RNA干涉AtSUS3影响拟南芥SUS家族表达模式及角果成熟

蔗糖合成酶（SuSy）是植物蔗糖代谢的关键酶,在植物生长发育过程中起着重要作用.为研究拟南芥中SUS3的功能,构建RNAi-SUS3干涉载体,通过农杆菌介导的真空渗透法转化拟南芥.筛选获得纯系转基因植株后,对AtSUS家族进行表达分析,利用环境扫描电子显微镜观察转基因植株表型,并对转基因拟南芥角果进行木质素组织化学染色以及透射电子显微镜检测.结果表明,RNA干涉技术能够抑制AtSUS3的表达,正常培养条件下该基因沉默后对拟南芥的表型没有显著影响,但可引起角果中AtSUS1,AtSUS2和AtSUS4表达代偿性增加,使转基因植株角果内果皮层细胞次生细胞壁增厚,木质化程度加深,同时果瓣厚度也有增加趋势.结果提示,转基因拟南芥角果的发育较野生型植株更为优先,AtSUS3基因沉默可能有利于角果的成熟.     

棉花乙烯合成基因促进拟南芥和烟草不定根发生的研究

从棉花纤维cDNA中克隆获得乙烯合成基因GhACO3,构建了植物过量表达载体p35S::GhACO3.通过花序侵染法和叶盘法分别转化拟南芥和烟草,利用卡那霉素筛选及分子检测获得转基因阳性拟南芥和烟草植株.结果表明,GhACO3基因已整合到拟南芥和烟草基因组中;经过纯合筛选后获得转基因T2代拟南芥植株;与野生型拟南芥相比,GhACO3基因对拟南芥不定根发生具有显著促进作用;与野生型烟草植株相比,转GhACO3基因烟草不定根发生得到了显著的促进.研究表明,GhACO3基因的过量表达能够促进拟南芥和烟草不定根的形成发育,为进一步探讨GhACO3的生物学功能和进行转基因育种奠定了基础.     

拟南芥CYCD3;1基因的克隆及功能研究

从拟南芥基因组中克隆出CYCD3;1基因,将其插入植物双元载体pER8中,使其受一个嵌合转录启动子的控制;利用农杆菌介导通过真空渗透法将外源基因导入拟南芥中,经潮霉素抗性筛选出转化植株后,用PCR鉴定出阳性转化植株,对阳性转化植株进行连续光照培养并观察其表型变化,发现转基因株系与野生型之间在抽苔和开花时间上有较大差别。结果表明,CYCD3;1低水平误表达会影响植物的生长发育。     

拟南芥AtVQ29基因的克隆与植物表达载体构建

目的:VQ模序蛋白是植物中所特有的一类具有高度保守序列的蛋白质,广泛参与植物的生长发育与逆境反应,本研究拟克隆拟南芥的AtVQ29基因并进一步构建由组成型启动子CaMV 35S驱动的植物表达载体pSN1301-AtVQ29。方法:采用CTAB法提取拟南芥基因组DNA,根据已报道的AtVQ29基因序列设计并合成引物,通过PCR技术扩增获得拟南芥AtVQ29基因,经T载体克隆后测序。利用生物信息学软件对序列进行初步分析,同时基于基因重组技术构建植物表达载体。结果:序列分析表明已成功克隆AtVQ29基因,该基因编码区全长为372bp,共编码123个氨基酸残基,具有保守的VQ模序。并进一步构建了由组成型启动子CaMV 35S驱动的AtVQ29基因植物表达载体pSN1301-AtVQ29。结论:本研究所构建的AtVQ29基因植物表达载体能够在转基因植株中过量表达AtVQ29基因,为后期开展基因功能研究与植物基因改良奠定了基础。     

一种安全高效大豆转化筛选体系的建立

以灭草烟作为筛选剂,利用基因枪法建立一种安全高效的大豆遗传转化体系.比较不同筛选剂对大豆胚尖外植体丛生芽诱导数目的影响.与卡那霉素、潮霉素和草胺膦等传统筛选剂相比,以灭草烟作为筛选剂可使丛生芽的数目增加1倍以上.克隆了拟南芥突变体csrl-2中突变的乙酰羟基酸合成酶基因(ahas),以其作为筛选标记基因,构建可利用灭草烟作为筛选剂的植物表达载体.利用基因枪法将该载体转化大豆,获得6棵灭草烟抗性植株,分子检测证明外源ahas基因整合到5棵转基因大豆植株的基因组中.     

