Evolutionary connections of biological kingdoms based on protein and nucleic acid sequence evidence

Evolutionary trees are derived based on nucleic acid and protein sequences and the methods of numerical taxonomy. From 5S ribosomal RNA sequences, molecules that participate in protein synthesis, the order of branching of many prokaryote species and the nuclear and organellar components of eukaryote species are inferred. All oxygen-evolving forms, including the chloroplasts and blue-green algae, are to be found on a single branch; the mitochondria are found with the Rhodospirillaceae, nonsulfur photosynthetic bacteria; and the eukaryote cytoplasmic components are found with the archae-bacteria, including Thermoplasma and Sulfolobus. This tree clearly supports the symbiotic origin of the eukaryote organelles. There is much redundant information available from c-type cytochromes, cytochromes c′, 4Fe-4S ferredoxins and 5.8S rRNA molecules. A gene duplication of ferredoxin, probably predating all of the species divergences, permitted us to infer an ancestral molecule that can be placed on the tree to give the base. The heterotrophic anaerobes have a sequence most resembling the ancestral sequence, suggesting that the ancestor may have been a heterotroph. Ten prokaryote species occur on both the c-type and the c′-type cytochrome trees. There is only one inconsistency in the topologies of the two trees, which may reflect a gene transfer among prokaryotes confirming that, for these genes of fundamental importance, gene transfer followed by acceptance is rare. The eukaryote trees derived from 5S and 5.8S rRNA suggest that the earliest eukaryotes were unicellular and that the multicellular forms of plants, animals, fungi and slime molds arose independently.     

二叠纪节房虫类高阶分类现状、过去和未来

二叠纪节房虫类有孔虫形态学高阶分类现状表明,苏联和美国两个学派的高阶分类特征存在尖锐对立.追溯两个学派高阶分类特征的历史渊源后,评述了当前有孔虫的高阶形态学分类.美国学派的高阶分类特征源自19世纪中晚期的英国学者;苏联学派的高阶分类特征则是进化分类方法应用的自然结果.苏联学派将系统发育贯彻始终,较美国学派更符合逻辑,但其系统发育重建缺乏科学性.通过结合形态、分支系统和分子系统发生等方法,有望解决二叠纪节房虫类的高阶分类问题.      

The significance of needle-fibre calcite in a Lower Carboniferous palaeosol

Needle-fibre calcite occurs in association with root structures in a Lower Carboniferous calcrete crust. The origin of this form of calcite is discussed and the scattered literature from soil science, microbiology and geology is reviewed. It is concluded that while needle-fibre calcite is not diagnostic of any environment its origin is related to the activities of various micro-organisms, especially fungi. The use of needle-fibre calcite as a climatic indicator is reviewed and it is used, with other criteria, as evidence of fluctuating climates in the Lower Carboniferous.     

污染土壤中多环芳烃的微生物降解及其机理研究进展

多环芳烃(PAHs)是一类普遍存在于环境中的难降解危险性“三致”有机污染物。微生物对多环芳烃的降解是去除土壤中多环芳烃的主要途径。研究表明，对于土壤中低分子量多环芳烃类化合物，微生物一般以唯一碳源方式代谢；而大多数细菌和真菌对四环或四环以上的多环芳烃的降解作用一般以共代谢方式开始。本文重点论述了高分子量多环芳烃：芘和苯并(a)芘的微生物降解及其机理。并介绍了多环芳烃污染的微生物—植物联合修复机制，最后展望了污染土壤中多环芳烃的研究趋势。     

长江中下游地区下蜀黄土成因研究的回顾

为了进一步认识下蜀黄土的成因及其在我国东部环境演为研究中的意义，回顾了20世纪30年代以来下蜀黄土研究的主要成果，系统地评述了下蜀黄土的风成说、水成说和多成因说。下蜀黄土的成因，从营力的先后及主交看，风成应是第一位的。因此，在利用下蜀黄土保存的古环境信息研究我国东部变化时，应慎重选择剖面，以获得良好的结果。     

Origin of perylene in ancient sediments and its geological significance

The distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments of three Upper Triassic to Middle Jurassic sedimentary sequences from the Northern Carnarvon Basin, Australia have been investigated. Perylene was found to be a major PAH component in the top Lower to base Middle Jurassic sediments that are immature or at low maturity. Its depth/age profiles are not related to the combustion-derived PAHs that have been believed to be produced during ancient vegetation fires before deposition. This suggests a diagenetic origin for perylene. The concentration of perylene in the sediments is proportional to the amount of terrestrial input, decreasing with distance from the source of land sediments. Its carbon isotope composition is slightly heavier than higher-plant derived PAHs, but still in the range of the terrestrially sourced PAHs including higher-plant PAHs and combustion-derived PAHs as suggested previously. Fungi are proposed to be the major precursor carriers for perylene in sediments based on the facts that (1) perylenequinone structures have been previously suggested to be the natural precursors for perylene; (2) perylenequinone pigments exist in many fungal bodies; (3) fungi have played an important role during geological processes.     

