狗枣猕猴桃果实软化过程中阶段性专一酶的研究

狗枣猕猴桃果实采后软化过程分两个阶段，第一阶段软化较快，起主要作用的阶段性专一酶是淀粉酶；第二阶段软化较慢，起主要作用的阶段性专一酶是多聚半乳糖醛酸酶。乙烯释放对果实软化有促进作用；保护性酶（过氧化物酶。过氧化氢酶）出现在果实软化后期，因而不是果实软化的阶段性专一酶。     

Moth sex-pheromone biosynthesis is inhibited by the herbicide diclofop

Pheromones of nocturnal moths are derived from fatty acids produced as a result of the activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase. This timely production is initiated in nocturnal moths by a tropic peptide, pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide released into the hemolymph. In monocotyledonous plants, specific plastid acetyl-CoA carboxylase is inhibited by herbicides that target the eukaryotic form of the enzyme. We report evidence that these herbicides can also target pheromone biosynthesis by a moth, thereby implicating the acetyl-CoA carboxylase as a key regulatory enzyme in the pheromone biosynthetic pathway. These findings, whilst indicating the possible action of such herbicides on non-target organisms, also suggest a novel alternative method of insect pest management, which precludes sex-pheromone production and mating success, thereby reducing insect population growth.     

甘肃东方蜜蜂的形态特征研究

通过测定甘肃2个不同样点的4群东方蜜蜂发现,甘肃蜜蜂种群内遗传变异丰富,种群中许多形态性状特征表现出较明显的地理变异性;蜜蜂个体增大、体色变深,具体是:前翅长、前翅宽、背板3,4宽;后腿长、蜡镜长、蜡镜宽、蜡镜间距、腹片3,6的长和宽逐渐增加;背板3,4、小盾片的色素度逐渐加深。这些均具有生态适应意义。     

Pocono mesic till barrens in retreat: topography,fire and forest contagion effects

The Pocono mesic till barrens (PMTB) are a unique assemblage of fire-maintained shrub communities that support numerous rare species. Historically these barrens covered a large area in the vicinity of Long Pond, Pennsylvania, USA. However, due largely to regional fire suppression instituted in the early 1960s, over 70% of the area covered by barrens succeeded to fire-intolerant forest that does not support the rare species. We investigated the influence of forest proximity on barrens succession across three geomorphic types during periods of high fire frequency and fire suppression, testing the hypothesis that forest processes such as seed rain, shading, and detrital enrichment of soils enhances barrens succession through a contagion effect. Evidence of a forest contagion effect should be shown by increased rates of barrens succession with increasing proximity to the nearest forest edge. In order to detect a forest contagion effect, barrens persistence and barrens succession were modeled in proximity zones of 0-50 m, 50-100 m, 100-200 m, and greater than 200 m from the nearest forest edge. We used existing GIS data layers for fire, geomorphology, and vegetation distribution in 1938, 1963, and 1992. The layers were modified and overlain using ArcView software to determine persistence and succession rates for each unique combination of layers in each proximity zone from 1938 to 1963 (pre-fire suppression) and 1963 to 1992 (post-fire suppression). ANCOVA results indicate that proximity to the nearest forest edge significantly affected barrens persistence rates in both time periods, but succession rates were significantly affected in 1938 to 1963 only. Twenty-eight percent of the 1938 barrens succeeded to forest by 1963; 56% of the 1963 barrens became forest by 1992. Results support previous findings that barrens persistence is enhanced by increased fire frequency, and that barrens persist longer where they overlie flat glacial till than on other geomorphology types.     

昆虫抗菌肽生物学活性及其应用前景

昆虫抗菌肽是昆虫免疫后存在于血淋巴中的一类活性肽 ,具有广谱的抗菌、抗病毒、抑制肿瘤的生物活性 ,具有很高的应用潜力。本文主要介绍昆虫抗菌肽的类型、生理活性、基因的克隆与表达及在动物科学中的应用前景     

Evaluation of β‐carotene assimilation in leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius)

