Construction of an efficient genomic editing system with CRISPR/Cas9 in the vector mosquito Aedes albopictus

Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus, also known as the Asian tiger mosquito, is a mosquito which originated in Asia. In recent years, it has become increasingly rampant throughout the world. This mosquito can transmit several arboviruses, including dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses, and is considered a public health threat. Despite the urgent need of genome engineering to analyze specific gene functions, progress in genetical manipulation of Ae. albopictus has been slow due to a lack of efficient methods and genetic markers. In the present study, we established targeted disruptions in two genes, kynurenine hydroxylase (kh) and dopachrome conversion enzyme (yellow), to analyze the feasibility of generating visible phenotypes with genome editing by the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/ CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system in Ae. albopictus. Following Cas9 single guide RNA ribonucleoprotein injection into the posterior end of pre-blastoderm embryos, 30%-50% of fertile survivors produced alleles that failed to complement existing kh and yellow mutations. Complete eye and body pigmentation defects were readily observed in GI pupae and adults, indicating successful generation of highly heritable mutations. We conclude that the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing system can be used mAe. albopictus and that it can be adopted as an efficient tool for genome-scale analysis and biological study.     

化学诱变剂EMS对知母种子萌发的影响

以知母（Anemarrhena asphodeloides）种子为材料,分别采用1%、2%、4%、6%浓度的EMS处理6、8、12和24 h,在恒温培养箱内进行种子萌发实验,研究不同浓度的化学诱变剂甲基磺酸乙酯（ethyl methane sulfonate,EMS）处理对知母种子萌发的影响,筛选适宜的诱变浓度和诱变时间。结果表明：随EMS浓度的增加和处理时间的延长,知母种子发芽率呈现逐渐降低的趋势,以相对发芽率达到半致死浓度为标准,6%EMS浸种12和24 h可作为EMS诱导知母建立突变体库的适宜条件。     

肠道噬菌体组与人体健康

噬菌体作为肠道微生物群落的重要组成部分,自生命初期即定植于肠道,在不同生命时期均以较为稳定的状态存在于人体。目前已知的肠道噬菌体主要是DNA噬菌体,且大多以前噬菌体形式存在。肠道噬菌体可通过多种机制优化其宿主微生物群的结构和组成,并以多种方式直接或间接影响人体的生理状态,其结构变化与多种疾病相关。利用测序方法,能够直接获取噬菌体组信息。本文基于噬菌体组的相关研究,综述了肠道噬菌体组与人体健康相关的研究进展,并对该领域的研究方法和发展方向做出展望。     

基于脂质组学技术研究急性缺血性脑卒中临床诊断标志物

目的:急性缺血性脑卒中(Acute ischemic stroke, AIS)是由于血流减少导致的脑功能突然丧失。由于AIS发病机制是异质性和多因素的,我们建立全面的脂质组学方法来阐明AIS进程相关的脂质变化和复杂的脂质代谢网络。方法:选取26例AIS患者血液标本和27例健康志愿者血清作为研究对象,进行总脂抽提,通过基于LC-MS策略的非靶向脂质组学方法进行规模性、整体性的脂质组学分析。结果:对AIS患者和健康志愿者血浆进行大规模脂质定性定量分析,通过Progenesis~? QI软件分析Xevo~? G2-XS QTOF质谱系统MSE采集的子离子数据,精确定量到1054个脂质特征差异,准确定性得到368个脂质分子,多变量统计分析中差异脂质组成能将AIS患者和健康志愿者区分开来,通路富集分析图显示差异脂质主要参与甘油磷脂代谢的紊乱。结论:AIS患者血浆脂质组成与健康志愿者存在显著差异,差异表达的脂质可能与AIS发生有关。这些发现有助于开发新的诊断标志物和AIS治疗靶点。     

利用转录组测序筛选低切应力作用下人脐静脉内皮细胞的差异表达基因

目的:通过转录组测序分析获得不同切应力作用下人脐静脉内皮细胞的基因的表达谱,为进一步探索切应力影响内皮细胞形态和功能的机制提供依据。方法:以人脐静脉内皮细胞为材料,通过Streamer系统建立6通道可调控切应力的流体动力学细胞模型,以层流切应力(15 dynes/cm~2)为对照,以低切应力(0.1 dynes/cm~2)为实验组,分别加载细胞18 h。提取总RNA逆转录合成cDNA,建立文库,以二代测序平台Illumina HiSeq中进行扩增和测序。结果:序列比对结果显示,有19986个基因比对上,新转录本分析显示各组新转录本数约占总转录本数的50%。基因表达差异分析显示,较对照组,低切应力组表达上调基因983个,表达下调基因701个。GO分析显示,有18499个基因得到了归类注释,绝大多数基因富集到生物学过程。KEGG分析显示,富集Top20的信号通路与细胞周期、DNA复制和细胞分裂、细胞应激和凋亡等生物学过程相关。结论:低切应力作用不仅仅激活内皮细胞中细胞的增殖相关基因,同时也涉及到DNA损伤修复和凋亡相关基因。     

