Computational and Experimental Investigation of the Antimicrobial Peptide Cecropin XJ and its Ligands as the Impact Factors of Antibacterial Activity

Cecropin XJ, as a heat stable antimicrobial peptide (AMP), displayed broad bacteriostatic activities, effectively inhibited proliferation of cancer cells and induced cell apoptosis in vitro. However, it exhibited little hemolytic activity and very low cytotoxicity to erythrocytes and normal cells. Although exerts multiple remarkable bioactivities, the refined molecular conformation of native Cecropin XJ remains unsolved. The aim of the present study is to comprehensively investigate the physicochemical characteristics and structure-function relationship of this antimicrobial peptide by using a series of bioinformatics and experimental approaches. In this study, we revealed that the mature Cecropin XJ consists of 41 amino acids, containing two α-helical structures from Lys⁷ to Lys²⁵ and from Ala²⁹ to Ile³⁹. The phylogenetic tree indicated that Cecropin XJ belongs to the Class I AMPs of cecropin family. Hydrophobic analysis showed Cecropin XJ is a typical amphiphilic molecule. The surface of Cecropin XJ was found to have a much wide range of electrostatic potential from ?83.243 to +83.243. The amphipathicity and surface potential of Cecropin XJ partially supported the AMP pore-forming hypothesis. Scanning electron microscopy experimentally confirmed the damages of Cecropin XJ to microbial membrane. Four predicted docking sites respectively for magnesium ion (Mg²⁺), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), bacteriopheophytin (BPH), and guanosine triphosphate (GTP) were found on the surface of Cecropin XJ. Thereinto, Mg²⁺ was experimentally proved to suppress the antibacterial activity of Cecropin XJ; both GTP and ADP enhanced the bactericidal activities to varying degrees. The present study provides a foundation for further investigation of molecular evolution, structural modification, and functional mechanisms of Cecropin XJ.     

Plant Photosynthesis-Irradiance Curve Responses to Pollution Show Non-Competitive Inhibited Michaelis Kinetics

Photosynthesis-irradiance (PI) curves are extensively used in field and laboratory research to evaluate the photon-use efficiency of plants. However, most existing models for PI curves focus on the relationship between the photosynthetic rate (Pn) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and do not take account of the influence of environmental factors on the curve. In the present study, we used a new non-competitive inhibited Michaelis-Menten model (NIMM) to predict the co-variation of Pn, PAR, and the relative pollution index (I). We then evaluated the model with published data and our own experimental data. The results indicate that the Pn of plants decreased with increasing I in the environment and, as predicted, were all fitted well by the NIMM model. Therefore, our model provides a robust basis to evaluate and understand the influence of environmental pollution on plant photosynthesis.     

流行性出血热循环免疫复合物组分分析

应用ＳＤＳ－聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳及免疫转印技术对流行性出血热患才血清中免疫合物组分进行了分析。流行性出血热循环免疫复合物经ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ分离,考马斯亮兰染色,显色主要有７条带,分子量分别为２３ｋＤ,５０ｋＤ,５２ｋＤ,６５ｋＤ,７２ｋＤ,８０ｋＤ及１００ｋＤ。采用该病毒特异性抗血清、单克隆抗体以及人免疫球蛋白、补体成分抗血清识别,在其特环免疫复合物中可检出特异性病毒抗在及相应的免疫球状蛋白和补体成     

流行性出血热患者皮肤组织内病毒抗原及免疫复合物检测与意义

应用常规病理、免疫病理及超微病理技术,对３３例流行性出血热（ＥＨＦ）患者皮肤活检标本的病理变化及病毒抗原、免疫复合物进行观察,同时与血清病毒抗原、抗体及循环免疫复合物检出情况进行比较。在２３例ＥＨＦ患者皮肤微血管内皮细胞中检出病毒抗原,部分组织中可同时检出免疫球蛋白及Ｃ３,少数组织仅能检出病毒抗原或免疫球蛋白。配对血清小也可检出ＥＨＦ病毒抗原、抗体及循环免疫复合物。组织及血清免疫复合物形成与血清补体Ｃ３水平下降有关,组织内肥大细胞脱颗粒与血清ＩｇＥ水平升高相关,提示多种变态反应参与了流行性出血热的发病机制。     

武夷山常绿阔叶林乔木与灌木小枝树皮主要功能性状的趋同

树皮是维管形成层以外的所有组织,其功能性状是反映植物生态适应策略的重要研究对象。为了揭示亚热带山地乔、灌木小枝树皮功能性状特征及其关联性,采用独立样本T检验和标准主轴回归方法对武夷山19种常见木本植物小枝树皮的主要功能性状的基本特征及其相关性进行了分析。结果发现：(1)树皮厚度、树皮密度与树皮含水量在乔、灌木之间无显著差异,其均值分别为(0.78±0.06)mm、(0.58±0.03)mg/cm³和(155.07±14.16)%。树皮碳(C)、氮(N)、磷(P)生态化学计量特征在乔、灌木之间差异也不显著,C、N、P平均值分别为(492.43±4.25)mg/g、(8.90±0.74)mg/g和(0.61±0.06)mg/g,树皮C∶N、C∶P与N∶P平均值分别为60.76±4.17、905.53±67.36与15.19±0.84。(2)树皮性状之间存在关联,其中树皮厚度与密度、密度与含水量均呈异速生长关系,而树皮厚度与含水量、氮含量与磷含量均呈等速生长关系。乔木树皮碳含量和磷含量间、灌木树皮密度和氮含量间均呈异速生长关系,乔木与灌木各性状间关系差异不显著。结果表明...     

