Molecular evidence for the sister relationship of the eastern Asia-North American intercontinental species pair in the Podophyllum group (Berberidaceae)

The presumed pair relationships of intercontinental vicariad species in the Podophyllum group (Sinopodophyllum hexandrum vs. Podophyllum pelatum and Diphylleia grayi vs. D. cymosa) were recently, considered to be paraphyletic. In the present paper, the trnL-F and ITS gene sequences of the representatives were used to examine the sister relationships of these two vicariad species. A heuristic parsimony analysis based on the trnLF data identified Diphylleia as the basal clade of the other three genera, but provided poor resolution of their inter-relationships. High sequence divergence was found in the ITS data. ITS1 region, more variable but parsimonyuninformative. has no phylogenetic value, Sequence divergence of the ITS2 region provided abundant, phylogenetically informative variable characters. Analysis of ITS2 sequences confirmeda sister relationship between the presumable vicariad species, in spite of a low bootstrap support for Sinopodophyllum hexandrum vs. Podophyllum pelatum. The combined ITS2 and trnL-F data enforced a sister relationship between Sinopodophyllum hexandrum and Podophyllum pelatum with an elevated bootstrap support of 100%. Based on molecular phylogeny, the morphological evolution of this group was discussed. The self-pollination might have evolved from cross-fertilization two times in this group. The different pollination and seed dispersal systems of Sinopodophyllum hexandrum and Podophlyllum pelatum resulted from their adaptations to different ecological habitats. The divergence time of Sinopodophyllum hexandrum-Podophyllum pelatum is estimated to be 6.52+/-1.89 myr based on the ITS divergence. The divergence of this species pair predated or co-occurred with the recent uplift of the Himalayas 4-3 myr during the late Miocene and the formation of the alpine habitats. Sinopodophyllum hexandrum developed a host of specialized characters in its subsequent adaptation to the arid alpine surroundings. The present study confirmed the different patterns of species relationship between Asian-North American disjuncts. The isolation of plant elements between North America and eastern Asia must have been a gradual process, resulting in the different phylogenetic patterns and divergence times of the disjuncts.

A ground hydrologic model with inclusion of a layer of vegetation canopy that can interact with general-circulation model

In this paper, a ground hydrologic model(GHM) is presented in which the vapor, heat and momentum exchanges between ground surface covers (including vegetation canopy) and atmosphere is described more realistically. The model is used to simulate three sets of field data and results from the numerical simulation agree with the field data well. GHM has been tested using input data generated by general circulation model (GCM) runs for both the North American regions and the Chinese regions, The results from GHM are quite different from those of GHMs in GCMs. It shows that a more active concerted effort on the land surface process study to provide a physically realistic GHM for predicting the exchange between land and atmosphere is important and necessary.

