Protein–Protein Docking: Past,Present, and Future

The Protein Journal - The biological significance of proteins attracted the scientific community in exploring their characteristics. The studies shed light on the interaction patterns and functions...     

Russia–UK Collaboration in Paleontology: Past,Present, and Future

There is a long history of collaboration between Russia and the United Kingdom in paleontology. This began, arguably, in 1821, with the seminal work by William Fox-Strangways, who produced a geological map of the area around St Petersburg. Most famously, Roderick Murchison carried out extensive surveying and observations throughout European Russia in 1840 and 1841, and published a major monograph on geology and paleontology of European Russia in 1845. Since then, and continuing today, there have been many fruitful collaborations on Precambrian life, Paleozoic marine organisms, terrestrialization of plants and vertebrates, the Permian–Triassic mass extinction, fossil mammals, human evolution, and conservation paleobiology.     

Super Hybrid Rice Breeding in China：Achievements and Prospects

Hybrid rice has contributed greatly to the self-sufficiency of food supply In China. To meet the future demand for rice production, a national program on super rice breeding was established In China In 1996. The corresponding targets, breeding strategies and most significant advances are reviewed In this paper. New plant type models have been modified to adjust to various rice growing regions. In recognition of the Importance of applying parents with Intermediate subspecies differentiation In Increasing F1 yield, medium type parental lines were selected from populations derived from Inter-subspecies crosses with the assistance of DNA markers for subspecies differentiation. Results also indicate that a substantial increase of blomass Is the basis for further enhancement of the grain yield potential, and amelioration of leaf characteristics Is helpful In Increasing the photosynthetic rate. Thirty-four super hybrid rice varieties have been released commercially, growing In a total area of 13.5 million hm2 and producing 6.7 thousand million kg more rice In 1998-2005. Although remarkable progress has been made In super hybrid rice breeding In China, selections on the root system and Integration of more blotechnologlcal tools remain a great challenge.     

Huntington’s Disease: The Past,Present, and Future Search for Disease Modifiers

Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder thatspecifically causes neurodegeneration of striatal neurons, resulting in a triadof symptoms that includes emotional, cognitive, and motor disturbances. The HDmutation causes a polyglutamine repeat expansion within the N-terminal of thehuntingtin (Htt) protein. This expansion causes aggregate formation within thecytosol and nucleus due to the presence of misfolded mutant Htt, as well asaltered interactions with Htt’s multiple binding partners, and changes inpost-translational Htt modifications. The present review charts efforts toward atherapy that delays age of onset or slows symptom progression in patientsaffected by HD, as there is currently no effective treatment. Although silencingHtt expression appears promising as a disease modifying treatment, it should beattempted with caution in light of Htt’s essential roles in neural maintenanceand development. Other therapeutic targets include those that boost aggregatedissolution, target excitotoxicity and metabolic issues, and supplement growthfactors.     

