Stable hydrogen isotopic compositions (deltaD) of compound-specific biomarkers, such as n-alkanes from plant leaf waxes, can be used as a proxy for paleoclimatic change. However, the relationship between hydrogen isotopes of plant leaf wax and plant ecological life forms is not well understood. Here, we report the deltaD of n-alkanes from 34 modern terrestrial plants, including twenty-one C(3) plants and thirteen C(4) plants from northwestern China, determined using gas chromatography/thermal conversion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Our data show that the stable hydrogen isotopes are poorly correlated with the plant photosynthetic pathway (C(3) vs. C(4)) and that they do not give clear regional precipitation signals. Together with a comparative analysis of published deltaD values from plant leaf waxes in other regions, we believe that the stable hydrogen isotope of plant leaf waxes is more closely related to ecological life forms of these terrestrial plants (i.e. tree, shrub, and grass). In general, the grasses have more negative deltaD values than the co-occurring trees and shrubs. Our findings suggest that the deltaD values of sedimentary leaf waxes from higher plants may record changes of a plant ecosystem under the influence of environmental alteration and imply that reconstruction of the paleoclimate using deltaD values from plant n-alkanes should be based upon specific plant taxa, and comparison should be made among plants with similar ecological life forms.
Coxiella-like endosymbiont (CLS-Hl) is a primary endosymbiont of Haemaphysalis longicornis. CLS-Hl infects tick special tissues and its prevalence is 100% in ovaries and Malpighian tubules. Tetracycline was injected into females, which then fed on rabbits also treated with tetracycline. The densities of CLS-Hl were measured by semi-quantitative PCR. CLS-Hl densities in ovaries and Malpighian tubes of H. longicornis had significant effects on engorged weight, feeding time, number of eggs, oviposition period, and hatching period. These findings suggested that CLS-Hl plays a role in the reproduction and development of H. longicornis.
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