东亚—北美间断分布类群的分子生物地理学研究—以莲科和菖蒲科为例

在洲际间断生物地理学研究中，东亚—北美间断分布类群的分子生物地理学研究一直是关注和研究的热点。在本论文中我们选取了水生和半水生的植物代表类群，莲科（Nelumbonaceae）和菖蒲科（Acoraceae）作为研究对象，通过来自叶绿体、线粒体和核基因组的DNA 序列分析和微卫星分析，一方面探讨莲科的系统位置、揭示其间断地理格局的形成过程、重建菖蒲科的系统发育及其地理格局的形成过程的同时，另一方面，在总结前人研究成果的基础上，总结东亚—北美间断分布的基本特点。主要成果总结如下。 1. 菖蒲科的系统发育和分子生物地理学 菖蒲科仅含一属，菖蒲属（Acorus），共5 种。其中北美菖蒲（A. americanus） 分布于北美，其余4 种（A. calamus, A. gramineus, A. tatarinowii and A. rumphianus） 分布于亚洲的东部和南部。北美菖蒲和菖蒲（A. calamus）叶片中间具有明显的中肋；其余3 种不具有明显的中肋。本论文的19 份材料包含了4 个种，（不含较狭域分布的长苞菖蒲A. rumphianus），利用4 个叶绿体基因片段（trnL-F, psbA-trnH, rps16-trnK, rbcL）和1 个核基因片段（ITS）的序列重建菖蒲属的系统发育。结果表明（1）具有中肋和不具中肋的物种各自聚为一支；（2）具有中肋的菖蒲和北美菖蒲亲缘关系最近，构成东亚—北美间断种对关系；（3）在不具有中肋的一支内部，来自台湾的材料与其它材料差异最大，其余的材料也明显的分为了两类。基于rbcL 序列，使用松散分子钟模型、贝叶斯算法估算菖蒲属起源时间约为135.17 百万年（mya），菖蒲和北美菖蒲的间断分歧时间约为3.72mya。该结果支持菖蒲属为古老的单子叶植物，但东亚—北美间断物种分化时间较年轻。我们推测间断的种对可能通过白令陆桥，从东亚扩散到了北美。 2. 莲科的系统位置和分子生物地理学 莲科仅含一属，莲属（Nelumbo），两个种莲（N. nucifera）和美洲黄莲（N. lutea），间断分布于东亚、澳大利亚北部和北美东部。莲科的系统位置在形态和分子证据不一致。本论文使用了核基因18S rDNA、26S rDNA，叶绿体基因atpB、rbcL，线粒体基因NAD1 的序列重新构建莲科的系统位置并进行了分化时间推算。结果为：（1）叶绿体和核基因构建的严格一致树的拓扑结构不一致，叶绿体数据支持莲科和山龙眼科、悬铃木科具有较近的亲缘关系，核基因数据显示莲科位于真双子叶植物的基部；（2）5 个基因片段的合并分析结果显示，莲科与山龙眼科、悬铃木科聚为一支但支持率不高；（3）基于核基因、叶绿体和5 个基因的分别合并数据，使用松散分子钟模型、贝叶斯算法估算莲科起源时间分别为，113.13 、109.38 和110.35mya ，两个间断物种的分化时间为，3.77、4.34、5.85mya；（4）根据间断的时间和两个物种的遗传差异程度，现存的两个物种应是来自于东亚或北美的冰期残遗，而不是来自于两个大陆祖先种的独立进化后裔。 3. 莲的分子谱系地理学研究 我们采集了37 份莲的材料，10 份美洲黄莲的材料，代表了两者的主要分布区。我们选取了叶绿体基因（trnL-trnF, trnS-trnG, petB-petD 和psbA-trnH），线粒体基因COX1，以及11 个微卫星位点进行莲的分子谱系地理研究。DNA 序列显示莲和美洲黄莲均具有很低的遗传多样性；微卫星数据揭示了稍高于DNA 序列的遗传多样性。两物种相比，美洲黄莲的多样性较高。基于微卫星数据的遗传结构分析表明，莲存在明显的3 个地理分化区域，这三个区域的遗传分化显著（FST=0.542），说明莲远距离群体间基因交流有限。基于DNA 序列和微卫星数据的单倍型地理分布关系，我们推测东南亚地区是莲的避难所或冰期残遗区，冰期后群体分别向西和向北扩张。 4. 东亚—北美间断分布的一般特点 （1）东亚—北美东部间断分歧时间范围较长，从始新世中期甚至更早一直持续到1mya 左右；东亚—北美西部间断类群分化时间跨度相对小，集中在中新世时期；东亚—整个北美间断分化时间与东亚—北美东部间断类群一样经历较长时间；草本类群晚于木本类群形成间断分布式样，洲际间断分化时间与类群的起源时间并无相关性。（2）东亚与北美间断分布类群的起源地因类群而异。（3） 东亚与北美间断分布类群扩散方向呈不确定性。（4）东亚与北美间断类群扩散有三条可能的路径，即大西洋陆桥、白令陆桥和南半球跨洋长距离传播。

Molecular systematics of pikas (genus Ochotona) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences

