On the taxonomy of five saxicolous species of the genus Rinodina (lichenized Ascomycetes)

The taxonomy, ecology and distribution of Rinodina deflectens, R. interjecta, R. rinodinoides, R. tephraspis and R. trachytica are treated. New combinations are made for R. interjecta and R. rinodinoides. R. melanocarpa and R. serpentini are synonyms of R. rinodinoides. R. badiella and R. kentuckyensis are synonyms of R. tephraspis , and R. iberica of R. trachytica.     

六种杜鹃花的耐旱适应性研究

通过 5 d、1 0 d和 1 5 d灌溉 1次 ,并控制浇水量对露珠杜鹃 ( R. irroratum )、大白花杜鹃 ( R.decorum)、粗柄杜鹃 ( R. pachypodum)、长蕊杜鹃 ( R. stamineum)、马缨杜鹃 ( R. delavayi)以及云锦杜鹃 ( R.fortunei)的耐旱适应性进行了实验 ,实验在昆明 1 0月份到次年 4月份的干季进行 ;灌溉量为每次 1 .5 L/每盆。在实验进行 1 0个月后 ,结果表明 :云锦杜鹃和马缨杜鹃比露珠杜鹃、长蕊杜鹃和粗柄杜鹃耐旱 ,大白花杜鹃最不耐旱     

Carotenoid pigments of genus Rhodococcus

A study of carotenoid pigments of the genus Rhodococcus was carried out. According to carotenes contained, Rhodococcus species were divided into three groups: the first group of Rhodococcus luteus, R. coprophilus, R. lentifragmentus, and R. maris, which formed beta-carotene; the second group of R. equi, R. rubropertinctus, R. aichiensis, R. sputi, R. chubuensis, R. obuensis, R. bronchialis, R. roseus, R. rhodochrous, R. rhodnii, and R. terrae, which formed gamma-carotene-like substance; and the third group of R. aurantiacus, which formed neither carotene. Other carotenoid pigments were different according to the species.     

Chromosome numbers of European blackberries (Rubus subg.Rubus,Rosaceae)

Chromosome numbers are presented for 32 collections of 29 European blackberry species (Rubus subg.Rubus) from Germany. One species is triploid (2n = 21), 27 species are tetraploid, (2n = 28), and one species is pentaploid (2n = 35). Chromosome numbers are reported for the first time ofR. adspersus, R. amisiensis, R. calvus, R. conothyrsoides, R. contractipes, R. demissus, R. elegantispinosus, R. ferocior, R. foliosus, R. hypomalacus, R. leucandrus, R. nemorosus, R. platyacanthus, R. praecox, R. rhombifolius, andR. rhytidophyllus. Chromosome numbers forR. dasyphyllus, R. gelertii, R. glandithyrsos, R. lamprocaulos, R. lindebergii, R. macrophyllus, R. montanus, R. muenteri, R. pedemontanus, R. polyanthemus, R. senticosus, R. silvaticus, andR. vigorosus are confirmed.     

Distribution and application of mycobactins for the characterization of species within the genus Rhodococcus

Representatives of 11 species of Rhodococcus were examined for their ability to synthesize mycobactin, a lipid-soluble siderophore, following iron-limited growth on solidified glycerol/asparagine medium. Rhodococcus bronchialis, R. terrae and R. rubropertinctus formed mycobactins, whereas the remaining species (R. coprophilus, R. equi, R. erythropolis, R. rhodnii, R. rhodochrous, R. ruber, R. maris and R. luteus) failed to synthesize these compounds even under conditions of strictly iron-limited growth. The mycobactins from R. terrae and R. rubropertinctus showed close similarity by thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography and could be easily distinguished from that of R. bronchialis.     

