麻疯树AFLP体系的建立与优化

为了建立麻疯树AFLP(Amplified fragment length polymorphism)反应体系及筛选出扩增条带丰富的引物,以17份来自不同地方的麻疯树的幼嫩叶片为试材,对影响AFLP分析的关键因素包括DNA的提取质量和浓度、MseⅠ/EcoRⅠ酶切反应时间和浓度、银染方法等进行了研究,从64对引物组合中筛选出适合麻疯树的引物.结果表明,改良的CTAB方法提取的DNA质量比较好.建立了一种适于麻疯树AFLP的优化体系:模板DNA的用量为400 ng,酶切反应时间为3 h,筛选出T8对适合麻疯树扩增条带多、多态性强的引物.最终建立了适用于麻疯树的AFLP反应体系,并筛选出适合麻疯树的引物,为今后利用AFLP标记技术进行麻疯树的遗传多样性分析提供了标准化程序.图5表2参15     

松毛虫遗传多样性研究中AFLP反应体系的建立

以油松毛虫为材料,对T4 DNA连接酶不同用量、预扩增中的Mg~(2+)浓度、dNTP浓度、引物浓度以及选择性扩增巾的预扩增产物稀释倍数、Mg2~(2+) 浓度、dNTP浓度、引物浓度和Taq酶浓度进行了比较分析.最终建立了适合松毛虫的AFLP反应体系.用优化的AFLP反应体系,以油松毛虫、赤松毛虫和马尾松毛虫为材料筛选引物,从81对引物组合中筛选出10对多态性高的引物组合.图9参17     

林木外生菌根真菌彩色豆马勃巢式PCR检测

为探讨林木外生菌根真菌的分子检测方法,利用真菌通用引物ITS1-F/ITS4-B扩增了外生菌根真菌彩色豆马勃的核糖体DNA内转录间隔区并进行了序列测定.通过序列比较,设计了一对彩色豆马勃特异性引物PtF/PtR.利用该对特异性引物与ITS1-F/ITS4-B组合进行巢式PCR,能从供试的彩色豆马勃10个菌株中特异性地扩增出1条347 bp的条带,而供试的其他6个参比菌株未出现扩增产物.经分析,该巢式PCR检测技术的灵敏度可达到10 fg的DNA,是常规PCR检测的1 000倍.利用该技术从马尾松苗木菌根中检测到目的外生菌根真菌.这表明采用本研究设计的特异性引物,利用巢式PCR技术可以灵敏、准确地从林木外生菌根中检测出彩色豆马勃.     

甘蔗SCoT-PCR反应体系优化与多态性引物筛选及应用

目标起始密码子多态性(Start condon targeted polymorphism,SCoT)分子标记是一种新型的标记,结合了ISSR标记和RAPD标记的优点.本研究针对SCoT-PCR反应体系的影响因素,以甘蔗叶片DNA为材料,在单因子实验的基础上,采用L16(45)正交实验设计,进一步探讨了模板DNA、Mg2+、dNTPs、引物及Taq酶等5个因素对甘蔗SCoT-PCR扩增效果的影响,建立了甘蔗SCoT-PCR的优化反应体系.25μL PCR反应混合液中,含50 ng DNA模板、2.0μL 10×Ex Taq Buffer(Mg2+Plus)、0.625 U Ex Taq酶,dNTP和引物的终浓度分别为0.22 mmol/L和0.9μmol/L.以我国种植面积最大的栽培品种新台糖22号为模板,应用优化体系,对40条SCoT标记引物进行测试,筛选出16条有效扩增的引物,且均为多态性引物,其GC含量在50%～67%之间.该体系的稳定性和SCoT标记引物的扩增能力,通过基于随机选择的4条引物对9份具有地理来源和遗传背景不同的甘蔗种质进行标记分析来验证,结果共扩增出84条带,其中多态性条带占82.14%,平均单条引物可扩增出21条.研究结果为在甘蔗上进一步开发和应用功能性SCoT标记奠定了基础.     

光合细菌PCR检测技术的建立与应用

针对光合细菌传统的菌种鉴定方法和MPN定量方法存在费时、费力和准确性筹的问题,本研究建立了光合细菌特异PCR鉴定技术和实时荧光PCR定量的检测技术.以微生物肥料产品常用的光合细菌沼泽红假单胞菌和类球红细菌作为研究对象,分别依据16S rDNA序列和gyrB序列设计出具有种水平特异性的引物,优化并确定了PCR反应条件,其灵敏度达到100 pg/μL,对6个光合细菌产品鉴定的符合率为100%,结果表明建立的PCR鉴定技术具有特异性、灵敏性和实用性.再根据16S rDNA的保守序列设计了常用光合细菌通用引物,用其对系列稀释的已知菌含量样品的DNA模板进行荧光定量PCR,制作标准曲线.对10个光合细菌样品进行荧光定量PCR法测定,根据与标准曲线比较得出样品中的光合细菌含量,其结果与MPN法的相关系数为0.98,两者具有良好的相天性,结果表明建立的荧光定量PCR法可用于光合细菌的定量检测,并具有高特异性和快速等优点.     

