ent-Pimarane Diterpenes from the Aerial Parts of Siegesbeckia pubescens

Five new ent-pimarane diterpenes ( 1 – 5 ) and five known analogs ( 6 – 10 ) were isolated from the aerial parts of Siegesbeckia pubescens. Their structures, including absolute configurations, were determined by comprehensive spectroscopic methods especially 1D and 2D NMR and quantum chemical electronic circular dichroism calculations. All the isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against human BT549, A549 and H157 cancer cell lines. Among them, compounds 1 and 2 showed mild cytotoxicity against lung cancer cell lines H157 with IC₅₀ values of 16.35±2.59 and 18.86±4.83 μM, respectively.     

乙烯调控灵芝酸生物合成关键基因的筛选

灵芝是我国著名的药用真菌,灵芝酸是其主要活性成分,具有多种药理活性。乙烯可以促进灵芝酸的生物合成,但其调控机理尚不明确。本实验利用非靶向代谢组研究发现Top 20差异代谢物中含有6种灵芝的活性成分(灵芝酸η、赤芝酸F、赤芝酸N、丹芝酸A、灵芝酸V1和灵芝酸δ),其中有4种灵芝酸(灵芝酸η、赤芝酸F、赤芝酸N和灵芝酸V1)为上调积累,2种灵芝酸(灵芝酸δ和丹芝酸A)为下调积累。通过非靶向代谢组与转录组的关联分析发现基因GL23307、GL25546和GL29595同时与3种灵芝酸积累显著相关,并通过启动子顺式元件预测,发现分别编码泛素蛋白和抑肽酶基因GL25546、GL23307的启动子区域含有响应乙烯信号的顺式作用元件GCC-box,因此,推测这两个基因在乙烯调控灵芝酸生物合成中发挥重要作用。     

Mitochondrial genome phylogeny reveals the deep-time origin of Gomphomastacinae (Orthoptera: Eumastacidae) and its alpine genera in China

Gomphomastacinae is a grasshopper subfamily in Eumastacidae, with a morphology and distribution distinct from other subfamilies. The alpine genera of Gomphomastacinae that inhabit the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in China show unique characteristics adapted to high-altitude life. However, their phylogenetic position and biogeographic history remain controversial. Thus, to determine the diversification history of these alpine genera and the origin of the subfamily, we obtained mitochondrial genome sequences from all seven Gomphomastacinae genera distributed in China. The reconstructed phylogeny was well supported and confirmed the phylogenetic position of Gomphomastacinae within Eumastacidae. Time calibration revealed a deep-time origin of the subfamily dating back to the Cretaceous period, and the diversification among alpine genera was also an ancient pre-Miocene event (30–50 Ma). Based on phylogeny and time estimates, the most likely biogeographic scenario is that Gomphomastacinae originated from an ancestral lineage that lived in East Gondwana and dispersed to Central and Western Asia through India. Subsequently, the alpine genera likely diverged along with the uplift of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and survived drastic climate change by in situ adaptation to high-altitude dwellings.     

Collections-based systematics in the new age of discovery: Celebrating the legacy and life of Professor Wen-Tsai Wang

Professor Wen-Tsai Wang (王文采, June 5, 1926–November 16, 2022) was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and a legendary plant taxonomist at the Institute of Botany of CAS (Fig.1). Herein, we organize a virtual special issue in Journal of Systematics and Evolution (JSE) to celebrate the legacy and life of Professor Wang, who was a leading plant taxonomist in China and made important contributions toward advancing the understanding of the flora of China, the biogeography of eastern Asia, and biodiversity research in the vast Hengduan Mountains. He served as the Editor-in-Chief of Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica (now JSE) for 6 years from 1982 to 1988, and trained several generations of plant taxonomists in China (Li,2001).     

Mutational meltdown or controlled chain reaction: The dynamics of rapid plastome evolution in the hyperdiversity of Poaceae

The study of genomic structural evolution associated with accelerated evolutionary rates that result in avoidance of meltdown and increase biodiversity is becoming ever more possible as the number of available plastomes increases. To more comprehensively analyze rate heterogeneity among monocots and within Poaceae, we sequenced plastomes from four Poaceae species, combined them with publicly available data from ~200 plastomes, and conducted comparative analyses to quantify the pattern of rate heterogeneity between different lineages, functional groups, and periods of evolutionary time. We compared structural differences across the Poaceae to quantify how changes in plastome size correspond to different genomic subunits and the evolution of IR–SC junction boundaries. The substitution rates among ancestral Poaceae were inferred to be exceptionally rapid compared to other monocots but slowed after divergence into extant lineages, which could not be sufficiently explained by positive selection. As such, rapid rates in the ancestral lineage leading to Poaceae might be more closely linked to large-scale structural changes like the loss of ycf1 and ycf2. The total increase in plastome size across Poaceae was positively correlated with the total length of intergenic spacers, tandem repeats, and dispersed repeats as well as large single copy, and inverted repeats (IRs). The continuous evolution of IR–SC junction boundaries was asynchronous with sizes of total genome and subunits across Poaceae. Future work is needed to better understand what factors in ancestral Poaceae evolved to harness such rapid rates of plastome evolution, avoid a mutational meltdown, and escape the stagnation of strong purifying selection as well as if these factors could be utilized to synthetically control rates.     

