Reproductive strategies in small populations: using Atlantic salmon as a case study

Abstract –  Wild salmonid populations with only a few breeding adults may not exhibit a significant reduction in genetic variability compared with larger populations. Such an observation suggests that effective population sizes are larger than population size estimates based on direct adult counts and/or the mating strategy maximises outbreeding, contributing to increased heterozygosity. In the case of wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar populations, stratification by age classes and sexes on the spawning grounds avoids inbreeding and increases genetic variability. We studied the breeding composition of four Spanish salmon populations. Over a 7-year period we concluded that the probability of within-cohort mating is very low: females generally reproduce after two sea-winters whereas males reproduce mostly as one sea-winter ( grilse ) and/or mature parr. Considering different levels of contribution of mature parr to spawning derived from field surveys, we developed a simple model for estimating effective population sizes and found that they doubled with 65% parr contribution expected for rivers at this latitude (43°N), and ranged from 100–800 individuals. The effect of between-cohort mating was modelled considering different ranges of differences in allele frequencies between cohorts and resulted in 28–50% increases in heterozygosity when considering a 65% parr contribution. The complex mating strategy of Atlantic salmon contributes to explain the high levels of genetic variability found for small populations of this species. This model can probably be extended to other animal species with mating strategies involving different cohorts.     

浅谈我国人口与可持续发展

本文揭示了我国人口与经济环境发展及经济发展之间的矛盾，强调了控制人口的重要意义，提出了实现可持续发展的方法和途径。     

冬小麦亩产700kg土壤肥力与群体发展动态指标的研究

通过对亩产700kg超高产麦田连续多年多点跟踪调查分析研究,得出了在青岛市气象和生产条件下,实现亩产700kg超高产栽培的土壤肥力指标为有机质1.4%以上,碱解氮90mg/kg以上,速效磷35mg/kg以上,速效钾100mg/kg以上;施肥指标为有机肥3000kg/667m2,纯N 20kg/667m2,P2O510kg/667m2,K2O 10kg/667m2左右。产量构成因素指标为穗数54.2万/667m2,穗粒数35.7粒,千粒重43g;群体动态指标为基本苗13.8×104/667m2,冬前总茎数75.1×104/667m2,春季最大分蘖107.5×104/667m2左右。     

鲁西北白三叶草病虫害的种群分布和发生规律

普查了鲁西北地区白三叶草病虫害，共发现三叶草典型病害11种，有害昆虫42种，其它有害动物6种，首次报道了梨冠网蝽Stephanitis nashi和小蓑蛾Acanthopsyche sp．对三叶草的危害，研究了部分种类的种群分布特点和发生危害规律，提出了三叶草病虫害的治理对策。     

Cortical monoterpene variation in natural populations of Pinus sylvestris in Sweden

Cortical oleoresins were obtained from 10 natural populations of Pinus sylvestris L. from different geographical localities. Gas chromatography was used to determine quantities of individual monoterpenes. Considerable variation was found in monoterpene composition among different populations. High proportions of limonene occurred in greater percentages in trees of northern origins, while high sabinene was frequently found in southern trees. Mean proportions of limonene and sabinene in the populations were clinal with latitude. For some monoterpenes, variation coefficients as a measure of variability within populations appeared to be clinal with latitude. 85.4% of the variance in monoterpene composition was found within populations and 14.6 between populations. Discriminant analysis differentiates populations from different geographical localities into different groups. The differences in monoterpene patterns between adjacent populations were statistically nonsignificant. It is recommended that monoterpene composition be used for more general study of genetic variation, geographical distinction between different populations and seed certification purposes.     

Freeze testing and field mortality of Pinus sylvestris (L.) in northern Sweden

Six short‐term freezing experiments were carried out on 24 one‐year‐old single‐tree open pollinated families of Pinus sylvestris (L.) representing four populations in northerly Sweden (latitude 62°10'N to 66°50'N). Two experiments were conducted in a climate chamber, two in a greenhouse and two outdoors. For freeze testing the plants were exposed to ‐10°C for three hours in a freezing chamber. A freezing experiment in a climate chamber of 28 one‐year‐old full‐sib families (half diallel with two parents from each population) was also carried out. The results were related to the mortality of the same open pollinated families over the first 18 years in the field. The ranking of the populations was the same in all six freezing experiments as in the field. Significant differences in frost resistance between one‐year‐old open pollinated families were found within all populations except the most northern one. The correlations within populations between frost resistance and field mortality varied considerably between populations and freezing experiments. The results from the two greenhouse experiments showed the best correlations with the cumulative field mortality after 18 years. The freezing test of the 28 full‐sib families resulted in the same mutual ranking, according to the general combining ability of parents within populations, as was obtained from the freezing tests of single tree families.     

Segregation and linkage analysis of DNA markers in microspore derived and F2 populations of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.)

Summary The segregation of RFLP and RAPD markers was compared in two oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) breeding populations from the cross Topas x R4, the latter being a low linolenic mutation line. A total progeny of 68 F₂ and 40 microspore derived plants were studied with 25 markers. The results indicated a significant excess of Topas alleles at five RAPD loci in the microspore derived population. This suggests that genomic regions which probably affect microspore culture ability do not have identical distribution in the two population types.     

Changes in Frequency of Plants Resistant to Barley Leaf Rust Caused by Puccinia hordei Otth. in a Barley Composite Cross Population

The response of barley Composite Cross XLI to selection for resistance to leaf rust was evaluated. Representative samples from eight cycles of recurrent selection were inoculated with an isolate of Puccinia bordei Otth. in both the seedling and adult plant stage. Disease symptoms were evaluated 14 days after inoculation. The resistance in CC XLI increased with selection in the seedling stage from 15.1 to 20.5 %, and in the adult plant stage from 20.5 to 37.5 %, respectively. The largest gains in resistance were observed in the earlier cycles of recurrent selection. Significant fluctuations in percent resistant plants occurred between the years.     

水稻幼苗活力相关性状的QTLs定位和上位性分析

以籼粳交IR64/Azucena的DH群体109个株系为研究材料, 在黑暗条件下, 通过适温(25～28℃)和低温逆境(16～19℃)对该DH群体的种子进行发芽试验, 测定幼苗中胚轴长度、芽鞘长、根长、苗高等幼苗活力的相关性状. 采用QTLMapper统计软件检测控制这些性状的加性效应QTLs和加性×加性上位性QTLs, 共检测到24个加性效应QTLs和17对上位