多管发酵-菌落PCR法定量检测水中可培养沙门氏菌

采用膜吸附-洗脱法浓缩水样,通过多管发酵法筛选出以可培养沙门氏菌为主的活体细菌.根据沙门氏菌invA基因的保守性,利用沙门氏菌属通用引物进行菌落PCR鉴定,进而确定沙门氏菌阳性平板数量.运用最大可能数法分析数据,计算出水样中可培养沙门氏菌的含量.该方法对沙门氏菌具有良好的特异性和涵盖性.通过对人工污染水样和城市污水厂二级处理出水的检测,证明了多管发酵-菌落PCR方法的检测结果较为准确,可操作性强,能够更真实地反映样品中沙门氏菌的活性.     

抗除草剂转基因作物实时荧光定量PC检测

建立了一种以SYBR Green Ⅰ为结合染料、快速准确检测转抗除草剂基因成分的实时荧光定量PCR方法.以转基因大豆与转基因玉米标准品为材料,通过使用特异性引物和SYBR Green Ⅰ结合染料实时荧光定量PCR技术,对转基因农作物中外源抗除草剂基因进行了定量检测,绘制了两种基因扩增的标准曲线图,根据标准曲线方程计算外源基因含量;并作了溶解曲线、检测方法检测灵敏度和精密度的分析.研究发现,两者标准曲线方程线性关系良好.R~2 值分别达到0.993 9与0.992 4.通过已知标准品进行验证,实测值与真值接近,与实际含量的相埘偏差是6.52%和7.90%.结果表明,SYBR Green Ⅰ结合染料法完全可以用于转基因农作物定量PCR检测.图5表2参11     

转基因毛白杨外源基因转移的环境风险分析

以8年生转Bt基因败育毛白杨雄株为实验材料,分离其体内、体外、根际土壤、蛀干桑天牛(Apripona germari Hope)排泄物中可培养的细菌和真菌,利用特异引物对获得的微生物进行转Bt基因败育毛白杨雄株外源基因PCR检测.实验发现,381株次细菌中有6株PCR检测阳性;307株次真菌中有4株PCR检测阳性.     

肠道细菌乳糖酶基因多样性分析通用引物

为深入研究肠道细菌乳糖酶基因多样性,根据NCBI公布的细菌乳糖酶基因[Beta-galactosidase(lac Z)]序列,利用软件Primer Premier 5.0前后设计合成7对通用引物,经过PCR扩增、宏基因组测序和生物信息学分析进行引物筛选.PCR扩增电泳中,436R、375R、217R和406R四对引物没有扩增出目的片段,436、324和194三对引物均有目的条带扩出.内容物样品扩增,436引物条带最清晰,灵敏性高,324和194引物条带质量相差不大;粘膜样品扩增,324引物均扩增出目的条带,条带清晰明亮.436引物只扩增出一个样品的目的条带,灵敏度较差;194引物扩增杂带多,特异性差.样品序列统计方面,删除宿主序列信息后,内容物样品中,194、324和436三对引物最终序列比例均达98%以上;粘膜样品中,194引物特异性最差,436引物最好,324引物居中.OTU聚类和注释方面,内容物样品中,324引物扩增物种也较436引物多;粘膜样品中,324引物能聚类最多的物种.Alpha多样性方面,内容物样品中,324引物的Chao1、ACE、Simpson、Shannon指数较436引物大,436引物的Simpson、Shannon指数较194引物大;粘膜样品中,324引物的Chao1、ACE、Simpson、Shannon指数均较436引物大.综合分析,对肠道内容物和肠道粘膜细菌乳糖酶基因多样性研究选用324通用引物最佳.     

