菌根真菌与兰科植物互作的组学研究进展

兰科植物因其具有丰富的物种多样性和重要的社会经济价值,多年来一直是植物学及生态学界的重点研究对象。菌根真菌对兰科植物的种子萌发、营养吸收和种群动态等多个方面都具有十分重要的作用,因而近年来受到越来越多的关注。探究菌根真菌与兰科植物互作的内在机制是目前兰科菌根研究的一大热点领域,同时也为兰科植物野生资源保护和种群恢复提供了许多新方法与新思路。随着新一代测序技术以及多种组学数据库的发展与建立,菌根真菌与兰科植物互作机制研究已然进入了一个全新的时代。纵观近年来的研究,通过基因组学、转录组学、蛋白质组学和代谢组学等相关技术,人们对兰科菌根共生过程中的种子萌发、营养物质转运、信号转导、宿主免疫和逆境抗性等方面的内在机制有了一定的了解。本文对近十年来国内外采用组学技术研究菌根真菌与兰科植物互作机制方面的研究成果进行了总结和梳理,并对未来该领域的研究进行了展望。     

Plant plasma membrane‐resident receptors: Surveillance for infections and coordination for growth and development

As sessile organisms, plants are exposed to pathogen invasions and environmental fluctuations. To overcome the challenges of their surroundings, plants acquire the potential to sense endogenous and exogenous cues, resulting in their adaptability. Hence, plants have evolved a large collection of plasma membrane-resident receptors, including RECEPTOR-LIKE KINASEs(RLKs) and RECEPTOR-LIKE PROTEINs(RLPs) to perceive those signals and regulate plant growth,development, and immunity. The ability of RLKs and RLPs to recognize distinct ligands relies on diverse categories of extracellular domains evolved. Co-regulatory receptors are often required to associate with RLKs and RLPs to facilitate cellular signal transduction. RECEPTOR-LIKE CYTOPLASMIC KINASEs(RLCKs) also associate with the complex, bifurcating the signal to key signaling hubs, such as MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE(MAPK) cascades, to regulate diverse biological processes. Here, we discuss recent knowledge advances in understanding the roles of RLKs and RLPs in plant growth, development, and immunity, and their connection with co-regulatory receptors, leading to activation of diverse intracellular signaling pathways.     

Regulatory KIR+RA+ T cells accumulate with age and are highly activated during viral respiratory disease

Severe respiratory viral infectious diseases such as influenza and COVID‐19 especially affect the older population. This is partly ascribed to diminished CD8⁺ T‐cell responses a result of aging. The phenotypical diversity of the CD8⁺ T‐cell population has made it difficult to identify the impact of aging on CD8⁺ T‐cell subsets associated with diminished CD8⁺ T‐cell responses. Here we identify a novel human CD8⁺ T‐cell subset characterized by expression of Killer‐cell Immunoglobulin‐like Receptors (KIR⁺) and CD45RA (RA⁺). These KIR⁺RA⁺ T cells accumulated with age in the blood of healthy individuals (20–82 years of age, n = 50), expressed high levels of aging‐related markers of T‐cell regulation, and were functionally capable of suppressing proliferation of other CD8⁺ T cells. Moreover, KIR⁺RA⁺ T cells were a major T‐cell subset becoming activated in older adults suffering from an acute respiratory viral infection (n = 36), including coronavirus and influenza virus infection. In addition, older adults with influenza A infection showed that higher activation status of their KIR⁺RA⁺ T cells associated with longer duration of respiratory symptoms. Together, our data indicate that KIR⁺RA⁺ T cells are a unique human T‐cell subset with regulatory properties that may explain susceptibility to viral respiratory disease at old age.     

Characteristics of balance control in older persons who fall with injury – A prospective study

ObjectiveOlder adults who have recently fallen demonstrate increased postural sway compared with non-fallers. However, the differences in postural control between older adults who were seriously injured (SI) as a result of a fall, compared with those who fell but were not injured (NSI) and non-fallers (NFs), has not been investigated. The objective of the present study was to investigate the underlying postural control mechanisms related to injuries resulting from a fall.MethodsBoth traditional postural sway measures of foot center-of-pressure (CoP) displacements and fractal measures, the Stabilogram-Diffusion Analysis (SDA), were used to characterize the postural control. One hundred older adults aged 65–91 years were tested during narrow base upright stance in eyes closed condition; falls were monitored over a 1-year period.ResultsForty-nine older adults fell during the 1-year follow-up, 13 were seriously injured as a result of a fall (SI), 36 were not injured (NSI), and 49 were non-fallers (NFs); two passed away. The SDA showed significantly higher short-term diffusion coefficients and critical displacements in SI in the anterior–posterior direction compared with both NSI and NF. However, in the medio-lateral direction there were no statistically significant differences between groups. For the traditional measures of sway, the average anterior–posterior CoP range was also larger in SI individuals.ConclusionsThis work suggests that older fallers with a deterioration of anterior–posterior postural control may be at higher risk of serious injury following fall events.     

