中华绒螯蟹蜕壳生长及其与相关基因表达的关联分析

蜕壳是甲壳动物常见的生长发育现象,但对调控蜕壳与生长的内在机制尚缺乏足够了解。本研究在室内条件下,对中华绒螯蟹(Eriocheir sinensis)一个蜕壳周期内的个体蜕壳与生长现象进行了连续观察,分析了2个蜕壳相关基因,即蜕皮激素受体基因(Ec R)和维甲类X受体基因(RXR),以及1个生长相关基因肌肉生长抑制素基因(MSTN)的表达及其与生长性状的相关性。结果发现,中华绒螯蟹在蜕壳后会出现一个跳跃式生长期,之后进入了一个缓慢持续上升过程,当营养物质积累到一定程度(肥满度达60%左右时)时启动下一次蜕壳;MSTN基因的表达与壳长(r=﹣0.450,P0.05)、壳宽(r=﹣0.410,P0.05)增长率呈显著负相关,而与肥满度呈显著正相关(r=0.450,P0.05),Ec R和RXR基因的表达与体重、壳长和壳宽的增长率均没有显著相关性;相对来说,MSTN在蜕壳后的表达量越高,则增重率越小;而Ec R和RXR在蜕壳后表达量越高,其增重率越大。本研究结果表明,中华绒螯蟹在蜕壳后其生长具有一定的规律性,肥满度可以作为衡量中华绒螯蟹体内营养积累启动蜕壳的指标,Ec R、RXR及MSTN基因表达与生长表型具有一定的相关性。     

PD-L1基因敲除小鼠构建及初步表型验证

目的 程序性死亡配体-1(PD-L1)是免疫调节途径的重要因子,是抗肿瘤免疫疗法中重要的靶标之一。利用CRISPR/Cas9技术成功构建PD-L1基因敲除小鼠模型,并初步分析其表型。方法 构建Cas9和sgRNA载体,并转录获得RNA,通过显微注射方式将RNA注射到C57BL/6小鼠受精卵中,经过鉴定获得F₀代阳性小鼠。F₀代小鼠与野生型C57BL/6小鼠交配获得F₁代杂合子小鼠,再通过F₁代小鼠自交获得F₂代纯合子小鼠品系。随后通过Real-Time PCR和流式实验分别检测PD-L1基因在mRNA和蛋白质水平上的表达情况。结果 Real-Time PCR和流式实验检测结果显示与野生型C57小鼠相比,PD-L1纯合子小鼠的PD-L1 mRNA相对表达水平和细胞上的蛋白质表达均有显著性下降,仅测定到本底的信号,证实已成功构建PD-L1基因敲除小鼠品系,为PD-L1体内基因功能研究提供了新的小鼠模型。     

Hyperadrenocorticism of calorie restriction contributes to its anti‐inflammatory action in mice

Calorie restriction (CR), which lengthens lifespan in many species, is associated with moderate hyperadrenocorticism and attenuated inflammation. Given the anti‐inflammatory action of glucocorticoids, we tested the hypothesis that the hyperadrenocorticism of CR contributes to its attenuated inflammatory response. We used a corticotropin‐releasing‐hormone knockout (CRHKO) mouse, which is glucocorticoid insufficient. There were four controls groups: CRHKO mice and wild‐type (WT) littermates fed either ad libitum (AL) or CR (60% of AL food intake), and three experimental groups: (a) AL‐fed CRHKO mice given corticosterone (CORT) in their drinking water titrated to match the integrated 24‐hr plasma CORT levels of AL‐fed WT mice, (b) CR‐fed CRHKO mice given CORT to match the 24‐hr CORT levels of AL‐fed WT mice, and (c) CR‐fed CHRKO mice given CORT to match the 24‐hr CORT levels of CR‐fed WT mice. Inflammation was measured volumetrically as footpad edema induced by carrageenan injection. As previously observed, CR attenuated footpad edema in WT mice. This attenuation was significantly blocked in CORT‐deficient CR‐fed CRHKO mice. Replacement of CORT in CR‐fed CRHKO mice to the elevated levels observed in CR‐fed WT mice, but not to the levels observed in AL‐fed WT mice, restored the anti‐inflammatory effect of CR. These results indicate that the hyperadrenocorticism of CR contributes to the anti‐inflammatory action of CR, which may in turn contribute to its life‐extending actions.     

