scholarly journals Plant diversity and density predict belowground diversity and function in an early successional alpine ecosystem

Ecology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 99 (9) ◽  
pp. 1942-1952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorota L. Porazinska ◽  
Emily C. Farrer ◽  
Marko J. Spasojevic ◽  
Clifton P. Bueno de Mesquita ◽  
Sam A. Sartwell ◽  
...  

This book will provide a complete overview of an alpine ecosystem, based on the long-term research conducted at the Niwot Ridge LTER. There is, at present, no general book on alpine ecology. The alpine ecosystem features conditions near the limits of biological existence, and is a useful laboratory for asking more general ecological questions, because it offers large environmental change over relatively short distances. Factors such as macroclimate, microclimate, soil conditions, biota, and various biological factors change on differing scales, allowing insight into the relative contributions of the different factors on ecological outcomes.



Author(s):  
Jiorgos Kourelis ◽  
Sophien Kamoun

ABSTRACTReference datasets are critical in computational biology. They help define canonical biological features and are essential for benchmarking studies. Here, we describe a comprehensive reference dataset of experimentally validated plant NLR immune receptors. RefPlantNLR consists of 415 NLRs from 31 genera belonging to 11 orders of flowering plants. We used RefPlantNLR to determine the canonical features of functionally validated plant NLRs. This reference dataset should prove useful for benchmarking NLR annotation tools, guiding comparative analyses of NLRs across the wide spectrum of plant diversity and identifying under-studied taxa. We hope that the RefPlantNLR resource will contribute to moving the field beyond a uniform view of NLR structure and function.



Author(s):  
Congcong Shen ◽  
Jiang Wang ◽  
Ji-Zheng He ◽  
Feihai Yu ◽  
Yuan Ge

Interactions and feedbacks between aboveground and belowground biomes are fundamental in controlling ecosystem functions and stability. However, the relationship between plant diversity and soil microbial diversity is elusive. Moreover, it remains unknown whether plant diversity loss will deteriorate the stability of soil microbial communities. To shed light on these questions, we conducted a pot-based experiment to manipulate the plant richness gradient (1, 2, 4, 8 species) and plant (Symphyotrichum subulatum (Michx.) G.L.Nesom) invasion status. We found that, in the non-invasion treatment, soil fungal diversity significantly and positively correlated with plant diversity, while the relationship between bacterial and plant diversity was not significant. Under plant invasion, the coupling of plant-fungal alpha diversity relationship was enhanced, but the plant-fungal beta diversity relationship was decoupled. We also found significant positive relationships between plant diversity and soil microbial resistance. The observed positive relationships were determined by turnover (species substitution) and nestedness (species loss) processes for bacterial and fungal communities, respectively. Our study demonstrated that plant diversity enhanced soil fungal diversity and microbial resistance in response to plant invasion. This study expands our knowledge about the aboveground–belowground diversity relationship and diversity-stability relationship. Importance Our study newly showed plant invasion significantly altered relationships between aboveground and belowground diversity. Specifically, plant richness indirectly promoted soil fungal richness through the increase of soil TC without plant invasion, while plant richness had a direct positive effect on soil fungal richness under plant invasion. Our study highlights the plant diversity effect on soil fungal diversity especially under plant invasion, and the plant diversity effect on microbial resistance in response to plant invasion. These novel findings will add important knowledge about the aboveground–belowground diversity relationship and diversity-stability relationship.



2002 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 116
Author(s):  
Diane Ebert-May ◽  
William D. Bowman ◽  
Timothy R. Seastedt


Author(s):  
M. Boublik ◽  
W. Hellmann ◽  
F. Jenkins

The present knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of ribosomes is far too limited to enable a complete understanding of the various roles which ribosomes play in protein biosynthesis. The spatial arrangement of proteins and ribonuclec acids in ribosomes can be analysed in many ways. Determination of binding sites for individual proteins on ribonuclec acid and locations of the mutual positions of proteins on the ribosome using labeling with fluorescent dyes, cross-linking reagents, neutron-diffraction or antibodies against ribosomal proteins seem to be most successful approaches. Structure and function of ribosomes can be correlated be depleting the complete ribosomes of some proteins to the functionally inactive core and by subsequent partial reconstitution in order to regain active ribosomal particles.



