2’,3’-Cyclic Nucleotide 3’-Phosphodiesterases Inhibit Hepatitis B Virus Replication

2’,3’-cyclic nucleotide 3’-phosphodiesterase (CNP) is a member of the interferon-stimulated genes, which includes isoforms CNP1 and CNP2. CNP1 is locally expressed in the myelin sheath but CNP2 is additionally expressed at low levels outside the nervous system. CNPs regulate multiple cellular functions and suppress protein production by association with polyadenylation of mRNA. Polyadenylation of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) RNAs is crucial for HBV replication. Whether CNPs interact with polyadenylation signal of HBV RNAs and interfere HBV replication is unknown. In this study, we evaluated expressions of CNP isoforms in hepatoma cell lines and their effects on HBV replication. We found that CNP2 is moderately expressed and gently responded to interferon treatment in HepG2, but not in Huh7 cells. The CNP1 and CNP2 potently inhibited HBV production by blocking viral proteins synthesis and reducing viral RNAs, respectively. In chronic hepatitis B patients, CNP was expressed in most of HBV-infected hepatocytes of liver specimens. Knockdown of CNP expression moderately improved viral production in the HepG2.2.15 cells treated with IFN-α. In conclusion, CNP might be a mediator of interferon-induced response against HBV.     

Non-Enzymatic Oligomerization of 3’, 5’ Cyclic AMP

Recent studies illustrate that short oligonucleotide sequences can be easily produced from nucleotide precursors in a template-free non-enzymatic way under dehydrating conditions, i.e. using essentially dry materials. Here we report that 3’,5’ cyclic AMP may also serve as a substrate of the reaction, which proceeds under moderate conditions yet with a lower efficiency than the previously reported oligomerization of 3’,5’ cyclic GMP. Optimally the oligomerization requires (i) a temperature of 80°C, (ii) a neutral to alkaline environment and (iii) a time on the order of weeks. Differences in the yield and required reaction conditions of the oligomerizations utilizing 3’,5’ cGMP and cAMP are discussed in terms of the crystal structures of the compounds. Polymerization of 3’,5’ cyclic nucleotides, whose paramount relevance in a prebiotic chemistry context has been widely accepted for decades, supports the possibility that the origin of extant genetic materials might have followed a direct uninterrupted path since its very beginning, starting from non-elaborately pre-activated monomer compounds and simple reactions.     

芜菁花叶病毒的3’末端序列克隆与CP基因序列分析

目的:克隆芜菁花叶病毒(Turnip mosaic virus,TuMV)的3'末端序列,并进行CP基因序列分析.方法:以TuMV杭州榨菜分离物(TuMv-HZZC)接种病叶为材料,利用病毒粒子吸附法制备病毒RNA模板,经RT-PCR扩增获得了TuMV-HZZC 3'末端序列,将其克隆到PMD 18-T质粒上进行序列分析.结果:TuMV-HZZC分离物3'末端序列包括部分的Nib基因、完整的TuMVCP基因和3'-UTR,CP基因为864bp,分别编码288个氨基酸,3'-UTR序列(不包括PolyA尾巴)为213bp.经过与其他TuMV分离物的CP基因核苷酸和氨基酸比较,同源性分别达到88.0%～97.6%和91.0%-96.5%.结论:TuMV的系统进化具有典型的地域和寄主关联性.     

转基因香石竹中F3’5’H基因的克隆、表达和免疫学鉴定

在研究转基因香石竹品系月之霓裳（Moonshade）、月之伊人（Moonlite）中外源基因F3’5’H的表达中,本文克隆了F3’5’H全长基因1.5kb,构建获得工程菌株Escherichia coli BL21（DE3）（＋F3＇5＇H）。SDS-PAGE分析的结果显示,该菌株高效表达出F3’5’H重组蛋白,约占菌体总蛋白的30%。用经纯化的F3’5’H重组蛋白作为抗原,制备F3’5’H重组蛋白的抗血清,经ELISA免疫学分析表明,该抗血清的效价为1：25600。Western blot结果表明F3’5’H重组蛋白具有良好的IgG结合活性,且抗血清与转基因香石竹品系月之霓裳和月之伊人中的外源基因F3’5’H所表达的蛋白发生明显的抗原抗体反应。这样,月之霓裳和月之伊人用于评价转基因香石竹品系的环境安全性在我国也得到了验证。     

