玉米转基因技术专利权人合作态势分析

转基因玉米是最重要的转基因主粮作物之一,其转基因技术具有一定的代表性。为了更好地了解和掌握玉米转基因技术领域研发主体合作情况,文章构建了基于专利权人合作网络的目标技术领域专利权人合作态势分析框架,并基于社会网络分析方法与技术,以世界范围内的转基因玉米领域的重要专利权人为分析对象,构建合作网络、分析整体合作特征、挖掘合作子网、探测领域内重要专利权人,从而从宏观、中观和微观三个层面客观展现玉米转基因技术领域专利权人合作态势,为科技战略规划提供一定的决策支撑。     

中国转基因作物,机遇与挑战

2008年7月9日中国政府正式启动转基因生物新品种培育科技重大专项,这是中国在生物技术领域的重大举措之一.在中国分子植物育种领域面临如此重要的标志性机遇之时,本文回顾了全球转基因技术发展的历史和中国转基因作物发展的现状,对中国今后转基因作物研发与商业化中知识产权和研发模式两大瓶颈问题进行了讨论.作者还列举了近期国内有关转基因作物生物安全和生态风险方面争论的各方观点,阐明了在中国当前情况下,通过完善相应的法规并强化贯彻落实来规范转基因研发和商业化的必要性.毫无疑问,中国转基因作物又迎来了一个值得期待的春天,机遇与挑战并存.     

转基因小鼠在现代生命科学中的应用

随着分子生物学的发展,转基因技术取得了巨大的进步,并且在现代生命科学中得到了广泛的应用.针对转基因技术在生物医学研究领域中的重要作用,结合近年来转基因技术及转基因动物的研究成果,着重介绍转基因小鼠的发展,转基因的方法及在医学中的应用,并对转基因小鼠在现代生命科学中的应用前景进行了展望.     

转基因家兔模型制作方法

作为生物医学研究重要的实验动物模型,转基因家兔已经被广泛应用在人类心脑血管疾病、艾滋病以及癌症等生物医学研究领域,特别是利用转基因家兔模型在人类动脉粥样硬化实验研究中已经取得了令人注目的成绩。本文结合我们自己制作转基因家兔的经验、研究成果以及文献资料,详细介绍了利用原核显微注射法、直接将外源基因注入受精卵雄原核中的转基因家兔制作技术,回顾了利用转基因家兔模型在生物医学研究中取得的重要进展。     

超级鼠和超级鱼：介绍转基因动物

转基因动物的研究最初是在小鼠体内进行的,成功地研究转基因小鼠,大约只有九年的历史。这个领域的研究涉及的范围较广,利用转基因小鼠,研究特异的基因在不同组织和不同发育阶段中的表达;有关癌基因机制的分析;免疫机制的研究以及对遗传疾病的了解等。转基因鼠的研究在这些领域里都作出过重要的贡献。什么是转基因动物我们以小鼠为例,将小鼠的受精卵取出,在显微镜下将基因用玻璃微管送入受精卵的精原核中。受精卵通常有两个原核,一个是由精     

转基因医药在身边

<正>转基因食品能吃与否在社会中饱受争议,公众对转基因食品是危害健康还是为我们的生活带来更高的品质充满疑惑。而与转基因食品相比,转基因技术在医药领域中的应用却不怎么受关注。什么是转基因医药随着重组DNA技术的迅速发展,转基因技术作为基因工程的重要技术手段,所涉及的行业并不仅只有人们普遍关注的转基因食品,它还飞速     

基于专利分析的转基因药用植物技术发展趋势研究

据世界卫生组织不完全统计,药用植物在发展中国家和发达国家的使用量均逐年上升。随着对药用植物需求和消耗的不断增加,许多药用植物资源急剧减少。面对日趋严峻的药用植物资源,利用转基因技术进行品种改良,提高其有效成分含量成为研究的重要方向之一。基于德温特数据库的专利信息,对收录的有关转基因药用植物领域的专利文献进行统计分析,分别从全球和中国本土两个层面对转基因药用植物的研究现状、核心技术、研究热点、技术分布与格局等方面进行研究。结果表明,在转基因药用植物领域美国技术实力最强,而中国专利数量名列前茅,但其国际影响力尚且不足。研究结果为相关企业和科研机构掌握转基因药用植物的发展趋势提供必要的情报支持。     

转基因动物应用的研究现状与发展前景

转基因动物的迅速发展使医药、农业、环保、生物材料等领域发生了巨大变革。综述了国际和国内转基因动物在这些领域中的研究历史、现状和产业化进展,同时也预测了转基因动物应用的发展前景以及给社会带来的深远影响。     

