Molecular biological research on Foraminifera

As one of the most important groups in micropaleontology, Foraminifera is traditionally described to have a membranous, agglutinated or carbonate shell according to its morphology, which resembles the marine granuloreticuloseans. However, recent molecular analyses on its ribosomal RNA gene have disclosed the existence of the naked, and also freshwater and terrestrial species. Foraminiferal SSU rDNA sequence suggests that this group is positioned at the base of the Eukaryotes phylogenetic trees, between Euglenoida and Diplomonadida. Existence of a large amount of genetic types in planktonic foraminifera suggests an underestimation of the biodiversity for the nearly 50 species in world oceans and their close relationship with the ocean environment, such as bio-geographic distribution and water currents. This provides a more reliable proxy for future paleoenvironmental study.     

Genetic divergence, speciation and morphological stasis in a lineage of African cichlid fishes.

Since their discovery at the turn of the century, the species assemblages of cichlid fishes in the East African Lakes Victoria, Malawi and Tanganyika have fascinated evolutionary biologists. Many models have attempted to account for the 'explosive' evolution of several hundred species within these lakes. Here we report a case of surprisingly large genetic divergence among populations of the endemic Tropheus lineage of Lake Tanganyika. This lineage of six species contains twice as much genetic variation as the entire morphologically highly diverse cichlid assemblage of Lake Malawi and six times more variation than the Lake Victoria species flock. Although it is highly variable in coloration, this group of species and its closest relatives have not undergone appreciable morphological change. The observed geographic pattern of genetic variation suggests that major lake level fluctuations affected the distribution and speciation of this lineage of cichlid fishes.     

Retroviral invasion of the koala genome

Endogenous retroviruses are a common ancestral feature of mammalian genomes with most having been inactivated over time through mutation and deletion. A group of more intact endogenous retroviruses are considered to have entered the genomes of some species more recently, through infection by exogenous viruses, but this event has never been directly proved. We have previously reported koala retrovirus (KoRV) to be a functional virus that is associated with neoplasia. Here we show that KoRV also shows features of a recently inserted endogenous retrovirus that is vertically transmitted. The finding that some isolated koala populations have not yet incorporated KoRV into their genomes, combined with its high level of activity and variability in individual koalas, suggests that KoRV is a virus in transition between an exogenous and endogenous element. This ongoing dynamic interaction with a wild species provides an exciting opportunity to study the process and consequences of retroviral endogenization in action, and is an attractive model for studying the evolutionary event in which a retrovirus invades a mammalian genome.     

Viral myb oncogene encodes a sequence-specific DNA-binding activity

The retroviral oncogene v-myb and its cellular progenitor c-myb encode nuclear DNA-binding proteins. Myb genes have been identified in a broad range of species, including vertebrates, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the plant Zea mays. The localization of the DNA-binding domain of the v-MYB protein to the highly conserved amino-terminal region suggests that the MYB/DNA interaction is important for MYB function. We show here that v-MYB specifically recognizes the nucleotide sequence pyAACG/TG. So like other nuclear transforming proteins, v-MYB seems to be a member of the class of sequence-specific DNA-binding factors presumably involved in gene regulation.     

低温脂肪酶产生菌的筛选及鉴定

通过三丁酸甘油酯平板法从太平洋帕里西维拉海盆5010m的底泥中共筛出八株可产脂肪酶的菌株,其中的两株生理生化特征极其相近的菌脂肪酶活性最高,并且对橄榄油平板产生荧光。对两株菌进行鉴定,分析其生理生化特征和16SrDNA产物序列,确定这两株菌均属于发光杆菌属,但是和该属的各种还有一定差异,对其分类地位的最后确定还需进一步的系统发育学分析。其中D2菌株所产脂肪酶的最适作用温度在35℃左右,证明其脂肪酶为低温酶;最适作用pH值在7～9之间,最适pH值8。     

Positive darwinian selection at the imprinted MEDEA locus in plants

In mammals and seed plants, a subset of genes is regulated by genomic imprinting where an allele's activity depends on its parental origin. The parental conflict theory suggests that genomic imprinting evolved after the emergence of an embryo-nourishing tissue (placenta and endosperm), resulting in an intragenomic parental conflict over the allocation of nutrients from mother to offspring. It was predicted that imprinted genes, which arose through antagonistic co-evolution driven by a parental conflict, should be subject to positive darwinian selection. Here we show that the imprinted plant gene MEDEA (MEA), which is essential for seed development, originated during a whole-genome duplication 35 to 85 million years ago. After duplication, MEA underwent positive darwinian selection consistent with neo-functionalization and the parental conflict theory. MEA continues to evolve rapidly in the out-crossing species Arabidopsis lyrata but not in the self-fertilizing species Arabidopsis thaliana, where parental conflicts are reduced. The paralogue of MEA, SWINGER (SWN; also called EZA1), is not imprinted and evolved under strong purifying selection because it probably retained the ancestral function of the common precursor gene. The evolution of MEA suggests a late origin of genomic imprinting within the Brassicaceae, whereas imprinting is thought to have originated early within the mammalian lineage.     

