The evolution of early vertebrate photoreceptors

Meeting the challenge of sampling an ancient aquatic landscape by the early vertebrates was crucial to their survival and would establish a retinal bauplan to be used by all subsequent vertebrate descendents. Image-forming eyes were under tremendous selection pressure and the ability to identify suitable prey and detect potential predators was thought to be one of the major drivers of speciation in the Early Cambrian. Based on the fossil record, we know that hagfishes, lampreys, holocephalans, elasmobranchs and lungfishes occupy critical stages in vertebrate evolution, having remained relatively unchanged over hundreds of millions of years. Now using extant representatives of these ‘living fossils’, we are able to piece together the evolution of vertebrate photoreception. While photoreception in hagfishes appears to be based on light detection and controlling circadian rhythms, rather than image formation, the photoreceptors of lampreys fall into five distinct classes and represent a critical stage in the dichotomy of rods and cones. At least four types of retinal cones sample the visual environment in lampreys mediating photopic (and potentially colour) vision, a sampling strategy retained by lungfishes, some modern teleosts, reptiles and birds. Trichromacy is retained in cartilaginous fishes (at least in batoids and holocephalans), where it is predicted that true scotopic (dim light) vision evolved in the common ancestor of all living gnathostomes. The capacity to discriminate colour and balance the tradeoff between resolution and sensitivity in the early vertebrates was an important driver of eye evolution, where many of the ocular features evolved were retained as vertebrates progressed on to land.     

Autophagy supports color vision

Cones comprise only a small portion of the photoreceptors in mammalian retinas. However, cones are vital for color vision and visual perception, and their loss severely diminishes the quality of life for patients with retinal degenerative diseases. Cones function in bright light and have higher demand for energy than rods; yet, the mechanisms that support the energy requirements of cones are poorly understood. One such pathway that potentially could sustain cones under basal and stress conditions is macroautophagy. We addressed the role of macroautophagy in cones by examining how the genetic block of this pathway affects the structural integrity, survival, and function of these neurons. We found that macroautophagy was not detectable in cones under normal conditions but was readily observed following 24 h of fasting. Consistent with this, starvation induced phosphorylation of AMPK specifically in cones indicating cellular starvation. Inhibiting macroautophagy in cones by deleting the essential macroautophagy gene Atg5 led to reduced cone function following starvation suggesting that cones are sensitive to systemic changes in nutrients and activate macroautophagy to maintain their function. ATG5-deficiency rendered cones susceptible to light-induced damage and caused accumulation of damaged mitochondria in the inner segments, shortening of the outer segments, and degeneration of all cone types, revealing the importance of mitophagy in supporting cone metabolic needs. Our results demonstrate that macroautophagy supports the function and long-term survival of cones providing for their unique metabolic requirements and resistance to stress. Targeting macroautophagy has the potential to preserve cone-mediated vision during retinal degenerative diseases.     

Ephedra sinica Stapf (Ephedraceae): The fleshy bracts of seed cones used in Mongolian food and its nutritional components

Ephedra sinica Stapf (commonly, Chinese ephedra) grows mainly in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and other regions of northern China. The stems of Chinese ephedra have been called the world’s oldest medicine; other uses remain to be reported. Among the Mongolian people, in addition to medical applications, the fleshy bracts of the seed cones (or “fruit”) are traditionally used as food, fresh or dried, in several ways; for example, the fruit is used as a refined sugar, a cheese condiment, and a tea substitute. In this paper, we analyze the fruit’s nutritional components: moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, carbohydrate, ash, pectin, vitamins, fatty acids, mineral elements, and amino acids. Ethnobotanical and nutritional component information may indicate that the plant has potential for development as a special food plant     

基于单细胞转录组的视网膜母细胞瘤进展特征分析

视网膜母细胞瘤（retinoblastoma,RB）是婴幼儿最常见的眼内恶性肿瘤。在RB进展过程中的关键致病因素目前尚不十分清楚。因此,识别与RB进展密切相关的基因能为病情诊断及基因治疗提供重要信息。然而,肿瘤组织具有很强的细胞异质性,不同病理状态下的细胞,其功能及基因表达都可能呈现显著的差异。本研究从公共基因表达数据库（gene expression omnibus,GEO）下载了1例4个月肿瘤患者和1例2年患者的肿瘤及癌旁组织的单细胞转录组测序数据,从单细胞水平解析不同患病时长的RB肿瘤转录图谱,鉴定与RB进展有潜在关联的细胞亚群及基因集。结果显示,肿瘤组织与癌旁组织在单细胞转录图谱上具有整体的一致性,但视锥前体G1期细胞群、G2期细胞群以及小胶质细胞群在肿瘤与癌旁组织中的分布比例存在明显差异。进一步分析了这3种细胞群在RB肿瘤进展过程中的作用。研究发现,在RB肿瘤的早期阶段,视锥前体细胞在G1期异常增殖,随着RB肿瘤的进展,视锥前体G2期细胞比例显著增加。同时,RB进展过程的小胶质细胞群差异分析结果显示,主要参与免疫应答的关键基因包括RPL23、B2M、HLA家族基因。本研究可为RB发病机制及进展研究提供更多新视角和数据资源。     

