秦岭中段松栎混交林群落数量分类与排序

依据陕西省境内秦岭山脉中段设置的34个样地调查资料,从植物物种组成、植物群落与地形因子之间的关系等对该区域松栎混交林群落进行TWINSPAN分类和DCCA排序。结果表明:(1)研究区34个样地共记录维管束植物297种,隶属于77科178属,其中被子植物72科,裸子植物2科,蕨类植物3科;分布较广的植物有:松科、壳斗科、蔷薇科、菊科、禾本科和百合科。(2)TWINSPAN聚类结果将样地群落划分为13个群丛,其中以油松+锐齿槲栎为建群种的群丛最多,占总群丛数量40%,是该区主要的松栎混交林群落类型。(3)样地的DCCA排序结果表明,第一轴明显地反映出群落分布沿海拔、坡位的变化,第二轴主要表现出群落分布沿坡向、坡度的变化趋势;其中海拔、坡度与DCCA一、二轴相关系数分别达到最大值(-0.946 2、-0.795 7),是对该群落分布起决定性作用的因子。(4)研究区主要优势物种的DCCA排序与样地的DCCA排序综合反映出该区松栎混交林群落分布的地形梯度。     

HRGP在小麦抗寒锻炼过程中的变化及其与抗寒性的关系

强抗寒小麦品种(R-025、中品94-19、品83-1、品83-2、品83-3、米罗诺夫808)经抗寒锻炼后,其幼苗体内的游离脯氨酸、细胞壁结合的羟脯氨酸和糖蛋白含量发生了明显的变化.游离脯氨酸含量比未经抗寒锻炼处理时增加5～32倍,细胞壁结合的羟脯氨酸含量比对照增加1.77～2.17倍,糖蛋白含量比对照增加4.68～9.72倍,而不抗寒小麦品种(中国春、冬103)增加量较小.脯氨酸积累进程各个品种间差异比较大,品83-1、品83-2积累较快,抗寒锻炼第21d时达到最高峰,而R-025在第56d达到最高峰.脯氨酸含量与小麦品种抗寒性相关不显著(相关系数为0.3462),而羟脯氨酸含量、糖蛋白含量与小麦品种抗寒性相关显著,相关系数分别为0.6491和0.7039.从小麦细胞壁纯化得到了2种伸展蛋白Extensm1和Ex-tensin2,其含量都和小麦品种抗寒性呈正相关.Extensin1是分子量为28kD、羟脯氨酸为主要成份(32mo1%)的富含羟脯氨酸糖蛋白.     

Prey spectra of two swarm-raiding army ant species in East Africa

Although swarm-raiding army ants are considered keystone predators in tropical forest ecosystems, information on the prey spectra of most species is based on anecdotal reports and not on systematic studies with extensive sampling. We analysed prey samples of 18 colonies of the two afrotropical species Dorylus ( Anomma ) molestus and Dorylus ( Anomma ) wilverthi (4289 prey items in total) to examine the prey composition variation within and between species and to determine the best methodology to obtain reliable prey spectrum estimates for a given species, site and season. Variation in prey composition was substantial for D. molestus even within a single site and season, with the biomass proportion of the most important prey type differing by a factor of 12. Conclusions from studies using small samples sizes may thus be misleading. We demonstrate that the method of assessing prey spectra in terms of relative prey item numbers often produces biased results, and therefore recommend relative prey biomass as the more useful parameter. The near absence of earthworms, which always constituted a substantial part of the D. molestus prey, in the diet of D. wilverthi is interpreted to result from subtle differences in swarm-raiding behaviour between these two species, but could alternatively also be due to low availability. Similar studies recording prey composition as biomass proportions and analysing large samples sizes from many colonies are needed to understand the effect of army ant swarm raids on invertebrate communities in afrotropical forests.     

Stability of targeted metabolite profiles of urine samples under different storage conditions

Introduction

Few studies have investigated the influence of storage conditions on urine samples and none of them used targeted mass spectrometry (MS).

Objectives

We investigated the stability of metabolite profiles in urine samples under different storage conditions using targeted metabolomics.

Methods

Pooled, fasting urine samples were collected and stored at ?80 °C (biobank standard), ?20 °C (freezer), 4 °C (fridge), ~9 °C (cool pack), and ~20 °C (room temperature) for 0, 2, 8 and 24 h. Metabolite concentrations were quantified with MS using the AbsoluteIDQ? p150 assay. We used the Welch-Satterthwaite-test to compare the concentrations of each metabolite. Mixed effects linear regression was used to assess the influence of the interaction of storage time and temperature.

Results

The concentrations of 63 investigated metabolites were stable at ?20 and 4 °C for up to 24 h when compared to samples immediately stored at ?80 °C. When stored at ~9 °C for 24 h, few amino acids (Arg, Val and Leu/Ile) significantly decreased by 40% in concentration (P < 7.9E?04); for an additional three metabolites (Ser, Met, Hexose H1) when stored at ~20 °C reduced up to 60% in concentrations. The concentrations of four more metabolites (Glu, Phe, Pro, and Thr) were found to be significantly influenced when considering the interaction between exposure time and temperature.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that 78% of quantified metabolites were stable for all examined storage conditions. Particularly, some amino acid concentrations were sensitive to changes after prolonged storage at room temperature. Shipping or storing urine samples on cool packs or at room temperature for more than 8 h and multiple numbers of freeze and thaw cycles should be avoided.