Can the product of the theta gene be a real globin?

A new member (theta 1, or psi alpha) of the alpha-globin gene family has recently been identified in a number of species. In higher primates the theta 1 gene has all the structural features apparently necessary for expression, and it appears to have long been under strong selective constraints which suggests that it could still be, or recently have been, a functional gene. No corresponding 'globin' has yet been identified, however. In some other species, galago and rabbit for example, the theta 1 and psi alpha genes have accumulated enough inactivating mutations for them to be considered genuine pseudogenes. Horses also have an alpha-like gene (psi alpha), in a 3' position identical to the other species in relation to the functional alpha genes, and this also appears to have the elements required for a functional gene. The predicted amino-acid sequence, however, suggests that any 'globin' product is likely to be non-viable because it has a number of seriously deleterious amino-acid replacements. Some of these amino-acid changes are shared with the rabbit and primate sequences, indicating that they predate the mammalian radiation, and that if indeed any of these genes are still functional, they are unlikely to be making haemoglobin.     

十八重溪野生植物资源的研究

在调查研究的基础上，笔者统计了十八重溪维管束植物，计有１５９科，４７９属，８２９种。其中蕨类植物３５科，５３属，９３种；裸子植物６科，６属，６种；被子植物１１８科，４２０属，７３０种，在调查的基础上，分析了种子植物各属的区系成分。根据野生经济植物的用途，把区内野生经济植物分为８类：油脂植物、淀粉及糖类植物、芳香油植物、纤维植物、鞣料植物、观赏植物、药用植物和蜜粉源植物。在此基础上。提出野生经济植物合理利用与保护的设想，为进一步研究十八重溪野生经济植物，以及植物资源合理利用与保护提供基础资料和科学依据。     

Fingerprints of global warming on wild animals and plants

Over the past 100 years, the global average temperature has increased by approximately 0.6 degrees C and is projected to continue to rise at a rapid rate. Although species have responded to climatic changes throughout their evolutionary history, a primary concern for wild species and their ecosystems is this rapid rate of change. We gathered information on species and global warming from 143 studies for our meta-analyses. These analyses reveal a consistent temperature-related shift, or 'fingerprint', in species ranging from molluscs to mammals and from grasses to trees. Indeed, more than 80% of the species that show changes are shifting in the direction expected on the basis of known physiological constraints of species. Consequently, the balance of evidence from these studies strongly suggests that a significant impact of global warming is already discernible in animal and plant populations. The synergism of rapid temperature rise and other stresses, in particular habitat destruction, could easily disrupt the connectedness among species and lead to a reformulation of species communities, reflecting differential changes in species, and to numerous extirpations and possibly extinctions.     

Bone histology indicates insular dwarfism in a new Late Jurassic sauropod dinosaur

Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest animals ever to inhabit the land, with truly gigantic forms in at least three lineages. Small species with an adult body mass less than five tonnes are very rare, and small sauropod bones generally represent juveniles. Here we describe a new diminutive species of basal macronarian sauropod, Europasaurus holgeri gen. et sp. nov., and on the basis of bone histology we show it to have been a dwarf species. The fossils, including excellent skull material, come from Kimmeridgian marine beds of northern Germany, and record more than 11 individuals of sauropods 1.7 to 6.2 m in total body length. Morphological overlap between partial skeletons and isolated bones links all material to the same new taxon. Cortical histology of femora and tibiae indicates that size differences within the specimens are due to different ontogenetic stages, from juveniles to fully grown individuals. The little dinosaurs must have lived on one of the large islands around the Lower Saxony basin. Comparison with the long-bone histology of large-bodied sauropods suggests that the island dwarf species evolved through a decrease in growth rate from its larger ancestor.     

紫花前胡的归属及其与朝鲜当归的分类学比较研究

本之比较了紫花前胡和朝鲜当归的诸多特征,指出虽然紫花前胡的果实结构特殊,但二种在一般形态、叶柄解剖、叶气孔类型和化学成分(香豆素类)上存在较大相似性。紫花前胡为当归属的成员应予肯定,将其自成一属或置于前胡属中的理由均不充分。在当归属中成立紫花前胡组的观点是正确的,朝鲜当归也属此组。依照二种香豆素成分相似,开展朝鲜当归作为紫花前胡的代用品的研究是有意义的。     

The first Sinomastodon (Gomphotheriidae, Proboscidea) skull from the Quaternary in China

The first Sinomastodon(Gomphotheriidae,Proboscidea) skull of the Early Pleistocene,collected from the Renzidong Cave deposits in Anhui Province,Eastern China,is described here as S.jiangnanensis sp.nov.As the only brevirostrine trilophodont gomphotheriid known from the Old World,Sinomastodon was mainly indigenous to China from the Early Pliocene to the Pleistocene.Compared with a few single Pleistocene teeth previously found in China,S.jiangnanensis sp.nov.is represented by a relatively complete skull,mandible and dentition,which is the first discovery of a Quaternary Sinomastodon skull from China.With a brevirostrine,elephant-like skull,no lower tusks,and simple bunodont and trilophodont intermediate molars,the new species is morphologically distinct from other gomphotheres and should belong to the genus Sinomastodon.The new species is more progressive than S.hanjiangensis and the Pliocene type species S.intermedius in its skull and mandible morphology,but is evidently more primitive than the Pleistocene S.yangziensis in its molar morphology.The faunal analysis suggests that the emergence of S.jiangnanensis sp.nov.in Jiangnan area and its southward migration may have been related to a cooling event at the beginning of the Quaternary in Eastern China.     