RNA3’-末端~(32)P标记及其核苷酸简易测定

近几年来,遗传的物质基础,即脱氧核糖核酸(DNA)序列分析技术,有了重大突破。对核酸的结构与功能、基因表达、调控等研究起了巨大的推动作用。核糖核酸(RNA)序列分析工作,在经典方法的基础上,借鉴于DNA序列分析方法,也得到了迅速的发展。简易直读技术也广泛应用于RNA序列研究中。DNA或RNA序列分析,多采用体外放射性同位素     

广东高考实施“3 X’改革好

按照教育部的部署,广东省今年已经率先实行了“３＋Ｘ”高考科目的改革,这不仅在广东引起了强烈反响,同时也令全国各地瞩目。“３＋Ｘ”,其中“３”指的是语文、数学、外语这三门基础文化课程,这三门课程是每位考生都必须考的学科,而“Ｘ”指的是物理、化学、生物、政治、历史、地理或综合科目中的一门或几门,关于综合科目又可分为理科综合、文科综合、不分文理的综合、专科综合。这样,对于每位考生都存在必考科目和选考科目,致于选考什么科目,选考多少门科目,国家不作统一规定,由各个高等学校根据不同专业自行决定。实行“３＋…     

用支持向量机预测人类基因5’／3’选择性剪切位点

选择性剪切是调解基因表达的重要机制.识别选择性剪切位点是后基因组时代的一个重要工作.本文从最新的EBI人类基因选择性剪切数据库中,选取5＇/3＇选择性剪切位点作为正集,选取在剪切位点附近的假剪切位点作为负集,并把所有的选择性剪切位点和假剪切位点随机分成训练集和测试集.本文选用的预测选择性剪切位点的方法是基于位置权重矩阵和离散增量的支持向量机方法.此方法仅基于训练集,以不同位点的单碱基概率和序列片断的三联体频数作为信息参数,利用位置权重矩阵和离散增量算法结合支持向量机,得到了选择性供体位点和受体位点的分类器,并用此分类器对测试集中的选择性供体位点和受体位点进行预测.对独立测试集中的选择性供体位点和选择性受体位点的预测成功率分别为88.74%和90.86%,特异性分别为85.62%和81.19%.本文预测选择性剪切位点的方法成功率高于其它选择性剪切位点预测方法预测成功率,此预测方法进一步提高了对选择性剪切位点的理论预测能力.     

两种3’,5’---环核苷酸磷酸二酯酶的制备

3’,5’-环核苷酸磷酸二酯酶[EC3·1·4·17](以下简称PDE)首先从牛心中分离得到。PDE在生物体中有重要功能,它水解环核苷酸为5’-核苷酸,与核苷酸环化酶共同维持细胞内环核苷酸水平。根据性质不同,PDE可分为多种形式。其中主要的两种为:依赖于 ca~(2+)的PDE,可以被钙调节蛋白     

中国人α珠蛋白基因3’HVR多态分布的研究

本文以3’HVR为探针,对来自全国17省市的51名无血缘关系的健康人进行P vuⅡ限制性片段长度的多态分析,发现3’HVR在片段大小的变异范围及基因频率的分布均有中国人的特点。结果表明,纯合子占15.7%,杂合子占84 .3%,102个等位基因共有34个长度不同的等位片段,大小从2.0-7.0kb之间呈连续分布, 主要分布在2.0-2.5kb及4.0-6.0kb,频率分别为0.43和0.34。并与刘国仰、余裕炉等的资料进行综合比较,初步揭示了中国人群中3’HVR的多态特点。 Abstract: 51 unrelated Chinese individuals from 17 different provinces and cities were typed for PvuII restiction fragment length polymorphism with the probe 3’HVR.The frequencies of homozygotes and heterozygotes were estimated as 15.7% and 84.3%,34 distinguishable allele sizes showed a continue distribution from 2.0-7.0kb.The main alleles of 2.0-2.5kb and 4.0-6.0kb gave the gene frequencies of 0.43 and 0.34 respectively.The preliminary characteristics of 3’HVR locus in Chinese population were revealed.     

