Karyotypic evolution of the family Sciuridae: inferences from the genome organizations of ground squirrels

Cross-species chromosome painting has made a great contribution to our understanding of the evolution of karyotypes and genome organizations of mammals. Several recent papers of comparative painting between tree and flying squirrels have shed some light on the evolution of the family Sciuridae and the order Rodentia. In the present study we have extended the comparative painting to the Himalayan marmot (Marmotahimalayana) and the African ground squirrel (Xerus cf. erythropus), i.e. representative species from another important squirrel group--the ground squirrels--, and have established genome-wide comparative chromosome maps between human, eastern gray squirrel, and these two ground squirrels. The results show that 1) the squirrels so far studied all have conserved karyotypes that resemble the ancestral karyotype of the order Rodentia; 2) the African ground squirrels could have retained the ancestral karyotype of the family Sciuridae. Furthermore, we have mapped the evolutionary rearrangements onto a molecular-based consensus phylogenetic tree of the family Sciuridae.     

人SM22α在巴斯德毕赤酵母中的表达、纯化及抗体制备

目的：用酵母表达重组人平滑肌22α（SM22α）蛋白,制备兔抗人SM22α多克隆抗体。方法：利用PCR从pGEM3z—SM22α质粒扩增得到人SM22α基因编码区,重组至pPIC9构建酵母表达载体,转染巴斯德毕赤酵母,进行分泌型表达。表达产物经分步盐析和CM-纤维素柱层析纯化后,免疫家兔,制备兔抗人sM22α多克隆抗体。结果：所构建的pPIC9-SM22α酵母表达载体转染酵母感受态细胞后,外源性SM22α可整合至酵母染色体中,经甲醇诱导84h,可实现SM22α的高效表达与分泌。用70％硫酸铵处理上清液,收集沉淀进行离子交换层析纯化后,经变性的聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳（SDS-PAGE）可见一分子量为22kD的单一区带。用该纯化产物免疫家兔制备的兔抗人SM22α抗血清可用于检测人或大鼠血管壁中SM22α的表达水平。结论：重组人SM22α可在巴斯德毕赤酵母中进行高效表达与分泌,纯化蛋白可用于抗体制备,为研究SM22α功能提供了检测工具。     

有机铬对实验性糖尿病大鼠胰岛β细胞形态结构及功能的影响

目的探讨有机铬(2-吡啶甲酸铬)对大鼠胰岛β细胞形态结构及内分泌功能的影响。方法首先通过尾静脉注射新鲜配制的1.5%四氧嘧啶溶液制备糖尿病大鼠模型;通过灌胃的方式提高糖尿病大鼠体内有机铬含量;治疗12周后,通过氧化酶法测定大鼠血清葡萄糖水平,利用免疫组织化学方法和放射免疫学方法分别观察大鼠胰岛β细胞形态结构的改变及大鼠血清胰岛素含量的变化。结果两治疗组大鼠血清葡萄糖水平明显下降,与糖尿病模型组相比,差异均有显著性;400μg治疗组大鼠体内胰岛素水平明显升高,与糖尿病模型组相比差异有显著性,而200μg治疗组大鼠血清胰岛素水平虽有所增加但与糖尿病组相比,差异无显著性;免疫组化显示治疗组大鼠胰岛β细胞数量增多,胞质内胰岛素免疫反应阳性颗粒明显增多。结论有机铬对糖尿病大鼠具有明显的降低血糖功能,并能促进受损胰岛及β细胞形态结构功能的恢复,对糖尿病大鼠病理状态具有明显的改善作用。     

iFold: a platform for interactive folding simulations of proteins

We built a novel web-based platform for performing discrete molecular dynamics simulations of proteins. In silico protein folding involves searching for minimal frustration in the vast conformational landscape. Conventional approaches for simulating protein folding insufficiently address the problem of simulations in relevant time and length scales necessary for a mechanistic understanding of underlying biomolecular phenomena. Discrete molecular dynamics (DMD) offers an opportunity to bridge the size and timescale gaps and uncover the structural and biological properties of experimentally undetectable protein dynamics. The iFold server supports large-scale simulations of protein folding, thermal denaturation, thermodynamic scan, simulated annealing and p(fold) analysis using DMD and coarse-grained protein model with structure-based Gō-interactions between amino acids. AVAILABILITY: http://ifold.dokhlab.org     

Lipase catalyzed methanolysis to produce biodiesel: Optimization of the biodiesel production

A lipase from Candida sp., suitable for transesterification of fats and oils to produce fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), was immobilized on a cheap cotton membrane, in this paper. The conversion ratio of salad oil to biodiesel could reach up to 96% with the optimal reaction conditions. Continuous reaction in a fixed bed reactor was also investigated. A three-step transesterification with methanol (methanolysis) of oil was conducted by using a series of nine columns packed with immobilized Candida sp. 99–125 lipase. As substrate of the first reaction step, plant or waste oil was used together with 1/3 molar equivalent of methanol against total fatty acids in the oil. Mixtures of the first- and second-step eluates and 1/3 molar equivalent of methanol were used for the second- and third-reaction steps. A hydrocyclone was used in order to on-line separate the by-product glycerol after every 1/3 molar equivalent of methanol was added. Petroleum ether was used as solvent (3/2, v/v of oil) and the pump was operated with a flow rate of 15 L/h giving an annual throughput of 100 t. The final conversion ratio of the FAME from plant oil and waste oil under the optimal condition was 90% and 92%, respectively. The life of the immobilized lipase was more than 10 days. This new technique has many strongpoints such as low pollution, environmentally friendly, and low energy costs.     

Biochemistry and Genetic Analysis of Bioeffects of Low Energy N+ Implantation and Y-Radiation on Arabidopsis thaliana

We analyzed the activities of specific enzymes, esterase and peroxidase, and the electrophoresis profiling of isozymes of both the second-generation (M1) and the third-generation (M2) individuals of Arabidopsis thaliana after the parental generation was treated with low-energy N⁺ implantation and γ-radiation. Results indicated that the mutagenic effects of both treatments were inheritable. The obvious difference between N⁺ implantation and γ-radial on the relationship of doses and effects was also observed. For the correlation between effects and doses, the former presented a particular saddle-like pattern, while the latter showed a pattern of linearity. Random amplification of polymorphic DNA analysis showed that the variant DNA bands were consistent in M1 and M2 generations treated with both γ-radiation and ion implantation. However, the ratio of individual plant variation between the two treatments was remarkably different. Translated from Journal of Beijing Normal University (Natural Science), 2005, 41(1) (in Chinese)     

N,N'-Diarylcyanoguanidines as antagonists of the CXCR2 and CXCR1 chemokine receptors

A series of N-(2-hydroxy-3-sulfonamidobenzene)-N'-arylcyanoguanidines was prepared. In general, these compounds proved to be potent antagonists of CXCR2 while the selectivity versus CXCR1 ranged from non-selective to >200-fold.