植物伤反应中的茉莉酸类信号

植物伤反应包括伤信号的产生、传递、感知和转导。植物伤反应信号通路是一网络系统。茉莉酸类是植物伤反应中的重要信号分子,乙烯、ABA、系统素、水杨酸、过氧化氢等也参与伤信号转导。伤反应信号通路与其他生物、非生物胁迫反应信号通路交互作用,使植物能够在时空上对不同的胁迫做出正确响应。     

植物伤反应中的茉莉酸类信号

植物伤反应包括伤信号的产生、传递、感知和转导。植物伤反应信号通路是一网络系统。茉莉酸类是植物伤反应中的重要信号分子,乙烯、ABA、系统素、水杨酸、过氧化氢等也参与伤信号转导。伤反应信号通路与其他生物、非生物胁迫反应信号通路交互作用,使植物能够在时空上对不同的胁迫做出正确响应。     

植物创伤诱导的挥发物及其信号功能

植物在受到动物或病原侵害时,会释放特异的挥发作作为信号,这些信号分子是植物防御系统的重要组成部分,文章对植物创伤诱导挥发物的种类,诱导因子及生理作用等的研究进展,以及这一领域的研究潜力和发展方向作了评述。     

Jasmonates Inhibit Flowering in Short-Day Plant Pharbitis nil

The role of jasmonates in the photoperiodic flower induction of short-day plant Pharbitis nil was investigated. The plants were grown in a special cycle: 72 h of darkness, 24 h of white light with lowered intensity, 24-h long inductive night, 14 days of continuous light. At 4 h of inductive night the cotyledons of non-induced plants contained about two times the amount of endogenous jasmonates (JA/JA-Me) compared to those induced. A 15-min long pulse of far red light (FR) applied at the end of a 24-h long white light phase inhibited flowering of P. nil. The concentration of jasmonates at 2 and 4 h of inductive night in the cotyledons of the plants treated with FR was similar. Red light (R) could reverse the effect of FR. R light applied after FR light decreased the content of jasmonates by about 50%. Methyl jasmonate (JA-Me) applied to cotyledons, shoot apices and cotyledon petioles of P. nil inhibited the formation of flower buds during the first half of a 24-h long inductive or 14-h long subinductive night. Application of JA-Me to the cotyledons was the most effective. None of the plants treated with JA-Me on the cotyledons in the middle of the inductive night formed terminal flower buds. The aspirin, ibuprofen and phenidone, jasmonates biosynthesis inhibitors partially reversed the effect of FR, stimulating the formation of axillary and terminal flower buds. Thus, the results obtained suggests that phytochrome system control both the photoperiodic flower induction and jasmonates metabolism. Jasmonates inhibit flowering in P. nil.     

茉莉酸类物质在植物防御植食动物中的作用

就茉莉酸类物质的生物合成和代谢以及在防御植食节肢动物中的作用和JA信号的分子机制的研究进展进行了介绍。     

Jasmonates,New Regulators of Plant Growth and Development: Many Facts and Few Hypotheses on their Actions

Jasmonates, ubiquitous cyclopentanone compounds, are reviewed as new regulators for plant growth and development. They may complement the group of well-established “classic” phytohormones. Jasmonates influence a multiplicity of plant physiological processes by inhibition, promotion or induction. In many aspects they are similar to abscisic acid, especially in responses to stress. The review contains information on the chemical structures and metabolism of jasmonates, contributes to their biological role and describes possible mode(s) of action at the level of molecular biology and gene expression. In particular, emphasis is placed on the gene expression and accumulation of jasmonate-induced abundant polypeptides as a stress response of the plant cells. A hypothesis is attempted in which endogenous jasmonates represent an integral part of the signal transduction chain between stress signal(s) and stress response(s).     

Plant Growth Regulators in Citriculture: Factors Regulating Endogenous Levels in Citrus Tissues

Since the review on endogenous growth substances of citrus tissues by Goldschmidt in 1976 (HortScience, 11: 95-99), much information regarding this topic has been published in a wide array of journals. The present review provides a comprehensive overview of published information on endogenous levels of the five classes of plant growth substances (i.e., auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins, ethylene, and abscisic acid), plus polyamines and other endogenous substances that appear to have a role in regulating citrus growth and development. It is the first in a three-part series that next examines hormonal regulation of physiological processes in citrus followed by review of current uses and commercial applications of plant growth regulators in citrus production. In this article, a brief history of the detection and characterization of each class of plant growth substances is given. Following this, variation in endogenous levels associated with different organs (and/or tissues), stages of development, species, cultivars, cultural practices, and environmental factors is reviewed. For each class, current knowledge regarding biosynthesis, metabolism and transport in citrus tissues is summarized. The concluding section deals with future research directions.     

