A Pin gene families encoding components of auxin efflux carriers in Brassica juncea

Based on the sequence information of Arabidopsis PIN1, two cDNAs encoding PIN homologues from Brassica juncea, Bjpin2 and Bjpin3, were isolated through cDNA library screening. Bjpin2 and Bjpin3 encoded proteins containing 640 and 635 amino acid residues, respectively, which shared 97.5% identities with each other and were highly homologous to Arabidopsis PIN1, PIN2 and other putative PIN proteins. BJPIN2 and BjPIN3 had similar structures as AtPIN proteins. Northern blot analysis indicated that Bjpin2 was expressed in stem, leaf and floral tissues, while Bjpin3 was expressed predominantly in stem and hypocotyls. Two promoter fragments of pin genes, Bjpin-X and Bjpin-Z, were isolated by 'genome walking' technique using primers at 5'-end of pin cDNA. Promoter-gus fusion studies revealed the GUS activities driven by Bjpin-X were at internal side of xylem and petal; while those driven by Bjpin-Z were detected at leaf vein, epidermal cell and cortex of stem, vascular tissues and anther. Results of the pin gene     

Egr-1基因沉默对A549细胞放射敏感性的影响

目的:探讨Egr-1基因沉默对人肺腺癌A549细胞放射敏感性的影响。方法:选用A549细胞株作为研究对象,将其分成A、B、C三组,即空白对照组(只加入RPMI-1640培养)、阴性对照组(加入LV3-NC-sh RNA)、实验组(加入EGR1-homo-2294-sh RNA),采用慢病毒介导的sh RNA干扰技术使实验组细胞Egr-1基因沉默表达。利用荧光显微镜、自动化荧光定量细胞成像分析系统分析sh RNA转染,利用FQ-PCR分析Egr-1表达,再利用细胞克隆形成实验检测细胞放射敏感性参数的差异。结果:慢病毒介导的sh RNA成功转染阴性对照组、实验组细胞;空白对照组与阴性对照组Egr-1表达无差异(P0.05),实验组与空白对照组、阴性对照组比较Egr-1均受到明显抑制(P0.05);克隆形成实验中细胞放射敏感性参数D0、SF2实验组细胞与空白对照组、阴性对照组比较均存在明显差异(P0.05)。结论:Egr-1基因沉默使A549细胞放射敏感性降低,Egr-1表达可能与肿瘤细胞对放射的敏感性有关。     

Association between VDR Apal Polymorphism and Hip Bone Mineral Density Can Be Modified by Body Mass Index:A Study on Postmenopausal Chinese Women

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem for old people.Genetic factors are considered tobe major contributors to the pathogenesis of postmenopausal osteoporosis.The vitamin D receptor(VDR)gene is a prominent candidate gene for the regulation of postmenopausal bone mass;however,despite exten-sive studies,controversy remains regarding its association with postmenopausal body mineral density(BMD)variation.In this study,a total of 260 healthy postmenopausal Chinese women were genotyped at the VDRApaI locus using polymerase chain reaction(PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).Rawhip BMD was significantly associated with VDR ApaI polymorphism with and without adjusting for age(P=0.015 and 0.040,respectively).This genetic effect can explain 3.32% of hip BMD variation.However,the significant association vanished after correcting for both age and body mass index(BMI)(P=0.169).Inaddition,we observed a significant association between VDR ApaI polymorphism with unadjusted BMI(P=0.042)or BMI adjusted for age(P=0.049).The raw hip BMD was also found to be significantly corre-lated with BMI(r=0.517,P=0.0001),with BMI explaining 26.35% of the variation of hip BMD.All of thesefacts prompt us to conclude that the significant association between the VDR ApaI genotype and hip BMDmay be modified by BMI in postmenopausal Chinese women.Our findings may partially explain the earlierinconsistent association results concerning the VDR gene and BMD,and highlight the importance of incorpo-rating covariates such as BMI into osteoporosis association studies.     

The Modulation and Control of the Gecko''''s Foot Movement

1IntroductionAttachment is still a difficult problem in wall-climbing robotics.There are two main types ofattachment mechanisms for wall climbing robots.One issuction,which has major drawbacks.The mechanismrequires the contacting surface being smooth,otherwise itwill be ineffective.This limits adhesion of the suctioncup to relatively smooth,non-porous,non-crackedsurfaces.Another issue associated with suction adhesionis that this method requires time to develop enoughvacuum to generate suffici…