Sources and pathways of natural and anthropogenic hydrocarbons into the natural dump Arkona Basin (southern Baltic Sea)

 Surface sediments, suspended particulate matter and fluffy-layer material, collected in the Arkona Basin and the Pomeranian Bay during 1995–1997, as well as air particulate matter, collected on the island of Rügen during August 1995, were analysed for total organic carbon content, saturated and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The resulting concentrations and distributions of these compounds and molecular PAH ratios are discussed in terms of matrix, origin of the organic matter and seasonal variations. The data show that the Oder river can be identified as a major source for PAH transported into the southern part of the Arkona Basin. A strong atmospheric input of PAH is noted for the central and northern part of the basin. In general, anthropogenic and bacterially degraded hydrocarbons bound to organic carbon-rich and small particles are mainly deposited in the basin center, whereas their natural counterparts accumulate mainly on the basin flanks covered by coarser grained sediments. Received: 2 March 1999 · Accepted: 8 June 1999     

Crystallization of chondrules in ordinary chondrites

The process of crystallization and the origin of chondrules are discussed, in terms of the phase relations of the minerals in chondrules in six ordinary chondrites of the Yamato-74 meteorites, especially the Yamato-74191 (L3).Chondrules are classified into six types. The bulk compositions of chondrules projected onto the MgO-FeO-SiO₂ system show that the compositions of chondrules vary widely. Investigations by means of the MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ system indicate that porphyritic chondrules can be regarded as products of supercooling crystallization. The growth rates of crystals in porphyritic chondrules were fairly small. The difference between types of chondrules is interpreted in terms of the compositions of chondrules and the nucleation temperatures of the supercooled droplets.All these observations and estimations must be taken into account for discussing the origin of chondrules. The impact and dust fusion theories do not appear to be plausible. Molten droplets due to these mechanisms will be glassy spherules, or crystallize at equilibrium. Only a liquid condensation theory can well explain the characteristic features and the process of the crystallization of chondrules.     

Late quaternary environmental history of the southern Levant

The Late Quaternary history of northern Sinai and the western Negev is inferred from a number of stratigraphic sequences rich in prehistoric and archaeologic remains. Exposures are abundant along the wadi courses which drain the highlands westward to the Mediterranean. Earliest deposition is represented by coarse, well rounded gravels containing Middle Paleolithic artifacts and is dated to ca. 90,000 to 70,000 B.P. These are overlain by finer grained sands, silts, and clays, ultimately of eolian origin, but re-deposited by low energy stream flows under marshy conditions. These contain in situ Upper Paleolithic (ca. 40,000 to 22,000 B.P.) and Epi-Paleolithic (ca. 15,000 to 12,000 B.P.) sites; commonly an erosional phase (ca. 22,000 to 15,000 years ago) separates the two groups of industries. In areas closer to the coast, temporally equivalent deposits are predominantly sandy, reflecting their proximity to the source in western and northern Sinai. The Holocene is generally characterized by downcutting but deposition of fluviatile and eolian silts is well documented during the Chalcolithic (ca. 6,000 B.P.). The last depositional event is the accumulation of 3–4 m of fluviatile silts containing Byzantine artifacts and radiocarbon dated between ca. 1750–600 B.P.). Whereas most of the sequences can be explained in climatic terms, the Byzantine or “Historical Fill” may have an anthropogenic origin.     

桂西南地区三叠系沉积型锰矿床成因研究

桂西南地区锰矿床资源富集并具有较好的找矿前景,然而目前有关该区三叠系主要沉积地层的地层格架划分尚较薄弱且鲜有探讨。利用桂西南地区东平锰矿区四口钻孔的自然伽马测井曲线进行去趋势、高通滤波处理以及累计残差计算等方法,对桂西南地区含锰岩系进行了旋回地层学研究。研究结果表明:含锰岩系下三叠统北泗组共可划分为四个海进-海退旋回层序,碳酸锰矿层发育的旋回层序位置主要出现于各旋回层序内海退沉积序列中,并位于旋回层序内海退-海侵界面附近,锰矿沉积主要发生在相对海平面由缓慢下降至逐渐上升的时期的转换时期。综合研究区锰矿形成的海平面变化、古地理条件、锰质来源、氧化还原条件等特征的基础上,笔者提出了研究区锰矿成因模式,即具有地理隔绝形式的、并由同生断裂控制的"局限海"台盆相碳酸锰矿沉积模式,碳酸锰矿的形成主要经历以下3个阶段:1）海平面下降-氧化锰矿物形成阶段;2）海平面上升-氧化锰矿物转化碳酸锰矿物阶段;3）最高海泛面-少量碳酸锰矿物发育阶段。该研究成果可为桂西南地区今后锰矿勘探工作中的地层分析、建立区域内高频层序单元格架及锰矿成因等研究提供一种新的方法和手段。     

