Bartonella species can infect a variety ofmammalian hosts and cause a broad spectrum ofdiseases in humans, but there have been no reportsof Bartonella infection in Ochotonidae. This is thefirst study to detect Bartone...Bartonella species can infect a variety ofmammalian hosts and cause a broad spectrum ofdiseases in humans, but there have been no reportsof Bartonella infection in Ochotonidae. This is thefirst study to detect Bartonella in plateau pikas inthe Qinghai plateau, providing baseline data for therisk assessment of human Bartonella infection inthis area. We obtained 15 Bartonella strains from79 pikas in Binggou and Maixiu areas of Qinghaiwith a positive rate of 18.99%. Based on thephylogenetic analysis of the Bartonella citratesynthase （gltA） gene sequences, most strains wereclosely related to B. taylorii （3/15） and B. grahamii（12/15）. The latter is a pathogenic strain in humans.Our results suggest that a corresponding preventionand control strategy should be taken intoconsideration in the Qinghai province.展开更多
Three specimens of Ochotona forresti were collected from southeastern Tibet in 1977 and 1979. After a careful study,considered to be a new subspecies of Ochotona forresti. It is described as follows: Ochotona forresti...Three specimens of Ochotona forresti were collected from southeastern Tibet in 1977 and 1979. After a careful study,considered to be a new subspecies of Ochotona forresti. It is described as follows: Ochotona forresti duoxionglaensis subsp. nov.Holotype: 1♂,NIPB 77139,adult,collected from Duoxiongla Mountain (elevation: 4 200 m),Motuo County,southeastern Tibet,August 27,1977 by Prof. Cai Guiquan.Paratypes: 2 ♀♀,NIPB 79072,adult,and NIPB 79071,subadult,collected from Bangzong valley (elevation: 4 100 m),Milin County,southeastern,Tibet,September 14,1979 by Prof. Wu Jiayan.Type specimens are deposited in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Museum of Biological Specimens,Northwest Plateau Institute of Biology,the Chinese Academy of Sciences.Diagnosis: Similar to Ochotona forresti osgoodi with larger bullae,(LAB 11.1-11.4 mm). Differences from other subspecies are as follows: O. f. duoxionglaensis is much bigger; greater skull length 40.7-41.4 mm; skull is much higher,height of skull 36.71%-37.0% of greater skull length; Long hairs in front of ears are white. Forehead is black and brown,and sides of the faces are drabble grey. From back to buttocks are deep black,and the sides of the body are light black.Remarks: Long hairs in front of the ears are white. Hairs inside ears are grey-white,back of ears chestnut,and edge of ear black and brown. Nape dark hoary grayish,belly and groin washed with buff,but middle of belly yellow. Fore and hind feet above grey,hind feet stouter. Fore claws longer than those of hind feet,terminal pads of toes blackish and not hidden by hair,conspicuous.Skull: Relatively large,GLS 40.7-41.4 mm.; Comparatively convex in superior profile,BCH/GLS about 36.71%-37.0%; Bullae large,LAB 11.1-11.4 mm; Palatal and incisive foramina completely confluent,like a gourd or violin. There are no small vacuities at the anterior end of frontals. Nasal bone short but broad. The orbits are much bigger,and its greatest inner length is much longer than length of diastema.Occurrence and habits: Found only in Motuo and Milin,southeastern Tibet. Habitats are in alpine shrub meadows,or in edge of forests.展开更多
This paper evaluated the impacts of mounds created by the plateau pika （Ochotona curzoniae） on the vegetation composition, structure, and species diversity of an alpine Kobresia steppe meadow in Nagqu County, Tibet ...This paper evaluated the impacts of mounds created by the plateau pika （Ochotona curzoniae） on the vegetation composition, structure, and species diversity of an alpine Kobresia steppe meadow in Nagqu County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Based on mound height or the depth of erosion pit, we defined five stages of erosion and compared the floristic features of communities at these stages with those in undisturbed sites. In the study area, the mounds and pits covered up to 7% of the total area. Lancea tibetica, Lamiophlomis rotata, and Potentilla biflarca were the dominant species in erosion pits, and Kobresia pygmaea, the dominant species in undisturbed sites, became a companion species in eroded areas. In the process of erosion, the original vegetation was covered by soil ejected by the pika, then the mounds were gradually eroded by wind and rain, and finally erosion pits formed. The vegetation coverage increased with increasing erosion stages but remained significantly lower than that in undisturbed sites. Improved coverage eventually reduced soil erosion, and pit depth eventually stabilized at around 20cm. Aboveground biomass increased with increasing erosion stage, but the proportion of low-quality forage reached more than 94%. The richness index and Shannon-Wiener index increased significantly with increasing erosion stage, but the richness index in mound and pit areas was significantly lower than that in undisturbed sites.展开更多
