小鼠4、8-细胞胚胎单卵裂球体外培养体系的研究

以CZB为基础培养液,培养小鼠4、8-细胞胚胎单卵裂球,研究葡萄糖、牛磺酸和猪输卵管上皮细胞共培养在其体外发育中的作用。结果表明:牛磺酸添加与否对4、8-细胞胚胎单卵裂球的囊胚发育率分别为29%、30%和14%、14%,无显著性差异(P>0.05)。添加葡萄糖后,4、8-细胞胚胎单卵裂球的囊胚发育率分别为36%和19%,有显著提高(P<0.05)。含有葡萄糖而牛磺酸的添加与否对4、8-细胞胚胎单卵裂球的囊胚发育率分别为36%、38%和19%、20%,无显著性差异(P>0.05)。各组内4、8-细胞胚胎单卵裂球形成的囊胚细胞数分别为(10.44±1.24～(12.43±1.18)和(7.57±0.97)～(8.48±1.16),均无显著性差异(P>0.05)。4、8-细胞胚胎单卵裂球与猪输卵管上皮细胞共培养,其囊胚发育率分别为47%和26%,囊胚细胞数分别为(17.57±1.13)和(11.43±0.92),均高于单一培养(P<0.05)。     

胚胎干细胞的研究进展

胚胎干细胞来源于附植前胚胎的内细胞团或附植后胎儿的原始生殖细胞具有发育全能性的细胞。本文从它的研究概况、生物学特性、胚胎干细胞的分离培养与建系等方面做一概述。     

An upper limit for elevated root zone dissolved oxygen concentration for tomato

It is well understood that insufficient oxygen within plant root zones can greatly diminish plant productivity. However, little is known about the effect of elevated root zone oxygen concentrations. Tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum Mill., cv. Trust) seedlings were grown in nutrient solutions containing dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration ranging from 5.3 to 40 mg L⁻¹ for 4 weeks. There were no visible symptoms observed on the leaves or stems in any of the treatments. Leaf chlorophyll content was higher in the 40 mg L⁻¹ treatment than with 20 and 30 mg L⁻¹ DO treatments. Two weeks from the start of the experiment, roots in the 40 mg L⁻¹ treatment exhibited stunted growth, became thicker, and had fewer side and fine roots compared to roots in the lower levels of DO treatment. Almost all the measured growth parameters (fresh and dry weights of root, stem, and leaf, leaf area, stem diameter) were significantly reduced in plants grown in the 40 mg L⁻¹ treatment compared to plants in the lower level of DO treatments, except that the plant height increased with the increasing DO concentration. Root respiration increased linearly with increasing DO concentration; however, there was no effect on leaf net CO₂ exchange rate. It is suggested that it was safe to enrich root zone DO to as high as 30 mg L⁻¹, although the growth benefit was minor by increasing DO from ambient air saturated level (∼8.5 mg L⁻¹) to 30 mg L⁻¹. Higher than 30 mg L⁻¹ could cause reduction in tomato plant growth.     

水分胁迫对抗旱性不同小麦品种叶片光合及根呼吸等生理特性的影响

以两个抗旱性不同的小麦品种西农1043、陕253为材料，采用盆栽与水培试验相结合的方式，研究水分亏缺对小麦不同生育期叶片光合及根呼吸速率等生理指标的影响。结果表明：相同水分处理下，抗旱品种西农1043与水分敏感品种陕253相比，具有较高的光合和根呼吸速率、以及相对较高的保护酶活性；水分胁迫下，两个小麦品种叶片光合和根呼吸速率及苗期叶保护酶活性均降低；两种水分处理下抗旱性强的西农1043根呼吸所占光合的比例相对高于陕253。     

Simulated rain addition modifies diurnal patterns and temperature sensitivities of autotrophic and heterotrophic soil respiration in an arid desert ecosystem

