Effect of (R)‐salbutamol on the switch of phenotype and metabolic pattern in LPS‐induced macrophage cells

Evidence demonstrates that M1 macrophage polarization promotes inflammatory disease. Here, we discovered that (R)‐salbutamol, a β₂ receptor agonist, inhibits and reprograms the cellular metabolism of RAW264.7 macrophages. (R)‐salbutamol significantly inhibited LPS‐induced M1 macrophage polarization and downregulated expressions of typical M1 macrophage cytokines, including monocyte chemotactic protein‐1 (MCP‐1), interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) and tumour necrosis factor α (TNF‐α). Also, (R)‐salbutamol significantly decreased the production of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), while increasing the reduced glutathione (GSH)/oxidized glutathione (GSSG) ratio. In contrast, (S)‐salbutamol increased the production of NO and ROS. Bioenergetic profiles showed that (R)‐salbutamol significantly reduced aerobic glycolysis and enhanced mitochondrial respiration. Untargeted metabolomics analysis demonstrated that (R)‐salbutamol modulated metabolic pathways, of which three metabolic pathways, namely, (a) phenylalanine metabolism, (b) the pentose phosphate pathway and (c) glycerophospholipid metabolism were the most noticeably impacted pathways. The effects of (R)‐salbutamol on M1 polarization were inhibited by a specific β₂ receptor antagonist, ICI‐118551. These findings demonstrated that (R)‐salbutamol inhibits the M1 phenotype by downregulating aerobic glycolysis and glycerophospholipid metabolism, which may propose (R)‐salbutamol as the major pharmacologically active component of racemic salbutamol for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and highlight the medicinal value of (R)‐salbutamol.     

Chromosome‐level genome assembly of the greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood)

The greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood, is an agricultural pest of global importance. Here we report a 787‐Mb high‐quality draft genome sequence of T. vaporariorum assembled from PacBio long reads and Hi‐C chromatin interaction maps, which has scaffold and contig N50 lengths of 70 Mb and 500 kb, respectively, and contains 18,275 protein‐coding genes. About 98.8% of the assembled contigs were placed onto the 11 T. vaporariorum chromosomes. Comparative genomic analysis reveals significantly expanded gene families such as aspartyl proteases in T. vaporariorum compared to Bemisia tabaci Mediterranean (MED) and Middle East‐Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1). Furthermore, the cytochrome CYP6 subfamily shows significant expansion in T. vaporariorum and several genes in this subfamily display developmental stage‐specific expression patterns. The high‐quality T. vaporariorum genome provides a valuable resource for research in a broad range of areas such as fundamental molecular ecology, insect–plant/insect–microorganism or virus interactions and pest resistance management.     

Overexpression of the persimmon abscisic acid β‐glucosidase gene (DkBG1) alters fruit ripening in transgenic tomato

β‐Glucosidases (BG) are present in many plant tissues. Among these, abscisic acid (ABA) β‐glucosidases are thought to take part in the adjustment of cellular ABA levels, however the role of ABA‐BG in fruits is still unclear. In this study, through RNA‐seq analysis of persimmon fruit, 10 full‐length DkBG genes were isolated and were all found to be expressed. In particular, DkBG1 was highly expressed in persimmon fruits with a maximum expression 95 days after full bloom (DAFD). We verified that, in vitro, DkBG1 protein can hydrolyze ABA‐glucose ester (ABA‐GE) to release free ABA. Compared with wild‐type, tomato plants that overexpressed DkBG1 significantly upregulated the expression of ABA receptor PYL3/7 genes and showed typical symptoms of ABA hypersensitivity in fruits. DkBG1 overexpression (DkBG1‐OE) accelerated fruit ripening onset by 3–4 days by increasing ABA levels at the pre‐breaker stage and induced early ethylene release compared with wild‐type fruits. DkBG1‐OE altered the expression of ripening regulator NON‐RIPENING (NOR) and its target genes; this in turn altered fruit quality traits such as coloration. Our results demonstrated that DkBG1 plays an important role in fruit ripening and quality by adjusting ABA levels via hydrolysis of ABA‐GE.     