Vegetative compatibility and parasexual segregation in Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, a fungal pathogen of the common bean

The heterokaryotic and vegetative diploid phases of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum are described using nutritional and biochemical markers. Nitrate non-utilizing mutants (nit), derived from R2047, R89, R73, R65, and R23 isolates, were paired in all possible combinations to obtain heterokaryons. Although pairings R2047/R89, R2047/R73, R65/R73, and R73/R23 showed complete vegetative incompatibility, prototrophic heterokaryons were obtained from pairings R2047/R65, R2047/R23, R65/R89, R65/R23, R73/R89, R89/R23, R2047/R2047, R65/R65, R89/R89, R73/R73, and R23/R23. Heterokaryons gave rise to spontaneous mitotic segregants which carried markers corresponding to one or the other of the parental strains. Heterokaryons spontaneously produced prototrophic fast-growing sectors too, characterized as diploid segregants. Diploids would be expected to yield auxotrophic segregants following haploidization in basal medium or in the presence of benomyl. Parental haploid segregants were in fact recovered from diploid colonies growing in basal medium and basal medium containing the haploidizing agent. Although barriers to the formation of heterokaryons in some crosses were detected, the results demonstrate the occurrence of parasexuality among vegetative compatible mutants of C. lindemuthianum.     

Allozyme relationships among ten species of Rhodniini, showing paraphyly of Rhodnius including Psammolestes

Genetic relationships among 10 species of bugs belonging to the tribe Rhodniini (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), including some important vectors of Chagas disease, were inferred from allozyme analysis of 12 enzyme loci (out of 21 enzyme systems examined), using agarose gel electrophoresis. These species formed two clusters: one comprising Rhodnius brethesi, R. ecuadoriensis, R. pallescens and R. pictipes; the other with Psammolestes tertius, Rhodnius domesticus and the Rhodnius prolixus group comprising R. nasutus, R. neglectus, R. prolixus and R. robustus. The resulting tree was [((R. ecuadoriensis, R. pallescens) R. brethesi) R. pictipes], [R. domesticus (P. tertius [(R. nasutus, R. neglectus) (R. prolixus, R. robustus)])]. Rhodnius nasutus and R. neglectus differed by only one locus, whereas no diagnostic loci were detected between R. prolixus and R. robustus (22 loci were analysed for these four species), despite considerable DNA sequence divergence between species in each of these pairs. Allozymes of the R. prolixus group showed greater similarity with Psammolestes tertius than with other Rhodnius spp., indicating that Rhodnius is paraphyletic and might include Psammolestes.     

发根农杆菌菌株的综合鉴定及活力比较

利用3-酮乳糖产物法、差异酸生成实验和游动性实验鉴定发根农杆菌菌株A4、R1205、R1000、R1601、R1022和15834的菌株类型和活力。结果表明,R1205、R1601、R1000、A4为Ⅱ型农杆菌,其活力从大到小依次是R1000、R1205、A4、R1601。利用PCR方法鉴定表明,A4、R1205、R1000和R1601为发根农杆菌,而R1022和15834未出现阳性结果。黄瓜遗传转化力鉴定结果表明,R1000的遗传转化力最大,达到79.16%,其它菌株依次是R1205、R1601、A4。根据上述三方面综合鉴定,R1000菌株活力最大。     

Compatibility of R-factors in naturally occurring enteric bacteria]

The compatibility of four wild type fi+R factors to R1 factor, a representative of the FII compatibility group of F-like class of the plasmids was studied. Two of them (R448 and R459) were incompatible to the R1 factor at selective for R448 and R459 donors conditions. The recipient R1 factor elimination apparently takes place at the first generations of conjugants. The compatibility of these R plasmids to R1 is possible at selective for donor and recipient plasmids conditions. R459 and R1 factors were transfered to Escherichia coli W945 simultaneously and recombination between them was suggested. B211 and R215 factors are compatible to R1 factor and their coexistence with the last is stable despite whether conjugants were selected on one or two R plasmids principle. Further conjugants transfer R211 and R215 only, but not R1. It is concluded that R factors No 448 and No 459 are of FII group compatibility. R211 and R215 factors group compatibility is still unknown.     