RGMb/DRAGON与BMP信号转导

RGMb/DRAGON为RGM家族成员之一,在许多组织和器官中存在并表达.最初它作为粘附分子在神经系统中调节轴突排斥被发现.近来研究发现,它还是BMP的辅助受体,与BMP配体和受体结合,通过调控BMP信号通路在繁殖、肾脏机能的维持以及免疫疾病等生理和病理条件下发挥重要作用.本文评述了RGMb的基因及蛋白结构特征、表达定位及其在神经系统中的作用,并重点介绍了其在BMP信号通路中的作用机制和生物学研究进展.     

植物转录因子最新研究方法

转录因子可以调控众多下游基因的表达,在植物的生长发育、代谢及对外界环境的反应中起着重要作用。我们结合近年来植物转录因子的研究进展,归纳分析了高等植物转录因子研究的主要策略和最新的技术方法,并从生物信息学分析、瞬间转化技术的应用、突变体表型分析及调控网络等几个方面进行了全面阐述,为植物转录因子的预测、功能鉴定及靶基因分析等相关研究提供理论和方法的参考。     

Does placenta position modify the risk of placental abruption in car crashes?

The goal of this paper is to study the influence of placenta position on the risk of placenta abruption following a car crash involving a full term pregnant woman in the driver's seat. We developed an anatomically precise finite element numerical model of a pregnant woman. This numerical model was validated using experimental data from crash tests using cadavers given to science. For a frontal impact at a speed of 20 km/h, the mean value of peak strain levels at the utero-placenta interface were found to be close to 20%, independent of placenta position, representing an adverse foetal outcome risk of approximately 15%. This study found no significant effect of placenta position on the risk of placenta abruption. Our anatomically precise approach does however confirm the interest of using a numerical model when studying injury mechanisms in pregnant women involved in car crashes.     

Amyloid from a histochemical perspective. A review of the structure,properties and types of amyloid,and a proposed staining mechanism for Congo red staining

Amyloid is a diverse group of unrelated peptides or proteins that have positive functionality or are associated with various pathologies. Despite vast differences, all amyloids share several features that together uniquely define the group. 1) All amyloids possess a characteristic cross-ß pattern with X-ray diffraction typical of ß-sheet secondary protein structures. 2) All amyloids are birefringent and dichroic under polarizing microscopy after staining with Congo red, which indicates a crystalline-like (ordered) structure. 3) All amyloids cause a spectral shift in the peak wavelength of Congo red with conventional light microscopy due to perturbation of π electrons of the dye. 4) All amyloids show heightened intensity of fluorescence with Congo red, which suggests an unusual degree of packing of the dye onto the substrate. The ß portion of amyloid molecules, the only logical substrate for specific Congo red staining under histochemical conditions, consists of a stack of ß-sheets laminated by hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions between adjacent pairs. Only the first and last ß-sheets are accessible to dyes. Each sheet is composed of numerous identical peptides running across the width of the sheet and arranged in parallel with side chains in register over the length of the fibril. Two sets of grooves are bordered by side chains. X grooves run perpendicular to the long axis of the fibril; these grooves are short (the width of the sheet) and number in the hundreds or thousands. Y grooves are parallel with the long axis. Each groove runs the entire length of the fibril, but there are very few of them. While Congo red is capable of ionic bonding with proteins via two sulfonic acid groups, physical constraints on the staining solution preclude ionic interactions. Hydrogen bonding between dye amine groups and peptide carbonyls is the most likely primary bonding mechanism, because all ß-sheets possess backbone carbonyls. Various amino acid residues may form secondary bonds to the dye via any of three van der Waals forces. It is possible that Congo red binds within the Y grooves, but that would not produce the characteristic staining features that are the diagnostic hallmarks of amyloid. Binding in the X grooves would produce a tightly packed series of dye molecules over the entire length of the fibril. This would account for the signature staining of amyloid by Congo red: dichroic birefringence, enhanced intensity of fluorescence and a shift in visible absorption wavelength.