China, India, and the Environment

This work was supported by grants from the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2007CB411600), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30621092, 30623007), and Bureau of Science and Technology of Yunnan Province.

Mitochondrial DNA variation in cattle of South China: origin and introgression

Ten restriction endonucleases were used to investigate the mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (mtDNA RFLP) of 11 native cattle breeds and one cultivated cattle breed in South China. Twenty-three restriction morphs were detected, which can be sorted into five haplotypes, A phylogenetic tree of the haplotypes was constructed by using the 'upgma' method. Our study showed that haplotype I and II are identical to the zebu (Bos indicus) and taurine (Bos taurus) haplotypes, respectively. Zebu and taurine were the two major origins of cattle populations in South China, and the zebu probably had more influence on the native cattle population than taurine did. Haplotype III is identical to haplotype I of yak (Bos grunniens), which was only detected in the Diqing cattle breed. Haplotype IV was detected for the first time. This haplotype, found only in Dehong cattle, might be from an independent domestication event, probably from another Bos indicus population. Divergence of haplotypes I and IV occurred about 268,000-535 000 years ago, much earlier than the 10,000-year history of cattle husbandry. Our results also suggest a secondary introgression of mtDNA from yak to Diqing cattle.

Molecular evolution study in China: progress and future promise

China has a large land area with highly diverse topography, climate and vegetation, and animal resources and is ranked eighth in the world and first in the Northern Hemisphere on richness of biodiversity. Even though little work on molecular evolution had

Phylogeography of the freshwater catfish Hemibagrus guttatus (Siluriformes, Bagridae): Implications for South China biogeography and influence of sea-level changes

National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) ; [2007CB411600]; [30530120]

Food composition and dietary overlap of macroinvertebrates in a shallow eutrophic lake in China: spatial and temporal variations

The present study was conducted in Lake Donghu, a suburban eutrophic lake arising from the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, China. Food composition of 32 taxa of zoobenthos was analyzed from 1251 gut samples. Macroinvertebrate primary consumers ingested mainly detritus, sand grains and diatoms. The predators primarily preyed on rotifers, crustaceans, oligochaetes and chironomid larvae. The dietary overlap was relatively high among collector taxa but low among other macroinvertebrates. Food composition and dietary overlap of macroinvertebrates changed considerably, both spatially and temporally. Food web structure differed between inshore and offshore regions of Lake Donghu. The inshore web was relatively complex and dynamic whereas the offshore web was simple and stable. Taxon-specific changes of diet seem to have little effect on the benthic food web structure in offshore waters of a eutrophic lake.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Ya-Er Lake (Hubei, China): sources and distribution

Sources and distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the Ya-Er Lake area (Hubei, China) sediment cores of 3 ponds in the shallow Ya-Er Lake were investigated for 16 PAH. Analytical procedure included extraction by ultrasonication, clean-up by gel-permeation and quantification by HPLC with fluorescence detection. The total PAH amount in sediment samples of the Ya-Er Lake ranged from 68 to 2242 mu g/kg. Concentrations decreased from pond 1 to pond 3 and from upper to lower sediment layers. In addition a soil sample from Ya-Er Lake area showed a total PAH amount of 58 mu g/kg. The PAH pattern in lower sediment layers were similar to that of the soil sample which indicates an atmospheric deposition into the sediments prior to 1970 only. The PAH profile of upper sediment samples, which differs completely from that of lower layers, may be explained by a gradually increasing input of mixed combustion and raw fuel sources since 1970. Therefore the origin of increased PAH contamination in Ya-Er Lake during the last 3 decades has been probably an industrial waste effluent in pond 1.