Responses of photosynthetic characteristics of Phragmites australis to simulated warming in salt marshes of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea, China.

Coastal wetlands are highly efficient in blue carbon sequestration. The impacts of climate warming on photosynthetic rates and light response characteristics of wetland plants would change the magnitude of carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands. We constructed warming observation stations in Phragmites australis (Phragmites) wetlands located in the Yellow River Delta in Dongying with dry climate, and in Yancheng by the Yellow Sea with wet climate. By using a Li-6800 photosynthesis system, we investigated the responses of simulated warming on photosynthetic characteristics of Phragmites in both wetlands, and compared the difference between months (June and August) in Dongying wetland. The results showed the photosynthetic rates of Phragmites were higher in June than in August. Warming increased net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), stomatal conductance (gs) and intercellular carbon dioxide concentration (Ci) in the two months, but the variability of Pn to warming was lower in August. The Pn and water use efficiency (WUE) of Phragmites in the Yancheng wetland were higher than Dongying wetland, and the maximum net photosynthetic rate (Pn max), light saturation point (LSP), apparent quantum efficiency (AQY), and dark respiration rate (Rd) of the former responded more positively to warming. The values of AQY, LSP and Pn max of Phragmites in the Yancheng wetlands were increased by 16.7%, 53.6% and 30.3%, respectively, in the warming plots. Our results suggested that warming could improve the utilization efficiency of weak light, the adaptability to strong light and photosynthetic potential of Phragmites under rainy and humid conditions. This study is of importance for accurately quantifying carbon sequestration of coastal wetlands at the regional and seasonal scales in the context of climate warming.

[Ecologically suitable areas for growing Scutellaria baicalensis worldwide: an analysis based on GMPGIS].

This paper explored the ecologically suitable areas for growing Scutellaria baicalensis using Geographic Information System for Global Medicinal Plants(GMPGIS), to figure out the resource distribution of S. baicalensis worldwide and provide a scientific basis for its scientific introduction. A total of 349 S. baicalensis sampling sites were selected all over the world for GMPGIS-based analy-sis of the ecologically suitable areas with six ecological factors including annual average temperature, average temperature during the coldest season, average temperature during the warmest season, average annual precipitation, average annual relative humidity, and annual average illumination and soil type as the ecological indexes. The results demonstrated that the ecologically suitable areas for growing S. baicalensis were mostly located in the Northern hemisphere, and the suitable areas in the United States, China, and Russia accounted for 19.25%, 18.66%, and 13.15% of the total area worldwide, respectively. In China, the Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang province, and Yunnan province occupied the largest proportions of the total area, namely 14.28%, 8.72%, and 6.18%, respectively. As revealed by ecological factors of each sampling site, S. baicalensis was resistant to low temperature but not to high temperature. The adaptive range of average annual precipitation is narrower than that of average annual air humidity. The suitable soils were mainly inceptisol, alfisol, and fluvisol. High temperature and rainy climate or excessively high soil bulk density was not conducive to the growth of S. baicalensis. The adoption of GMPGIS enabled to obtain areas with the greatest ecological similarity for S. baicalensis, which were reliable data supporting the exploration of resource distribution and reasonable introduction of S. baicalensis.

[Study of extracting natural resources of Chinese medicinal materials planted area in Luoning of Henan province based on UAV of low altitude remote sensing technology and remote sensing image of satellite].

The study is aimed to effectively obtain the planting area of traditional Chinese medicine resources. The herbs used as the material for traditional Chinese medicine are mostly planted in natural environment suitable mountainous areas. The UAV low altitude remote sensing data were used as the samples and the GF-2 remote sensing images were applied for the data source to extract the planting area of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Artemisia argyi in Luoning county combined with field investigation. Remote sensing satellite data of standard processing obtain specific remote sensing data coverage. The UAV data were pre-processed to visually interpret the species and distribution of traditional Chinese medicine resources in the sample quadrat. Support vector machine( SVM) was used to classify and estimate the area of traditional Chinese medicine resources in Luoning county,confusion matrix was used to determine the accuracy of spatial distribution of traditional Chinese medicine resources. The result showed that the application of UAV of low altitude remote sensing technology and remote sensing image of satellite in the extraction of S. miltiorrhiza and other varieties planting area was feasible,it also provides a scientific reference for poverty alleviation policies of the traditional Chinese medicine Industry in local areas.Meanwhile,research on remote sensing classification of Chinese medicinal materials based on multi-source and multi-phase high-resolution remote sensing images is actively carried out to explore more effective methods for information extraction of Chinese medicinal materials.

