Search

Camponotus japonicus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is an omnivorous social insect which builds sizable colonies in sparse woodlands or cropland and spreads across multiple climatic zones in the Chinese mainland. This study aims to reveal the role of climate changes and geological events in driving the genetic structure of social insect populations by investigating the phylogenetics and historical demography of C. japonicus in the Chinese mainland. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted based on the mitochondria DNA dataset using MrBayes and IQ‐TREE. We constructed a haplotype network, calculated analyses of molecular variance, estimated the divergence time, and reconstructed the maximum clade credibility tree. Mismatch distribution and Bayesian skyline plots were used to infer historical population fluctuations. Additionally, ecological niche modeling was employed to predict the potential distribution of the species during the present, mid‐holocene, and last glacial maximum periods in the Chinese mainland. The phylogenetic tree and median‐joining network analyses support the presence of four distinct lineages in C. japonicus. These lineages exhibit significant genetic differentiation and limited gene flow. The divergence among the four lineages began in the early Pleistocene, approximately 1.41 million years ago (Ma). Subsequently, the central lineage diverged from both the northern and southern lineages around 1.16 Ma, while the northern and southern lineages diverged from each other at approximately 1.07 Ma. Population expansion was observed in the southern, central, and northern lineages prior to the last glacial maximum, while the Yunnan‐Sichuan lineage experienced a slight increase in population size in more recent times. The predicted distribution of the species corresponds well with the actual distribution. Furthermore, the current suitable habitat areas in northern Xinjiang, southern Tibet, and the southeast coastal regions have significantly decreased compared to the last glacial maximum and the mid‐holocene periods. Our results suggest that climate oscillations and geological events play an important role in driving genetic patterns and differentiation of C. japonicus. Mountain barriers isolate populations from each other, hinder the flow of genes, and effectively prevent the spread of this species. But at the same time, it also formed refugia at low altitudes areas such as Qinling‐Bashan Mountains and Yanshan‐Taihang Mountains and provide suitable habitats during glaciation. This study provides a good model for understanding how complex climate changes and geological events affect population genetic differentiation of social insects in the Chinese mainland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artemia nauplii are high-quality biological feed for aquatic animal breeding, and its quality determines the effectiveness of breeding. The aim of this study was to explore the quality and symbiotic microbial composition of nauplii in different areas. The dormant eggs of Artemia nauplii from Kulundan Lake in Russia, Aibi Lake in Xinjiang, and salt fields in Bohai Bay were selected for incubation, and the relevant indicators of the 29 h incubation period were recorded. A high-throughput sequencing platform was used to analyze the microbial structure of symbiotic bacteria in nauplii between treatments. The PICRUSt2 was used to precalculated the predicted genes and their functions. The hatching rate of Artemia per thousand eggs in Kulundan Lake, Aibi Lake and Bohai Bay was 91.2%, 87.8% and 75.9%, respectively. The Alpha and Beta diversity analysis showed that the richness and evenness of Artemia nauplii in Kulundan Lake were higher than that of in Bohai Bay. At phylum level, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota were the dominant symbiotic bacteria of nauplii. But at the genus level, the dominant species of the symbiotic bacteria of nauplii were Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Exiguobacterium. The hatching rate and the abundance of symbiotic bacteria of Artemia nauplii from Kulundan Lake were better than the other two areas. This research might provide a theoretical guidance for the symbiotic bacteria of Artemia nauplii to regulate the feeding health of aquatic animal seedlings, reduce the occurrence of diseases and purify water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eastern Xinjiang, as a typical extremely arid area, exhibits a high sensitivity to climate change. Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the climatic changes in this region, along with their driving mechanisms, and comparing these with the broader trend of "warming and humidifying" in the Northwest can provide a scientific foundation for adapting to and addressing climate change. Based on a study of precipitation and temperature data from seven meteorological stations in Eastern Xinjiang from 1960 to 2022, the following findings were observed: (1) The climate of eastern Xinjiang is generally characterized by a warming and humidifying trend, with the rates of mean annual temperature and total annual precipitation being 0.39 °C/10 a and 3.32 mm/10 a. The eastern part of Xinjiang has less precipitation, with a lower growth rate than that of the neighboring regions, and higher temperatures, with a higher growth rate than that of the neighboring regions. (2) The first principal component of precipitation explains 47.85% of the variation in total precipitation, with a significant upward trend (p < 0.05) and an abrupt change in the late 1970s. It contains strong signals of regional precipitation, temperature, and dry and wet changes. (3) The increase in the first principal component of annual precipitation in eastern Xinjiang is mainly related to the warming of SSTs in the Indian Ocean and the central-eastern part of the tropical southern Pacific Ocean as well as the weakening of the Asian monsoon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ahetala granodiorite is located in the