Gut microbiome helps honeybee (Apis mellifera) resist the stress of toxic nectar plant (Bidens pilosa) exposure: Evidence for survival and immunity

Honeybee (Apis mellifera) ingestion of toxic nectar plants can threaten their health and survival. However, little is known about how to help honeybees mitigate the effects of toxic nectar plant poisoning. We exposed honeybees to different concentrations of Bidens pilosa flower extracts and found that B. pilosa exposure significantly reduced honeybee survival in a dose-dependent manner. By measuring changes in detoxification and antioxidant enzymes and the gut microbiome, we found that superoxide dismutase, glutathione-S-transferase and carboxylesterase activities were significantly activated with increasing concentrations of B. pilosa and that different concentrations of B. pilosa exposure changed the structure of the honeybee gut microbiome, causing a significant reduction in the abundance of Bartonella (p < 0.001) and an increase in Lactobacillus. Importantly, by using Germ-Free bees, we found that colonization by the gut microbes Bartonella apis and Apilactobacillus kunkeei (original classification as Lactobacillus kunkeei) significantly increased the resistance of honeybees to B. pilosa and significantly upregulated bee-associated immune genes. These results suggest that honeybee detoxification systems possess a level of resistance to the toxic nectar plant B. pilosa and that the gut microbes B. apis and A. kunkeei may augment resistance to B. pilosa stress by improving host immunity.     

TaTPP-7A positively feedback regulates grain filling and wheat grain yield through T6P-SnRK1 signalling pathway and sugar–ABA interaction

Grain size and filling are two key determinants of grain thousand-kernel weight (TKW) and crop yield, therefore they have undergone strong selection since cereal was domesticated. Genetic dissection of the two traits will improve yield potential in crops. A quantitative trait locus significantly associated with wheat grain TKW was detected on chromosome 7AS flanked by a simple sequence repeat marker of Wmc17 in Chinese wheat 262 mini-core collection by genome-wide association study. Combined with the bulked segregant RNA-sequencing (BSR-seq) analysis of an F₂ genetic segregation population with extremely different TKW traits, a candidate trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase gene located at 135.0 Mb (CS V1.0), designated as TaTPP-7A, was identified. This gene was specifically expressed in developing grains and strongly influenced grain filling and size. Overexpression (OE) of TaTPP-7A in wheat enhanced grain TKW and wheat yield greatly. Detailed analysis revealed that OE of TaTPP-7A significantly increased the expression levels of starch synthesis- and senescence-related genes involved in abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene pathways. Moreover, most of the sucrose metabolism and starch regulation-related genes were potentially regulated by SnRK1. In addition, TaTPP-7A is a crucial domestication- and breeding-targeted gene and it feedback regulates sucrose lysis, flux, and utilization in the grain endosperm mainly through the T6P-SnRK1 pathway and sugar–ABA interaction. Thus, we confirmed the T6P signalling pathway as the central regulatory system for sucrose allocation and source–sink interactions in wheat grains and propose that the trehalose pathway components have great potential to increase yields in cereal crops.     

Prostaglandin E2 is a Potential Mediator of Extracellular ATP Action in Osteoblast-Like Cells

Extracellular ATP dose dependently stimulated ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ influx even in the presence of nifedipine, a Ca²⁺ antagonist that inhibits voltage-dependent Ca²⁺ channel, in osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells. ATP stimulated arachidonic acid release and the synthesis of prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂). However, the ATP-induced arachidonic acid release was significantly reduced by chelating extracellular Ca²⁺ with EGTA. On the other hand, ATP induced DNA synthesis of these cells in a dose-dependent manner in the range between 1μM and 1 mM. The pretreatment with indomethacin, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, suppressed both ATP-induced PGE₂ synthesis and DNA synthesis in these cells. The inhibitory effect by 50μM indomethacin on the DNA synthesis was reversed by adding 10μM PGE₂. These results strongly suggest that extracellular ATP stimulates Ca²⁺ influx resulting in the release of arachidonic acid in osteoblast-like cells and that extracellular ATP-induced proliferative effect is mediated, at least in part, by ATP-stimulated PGE₂ synthesis.     