Prevalence of regurgitation and reingestion in orangutans housed in north american zoos and an examination of factors influencing its occurrence in a single group of bornean orangutans

Very little research has explored regurgitation and reingestion (R/R) in orangutans. We first aimed to determine the prevalence of R/R in the North American zoo population through a survey of accredited institutions. We report the prevalence of R/R in orangutans >4 years of age as 35% with some sex and species differences. Additionally, survey respondents reported fruit and sweet foods as the most common triggers of R/R. We also explored rates of R/R in a single group of Bornean orangutans at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. We examined the relationship between R/R and feeding schedule and opportunistically observed rates of R/R with and without the presence of browse and sweet foods. We found evidence that R/R is associated with feeding time and that the presence of browse significantly increased the amount of time that animals spent feeding. There was a trend toward decreased R/R when browse was available. We also observed higher rates of R/R when sweet foods were available and we propose that this may have mitigated some of the beneficial effects of browse. We suggest that future studies look further at nutritional influences on R/R behavior. Zoo Biol. 31:609‐620, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Complete genome sequence of Rickettsia typhi and comparison with sequences of other rickettsiae

Rickettsia typhi, the causative agent of murine typhus, is an obligate intracellular bacterium with a life cycle involving both vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. Here we present the complete genome sequence of R. typhi (1,111,496 bp) and compare it to the two published rickettsial genome sequences: R. prowazekii and R. conorii. We identified 877 genes in R. typhi encoding 3 rRNAs, 33 tRNAs, 3 noncoding RNAs, and 838 proteins, 3 of which are frameshifts. In addition, we discovered more than 40 pseudogenes, including the entire cytochrome c oxidase system. The three rickettsial genomes share 775 genes: 23 are found only in R. prowazekii and R. typhi, 15 are found only in R. conorii and R. typhi, and 24 are unique to R. typhi. Although most of the genes are colinear, there is a 35-kb inversion in gene order, which is close to the replication terminus, in R. typhi, compared to R. prowazekii and R. conorii. In addition, we found a 124-kb R. typhi-specific inversion, starting 19 kb from the origin of replication, compared to R. prowazekii and R. conorii. Inversions in this region are also seen in the unpublished genome sequences of R. sibirica and R. rickettsii, indicating that this region is a hot spot for rearrangements. Genome comparisons also revealed a 12-kb insertion in the R. prowazekii genome, relative to R. typhi and R. conorii, which appears to have occurred after the typhus (R. prowazekii and R. typhi) and spotted fever (R. conorii) groups diverged. The three-way comparison allowed further in silico analysis of the SpoT split genes, leading us to propose that the stringent response system is still functional in these rickettsiae.     

Improvement of the acid stability of Bacillus licheniformis alpha amylase by site-directed mutagenesis

The objective of this work was to improve the acid stability of alpha amylase from Bacillus licheniformis (BLA) under acidic conditions by site-directed mutagenesis. Based on the analysis of three dimensional structure of BLA, five histidine residues at positions 281, 289, 293, 316, and 327 in BLA were substituted by arginine residues and aspartic acid residues, respectively. Ten mutants H281R/D, H289R/D, H293R/D, H316R/D, and H327R/D were obtained and H293R, H316R, and H327R were active at pH 4.5 and 6.5. Triple mutations of BLA was modified for the construction of H293R/H316R/H327R. Compared with wild type, which lost the activity, H293R, H316R, H327R, and H293R/H316R/H327R could maintain 8, 10, 20, 31% of the initial activity when incubated at pH 4.5 and 70 °C for 40 min, respectively. The results combined with three-dimensional structure analysis demonstrated that H293R, H316R, H327R, and H293R/H316R/H327R showed an improved acid stability under low pH condition as a result of the interactions of electrostatic fields, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophilcity. This work provides the theoretical basis and background data on the improvement of acid stability in BLA for satisfying the industrial requirements by protein engineering, which is beneficial to molecular modification of other industrial enzymes for acid-tolerance ability.     

