Genetic variability within isolates of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum belonging to race 65 from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, the causal agent of anthracnose in the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), presents a wide genetic and pathogenic variability that gives rise to complications in the development of resistant bean cultivars. The aim of this study was to identify the variability within race 65 of C. lindemuthianum, the race most commonly encountered in Brazil, through randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and anastomosis analyses. Thirteen isolates of race 65, collected in different years and from various host cultivars located in diverse areas of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, were investigated. Twenty-four RAPD primers were employed and 83 polymorphic bands amplified. Genetic similarities were estimated from the Sorensen-Dice coefficient and ranged from 0.54 to 0.82. The dendrogram obtained by cluster analysis classified the isolates into 11 separate groups. For the purposes of the analysis of anastomosis, isolates were considered to be compatible when the fusion of hyphae from different isolates could be observed. The proportion of compatible reactions for each isolate was estimated and similarity estimates, based on the Russel & Rao coefficient, ranged from 0.28 to 0.85. Isolates were classified into 11 anastomosis groups, 10 of which were formed by only one isolate. Although isolates LV61, LV73 and LV58 were classified in the same anastomosis group, they were genetically distinct according to RAPD analysis. Results from both RAPD and anastomosis analyses revealed great variability within C. lindemuthianum race 65.     

厦门近岸海域无居民海岛植物区系和物种组成相似性

为摸清厦门近岸无居民海岛的主要植物群落类型, 于2017年10月调查了12个无居民海岛的植物组成, 共记录到维管束植物360种, 其中乔木78种, 小乔木或灌木109种, 藤本23种, 草本150种; 包含外来入侵植物49种, 其中恶性入侵种10种。植物区系分析表明, 厦门周边12个无居民海岛植物主要由泛热带分布种及其变型组成, 以热带、亚热带成分占主导地位, 符合其亚热带地理分布特点。总体上, 维管束植物物种相似性较高, 物种丰富度受海岛面积的影响较大, 与海岛面积存在显著的对数和幂函数关系。此外, 岸线长度、高程、周长/面积比等空间参数也对海岛物种丰富度产生一定的影响。岛屿间维管束植物物种相似性受生境多样性和岛屿边缘效应的影响, 仅吾屿可能存在小岛屿效应。     

Demonstration of physicochemical and functional similarity between the proposed biosimilar adalimumab MSB11022 and Humira®

Biosimilars are biological products that are highly similar to existing products approved by health authorities. Demonstration of similarity starts with the comprehensive analysis of the reference product and its proposed biosimilar at the physicochemical and functional levels. Here, we report the results of a comparative analysis of a proposed biosimilar adalimumab MSB11022 and its reference product, Humira®. Three batches of MSB11022 and up to 23 batches of Humira® were analyzed by a set of state-of-the-art orthogonal methods. Primary and higher order structure analysis included N/C-terminal modifications, molecular weight of heavy and light chains, C-terminal lysine truncation, disulfide bridges, secondary and tertiary structures, and thermal stability. Purity ranged from 98.4%–98.8% for MSB11022 batches (N = 3) and from 98.4%–99.6% for Humira® batches (N = 19). Isoform analysis showed 5 isoform clusters within the pI range of 7.94–9.14 and 100% glycan site occupancy for both MSB11022 and Humira®. Functional analysis included Fab-dependent inhibition of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-induced cytotoxicity in L929-A9 cell line and affinity to soluble and transmembrane forms of TNF, as well as Fc-dependent binding to Fcγ and neonatal Fc receptors and C1q complement proteins. All tested physicochemical and functional parameters demonstrated high similarity of MSB11022 and Humira®, with lower variability between MSB11022 and Humira® batches compared with variability within individual batches of Humira®. Based on these results, MSB11022 is anticipated to have safety and efficacy comparable to those of Humira®.     

Scale-up of naringinase production process based on the constant oxygen transfer rate for a novel strain of Bacillus methylotrophicus

Naringinase bioprocess based on Bacillus methylotrophicus was successfully scaled up based on constant oxygen transfer rate (OTR) as the scale-up criterion from 5-L bioreactor to 20-L bioreactor. OTR was measured in 5 and 20-L bioreactor under various operating conditions using dynamic method. The operating conditions, where complete dispersion was observed were identified. The highest OTR of 0.035 and 0.04?mMol/L/s was observed in 5 and 20-L bioreactor, respectively. Critical dissolved oxygen concentration of novel isolated strain B. methylotrophicus was found to be 20% of oxygen saturation in optimized medium. The B. methylotrophicus cells grown on sucrose had maximum oxygen uptake rate of 0.14?mMol/L/s in optimized growth medium. The cells produced the maximum naringinase activity of 751 and 778?U/L at 34?hr in 5 and 20-L bioreactors, respectively. The maximum specific growth rate of about 0.178/hr was observed at both the scales of operations. The maximum naringinase yield of 160 and 164?U/g biomass was observed in 5 and 20-L bioreactors, respectively. The growth and production profiles at both scales were similar indicating successful scale-up strategy for B. methylotrophicus culture.     