Although leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) are commonly kept under human care, their vitamin requirements are largely unknown. Many invertebrate preys display a low vitamin A concentration; thus, gut‐loading insects with vitamin A or carotenoids is a common practice. The objective of this prospective experimental study was to investigate whether dietary supplementation with β‐carotene, including prey gut‐loading, leads to sufficient vitamin A hepatic storage and prevents epithelial squamous metaplasia development in leopard geckos. Ten clinically healthy female leopard geckos were randomly divided in two groups with various supplementations: a group receiving vitamin A supplementation and a group receiving β‐carotene. Insects were gut‐loaded continuously with a supplement containing vitamin A or β‐carotene, depending on the group. Oral supplementation with cod liver oil or carrot juice was administered weekly to each lizard from “vitamin A group” and “carotenoid group” respectively. After 10 weeks of supplementation, surgical hepatic biopsies were obtained in three geckos of each group while the two remaining geckos were euthanized to undergo complete necropsy. Hepatic vitamin A concentration was determined for each lizard (n = 10) by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography. Histopathology revealed hepatocellular vacuolization and vitellogenic follicles in five females. Epithelial squamous metaplasia was not observed in any of the geckos. Hepatic vitamin A concentration was significantly higher in the carotenoid‐supplemented group than in the vitamin A‐supplemented group (p = 0.03). Our results suggest that in leopard geckos, dietary supplementation with β‐carotene allows sufficient vitamin A hepatic storage.     

Differential gene expression of Eph‐ephrin A1 and LEPR‐LEP with high or low number of embryos in pigs during implantation

The objective of this study was to ascertain whether mRNA and protein expressions of implantation‐related genes (erythropoietin‐producing hepatocellular receptor–ligand A1, Eph‐ephrin A1 and leptin receptor–leptin, LEPR‐LEP) differed between pigs with high and low number of embryos, and whether these differences in gene expression might affect embryo implantation. Experimental pig groups (n = 24) for high and low number of embryos were prepared by altering the number of eggs ovulated in pre‐pubertal gilts treated with 1.5 × (High) or 1.0 × (Low) PG600 ([400 IU PMSG + 200 IU hCG]/dose, AKZO‐NOBEL). Gilts expressing oestrus were artificially inseminated twice and maintained in breeding and gestation until the reproductive tract was collected on day 22 of pregnancy. At slaughter, the reproductive tracts from each pregnant gilt from each treatment were immediately processed to collect samples for RNA and protein analysis. Within each gilt, three conceptus points were sampled, one from each horn and then a random conceptus within the tract. At each conceptus point, endometrial attachment site, chorion–allantois and embryo were collected and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen. Number of corpus luteum (CL) (35.4 vs. 12.6) and total embryo number (18.8 vs. 10.2) were greater in the high‐embryo compared to the low‐embryo group, respectively (p < .05). Real‐time qPCR results showed that Eph‐ephrin A1 mRNA expression was less in the high‐embryo (p < .05) compared to the low‐embryo group. In addition, Western blotting analysis indicated that Eph‐ephrin A1 and LEP protein expression at endometrial attachment site in high‐embryo was less (p < .05) compared to low‐embryo group. It was also noted that mRNA expression of Eph‐ephrin A1 and LEPR‐LEP was greater in pregnant than non‐pregnant gilts (p < .05). Moreover, mRNA expression of Eph‐ephrin A1 (p < .05) and LEPR‐LEP was greatest at endometrial attachment site among all three tissues. There was a positive correlation between expressions of Eph‐ephrin A1, LEPR‐LEP and embryo length with the correlation coefficient 0.31–0.59. For Eph‐ephrin A1, the highest correlation coefficient appeared between Eph A1 expression and normal embryo number, between ephrin A1 expression and embryo length. For LEPR‐LEP, the highest correlation coefficient appeared between LEPR‐LEP expression and ovary weight (0.79 for both, p < .05), followed by embryo length and weight. The results of this study suggest that low expression of Eph‐ephrin A1 and LEPR‐LEP is somehow related to increased embryo number during implantation and that endometrial attachment site might be the main target tissue of these gene products. Yet, the increased expression of Eph‐ephrin A1 and LEPR‐LEP appeared associated with increased embryo growth (length and weight) and ovary weight, Eph‐ephrin A1 and LEPR‐LEP might play roles in the regulation of embryo implantation in pigs.     

