Overexpression of the mango MiCO gene delayed flowering time in transgenic Arabidopsis

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) - CONSTANS (CO)/CONSTANS-like (COL) genes play an important role in the photoperiodic flowering pathway. However, the functional roles of the CO/COL...     

白蚁-共生微生物系统降解木质纤维素研究进展

开发利用木质纤维素材料能显著增加地球上可再生资源的储备量。白蚁分布广泛,常见于热带和亚热带地区,它们借助细菌、古细菌、真菌等肠道微生物和原生动物协同降解食物中的木质纤维素,在生态系统的碳、氮循环中发挥着十分重要的作用。本文概括了近年来白蚁肠道微生物研究的进展,特别是近年来已被证明的肠道微生物在木质纤维素降解方面的作用,以期为后续研究木质纤维素的降解提供参考信息。     

Bub3 Is a Spindle Assembly Checkpoint Protein Regulating Chromosome Segregation during Mouse Oocyte Meiosis

In mitosis, the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) prevents anaphase onset until all chromosomes have been attached to the spindle microtubules and aligned correctly at the equatorial metaphase plate. The major checkpoint proteins in mitosis consist of mitotic arrest-deficient (Mad)1–3, budding uninhibited by benzimidazole (Bub)1, Bub3, and monopolar spindle 1(Mps1). During meiosis, for the formation of a haploid gamete, two consecutive rounds of chromosome segregation occur with only one round of DNA replication. To pull homologous chromosomes to opposite spindle poles during meiosis I, both sister kinetochores of a homologue must face toward the same pole which is very different from mitosis and meiosis II. As a core member of checkpoint proteins, the individual role of Bub3 in mammalian oocyte meiosis is unclear. In this study, using overexpression and RNA interference (RNAi) approaches, we analyzed the role of Bub3 in mouse oocyte meiosis. Our data showed that overexpressed Bub3 inhibited meiotic metaphase-anaphase transition by preventing homologous chromosome and sister chromatid segregations in meiosis I and II, respectively. Misaligned chromosomes, abnormal polar body and double polar bodies were observed in Bub3 knock-down oocytes, causing aneuploidy. Furthermore, through cold treatment combined with Bub3 overexpression, we found that overexpressed Bub3 affected the attachments of microtubules and kinetochores during metaphase-anaphase transition. We propose that as a member of SAC, Bub3 is required for regulation of both meiosis I and II, and is potentially involved in kinetochore-microtubule attachment in mammalian oocytes.     

Splenectomy Normalizes Hematocrit in Murine Polycythemia Vera

Splenic enlargement (splenomegaly) develops in numerous disease states, although a specific pathogenic role for the spleen has rarely been described. In polycythemia vera (PV), an activating mutation in Janus kinase 2 (JAK2^V617) induces splenomegaly and an increase in hematocrit. Splenectomy is sparingly performed in patients with PV, however, due to surgical complications. Thus, the role of the spleen in the pathogenesis of human PV remains unknown. We specifically tested the role of the spleen in the pathogenesis of PV by performing either sham (SH) or splenectomy (SPL) surgeries in a murine model of JAK2^V617F-driven PV. Compared to SH-operated mice, which rapidly develop high hematocrits after JAK2^V617F transplantation, SPL mice completely fail to develop this phenotype. Disease burden (JAK2^V617) is equivalent in the bone marrow of SH and SPL mice, however, and both groups develop fibrosis and osteosclerosis. If SPL is performed after PV is established, hematocrit rapidly declines to normal even though myelofibrosis and osteosclerosis again develop independently in the bone marrow. In contrast, SPL only blunts hematocrit elevation in secondary, erythropoietin-induced polycythemia. We conclude that the spleen is required for an elevated hematocrit in murine, JAK2^V617F-driven PV, and propose that this phenotype of PV may require a specific interaction between mutant cells and the spleen.     