The phylogenetic relationships among worldwide species of genus Ochotona were investigated by sequencing mitochondrial cytochrome b and ND4 genes. Parsimony and neighbor-joining analyses of the sequence data yielded congruent results that strongly indicated three major clusters: the shrub-steppe group, the northern group, and the mountain group. The subgeneric classification of Ochotona species needs to be revised because each of the two subgenera in the present classification contains species from the mountain group. To solve this taxonomic problem so that each taxon is monophyletic, i.e., represents a natural clade, Ochotona could be divided into three subgenera, one for the shrub-steppe species, a second for the northern species, and a third for the mountain species. The inferred tree suggests that the differentiation of this genus in the Palearctic Region was closely related to the gradual uplifting of the Tibet (Qinghai-Xizang) Plateau, as hypothesized previously, and that vicariance might have played a major role in the differentiation of this genus on the Plateau, On the other hand, the North American species, O. princeps, is most likely a dispersal event, which might have happened during the Pliocene through the opening of the Bering Strait. The phylogenetic relationships within the shrub-steppe group are worth noting in that instead of a monophyletic shrub-dwelling group, shrub dwellers and steppe dwellers are intermingled with each other. Moreover, the sequence divergence within the sister tars of one steppe? dweller and one shrub dweller is very low. These findings support the hypothesis that pikes have entered the steppe environment several times and that morphological similarities within steppe dwellers were due to convergent evolution. (C) 2000 Academic Press.

Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography of Lepus in Eastern Asia based on mitochondrial DNA sequences

In spite of several classification attempts among taxa of the genus Lepus, phylogenetic relationships still remain poorly understood. Here, we present molecular genetic evidence that may resolve some of the current incongruities in the phylogeny of the leporids. The complete mitochondrial cytb, 12S genes, and parts of ND4 and control region fragments were sequenced to examine phylogenetic relationships among Chinese hare taxa and other leporids throughout the World using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian phylogenetic reconstruction approaches. Using reconstructed phylogenies, we observed that the Chinese hare is not a single monophyletic group as originally thought. Instead, the data infers that the genus Lepus is monophyletic with three unique species groups: North American, Eurasian, and African. Ancestral area analysis indicated that ancestral Lepus arose in North America and then dispersed into Eurasia via the Bering Land Bridge eventually extending to Africa. Brooks Parsimony analysis showed that dispersal events followed by subsequent speciation have occurred in other geographic areas as well and resulted in the rapid radiation and speciation of Lepus. A Bayesian relaxed molecular clock approach based on the continuous autocorrelation of evolutionary rates along branches estimated the divergence time between the three major groups within Lepus. The genus appears to have arisen approximately 10.76 MYA (+/- 0.86 MYA), with most speciation events occurring during the Pliocene epoch (5.65 +/- 1.15 MYA similar to 1.12 +/- 10.47 MYA). (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Changes in benthic algal communities following construction of a run-of-river dam

Ecological responses to dam construction are poorly understood, especially for downstream benthic algal communities. We examined the responses of benthic algal communities in downstream reaches of a tributary of the Xiangxi River, China, to the construction of a small run-of-river dam. From February 2003 to August 2006, benthic algae, chemical factors, and habitat characteristics were monitored upstream and downstream of the dam site. This period spanned 6 mo before dam construction and 37 mo after dam construction. Benthic algal sampling yielded 199 taxa in 59 genera that belonged to Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, and Cyanophyta. Some physical factors (flow velocity, water depth, and channel width) and 3 algal metrics (diatom species richness, Margalef diversity, and % erect individuals) were significantly affected by the dam construction, whereas chemical factors (e.g., NH4-N, total N, SiO2) were not. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMS) ordinations showed that overall algal assemblage structure downstream of the dam sites was similar to that of upstream control sites before dam construction and for 1 year after dam construction (p > 0.05). However, sites belonging to upstream and downstream reaches were well separated on NMS axis 1 during the 2(nd) and 3(rd) years after dam construction. Our results suggest that impacts of dam construction on benthic algal communities took 2 to 3 y to emerge. Further development of a complete set of indicators is needed to address the impact of small-dam construction. Our observations underscore the need for additional studies that quantify ecological responses to dam construction over longer time spans.

