Impediment of E. coli UvrD by DNA‐destabilizing force reveals a strained‐inchworm mechanism of DNA unwinding

Escherichia coli UvrD is a non‐ring‐shaped model helicase, displaying a 3′—5′ polarity in DNA unwinding. Using a transverse magnetic tweezer and DNA hairpins, we measured the unwinding kinetics of UvrD at various DNA‐destabilizing forces. The multiform patterns of unwinding bursts and the distributions of the off‐times favour the mechanism that UvrD unwinds DNA as a dimer. The two subunits of the dimer coordinate to unwind DNA processively. They can jointly switch strands and translocate backwards on the other strand to allow slow (～40 bp/s) rewinding, or unbind simultaneously to allow quick rehybridization. Partial dissociation of the dimer results in pauses in the middle of the unwinding or increases the translocation rate from ～40 to ～150 nt/s in the middle of the rewinding. Moreover, the unwinding rate was surprisingly found to decrease from ～45 to ～10 bp/s when the force is increased from 2 to 12 pN. The results lead to a strained‐inchworm mechanism in which a conformational change that bends and tenses the ssDNA is required to activate the dimer.     

山西植物区系的初步分析

本文着重论述山西植物区系地理成份与外界的联系,并根据山西植物区系成份与邻近植物区系共有种的分析,研究与其它植物区系的亲密程度,探索其发生的历史、现代分布规律和分化趋势。其目的不仅要在理论上探讨山西植物区系的性质、分类地位和起源,而且要在生产上为进一步开发利用、引种驯化、发展国民经济、促进多种经营,提供可靠的科学依据。     

On the detection of messages carried in arterial pulse waves

The hypothesis is made that a disturbance in blood flow at one place can be detected in the arterial pulse waves at a distant site. This hypothesis was motivated by the traditional Chinese medicine which uses arterial pulse waves as a principal means of diagnosis. We formulated a test by asking whether a disturbance to the blood flow in a leg can be detected by changes in the pulse waves in the radial arteries. In particular, we ask whether the radial artery can differentiate a disturbance in the right leg from that in the left leg. We put force transducers on the radial arteries, depressed them by a specific amount, and recorded the force waves in response to a 2-min occlusion of the blood flow in the right or left tibial artery. The results show that the radial artery force waves do change in response to the flow disturbance. For a given individual, the force varies with the location of the force transducer on the radial artery, the specific amount of initial depression, and the right or left leg occlusion. Generally, an occlusion in the right leg reduces the force level in both radial arteries, the more so in the right radial artery than in the left. Although the discrimination is not very strong, the phenomenon is novel, and warrants further investigation.     

游泳训练与大鼠骨骼肌细胞膜电位及Na~＋，K~＋－ATP酶活性之间关系的探讨

大鼠腓肠肌在１０Ｈｚ电刺激持续收缩运动中,肌细胞膜电位表现为静息电位（ＲＰ）和复合动作电位（ＣＡＰ）幅值呈下降的趋势,且ＣＡＰ的时程展宽。经过９周的游泳训练后,训练组动物整体的运动耐力明显提高;在相同的持续收缩运动时间内,训练组的ＲＰ和ＣＡＰ的下降幅度明显小于对照组（Ｐ＜０．０５）;并发现训练组ＮＡａ￣＋,Ｋ￣＋－ＡＴＰ酶活性明显提高（Ｐ＜０．０１）。结果提示,体力训练使肌细胞膜的功能产生了适应性变化,提高了对运动的耐受能力。     

Heme protein dynamics revealed by geminate nitric oxide recombination in mutants of iron and cobalt myoglobin

Nitric oxide myoglobin (MbNO) at 300 K was photodissociated with 405 nm pulses. The NO recombination in several mutants of iron and cobalt myoglobins was investigated at a time resolution of ca. 70 fs. The geminate recombination of NO was nonexponential on sub-nanosecond time scales. For both metals, the change of the detailed structure of the heme pocket (position 68 mutations) caused significant changes in the rates of recombination; however, the metal substitution influenced the recombination much less than did amino acid substitution. The results indicate a primary role of the heme pocket structure in the dynamics, and they suggest that proximal protein relaxation is not the limiting factor in the geminate recombination process. Recombination in cobalt derivatives is somewhat more efficient on the sub-nanosecond time scales than in corresponding iron myoglobins, consistent with other results that show a greater intrinsic reactivity toward the NO of cobalt compared with the iron heme. A comparison of results using Soret band excitation with previous Q-state excitation studies demonstrates that the ligand dissociates with a similar kinetic energy in both cases, suggesting fast intramolecular energy redistribution before dissociation.     

