2011-2017年大连市输入性卵形疟原虫感染病例的实验室诊断

目的分析大连市2011-2017年7例输入性卵形疟原虫感染病例的病原、抗原及核酸检测结果,以提高卵形疟原虫诊断的准确率和效率。方法收集7例疑似疟疾患者的血样,对血样进行血涂片镜检、快速疟疾诊断试纸条检测(RDT)及荧光定量PCR检测。结果血涂片镜检结果显示7例患者均感染卵形疟原虫。RDT检测结果显示2例阴性,另外5例为泛疟原虫抗原阳性。荧光定量PCR结果显示7例患者均检出疟原虫属和卵形疟原虫核酸。结论综合镜检、RDT及荧光定量PCR检测结果确定该7例患者均为卵形疟原虫感染。     

Raman-based dynamic feeding strategies using real-time glucose concentration monitoring system during adalimumab producing CHO cell cultivation

The use of Process Analytical Technology tools coupled with chemometrics has been shown great potential for better understanding and control of mammalian cell cultivations through real-time process monitoring. In-line Raman spectroscopy was utilized to determine the glucose concentration of the complex bioreactor culture medium ensuring real-time information for our process control system. This work demonstrates a simple and fast method to achieve a robust partial least squares calibration model under laboratory conditions in an early phase of the development utilizing shake flask and bioreactor cultures. Two types of dynamic feeding strategies were accomplished where the multi-component feed medium additions were controlled manually and automatically based on the Raman monitored glucose concentration. The impact of these dynamic feedings was also investigated and compared to the traditional bolus feeding strategy on cellular metabolism, cell growth, productivity, and binding activity of the antibody product. Both manual and automated dynamic feeding strategies were successfully applied to maintain the glucose concentration within a narrower and lower concentration range. Thus, besides glucose, the glutamate was also limited at low level leading to reduced production of inhibitory metabolites, such as lactate and ammonia. Consequently, these feeding control strategies enabled to provide beneficial cultivation environment for the cells. In both experiments, higher cell growth and prolonged viable cell cultivation were achieved which in turn led to increased antibody product concentration compared to the reference bolus feeding cultivation.     

Intrapopulation genetic variation in the level and rhythm of daily activity in Drosophila immigrans

Genetic diversity within a population, such as polymorphisms and personality, is considered to improve population performance because such intraspecific variations have the potential to alleviate the competition for a limited resource or the risk of predation and sexual harassment at a population level. Variation in the level and rhythm of daily activity in a population could also affect population performance by directly altering ecological, social, and sexual interactions among individuals. However, it remains to be elucidated whether such intra‐population variation in the level and rhythms of daily activity exists in a natural population. Here, we investigated the genetic variation in daily activity within a single natural population of Drosophila immigrans. We established 21 isofemale lines from a single natural population and measured larval activity level and the level and daily pattern of adult activity over a 24 hr period. Larval activity level significantly varied among isofemale lines. Likewise, the activity level in the adult stage significantly varied among lines. The significant variation was also found in the daily pattern of adult activity; some lines showed greater activity level in the daytime, and others showed greater activity level in the night. Our results consistently suggest that there is a genetic variation in behavioral activity in a natural population, probably contributing to shaping the population performance.     

耐除草剂玉米G1105E-823C定性检测方法

转基因耐除草剂玉米G1105E-823C是经过改造的转mG2-aroA基因耐草甘膦玉米新品系,具有更高的草甘膦耐受性,目前已完成生产性试验,具有重要的产业化应用前景。但目前尚无针对G1105E-823C的转化体特异性检测方法的相关报道,这十分不利于对该品系的检测及监管。基于此,以G1105E-823C转化体特异性序列为靶标,建立了转基因耐除草剂玉米G1105E-823C的普通PCR和实时荧光PCR定性检测方法。结果表明,2种方法均能检测出转基因耐除草剂玉米G1105E-823C转化体成分,且具有较高的特异性。普通PCR检测方法检出限达0.1%,实时荧光PCR检测方法检出限达0.05%。研究建立的2种定性检测方法为转基因耐除草剂玉米G1105E-823C的精准检测提供了新的技术手段,可为农业转基因监管提供技术支撑。     

Sex identification of morphologically-undifferentiated Siberian sturgeon with statistical analysis of gene expression patterns

