Alpine grassland degradation intensifies the burrowing behavior of small mammals:evidence for a negative feedback loop

Globally,grassland degradation is an acute ecological problem.In alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau,increased densities of various small mammals in degraded grassland are assumed to intensify the degradation process and these mammals are subject to lethal control.However,whether the negative impact of small mammals is solely a result of population size or also a result of activity and behavior has not been tested.In this study,we use plateau pika as a model to compare population size,core area of colony,and the number of burrow entrances and latrines between lightly and severely degraded grassland.We test whether the alleged contribution of pika to grassland degradation is a result of increased population size or increased burrowing activities of individuals in response to lower food abundance.We found that grassland degradation resulted in lower plant species richness,plant height,and biomass.Furthermore,the overall population size of pika was not significantly affected by location in lightly and severely degraded grassland.However,pika core areas in severely grassland degradation were significantly larger and had significantly higher densities of burrows and latrines.Our study provides convincing evidence that habitat-induced changes in the behavior of small,burrowing mammals,such as pika,can exacerbate grassland degradation.This finding has significant implications for managing small mammals and restoring degraded grassland ecosystems.

Carbon fluxes and soil carbon dynamics along a gradient of biogeomorphic succession in alpine wetlands of Tibetan Plateau

Hydrological changes under climate warming drive the biogeomorphic succession of wetlands and may trigger substantial carbon loss from the carbon-rich ecosystems.Although many studies have explored the responses of wetland carbon emissions to short-term hydrological change,it remains poorly understood how the carbon cycle evolves with hydrology-driven wetland succession.Here,we used a space-for-time approach across hydrological gradients on the Tibetan Plateau to examine the dynamics of ecosystem carbon fluxes(carbon dioxide(CO_(2))and methane(CH4))and soil organic carbon pools during alpine wetland succession.We found that the succession from mesic meadow to fen changed the seasonality of both CO_(2) and CH4 fluxes,which was related to the shift in plant community composition,enhanced regulation of soil hydrology and increasing contribution of spring-thaw emission.The paludification caused a switch from net uptake of gaseous carbon to net release on an annual timescale but produced a large accumulation of soil organic carbon.We attempted to attribute the paradox between evidence from the carbon fluxes and pools to the lateral carbon input and the systematic changes of historical climate,given that the wetlands are spatially low-lying with strong temporal climate-carbon cycle interactions.These findings demonstrate a systematic change in the carbon cycle with succession and suggest that biogeomorphic succession and lateral carbon flows are both important for understanding the long-term dynamics of wetland carbon footprints.

Grassland Science in a New Era

Grasslands are one of the major biomes on Earth,covering approximately 25%of the terrestrial planet.Human history is deeply intertwined with grassland biomes,where we,as a natural species,first walked upright 2 million years ago.Today,grassland ecosystems continue to play an important role in people's livelihoods by producing meat and dairy products,providing habitats for biodiversity,and delivering essential ecosystem services such as climate regulation and cultural heritage.

中国极小种群野生植物的保护现状评估

广阔的地域和多样的地形造就了中国丰富的生物多样性,同时长时间的人类活动也导致我国有不少物种的生存受到威胁,特别是一些极度濒危、随时有灭绝危险、生境要求独特、生态幅狭窄或基因易流失的物种需要重点保护。近期国家出台了《全国野生动植物及自然保护区建设工程总体规划》,其中包含了首批重点保护的极小种群植物名单。本研究中,我们整理了120种极小种群野生植物的高精度分布图,探讨其分布格局并通过国家级和省级保护区网络评估其保护现状。研究发现,中国极小种群野生植物丰富度最高的地方是云南东南部、广西西南部和海南岛西南部。国家级自然保护区对中国极小种群野生植物分布区的平均覆盖率为21.5%,省级自然保护区的平均覆盖率为10.9%。有35种极小种群野生植物(占总数的29%)未受国家级自然保护区覆盖,有17种(14%)未受任何国家级或省级自然保护区覆盖。我们建议在云南和海南省针对极小种群建立自然保护区。