The timing and magnitude of rainfall events in arid and semiarid regions are expected to change dramatically in future decades, which will likely greatly affect regional carbon cycles. To understand how increases in rainfall affect the diurnal patterns and temperature sensitivities (Q₁₀) of soil respiration (R_S) and its key components (i.e. heterotrophic respiration (R_H) and autotrophic respiration (R_A)), we conducted a manipulative field experiment in a desert ecosystem of Northwest China. We simulated five different scenarios of future rain regimes (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% increase over local annual mean precipitation) each month from May to September in 2009. We measured R_S and R_H every three hours on 6 and 16 days after the rain addition, and estimated R_A by calculating the difference between R_S and R_H. We found that rain addition significantly increased the daily mean R_S and its components on the two measurement days during the growing season. However, the diurnal pattern was different between the two respiration components. Rain addition significantly increased the daily Q₁₀ value of R_H but suppressed that of R_A on Day 6. Rain addition had no influence on daily Q₁₀ value of both respiration components on Day 16 when soil moisture was lower. In addition, we observed significantly higher daily Q₁₀ of R_H than R_A under all five rain addition treatments, indicating that microbial respiration is more temperature sensitive than root respiration in a short-time scale in this desert ecosystem. Thus, partitioning soil respiration into its two components, and analyzing the differential responses of R_H and R_A to future climate changes should be considered for more accurate predictions of soil respiration and regional carbon cycle in these arid and semiarid regions.     

Mineralization of “non‐metabolizable” glucose analogues in soil: potential chemosensory mimics of glucose

Glucose is widely used to study the dynamics of easily available organics in soil. Pure culture studies have revealed that many microorganisms can sense and respond to glucose through chemosensory mechanisms that are not directly reliant on energy catabolism. However, the rapid mineralization of glucose by microorganisms makes it difficult to disentangle its energy effects from such non‐catabolic interactions. “Non‐metabolizable” glucose analogues have proven useful in mechanistic studies of glucose in pure culture, but have never been applied to complex microbial communities in soil. We sought to determine how their mineralization in soil differs from that of glucose, and whether they have potential as a new approach for investigating chemosensory mechanisms in soil microbiology. We incubated soil from an agricultural Haplic Luvisol under controlled conditions for 24 d and monitored CO₂ efflux after addition of (1) glucose, and three “non‐metabolizable” glucose analogues: (2) 2‐deoxyglucose (DG), (3) α‐methylglucoside (αMG), and (4) 3‐O‐methyl‐glucose (OMG), at three concentration levels, along with a control. All three analogues did in fact produce a large increase in soil CO₂ efflux, but the dynamics of their mineralization differed from the rapid degradation seen for glucose. At medium and high concentrations, CO₂ efflux peaked between 2.5 and 4 d after amendment with DG and αMG, and was delayed by about one week for OMG. The markedly different patterns of mineralization between glucose and OMG offer a new tool for investigating the behavior of glucose in soil. By using OMG as a glucose model, chemosensory mechanisms could be studied with limited interference from energy catabolism.     

Bacterial community structure and microbial activity in different soils amended with biogas residues and cattle slurry