Ultrafast Manufacturing of Ultrafine Structure to Achieve An Energy Density of Over 120 Wh kg−1 in Supercapacitors

Supercapacitor (SC) is one of the most promising electrochemical energy-storage devices. However, the practical application of SCs is limited by the low-energy density. Herein, high-temperature shock (HTS)-derived ultrafine structure-activated porous carbon (UAPC) with N, O functional groups is reported as high-energy density SCs carbon. The process of ultrafast joule heating and cooling effectively transfers general-purposed carbon into electrochemical-activated carbon. The UAPC-based SCs exhibit an energy density of up to 129 Wh kg⁻¹ in EMIMBF₄ ionic liquid, which outperform almost all reported and commercial SCs (22 Wh kg⁻¹). The outstanding electrochemical performance of UAPC is attributed to the ultrafine structure and N, O functional groups, which enlarges the surface area, improves the surface wettability of UAPC electrodes, and provides pseudocapacitance. The facile and efficient ultrafast-processing strategy has opened up an unprecedented pathway for the application of low-value carbon for the electrode design and application of SCs.     

大豆基因工程根瘤菌田间结瘤和共生固氮效应

利用三亲本接合转移方法,将快生型大豆根病菌B_(52)的基因文库克隆转移到受体菌慢生型大豆根瘤菌2210中,获得4株大豆基因工程根瘤菌(32.43、B—2—6、B—3—8)。田间接种试验表明:在大豆分枝期(V2),43和32结瘤效分别比不接种对照增加117.9％和100.4％;在初花期(R_1),32和B—2—6结瘤数分别比对照增加122.5％和91.6％,根瘤固氮酶活性增加233.3％和195.6％;在结荚始期(R3),B—2—6和32结瘤数比对照增加78.5％和70.1％,根瘤固氟酶活性43和B—2—6分别比对照增加53.4％和49.3％。产量统计表明:32、B—2—6和43比对照分别增产16.8％、14.3％和12.2％,亩增收大豆分别为28.2、24.1和20.6公斤。以上三个菌株均比受体菌株2210增产率高。     

Characterization and reconstitution of a cell free system for NAD(+)-dependent deoxyhypusine formation on the 18 kDa eIF-4D precursor

Deoxyhypusine formation on the 18 kDa eIF-4D precursor is due to a covalent linkage between a lysine residue of the protein and the aminobutyl moiety derived from spermidine. The deoxyhypusine is then hydroxylated to form hypusine. This post-translational modification represents one of the most specific spermidine-dependent biochemical events in eukaryotic cells. Deoxyhypusine formation can be performed in vitro at pH 9.5 and is greatly stimulated by NAD+. Using the labeling of the 18 kDa protein by [3H]spermidine as an assay for deoxyhypusine formation, we found that (i) significant deoxyhypusine formation can be demonstrated in vitro at pH 7.2 only if NAD+ is present, (ii) deoxyhypusine formation was sensitive to buffer composition; buffers made of basic amino acids and Tris were inhibitory, (iii) sulfhydryl reagents and metal ions such as Cu2+ and Fe3+ were potent inhibitors of deoxyhypusine formation and (iv) the 18 kDa protein substrate was heat-stable. The in vitro activity of deoxyhypusine formation, which depends on the presence of both enzyme and protein substrate, can be separated from the product, eIF-4D, by a one-step Cibacron blue dye affinity column. Taking advantage of this finding, we have developed a simple procedure, based on the use of Cibacron blue dye, for partially purifying both the deoxyhypusine-forming enzyme and the 18 kDa protein substrate. When the partially purified enzyme and protein substrate were mixed in the presence of 1 mM NAD+ and [3H]spermidine, the 18 kDa protein was radiolabeled, no labeling could be detected if any one component was absent. Using partially purified enzyme, we have also determined the half-life of the protein substrate in alpha-difluoromethyl ornithine (DFMO)-treated NB-15 cells and found it to be longer than 10 h.     

遗传改良对杉木针叶和种实性状的影响

为揭示遗传改良对主要造林用材树种叶和种实性状的影响,阐明性状的变异趋势,该研究以杉木第4轮育种的精选树(改良群体)、四省五地的表型优树与古树(未改良群体)为对象,调查了218个无性系的针叶和种实性状指标,采用方差分析和多重对比方法研究遗传改良对杉木及不同类型杉木的表型差异,并通过相关性分析探究遗传改良对杉木针叶和球果部分表型性状的影响,以及利用主成分分析和聚类分析进行了分类。结果表明:(1)未改良群体的针叶长、针叶宽和出籽率分别比改良群体小13.28%、10.81%和33.90%,其他性状表现为未改良群体大于改良群体,差异在10.90%～27.03%之间。未改良群体球果长、球果宽和出籽率的变异系数,分别比改良群体大9.14%、12.73%和15.38%。(2)球果长、球果宽、苞鳞长和苞鳞宽4个性状,在未改良群体中仅有球果长和球果宽(0.931)、苞鳞长和苞鳞宽(0.622)之间呈极显著正相关,经遗传改良后,该4个性状两两之间均呈显著或极显著正相关。(3)四川雅安(SCYA)的球果长和球果宽的性状比改良群体大48.83%和53.26%,安徽黄山(AHHS)的百粒重比改良群体大16.92%。(4)遗传改良导致松张型球果的杉木比例降低,紧包型和反翘型球果的杉木比例增加。综上认为,杉木的遗传改良导致球果大小下降,改变了不同针叶和球果类型的比例,同时会改变针叶性状和种实性状的相关性,将为杉木种质资源评价和未来多目标育种提供依据。