western section of the South Tianshan Orogenic Belt (STOB), which is of great significance regarding the dispute on the closing date of the South Tianshan Ocean (STO) and the tectonic evolution of STOB. To determine the tectonic setting and petrogenesis, the study of petrography, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb geochronology, and major and trace elements analyses are carried out for Ahetala granodiorite. Based on LA-ICP-MS U–Pb zircon dating, the granodiorite was emplaced at 282.1 ± 1.3 Ma (MSWD = 1.11). Geochemically, Ahetala granodiorite is characterized by metaluminous (A/CNK = 0.86–0.87), rich alkali (K2O + Na2O = 6.80–7.13), which belongs to high-K calc-alkaline I-type granite. They are enriched in LREE and depleted in HREE (LREE/HREE = 9.02–13.89) and exhibit insignificant Eu anomalies (δEu = 0.94–0.97). Ahetala granodiorite is enriched in large ion lithophile elements (e.g., K, Sr, Ba) and depleted in high field-strength elements (e.g., Ta, Ti, Nb, P). The Nb/Ta values (10.97–18.10), Zr/Hf values (39.41–40.19), and Mg# (54.87–56.02) of the granodiorite and the MgO content of biotites (13.42–14.16), the M value (M = Mg/(Mg + Fe2+)) of amphiboles (0.68–0.75), suggest that granodiorite originates from the crustal contamination of the mantle-derived magmas. Combined with regional geological background, previous research, and the nature of the Ahetala granodiorite, we suggest that Ahetala granodiorite was emplaced at a transitional stage of the volcanic arc (syn-collision) to post-collision setting and the South Tianshan Ocean was closed in the Early Permian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population prehistory of Xinjiang has been a hot topic among geneticists, linguists, and archaeologists. Current ancient DNA studies in Xinjiang exclusively suggest an admixture model for the populations in Xinjiang since the early Bronze Age. However, almost all of these studies focused on the northern and eastern parts of Xinjiang; the prehistoric demographic processes that occurred in western Xinjiang have been seldomly reported. By analyzing complete mitochondrial sequences from the Xiabandi (XBD) cemetery (3,500–3,300 BP), the up-to-date earliest cemetery excavated in western Xinjiang, we show that all the XBD mitochondrial sequences fall within two different West Eurasian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) pools, indicating that the migrants into western Xinjiang from west Eurasians were a consequence of the early expansion of the middle and late Bronze Age steppe pastoralists (Steppe_MLBA), admixed with the indigenous populations from Central Asia. Our study provides genetic links for an early existence of the Indo-Iranian language in southwestern Xinjiang and suggests that the existence of Andronovo culture in western Xinjiang involved not only the dispersal of ideas but also population movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Structure parameters, δ and B, of 19 coals are calculated via simplified formulas. • Coals in the liquefaction zone exhibit high conversion rates and oil yields. • Coal structure-chemical index effectively predict the performance of liquefaction. As a semi-theoretical and semi-empirical method, structure-chemical index has classified the utilization of coals with different coalification degrees and petrographic constituents in Russia. In this work, the formulas of structure-chemical index were simplified to building methodology for evaluating the utilization of coals in direct coal liquefaction (DCL). Nineteen coals from Xinjiang, China, were characterized by ultimate analysis and thermal gravimetric analysis, and the corresponding DCL products were evaluated. After the calculation of structure-chemical index, 12 coals fall into the liquefaction zone, and exhibit higher H/C ratios and faster pyrolysis rates, which are helpful to coal liquefaction reaction. Therefore, the conversion rates and oil yields are more than 85.0% and 65.0%, respectively, for coals in the liquefaction zone, and less than 80.0% and 50.0% for coals out of the zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The start of vegetation growing season (SOS) dynamics were analyzed over Xinjiang. • Regional scaling of SOS shifted from advancing to delaying before and after 2005. • Temperature was important for driving SOS, whereas more precipitation delayed SOS. Understanding the response of vegetation spring phenology to climatic factors in arid regions is crucial for projecting the land-climate interactions of arid ecosystems under climate change. The Xinjiang region, an important part of northern China with complex climatic features, was selected as a case study. We investigated the impact of temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation on the start of the vegetation growing season (SOS) using a long-term series of the normalized difference vegetation index, climate data from 1982 to 2014, and the partial least squares regression (PLS) method. The primary findings were following: (1) the regional scaling of the mean SOS ranged from 95 to 113 day of year (DOY) and showed distinct spatial heterogeneity for different vegetation types. The relative percentage of the area that exhibited advanced SOS (65.80%) was larger than that of the area that exhibited delayed SOS (34.20%), with a regional advancing tendency of 0.19 days per year during the study period. Different vegetation types showed an advancing SOS, which shifted to delaying after 2005. (2) Temperature significantly affected the SOS for various vegetation types. Generally, the warming spring temperatures led to advanced SOS, whereas reduced warming in spring after 2005 reversed the SOS trends. The higher solar radiation occurring from late winter to spring also contributed to the advance in the SOS. Conversely, the increasing precipitation during this period caused a delay in the SOS. These results can provide a useful reference for improving the vegetation phenology models of arid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]