外源激素对马尾松花芽分化及内源物质的影响

为探讨马尾松球花形成与植物激素水平的关系,该研究对贵州省都匀无性系种子园11年生马尾松进行不同浓度的 IAA、IBA、GA3、BAP等植物激素处理,采用考马斯亮蓝G-250染色法、蒽酮法分别对不同浓度不同激素处理后的枝条上针叶中的可溶性蛋白质和可溶性糖含量变化进行测定,并在第二年开花时对试验枝条的开花情况进行了调查。结果表明：在8－11月份,进行500 mg·L-1的BAP 处理有利于马尾松雌球花和雄球花的形成,100 mg·L-1的GA3处理有利于马尾松雌球花的形成;而GA3250 mg·L-1和GA3500 mg·L-1处理有利于马尾松雄球花的形成,IAA 250 mg·L-1对马尾松雌雄球花同枝的数量有提高作用。在10－11月份,对马尾松进行500 mg·L-1的BAP、IAA、GA3处理后,马尾松针叶内蛋白质含量变化有显著影响;在10月份时,进行BAP 100 mg·L-1处理后,其可溶性糖含量及可溶性蛋白含量均可达到极显著水平。而在8月份与10月份时,分别进行IBA 100 mg·L-1与IBA 250 mg·L-1处理后,其可溶性蛋白含量与其对照差异处于极显著水平;在11月份时,进行GA3100 mg·L-1处理后,其可溶性蛋白含量与其对照差异处于极显著水平;而在11月份时,进行IBA 500 mg·L-1处理后,其可溶性蛋白含量与对照差异处于显著水平。     

Directional sensitivity of the retina: 75 years of Stiles-Crawford effect

The reduction of the brightness when a light beam's entry into the eye is shifted from the centre to the edge of the pupil has from the outset been shown to be due to a change in luminous efficiency of radiation when it is incident obliquely on the retina. The phenomenon is most prominent in photopic vision and this has concentrated attention on the properties of retinal cones, where responsibility has yet to be assigned to factors such as differences in shape, fine structure and configuration, and membrane anchoring of photopigment molecules. Geometrical optics and waveguide formulations have been applied to the question of how light is guided in receptors, but details of their geometry and optical parameters even if they become available will make calculations complex and of only moderate generality. In practice, the diminution of oblique light helps visual performance by reducing deleterious influence of ocular aberrations and of glare caused by light scattering when the pupil is wide. Receptor orientation can come into play in ocular conditions due to mechanical disturbance and has been shown to have potentiality as a tool for clinical diagnosis. Currently, open questions include microanatomical and molecular differences between rods and cones, the coupling of the optical image of the eye with the transducing apparatus in the photoreceptors, possible phototropism and more convincing methods of estimating the actual spatial distribution of photon events as it affects visual resolution.     

Morphological and biological characteristics of the Korean population of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann (Heteroptera: Coreidae), an invasive insect pest of conifer cones

In this study, we investigated the morphological and biological characteristics of a serious insect pest of conifer cones, the western conifer seed bug (WCSB), Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann (Heteroptera: Coreidae), in Korea. WCSB adults shared external morphology with overseas populations, including zig-zag fascia on the coria, dilation of the hind tibiae, and color pattern on the abdominal dorsum. The average body length and width of WCSB adults were 17.20 and 4.85 mm, respectively, in males and 19.05 and 5.55 mm in females. The average body weights were 111.27 and 169.89 mg in adult males and females, respectively. On average, eggs were 2.12 mm long and 1.17 mm wide. The average body lengths of the first- to fifth-instar nymphs were 3.07, 4.76, 8.77, 13.56, and 15.53 mm, respectively. For biological characteristics, developmental durations of the egg and five nymphal instar stages were 8.6, 3.7, 7.6, 5.8, 5.8, and 9.1 days, respectively, in laboratory conditions. Nymphal mortality was 47.5% in total. The average life expectancy of WCSB adults was 58.2 and 63.9 days in males and females, respectively. Oviposition of the adult females started 23.4 days after emergence, and the total number of eggs laid by a single adult female was 68.6 on average. The results of this study offer basic morphological and biological information that can be used to design an effective control strategy to manage the WCSB population in Korea.     

Selective Changes in Cell Bodies and Growth Cones of Nerve Growth Factor-Differentiated PC12 Cells Induced by Chemical Hypoxia

Abstract: Cytosolic free Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i) was measured in differentiated PC12 cells to test whether chemical hypoxia selectively alters intracellular Ca²⁺ in growth cones and cell bodies. Hypoxia increased [Ca²⁺]_i and exaggerated its response to K⁺ depolarization in both parts of the cells. [Ca²⁺]_i in the cell bodies was greater than that in the growth cones under resting conditions and in response to K⁺ or hypoxia. Ca²⁺-channel blockers selectively altered these responses. The L-channel blocker nifedipine reduced [Ca²⁺]_i following K⁺ depolarization by 67% in the cell bodies but only 25% in the growth cones. In contrast, the N-channel blocker ω-conotoxin GVIA (ω-CgTX) diminished K⁺-induced changes in [Ca²⁺]_i only in the growth cones. During hypoxia, nifedipine was more effective in the cell bodies than in the growth cones. During hypoxia, ω-CgTX diminished K⁺-induced changes by 50–75% in both parts of the cell, but only immediately after depolarization. The combination of nifedipine and ω-CgTX diminished the [Ca²⁺]_i response to K⁺ with or without hypoxia by >90% in the cell body and 70% in the growth cones. Thus, the increased Ca²⁺ entry with K⁺ during hypoxia is primarily through L channels in the cell bodies, whereas in growth cones influx through L and N channels is about equal. The results show that chemical hypoxia selectively alters Ca²⁺ regulation in the growth cone and cell body of the same cell.