MsmE, a lipoprotein involved in sugar transport in Streptococcus mutans.

Metabolic labelling by [14C]palmitic acid showed that growth of Streptococcus mutans LT11 in raffinose, an inducer of the msm operon, resulted in increased production of a 45-kDa lipoprotein corresponding to MsmE, which is believed to be a sugar-binding protein. MsmE was also labelled when an msmE clone was expressed in Escherichia coli. The presence of a lipid anchor on MsmE provides a likely explanation of how the sugar-binding protein component of the msm binding protein-dependent multiple sugar transport system is retained at the cell surface.     

Hindered diffusion of high molecular weight compounds in brain extracellular microenvironment measured with integrative optical imaging.

This paper describes the theory of an integrative optical imaging system and its application to the analysis of the diffusion of 3-, 10-, 40-, and 70-kDa fluorescent dextran molecules in agarose gel and brain extracellular microenvironment. The method uses a precisely defined source of fluorescent molecules pressure ejected from a micropipette, and a detailed theory of the intensity contributions from out-of-focus molecules in a three-dimensional medium to a two-dimensional image. Dextrans tagged with either tetramethylrhodamine or Texas Red were ejected into 0.3% agarose gel or rat cortical slices maintained in a perfused chamber at 34 degrees C and imaged using a compound epifluorescent microscope with a 10 x water-immersion objective. About 20 images were taken at 2-10-s intervals, recorded with a cooled CCD camera, then transferred to a 486 PC for quantitative analysis. The diffusion coefficient in agarose gel, D, and the apparent diffusion coefficient, D*, in brain tissue were determined by fitting an integral expression relating the measured two-dimensional image intensity to the theoretical three-dimensional dextran concentration. The measurements in dilute agarose gel provided a reference value of D and validated the method. Values of the tortuosity, lambda = (D/D*)1/2, for the 3- and 10-kDa dextrans were 1.70 and 1.63, respectively, which were consistent with previous values derived from tetramethylammonium measurements in cortex. Tortuosities for the 40- and 70-kDa dextrans had significantly larger values of 2.16 and 2.25, respectively. This suggests that the extracellular space may have local constrictions that hinder the diffusion of molecules above a critical size that lies in the range of many neurotrophic compounds.     

肺癌患者胸水游离氨基酸分析

本文对11例肺癌患者胸水13种游离氨基酸作了分析,并与28例正常人血浆游离氨基酸水平作了对照,结果表明:肺癌患者胸水的必需及非必需氨基酸普遍高于正常人血浆游离氨基酸,但其胸水谷氨酰胺水平则明显低于正常人血浆水平。     

厌氧氨氧化菌驱动脱氮途径的研究进展

厌氧氨氧化菌(anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, AnAOB)的代谢多样性,使得该菌群能够在海洋、湿地和陆地等不同的自然生态系统中广泛分布,甚至在一些极热和极寒环境中也检测到了该菌群的存在。本文回顾并总结了厌氧氨氧化菌在不同生态系统中的发现、分布及脱氮贡献等方面的研究,分析了厌氧氨氧化菌分布的主要环境影响因素。该综述将帮助我们更好地理解全球氮循环中厌氧氨氧化菌的实际角色和功能,并基于厌氧氨氧化(anaerobicammoniaoxidation,anammox)过程,探究能与其进行协作的新型生物脱氮工艺,以期为这些工艺的研发和推广提供生态学基础和新的思考,从而实现脱氮工艺的技术变革。     

细菌Ⅵ型分泌系统效应蛋白的装配及功能的研究进展

蛋白分泌作为细胞之间传递信号的途径之一,在微生物生存竞争中也扮演着重要的角色。革兰氏阴性菌可以通过Ⅵ型分泌系统(type Ⅵ secretion system, T6SS)将效应蛋白传递至胞外或原核和真核微生物中,从而介导微生物间的竞争或宿主-细菌的相互作用,最终建立竞争优势。本文主要总结了T6SS的结构与组成,并重点对效应蛋白的装配以及其与免疫蛋白的作用机制的研究进展进行阐述,为以后靶向T6SS抗菌药物的研制提供新思路。     

Crevice-forming mutants in the rigid core of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor: crystal structures of F22A, Y23A, N43G, and F45A.

Crystal structures of four mutants of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (F22A, Y23A, N43G, and F45A), engineered to alter their stability properties, have been determined. The mutated residues, which are highly conserved among Kunitz-type inhibitors, are located in the rigid core of the molecule. Replacement of the partially buried bulky residues of the wild-type protein with smaller residues resulted in crevices open to the exterior of the molecule. The overall three-dimensional structure of these mutants is very similar to that of the wild-type protein and only small rearrangements are observed among the atoms lining the crevices.     

底栖生物影响下的潮滩微地貌演化数值模拟

潮滩是海岸带湿地的主要类型之一,其中分布的底栖生物对生态环境具有重要的调节作用。潮滩底栖微藻、泥沙与水动力之间存在相互作用,影响潮滩微地貌形态,明晰底栖生物对潮滩微地貌的演化机制至关重要。以黄河三角洲潮滩湿地为研究区,通过构建潮滩微地貌动力模型,探究底栖生物对微地貌格局演化的作用机制,分析底栖生物对微地貌系统稳定性的影响。结果表明(1)底栖微藻生长与泥沙扩散、水流再分配过程交互作用驱动下,潮滩上可形成底栖微藻覆盖的高丘与积水洼地交替分布的规则性微地貌斑图;(2)微地貌斑图的形成提高了潮滩生态系统初级生产力和泥沙淤积高度;(3)底栖微藻与泥沙、水流的交互作用使得潮滩微地貌系统对侵蚀扰动呈现非线性响应行为,系统存在临界点,且在一定侵蚀率范围内存在双稳态;(4)黄河口泥螺入侵使得微地貌系统抵抗侵蚀扰动能力减小,且系统稳定性随泥螺生物量的增加而降低。     

金沙江下游典型库区消落带植被恢复模式

消落带植被分布、生活型、多样性的调查研究显著促进了消落带植被恢复技术的进步,然而相邻两梯级库区消落带植被分布的差异以及植被群落特征的年际变化并不明确。此外,金沙江下游部分区域表现出一定的干热特征,其影响下的消落带植被群落特征有待深入了解。基于2019年和2021年向家坝和溪洛渡库区消落带植被调查结果,分析表明：(1)金沙江下游消落带按照下垫面特性主要分为硬岩型、软岩型、松软堆积型3种类型,坡度平缓的松软堆积型消落带是植被恢复的主要类型;(2)整体上,消落带优势植被类型是一年生和多年生草本,单优势种、少优势种群落较为普遍,两个库区消落带优势种重要值差异显著,植被生活型较少;(3)向家坝、溪洛渡库区消落带在分别经历6次和8次周期性水淹后,消落带植被分布与群落物种多样性特征变化不显著,表明消落带植被群落结构相对稳定。综上说明向家坝、溪洛渡两个相邻的梯级库区消落带植被恢复需要以灌草为主,且具有不同的潜在恢复模式,因此需要对应采取不同的恢复策略。研究对于科学指导金沙江下游梯级水电站库区消落带植被恢复具有重要意义。