古生代植物与昆虫相互作用的化石证据——探秘深时陆地生态系统的窗口

 植物与昆虫是当今陆地生态系统的重要组成部分,两者之间的相互关系为认识陆地生态系统结构和功能提供独一无二的信息。古生代是植物和昆虫起源和早期演化的关键地质时期,然而由于缺乏对该时期化石材料的系统研究,植物和昆虫之间的相互关系及其协同演化过程还存在许多未解之谜。对二叠纪晚期（约2.53亿年前）植物茎干中甲虫蛀孔的详细解剖学研究,证实当时蛀木甲虫利用真菌实现个体发育过程中食性的转变,而且蛀木甲虫可能存在初步的社会分工,并生活在复杂的生态网络中;进一步研究显示晚二叠世蛀木甲虫或对松柏类植物引起严重的虫灾。当前研究表明,渗矿化植物化石标本在探索地质历史时期动植物相互作用方面具有巨大研究潜力,可为深时陆地生态系统的重建和演化提供宝贵信息。     

概论

前言《隐翅虫导论》为我院生物系郑发科同志经数年辛勤工作,研究,编译而成。我们将陆续在南充师院学报(自然科学版)以专辑形式刊登。《隐翅虫导论》(上册),介绍了隐翅虫在生物群落中的地位,简述了早期研究及近代概述,详细描记了科代表种的形态和科的比较形态。全书共有插图40幅,版图5     

琥珀里的恐龙尾巴

正研究人员在琥珀中发现了一小截恐龙尾巴,上面还保存着栩栩如生的羽毛!由此证实了世界上的确存在过带羽毛的恐龙,现今鸟类正是由这类恐龙间接而缓慢地演化而来的。此外,研究人员还尝试分析恐龙尾巴中的微量元素组成,希望为化石的蛋白质分析提供依据。近些年,关于缅甸琥珀的研究不断取得重要进展,如在琥珀中发现了样子古怪的陷阱蚂蚁、全新的昆虫类群——奇翅目以及反鸟类的翅膀     

新书介绍

《隐翅虫导论》一书现已由我院生物系编著完成,将从下期南充师院学报(自然科学版)以增刊形式陆续发表。隐翅虫系鞘翅目、隐翅虫科的总称,为一类种类繁多、分布广泛的重要昆虫。这类甲虫,有的是农、林的害虫;有的是农、林害虫的重要天敌;有的既可医治也可导致某些疾病;有的(因多食性与广生境的缘故)可调节包括有害昆虫在内的多种数量,而成为     

浙江省西天目山圆胸隐翅虫研究（鞘翅目：隐翅虫科：尖腹隐翅虫亚科）

对浙江省西天目山自然保护区的圆胸隐翅虫属Tachinus的种类进行了系统调查研究,经鉴定共计8种,其中台湾圆胸隐翅虫Tachinus yasutoshii Ito为我国大陆首次发现,除对每个种的主要分类特征进行了描述和描画外,还编制了该地区圆胸隐翅虫属已知种类检索表。此外,对双条圆胸隐翅虫Tachinus binotatus Li的形态变异进行了讨论。     

大眼隐翅虫的生活习性初步研究

大眼隐翅虫Stenus(Stenus,s.str.)sp.隶属鞘翅目Coleoptera、隐翅虫科Staphylinidae、大眼隐翅虫亚科Steninae的大眼隐翅虫属Stenus，喜生活于河流漫滩等潮湿的地方．实验室观察研究发现，该种隐翅虫可捕食同翅目、鳞翅目、半翅目等许多昆虫的幼体及土壤小动物，但不捕食异色飘虫卵及幼虫；并观察了它的捕食量范围及空间异质性、食物数量对捕食量的影响以及避害、取食、运动、种内残杀等行为习性．     

膝角毒隐翅虫属和隐毒隐翅虫属相互关系的研究(鞘翅目:隐翅虫科,毒隐翅虫亚科)

作者对毒隐翅虫亚科,膝角毒隐翅虫属的分类研究中,发现膝角毒隐翅虫属Ochthephilum与相关属隐毒隐翅虫属Cryptobium的相互关系不太明确.为澄清它们之间的关系,我们查阅了大量国内外相关文献并检视了本实验室标本.结果表明膝角毒隐翅虫属为隐毒隐翅虫属首异名,即膝角毒隐翅虫属为有效名.澄清了两属的关系.     

