Reduced Application of Nitrogen Fertilizer Affects the Carbon Metabolism of Leaves and Maintains the Number of Flowers in Coreopsis tinctoria

This study examined the effects of nitrogen (N) fertilizer reduction on the carbon (C) metabolism and yield of Coreopsis tinctoria. A two-year (2020–2021) hydroponic experiment was conducted in accordance with a randomized complete group design with five N levels [0.875 mM Ca(NO₃)₂ (N1), 1.750 mM Ca(NO₃)₂ (N2), 3.500 mM Ca(NO₃)₂ (N3), 7.000 mM Ca(NO₃)₂ (N4), and 14.000 mM Ca(NO₃)₂ (N5)] and three replications. The results showed that low N significantly affected the functional leaf weight, C metabolism, and flower bud (or flower) numbers of C. tinctoria at harvest. Lower-N levels, especially those of the N2 treatment, significantly increased Rubisco, sucrose synthase (SS), sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), soluble acid invertase (SAI), glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGDH) activity and maintained the flower number of C. tinctoria. In addition, the balance of carbohydrates (sucrose, starch, glucose, and fructose) and ATP contents was more efficiently maintained under relatively low-N levels. These findings might suggest that reduced application of N fertilizer affects the C metabolism of leaves and maintains the number of flowers in Coreopsis tinctoria. Applying relatively low-N fertilizer levels is also a promising cultivation strategy for C. tinctoria.

     

Soil amendment with biochar and manure alters wood stake decomposition and fungal community composition

Biochar and manure can be used for sustainable land management. However, little is known about how soil amendments might affect surface and belowground microbial processes and subsequent wood decomposition. In a split-split-split plot design, we amended soil with two rates of manure (whole plot; 0 and 9 Mg ha⁻¹) and biochar (split plot; 0 and 10 Mg ha⁻¹). Wood stakes of three species (hybrid poplar, triploid Populus tomentosa Carr.; aspen, Populus tremuloides Michx.; and pine, Pinus taeda L.) were placed in two positions (horizontally on the soil surface, and inserted vertically in the mineral soil), which served as a substrate for fungal growth. In 3 years, the decomposition rate (density loss), moisture content, and fungal community (via high-throughput sequencing methods) of stakes were evaluated. Results indicated that biochar and/or manure increased the wood stake decomposition rates, moisture content, and operational taxonomic unit abundance. However, the richness and diversity of fungi were dependent on wood stake position (surface > mineral), species (pine > the two Populus), and sample dates. This study highlights that soil amendment with biochar and/or manure can alter the fungal community, which in turn can enhance an important soil process (i.e., decomposition).     

A short-chain carbonyl reductase mutant is an efficient catalyst in the production of (R)-1,3-butanediol

R-1,3-butanediol (R-1,3-BDO) is an important chiral intermediate of penem and carbapenem synthesis. Among the different synthesis methods to obtain pure enantiomer R-1,3-BDO, oxidation–reduction cascades catalysed by enzymes are promising strategies for its production. Dehydrogenases have been used for the reduction step, but the enantio-selectivity is not high enough for further organic synthesis efforts. Here, a short-chain carbonyl reductase (LnRCR) was evaluated for the reduction step and developed via protein engineering. After docking result analysis with the substrate 4-hydroxy-2-butanone (4H2B), residues were selected for virtual mutagenesis, their substrate-binding energies were compared, and four sites were selected for saturation mutagenesis. High-throughput screening helped identify a Ser154Lys mutant which increased the catalytic efficiency by 115% compared to the parent enzyme. Computer-aided simulations indicated that after single residue replacement, movements in two flexible areas (VTDPAF and SVGFANK) facilitated the volumetric compression of the 4H2B-binding pocket. The number of hydrogen bonds between the stabilized 4H2B-binding pocket of the mutant enzyme and substrate was higher (from four to six) than the wild-type enzyme, while the substrate-binding energy was decreased (from −17.0 kJ/mol to −29.1 kJ/mol). Consequently, the catalytic efficiency increased by approximately 115% and enantio-selectivity increased from 95% to 99%. Our findings indicate that compact and stable substrate-binding pockets are critical for enzyme catalysis. Lastly, the utilization of a microbe expressing the Ser154Lys mutant enzyme was proven to be a robust process to conduct the oxidation–reduction cascade at larger scales.     

Correlation between fibronectin and its receptor in chick myoblast differentiation

