RNAi Transfection Results in Lipidome Changes

RNAi experiments are ubiquitously used in cell biology and are achieved by transfection of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) into cells using a transfection reagent. These results in knock‐down of proteins of interest, and the phenotypic consequences are then analyzed. It is reported here that two common RNA interference (RNAi) transfection reagents, DharmaFECT 1 and INTERFERin, in mock transfections using non‐targeting siRNAs, cause alterations in the lipidome of HeLa cells. Some lipids change in response to both, presumably chemically different, transfection reagents, while other lipid species change only in response to one of the reagents. While the functional implications of these lipidomic alterations remain to be investigated, the authors' experiments suggest that it is important to use appropriate mock transfection controls during RNAi experiments, ideally complemented by an orthogonal perturbation, especially when investigating membrane‐associated phenomena.     

异色瓢虫酪氨酸羟化酶基因不同发育历期表达及RNAi抑制黑化效果分析

酪氨酸代谢在昆虫黑色素形成中具有重要的调控作用。本研究为探讨酪氨酸代谢调控异色瓢虫黑色素代谢平衡及其发育的影响,先检测异色瓢虫不同发育阶段酪氨酸羟化酶(Tyrosine hydroxylase,TH)基因表达情况,采用RNAi技术对4龄幼虫注射dsTH RNA抑制酪氨酸羟化酶mRNA表达,探索其在蛹期和成虫羽化阶段黑色素形成中的潜在功能。研究结果表明,TH基因在4龄幼虫体内的表达量最高,而在预蛹阶段和羽化后第2天开始表达量显著性下降。其次,dsTH RNA注射后能够显著降低TH本基因的表达,且异色瓢虫4龄幼虫发育缩短,与注射dsGFP RNA组相比较,提前化蛹。最后,dsTH RNA注射后异色瓢虫蛹的重量略有增加,且发育出现异常,即蛹的颜色变化不加深,与对照组相比较,无黑色斑点出现。这些结果表明成虫是在蛹期开始形成黑色素的,及酪氨酸羟化酶能够通过调控酪氨酸代谢途径而影响异色瓢虫化蛹阶段的发育和表皮颜色的变化。相关研究结果有助于丰富酪氨酸代谢调控异色瓢虫表型的内容,为将来保护异色瓢虫,并将其用于害虫生物防治提供理论基础。     

Generation of virus‐resistant potato plants by RNA genome targeting

CRISPR/Cas systems provide bacteria and archaea with molecular immunity against invading phages and foreign plasmids. The class 2 type VI CRISPR/Cas effector Cas13a is an RNA‐targeting CRISPR effector that provides protection against RNA phages. Here we report the repurposing of CRISPR/Cas13a to protect potato plants from a eukaryotic virus, Potato virus Y (PVY). Transgenic potato lines expressing Cas13a/sgRNA (small guide RNA) constructs showed suppressed PVY accumulation and disease symptoms. The levels of viral resistance correlated with the expression levels of the Cas13a/sgRNA construct in the plants. Our data further demonstrate that appropriately designed sgRNAs can specifically interfere with multiple PVY strains, while having no effect on unrelated viruses such as PVA or Potato virus S. Our findings provide a novel and highly efficient strategy for engineering crops with resistances to viral diseases.     

Habitat generalization of a predatory ladybird,Harmonia yedoensis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), in an allopatric area with respect to its sibling species Harmonia axyridis

In central Japan, Harmonia yedoensis is a specialist ladybird that is confined to pine tree habitats, whereas its sibling species Harmonia axyridis is a generalist that feeds on a wide range of aphid species in nature. Interestingly, H. axyridis is not distributed in the Ryukyu Archipelago, southern Japan. We hypothesized that the ecological niche of H. yedoensis should be wider in the Ryukyu Archipelago, where its competitor species in central Japan, H. axyridis, is absent. We undertook fieldwork and a survey of published works to examine habitat utilization by H. yedoensis in the Ryukyu Archipelago. We found that H. yedoensis adults in the Ryukyu Archipelago visited several kinds of deciduous trees, including wild tamarind, Chinese hibiscus, Taiwan cherry and Malayan banyan, as well as pine trees. These observations suggest that habitat generalization has occurred in H. yedoensis in the Ryukyu Archipelago, where it does not compete with H. axyridis.     

A test of the matched filter hypothesis in two sympatric frogs,Chiromantis doriae and Feihyla vittata

The matched filter hypothesis proposes that the auditory sensitivity of receivers should match the spectral energy distribution of the senders’ signals. If so, receivers should be able to distinguish between species-specific and hetero-specific signals. We tested the matched filter hypothesis in two sympatric species, Chiromantis doriae and Feihyla vittata, whose calls exhibit similar frequency characters and that overlap in the breeding season and microenvironment. For both species, we recorded male calls and measured the auditory sensitivity of both sexes using the auditory brainstem response (ABR). We compared the auditory sensitivity with the spectral energy distribution of the calls of each species and found that (1) auditory sensitivity matched the signal spectrogram in C. doriae and F. vittata; (2) the concordance conformed better to the conspecific signal versus the hetero-specific signal. In addition, our results show that species differences are larger than sex differences for ABR audiograms.     

