Microbial Diversity in a Pyrite-Rich Tailings Impoundment (Carnoulès,France)

The microbial communities have been investigated in the subsurface waters of the Carnoulès pyrite-rich tailings impoundment (France) for two hydrological situations characterized by the presence of oxygenated waters during winter and suboxic conditions in early autumn. In these acidic waters (2–5) characterized by elevated concentrations of Fe (1608–3354 mg · l^?1), As (130–434 mg · l^?1) and sulfates (5796–14318 mg · l^?1) and variable dissolved oxygen content, the cultivable bacteria found in these system are Thiomonas and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. Molecular methods, Terminal-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP), and 16S rRNA encoding gene library analysis indicate low diversity. The environment is dominated by only a few types of microorganisms, with 70–80% of the whole bacterial population assigned to two or three Terminal-Restriction Fragments (T-RFs). Most of these organisms are uncultured, newly described, or recently associated with acid mine drainage. Modifications of the community structure are observed as a function of the sampling period and seem to be related to the aqueous chemistry of the tailings water. At low Dissolved Oxygen (DO = 1 mg · l^?1) concentrations and moderately acidic conditions (pH = 5.7), the dominant organisms are related to the uncultured clone BA31 affiliated with Desulfosarcina variabilis, a sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and the uncultured clone BVB20, closely related to Thiobacillus. At high (12 mg · l^?1) DO concentrations and low (< 2) pH values, the microbial diversity is less important and 65% of the population is assigned to the uncultured bacterium clone AS6 related to Desulfosarcina variabilis.     

EGFR: Tale of the C‐terminal tail

The carboxy terminal tail of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays a critical role in the regulation of the enzyme activity of the kinase. There is a good structural model for the mechanism by which the C‐terminal tail proximal to the kinase domain contributes to the negative regulation of the activity. Its conformation in the active state, conversely, has remained elusive due to its dynamic nature. A recently published structure of EGFR kinase domain shows the conformation of the proximal C‐terminal tail in the active kinase. Analysis of this conformational state of the C‐terminal tail is presented, and some of the mutagenesis data is revisited. © 2013 The Protein Society     

Male age mediates reproductive investment and response to paternity assurance

Theory predicts that male response to reduced paternity will depend on male state and interactions between the sexes. If there is little chance of reproducing again, then males should invest heavily in current offspring, regardless of their share in paternity. We tested this by manipulating male age and paternity assurance in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. We found older males invested more in both mating effort and parental effort than younger males. Furthermore, male age, a component of male state, mediated male response to perceived paternity. Older males provided more prenatal care, whereas younger males provided less prenatal care, when perceived paternity was low. Adjustments in male care, however, did not influence selection acting indirectly on parents, through offspring performance. This is because females adjusted their care in response to the age of their partner, providing less care when paired with older males than younger males. As a result offspring, performance did not differ between treatments. Our study shows, for the first time, that a male state variable is an important modifier of paternity–parental care trade-offs and highlights the importance of social interactions between males and females during care in determining male response to perceived paternity.     

新疆富蕴地震断裂带植被恢复对土壤古菌群落的影响

选取新疆富蕴地震断裂带8种次生植物根际土壤,以同土层裸地为对照,测量土壤化学性质,利用末端限制性片段长度多态性技术研究塌陷区次生植物对土壤古菌群落的影响.结果表明,多数植物根际土壤养分显著(P＜0.05)高于对照,其主要古菌类群为泉古菌门(Crenarchaeota)和广古菌门(Euryarchaeota),群落间多样性差异大,相似性低.不同植物根际土壤古菌的优势类群数量差异较大,鼠掌老鹳草高达18种,西北绢蒿少为2种.典范对应分析表明,土壤有机质含量对古菌优势类群分布影响最大(Hha Ⅰ酶切:r=0.94;Rsa l酶切:r=0.74),速效磷含量与古菌群落各多样性指数呈显著正相关(P＜0.05),总氮含量与均匀度指数E呈显著正相关(P＜0.05).新疆地震断裂带植被的恢复可影响根际土壤古菌群落的分布、组成和结构,其原因与植物根际土壤化学性质有关,同时在改善土壤肥力方面也有显著效果.     

测定重组腺相关病毒基因组滴度的qPCR新方法

腺相关病毒(Adeno-associated virus,AAV)在基因治疗应用中具有很多优势,但是其生物学滴度的测定仍很繁琐,不同实验室使用各自的方法和参照,这些都影响了重组腺相关病毒(rAAV)载体在临床前和临床上的应用.反向末端重复序列(Inverted terminal repeats,ITR)是重组腺相关病毒载体中不可或缺的顺式作用元件,针对ITR2以及ITR2-CMV设计的qPCR检测方法可以快速、准确地得到rAAV2的基因组滴度,由于该方法可以广泛适用,因此对推动AAV滴度检测的标准化有重要意义.     