On the combined effect of soil fertility and topography on tree growth in subtropical forest ecosystems—a study from SE China

Aims The aim of our research was to understand small-scale effects of topography and soil fertility on tree growth in a forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning(BEF)experiment in subtropical SE China.Methods Geomorphometric terrain analyses were carried out at a spatial resolution of 5×5 m.Soil samples of different depth increments and data on tree height were collected from a total of 566 plots(667 m2 each).The soils were analyzed for carbon(soil organic carbon[SOC]),nitrogen,acidity,cation exchange capacity(CEC),exchangeable cations and base saturation as soil fertility attributes.All plots were classified into geomorphological units.Analyses of variance and linear regressions were applied to all terrain,soil fertility and tree growth attributes.Important Findings In general,young and shallow soils and relatively small differences in stable soil properties suggest that soil erosion has truncated the soils to a large extent over the whole area of the experiment.This explains the concurrently increasing CEC and SOC stocks downslope,in hollows and in valleys.However,colluvial,carbon-rich sediments are missing widely due to the convexity of the footslopes caused by uplift and removal of eroded sediments by adjacent waterways.The results showed that soil fertility is mainly influenced by topography.Monte-Carlo flow accumulation(MCCA),curvature,slope and aspect significantly affected soil fertility.Furthermore,soil fertility was affected by the different geomorphological positions on the experimental sites with ridge and spur positions showing lower exchangeable base cation contents,especially potassium(K),due to leaching.This geomorphological effect of soil fertility is most pronounced in the topsoil and decreases when considering the subsoil down to 50 cm depth.Few soil fertility attributes affect tree height after 1-2 years of growth,among which C stocks proved to be most important while pH_(KCl)and CEC only played minor roles.Nevertheless,soil acidity and a high proportion of Al on the exchange complex affected tree height even after only 1-2 years growth.Hence,our study showed that forest nutrition is coupled to a recycling of litter nutrients,and does not only depend on subsequent supply of nutrients from the mineral soil.Besides soil fertility,topography affected tree height.We found that especially MCCA as indicator of water availability affected tree growth at small-scale,as well as aspect.Overall,our synthesis on the interrelation between fertility,topography and tree growth in a subtropical forest ecosystem in SE China showed that topographic heterogeneity lead to ecological gradients across geomorphological positions.In this respect,small-scale soil-plant interactions in a young forest can serve as a driver for the future development of vegetation and biodiversity control on soil fertility.In addition,it shows that terrain attributes should be accounted for in ecological research.

Positive effects of tree species diversity on litterfall quantity and quality along a secondary successional chronosequence in a subtropical forest

Aims Litterfall,as an important link between aboveground and belowground processes,plays a key role in forest ecosystems.Here,we test for effects of tree species richness on litter production and litter quality in subtropical forest.The study further encompasses a factorial gradient of secondary succession that resulted from human exploitation.Given that a large percentage of subtropical forests are in secondary successional stages,understanding the role of biodiversity on forest re-growth after disturbance appears critical.Methods From January 2009 to December 2014,we monitored forest litterfall in 27 Comparative Study Plots that spanned a gradient of tree species richness(3-20 species)and secondary successional ages(~20 to 120 years)in Gutianshan Natural Nature Reserve,Zhejiang Province,China.The experiment is part of the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research platform‘BEF-China’.Tree litterfall was collected in monthly intervals using litter traps.Samples were separated into leaf and non-leaf components.Leaf litter was further sorted into dominant and other species.Community level monthly leaf litter C and N contents were analysed through a full year.General linear mixed-effects models were applied to test for effects of tree species richness and successional age on litter quantity and leaf litter C/N.Important Findings Litterfall increased with species richness among and within successional age and this effect was consistent across years.Successionally older stands had higher litterfall and this effect was related to increased tree species richness.However,species richness did not change the intra-and inter-annual temporal stability of litterfall.Increasing tree species richness increased leaf litter quality(decreased C/N),while successional age had no effect.Our study indicates that more diverse forest stands produce more leaf litter and that this litter has higher N concentrations,which could promote forest growth through accelerated nutrient re-cycling.

