寒武纪大爆发与动物树的成型

由"真动物"构成的动物界(不包括海绵)通常被划分为双胚层动物、原口动物和后口动物3个亚界。寒武纪大爆发经历了爆发的前奏—序幕—主幕3个阶段,其中后两个阶段处于早寒武世初期(依次以小壳化石的首次辐射和澄江动物群爆发为代表),另一个则发生在"寒武前夜"(即前寒武纪末期),以伊迪卡拉生物群为代表。这次独特的三幕式大爆发分步完成了动物形态演化谱系树(简写为TOA)的成型。已有化石证据显示,动物树的3大主体或3个亚界的起源及其早期辐射分别发生于寒武纪大爆发这3个主要阶段。澄江化石库中发现的早期后口动物亚界涵盖了该亚界中所有6大分支(棘皮类、半索类、头索类、尾索类、脊椎类和绝灭了的古虫类)的原始类群,澄江动物群时代标志着寒武纪大爆发的顶峰,完成了动物树框架的成型,从而宣告了寒武纪大爆发的基本终结。其学术重要性超越了中寒武世的布尔吉斯页岩,因为前者位于动物树形成的"源头",而后者仅代表此后的"一段流程"。在动物演化历史上4个最具转折意义的重大创新事件(即多细胞动物起源、两侧对称动物起源、后口动物起源和脊椎动物起源)中,第一个发生在伊迪卡拉纪甚至更早的时期,其余3个则可通过梅树村化石群和澄江化石群观察到其完成的主体过程。已灭绝的古虫动物门,是初具鳃裂构造的原始分节动物,作为由原口动物向后口动物过渡的一个珍稀"缺环",很可能代表着后口动物亚界的一个根。古囊类兼有两侧对称的古虫类和一些原始棘皮动物的镶嵌体征,最可能代表棘皮动物的一个根。在早寒武世动物演化谱系中,后口动物的"顶端类群"的代表是被誉为"第一鱼"的昆明鱼目,目前已知包括昆明鱼、海口鱼和钟健鱼,它们具对眼、脊索与串珠状脊椎软骨共存的原始脊椎,代表了真正的脊椎类或有头类始祖。相反,包括云南虫属和海口虫属的云南虫类,既没有成对的眼睛也没有可信的脊椎软骨,而且其背神经索也未扩大成脑,甚至不具备低等脊索动物的肌节,因此与真正的有头类或脊椎动物无关。其实,这类奇特动物与古虫类共享相似的躯体构形,应该代表着低等后口动物中的一个侧枝。自达尔文以来,进化生物学一直在动物世界的悠长演化历程中,努力追寻"人类远古由来"的一些重大形态学创新事件的证据,无疑,古虫动物门原始鳃裂构造的出现以及第一鱼之头颅和原始脊椎软骨的形成,应是这条历史长河中人们期待已久的两大里程碑。

Effect of Acorn Burying Depth on Germination, Seedling Emergence and Development of Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata

Acorns of Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata Maxim. are often predated by small mammals and birds in natural forests. These animals not only eat the acorns during the acorn ripening season, but also cache and hoard most of the remaining acorns on the forest floor in the soil for their future use. These buried acorns form the main seed resource for regeneration. Burying depth is potentially important for germination and for seedling development. The effects of burying depth on germination and seedling development in relation to acorn size were studied in an experiment, in which acorns were planted at 6 cm-, 12 cm- and 18 cm-depth. The experimental results showed that fewer acorns germinated as burying depth increased. From the deeply buried acorns fewer seedlings emerged at later time than from those acorns buried less deeply. They appeared to have more difficulties to emerge above-ground than die seedlings from shallowly buried acorns. The deeply buried acorns and their seedlings also appeared to be more susceptible to rot. Acorn size did not significantly affect germination and emergence of the seedlings. As early emerged seedlings had longer developmental periods in their first growing season, and therefore grew better than die late emerged seedlings, seedlings from die shallowly buried acorns took the advantage.