Exclusion effects on vegetation characteristics and their correlation to soil factors in the semi-arid rangeland of Mu Us Sandland,China

Exclusion has been applied as a main measure for re-vegetation all over the world.This paper,by comparing the results of year-round exclusion,seasonal exclusion,and non-exclusion,quantified the vegetation variations under three different exclusion measures and their correlation to soil factors.The analysis results for community species component and plant diversity using multi-response permutation procedures (MRPPs)showed that exclusion did change the species component and increase plant diversity remarkably,while the period of exclusion had no significant influence on these two community features.The indicator species analysis and calculation of similarity indices indicated that community for year-round exclusion were becoming xerophytization and unpalatability,and showed highly spatial heterogeneity of plant species distribution,whereas community for seasonal exclusion was under stable non-equilibrium condition.Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA)and detrend canonical correspondence analysis (DCCA)results of relationship between plant species and soil variables demonstrated that soil moisture was a controlling factor for plant species component,microbiotic soil crust cover,soil organic matter,and soil bulk density had significant effects on soil moisture,among which microbiotic soil crust was a leading factor owing to its limitation to rainfall infiltration on the one hand,and its constraints to entrance of herbaceous seeds into soil or to germination of soil seeds on the other hand.As a result of long-term removal of animal grazing,crust kept intact in year-round exclusion community,which was a main reason of community xerophytization.It was also obvious from ordination results that some important environmental factors,such as tempo-spatial change of rainfall and corresponding tempo-spatial change of soil moisture,were neglected during direct gradient analysis.In addition,biodiversity was close related to soil nutrients as well as to soil moisture condition (soil water content and crust cover),and it had positive relation to available N,and negative relation to available P.Higher soil N had advantage to non-leguminous plants growth on nutrition-poor sand land definitely.The impact of P to community component was unclear and should be studied from plant physiology.Further researches on nonequilibrium theory in semi-arid rangeland will provide a scientific and flexible animal development paradigm for being implementing livestock fen-raising and grazing-forbidden policies in China.     

Oxytocin and estrogen receptor alpha and beta knockout mice provide discriminably different odor cues in behavioral assays

Social behavior involves both the recognition and production of social cues. Mice with selective deletion (knockout) of either the gene for oxytocin (OT) or genes for the estrogen receptor (ER) -α or -β display impaired social recognition. In this study we demonstrate that these gene knockout mice also provide discriminably different social stimuli in behavioral assays. In an odor choice test, which is a measure of social interest and discrimination, outbred female Swiss-Webster mice discriminated the urine odors of male knockouts (KO: OTKO, αERKO, βERKO) from the odors of their wildtype littermates (WT: OTWT, αERWT, βERWT). Females showed marked initial choices of the urine odors of OTWT and βERWT males over those of OTKO and βERKO males, and αERKO males over αERWT males. The odors of OTKO and βERKO males also induced aversive, analgesic responses, with the odors of WTs having no significant effects. Odors of both the αERWT and αERKO males induced aversive, analgesic responses, with the odors of the WT inducing significantly greater analgesia. The odors of restraint stressed WT and KO males also elicited analgesia with, again, females displaying significantly greater responses to the odors of stressed OTKO and βERKO males than their WTs, and significantly lower analgesia to the odors of stressed αERKO than αERWT males. These findings show that the KO mice are discriminated from their WTs on the basis of odor and that the various KOs differ in the relative attractiveness/aversiveness of their odors. Therefore, in behavioral assays one causal route by which gene inactivation alters the social behavior of knockout mice may be mediated through the partners' modified responses to their odors.     