Relative effects of phylogeny,biological characters and environments on leaf traits in shrub biomes across central Inner Mongolia,China

Aims Understanding the drivers for leaf traits is critical to improving our predictions on ecosystems'responses to global changes.Geographic patterns of leaf traits are shaped by phylogenetic,biological and environmental factors simultaneously.However,till now few studies have examined how these factors influenced leaf traits together,and how their effects differed at the within-and among-site levels.Methods We sampled leaf traits from a 1100 km shrub-biome transect across central Inner-Mongolia,including leaf mass per area(LMA),mass-based photosynthetic rate,nitrogen(N)and phosphorus(P)concentrations.We examined the effects of phylogenetic,biological(height and growth rate)and environmental(climate and soil)fac-tors on leaf traits with mixed-model analyses of variance.Variation partitioning method was used to separate the joint and independent effects of these three types of factors.Important Findings(i)Climate and soil fertility(total or available nutrient concentra-tions)together explained 11.4-41.4%of among-site variations,with remarkable difference among traits.(i)Height and height growth rate together explained 0.4--31.9%of trait variations(mostly among-site variations).Our results could only weakly support the ability of leaf traits as predictors for whole-plant growth.(ii)LMA was negatively related to height,which was consistent with the resource-use strategy hypothesis but incon-sistent with the hypotheses proposed for coexisting trees,suggest-ing that the LMA--height relationship is shaped by rather different mechanisms between the within-and among-communities lev-els.(iv)The variation partitioning analysis showed that,the rela-tionships between leaf traits and biological characters largely reflected the differences in both leaf traits and biological char-acters among species that occupying different sites.The relative importance of phylogenetic,biological and environmental fac-tors differed remarkably among leaf traits,between the within-and among-communities levels,and between different biomes.(v)Our results strongly suggest the necessity of examining the three types of factors simultaneously,and at both the within-and among-communities levels,for a better understanding of the drivers for leaf traits patterns.

NEECF: a project of nutrient enrichment experiments in China’s forests

Anthropogenic nitrogen(N)emissions to atmosphere have increased dramatically in China since 1980s,and this increase has aroused great concerns on its ecological impacts on terrestrial ecosystems.Previous studies have showed that terrestrial ecosystems in China are acting as a large carbon(C)sink,but its potential in the future remains largely uncertain.So far little work on the impacts of the N deposition on C sequestration in China’s terrestrial ecosystems has been assessed at a national scale.Aiming to assess and predict how ecological processes especially the C cycling respond to the increasing N deposition in China’s forests,recently researchers from Peking University and their partners have established a manipulation experimental network on the ecological effects of the N deposition:Nutrient Enrichment Experiments in China’s Forests Project(NEECF).The NEECF comprises 10 experiments at 7 sites located from north to south China,covering major zonal forest vegetation in eastern China from boreal forest in Greater Khingan Mountains to tropical forests in Hainan Island.This paper introduces the framework of the NEECF project and its potential policy implications.

Soil respiration is driven by fine root biomass along a forest chronosequence in subtropical China