进化论的几个重要猜想及其求证

在科学思想界,达尔文革命是继哥白尼革命之后的一次最深刻、影响最久远的革命;它将从根本上改变整个人类的世界观。诱发这一革命并驱动它不断前行的主要引擎是几个伟大的科学猜想以及人们对这些猜想执着的求证。达尔文之前的拉马克猜想初步奠定了进化论的基础;尽管达尔文及其后继者的几个猜想正使进化论日臻完善,但革命远未成功。

Effects of Replacing Fishmeal with Animal By-products Meal Supplementation in Diets on the Growth and Nutrient Utilization of Mangrove Red Snapper

A feeding trial was conducted for 75 d to evaluate the nutritive value of a mixture of animal by-products （MAB） as a possible protein source in diets for juvenile mangrove red snapper, Lutjanus argentimaculatus （mean initial body weight, 30 g）. Fish were fed one of five isonitrogenous diets （40% crude protein） replacing 0, 25% （MAB25）, 50% （MAB50）, 75% （MAB75） and 100% （MAB100） of fish meal protein with similar percentages of MAB. The MAB consisted of 25% cow liver meal, 20% leather meal, 20% meat and bone meal, 15% blood meal, 10% APC （poultry feather meal）, 8% poultry manure dried, 1.5% choline and 0.5% chromic oxide. After 75 d of feeding, fish fed with diets MAB50, MAB75 and MABI00 exhibited significantly lower growth performance than that of fish fed with control and MAB25 diets. The optimum level of MAB was estimated to be 23%. Replacement of fish meal by MAB23% showed the following performance： maximum weight gain, 510%; SGR, 2.39% and FCE, 2.83%. The MAB substitution up to 75% of fish meal protein in diets did not show differences in apparent protein digestibility （83.6% for MAB25, 79.2% for MAB50, 78.7% for MAB75） compared with control （83.4%）, whereas in MABI00 group digestibility （65.3%） was significantly lower than in other groups. The apparent phosphorus absorption of test diet groups was significantly higher （37.1% for MAB25, 28.5% for MABS0, 55.6% for MAB75 and 54.5% for MABI00） than that of control （1 1.2%）. The levels of protein and ash in the whole body, carcass and viscera increased as MAB substitution in diets increased, whereas lipids and moisture remained consistent among all treatment groups. These results showed that approximately 23% of fish meal protein could be replaced by a mixture of animal by-products for juvenile snapper growing from 30 g to 167 g in 75 d without compromising growth performance and feed efficiency.

Benthic Macrofaunal Assemblage in the Arid Zone Mangroves of Gulf of Kachchh-Gujarat

The total benthic macrofauna consisting of 62 species in 5 groups,viz. crustaceans(18),gastropods(17),bivalves(16),polychaetes(9) and fishes(2),was recorded in western Kachchh mangroves near Gujarat. The population densities of benthic macro-fauna ranged from 424 to 2393 ind.m-2,the diversity ranged from 1.84 to 2.45 bits ind.-1,the richness varied between 0.82 and 0.98,and the evenness varied between 0.64 and 0.81. Two maximum diversity values were recorded during winter and summer. The salin-ity ranged from 34 to 44,temperature varied between 17 and 37 ℃,and the acidity ranged from 7 to 8.9.

Secondary Production of Macrobenthos in Mangrove Area of Tong'an Bay,China

Studies on secondary production lead to a better understanding of the functions of the macrobenthic ecosystem.Basedon the macrobenthic data obtained at 6 sampling stations from April 2006 to January 2007,Brey's(1990)empirical formula wasapplied to calculate the secondary production of macrobenthos in the mangrove area of Tong'an Bay.The results showed that themean annual secondary production of macrobenthos was 13.24 gAFDWm-2-a-1.The mean secondary production in the mangrovehabitat was 12.22 gAFDWm-2-a-1,lower than that in the non-mangrove habitat,which was 15.29 gAFDWm-2-a-1.Two possible rea-sons existed for this difference.First,mollusk and crustacean,which contribute more to the secondary production,probably benefitfrom longer inundation period in the non-mangrove habitat.Second,the higher organic matter in the mangrove habitat results in hy-poxia in the bottom sediment,which may decrease the secondary production.The annual mean production-to-biomass(P/B)ratio inTong'an Bay was 1.17,with a ratio of 1.27 in the mangrove habitat and 0.96 in the non-mangrove habitat,which was coincident withthe much higher density of Limnodriloides sp.and Corophium sp.in the mangrove habitat than in the non-mangrove habitat.Themaximum secondary production and P/B ratio of macrobenthos both appeared at sampling station FL2 in April,2006(namelyApril-FL2)with values of 31.38 gAFDWm-2-a-1and 2.20,respectively.The macrobenthic secondary production in Tong'an Bay islower than those in other intertidal studies except that in Haitan Strait,the reason being the different sediment properties.The P/Bratio in Tong'an Bay was the lowest due to the high proportion of crustaceans in the macrobenthic community.

