PCR-DGGE技术在农田土壤微生物多样性研究中的应用

变性梯度凝胶电泳技术(DGGE)在微生物生态学领域有着广泛的应用。研究采用化学裂解法直接提取出不同农田土壤微生物基因组DNA,并以此基因组DNA为模板,选择特异性引物F357GC和R515对16S rRNA基因的V3区进行扩增,长约230bp的PCR产物经变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE)进行分离后,得到不同数目且分离效果较好的电泳条带。结果说明,DGGE能够对土壤样品中的不同微生物的16S rRNA基因的V3区的DNA扩增片断进行分离,为这些DNA片断的定性和鉴定提供了条件。与传统的平板培养方法相比,变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE)技术能够更精确的反映出土壤微生物多样性,它是一种有效的微生物多样性研究技术。     

煤地质环境微生物总基因组DNA提取方法的优化

高质量的DNA是进行分子生物学研究的基础。通过对传统DNA抽提方法(酚-氯仿法)进行改进,并以Rhodococcus sp.R04和煤粉为实验材料对细胞破碎条件进行优化,建立了一种可用于煤地质环境微生物基因组DNA高效提取的改良方法。以改良法和商业试剂盒提取煤地质环境微生物基因组DNA,通过琼脂糖凝胶电泳、细菌及古菌特异性片段的PCR扩增来评价所提取DNA的质量。改良法和试剂盒法均能获得煤地质环境微生物基因组DNA,并能用于多种特异性PCR扩增。与试剂盒提取的DNA相比,改良法获得的DNA片段主带明显,约占总DNA含量的50%,分子量大小接近23 kb,并且提取量大,约为试剂盒的5-10倍。同时,能用于如DNA文库构建和宏基因组测序等。此外,改良法所用试剂普通,价格便宜,提取的煤地质环境微生物基因组DNA质量较高,适于实验室和科学研究。     

三种土壤微生物总DNA提取方法的比较

本文对3种常用的土壤微生物总DNA提取方法Martin法、高盐改进法及试剂盒法进行了比较,并通过DNA得率、纯度及16S rDNA V3可变区的PCR扩增结合DGGE法(denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis),分别对3种方法进行评价.结果表明,3种方法提取的DNA均能满足土壤微生物多样性分析的要求.其中试剂盒方法操作简单,提取的DNA质量较高,但DNA得率较低且成本昂贵.Martin法和高盐改进法用时较长,DNA得率较高,纯度较低,但对后续PCR扩增和DGGE分析没有明显影响,且成本低廉.     

慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者支气管肺泡灌洗液细菌宏基因组DNA的制备

【目的】优化稳定期慢性阻塞性肺疾病(chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases,COPD)患者支气管肺泡灌洗液(bronchoalveolar lavage fluids,BALF)细菌宏基因组DNA的提取方法,以便于高效提取微量的细菌DNA进行后续的PCR反应和测序。【方法】取稳定期COPD患者的BALF 5mL,离心收集细胞。为了有效提取样品中革兰氏阳性菌的基因组,对QIAGEN的DNA提取试剂盒的操作步骤进行优化:加入裂解缓冲液ATL后首先运用研磨珠和多功能生物样品匀质器破碎菌壁,再加入蛋白酶K孵育,然后加入裂解缓冲液AL振荡混匀。无水乙醇沉淀DNA后,将全部溶液过柱,用洗液AW1和AW2各洗柱一次,最后加50μL洗脱液洗脱DNA。提取的DNA定量后,运用PCR方法检测样本中的细菌16S rDNA量,并按照测序要求构建DNA文库进一步验证。【结果】试剂盒优化法提取的BALF的DNA总量为467.5(135.0-1697.5)ng,明显高于按照传统酚-氯仿法提取的DNA总量95.0(0-612.5)ng,并且所提取的DNA可以很好的扩增细菌的16S rDNA以及构建DNA文库,改良后的扩增产物明显增多(P=0.002)。【结论】使用DNA提取试剂盒结合研磨珠和多功能生物样品匀质器破菌壁的方法能够更高效的提取BALF中微量的宏基因组DNA,为进一步的测序和菌群分析打下基础。     

