Food habits of Sowerby's beaked whales (Mesoplodon bidens) taken in the pelagic drift gillnet fishery of the western North Atlantic

We describe the food habits of the Sowerby’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens) from observations of 10 individuals taken as bycatch in the pelagic drift gillnet fishery for Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in the western North Atlantic and 1 stranded individual from Kennebunk, Maine. The stomachs of 8 bycaught whales were intact and contained prey. The diet of these 8 whales was dominated by meso- and benthopelagic fishes that composed 98.5% of the prey items found in their stomachs and cephalopods that accounted for only 1.5% of the number of prey. Otoliths and jaws representing at least 31 fish taxa from 15 families were present in the stomach contents. Fishes, primarily from the families Moridae (37.9% of prey), Myctophidae (22.9%), Macrouridae (11.2%), and Phycidae (7.2%), were present in all 8 stomachs. Most prey were from 5 fish taxa: Shortbeard Codling (Laemonema barbatulum) accounted for 35.3% of otoliths, Cocco’s Lanternfish (Lobianchia gemellarii) contributed 12.9%, Marlin-spike (Nezumia bairdii) composed 10.8%, lanternfishes (Lampanyctus spp.) accounted for 8.4%; and Longfin Hake (Phycis chesteri) contributed 6.7%. The mean number of otoliths per stomach was 1196 (range: 327–3452). Most of the fish prey found in the stomachs was quite small, ranging in length from 4.0 to 27.7 cm. We conclude that the Sowerby’s beaked whales that we examined in this study fed on large numbers of relatively small meso- and benthopelagic fishes that are abundant along the slope and shelf break of the western North Atlantic.

晚粳水稻生长点在光周期反应中的地位

光敏核不育水稻晚粳农垦58S具有长日下不育，短日照下可育的特点。为了确定突变体NK58S突变基因的作用器官及功能。我们设计了一系列光周期处理实验，并对不同光周期处理的生长点或幼穗进行细胞学及细胞化学观察，同时选择光调节基因对其在NK58S上表达特性进行分析。材料选用突变体NK58S，及其野生型NK58S，和它的回复突变体NK58Sr，加两个籼稻品种W6154S及珍汕97，共设计十三个不同的光周期处理。根据试验分析我们发现： 第一，温度对结实率的影响，NK58S，NK58及NK58Sr表现一致，没有发现对NK58S有特异作用的温度效应。三个粳稻品种均因幼穗分化前的长日处理延迟抽穗，而使各处理粳稻品种处于不同环境条件下，引起结实率的变化。 第二，温度对花粉育性的影响较对结实率的影响小。因而用花粉育性进行不育材料的鉴定和比较较可靠。 第三，光周期处理引起生长点原套及原体组织的一定的细胞学变化，但三个粳稻品种间没有差异。生长点周围及其下节部的淀粉积累的变化，三个粳稻品种一致，没有发现不育与可育材料之间的差异。一直处于长日处理条件下的三个粳稻材料，表现出NK58S突变体生长点周围及节部淀粉积累少于NK58，和NK58Sr。 第四，就总RNA而言，三个粳稻品种在光周期处理下各样品绝对量不同，但不同光周期处理，三个粳稻品种反应一致。不同发育时期叶片内光调节基因表达丰度与总RNA水平不一致，不同基因表现出因不同发育阶段而不同的转录特点。在所选三个光调节基因的Northern印迹分析结果没有发现三个晚粳稻品种之间的差异。 第五，幼穗分化开始后的光周期反应不是农垦58S的花粉育性所特有，对NK58，及NK58Sr也有作用。光周期处理还会影响幼穗其它方面的发育。短日处理下农垦58S的育性恢复也只有农垦58的一半。 总之，我们的试验结果使我们得出光周期作用产生的信息在植物不同发育阶段一致。不同发育时期的生长点对来自该信息的作用产生不同的反应。光敏核不育的突变表型体现在生长点的变化上。突变基因的功能是感受来自不同环境因素所产生的胁迫作用。

Does the California market squid (Loligo opalescens) spawn naturally during the day or at night? A note on the successful use of ROVs to obtain basic fisheries biology data

The California market squid (Loligo opalescens Berry), also known as the opalescent inshore squid (FAO), plays a central role in the nearshore ecological communities of the west coast of the United States (Morejohn et al., 1978; Hixon, 1983) and it is also a prime focus of California fisheries, ranking first in dollar value and tons landed in recent years (Vojkovich, 1998). The life span of this species is only 7−10 months after hatching, as ascertained by aging statoliths (Butler et al., 1999; Jackson, 1994; Jackson and Domier, 2003) and mariculture trials (Yang, et al., 1986). Thus, annual recruitment is required to sustain the population. The spawning season ranges from April to November and spawning peaks from May to June. In some years there can be a smaller second peak in November. In Monterey Bay, the squids are fished directly on the egg beds, and the consequences of this practice for conservation and fisheries management are unknown but of some concern (Hanlon, 1998). Beginning in April 2000, we began a study of the in situ spawning behavior of L. opalescens in the southern Monterey Bay fishing area.

