Body plan innovation in treehoppers through the evolution of an extra wing-like appendage

Body plans, which characterize the anatomical organization of animal groups of high taxonomic rank, often evolve by the reduction or loss of appendages (limbs in vertebrates and legs and wings in insects, for example). In contrast, the addition of new features is extremely rare and is thought to be heavily constrained, although the nature of the constraints remains elusive. Here we show that the treehopper (Membracidae) 'helmet' is actually an appendage, a wing serial homologue on the first thoracic segment. This innovation in the insect body plan is an unprecedented situation in 250 Myr of insect evolution. We provide evidence suggesting that the helmet arose by escaping the ancestral repression of wing formation imparted by a member of the Hox gene family, which sculpts the number and pattern of appendages along the body axis. Moreover, we propose that the exceptional morphological diversification of the helmet was possible because, in contrast to the wings, it escaped the stringent functional requirements imposed by flight. This example illustrates how complex morphological structures can arise by the expression of ancestral developmental potentials and fuel the morphological diversification of an evolutionary lineage.     

In vitro reactivation of anaphase spindle elongation using isolated diatom spindles

A key step for analysing the mechanochemistry of mitosis would be the isolation of a functional spindle capable of anaphase chromosome movement in vitro. Although Mazia and Dan first isolated spindles in 1952, with one or two possible exceptions, isolated spindles are non-functional. An alternative approach has used permeabilized cells to study anaphase chromosome movement, but these preparations are biochemically and morphologically complex, and hence difficult to analyse. We describe here a simple procedure for isolating diatom spindles which are capable of anaphase spindle elongation in vitro. With addition of ATP, the two half-spindles slide completely apart, with concomitant decrease in the zone of overlap. Electron microscopy reveals decreased numbers of microtubules throughout the spindle after ATP addition and confirms the complete absence of structures beyond the spindle poles. These results are inconsistent with theoretical models of mitosis which suggest that spindle poles are pushed apart by microtubule growth, are pulled apart by external forces applied to the poles, or are released from tension generated during spindle formation. The results are consitent with models that postulate mechanical interactions in the zone of microtubule overlap as a factor in spindle elongation.     

Genome-wide genetic analysis of polyploidy in yeast

Polyploidy, increased sets of chromosomes, occurs during development, cellular stress, disease and evolution. Despite its prevalence, little is known about the physiological alterations that accompany polyploidy. We previously described 'ploidy-specific lethality', where a gene deletion that is not lethal in haploid or diploid budding yeast causes lethality in triploids or tetraploids. Here we report a genome-wide screen to identify ploidy-specific lethal functions. Only 39 out of 3,740 mutations screened exhibited ploidy-specific lethality. Almost all of these mutations affect genomic stability by impairing homologous recombination, sister chromatid cohesion, or mitotic spindle function. We uncovered defects in wild-type tetraploids predicted by the screen, and identified mechanisms by which tetraploidization affects genomic stability. We show that tetraploids have a high incidence of syntelic/monopolar kinetochore attachments to the spindle pole. We suggest that this defect can be explained by mismatches in the ability to scale the size of the spindle pole body, spindle and kinetochores. Thus, geometric constraints may have profound effects on genome stability; the phenomenon described here may be relevant in a variety of biological contexts, including disease states such as cancer.     

Cenozoic motion between East and West Antarctica

The West Antarctic rift system is the result of late Mesozoic and Cenozoic extension between East and West Antarctica, and represents one of the largest active continental rift systems on Earth. But the timing and magnitude of the plate motions leading to the development of this rift system remain poorly known, because of a lack of magnetic anomaly and fracture zone constraints on seafloor spreading. Here we report on magnetic data, gravity data and swath bathymetry collected in several areas of the south Tasman Sea and northern Ross Sea. These results enable us to calculate mid-Cenozoic rotation parameters for East and West Antarctica. These rotations show that there was roughly 180 km of separation in the western Ross Sea embayment in Eocene and Oligocene time. This episode of extension provides a tectonic setting for several significant Cenozoic tectonic events in the Ross Sea embayment including the uplift of the Transantarctic Mountains and the deposition of large thicknesses of Oligocene sediments. Inclusion of this East-West Antarctic motion in the plate circuit linking the Australia, Antarctic and Pacific plates removes a puzzling gap between the Lord Howe rise and Campbell plateau found in previous early Tertiary reconstructions of the New Zealand region. Determination of this East-West Antarctic motion also resolves a long standing controversy regarding the contribution of deformation in this region to the global plate circuit linking the Pacific to the rest of the world.     

Microsoft C 与 MASM 混合编程的研究

讨论了Microsoft C语言中调用MASM 5．0汇编语言程序的方法，并针对一些易出现的问题，如程序接口部分的要求，C语言与汇编程序间参数的传递，寄存器的使用等，提出了解决办法．     

水质遥感监测研究进展

本文对近年来应用遥感技术对地表水水质进行监测的研究进展做了总结.在描述地表水体的光谱特征基础上,简述了水质遥感监测的基本原理,其次总结了水质反演的方法和可用的卫星遥感数据源;最后,对此领域存在的问题和今后的重点研究方向作了探讨。     

基于路基基层剪切波速试验的弯曲元优化设计

为了解决高速公路路基基层剪切模量长期监测的技术难题,利用压电陶瓷材料弯曲元,设计适用于香丽高速公路路基基层水平方向上剪切波激发与接收装置。选用级配符合高速公路G-A-4级配的砂砾石土进行一系列试验,以优化弯曲元传感器的钢框架尺寸和网盖设计。研究结果表明:(1) 钢框架宽度对接收信号幅值或压力波传播无显著影响,考虑框架刚度的影响,钢框架宽度设计为0.3 m。 (2) 钢框架长度对接收信号幅值有显著影响,钢框架长度的最优设计为1.2 m。 (3) 比较六种网盖材料,因不锈钢具有良好的耐久性,并对接收信号幅值的影响相对较小,选用不锈钢网作为网盖材料。(4) 砂砾石土具有压硬性,提升土层围压,土层剪切模量随之增加,试验中弯曲元表现出剪切波速的增大, 表明弯曲元适用于砂砾石土层剪切模量的量化。研究成果为定量刻画路基基层刚度提供新的手段。