‘培矮64S’与其eui突变体‘长选3S’穗颈节间蛋白质组差异分析

为从蛋白质表达水平了解长穗颈温敏核不育水稻穗颈节间伸长机理,该研究以长穗颈(EUI)温敏核不育水稻‘长选3S’为材料,温敏核不育水稻‘培矮64S’为对照,采用固相pH梯度双向凝胶电泳和质谱分析方法,对2个水稻材料抽穗前2 d的穗颈节间蛋白质进行分离,并进行差异蛋白质组学的比较研究。结果表明:(1)获得了分辨率和重复性较好的双向凝胶电泳图谱。(2)对40个差异蛋白质点进行MALDI-TOF-TOF-MS肽质谱指纹图谱分析,成功鉴定其中27个差异蛋白质点;与‘培矮64S’相比,‘长选3S’中有17个上调表达和10个下调表达的蛋白质。(3)差异蛋白质按照其功能可分为6类,其中主要是与细胞代谢相关蛋白,其次是与细胞壁重建相关蛋白;并且这些差异蛋白质可能与‘长选3S’抽穗期穗颈节间剧烈伸长生长有关,尤其是细胞壁重建相关蛋白与细胞的伸长密切相关。(4)实时荧光定量PCR对随机挑选的蛋白点2、7、8、24、35和36所对应的基因在两个材料最上节间的表达结果显示,‘长选3S’的2(Os10g08550)、7(Os12g42876)、8(Os01g55830)基因的表达量较‘培矮64S’明显下调,而24(Os06g48760)、35(Os05g25850)、36(Os07g42300)基因的表达量较‘培矮64S’显著上调,表明q-PCR的结果与蛋白凝胶图分析结果一致。研究认为,水稻eui基因可能是通过调节抽穗期穗颈节间这些蛋白质的表达,从而促进穗颈节间细胞分裂,尤其是细胞的伸长生长。     

Differential expression of two flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase cDNAs involved in biosynthesis of anthocyanin pigments and 3-deoxyanthocyanidin phytoalexins in sorghum

Three unique sorghum flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase (F3'H) cDNAs (SbF3'H1, SbF3'H2 and SbF3'H3) were discovered through bioinformatics analysis. Their encoded proteins showed >60% identity to the Arabidopsis TT7 (F3'H) protein. Overexpression of SbF3'H1 or SbF3'H2 restored the ability of tt7 mutants to produce 3'-hydroxylated flavonoids, establishing their roles as functional F3'H enzymes. In sorghum mesocotyls, SbF3'H1 expression was involved in light-specific anthocyanin accumulation while SbF3'H2 expression was involved in pathogen-specific 3-deoxyanthocyanidin synthesis. No SbF3'H3 expression was detected in all tissues examined. The sorghum mesocotyls represent a good system for investigation of differential regulation of F3'H genes/alleles responding to different external stimuli.     

Down-regulation of flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase gene expression by virus-induced gene silencing in soybean reveals the presence of a threshold mRNA level associated with pigmentation in pubescence

Changes in flavonoid content are often manifested as altered pigmentation in plant tissues. Two loci have been identified as controlling pigmentation in soybean pubescence. Of these, the T locus appears to encode flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase (F3'H) protein: the T and t alleles are associated with tawny and gray colors, respectively, in pubescence. We previously down-regulated F3'H gene expression by virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in soybean. Despite this successful VIGS, the tawny pubescence pigmentation proved to be unchanged in greenhouse-grown plants. We hypothesized that the reduced mRNA level of the F3'H gene resulting from VIGS remained high enough to induce pigmentation. To verify this hypothesis, in the present study, we performed F3'H VIGS on plants grown under controlled conditions, in which the steady-state mRNA level of the F3'H gene was reduced to approximately 5% of that of greenhouse-grown plants. This VIGS treatment resulted in the loss of tawny pigmentation in pubescence, suggesting that the sf3'h1 gene is involved in the control of pigmentation in pubescence. We detected a marked decrease in target mRNA, an accumulation of short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and a decrease in quercetin content relative to kaempferol in leaf tissues, indicating that sequence-specific mRNA degradation of the F3'H gene was induced. These results suggest that leaf tissues have a threshold mRNA level of the F3'H gene, which is associated with the occurrence of tawny pigmentation in pubescence. The estimated threshold mRNA level for pigmentation in pubescence was approximately 3% of the steady-state mRNA level of the F3'H gene in greenhouse-grown plants.     