毛乌素沙地油蒿叶性状对光能利用效率动态的影响

目前对于荒漠灌木光能利用效率（LUE）的季节变异及其调控因素,尤其是其生物调控因素的认识非常有限,导致了荒漠生态系统生产力模型的不确定性。拟验证假设：长期干旱环境下,典型荒漠灌木油蒿光能利用效率日均值（LUE_day）的动态变化与叶片性状的季节性调整有关。试验采用Li-6400便携式光合仪定期测量了油蒿生长季叶片LUE_day的季节动态及相关叶性状指标,探究叶性状对LUE_day的影响。结果表明：LUE_day的季节波动范围为0.003-0.017 mol/mol,整体变异系数（CV）为38.75%。完全展叶期LUE_day均值相比生长季平均值降低17.37%,相比展叶期和落叶期时降低30%;8个叶性状的季节变异幅度差异较大,其中总叶绿素含量（Chl）、类胡萝卜素含量（Car）和叶氮含量（LNC）均表现出较大的季节变异性（CV ≥ 20%）,叶碳含量（LCC）和叶片相对含水量（LRWC）的变异程度最低（CV<7%）。LRWC与所有叶片化学性状（Chl、Chl a/b、Car、LNC和LCC）均存在显著相关,表明其变化与叶片的养分吸收、光合色素合成以及碳同化的运输过程密切相关;油蒿LUE_day的相对变化与LRWC、Chl a/b和LNC显著正相关,而LRWC和LNC的季节动态受空气温度（T_a）和土壤含水量（VWC）的共同调节,Chl a/b的季节波动主要由浅层土壤含水量（10 cm VWC）控制。以上研究结果强调,在未来预计极端的气候事件（如极端干旱和持续热浪事件）发生更频繁的旱地场景中,时间尺度植物叶性状对于土壤干旱和高温的适应性调整应当被充分考虑到旱地生态系统的通量建模方案中。该结果将为构建叶片尺度的光合生理模型与厘清LUE的生物调控机制提供理论依据。     

高寒草甸植物群落功能多样性对不同生长期干旱的响应机制

植物对干旱胁迫的响应表现为各功能性状的差异化表达。全球气候变化下,青藏高原地区降水格局发生改变,高寒草甸群落功能性状及功能多样性在不同生长期干旱事件下的响应机制对加深高寒草甸适应气候变化认知具有重要意义。以藏北高寒草甸为研究对象,设置截雨棚模拟生长季前期（ED）、中期（MD）和非生长季时期（ND）干旱事件,通过观测群落物种功能性状,分析高寒草甸群落功能多样性对不同生长期干旱的响应机制。结果表明：（1）叶片功能性状对干旱存在差异响应,表现为叶片小而厚且寿命长,同化速率降低,并受氮元素限制加剧;（2）生长季前期干旱对高寒草甸群落功能性状的影响最强,生长季中期干旱次之,非生长季干旱的影响最弱;（3）生长季干旱处理显著改变了群落的功能多样性,ED处理下功能分散度指数（FDiv）和功能分异度指数（FDis）显著降低（P<0.05）,而Rao二次熵指数（RaoQ）显著升高（P<0.05）,MD处理下功能均匀度指数（FEve）显著降低（P<0.05）;（4）相关性分析得出,群落功能性状与功能多样性对干旱的响应之间存在着联系。本研究发现高寒草甸植物功能性状与群落功能多样性对生长季前期和中期干旱存在差异化响应,指示着高寒草甸植物群落在响应不同时期干旱时可能采取不同的生存策略,即对生长季前期干旱采用耐旱策略、对生长季中期干旱采用避旱策略。探讨了高寒草甸植物群落功能多样性对不同生长时期干旱胁迫的响应机制,为预测未来季节性干旱事件对青藏高原高寒草甸植物功能性状、群落特征和功能多样性的影响提供科学依据。     