阳离子脂质体在转基因畜禽中的应用

脂质体是由可生物降解的磷脂组成的双分子层结构,与生物膜有较大的相似性和组织相容性.阳离子脂质体作为一种新型的基因转移载体,以其生产简便、毒性低、无感染危险等优点在转基因领域越来越受到研究人员的青睐.随着转基因动物研究的不断深入,阳离子脂质体更是成为当今各种转基因方法中首选的非病毒类外源基因载体,在保护外源基因和提高其转染效率方面都发挥着重要作用.就阳离子脂质体的结构形式、介导基因转移的机制及其目前在转基因畜禽领域中的研究进展做一综述.     

全球转基因大豆专利信息分析与技术展望

转基因大豆作为目前转基因作物推广种植面积最广的作物,在保障人类油料与饲料供给上发挥着重要作用。基于智慧芽数据库(PatSnap)对欧盟、美国及中国等国家地区1985~2016年收录的全球转基因大豆技术领域专利文献进行统计分析,得出全球转基因大豆专利信息的总体发展趋势、研发热点及技术分布与格局,并对比分析了我国转基因大豆研发的竞争力,对未来转基因大豆的产业发展提出了展望。     

Recent developments in our understanding of the avian melanocortin system: its involvement in the regulation of pigmentation and energy homeostasis

The mammalian melanocortin system has been established as a crucial regulatory component in an extraordinarily diverse number of physiological functions. In contrast, comparatively little is known about the avian melanocortin system: interest in the physiological role of alpha-MSH in birds has been limited by the fact that birds lack the intermediate lobe of the pituitary, the main source of circulating alpha-MSH in most vertebrates. Recently, however, the main avian melanocortin system genes, including POMC, AGRP, and all the melanocortin receptors, have been cloned and their physiological roles are the beginning to be elucidated. This review outlines our improved understanding of the avian melanocortin system, particularly in relation to two of the most widely studied physiological functions of the melanocortin system in mammals, the regulation of pigmentation and energy homeostasis. The data reviewed here indicate that the melanocortin system has been strongly conserved during vertebrate evolution and that alpha-MSH is produced locally in birds to act as an autocrine/paracrine hormone.     

On the use of spleen mass as a measure of avian immune system strength

The avian spleen has been frequently used in studies of avian ecology, parasitology, and evolution to infer immune system strength in birds. Traditionally, it has been assumed that a large spleen is representative of a strong immune system and conclusions based on this assumption have led to interesting interpretations of the role of disease and parasitism, for example in predator-prey interactions. This assumption of a positive relationship between spleen size and immune system strength has been made despite an incomplete understanding of the physiology of the avian spleen and little evidence of the validity of such an assumption. In this response, we demonstrate that the assumption of a predictable, positive relationship between spleen size and immunocompetence may be unjustified based on what is known of avian splenology. We also review recent research that may indicate that the inverse of the above assumption is true and we discuss general limitations of the use of the spleen as an indicator of immune system strength in birds. Finally, we make recommendations for future research topics in this field of study.     

Radioimmunoassay for Avian C-Type Virus Group-Specific Antigen: Detection in Normal and Virus-Transformed Cells

A radioimmunoassay has been developed for detection of avian C-type virus (30,000 mol wt) group-specific (gs) antigen. The method is 10- to 1,000-fold more sensitive than immunological methods previously available. By the radioimmunoassay technique, normal chicken embryo cells, which have previously been classified as gs negative or weakly gs positive, contain clearly detectable amounts of gs antigen. The assay has been used to study the effect of chemical induction and superinfection by mammalian C-type viruses on the expression of avian gs antigen in mammalian cells nonproductively transformed by avian sarcoma viruses.     

气候变化对鸟类影响的研究进展

气候变化对生物多样性的影响已成为热点问题.本文以鸟类为研究对象,根据鸟类受气候变化影响的最新研究成果,综述了气候变化对鸟类的分布、物候和种群等方面的影响.结果表明,在气候变化影响下,鸟类分布向高纬度或高海拔区移动,速度比以往加快,繁殖地和非繁殖地的分布移动变化并不相同,并且多数分布范围缩小,物候期发生复杂变化,种群数量下降明显.文章还讨论了该领域主要的预测和评估方法,以及进化适应等生物因素对气候变化预测结果的影响,除了以往单一的相关性模型外,目前应用最多的是集成模型,而未来最具发展潜力的是机理模型.进化适应方面的研究近来取得新进展,证实了生物个体积极应对气候变化影响的事实,从而对人为模型预测的准确性带来挑战.文章最后进行了总结和展望,结合国外研究经验和我国实际情况,提出一些建议:由于气候变化的影响及其研究是长期性的,从而对鸟类的历史监测数据提出很高的要求,当前我国急需建立一套长期、全面和可靠的鸟类数据监测系统;此外,人们需要综合评估现有各种预测模型的可靠性,在此基础上探索新的研究方法.     