Anaerobic digestion of organic materials generates residues of differing chemical composition compared to undigested animal manures, which may affect the soil microbial ecosystem differently when used as fertilizers. This study investigated the effects of two biogas residues (BR-A and BR-B) and cattle slurry (CS) applied at rates corresponding to 70 kg NH₄⁺-N ha⁻¹ on bacterial community structure and microbial activity in three soils of different texture (a sandy, a clay and an organic clay soil). 16S rRNA genes were targeted in PCR reactions and bacterial community profiles visualized using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism. General microbial activity was measured as basal respiration (B-resp), substrate-induced respiration (SIR), specific growth rate (μ_SIR), metabolic quotient (qCO₂) and nitrogen mineralization capacity (NMC). Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis visualized shifts in bacterial community structure related to microbial functions. There were significant differences in bacterial community structure after 120 days of incubation (+20 °C at 70% of WHC) between non-amended (control) and amended soils, especially in the sandy soil, where CS caused a more pronounced shift than biogas residues. Terminal-restriction fragment (TRF) 307, the predominant peak in CS-amended sandy soil, was identified as possibly Bacillus or Streptococcus. TRF 226, the dominant peak in organic soil amended with BR-B, was classified as Rhodopseudomonas. B-resp significantly increased and SIR decreased in all amendments to organic soil compared with the control, potentially indicating decreased efficiency of heterotrophic microorganisms to convert organic carbon into microbial biomass. This was also reflected in an elevated qCO₂ in the organic soil. The μ_SIR level was higher in the sandy soil amended with BR-A than with BR-B or CS, indicating a shift toward species capable of rapidly utilizing glucose. NMC was significantly elevated in the clay and organic soils amended with BR-A and BR-B and in the sandy soil amended with BR-B and CS. Thus, biogas residues and cattle slurry had different effects on the bacterial community structure and microbial activity in the three soils. However, the effects of biogas residues on microbial activities were comparable in magnitude to those of cattle slurry and the bacterial community structure was less affected. Therefore, we do not see any reason not to recommend using biogas residues as fertilizers based on the results presented.     

Introduced slugs and indigenous caterpillars as facilitators of carbon and nutrient mineralisation on a sub-Antarctic island

Indigenous soil macroinvertebrates (moth larvae, weevil larvae, earthworms) are cardinal agents of nutrient release from litter on sub-Antarctic Marion Island (47°S, 38°′E). Their populations are threatened through predation by introduced house mice, which do not prey on an introduced slug Deroceras panormitanum. A microcosm study was carried out to explore whether slugs affect rates of carbon and inorganic nutrient mineralisation from plant litter differently to an indigenous caterpillar (larva of a flightless moth Pringelophaga marioni). Caterpillars stimulated N, Ca, Mg and K mineralisation from plant litter two to five times more than slugs did, whereas the two invertebrate types stimulated C and P mineralisation to the same degree. Consequently, ratios of C:N and N:P released from the litter were different for slugs and caterpillars. Such differences might affect peat nutrient quality and ultimately the peat accumulation-decomposition balance, an important driver of ecological succession. This suggests that slugs cannot simply replace caterpillars without consequences for ecosystem structure and functioning on the island.     

系统动力学方法在林分断面积生长模型中的应用

由于辽宁东部地区日本落叶松长期处于自然生长状态下,缺乏科学的经营管理,因而年平均生长量较低,亟待进行人为经营,加快其生长,增加后备资源。将系统动力学方法应用于日本落叶松断面积生长研究中,旨在对日本落叶松的生长进行准确的预测,从而为森林经理者合理经营提供理论指导。分别用传统方法和系统动力学的方法对断面积生长进行建模,并进行比较择优,同时用同一地区的30块样地模型进行了精度检验。结果表明,用系统动力学方法来模拟断面积生长规律简便易行,突破了以往传统模型的局限性,同时克服了传统模型繁琐复杂和参数较多的缺点,拟合效果理想。     

Habitat use by the African anabantid fish Ctenopoma muriei: implications for costs of air breathing

Abstract –  This study examined whether habitat use by the African anabantid fish Ctenopoma muriei is consistent with predictions relating to two costs of air breathing (surface travel and aerial predation). We predicted that C. muriei would be most abundant in habitats that minimize potential costs of air breathing. We quantified environmental correlates of C. muriei abundance within a series of wetland lagoons in Uganda and found that C. muriei was more abundant in shallow waters of the deepest lagoon, in vegetated habitats, and at a depth 15–30 cm below the surface. These locations may minimize cost of travel to the surface for aerial respiration, while maintaining a reasonable distance from the surface to avoid detection by aerial predators. In addition, we experimentally tested effectiveness of vegetative cover in reducing mortality of C. muriei by aerial predators (pied kingfishers) using enclosures with and without vegetation cover in a swamp pool. We found that the presence of vegetative cover significantly reduced susceptibility of C. muriei to predation by pied kingfishers when dissolved oxygen in the water was low and air-breathing frequency was potentially high.