基因打靶定点突变秦川牛MSTN基因

Myostatin(MSTN,肌肉生长抑制素)基因属于TGF-β超家族,对骨骼肌的生长发育具有负调控作用。该基因的功能缺失,能够引起肉用动物的"双肌"表型,从而提高产肉率。基因打靶技术是制作转基因动物的常用方法。构建了两个置换型打靶载体pA2T-Mstn4.0和pA2T-Mstn3.2,通过同源重组将G938A突变点引入秦川牛MSTN基因第三外显子。电穿孔方法转染秦川牛胎儿成纤维细胞,经过600μg/mL G418和50nmol/L GCV的药物正负筛选,共得到170个药物抗性细胞克隆。对细胞克隆进行PCR、测序及Southern blotting鉴定,结果显示,第58号细胞克隆为发生了正确同源重组的中靶细胞。牛胎儿成纤维细胞中的MSTN基因的一条等位基因被成功改造。     

p38α MAPK is a MTOC-associated protein regulating spindle assembly,spindle length and accurate chromosome segregation during mouse oocyte meiotic maturation

P38αMAPK (p38α) is usually activated in response to various stresses and plays a role in the inhibition of cell proliferation and tumor progression, but little is known about its roles in meiotic spindle assembly. In this study, we characterized the dynamic localization of p38α and explored its function in mouse oocyte meiotic maturation. P38α specifically colocalized with γ-tubulin and Plk1 at the center of MTOCs and spindle poles. Depletion of p38α by specific morpholino injection resulted in severely defective spindles and misaligned chromosomes probably via MK2 dephosphorylation. Notably, depletion of p38α led to significant spindle pole defects, spindle elongation, non-tethered kinetochore microtubules and increased microtubule tension. The disruption of spindle stability was coupled with decreased γ-tubulin and Plk1 at MTOCs. Overexpression of Eg5, a conserved motor protein, also caused spindle elongation and its morpholino injection almost completely rescued spindle elongation caused by p38α depletion. In addition, p38α-depletion decreased BubR1 and interfered with spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC), which resulted in aneuploid oocytes. Together, these data indicate that p38α is an important component of MTOCs, which regulates spindle assembly and spindle length, as well as stabilizes the spindle and spindle poles. Perturbed SAC and abnormal microtubule tension may be responsible for the misaligned chromosomes and high aneuploidy in p38α-depleted mouse oocytes.Key words: p38α, meiosis, mouse oocyte, spindle assembly, microtubule organization center (MTOC), Eg5, spindle assembly checkpoint     

Molecular and Phylogenetic Analyses Suggest an Additional Hepatitis B Virus Genotype “I”

A novel hepatitis B virus (HBV) strain (W29) was isolated from serum samples in the northwest of China. Phylogenetic and distance analyses indicate that this strain is grouped with a series of distinct strains discovered in Vietnam and Laos that have been proposed to be a new genotype I. TreeOrderScan and GroupScan methods were used to study the intergenotype recombination of this special group. Recombination plots and tree maps of W29 and these putative genotype I strains exhibit distinct characteristics that are unexpected in typical genotype C strains of HBV. The amino acids of P gene, S gene, X gene, and C gene of all genotypes (including subtypes) were compared, and eight unique sites were found in genotype I. In vitro and in vivo experiments were also conducted to determine phenotypic characteristics between W29 and other representative strains of different genotypes obtained from China. Secretion of HBsAg in Huh7 cells is uniformly abundant among genotypes A, B, C, and I (W29), but not genotype D. HBeAg secretion is low in genotype I (W29), whose level is close to genotype A and much lower than genotypes B, C, and D. Results from the acute hydrodynamic injection mouse model also exhibit a similar pattern. From an overview of the results, the viral markers of W29 (I1) in Huh7 cells and mice had a more similar level to genotype A than genotype C, although the latter was closer to W29 in distance analysis. All evidence suggests that W29, together with other related strains found in Vietnam and Laos, should be classified into a new genotype.     

