Ester variability in apple varieties as determined by solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) with a polydimethylsiloxane fiber coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was applied to the study of variability in volatiles released by 13 apple varieties. The relative amounts of 40 esters and alpha-farnesene were determined. Principal component analyses of these results clustered the apples into three groups according to skin color: red, green, and red-green. Total ester contents were highest with the red cluster apples, and the green cluster apples had the highest alpha-farnesene levels. This technology was also applied to the monitoring of changes in volatiles for apples removed from controlled-atmosphere storage with subsequent storage at 4 degrees C and room temperature. Total ester contents increased 25-fold, with the greater increases coming at room temperature, whereas alpha-farnesene levels increased only 5-fold. For apples stored at room temperature, after 11 days, the amount of increase was inversely proportional to the size of the ester: levels of smallest esters (molecular weight 116) increased 12.5-fold, and the largest esters (molecular weight 228) increased approximately 1.3-fold.     

Research in the prehistory of central Western iran

The archeological sequence in the Bisitun and Kangovar valleys promises to fill a number of gaps in the prehistory of this part of southwestern Asia. Ghar-i Khar should yield data concerning the degree of cultural continuity or discontinuity in the Upper Pleistocene and early Holocene ranges of prehistory. This cave site should also be helpful in gaining further insight into the climatic conditions during these times, and in particular on the prevalent fauna and flor (and the human use of them) at the close of the Pleistocene, when some groups may already have been leading ways of life foreshadowing the Neolithic. Ganj-i Dareh offers the opportunity of examining in detail what seems to be an early farming community at or very near the beginning of an important shift in methods of subsistence. The geographical position of this latter site may also be of unusual significance in studying the spread of the Neolithic; located as it is near the traditional route across the Zagros Mountains into Iraq, this site, as well as others in the region, may have played an important role in the diffusion of the new elements and methods to other parts of the mountainous zone. That is, within the broad "natural habitat zone" it may be useful to distinguish optimum areas of development and diffusion during the early phases of the Neolithic. Comparison with small sites like Tepe Asiab in the Kermanshah Valley (considered to have been a temporary encampment of clam collectors) (7) may place such sites in their proper perspective as seasonally occupied satellites of more permanent villages such as Ganj-i Dareh; the same possibility is open for the later ceramic Neolithic phase now that the oldest level of Godin Tepe shows a community to which nearby sites on this time horizon can probably be related. However, it will require an intimate study of the two valleys as microenvironments, and comparison of them with each other and with the Kermanshah and Hulailan valleys, in order to reach a fuller understanding of the interrelationships of the various aceramic and ceramic Neolithic sites from the 9th to the 6th millennium. Again, only further exploration in the region will reveal whether the absence of recognizable farming-community sites in the Zagros region during the 8th millennium reflects a genuine hiatus or simply insufficient investigation (21). A broader clearance of Period VII at Godin Tepe itself will enable us better to define the period during which material from Period VII is found stratigraphically associated with later material. Through the horizontal clearance of one of the six small sites in the Kangovar-Bisitun area where similar materials in the pottery Neolithic period are found on or near the surface, by sounding perhaps one other such site, and by plotting all the sites in the region that date to this period, we should be able to reconstruct a reasonably complete picture of this valley at the time of Godin VII. One of these small sites in the neighborhood may yet yield evidence on the relationship between the aceramic and pottery phases of the Neolithic. Godin, of course, provides us an excellent opportunity to examine the relationship between the pottery of the Neolithic and subsequent cultural periods in western Iran, since there appears to be no major break in the developmental sequence between Godin VII and VI. For the periods after the pottery Neolithic in western Iran we have had only the more or less stratified sequence of tombs excavated at Tepe Giyan on which to base our understanding of the developmental sequence from the 6th to the 1st millennium B. C. Even the evidence from our preliminary testing of Godin Tepe indicates how sketchy that understanding has been, since previously we had only suspected the presence of the Uruk culture in the area and had no evidence at all that the culture defined at Yanik Tepe near Tabriz, which has strong links with eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus, ever spread as far south as the central Zagros. Continued research at Godin will shed light on these new problems as well as on many of the long-standing issues that have puzzled archeologists concerned with the Bronze and Iron ages in western Iran.     

Complex of solonetzes and vertic chestnut soils in the manych-gudilo depression

Morphological, physicochemical, and isotopic properties of a two-member soil complex developed under dry steppe have been studied in the central part of the Manych Depression. The soils are formed on chocolate-colored clayey sediments, and have pronounced microrelief and the complex vegetation pattern. A specific feature of the studied soil complex is the inverse position of its components: vertic chestnut soil occupies the microhigh, while solonetz is in the microlow. The formation of such complexes is explained by the biological factor, i.e., by the destruction of the solonetzic horizon under the impact of vegetation and earth-burrowing animals with further transformation under steppe plants and dealkalinization of the soil in the microhighs. The manifestation of vertic features and shrink-swell process in soils of the complex developing in dry steppe are compared with those in the vertic soils of the Central Pre-Caucasus formed under more humid environment. It is supposed that slickensides in the investigated vertic chestnut soil are relict feature inherited from the former wetter stage of the soil development and are subjected to a gradual degradation at present. In the modern period, vertic processes are weak and cannot be distinctly diagnosed. However, their activation may take place upon an increase of precipitation or the rise in the groundwater level.     

Current status of genetic transformation technology developed in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Genetic transformation is an important technique for functional genomics study and genetic improvement of plants. Until now, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methods using cotyledon as explants has been the major approach for cucumber, and its frequency has been up to 23%. For example, significantly enhancement of the transformation efficiency of this plant species was achieved from the cotyledon explants of the cultivar Poinsett 76 infected by Agrobacterium strains EHA105 with efficient positive selection system in lots of experiments. This review is to summarize some key factors influencing cucumber regeneration and genetic transformation, including target genes, selection systems and the ways of transgene introduction, and then to put forward some strategies for the increasing of cucumber transformation efficiency. In the future, it is high possible for cucumber to be potential bioreactor to produce vaccine and biomaterials for human beings.     

