•Macroinvertebrate assemblages in high-elevation lakes in Jiuzhaigou Natural Reserve, China were investigated to assessing the effect of tourism.•Light traps added many EPT taxa to benthic ...samples.•Variation of taxa and EPT richness calculated for the composite samples (benthic+light trap) were well predicted by GLM with elevation, tourism index, and total-N.•\Both metrics for benthic samples were poorly explained.•GLM based on natural environmental factors can be used to set biological expectations under the least disturbances in assessing tourism impacts.
With increasing human population and urbanization, tourism in natural reserves and other protected lands is growing. It is critical to monitor and assess the impacts of tourism on ecosystem health. However, there is a general lack of information on biological communities in natural reserves of developing countries and of tools for assessing human impacts. In the present study, we investigated macroinvertebrate assemblages in nine lakes in Jiuzhaigou Natural Reserve of China. Both benthic (20 dips of D-net) and light-trap samples (2h) were collected at each lake and all benthic specimens and adults of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) were identified and counted. Water temperature and water quality variables were measured on site or in the Lab. Seventy taxa were recorded and dominated by dipterans and caddisflies. Light traps contributed 47% of taxa richness and 66% of EPT richness at the lakes. Detrended Correspondence Analysis showed that water temperature and tourism index were strongly associated with the changes of assemblage composition. Taxa richness and EPT richness calculated for the composite samples (benthic+light trap) were well fit with Poisson generalized linear model (adjusted R2=0.83 and 0.85, respectively), generally decreasing with increasing elevation, tourism index, and total-N. Tourism index was ranked as the top predictor for EPT richness based on multiple model weights, and elevation for taxa richness. In comparison, when based on benthic samples, neither of the metrics could be fitted with the seven environmental variables selected. These findings highlight the benefit of combined use of the sampling methods for lake monitoring and offered an analytical guide to developing biological indicators of lake ecosystem health in protected areas.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Identifying the differences in environment-sensitive zooplankton community characteristics and influencing factors among different types of landscape waters is critical for maintenance of ...biodiversity and protection of aquatic ecosystem. Zooplankton was sampled from 35 sites in 8 typical landscape waters in Shanghai and in situ physicochemical variables were measured in May 2014. A total of 40 species of zooplankton were recorded in the study area, of which 29 species were recorded as Rotifera, 7 species as Cladocera, and only 4 of them as Copepoda. Cluster analysis showed the zooplankton communities in all sampling sites were clustered into four groups: natural fresh-water lake(Lake Dianshan), man-made lake(Lake Dishui), waters in AAAA grade parks(Gongqing Forest Park and Guyiyuan Park), and waters in ordinary comprehensive parks(Century Park, Heping Park, Changfeng Park, and Chejing Park). Zooplankton species in the two types of park were richer, of which about 40% were endemic species. While there was only
Three bacteria, named L2, L3 and L4, were isolated from contaminated cultures of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii strain cc849 in laboratory. The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequences showed ...that L2, L3 and L4 belonged to genus Stenotrophomonas, Microbacterium and Pseudomonas, respectively. The co-cultivation of isolated L2, L3 and L4 with purified algae, respectively, demonstrated that moderate bacterial concentration did not affect algal growth significantly but improved algal H2 production obviously. The maximal H2 yields were gained by the co-culture of algae with L2 or L4, about 4.0 times higher than that of the single algal culture. Increased respiration rate or O2 consumption was the main reason for the enhancement of H2 yield of the co-cultures.