侏罗纪的水中“吸血鬼”

最近,研究人员在我国著名的侏罗纪道虎沟生物群中发现了目前已知最古老的水生外寄生性昆虫——侏罗奇异虫.侏罗奇异虫很可能寄生于蝾螈鳃后部的皮肤或其他隐蔽部位吸食血液,是名副其实的侏罗纪水中“吸血鬼”. 寄生行为是指动物终生或生活史的某一时期附着在寄主的体内或体表,依靠摄取寄主的营养物来维持生存.寄生行为在现生的昆虫中很常见,相关研究也比较广泛,但其起源和早期演化及其与寄主的生态关系等问题长期以来鲜为人知.寄生昆虫一般分为体外寄生(外寄生)和体内寄生(内寄生)两类.由于其独特的习性,寄生昆虫很少能保存为化石.一些“寄生昆虫化石”也因缺少明确的寄生形态特征而备受争议.长期以来,化石证据的缺失严重阻碍了科学家探究地质历史中昆虫的寄生行为.     

寒武纪腕足动物起源及冠轮动物谱系演化

寒武纪大爆发是地球动物门类爆发性出现和地球生态系统演化发生转折的重要时期。自此，地球海洋生态系统从前寒武纪菌藻类支撑的2极食物链生态系统转变为动物消费驱动的3极食物链生态系统，成为地球隐生宙和显生宙的分水岭，是研究和探索显生宙地球宜居性演化的关键。寒武纪大爆发以地球海洋突然大量、快速出现的两侧动物和矿化壳体为标志。这些帽状、管状的壳体化石，除了少量蜕皮类，大多数属于不明亲缘关系的冠轮动物。因此，寒武纪早期冠轮动物的起源与谱系演化是古生物学乃至现代生物学颇具争议的热门研究课题之一。腕足动物是地质历史上化石保存最为丰富、地史延限最长的冠轮动物重要分支类群，是寒武纪演化动物群的核心代表，其研究对于了解古生态学、古地理学和地球生物宏演化具有十分重要的意义。目前对于腕足动物起源存在多种假说，主要包括帚虫状祖先起源、蛤氏虫起源、托莫特壳起源和胶结质椎管状触手冠动物起源等假说。该文以寒武纪腕足动物起源为主线，以化石系统实证或证伪国内外腕足动物起源假说为目的，全面总结了寒武纪腕足动物化石生物学的重要发现和认识，探讨了地球已知最早的内肛动物、笼头虫和分节的威瓦西虫，以及胶结质椎管状腕足动物玉玕囊形贝发现...     

辽西化石研究大事纪

以辽西朝阳为中心发源地的热河生物群,迄今为止,已知的化石种类包括约100多种脊椎动物、300多种无脊椎动物、60多种植物．种类繁多、数量之大,世界罕见．发现表明：该地区极有可能既是鸟类起源和早期演化区域,也是某些哺乳类、鱼类和昆虫类群的起源和演化中心．此研究成果涉及现代生物界许多重要生物门类的起源和早期演化问题,为探讨地球陆相生态系统的演变过程和规律也提供了难得的线索和例证．     

A microworld in Triassic amber

Amber provides an effective medium for conservation of soft-bodied microorganisms, but finds older than 135 million years are very rare and have not so far contained any microbial inclusions. Here we describe 220-million-year-old droplets of amber containing bacteria, fungi, algae and protozoans that are assignable to extant genera. These inclusions provide insight into the evolution and palaeoecology of Lower Mesozoic microorganisms: it seems that the basal levels of food webs of terrestrial communities (biocoenoses) have undergone little or no morphological change from the Triassic to the Recent.     

