Identification of Neofabraea species causing bull's eye rot of apple in Poland and their direct detection in apple fruit using multiplex PCR

Based on partial sequence analysis of the β‐tubulin gene, 19 isolates of fungi causing bull's eye rot on apple in Poland were classified into species: Neofabraea alba, N. perennans and N. kienholzii. To the authors’ knowledge, the detection of N. kienholzii is the second in Europe and the first in Poland. Species affiliation of these fungi was confirmed by a new species‐specific multiplex PCR assay developed on the basis of previously published methods. The new protocol allowed for the specific identification of bull's eye rot‐causing species, both from pure cultures and directly from the skin of diseased or apparently healthy apples. In 550 samples of diseased fruits collected from nine cold storage rooms located in three regions of Poland, in 2011 and 2012, N. alba was detected as the predominant species causing bull's eye rot, occurring on average in 94% of the tested samples. Neofabraea perennans was found in a minority of apple samples, N. kienholzii was found only in two apple samples, while N. malicorticis was not detected in any sample tested. In tests on 120 apparently healthy fruits, only N. perennans was detected in a single sample. The results of genetic diversity analyses of bull's eye rot‐causing fungi based on the β‐tubulin gene sequence and an ISSR (inter‐simple sequence repeat) PCR assay with two primers were consistent, showing the expected segregation of tested isolates with respect to their species boundaries. However, the genetic distance between N. perennans and N. malicorticis was very low, as reported previously.     

铵态氮源和碳源对土壤N2O、CO2释放的影响

在田间持水量WFPS为70%、温度为20℃的条件下,通过室内静态培养方法研究铵态氮源与不同碳源结合,对华北平原典型小麦-玉米轮作体系土壤N₂O、CO₂释放的影响。其中,碳源种类分别为葡萄糖、果胶、淀粉、纤维素、木质素和秸秆。结果表明添加葡萄糖和果胶有效促进了土壤N₂O的释放,并在第1 d达到最大值,分别为4039.85 μg N₂O-N·kg^-1·d^-1和2533.44 μg N₂O-N·kg^-1·d^-1;添加纤维素和只施秸秆处理降低了N₂O释放。施入碳源增加了CO₂释放,顺序为纤维素> 淀粉> 葡萄糖> 果胶> 秸秆> 木质素。培养结束后土壤中铵态氮几乎消耗完全,除添加葡萄糖处理外,其他施碳土壤的硝态氮含量均有所增加。在培养前3 d,土壤NH₄⁺和NO₃^-总含量与N₂O释放量显著相关。     

Effect of EZH2 regulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway on apoptosis of brain glioma cells

AIM: To investigate the effect of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) regulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway on the apoptosis of brain glioma cell lines. METHODS: The expression level of EZH2 in glioma cell lines U87, H4 and U251 and normal human astrocytes (NHA) was detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot. The EZH2 siRNA and siRNA control were transfected into the H4 cells. The cell viability was measured by MTT assay. The apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. Caspase-3 activity was detected by spectrophotometry. The expression levels of the key protein β-catenin of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and the downstream target molecule c-Myc were determined by Western blot. After the H4 cells transfected with EZH2 siRNA were treated with an activator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, the apoptosis rate was measured by flow cytometry, and the expression of β-catenin and c-Myc was determined by Western blot. RESULTS: The mRNA and protein expression levels of EZH2 in the glioma cell lines U87, H4 and U251 were significantly higher than those in NHA (P<0.05). The expression of EZH2 at mRNA and protein levels in the H4 cells was higher than that in U87 cells and U251 cells (P<0.05). EZH2 siRNA obviously inhibited the expression of EZH2 at mRNA and protein levels in the H4 cells. Knockdown of EZH2 expression decreased the viability of H4 cells, the apoptotic rate was significantly increased, and the activity of caspase-3 was significantly increased in the cells (P<0.05). Knockdown of EZH2 expression also inhibited the expression of β-catenin and c-Myc. The activator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway reduced the apoptosis rate of H4 cells induced by down-regulation of EZH2, and reduced the activity of caspase-3 in the cells. CONCLUSION: EZH2 is over-expressed in glioma cells. Down-regulation of EZH2 expression induces apoptosis of glioma cells by inhibiting the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.     

应用于家蚕F2代分离群体的两种连锁作图方法的作图效果比较

构建精细的家蚕分子连锁图谱需要合适的作图方法。应用Mapmaker/EXP3.0和F2lnkgsilk两种作图方法,对家蚕F2代91个个体为分离群体的300个AFLP标记和69个个体为分离群体的470个RAPD标记数据进行了比较分析。用F2lnkgsilk作图方法分析得到的分群数与Mapmaker/EXP3.0作图方法相比有所增加,而总的图距却显著增加,平均图距也有较大的增加,但产生的二联体数基本相同。就单个连锁群而言,两种作图分析方法的连锁标记及其数目80%以上相同,但是标记间的排列顺序70%以上有差异;用F2lnkgsilk作图方法分析得到的单个连锁群的总图距和平均图距也相应增大。     