Identification of the molecular basis for the functional difference between flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase and flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase

Flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase (F3'H) and flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase (F3'5'H) are cytochrome P450 enzymes and determine the B-ring hydroxylation pattern of flavonoids by introducing hydroxyl groups at the 3'- or the 3'- and 5'-position, respectively. Sequence identity between F3'H and F3'5'H is generally low since their divergence took place early in the evolution of higher plants. However, in the Asteraceae the family-specific evolution of an F3'5'H from an F3'H precursor occurred, and consequently sequence identity is substantially higher. We used this phenomenon for alignment studies, in order to identify regions which could be involved in determining substrate specificity and functionality. Subsequent construction and expression of chimeric genes indicated that substrate specificity of F3'H and F3'5'H is determined near the N-terminal end and the functional difference between these two enzymes near the C-terminal end. The impact on function of individual amino acids located in substrate recognition site 6 (SRS6) was further tested by site-directed mutagenesis. Most interestingly, a conservative Thr to Ser exchange at position 487 conferred additional 5'-hydroxylation activity to recombinant Gerbera hybrida F3'H, whereas the reverse substitution transformed recombinant Osteospermum hybrida F3'5'H into an F3'H with low remaining 5'-hydroxylation activity. Since the physicochemical properties of Thr and Ser are highly similar, the difference in size appears to be the main factor contributing to functional difference. The results further suggest that relatively few amino acids exchanges were required for the evolutionary extension of 3'- to 3',5'-hydroxylation activity.     

Cloning of the pleiotropic T locus in soybean and two recessive alleles that differentially affect structure and expression of the encoded flavonoid 3' hydroxylase

Three loci (I, R, and T) control pigmentation of the seed coats in Glycine max and are genetically distinct from those controlling flower color. The T locus also controls color of the trichome hairs. We report the identification and isolation of a flavonoid 3' hydroxylase gene from G. max (GmF3'H) and the linkage of this gene to the T locus. This GmF3'H gene was highly expressed in early stages of seed coat development and was expressed at very low levels or not at all in other tissues. Evidence that the GmF3'H gene is linked to the T locus came from the occurrence of multiple RFLPs in lines with varying alleles of the T locus, as well as in a population of plants segregating at that locus. GmF3'H genomic and cDNA sequence analysis of color mutant lines with varying t alleles revealed a frameshift mutation in one of the alleles. In another line derived from a mutable genetic stock, the abundance of the mRNAs for GmF3'H was dramatically reduced. Isolation of the GmF3'H gene and its identification as the T locus will enable investigation of the pleiotropic effects of the T locus on cell wall integrity and its involvement in the regulation of the multiple branches of the flavonoid pathway in soybean.     

Selective accumulation of delphinidin derivatives in tobacco using a putative flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase cDNA from Campanula medium

Blue flowers generally contain 3',5'-hydroxylated anthocyanins (delphinidin derivatives) as pigments, which are formed only in the presence of flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylases (F3'5'H). Heterologous expression of a F3'5'H gene therefore provides an opportunity to produce novel blue flowers for a number of ornamental plants missing blue flowering varieties. However, our previous study indicated difficulties in obtaining good accumulation of delphinidin derivatives in plants expressing F3'5'H. Here we report the isolation of a putative F3'5'H cDNA (Ka1) from canterbury bells (Campanula medium) and its expression in tobacco. Surprisingly, compared with other F3'5'H cDNAs, Ka1 encoded a protein with a unique primary structure that conferred high competence in the accumulation of delphinidin derivatives (up to 99% of total anthocyanins) and produced novel purple flowers. These results suggest that, among F3'5' H cDNAs, Ka1 is the best genetic resource for the creation of fine blue flowers by genetic engineering.     

Identification of the Arabidopsis thaliana flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase gene and functional expression of the encoded P450 enzyme

The phenylpropanoid pathway results in the synthesis of thousands of compounds, including flavonoids like flavonols, anthocyanidins and tannins. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the lack of tannins in the seed coat (testa) causes the transparent testa (tt) phenotype. In the present study, we identified the gene responsible for the tt7 mutation. We show that TT7 encodes the enzyme flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase (F3'H), and demonstrate that this P450-dependent monooxygenase has F3'H activity. The availability of the AtF3'H gene and promoter sequence will allow us to study the coregulation of a complete set of flavonol and anthocyanidin biosynthesis genes in A. thaliana, and makes in vitro synthesis of hydroxylated flavonoids more feasible.