The modern theory of biological evolution: an expanded synthesis

In 1858, two naturalists, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, independently proposed natural selection as the basic mechanism responsible for the origin of new phenotypic variants and, ultimately, new species. A large body of evidence for this hypothesis was published in Darwins Origin of Species one year later, the appearance of which provoked other leading scientists like August Weismann to adopt and amplify Darwins perspective. Weismanns neo-Darwinian theory of evolution was further elaborated, most notably in a series of books by Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ernst Mayr, Julian Huxley and others. In this article we first summarize the history of life on Earth and provide recent evidence demonstrating that Darwins dilemma (the apparent missing Precambrian record of life) has been resolved. Next, the historical development and structure of the modern synthesis is described within the context of the following topics: paleobiology and rates of evolution, mass extinctions and species selection, macroevolution and punctuated equilibrium, sexual reproduction and recombination, sexual selection and altruism, endosymbiosis and eukaryotic cell evolution, evolutionary developmental biology, phenotypic plasticity, epigenetic inheritance and molecular evolution, experimental bacterial evolution, and computer simulations (in silico evolution of digital organisms). In addition, we discuss the expansion of the modern synthesis, embracing all branches of scientific disciplines. It is concluded that the basic tenets of the synthetic theory have survived, but in modified form. These sub-theories require continued elaboration, particularly in light of molecular biology, to answer open-ended questions concerning the mechanisms of evolution in all five kingdoms of life.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Dr. hc mult. Ernst Mayr on the occasion of his 100th birthdayThis revised version was published online in March 2004, with corrections to the caption of Figure 6.     

Hopanoid Biosynthesis and Function in Bacteria

   Hopanoids are pentacyclic triterpenoid lipids occurring in bacteria. They are synthesized from isopentenyl units which are formed in a new biosynthetic route leading to isopentenyl diphosphate. Six C₅ units are joined to form squalene, the immediate precursor in hopanoid synthesis. In a highly complex cyclization reaction that shares considerable similarities with that of oxidosqualene to sterols, the hopane skeleton is formed from squalene by the squalene-hopene cyclase. Recent elucidation of the X-ray structure of this membrane-bound cyclase has shed some light on the properties of this unusual enzyme. The active site is located in a cavity within the enzyme. The squalene substrate diffuses through a channel structure from the membrane into this cavity and is there transformed into hopene. Polar side chains are attached to hopene resulting in the amphiphilic molecular structure of many hopanoids. These hopanoids are membrane components involved in regulating membrane fluidity and stability. However, the many structural variants of hopanoids indicate that they may have other interesting but as yet unknown functions.     

重组人核糖核酸酶抑制因子基因的siRNA表达载体构建及B16细胞中基因沉默的鉴定

人核糖核酸酶抑制因子(Human ribonuclease inhibitor, hRI)是细胞质中的一种酸性糖蛋白,可以与血管生长因子(Angiogenin, Ang)紧密结合从而抑制血管形成.利用全基因组合成法合成针对人核糖核酸酶抑制因子基因(hri)的发夹shRNA序列,亚克隆到siRNA表达载体pKD;重组载体经酶切鉴定后,用脂质体法与报告基因绿色荧光蛋白重组融合的人核糖核酸酶抑制因子的逆转录病毒载体pLNCX-EGFP-C1-hri共转染到小鼠黑色素瘤细胞B16中,在荧光显微镜下检测干扰效果.用Image-Pro plus 4.5软件对绿色荧光照片半定量分析干扰效率.结果表明,荧光显微镜显示B16中表达的绿色荧光被干扰,荧光强度半定量分析干扰效率可达80%以上.成功重组构建了针对hri的siRNA表达载体.图5参9     

Assessing Landscape Condition Relative to Water Resources in the Western United States: A Strategic Approach

The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) is proposing an ambitious agenda to assess the status of streams and estuaries in a 12-State area of the western United States by the end of 2003. Additionally, EMAP is proposing to access landscape conditions as they relate to stream and estuary conditions across the west. The goal of this landscape project is to develop a landscape model that can be used to identify the relative risks of streams and estuaries to potential declines due to watershed-scale, landscape conditions across the west. To do so, requires an understanding of quantitative relationships between landscape composition and pattern metrics and parameters of stream and estuary conditions. This paper describes a strategic approach for evaluating the degree to which landscape composition and pattern influence stream and estuary condition, and the development and implementation of a spatially-distributed, landscape analysis approach.     

空气阴极微生物燃料电池的构型优化及其快速测定BOD的性能评价

设计了一种新型双室空气阴极微生物燃料电池(MFC)并将其作为生物传感器,与传统双室空气阴极MFC进行对比,考察其电化学性能及用于快速检测BOD的性能。结果表明：新型空气阴极MFC可有效提高功率密度并降低内阻,其功率密度最高为897 mW·m⁻²,而内阻最低为92 Ω;该MFC可用于直接快速检测高浓度有机物的BOD,对醋酸钠底物的线性检测限为1 280 mg·L⁻¹,在此底物浓度下MFC的检测时间为31.2~66 h,线性可决系数R²为0.97~0.99;对于GGA底物的线性检测限为1 250 mg·L⁻¹,在此底物浓度下MFC的检测时间为33~67 h,线性可决系数R²为0.98。本研究可为MFC型BOD检测传感器的性能优化提供参考。     

Body mass estimations for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plateosaurus engelhardti</Emphasis> using laser scanning and 3D reconstruction methods

Both body mass and surface area are factors determining the essence of any living organism. This should also hold true for an extinct organism such as a dinosaur. The present report discusses the use of a new 3D laser scanner method to establish body masses and surface areas of an Asian elephant (Zoological Museum of Copenhagen, Denmark) and of Plateosaurus engelhardti, a prosauropod from the Upper Triassic, exhibited at the Paleontological Museum in Tübingen (Germany). This method was used to study the effect that slight changes in body shape had on body mass for P. engelhardti. It was established that body volumes varied between 0.79 m³ (slim version) and 1.14 m³ (robust version), resulting in a presumable body mass of 630 and 912 kg, respectively. The total body surface areas ranged between 8.8 and 10.2 m², of which, in both reconstructions of P. engelhardti, ∼33% account for the thorax area alone. The main difference between the two models is in the tail and hind limb reconstruction. The tail of the slim version has a surface area of 1.98 m², whereas that of the robust version has a surface area of 2.73 m². The body volumes calculated for the slim version were as follows: head 0.006 m³, neck 0.016 m³, fore limbs 0.020 m³, hind limbs 0.08 m³, thoracic cavity 0.533 m³, and tail 0.136 m³. For the robust model, the following volumes were established: 0.01 m³ head, neck 0.026 m³, fore limbs 0.025 m³, hind limbs 0.18 m³, thoracic cavity 0.616 m³, and finally, tail 0.28 m³. Based on these body volumes, scaling equations were used to assess the size that the organs of this extinct dinosaur have.