Ecological fitness and strategies of adaptation of Bartonella species to their hosts and vectors

Bartonella spp. are facultative intracellular bacteria that cause characteristic host-restricted hemotropic infections in mammals and are typically transmitted by blood-sucking arthropods. In the mammalian reservoir, these bacteria initially infect a yet unrecognized primary niche, which seeds organisms into the blood stream leading to the establishment of a long-lasting intra-erythrocytic bacteremia as the hall-mark of infection. Bacterial type IV secretion systems, which are supra-molecular transporters ancestrally related to bacterial conjugation systems, represent crucial pathogenicity factors that have contributed to a radial expansion of the Bartonella lineage in nature by facilitating adaptation to unique mammalian hosts. On the molecular level, the type IV secretion system VirB/VirD4 is known to translocate a cocktail of different effector proteins into host cells, which subvert multiple cellular functions to the benefit of the infecting pathogen. Furthermore, bacterial adhesins mediate a critical, early step in the pathogenesis of the bartonellae by binding to extracellular matrix components of host cells, which leads to firm bacterial adhesion to the cell surface as a prerequisite for the efficient translocation of type IV secretion effector proteins. The best-studied adhesins in bartonellae are the orthologous trimeric autotransporter adhesins, BadA in Bartonella henselae and the Vomp family in Bartonella quintana. Genetic diversity and strain variability also appear to enhance the ability of bartonellae to invade not only specific reservoir hosts, but also accidental hosts, as shown for B. henselae. Bartonellae have been identified in many different blood-sucking arthropods, in which they are typically found to cause extracellular infections of the mid-gut epithelium. Adaptation to specific vectors and reservoirs seems to be a common strategy of bartonellae for transmission and host diversity. However, knowledge regarding arthropod specificity/restriction, the mode of transmission, and the bacterial factors involved in arthropod infection and transmission is still limited.     

草坪恶性杂草蟋蟀草的发生生物学——蟋蟀草发生对播期的反应

在北京地区蟋蟀草从5月开始发生，可以持续到10月底，6月、7月出土速率和出土率强于其它月份，9月后出土率显著下降；5～10月期间生长的蟋蟀草，其种子与植株的生物学产量比率为5～7的值占64%。脱离母株的蟋蟀草种子当月存在萌发力，半年后萌发率达到60%。     

草坪在生态城市建设中的作用及其应用

论述了草坪在城市生态系统中的生态效应是目前我国在应用草坪提高城市生态质量方面存在的问题，通过对城市生态系统特殊性的分析，提出了草坪系统规划的目的和原则，力求把城市建设成为生态协调、可持续利用和良性循环的人居环境。     

Bipolaris australiensis HD-1胆红素氧化酶纯化、鉴定及其酶学性质

[目的]为了获得B.bipolaris HD-1胆红素氧化酶纯品,确定酶的同源性及其常规酶学性质.[方法]将B.bipolaris HD-1发酵液依次通过硫酸铵盐析、阴离子交换层析和凝胶过滤层析确定蛋白的纯度、浓度和酶活力;通过基质辅助激光解析电离飞行时间质谱（MALDI-TOF）法获得氨基酸序列,并利用Mascot软件在NCBI蛋白库中的比对,以确定同源蛋白来源;用SDS-PAGE方法测其表观分子量;用等电聚焦方法测定等电点;用Linwerver-Burk双倒数作图法测定米氏常数;并对该酶的酶学性质进行了常规的测定.[结果]获得具有胆红素氧化酶酶活性的电泳纯单体蛋白,酶活为46 000 U/L,比活为1.15 U/mg;MALDI-TOF共获得135个氨基酸,该蛋白与来源于Hel-minthosporium tritici-vulgaris的漆酶前体蛋白序列同源性达100％;蛋白的表观分子量为68 kDa;pI为4.1;它对ABTS和胆红素的米氏常数分别为Km（ABTS） =1.8×10-5 mol/L（pH 3.0）和Km（bilirnbin）=2.7×10-5 mol/L（pH 7.5）;对胆红素的最适催化活性为36℃,酶在-40℃下可保持2年,酶活保持在90％以上,在pH 8 ～9.5下可保持相当高的催化胆红素活性,能够耐受高浓度的硝酸钠和尿素,低浓度的叠氮化钠对酶活有促进作用而高浓度则抑制,对氯化钠、溶解氧敏感.[结论]该蛋白具有典型的胆红素氧化酶特性,又存在明显的不同.     

