Structural basis for histone H3 recognition by NASP in Arabidopsis

The structural basis for histone recognition by the histone chaperone nuclear autoantigenic sperm protein (NASP) remains largely unclear. Here, we showed that Arabidopsis thaliana AtNASP is a monomer and displays robust nucleosome assembly activity in vitro. Examining the structure of AtNASP complexed with a histone H3 α3 peptide revealed a binding mode that is conserved in human NASP. AtNASP recognizes the H3 N-terminal region distinct from human NASP. Moreover, AtNASP forms a co-chaperone complex with ANTI-SILENCING FUNCTION 1 (ASF1) by binding to the H3 N-terminal region. Therefore, we deciphered the structure of AtNASP and the basis of the AtNASP–H3 interaction.     

分子即时检测(POCT)技术及其在新发传染病中的应用*

分子即时检测(point-of-care testing,POCT)技术具有灵敏度高、分析速度快、体积小、检测成本低廉等特点,在分子诊断领域受到广泛关注。近年来,分子POCT技术的发展与应用在应对新发、突发传染病,保护人类生命健康方面具有重大意义。介绍近五年来新兴的分子POCT技术,总结新兴分子POCT技术的最新研究进展及应用前景,分析POCT技术的优势与面临的挑战,探讨提高其检测灵敏度和选择性的技术策略。     

中亚热带4种林分类型土壤微生物生物量碳氮特征及季节变化

以中亚热带常绿阔叶林及由其改造而来的闽楠、毛竹及杉木人工林为研究对象,采用氯仿熏蒸浸提法测定了4种林分类型表层(0～10 cm)和深层(40～60 cm)土壤微生物生物量碳(MBC)和氮(MBN),并分析了其季节变化及与土壤理化性质之间的关系.结果表明: 4种林分类型表层土壤MBC和MBN均以常绿阔叶林最高,其次为闽楠人工林、毛竹人工林和杉木人工林,且前三者显著高于后者;各林分深层土壤MBC和MBN无显著差异.4种林分类型的表层土壤MBC和MBN均显著高于深层土壤,且各土层MBC和MBN均具有明显的季节变化,总体呈现出“夏高冬低”单峰曲线变化模式.相关分析表明,4种林分类型土壤MBC和MBN与土壤有机碳、全氮及土壤温度呈显著正相关关系,与土壤容重呈显著负相关关系.表明常绿阔叶林改造成人工林30多年后,表层土壤MBC和MBN呈下降趋势,其中杉木人工林下降幅度最大(分别下降39.0%和49.8%),而对深层土壤MBC和MBN的影响较小.凋落物数量和质量、土壤有机碳和总氮含量及土壤温度是导致各林分类型土壤微生物生物量碳氮差异和季节变化的主要因素.     

Design,synthesis and bioevaluation of 3-oxo-6-aryl-2,3-dihydropyridazine-4-carbohydrazide derivatives as novel xanthine oxidase inhibitors

In view of expanding the structure activity relationship of xanthine oxidase inhibitors, a series of 3-oxo-6-aryl-2,3-dihydropyridazine-4-carbohydrazide/carboxylic acid derivatives were designed by molecular docking and synthesized. All the target compounds were evaluated for their in vitro XO inhibition by using febuxostat and allopurinol as the standard controls. Most of the hydrazide derivatives exhibited potency levels in the micromolar range. From the view of docking study, hydrazide derivatives bind to the active site of XO through a novel interaction mode, which is different from that of febuxostat bearing a carboxyl group. The most promising compound 8b was further subjected to kinetic analysis to deduce their modes of inhibition.     

Extensive allele‐level remodeling of histone methylation modification in reciprocal F1 hybrids of rice subspecies

Epigenetic mechanisms play a major role in heterosis, partly as a result of the remodeling of epigenetic modifications in F₁ hybrids. Based on chromatin immunoprecipitation‐sequencing (ChIP‐Seq) analyses, we show that at the allele level extensive histone methylation remodeling occurred for a subset of genomic loci in reciprocal F₁ hybrids of Oryza sativa (rice) cultivars Nipponbare and 93‐11, representing the two subspecies japonica and indica. Globally, the allele modification‐altered loci in leaf or root of the reciprocal F₁ hybrids involved ?12–43% or more of the genomic regions carrying either of two typical histone methylation markers, H3K4me3 (>21 000 genomic regions) and H3K27me3 (>11 000 genomic regions). Nevertheless, at the total modification level, the majority (from ?43 to >90%) of the modification‐altered alleles lay within the range of parental additivity in the hybrids because of concerted alteration in opposite directions, consistent with an overall attenuation of allelic differences in the modifications. Importantly, of the genomic regions that did show non‐additivity in total modification level by either marker in the two tissues of hybrids, >80% manifested transgressivity, which involved genes enriched in specific functional categories. Extensive allele‐level alteration of H3K4me3 alone was positively correlated with genome‐wide changes in allele‐level gene expression, whereas at the total level, both H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 remodeling, although affecting just a small number of genes, contributes to the overall non‐additive gene expression to variable extents, depending on tissue/marker combinations. Our results emphasize the importance of allele‐level analysis in hybrids to assess the remodeling of epigenetic modifications and their relation to changes in gene expression.     