Author(s):  
S. K. Pena ◽  
C. B. Taylor ◽  
J. Hill ◽  
J. Safarik

Introduction: Oxidized cholesterol derivatives have been demonstrated in various cell cultures to be very potent inhibitors of 3-hvdroxy-3- methylglutaryl Coenzyme A reductase which is a principle regulator of cholesterol biosynthesis in the cell. The cholesterol content in the cells exposed to oxidized cholesterol was found to be markedly decreased. In aortic smooth muscle cells, the potency of this effect was closely related to the cytotoxicity of each derivative. Furthermore, due to the similarity of their molecular structure to that of cholesterol, these oxidized cholesterol derivatives might insert themselves into the cell membrane, alter membrane structure and function and eventually cause cell death. Arterial injury has been shown to be the initial event of atherosclerosis.



Author(s):  
Caroline A. Miller ◽  
Laura L. Bruce

The first visual cortical axons arrive in the cat superior colliculus by the time of birth. Adultlike receptive fields develop slowly over several weeks following birth. The developing cortical axons go through a sequence of changes before acquiring their adultlike morphology and function. To determine how these axons interact with neurons in the colliculus, cortico-collicular axons were labeled with biocytin (an anterograde neuronal tracer) and studied with electron microscopy.Deeply anesthetized animals received 200-500 nl injections of biocytin (Sigma; 5% in phosphate buffer) in the lateral suprasylvian visual cortical area. After a 24 hr survival time, the animals were deeply anesthetized and perfused with 0.9% phosphate buffered saline followed by fixation with a solution of 1.25% glutaraldehyde and 1.0% paraformaldehyde in 0.1M phosphate buffer. The brain was sectioned transversely on a vibratome at 50 μm. The tissue was processed immediately to visualize the biocytin.



Author(s):  
J. Metz ◽  
M. Merlo ◽  
W. G. Forssmann

Structure and function of intercellular junctions were studied under the electronmicroscope using conventional thin sectioning and freeze-etch replicas. Alterations of tight and gap junctions were analyzed 1. of exocrine pancreatic cells under cell isolation conditions and pancreatic duct ligation and 2. of hepatocytes during extrahepatic cholestasis.During the different steps of cell isolation of exocrine pancreatic cells, gradual changes of tight and gap junctions were observed. Tight junctions, which formed belt-like structures around the apex of control acinar cells in situ, subsequently diminished, became interrupted and were concentrated into macular areas (Fig. 1). Aggregations of membrane associated particles, which looked similar to gap junctions, were intermixed within tight junctional areas (Fig. 1). These structures continously disappeared in the last stages of the isolation procedure. The intercellular junctions were finally separated without destroying the integrity of the cell membrane, which was confirmed with porcion yellow, lanthanum chloride and horse radish peroxidase.



Author(s):  
M. Boublik ◽  
R.M. Wydro ◽  
W. Hellmann ◽  
F. Jenkins

Ribosomes are ribonucleoprotein particles necessary for processing the genetic information of mRNA into proteins. Analogy in composition and function of ribosomes from diverse species, established by biochemical and biological assays, implies their structural similarity. Direct evidence obtained by electron microscopy seems to be of increasing relevance in understanding the structure of ribosomes and the mechanism of their role in protein synthesis.The extent of the structural homology between prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomes has been studied on ribosomes of Escherichia coli (E.c.) and Artemia salina (A.s.). Despite the established differences in size and in the amount and proportion of ribosomal proteins and RNAs both types of ribosomes show an overall similarity. The monosomes (stained with 0.5% aqueous uranyl acetate and deposited on a fine carbon support) appear in the electron micrographs as round particles with a diameter of approximately 225Å for the 70S E.c. (Fig. 1) and 260Å for the 80S A.s. monosome (Fig. 2).



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