Do multipurpose companion trees affect high value timber trees in a silvopastoral plantation system?

Establishment of native timber trees on deforested land may contribute to the livelihood of farmers, to improved ecosystem services and to increased greenhouse gas uptake. Here, we present a new silvopastoral planting design to assess species performance and interspecific competition or facilitation effects among native timber and multipurpose trees in Central America. Two timber species, Tabebuia rosea and Cedrela odorata, were established in three low-density planting regimes allowing combined tree and future livestock production: (1) solitary planting, (2) companion planting with Guazuma ulmifolia, and (3) companion planting with the nitrogen-fixing Gliricidia sepium. We quantified survival, growth and reforestation potential of the two timber species subjected to the different planting regimes for the first 2 years after establishment. Nitrogen concentration as well as stable nitrogen and carbon isotope composition (δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C) of leaves of the timber saplings were determined. T. rosea showed higher survival and better growth than C. odorata under varying environmental conditions (soil, concomitant vegetation). Performance of the timber saplings was unaffected by either companion species. Planting regimes had no effect on foliar nitrogen concentration and δ¹⁵N of the two timber species, although δ¹⁵N values indicated nitrogen fixation activity in G. sepium trees. Planting regimes affected foliar δ¹³C values in T. rosea. δ¹³C values were significantly higher in solitarily growing individuals, suggesting lower exposition to water stress conditions in saplings surrounded by companion species. As we found positively correlated growth traits among timber and multipurpose trees, a combined planting may benefit farmers by providing additional goods and services.     

Rice <Emphasis Type="Italic">terpene synthase 18</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">OsTPS18</Emphasis>) encodes a sesquiterpene synthase that produces an antibacterial (<Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis>)-nerolidol against a bacterial pathogen of rice

Plant volatile compounds, including terpenes, are known to be involved in the rice defense system. In the present analysis of a terpene synthase, OsTPS18, in rice, we found that OsTPS18 was localized in the cytoplasm and synthesized the sesquiterpenes (E)-nerolidol and (E)-β-farnesene. The amounts of (E)-nerolidol and (E)-β-farnesene increased after jasmonic acid (JA) treatment. (E)-Nerolidol had significant antibacterial activity against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). These results suggest that (E)-nerolidol plays an important role in JA-induced resistance against Xoo and that it functions as an antibacterial compound in rice.     

Partitioning the multi-scale effects of human activity on the occurrence of riparian forest birds

Conservationists, managers, and land planners are faced with the difficult task of balancing many issues regarding humans impacts on natural systems. Many of these potential impacts arise from local-scale and landscape-scale changes, but such changes often covary, which makes it difficult to isolate and compare independent effects arising from humans. We partition multi-scale impacts on riparian forest bird distribution in 105 patches along approximately 500 km of the Madison and Missouri Rivers, Montana, USA. To do so, we coupled environmental information from local (within-patch), patch, and landscape scales reflecting potential human impacts from grazing, invasive plant species, habitat loss and fragmentation, and human development with the distribution of 28 terrestrial breeding bird species in 2004 and 2005. Variation partitioning of the influence of different spatial scales suggested that local-scale vegetation gradients explained more unique variation in bird distribution than did information from patch and landscape scales. Partitioning potential human impacts revealed, however, that riparian habitat loss and fragmentation at the patch and landscape scales explained more unique variation than did local disturbances or landscape-scale development (i.e., building density in the surrounding landscape). When distribution was correlated with human disturbance, local-scale disturbance had more consistent impacts than other scales, with species showing consistent negative correlations with grazing but positive correlations with invasives. We conclude that while local vegetation structure best explains bird distribution, managers concerned with ongoing human influences in this system need to focus more on mitigating the effects of large-scale disturbances than on more local land use issues. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

