Phylogenetic analysis of Myanmar indigenous chickens using mitochondrial D-loop sequence reveals their characteristics as a genetic resource

Myanmar indigenous chickens play important roles in food, entertainment, and farm business for the people of Myanmar. In this study, complete mitochondrial D-loop sequences (1232 bp) were analyzed using 176 chickens, including three indigenous breeds, two fighting cock populations, and three indigenous populations to elucidate genetic diversity and accomplish a phylogenetic analysis of Myanmar indigenous chickens. The average haplotype and nucleotide diversities were 0.948 ± 0.009 and 0.00814 ± 0.00024, respectively, exhibiting high genetic diversity of Myanmar indigenous chickens. Sixty-four haplotypes were classified as seven haplogroups, with the majority being haplogroup F. The breeds and populations except Inbinwa had multiple maternal haplogroups, suggesting that they experienced no recent purifying selection and bottleneck events. All breeds and populations examined shared haplogroup F. When 232 sequences belonging to haplogroup F (79 from Myanmar and 153 deposited sequences from other Asian countries/region) were analyzed together, the highest genetic diversity was observed in Myanmar indigenous chickens. Furthermore, Myanmar indigenous chickens and red junglefowls were observed in the center of the star-like median-joining network of 37 F-haplotypes, suggesting that Myanmar is one of the origins of haplogroup F. These findings revealed the unique genetic characteristic of Myanmar indigenous chickens as important genetic resources.     

Identification of favorable alleles in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">non</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">yellow coloring 1</Emphasis> gene by association mapping in maize

Association mapping was conducted to explore favorable alleles of the chlorophyll-related non-yellow coloring 1 (NYC1) gene under light and dark using an association panel of 146 maize inbred lines. A total of 14 polymorphic sites were identified to be significantly associated with at least one of the chlorophyll-related traits at the seedling stage. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (S320, S2951, S3901, and S3355) from the NYC1 gene were respectively strongly associated with chlorophyll b (chlb), the ratio of chlorophyll a to chlorophyll b (chl_ratio), chlorophyll a degradation (chla_deg), and total chlorophyll degradation (total_chl_deg). SNPs S320 (C/A) in exon 1, and S2951 (A/G) in intron 8 was related to chlb, with 6.01 and 8.89% of phenotypic variation under light treatment, respectively. Under dark treatment, SNP S3901 (C/T), located in 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR), was associated with chl_ratio, explaining 7.01% of the observed phenotypic variation, whereas SNP S3355 (C/G) in intron 9 explained 6.48 and 5.18% of phenotypic variations in chla_deg and total_chl_deg, respectively. Taken together, these results indicated that the NYC1 gene plays an important role in chlorophyll content and other related traits, and different sites act on chlorophyll metabolism under different light intensities in maize seedlings. Furthermore, these findings improve our understanding of the genetic basis of chlorophyll metabolism under different light conditions.     

活性氧(ROS)对小鼠早期胚胎胚细胞分裂的影响

在体外CZB培养的不同时期添加过氧化氢(2.1μmol/L),发育至囊胚阶段,制作胚胎标本,观察其囊胚发育率、胚细胞数和分裂相数。结果显示:0~12 h组和0~72 h组的胚胎发育率显著低于其他几组(P<0.05),对照组、12~24 h组、24~36 h组、36~48 h组之间均差异不显著(P>0.05);各组之间的胚细胞数和分裂指数均无显著差异。说明胚胎在体外培养时,2细胞期胚胎对外源性H2O2最敏感,也最容易发生发育阻滞。但是经H2O2处理之后,度过2细胞期发育阻滞的胚胎能在以后的发育中发生补偿性生长,其胚细胞数和分裂指数都和体外正常发育的胚胎没有差异。     

Public awareness activities on Eichhornia crassipes in the Victoria Falls World Heritage Site,Livingstone, Zambia1

Invasive Alien Species (IAS) are a major threat to biodiversity and national economies worldwide. Public awareness and support is critical for the success of any interventions aimed at controlling and managing such invasions. Various communication tools have been identified for the implementation of public awareness programs. Assessment of public perceptions, attitudes and knowledge levels should be an integral part of any public awareness activities. This paper reports the communication actions undertaken in the Victoria Falls World Heritage Site by the Removing Barriers to Invasive Plant Management in Africa (RBIPMA) project during the year 2007. Several awareness meetings with various stakeholders were conducted during the year. A number of posters, leaflets, brochures and newsletters have been produced. Production of radio and television documentaries is currently ongoing. A pre‐knowledge survey was conducted to determine the baseline status as regards knowledge and awareness levels on IAS in the project area. A post‐knowledge survey will be conducted at a subsequent stage to assess the effectiveness of the project interventions on public awareness and knowledge levels. Recommendations for future action are also presented.     