生长抑素受体2的小鼠时空组织表达谱

生长抑素(somatostatin, SST)作为一种抑制性多肽激素,在多种生物过程中发挥重要的功能。生长抑素受体2 (somatostatin receptor 2, SSTR2)作为生长抑素表达最广泛的受体在多种组织中表达,但其表达的具体细胞类型尚不清楚。本研究在小鼠不同发育阶段的多种组织中鉴定了SSTR2蛋白表达的细胞类型。通过多色免疫荧光在小鼠胚胎期15.5 d、出生后1 d、7 d、15 d、3个月和6个月的脑、骨、肺、肠道、皮肤、胃、脾和肾等组织中检测了Sstr2基因的表达。结果发现Sstr2在不同发育阶段的多种组织的特定细胞类型中表达,包括脑神经元和星形胶质细胞,骨的间充质基质细胞、造血细胞和B细胞,肺的巨噬细胞、Ⅱ型肺泡上皮细胞和气道纤毛细胞,肠道的上皮细胞和神经元,皮肤的毛囊细胞,胃体的上皮细胞,脾的造血干细胞、造血祖细胞和神经纤维,肾的肾小管上皮细胞等。本研究确定了小鼠多组织不同发育阶段Sstr2表达的细胞类型,为生长抑素与生长抑素受体2的生理功能研究提供了新的线索。     

-cyano-substituted analogoues of decarboxylated S-adenosylmethionine as enzyme activated, irreversible inhibitors of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase

A pair of -cyano analogues of decarboxylated S-adenosylmethionine (2a and 2b) were synthesized as potential enzyme activated, irreversible inhibitors of the[pyruvoyl enzyme S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (AdoMet-DC). Each of these analogues acts as an irreversible inactivator for ADoMet-DC from Escherichia coli (IC₅₀ values of 9 and 50 μM, respectively). These analogues also inactivate human AdoMet-DC, with K_I values of 246.6 and 7.2 μM, and k_inact values of 0.29 and 0.03 min⁻¹, respectively.     

利用荧光SSR标记鉴定茶树自然杂交后代遗传背景

为研究茶树自然杂交后代遗传背景,分析不同茶树自然杂交后代遗传差异,本研究利用24对EST-SSR标记对82个茶树自然杂交后代和34个福建主要栽培品种进行分子标记,分析了茶树自然杂交后代的亲缘关系、群体遗传多样性、亲本模拟分析。结果表明：(1)24对SSR标记共检测到157个多态性位点,平均等位位点数为6.542个,Nei’s多样性指数平均为0.588,Shannon’s 信息指数平均为1.182,平均观测杂合度和期望杂合度分别为0.577和 0.591。(2)遗传距离聚类将个供试样品划分为4类,群体1主要为‘丹桂’及其自然杂交后代;群体2主要为‘丹桂’、‘黄观音’自然杂交后代与福建省乌龙茶品种;群体3主要为‘白鸡冠’及其自然杂交后代;群体4主要为福建省绿茶品种。(3)‘丹桂’、‘白鸡冠’、‘黄观音’自然杂交后代群体与福建主要栽培品种的遗传距离分别为0.079、0.117、0.107。(4)群体1亚群b内‘丹桂’自然杂交后代模拟亲本准确率为77.8%,模拟父本主要为福建乌龙茶品种,与群体2(亚群a)的遗传相似度、遗传分化系数、基因流分别为0.899、0.043、5.480。(5)AMOVA分析结果显示,有88.52%的遗传变异来自群体内部的个体间,表明遗传变异主要发生在群体内。     

外显子与内含子序列分维的双碱基研究

引入碱基间的关联,研究了外显子和内含子序列以双碱基为单位的分维,我们发现在这种情况下,外显子和内显子序列在短程和中程存在自相似性并分别定义了这两个区域的分维。结果表明,短程的分维值Ｄｇ一般比中程的Ｄｍ大,外显子的两个分维值比内含子大。我们改变双联体的位相而分维却不变,这反映出在双联体基础上,外显子的不规则性大于内含子,短程的不规则性大于中程,外显子和内含子序列对以２为周期的结构没有位相的特异性。