青蒿开花与青蒿素生物合成相关性的研究-金丝桃和百金花二苯甲酮合酶基因的克隆，异源表达及功能分析

第一部分：青蒿开花与青蒿素生物合成相关性的研究 青蒿素是从中药青蒿中分离出的倍半萜内酯化合物，目前是世界上唯一有效的治疗脑型疟疾和抗氯喹恶性疟疾的药物。青蒿植株中青蒿素含量在开花期最高，但是目前尚不清楚开花与青蒿素生物合成的关系。为此，我们用光周期（短日照）诱导青蒿提前开花，不仅同时获得了开花与不开花的青蒿植株，而且还成功地在同一植株上诱导部分分枝开花，另一部分分枝保持营养生长状态。这一实验体系为研究青蒿开花与青蒿素生物合成的相关性奠定了基础。实验结果表明，开花与不开花青蒿植株青蒿素含量有明显差异。开花植株的青蒿素含量在前2周内逐渐提高，第三周（开花期）达到最高，并保持一周左右，在随后的2周内下降。青蒿植株开花后，叶片便开始老化变黄，逐渐死亡。未开花青蒿植株的青蒿素含量动态在前三周内与开花植株类似，但是这种高青蒿素含量状态能保持较长时间，至少在随后的2周内没有下降。未开花植株的叶片依然保持绿色。这一结果表明，开花不是导致青蒿素含量提高的直接原因。 扫描电镜观察结果表明，幼嫩叶片上的毛状腺体( trichrome)结构是完整的，而在老化的叶片上，则观察到了相当比例(40-50%)破损的腺体。这可能是导致青蒿素含量下降的直接原因。 不同生态型青蒿对光周期的反应是不同的。在北京地区，本地青蒿在8月初便开始开花，而来自四川武陵的青蒿则要到9月份才能开花。根据这一特性，采用“南蒿北栽”的方法，能够使青蒿保持较长时间的营养生长状态，延长适于采收的时间。 第二部分：金丝桃和百金花二苯甲酮合酶基因的克隆，异源表达及功能分析 植物次生代谢物山屯酮( Xanthones)仅存在于龙胆科和藤黄科植物中。它们具有抑制单胺氧化酶，细胞毒素及抗肿瘤活性。 含有1 3个碳原子的二苯甲酮是山屯酮生物合成的中间产物，是由二苯甲酮合酶催化合成的，这一反应是山屯酮生物合成的关键步骤。二苯甲酮合酶已经在金丝桃和百金花细胞悬浮培养系统中检测到，并进行了细致的生化水平上的研究。本研究是在上述研究的基础上，进一步克隆该酶的基因，并进行异源表达及功能分析工作，以便更好地了解和调控山屯酮的生物合成。 用PCR和RT-PCR技术，从金丝桃cDNA文库和逆转录产物中分别克隆到一个基因HBPS1和HBPS2，从百金花cDNA文库中克隆到一个基因CBPS1。HBPS1含有1402个碱基，其开放阅读框架编码390个氨基酸，分子量为42.7 kDa，等电点为6.55。HBPS2含有1398个碱基，其开放阅读框架编码395个氨基酸，分子量为42.8 kDa，等电点为5.78。CBPS1含有1383个碱基，其开放阅读框架编码389个氨基酸，分子量为42.7 kDa，等电点为7.88。与GenBank中序列同源性比较结果表明：在氨基酸水平上，HBPS1与茶（Camellia sinensis）查尔酮合酶的同源性高达92%，HBPS2与萝卜（Raphanus sativus）查尔酮合酶的同源性为64%，CBPS1与茶（Camellia sinensis）查尔酮合酶的同源性为71%。HBPS1与HBPS2的同源性仅为62%。 将三个新克隆的基因的ORF整合到载体pGEX-G上的谷胱甘肽还原酶S基因下游，构建成转化质粒，并在大肠杆菌中诱导表达。结果表明，这三个基因的ORF片段均能被表达成约68 kDa的产物，这与期望的结果一致。 活性检测结果表明，HBPS1是查尔酮合成酶，其底物为香豆酰辅酶A和丙二酸单酰辅酶A，对这两种底物的亲和性KM分别为：香豆酰辅酶A 2.8μM，丙二酸单酰辅酶A，11.2μM。最适反应条件是350C，pH7.0，DTT浓度10 μM。 HBPS2是二苯甲酮合酶，其底物是苯甲丙氨酰辅酶A，和丙二酸单酰辅酶A，对这两种底物的亲和性KM分别为：苯甲丙氨酰辅酶A 2.4 μM，丙二酸单酰辅酶A 9.6μM。最适反应条件是350C，pH 6.5，DTT浓度50 μM。而CBPS1则没有检测到任何活性。从同一种植物中同时获得了查尔酮合酶和二苯甲酮合酶，对研究这两种十分相近的酶的差异表达，酶促反应机制等问题将非常有利。

Does the size of subsamples taken from multispecies trawl catches affect estimates of catch composition and abundance?