中国昆虫区系的多元相似性聚类分析和地理区划

为了总结分析中国昆虫的分布规律, 为昆虫地理区划提出依据, 作者2008年创建了新的多元相似性聚类分析方法, 它与传统的聚类分析方法的主要不同是直接计算任意多个地区之间的相似性系数, 从而摈弃原来的合并环节。我们应用这种方法对中国823科17 018属93 662种昆虫的分布进行了定量分析。当种级水平相似性系数分别为0.19和0.14时, 全国64个基础地理单元聚类为20个小单元群和9个大单元群。根据聚类分析结果, 提出我国第一个由定量分析产生的9个昆虫区20个昆虫亚区的中国昆虫地理区划的初步方案。西北昆虫区、 东北昆虫区、 华北昆虫区、 青藏昆虫区稳定地组成中国北方昆虫大区, 江淮昆虫区、 华中昆虫区、 西南昆虫区、 华东昆虫区、 华南昆虫区稳定地组成中国南方昆虫大区。江淮昆虫区的设立是因为这里多平原和丘陵, 为重要农业区, 昆虫区系简单, 种类显著少于华东、 华中、 华南昆虫区, 而和华北昆虫区相当; 包括台湾在内的华东昆虫区是昆虫多样性最丰富地区之一, 显著高于邻近的华北、 江淮、 华南昆虫区。最后, 对昆虫地理定量分析中的重要环节进行讨论, 还对今后昆虫区系调查的薄弱地区提出建议。这项研究证明多元相似性聚类分析方法是简便、 快捷、 实用的, 能够在更广泛的范围应用, 这预示着生物地理学研究将会由定性研究进入到定量研究阶段。     

浙北青冈林群落结构与青冈种群数量特征

本文通过群落和种群的调查,对浙江北部几个地区的青冈林群落结构及青冈种群的数量特征进行了研究,结果表明:青冈常绿阔叶林分层现象明显;各样地的相似是以地域为特征;青冈种群的大小结构有两种类型:纺锤形结构和不典型的金字塔形结构(倒"J"型);青冈种群主要是集群分布格局;从幼苗→大树的时间序列上,有从集群分布到随机分布的变化趋势。     

东北亚地区蜉蝣多样性及生物地理学初探(英文)

在标本鉴定和文献汇总的基础上,对东北亚地区(包括朝鲜半岛、日本、俄罗斯远东地区、中国东北)的蜉蝣区系做了统计分析.结果显示,截至目前该地区已报道蜉蝣18科48属237种.其中俄罗斯远东地区的蜉蝣属种多样性最高,而从地区对比来看,朝鲜半岛和中国东北地区的蜉蝣区系最为相似(属种相似度分别为83%和64%).日本群岛蜉蝣区系相对独特,这可能是由于它长期与大陆分离而造成的.     

Changes in bacterial populations in the ileum of pigs fed low-phosphorus diets supplemented with different sources of fermentable carbohydrates

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of differently fermentable carbohydrates on changes in bacterial populations in the ileum of growing pigs fed low-phosphorus (P) diets. Eight barrows (mean surgery BW 36 ± 0.9 kg) were fitted with simple T-cannulae at the distal ileum and were assigned to one of four dietary treatments: maize-soybean meal based control diet (CD), or 0.75 of CD supplemented with 0.25 lignocellulose, maize starch and high-methylated apple-pectin, respectively. Total bacterial cell counts as well as cell counts of Lactobacillus spp., Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus amylovorus/Lactobacillus sobrius, Lactobacillus mucosae, Enterococcus spp., Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus faecalis, bifidobacteria, Clostridium coccoides cluster, Clostridium leptum cluster, Bacteroides–Prevotella–Porphyrmonas group and Enterobacteriaceae were determined by quantitative realtime PCR in DNA extracts of ileal digesta. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of DNA fragments, generated by PCR targeting total or Lactobacillus spp. 16S rDNA, was used to estimate the bacterial diversity in the ileum. Lignocellulose supplementation tended (P<0.1) to increase cell counts of total bacteria in faeces compared with the control. Ileal bacterial populations responded differently to carbohydrate addition. Maize starch supplementation strongly stimulated the growth of total lactobacilli and Lactobacillus species (P≤0.05). Lignocellulose, in turn, enhanced the numbers of bifidobacteria, but reduced those of L. amylovorus compared with the control (P<0.05). Finally, pectin tended to increase the cell numbers of L. amylovorus/L. sobrius and the Bacteroides–Prevotella–Porphyrmonas group compared with the control (P<0.1). DGGE analysis revealed increased band numbers for total bacteria in the ileum of animals fed the lignocellulose and maize starch supplemented diets, while pectin reduced total bacterial (P<0.1) and Lactobacillus spp. diversity (P<0.05) compared with the control, as determined with the Shannon's index. Ileal VFA concentrations were decreased by pectin, while lignocellulose decreased faecal VFA concentrations. In conclusion, ileal bacterial populations and diversity are susceptible to changes in the carbohydrate composition of the diet. However, these changes were not related to major differences in the number of total bacteria in ileal digesta and faeces, but rather to changes in the bacterial species composition and their metabolic activity.     

Predicting protein pKa by environment similarity

A statistical method to predict protein pK_a has been developed by using the 3D structure of a protein and a database of 434 experimental protein pK_a values. Each pK_a in the database is associated with a fingerprint that describes the chemical environment around an ionizable residue. A computational tool, MoKaBio, has been developed to identify automatically ionizable residues in a protein, generate fingerprints that describe the chemical environment around such residues, and predict pK_a from the experimental pK_a values in the database by using a similarity metric. The method, which retrieved the pK_a of 429 of the 434 ionizable sites in the database correctly, was crossvalidated by leave‐one‐out and yielded root mean square error (RMSE) = 0.95, a result that is superior to that obtained by using the Null Model (RMSE 1.07) and other well‐established protein pK_a prediction tools. This novel approach is suitable to rationalize protein pK_a by comparing the region around the ionizable site with similar regions whose ionizable site pK_a is known. The pK_a of residues that have a unique environment not represented in the training set cannot be predicted accurately, however, the method offers the advantage of being trainable to increase its predictive power. Proteins 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.