牵牛光周期诱导过程中特异蛋白质的出现

日本紫花牵牛（pharbitis nil CV violet）幼苗经三种不同光周期处理后（I. 16小时暗处理;II. 16小时持续光照;III、16小时暗处理中间施加10分钟光间断）不同时间取子叶提取蛋白质，双向电泳分析后发现，暗处理后24小时子叶中出现一特异蛋白质（MW：19KD，pI4.5）。暗处理后48小时仍能观察到此特异蛋白质。 通过观察光周期诱导前后不同时期去子叶或向子叶施加抑制剂对牵牛开花的抑制作用，推测与光周期诱导相关的mRNA是在暗处理期间合成的，而特异蛋白质的合成则持续到暗期结束后的24小时。在牵牛子叶内进行的光周期诱导需40小时才得以完成（16小时暗处理+随后的24小时）。 通过研究经三种不同光周期处理的牵牛子叶中线粒体在离体情况下蛋白质的合成，观察到经暗处理的牵牛子叶中，线粒体在体外多合成了三种蛋白质（与经NB处理和CL处理的植株相比）。从此推测牵牛经暗处理后，子叶中特异蛋白质的产生有特异时空性。

Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands coral reef ecosystems mapping report

Digital maps of the coral reef ecosystem (<~30m deep) of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, were created through visual interpretation of remote sensing imagery. Digital Globe’s Quickbird II satellite images were acquired between 2004 and 2006 and georeferenced to within 1.6 m of their true positions. Reef ecosystem features were digitized directly into a GIS at a display scale of 1:4000 using a minimum feature size of 1000 square meters. Benthic features were categorized according to a classification scheme with attributes including zone (location, such as lagoon or forereef, etc.), structure (bottom type, such as sand or patch reef, etc.) and percent hard bottom. Ground validation of habitat features was conducted at 311 sites in 2009. Resulting maps consisted of 1829 features covering 366 square kilometers. Results demonstrate that reef zones occurred in a typical progression of narrow bands from offshore, though forereef, reef flat, shoreline, land, backreef, and lagoon habitats. Lagoon was the largest zone mapped and covered nearly 80% of the atoll, although much of it was too deep to have structures identified from the satellite imagery. Dominant habitat structures by area were pavement and aggregate reef, which covered 29% and 18% of the mapped structures, respectively. Based on the number of features, individual and aggregated patch reefs comprised over 40% of the features mapped. Products include GIS based maps, field videos and pictures, satellite imagery, PDF atlas, and this summary report. Maps and associated data can be used to support science and management activities on Majuro reef ecosystems including inventory, monitoring, conservation, and sustainable development applications.

Anti-grazing properties of the toxic dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum during predator-prey interactions with the copepod Acartia tonsa

Karlodinium veneficum (syn. Karlodinium micrum, Bergholtz et al. 2006; J Phycol 42:170–193) is a small athecate dinoflagellate commonly present in low levels in temperate, coastal waters. Occasionally, K. veneficum forms ichthyotoxic blooms due to the presence of cytotoxic, hemolytic compounds, putatively named karlotoxins. To evaluate the anti-grazing properties of these karlotoxins, we conducted food removal experiments using the cosmopolitan copepod grazer Acartia tonsa. Wild-caught, adult female A. tonsa were exposed to 6 monoalgal or mixed algal diets made using bloom concentrations of toxic (CCMP 2064) and non-toxic (CSIC1) strains of K. veneficum. Ingestion and clearance rates were calculated using the equations of Frost (1972). Exposure to the toxic strain of K. veneficum did not contribute to an increased mortality of the copepods and no significant differences in copepod mortality were found among the experimental diets. However, A. tonsa had significantly greater clearance and ingestion rates when exposed to a monoalgal diet of the non-toxic strain CSIC1 than when exposed to the monoalgal diet of toxic strain CCMP 2064 and mixed diets dominated by this toxic strain. These results support the hypothesis that karlotoxins in certain strains of K. veneficum deter grazing by potential predators and contribute to the formation and continuation of blooms.

Status of the coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico: Florida, Flower Garden Banks, Puerto Rico, Navassa and USVI

This chapter covers coral reef areas under the jurisdiction of the USA in the Wider Caribbean: Florida; Flower Garden Banks; Puerto Rico; U.S. Virgin Islands; and Navassa. The following information is condensed from six chapters of The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2008. Access to the full text of this comprehensive report is available at: http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/stateofthereefs.