假单胞菌中抗真菌成分对植物病原真菌准性产孢的抑制作用

我们目前正进行铜绿假单胞菌（PAFS）中抗真菌物质的纯化研究,本文考察对卵菌产孢及菌丝生长具抑制活性的部分纯化成分的特性。PAFS中的初级成分：A1,A2,A3及A6似乎包含2类抗菌组分,A1,A2及A3对子囊菌准性产孢具特异性抑制作用,导致孢子发育不完全,然而有趣的是这些成分对菌丝生长抑制作用不明显。相反,A6对卵菌菌丝生长具抑制活性,另外在含A6条件下产生的孢子萌发的非对称性说明其抗菌活性具有持效性。     

Accelerated Growth, Gigantism and Likely Sterility in Autotransgenic Triploid Mud Loach Misgurnus mizolepis

Triploidy was induced in two selected lines of autotransgenic mud Ioach Misgurnus mizolepis containing no heterospecific genetic material. Cytological evaluations, including cellular DNA content, chromosome count, and erythrocyte measurement, proved the successful induction of triploidy. Patterns of Southern blot hybridization and tissue distribution of GH mRNA in autotransgenic triploids were similar to those of diploid autotransgenics. The autotransgenic triploids also displayed growth acceleration 22–25 times that of nontransgenic diploids, although the acceleration was relatively modest when compared to their diploid transgenic counterparts (more than a 30-fold increase). Significantly improved feed conversion was observed in both autotransgenic diploids and triploids, ranging from 1.8 to 2.0 times that in nontransgenics. Autotransgenic triploids were sterile at gonadal level, evidenced by significantly retarded and abnormal gametogenesis. With the persistence of accelerated growth and enhanced feed conversion efficiency, the autotransgenic triploid mud loach may offer economic benefits to aquaculture. Total absence of heterospecific genetic material and sterility may also allay public concern regarding food safety and environmental risk of crossbreeding between transgenics and conspecific populations.     

Effects of ultrasonic treatment on collagen extraction from skins of the sea bass Lateolabrax japonicus

In this study we investigated the effects of ultrasonic wave treatment on the extraction yield of acid-soluble collagen from sea bass skins. Two extraction methods were compared: a 24 h acid treatment using 0.5 M acetic acid (1:200 sample/acid, w/v) and an extraction using ultrasonic treatment after the addition of a 0.5 M acetic acid solution. The results indicated that the extraction yield of collagen increased with the ultrasonic treatment, with the extraction rate increasing rapidly at higher amplitudes of ultrasonic treatment. The subunit compositions of the collagen extracted by ultrasonic treatment were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, which revealed that the α1(α3), α2, and β chains of collagen were present early in the ultrasonic treatment. An unknown component, believed to be a product of collagen degradation induced by the ultrasonic treatment, was detected only after a longer treatment time. The component extracted by the ultrasonic treatment was determined to be collagen based on the finding that there were no changes in the main components of collagen, specifically, the α1(α3), α2, and β chains, following pepsin treatment.     

Effect of neuroactive compounds on larval metamorphosis of New Zealand geoduck (Panopea zelandica)

We present here the first laboratory study on the effects of pharmacologically active compounds on the larval metamorphosis of the New Zealand geoduck, Panopea zelandica (Quoy and Gaimard, 1835). Two batches of competent hatchery‐reared larvae were exposed to acetylcholine chloride, epinephrine hydrochloride and excess potassium ions in the form of KCl and K₂SO₄. None of the tested chemicals increased the proportion of metamorphosed geoducks, and in some cases, the chemical caused significant mortality, despite having been used extensively with other species, such as mussels and oysters. This might indicate that geoduck larval physiology and development differs from other bivalves. Geoducks may have evolved distinct chemoreceptor patterns that facilitate metamorphosis under environmentally favourable conditions for subtidal soft sediment habitats suitable for burrowing. Thus, further research is needed to identify alternative cues (e.g. conspecific adults, sediment characteristics and surface biofilm) and understand their role in settlement and metamorphosis. This information will aid the design of reseeding methods and contribute to the development of reliable hatchery production of geoduck spat.     

Integrating physiology and life history to improve fisheries management and conservation

Knowledge of life‐history traits is increasingly recognized as an important criterion for effective management and conservation. Understanding the link between physiology and life history is an important component of this knowledge and in our view is particularly relevant to understanding marine and freshwater fishes. Such linkages (i.e. the life‐history/physiology nexus) have been recently advocated for avian systems and here we explore this concept for fish. This paper highlights the gap in fisheries literature with regard to understanding the relationship between physiology and life history, and proposes ways in which this integration could improve fisheries management and conservation. We use three case studies on different fishes (i.e. the Pacific salmon, the grouper complex and tuna) to explore these issues. The physiological structure and function of fish plays a central role in determining stock response to exploitation and changes in the environment. Physiological measures can provide simple indicators necessary for cost‐effective monitoring in the evaluation of fisheries sustainability. The declining state of world fisheries and the need to develop and implement restoration strategies, such as hatchery production or protected areas, provides strong incentive to better understand the influence of physiology on population and reproductive dynamics and early life history. Physiology influences key population‐level processes, particularly those dealing with reproduction, which must be incorporated into the design and successful implementation of specific and broadscale initiatives (e.g. aquatic protected areas and bycatch reduction). Suggestions are made for how to encourage wider application of the physiology/life‐history link, in fisheries management and conservation, as well as more broadly in education and research.