专一营养与兼性甲烷氧化菌降解氯代烃的研究现状、动力学分析及展望

生物修复技术被认为是氯代烃类污染物处理处置的最有效途径之一,而甲烷氧化菌在该领域表现出较大的应用潜力。近期研究发现,突破了仅能利用单碳化合物的局限,兼性甲烷氧化菌能够利用多种底物降解氯代烃,这一独特的新陈代谢特性,使其在污染物生物处置领域逐渐受到关注。结合本课题组研究成果,对甲烷氧化菌降解氯代烃进行了全面总结,主要包括:分析了不同菌株(纯菌株和混合菌株)对不同氯代烃的降解效果;比较了不同类型甲烷单加氧酶在不同底物体系中的活性表达和催化特性;总结了模型菌株甲基弯菌Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b降解氯代烃的动力学特性;概述了兼性甲烷氧化菌株降解氯代烃的特性及其应用潜力;最后讨论了甲烷氧化菌降解氯代烃存在的问题及未来发展方向。     

好氧甲烷氧化菌生理生态特征及其在自然湿地中的群落多样性研究进展

甲烷氧化菌是一类可以利用甲烷作为唯一碳源和能源的细菌,在全球变化和整个生态系统碳循环过程中起着重要的作用。近年来,对甲烷氧化菌的生理生态特征及其在自然湿地中的群落多样性研究取得了较大进展。在分类方面,疣微菌门、NC10门及两个丝状菌属甲烷氧化菌的发现使其分类体系得到了进一步的完善;在单加氧酶方面,发现甲烷氧化菌可以利用pM MO和sM MO两种酶进行氧化甲烷的第一步反应,Ⅱ型甲烷氧化菌中pM MO2的发现证实甲烷氧化菌可以利用这种酶氧化低浓度的甲烷;在底物利用方面,已经发现了越来越多的兼性营养型甲烷氧化菌,证实它们可以利用的底物比之前认为的更广泛,其中包括乙酸等含有碳碳键的化合物;在生存环境方面,能在不同温度、酸度和盐度的环境中生存的甲烷氧化菌不断被分离出来。全球自然湿地甲烷氧化菌群落多样性的研究目前主要集中在北半球高纬度的酸性泥炭湿地,Ⅱ型甲烷氧化菌Methylocystis、Methylocella和Methylocapsa是这类湿地主要的甲烷氧化菌类群,尤其以Methylocystis类群最为广泛,而Ⅰ型甲烷氧化菌尤其是Methylobacter在北极寒冷湿地中占优势。随着高通量测序时代的到来和新的分离技术的发展,对甲烷氧化菌的现有认识将面临更多的挑战和发展。     

甲烷氧化菌素的产生和铜捕获作用

甲烷氧化菌素(mb)是由甲烷氧化菌产生的与铜捕获和吸收有关的生物螯合剂。采用NMS/CAS-Cu劈半平板法检测发现甲基弯菌 Methylosinus trichosporium IMV3011在以甲烷和甲醇为碳源时均具有向外界分泌mb的能力。甲基弯菌 Methylosinus trichosporium IMV3011在限铜胁迫下能够在培养介质中积累mb,甲醇为碳源时mb的积累量明显高于甲烷为碳源时mb的积累量,推测mb的合成与细胞中NADH含量有关。mb的专一性研究发现从甲基弯菌 Methylosinus trichosporium IMV3011发酵上清液中分离到的mb能够提高其它3种甲烷氧化菌由无铜培养基向含铜培养基转移时的pMMO活性的表达,并明显缩短它们由无铜培养基转移到含铜培养基时生长的延滞期,提高生长速度。表明其它3种甲烷氧化菌同样能够吸收来自于甲基弯菌Methylosinus trichosporium IMV3011的mb捕获的铜。     

贵州阿哈湖水库沉积物中甲烷氧化菌分布与功能

甲烷氧化菌是一类能够以甲烷作为唯一碳源和能量维持生存的微生物,其活动与生态系统中物质循环及能量流动密切相关。【目的】了解阿哈湖水库沉积物中甲烷氧化菌群落结构及代谢功能。【方法】采用宏基因组技术对环湖沉积物和湖心沉积物进行研究。【结果】水库沉积物中主要的好氧甲烷氧化菌是甲基杆菌属(Methylobacter) (0.37%)和甲基单胞菌属(Methylomonas) (0.12%),主要的厌氧甲烷氧化菌是Candidatus_Methylomirabilis (0.12%),属于NC10门细菌中的亚硝酸盐反硝化型厌氧甲烷氧化菌,其中好氧甲烷氧化菌的pmoA基因为6.16×10⁷ copies/g,反硝化型厌氧甲烷氧化菌的16S rRNA基因为2.84×10⁷ copies/g。4种代谢的功能基因多样性表现为氮代谢>碳代谢>硫代谢>甲烷代谢,基于京都基因和基因组百科全书(Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes, KEGG)基因库进行注释得到6大类功能,发现18条与碳(包括甲烷)、氮、硫代谢有关的完整代谢途径。主坐标分析(principal coordinates analysis, PCoA)显示环湖沉积物与湖心沉积物之间的甲烷氧化菌种类和功能存在显著差异。影响甲烷氧化菌分布的主要环境因子为氧化还原电位、电导率和硫酸根。【结论】阿哈湖水库甲烷氧化菌以Ⅰ型好氧甲烷氧化菌为主,甲烷氧化菌群落代谢途径丰富,Ⅰ型和Ⅱ型甲烷氧化菌在对O₂的适应性上有显著差异。相关研究可为湖泊水生态环境的保护和微生物资源的开发利用等方面提供一定的理论支撑。     