一种改进的SON-PCR基因扩增方法

单侧寡聚核苷酸嵌套PCR(single oligonucleotide nested PCR,SON-PCR)是一种简便易行的由已知序列克隆其侧翼序列的方法,但该法的第二轮PCR反应引发效率低,而且得到的产物两端含相同的引物序列,不可直接测序.针对该问题,将第二轮PCR改进为两段式扩增,即先以单侧嵌套引物引发5′端做选择性线性扩增,然后再加入第一轮引物特异引发3′端,使特异性和效率都得到很大提高,并可用PCR产物直接测序.分别用已报道的和改进的SON-PCR法克隆Botrytis cinerea羟甲基戊二酰CoA还原酶基因侧翼序列,后者获得期望结果,证明改进的SON-PCR方法行之有效.国内外尚未见同类报道.图4参7     

Rapid,recurring, structured survey versus bioblitz for generating biodiversity data and analysis with a multispecies abundance model

A bioblitz inexpensively and quickly generates biodiversity data, but bioblitzes are often conducted with haphazard, unreplicated sampling. Results tend to be taxonomically, geographically, or temporally biased, lack metadata, and consist of lists of observed taxa that do not enable further analyses or correction for imperfect detection. A rapid, recurring, structured survey (RRSS) uses a structured sampling design and temporal and spatial replication to survey randomly selected sites on a conservation property. We participated in a loosely structured bioblitz and a subsequent RRSS at Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve in Springville (St. Clair County), Alabama (USA) to compare observed richness derived from the 2 survey approaches. The RRSS data structure enabled us to fit models that accounted for imperfect detection to estimate abundances, occupancy probabilities, and habitat associations. The loosely structured bioblitz data could not be used in such models. We present a new integrated multispecies abundance model that we applied to avian RRSS data. Our model extension enables estimation for the community, employs data augmentation to estimate the number of undetected species, and incorporates covariates. The RRSS generated a more comprehensive and less biased list of observed taxonomic richness than the loosely structured bioblitz (e.g., 73 vs. 45 bird species and 104 vs. 63 insect families from the RRSS vs. loosely structured bioblitz, respectively). Models fit to the RRSS data identified seasonal patterns in avian community composition and allowed for estimation of habitat–occupancy relationships for insect taxa. The RRSS protocol has potential for broad transferability as a standardized, quick, and inexpensive way to inventory biodiversity and estimate ecological parameters while providing an outreach opportunity.     

Compliance with and ecosystem function of biodiversity offsets in North American and European freshwaters

Land-use change via human development is a major driver of biodiversity loss. To reduce these impacts, billions of dollars are spent on biodiversity offsets. However, studies evaluating offset project effectiveness that examine components such as the overall compliance and function of projects remain rare. We reviewed 577 offsetting projects in freshwater ecosystems that included the metrics project size, type of aquatic system (e.g., wetland and creek), offsetting measure (e.g., enhancement, restoration, and creation), and an assessment of the projects’ compliance and functional success. Project information was obtained from scientific and government databases and gray literature. Despite considerable investment in offsetting projects, crucial problems persisted. Although compliance and function were related to each other, a high level of compliance did not guarantee a high degree of function. However, large projects relative to area had better function than small projects. Function improved when projects targeted productivity or specific ecosystem features and when multiple complementary management targets were in place. Restorative measures were more likely to achieve targets than creating entirely new ecosystems. Altogether the relationships we found highlight specific ecological processes that may help improve offsetting outcomes.     

Representation of the world's biophysical conditions by the global protected area network

Protected areas (PAs) are often implemented without consideration of already existing PAs, which is likely to cause an overrepresentation of certain biophysical conditions. We assessed the representativeness of the current PA network with regard to the world's biophysical conditions to highlight which conditions are underprotected and where these conditions are located. We overlaid terrestrial and marine PAs with information on biophysical conditions (e.g., temperature, precipitation, and elevation) and then quantified the percentage of area covered by the PA network. For 1 variable at a time in the terrestrial realm, high temperature, low precipitation, and medium and very high elevation were underrepresented. For the marine realm, low and medium sea surface temperature (SST), medium and high sea surface salinity (SSS), and the deep sea were underrepresented. Overall, protection was evenly distributed for elevation across the terrestrial realm and SST across the marine realm. For 2 variables at a time, cold and very dry terrestrial environments had mostly low protection, which was also the case for low SST and low and medium SSS across most depths for marine environments. Low protection occurred mostly in the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula for the terrestrial realm and along the Tropic of Capricorn and toward the poles for the marine realm. Although biodiversity measures are of prime importance for the design of PA networks, highlighting biophysical gaps in current PAs adds a frequently overlooked perspective. These gaps may weaken the potential of PAs to conserve biodiversity. Thus, our results may provide useful insights for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to establish a more comprehensive global PA network.     