内参基因加标法定量土壤微生物目标基因绝对拷贝数

【目的】通过荧光定量PCR技术对土壤微生物目标基因进行绝对定量,其定量结果的准确性容易受到DNA提取得率以及腐殖酸抑制性的影响。【方法】采用内参基因加标法,利用构建的突变质粒DNA,对供试水稻土壤样品中的微生物16S r RNA目标基因的绝对拷贝数进行荧光定量PCR检测,用来表征该样品中细菌群落总体丰度。在定量前通过双向引物扩增方法验证突变质粒中的内参基因对供试土壤的特异性。【结果】不同水稻土壤样品的DNA提取量在样品间差异较大。通过内参基因加标法对DNA提取量进行校正,显著提高了16S r RNA基因绝对定量的精确度。不同水稻土壤样品间的变异系数为17.8,与未加标处理相比降低了66.7%。在此基础上,进一步通过内参基因加标法对土壤有机质和含水率均呈现典型空间特征差异的6处亚热带湿地土壤样品中的16S r RNA基因进行绝对定量。16S r RNA基因绝对拷贝数与土壤微生物生物量碳具有显著的线性相关性(R2=0.694,P0.001),表明内参校正后的16S r RNA基因绝对拷贝数可以准确反映单位质量土壤中微生物的丰度。【结论】内参基因加标法可以对DNA提取得率以及腐殖酸对PCR扩增的抑制性进行校正,从而提高绝对定量的准确性。基于内参基因加标法的目标基因绝对定量PCR检测,可作为土壤微生物生物量测量,以及微生物功能基因绝对丰度定量的一种核酸检测方法。     

16S核糖体DNA宏基因组测序中细菌核酸提取方法的比较研究

目的:探究细菌核酸提取方法对16S核糖体DNA(r DNA)宏基因组测序的影响。方法:分别采用TRIzol提取、试剂盒提取、溶葡酶+试剂盒提取、超声波+试剂盒提取、超声波+溶葡酶+试剂盒提取、匀浆+试剂盒提取、匀浆+溶葡酶+试剂盒提取共7种方法对模拟样本进行细菌核酸提取,特异性地扩增16S r DNA的V1~V2高变区,测序后分析模拟样本中各种细菌的含量和相对分布。结果:超声波处理结合试剂盒提取方法中不同细菌数据分布及含量都相对均匀,是一种广谱、高效的细菌核酸提取方法。结论:超声波处理结合试剂盒提取方法适用于细菌宏基因组测序中样本核酸的提取。     

宏基因组靶向测序分析皮肤表面微生物群落方法优化

通过实验设计和数据分析,筛选出尽可能真实反映含量较低的皮肤微生物群落的高通量测序分析方法。使用多因素多水平完全随机实验设计,分析DNA提取、PCR扩增、样品采集、测序过程中各种实验因素对微生物群落组成特征分析结果的影响。结果显示,在样品采集方面,筛选出了最佳的采集拭子与采集液体;在DNA提取方面,筛选出了最佳的前处理方法及试剂盒种类;在PCR反应方面,筛选出了最佳的模板浓度及退火温度;在测序方面,筛选出了合适的测序深度。通过一系列的实验条件筛选,确定了适合分析低含量细菌群落结构组成特征的方法,并成功地应用于人类手掌面皮肤。     

厌氧颗粒污泥微生物总DNA的提取

目的:为了从分子水平上了解厌氧颗粒污泥中微生物的种类和数量,研究一种高效提取环境微生物DNA的方法。方法:厌氧颗粒污泥样品经液氮速冻、沸水浴融化、溶菌酶处理和SDS裂解后,琼脂糖凝胶电泳检测所提取的DNA,以提取的总DNA为模板,进行细菌核糖体小亚基16S rDNA基因V8、V9区的PCR扩增。结果:经检测,其DNA片段约为20 kb,样品D260nm/D280nm值为1.88,扩增结果理想,与OMEGA公司提供的试剂盒提取效果基本一致。结论:为薯类酒糟厌氧发酵污泥中微生物群落的分子生态学研究提供了一种简便、可靠的DNA提取方法。     

