Science China Press., Co. Ltd.

A plant’s adaptation to its environment is one of the most important issues in evolutionary biology. Mangroves are trees that inhabit the intertidal zones with high salinity, while salt tolerance competence of different species varies. Even congeneric species usually occupy distinct positions of intertidal zones due to differential ability of salt tolerance. Some species have different ecotypes that adapt well to littoral and terrestrial environments, respectively. These characteristics of mangroves make them ideal ecological models to study adaptation of mangroves to salinity. Here, we briefly depict adaptive traits of salt tolerance in mangroves with respect to anatomy, physiology and biochemistry, and review the major advances recently made on both the genetic and genomic levels. Results from studies on individual genes or whole genomes of mangroves have confirmed conclusions drawn from studies on anatomy, physiology and biochemistry, and have further indicated that specific patterns of gene expression might contribute to adaptive evolution of mangroves under high salinity. By integrating all information from mangroves and performing comparisons among species of mangroves and non-mangroves, we could give a general picture of adaptation of mangroves to salinity, thus providing a new avenue for further studies on a molecular basis of adaptive evolution of mangroves.

NaA zeolite membrane was successfully synthesized on the porous α-Al2O3 support by microwave heating. The synthesis of NaA zeolite membrane in the microwave field only needs 15 min and the synthesis time is 10 times shorter than that by conventional heating. SEM characterization indicates that the zeolite crystals in the NaA zeolite membrane synthesized by microwave heating are uniform in size; the membrane thickness is about 4 μm and is thinner than that of the NaA zeolite membrane synthesized by conventional heating. Gas permeation studies indicate that the permeances of the NaA zeolite membrane synthesized by microwave heating are 3–4 times higher than those of the NaA zeolite membrane synthesized by conventional heating, while their permselectivities are comparable.

The variations of NO3+- conccntration in the Guliya ice core are reconstructed for recent about 1 000 a. Spectrum analysis of NO3+- indicates significant periodicities in the variations of NO3+- concentration, which coincide with the periodicities of the solar activity. Therefore, a positive correlation between thc variations of NO3+- concentration and the solar activity is found.

The SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating was carried out and yielded 287±5 Ma (MSWD = 0.34) and 274±3 Ma (MSWD = 1.35) for the Kalatongke No. 1 and Huangshandong Cu-Ni-bearing mafic-ultramafic complexes. These ages are much more precise than pre-existing rock-mineral Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd and Re-Os isochron ages for the two complexes and constrain the timing of not only the complexes but also the magmatic Cu-Ni sulfide deposits more reliably. It is necessary to carefully reevaluate the previous chronological data for the complexes. The Cu-Ni-bearing mafic-ultramafic complexes have the ages similar to those of postcollisional A-type granites in the same area, implying that they could be related to the delamination of lithospheric mantle and upwelling and partial melting of asthenospheric mantle in postcollisional setting. Therefore, the Cu-Ni-bearing mafic-ultramafic complexes are a direct indicator of vertical growth of the continental crustal in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.

Iron is an essential micronutritional element for plants. In addition to the iron uptake mechanism Strategy I and Strategy II, the vesicle transport process was also found to participate in iron uptake and homeostasis. Herein, a new iron deficiency induced OsSEC27P gene was isolated and investigated in both its localization and its function in transgenic plants. The vesicle-related protein OsSEC27P may play a potential role in enhancing H+ secretion in roots under the iron deficiency conditions.

The accuracy of MODIS aerosol products from the NASA Terra Satellite is validated in comparison with the results of sun-photometer observations in Beijing and Hong Kong. By analyzing the MODIS aerosol products within the period of August 2000 to April 2003, it is believed that human activities are the main source of aerosols in the eastern part of China. This is based on the facts that all areas with relatively high values are consistent with regions of dense population and fast economic development, such as the North China Plain, the Sichuan Basin and the Pearl River Delta. It is also supported by the distribution of Ångström exponents showing that most aerosols in the eastern part of China are closely related to human activities, excepting the strong sandstorm episodes occurring in spring, fall and winter. In contrast to developed countries, the Ångström exponent of urban area in China is lower than its surroundings, indicating that the contribution of local floating dust and soot attributed to human activities is significant. Results presented in this paper provide important data for further research on climatic change and environmental study.

The effect of an initial perturbation on simulation is studied in a series of numerical experiments using a one-dimensional nonlinear advection equation model. It is shown that the capability of the model tends to decline with an increase in initial perturbation. The error in the initial perturbation grows in a nonlinear manner, indicating that the simulating results can be improved only to a limited degree by increasing the accuracy of the initial data.

A simple method for preparation of template DNA suitable for PCR amplification from herbarium samples and plant tissues rich in byproducts, e.g. polysaccharides, tannins, polyphenolic, and terpenoids compounds, is described. The total DNA from regular extraction procedure is absorbed by a small amount of glass powder and the final precipitation of glass powder is used directly as a template for PCR. Taking six plant taxa, including the herbarium specimens of Lythraceae collected from Namibia in 1957 and the silicon-dried leaf tissue from mangrove plants (Rhizophoraceae and Combretaceae) rich in by-products as examples, the PCR products, including nrDNA ITS regions and cpDNA rbcL gene, amplified following the regular and new methods respectively are compared. Our method provides a simple, rapid and economic approach to purify and prepare template DNA for PCR from special plant materials.