Aims Soil respiration(Rs)is a major process controlling soil carbon loss in forest ecosystems.However,the underlying mechanisms leading to variation in Rs along forest successional gradients are not well understood.In this study,we investigated the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on Rs along a forest successional gradient in southeast China.Methods We selected 16 plots stratified by forest age,ranging from 20 to 120 years.In each plot,six shallow collars and six deep collars were permanently inserted into the soil.Shallow and deep collars were used to measure Rs and heterotrophic respiration(Rh),respectively.Autotrophic soil respiration(Ra)was estimated as the difference between Rs and Rh.Litter layer respiration(R_(L))was calculated by subtracting soil respiration measured in collars without leaf litter layer(R_(NL))from Rs.Rs was measured every 2 months,and soil temperature(ST)and soil volumetric water content(SVWC)were recorded every hour for 19 months.We calculated daily Rs using an exponential model dependent on ST.Daily Rs was summed to obtain cumulative annual Rs estimates.Structural equation modelling(SEM)was applied to identify the drivers of Rs during forest succession.Important Findings Rs showed significant differences among three successive stages,and it was the highest in the young stage.Ra was higher in the young stage than in the medium stage.Cumulative annual Rs and Ra peaked in the young and old stages,respectively.Cumulative annual Rh and respiration measured from soil organic matter(R_(SOM))decreased,whereas R_(L)increased with forest age.The SEM revealed that cumulative annual Rs was influenced by fine root biomass and SVWC.Our results indicated that the dominant force regulating Rs on a seasonal scale is ST;however,on a successional scale,belowground carbon emerges as the dominant influential factor.

Responses of soil microbial communities and functions associated with organic carbon mineralization to nitrogen addition in a Tibetan grassland

Alpine grasslands with a high soil organic carbon(SOC)storage on the Tibetan Plateau are experiencing rapid climate warming and anthropogenic nitrogen(N)deposition;this is expected to substantially increase the soil N availability,which may impact carbon(C)cycling.However,little is known regarding how N enrichment influences soil microbial communities and functions relative to C cycling in this region.We conducted a 4-year field experiment on an alpine grassland to evaluate the effects of four different rates of N addition(0,25,50,and 100 kg N ha^-1 year^-1)on the abundance and community structure(phospholipid fatty acids,PLFAs)of microbes,enzyme activities,and community level physiological profiles(CLPP)in soil.We found that N addition increased the microbial biomass C(MBC)and N(MBN),along with an increased abundance of bacterial PLFAs,especially Gram-negative bacterial PLFAs,with a decreasing ratio of Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacteria.The N addition also stimulated the growth of fungi,especially arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi,reducing the ratio of fungi to bacteria.Microbial functional diversity and activity of enzymes involved in C cycling(β-1,4-glucosidase and phenol oxidase)and N cycling(β-1,4-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase and leucine aminopeptidase)increased after N addition,resulting in a loss of SOC.A meta-analysis showed that the soil C/N ratio was a key factor in the response of oxidase activity to N amendment,suggesting that the responses of soil microbial functions,which are linked to C turnover relative to N input,primarily depended upon the soil C/N ratio.Overall,our findings highlight that N addition has a positive influence on microbial communities and their associated functions,which may reduce soil C storage in alpine grasslands under global change scenarios.

Variation in the methods leads to variation in the interpretation of biodiversity-ecosystem multifunctionality relationships

Aims Biodiversity is often positively related to the capacity of an ecosystem to provide multiple functions simultaneously(i.e.multifunctionality).However,there is some controversy over whether biodiversity–multifunctionality relationships depend on the number of functions considered.Particularly,investigators have documented contrasting findings that the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem multifunctionality do not change or increase with the number of ecosystem functions.Here,we provide some clarity on this issue by examining the statistical underpinnings of different multifunctionality metrics.Methods We used simulations and data from a variety of empirical studies conducted across spatial scales(from local to global)and biomes(temperate and alpine grasslands,forests and drylands).We revisited three methods to quantify multifunctionality including the averaging approach,summing approach and threshold-based approach.Important Findings Biodiversity–multifunctionality relationships either did not change or increased as more functions were considered.These results were best explained by the statistical underpinnings of the averaging and summing multifunctionality metrics.Specifically,by averaging the individual ecosystem functions,the biodiversity–multifunctionality relationships equal the population mean of biodiversity-single function relationships,and thus will not change with the number of functions.Likewise,by summing the individual ecosystem functions,the strength of biodiversity–multifunctionality relationships increases as the number of functions increased.We proposed a scaling standardization method by converting the averaging or summing metrics into a scaling metric,which would make comparisons among different biodiversity studies.In addition,we showed that the range-relevant standardization can be applied to the threshold-based approach by solving for the mathematical artefact of the approach(i.e.the effects of biodiversity may artificially increase with the number of functions considered).Our study highlights different approaches yield different results and that it is essential to develop an understanding of the statistical underpinnings of different approaches.The standardization methods provide a prospective way of comparing biodiversity–multifunctionality relationships across studies.

