Recognizing the enemy: do predator cues influence hatching in Neotropical annual killifish?

Annual fish species have evolved complex adaptations to survive in temporary wetlands. The main adaptation of these fish is the ability to produce embryos that survive dry periods. Embryo development of this fish can show variation at multiple levels influenced by many environmental factors, such as photoperiod and temperature. Predator cues are another factor that can influence the embryonic stage. One way in which annual fish could adapt to predators is by using risk-spreading strategies (through bet-hedging). Nonetheless, this strategy depends on the coevolutionary history between predators and preys and on the degree of environmental unpredictability, resulting in different responses across different species. This study investigated the influence of predator cues on the embryonic development and hatching of two Austrolebias species that inhabit ponds that present differences in hydroperiod and the risk of predator presence. The results confirmed a differentiated response between the two annual fish species tested, corroborating the modulation of hatching against the risk of predation by native predatory fish. The authors further showed that development times varied between the two annual fish species, regardless of the presence of predators. They highlight that the variation in embryonic development is strongly affected by different levels of hydroperiod unpredictability faced by the two species. To unravel finer-scale local adaptations in the annual fish embryo development, future studies should focus on a region with greater spatial gradient.     

杂交兰花色花香生物合成途径的转录组分析

该研究以杂交兰(Cymbidium hybrid)不同花色花香品种‘玉凤’(K18,黄色)和‘福韵丹霞’(K24,紫红色)为材料,采用RNA-Seq技术获得杂交兰不同花期的花朵转录组数据,分析杂交兰不同时期花色/花香相关基因的表达变化,探讨杂交兰花色花香形成的分子机理,为杂交的定向改良和新品种选育提供依据。结果表明:(1)K18和K24分别获得11914和6793个差异表达基因;KEGG注释显示,有58个差异基因与花色花香合成相关;进一步分析发现,类黄酮是K18和K24的主要花色素,其合成基因在小花蕾期显著上调,其中K18通过查尔酮异构酶基因(CHI)、类黄酮-3′,5′羟化酶基因(F3′5′H)和黄酮醇合酶基因(FLS)途径生成黄酮醇,K24则通过花青素合成酶基因(ANS)途径生成花青素。(2)qRT-PCR验证表明,萜类骨架基因羟甲基戊二酰辅酶基因(HMGS)、羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶基因(HMGR2)和甲羟戊酸-5-焦磷酸合酶基因(MVD)等的表达量均在K18盛花期最高,同时6个下游的萜烯合酶(TPS)基因在K18中表达量比K24上调100倍以上。(3)定量分析表明,K24、K18中的花色素苷总含量分别为608.74、122.28μg·g-1,K18花色苷含量仅为K24的20%;K24花中色素物质主要成分为矢车菊素苷,使其花色呈红色;K18中飞燕草素苷含量相对较高(花色为黄色)。研究推测,ANS基因的较高表达可能是K24花瓣中花色苷含量高于K18的原因之一,K18通过CHI、F3′5′H、FLS途径积累了大量黄酮醇而不是花青素,从而影响了花朵颜色的决定。     

不同预后脓毒症患者血清降钙素原、C反应蛋白与凝血功能指标和APACHE Ⅱ评分的关系分析

目的:探讨不同预后脓毒症患者血清降钙素原(PCT)、C反应蛋白(CRP)与凝血功能指标和急性生理和慢性健康状况评分系统Ⅱ(APACHEⅡ)评分的关系。方法:回顾性分析2015年1月至2019年1月期间深圳市第二人民医院重症医学科收治的160例脓毒症患者(脓毒症组)与在深圳市第二人民医院接受住院治疗的160例非脓毒症患者(非脓毒症组)的临床资料,根据脓毒症组患者住院28d后的预后情况分为存活组118例和死亡组42例,比较脓毒症组和非脓毒症组以及死亡组和存活组患者血清PCT和CRP水平、APACHE II评分以及凝血功能指标,采用Pearson相关性回归分析脓毒症患者血清降钙素原和CRP水平与APACHEⅡ评分以及凝血功能指标相关性。结果:与非脓毒症组相比,脓毒症组的血清PCT和CRP水平以及APACHEⅡ评分明显升高,凝血酶原时间(PT)和部分凝血活酶时间(APTT)明显延长(均P<0.05)。与存活组相比,死亡组的血清PCT和CRP水平以及APACHEⅡ评分明显升高,而PT和APTT均明显延长(均P<0.05)。Pearson相关性回归分析结果显示,血清PCT和CRP水平与APACHEⅡ评分、PT及APTT均呈正相关(均P<0.05)。结论:脓毒症患者血清PCT和CRP水平异常升高,APACHEⅡ评分及凝血功能指标均与血清PCT和CRP水平呈正相关,检测血清PCT和CRP水平有助于评估脓毒症患者的预后。     

