Fossil nothofagaceous leaves from the Eocene of western Antarctica and their bearing on the origin, dispersal and systematics of Nothofagus

Fossil leaves resembling Nothofagaceae have been investigated from the Eocene of western Antarctica and a new form genus Nothofagofolia is proposed for these kinds of fossils. Some new specimens belonging to this form genus are described. They were collected from the Fossil Hill locality of Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, South Shetland Islands, western Antarctica. Two new species, two new combinations and an unnamed species are reported. A number of published Nothofagus leaf fossils from the same locality are discussed and revised. As a result of these studies of Nothofagus leaf morphology, we conclude that (1) Nothofagus probably originated in high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere during the middle-late Late Cretaceous and diversified, dispersed gradually to the lower latitudes of the same hemisphere; (2) leaf morphological characters are significant for the systematics of the family Nothofagaceae, especially at the intrageneric level; and (3) extant species of Nothofagus known from southern temperate areas have more primitive leaf morphological characters and lower leaf ranks than those from tropical mountains as well as those of the Fagaceae and Betulaceae. Supported by the Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology & Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaoentology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. 013106), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30670159) and the Fund of Innovation Program by Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences     

An extracellular oligopeptide permease may be a potential virulence factor of Vibrio harveyi

An oligopeptide permease A(OppA)was purified from the extracellular product of Vibrio harveyi SF-1.The molecular weight of the purified protein was estimated to be 58 kDa on SDS-PAGE.The purified protein showed phospholipase C activity at the optimal values of temperature 50℃ and pH 8.0.The enzymatic activity decreased when the temperature increased to 40℃.The N-terminal sequence of the purified protein was determined as ADVPAGTKLA,which is similar to that of OppA.The OppA pre-cursor gene was cloned from th...     

Design ofVibrio 16S rRNA gene specific primers and their application in the analysis of seawaterVibrio community

The pathogenic species of genus Vibrio cause vibriosis, one of the most prevalent diseases of maricultured animals and seafood consumers. Monitoring their kinetics in the chain of seafood production, processing and consumption is of great importance for food and mariculture safety. In order to enrich Vibrio-representing 16S ribosomal RNA gene （rDNA） fragments and identify these bacteria further real-timely and synchronously among bacterial flora in the chain, a pair of primers that selectively amplify Vibrio 16S rDNA fragments were designed with their specificities and coverage testified in the analysis of seawater Vibrio community. The specificities and coverage of two primers, VF169 and VR744, were determined theoretically among bacterial 16S rDNAs available in GenBank by using BLAST program and practically by amplifying Vibrio 16S rDNA fragments from seawater DNA. More than 88.3% of sequences in GenBank, which showed identical matches with VR744, belong to Vibrio genus. A total of 33 clones were randomly selected and sequenced. All of the sequences showed their highest similarities to and clustered around those of diverse known Vibrio species. The primers designed are capable of retrieving a wide range of Vibrio 16S rDNA fragments specifically among bacterial flora in seawater, the most important natural environment of seafood cultivation.     

Disease resistance and humoral immunomodulatory effects of vitamin C on grouper,Epinephelus awoara

The disease resistance and humoral immunomodulatory effects of vitamin C administered orally to grouper,Epinephelus awoara maintained on a frozen fish diet supplemented with vitamin C at 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 mg/kg were investigated. After 20 weeks, the growth rates of the groups with high level of vitamin C apparently increased. The untreated fish had symptoms of vitamin C deficiency. The endogenous liver tissue vitamin C levels were found to reflect well the dietary treatments. After intraperitoneal injection or bath challenge with a virulent strain ofVibrio vulnificus, fish fed with high level vitamin C showed significantly higher survival rate compared with the normal control group. Vaccination with formalin inactivatedV. vulnificus significantly enhanced the specific antibody production in fish treated with vitamin C, and completely protected from strong bacterial challenge the groups fed on fish with vitamin C 1500 and 2000 mg/kg diet. Project 39500113 supported by NSFC and also by Guangdong Science Research Foundation (Grant No. 950711).     

鳗弧菌(Vibrio anguillarum)对青蛤(Cyclina sinensis)的毒性及半致死浓度研究

利用不同浓度的鳗弧菌对青蛤进行了急性毒性实验,观察青蛤在菌液胁迫下的存活情况,进一步统计得到鳗弧菌对青蛤的半致死浓度。结果表明,青蛤在鳗弧菌液浓度OD600为1.0—2.2范围内,胁迫96h以内死亡率呈逐渐上升趋势,并且在OD600=2.2时所有受试个体全部死亡。在相同的胁迫时间内,受试个体死亡率与胁迫浓度均呈正相关。经SPSS16.0软件分析后,最终得到鳗弧菌对青蛤的半致死浓度(LC50)为OD600=1.57,说明鳗弧菌对青蛤有明显的毒害作用。     

泥鳅(Misgurnus anguillicaudatus)病原霍乱弧菌(Vibrio cholerae)的表型与分子鉴定

从江苏连云港某养殖场养殖死亡的泥鳅肝脏、血液及腹水中分离出大量优势生长的细菌,人工感染试验证明其对泥鳅具有很强的致病性。采用表观分类学及分子生物学方法,对分离菌进行了形态特征、理化特性、胞外酶活性及溶血活性等生物学性状检验;用PCR方法同时扩增其16SrRNA和gyrB基因,分析了16SrRNA和gyrB两种基因序列的同源性,并构建了系统发生树,通过基因序列分析,比较了两种基因在相似细菌的检测和鉴定能力;基于16SrRNA和gyrB基因的系统发育学分析表明分离菌(LD081008B-1)所扩增的16SrRNA和gyrB基因序列均与GenBank数据库中霍乱弧菌具有较高的相似性,且gyrB基因用于细菌种间鉴定更具优越性;16SrRNA基因序列长度为1446bp(GenBank登录号:GQ205447),gyrB基因序列长度为1207bp(GenBank登录号:GQ205452);根据分离菌的表型特征及分子特征,判定病原菌为弧菌属(VibrioPacini1854)的霍乱弧菌(Vibriocholerae)。胞外酶活性及溶血活性检测表明分离菌均具有蛋白酶、卵磷脂酶、淀粉酶、明胶酶及DNA酶活性,在含7%家兔脱纤血...     