Ethanol extract of Rehmannia glutinosa exerts antidepressant-like effects on a rat chronic unpredictable mild stress model by involving monoamines and BDNF.

The dried roots of Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch. (Scrophulariaceae) are of both medicinal and nutritional importance. Our previous study has found that the 80% ethanol extract of R. glutinosa (RGEE) produced antidepressant-like activities in mouse behavioral despair depression models. However, its mechanisms are still unclear. The present study aimed to observe the antidepressant-like mechanisms of RGEE on a rat chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) model by involving monoaminergic neurotransmitters and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). CUMS-stressed rats were orally given RGEE daily (150, 300, and 600 mg/kg) or fluoxetine hydrochloride (FH) for 3 weeks after starting the CUMS procedure. Sucrose preference test was carried out to observe depression-like behavior, and serum and brain tissues were used for neurochemical and fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription PCR analysis. Results demonstrated that CUMS induced depression-like behavior, whereas RGEE and FH administration inhibited this symptom. Furthermore, CUMS caused excessively elevated levels of serum corticosterone (CORT), an index of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hyperactivity, in a manner attenuated by RGEE and FH administration. RGEE administration also further elevated monoamine neurotransmitters and BDNF levels, up-regulated the mRNA expression of BDNF and tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) in hippocampus of rats suffering CUMS. Together, our findings suggest that RGEE can improve CUMS-evoked depression-like behavior, and indicate its mechanisms may partially be associated with restoring HPA axis dysfunctions, enhancing monoamineergic nervous systems, and up-regulating BDNF and TrkB expression.

[Molecular Research of Acid-Generating Microbial Communities in Abandoned Ores in the Waste Dump of an Iron Mine in Anhui Province].

The waste dump of an iron mine in Anhui Province has been abandoned for several decades. Pyrite in the exposed waste ores is oxidized by acidophiles and large amounts of metal ions and H2SO4 are released, resulting in the formation of an acid mine drainage (AMD) lake since 1970s. Besides the lake, there are also some small-scale AMD adjacent to the newly deposited waste ore. In order to study the acid generation potential of the waste ore and the related microbial communities, soil samples were taken from beside the AMD lake (1LL) and small-scale AMD (5J, 5Y, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3) and the physicochemical properties and microbial community of these samples were analyzed. The results reveal that all of samples were highly acidic and the pH of the 1LL sample was 2.77, while the other samples were even more acidic, at less than 2.6. The electrical conductivity (EC) (0.32 mS·cm-1) of the 1LL sample was obviously lower than the other samples (2.25-7.08 mS·cm-1), which indicates that the newly deposited waste ore contains higher ion concentrations. The Fe2+ concentration of the 1LL sample was only 0.80 mg·kg-1 but the other five samples were as high as 2.91-33.40 mg·kg-1. This suggests that most of the Fe2+ in the 1LL sample has been converted to Fe3+ after long-term oxidization. High-throughput sequencing results showed that most acidophiles in 1LL sample were Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi but the microbes in the remaining five samples were γ-Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Nitrospira. The iron-sulfur oxidizing bacteria, such as Sulfobacillus, Leptospirillum, Acidithiobacillus, were scarce in the 1LL sample, while they highly abundant in the other five samples, which proves that the acid-generation process of the newly deposited waste ore is strong. However, the reduced iron and sulfur in the 1LL sample has nearly been depleted. Statistical analysis shows that the microbial composition of the 1LL sample is significantly different to that of the five newly deposited samples, illustrating that microbial community composition is remarkably influenced by physicochemical conditions.