► Three bacteria isolated from contaminated algal cultures are identified. ► They belong to genera Stenotrophomonas, Microbacterium and Pseudomonas, respectively. ► Co-cultures of isolated bacteria with pure algae improved H2 production obviously. ► Increased O2 consumption of co-cultures is the main reason for enhancement of H2 yield.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
A novel monoraphid diatom species, Cocconeis crisscrossis You, Yu, Kociolek & Wang, sp. nov. is examined and described from the Qingyi River and Maolan Nature Reserve of southern China. The ...morphological description is based on light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy observations and the new species is compared with similar taxa in this genus. The characteristics unique to Cocconeis crisscrossis sp. nov. include its central area extending irregularly to both sides, it having closed valvocopulae with heavily silicified fimbriate margins and poles of the valvocopulae have ‘sword-shaped’ siliceous extensions. These features differentiate this new species from others in the genus. This new species was found in alkaline waterbodies, including streams, waterfall and ponds. It was usually found as an epiphyte on the stones; however, it was present on other substrates such as mosses.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Bats are natural reservoirs for many pathogenic viruses, and increasing evidence supports the notion that bats can also harbor group A rotaviruses (RVAs), important causative agents of diarrhea in ...children and young animals. Currently, 8 RVA strains possessing completely novel genotype constellations or genotypes possibly originating from other mammals have been identified from African and Chinese bats. However, all the data were mainly based on detection of RVA RNA, present only during acute infections, which does not permit assessment of the true exposure of a bat population to RVA. To systematically investigate the genetic diversity of RVAs, 547 bat anal swabs or gut samples along with 448 bat sera were collected from five South Chinese provinces. Specific reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) screening found four RVA strains. Strain GLRL1 possessed a completely novel genotype constellation, whereas the other three possessed a constellation consistent with the MSLH14-like genotype, a newly characterized group of viruses widely prevalent in Chinese insectivorous bats. Among the latter, strain LZHP2 provided strong evidence of cross-species transmission of RVAs from bats to humans, whereas strains YSSK5 and BSTM70 were likely reassortants between typical MSLH14-like RVAs and human RVAs. RVA-specific antibodies were detected in 10.7% (48/448) of bat sera by an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA). Bats in Guangxi and Yunnan had a higher RVA-specific antibody prevalence than those from Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. These observations provide evidence for cross-species transmission of MSLH14-like bat RVAs to humans, highlighting the impact of bats as reservoirs of RVAs on public health.
Bat viruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Ebola, Hendra, and Nipah viruses, are important pathogens causing outbreaks of severe emerging infectious diseases. However, little is known about bat viruses capable of causing gastroenteritis in humans, even though 8 group A viruses (RVAs) have been identified from bats so far. In this study, another 4 RVA strains were identified, with one providing strong evidence for zoonotic transmission from bats to humans. Serological investigation has also indicated that RVA infection in bats is far more prevalent than expected based on the detection of viral RNA.
HPLC chromatograms at 254nm and 280nm of flavonoids extract from D. boryanum (Willd.) Ching. Display omitted
► Characterization of flavonoids from Dryoathyrium boryanum. ► Evaluation of bioactivities ...of flavonoids from D. boryanum. ► Ferns with higher flavonoid content showed more anticancer activity.
The profiles and bioactivities of flavonoids extracted from Dryoathyrium boryanum (Willd.) Ching were investigated. The total flavonoids content in extract from D. boryanum is about 145.8mg/g. By means of HPLC–DAD–ESI–MS, the main flavonoids in D. boryanum were tentatively identified as 3-hydroxyphloretin 6′-O-hexoside, quercetin-7-hexoside, apigenin7-O-glucoside, luteolin 7-O-glucoside, apigenin 7-O-galactoside, acacetin 7-O-(α-D-apio-furanosyl) (1→6)-β-d-glucoside, 3-hydroxy phloretin 6-O-hexoside, luteolin-6-C-glucoside. 0.21mg/ml flavonoids extract from D. boryanum showed very strong superoxide anion radical scavenging potential, which is higher than that of rutin (0.25mg/ml). The extract (0.21mg/ml of flavonoids) from D. boryanum exhibited similar DPPH scavenging potential with that of rutin (0.25mg/ml). However, rutin (0.25mg/ml) showed a significantly higher reducing power and ABTS scavenging potential than that of 0.21mg/ml flavonoids extract from D. boryanum. It had no effect on acetylcholinesterase. D. boryanum can be considered as a medicinal plant and the flavonoids from D. boryanum are excellent antioxidants.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
This article summarizes the current knowledge regarding omics approaches, which include genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics, in the context of bio-hydrogen production in
. In this ...paper, critical genes (
) involved in H
metabolism were identified and analyzed for their function in H
accumulation. Furthermore, the advantages of gene microarrays and RNA-seq were compared, as well as their applications in transcriptomic analysis of H
production. Moreover, as a useful tool, proteomic analysis could identify different proteins that participate in H
metabolism. This review provides fundamental theory and an experimental basis for H
production, and further research effort is needed in this field.