不同中药对奶牛乳房炎病原菌抑菌效果的观察

本试验采用琼脂平板扩散法(打孔法),研究了黄芩等21种中药对从乳房炎奶牛乳汁中分离出的3种主要致病菌的体外抑菌情况。结果发现,大肠杆菌对黄芩高度敏感,对丹参、青翘属中度敏感;金黄色葡萄球菌对黄芩、青翘、丹参、地榆、红花、蒲公英高度敏感,对枳壳、忍冬藤、萹蓄、苦地丁、蟾酥、木通中度敏感;无乳链球对地榆、当归属高度敏感,对青翘、黄芩、蒲公英、丹参、苦地丁、红花、川芎、枳壳中度敏感。为防治奶牛乳房炎有效中药复方的筛选提供了理论依据。     

DNA profiling and genetic diversity of Korean soybean (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Glycine max</Emphasis> (L.) Merrill) landraces by SSR markers

Approximately 7,000 accessions of Korean soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) landraces, largely composed of three collections, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute’s soybean (KAS), the Korean Crop Experiment Station’s soybean (KLS) and the Korean Agricultural Development and Technology Center’s soybean (KADTC) collections, have been conserved at the Rural Development Administration (RDA) genebank in Korea. The accessions within collections were classified based on their traditional uses such as sauce soybean (SA), sprouted soybean (SP), soybean for cooking with rice (SCR), and OTHERS. A total of 2,758 accessions of Korean soybean landraces were used to profile and to evaluate genetic structure using six SSR loci. A total of 110 alleles were revealed by at the six SSR loci. The number of alleles per SSR locus ranged from 9 to 39 in Satt187 and Satt_074, respectively. The number of alleles ranged from 87 in the KADTC collection to 96 in the KLS collection, and from 63 in the SCR group to 95 in the SP group. Nei’s average genetic diversity ranged from 0.68 to 0.70 across three collections, and 0.64 to 0.69 across the usage groups. The average between-group differentiation (G _st) was 0.9 among collections, and 4.1 among the usage groups. The similar average diversity among three collections implies that the genetic background of the three collections was quite similar or that there were a large number of duplicate accessions in three collections. The selection from the four groups classified based upon usage may be a useful way to select accessions for developing a Korean soybean landrace core collection at the RDA genebank. DNA profile information of accessions will provide indications of redundancies or omissions and aid in managing the soybean collection held at the RDA genebank. The information on diversity analysis could help to enlarge the genetic diversity of materials in breeding programs and could be used to develop a core collection.     

设施滴灌条件下甜瓜茎流变化及其对环境因子的响应

设施甜瓜栽培已成为中国一个具有较大增长空间的重要产业。采用合理的灌溉方式和决策来提高甜瓜产量与品质显得尤为重要。为探明设施滴灌条件下甜瓜植株茎流速率变化规律及其影响因素,有效诊断植株水分指标,为制定灌溉策略提供理论依据,采用基于茎热平衡法的Dymaxax包裹式茎流计、小型自动气象站和TRIME-IPH土壤剖面水分测量仪等对温室内覆膜滴灌条件下甜瓜植株茎流速率变化及其周围环境影响因子进行长时间连续定点监测。研究结果表明：温室内甜瓜的茎流速率日变化曲线基本呈双峰曲线,多云及阴天甜瓜白天液流启动推迟,峰值减小15%~47%;晴天条件下温室内太阳辐射(Rs)、空气相对温度(Rh)滞后于茎流速率,阴天及多云条件下,辐射与茎流速率基本同步达到峰值,相对湿度在晴天中午辐射较高区间内的小幅提高会对茎流速率产生一定的拉低效应;温室内太阳辐射是甜瓜茎流变化的主要驱动因素,并建立了以太阳辐射(Rs)和空气相对湿度(Rh)为主要因子反映甜瓜茎流速率(F)变化的多元线性回归模型(F=26.204+0.0890Rs-0.2540Rh,R2=0.831,P<0.001),可对甜瓜蒸腾变化进行预测。     