土壤大气甲烷氧化菌研究进展

土壤微生物催化是大气中痕量甲烷(约1.8ppmv)氧化的唯一生物途径。目前的研究表明好氧土壤中存在专性和选择性大气甲烷氧化菌2种类型:前者(USCα和USCγ)广泛分布于各种好氧旱地土壤,其甲烷氧化酶对低浓度甲烷亲和力极高,属真正的寡营养型,但至今尚未获得该种类的纯培养菌株。后者属于传统甲烷氧化菌Methylocystis/Methylosinus属,广泛分布于各种周期性排放高浓度甲烷的土壤环境中。该属大部分菌株含有亲和力不同的2套甲烷单加氧酶系统,其中的高亲和力甲烷单加氧酶使这些菌株可以在相当长的时间内(3个月)保持大气浓度甲烷氧化活性,但其生长和繁殖还需依赖于土壤内部阶段性产生的高浓度甲烷。本文详细阐述了2类大气甲烷氧化菌的发现历程及其可能的生存策略,最后系统梳理了几种关键的环境因子(土壤温度及湿度、土壤pH、植被、土地利用及氮输入)对大气甲烷氧化菌群落结构和甲烷氧化活性的影响,提出并展望了土壤大气甲烷氧化菌研究的重要方向。     

低氧生境中好氧甲烷氧化菌的缺氧耐受机理及种群结构研究进展

甲烷生物氧化在全球大气甲烷平衡和温室气体的控制中起着重要作用.氧气是甲烷生物氧化过程中的重要影响因素之一.生境中氧浓度不仅影响好氧甲烷氧化菌的种群结构、活性及甲烷碳的分配,而且好氧甲烷氧化菌在不同氧浓度下具有不同的代谢途径.理解低氧生境中好氧甲烷氧化菌的缺氧耐受机理和甲烷生物氧化过程,对甲烷驱动型生态系统的碳循环和生物多样性有着重要意义.本文以好氧甲烷氧化菌为对象,综述了低氧生境中好氧甲烷氧化菌的活性及其种群结构、好氧甲烷氧化菌的缺氧耐受机理以及低氧生境中甲烷氧化菌与非甲烷氧化菌的关系,并对今后的研究方向进行了展望.     

甲烷生物利用及嗜甲烷菌的工程改造

作为来源广泛、储量丰富的有机碳一气体,甲烷被认为是下一代工业生物技术中最具潜力的碳原料之一。嗜甲烷菌能够利用其体内的甲烷单加氧化酶,将甲烷作为唯一的碳源和能源进行生长和代谢,这为温室气体减排及其开发利用提供了新的策略。目前,嗜甲烷菌生物催化体系的相关研究已开展多年,随着系统生物学和合成生物学的快速发展,利用代谢工程合理改造嗜甲烷菌代谢途径以提高甲烷转化效率,已经实现了生物转化甲烷制备多种大宗化学品和生物燃料。本文详细讨论并介绍了嗜甲烷菌催化氧化甲烷的相关代谢途径、高效细胞工厂构建及部分化学品生物合成的最新研究进展,并对甲烷生物转化未来的发展方向和面临的技术挑战进行了讨论和展望。     

极端环境下嗜热酸甲烷营养细菌研究进展

甲烷营养细菌能够将温室气体甲烷(CH4)转化为CO2或生物质,在碳生物地球化学循环及缓解由温室气体导致的全球气候变化方面发挥着重要的作用.甲烷营养细菌生存的条件范围较为广泛,但在中性pH (5～8)和中温(20～35℃)范围内生长最佳.系统进化分析认为,它们均属于γ-或α-变形菌门(Proteobacteria).最近3项独立完成的研究从极端热酸(pH接近1,温度高于50℃)环境中分离获得了具有甲烷氧化(营养)功能的微生物,经鉴定均属于疣微菌门(Verrucomicrobia).这些全新的、不同于以往的研究结果不仅是对现有关于甲烷营养细菌生态学认知的进一步拓展,同时也暗示着可能存在着新型的、由微生物介导的CH4氧化途径与机制. 因此,特就极端环境中嗜热嗜酸甲烷营养细菌的最新研究进展作一概述.     

甲烷氧化菌及甲烷单加氧酶的研究进展

甲烷氧化菌是以甲烷作为唯一碳源和能源进行同化和异化代谢的微生物,其关键酶之一是甲烷单加氧酶(MMOs),可以在氧气的作用下催化甲烷等低碳烷烃或烯烃羟基化或环氧化,甲烷氧化菌在自然界碳循环和工业生物技术中具有重要的应用价值.因此,近20年来对于甲烷氧化菌和MMOs的研究一直倍受生物学家的关注.以下从现代生物技术的角度,对近年来国内外在甲烷氧化菌的分类与分布,MMOs的结构与功能、甲烷氧化菌与MMOs的基因工程等方面取得的研究成果进行了总结,全面综述了甲烷氧化菌及MMOs的应用基础研究现状,并对其今后的研究和应用方向提出了展望.     

丙烯酶催化氧化产生环氧丙烷的研究 I.甲烷氧化菌的筛选及其特性

从甘肃玉门油田土样、油样和水样中分别筛选到具有低碳烃催化氧化活性的菌种。以甲醇为碳源培养的菌体没有丙烯酶催化氧化为环氧丙烷的活力。只有以甲烷作为唯一碳源、能源培养发酵的菌体才有高专一性的酶催化氧化活性,并对筛选到的一株具有较高活性的菌株从形态、营养和生长特征等方面进行了研究,经初步鉴定表明为甲烷氧化菌甲基单胞菌属(Methylomonas sp,)。     

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.