Phosphorus does not alleviate the negative effect of nitrogen enrichment on legume performance in an alpine grassland

Aims Nitrogen(N)-fixing legumes,despite being highly phosphorus(P)-demanding,constitute an important plant functional group and play key roles in N-poor ecosystems such as alpine grasslands.However,legume performance,including biomass,abundance and species richness,is expected to change,because anthropogenic activities have drastically increased soil N and P availability world-wide.We conducted a field experiment to assess the effects of N and P addition,alone and in combination,on legume performance in an alpine grassland,and identified and clarified the mechanisms underlying these changes.Methods A three year field experiment of N addition(10 g N m−2 year−1),P addition(5 g P m−2 year−1),and N+P combined addition(both N and P,same amounts as solo treatments)was conducted in an alpine grassland on the tibetan Plateau in china from 2011 to 2013.Effects of nutrient addition were assessed at the community level(above-ground net primary production(ANPP),height and light intensity),functional group level(biomass,species richness,relative height,relative coverage and relative density of legumes)and species level(foliar N,P concentration of two legumes).Important findings Overall,adding N alone significantly increased ANPP by 20.82%,but adding P alone did not;whereas,addition of N and P together resulted in a large increase in ANPP(+37.03%)than addition of either alone,indicating potential co-limitation of alpine grasslands.In contrast,adding P alone significantly promoted legume perfor-mance as measured by 65.22%increase in biomass and 58.45%increase in relative abundance,while adding N alone reduced leg-ume performance as measured by 39.54%decrease in biomass and 50.36%in relative abundance.combining P and N addition did not mitigate the negative effect of N addition on legume performance and,surprisingly,suppressed legume biomass by 53.14%and relative abundance by 63.51%.N and P addition altered the balance of light competition between grasses and legumes as indicated by the changes in light levels,plant heights and litter accumulation.However,there were no obvious changes in legume species richness in response to N and P within our experimental timeframe.this study provides further evidence of the importance of P as a co-limiting nutrient in alpine grasslands,contrary to the traditional view that N limitation predominates in such regions.the contrasting effects of N and P addition on legume performance provide important insights into potential changes in legume performance in nutrient-limited grasslands following N and P enrichment under climate change,with implications for nutrient management in alpine grasslands.

Effect of clear-cutting silviculture on soil respiration in a subtropical forest of China

Aims Clear-cutting is a common forest management practice,especially in subtropical China.However,the potential ecological consequences of clear-cutting remain unclear.In particular,the effect of clear-cutting on soil processes,such as the carbon cycle,has not been quantified in subtropical forests.Here,we investigated the response of soil respiration(Rs)to clear-cutting during a 12-month period in a subtropical forest in eastern China.Methods We randomly selected four clear-cut(CC)plots and four corresponding undisturbed forest(UF)plots.Measurements of Rs were made at monthly time points and were combined with continuous climatic measurements in both CC and UF.Daily Rs was estimated by interpolating data with an exponential model dependent on soil temperature.Daily Rs was cumulated to annual Rs estimates.Important Findings In the first year after clear-cutting,annual estimates of Rs in CC(508±23g C m^(−2) yr^(−1))showed no significant difference to UF plots(480±12g C m^(−2) yr^(−1)).During the summer,soil temperatures were usually higher,whereas the soil volumetric water content was lower in CC than in UF plots.The long-term effects of clear-cutting on Rs are not significant,although there might be effects during the first several months after clear-cutting.Compared with previous work,this pattern was more pronounced in our subtropical forest than in the temperate and boreal forests that have been studied by others.With aboveground residuals off-site after clear-cutting,our results indicate that the stimulation of increasing root debris,as well as environmental changes,will not lead to a significant increase in Rs.In addition,long-term Rs will not show a significant decrease from the termination of root respiration,and this observation might be because of the influence of fast-growing vegetation after clear-cutting in situ.

