Transforming ecology and conservation biology through genome editing

As the conservation challenges increase, new approaches are needed to help combat losses in biodiversity and slow or reverse the decline of threatened species. Genome-editing technology is changing the face of modern biology, facilitating applications that were unimaginable only a decade ago. The technology has the potential to make significant contributions to the fields of evolutionary biology, ecology, and conservation, yet the fear of unintended consequences from designer ecosystems containing engineered organisms has stifled innovation. To overcome this gap in the understanding of what genome editing is and what its capabilities are, more research is needed to translate genome-editing discoveries into tools for ecological research. Emerging and future genome-editing technologies include new clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) targeted sequencing and nucleic acid detection approaches as well as species genetic barcoding and somatic genome-editing technologies. These genome-editing tools have the potential to transform the environmental sciences by providing new noninvasive methods for monitoring threatened species or for enhancing critical adaptive traits. A pioneering effort by the conservation community is required to apply these technologies to real-world conservation problems.     

Influencing resilience: the role of policy entrepreneurs in mainstreaming climate adaptation

One way to make development pathways more resilient in the face of a changing climate has been through mainstreaming adaptation into government policies, planning and sectoral decision‐making. To date, many of the transferable lessons have taken the form of technical approaches such as risk assessments and toolkits. This article instead draws on evidence from South Asia to emphasise some of the more tacit and informal approaches used to influence adaptation policy. Despite their apparent significance in policy processes, such tactics are often neither planned for nor well reported in resilience‐building projects and programme documents. Using evidence to populate a typology of influencing strategies, this article looks particularly at the role of policy entrepreneurs who navigate the political complexity of both formal and informal governance systems to promote successful adaptation mainstreaming. It concludes with recommendations for adaptation and resilience programming that can more effectively harness the breadth of influencing strategies.     

一种新的时间序列预报方法及其应用

本文叙述了作者提出的时间序列预报方法的基本原理,介绍了这一方法在应用过程中的发展及在实际部门应用的情况,其中包括异常旱涝灾害预报及方法的改进等最新成果。     

The Structure of Energy Supply for Tissue Adaptation in Small Mammals Differing in Ecological Specialization

Multivariate factor analysis of the data on liver bioenergetics of mountain and forest voles has been performed. The specific features of tissue energy metabolism are best differentiated in the space of characters pertaining to the succinic acid oxidation system. The role of the dominant oxidation substrate in the structure of energy supply for the adaptation of tissue to a set of environmental factors in specialized and widespread species is discussed.     

The Role of Fungal Symbioses in the Adaptation of Plants to High Stress Environments

All plants studied in natural ecosystemsare symbiotic with fungi that either resideentirely (endophytes) or partially(mycorrhizae) within plants. Thesesymbioses appear to adapt to biotic andabiotic stresses and may be responsible forthe survival of both plant hosts and fungalsymbionts in high stress habitats. Here wedescribe the role of symbiotic fungi inplant stress tolerance and present astrategy based on adaptive symbiosis topotentially mitigate the impacts of globalchange on plant communities.     

Climate Change Daaptational Deficiencies in Developing Countries: the Case of Sub-Saharan Africa

Adaptation is nowrecognized as an inevitable component ofthe overall climate change responsestrategy. For a developing region likesub-Saharan Africa with low greenhouse gasemissions and high vulnerability to theimpacts of climate change, the importanceof adaptation in climate change policy iseven more fundamental. This paper examined alook at the adaptational preparedness ofthe sub-Saharan African region to climatechange. Clearly evident in theenvironmental strategy and developmentfocus of these countries is lack ofrecognition of the need to adapt, poorincentive to adapt and low capacity toadapt to climate change. This furtherexacerbates their vulnerability and hasimplications for the global climate changeresponse strategy. Unfortunately, fewattempts have been made to understand thestructural reasons underlying the pervasivepattern of adaptational unpreparedness inthe region, neither has there been acomprehensive and systematic analysis ofhow to remedy this problem. This paper is acontribution in this regard. It alsohighlights the factors to whichinternational community need to payattention, if it truly wishes to make itsefforts at adaptation more global inscope.     

Eight years of annual no-till cropping in Washington's winter wheat-summer fallow region

The tillage-based winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-summer fallow (WW-SF) cropping system has dominated dryland farming in the Pacific Northwest USA for 125 years. We conducted a large-scale multidisciplinary 8-year study of annual (i.e., no summer fallow) no-till cropping systems as an alternative to WW-SF. Soft white and hard white classes of winter and spring wheat, spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), yellow mustard (Brassica hirta Moench), and safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) were grown in various rotation combinations. Annual precipitation was less than the long-term average of 301 mm in 7 out of 8 years. Rhizoctonia bare patch disease caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani AG-8 appeared in year 3 and continued through year 8 in all no-till plots. All crops were susceptible to rhizoctonia, but bare patch area in wheat was reduced, and grain yield increased, when wheat was grown in rotation with barley every other year. Remnant downy brome (Bromus tectorum L.) weed seeds remained dormant for 6 years and longer to heavily infest recrop winter wheat. There were few quantifiable changes in soil quality due to crop rotation, but soil organic carbon (SOC) increased in the surface 0–5 cm depth with no-till during the 8 years to approach that found in undisturbed native soil. Annual no-till crop rotations experienced lower average profitability and greater income variability compared to WW-SF. Yellow mustard and safflower were not economically viable. Continuous annual cropping using no-till provides excellent protection against wind erosion and shows potential to increase soil quality, but the practice involves high economic risk compared to WW-SF. This paper provides the first comprehensive multidisciplinary report of long-term alternative annual no-till cropping systems research in the low-precipitation region of the Pacific Northwest.     

