Comparative Analysis of Endogenous Hormones and Metabolite Profiles in Early-Spring Flowering Plants and Unflowered Plants Revealing the Strategy of Blossom

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Early-spring plants are a special type of plant that complete their life cycle promptly in cold, early spring. Very little effort has been made into researching...     

Prenatal diagnosis of Pallister-Killian syndrome and literature review

Pallister-Killian syndrome (PKS) is a rare sporadic genetic disorder usually caused by mosaicism of an extra isochromosome of 12p (i(12p)). This retrospective study analysed the prenatal ultrasound manifestations and molecular and cytogenetic results of five PKS foetuses. Samples of amniotic fluid and/or cord blood, skin biopsy and placenta were collected. Conventional karyotyping and single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP array) were performed on all the amniotic fluid or cord blood samples. Copy number variants sequencing (CNV-seq) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were also used for the validation for one foetus. All the five foetuses were from pregnancies with advanced parental age. Two foetuses involved structural abnormalities and one foetus had only soft markers, all of which included increased nuchal translucency. The rest two foetuses had normal ultrasounds in the second trimester, which has rarely been reported before. The karyotype revealed typical i(12p) in four cases and a small supernumerary marker chromosome consisting of 12p and 20p in the remaining one case. The proportion of cells with i(12p) ranged from 0 to 100% in cultural cells, while SNP array results suggested 2−4 copies of 12p. For one foetus, metaphase FISH showed normal results, but the interphase FISH suggested cell lines with two, three and four copies of 12p in the amniotic fluid. Advanced parental age may be an important risk factor for PKS, and there were no typical ultrasound manifestations related to PKS. A combination of karyotype analysis and molecular diagnosis is an effective method for the diagnosis of PKS.     

Development of sensitive esterase assays based on alpha-cyano-containing esters.

A novel approach is reported for the development of fluorogenic esterase reporters using alpha-cyano-containing esters as substrates. After ester hydrolysis, the released alcohol, a cyanohydrin, rapidly eliminates HCN to yield the corresponding aldehyde resulting in strong fluorescence. The pi conjugation of the resulting aldehyde also greatly enhances UV absorption and red shifts fluorescence emission relative to a corresponding alcohol or phenol. Two substrates, R/S-acetic acid cyano-(6-methoxynaphthalen-2-yl)-methyl ester (compound I) and trans/cis-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylic acid R/S-cyano-(6-methoxynaphthalen-2-yl)-methyl ester (compound II), were synthesized and evaluated as substrates. Such alpha-cyano substrates possess very low background fluorescence and are more stable under enzyme assay conditions than phenolic substrates due to the aliphatic cyano group. The higher molar absorbtivity and quantum yield of the aldehyde, along with its larger Stokes' shift combined with the increased stability and lower background signal of the cyanohydrin substrate, increases the utility and sensitivity of the resulting assays over current methods. Moreover, compound II showed high selectivity to pyrethroid-cleaving esterases and may provide a direct tool to monitor pyrethroid resistance in insects.     

Nerve growth factor and neuronal cell death

The regulation of neuronal cell death by the neuronotrophic factor, nerve growth factor (NGF), has been described during neural development and following injury to the nervous system. Also, reduced NGF activity has been reported for the aged NGF-responsive neurons of the sympathetic nervous system and cholinergic regions of the central nervous system (CNS) in aged rodents and man. Although there is some knowledge of the molecular structure of the NGF and its receptor, less is known as to the mechanism of action of NGF. Here, a possible role for NGF in the regulation of oxidant--antioxidant balance is discussed as part of a molecular explanation for the known effects of NGF on neuronal survival during development, after injury, and in the aged CNS.     

侗族新生儿的~Gγ/~Aγ值及一例高~Gγ者的γ基因图谱分析

用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳法测定了广西和湖南省侗族居住区的120例侗族新生儿脐血胎儿血红蛋白中B.subtilis与~Ar比值(~Gr/~Ar值)。显示出119例新生儿的~Gr值(％~Gr)在56—76％之间,均值与标准差为69.4±3.1％;一例新生儿~Gr值高达81.4％,基因图谱分析确定其基因型为~Gr-~(AG)r-~Ar/~Gr-~Ar。     

紫茎泽兰的化学成分初报

紫茎泽兰(Eupalorium adenophorum Spreng)原产中美墨西哥,现在滇南一带广泛分布,对林、牧业生产造成严重危害。其化学成分研究未见报道。 从紫茎泽兰的叶和花序中,分到九个单体,经详细的光谱解析和与标准品对照,其中五个成分的化学结构分别为:正三十二烷n-dotriacontane(1),β-谷甾醇β-sitosterol(2),豆甾醇stigmasterol(3),蒲公英醇棕榈酸酯taraxasteryl palmitate(4),蒲公英醇乙酸酯taraxastcryl acetate(5)。     

高粱对丝黑穗病的抗性及遗传研究

1981—1985年在人工接种的条件下,对1239份高粱品种资源,进行了抗丝黑穗病性鉴定。与此同时,用17个抗性不同的品种系,按照不完全双列杂交设计,进行了高粱对丝黑穗病的抗性遗传研究。结果表明,高粱对丝黑穗病的抗性遗传方式因品种而异。有的品种系具数量性状遗传特点,有的则具有质量性状遗传特点。抗病性属数量性状遗传的品种系,其抗性主要是受加性基因控制。     

胶茶群落及胶林、茶园太阳辐射光谱的研究

1983—1985年,我们进行了胶茶人工群落及胶林、茶园对太阳辐射光谱吸收利用状况的探索研究。着重对可见光谱区的两个吸收带,4000—5000(?)(蓝紫光)、6000—7600A(红橙光)以及红外光谱区的10000—13200(?)(近红外)、14800—18000(?)(远红外)进行了分析讨论,以期从生态和生理的角度阐明群落结构比单一结构的优越性及其对胶、茶产量和品质的影响。