翅果油树根瘤超微结构及其内生菌的观察

作者用光学显微镜,透射电镜和扫描电镜对翅果油树(Eldaeagnus mollis D.)根瘤侵染细胞的超微结构及其内生菌的形态进行了观察研究。翅果油树根瘤中的内生菌具有五种不同的发育形态:菌丝、固氮泡囊、孢囊、孢囊孢子和拟类菌体。内生菌的这些不同形态以及它们在共生固氮中的作用,本文也作了讨论。     

基于高通量测序分析西藏沙棘根瘤内生菌的多样性

根瘤是微生物侵染植物根部并与之形成的共生结构,这些微生物都可被称为植物内生菌。豆科植物根瘤中的内生菌常常又被称为根瘤菌,而侵染非豆科植物形成根瘤的主要是放线菌弗兰克氏菌,这些非豆科植物又被称为放线菌结瘤植物。西藏沙棘是一种典型的放线菌结瘤植物,由于其分布生境的特殊性,对其根瘤内生菌的研究具有重要的生态意义。对于西藏沙棘根瘤内生菌的研究,培养方法因难以模拟自然条件而不易获得纯培养,高通量测序技术对其多样性的研究提供了便利。因此,本研究以生长在甘肃省天祝县金强河河滩地的西藏沙棘根瘤为材料,采用16S rRNA基因扩增子高通量测序方法,结合OTU分析,对西藏沙棘根瘤内生菌的多样性进行探讨。实验结果表明,西藏沙棘根瘤内生菌具有丰富的多样性,根瘤内的优势属为共生固氮的弗兰克氏菌属（Frankia）,其相对丰度为47.63%,共检测到7个弗兰克氏菌属的OTUs;根瘤内除弗兰克氏菌外,还存在大量的非弗兰克氏菌,共检测到1523个OTUs,隶属于22个门、33个纲、69个目、113个科和202个属,相对丰度排名前9的属中有25个非弗兰克氏菌属的OTUs。该研究也表明,西藏沙棘根瘤内生菌具有丰富的多样性,西藏沙棘根瘤中不仅存在着可共生固氮的弗兰克氏菌,并且还分布着非弗兰克氏菌;在同一根瘤样品中,弗兰克氏菌属还具有不同的物种。本研究不仅拓展了西藏沙棘根瘤内生菌多样性的研究方法,还为同一寄主植物中弗兰克氏菌多样性的研究提供了分析思路。     

马桑共生固氮根瘤及其内生放线菌

马桑型非豆科内生放线菌的共生固氮根瘤的含菌组织与桤木型不同。前者为一马蹄形整体,围绕着中柱维管束;后者完全包围中柱,其中含菌细胞和不含菌细胞交错存在或形成分散的含菌细胞组织团。尼泊尔马桑(Coriaria nepalensis Wall.)根瘤的内生放线菌菌丝形态与桤木根瘤的内生菌形态相同,具有一层电子密度很高的单层壁和具有单层壁的横隔膜。菌丝分枝,具有中间体。成熟的含菌细胞内有一围绕着中央液泡的栅栏排列的柱形泡囊,它们是菌丝的顶端细胞,其电子密度比菌丝高。含菌组织的衰老部分有颗粒体,颗粒体有双层壁,内层壁与菌丝的相同,外层壁比内层壁厚数倍,电子密度低。     

羊奶果根瘤内生菌的亚显微结构

羊奶果是桤木型根瘤。根瘤的横切面是轴对称的圆形结构,含菌细胞分散于皮层组织中。随着根瘤的发育,内生菌也有不同的形态结构。侵染初期的内生菌是一种分枝、具隔膜的菌丝体。幼龄菌丝中含有电子半透明的颗粒,成熟菌丝没有这种颗粒。成熟菌丝顶端会臌大形成具隔膜的椭圆球状泡囊,直径比菌丝大。不同发育时期的泡囊,其形态结构也有差异。     