徐淮地区上元古界臼齿构造碳酸盐岩事件

臼齿构造是一种发育在中—上元古界中的特殊类型的沉积构造，具有特定的时限。在对徐淮地区上元古界臼齿构造碳酸盐岩旋回层序、岩石学特征和臼齿构造形成环境研究的基础上，探讨了臼齿构造碳酸盐岩的成因。采用旋回层序、海平面变化及臼齿构造碳酸盐岩事件的综合分析方法，划分了徐淮地区上元古界臼齿构造发育的地层层序。臼齿构造主要出现在泥晶灰岩中，而在粗颗粒灰岩中则很少出现，臼齿构造与基质碳酸盐岩在组分和结构上有明显不同，臼齿构造是由纯净的微亮晶方解石组成，而基质则是由含粘土和细粉砂的泥晶碳酸盐岩组成，二者呈突变接触关系。对臼齿构造在层序中相序分布关系的详细研究表明，臼齿构造具有重要的环境意义，从台地内缓坡下部、中缓坡到外缓坡上部均有分布，但在不同环境中臼齿构造的类型不同。     

菌根真菌对土壤中有机污染物的修复研究

菌根真菌是真菌与植物之间特殊的联合共生体，利用菌根真菌修复土壤，尤其是修复有机污染物污染的土壤，正成为一个崭新的研究方向。菌根真菌是土壤真菌的一种，但与土壤中放线菌和细菌等微生物相比，其对土壤中有机污染物具有更大的忍耐能力，并且能利用土壤中大多数持久性有机污染物作为碳源来获取能量。综述了近20年菌根真菌对土壤有机污染物降解研究，讨论了菌根真菌降解土壤有机污染物的可能机制，并探讨了从引入固氮菌、外源细菌两个方面对菌根调控以提高修复效果的可能性，为进一步研究菌根真菌生物降解土壤中持久性有机污染物、利用菌根植物修复有机污染土壤提供信息。     

Assessment of airborne bacteria and fungi in an indoor and outdoor environment

Airborne indoor and outdoor bacteria and fungi were assessed during the spring season using conventional methods to investigate the enumeration and identification of airborne micro-organisms. This was determined through air quality sampling using the ‘open plate technique’. The air samples were collected during the spring season (March-May) from four different locations. Conventional enumeration of airborne micro-organisms relies on culture-based or microscopic methods. Although a culture-based analysis is most widely used for bio-aerosol, four public places located in urban residential areas were selected for indoor/outdoor air bio-pollutant measurement. The public places included kitchens, classrooms, recreational areas, laboratories. Public parks are an important facility associated with the environmental exposure of children. Cultivation and total microscopic enumeration methods were employed for the sample analysis. 26 groups of bacteria and fungi, either of human or environmental origin were detected. Environmental agents generally predominated while significantly higher counts were detected as the level of hygiene or standard of housing dropped. Seven genera of fungi, mainly members of the genus Aspergillum, were isolated from all residents. Bacteria shows higher growth numbers as opposed to the slow growing fungi. Sample collection and pretreatment, determination techniques and performance results are summarized and discussed.     

Taxonomy,Zonation and Correlation of the Graptolite Fauna across the Lower/Middle Ordovician Boundary Interval in the Yangtze Gorges Area,South China

The graptolite fauna across the Lower and Middle Ordovician boundary at the Huanghuachang GSSP section,Yichang and the Jianyangping section,Xingshan County is described. The taxonomy of the pendent didymograptids,the graptolite zonations across the base of Middle Ordovician and their correlations are discussed in this paper.The two revised graptolite zones,the Didymograptellus bifidus Zone and the Azygograptus suecicus Zone,can be well correlated to their equivalents elsewhere in the world.     