SAA-Cas9: A tunable genome editing system with increased bio-safety and reduced off-target effects

The site-specific nature and ease of handling of clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeat(CRISPR)/Cas9 has fulfilled the decades-long goal of genome engineering,and thus has pushed the biological sciences into a new era in which site-directed manipulation of DNA is no longer a short slab(Doudna and Charpentier,2014).The incomparable power of this system also enabled unprecedented new opportunities for practical applications in agriculture,ecosystem and human health(Liu,2017).However,with the extremely rapid development and application of CRISPR system,concerns about its bio-safety have been increasing(Caplan et al.,2015;Taning et al.,2017).While multiple studies have addressed this issue,alternative options for regulating Cas9 are of great interest.As has been proved by increasing evidences,another well?known concern is the off-target effects,which could not only confound research experiments or breeding,but also cause unwanted side effects in the forthcoming therapeutic uses(Fu et aL,2013;Taning et al.,2017;Zhang et al.,2018).     

花青素转录因子调控机制及代谢工程研究进展

花青素是广泛存在于植物中的一类重要的类黄酮化合物, 在植物生长发育和人类营养保健方面具有重要价值。花青素的生物合成途径已经解析得比较清楚, 但花青素的代谢调控网络还在不断完善。调控花青素生物合成的转录因子主要包括MYB、bHLH和WD40三大类, 这些转录因子通过激活或抑制CHS、ANS和DFR等花青素途径关键结构基因的表达水平, 进而决定花青素积累的部位与水平。该文结合国内外花青素生物合成与转录调控方面的研究进展, 简要介绍了花青素的生物合成途径, 归纳总结了模式植物中花青素代谢调控的分子机理, 尤其是MYB、bHLH和WD40三类主要转录因子的调控机理, 以及这些转录因子在观赏植物和水果等经济作物花青素代谢工程中的应用。该文将为系统阐明花青素的转录调控机制和利用代谢工程改良花青素的相关研究提供有益参考。     

优雅蝈螽转录组和基因组浅层测序结果中 SSR位点鉴定、特征及分布规律

优雅蝈螽Gampsocleis gratiosa是一种在我国具有悠久人工饲养历史的鸣虫。简单重复序列(Simple sequence repeats,SSR)非常适用于种群遗传研究。本文运用MISA软件分别在优雅蝈螽转录组和基因组浅层测序结果中发现15 042和40 611个SSR位点。转录组中,双碱基型最为丰富5 444个(36.19%),其次为单碱基型4 785个(31.81%)和三碱基型4 273个(28.41%),而四碱基型514(5.83%)和五碱基型26(0.33%)极少,没有发现六碱基型。基因组浅层测序结果中,以三碱基型(38.89%)和四碱基型(38.43%)最为丰富,单碱基型(10.34%)和双碱基型(11.72%)次之,五碱基型(0.54%)和六碱基型(0.08%)最少。基因组浅层测序结果中SSR位点的密度为876.20个/Mb,约为转录组143.06个/Mb的6倍。利用primer 3_2.2.3搜索发现优雅蝈螽转录组和基因组浅层测序结果中侧翼序列满足设计引物条件的完整型SSR位点数分别为9 969个(70.18%)和21 437个(67.75%)。本研究加深了对优雅蝈螽基因组的认识和了解,并为下一步大量开发和筛选高质量微卫星标记提供数据支持。     

抗癫痫药物左乙拉西坦对大鼠骨骼的物理及生化指标的影响

本研究的目的是以性腺完整的动物为模型调查左乙拉西坦(LEV)是否对于骨矿物质密度、骨结构和骨代谢生化指标产生影响,探究抗癫痫药物左乙拉西坦(LEV)是否对骨骼健康存在显著风险。本研究将实验大鼠分为对照组和试验组,每组10只。对照大鼠接受标准实验室饮食(SLD),而试验组中的大鼠喂食富含LEV的实验室饮食12周,并以双能X-线吸收仪测量全身、股骨和腰椎的骨密度。在骨组织中检查骨标记的浓度,股骨和胫骨均用于生物力学测试。研究结果表明:在LEV组中,脂肪组织的绝对值和相对值显著降低,全身骨密度增高,骨碱性磷酸酶(BALP)、Ⅰ型胶原C末端肽(CTX-1)和Ⅰ型前胶原氨基端前肽(PINP)浓度显著增加。本研究初步得出结论:在性腺完整的大鼠模型中长期施用LEV对骨质不具有负面影响。骨矿物质密度(BMD)的显著增加可能表明LEV对骨质可能有正面影响。