Comparison of Detoxification Methods on Phorbol Esters in Deoiled Jatropha curcas Meal for Animal Feeds

The deoiled Jatropha curcas meal by hexane extraction was detoxified phorbol esters by two different methods. These two methods were alkali in methanol and only ethanol washing. After both treatments, the PEs （phorbol esters） was decreased by 100%. The crude protein in detoxified meal of alkali in methanol washing was less amount than only ethanol washing. The result showed that treatment by only ethanol washing was a promising way to detoxify deoiled Jatropha curcas meal for animal feeds in industrial scale.

Characterization of colonic dendritic cells in normal and colitic mice

AIM： Recent studies demonstrating the direct involvement of dendritic cells （DC） in the activation of pathogenic T cells in animal models of inflammatory bowel disease identify DC as important antigen presenting cells in the colon. However, very little is known about the properties of colonic DC. METHODS： Using immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy and flow cytometry we have characterized and compared colonic DC in the colon of healthy animals and interleukin-2-deficient （IL2-/-） mice that develop colitis. RESULTS： In the healthy colon, DC resided within the lamina propria and in close association with the basement membrane of colonic villi. Type i myeloid （CD11c^＋, CD11b^＋, B220, CD8） DC made up the largest （40-45%） population and all DC expressed low levels of CD80, CD86, and CD40, and had high endooltic activity consistent with an immature phenotype. In colitic IL2-/- mice, colonic DC numbers increased four- to five-fold and were localized within the epithelial layer and within aggregates of T and B cells. They were also many more DC in mesenteric lymph nodes （MLN）. The majority （〉85%） of DC in the colon and MLN of IL2./ mice were type 1 myeloid, and expressed high levels of MHC class II, CD80, CD86, CD40, DEC 205, and CCR5 molecules and were of low endocytic activity consistent with mature DC. CONCLUSION： These findings demonstrate striking changes in the number, distribution and phenotype of DC in the inflamed colon. Their intimate association with lymphocytes in the colon and draining lymph nodes suggest that they may contribute directly to the ongoing inflammation in the colon.

Characterization of 12 polymorphic microsatellite markers in the Chinese tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis)

The Chinese tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) is a small experimental animal with a close affinity to primates. This species has long been proposed to be an alternative experimental animal to primates in biomedical research. Despite decades of study, there is no pure breed for this animal, and the overall genetic diversity of wild tree shrews remains largely unknown. In order to obtain a set of genetic markers for evaluating the genetic diversity of tree shrew wild populations and tracing the lineages in inbreeding populations, we developed 12 polymorphic microsatellite markers from the genomic DNA of the tree shrew. An analysis of a wild population of 117 individuals collected from the suburb of Kunming, China, showed that these loci exhibited a highly expected heterozygosity (0.616). These 12 microsatellites were sufficient for individual identification and parentage analysis. The microsatellite markers developed in this study will be of use in evaluating genetic diversity and lineage tracing for the tree shrew.

How do soil fauna and soil microbiota respond to beech forest growth?

The dynamics and performance of soil biota during forest rotation were studied in monoculture beech stands forming a chronosequence of four different age-classes(30,62,111,153 yr).Biomass was monitored in major groups of microflora,microfauna,mesofauna,and macrofauna.Resource availability(litter layer,soil organic mater),biomass of the two dominant decomposer groups(microflora,earthworms)as well as the biomass of mesofauna and microfauna were found to remain quite stable during forest succession.Nevertheless,the marked increase of the biomasses of primary decomposers(fungi,saprophagous macroinvertebrates)in the 62-year-old stand,followed by an increase of the biomasses of macropredators in the 111-year-old stand,indicate substantial changes of several components of edaphic communities during forest development.However,constant values of soil respiration suggest that the overall performance of the soil food web does not change during beech forest succession.Thus,the decomposer system of lowland managed beech forests on calcareous soils seems to be very stable over time.We suggest that earthworm activity might have masked impacts of forest development on other soil biota and led to an astounding stability of decomposer assemblages during beech forest rotation.

