Community assembly mechanisms and succession processes significantly differ among treatments during the restoration of Stipa grandis - Leymus chinensis communities.

Understanding community assembly mechanisms is helpful to predict community dynamics. To explore which community assembly mechanism(s) drive(s) the grassland restoration in semi-arid region, we investigated the relationships between plant trait and species relative abundance (SRA), and estimated community functional diversity indices for each community under different treatments (enclosure, grazing and mowing treatment) in a restoration region of Stipa grandis - Leymus chinensis communities in the northern China from 2010 to 2012. There was a high fraction of significant relationships between trait value and SRA, suggesting that niche theory structured the grassland restoration in this region. The functional richness was higher and the functional divergence was lower in the enclosure community than that in the grazing or mowing community, and significantly positive plant height - SRA relationship was found in the enclosure community. These findings demonstrated that limiting similarity based on niche theory was more important in structuring the enclosure community and that environmental filtering based on niche theory played a more important role in driving the grazing or mowing community. Only the factor of year significantly affected the functional evenness (FEve), and the lowest FEve in 2011 implied that the relatively lower precipitation could enhance the effect of limiting similarity on community assembly in the semi-arid grassland.

Litter species diversity is more important than genotypic diversity of dominant grass species Stipa grandis in influencing litter decomposition in a bare field.

Studies have indicated that plant litter diversity can affect litter decomposition at both species diversity and genotypic diversity level within a species. However, the essence and relative importance of these two diversity levels on litter decomposition remain unknown. Here, two independent one-factor experiments, litter species diversity and litter genotypic diversity of the dominant species-Stipa grandis, were carried out to explore the effects of initial litter quality, litter composition and diversity on decomposition of mass, nitrogen (N), carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) simultaneously. The results showed that: (1) there were significant relationships between the initial litter N, C/N, lignin/N and the decomposition rate of N, between the initial litter P, N/P and the decomposition rate of P, and the litter composition significantly influenced litter mass, N, C and P remaining in both litter species and genotypic diversity experiments; and (2) litter species diversity significantly affected litter mass, N, C and P remaining, and non-additive relative mixture effects were mainly contributed by synergistic effects especially in 6-species mixtures; however, similar patterns were not found in litter genotypic diversity experiment. The present results emphasized that initial litter quality played the most important role in influencing litter decomposition of mass N, C and P, and suggested that litter species mixtures rather than litter genotypic mixtures of a dominant species could favor nutrient cycling in ecosystem of the semi-arid Inner Mongolia Steppe of China.

Phenotypic plasticity vs. local adaptation in quantitative traits differences of Stipa grandis in semi-arid steppe, China.

Whether plants are able to adapt to environmental changes depends on their genetic characteristics and phenotypic plastic responses. We investigated the phenotypic responses of 7 populations of an important dominant species in semi-arid steppe of China - Stipa grandis, and then distinguished which adaptive mechanism(s), phenotypic plasticity or local adaptation, was/were involved in this species to adapt to environmental changes. (1) All traits were significantly influenced by the interaction of population and growth condition and by population in each condition, and inter-population variability (CVinter) was larger in the field than in the common garden for 8/9 traits, indicating that both phenotypic plasticity and genetic differentiation controlled the phenotypic differences of S. grandis. (2) From a functional standpoint, the significant relationships between the values of traits in the common garden and the environmental variables in their original habitats couldn't support local habitat adaptation of these traits. (3) Low CVintra, low quantitative differentiation among populations (Q ST ), and low plasticity shown in the western populations indicated the very low adaptive potential of S. grandis to environmental changes. (4) From the original habitats to the common garden which is far away from S. grandis distribution region, positive phenotypic responses were found in several populations, indicating that some original habitats have become unfavorable for S. grandis.

Influence of nitrogen fertilizer and endophyte infection on ecophysiological parameters and mineral element content of perennial ryegrass.

An experiment was designed to determine the effect of the fungal endophyte Neotyphodium lolii on the growth, physiological parameters and mineral element content of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perennel L.), when growing at two N supply levels. Endophyte infection had a significant positive effect on both shoot and root growth of ryegrass, but this difference was only significant in the high N supply treatment. At high N supply, endophyte-infected (EI) plants accumulated more soluble sugar in the sheath and the root than endophyte-free (EF) plants. Endophyte infection affected mineral element concentrations in the root more than in the shoot. We found a significant effect of endophyte infection on B, Mn and Mg in the root, but significant effect was only found on B in the shoot. EI plants tended to accumulate less B in the shoot at both N levels, but accumulated more B, Mn and Mg in the root at low N levels. The difference of growth parameters in different periods was significant. The content of soluble sugar and crude protein in the sheath were also dependent on the growth stages of both EI and EF plants.

Genetic diversity and population differentiation of the dominant species Stipa krylovii in the Inner Mongolia Steppe.

Random amplified polymorphic DNA was used to assess the level of genetic diversity and genetic structure of Stipa krylovii (Gramineae), an important dominant species in the northern grasslands of China. Genetic diversity was low within S. krylovii populations, and diversity at the population level was associated with precipitation and cumulative temperature variations. There was much genetic differentiation among populations and among habitats as well. A Mantel test indicated no significant correlation between genetic distance and geographic distance of populations. A nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed some spatial relationships among the 90 individuals in a two-dimensional plot. Habitat fragmentation and degradation throughout the geographic range of S. krylovii could account for the low genetic diversity and high genetic differentiation of the species. Such information will be useful for conservation managers trying to plan an effective strategy to protect this important species.

[Cellar senescence and tumor].

Cells withdrawing from the cell cycle and entering the terminally non-dividing state are referred senescence. With few exceptions,normal cells necessarily enter this process. Molecular analyses have identified some changes in gene expressions as cells become senescent, including repression of positive-acting transcriptional regulators, over-expression of CDK inhibitor, and interference with downstream pathways, and changes in telomere and telomerase. Current findings show that senescence is well connected with tumorigenesis and tumor therapy. Studies with cell types other than fibroblast will better define the roles of cellar senescence in tumorigenesis, moreover, it may provide a novel therapeutic approach to tumor repression.