Isolation of Fidelity Variants of RNA Viruses and Characterization of Virus Mutation Frequency

RNA viruses use RNA dependent RNA polymerases to replicate their genomes. The intrinsically high error rate of these enzymes is a large contributor to the generation of extreme population diversity that facilitates virus adaptation and evolution. Increasing evidence shows that the intrinsic error rates, and the resulting mutation frequencies, of RNA viruses can be modulated by subtle amino acid changes to the viral polymerase. Although biochemical assays exist for some viral RNA polymerases that permit quantitative measure of incorporation fidelity, here we describe a simple method of measuring mutation frequencies of RNA viruses that has proven to be as accurate as biochemical approaches in identifying fidelity altering mutations. The approach uses conventional virological and sequencing techniques that can be performed in most biology laboratories. Based on our experience with a number of different viruses, we have identified the key steps that must be optimized to increase the likelihood of isolating fidelity variants and generating data of statistical significance. The isolation and characterization of fidelity altering mutations can provide new insights into polymerase structure and function^1-3. Furthermore, these fidelity variants can be useful tools in characterizing mechanisms of virus adaptation and evolution^4-7.     

小麦-簇毛麦属间染色体易位系的高效诱导

利用60Coγ射线以不同剂量照射硬粒小麦-簇毛麦双二倍体即将成熟的花粉,将其授于母本中国春,创造出一批包含小麦-簇毛麦易住染色体的材料,对这些材料用中国春进行连续回交或自交,可有效保留簇毛麦染色体片段,实现外源基因的转移.研究结果表明,60Coγ射线照射花粉后产生易位染色体的频率因剂量不同而有显著差异,12 Gy和8 Gy剂量照射后杂交的M1群体中,产生小麦-簇毛麦易位染色体的单株分别占调查总数的76.7%和50.0%,均显著高于用其他方法创造易住的频率,并且12 Gy较8 Gy产生了更优的易住类型;创制的易位染色体有67.6%可以从M1传递到BC1,BC1的易位染色体有96.4%可传递到BC,;在回交后代中,加以人为选择,整条簇毛麦染色体很快丢失,至BC2F2即有纯合易位株出现.     

胰岛素强化治疗对胃癌围手术期营养代谢的影响：随机对照研究

目的：探讨胃癌围手术期能量及营养物质的代谢特点,研究强化胰岛素治疗对围手术营养代谢的影响。方法：选取胃中、下部癌病理诊断明确并且外科病房ICU住院时间不少于24h的患者64例,取得知情同意后随机分到强化胰岛素治疗（IIT）组血糖控制在4.4~6.1mmol/L,和传统治疗（CIT）组血糖控制在10mmol/L以下;应用CCM营养代谢监测系统测定围手术期静息能量消耗（REE）,呼吸商（RQ）,每公斤体重静息能量消耗（REE/kg）和脂肪氧化比率,应用多频人体生物电阻抗分析仪测定围手术期人体组分的变化及应用稳态模式评估法计算胰岛素抵抗指数（HOMA-IR）。结果：64例病人入选,每组32例,手术创伤引起术后第1、3天REE水平增加约22%和12%,呼吸商降低至0.759和0.791,REE/kg增加28kcal/kg和26kcal/kg,脂肪氧化比率增加至78%和65%,Ln-HOMA-IR明显增加（P〈0.05）;IIT治疗能降低术后第1、3天Ln-HOMA-IR和REE/kg水平;术后人体指标如细胞内液、脂肪组织、蛋白组织、肌肉组织、瘦体组织和体质量较术前水平明显降低（P〈0.05）;IIT能明显减少脂肪组织、蛋白组织和细胞内液的消耗量（P=0.009,t=0.026）。结论：IIT能够有效降低胃癌围手术期胰岛素抵抗程度、降低静息能量消耗的水平和减少脂肪及蛋白质的消耗。     

Egg size and offspring quality: a meta‐analysis in birds

Parents affect offspring fitness by propagule size and quality, selection of oviposition site, quality of incubation, feeding of dependent young, and their defence against predators and parasites. Despite many case studies on each of these topics, this knowledge has not been rigorously integrated into individual parental care traits for any taxon. Consequently, we lack a comprehensive, quantitative assessment of how parental care modifies offspring phenotypes. This meta‐analysis of 283 studies with 1805 correlations between egg size and offspring quality in birds is intended to fill this gap. The large sample size enabled testing of how the magnitude of the relationship between egg size and offspring quality depends on a number of variables. Egg size was positively related to nearly all studied offspring traits across all stages of the offspring life cycle. Not surprisingly, the relationship was strongest at hatching but persisted until the post‐fledging stage. Morphological traits were the most closely related to egg size but significant relationships were also found with hatching success, chick survival, and growth rate. Non‐significant effect sizes were found for egg fertility, chick immunity, behaviour, and life‐history or sexual traits. Effect size did not depend on whether chicks were raised by their natural parents or were cross‐fostered to other territories. Effect size did not depend on species‐specific traits such as developmental mode, clutch size, and relative size of the egg, but was larger if tested in captive compared to wild populations and between rather than within broods. In sum, published studies support the view that egg size affects juvenile survival. There are very few studies that tested the relationship between egg size and the fecundity component of offspring fitness, and no studies on offspring survival as adults or on global fitness. More data are also needed for the relationships between egg size and offspring behavioural and physiological traits. It remains to be established whether the relationship between egg size and offspring performance depends on the quality of the offspring environment. Positive effect sizes found in this study are likely to be driven by a causal effect of egg size on offspring quality. However, more studies that control for potential confounding effects of parental post‐hatching care, genes, and egg composition are needed to establish firmly this causal link.     

