物在土壤中的残留特性及其对土壤微生物、土壤其他生物及土壤理化性质的影响,并对研究方向进行了展望。     

Comparative losses of British butterflies, birds, and plants and the global extinction crisis

There is growing concern about increased population, regional, and global extinctions of species. A key question is whether extinction rates for one group of organisms are representative of other taxa. We present a comparison at the national scale of population and regional extinctions of birds, butterflies, and vascular plants from Britain in recent decades. Butterflies experienced the greatest net losses, disappearing on average from 13% of their previously occupied 10-kilometer squares. If insects elsewhere in the world are similarly sensitive, the known global extinction rates of vertebrate and plant species have an unrecorded parallel among the invertebrates, strengthening the hypothesis that the natural world is experiencing the sixth major extinction event in its history.     

异戊烯基焦磷酸(IPP)异构酶的生物信息学分析

对来源于多种植物和其他生物的IPI蛋白特性、亚细胞定位及其亲缘关系等方面进行生物信息学分析和电子预测,为研究IPI家族蛋白的酶学特性和萜类生物合成的分子机理提供一定的理论依据。