棉花GhAC01基因植物表达载体构建及拟南芥遗传转化

乙烯参与植物生长发育等许多生理过程,在许多植物细胞中,AcD基因通过促进乙烯合成调控着植物器官的形成发育。研究通过PCR方法从棉花基因组中克隆得到l-氨基环丙烷-1-羧酸氧化酶1（GhACO1）基因,并将该基因构建到植物表达载体PBI121中,其中GhACO1基因位于CaMV35S启动子和GUS报告基因之间。通过花滴法将GhACO1基因转化拟南芥,利用卡那霉素对转化植株进行初步筛选,对卡那霉素阳性植株进行进一步的PCR检测和GUS组织化学分析。结果表明：GhACO1基因已经整合到拟南芥基因组中;GUS组织化学分析显示,在转基因拟南芥叶、茎和根中都表现出GUS活性。研究结果为进一步探讨GhACO1的生物学功能和基因工程改良棉花纤维品质奠定了基础。     

拟南芥GH3.9基因的过表达及其表型分析

为研究GH3.9基因在植物生长发育过程中的作用,利用RT-PCR成功克隆到GH3.9基因,该基因全长为1 750bp。通过构建pEGAD-GH3.9过表达载体转化拟南芥,获得过表达GH3.9基因纯系转基因株系GH3.9ox-3和GH3.9ox-7。对拟南芥野生型(WT)和转基因株系(GH3.9ox-3和GH3.9ox-7)幼苗用不同光强和光质进行处理,结果显示:在蓝光、红光、远红光等不同光照强度下培养,过表达株系幼苗下胚轴的生长均明显受到抑制,且较野生型明显;采用不同光周期处理拟南芥幼苗,过表达幼苗下胚轴的伸长明显低于野生型;对成年植株表型进行观察,发现过表达株系植株矮小、雄蕊变短、果荚短小。研究表明:GH3.9基因参与了拟南芥生长发育调控,过表达GH3.9基因对拟南芥生长有抑制作用。     

灰绿藜液泡膜焦磷酸酶基因（CgVP1）过表达提高拟南芥的耐盐性。

克隆获得包含完整开放阅读框（0RF）的灰绿藜液泡膜焦磷酸酶基因（CgVP1）cDNA序列,构建成基因表达载体pCAMBIA1301．1-CgVPl后,利用根癌农杆菌介导的花序浸染法转化拟南芥,再以抗性筛选方法获得了T3代纯合的转基因植株,经检测外源目的基因已经整合到拟南芥基因组中并能正常表达。分析结果表明,在拟南芥中过表达劬VP1基因后提高了植株抗盐胁迫的能力。     

山葡萄CBF基因表达载体构建及对拟南芥根生长的影响

为了研究山葡萄CBF基因调节植物对盐胁迫的应答机理,分别构建了山葡萄Va CBF1、Va CBF2和Va CBF3的植物过表达载体。经酶切及琼脂糖电泳检测证实3个基因均插入到p BASTA中,表明表达载体构建成功。然后,分别将3个植物过表达载体转入农杆菌EHA105中,并通过浸花法浸染拟南芥。利用除草剂筛选获得3个基因的拟南芥过表达株系。最后,对野生型拟南芥与转基因拟南芥进行盐胁迫处理,发现OE-CBF2转基因植株的主根伸长长度显著长于其它植株,3个转基因株系的侧根长度也明显长于野生型植株。上述结果表明山葡萄CBF基因可能在植物盐胁迫中对根部生长发育起到非常重要的调控作用。     

马铃薯块茎形成相关基因STI-LIKE在拟南芥植株发育中的功能验证

马铃薯块茎的形成涉及一系列基因的表达和关闭。以马铃薯普通栽培品种"大西洋"为试验材料,采用RT-PCR扩增获得马铃薯STI-LIKE基因全长片段。RT-PCR定量分析表明,该基因在马铃薯营养器官中均有表达。生物信息学分析表明STI-LIKE蛋白具有3个TPR结构域,在高等植物中具有高同源性,是一个普遍存在的蛋白质。为验证STI-LIKE蛋白在拟南芥植株发育中功能,分别构建该基因强启动子表达载体(p BI121)和干扰载体(p HANNIBAL和p ART27),转化拟南芥获得了两种载体的拟南芥转基因植株,同时制备STI-LIKE蛋白抗体验证转基因植株蛋白表达。研究结果表明STI-LIKE基因可能参与拟南芥株型发育过程。     

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.