泛素C端水解酶L1的RNA干扰载体的构建及效果评价

目的:获得抑制效果好的泛素 C 端水解酶 L1(UCH-L1)基小干扰 RNA(siRNA)干扰载体.方法:根据 Gen?Bank 中大鼠 UCH-L1基序列设计并合成4对 siRNA 寡核苷酸序列,将4对寡核苷酸序列退火成双链后分别插入siRNA 表达载体 pcDNA6.2-GW/EmGFP-miR 中构建4个 siRNA 表达质粒,测序鉴定后将4个 siRNA 表达质粒分别转染 HEK293细胞,利用 Western 印迹和 qPCR 方法检测干扰效果;将干扰效果最好的质粒包装成腺病毒,感染大鼠血管平滑肌细胞(VSMC),并采用 TNFα干预诱导 UCH-L1表达升高,Western 印迹验证干扰效果.结果:测序分析证实4对 siRNA 寡核苷酸序列分别插入 siRNA 表达载体 pcDNA6.2-GW/EmGFP-miR;qPCR 检测与 Western 印迹均表明第3号 siRNA 表达载体对 UCH-L1表达的抑制程度最高,将其包装成腺病毒并转染 VSMC 能显著抑制 TNFα诱导的UCH-L1表达升高.结论:构建并筛选出干扰效果好的 UCH-L1 siRNA 干扰载体.     

The photoconvertible water-soluble chlorophyll-binding protein of Chenopodium album is a member of DUF538, a superfamily that distributes in Embryophyta

Various plants possess hydrophilic chlorophyll (Chl) proteins known as water-soluble Chl-binding proteins (WSCPs). WSCPs exist in two forms: Class I and Class II, of which Class I alone exhibits unique photoconvertibility. Although numerous genes encoding Class II WSCPs have been identified and the molecular properties of their recombinant proteins have been well characterized, no Class I WSCP gene has been identified to date. In this study, we cloned the cDNA and a gene encoding the Class I WSCP of Chenopodium album (CaWSCP). Sequence analyses revealed that CaWSCP comprises a single exon corresponding to 585 bp of an open reading frame encoding 195 amino acid residues. The CaWSCP protein sequence possesses a signature of DUF538, a protein superfamily of unknown function found almost exclusively in Embryophyta. The recombinant CaWSCP was expressed in Escherichia coli as a hexa-histidine fusion protein (CaWSCP-His) that removes Chls from the thylakoid. Under visible light illumination, the reconstituted CaWSCP-His was successfully photoconverted into a different pigment with an absorption spectrum identical to that of native CaWSCP. Interestingly, while CaWSCP-His could bind both Chl a and Chl b, photoconversion occurred only in CaWSCP-His reconstituted with Chl a.     

Different antigenicities of the N‐terminal region of cellular and scrapie prion proteins

Limited information is available about conformational differences between the abnormal isoform of prion protein (PrP^Sc) and cellular prion protein (PrP^C) under native conditions. To clarify conformational differences between these two isoforms, PrP‐deficient mice were immunized with brain homogenates of normal and scrapie‐infected animals. All mice generated anti‐PrP antibodies. Peptide array analysis of these serum samples revealed a distinctive epitope of PrP^Sc consisting of QGSPGGN (PrP41–47) at the N‐terminus. This study demonstrated a conformational dissimilarity at the N‐terminus between PrP^Sc and PrP^C, a finding that may provide novel information about conformational features of PrP^Sc.     

ADAR1 ablation decreases bone mass by impairing osteoblast function in mice

Bone mass is controlled through a delicate balance between osteoblast-mediated bone formation and osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. We show here that RNA editing enzyme adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 1 (ADAR1) is critical for proper control of bone mass. Postnatal conditional knockout of Adar1 (the gene encoding ADAR1) resulted in a severe osteopenic phenotype. Ablation of the Adar1 gene significantly suppressed osteoblast differentiation without affecting osteoclast differentiation in bone. In vitro deletion of the Adar1 gene decreased expression of osteoblast-specific osteocalcin and bone sialoprotein genes, alkaline phosphatase activity, and mineralization, suggesting a direct intrinsic role of ADAR1 in osteoblasts. ADAR1 regulates osteoblast differentiation by, at least in part, modulation of osterix expression, which is essential for bone formation. Further, ablation of the Adar1 gene decreased the proliferation and survival of bone marrow stromal cells and inhibited the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells towards osteoblast lineage. Finally, shRNA knockdown of the Adar1 gene in MC-4 pre-osteoblasts reduced cyclin D1 and cyclin A1 expression and cell growth. Our results identify ADAR1 as a new key regulator of bone mass and suggest that ADAR1 functions in this process mainly through modulation of the intrinsic properties of osteoblasts (i.e., proliferation, survival and differentiation).