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome （SARS） is a deadly infectious disease caused by SARS Coronavirus （SARS-CoV）. Inactivated SARS-CoV has been explored as a vaccine against SARS-CoV. However, safe and potent adjuvan...Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome （SARS） is a deadly infectious disease caused by SARS Coronavirus （SARS-CoV）. Inactivated SARS-CoV has been explored as a vaccine against SARS-CoV. However, safe and potent adjuvants, especially with more efficient and economical needle-free vaccination are alw needed more urgently in a pandemic. The development of a safe and effective mucosal adjuvant and vaccine ays for prevention of emergent infectious diseases such as SARS will be an important advancement. PIKA, a stabilized derivative of Poly （I：C）, was previously reported to be safe and potent as adjuvant in mouse models. In the present study, we demonstrated that the intraperitoneal and intranasal co-administration of inactivated SARS-CoV vaccine together with this improved Poly （I：C） derivative induced strong anti-SARS-CoV mucosal and systemic humoral immune responses with neutralizing activity against pseudotyped virus. Although intraperitoneal immunization of inactivated SARS-CoV vaccine alone could induce a certain level of neutralizing activity in serum as well as in mucosal sites, co-administration of inactivated SARS-CoV vaccine with PIKA as adjuvant could induce a much higher neutralizing activity. When intranasal immunization was used, PIKA was obligatorily for inducing neutralizing activity in serum as well as in mucosal sites and was correlated with both mucosal IgA and mucosal IgG response. Overall, PIKA could be a good mucosal adjuvant candidate for inactivated SARS-CoV vaccine for use in possible future pandemic.展开更多
Pikas(Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae) are small mouselike lagomorphs. To investigate their adaptation to different ecological environments during their dispersal from the Qinghai-Xizang(Tibet) Plateau(QTP), we collected 226 ...Pikas(Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae) are small mouselike lagomorphs. To investigate their adaptation to different ecological environments during their dispersal from the Qinghai-Xizang(Tibet) Plateau(QTP), we collected 226 pikas and measured 20 morphological characteristics and recorded habitat information. We also sequenced the genome of 81specimens, representing 27 putative pika species.The genome-wide tree based on 4?090 coding genes identified five subgenera, i.e., Alienauroa, Conothoa,Lagotona, Ochotona, and Pika, consistent with morphometric data. Morphologically, Alienauroa and Ochotona had similar traits, including smaller size and earlier divergence time compared to other pikas.Consistently, the habitats of Alienauroa and Ochotona differed from those of the remaining subgenera. Phylogenetic signal analysis detected 83 genes significantly related to morphological characteristics, including several visual and hearingrelated genes. Analysis of shared amino acid substitutions and positively selected genes(PSGs) in Alienauroa and Ochotona identified two genes, i.e.,mitochondrial function-related TSFM(p.Q155E) and low-light visual sensitivity-related PROM1(p.H419Y).Functional experiments demonstrated that TSFM-155E significantly enhanced mitochondrial function compared to TSFM-155Q in other pikas, and PROM1-419Y decreased the modeling of dynamic intracellular chloride efflux upon calcium uptake. Alienauroa and Ochotona individuals mostly inhabit different environments(e.g., subtropical forests) than other pikas, suggesting that a shift from the larger ancestral type and changes in sensory acuity and energy enhancement may have been required in their new environments. This study increases our understanding of the evolutionary history of pikas.展开更多
To determine the influence of the fence on plateau pika (<em>Ochotona curzoniae</em>), we measured the body mass, breeding status, population densities, using live-trapping and line-transect sampling in Ap...To determine the influence of the fence on plateau pika (<em>Ochotona curzoniae</em>), we measured the body mass, breeding status, population densities, using live-trapping and line-transect sampling in April and September 2006. In April, body mass of both male and female plateau pika inside of fence were significant higher than that outside of fence (♀: F = 6.583, <em>df</em> = 1.20, <em>p</em> = 0.019;♂: F = 6.49, <em>df</em> = 1.17, <em>p</em> = 0.021). The ratio of spermary drop of an adult male was also higher (92.31% vs 57.14%). In September, body mass of adult male in both study sites showed no significant difference (F = 0.001, <em>df</em> = 1.23, <em>p</em> = 0.975), but were all significant higher than that of April (F = 121.713, <em>df</em> = 1.22, <em>p</em> < 0.001;F = 105.819, <em>df</em> = 1.20, <em>p</em> < 0.001). In April, the population densities of both study sites showed on significant difference (F = 2.388, <em>df</em> = 1.38, <em>p</em> = 0.131), but the population density inside of fence was much higher than that outside of fence (F = 7.534, <em>df</em> = 1.38, <em>p</em> = 0.009) in September. Our results show that the changes of quality and quantity of food that available to plateau pika in winter, can depress the range of reducing body mass of plateau pika, make breeding season ahead, and then promote the increase of population.展开更多
文摘Bartonella species can infect a variety ofmammalian hosts and cause a broad spectrum ofdiseases in humans, but there have been no reportsof Bartonella infection in Ochotonidae. This is thefirst study to detect Bartonella in plateau pikas inthe Qinghai plateau, providing baseline data for therisk assessment of human Bartonella infection inthis area. We obtained 15 Bartonella strains from79 pikas in Binggou and Maixiu areas of Qinghaiwith a positive rate of 18.99%. Based on thephylogenetic analysis of the Bartonella citratesynthase （gltA） gene sequences, most strains wereclosely related to B. taylorii （3/15） and B. grahamii（12/15）. The latter is a pathogenic strain in humans.Our results suggest that a corresponding preventionand control strategy should be taken intoconsideration in the Qinghai province.