Quantitative composition of the defensive secretion ofBledius species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae) is adapted to naturally occurring predators

Summary The adaptation of defensive secretions to their target organisms was examined for the abdominal gland secretions ofBledius furcatus, B. spectabilis andB. arenarius. Therefore the target organisms of the secretion of theseBledius species (i.e. their predators) had to be identified. At the collection sites examined these were the earwigLabidura riparia, the antCataglyphis bicolor, the flyLispe candicans, different carabids of the generaPogonus, Dichirotrichus, Dyschirius, Bembidion andCalathus and the wading birdsHaematopus ostralegus andCalidris alba. The secretion of the abdominal glands contains the toxin ptoluquinone dissolved in either-dodecalactone and 1-undecene (B. furcatus andB. spectabilis) or in octanoic acid and octyloctanoate (B. arenarius). The ratio of these solvents is species-specific. Application experiments using some of the natural insect predators (L. riparia, C. bicolor, Pogonus, Di. gustavii, Dyschirius) revealed that these solvent ratios provided a more effective deterrent than other possible ratios. Thus by combining the solvents in certain ratios, the capability of cuticular penetration and therefore the effectiveness of the defensive secretions are adapted to their natural targets.     

Democracy versus development: New urban debates

The politics of development includes subtexts of choice, as underpinned by community consensus (or lack of it), against the larger backdrop of a liberal democracy, with its intricate power structures that influence the choice of concepts and often lead to complicity rather than consent. A dilemma exists between the understanding of field-level practitioners and that of academics, whose understandings of progress differ. Progress can (and often does) imply long-term change across generations whereas development is often more a matter of crisis management and delivering tangible results to end-users. This makes it a bone of contention across political systems, irrespective of local or global dynamics. Development can emerge as a tool to be wielded for power and further political mileage at the expense of progress. Progress cannot be studied as a counterpoint to development as the sense of history is often missing in development interventions. Development tends to be piecemeal as its very logic often stems from the rationale of power. This is not to suggest, however, that development is only about politics; it is definitely more than the politics of everyday life and involves all of civil society that requires its critical and immediate attention. In this sense, it has become a priority for politicians with an underlying agenda designed to out-manouevre dissent and all statements of protest.     

A palaeo-hydrogeological model for arsenic contamination in southern and south-east Asia

An argument is presented in which areas of natural arsenic contamination of modern groundwaters throughout Asia have a common origin. Arsenic originally accumulated in oceanic ferro-manganoan sediments of the eastern Palaeo-Tethys. This was further concentrated through oceanic crustal extinction in what later became the south-east Chinese accreted mineralised terrain. Proto-Himalayan uplift of this area created the palaeo-drainage systems of the Ganges – Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Mekong, and Red Rivers, with consequent headwater erosion of arsenic-rich sediments. Their downstream deposition as immature and easily redistributed Neogene sandstones, silts, and iron-rich clays has created secondary and tertiary reservoirs of adsorbed and authigenic arsenic, from which the current arsenic-rich groundwaters have evolved. Considering river basins within the above palaeo-hydrogeological framework provides a basis for assessing the risk of arsenic in groundwater basins of south and south-eastern Asia.     

A framework to measure the wildness of managed large vertebrate populations

As landscapes continue to fall under human influence through habitat loss and fragmentation, fencing is increasingly being used to mitigate anthropogenic threats and enhance the commercial value of wildlife. Subsequent intensification of management potentially erodes wildness by disembodying populations from landscape-level processes, thereby disconnecting species from natural selection. Tools are needed to measure the degree to which populations of large vertebrate species in formally protected and privately owned wildlife areas are self-sustaining and free to adapt. We devised a framework to measure such wildness based on 6 attributes relating to the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of vertebrates (space, disease and parasite resistance, exposure to predation, exposure to limitations and fluctuations of food and water supply, and reproduction). For each attribute, we set empirical, species-specific thresholds between 5 wildness states based on quantifiable management interventions. We analysed data from 205 private wildlife properties with management objectives spanning ecotourism to consumptive utilization to test the framework on 6 herbivore species representing a range of conservation statuses and commercial values. Wildness scores among species differed significantly, and the proportion of populations identified as wild ranged from 12% to 84%, which indicates the tool detected site-scale differences both among populations of different species and populations of the same species under different management regimes. By quantifying wildness, this framework provides practitioners with standardized measurement units that link biodiversity with the sustainable use of wildlife. Applications include informing species management plans at local scales; standardizing the inclusion of managed populations in red-list assessments; and providing a platform for certification and regulation of wildlife-based economies. Applying this framework may help embed wildness as a normative value in policy and mitigate the shifting baseline of what it means to truly conserve a species.     