Evaluation of the Safety and Immune Efficacy of Recombinant Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Strain Long Live Attenuated Vaccine Candidates

Human respiratory syncytial virus(RSV)infection is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract illness(LRTI),and no vaccine against LRTI has proven to be safe and effective in infants.Our study assessed attenuated recombinant RSVs as vaccine candidates to prevent RSV infection in mice.The constructed recombinant plasmids harbored(5′to 3′)a T7 promoter,hammerhead ribozyme,RSV Long strain antigenomic cDNA with cold-passaged(cp)mutations or cp combined with temperature-sensitive attenuated mutations from the A2 strain(A2cpts)or further combined with SH gene deletion(A2cptsΔSH),HDV ribozyme(δ),and a T7 terminator.These vectors were subsequently co-transfected with four helper plasmids encoding N,P,L,and M2-1 viral proteins into BHK/T7-9 cells,and the recovered viruses were then passaged in Vero cells.The rescued recombinant RSVs(rRSVs)were named rRSV-Long/A2cp,rRSV-Long/A2cpts,and rRSV-Long/A2cptsΔSH,respectively,and stably passaged in vitro,without reversion to wild type(wt)at sites containing introduced mutations or deletion.Although rRSV-Long/A2cpts and rRSV-Long/A2cptsΔSH displayed temperature-sensitive(ts)phenotype in vitro and in vivo,all rRSVs were significantly attenuated in vivo.Furthermore,BALB/c mice immunized with rRSVs produced Th1-biased immune response,resisted wtRSV infection,and were free from enhanced respiratory disease.We showed that the combination ofΔSH with attenuation(att)mutations of cpts contributed to improving att phenotype,efficacy,and gene stability of rRSV.By successfully introducing att mutations and SH gene deletion into the RSV Long parent and producing three rRSV strains,we have laid an important foundation for the development of RSV live attenuated vaccines.

Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research in Chinese subtropical forests

Worldwide,forests provide habitat for a large diversity of plants,animals and microbes.At the same time,forest ecosystems are essential providers of multiple ecosystem services important for human well-being.However,the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has only been little researched in forests and therefore its role for the functioning of forest ecosystems and their services is not yet understood.If results from comparable studies in other ecosystems are considered(e.g.Balvanera et al.2006),it is conceivable that diverse forests would,for example,grow faster,produce more biomass,store more carbon and better maintain soil fertility and plant-insect interactions and functional stability than less diverse forests or monoculture tree plantations.The hypothesis that biodiversity increases and stabilizes interactions and functions is the common theme of the papers in the present issue of the Journal of Plant Ecology.

Hierarchical reliability in experimental plant assemblages

Aims The mechanism by which species richness affects variation in ecosystem functioning both within and among ecosystems remains a key question at the interface of community and ecosystem ecology.Statistical averaging(the smoothing of average system performance via consideration of additional components)and the insurance effect(reduced variation in system performance by inclusion of asynchronously varying components)predict that more diverse communities should vary less both between replicates and internally.We experimentally tested these theories in small plant assemblages.Methods We constructed plant assemblages modeled after old-field plant communities.We varied species richness,species composition and initial densities while holding functional group richness constant in replicate assemblages under glasshouse conditions.Important findings The inverse of the coefficient of variation of aboveground biomass production,a proxy measure of reliability,increased with higher diversity when examined at the level of the assemblage(i.e.among-replicate assemblages)but not at the levels of functional group or species.These stabilizing processes were weakest in low-diversity,low-density assemblages.This experiment demonstrates the utility of hierarchical analysis of ecosystem reliability at the assemblage,functional group and species level.

