马氏珠母贝Sox11基因的克隆及时序表达模式分析

为探究Sox(SRY-related HMG-box genes)基因家族在马氏珠母贝个体发育及性别分化中的作用, 研究首先利用兼并引物从马氏珠母贝基因组中克隆到一个HMG框(high mobility group box), 利用RACE-PCR技术从SMART cDNA文库中克隆到一个Sox基因的cDNA全长, 通过Clustal X和MEGA 4软件对该序列进行比对分析并构建系统进化树; 通过荧光定量PCR技术对该基因在不同组织及发育不同时期性腺中的表达情况进行分析。结果显示, 马氏珠母贝该Sox基因的cDNA全长为1579 bp, 其中开放阅读框(ORF)为1008 bp, 编码336个氨基酸, 5'非编码区为126 bp, 3'非编码区为445 bp。同源性分析表明, 马氏珠母贝Sox基因与太平洋牡蛎Sox11基因的同源性(Identity)最高, 为80%, 故命名为pmSox11; 系统进化树分析也显示pmSox11与太平洋牡蛎Sox11基因的亲缘关系最近。荧光定量PCR分析组织表达特异性显示, pmSox11在马氏珠母贝神经节分布较多的组织如外套膜、鳃、足、消化盲囊等大量表达, 在神经节相对较少的闭壳肌和卵巢中表达量较少; 时序表达图谱显示, pmSox11在3月龄幼贝性腺和1年龄发育早期精巢中表达量最高, 在2年龄成熟精巢和2年龄性转换性腺中表达量降低, 而在2年龄卵巢中表达量最低。研究表明, pmSox11基因可能在马氏珠母贝早期神经系统发育和性别发育的调控方面起到重要作用。     

双壳类的性转换现象及其机理探讨

生物的雌雄同体及性变现象，历来受科研人员关注，在脊椎动物中已有不少研究，在双壳类中虽然也有报道，但研究尚不深入。有关双壳类群体的性别构成，一般认为多为雌雄异体，如马氏珠母贝、栉江珧、企鹅珍珠贝、巴非蛤等；少数物种为雌雄同体，如海湾扇贝、光滑蓝蛤及某些牡蛎。但在雌雄异体种类的群体中，常常发现雌雄同体的个体以及在一定条件出现的性别转化现象。     

马氏珠母贝血清抗菌肽的初步分析

马氏珠母贝(Pinctada martensii)是生产海水珍珠的主要经济贝类,近年来马氏珠母贝因病害频繁发生而对我国珍珠产业造成巨大的经济损失。因此,对于马氏珠母贝的免疫机制研究尤为重要。抗菌肽是贝类生物免疫机制中最重要的一个环节,但目前对马氏珠母贝抗菌肽的报道甚少。为深入了解马氏珠母贝的抗菌肽分子组成及特征,本实验采取多步高效液相色谱结合质谱分析,对马氏珠母贝血清中具有抗菌活性的蛋白质分子开展了分离纯化及鉴定研究,得到了5种有明显抗菌活性的蛋白,其中3种相对分子质量在5 000 k D左右;通过透射电镜进一步观察了抗菌活性蛋白对细菌的作用机制。上述研究为了解马氏珠母贝抗菌肽的分子多样性及抗菌机制奠定了基础。     

温度、盐度对马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量的联合效应

采用中心复合设计和响应曲面分析法,在实验室条件下研究了温度(16～40 ℃)、盐度(10～50)对马氏珠母贝鳃热休克蛋白Hsp70基因表达量的联合效应.设定温度范围为16～40 ℃,盐度范围为10～50.结果表明: 温度的一次效应、二次效应对马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量影响显著;盐度的一次效应对马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量无显著影响、二次效应对马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量影响显著,温度、盐度之间的互作效应对马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量无显著影响,且温度的效应大于盐度.建立了马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量模型方程,决定系数98.7%、矫正决定系数97.4%,预测决定系数89.2%,模型的拟合度极高,可用于预测马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因的表达量.通过对模型方程优化,得到在温度26.78 ℃、盐度29.33时,马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量达到最小值0.5276,满意度达到98%.试验结果可为马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因的上调表达、维持细胞内环境稳定以及提高马氏珠母贝抗逆性提供理论指导.     

