An improved clearing method for GUS assay inArabidopsis endosperm and seeds

Precise cellular localization of the GUS stain is notoriously difficult inArabidopsis seeds. Here we report an improved protocol for the clearing of seeds after GUS staining. Incubation in ethanol-acetic acid (EtAc) and Hoyer’s medium allows reliable cellular localization of the GUS, even in seeds from late developmental stages. This method also leads to the staining of nucleoli in the endosperm and embryo, facilitating nuclear counts in endosperm development. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Effects of Water on Enzyme Performance with an Emphasis on the Reactions in Supercritical Fluids

ABSTRACT

Enzymes require a certain level of water in their structures in order to maintain their natural conformation, allowing them to deliver their full functionality. Furthermore, as a modifier of the solvent, up to a certain level, water can modify the solvent properties such as polarity/polarizability as well as the solubility of the reactants and the products. In addition, depending on the type of the reaction, water can be a substrate (e.g., in hydrolysis) or a product (e.g., in esterolysis) of the enzymatic reaction, influencing the enzyme turnover in different ways. It is found that regardless of the type of reaction, the functionality of enzyme itself is maximum at an optimum level of water, beyond which the enzyme performance is declined due to the loss in enzyme stability. Furthermore, mass transfer limitations caused by pathway blockage and/or by reduced solubilities of the reactants and/or products can also affect the enzyme performance at higher water levels. Controlling water content of ingoing CO₂ and substrates as well as precise management of enzyme support and salt hydrates are important strategies to adjust water level in reaction media, especially in supercritical environments.     

Amelioration of cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration by catechin hydrate in rat model of streptozotocin-induced experimental dementia of Alzheimer’s type

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder resulting in cognitive decline and enhancement of oxidative loads in the brain. Flavonoids have been considered to exert human health benefits by anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The present study is aimed to elucidate the neuroprotective effect of catechin hydrate (CH), a natural flavanoid with potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, on intracerebroventricular streptozotocin (ICV-STZ) induced neuronal loss and memory impairment. To test this hypothesis, male Wistar rats were pretreated with CH (10 and 20 mg/kg bwt) orally once daily for 21 days and then bilaterally injected with ICV-STZ (3 mg/kg bwt), while sham group rats receive the same volume of vehicle. After 2 weeks of ICV-STZ infusion, rats were tested for cognitive performance using Morris water maze (MWM) test and then sacrifice for biochemical and histopathological assays. CH was found to be successful in upregulating the antioxidant status and prevented the memory loss. The expression of choline acetyl transferase (ChAT) was decreased in ICV-STZ group and CH pretreatment increases the expression of ChAT. Moreover, inflammatory mediators like TNF-α, IL-1β levels and expression of iNOS were significantly attenuated by CH pretreatment. The study suggests that CH is effective in preventing memory loss, ameliorating the oxidative stress and might be beneficial for the treatment of sporadic dementia of Alzheimer’s type (SDAT).     

Molecular dynamics simulation on the decomposition of type SII hydrogen hydrate and the performance of tetrahydrofuran as a stabiliser

Molecular dynamics simulation is used to study the decomposition and stability of SII hydrogen and hydrogen/tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrates at 150 K, 220 K and 100 bar. The modelling of the microscopic decomposition process of hydrogen hydrate indicates that the decomposition of hydrogen hydrate is led by the diffusive behaviour of H₂ molecules. The hydrogen/THF hydrate presents higher stability, by comparing the distributions of the tetrahedral angle of H₂O molecules, radial distribution functions of H₂O molecules and mean square displacements or diffusion coefficients of H₂O and H₂ molecules in hydrogen hydrate with those in hydrogen/THF hydrate. It is also found that the resistance of the diffusion behaviour of H₂O and H₂ molecules can be enhanced by encaging THF molecules in the (5¹²6⁴) cavities. Additionally, the motion of THF molecules is restricted due to its high interaction energy barrier. Accordingly, THF, as a stabiliser, is helpful in increasing the stability of hydrogen hydrate.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of diffusion of hydrogen in binary hydrogen–tetrahydrofuran hydrate

The binary structure II hydrogen–tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate was studied with molecular dynamics simulation. The simulations were carried out at 300, 310 K and 10.1 MPa, and with various contents of hydrogen and THF. The migrations of hydrogen molecules from cage to cage were observed. The migration process of hydrogen was also analysed, and the diffusion coefficients of hydrogen in the hydrate were calculated. The calculated diffusion coefficients qualitatively agreed with the experimental data. Double and quintet occupancies of hydrogen molecules were observed in the small and large cages, respectively, without changing the hydrate structure.     