     

Osteopontin Is Cleaved at Multiple Sites Close to Its Integrin-binding Motifs in Milk and Is a Novel Substrate for Plasmin and Cathepsin D

Osteopontin (OPN) is a highly modified integrin-binding protein present in most tissues and body fluids where it has been implicated in numerous biological processes. A significant regulation of OPN function is mediated through phosphorylation and proteolytic processing. Proteolytic cleavage by thrombin and matrix metalloproteinases close to the integrin-binding Arg-Gly-Asp sequence modulates the function of OPN and its integrin binding properties. In this study, seven N-terminal OPN fragments originating from proteolytic cleavage have been characterized from human milk. Identification of the cleavage sites revealed that all fragments contained the Arg–Gly–Asp¹⁴⁵ sequence and were generated by cleavage of the Leu¹⁵¹–Arg¹⁵², Arg¹⁵²–Ser¹⁵³, Ser¹⁵³–Lys¹⁵⁴, Lys¹⁵⁴–Ser¹⁵⁵, Ser¹⁵⁵–Lys¹⁵⁶, Lys¹⁵⁶–Lys¹⁵⁷, or Phe¹⁵⁸–Arg¹⁵⁹ peptide bonds. Six cleavages cannot be ascribed to thrombin or matrix metalloproteinase activity, whereas the cleavage at Arg¹⁵²–Ser¹⁵³ matches thrombin specificity for OPN. The principal protease in milk, plasmin, hydrolyzed the same peptide bond as thrombin, but its main cleavage site was identified to be Lys¹⁵⁴–Ser¹⁵⁵. Another endogenous milk protease, cathepsin D, cleaved the Leu¹⁵¹–Arg¹⁵² bond. OPN fragments corresponding to plasmin activity were also identified in urine showing that plasmin cleavage of OPN is not restricted to milk. Plasmin, but not cathepsin D, cleavage of OPN increased cell adhesion mediated by the α_Vβ₃- or α₅β₁-integrins. Similar cellular adhesion was mediated by plasmin and thrombin-cleaved OPN showing that plasmin can be a potent regulator of OPN activity. These data show that OPN is highly susceptible to cleavage near its integrin-binding motifs, and the protein is a novel substrate for plasmin and cathepsin D.     

人APRIL105-250基因的克隆与表达

目的 :克隆并表达人可溶性增殖诱导配体 (sAPRIL ,即人APRIL_105-250) ,为探索其在多种肿瘤细胞的增殖和存活以及促肿瘤形成中的作用奠定基础。方法 :从GENBANK中查找人APRIL蛋白 (编号:07588)序列 ,取其部分胞外 (APRIL_105-250)序列设计引物 ,用RT PCR从扁桃体总RNA中扩增出人APRIL_105-250基因 ,测序后将克隆载体经酶切并构建表达载体 ,在大肠杆菌中表达 ,并纯化蛋白。结果 :经克隆测序后进行同源比较 ,证实所克隆的基因即为人APRIL_105-250 基因。在大肠杆菌中表达量达 43.6% ,获得纯化蛋白。结论 :成功克隆与表达、纯化了人APRIL_105-250基因 ,为深入研究其功能奠定了基础 。     

Everolimus and Sirolimus in Combination with Cyclosporine Have Different Effects on Renal Metabolism in the Rat

Enhancement of calcineurin inhibitor nephrotoxicity by sirolimus (SRL) is limiting the clinical use of this drug combination. We compared the dose-dependent effects of the structurally related everolimus (EVL) and sirolimus (SRL) alone, and in combination with cyclosporine (CsA), on the rat kidney. Lewis rats were treated by oral gavage for 28 days using a checkerboard dosing format (0, 3.0, 6.0 and 10.0 CsA and 0, 0.5, 1.5 and 3.0 mg/kg/day SRL or EVL, n = 4/dose combination). After 28 days, oxidative stress, energy charge, kidney histologies, glomerular filtration rates, and concentrations of the immunosuppressants were measured along with ¹H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and gas chromatography- mass spectrometry profiles of cellular metabolites in urine. The combination of CsA with SRL led to higher urinary glucose concentrations and decreased levels of urinary Krebs cycle metabolites when compared to controls, suggesting that CsA+SRL negatively impacted proximal tubule metabolism. Unsupervised principal component analysis of MRS spectra distinguished unique urine metabolite patterns of rats treated with CsA+SRL from those treated with CsA+EVL and the controls. SRL, but not EVL blood concentrations were inversely correlated with urine Krebs cycle metabolite concentrations. Interestingly, the higher the EVL concentration, the closer urine metabolite patterns resembled those of controls, while in contrast, the combination of the highest doses of CsA+SRL showed the most significant differences in metabolite patterns. Surprisingly in this rat model, EVL and SRL in combination with CsA had different effects on kidney biochemistry, suggesting that further exploration of EVL in combination with low dose calcineurin inhibitors may be of potential benefit.