马氏珠母贝SRF基因的分子特征及组织特异性表达

血清反应因子(SRF)是一个高度保守的转录因子,在细胞增殖、细胞凋亡以及免疫反应中发挥重要作用。为了探究血清反应因子在马氏珠母贝中的生物学功能,本研究运用c DNA末端快速扩增(RACE)技术克隆得到马氏珠母贝SRF基因(Pm SRF)c DNA的全长序列,并且应用实时荧光定量PCR技术对Pm SRF基因在马氏珠母贝不同组织中的表达进行检测。结果显示,Pm SRF基因序列全长1 758 bp,其中开放阅读框(ORF)为1 440 bp,编码479个氨基酸,5'UTR为65 bp,3'UTR为253 bp,包含29 bp的poly A。预测其相对分子量为50 534.6 Da,理论等电点为7.71。多序列比对结果发现物种间SRF具有较高的保守性。SMART软件分析显示Pm SRF具有典型的MADS结构域。荧光定量PCR数据分析表明,Pm SRF基因在马氏珠母贝闭壳肌、肝胰腺、血细胞、外套膜、性腺、鳃六种组织中均有表达,其中在鳃中表达量最高。本研究可为进一步探究Pm SRF在贝类中的生物学功能提供重要的理论基础和参考价值。     

沉积再悬浮颗粒物对马氏珠母贝摄食生理影响的室内模拟

采用实验生态学方法室内模拟研究了不同浓度沉积再悬浮颗粒物对马氏珠母贝清滤率、摄食率、吸收率的影响。结果表明:(1)水体中总悬浮颗粒物对马氏珠母贝清滤率的影响极显著(P<0.01)。总悬浮颗粒物由低浓度(12.6 mg/L)趋高浓度(500 mg/L)时,马氏珠母贝的清滤率呈现峰值变化规律。与总悬浮颗粒物浓度50 mg/L时的最大清滤率(1.12 L.个体-1.h-1)比较,悬浮颗粒物浓度为500 mg/L时,清滤率达最小值(0.17 L.个体-1.h-1)),其清滤率降幅达85%。这表明在高浓度悬浮颗粒物的水环境下,贝类受到环境胁迫,其生理和自身摄食机制受到限制,引起摄食减少和机体损伤。马氏珠母贝类的清滤率(CR)与总悬浮颗粒物浓度(TPM)之间的关系可表达为:CR=-0.701+1.627×TPM-0.463×TPM2+0.036×TPM3(R2=0.928)。(2)水体中总悬浮颗粒物对马氏珠母贝摄食率的影响极显著(P<0.01)。马氏珠母贝的摄食率随着总悬浮颗粒物浓度的升高而增加,在50 mg/L时达最大值(38.28 mg/h),当总悬浮颗粒物浓度超过50 mg/L时,摄食率反而下降,在总悬浮颗粒物浓度为500 mg/L时,降为最小值(16.22 mg/h),摄食率降幅为58%。随着悬浮颗粒物浓度的增加,马氏珠母贝摄食率受到的影响小于清滤率受到的影响。马氏珠母贝类的摄食率(IR)与总悬浮颗粒物浓度(TPM)之间的关系可表达为:IR=-46.631+70.957×TPM-18.385×TPM2+1.367×TPM3(R2=0.907)。(3)水体中总悬浮颗粒物对马氏珠母贝吸收率影响极显著(P<0.01)。总悬浮颗粒物由低浓度(12.6 mg/L)趋高浓度(500 mg/L)时,马氏珠母贝的吸收率呈逐渐下降趋势,在总悬浮颗粒物12.6 mg/L时,马氏珠母贝的吸收率最大(48.57%),而总悬浮颗粒物500 mg/L时,马氏珠母贝的吸收率最小(8.56%)。马氏珠母贝的吸收率(AE)与总悬浮颗粒物浓度(TPM)之间的关系可表达为:AE=52.189+0.132×TPM-3.111×TPM2+0.316×TPM3(R2=0.976)。     

