Life-history variation in relation to nest site abundance in males of the freshwater goby Tridentiger brevispinis

Abstract –  Age at maturity in males of the freshwater goby Tridentiger brevispinis , a species with exclusive paternal care, was investigated in two populations in Lake Biwa, Japan, that differed markedly in nest site abundance. At Ohmi-maiko, where nest sites were scarce, most males matured at age 3, and mean body size of males guarding eggs in nests was larger than that of males sampled randomly (including both guarding and nonguarding males) in the population. Conversely, at Minamihama, where nest sites were abundant, many males matured at age 1, and there was no difference in body size between guarding males and males collected randomly. The slope of regression lines between body size of the guarding male and the number of eggs in his nest was greater in Ohmi-maiko than in Minamihama. These results suggest that the shortage of nest sites enhances reproductive success in larger males, probably through male–male competition for nest sites and female mate choice for larger males. I conclude that in nest spawners, the availability of nest sites should strongly affect life-history traits of males through sexual selection.     

生防菌R-4的鉴定及其对玉米南方锈病的防效

对分离自玉米植株的内生细菌R-4进行鉴定,测试其对玉米南方锈病(SCR)的防病增产效果。用盆栽方法测定菌株R-4对玉米植株的促生效果,根据16S r DNA序列对菌株R-4进行鉴定,采用自然发病方式测试其对SCR的防病增产效果。结果表明,菌株R-4处理玉米的发芽率、播种后18 d株高、播种后28 d株高、植株地上部干重及根干重比对照分别增加17.19%、32.03%、41.80%、92.53%和37.03%。通过16S r DNA序列分析,将菌株R-4鉴定为蜡样芽孢杆菌(Bacillus cereus)。菌株R-4在先玉335、银糯1号、浚单20上对SCR的防效达39.2%~92.1%(平均为65.7%),经该菌处理后玉米增产2.58%~9.02%(平均为6.66%)。     

Breeding for increased grain protein and micronutrient content in wheat: Ten years of the GPC-B1 gene

To provide food and nutrition security for a growing world population, continued improvements in the yield and nutritional quality of agricultural crops will be required. Wheat is an important source of calories, protein and micronutrients and is thus a priority to breed for improvements in these traits. The GRAIN PROTEIN CONTENT-B1 (GPC-B1) gene is a positive regulator of nutrient translocation which increases protein, iron and zinc concentration in the wheat grain. In the ten years since it was cloned, the impacts of GPC-B1 allelic variation on quality and yield traits have been extensively analyzed in diverse genetic backgrounds in field studies spanning forty environments and seven countries. In this review, we compile data from twenty-five studies to summarize the impact of GPC-B1 allelic variation on fifty different traits. Taken together, the results demonstrate that the functional copy of the GPC-B1 gene is associated with consistent positive effects on grain protein, Fe and Zn content with only marginally negative impacts on yield. We conclude that the GPC-B1 gene has the potential to increase nutritional and end use quality in a wide range of modern cultivars and environments and discuss the possibilities for its application in wheat breeding.     

复合微生物菌肥对连作草莓产量和品质的影响

研究了复合微生物菌肥对连作草莓营养生长及产量和品质的影响.结果表明:菌肥处理明显促进草莓营养生长,提高草莓产量和果品质量.其中,菌肥浓度37.5kg/hm2处理的草莓产量最高,前期产量和总产量分别较CK提高了6.74%和5.54%;菌肥处理草莓果实的糖酸比、可溶性固形物和Vc含量分别较CK提高了11.5%、20.0%、17.2%和30.2%,差异显著.     

Soil properties and the macrofauna community in abandoned irrigated rice fields of northeastern Argentina