Characterization of a carbohydrate transporter from symbiotic glomeromycotan fungi

The symbiotic relationships between mycorrhizal fungi and plants have an enormous impact on terrestrial ecosystems. Most common are the arbuscular mycorrhizas, formed by fungi belonging to the phylum Glomeromycota. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi facilitate the uptake of soil nutrients by plants and in exchange obtain carbohydrates, thus representing a large sink for atmospheric plant-fixed CO(2). However, how carbohydrates are transported through the symbiotic interface is still unknown. Here we report the characterization of the first known glomeromycotan monosaccharide transporter, GpMST1, by exploiting the unique symbiosis of a glomeromycotan fungus (Geosiphon pyriformis) with cyanobacteria. The GpMST1 gene has a very low GC content and contains six introns with unusual boundaries. GpMST1 possesses twelve predicted transmembrane domains and functions as a proton co-transporter with highest affinity for glucose, then mannose, galactose and fructose. It belongs to an as yet uncharacterized phylogenetic monosaccharide transporter clade. This initial characterization of a new transporter family involved in fungal symbiosis will lead to a better understanding of carbon flows in terrestrial environments.     

用模糊聚类分析法对VA菌根真菌进化关系的初步探讨

选取１５个形态学特征,用模糊聚类分析法对ＶＡ菌根真菌的进化进行了初步研究,结果发现：ＶＡ菌根真菌的６个属可以聚为两大类群,无梗孢囊霉属（Ａｃａｕｌｏｓｐｏｒａ）和内养囊霉属（Ｅｎｔｒｏｐｈｏｓｐｏｒａ）是分化较早,两者平行进化的一个类群;球囊霉属（Ｇｌｏｍｕｓ）,硬囊霉属（Ｓｃｌｅｒｏｃｙｓｔｉｓ）,巨孢囊霉属（Ｇｉｇａｓｐｏｒａ）和盾巨孢囊霉属（Ｓｃｕｔｅｌｏｓｐｏｒａ）是起源于一个象球囊霉（Ｇｌｏｍｕｓｌｉｋｅ）的共同祖先的另一个类群,在这个类群中,球囊霉属与硬囊霉属之间的分化较晚,亲缘关系较近,巨囊霉属和盾巨孢囊霉属是平行进化的     

New light shed on the oldest insect

Insects are the most diverse lineage of all life in numbers of species, and ecologically they dominate terrestrial ecosystems. However, how and when this immense radiation of animals originated is unclear. Only a few fossils provide insight into the earliest stages of insect evolution, and among them are specimens in chert from Rhynie, Scotland's Old Red Sandstone (Pragian; about 396-407 million years ago), which is only slightly younger than formations harbouring the earliest terrestrial faunas. The most well-known animal from Rhynie is the springtail Rhyniella praecursor (Entognatha; Collembola), long considered to be the oldest hexapod. For true insects (Ectognatha), the oldest records are two apparent wingless insects from later in the Devonian period of North America. Here we show, however, that a fragmentary fossil from Rhynie, Rhyniognatha hirsti, is not only the earliest true insect but may be relatively derived within basal Ectognatha. In fact, Rhyniognatha has derived characters shared with winged insects, suggesting that the origin of wings may have been earlier than previously believed. Regardless, Rhyniognatha indicates that insects originated in the Silurian period and were members of some of the earliest terrestrial faunas.     

Fungal lipochitooligosaccharide symbiotic signals in arbuscular mycorrhiza

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is a root endosymbiosis between plants and glomeromycete fungi. It is the most widespread terrestrial plant symbiosis, improving plant uptake of water and mineral nutrients. Yet, despite its crucial role in land ecosystems, molecular mechanisms leading to its formation are just beginning to be unravelled. Recent evidence suggests that AM fungi produce diffusible symbiotic signals. Here we show that Glomus intraradices secretes symbiotic signals that are a mixture of sulphated and non-sulphated simple lipochitooligosaccharides (LCOs), which stimulate formation of AM in plant species of diverse families (Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Umbelliferae). In the legume Medicago truncatula these signals stimulate root growth and branching by the symbiotic DMI signalling pathway. These findings provide a better understanding of the evolution of signalling mechanisms involved in plant root endosymbioses and will greatly facilitate their molecular dissection. They also open the way to using these natural and very active molecules in agriculture.     