L-Carnitine Is an Endogenous HDAC Inhibitor Selectively Inhibiting Cancer Cell Growth In Vivo and In Vitro

L-carnitine (LC) is generally believed to transport long-chain acyl groups from fatty acids into the mitochondrial matrix for ATP generation via the citric acid cycle. Based on Warburg''s theory that most cancer cells mainly depend on glycolysis for ATP generation, we hypothesize that, LC treatment would lead to disturbance of cellular metabolism and cytotoxicity in cancer cells. In this study, Human hepatoma HepG2, SMMC-7721 cell lines, primary cultured thymocytes and mice bearing HepG2 tumor were used. ATP content was detected by HPLC assay. Cell cycle, cell death and cell viability were assayed by flow cytometry and MTS respectively. Gene, mRNA expression and protein level were detected by gene microarray, Real-time PCR and Western blot respectively. HDAC activities and histone acetylation were detected both in test tube and in cultured cells. A molecular docking study was carried out with CDOCKER protocol of Discovery Studio 2.0 to predict the molecular interaction between L-carnitine and HDAC. Here we found that (1) LC treatment selectively inhibited cancer cell growth in vivo and in vitro; (2) LC treatment selectively induces the expression of p21^cip1 gene, mRNA and protein in cancer cells but not p27^kip1; (4) LC increases histone acetylation and induces accumulation of acetylated histones both in normal thymocytes and cancer cells; (5) LC directly inhibits HDAC I/II activities via binding to the active sites of HDAC and induces histone acetylation and lysine-acetylation accumulation in vitro; (6) LC treatment induces accumulation of acetylated histones in chromatin associated with the p21^cip1 gene but not p27^kip1 detected by ChIP assay. These data support that LC, besides transporting acyl group, works as an endogenous HDAC inhibitor in the cell, which would be of physiological and pathological importance.     

Growth Characteristics in Cultured Cucumber Tissues Infected with Hop Stunt Viroid

Leaf disks from hop stunt viroid (HSVd)-infected cucumber plants and healthy controls were cultured in vitro under different auxin/cytokinin regimes. Amounts of tissue growth and root formation were consistently reduced as a result of HSVd infection. Histological observations indicated that anomalies in the distribution of peripheral meristems and tracheary elements associated with cambial cells might be involved in the hypoplastic syndrome incited by HSVd.     

The Effects of the Gamma Isomer of Benzene Hexachloride (Hexachlorocyclohexane) on Plant Growth and on Mitosis

Three experiments have been carried out on the effects of thegamma isomer of benzene hexachloride (hexachlorocyclohexane),applied in the form of a china clay dust containing appropriateamounts of the pure compound. The first experiment showed that root-growth of cress was unaffectedby gamma-BHC, but that in wheat, growth was significantly reduced. The effect of the compound on mitosis in rye was shown by thesecond erperiment to resemble that of colchicine and other mitoticpoisons in inducing polycentric mitosis or polyploidy by inhibitingspindle action and in causing enlarged nuclei of irregular shapewhich contained increased amounts of nucleolar material. In the third experiment the threshold concentrations for root-growthinhibition and for the production of abnormal cytological effectswere found to be the same. It is considered that the growth-regulatory and mitotic effectsof gamma-BHC are causally related.     

Wound-Induced Changes of Membrane Voltage,Endogenous Currents,and Ion Fluxes in Primary Roots of Maize

The effects of mechanical wounding on membrane voltage, endogenous ion currents, and ion fluxes were investigated in primary roots of maize (Zea mays) using intracellular microelectrodes, a vibrating probe, and ion-selective electrodes. After a wedge-shaped wound was cut into the proximal elongation zone of the roots, a large inward current of approximately 60 [mu]A cm-2 was measured, together with a change in the current pattern along the root. The changes of the endogenous ion current were accompanied by depolarization of the membrane voltage of cortex cells up to 5 mm from the wound. Neither inhibitors of ion channels nor low temperature affected the large, wound-induced inward current. The fluxes of H+, K+, Ca2+, and Cl- contributed only about 7 [mu]A cm-2 to the wound-induced ion current. This suggests the occurrence of a large mass flow of negatively charged molecules, such as proteins, sulfated polysaccharides, and galacturonic acids, from the wound. Natural wounding of the root cortex by developing lateral roots caused an outwardly directed current, which was clearly different in magnitude and direction from the current induced by mechanical injury.     