This study compared soil physical, chemical, and biological characteristics between natural grassland and recently abandoned rice fields in order to identify those variables that might explain the observed increase of Camponotus punctulatus anthills in abandoned rice paddy fields from Northern Argentina. Mainly due to a reduction of macropores and mesopores, overall porosity decreased by around 6% and bulk density was about 7% greater, in the 0- to 10- and 10- to 20-cm layers of the abandoned rice fields. Carbon and nitrogen content from organic matter increased (29% and 41% respectively for the 0- to 20-cm horizon) during cultivation but decreased (38% and 24%) 2 years after the last rice harvest. Forty percent of natural grassland-organic matter and 30% of abandoned rice-organic matter mineralized in less than 2 years. There was a different community structure between the abandoned rice fields and the undisturbed natural grassland and only a 20.6% (i.e. only 19 species from a total of 92) overlap in species composition. The abundance of macrofauna was greater in abandoned rice fields (2,208 individuals m^–2) in comparison to natural grasslands (288 ind m^–2) due to higher densities of small earthworms and Camponotus punctulatus ants; however, the Shannon index showed lower values in comparison to natural grasslands. Earthworms and C. punctulatus in the abandoned rice fields showed a change in their ¹³C signature indicating a switch in diet from natural grassland organic matter (C4) to organic matter from rice (C3). Our results indicate that the effects of rice cultivation practices did not seem to produce any physical or trophic limitations to recolonization by the macrofauna. It seems that changes in overall soil conditions have favored a change in the construction behavior of C. punctulatus which, in combination with population increases, could explain the explosion in number of anthills.     

C and N natural abundance of the soil microbial biomass

Stable isotope analysis is a powerful tool in the study of soil organic matter formation. It is often observed that more decomposed soil organic matter is ¹³C, and especially ¹⁵N-enriched relative to fresh litter and recent organic matter. We investigated whether this shift in isotope composition relates to the isotope composition of the microbial biomass, an important source for soil organic matter. We developed a new approach to determine the natural abundance C and N isotope composition of the microbial biomass across a broad range of soil types, vegetation, and climates. We found consistently that the soil microbial biomass was ¹⁵N-enriched relative to the total (3.2 ‰) and extractable N pools (3.7 ‰), and ¹³C-enriched relative to the extractable C pool (2.5 ‰). The microbial biomass was also ¹³C-enriched relative to total C for soils that exhibited a C3-plant signature (1.6 ‰), but ¹³C-depleted for soils with a C4 signature (−1.1 ‰). The latter was probably associated with an increase of annual C3 forbs in C4 grasslands after an extreme drought. These findings are in agreement with the proposed contribution of microbial products to the stabilized soil organic matter and may help explain the shift in isotope composition during soil organic matter formation.     

Correlation between earthworms and plant litter decomposition in a tropical wet forest of Puerto Rico

Earthworms are recognized to play an important role in the decomposition of organic materials. To test the use of earthworms as an indicator of plant litter decomposition, we examined the abundance and biomass of earthworms in relation to plant litter decomposition in a tropical wet forest of Puerto Rico. We collected earthworms at 0–0.1 m and 0.1–0.25 m soil depths from upland and riparian sites that represent the natural variation in soils and decomposition rates within the forest. Earthworms were hand-sorted and weighed for both fresh and dry biomass. Earthworms were dominated by the exotic endogeic species Pontoscolex corethrurus Müller; they were more abundant, and had higher biomasses in the upland than in riparian sites of the forest. Plant leaf litter decomposed faster in the upland than riparian sites. We found that earthworm abundance in the upper 0.1 m of the soil profile positively correlated with decomposition rate of plant leaf litter. Ground litter removal had no effect on the abundance or biomass of endogeic earthworms. Our data suggest that earthworms can be used to predict decomposition rates of plant litter in the tropical wet forest, and that the decomposition of aboveground plant litter has little influence on the abundance and biomass of endogeic earthworms.     

断奶前后仔猪十二指肠、空肠和回肠SGLT1 mRNA表达的变化及半胱胺的影响

研究断奶前后仔猪十二指肠、空肠和回肠SGLT1mRNA表达丰度的变化,并同时观察半胱胺对其表达的影响,从分子水平探讨半胱胺对断奶仔猪葡萄糖吸收的影响与可能的机制。新生仔猪随机分为对照组和实验组,12日龄(D12)起对照组饲喂基础乳猪料,实验组在基础乳猪料中添加120mg/kg半胱胺,两组仔猪均于35日龄断奶,每组分别于断奶前1周、断奶当天、断奶后3d、1周以及断奶后10d随机选取仔猪各6头,宰杀后采集十二指肠、空肠和回肠粘膜,采用RT-PCR方法测定钠-葡萄糖共转运载体1(sodium-glucosecotransporter1,SGLT1)mRNA表达的相对丰度。结果表明,回肠SGLT1mRNA的表达量最高,空肠其次,十二指肠最低;SGLT1mRNA在不同肠段的表达呈现截然不同的发育模式,十二指肠SGLT1mRNA表达量在45d显著上升(P<0.05),而空肠则在42和45d时显著下降(P<0.01),回肠SGLT1mRNA表达在整个实验期间无显著变化;此外,日粮添加半胱胺显著提高38d十二指肠以及42和45d空肠SGLT1mRNA表达,而对回肠SGLT1mRNA表达无显著影响。小肠SGLT1mRNA表达以及日粮添加半胱胺促进SGLT1mRNA表达的作用均呈现时空特异性规律。     

