Predicting Habitat Suitability and Adaptation Strategies of an Endangered Endemic Species, <i>Camellia luteoflora</i> Li ex Chang (Ericales: Theaceae) under Future Climate Change

Camellia luteoflora Li ex Chang is an endangered plant endemic to the East Asian flora with high ornamental value as well as phylogenetic and floristic research value. Predicting the impact of climate change on its distribution and suitable habitat is crucial until scientific conservation measures are implemented. Based on seven environmental variables and 17 occurrence records, this study optimized the MaxEnt model using the kuenm data package to obtain the optimal parameter combinations (RM = 1.3, FC = LPT) and predicted the potential distribution pattern of C. luteoflora in various future periods. The results revealed that the mean diurnal range, temperature annual range, and precipitation of the wettest month were the influential factors determining the distribution pattern of C. luteoflora, contributing 60.2%, 14.4%, and 12.3% of the variability in the data, respectively. Under the current conditions, the area of suitable habitats for C. luteoflora was only about 21.9 × 104 km2. Overall, the suitable area around the C. luteoflora distribution points will shrink in a circular pattern in response to future global warming, but some potentially suitable distribution areas will expand and migrate to higher latitudes and the Hengduan Mountains region, representing a survival strategy for coping with climate change. It is hypothesized that the future climate refugia will be the highly suitable area and the Hengduan Mountains region. Furthermore, a retrospective validation method was employed to assess the reliability of the predictions and estimate the model’s predictive performance in the future. This study proposes a survival strategy and adaptation measures for C. luteoflora in response to climate change, and the proposed measures can be generalized for application in conservation planning and restoration processes. We also recommend that future studies incorporate factors such as the anthropogenic disturbances and associated socio-economic activities related to C. luteoflora into the model and to further predict the distribution pattern for C. luteoflora in response to historical climatic changes, tracing the evolutionary history of its population

The metabolic mechanism of growth inhibition by co-culture of Bacteroides xylanisolvens Y-11 and Bifidobacterium longum y37

Bacteroides xylanisolvens Y-11 and Bifidobacterium longum y37 isolated from human gut were found to inhibit each other's growth after co-culturing in previous studies. To further reveal the potential mechanism of mutual inhibition between them, ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was used to investigate the metabolic changes of the strains after monoculture and co-culture, and the key differential metabolites were subject to the validation. The results showed that the types and amounts of metabolites were significantly changed during co-culture, with hydrocarbons and their derivatives, organic acids and esters being the main differential metabolites, which posed a greater influence on the metabolism of B. xylanisolvens Y-11 than on B. longumy y37. Further studies suggest that cycloserine and succinic acid may be the main metabolites that inhibit the growth of both strains, and the decrease of pH may be the main reason for succinic acid to inhibit the growth of the two strains. Moreover, B. longum y37 played a dominant role in the co-culture and its metabolites influenced the growth of B. xylanisolvens Y-11 to a greater extent. This study provides a new perspective for further understanding of the interaction between intestinal microbes and the influence of intestinal microecology on the occurrence and development of diseases

Saxifraga viridiflorum, an unusual new species from Guangxi, China

Saxifraga viridiflorum, a remarkable new species of the genus Saxifraga sect. Irregulares (Saxifragaceae) from Guangxi, is described and illustrated herein. This new species morphologically differs from all known congeneric taxa by its greenish petals, verruculose sepals, and thick leathery leaf blade abaxially scarlet with white spots.

Saxifraga viridiflora (Saxifragaceae), an unusual new species from Guangxi, China

Saxifraga viridiflora, a remarkable new species of the genus Saxifraga sect. Irregulares (Saxifragaceae) from Guangxi, is described and illustrated herein. This new species morphologically differs from all known S. sect. Irregulares taxa by its greenish petals, verruculose sepals, and thick leathery leaf blade abaxially scarlet with white spots

Ceropegia sunhangii, a new species of Apocynaceae from Yunnan, China

Ceropegia sunhangii P.R. Luo & T. Deng, a new species from Qiaojia, Yunnan, China, is described and illustrated herein. This species is similar to C. christenseniana Hand.-Mazz.and C. sinoerecta M. G. Gilbert & P. T. Li but can be distinguished easily by its stem, indumentum, leaf size, and floral features, especially the corolla shape and size, the corolla tube and corolla lobe characters