Phosphate Solubilizing Bacillus megaterium mj1212 Regulates Endogenous Plant Carbohydrates and Amino Acids Contents to Promote Mustard Plant Growth

The current study was conducted to explore the potential of a phosphate solubilizing soil bacterium, Bacillus megaterium mj1212 for enhancing the growth of mustard plants. The newly isolated bacterial strain mj1212 was identified as B. megaterium using phylogenetic analysis and, its phosphate solubilization ability was shown by the clear zone formation on National Botanical Research Institute’s Phosphate medium. Moreover, the phosphate solubilization ability of B. megaterium mj1212 was enhanced by optimal culture conditions at pH 7.0 and 35 °C which might be due to the presence of malic and quinic acid in the culture medium. The beneficial effect of B. megaterium mj1212 in mustard plants was determined by an increasing shoot length, root length and fresh weight of plants. In the biochemical analysis revealed that chlorophyll, sucrose, glucose, fructose and amino acids (Asp, Thr, Ser, Glu, Gly, Ala, Cys, Val, Met, Ilu, Leu, Tyr, Phe, Lys, His, Arg and Pro) were higher in B. megaterium mj1212 treated plants, when compared to their control. The result of present study suggests that B. megaterium mj1212 treatment could be act as phosphate biofertilizer to improve the plant growth.     

应用RNA干扰沉默猪内源性反转录病毒

目的:尝试应用RNA干扰(RNAi)沉默猪源PK-15细胞中的猪内源性反转录病毒(PERV),并通过反转录酶活性及pol基因相对荧光定量PCR检测沉默效果。方法:依据GenBank公布的PERV pol基因序列,采用Invitro-gen公司的BLOCK-iT RNAi Designer软件设计Stealth小干扰RNA(siRNA)序列;将合成的siRNA转染PK-15细胞,72 h后检测细胞上清PERV反转录酶活性及细胞内pol基因拷贝数并评价沉默效果。结果:反转录酶活性及pol基因拷贝数检测结果表明,设计的3条Stealth siRNA序列中,位于pol基因3272～3296 bp的序列能有效沉默PERV。结论:RNAi方法可有效使猪源PK-15细胞中的PERV沉默,为进一步研究天然抗病毒分子与PERV的相互作用提供了实验基础,同时也为猪源异种移植研究中去除PERV提供了一种可供尝试的方法。     

A Chrysin Derivative Suppresses Skin Cancer Growth by Inhibiting Cyclin-dependent Kinases

Chrysin (5,7-dihydroxyflavone), a natural flavonoid widely distributed in plants, reportedly has chemopreventive properties against various cancers. However, the anticancer activity of chrysin observed in in vivo studies has been disappointing. Here, we report that a chrysin derivative, referred to as compound 69407, more strongly inhibited EGF-induced neoplastic transformation of JB6 P⁺ cells compared with chrysin. It attenuated cell cycle progression of EGF-stimulated cells at the G₁ phase and inhibited the G₁/S transition. It caused loss of retinoblastoma phosphorylation at both Ser-795 and Ser-807/811, the preferred sites phosphorylated by Cdk4/6 and Cdk2, respectively. It also suppressed anchorage-dependent and -independent growth of A431 human epidermoid carcinoma cells. Compound 69407 reduced tumor growth in the A431 mouse xenograft model and retinoblastoma phosphorylation at Ser-795 and Ser-807/811. Immunoprecipitation kinase assay results showed that compound 69407 attenuated endogenous Cdk4 and Cdk2 kinase activities in EGF-stimulated JB6 P⁺ cells. Pulldown and in vitro kinase assay results indicated that compound 69407 directly binds with Cdk2 and Cdk4 in an ATP-independent manner and inhibited their kinase activities. A binding model between compound 69407 and a crystal structure of Cdk2 predicted that compound 69407 was located inside the Cdk2 allosteric binding site. The binding was further verified by a point mutation binding assay. Overall results indicated that compound 69407 is an ATP-noncompetitive cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor with anti-tumor effects, which acts by binding inside the Cdk2 allosteric pocket. This study provides new insights for creating a general pharmacophore model to design and develop novel ATP-noncompetitive agents with chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic potency.