A Comparative Study on Aquatic Plant Diversity in Six Lakes of Dongting Poyang District in China

In order to reveal the effects of human disturbance on aquatic plant diversity in freshwater lakes,the species and community diversity of aquatic plant,and their long term changes in six freshwater lakes of Dongting Poyang District (Lake Bailian and Haikou under lightly disturbance,Changhu and Xiliang under heavy disturbance,Datong and Wushan under very heavy disturbance) were comparatively studied by means of Transect Sampling Method,Global Position System Technique (GPS) and Geographical Information System Technique(GIS).The main results are as follows:(1)It was found that Lake Bailian,Haikou,Changhu,Xiliang,Datong and Wushan contained 69,67,98,77,56,38 aquatic plant species and 14,14,14,13,6,0 associations,respectively in 2001.Their coverages reached to 100%,9618%,6532%,6118%,1060%,0% and mean biomass 2231?g/m2,2718?g/m2,1816?g/m2,1471?g/m2,256?g/m2,0?g/m2 (fresh weight),respectively.(2)As compared with the data obtaining from the surveys in 1980 to 1982,1,1,6,7,9 and 29 species,and 1,1,4,4,5 and 6 associations of aquatic plant disappeared from the six lakes respectively in the last twenty years.Their respective vegetation coverage decreased by 0%,382%,3285%,3780%,594% and 9100%.(3)According to the statistics of plant species,there appeared a gradient as follows:Lake Bailian,Haikou>Changhu,Xiliang>Datong,Wushan.Their different current situations clearly reflected that in the past twenty years thery had suffered from human disturbance in different degrees.(4)The main biological mechanism for the loss of aquatic plants is that human disturbance destroyed the rhizomes and the dormant kuds can't formed.     

AKINβ1 is Involved in the Regulation of Nitrogen Metabolism and Sugar Signaling in Arabidopsis

Sucrose non-fermenting-1-related protein kinase 1 (SnRK1) has been located at the heart of the control of metabolism and development in plants. The active SnRK1 form is usually a heterotrimeric complex. Subcellular localization and specific target of the SnRK1 kinase are regulated by specific beta subunits. In Arabidopsis, there are at least seven genes encoding beta subunits, of which the regulatory functions are not yet clear. Here, we tried to study the function of one beta subunit, AKINβ1. It showed that AKINβ1 expression was dramatically induced by ammonia nitrate but not potassium nitrate, and the investigation of AKINβ1 transgenic Arabidopsis and T-DNA insertion lines showed that AKINβ1 negatively regulated the activity of nitrate ruductase and was positively involved in sugar repression in early seedling development. Meanwhile AKINβ1 expression was reduced upon sugar treatment (including mannitol) and did not affect the activity of sucrose phos-phate synthase. The results indicate that AKINβ1 is involved in the regulation of nitrogen metabolism and sugar signaling.     

<Superscript>1</Superscript>H, <Superscript>13</Superscript>C and <Superscript>15</Superscript>N assignments of the C-terminal intrinsically disordered cytosolic fragment of the receptor tyrosine kinase ErbB2

ErbB2 (or HER2) is a receptor tyrosine kinase that is involved in signaling pathways controlling cell division, motility and apoptosis. Though important in development and cell growth homeostasis, this protein, when overexpressed, participates in triggering aggressive HER2+ breast cancers. It is composed of an extracellular part and a transmembrane domain, both important for activation by dimerization, and a cytosolic tyrosine kinase, which activates its intrinsically disordered C-terminal end (CtErbB2). Little is known about this C-terminal part of 268 residues, despite its crucial role in interacting with adaptor proteins involved in signaling. Understanding its structural and dynamic characteristics could eventually lead to the design of new interaction inhibitors, and treatments complementary to those already targeting other parts of ErbB2. Here we report backbone and side-chain assignment of CtErbB2, which, together with structural predictions, confirms its intrinsically disordered nature.     

Proteome Analysis of Roots in Cucumber Seedlings Under Iso-Osmotic NaCl and Ca(NO3)2 Stresses

The growth and productivity of cucumber are severely affected by salinity. To understand the complex salt response mechanism, the physiological and biochemical responses of cucumber seedlings to iso-osmotic NaCl and Ca(NO₃)₂ stresses were investigated. In this study, the biomass was significantly decreased under iso-osmotic NaCl and Ca(NO₃)₂ stresses, and the inhibitory effect of Ca(NO₃)₂ stress was less than that of NaCl stress. The soluble protein contents were increased under Ca(NO₃)₂ stress, whereas they were decreased after 6 days of NaCl stress. A sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that there were 14 differentially expressed protein bands in roots under iso-osmotic NaCl and Ca(NO₃)₂ stresses at 0, 3, 6, and 9 days, and seven protein bands were little expressed under NaCl stress at 6 and 9 days. Based on these results, 2-D gel electrophoresis was used to separate cucumber root proteins in response to iso-osmotic NaCl and Ca(NO₃)₂ stresses at 3 days. A total of 43 protein spots changed under salt stress. Of these proteins, 33 were successfully identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and liquid chromatography electro-spray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) and categorized into classes, including those corresponding to antioxidants and defense-related proteins and energy and metabolism. The functions of the significantly differentially expressed root proteins were analyzed, which may facilitate a better understanding of different salt response mechanisms, and we suggest that cucumber seedlings showed a more powerful ability to resist Ca(NO₃)₂ stress.