Evaluation of genetic variation among wild rice populations in Cambodia

A total of 448 samples in five natural populations of wild rice (Oryza rufipogon) were collected in Cambodia. They were examined using 12 SSR and two chloroplast markers to evaluate the degree of variation among populations and the genetic structure within populations. In the two annual populations, the number of plants with homozygous alleles at all 12 SSR loci were high (66.3% and 79.5%), suggesting that these plants propagate mainly through self-pollination. In the three perennial populations, no individuals had all homozygous genotypes, but redundant genotypes resulted from clonal propagation were observed. Percentages of the redundant genotypes were highly varied (3.6%, 29.2% and 86.0%). This may be due to the different stable levels of environmental conditions. As for chloroplast genome, most of the wild plants showed the same chloroplast types as most Indica-type cultivars have. However, plants with different chloroplast types were maintained, even in the same population. In tropical Asian countries, many wild rice populations were observed under similar ecological conditions examined in this study. Therefore, the present results concerning population structure will be important to further elucidate genetic features of wild rice, and will also give strong clues to utilize and conserve wild natural genetic resources.     

肝癌细胞靶向肽的筛选与鉴定

利用噬菌体环七肽库筛选与肝癌细胞特异性结合的多肽,并对其亲和力进行生物学鉴定。以HL-7702为消减细胞,HepG2为筛选靶细胞,对噬菌体随机环七肽库进行4轮全细胞消减筛选,并随机挑取60个阳性噬菌体克隆,以ELISA法鉴定其与HepG2细胞的结合活性,并取阳性克隆进行测序分析,并合成多肽进行免疫细胞化学染色鉴定。经4轮筛选,噬菌体在靶细胞HepG2上出现明显富集;利用ELISA从随机挑选的60个噬菌体克隆中得到15个与肝癌细胞具有高结合力的阳性克隆,测序并进行序列分析比对发现氨基酸序列无同源性,经免疫细胞化学染色鉴定后,发现1条多肽序列亲和力较高,为提高抗菌肽对肿瘤细胞的靶向杀伤作用奠定基础。     

云南民族地区食用松毛虫的调查

在云南省民族地区经过深入广泛的调查,发现了一个鲜为人知的事实,即云南民间少数民族,如哈尼,傣,拉祜,佤族等具有悠久的食用松毛虫的历史。思茅地区共１０个县,至少８个县有人食用。其它地区有临沧,景洪,玉溪等。据调查研究,这一传统与历史上的饥荒有关。     

Feeding behavior under dark conditions in larvae of sutchi catfish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pangasianodon hypophthalmus</Emphasis>

Sutchi catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus hatch with morphologically immature sensory organs; however, sensory organs develop rapidly with larval growth. Two-day-old larvae commenced ingesting Artemia nauplii. The larvae displayed many taste buds on the barbels, the head surface, and in the buccal cavity. Other sense organs were also well developed at this stage. Feeding experiments revealed that 2-day-old larvae ingested Artemia under both light and dark conditions, moreover, the larvae could ingest frozen dead Artemia. The ingestion rates for 4- and 7-day-old larvae were significantly higher under dark conditions than under light conditions. The rates using frozen dead Artemia were mostly higher than the rates using live Artemia. Therefore, feeding behavior under dark conditions is most likely not mediated by visual or mechanical senses, but rather by chemosensory senses, such as taste buds. Larval fish are vulnerable to predators; thus, if they can search for and eat food at night, they can avoid diurnal predators. The behavior observed here appears to represent their survival strategy. Moreover, these results suggest a new possibility that sutchi catfish larvae can be reared under dark or dim light conditions in order to improve survival and growth rates as in the case of African catfish Clarias gariepinus.     

Should I stay or should I go? Fishers’ ability and willingness to adapt to environmental change in Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake

The livelihoods of people dependent on the Tonle Sap floodplain ecosystem in Cambodia are expected to be affected by changes in economic conditions, social circumstances, environmental perturbations, demographic shifts and political climates. This study assesses how small‐scale fisheries’ livelihoods are changing in response to social and environmental conditions using the opinions of fishers collected through an intensive family survey of 514 households from Pursat and Battambang Provinces in Cambodia. Probit modelling approach was used to assess whether a fisher would continue fishing or not in the future when subjected to a variety of shifting conditions and identify the factors associated with their response. It was found that in any future condition about 50% of fishers would likely continue to fish, which suggests how much they love their traditional livelihood of fishing. The remaining 50% considered to diversify their livelihood strategy by shifting towards a combination of fishing, farming, and off‐farm jobs. Furthermore, the analysis found that the fishers will change their fishing practices depending on how other sectors in the region develop. The model showed increasing access to agricultural activities decreased the likelihood of continuing to fish, whereas finding an off‐farm job corresponded to increased likelihood of continuing to fish.