基因定点整合技术及其在苔藓研究中的进展

基因定点整合技术是20世纪80年代后兴起的一种分子生物学技术,在精细研究基因功能,消除转基因沉默,基因治疗等有重要意义。基因定点整合技术是功能基因组学研究的重 要手段。目前关于基因定点整合技术在酵母和鼠胚胎干细胞中的应用已经很成熟,高等植物 由于同源重组频率较低而限制了它的应用,但小立碗藓（Physcomitrella patens）基因同源重组频率较高,基因定点整合技术得到了成功应用,可望成为一种新的分子生物学的模式植物。本文针对基因定点整合的原理、技术路线及进展作一综述。     

基因靶位操作的原理与策略

基因靶位操作（ｇｅｎｅｔａｒｇｅｔｉｎｇ）是８０年代发展起来的一项重要分子生物学技术,是通过外源ＤＮＡ与染色体ＤＮＡ间的同源重组,定点修饰、改造基因组特定位点的技术。１同源重组同源重组是基因靶位操作技术的分子生物学基础。ＤＮＡ同源重组在基因转化和遗传...     

基因打靶技术的原理及操作

基因打靶是近几年发展起来的一种通过同源重组定点改变小鼠基因组特定位点的技术,其诞生是分子生物学与实验胚胎学方法相结合的产物,它的出现又导致了体内研究与体外研究、分子生物学与临床病理学的有机结合,为研究基因的体内功能和疾病的致病机理提供了一种有力的实验手段。本文以基因打靶的实验过程为主线,介绍该技术的原理、操作、进展和应用。     

基因靶位操作的原理与策略

基因靶位操作(gene targeting)是80年代发展起来的一项重要分子生物学技术, 是通过外源DNA与染色体DNA间的同源重组,定点修饰、改造基因组特定位点的技术.     

工业微生物代谢途径调控的基因敲除策略

基因敲除技术是一项重要的分子生物学技术,在工业微生物代谢工程中具有广泛应用。以下从基因敲除技术的遗传重组原理出发,总结了基因敲除策略的类型、特征和应用,重点介绍了采用线性双链DNA的λRed同源重组系统、使用环状质粒载体介导的单交换或双交换同源重组策略以及采用转座酶介导的转座重组等几种主要的基因敲除方法,进一步展望了基因敲除技术的发展前沿和应用前景。     

动物基因组定点整合转基因技术研究进展

传统转基因技术,如显微注射、转座子、慢病毒转染等将目的基因插入基因组内的整合方式是随机的,这些随机整合对后期转基因动物品系组建和育种带来诸多不利,因此有研究人员提出了定点整合转基因技术。目前该技术的定点整合效率非常低,主要取决于两个方面：一是靶位点产生DNA双链断裂(double-strand break, DSB)的效率;二是断裂后的靶位点与携带同源臂及外源基因的供体质粒发生同源重组的效率,其中同源重组修复(homologous recombination repair, HDR)是基因组定点整合最为依赖的修复机制。靶位点产生DSB后,机体的DNA修复既可能发生HDR,也可能发生非同源末端连接(nonhomologous end joining, NHEJ),并且两者之间存在竞争关系,因此激活HDR或抑制NEHJ都可提高定点整合转基因的效率。本文结合影响定点整合的因素,对提高定点整合效率最新探索方面进行了综述。     

基因敲除技术在微生物中的应用

随着分子生物学技术的发展,基因敲除技术越来越广泛地应用于动植物、微生物领域,成为研究生物基因功能最有力的工具之一。基因敲除技术在改造动植物、微生物基因组、研究发育生物学、鉴定新基因新功能、育种以及医疗领域都有应用价值。针对微生物方面,对实现基因敲除的各种原理方法,RecA系统同源重组法, Red系统同源重组法,基于自杀载体的同源重组法,基于温敏型质粒的同源重组法, CRISPR/Cas系统介导的基因敲除方法进行了总结,比较各自的优缺点,并提供一些成功案例以及各种方法相关的发明专利,以期对了解基因敲除技术的方法与发展提供参考。     