Since 2015, Fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) infection has caused serious economic losses to the poultry industry worldwide. We isolated and identified the FAdV-4 strain NP, from infected chickens ...on a layer farm, using chicken embryo allantoic cavity inoculation, electron microscopy, viral genome sequencing, and regression analysis. To explore the pathogenesis of FAdV-4 infection, we conducted transcriptome sequencing analysis of the liver in chickens infected with FAdV-4, using the Illumina® HiSeq 2000 system. Two days after infection with the FAdV-4 NP strain, 13,576 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened in the liver, among which, 7,480 were up-regulated and 6,096 were down-regulated. Gene ontology (GO) analysis indicated that these genes were involved in 52 biological functions. Furthermore, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that those DEGs were involved in 33 pathways. We then focused on the KEGG pathway of phagosome and found that mRNA levels of the 25 DEGs in that pathway were up-regulated, and seven DEGs were down-regulated. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) confirmed the accuracy and reliability of these findings. Moreover, 24 h after LMH cells were infected with FAdV-4, the mRNA levels of
, and
were significantly increased. These four genes were all subsequently silenced by RNA interference, and viral replication of FAdV-4 was then significantly down-regulated. These findings demonstrate the isolation and identification of the FAdV-4 NP strain, and the DEGs in KEGG pathway of phagosome were utilized by FAdV-4 to benefit its infection.
A new freshwater diatom species,
Achnanthidium kangdingnese
Yu, You & Wang,
sp. nov.
from Sichuan Province, China, is described. The morphology of this species was analyzed with scanning electron ...microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM).
A. kangdingnese
belongs to the
A. initium
-like subgroup, which has external distal raphe ends curved in opposite directions of the valve. The main characteristics of
A. kangdingnese
are its linear shape, rounded apices and transpically-elongated areolae on the both valves. The central area is well defined with one or two spaced striae of the raphe valve. And on the internal valve, areolae are occluded by hymens perforated by delicate slits, and each hymen is closely joined with the adjacent hymen. We compared the new species with other similar species of
Achnanthidium
,
A. kangdingnese
is considered to be sufficiently different from other similar species based on valve outline, shape of the axial and center areas, and striae density. The new species is known only from its type locality, a mountain lake in Kangding County.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Periphytic diatoms play important functional roles in aquatic ecosystems. Their community compositions are widely used in water quality monitoring due to their wide distribution, short reproductive ...cycles, and sensitivity to environmental changes. In this study, 116 samples of periphytic diatom samples were collected from lakes in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The weighted average without tolerance down-weighting regression method was used to develop total phosphorus (r2 = 0.661), total nitrogen (r2 = 0.699), and chemical oxygen demand (r2 = 0.423) models, and the optimal and tolerance values of 78 periphytic species were calculated. Then, a new index, the comprehensive diatom index (CDI), was established on the basis of the optima and tolerances of these 78 species concerning the three environmental variables (TP, TN, and COD) to assess the water trophic status of the lakes in this region. According to the CDI, the trophic statuses of 8, 17, 23, 30, 22, and 14 sample sites were oligotrophic, mesotrophic, light eutrophication, moderate eutrophication, heavy eutrophication, and ultra-eutrophication, respectively. The CDI was more strongly correlated with the conductivity, pH, TP, TN, COD, and TDS than other diatom indices. These results demonstrate that the CDI is a useful metric for assessing the water trophic status of the lakes in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
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