马氏珠母贝生长激素诱导跨膜蛋白基因GHITM克隆与表达分析

生长激素诱导跨膜蛋白(growth hormone-induced transmembrane protein,GHITM)是一类在进化上高度保守的跨膜蛋白,参与机体生长发育、老化及先天免疫等过程。为探究GHITM在马氏珠母贝生长发育过程中的作用,本实验利用c DNA末端快速扩增技术(rapid amplification of c DNA ends,RACE),克隆得到马氏珠母贝GHITM(Pinctada martensii GHITM,Pm-GHITM)基因c DNA全长序列,并对其序列特征以及在组织中的表达进行分析。结果显示:Pm-GHITM基因c DNA全长为1 468 bp,其中,开放阅读框(open reading frame,ORF)为1 017 bp,编码338个氨基酸,5'UTR长62 bp,3'UTR长389 bp,分子量约为35.48 ku,等电点(p I)为9.87;多序列及系统进化树分析表明Pm-GHITM与其他物种的GHITM有较高的同源性,与太平洋牡蛎(Crassostrea gigas)的GHITM相似度最高,为67%;结构域分析结果表明Pm-GHITM序列中包含一个高度保守的BI-1(Bax inhibitor-1)结构域;荧光定量数据指出Pm-GHITM在马氏珠母贝的血淋巴、外套膜、足、鳃、性腺、闭壳肌以及肝胰腺中均有表达,在性腺的表达量最高,肝胰腺和闭壳肌次之,血淋巴中的表达量最低(p0.05)。本研究可以为进一步探究Pm-GHITM在马氏珠母贝的生长发育过程中的作用做铺垫。     

温度、盐度对马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量的联合效应

采用中心复合设计和响应曲面分析法,在实验室条件下研究了温度(16 ～40℃)、盐度(10 ～50)对马氏珠母贝鳃热休克蛋白Hsp70基因表达量的联合效应.设定温度范围为16～40℃,盐度范围为10～50.结果表明:温度的一次效应、二次效应对马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量影响显著;盐度的一次效应对马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量无显著影响、二次效应对马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量影响显著,温度、盐度之间的互作效应对马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量无显著影响,且温度的效应大于盐度.建立了马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量模型方程,决定系数98.7％、矫正决定系数97.4％,预测决定系数89.2％,模型的拟合度极高,可用于预测马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因的表达量.通过对模型方程优化,得到在温度26.78℃、盐度29.33时,马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因表达量达到最小值0.5276,满意度达到98％.试验结果可为马氏珠母贝鳃Hsp70基因的上调表达、维持细胞内环境稳定以及提高马氏珠母贝抗逆性提供理论指导.     

马氏珠母贝组蛋白H3基因的克隆与表达特性分析

组蛋白H3是组成核小体的基本组分之一。研究表明,组蛋白不仅参与染色质的组装,也可以通过调节基因表达参与调控细胞分裂、凋亡、DNA修复等细胞生命过程。为了探究马氏珠母贝组蛋白H3(Pinctada martensii histone H3,Pm H3)的序列及表达特征,本文运用c DNA末端快速扩增(RACE)技术克隆得到Pm H3的c DNA全长序列,并且应用实时荧光定量PCR技术对Pm H3基因在马氏珠母贝不同组织中的表达进行检测。结果显示,Pm H3基因序列全长627 bp,其中开放阅读框(ORF)为411 bp,编码136个氨基酸,5'UTR为42 bp,3'UTR为174 bp,包含26 bp的poly A。预测其相对分子量为15 388.0 Da,理论等电点为11.27,不稳定系数为47.19,疏水性水平-0.604。多序列比对结果表明H3基因极为保守,在各物种间的相似度达到99%~100%。SMART软件分析发现Pm H3具有一个典型的H3结构域。荧光定量PCR数据结果显示,Pm H3基因在马氏珠母贝外套膜边缘区、外套膜中央区、鳃、血细胞、闭壳肌、足、性腺、肝胰腺八种组织中均有表达,其中在性腺中表达量最高。本研究可为进一步探讨Pm H3基因在贝类中的生物学特性以及组蛋白修饰提供理论依据。     

马氏珠母贝珍珠层形成相关基因的克隆与功能研究

作为世界上最重要的南洋珍珠生产基地,印度尼西亚(以下简称印尼)的产量占世界产量的50%以上。南洋马氏珠母贝珍珠由于光泽度好、晶莹剔透以及质感细腻等闻名于世。本文首先对马氏珠母贝进行了简单的介绍,然后分析了贝壳机制蛋白、珍珠层以及珍珠囊的研究现状,并对马氏珠母贝的BMP7基因与TIMP基因的克隆和功能研究做了简单的概述。     

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.