Biological and physical events involved in the origin,effects, and control of organic matter in solar saltworks

Aspects of communities and events in the concentrating ponds (S.G. 1.130 to 1.214) and salt crystallizing ponds (S.G. 1.215 to 1.264) of solar saltworks pertinent to salt manufacture are described. Communities that aid salt manufacture enable continuous and efficient production of high quality salt at a saltworks' design capacity, and they provide important controls on levels of organic matter in the brine. Fluctuating salinities, high concentrations of nutrients, and petroleum products are disturbances that causeAphanothece halophytica andDunaliella salina to release excessive quantities of organic matter, and that suppress or cause death to nutrient stripping organisms. Disturbances result in decreased quality and quantity of salt and increased costs for salt harvest, washing, and pond upkeep. Organic matter can be controlled by management techniques that keep nutrient stripping communities at proper levels and maintain a narrow and unchanging range of salinities in each pond, by constructing pond dikes able to withstand wind and water erosion, and by preventing spills of petroleum products in the ponds.     

香鱼(Plecoglossus altivelis)脾脏酪氨酸激酶SYK的鉴定及其介导的MAPK信号通路研究

脾脏酪氨酸激酶(SYK)是一种非受体型酪氨酸激酶(non-receptor tyrosine kinase, NRTK)。在哺乳动物中,SYK是重要的细胞信号通路接头分子,其在免疫细胞活化,胞外刺激的信号转导和病原体识别等多种生命过程中扮演重要角色,然而在鱼类中却鲜有报道。本研究以香鱼(Plecoglossus altivelis)为研究对象,探讨了其SYK(PaSYK)在应对病原微生物感染及在活化免疫信号通路中的作用。我们克隆获得了香鱼SYK的cDNA序列,并利用多重序列比对、构建进化树等生物信息学方法分析PaSYK的进化地位;采用实时荧光定量PCR(RT-qPCR)方法分析PaSYK在健康组织及鳗弧菌(Vibrio anguillarum)感染后的表达变化;亚细胞定位检测PaSYK在HEK293T细胞的分布情况;在香鱼头肾单核/巨噬细胞(Monocyte/macrophage,MO/MΦ)中过表达PaSYK,研究其对炎症细胞因子表达的调控作用并在HEK293T细胞及香鱼头肾MO/MΦ中研究PaSYK对MAPK信号通路的活化作用。多重序列比对结果显示,SYK的蛋白质序列和结构域在进化...     

Population dynamics and chemical ecology of New Zealand Demospongiae Latrunculia sp. nov. and Polymastia croceus (Poecilosclerida: Latrunculiidae: Polymastiidae)

For 3 years aspects of the population dynamics, growth, and bioactivity (measure of biologically active metabolite biosynthesis) of the Demospongiae Latrunculia sp. nov. and Polymastia croceus (Kelly‐Borges & Bergquist) were examined on a subtidal reef on the Wellington south coast, New Zealand. For both species, survival of adult sponges was high in all seasons, whereas juvenile sponges had poor survival. Recruitment of Latrunculia sp. nov. occurred in all seasons indicating that this species is reproductively active throughout the year. P. croceus recruited mostly in autumn, supporting previous work that found the sponge to be reproductively active in summer and early autumn only. For both sponge species, growth rates varied greatly between individuals and were unaffected by initial sponge size within the range examined. Sponges generally grew during winter and spring as the water temperature rose, and shrank during summer and autumn as the water temperature fell. This growth pattern may relate to seasonal variation in food abundance, and for P. croceus it may result also from seasonal differences in reproductive investment. After 2 years, Latrunculia sp. nov. and P. croceus had on average, halved and doubled in size, respectively. Latrunculia sp. nov. showed a seasonal pattern of bioactivity, being most active in spring possibly to prevent the surface overgrowth of fouling organisms. P. croceus had no seasonal pattern of bioactivity, but individuals were either very active or inactive. The bioactive metabolites in both species possibly aid in competitive interactions and prevent predation and biofouling.     

Characterization of EmpA protease in Vibrio anguillarum M3

EmpA is an extracellular metalloprotease secreted by Vibrio anguillarum.For better understanding its role in the patho-genicity of V.anguillarum strain M3,empA insertion mutant was constructed.In the mutant it decreased in extracellular proteolytic activity,swarming motility,hemolytic activity and virulence on turbot(Scophthalmus maximus).Significant decline(by 5-fold)of extracellular proteolytic activity and similar growth curve between mutant and wild type strains indicated that EmpA was the major extracellular protease of M3.LD50 of mutant increased by 38-fold compared with wild type.No pro-EmpA was detected in the su-pernatant of culture,indicating that EmpA autolyzed to mature protein after 24 h.Secretion of EmpA in M3 was similar to that in NB10 strain.Attenuated virulence of mutant was similar to that of M93Sm strain.It was demonstrated that specific operation of EmpA was different from that in previous studies and EmpA contributed to the swarming motility and hemolytic activity in V.an-guillarum strain M3.The results provides insight into understanding the function of EmpA and its potential application in vaccine development.