Extinction risk assessment of the world’s seagrass species

Seagrasses, a functional group of marine flowering plants rooted in the world’s coastal oceans, support marine food webs and provide essential habitat for many coastal species, playing a critical role in the equilibrium of coastal ecosystems and human livelihoods. For the first time, the probability of extinction is determined for the world’s seagrass species under the Categories and Criteria of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Several studies have indicated that seagrass habitat is declining worldwide. Our focus is to determine the risk of extinction for individual seagrass species, a 4-year process involving seagrass experts internationally, compilation of data on species’ status, populations, and distribution, and review of the biology and ecology of each of the world’s seagrass species. Ten seagrass species are at elevated risk of extinction (14% of all seagrass species), with three species qualifying as Endangered. Seagrass species loss and degradation of seagrass biodiversity will have serious repercussions for marine biodiversity and the human populations that depend upon the resources and ecosystem services that seagrasses provide.     

Molecular Cloning and Characterization of CD9 cDNA from Sheep and Cashmere Goat

CD9 is a glycoprotein of the transmembrane 4 superfamily (TM4SF) and is involved in various cellular processes. Some CD9 cDNA have been cloned in mammals and certain fish genera in recent years, but goat and sheep counterparts of cattle, human and mouse have not been identified. To facilitate the studies, we cloned the cDNA encoding for CD9 of cashmere goat (Capra hircus) and sheep (Ovis aries), and expressed sheep CD9 in Escherichia coli cells. Structural analysis indicated for both goat and sheep that a 1123 bp cDNA spanned an open reading frame of 681 bp which predicted a protein of 226 amino acids with a typical TM4SF structure, including four highly conserved transmembrane domains, two extracellular domains and a CCG motif, which is a hallmark of the TM4SF. The predicted amino acid sequences were highly homologous to those of cattle, mouse and human CD9. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on CD9 cDNA sequences indicated that goat and sheep CD9 were closely related to CD9 of cattle, which is in agreement with their morphological taxonomy.     

治疗奶牛乳腺炎的新药盐酸吡利霉素研究进展

综述了治疗奶牛乳腺炎的新药——盐酸吡利霉素最新研究进展.对其基本药学性质、药动、药效、毒性和残留等多方面进行了详细阐述.     

Electrical conductivity in the precambrian lithosphere of western canada

The subcrustal lithosphere underlying the southern Archean Churchill Province (ACP) in western Canada is at least one order of magnitude more electrically conductive than the lithosphere beneath adjacent Paleoproterozoic crust. The measured electrical properties of the lithosphere underlying most of the Paleoproterozoic crust can be explained by the conductivity of olivine. Mantle xenolith and geological mapping evidence indicate that the lithosphere beneath the southern ACP was substantially modified as a result of being trapped between two nearly synchronous Paleoproterozoic subduction zones. Tectonically induced metasomatism thus may have enhanced the subcrustal lithosphere conductivity of the southern ACP.     

Farm management factors associated with bulk tank somatic cell count in Irish dairy herds

The relationship between bulk tank somatic cell count (SCC) and farm management and infrastructure was examined using data from 398 randomly selected, yet representative, Irish dairy farms where the basal diet is grazed grass. Median bulk tank SCC for the farms was 282,887 cells/ml ranging from 82,209 to 773,028 cells/ml. Two questionnaires were administered through face-to-face contact with each farmer. Herd-level factors associated with bulk tank SCC were determined using linear models with annual somatic cell score (i.e., arithmetic mean of the natural logarithm of bulk tank SCC) included as the dependent variable. All herd level factors were analysed individually in separate regression models, which included an adjustment for geographical location of the farm; a multiple regression model was subsequently developed. Management practices associated with low SCC included the use of dry cow therapy, participation in a milk recording scheme and the use of teat disinfection post-milking. There was an association between low SCC and an increased level of hygiene and frequency of cleaning of the holding yard, passageways and cubicles. Herd management factors associated with bulk tank SCC in Irish grazing herds are generally in agreement with most previous studies from confinement systems of milk production.     

Colossal Magnetoresistance Without Mn3+/Mn4+ Double Exchange in the Stoichiometric Pyrochlore Tl2Mn2O7

Structural analysis from powder neutron and single-crystal x-ray diffraction data for a sample of the Tl2Mn2O7 pyrochlore, which exhibits colossal magnetoresistance (CMR), shows no deviations from ideal stoichiometry. This analysis gives an Mn-O distance of 1.90 angstroms, which is significantly shorter than the Mn-O distances (1.94 to 2.00 angstroms) observed in phases based on LaMnO3 perovskites that exhibit CMR. Both results in Tl2Mn2O7 indicate oxidation states very close to Tl23+Mn24+O7. Thus, Tl2Mn2O7 has neither mixed valence for a double-exchange magnetic interaction nor a Jahn-Teller cation such as Mn3+, both of which were thought to have an important function in CMR materials. An alternate mechanism for CMR in Tl2Mn2O7 based on magnetic ordering driven by superexchange and strong spin-fluctuation scattering above the Curie temperature is proposed here.     

Chloride tolerance in soybean and perennial Glycine accessions

Diversity for chloride tolerance exists among accessions of perennial Glycine. Accessions whose tolerance thresholds exceed those of Glycine max cultivars may be useful germplasm resources. Soybean cultivars including ‘Jackson’ (sensitive) and ‘Lee’ (tolerant) and 12 accessions of perennial Glycine were evaluated for sodium chloride tolerance after 14 days in hydroponic culture at 0, 5, 10, and 15 g L^-1 NaCl. Sodium chloride had adverse effects on the growth of G. max cultivars and perennial Glycine accessions; however differential responses to salinity were observed among accessions. Considerably greater variation in sodium chloride tolerance existed among the perennial Glycine accessions than among the G. max cultivars. Sodium chloride tolerance thresholds ranged from 3.0 to 17.5 g L^-1 NaCl for the perennial accessions but only ranged from 5.2 to 8.0 g L^-1 for the cultivars, based on a Weibull model of leaf chlorosis. All G. max cultivars were severely injured or killed by NaCl at 10 g L^-1 and above. Five tolerant perennial Glycine accessions, G. argyrea 1626, G. clandestina 1388 and 1389, and G. microphylla 1143 and 1195, were significantly lower in leaf chlorosis score than any of the G. max cultivars at the 10 g L^-1 NaCl treatment. Two accessions, G. argyrea 1626 and G. clandestina 1389 were able to tolerate 15 g L^-1 NaCl with only moderate visual injury while all other accessions were severely injured or killed at this salt level. Variability for chloride tolerance observed among the perennial Glycine accessions has potential utility for developing enhanced salt tolerance in soybean. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.