基于多端元光谱混合分析方法的大兴安岭火后植被盖度恢复研究

火干扰是北方针叶林结构、功能及动态的主要调节因子之一。研究火后植被恢复对理解火干扰和生态系统的交互作用具有重要意义。火烧迹地通常由植被与基质混合组成,在中低分辨率（ > 10 m）遥感影像中表现为混合像元,因此研究亚像元尺度上植被的恢复是精确量化植被恢复的关键。本研究以2000年大兴安岭呼中自然保护区中8700 hm²火烧迹地为研究区,以两期（2014年6月1日和2010年6月22日）中分辨率Landsat ETM+影像（30 m）为基础数据,比较多端元光谱混合分析（Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis,MESMA）和归一化植被指数（Normalized Difference Vegetation Index,NDVI）获得的植被盖度,以高分辨率（2 m）WorldView-2影像（2014年7月1日）为验证数据,对两种方法计算的植被盖度精度进行比较。结果表明,MESMA方法获得的植被盖度（R²=0.691）与传统的NDVI获得的植被盖度（R²=0.700）精度无统计差异,中烈度下获得的植被覆盖精度高于低、高火烧烈度。为验证同一端元能否运用到不同时相的Landsat影像中,本研究将从2014年影像中获取的最佳端元运用到2010年影像中获得植被盖度图,结果表明2014年与2010年得到的RMSE（均方根误差）均值分别为0.0015和0.0065,说明最佳端元可用于不同时相的影像分解。本研究表明MESMA方法可有效监测北方针叶林中火后植被盖度恢复,并可运用于时间序列遥感影像监测植被恢复动态。     

Quality of vitrified porcine immature oocytes is improved by coculture with fresh oocytes during in vitro maturation

It is essential to enhance the in vitro maturation (IVM) condition for immature oocytes after cryopreservation, particularly if limited numbers of oocytes collected from specific donors. The objective of this study was to determine if quality of vitrified porcine immature oocytes was enhanced by coculturing with fresh oocytes during IVM. To distinguish fresh versus vitrified oocytes, we used two types of coculture systems: (a) transwell two‐chamber coculture; (b) labeling and tracing fresh oocytes with CellTracker? Green CMFDA during conventional culture. Coculture systems significantly accelerated meiotic progression of vitrified oocytes and significantly increased blastocyst formation rates following parthenogenetic activation and somatic cell nuclear transfer. Reactive oxygen species generation in vitrified oocytes was ameliorated by the coculture conditions, with no significant difference between fresh and vitrified oocytes for intracellular glutathione level. Both coculture systems significantly increased rate of normal mitochondrial distribution in vitrified oocytes, but did not affect fluorescence intensity of mitochondria. The percentage of oocytes with normal endoplasmic reticulum (ER) distribution and ER fluorescence intensity were significantly higher in vitrified oocytes cocultured with fresh oocytes. After 20 hr of IVM, mRNA expression of COX2, HAS2, PTX3, and TNFAIP6 remained significantly higher in cumulus cells derived from vitrified oocytes and coculture systems significantly decreased the expression of these genes. Additionally, coculture methods prevented the reduction of mRNA expression for BMP15, ZAR1, POU5F1, and DNMT3A in vitrified oocytes. In conclusion, oocyte quality and subsequent embryo development of vitrified porcine immature oocytes were significantly improved by fresh oocyte coculture during IVM.     

黄精种子萌发及组培技术研究

研究了不同的激素对多花黄精种子的萌发及组培的影响。研究结果表明:多花黄精种子萌发的最佳激素条件为6-BA 180.0 mg/L+GA_3 60.0 mg/L,两种激素可能有交互作用;多花黄精块茎外植体的最佳灭菌时间为12 min;最佳诱导外植体愈伤组织培养基为:6-BA 2.0 mg/L+2,4-D 0.2 mg/L+MS,低浓度的6-BA利于多花黄精块茎愈伤诱导;最佳诱芽培养基为:6-BA 6.0 mg/L+NAA 0.2 mg/L+MS和6-BA 4.0 mg/L+TDZ 0.2 mg/L+NAA 0.2 mg/L+MS,低浓度的TDZ对不定芽的诱导和生长有促进作用;最佳生根培养基为:IBA 1.0 mg/L+1/2MS,但是过高浓度的IBA会抑制根的诱导。通过多花黄精的繁殖技术的研究,以期为多花黄精的快繁提供技术支持。     

Vitamin C mitigates heat damage by reducing oxidative stress,inducing HSP expression in TM4 Sertoli cells

Heat stress is a major stressor that can lead to male reproductive dysfunction. Sertoli cells play a crucial role in spermatogenesis by providing germ cells with structural and nutritional support, and contributing to blood–testis barrier formation. Vitamin C (Vc) is an antioxidant capable of neutralizing reactive oxygen species and preventing lipid peroxidation widely used because it is inexpensive and highly accessible. In the present study, we investigated the protective effect of Vc on TM4 cells following heat stress. Pretreatment with Vc could effectively inhibit apoptosis (p < 0.01), lipid peroxidation, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. However, a significant increase in the malondialdehyde (MDA) level and LDH activity (p < 0.01) was observed in TM4 cells without Vc‐pretreatment, in conjunction with vacuole degeneration and karyopyknosis. In addition, both the messenger RNA and protein levels of CryAB, Hsp27, Hsp70, and Hsp110 substantially increased in the 3 and 12 hr recovery groups (p < 0.01). Vc also prevented microtubule aggregation following heat stress. These results suggest that pretreatment with Vc‐protected TM4 cells against heat stress by reducing the level of oxidative stress and inducing heat shock protein expression.     

Chemotherapy and cancer stem cells

Cancer stem cells are subsets of tumor cells defined through the capacity to initiate tumors and have been linked to therapeutic resistance. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Todaro et al. (2007) demonstrate that targeting tumor IL-4 sensitizes colon cancer stem cells to chemotherapy.