Alterations in the amount of fibronectin and in the number of its receptors during myoblast differentiation of chicken embryo were investigated. The amount of fibronectin in the cell surface pool as measured by immunoblotting decreased during myogenesis To identify and characterize the fibronectin receptors on the myoblasts, the interactions of the 28,000 dalton (28 kDa) amino terminal fragment and 85,000 dalton (85 kDa) cell-binding fragment of fibronectin with my-oblasts were examined. The binding of the 28 kDa fragment was found to be time-dependent and reached a maximum level within 60 min. The unlabeled 28 kDa fragment inhibited the binding of the radioiodinated 28 kDa fragment, whereas the unlabeled 85 kDa fragment and antibody to integrin did not inhibit it, suggesting that the 28 kDa fragment interacts with the matrix assembly receptors but not with the cell adhesion receptors. There was a single class of 3.4 × 10⁵ binding sites per cell with an apparent dissociation constant of 1.4 × 10^?7 M on 30 hr old myoblasts. The specific binding of the radioiodinated 28 kDa fragment to myoblasts decreased as the fusion proceeded. This decrease of binding was consistent with the decrease in the amount of fibronectin. Furthermore, the levels of fibronectin and binding of the radioiodinated 28 kDa fragment in the fusion-blocked myoblasts by EGTA treatment appeared to remain constant. These results suggest that the decrease and/or loss of fibronectin during myoblast fusion is closely correlated with the alteration of fibronectin receptors and with the fusion of myoblasts.     

Molecular Cloning and Characterization of Transferrin from Wax Moth, Galleria mellonella

Complete mRNA sequence of transferrin from Galleria mellonella was obtained, and compared with those of other species. Until now, two types of insect transferrin were reported. Transferrins in cockroach and termite have two iron binding sites while those in most other insect groups, studied for the protein, have only one. It was suggested that the presence of two types of transferrin was related with transferrin evolution, because vertebrate transferrins have two iron binding sites, called N and C terminal lobe. It was shown that G. mellonella transferrin also has only one iron binding site (N terminal lobe), and the deduced amino acid sequence was most similar to those of Manduca sexta and Bombyx mori.     

九种蹄盖蕨科植物配子体的酯酶同工酶分析

本文培养了蹄盖蕨科９个种即中华蹄盖蕨（Ａｔｈｙｒｉｕｍｓｉｎｅｎｓｅ）带岭蹄盖蕨（Ａ．ｄａｌｉｎｇｅｎｓｅ）、多齿蹄盖蕨（Ａ．ｍｕｌｔｉｄｅｎｔａｔｕｍ）（包括青柄和紫柄２种带岭蹄蕨类型）、东北蛾眉蕨（Ｌｕｎａｔｈｙｒｉｕｍｐｙｃｎｏｓｏｒｕｍ）、朝鲜介蕨（Ｄｒｙｏａｔｈｙｒｉｕｍｃｏｒｅａｎｕｍ）、山冷蕨（Ｃｙｓｔｏｐｔｅｒｉｓｓｕｄｅｔｉｃａ）、假冷蕨（Ｐｓｅｕｄｏｃｙｓｔｏｐｔｅｒｉｓｓｐｉｎｕｌｏｓａ）、欧洲羽节蕨（Ｇｙｍｎｏｃａｒｐｉｕｍｄｒｙｏｐｔｅｒｉｓ）和黑鳞短肠蕨（Ａｌａｎｔｏｄｉａｃｒｅｎａｔａ）的配子体为材料,进行酯酶同工酶的分析,以表明它们的种间差异,其中多齿蹄盖蕨的青柄和紫柄两种类型的酶谱存在明显差异,应考虑紫柄为多齿蹄盖蕨的变型。     

kar交配法转移YACs至新宿主的研究

利用改进的kar交配法,将一个含有340kb人基因组DNA的YAC片段的供体酵母菌株YAC23与受体菌株YLB504进行交配,以选择平板对所形成的候选YAC导入菌进行筛选。经PCR分析,候选YAC导入菌在404bp处有一个扩增带,即具有受体菌株的交配型(MAT α)。进一步用脉冲电泳进行核型鉴定,证实YACs己成功地进入受体,实现了YACs从一个宿主到另一个宿主之间的转移。     

抗人肺腺癌单克隆抗体重,轻链可变区基因的分离克隆和序列测定

根据鼠免疫球蛋白重。轻链可变区基因ＦＲ１和ＦＲ４的序列保守性,化学合成了适于体外扩增Ｉｇ重、轻链可变区基因（Ｖ_Ｈ和Ｖ_Ｌ）的数对引物。以分泌抗人肺腺癌单抗的杂交瘤细胞株ＷＬＡ－２Ｃ４的基因组ＤＮＡ为模板,ＰＣＲ扩增Ｖ_Ｈ和Ｖ_Ｌ基因,分别克隆人ｐＵＣ１９载体。转化子经蓝、白斑筛选,酶切鉴定,双脱氧测序证实确为鼠单抗可变区基因,其中Ｖ_Ｈ基因全长为３４８ｂｐ,编码１１６ａａ,属重链ⅡＢ亚类;Ｖ_Ｌ基因全长３１８ｂｐ,编码１０６ａａ,属Ｋ轻链Ⅵ亚类。     

Flow cytometric analysis of antibody producing cells using double immunofluorescent staining

Summary Double fluorescent labeling, with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled F(ab)₂ specific for the heavy chain and R-phycoerythrin (R-PE)-labeled F(ab)₂ specific for the light chain, was demonstrated as a convenient means for the accurate evaluation of a heterogeneous non-antibody-producing population. Furthermore, it could be used for monitoring the changes in each immunoglobulin (Ig) chain content of the cells during the batch culture, which will facilitate the study on antibody synthesis, assembly and secretion.