谷子茎尖体外遗传转化体系的建立与优化

以谷子(Seteria italica)豫谷一号为实验材料, 建立了一套简便、稳定的体外茎尖遗传转化体系。通过根癌农杆菌(Agrobacterium tumefaciens)介导的茎尖转化法, 对转化受体采取不同的处理方式, 待拟转化株长到三叶期后进行PCR鉴定。探明了草丁膦(Basta)喷施处理用于谷子转基因幼苗筛选的最适浓度, 以及2种不同检测方式(直接PCR和喷施Basta+PCR)鉴定转基因植株的效果。在上述基础上, 对影响谷子遗传转化体系的多种因素进行优化。结果表明, 菌液浓度(OD₆₀₀)=1.4、侵染液中乙酰丁香酮浓度为800 μmol∙L ^-1、侵染压强为0.05 MPa、侵染40分钟有利于谷子茎尖的遗传转化。同时, 采用上述优化系统获得谷子转SiCBL4基因植株, 通过喷施草丁膦和实时荧光定量PCR对T₂代转基因植株进行遗传稳定性分析, 可节约检测时间。综上, 该研究初步建立了稳定的谷子体外茎尖遗传转化体系, 并开发了一种便捷的检测后代转基因植株的组合方法。     

海巴戟ACO基因启动子的克隆及功能初步验证

为了进一步明确海巴戟(Morinda citrifolia Linn.)ACO基因(GenBank登录号:ARB05681.1)功能,本研究通过染色体步移法克隆得到2 066 bp启动子.该区域除了含有大量TATA-box、CAAT-box等启动子核心元件外,还含有乙烯等植物激素响应元件、胁迫和防御相关元件、光相关元件等,转录起始位点预测在-96 bp处.为了验证启动子序列中的植物激素响应元件,分别用乙烯利、茉莉酸甲酯、赤霉素、生长素、脱落酸分别处理海巴戟叶片,荧光定量PCR结果 表明,5种激素均能上调ACO基因表达,与启动子中存在相应的元件一致,暗示着这些元件的存在能够调控海巴戟ACO基因的表达;此外,ACO受乙烯诱导表达最强,表明启动子中确实存在乙烯应答元件.     

β-1,6葡聚糖酶前体编码基因Ss4p对甘蔗黑穗病菌分泌蛋白组的影响

甘蔗(Saccharum spp.)是世界也是中国主要的糖料作物.由甘蔗黑穗病菌(Sporisorium scitamineum)引起的甘蔗黑穗病是中国甘蔗生产上最主要的病害,每年造成重大损失.分泌蛋白在真菌侵染寄主植物与获取营养及病理过程起重要作用.本实验室在分析甘蔗黑穗病菌基因组与转录组数据时,发现1个与真菌细胞壁降解有关的β-1,6葡聚糖酶前体的基因Ssa4p.为了揭示Ssa4p对甘蔗黑穗病菌致病性和分泌蛋白组的影响,本研究利用CRISPR/Cas9和T-DNA双元载体所构建的甘蔗黑穗菌基因敲除系统,成功获得了Ssa4p基因的失活突变株.ΔSsa4p突变株(Δ35-Ssa4p)与野生型菌株JG36的配合能力降低且致病性减弱.用iTRAQ方法对Δ35-Ssa4p和野生型菌株的分泌蛋白组进行比较分析,共鉴定到蛋白质1430个,其中上调差异表达蛋白质685个,下调差异表达蛋白质745个.GO功能富集分析及KEGG分析表明,差异蛋白主要定位于无膜细胞器和核糖体,其功能包括参与核糖体、氨基糖和核苷酸糖代谢等生物学过程.本研究发现β-1,6葡聚糖前体影响植物病原真菌的分泌蛋白,加深了对真菌致病性调控机制的认识.     

Adult-repopulating lymphoid potential of yolk sac blood vessels is not confined to arterial endothelial cells

Science China Life Sciences - During embryogenesis, hematopoietic stem progenitor cells (HSPCs) are believed to be derived from hemogenic endothelial cells (HECs). Moreover, arterial feature is...     

Microscale grooves regulate maturation development of hPSC-CMs by the transient receptor potential channels (TRP channels)

The use of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) is limited in drug discovery and cardiac disease mechanism studies due to cell immaturity. Micro-scaled grooves can promote the maturation of cardiomyocytes by aligning them in order, but the mechanism of cardiomyocytes alignment has not been studied. From the level of calcium activity, gene expression and cell morphology, we verified that the W20H5 grooves can effectively promote the maturation of cardiomyocytes. The transient receptor potential channels (TRP channels) also play an important role in the maturation and development of cardiomyocytes. These findings support the engineered hPSC-CMs as a powerful model to study cardiac disease mechanism and partly mimic the myocardial morphological development. The important role of the TRP channels in the maturation and development of myocardium is first revealed.