马尾松,大头茶针阔混交林森林结构的研究

典型选样调查测定,分析马尾松、大头茶常绿针阔混交林的森林特征、种群结构、林分结构、生物量结构及生态功能。结果表明:1.该混交林是亚热带常绿阔叶林前一阶段的过渡性森林类型,在干扰状态下保持其相对的稳定性。2.复层、异龄现象是该混交林的主要特征。建群种充分利用了林地空间营养面积,发挥了林地的生产潜力。叶面积指数达6.86～8.83,林分木材蓄积量达160～222m~3/ha,林分总生物量达114～163t/ha。其中,乔木层生物量达105～154t/ha。光照充足的林下,草本层生物量可达2.5t/ha,对庇护地表起到了最直接、最明显的作用,而调节林冠密度,可控制或促进草本层生物量的增长。3.此种混交林改善了森林立地的蓄水功能和贮水方式。林地土壤最大贮水量达2645～4100t/ha,降水贮存量达565～1256t/ha,林地枯枝落叶层饱和持水量达4589～8702kg/ha。该类型达到了生态与经济效益兼顾,可在我国南方亚热带山地各类工程造林中推广应用。     

永善县五莲峰市级自然保护区生态质量评价

选用生物多样性、典型性、稀有性等指标对永善县五莲峰市级自然保护区生态质量进行评价研究。结果显示,保护区的综合评价分值为72,评价等级为Ⅱ级,其生态质量较好。根据单项评价结果,保护区生物多样性、典型性、自然性和面积适应性得分较高,稀有性、脆弱性和人为活动得分较低。根据评价结果,分析保护区目前存在的问题,提出遵循自然规律,科学合理规划,理顺管理体制,兼顾保护与可持续发展相结合等建议。     

层次分析法在退耕还林生态效益评价指标体系建立中的应用

退耕还林生态效益评价是当今研究的热点问题之一,构建评价指标是评价工作的前提和基础。笔者根据退耕还林生态效益的主要影响因子,在设定多层次指标体系的基础上,采用AHP法计算各指标权重,以确定影响退耕还林生态效益的主要因素。结果表明:退耕还林生态效益指标体系19个指标中,所占比重最大的5个指标依次为:土壤的侵蚀模数、地表径流量、土壤容重、枯落物层厚度和林草的覆盖率等。     

鸡蛋蛋壳裂纹敲击振动功率谱信号特征参数筛选和分析

运用自行研制的禽蛋裂纹检测装置,可以采集并分析敲击鸡蛋产生的响应信号,检测裂纹蛋。提取敲击响应信号功率谱的10个特征参数,并采用逐步回归法和遗传算法进行优化和筛选,以期选取更有效的特征参数,提高模型检测精度。结果表明,遗传算法筛选结果明显优于逐步回归法。当采用遗传算法筛选的4个特征参数(功率谱信号的第1共振峰对应的频率点、第1共振峰的功率谱与其前4个频率功率谱的方差、前3个共振峰功率谱方差、中低频段功率谱能量比)作为判别模型的输入向量,模型能取得最优结果,预测集判别率可达到97.2%。     

接种枯萎病菌香蕉苗病症及其组织病理特征

用枯萎病菌4号生理小种接种香蕉苗后,观察发现:香蕉苗在发病初期出现了黄叶、球茎组织变褐症状;发病中期出现了叶片萎蔫、球茎组织变褐、假茎可见斑点状或线条状褐色病变、根变黑褐症状;发病后期出现了植株萎蔫、枯死等症状.采用组织病菌分离法,发现病菌从香蕉根部侵入后,由香蕉组织下部向上部传导,并在根、球茎和假茎中稳定定殖.用组织切片法观察发现病菌能使香蕉苗球茎组织产生褐变,引起细胞壁木质素增加及淀粉颗粒减少.     

Making modern agriculture sustainable: Fam research network on agroecosystems

All forms of agriculture cause changes in the balances and fluxes of preexisting ecosystems, thereby limiting self-regulatory ecosystem (resiliency) functions. The intensive agriculture of the past, with its strong reduction of landscape structures and vast decoupling of energy and matter cycles, has caused stress and degradation of the production base; massive influence has also been exerted on neighboring compartments. This has resulted in the well known problems of pesticide loads, high phosphate loads to surface waters via over-fertilized soils or erosion as such. To overcome the economic, social and political inadequacies leading to ecological degradation, the demand for sustainable agricultural management needs to be transposed into knowledge-based practical instructions and political regulations on a regional scale. Thus, applied research for a sustainable and ecologically compatible land use aimed at sufficient food production is ever so important. In the FAM, thirty German research institutes have merged to perform research on this topic.