根癌农杆菌介导的定点敲除技术在红色红曲菌中的应用

红曲菌(Monascus spp.)是一种重要的丝状真菌, 广泛应用于食品和医药领域中。目前, 由于对红曲菌遗传背景了解的很少, 因而对其重要功能基因的研究报道很少。本研究采用根癌农杆菌介导的转化技术对红色红曲菌(Monascus ruber)中推断的G-蛋白信号调节子mrfA基因的RGS功能域进行定点缺失研究, 探讨基于同源重组为基础的基因定点缺失技术在红曲菌基因功能鉴定中的可行性。构建的敲除载体pC805S左右同源臂长度分别为958 bp和824 bp, 将其转入受体菌M. ruber 中, 得到的138株转化子中, 有26株转化子发生了同源重组, 重组率达到18.8%。实验结果表明该技术作为红曲菌基因功能鉴定的方法是可行的。     

植物转基因的整合机制

介绍了外源基因整合的三种方式：异常重组、位点专一重组和同源重组,并对不同方式的整合频率、整合状态等特点进行了比较。     

Red同源重组在大肠杆菌基因组修饰中的应用

Red同源重组技术发展迅速,已广泛应用于大肠杆菌基因组修饰,在点突变、基因敲除、序列整合等方面发挥着重要作用。简要综述了Red同源重组的重组机制和操作策略等研究进展,并介绍了Red同源重组在大肠杆菌基因组减小及多基因代谢途径优化方面的应用情况。     

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.     

Enterovirus 71 3C proteolytically processes the histone H3 N-terminal tail during infection

Highlights
1. The N-terminal tail of histone H3 is specifically cleaved during EV71 infection.
2. Viral protease 3C is identified as a protease responsible for proteolytically processing the N-terminal H3 tail.
3. Our finding reveals a new epigenetic regulatory mechanism for Enterovirus 71 in virus-host interactions.     

Detection of EBV and HHV6 in the Brain Tissue of Patients with Rasmussen’s Encephalitis

Rasmussen’s encephalitis (RE) is a rare pediatric neurological disorder, and the exact etiology is not clear. Viral infection may be involved in the pathogenesis of RE, but conflicting results have reported. In this study, we evaluated the expression of both Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpes virus (HHV) 6 antigens in brain sections from 30 patients with RE and 16 control individuals by immunohistochemistry. In the RE group, EBV and HHV6 antigens were detected in 56.7% (17/30) and 50% (15/30) of individuals, respectively. In contrast, no detectable EBV and HHV6 antigen expression was found in brain tissues of the control group. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in 20.0% (6/30) of individuals. In particular, a 4-year-old boy had a typical clinical course, including a medical history of viral encephalitis, intractable epilepsy, and hemispheric atrophy. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in neurons and astrocytes in the brain tissue, accompanied by a high frequency of CD8⁺ T cells. Our results suggest that EBV and HHV6 infection and the activation of CD8⁺ T cells are involved in the pathogenesis of RE.     

Perinatal Vertical Transmission of Chikungunya Virus in Ruili,a Town on the Border between China and Myanmar

正Dear Editor,Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an arbovirus in the family of Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, is transmitted by the A.aegyptii or A. albopictus mosquito, and causes disease in humans characterized by fever, rash, and arthralgia (Silva and Dermody 2017; Suhrbier 2019). It was first reported in 1953 in Tanzania, and caused only a few outbreaks and sporadic cases in Africa and Asia in last century. However, in the epidemic in 2004, CHIKV acquired mutations that conferred enhanced transmission by the A. albopictus mosquito(Schuffenecker et al. 2006). Since then, it has successively caused outbreaks in Africa, the Indian Ocean, South East Asia, the South America, and Europe (Zeller et al. 2016).     

Development of a Novel Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2

In conclusion, the novel visual RT-LAMP assay is a simple, rapid, and sensitive approach for detection of SARS-CoV-2, and it is ready for application in primary care and community hospitals or health care centers, and even patients' own houses in response to the current SARS-CoV-2 epidemic because the assay does not require sophisticated equipment and skilled personnel. Furthermore, it is also ready to be used in fields for screening samples from wild animals and environments to facilitate the identification of potential intermediate hosts that mediate the cross-species transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from bats to humans.