Nitric Oxide Enhances Salt Tolerance in Tomato Seedlings by Regulating Endogenous S-nitrosylation Levels

Salinity impairs plant growth and development, thereby leading to low yield and inferior quality of crops. Nitric oxide (NO) has emerged as an essential signaling molecule that is involved in regulating various physiological and biochemical processes in plants. In this study, tomato seedlings of Lycopersicum esculentum L. “Micro-Tom” treated with 150 mM sodium chloride (NaCl) conducted decreased plant height, total root length, and leaf area by 25.43%, 24.87%, and 33.67%, respectively. While nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) pretreatment ameliorated salt toxicity in a dose-dependent manner and 10 µM GSNO exhibited the most significant mitigation effect. It increased the plant height, total root length, and leaf area of tomato seedlings, which was 31.44%, 20.56%, and 51.21% higher than NaCl treatment alone, respectively. However, NO scavenger 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4, 4, 5, 5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide potassium (cPTIO) treatment reversed the positive effect of NO under salt stress, implying that NO is essential for the enhancement of salt tolerance. Additionally, NaCl?+?GSNO treatment effectively decreased O^2? production and H₂O₂ content, increased the levels of soluble sugar, glycinebetaine, proline, and chlorophyll, and enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes and the content of antioxidants in tomato seedlings in comparison with NaCl treatment, whereas NaCl?+?cPTIO treatment significantly reversed the effect of NO under salt stress. Moreover, we found that GSNO treatment increased endogenous NO content, S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR) activity, GSNOR expression and total S-nitrosylated level, and decreased S-nitrosothiol (SNO) content under salt stress, implicating that S-nitrosylation might be involved in NO-enhanced salt tolerance in tomatoes. Altogether, these results suggest that NO confers salt tolerance in tomato seedlings probably by the promotion of photosynthesis and osmotic balance, the enhancement of antioxidant capability and the increase of protein S-nitrosylation levels.

     

甘菊3个ClSCL6基因的克隆及表达分析

GRAS家族HAM亚家族基因是维持植物茎端分生组织(shoot apical meristem,SAM)未分化状态的重要因子,并影响着植物的成花转化进程。该研究基于转录组数据中甘菊(Chrysanthemum lavandulifolium)HAM亚家族基因同源序列设计引物,利用RT PCR技术从甘菊中克隆得到3个HAM类基因。序列分析结果表明,所克隆的3个基因开放阅读框长度分别为1 845、1 479和1 881 bp,分别编码614、492和626个氨基酸。Blastp分析显示,3个基因的编码蛋白均含有典型HAM亚家族蛋白特征,并与菊科植物黄花蒿(Artemisia annua)SCL6蛋白具有较高的一致性,分别达到了94.39%、91.90%和94.27%。进一步分析表明,3个基因的编码蛋白与所有拟南芥GRAS家族中的SCL6蛋白进化关系最近,故将其分别命名为ClSCL6a、ClSCL6b和ClSCL6c。荧光定量分析显示,3个ClSCL6基因均在甘菊茎中表达量最高,而在根和花中表达量普遍较低。在不同发育时期的花器官中,3个ClSCL6基因均有表达,其中ClSCL6a在管状花花粉散开前达到表达高峰,ClSCL6b和ClSCL6c则在小花蕾时期表达量最高,在其他时期表达水平差异不大。该研究结果为进一步研究ClSCL6在菊花成花转化过程中的功能奠定了基础。     

Application of leaf size and leafing intensity scaling across subtropical trees

Understanding the scaling between leaf size and leafing intensity (leaf number per stem size) is crucial for comprehending theories about the leaf costs and benefits in the leaf size–twig size spectrum. However, the scaling scope of leaf size versus leafing intensity changes along the twig leaf size variation in different leaf habit species remains elusive. Here, we hypothesize that the numerical value of scaling exponent for leaf mass versus leafing intensity in twig is governed by the minimum leaf mass versus maximum leaf mass (M _min versus M _max) and constrained to be ≤−1.0. We tested this hypothesis by analyzing the twigs of 123 species datasets compiled in the subtropical mountain forest. The standardized major axis regression (SMA) analyses showed the M _min scaled as the 1.19 power of M _max and the ‐α (−1.19) were not statistically different from the exponents of M _min versus leafing intensity in whole data. Across leaf habit groups, the M _max scaled negatively and isometrically with respect to leafing intensity. The pooled data''s scaling exponents ranged from −1.14 to −0.96 for M _min and M _max versus the leafing intensity based on stem volume (LIV). In the case of M _min and M _max versus the leafing intensity based on stem mass (LIM), the scaling exponents ranged from −1.24 to −1.04. Our hypothesis successfully predicts that the scaling relationship between leaf mass and leafing intensity is constrained to be ≤−1.0. More importantly, the lower limit to scaling of leaf mass and leafing intensity may be closely correlated with M _min versus M _max. Besides, constrained by the maximum leaf mass expansion, the broad scope range between leaf size and number may be insensitive to leaf habit groups in subtropical mountain forest.