Basal physiological parameters in domesticated tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri chinensis)

Establishing non-human primate models of human diseases is an efficient way to narrow the large gap between basic studies and translational medicine. Multifold advantages such as simplicity of breeding, low cost of feeding and facility of operating make the tree shrew an ideal non-human primate model proxy. Additional features like vulnerability to stress and spontaneous diabetic characteristics also indicate that the tree shrew could be a potential new animal model of human diseases. However, basal physiological indexes of tree shrew, especially those related to human disease, have not been systematically reported. Accordingly, we established important basal physiological indexes of domesticated tree shrews including several factors: (1) body weight, (2) core body temperature and rhythm, (3) diet metabolism, (4) locomotor rhythm, (5) electroencephalogram, (6) glycometabolism and (7) serum and urinary hormone level and urinary cortisol rhythm. We compared the physiological parameters of domesticated tree shrew with that of rats and macaques. Results showed that (a) the core body temperature of the tree shrew was 39.59±0.05 °C, which was higher than that of rats and macaques; (b) Compared with wild tree shrews, with two activity peaks, domesticated tree shrews had only one activity peak from 17:30 to 19:30; (c) Compared with rats, tree shrews had poor carbohydrate metabolism ability; and (d) Urinary cortisol rhythm indicated there were two peaks at 8:00 and 17:00 in domesticated tree shrews, which matched activity peaks in wild tree shrews. These results provided basal physiological indexes for domesticated tree shrews and laid an important foundation for diabetes and stress-related disease models established on tree shrews.

Land Use and Land Management during the Past Century Determine Mangrove Dynamics in Northwestern Puerto Rico： the Case of the Maracayo Mangrove

Political and economic decisions have determined throughout the history of Puerto Rico land use for agriculture, livestock and urban sprawl. Knowing this, this study is imperative to understand how these changes caused by the various uses and management affected adjoining wetlands. It is hypothesized that these changes affected the hydrology of the area, resulting in increased salinity, providing the right niche for the development of current mangrove. The resources used were aerial photographs, oral history, a report done in 1979 by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources of the Government of Puerto Rico and analyses of salinity, pH and conductivity of soils in three different sites. The conclusion of this study was that the wetland underwent changes in ecosystem composition by ambitious elimination of sand dunes due to hydrological changes and marine effects. The oral history confirms the presence of springs in the past and present. Salinity intrusion was documented in those springs in the 1979 report due to land use change and elimination of sand dunes, changing the habitat, therefore allowing a mangrove community to be established. The continuity of ecophysiological and hydrogeological studies of the area will allow for a predictive understanding of how the mangrove wetland will continue developing.

Comparison of Meiofaunal Abundance in Two Mangrove Wetlands in Tong'an Bay, Xiamen, China

To compare meiofaunal community in the two mangrove wetlands in Tong＇an Bay, Xiamen, China, and probe the response of meiofauna to high organic matter, sampling was carried out in Fenglin and Xiang＇an mangrove wetlands in the bay. The results showed that the Ne/Co ratio （nematode to benthic copepod） and organic matter in Fenglin mangrove wetland were higher than those in Xiang＇an mangrove wetland. The meiofaunal abundance in Fenglin mangrove was all lower than that in Xiang＇an mangrove wetland in summer, autumn and spring, while the meiofaunal abundance in Fenglin mangrove was higher than that in Xiang＇an mangrove wetland in winter. Two-way ANOVA results showed that the meiofaunal abundance and nematode abundance were significantly different between regions, seasons and regionxseason. With all the results in the present study, we confirmed that the positive response of meiofaunal and nematode abundance were only detected for medium organic matter contents according to the Xiang＇an wetland＇s level, and that the distribution of meiofaunal abundance would be influenced by sand content. Higher copepod abundance and lower N/C value usually suggest better environmental quality.

Non-isothermal curing kinetics and thermal properties of benzoxazine-phenolic copolymers

Using novolac phenolic resin, aniline and formaldehyde as raw materials, benzoxazine-phenolic copolymers with different percentages of benzoxazine rings were prepared. FT-IR was adopted to characterize the molecular structure of the novolac-type phenolic resin and the benzoxazine-phenolic copolymer BP31. In order to understand the curing process of the copolymers, the curing behavior and curing kinetic characteristics were studied by differential scanning calorimetry （DSC）, and the catalytical effect of phenolic hydroxyl on the curing behavior of copolymers was investigated. To investigate the thermal properties of this resin, the thermal degradation behaviors of the cured samples were studied by thermal gravimetric （TG） method, and glass-transition temperatures （Tg） of the cured copolymers were also evaluated by DSC. The dynamic Ozawa method was adopted to determine the kinetic parameters of the curing process as well. The activation energy is 78.8 kJ/mol and the reaction rate constant is in the range from 40.0 to 5.2 （K/min）＂ according to reaction temperatures. The Ozawa exponent decreases from 2.4 to 0.7 with the increase of reaction temperature, and curing mechanism is expounded briefly according to the results. TG result shows that the highest char yield of copolymers is 50.3%. The highest Tg of copolymers is 489 K, which is much higher than that of pure benzoxazine resin.

