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Anthropogenic eutrophication is known to impair the stability of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), but its effects on the stability of belowground (BNPP) and total (TNPP) net primary productivity remain poorly understood. Based on a nitrogen and phosphorus addition experiment in a Tibetan alpine grassland, we show that nitrogen addition had little impact on the temporal stability of ANPP, BNPP, and TNPP, whereas phosphorus addition reduced the temporal stability of BNPP and TNPP, but not ANPP. Significant interactive effects of nitrogen and phosphorus addition were observed on the stability of ANPP because of the opposite phosphorus effects under ambient and enriched nitrogen conditions. We found that the stability of TNPP was primarily driven by that of BNPP rather than that of ANPP. The responses of BNPP stability cannot be predicted by those of ANPP stability, as the variations in responses of ANPP and BNPP to enriched nutrient, with ANPP increased while BNPP remained unaffected, resulted in asymmetric responses in their stability. The dynamics of grasses, the most abundant plant functional group, instead of community species diversity, largely contributed to the ANPP stability. Under the enriched nutrient condition, the synchronization of grasses reduced the grass stability, while the latter had a significant but weak negative impact on the BNPP stability. These findings challenge the prevalent view that species diversity regulates the responses of ecosystem stability to nutrient enrichment. Our findings also suggest that the ecological consequences of nutrient enrichment on ecosystem stability cannot be accurately predicted from the responses of aboveground components and highlight the need for a better understanding of the belowground ecosystem dynamics., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Yak milk fat products constitute the base of Qinghai-Tibetan pastoralists' daily food intake. Despite the great importance of fat in processing and pastoralists' health, studies about yak milk fat are scarce. In this study, the lipid composition and the morphological properties of milk fat globule membranes (MFGMs) of yak milk were investigated. The results demonstrated that the yak milk had a higher cholesterol and sphingomyelin content compared to cow milk. In situ structural investigations performed at 25 °C by confocal microscopy showed the presence of lipid domains in yak MFGM, with a larger number and wider size range compared to cow milk. Moreover, the simultaneous localization of glycosylated molecules and polar lipids indicated that glycosylated molecules could be integrated into the lipid domains in yak MFGM. Different characteristics in yak MFGM could be related to the lipid composition and may affect the functions of yak milk lipids during processing and digestion., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Five new polyketides, trichocladinols D-H (1-5) with dioxatricyclic (1-3) and oxabicyclic (4 and 5) skeletons, and the known massarilactone C (6) were isolated from the solid-substrate fermentation cultures of the ascomycete fungus Trichocladium opacum. The structures of 1-5 were determined mainly by NMR experiments, and 1, 3, and 4 were confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The absolute configurations of 1 and 3 were assigned by X-ray crystallography using Cu Kα radiation, whereas that of C-5 in 2 and 4 was deduced via the circular dichroism (CD) data. Compounds 2-4 showed weak cytotoxicity against the human tumor cell lines A549, HCT116, and SW480.

Despite its ubiquity in fermented dairy products, the safety of lactic acid enterococcal bacteria remains controversial. In this study, five Enterococcus durans strains - A1, A2, B1, B2, and C1 - were isolated from traditional fermented yak milk from Tibet. To evaluate the strains' safety, biogenic amine production, antibiotic resistance and presence of known virulence determinants were investigated. Strain A1 can produce biogenic amines for histamine, spermine, and spermidine (mean values: 8.64, 8.31, and 0.30 mg/L, respectively). Polymerase chain reaction amplification for Strain A1 found genes involved in expression of gelatinase (gleE), cytolysin (cylA, cylB, and cylM), sex pheromones (ccf and cpd) and cell wall adhesion (efaA). Strain A2 showed sensitivity or intermediate resistance to all tested antibiotics, and no virulence determinants except gelE and ccf, but did produce tyramine at a relatively high level (912.02 mg/L). Both strains B1 and B2 could produce histamine (10.43 and 10.56 mg/L, respectively), and showed vancomycin resistance; B1 also produced tyramine (504.02 mg/L). Strain C1 could produce all five biogenic amines tested in the study -putrescine, histamine, tyramine, spermine, and spermidine; concentrations were 6.51, 9.59, 205.85, 5.55, and 5.39 mg/L, respectively. All E. durans strains found in Tibetan traditional fermented yak milk thus offer potential risk.

In most normal somatic cells, the terminal restriction fragments (TRF) length and age are inversely correlated, which can be used to determine individual age. However, very little is known about the quantitative relationship between human telomeres and age. The aim of the present study was to investigate age-, gender-, and ethnicity-related changes in telomere length in human peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs). Changes with age in telomere lengths were assessed by Southern blotting. The results shown that telomeres shorten in human PBLs in an age-dependent manner (r = -0.913, P < 0.01). The formula for age estimation according to telomere shortening was Y = -16.539X + 236.287 (Y: age, year; X: mean TRF length, kb). We analyzed the mean TRF length in males and females and found that males had shorter telomeres than females. Moreover, we compared the TRF length of Tibetan and Han population in China and found that telomere length did not differ between 2 populations. We conclude that estimation of human age according to telomere shortening in PBLs is a novel method especially when there is no morphologic information, furthermore, the gender must be considered when age estimation is carried out based on telomere shortening.

The polymorphism distributions of 15 STR loci (D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, TH01, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, VWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818, and FGA) were investigated in a Tibetan population by multiplex PCR amplification using five fluorochromes (6FAM, VIC, NED, PET, LIZ). Gene frequency, discrimination power (DP), heterozygosity (H), polymorphism information content (PIC) and probability of paternity exclusion (EPP) were calculated, and all loci were tested for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Results indicate that the gene frequency of these 15 STR loci is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The DP is at 0.7555-0.9602, H is at 0.5651-0.8530, PIC is at 0.5528-0.8456, and EPP is at 0.3811-0.8549. Cumulative DP of the 15 STR is 0.99999999, and cumulative EPP is 0.999999997. Therefore, these 15 STR loci can be used as genetic markers of Tibetan populations in anthropological studies, linkage analysis of genetic diseases, individual identification and paternity testing in forensic medicine.

The polymorphism distributions of 15 STR loci (D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, TH01, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, VWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818 and FGA) were investigated in a Lhasa Tibetan population by multiplex PCR amplification using five fluorochromes (6FAM, VIC, NED, PET, LIZ). Gene frequency, discrimination power (DP), heterozygosity (H), polymorphism information content (PIC) and probability of paternity exclusion (EPP) were calculated, and all loci were tested for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Results indicate that the gene frequency of these 15 STR loci is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The DP is at 0.7515 - 0.9599, H is at 0.5576 - 0.8538, PIC is at 0.5455 - 0.8458, and EPP is at 0.37550.8520. Cumulative DP of the 15 STR is 0.99999999, and cumulative EPP is 0.999999997. Therefore, these 15 STR loci can be used as genetic markers of in Lhasa Tibetan populations in anthropological studies, linkage analysis of genetic diseases, individual identification and paternity testing in forensic medicine.