一株降解煤油菌株的筛选与鉴定

本文通过从污水处理厂活性污泥中分离得到一株高效降解轻油(煤油)细菌5092-2,通过形态学、16S rRNA鉴定该菌为Mangroveibacter sp.。进一步对其生长条件进行了研究,发现该菌在23℃到38℃、pH为5.0到9.0范围内生长无明显差异。在温度为35℃,pH 7.2~7.4,160 r/min培养7 d,菌株降解煤油的能力达到52.3%,具有进一步研究的价值。     

甘肃不同矿区样品中的细菌多样性

甘肃矿产资源丰富,矿区酸性矿坑水(acid mine drainage,AMD)及周边土壤中嗜酸微生物种类丰富,具有相当大的研究价值.本研究通过Illumina高通量测序方法,对甘肃省4个矿区AMD及周边土壤中的细菌群落组成、相似性及功能组成进行分析.结果 表明,煤矿样品GNM细菌物种组成最为丰富,金矿样品LNJ1与紫金矿样品LNZJK细菌组成最相似,与属于铜矿的BYT物种较相近,与LNJ1同地区的LNJ2样品细菌组成相比较远.所有样品细菌主要分为放线菌门(Actinobacteria)、拟杆菌门(Bacteriodetes)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)和变形菌门(Proteobacteria)四大门,其中变形菌门(Proteobacteria)丰度最高.放线菌门(Actinobacteria)中不动杆菌属(Acinetobacter)、类诺卡氏属(Nocardioides)和芽球菌属(Blastococcus)表现出较高丰度;厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)中微小杆菌属(Exiguobacterium)和芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus)表现出较高丰度,且微小杆菌属(Exiguobacterium)丰度极高.通过功能预测发现,与煤矿样品GNM相比,LNJ1、LNJ2、BYT和LNZJK4个金属矿区样品中的微生物具有较强的氨基酸与碳源的转运与代谢、转录等功能以及较低的能量生产与转运、无机离子转运与代谢能力.通过探究AMD中的细菌多样性及其与重金属之间的相互关系,了解AMD采样区微生物群落结构,以期挖掘出更为丰富的具有重金属抗性的菌株资源,以应用于生物浸矿和环境修复等领域.     

UNDP与中国合作实施GEF生物多样性项目的成就与经验

全球环境基金(GEF)作为《生物多样性公约》财务机制的运行主体, 已在全球范围内实施了7个周期, 各国在执行GEF项目期间, 遇到了可持续性不强、项目设计方案复杂、期望过高等挑战。作为GEF的国际实施机构, 联合国开发计划署(UNDP)与中国政府合作, 针对各项挑战, 采取综合应对措施, 优化设计与实施的生物多样性项目取得了系列成就, 这些项目的实施是落实爱知生物多样性目标和《2011-2020年生物多样性战略计划》的有效实践并提供了成功范例。这些应对策略与成就包括: (1)撬动了中国政府5-10倍的配套资金用于生物多样性相关工作, 推动生物多样性在中国各级政府的主流化, 使得财务、制度和环境的可持续得以实现。项目贡献于国家宏观战略规划和五年计划的制订、完善法律法规、探索融资机制、推进政策导向等方面, 并将生物多样性纳入国家重要议程, 使生态文明的理念发挥政策引领作用。(2)项目从设计到执行, 充分征询利益相关者的意见, 目标的设定明智, 确保了项目的实施成效。(3)借鉴相关国家成功经验, 结合中国实际开展了诸多创新和示范。(4)提供培训、教育和广泛交流, 综合提升了生物多样性领域相关机构和人员的能力, 对于增强技术、管理、协调、协作等领域的软实力和巧实力发挥了桥梁和纽带作用。(5)利用各种窗口和平台, 广泛开展宣传推广、研讨交流等, 提高了公众对生物多样性的认知, 为长期践行可持续发展战略奠定群众基础。本文结合UNDP作为国际实施机构与相关部委和省级及地方政府共同实施的GEF生物多样性项目实践, 总结了项目的成就与经验, 期望为全球相关项目设计和实施以及2020年后全球生物多样性框架的制定提供借鉴, 以共同实现“到2050年与自然和谐相处”的愿景。