Endocytosis: Past,Present, and Future

Endocytosis may have been a driving force behind the evolution of eukaryotic cells. It plays critical roles in cell biology (e.g., signal transduction) and in organismal physiology (e.g., tissue morphogenesis).Endocytosis, the process of cellular ingestion, may have been the driving force behind evolution of the eucaryotic cell (de Duve 2007). Acquiring the ability to internalize macromolecules and digest them intracellularly would have allowed primordial cells to move out from their food sources and pursue a predatory existence; one that might have led to the development of endosymbiotic relationships with mitochondria and plastids. Thus, it is fitting that endocytosis was first discovered and named as the processes of cell “eating” and “drinking.” In 1883, the developmental biologist Ilya Metchnikoff coined the term phagocytosis, from the Greek “phagos” (to eat) and “cyte” (cell), after observing motile cells in transparent starfish larva surround and engulf small splinters that he had inserted (Tauber 2003). Decades later, in 1931, Warren H. Lewis, one of the earliest cell “cinematographers” coined the term pinocytosis, from the Greek “pinean” (to drink), after observing the uptake of surrounding media into large vesicles in cultured macrophages, sarcoma cells, and fibroblasts by time-lapse imaging (Lewis 1931; Corner 1967).Importantly, these pioneering studies also revealed that the function of endocytosis goes well beyond eating and drinking. Indeed, Metchnikoff, considered one of the founders of modern immunology, realized that the phagocytic behavior of the mesodermal amoeboid cells he had observed under the microscope could serve as a general defense system against invasive parasites, in the larva as in man. This revolutionary concept, termed the phagocytic theory, earned Metchnikoff the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on phagocytic immunity, which he shared with Paul Ehrlich who discovered the complementary mechanisms of humoral immunity that led to the identification of antibodies (Vaughan 1965; Tauber 2003; Schmalstieg and Goldman 2008). The phagocytic theory was a milestone in immunology and cell biology, and formally gave birth to the field of endocytosis.Key discoveries over the intervening years, aided in large part by the advent of electron microscopy, revealed multiple pathways for endocytosis in mammalian cells that fulfill multiple critical cellular functions (Fig. 1). These mechanistically and morphologically distinct pathways, and their discoverers, include clathrin-mediated endocytosis (Roth and Porter 1964), caveolae uptake (Palade 1953; Yamada 1955), cholesterol-sensitive clathrin- and caveolae-independent pathways (Moya et al. 1985; Hansen et al. 1991; Lamaze et al. 2001), and, more recently, the large capacity CLIC/GEEC pathway (Kirkham et al. 2005). In place of Metchnikoff’s splinters, many of these discoveries resulted from the detection and tracking of internalized HRP-, ferritin-, or gold-conjugated ligands by electron microscopy. These electron-dense tracers allowed researchers to identify cellular structures associated with the uptake and intracellular sorting of receptor-bound ligands. A particularly striking example is the pioneering work of Roth and Porter, who in 1964 observed the uptake of yolk proteins into mosquito oocytes. To synchronize uptake, they killed female mosquitos at timed intervals after a blood feed and observed the sequential appearance of electron-dense yolk granules in coated pits, coated and uncoated vesicles, and progressively larger vesicles. Their remarkable observations accurately described coated vesicle budding, uncoating, homo- and heterotypic fusion events, as well as the emergence of tubules from early endosomes (Fig. 2), all of which are now known hallmarks of the early endocytic trafficking events.Open in a separate windowFigure 1.Time line for discoveries of endocytic pathways and their discoverers. Boxes are color-coded by pathway. *, Nobel laureate. HRP, horseradish peroxidase; CCVs, clathrin-coated vesicles; CCPs, clathrin-coated pits; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; PM, plasma membrane; ER, endoplasmic reticulum; CLIC/GEEC, clathrin-independent carriers/GPI-enriched endocytic compartments.Open in a separate windowFigure 2.Fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of clathrin-mediated endocytosis by Roth and Porter (1964). The image is the hand-drawn summary of observations made by electron microscopic examination of the trafficking of yolk proteins in a mosquito oocyte. Note the many details, later confirmed and mechanistically studied over the intervening 50 years. These include the growth, invagination, and pinching off of coated pits (1,2), which concentrate cargo taken up by coated vesicles (3), the rapid uncoating of nascent-coated vesicles (4), homotypic fusion of nascent endocytic vesicles in the cell periphery (5), the formation of tubules from early endosomes (7), and changes in the intraluminal properties of larger endosomes (6). Finally, yolk proteins are stored in granules as crystalline bodies (8). (From Roth and Porter 1964; reprinted, with express permission, from Rockefeller University Press © 1964, The Journal of Cell Biology 20: 313–332, doi: 10.1083/jcb.20.2.313.)Another milestone in the field of endocytosis was the discovery of the lysosome by Christian de Duve (Appelmans et al. 1955). Whereas the finding of phagocytosis and other endocytic pathways was possible through microscopy, the discovery of lysosomes originated from a biochemical approach (Courtoy 2007), which benefited from the invention of the ultracentrifuge. de Duve and coworkers observed that preparations of acid phosphatase obtained by subcellular fractionation had an unusual behavior: contrary to most enzymatic activities, the activity of acid phosphatase increased rather than decreased with time, freezing–thawing of the fractions and the presence of detergents. Interestingly, the same was true for other hydrolases, which depended on acidic pH for their optimal activity. This led him to postulate that the acid hydrolases were contained in acidified membrane-bound vesicles. In collaboration with Alex Novikoff, he visualized these vesicles, the lysosomes, by electron microscopy (Beaufay et al. 1956) and later showed their content of acid phosphatase (Farquhar et al. 1972). In 1974, de Duve was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his seminal finding of the lysosomes and peroxisomes. He shared it with Albert Claude and George E. Palade “for their discoveries concerning the structural and functional organization of the cell.” The importance of this work lies also in the significant therapeutic applications that followed. The discovery by Elizabeth Neufeld and collaborators of uptake of lysosomal enzymes by cells provided the foundation for enzyme replacement therapy for lysosomal storage disorders (Neufeld 2011).In the 1970s, research in endocytosis entered the molecular era. Using de Duve and Albert Claude-like methods of subcellular fractionation, Barbara M. Pearse purified clathrin-coated vesicles from pig brain (Pearse 1975). A year later, she isolated a major protein species of 180 kDa, which she named clathrin “to indicate the lattice-like structures which it forms” (Pearse 1976). It was a breakthrough that inaugurated the molecular dissection of clathrin-mediated endocytosis.Over the intervening years, the continued application of microscopy (which now spans from electron cryotomography to live cell, high-resolution fluorescence microscopy), genetics (in particular, in yeast, Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster), biochemistry (including cell-free reconstitution of endocytic membrane trafficking events), as well as molecular and structural biology have revealed a great deal about the cellular machineries and mechanisms that govern trafficking along the endocytic pathway. A partial, and because of space limitations, necessarily incomplete list of milestones (