Impact of Climate Change on Possible Scenarios for Egyptian Agriculture in the Future

If no timely measures are taken to adapt Egyptian agriculture to possible climate warming, the effects may be negative and serious. Egypt appears to be particularly vulnerable to climate change because of its dependence on the Nile River as the primary water source, its large traditional agricultural base, and its long coastline, already undergoing both intensifying development and erosion. A simulation study characterized potential yield and water use efficiency decreases on two reference crops in the main agricultural regions with possible future climatic variation, even when the beneficial effects of increased CO₂ were taken into account. On-farm adaptation techniques which imply no additional cost to the agricultural system, did not compensate for the yield losses with the warmer climate or improve the crop water-use efficiency. Economic adjustments such as the improvement of the overall water-use efficiency of the agricultural system, soil drainage and conservation, land management, and crop alternatives are essential. If appropriate measures are taken, negative effects of climate change in agricultural production and other major resource sectors (water and land) may be lessened. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

松嫩平原西部盐碱地区10种植物叶片结构特征及其生态适应性

采用石蜡制片法通过对松嫩平原西部盐碱地区生活型不同且具有一定生态价值、经济价值和推广应用价值的10种优势植物的显微结构特征进行研究,并结合其生存的环境,探讨它们对松嫩平原西部盐碱地区的生态适应特性,为松嫩平原西部盐碱地区生态重建植物种类的选择提供一定的依据。结果表明:不同植物叶片之间具有明显的差异,并且植物叶片的形态解剖结构明显表现出与其生态环境相适应的特征。它们的叶片在结构上均表现出典型的旱生特点:上表皮细胞较厚且排列紧密,上下表皮都具有发达的角质层。羊草(Leymuschinensis)、芦苇(phragmitescommunis)和碱茅(Puccinellatenuiflora)在两条平行叶脉之间的上表皮内,分布着数列泡状细胞,干旱时极易失水而引起叶片向腹面卷曲;碱蓬(SnaedaglaucaBuuge)和马莲(IrisensataThunb)的叶出现了明显的肉质化,这都是对干旱盐碱环境的适应性反应。     

Effects of lindane on the photosynthetic apparatus of the cyanobacterium<Emphasis Type="Italic">anabaena</Emphasis>

INTENTION, GOAL, SCOPE, BACKGROUND: Cyanobacteria have the natural ability to degrade moderate amounts of organic pollutants. However, when pollutant concentration exceeds the level of tolerance, bleaching of the cells and death occur within 24 hours. Under stress conditions, cyanobacterial response includes the short-term adaptation of the photosynthetic apparatus to light quality, named state transitions. Moreover, prolonged stresses produce changes in the functional organization of phycobilisomes and in the core-complexes of both photosystems, which can result in large changes in the PS II fluorescence yield. The localization of ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR) at the ends of some peripheral rods of the cyanobacterial phycobilisomes, makes this protein a useful marker to check phycobilisome integrity. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this work is to improve the knowledge of the mechanism of action of a very potent pesticide, lindane (gamma-hexaclorociclohexane), in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp., which can be considered a potential candidate for bioremediation of pesticides. We have studied the effect of lindane on the photosynthetic apparatus of Anabaena using fluorescence induction studies. As ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase plays a key role in the response to oxidative stress in several systems, changes in synthesis, degradation and activity of FNR were analyzed. Immunolocalization of this enzyme was used as a marker of phycobilisome integrity. The knowledge of the changes caused by lindane in the photosynthetic apparatus is essential for rational further design of genetically-modified cyanobacteria with improved biorremediation abilities. METHODS: Polyphasic chlorophyll a fluorescence rise measurements (OJIP) have been used to evaluate the vitality and stress adaptation of the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7119 in the presence of increasing concentrations of lindane. Effects of the pesticide on the ultrastructure have been investigated by electron microscopy, and FNR has been used as a marker of phycobilisome integrity. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Cultures of Anabaena sp. treated with moderate amounts of lindane showed a decrease in growth rate followed by a recovery after 72 hours of pesticide treatment. Concentrations of lindane below 5 ppm increased the photosynthetic performance and activity of the cells. Higher amounts of pesticide caused a decrease in these activities which seems to be due to a non-competitive inhibition of PS II. Active PS II units are converted into non-QA reducing, so called heat sink centers. Specific activity and amount of FNR in lindane-treated cells were similar to the values measured in control cultures. Release of FNR from the thylakoid after 48 hours of exposure to 5 ppm of lindane towards the cytoplasm was detected by immunogold labeling and electron microscopy. CONCLUSIONS: From these results, we conclude that the photosynthetic performance and activity of the cells are slightly increased in the presence of lindane up to 5 ppm. Moreover, in those conditions, lindane did not produce significant changes in the synthesis, degradation or activity of FNR. The high capability of Anabaena to tolerate lindane makes this cyanobacterium a good candidate for phytoremediation of polluted areas. RECOMMENDATION AND OUTLOOK: The results of this study show that cultures of Anabaena PCC 7119 tolerate lindane up to 5 ppm, without significant changes in the photosynthetic vitality index of the cells. However, a slight increase in phycobiliprotein synthesis is observed, which is related to total protein content. This change might be due to degradation of proteins less stable than phycobiliproteins. An identification of the proteins with altered expression pattern in the presence of the pesticide remains the subject of further work and will provide valuable information for the preparation of strains which are highly tolerant to lindane.