许昌郊区不同生境下大型土壤动物资源调查

调查了7种生境的土壤动物数量和群落组成,共获得土壤动物538只,隶属于3门7纲11目.分析表明：优势类群为蚁科和线虫,常见及较常见类群为鳞翅目、蚯蚓、鞘翅目、马陆、鳞翅目（蛹）、蛴螬、蜘蛛目、鼠妇,其余5类为稀有类群.土壤动物的个体数及类群数以城市道路绿地最多,废弃荒地最少,说明人为干扰较小的生境土壤动物的数量和类群数较多.多样性以河边人工灌丛沙地最高,菜地最低,这与河边人工灌丛沙地营养丰富,菜地施用化肥、农药有关.菜地与废弃荒地的相似性极高,说明其群落组成相同.     

干旱林线区不同树种非结构性碳水化合物的季节格局及其主导因子

为探究干旱林线区不同树种非结构性碳水化合物(NSC)的季节格局以及生物因素(树种)和非生物因素(气候)在其中的作用, 选取内蒙古高原东南缘4种典型乔木(樟子松、白桦、小叶杨和华北落叶松)作为研究对象, 对其生长季叶片、树干中的可溶性糖、淀粉及总非结构性碳水化合物的浓度进行比较。结果表明: 不同功能型树种NSC各组分浓度具有相似的季节格局(生长季初期短暂上升, 生长季旺期持续下降, 生长季末期由于生长减缓而逐渐回升), 说明气候因素在NSC季节动态中起主导作用。不同树种 NSC 季节均值总体上具有显著差异(p<0.05), 白桦NSC各组分含量均高于樟子松, 体现生物因素的影响。更加干旱的局地气候条件使得樟子松NSC含量高于小叶杨及华北落叶松, 说明干旱林线NSC含量影响因子的复杂性。叶片可溶性糖及TNC含量高于树干, 而淀粉含量低于树干, 这与植物不同器官的功能差异有关。     

Host plants influence parasitism of forest caterpillars

Patterns of association between herbivores and host plants have been thought to reflect the quality of plants as food resources as influenced by plant nutrient composition, defences, and phenology. Host-plant-specific enemies, that is, the third trophic level, might also influence the distribution of herbivores across plant species. However, studies of the evolution of herbivore host range have generally not examined the third trophic level, leaving unclear the importance of this factor in the evolution of plant-insect herbivore interactions. Analysis of parasitoid rearings by the Canadian Forest Insect Survey shows that parasitism of particular Lepidoptera species is strongly host-plant-dependent, that the pattern of host-plant dependence varies among species of caterpillars, and that some parasitoid species are themselves specialized with respect to tree species. Host-plant-dependent parasitism suggests the possibility of top-down influence on host plant use. Differences in parasitism among particular caterpillar-host plant combinations could select for specialization of host plant ranges within caterpillar communities. Such specialization would ultimately promote the species diversification of Lepidoptera in temperate forests with respect to escape from enemies.     

深圳福田红树林陆鸟类变迁及保护

１９９２年２月～１９９３年２月和１９９７年１月～１９９８年１月,用路线统计法对深圳福田红树林保护区陆鸟进行了两个周期调查．两期调查结果比较表明,该地区近期陆鸟减少２目５科４０种,其中国家保护鸟类６种,当地繁殖鸟类１３种;优势种和常见种减少１２％,多样性指数最高值由３．８０２６降至２．７８０４,陆鸟最高密度由５８３只／ｋｍ２减至３５５只／ｋｍ２．分析了陆鸟在湿地生态系统中的作用及种类变迁的原因,并提出保护建议．     

Niche lability in the evolution of a Caribbean lizard community

Niche conservatism--the tendency for closely related species to be ecologically similar--is widespread. However, most studies compare closely related taxa that occur in allopatry; in sympatry, the stabilizing forces that promote niche conservatism, and thus inhibit niche shifts, may be countered by natural selection favouring ecological divergence to minimize the intensity of interspecific interactions. Consequently, the relative importance of niche conservatism versus niche divergence in determining community structure has received little attention. Here, we examine a tropical lizard community in which species have a long evolutionary history of ecological interaction. We find that evolutionary divergence overcomes niche conservatism: closely related species are no more ecologically similar than expected by random divergence and some distantly related species are ecologically similar, leading to a community in which the relationship between ecological similarity and phylogenetic relatedness is very weak. Despite this lack of niche conservatism, the ecological structuring of the community has a phylogenetic component: niche complementarity only occurs among distantly related species, which suggests that the strength of ecological interactions among species may be related to phylogeny, but it is not necessarily the most closely related species that interact most strongly.