Some New Taxa of the Genus Ribes (Saxifragaceae) of China

Fifteen new taxa of the genus Ribes L. (Saxifragaceae) are described from China. These new taxa are R. alpestre var. eglandulosum L. T. Lu, R. burejense var. villosum L. T. Lu, R. moupinense var. pubicarpum L. T. Lu, R. himalense var. pubicalycinum L. T. Lu et J. T. Pan, R. meyeri var. pubescens L. T. Lu, R. davidi var. ciliatum L. T. Lu, R. davidi var. lobatum L. T. Lu, R. laurifolium var. yunnanense L. T. Lu, R. xizangense L. T. Lu, R. glabricalycinum L. T. Lu, R. tenue var. incisum L. T. Lu, R. vilmorinii var. pubicarpum L. T. Lu, R. rubrisepalum L. T. Lu, R. glabrifolium L. T. Lu, R.fasciculatum var. guizhouense L. T. Lu.     

Myb-DNA recognition: role of tryptophan residues and structural changes of the minimal DNA binding domain of c-Myb

The Myb oncoprotein specifically binds DNA by a domain composed of three imperfect repeats, R1, R2, and R3, each containing 3 tryptophans. The tryptophan fluorescence of the minimal binding domain, R2R3, of c-Myb was used to monitor structural flexibility changes occurring upon DNA binding to R2R3. The quenching of the Trp fluorescence by DNA titration shows that four out of the six tryptophans are involved in the formation of the specific R2R3-DNA complex and the environment of the tryptophan residues becomes more hydrophobic in the complex. The fluorescence intensity quenching of the tryptophans by binding of R2R3 to DNA is consistent with the decrease of the decay time: 1.46 ns for free R2R3 to 0.71 ns for the complexed protein. In the free R2R3, the six tryptophans are equally accessible to the iodide and acrylamide quenchers with a high collisional rate constant (4 x 10(9) and 3 x 10(9) M-1 s-1, respectively), indicating that R2R3 in solution is very flexible. In the R2R3-DNA complex, no Trp fluorescence quenching is observed with iodide whereas all tryptophan residues remain accessible to acrylamide with a collisional rate constant slightly slower than that in the free state. These results indicate that (i) a protein structural change occurs and (ii) the R2R3 molecule keeps a high mobility in the complex.The complex formation presents a two-step kinetics: a fast step corresponding to the R2R3-DNA association (7 x 10(5) M-1 s-1) and a slower one (0.004 s-1), which should correspond to a structural reorganization of the protein including a reordering of the water molecules at the protein-DNA interface.     

Delineation of the effects of angiotensin type 1 and 2 receptors on HL-1 cardiomyocyte apoptosis

Angiotensin II (Ang II) exerts its effects by activating its receptors, primarily type 1 (AT1R) and type 2 (AT2R). While the role of AT1R activation in cardiomyocyte physiology is well known, the role of AT2R in cardiomyocyte apoptosis remains controversial. To define the precise role of AT1R and AT2R in this process, we transfected HL-1 cardiomyocytes with AT1R or AT2R cDNA, and examined markers of apoptosis. We found that AT1R overexpression was associated with upregulation of endogenous AT2R expression, but AT2R overexpression did not affect endogenous AT1R expression. Caspase-3 staining indicated that overexpression of AT1R as well as AT2R resulted in cardiomyocyte apoptosis with appropriate alterations in annexin V, Bax and Bcl2 expression. Overexpression of AT1R and AT2R markedly increased IL-1β (AT2R>AT1R), iNOS (AT2R>AT1R) and eNOS expression. AT2R-induced cell apoptosis could be blocked by the iNOS selective inhibitor 1,400?W, and did not require exogenous Ang II. These findings suggest that AT2R overexpression induces cardiomyocyte apoptosis, most likely via iNOS upregulation. AT1R-mediated cardiomyocyte apoptosis may be partially mediated by upregulation of endogenous AT2R.     