Microarray analysis of uterine gene expression in mouse and human pregnancy

Improved care of infants born prematurely has increased their survival. However, the incidence of preterm labor has not changed. To understand the processes involved in preterm labor, we used oligonucleotide microarrays to study gene expression in murine and human uterus during pregnancy. The induction of enzymes for prostaglandin synthesis was used as a marker for important changes during pregnancy because prostaglandins strongly contribute to both human and murine labor. We identified 504 genes that changed at least 2-fold between d 13.5 and 19.0 in the gravid mouse uterus. In the pregnant human myometrium, we found 478 genes that changed at least 2-fold in either term or preterm labor compared with preterm nonlabor specimens and 77 genes that significantly varied in both preterm and term labor. Patterns of gene regulation within functional groups comparing human preterm and term labor were similar, although the magnitude of change often varied. Surprisingly, few genes that changed significantly throughout pregnancy were the same in the mouse and human. These data suggest that functional progesterone withdrawal in human myometrium may not be the primary mechanism for labor induction, may implicate similar mechanisms for idiopathic preterm and term labor in humans, and may identify novel targets for further study.     

Fine structure of spermatozoa in the gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758) (Perciformes, Sparidae)

Scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the fine structure of the sperm of the sparid fish Sparus aurata L. The mature spermatozoon of gilthead sea bream belongs, like that of the other sparid fish, to a "type I" as defined by Mattei (1970). It has a spherical head which lacks an acrosome, a short, irregularly-shaped midpiece and a long cylindrical tail. The nucleus reveals a deep invagination (nuclear fossa) in which the centriolar complex is located. The two centrioles are approximately perpendicular to each other and show a conventional "9+0" pattern. The proximal centriole is associated with a cross-striated cylindrical body lying inside a peculiar satellite nuclear notch which appears as a narrow invagination of the nuclear fossa. The distal centriole is attached to the nuclear envelope by means of a lateral plate and radial fibres made of an electron-dense material. The short midpiece houses one mitochondrion. The flagellum is inserted perpendicularly into the base of the nucleus and contains the conventional 9+2 axoneme.     

防治荒漠化的“三圈”生态-生产范式机理及其功能

防治荒漠化的“三圈”生态-生产范式,是干旱生态系统优化与重建的新结构。根据在鄂尔多斯和新疆等地的研究和实践,从干旱生态系统结构、过程和功能来讨论荒漠化防治的“三圈”范式。地理圈层结构（地理地带性）是“三圈”范式的自然地理背景。从宏观尺度和功能方面划分,“三圈”范式在空间尺度上有大“三圈”和小“三圈”之分,大“三圈”控制洲际范围的荒漠化扩展及沙尘暴蔓延,小“三圈”则以控制区域性风沙活动、沙尘暴和就地起沙的危害。防治荒漠化工程是复杂的多元组合和多功能的系统,我国西北地区受荒漠化影响严重,宏观的大“三圈”与多区域的小“三圈”有机结合,形成圈圈相护、层层设防的严密防护与生产系统,有效地控制大范围风沙危害、改善地方气候与小气候,并对发展经济,提高人民生活发挥重要作用。因此,“三圈”范式的概念与结构既是以自然地理地带性为基础,又是人类对自然、环境与生态系统格局的规律认识,更是科学的人类恢复、重建干旱区生态环境与可持续发展的生态设计范式。     

盐渍化胁迫下油葵对土壤原油污染的适应性及其改良措施

为了探究植物在盐渍化胁迫下对原油污染的适应性及改良措施,本研究以油葵作为研究对象,进行了原油-氯化钠-脱硫石膏盆栽正交试验和煤渣-沸石-脱硫石膏-锯沫盆栽正交试验.结果表明: 在盐渍化条件下,随着原油浓度的增大,油葵幼苗株高相对生长率(RGR)、地上生物量RGR、根氮磷比均显著减小,超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)和过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性呈先增加后显著降低的趋势;随着锯沫体积分数的加大,油葵株高RGR和地上生物量RGR均显著增加,SOD活性逐渐降低,说明锯沫在改良盐渍化原油污染土壤方面比煤渣、沸石和脱硫石膏效果显著.在盐渍化条件下,原油污染能够降低油葵幼苗的生长率,锯沫对改良原油污染有较好的效果.