植物内源激素对小麦叶片衰老的调控机理研究

对小麦灌浆期不同叶位叶片的５大类激素含量测定结果表明,正在衰老叶片的乙烯和脱落酸（ＡＢＡ）含量明显增加,前期和中期的功能期叶片细胞分裂素（玉米素和玉米素核苷,Ｚ＋ＺＲ）和赤霉素（ＧＡ３）含量较高,生长素（ＩＡＡ）在功能期和后期衰老的叶片中含量较高。因此可以将这４种激素分为２大类,即乙烯和ＡＢＡ诱发和促进叶片衰老,另一类的Ｚ＋ＺＲ和ＧＡ３则维持叶片功能,抑制衰老。但ＩＡＡ表现了具有前期保持叶片生长发育和后期促进衰老的双重作用,在不同叶片中,春６叶（旗叶）则比较复杂。旗叶与睛相比表现了特殊性,这可能与其特殊的功能有关。     

Mapping vegetation functional types in urban areas with WorldView-2 imagery: Integrating object-based classification with phenology

Mapping urban vegetation is a prerequisite to accurately understanding landscape patterns and ecological services provided by urban vegetation. However, the uncertainties in fine-scale vegetation biodiversity mapping still exist in capturing vegetation functional types efficiently at fine scale. To facilitate the application of fine-scale vegetation spatial configuration used for urban landscape planning and ecosystem service valuation, we present an approach integrating object-based classification with vegetation phenology for fine-scale vegetation functional type mapping in compact city of Beijing, China. The phenological information derived from two WorldView-2 imagery scenes, acquired on 14 September 2012 and 26 November 2012, was used to aid in the classification of tree functional types and grass. Then we further compared the approach to that of using only one WorldView imagery. We found WorldView-2 imagery can be successfully applied to map functional types of urban vegetation with its high spatial resolution and relatively high spectral resolution. The application of the vegetation phenology into classification greatly improved the overall accuracy of classification from 82.3% to 91.1%. In particular, the accuracies of vegetation types was improved by from 10% to 13.26%. The approach integrating vegetation phenology with high-resolution remote sensed images provides an efficient tool to incorporate multi-temporal data into fine-scale urban classification.     

高致病性猪蓝耳病毒及猪圆环病毒2型混合感染的诊断

[目的]对湖北省某猪场发生的以体温升高、部分病猪死亡等为主要特征的疾病进行诊断。[方法]采集发病猪的脾脏、淋巴结等样品,应用PCR方法进行实验室检测。[结果]经实验室检验,结合临床症状,诊断为HP．PRRSV及PCV2混合感染。高致病性猪蓝耳病毒阳性率为40％,猪圆环病毒2型阳性率为90％。[结论]通过采取综合防控措施,病情得到有效控制,减少了猪场的经济损失。     

Carbon stocks, soil respiration and microbial biomass in fire-prone tropical grassland, woodland and forest ecosystems

A thorough understanding of the role of microbes in C cycling in relation to fire is important for estimation of C emissions and for development of guidelines for sustainable management of dry ecosystems. We investigated the seasonal changes and spatial distribution of soil total, dissolved organic C (DOC) and microbial biomass C during 18 months, quantified the soil CO₂ emission in the beginning of the rainy season, and related these variables to the fire frequency in important dry vegetation types grassland, woodland and dry forest in Ethiopia. The soil C isotope ratios (δ¹³C) reflected the 15-fold decrease in the grass biomass along the vegetation gradient and the 12-fold increase in woody biomass in the opposite direction. Changes in δ¹³C down the soil profiles also suggested that in two of the grass-dominated sites woody plants were more frequent in the past. The soil C stock ranged from being 2.5 (dry forest) to 48 times (grassland) higher than the C stock in the aboveground plant biomass. The influence of fire in frequently burnt wooded grassland was evident as an unchanged or increasing total C content down the soil profile. DOC and microbial biomass measured with the fumigation-extraction method (C_mic) reflected the vertical distribution of soil organic matter (SOM). However, although SOM was stable throughout the year, seasonal fluctuations in C_mic and substrate-induced respiration (SIR) were large. In woodland and woodland-wooded grassland C_mic and SIR increased in the dry season, and gradually decreased during the following rainy season, confirming previous suggestions that microbes may play an important role in nutrient retention in the dry season. However, in dry forest and two wooded grasslands C_mic and SIR was stable throughout the rainy season, or even increased in this period, which could lead to enhanced competition with plants for nutrients. Both the range and the seasonal changes in soil microbial biomass C in dry tropical ecosystems may be wider than previously assumed. Neither SIR nor C_mic were good predictors of in situ soil respiration. The soil respiration was relatively high in infrequently burnt forest and woodland, while frequently burnt grasslands had lower rates, presumably because most C is released through dry season burning and not through decomposition in fire-prone systems. Shifts in the relative importance of the two pathways for C release from organic matter may have strong implications for C and nutrient cycling in seasonally dry tropical ecosystems.