沙棘根瘤内生菌的多型性

用透射电子显微镜观察了春、夏、秋、冬四个季节的沙棘根瘤,以及瘤瓣上、中、下三个部位。结果表明,不同季节,不同部位的瘤瓣内,根瘤内生菌有7种不同形态。即侵染菌丝体、繁殖菌丝体、营养菌丝体、春孢子及春孢子囊、泡囊,冬孢子及冬孢子囊和类菌体。在多年生珊瑚状的根瘤中,它们的世代交替是:春夏季以侵染菌丝、繁殖菌丝、营养菌丝、春孢子囊及春孢子、泡囊为主;秋冬季以衰退的营养菌丝、衰老泡囊、冬孢子囊和冬孢子、类菌体为主。冬孢子和类菌体是休眠体。     

豆科根瘤非侵染细胞的形态结构研究

非侵染细胞是豆科根瘤中一种非常重要的细胞,它不仅参与了根瘤共生固氮,而且还在其中起了极为重要的作用,这些作用的发挥与其具有与此相适应的形态结构和分布有关。非侵染细胞体积小、数量少,分散于侵染细胞之间。在大豆根瘤中,它们彼此相连接,形成一条条的线和一个个的面,由根瘤中心向四周辐射,直至与皮层细胞相接,其作用可能与根瘤中心组织和皮层细胞之间的物质运输,特别是固氮产物的输出密切有关。非侵染细胞与侵染细胞之间的主要差异在于它不含细菌,中央有一个大液泡,细胞质中含有大量的过氧化物酶体和许多膨大的管状内质网,而且细胞壁上还有丰富的胞间连丝和纹孔,但主要存在于非侵染细胞与非侵染细胞之间的连接壁上。     

杨梅根瘤的显微和亚显微结构及固氮活性

杨梅根瘤的横切面是圆形、对称的,含菌组织位于皮层的中部。未成熟根瘤的感染细胞充满内生菌丝。内生菌丝是分枝。具隔膜的Frankia菌。成熟根瘤中,内生菌丝顶端膨大形成无隔膜、表面光滑、球形的泡囊,直径比菌丝直径大,内含有某种内含物。泡囊的大量出现可能是固氮活力提高的标志,成熟壮瘤的固氮活性比幼瘤和衰老瘤的高。     

七叶一枝花根的显微结构及其内生真菌分布研究

本文采用石蜡永久制片和光学显微摄像的方法对七叶一枝花Parispolyphylla根的显微结构及其内生真菌的分布进行了研究。结果表明,七叶一枝花的根茎由栓皮层、薄壁组织及维管组织组成,其中栓皮层由4层细胞组成;薄壁组织的细胞含有丰富的营养物质,其内有时分布有针状结晶束。不定根由表皮层、皮层、内皮层及维管束构成,表皮上有根毛,皮层所占根径的比例达80%以上;木质部为三原型。在七叶一枝花的根茎和不定根的皮层细胞中均有内生真菌的分布。真菌由表皮、外皮层侵入到皮层薄壁组织,在皮层薄壁细胞中形成菌丝结,并扩展成一定的侵染区域,部分皮层细胞中菌丝结已被消化吸收。内生真菌只侵染皮层薄壁细胞,不侵染维管柱。七叶一枝花可以通过消化细胞内的菌丝作为营养的来源之一。     

羊奶果不同发育阶段根瘤的细胞结构及固氮、吸氢活性

比较羊奶果根瘤三个不同发育阶段的显微,亚显微结构和固氮,吸氢活性的差异。探讨了根瘤结构与功能的关系。结果表明：早期侵染方式为皮层细胞间隙侵染,此期的内生菌是一种分枝,具隔膜的菌丝体,早期侵染细胞有脂体存在。成熟根瘤含菌细胞明显多于幼瘤和衰老瘤。成熟根瘤具有大量泡囊,成熟泡囊具分隔,双层壁结构。衰老瘤泡囊分隔消失,不呈双层壁结构。成熟根瘤的固氮,吸氢活性明显高于幼瘤和衰老瘤。     

羊奶果根瘤侵入线和被侵染细胞的亚显微结构

羊奶果根瘤的侵入线,总是在几个相邻细胞的细胞间隙中出现。在根瘤发生部位未出现根毛的变形。侵入线似一囊状物,其内含物有丝状物和基质,侵入线的壁部分或全部加厚,并与周围的寄主细胞壁相连。侵入线呈多种形态,在被侵染细胞中,细胞核膨大,并分叉变成指状核。随着细胞的衰老,被侵染细胞中的内生菌、细胞器也逐渐消失。     

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.