Sexual Predators,Energy Development,and Conservation in Greater Yellowstone

Abstract: In the United States, as elsewhere, a growing debate pits national energy policy and homeland security against biological conservation. In rural communities the extraction of fossil fuels is often encouraged because of the employment opportunities it offers, although the concomitant itinerant workforce is often associated with increased wildlife poaching. We explored possible positive and negative factors associated with energy extraction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), an area known for its national parks, intact biological diversity, and some of the New World's longest terrestrial migrations. Specifically, we asked whether counties with different economies—recreation (ski), agrarian (ranching or farming), and energy extractive (petroleum)—differed in healthcare (gauged by the abundance of hospital beds) and in the frequency of sexual predators. The absolute and relative frequency of registered sex offenders grew approximately two to three times faster in areas reliant on energy extraction. Healthcare among counties did not differ. The strong conflation of community dishevel, as reflected by in‐migrant sexual predators, and ecological decay in Greater Yellowstone is consistent with patterns seen in similar systems from Ecuador to northern Canada, where social and environmental disarray exist around energy boomtowns. In our case, that groups (albeit with different aims) mobilized campaigns to help maintain the quality of rural livelihoods by protecting open space is a positive sign that conservation can matter, especially in the face of rampant and poorly executed energy extraction projects. Our findings further suggest that the public and industry need stronger regulatory action to instill greater vigilance when and where social factors and land conversion impact biological systems.     

Cost‐effective conservation of an endangered frog under uncertainty

How should managers choose among conservation options when resources are scarce and there is uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of actions? Well‐developed tools exist for prioritizing areas for one‐time and binary actions (e.g., protect vs. not protect), but methods for prioritizing incremental or ongoing actions (such as habitat creation and maintenance) remain uncommon. We devised an approach that combines metapopulation viability and cost‐effectiveness analyses to select among alternative conservation actions while accounting for uncertainty. In our study, cost‐effectiveness is the ratio between the benefit of an action and its economic cost, where benefit is the change in metapopulation viability. We applied the approach to the case of the endangered growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis), which is threatened by urban development. We extended a Bayesian model to predict metapopulation viability under 9 urbanization and management scenarios and incorporated the full probability distribution of possible outcomes for each scenario into the cost‐effectiveness analysis. This allowed us to discern between cost‐effective alternatives that were robust to uncertainty and those with a relatively high risk of failure. We found a relatively high risk of extinction following urbanization if the only action was reservation of core habitat; habitat creation actions performed better than enhancement actions; and cost‐effectiveness ranking changed depending on the consideration of uncertainty. Our results suggest that creation and maintenance of wetlands dedicated to L. raniformis is the only cost‐effective action likely to result in a sufficiently low risk of extinction. To our knowledge we are the first study to use Bayesian metapopulation viability analysis to explicitly incorporate parametric and demographic uncertainty into a cost‐effective evaluation of conservation actions. The approach offers guidance to decision makers aiming to achieve cost‐effective conservation under uncertainty.     

Threats to intact tropical peatlands and opportunities for their conservation

Large, intact areas of tropical peatland are highly threatened at a global scale by the expansion of commercial agriculture and other forms of economic development. Conserving peatlands on a landscape scale, with their hydrology intact, is of international conservation importance to preserve their distinctive biodiversity and ecosystem services and maintain their resilience to future environmental change. We explored threats to and opportunities for conserving remaining intact tropical peatlands; thus, we excluded peatlands of Indonesia and Malaysia, where extensive deforestation, drainage, and conversion to plantations means conservation in this region can protect only small fragments of the original ecosystem. We focused on a case study, the Pastaza‐Marañón Foreland Basin (PMFB) in Peru, which is among the largest known intact tropical peatland landscapes in the world and is representative of peatland vulnerability. Maintenance of the hydrological conditions critical for carbon storage and ecosystem function of peatlands is, in the PMFB, primarily threatened by expansion of commercial agriculture linked to new transport infrastructure that is facilitating access to remote areas. There remain opportunities in the PMFB and elsewhere to develop alternative, more sustainable land‐use practices. Although some of the peatlands in the PMFB fall within existing legally protected areas, this protection does not include the most carbon‐dense (domed pole forest) areas. New carbon‐based conservation instruments (e.g., REDD+, Green Climate Fund), developing markets for sustainable peatland products, transferring land title to local communities, and expanding protected areas offer pathways to increased protection for intact tropical peatlands in Amazonia and elsewhere, such as those in New Guinea and Central Africa which remain, for the moment, broadly beyond the frontier of commercial development.