Computationally Assisted Structural Elucidation of Cembranoids from the Soft Coral Sarcophyton tortuosum

A persistent study on soft coral Sarcophyton tortuosum resulted in the characterization of two new cembranolides, tortuolides A and B (1 and 2), and a new related diterpene, epi-sarcophytonolide Q. Their structures were determined not only by extensive spectroscopic analysis but also by DFT calculations of ECD and NMR data, the latter of which was combined with statistical analysis methods, e.g., DP4+ and J-DP4 approaches. Anti-inflammatory and cytotoxicity activities were evaluated in this study.     

微塑料对双酚A在鲤鱼肠道中累积及生长生理的影响

探明微塑料（MPs）对双酚A （BPA）在鱼类肠道中累积特征及鱼类生长生理的影响,本研究以黄河鲤鱼为模型生物,分析了0.5 μm聚苯乙烯微塑料（PS-MPs）与BPA联合作用下鲤鱼肠道中微塑料及BPA的累积特征、鲤鱼生长及其抗氧化酶活性,以及它们之间的响应关系。结果表明：联合处理下鲤鱼肠道中的PS-MPs含量随时间呈线性增加,且随投加的微塑料浓度增加而增加,而PS-MPs累积速率随时间呈先增加后减小趋势,其中在BPA+PS（L）处理（1 mg·L^-1 BPA+20 μg·L^-1 PS-MPs）下,0.25 d时鲤鱼肠道中PS-MPs累积速率达到峰值（373.81 μg·g^-1·d^-1）,BPA+PS（H）处理（1 mg·L^-1 BPA+100 μg·L^-1 PS-MPs）下,则是在0.125 d达到最高（644.00 μg·g^-1·d^-1）。与单一BPA暴露相比,联合暴露下鲤鱼肠道中BPA累积量增加,与BPA （1 mg·L^-1 BPA）处理相比,BPA+PS （L）和BPA+PS （H）处理下鲤鱼肠道中BPA含量分别提高了6.13%和9.74%,BPA累积速率分别增加了190.01%、373.80%。相较于对照处理,BPA处理和MPs与BPA联合处理均引起鲤鱼肠组织中超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性、过氧化氢酶（CAT）活性、还原型谷胱甘肽（GSH）含量、丙二醛（MDA）含量增加,使体质量下降幅度减缓,其中BPA、BPA+PS （L）和BPA+PS （H）处理下鲤鱼体质量（21 d）较对照处理分别下降1.22%、3.90%、4.33%。当微塑料投加量达到100 μg·mL^-1时,联合处理会增加鲤鱼肠道中SOD活性、CAT活性和GSH含量,抑制MDA产生,从而缓解MPs和BPA联合作用对鲤鱼造成的氧化损伤,并且减缓鲤鱼体质量下降。研究表明,微塑料的存在会增加双酚A在鲤鱼肠道中的累积,且两者联合作用对鲤鱼产生了协同毒理效应,导致鲤鱼生长速率减缓,体质量下降。     

当归药材与土壤中无机元素及其指标性成分相关性分析

目的：研究当归与种植土壤中无机元素及其指标性成分间的相关性,为当归微量无机施肥和种植土地选择提供参考。方法：收集40份不同样地当归药材样本及相应土壤样本,应用石墨炉原子吸收分光光度法测定铅、镉含量,采用原子荧光法测定汞、砷含量,采用原子火焰分光光度法测定铜含量,其余元素均采用电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法（ICP-AES）测定,应用HPLC法测定藁本内酯、阿魏酸含量,数据采用SPSS11.5软件进行多元统计分析。结果：当归药材中砷（As）元素与其藁苯内酯、阿魏酸含量显著相关,相关系数分别为0.333、0.246;当归药材中Cu、K、Mn、Pb与土壤中Cu、K、Mn、Pb含量显著相关,相关系数分别为0.596、0.812、-0.720、0.735,表明当归中Cu、K、Pb的含量随栽培土壤中含量的增高而增高,Mn在土壤中不易被当归吸收。结论：当归对Pb、Cu元素可过度吸收,应选择Pb、Cu含量较低的土地栽培当归,否则富含这两种金属的土地可导致生产药材中这两种金属元素含量超标;药材因与土壤中Mn元素含量呈负相关,对于当归生长需要的微量元素Mn,应采用叶面施肥,不宜在根部施用;砷元素与提高当归品质的相关性需田间施肥实验进一步证明。