New insights into the origin of perylene in geological samples

The origin of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) perylene in sediments and petroleum has been a matter of continued debate. Reported to occur in Phanerozoic organic matter (OM), fossil crinoids and tropical termite mounds, its mechanism of formation remains unclear. While a combustion source can be excluded, structural similarities to perylene quinone-like components present in e.g. fungi, plants, crinoids and insects, potentially suggest a product-precursor relationship. Here, we report perylene concentrations, ¹³C/¹²C, and D/H ratios from a Holocene sediment profile from the Qingpu trench, Yangtze Delta region, China. Perylene concentrations differ from those of pyrogenic PAHs, and rise to prominence in a stratigraphic interval that was dominated by woody vegetation as determined by palynology including fungal spores. In this zone, perylene concentrations exhibit an inverse relationship to the lignin marker guaiacol, D/H ratios between −284‰ and −317‰, similar to the methoxy groups in lignin, as well as co-variation with spores from wood-degrading fungi. ¹³C/¹²C of perylene differs from that of land plant wax alkanes and falls in the fractionation range expected for saprophytic fungi that utilise lignin, which is isotopically lighter than cellulose and whole wood. During progressive lignin degradation, the relative carbon isotopic ratio of the perylene decreases. We therefore hypothesise a relationship of perylene to the activity of wood-degrading fungi. To support our hypothesis, we analysed a wide range of Phanerozoic sediments and oils, and found perylene to generally be present in subordinate amounts before the evolutionary rise of vascular plants, and to be generally absent from marine-sourced oils, few exceptions being attributed perhaps to a contribution of marine and/or terrestrial-derived fungi, anoxia (especially under marine conditions) and/or contamination of core material by fungi. A series of low-molecular-weight aromatic quinones bearing the perylene-backbone were detected in Devonian and Cretaceous sediments, potentially representing precursor components to perylene.     

植物抗冻蛋白的研究进展及其应用

抗冻蛋白(antifreeze proteins,AFPs)是一类具有热滞效应和冰晶重结晶抑制效应的蛋白质,它们在受到低温环境胁迫时产生,能够使机体抵御冰冻环境.AFPs已经在多种冰冻耐受机体中发现,包括鱼类、昆虫、陆生节肢动物、细菌、真菌和植物,其中有关植物AFPs的研究起步较晚.综述了植物AFPs的发现,理化性质,组织及细胞定位,生理功能,作用机理,结构模型,及其在农业,医学,食品工业等方面的应用价值.     

广西地区晚更新世野猪对家猪的遗传贡献

家猪是由居住在世界不同地区的人类对野猪的长期驯化而来,考古学研究表明近东和中国可能是家猪的驯养中心.为了寻找野猪对家猪驯化遗传贡献的分子证据,对采集于广西壮族自治区3个不同地点的30个晚更新世野猪化石样品开展了古DNA研究,从化石样品中获得了线粒体基因组的D-loop部分序列,结合现代家猪、野猪DNA同源序列信息,构建了Network网络结构图和系统发育树.结果表明广西古代野猪与欧洲猪科动物之间存在历史基因流,与亚洲家猪之间具有遗传的连续性,在家猪的驯化过程中有遗传贡献.研究结果从新的地域角度为家猪的多地区驯化起源提供了分子证据.      

塔里木盆地原油中的微化石与油源岩形成环境

本文基于塔里木盆地原油中发现的８９属１８３种孢子花粉化石和１６属２７种菌藻类化石的研究，通过孢粉化石的油源对比确认中代陆相油源的重要贡献、并根据孢子花粉母体植物和藻类的生态特征讨论了油源岩形成的环境。     

Ancient dna from pleistocene fossils: Preservation, recovery, and utility of ancient genetic information for quaternary research

Until recently, recovery and analysis of genetic information encoded in ancient DNA sequences from Pleistocene fossils were impossible. Recent advances in molecular biology offered technical tools to obtain ancient DNA sequences from well-preserved Quaternary fossils and opened the possibilities to directly study genetic changes in fossil species to address various biological and paleontological questions. Ancient DNA studies involving Pleistocene fossil material and ancient DNA degradation and preservation in Quaternary deposits are reviewed. The molecular technology applied to isolate, amplify, and sequence ancient DNA is also presented. Authentication of ancient DNA sequences and technical problems associated with modern and ancient DNA contamination are discussed. As illustrated in recent studies on ancient DNA from proboscideans, it is apparent that fossil DNA sequence data can shed light on many aspects of Quaternary research such as systematics and phylogeny. conservation biology, evolutionary theory, molecular taphonomy, and forensic sciences. Improvement of molecular techniques and a better understanding of DNA degradation during fossilization are likely to build on current strengths and to overcome existing problems, making fossil DNA data a unique source of information for Quaternary scientists.     

Effect of heat treatment on tourmaline from Brazil

The crystal-chemical behaviour of tourmaline from Araçuaí, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, when subjected to heating in air atmosphere has been studied by several techniques, including EMPA, UV–Vis, TGA, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The tourmaline samples are typically intermediate members of the elbaite-schorl series. The origin of colour and of its change after treatment has been discussed in terms of local disorder, presence of metal transition elements, oxidation of ferrous iron at the octahedral site, and simultaneous trap of the excess electron. These findings may be used to enhance the colour in tourmaline crystals or generate wanted colour changes.