人为干扰对风水林群落林下木本植物组成和多样性的影响

华南地区的风水林是乡村聚落的一种特色林分, 具有守护村庄的象征意义。在过去的数百年中, 风水林在乡村的社会文化习俗的影响下而受到保护, 对当地的生物多样性保育有着重要作用。为揭示人为干扰对风水林的影响, 我们选择广东省东莞市大岭山镇同一林分起源的3个具有相似地形的风水林, 研究了在不同干扰强度下其林下木本植物种类组成和物种多样性。多响应置换过程(multi-response permutation procedures, MRPP)分析表明, 人为干扰显著改变了风水林林下木本植物组成(P = 0.001, A = 0.3886), 沿着干扰由弱至强的梯度呈现出中生性植物减少、阳生性植物递增的趋势。多样性指数变化趋势为重度干扰＞中度干扰＞轻度干扰, 但没有表现出统计学意义上的差异(P＞0.05)。随着干扰强度的增大, 3个风水林群落相互间的林下物种相似性降低, 物种替代率呈增加趋势。双向聚类分析较好地反映出林下物种因受不同人为干扰强度影响而表现出在空间分布上的差异。指示种分析进一步确定了不同干扰强度下具有显著指示值(IV ≥60)的指示种。综合分析表明, 人为干扰有利于阳性物种在风水林内定居生长, 并明显地改变了林下木本植物组成, 但未能引起物种多样性的显著差异。此外, 找出对人为干扰产生关键生态响应的林下指示种, 对增进风水林的生物多样性保育以及生态系统管理有着重要的理论意义和实践价值。     

synaptojanin1 Is Required for Temporal Fidelity of Synaptic Transmission in Hair Cells

To faithfully encode mechanosensory information, auditory/vestibular hair cells utilize graded synaptic vesicle (SV) release at specialized ribbon synapses. The molecular basis of SV release and consequent recycling of membrane in hair cells has not been fully explored. Here, we report that comet, a gene identified in an ENU mutagenesis screen for zebrafish larvae with vestibular defects, encodes the lipid phosphatase Synaptojanin 1 (Synj1). Examination of mutant synj1 hair cells revealed basal blebbing near ribbons that was dependent on Cav1.3 calcium channel activity but not mechanotransduction. Synaptojanin has been previously implicated in SV recycling; therefore, we tested synaptic transmission at hair-cell synapses. Recordings of post-synaptic activity in synj1 mutants showed relatively normal spike rates when hair cells were mechanically stimulated for a short period of time at 20 Hz. In contrast, a sharp decline in the rate of firing occurred during prolonged stimulation at 20 Hz or stimulation at a higher frequency of 60 Hz. The decline in spike rate suggested that fewer vesicles were available for release. Consistent with this result, we observed that stimulated mutant hair cells had decreased numbers of tethered and reserve-pool vesicles in comparison to wild-type hair cells. Furthermore, stimulation at 60 Hz impaired phase locking of the postsynaptic activity to the mechanical stimulus. Following prolonged stimulation at 60 Hz, we also found that mutant synj1 hair cells displayed a striking delay in the recovery of spontaneous activity. Collectively, the data suggest that Synj1 is critical for retrieval of membrane in order to maintain the quantity, timing of fusion, and spontaneous release properties of SVs at hair-cell ribbon synapses.     

Generation of red fluorescent protein transgenic dogs

Dogs (Canis familiaris) share many common genetic diseases with humans and development of disease models using a transgenic approach has long been awaited. However, due to the technical difficulty in obtaining fertilizable eggs and the unavailability of embryonic stem cells, no transgenic dog has been generated. Canine fetal fibroblasts were stably transfected with a red fluorescent protein (RFP) gene‐expressing construct using retrovirus gene delivery method. Somatic cell nuclear transfer was then employed to replace the nucleus of an oocyte with the nucleus of the RFP‐fibroblasts. Using this approach, we produced the first generation of transgenic dogs with four female and two male expressing RFP. genesis 47:314–322, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.