The purpose of this study was to detail a simple strategy for sexing morphologically-undifferentiated fish using statistical analysis of gene expression patterns characterized by quantitative PCR. This approach is especially relevant for species without known genomic sex markers. The method was developed for early identification of female Siberian sturgeon as part of a genomics study. That study documented activation of the enzyme 17ß-hydroxy-steroid-dehydrogenase (hsd17b1) in future ovarian tissue at 3 months of age, concurrent with a small forkhead box L2 (foxl2) peak and emerging cytochrome P450, family 19, subfamily A (cyp19a1) expression. Major cyp19a1 and foxl2 peaks occurred in presumptive female gonads at 5–6 months. This pattern suggested a genetic relay mediating estrogen production throughout differentiation, possibly to maintain gonadal femininity. Genes involved in stem cell proliferation (lim homeobox 2 (lhx2)) and somatic-germ cell interaction maintenance (iroquois homeobox 5 (irx5) and iroquois homeobox 3 (irx3)) were also expressed during molecular differentiation, at 5–6 months. The roles of lhx2, irx3, and irx5 in fish sex differentiation should be confirmed using other methodologies. These results indicate that estrogens are crucial for ovarian differentiation in basal non-teleost fish, consistent with well-established patterns in teleosts, with hsd17b1 as one of the earliest biomarkers of gonadal development.     

黄芩苷铝胁迫下产肠毒素大肠杆菌内参基因的筛选

【背景】产肠毒素大肠杆菌(Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli,ETEC)是导致仔猪腹泻的主要致病菌之一,黄芩苷铝对ETEC诱导的仔猪腹泻具有良好的治疗效果,但作用机制尚不明了。【目的】筛选出黄芩苷铝胁迫下ETEC中表达水平最为稳定的内参基因。【方法】采用qPCR技术测定了12个内参基因16S rRNA、mdh、recA、gapA、gyrA、gyrB、rpoA、rpoB、mdoG、dnaG、secA和fusA在不同浓度(250、500和1 000μg/mL)黄芩苷铝胁迫下培养不同时间后(4.5 h和6 h)的表达水平,并采用比较Ct值法、geNorm、BestKeeper和NormFinder软件4种方法对12个候选内参基因的表达稳定性进行评估。【结果】rpoA表达丰度适中,并在多个分析方法中表达最稳定。【结论】确定了rpoA为ETEC qPCR的最佳内参基因,此研究为后续利用qPCR法研究黄芩苷铝胁迫ETEC后目的基因功能的表达奠定了基础。     

Chromoplast differentiation in bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) fruits

We report here a detailed analysis of the proteome adjustments that accompany chromoplast differentiation from chloroplasts during bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) fruit ripening. While the two photosystems are disassembled and their constituents degraded, the cytochrome b₆f complex, the ATPase complex, and Calvin cycle enzymes are maintained at high levels up to fully mature chromoplasts. This is also true for ferredoxin (Fd) and Fd-dependent NADP reductase, suggesting that ferredoxin retains a central role in the chromoplasts’ redox metabolism. There is a significant increase in the amount of enzymes of the typical metabolism of heterotrophic plastids, such as the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (OPPP) and amino acid and fatty acid biosynthesis. Enzymes of chlorophyll catabolism and carotenoid biosynthesis increase in abundance, supporting the pigment reorganization that goes together with chromoplast differentiation. The majority of plastid encoded proteins decline but constituents of the plastid ribosome and AccD increase in abundance. Furthermore, the amount of plastid terminal oxidase (PTOX) remains unchanged despite a significant increase in phytoene desaturase (PDS) levels, suggesting that the electrons from phytoene desaturation are consumed by another oxidase. This may be a particularity of non-climacteric fruits such as bell pepper that lack a respiratory burst at the onset of fruit ripening.     

Reconstructing cranial evolution in an extinct hominin

Homo erectus is the first hominin species with a truly cosmopolitan distribution and resembles recent humans in its broad spatial distribution. The microevolutionary events associated with dispersal and local adaptation may have produced similar population structure in both species. Understanding the evolutionary population dynamics of H. erectus has larger implications for the emergence of later Homo lineages in the Middle Pleistocene. Quantitative genetics models provide a means of interrogating aspects of long-standing H. erectus population history narratives. For the current study, cranial fossils were sorted into six major palaeodemes from sites across Africa and Asia spanning 1.8–0.1 Ma. Three-dimensional shape data from the occipital and frontal bones were used to compare intraspecific variation and test evolutionary hypotheses. Results indicate that H. erectus had higher individual and group variation than Homo sapiens, probably reflecting different levels of genetic diversity and population history in these spatially disperse species. This study also revealed distinct evolutionary histories for frontal and occipital bone shape in H. erectus, with a larger role for natural selection in the former. One scenario consistent with these findings is climate-driven facial adaptation in H. erectus, which is reflected in the frontal bone through integration with the orbits.