湖北麻鸭乙型肝炎病毒全基因组的克隆和序列分析

为了解湖北地区This finding was also Confirmed by the phylogenetic tree analysis.麻鸭中鸭乙型肝炎病毒(Duck hepatitis B virus,DHBV)自然感染状况以及湖北麻鸭所携带DHBV的基因结构特征,采集了70份成年麻鸭血清并应用PCR技术检测DHBV DNA,对其中一份DHBV DNA阳性血清进行DHBV全基因扩增,并进行克隆与序列测定分析.结果表明,湖北麻鸭DHBV自然携带率为10%;湖北DHBV分离株(GenBank登录号DQ276978)基因组的全长为3024bp,有编码P,S和C蛋白的三个开放阅读框;与GenBank中17株DHBV基因组比较,核苷酸同源性介于89.85%～93.29%之间;S蛋白、C蛋白和P蛋白结构功能区序列均高度保守;而对P蛋白标志性氨基酸和全基因进化树的分析表明,该分离株属于DHBV中国基因型中的一个亚型.     

Thermal stability and thermodynamic analysis of native and methoxypolyethylene glycol modified trypsin

Four methoxypolyethylene glycols (MPEG, molecular masses 350, 750, 2000 and 5000 Da), each activated by nitrophenyl chloroformate, were used to modify trypsin. Compared with the native trypsin, the MPEG-modified trypsin was more stable against temperature between 30°C and 70°C, longer chain of MPEG moiety corresponding to higher thermal stability. The T for the native and the modified trypsin (0.4 mg ml^–1) was increased from 47°C to 66°C. The stabilization effect caused by MPEG modification was the result of decreasing in both the autolysis rate and the thermal denaturation rate. The thermodynamic analysis of the thermal denaturation process showed that the activation free energy (G^*) of the native and the modified trypsin at 60°C was increased from 102.9 to 109.3 kJ mol^–1; the activation enthalpy (H^*) was increased from 57.4 to 86.9 kJ mol^–1; the activation entropy (S^*) was increased from –136 to –67 J molK^–1. A possible explanation for the decreased thermal denaturation rate caused by MPEG modification was also discussed.     

提高西瓜离体培养植株再生效率的研究

本文以“京欣1号”母本和“伊选”西瓜4天苗龄子叶为外植体,研究离体培养植株高频率再生体系。结果表明：“伊选”子叶远轴端外植体的再生频率仅为10％,子叶近轴端外植体在5mg／LBA 0．1mg／L IAA的激素组合下植株再生频率为100％,平均每个外植体的丛生芽数在所有组合中最多,为10.3个;“京欣1号”母本子叶近轴端外植体在2mg／LBA 0．5mg／L IAA激素组合下植株再生频率为100％,平均每个外植体的丛生芽数在所有组合中最多,达6．9个。本试验条件下,子叶近轴端外植体接种4天即分化出不定芽,至再生苗的移栽仅需40天,在MS 0．1mg／L NAA的生根培养基上的生根率为97．3％,移栽成活率达98．5％。     

大肠杆菌和志贺氏菌O-抗原糖基转移酶与聚合酶的生物信息学研究

利用生物信息学手段对大肠杆菌和志贺氏菌的 1 1 0个O 抗原糖基转移酶与 39个O 抗原聚合酶的序列进行分析 ,探讨这两种酶的序列和结构特点。统计了其序列一致性 ,密码子使用和 (G C) %含量的特点 ;讨论了O 抗原糖基转移酶和聚合酶对底物的特异性 ;推测了 6组糖基转移酶的功能 ;通过对蛋白拓扑结构的预测 ,发现O 抗原聚合酶中广泛存在一个位于细胞周质中的亲水环 (Loop) ,是可能的功能区域 ;通过对蛋白高级结构的预测 ,发现O 抗原糖基转移酶属于两个不同的蛋白超家族。