几种模式生物基因组中最适密码对和稀有密码对使用的规律性

以6种模式生物基因组为样本,从密码对的碱基组成及密码子的使用两方面,分析了最适密码对与稀有密码对的使用。结果显示:6种生物的最适密码对rP双碱基TA出现的频数都是最低的,而出现频率最大的双碱墓对于古菌、细菌、真核是不同的;稀有密码对中双碱基TA出现的频数却是最高的,而出现频率最低的双碱基刘·于古菌、细菌、真核是不同的。这说明双碱基的分布与密码对的偏好性有很强的相关性,同时也与基因组进化存在关联。另外,我们也分析了本文的6种生物编码序列叶,最适密码对与稀有密码对的出现频数与密码了的相对使用频率的关系,发现密码对的出现频数与其密码子的使用存在相关性。     

Studying Age-dependent Genomic Instability using the S. cerevisiae Chronological Lifespan Model

Studies using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae aging model have uncovered life span regulatory pathways that are partially conserved in higher eukaryotes^1-2. The simplicity and power of the yeast aging model can also be explored to study DNA damage and genome maintenance as well as their contributions to diseases during aging. Here, we describe a system to study age-dependent DNA mutations, including base substitutions, frame-shift mutations, gross chromosomal rearrangements, and homologous/homeologous recombination, as well as nuclear DNA repair activity by combining the yeast chronological life span with simple DNA damage and mutation assays. The methods described here should facilitate the identification of genes/pathways that regulate genomic instability and the mechanisms that underlie age-dependent DNA mutations and cancer in mammals.     

Occurrence frequencies and regional variations in Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) global active fires

Active fires are considered to be the key contributor to, and critical consequence of, climate change. Quantifying the occurrence frequency and regional variations in global active fires is significant for assessing carbon cycling, atmospheric chemistry, and postfire ecological effects. Multiscale variations in fire occurrence frequencies have still never been fully investigated despite free access to global active fire products. We analyzed the occurrence frequencies of Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) active fires at national, pan‐regional (tropics and extratropics) to global scales and at hourly, monthly, and annual scales during 2012–2017. The results revealed that the accumulated occurrence frequencies of VIIRS global active fires were up to 12,193 × 10⁴, yet exhibiting slight fluctuations annually and with respect to the 2014–2016 El Niño event, especially during 2015. About 35.52% of VIIRS active fires occurred from July to September, particularly in August (13.06%), and typically between 10:00 and 13:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT; 42.96%) and especially at 11:00 GMT (17.65%). The total counts conform to a bimodal pattern with peaks in 5°–11°N (18.01%) and 5°–18°S (32.46%), respectively, alongside a unimodal distribution in terms of longitudes between 15°E and 30°E (32.34%). Tropical annual average of active fire (1,496.81 × 10⁴) accounted for 75.83%. Nearly 30% were counted in Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, and Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA). Fires typically occurred between June (or August) and October (or November) with far below‐average rainfall in these countries, while those in MSEA primarily occurred between February and April during the dry season. They were primarily observed between 00:00 and 02:00 GMT, between 12:00 and 14:00 within each Zone Time. We believed that VIIRS global active fires products are useful for developing fire detection algorithms, discriminating occurrence types and ignition causes via correlation analyses with physical geographic elements, and assessment of their potential impacts.     

Exposure to noise pollution across North American passerines supports the noise filter hypothesis

The noise filter hypothesis predicts that species using higher sound frequencies should be more tolerant of noise pollution, because anthropogenic noise is more intense at low frequencies. Recent work analysed continental‐scale data on anthropogenic noise across the USA and found that passerine species inhabiting more noise‐polluted areas do not have higher peak song frequency but have more complex songs. However, this metric of song complexity is of ambiguous interpretation, because it can indicate either diverse syllables or a larger frequency bandwidth. In the latter case, the finding would support the noise filter hypothesis, because larger frequency bandwidths mean that more sound energy spreads to frequencies that are less masked by anthropogenic noise. We reanalysed how passerine song predicts exposure to noise using a more thorough dataset of acoustic song measurements, and showed that it is large frequency bandwidths, rather than diverse syllables, that predict the exposure of species to noise pollution. Given that larger bandwidths often encompass higher maximum frequencies, which are less masked by anthropogenic noise, our result suggests that tolerance to noise pollution might depend mostly on having the high‐frequency parts of song little masked by noise, thus preventing acoustic communication from going entirely unnoticed at long distances.