中草药饲料添加剂对獭兔生产性能的影响

选用健康关系獭兔60只,按性别对等原则分成6组,在基础饲粮中分别添加不同比例的中草药添加剂。探讨中草药添加剂对獭兔生产性能的影响。结果显示：中草药添加剂对獭兔平均日增重、体长和皮张面积三个性状有显著的促进作用,以中草药添加量为1．2％时,獭兔增重最快,比对照组提高了18％,且差异显著（P〈0．05）。     

Responses of native legume desert trees used for reforestation in the Sonoran Desert to plant growth-promoting microorganisms in screen house

Three slow-growing legume trees used for desert reforestation and urban gardening in the Sonoran Desert of Northwestern Mexico and the Southwestern USA were evaluated whether their growth can be promoted by inoculation with plant growth-promoting bacteria (Azospirillum brasilense and Bacillus pumilus), unidentified arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (mainly Glomus sp.), and supplementation with common compost under regular screenhouse cultivation common to these trees in nurseries. Mesquite amargo (Prosopis articulata) and yellow palo verde (Parkinsonia microphylla) had different positive responses to several of the parameters tested while blue palo verde (Parkinsonia florida) did not respond. Survival of all tree species was over 80% and survival of mesquite was almost 100% after 10 months of cultivation. Inoculation with growth-promoting microorganisms induced significant effects on the leaf gas exchange of these trees, measured as transpiration and diffusive resistance, when these trees were cultivated without water restrictions.     

Comparing apparent electrical conductivity measurements on a paddy field under flooded and drained conditions

Every growing season, paddy fields are kept both flooded and drained for a significant period of time. As a consequence, these soils develop distinct physico-chemical characteristics. For practical reasons, these soils are mostly sampled under dry conditions, but the question arises how representative the results are for the wet growing conditions. Therefore, the apparent electrical conductivity (EC_a) of a 1.4 ha alluvial paddy field located in the Brahmaputra floodplain of Bangladesh was measured in both dry and wet conditions by a sensing system using the electromagnetic induction sensor EM38, which does not require physical contact with the soil, and compared both surveys. Due to the smooth water surface under wet conditions which ensured increased stability of the sensing platform, the results of the survey showed considerably reduced micro-scale variability of EC_a. Furthermore, the wet survey results more reliably furnished soil-related information mainly due to the absence of soil moisture dynamics. The differences between EC_a under wet and dry conditions were attributed to differences in soil texture, mainly the sand content variation having considerable effect on soil moisture differences when flooded following drainage. Accordingly, the largest differences between EC_a under wet and dry conditions were found in those parts of the field with a large sand content. Hence, the conclusion was that an EC_a survey on flooded fields has an added value to precision soil management.     

猪白细胞介素-2基因在大肠杆菌中的表达及其生物学活性测定

【目的】在大肠杆菌中表达猪白细胞介素-2(pIL2),并鉴定其生物学活性。【方法】以含猪IL-2基因的重组质粒pGEM-pIL2为模板,PCR扩增IL-2基因。将猪IL-2基因定向克隆到原核表达载体pGEX-6p-1中,转化大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)BL21(DE3)感受态细胞,在IPTG诱导下表达融合蛋白GST-pIL2,并应用甲基噻唑基四唑(MTT)试验测定融合蛋白的生物学活性。【结果】以含有猪IL-2基因的重组质粒pGEM-pIL2为模板,PCR扩增出1条约420bp的带。所获重组质粒pGEX-pIL2经酶切、测序鉴定,证实含有目的片段,且连接、构建正确。SDS-PAGE电泳结果显示,可检测到相对分子质量约为42ku的GST-pIL2,Western-blot证实GST-pIL2能与兔抗猪IL-2单克隆抗体发生特异性反应。表达蛋白经薄层层析扫描分析,表达量约占菌体总蛋白的40%。MTT试验证实,表达产物经变性、复性后能极显著促进猪脾淋巴细胞增殖。【结论】猪IL-2基因在大肠杆菌中得到表达,表达的蛋白具有一定的生物学活性。