The influence of nitrogen fertilisation on bacterial activity in the rhizosphere of barley

The effect of nitrogen addition on the activity of rhizosphere bacteria was studied using barley seedlings. Three different nitrogen sources were added to the soil (nitrate, ammonium and ammonium+nitrate) at four different concentrations (0, 100, 300 and 500 mg N kg⁻¹ soil) and the plants were allowed to grow for 6 weeks. The bacterial activity was estimated by measuring thymidine and leucine incorporation into bacteria extracted using homogenisation-centrifugation. Bulk soil bacterial activity was low compared with that of rhizosphere bacteria. Nitrogen addition did not affect the activity of the bulk soil bacteria, indicating that the activity was not nitrogen limited. The thymidine and leucine incorporation rates of rhizosphere bacteria decreased when ammonium or ammonium+nitrate was applied compared with the non-amended controls. No effect on bacterial activity was found following nitrate addition. There was a significant positive correlation between rhizosphere bacterial activity and rhizosphere pH. Shoot length following ammonium treatment was significant lower than in the non-amended control, while nitrate and ammonium+nitrate addition had no effect. This indicates that the varying effects due to nitrogen sources on rhizosphere bacterial activity were not due to effects on plant growth.     

Survival of bacterial DNA and culturable bacteria in archived soils from the Rothamsted Broadbalk experiment

Dried soil samples from many sources have been stored in archives world-wide over the years, but there has been little research on their value for studying microbial populations. Samples collected since 1843 from the Broadbalk field experiment on crop nutrition at Rothamsted have been used to document changes in the structure and composition of soils as agricultural practices evolve, also offering an invaluable record of environmental changes from the pre- to post-industrial era in the UK. To date, the microbial communities of these soils have not been studied, in part due to the well-documented drop in bacterial culturability in dried soils. However, modern molecular methods based on PCR amplification of DNA extracted directly from soil do not require bacterial cells to be viable or intact and may allow investigations into the legacy of bacteria that were present at the time of sample collection.

In a preliminary study, to establish if dried soils can provide a historical record of bacterial communities, samples from the Broadbalk soil archive dating back to 1868 were investigated and plots treated with either farmyard manure (FYM) or inorganic fertilizer (NPK) were compared. As anticipated, the processes of air-drying and milling greatly reduced bacterial viability whilst DNA yields declined less and may be preserved by desiccation. A higher proportion of culturable bacteria survived the archiving process in the FYM soil, possibly protected by the increased soil organic matter. The majority of surviving bacteria were firmicutes, whether collected in 2003 or in 1914, but a wide range of genera was detected in DNA extracted from the samples using PCR and DGGE of 16S rRNA genes. Analysis of DGGE band profiles indicated that the two plots maintained divergent populations. Sequence analysis of bands excised from DGGE gels, from a sample collected in 1914, revealed DNA from - and β-proteobacteria as well as firmicutes. PCR using primers specific for ammonia oxidizing bacteria showed similar band profiles across the two treatments in recently collected samples, however older samples from the NPK plot showed greater divergence. Primers specific for the genus Pseudomonas were designed and used in real-time quantitative PCR to indicate that archived soil collected in 1868 contained 10-fold less pseudomonad DNA than fresh soil, representing around 10⁵ genomes g⁻¹ soil. Prior to milling, dramatically less pseudomonad DNA was extracted from recently collected air-dried soil from the NPK compared to the FYM plot; otherwise, the two plots followed similar trends. Overall bacterial abundance, diversity and survival during the archiving process differed in the two soils, possibly due to differences in clay and soil organic matter content. Nevertheless, the results demonstrate that air-dried soils can protect microbial DNA for more than 150 years and offer an invaluable resource for future research.