Phylogeny of the East Asian cyprinids inferred from sequences of the mitochondrial DNA control region

With 210 genera and 2010 species, Cyprinidae is the largest freshwater fish family in the world. Several papers, based on morphological and molecular data, have been published and have led to some solid conclusions, such as the close relationships between North American phoxinins and European leuciscins. However, the relationships among major subgroups of this family are still not well resolved, especially for those East Asian groups. In the present paper, the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region, 896-956 base pairs, of 17 representative species of East Asian cyprinids was sequenced and compared with those of 21 other cyprinids to study their phylogenetic relationships. After alignment, there were 1051 sites. The comparison between pairwise substitutions and HKY distances showed that the mtDNA control region was suitable for phylogenetic study. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that there are two principal lineages in Cyprinidae: Cyprinine and Leuciscine. In Cyprinine, the relationships could be a basal Labeoinae, an intermediate Cyprininae, and a diversified Barbinae (including Schizothroaxinae). In Leuciscine, Rasborinae is at the basal position; Gobioninae and Leuciscinae are sister groups; the East Asian cultrin-xenocyprinin taxa form a large monophyletic group with some small affiliated groups; and the positions of Acheilognathinae and Tincinae are still uncertain.

Macrozoobenthos in 2 shallow mesotrophic Chinese lakes with contrasting sources of primary production

Comparative studies on macrozoobenthos were done in 2 shallow mesotrophic lakes in the middle basins of the Yangtze River, China: Lake Biandantang where macrophytes were abundant, and Lake Houhu where macrophytes were scarce Samples were taken monthly at 4 stations in each lake from April 1997 to March 1999, and a total of 67 and 31 tara of macrozoobenthos were recorded in Lake Biandantang and Lake Houhu, respectively. Both annual mean density and biomass of macrozoobenthos were higher in Lake Biandantang than in Lake Houhu: 780 vs 532 indivials/m(2) and 37.1 vs 25.9 g wet mass/m(2), respectively. Abundance of functional feeding groups followed the order: scraper > collector > predator > shredder in Lake Biandantang, and collector > predator > scraper > shredder in Lake Houhu. Only 1 density peak occurred from winter to early spring in Lake Houhu; however, in Lake Biandantang, there were 2 peaks, the winter peak and spring peak. K-dominance curves and Shannon-Wiener, Simpson, and Margelef indices indicated that macrozoobenthos were more diverse in Lake Biandantang than in Lake Houhu Our study suggests that, in shallow lakes, submerged macrophytes are essential for the maintenance of biodiversity of macrozoobenthos mainly because the macrophytes increase habit heterogeneity and availability of suitable food, and may also decrease predation by fish on the macrozoobenthos.

Growth of juvenile Chinese sturgeon Acipenser sinensis fed live and formulated diets

Triplicate groups of 3.8-g juvenile Chinese sturgeon Acipenser sinensis were reared for 8 weeks in indoor flow-through systems on one of four diets: a natural diet consisting solely of live tubificid worms, a semimoist practical diet, a dry practical diet, and a purified diet. The formulated diets were prepared in the laboratory and had protein contents of 47-50%. Except for the group fed the purified diet, fish showed high survival (94-96%) and growth (final weight, 41-45 g). Survival and specific growth rate did not differ significantly between groups fed the natural, semimoist, and dry practical diets, but were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in fish fed the purified diet. Proximate analysis showed that fish fed purified diet had lower protein and lipid levels but a higher moisture content than fish fed other diets. Our results demonstrated that growth and survival of cultured juvenile Chinese sturgeon fed practical diets were comparable with those fed live tubificid worms. However, Chinese sturgeon fed a purified diet showed inferior growth and survival.