DNA提取过程中混入的实验室空气微生物DNA定量

元基因组测序方法为微生物研究提供了有力的工具。但其中的DNA提取过程,会不可避免地混入实验室中的空气微生物。这些微生物DNA,是否会对一些极微量的元基因组检测 (如皮肤样本等) 结果造成影响,有多大影响,仍没有明确结论。本研究首先收集了实验室空气样品,用16S rRNA引物建立了基于qPCR的标准曲线,并检测了在开放环境下提取DNA过程中可掺杂的环境微生物DNA量。然后在开放环境下提取纯水DNA样品并进行元基因组分析,以确定掺杂环境微生物的种类。最后分别在生物安全柜和实验室开放环境下提取皮肤样本,并用鸟枪测序方法对样本的微生物组成进行分析,以评估掺杂环境微生物对元基因组检测结果的影响。结果显示,在实验室开放环境的DNA提取过程中,环境微生物的DNA残留可达28.9 pg,可达某些极微量样本DNA总量的30%。元基因组分析显示,样品中掺杂的环境微生物主要是痤疮杆菌Cutibacterium acnes、大肠杆菌Escherichia coli等皮肤常见细菌。与洁净皮肤样本的信息相比,开放环境下提取掺杂了数十种环境微生物,并导致主要菌种的丰度大幅降低,从而影响结果的真实性。因此,微量样品的DNA提取应在洁净环境下执行。     

PCR扩增循环数对细菌群落多样性测序分析的影响

运用高通量测序技术分析复杂样品中微生物群落组成及变化趋势,已经成为目前微生物研究领域的热点之一。本研究以复杂土壤样品和应用范围较广的瘤胃食糜样品为对象,选取20、25和30三个扩增循环数分别对样品的16S r RNA基因的V3区进行扩增,然后进行文库构建和测序。最后通过数据分析比较不同的扩增循环数对细菌多样性测定结果的影响。结果表明,扩增循环数越多,捕获到的细菌数量和种类越多;但并非循环数越多,群落中的微生物组成比例最优。整体来看,当扩增循环数为25时,样品中物种的数量和组成是最优的。     

A Unique Protease Cleavage Site Predicted in the Spike Protein of the Novel Pneumonia Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Potentially Related to Viral Transmissibility

正Dear Editor,In December 2019, a novel human coronavirus caused an epidemic of severe pneumonia(Coronavirus Disease 2019,COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei, China(Wu et al. 2020; Zhu et al. 2020). So far, this virus has spread to all areas of China and even to other countries. The epidemic has caused 67,102 confirmed infections with 1526 fatal cases     

Curcuminoids as inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase: A receptor based pharmacophore study with distance mapping of the active site

Curcumin is the yellow pigment of turmeric that interacts irreversibly forming an adduct with thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), an enzyme responsible for redox control of cell and defence against oxidative stress. Docking at both the active sites of TrxR was performed to compare the potency of three naturally occurring curcuminoids, namely curcumin, demethoxy curcumin and bis-demethoxy curcumin. Results show that active sites of TrxR occur at the junction of E and F chains. Volume and area of both cavities is predicted. It has been concluded by distance mapping of the most active conformations that Se atom of catalytic residue SeCYS498, is at a distance of 3.56 from C13 of demethoxy curcumin at the E chain active site, whereas C13 carbon atom forms adduct with Se atom of SeCys 498. We report that at least one methoxy group in curcuminoids is necessary for interation with catalytic residues of thioredoxin. Pharmacophore of both active sites of the TrxR receptor for curcumin and demethoxy curcumin molecules has been drawn and proposed for design and synthesis of most probable potent antiproliferative synthetic drugs.     

Comparative morphology of the carpel in the Liliaceae: Hewardieae, Petrosavieae, and Tricyrteae

The young pistils in the melanthioid tribes, Hewardieae, Petrosavieae and Tricyrteae, are uniformly tricarpellate and syncarpous. They lack raphide idioblasts. All are multiovulate, with bitegmic ovules. The Petrosavieae are marked by the presence of septal glands and incomplete syncarpy. Tepals and stamens adhere to the ovary in the Hewardieae and the Petrosavieae but not in the Tricyrteae. Two vascular bundles occur in the stamens of the Hewartlieae and Tricyrtis latifolia. Ventral bundles in the upper part of the ovary of the Hewardieae are continuous with compound septal bundles and placental bundles in the lower part. Putative ventral bundles occur in the alternate position in the Tricyrteae and putative placental bundles in the opposite. position in the Petrosavieae. The dichtomously branched stigma in each carpel of the Tricyrteae is supplied by a bifurcated dorsal bundle.     