Transformation of Poplar (Populus)with tPA Gene

In this study, tPA gene(human tissuetype plasminogen activator gene) was remolded with the leader sequence removed and an artificially synthesized sequence containing the initiator (ATG) added. Using the binary vector strategy,we first inserted the remolded tPA gene into the Ti-derived plasmid, PGA643 and then transferred,in a triparental mating system,the plasmid into a strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens,A281, that contained vir-DNA.Finally poplar cells were transformed with A. tumefaciens using leaf discus method. The transformed cells were selected in culture containing kanamycin and in siyu hybridization.Successful generation of transgenic poplar was demonstrated by molecular hybridization in the cultivated plants and detection of tPA gene product.

Effects of transgenic poplar clone 741 with insect resistance on structure and diversity of arthropod community

Arthropod community structure and diversity were investigated in transgenic insect-resistant hybrid poplar 741 field trial plots, which had five isogenic clones with two genes （Bt. toxin [Cry IAc] and arrowhead proteinase inhibitor [API]） in comparison to control plots. Transgenic poplar clones were investigated according to their insect resistance （high and medium resistant clones）, being systematically probed into varying levels with feeding tests before. Investigations were carded out during three years （2002, 2003 and 2005）. The results indicated that among the basal species, transgenic plants in general had lower amounts of phytophagous insects, and an increased quantity of neutral arthropods such as saprophytic and strolling species. Among the top and intermediate species in transgenic variants, the quantity of predatory natural enemies was increased, while the amount of parasitoid ones was slightly reduced. The arthropod community characteristic indices were analyzed from different aspects in the three variants. It was discovered that, not only the characteristic indices of the whole arthropod community, but also the characteristic indices of the sub-communities （such as natural enemy, pest and neutral arthropods） and the functional groups categorized by their feeding patterns, showed a higher diversity and evenness and a lower dominancy concentration indices in the high-resistant and medium-resistant plots compared with the control. Transgenic poplar 741 showed improved ecological effects both in partial and total aspects. It could be concluded that composition and structure of the arthropod community in plots with transgenic insect-resistant poplar were turned to be more reasonable and itsdiversity and stability was enhanced.

Invasion and predation in aquatic ecosystems

This article reviews biological invasions in which predation （or its absence） plays a major role in the success of the invader. Examples are described in which the invader out-competes native species for the same food, and cases in which the in-vader consumes valued native species. In many instances, better predator avoidance by the invasive species or the absence of predators in the new habitat contributes to the success of the invaders; in other cases native or introduced predators appear to be able to keep the invasive species in check. A relatively new management approach in the US is the idea of adding another trophic level - to have humans act as the predators and consume the invasive species. This approach is being utilized in Florida and throughout the Caribbean against the lionfish, but could be extended to other fishes, as well as to various invasive crustaceans and mollusks. This idea is controversial, and current regulations prohibiting the possession of individuals of the invasive species （e.g., mitten crabs or snakefish） would preclude the development of a fishery for them [Current Zoology 57 （5）： 613~524, 2011].

Whole genome analyses reveal significant convergence in obsessive-compulsive disorder between humans and dogs

Obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD)represents a heterogeneous collection of diseases with diverse levels of phenotypic,genetic,and etiologic variability,making it difficult to identify the underlying genetic and biological mechanisms in humans.Domestic dogs exhibit several OCD-like behaviors.Using continuous circling as a representative phenotype for OCD,we screened two independent dog breeds,the Belgian Malinois and Kunming Dog and subsequently sequenced ten circling dogs and ten unaffected dogs for each breed.Using population differentiation analyses,we identified 11 candidate genes in the extreme tail of the differentiated regions between cases and controls.These genes overlap significantly with genes identified in a genome wide association study(GWAS)of human OCD,indicating strong convergence between humans and dogs.Through gene expressional analysis and functional exploration,we found that two candidate OCD risk genes,PPP2R2B and ADAMTSL3,affected the density and morphology of dendritic spines.Therefore,changes in dendritic spine may underlie some common biological and physiological pathways shared between humans and dogs.Our study revealed an unprecedented level of convergence in OCD shared between humans and dogs,and highlighted the importance of using domestic dogs as a model species for many human diseases including OCD.