REE and epsilon(Nd) of clay fractions in sediments from the eastern Pacific Ocean: Evidence for clay sources

Clay fractions in the non-calcareous surface sediments from the eastern Pacific were analyzed for clay minerals, REE and Nd-143/Nd-144. Montmorillonite/illite ratio (M/I ratio), total REE contents (Sigma REE), LREE/HREE ratio and cerium anomaly (delta Ce) may effectively indicate the genesis of clay minerals. Clay fractions with M/I ratio > 1, delta Ce < 0.85, Sigma REE > 400 mu g/g, LREE/HREE ratio approximate to 4, and REE patterns similar to those of pelagic sediments are terrigenous and autogenetic mixed clay fractions and contain more autogenetic montmorillonite. Clay fractions with M/I ratio < 1, delta Ce=0.86 to 1.5, Sigma REE=200 to 350 mu g/g, LREE/HREE ratio approximate to 6 and REE distribution patterns similar to that of China loess are identified as terrigenous clay fraction. The Nd-143/Nd-144 ratios or epsilon(Nd) values of clay fractions inherit the features of terrigenous sources of clay minerals. Clay fractions are divided into 4 types according to epsilon(Nd) values. Terrigenous clay minerals of type I with the eNd values of -8 to -6 originate mainly from North American fluvial deposits. Those of type 11 with the epsilon(Nd) Values of -9 to -7 are mainly from the East Asia and North American fluvial deposits. Those of type III with epsilon(Nd) values of -6 to -3 could come from the central and eastern Pacific volcanic islands. Those of type IV with epsilon(Nd) values of -13 to -12 may be from East Asia eolian. The terrigenous and autogenetic mixed clay fractions show patchy distributions, indicating that there are volcanic or hot-spot activities in the eastern Pacific plate, while the terrigenous clay fractions cover a large part of the study area, proving that the terrigenous clay minerals are dominant in the eastern Pacific.

红毛菜发育过程及其生理基础

红毛菜（Bangia Lyngb.）属于红藻门，与紫菜属同属红毛菜科，其味道和营养都优于紫菜。目前红毛菜栽培产业已在我国福建莆田展开，但栽培技术还有待提高。海藻栽培技术的发展和成熟依赖于对其生长发育过程的认识。本研究针对红毛菜发育过程及相关光合生理展开，并初步探讨了一采自山西娘子关泉淡水红毛菜群体（FWB）的系统地位。 色素突变标记的壳孢子萌发特征表明最初两次分裂产生的4细胞决定了完整植株的形态建成。成熟植株，为雌雄异体。雌性生殖器果胞的标志性分化结构为原始受精丝，环境因子是促发原始受精丝发展的外部因素，其膨大程度随受精的延迟而增大。原孢子是主要的无性生殖孢子类型，在不良环境中，藻体也会形成内生孢子或休眠包囊，或者藻体断裂后重新形成完整的植株。 红毛菜的生长发育很大程度上受环境因子的控制。高温不利于配子体的发育，15-20 ºC比较适宜。红毛菜无性繁殖的最适温度-光照组合为20 ºC-8 h，有性繁殖为15 ºC-12h。 不同发育阶段，PSII实际光合效率（Y(II)）与细胞的健康状况以及光合器官完整性及其在细胞内的分布有关，而与细胞的类型关系不大。健康的假根细胞、已分化未成熟的精子以及果孢子细胞均具有很高的Y(II)。色素体由中间位变为围周位，中央大液泡（营养藻丝）和大小纤维囊泡（成熟孢子与精子）的产生，使得细胞Y(II)降低。刚放散的壳孢子Y(II)很低，说明在壳孢子由贝壳基质释放到自由水体过程，光合作用受到一定程度抑制；而2h后，Y(II)开始恢复，rbcL的转录水平非常高，为孢子的萌发储备物质和能量需求。 在失水和低盐胁迫下，藻体均维持较高的Y(II)。干出处理至藻体重量不再变化，复水后Y(II)可回复初始水平。海生红毛菜在100％淡水培养基中（约20ºC）培养7天后，部分雄性藻体依然活着。从而体现了红毛菜位居高潮带的生理优势。 FWB终生行无性繁殖，藻体形态与发生以及染色体数目（4条）与海生群体没有区别。而rbcL-rbcS Spacer序列显示，红毛菜海生群体（无性和有性）具有完全相同的序列，而FWB与它们有5bp差异，但是与欧洲、北美地区的淡水群体仅1bp不同，初步说明所有淡水红毛菜群体具有共同的原始起源。