Selection with two alleles and complete dominance

For a plant selection model with frequency-independent viabilities, fertilities and selfing rates, it is shown that apart from global fixation, for certain parameter combinations a protected polymorphism and facultative fixation (either allele may become fixed according to initial frequencies) may both occur. Facultative fixation requires different selling rates for the dominant and recessive type. Protection of the polymorphism requires resource allocation for male and female function. In this connection the problem of purely genetically caused population extinction is discussed.
For general frequency dependence and regular segregation, the chances for establishment of a completely recessive gene are compared to those of a completely dominant gene. It is proven that the process of establishment of the recessive gene, despite a fitness advantage, may be considerably endangered by drift effects if random mating prevails. The recessive gene may reach the same effectivity in establishment as a dominant gene, only if the recessive homozygote mates exclusively with its own type during the period of establishment.     

Composition and diversity of bird communities in Swedish farmland–forest mosaic landscapes

CapsuleThe amount of forest (at local and landscape scales) and occurrence of residual habitats at the local scale are shown to be the major factors influencing bird community composition in farmland–forest landscapes in central Sweden.

Aims To investigate the importance of local habitat and landscape structure for breeding birds in farmland–forest landscapes in central Sweden.

Methods Breeding birds were censused at 292 points. A detailed habitat mapping was made within 300 m of the points. Within a 300–600 m radius only two major habitats (forests and arable fields) were identified.

Results Cluster analyses of bird communities identified three site types that also differed in habitat composition: (i) partially forested sites in forested landscapes; (ii) heterogeneous sites with residual habitats in mosaic landscapes; and (iii) field-dominated farmland sites in open landscapes. A total of 19 of 25 farmland bird species (restricted to farmland or using both farmland and forest) had the highest abundance in farmland sites with mosaics of forest and farmland, while only six farmland species had the highest abundance in field-dominated sites. The bird community changed from being dominated by farmland species to being dominated by forest species (common in forest landscapes without farmland) at small proportions (10–20%) of forest at the local scale. A major difference in habitat composition between heterogeneous and field-dominated sites was the occurrence of different residual habitats (e.g. shrubby areas and seminatural grasslands). These habitats seemed to influence bird community composition more than land-use, despite covering <10% of the area. Seminatural grasslands were important for bird community composition and species-richness, but grazing seemed to be less important. Among different land-use types, cereal crops were the least preferred fields. Set-asides with tall vegetation and short rotation coppices were positively associated with species-richness of farmland birds.

Conclusion In general, the composition of the landscape was important for bird community composition, although amount and distribution of forests, occurrence of residual habitats and land-use of fields at the local scale had the strongest influence on bird community composition. The possible implications of these patterns for managing farmland–forest landscapes are discussed.     

Chemical constituents from the fruits of Rhus typhina L. and their chemotaxonomic significance

This work describes the isolation and characterization of twenty-nine compounds from the fruits of Rhus typhina L., including eleven flavonoids (1–11), eleven phenols (12–22), two pentacyclic triterpenes (23–24), two organic acids (25–26), one lumichrome (27), one courmarin (28) and one pyrimidine (29) on the basis of their spectroscopic data. Compounds apigenin (1), daidzein (4), orobol (5), 3′, 5, 5′, 7-tetrahydroxyflavanone (6), naringenin (7), butein (8), (-)-catechin (9), quercetin-3-O-α-L-(3″-O-galloyl)-rhamnoside (11), 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (13), 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (14), vanillin (15), methyl 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate (16), 3,5-dihydroxybenzamide (18), tyrosol (19), caffeic acid (20), 3-(2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl)-1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propan-1-one (21), phlorizin (22), friedelin (23), oleanolic acid (24), 4,4-dimethyl-heptanedioic acid (25), anthranilic acid (26), lumichrome (27), scoparone (28) and uracil (29) have not been recorded before in this plant. This is the first report on the occurrence of compounds 4–7, 9, 11, 13–14, 16, 18–21, 25–29 from the genus Rhus. Moreover, the chemotaxonomic significance of these isolated compounds was also summarized.