Ab initio DFT study of structural and mechanical properties of methane and carbon dioxide hydrates

The structural and mechanical properties of methane and carbon dioxide hydrates were investigated using density functional theory simulations. Well-established equations of state of solids and exchange-correlation functionals were used for fitting the unit lattice total energy as a function of volume, and the full second-order elastic constants of these two gas hydrates were determined by energy–strain analyses. The polycrystalline elastic properties were also calculated from the unit lattice results. The final results for methane hydrate agree well with available experimental data and with other theoretical results. The two gas hydrates were found to be highly elastically isotropic, but they differed significantly in shear properties. The presented results for carbon dioxide hydrates are the first complete set reported so far. The results are a significant contribution to the ab initio material characterisation of gas hydrates required for ongoing fundamental studies and technological applications.     

南海北部陆坡神狐海域HS-PC500 岩心微生物多样性

[目的]本文研究南海北部陆坡神狐HS-PC500重力活塞岩心沉积物中微生物多样性.[方法]使用吖啶橙染色法计数沉积物中微生物丰度;提取沉积物微生物总DNA,使用特异性引物扩增古菌及细菌16SrRNA基因序列;对克隆文库进行系统发育分析.[结果]系统发育分析显示表层PC500-l(0-5 cm below sea floor,bsf)古菌以C3为主要类群,占该层总序列的25.6%;中层PC500-6(350-355 cm bsf)和底层PC500-11(790-795 cm bsf)古菌以Marine Benthic Group(MBG)-B为主要类群,分别占该层总序列的48.1%和38.9%.另有部分克隆序列属于MBG-A、Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group(MCG)、Thermoprotei、NGC、Halobacteriales、MBG-E、South African Gold Mine Euryarchaeotic Group(SAGMEG).表层细菌以变形菌(Proteobacteria)为主要类群,占该层文库的38.3%.中层和底层细菌以绿弯菌(Choloflexi)和JS1为主要类群,分别占该层文库的28.1%、29.2%和39%、24.7%.另有部分克隆序列属于硝化螺旋菌(Nitrospirae)、放线菌(Actinobacteria)、酸杆菌(Acidobacteria)、OP8、螺旋体菌(Spirochaetes)、TM6、脱铁杆菌(Deferribacteres)、浮霉菌(Plantomycete).[结论]结果显示,HS-PC500岩心微生物丰度与甲烷浓度变化相吻合;微生物丰度较低可能与较低的总有机碳量有关;微生物多样性较高,并且随深度的增加群落结构变化明显;岩心中有关硫酸盐还原的微生物类群占优势,说明微生物的硫代谢在该海区沉积物的物质循环过程中占有重要地位.     

Microbial Community Structure Associated with Biogeochemical Processes in the Sulfate–Methane Transition Zone (SMTZ) of Gas-hydrate-bearing Sediment of the Ulleung Basin,East Sea

We investigated the biogeochemical constituents, microbial communities and functional genes (mcr and dsr) associated with anaerobic methane oxidation and sulfate reduction, and metabolic activities by sulfate reduction in the sulfate–methane transition zone (SMTZ) of gas-hydrate-bearing sediment of the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea. Maxima in the sulfate reduction rate (12.6 nmol cm^?3 d^?1), CO concentration (83 μM), and gene abundances of dsrA (9.1 × 10⁶ copies cm^?3) and mcrA (11.6 × 10⁶ copies cm^?3) occurred in the SMTZ. The peaks of CO consistently found in the SMTZ suggested that CO is an intermediate metabolic product related to methane oxidation. Candidate division JS1, the predominant bacterial group that comprised 59.0–63.7% of the 16S rRNA gene sequences, was recognized as an important organic carbon oxidizer. Both Marine Benthic Group D (MBGD) and Marine Benthic Group B (MBGB), which constituted 40.8–52.9 and 10.3–43.9% of the 16S rRNA gene sequences, respectively, were the dominant archaeal groups. Analysis of functional gene diversity revealed that anaerobic methanotroph-1-related phylotypes appeared to be the major CH₄ oxidizer, whereas Firmicutes-like group was a predominant sulfate reducer in the 0.8 mbsf in SMTZ with low SO₄^2? concentration. Overall results indicated that JS1 and two archaeal groups (MBGB and MBGD) seem to play a significant role in carbon and elements cycles in the gas-hydrate-bearing subsurface sediment of the Ulleung Basin.     

Rat and human embryo and post-natal sera contain a potent endogenous competitor of estrogen-rat alpha-fetoprotein interactions

A highly active inhibitor of the binding of estrone and estradiol-17β to rat alpha-fetoprotein is demonstrated for the first time in embryo, immature and adult rat sera as well as in fetal and adult human sera. The competitive character and the narrow specificity of this inhibition effect is shown. The major compound responsible for this activity is isolated by successive column Sephadex LH₂₀ and thin layer chromatography : it is characterized as a nonpolar, nonphenolic, dialysable and thermostable substance, unreactive towards anti-estrone and anti-estradiol-17β anti-bodies. The possible biological role of an endogenous non-estrogen ligand of rodent fetoproteins is discussed.