文摘Three specimens of Ochotona forresti were collected from southeastern Tibet in 1977 and 1979. After a careful study,considered to be a new subspecies of Ochotona forresti. It is described as follows: Ochotona forresti duoxionglaensis subsp. nov.Holotype: 1♂,NIPB 77139,adult,collected from Duoxiongla Mountain (elevation: 4 200 m),Motuo County,southeastern Tibet,August 27,1977 by Prof. Cai Guiquan.Paratypes: 2 ♀♀,NIPB 79072,adult,and NIPB 79071,subadult,collected from Bangzong valley (elevation: 4 100 m),Milin County,southeastern,Tibet,September 14,1979 by Prof. Wu Jiayan.Type specimens are deposited in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Museum of Biological Specimens,Northwest Plateau Institute of Biology,the Chinese Academy of Sciences.Diagnosis: Similar to Ochotona forresti osgoodi with larger bullae,(LAB 11.1-11.4 mm). Differences from other subspecies are as follows: O. f. duoxionglaensis is much bigger; greater skull length 40.7-41.4 mm; skull is much higher,height of skull 36.71%-37.0% of greater skull length; Long hairs in front of ears are white. Forehead is black and brown,and sides of the faces are drabble grey. From back to buttocks are deep black,and the sides of the body are light black.Remarks: Long hairs in front of the ears are white. Hairs inside ears are grey-white,back of ears chestnut,and edge of ear black and brown. Nape dark hoary grayish,belly and groin washed with buff,but middle of belly yellow. Fore and hind feet above grey,hind feet stouter. Fore claws longer than those of hind feet,terminal pads of toes blackish and not hidden by hair,conspicuous.Skull: Relatively large,GLS 40.7-41.4 mm.; Comparatively convex in superior profile,BCH/GLS about 36.71%-37.0%; Bullae large,LAB 11.1-11.4 mm; Palatal and incisive foramina completely confluent,like a gourd or violin. There are no small vacuities at the anterior end of frontals. Nasal bone short but broad. The orbits are much bigger,and its greatest inner length is much longer than length of diastema.Occurrence and habits: Found only in Motuo and Milin,southeastern Tibet. Habitats are in alpine shrub meadows,or in edge of forests.