Weed seed availability,carabid intraspecific interference and their interaction drive weed seed consumption by carabid beetles

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Contrasting forms of competition set elevational range limits of species

How abiotic and biotic factors constrain distribution limits at the harsh and benign edges of species ranges is hotly debated, partly because macroecological experiments testing the proximate causes of distribution limits are scarce. It has long been recognized – at least since Darwin’s On the Origin of Species – that a harsh climate strengthens competition and thus sets species range limits. Using thorough field manipulations along a large elevation gradient, we show the mechanisms by which temperature determines competition type, resulting in a transition from interference to exploitative competition from the lower to the upper elevation limits in burying beetles (Nicrophorus nepalensis). This transition is an example of Darwin’s classic hypothesis that benign climates favor direct competition for highly accessible resources while harsh climates result in competition through resources of high rivalry. We propose that identifying the properties of these key resources will provide a more predictive framework to understand the interplay between biotic and abiotic factors in determining geographic range limits.     

基于核酸自组装纳米结构的siRNA药物递送研究进展

RNA干扰(RNA interference,RNAi)作为转录后调节机制,可靶向mRNA进行剪切降解从而发挥基因沉默效应.siRNA (small interference RNA)因其高效性和特异性而被广泛应用于药物研究中.目前,研究者们已开发了多种阳离子载体用于siRNA递送.但由于siRNA双链结构具有相对较强的刚性结构,且阴离子电荷密度较低,无法与阳离子载体形成稳定、致密的复合物,使得siRNA的应用仍面临诸多挑战,如细胞摄取率低、靶向特异性差、递送过程不稳定、潜在的细胞毒性以及易诱发免疫反应等.近年来,核酸自组装纳米结构由于其结构灵活且负电荷密度较高而受到广泛关注,有望实现siRNA药物的高效递送和基因沉默.本文综述了近年来基于核酸自组装纳米结构的siRNA递送的研究进展及其应用.     

RNAi靶向VP2基因抑制中蜂囊状幼虫病毒在中华蜜蜂幼虫体内复制研究

中蜂囊状幼虫病(Chinese sacbrood disease,CSBD)是造成中华蜜蜂患病死亡的主要原因之一,目前尚无有效的治疗方法。为了研究靶向中蜂囊状幼虫病毒(Chinese sacbrood virus,CSBV)结构蛋白VP2基因的siRNA介导的RNA干扰(RNA interference,RNAi)作用和其对CSBV在中华蜜蜂幼虫体内复制的影响,设计合成针对CSBV VP2基因的特异性siRNA,以100 nM的浓度与pEGFPN1-VP2-CSBV融合表达载体共同转染至293T细胞中,通过荧光显微镜和流式细胞仪观察和分析siRNA在体外对CSBV VP2基因表达的干扰效果。同时,将siRNA(1μg/μL)和1×10~7拷贝数的CSBV共同饲喂2日龄中华蜜蜂幼虫,检测幼虫体内CSBV拷贝数和幼虫存活率,研究siR-NA对中华蜜蜂幼虫体内CSBV复制的影响。荧光结果显示,在293T细胞中siRNA能抑制CSBV VP2蛋白的表达,并且通过流式细胞仪检测分析发现干扰效果接近40%。幼虫饲喂实验表明,饲喂siRNA组在各时间点幼虫体内CSBV拷贝数均低于CSBV对照组,且在摄入siRNA后感染CSBV的幼虫存活率明显上升,与CSBV组差异极显著(P<0.01)。通过本研究,证明了针对CSBV结构蛋白VP2基因的特异性siRNA能够介导产生RNAi,影响CSBV在中蜂体内的复制,为深入研究CSBV VP2基因的功能和研发抗CSBV生物制剂提供了理论基础。     

Role for Btg1 and Btg2 in growth arrest of WEHI-231 cells through arginine methylation following membrane immunoglobulin engagement

Engagement of membrane Ig (mIg) on WEHI-231 murine B lymphoma cells, a cell line model representative of primary immature B cells, results in growth arrest and subsequent apoptosis. Of the several dozen genes upregulated greater than two-fold by anti-IgM treatment through DNA microarray analysis, we focused on B cell translocation gene 1 (Btg1) and Btg2, member of Btg/Tob family of proteins. WEHI-231 cells were infected with the Btg1/EGFP or Btg2/EGFP retroviral vectors, and those expressing either Btg1 or Btg2 accumulated in G1 phase at significantly higher proportions than that seen for cells expressing control vector. Btg1 or Btg2 bound to protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) 1 via the box C region, an interaction required for anti-IgM-induced growth inhibition. The arginine methyltransferase inhibitor AdOx partially abrogated growth inhibition induced by Btg1, Btg2, or anti-IgM. The Btg1- or Btg2-induced growth inhibition was also abrogated in PRMT1-deficient cells via introduction of small interference RNA. In addition, we observed anti-IgM-induced arginine methylation of two proteins, a 28-kDa and a 36-kDa protein. Methylation, detected by a monoclonal antibody specific for asymmetric, but not symmetric methyl residues, was observed as early as 1 h-2 h after stimulation and was sustained for up to 24 h. The anti-IgM-induced p36 arginine methylation was abrogated in the PRMT1-deficient cells, suggesting that PRMT1 induces p36 methylation. Together, these results suggest that anti-IgM-induced growth inhibition is mediated via upregulation of Btg1 and Btg2, resulting in the activation of arginine methyltransferase activity and culminating in growth inhibition of WEHI-231 cells.