丛枝菌根的生理生态功能

丛枝菌根是自然界分布最广泛的一种菌根,它是由专性营养共生的丛枝菌根真菌和大部分陆生植物所形成的互惠共生体,具有重要的生理生态功能.通过对丛枝菌根与植物的营养吸收、抗逆抗病以及丛枝菌根与植物群落和生态系统之间的重要关系进行综述,从而说明AMF在植被群落的建立和演替等方面具有重要作用.     

Sex-specific volatile compounds influence microarthropod-mediated fertilization of moss

Sexual reproduction in non-vascular plants requires unicellular free-motile sperm to travel from male to female reproductive structures across the terrestrial landscape. Recent data suggest that microarthropods can disperse sperm in mosses. However, little is known about the chemical communication, if any, that is involved in this interaction or the relative importance of microarthropod dispersal compared to abiotic dispersal agents in mosses. Here we show that tissues of the cosmopolitan moss Ceratodon purpureus emit complex volatile scents, similar in chemical diversity to those described in pollination mutualisms between flowering plants and insects, that the chemical composition of C. purpureus volatiles are sex-specific, and that moss-dwelling microarthropods are differentially attracted to these sex-specific moss volatile cues. Furthermore, using experimental microcosms, we show that microarthropods significantly increase moss fertilization rates, even in the presence of water spray, highlighting the important role of microarthropod dispersal in contributing to moss mating success. Taken together, our results indicate the presence of a scent-based 'plant-pollinator-like' relationship that has evolved between two of Earth's most ancient terrestrial lineages, mosses and microarthropods.     

陆栖线蚓研究概况

线蚓为世界性分布的小型寡毛类,是环带动物中包含物种较多的一个科,目前全球已记录的线蚓约32属700余种.该科动物一般生活在土壤的表层,广泛分布于陆地生态系统中,是土壤生态系统中无脊椎动物的重要组成部分,特别是在沼泽地、北方针叶林、苔原带.它们以微生物和腐殖质碎屑为食,对土壤有机质分解和养分矿化等生态过程起到重要调节作用.文中详细介绍了目前国际上以及中国陆栖线蚓分类和系统发育研究历史和现状,指出线蚓分类学研究依然存在很多问题,如研究滞后、研究区域不平衡、以形态分类为主,系统发育研究不透彻等;在线蚓群落结构与环境因子的关系研究方面,指出线蚓群落分布的影响因素是多样的,线蚓对干燥敏感,其分布主要取决于土壤含水量;同时,对线蚓在生态系统中的功能进行概述,指出线蚓是评估土壤生态系统健康与否的理想指示类群,也是评价全球气候变化的理想生物.最后分析了该领域目前存在的困难和问题,探讨了未来的一些研究方向.     

Ferns diversified in the shadow of angiosperms

The rise of angiosperms during the Cretaceous period is often portrayed as coincident with a dramatic drop in the diversity and abundance of many seed-free vascular plant lineages, including ferns. This has led to the widespread belief that ferns, once a principal component of terrestrial ecosystems, succumbed to the ecological predominance of angiosperms and are mostly evolutionary holdovers from the late Palaeozoic/early Mesozoic era. The first appearance of many modern fern genera in the early Tertiary fossil record implies another evolutionary scenario; that is, that the majority of living ferns resulted from a more recent diversification. But a full understanding of trends in fern diversification and evolution using only palaeobotanical evidence is hindered by the poor taxonomic resolution of the fern fossil record in the Cretaceous. Here we report divergence time estimates for ferns and angiosperms based on molecular data, with constraints from a reassessment of the fossil record. We show that polypod ferns (> 80% of living fern species) diversified in the Cretaceous, after angiosperms, suggesting perhaps an ecological opportunistic response to the diversification of angiosperms, as angiosperms came to dominate terrestrial ecosystems.