基金Under the auspices of the Science and Technology Committee of Tibet Autonomous Region (No. 200101046)
文摘This paper evaluated the impacts of mounds created by the plateau pika （Ochotona curzoniae） on the vegetation composition, structure, and species diversity of an alpine Kobresia steppe meadow in Nagqu County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Based on mound height or the depth of erosion pit, we defined five stages of erosion and compared the floristic features of communities at these stages with those in undisturbed sites. In the study area, the mounds and pits covered up to 7% of the total area. Lancea tibetica, Lamiophlomis rotata, and Potentilla biflarca were the dominant species in erosion pits, and Kobresia pygmaea, the dominant species in undisturbed sites, became a companion species in eroded areas. In the process of erosion, the original vegetation was covered by soil ejected by the pika, then the mounds were gradually eroded by wind and rain, and finally erosion pits formed. The vegetation coverage increased with increasing erosion stages but remained significantly lower than that in undisturbed sites. Improved coverage eventually reduced soil erosion, and pit depth eventually stabilized at around 20cm. Aboveground biomass increased with increasing erosion stage, but the proportion of low-quality forage reached more than 94%. The richness index and Shannon-Wiener index increased significantly with increasing erosion stage, but the richness index in mound and pit areas was significantly lower than that in undisturbed sites.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30670097)National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (2005CB522903)+1 种基金National Key R&D Program (2007BAI28B04)National S&T Major Project on Major Infectious Diseases (2008ZX10001-010)from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China
文摘Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome （SARS） is a deadly infectious disease caused by SARS Coronavirus （SARS-CoV）. Inactivated SARS-CoV has been explored as a vaccine against SARS-CoV. However, safe and potent adjuvants, especially with more efficient and economical needle-free vaccination are alw needed more urgently in a pandemic. The development of a safe and effective mucosal adjuvant and vaccine ays for prevention of emergent infectious diseases such as SARS will be an important advancement. PIKA, a stabilized derivative of Poly （I：C）, was previously reported to be safe and potent as adjuvant in mouse models. In the present study, we demonstrated that the intraperitoneal and intranasal co-administration of inactivated SARS-CoV vaccine together with this improved Poly （I：C） derivative induced strong anti-SARS-CoV mucosal and systemic humoral immune responses with neutralizing activity against pseudotyped virus. Although intraperitoneal immunization of inactivated SARS-CoV vaccine alone could induce a certain level of neutralizing activity in serum as well as in mucosal sites, co-administration of inactivated SARS-CoV vaccine with PIKA as adjuvant could induce a much higher neutralizing activity. When intranasal immunization was used, PIKA was obligatorily for inducing neutralizing activity in serum as well as in mucosal sites and was correlated with both mucosal IgA and mucosal IgG response. Overall, PIKA could be a good mucosal adjuvant candidate for inactivated SARS-CoV vaccine for use in possible future pandemic.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31470110, 31970399)China National GeneBank (CNGB)。
文摘Pikas(Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae) are small mouselike lagomorphs. To investigate their adaptation to different ecological environments during their dispersal from the Qinghai-Xizang(Tibet) Plateau(QTP), we collected 226 pikas and measured 20 morphological characteristics and recorded habitat information. We also sequenced the genome of 81specimens, representing 27 putative pika species.The genome-wide tree based on 4?090 coding genes identified five subgenera, i.e., Alienauroa, Conothoa,Lagotona, Ochotona, and Pika, consistent with morphometric data. Morphologically, Alienauroa and Ochotona had similar traits, including smaller size and earlier divergence time compared to other pikas.Consistently, the habitats of Alienauroa and Ochotona differed from those of the remaining subgenera. Phylogenetic signal analysis detected 83 genes significantly related to morphological characteristics, including several visual and hearingrelated genes. Analysis of shared amino acid substitutions and positively selected genes(PSGs) in Alienauroa and Ochotona identified two genes, i.e.,mitochondrial function-related TSFM(p.Q155E) and low-light visual sensitivity-related PROM1(p.H419Y).Functional experiments demonstrated that TSFM-155E significantly enhanced mitochondrial function compared to TSFM-155Q in other pikas, and PROM1-419Y decreased the modeling of dynamic intracellular chloride efflux upon calcium uptake. Alienauroa and Ochotona individuals mostly inhabit different environments(e.g., subtropical forests) than other pikas, suggesting that a shift from the larger ancestral type and changes in sensory acuity and energy enhancement may have been required in their new environments. This study increases our understanding of the evolutionary history of pikas.
文摘To determine the influence of the fence on plateau pika (<em>Ochotona curzoniae</em>), we measured the body mass, breeding status, population densities, using live-trapping and line-transect sampling in April and September 2006. In April, body mass of both male and female plateau pika inside of fence were significant higher than that outside of fence (♀: F = 6.583, <em>df</em> = 1.20, <em>p</em> = 0.019;♂: F = 6.49, <em>df</em> = 1.17, <em>p</em> = 0.021). The ratio of spermary drop of an adult male was also higher (92.31% vs 57.14%). In September, body mass of adult male in both study sites showed no significant difference (F = 0.001, <em>df</em> = 1.23, <em>p</em> = 0.975), but were all significant higher than that of April (F = 121.713, <em>df</em> = 1.22, <em>p</em> < 0.001;F = 105.819, <em>df</em> = 1.20, <em>p</em> < 0.001). In April, the population densities of both study sites showed on significant difference (F = 2.388, <em>df</em> = 1.38, <em>p</em> = 0.131), but the population density inside of fence was much higher than that outside of fence (F = 7.534, <em>df</em> = 1.38, <em>p</em> = 0.009) in September. Our results show that the changes of quality and quantity of food that available to plateau pika in winter, can depress the range of reducing body mass of plateau pika, make breeding season ahead, and then promote the increase of population.