Preparative Isolation of Two Prenylated Biflavonoids from the Roots and Rhizomes of Sinopodophyllum emodi by Sephadex LH-20 Column and High-Speed Counter-Current Chromatography.

Two prenylated biflavonoids, podoverines B-C, were isolated from the dried roots and rhizomes of Sinopodophyllum emodi using a Sephadex LH-20 column (SLHC) and high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). The 95% ethanol extract was partitioned with ethyl acetate in water. Target compounds from the ethyl acetate fraction were further enriched and purified by the combined application of SLHC and HSCCC. n-Hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (3.5:5:3.5:5, v/v) was chosen as the two phase solvent system. The flow rate of mobile phase was optimized at 2.0 mL·min(-1). Finally, under optimized conditions, 13.8 mg of podoverine B and 16.2 mg of podoverine C were obtained from 200 mg of the enriched sample. The purities of podoverines B and C were 98.62% and 99.05%, respectively, as determined by HPLC. For the first time, podoverins B and C were found in the genus Sinopodophyllum. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic methods (HR-ESI-MS, ¹H-NMR, (13)C-NMR, HSQC, HMBC). Their absolute configurations were elucidated by comparison of their experimental and calculated ECD spectra. The cytotoxic activities were evaluated against MCF-7 and HepG2 cell lines. The separation procedures proved to be practical and economical, especially for trace prenylated biflavonoids from traditional Chinese medicine.

[Research on Breeding of Dioscorea opposita cv. Tiegun].

OBJECTIVE: To breeding the new varieties Dioscorea opposita cv. Tiegun with the best comprehensive properties. METHODS: Seven new Dioscorea opposita. cv. Tiegun cultivars were screened by space mutation breeding of Dioscorea opposita cv. Tiegun bulbils. Yield,allantoin content,water soluble extractive and the resistance of these seven cultivars were compared with the main cultivar Dioscorea opposita cv. Tiegun( CK). Meanwhile, the nutrition quality of new cultivars No. 6 and No. 10 were compared with the main cultivar. RESULTS: (1) The fresh weight per plant ranked in the order as follows: No. 6 > No. 10 > No. 4 > No. 9 > No. 1 > CK > No. 2 > No. 8. The drying rate ranked in the order as follows: No. 2 > No. 10 > No. 9 > No. 6 > No. 8 > CK > No. 1 > No. 4. Dry weight per plant ranked in the order as follows: No. 10 > No. 9 > No. 6 > No. 2 > No. 1 > CK > No. 4 > No. 8. The fresh weight per plant, drying rate and dry weight per plant of No. 6 and No. 10 were higher than the main cultivar. (2) The allantoin content ranked in the order as follows: No. 6 > No. 4 > No. 10 > CK > No. 9 > No. 8 > No. 2 > No. 1. (3) The water soluble extractive contents ranked in the order as follows: No. 6 > No. 2 > No. 4 > No. 10 > No. 1 > CK > No. 9 > No. 8. The water soluble extractive content of No. 6 was higher than No. 10 and the main cultivar. (4) No. 10 had the best taste of dry, soft, sweet and fragrant, No. 6 had the taste of dry, floury and hard, and No. 9 had the taste of dry and crisp. (5) No. 6 had the strongest resistance to Gloeosporium pestis and Cykindrosporium dioscoreae; No. 10 had a middle resistance to Gloeosporium pestis and a strong resistance to Cykindrosporium dioscoreae; and the main cultivar had a middle degree of being prone to Gloeosporium pestis and a middle resistance to Cykindrosporium dioscoreae. (6) The content of starch, reducing sugar, protein and ash in No. 6 and No. 10 were higher than that of the main cultivar,while the content of water in No. 6 and No. 10 were lower,which indicated that the nutrition quality of No. 6 and No. 10 is better than the main cultivar. CONCLUSION: The new cultivar No. 10 is suitable for popularizing as a new variety of edible Dioscorea opposita cv. Tiegun. The new cultivar No. 6 is suitable for popularizing as a new variety of medicinal Dioscorea opposita cv. Tiegun.