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Shift of fleshy fruited species along elevation: temperature, canopy coverage, phylogeny and origin.

ABSTRACT: Plant communities differ in their fruit type spectra, especially in the proportions of fleshy and non-fleshy fruit types. However, which abiotic and biotic factors drive this variability along elevation gradient and what drives the evolution of fruit type diversity still are puzzling. We analyzed the variations in proportions and richness of fleshy-fruited species and their correlations to various abiotic and biotic variables along elevation gradients in three mountains in the Beijing region, northeast China. Fleshy-fruited species, which are characterized by high fruit water contents, were found in great proportion and richness at relatively low elevations, where soil water content is low compared to high elevations. High temperatures in low elevations increase water availability for plants. Plants that grow in the shaded low-elevation thick-canopy forests are less exposed to evapotranspiration and thus possess water surpluses that can be invested in fleshy fruits. Such an investment in fleshy fruits is beneficial for these species because it makes the fruits more attractive to frugivores that act as seed dispersers in the close-canopied environments, where dispersion by wind is less effective. A hypothesis is proposed that plant internal water surpluses are the prerequisite conditions that permit evolution of fleshy fruits to occur.

SUBMITTER: Yu S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5233997 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Cell proliferation is achieved by numerous enzyme reactions. Temperature governs the activity of each enzyme, which overall determines the optimal growth temperature. Synthesizing useful chemicals and fuels utilizes only part of the metabolic pathways, especially the central metabolic pathways such as glycolysis and TCA cycle to metabolize glucose. However, the optimal temperature for the activity of the central metabolic pathways is inconclusive whether it is correlated with the optimal temperature for cell proliferation. Here, we found that Corynebacterium glutamicum wild type increased the metabolic activity to consume glucose under anaerobic (oxygen deprived) conditions at 42.5ºC, in which the cell hardly grows under aerobic conditions. Glucose consumption rate was increased by 24% at 42.5ºC compared to that at the optimal growth temperature of 30.0ºC. Transcriptional analysis showed that gapX gene encoding glycelaldehydre-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, glucokinase gene, and a gene involved in glucose uptake were upregulated at 42.5ºC. Production of fermentative lactate was increased by 69% than that at 30.0ºC, whereas succinate production was decreased by 13%. In addition to several glycolytic enzymes, the activity of pyruvate kinase was increased with increasing the temperature, whereas the activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase in anapleotic pathway leading to succinate synthesis was decreased. However, a metabolically engineered succinate over-producing strain, in which lactate production was shut off and pyruvate carboxylase encoding gene in another anapleotic pathway was overexpressed, produced 34% higher succinate at 42.5ºC than that at 30.0ºC with increased glucose consumption. This study provides the evidence that the optimal reaction temperature for production of fermentative products can be set beyond upper limit of growth temperature in C. glutamicum, and hence it could be applicable for producing various chemicals and fuels in C. glutamicum under anaerobic conditions and non-growing cell reactions in other microorganisms.

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Shift of fleshy fruited species along elevation: temperature, canopy coverage, phylogeny and origin.

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