Comparative analysis of the structure of incompatibility plasmids N, P and W

Evolutionary relationships of the IncN plasmid R15 and other broad host range plasmids (IncN plasmids N3 and R46, IncP plasmids RP4 and R906, IncW plasmids Sa and R388) were studied by Southern blot hybridization technique. The IncN plasmids were shown to harbour homologous determinants for replication and conjugation. No homology was found between the rep and tra genes in R15 and in the IncW and IncP plasmids, respectively. The second rep region of the N3 plasmid is distinctive from the corresponding determinants in the IncN plasmids. Homology was demonstrated for the plasmid genes that mediate restriction and modification in R15 and N3, mercury resistance in R15 and R906, sulfanilamide resistance in R15, N3, R46, Sa, R388, and R906, streptomycin resistance in R15, R46 and Sa. The latter genes are different from the R906 SmR gene. In addition to the three known mobile elements in the plasmid R15, the fourth one (IS46) that is a part of the transposon Tn2353 was identified in this study. Besides, the third copy of this insertion sequence was found in the N3 plasmid.     

Molecular cytogenetic analyses of hexaploid lines spontaneously appearing in octoploid Triticale

Genome characterization of 14 hexaploid lines that spontaneously appeared in octoploid Triticales was carried out by sequential genomic in situ hybridization and fluorescence in situ hybridization, high molecular weight glutenin subunits and SSR marker analyses. All of the lines showed a chromosome constitution of complete A and B genomes, and a composite genome consisting of the chromosomes of D and R genomes. The composite genome of the 11 lines consisted of chromosomes 1R, 2D, 3R, 4R, 5R, 6R and 7R, that of the two lines were 1D, 2D, 3R, 4R, 5R, 6R and 7R, and that of one line was 1R, 2D, 3R, 4R, 5R, 6D and 7R. The incompatibility of the D and R genomes in common wheat genetic background, preferential retention of chromosome 2D and importance of these lines for the development of hexaploid Triticale are discussed in this report.     

Role of arginine residues of D-aminoacylase from Alcaligenes xylosoxydans subsp. xylosoxydans A-6

To investigate the role of arginine in the folding of d-aminoacylase, seven arginine residues, R26, R152, R296, R302, R354, R377, and R391, among twelve arginine residues highly conserved in d-aminoacylase, N-acyl-d-aspartate amidohydrolase (d-AAase), and N-acyl-d-glutamate amidohydrolase (d-AGase) from Alcaligenes xylosoxydans subsp. xylosoxydans A-6 (Alcaligenes A-6) were substituted with lysine by site-directed mutagenesis. The mutants, R26K, R152K, R296K, and R302K were identified as mutations that increase partitioning of the enzyme into inclusion bodies. No mutants with substitutions within the carboxyterminal segment were found to increase partitioning into inclusion bodies (R354K, R377K, and R392K). These results suggest that arginine residues that position between the N-terminus and central region can play an important role in facilitating folding or stabilizing the structure of d-aminoacylase. By anaerobic cultivation, the production level of R302K in the soluble fraction was improved. Coexpression of the DnaK-DnaJ-GrpE chaperone assisted the folding of R302K, and reduced the effect of the aeration conditions on the solubility of R302K. We hypothesized that R302K requires a larger amount of chaperones for efficient folding than the wild type enzyme.     

小麦-黑麦附加系的创制及5R抗白粉病新基因的发现

以重复序列pAS1和pSc119.2为探针,对八倍体小黑麦×普通小麦的F5代植株进行了FISH分析,同时对这些材料进行了田间抗病性鉴定。从中鉴定出了1R、2R、3R、4R、5R、6R、7R单体附加系和1R、2R二体附加系,1R和4R附加系出现频率相对较高。5R和6R单体附加系对白粉病免疫,推测5R染色体上带有新的白粉病抗性基因。此外,还检测到不少植株染色体组发生了变异,且小麦4B染色体优先缺失。