Carbon patterns and processes in East Asian ecosystems:multi-scale approaches

It has been argued that scale is the central problem in ecology(Levin,1992).Studies on carbon cycles and global climate change,the current major themes in modern ecology,require the interfacing of phenomena that occur on different scales of space,time,and ecological organization.For several decades,tremendous efforts have been made to reveal the general patterns of,and the mechanisms for the global carbon cycles.However,many uncertainties remain,particularly on local to regional scales.To reduce these uncertainties,regional collaborations across the board of nations are required.The A3 Foresight Program“Quantifying and predicting terrestrial carbon sinks in East Asia:toward a network of climate change research”,lasting from 2007 to 2012 and supported jointly by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC),the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF),and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science(JSPS),aimed to build a collaborative research and education platform focusing on the carbon processes in terrestrial ecosystems in East Asia.

Lowered water table causes species substitution while nitrogen amendment causes species loss in alpine wetland microbial communities

Alpine wetlands are hotspots of carbon(C)storage and methane emission,and they could be key contributors to global warming.In recent years,rapid warming has lowered the water table in alpine wetlands on the Tibetan Plateau,concurrent with intensified nitrogen(N)deposition via anthropogenic activities.We carried out a field experiment to investigate the ecological impacts of these two factors on soil bacterial and functional communities,which are essential drivers of greenhouse gas emissions.Nitrogen amendment alone decreased the phylogenetic alpha-diversity of bacterial communities which could be offset by lowered water table.In contrast,microbial functional alpha-diversity,revealed by a high-throughput microarray,remained unchanged.Both bacterial and functional beta-diversity responded to lowered water table,but only bacterial community responded to N amendment.The alpha-Proteobacteria,beta-Proteobacteria,and Bacteroidetes were the major responsive bacterial lineages,and C degradation,methanogenesis,alkaline shock,and phosphorus oxidation were the major responsive functional processes.Partitioning analysis revealed that N amendment changed bacterial community structure mainly via species loss processes but did not affect bacterial functional communities,with soil pH and ammonium as the key factors influencing changes in bacterial community structure.Conversely,lowered water table altered bacterial and functional communities through species substitution processes linked to soil pH and soil moisture.According to our results,the response mechanisms of microbial communities to lowered water table and N amendment are fundamentally different in alpine wetlands.

An RNA polymerase I-driven human respiratory syncytial virus minigenome as a tool for quantifying virus titers and screening antiviral drug

Human respiratory syncytial virus（RSV） is an important pediatric pathogen of lower respiratory tract worldwide. No vaccines and antiviral drugs are available. Herein the use of an RNA polymerase I-driven RSV minigenome for analyzing RSV replication and screening anti-RSV drugs was investigated. The RNA polymerase I（Pol I） was used to transcribe RSV minigenome from the constructed plasmid, designated p HM-RSV-Gluc, of minigenome c DNA which comprised trailer region, gene start sequence（GS）, reverse complementary copy of Gaussia luciferase（Gluc） gene, gene end sequence（GE）, and leader region in the direction of 5＇–3＇end and was flanked by promoter and terminator of Pol I. The expression of Gluc was confirmed in p HM-RSV-Gluc transfected HEp-2 cells following RSV infection and had the characteristics of dose-dependent, which provided a rapid, sensitive, and quantitative method for quantifying virus titers and screening antiviral drugs.

Plant genome editing:CRISPR,base editing,prime editing,and beyond

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9(Cas9)system is a fast-growing,genome editing technology that has wide applications in identifying gene functions as well as improving agricultural production and crop breeding.Here,we summarized recent advances in the development and applications of genome editing technologies in plants.We briefly described CRISPR/Cas9 technology and examined the base and prime editing techniques that have been developed from CRISPR technology.Some new prime editing-derived techniques were assessed.