西方蜜蜂Lozenge基因的克隆鉴定及时空表达分析

Lozenge蛋白（Lz蛋白）是昆虫的重要转录因子,在昆虫胚胎发育过程中发挥重要作用。为研究Lozenge在西方蜜蜂Apis mellifera中的作用,本研究克隆了Lozenge基因,并对其进行生物信息学分析,同时基于荧光定量PCR技术检测该基因在西方蜜蜂不同发育时期（卵期、幼虫期、蛹期和成年蜂）和10日龄哺育蜂各组织的表达谱。生物信息学分析结果显示,Lozenge基因的开放阅读框（ORF）为1 554 bp,共编码517个氨基酸,预测分子量为54.63918 kDa,等电点为6.08;结构域预测分析发现Lozenge蛋白含有一个Runt结构域,多物种蛋白序列对比发现该蛋白同源性高。时期表达谱表明,该基因在第1日卵和第2日卵的表达量远高于其他时期,在卵期表达量随时间依次递减,幼虫期表达量极低,蛹期表达量呈先增后减的趋势,而成年蜂中均有表达;组织表达谱显示,该基因在哺育蜂头部、上颚腺中的表达量较高,而在腹部的表达量低。这些结果表明,Lozenge基因可能在西方蜜蜂胚胎期细胞发育过程、哺育蜂蜂王浆合成和分泌过程中发挥重要作用,这些结果为该基因功能的深入研究提供了重要的理论参考。     

Crystal structure determination of basic phospholipase A2 from venom of Agkistrodon halys pallas by molecular replacement method

Basic phospholipase A₂ (BPLA₂) from the venom of Agkistrodon halys pallas has a strong ability to hemolyze erythrocytes. The asymmetrical unit of P2₁2₁2₁ crystal of BPLA₂ contains two molecules. Self-rotation function was used to study the orientation relationship of these two molecules. Cross-rotation and translation functions were then used to determine the orientations and positions of the two molecules in the unit cell. The model building and preliminary structure refinement were carried out. The result shows that the two molecules in the asymmetrical unit of orthorhombic crystal are related by a non-crystallographic 2-fold symmetry axis.     

Interaction of synthetic peptide corresponding to signal sequence of glucitol permease of Escherichia Coli and its analogue with liposomes

The N-terminal signal sequence of glucitol pcrmease of Escherichia Coli (Gut22) and its analogue (Gut22Ana) were synthesized. The analogue had a Pro residue substituting for the His at the 7th position of Gut22 and a Val residue substituting for the Glu at the 10th position. The intrinsic fluorescence emission spectra indicated that the binding of Gut22 with lipid bilayer was much stronger than that of Gut22Ana. The leakage experiments with calcein-loaded liposomes showed that Gut22 strongly perturbed lipid bilayers while Gut22Ana did not. The apparent partition constant of Gut22 for partitioning into phosphatidylserine/phosphatidylcholine bilayers was measured; the effect of membrane potential on the interaction of Gut22 with lipid bilayers was studied and the conformation changes of Gut22 and Gut22Ana upon interacting with liposomes were studied by the method of circular dichroism analysis.     

Repair effect of thymine radical anion by echinocoside using pulse radiolysis

Repair activities of thymine radical anion by echinocoside, isolated from Pedicularis plicata. were studied using pulse radiolysis technique. The thymine radical anion was produced by the reaction of hydrated electron with thymine. Echinocoside. one of the polyphenols of phenylpropanoid glycoside, was added to the thymine aqueous solution saturated with N2. Kinetic analysis by transient absorption spectrum showed that thymine radical anion was formed at first, and then after several decades of microseconds of pulse radiolysis. the spectrum of thymine radical anion was changed to that of echinocoside radical anion. The evidence indicated that thymine radical anion was repaired through one-electron-transfer between the DNA base radical anion and echinocoside. The rate constant of electron transfer by echinocoside was 1.45× 109 dm3 · mol1 · s 1.