Biogenic Trace Amine-Associated Receptors (TAARS) are encoded in avian genomes: evidence and possible implications

Recent studies of mammals and fish indicate that most trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs) may be involved in the detection of volatile biogenic compounds. It has therefore been suggested that this new class of "olfactory" receptors could be highly relevant for social communication and individual recognition. To determine if TAAR orthologues are encoded in avian genomes, we initiated BLAST searches of the Gallus gallus genome and public avian expressed sequence tags databases and performed associated phylogenetic analyses of the TAAR homologues identified. Our results suggest that a minimum of 3 TAAR paralogues are encoded in the G. gallus genome and that these are putative orthologues of the human/mouse genes TAAR1, TAAR2, and TAAR5. It is noteworthy that TAAR5 is activated by compounds that have been found in avian feces. We tentatively suggest that avian TAARs may compensate for the lack of an avian equivalent of the mammalian vomeronasal system and therefore may be important mediators of socially important avian chemical cues.     

Novel origin of the 1918 pandemic influenza virus nucleoprotein gene

The nucleoprotein (NP) gene of the 1918 pandemic influenza A virus has been amplified and sequenced from archival material. The NP gene is known to be involved in many aspects of viral function and to interact with host proteins, thereby playing a role in host specificity. The 1918 NP amino acid sequence differs at only six amino acids from avian consensus sequences, consistent with reassortment from an avian source shortly before 1918. However, the nucleotide sequence of the 1918 NP gene has more than 170 differences from avian strain consensus sequences, suggesting substantial evolutionary distance from known avian strain sequences. Both the gene and protein sequences of the 1918 NP fall within the mammalian clade upon phylogenetic analysis. The evolutionary distance of the 1918 NP sequences from avian and mammalian strain sequences is examined, using several different parameters. The results suggest that the 1918 strain did not retain the previously circulating human NP. Nor is it likely to have obtained its NP by reassortment with an avian strain similar to those now characterized. The results are consistent with the existence of a currently unknown host for influenza, with an NP similar to current avian strain NPs at the amino acid level but with many synonymous nucleotide differences, suggesting evolutionary isolation from the currently characterized avian influenza virus gene pool.     

Applications of thermal imaging in avian science

Thermal imaging, or infrared thermography, has been used in avian science since the 1960s. More than 30 species of birds, ranging in size from passerines to ratites, have been studied using this technology. The main strength of this technique is that it is a non‐invasive and non‐contact method of measuring surface temperature. Its limitations and measurement errors are well understood and suitable protocols have been developed for a variety of experimental settings. Thermal imaging has been used most successfully for research on the thermal physiology of captive species, including poultry. In comparison with work on mammals, thermal imaging has been less used for population counts, other than for some large bird species. However, more recently it has shown greater success for detection of flight paths and migration. The increasing availability and reduced cost of thermal imaging systems is likely to lead to further application of this technology in studies of avian welfare, disease monitoring, energetics, behaviour and population monitoring.     

Production and design of more effective avian replication-incompetent retroviral vectors.

Retroviral vectors have been invaluable tools for studies of development in vertebrates. Their use has been somewhat constrained, however, by the low viral titers typically obtained with replication-incompetent vectors, particularly of the avian type. We have addressed this problem in several ways. We optimized the transient production of avian replication-incompetent viruses in a series of cell lines. One of the optimal cell lines was the mammalian line 293T, which was surprising in light of previous reports that avian viral replication was not supported by mammalian cells. We also greatly increased the efficiency of viral infection. Pseudotyping with the vesicular stomatitus virus G (VSV-G) protein led to an over 350-fold increase in the efficiency of infection in ovo relative to infection with virus particles bearing an avian retroviral envelope protein. To further increase the utility of the system, we developed new Rous sarcoma virus (RSV)-based replication-incompetent vectors, designed to express a histochemical marker gene, human placental alkaline phosphatase, as well as an additional gene. These modified retroviral vectors and the VSV-G pseudotyping technique constitute significant improvements that allow for expanded use of avian replication-incompetent viral vectors in ovo.