Although subsampling is a common method for describing the composition of large and diverse trawl catches, the accuracy of these techniques is often unknown. We determined the sampling errors generated from estimating the percentage of the total number of species recorded in catches, as well as the abundance of each species, at each increase in the proportion of the sorted catch. We completely partitioned twenty prawn trawl catches from tropical northern Australia into subsamples of about 10 kg each. All subsamples were then sorted, and species numbers recorded. Catch weights ranged from 71 to 445 kg, and the number of fish species in trawls ranged from 60 to 138, and invertebrate species from 18 to 63. Almost 70% of the species recorded in catches were “rare” in subsamples (less than one individual per 10 kg subsample or less than one in every 389 individuals). A matrix was used to show the increase in the total number of species that were recorded in each catch as the percentage of the sorted catch increased. Simulation modelling showed that sorting small subsamples (about 10% of catch weights) identified about 50% of the total number of species caught in a trawl. Larger subsamples (50% of catch weight on average) identified about 80% of the total species caught in a trawl. The accuracy of estimating the abundance of each species also increased with increasing subsample size. For the “rare” species, sampling error was around 80% after sorting 10% of catch weight and was just less than 50% after 40% of catch weight had been sorted. For the “abundant” species (five or more individuals per 10 kg subsample or five or more in every 389 individuals), sampling error was around 25% after sorting 10% of catch weight, but was reduced to around 10% after 40% of catch weight had been sorted.

First record of a yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) from the stomach of a longnose lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox)

In 1987 we found a juvenile yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares (Bonnaterre, 1788), in the stomach of a longnose lancetfish, Alepisaurus ferox Lowe, 1833. Analysis of published information on lancetfish food habits (Haedrich, 1964, 1969; Haedrich and Nielsen, 1966; Parin, 1968; Parin et al., 1969; Fourmanoir, 1969; Grandperrin and Legand, 1970; Kubota and Uyeno, 1970; Legand et al., 1972; Kubota, 1973; Fujita and Hattori, 1976; Matthews et al., 1977) led us to conclude that this was the first record of a yellowfin tuna found in a lancetfish stomach.

诱导子对水母雪莲次生代谢的影响及雪莲查耳酮合成酶基因克隆

水母雪莲(Saussurea medusa Maxim)为菊科凤毛菊属植物,是名贵中药材。为解决雪莲资源匮乏，我们实验室通过植物组织培养技术，成功的建立起水母雪莲细胞和毛状根体系。通过对它的药理实验及化学成分分析，主要成分为黄酮类物质和紫丁香甙单体。为了进一步提高这些物质在水母雪莲培养物中的含量，本文开展通过添加外源诱导子手段来调控水母雪莲次生代谢合成途径。 利用水杨酸（SA）和酵母提取物（YE）作为外源诱导子，添加到水母雪莲细胞系和毛状根系培养基中，研究诱导子不同添加浓度和不同添加时间对水母莲细胞系和毛状根系的生长及次生物质合成的诱导效应。实验结果发现：对于细胞系来说，SA比YE的诱导效果要好，低浓度SA处理时，不仅能促进细胞的生长，还能提高水母雪莲细胞中黄酮化合物和紫丁香甙的含量。其中，在细胞生长周期的第6天添加终浓度为20 μM的SA，诱导效果表现最佳。在此条件下，细胞内总黄酮产量达到532 mg/l，紫丁香甙为630 mg/l，分别比对照提高了130%，和150%。对于毛状根体系来说，SA和YE生长早期添加会抑制毛状根生长。总体上，YE的诱导效果比SA明显。在第10天添加终浓度为40 μg/ml的YE，总黄酮达到741 mg/l，紫丁香甙达到303 mg/l，分别是对照的2.8和2.5倍。 同时研究了20 μM和100 μM SA诱导下，黄酮合成途径中相关酶的变化。发现，低浓度的SA能在短时间内诱导CHS和CHI表达，24h后PAL酶活性升高到对照的7.5倍，而48 h总黄酮的含量检测到最高值。因此可以初步断定，SA诱导苯基苯丙烷类物质的积累与CHS和CHI表达，PAL酶活性提高有关。 另外，从水母雪莲cDNA中克隆到雪莲黄酮合成途径的第一个关键酶—查耳酮合成酶基因（SmCHS）全长cDNA。此cDNA序列全长为1313bp，其编码的蛋白为389个氨基酸，推测的氨基酸序列与许多物种都高度同源，同源性高达88%。生物信息学分析，SmCHS具有CHS－like保守结构域，其二级结构与苜蓿的CHS十分相似，且苜蓿中的CHS酶活性中心的关键氨基酸位点在SmCHS也一致对应相同，没有突变。因此可以初步推测这个SmCHS应该具有查耳酮合成酶功能。并进一步构建SmCHS植物表达载体，转化拟南芥chs突变体，通过功能互补分析研究此基因的功能。由于时间关系这部分研究尚在进行中。