Integrons: Past,Present, and Future

SUMMARY

Integrons are versatile gene acquisition systems commonly found in bacterial genomes. They are ancient elements that are a hot spot for genomic complexity, generating phenotypic diversity and shaping adaptive responses. In recent times, they have had a major role in the acquisition, expression, and dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes. Assessing the ongoing threats posed by integrons requires an understanding of their origins and evolutionary history. This review examines the functions and activities of integrons before the antibiotic era. It shows how antibiotic use selected particular integrons from among the environmental pool of these elements, such that integrons carrying resistance genes are now present in the majority of Gram-negative pathogens. Finally, it examines the potential consequences of widespread pollution with the novel integrons that have been assembled via the agency of human antibiotic use and speculates on the potential uses of integrons as platforms for biotechnology.     

中国植物激素研究: 过去、现在和未来

为了迎接2006年10月在北京召开的“植物激素与绿色革命”香山会议, 使其更具影响力, 本刊组织了一期“植物激素专辑”。本文作为此专辑的序言, 对我国在该领域研究作了概述和评论, 以帮助读者全面地了解我国在该领域的研究历史、现状和未来发展趋势。本文回顾了中国植物激素研究在二十世纪八十年代之前的工作发展历程中的重要成果, 主要集中在生理学研究方面的成果。随着植物分子遗传学技术与原理的不断成熟以及我国经济的飞速发展, 特别是研究队伍的迅速成长, 我国科学家近年来在植物激素代谢调控、转运及激素信号转导等领域取得了重要进展, 特别是激素受体基因分离鉴定、激素控制株型以及激素间的相互作用等方面取得的突破性进展。基于国际植物激素总体研究前沿和我国优势领域, 我们展望提出了我国在植物激素研究领域的未来发展方向与趋势。     

中国植物激素研究:过去、现在和未来

为了迎接2006年10月在北京召开的“植物激素与绿色革命”香山会议,使其更具影响力,本刊组织了一期“植物激素专辑”。本文作为此专辑的序言,对我国在该领域研究作了概述和评论,以帮助读者全面地了解我国在该领域的研究历史、现状和未来发展趋势。本文回顾了中国植物激素研究在二十世纪八十年代之前的工作发展历程中的重要成果,主要集中在生理学研究方面的成果。随着植物分子遗传学技术与原理的不断成熟以及我国经济的飞速发展,特别是研究队伍的迅速成长,我国科学家近年来在植物激素代谢调控、转运及激素信号转导等领域取得了重要进展,特别是激素受体基因分离鉴定、激素控制株型以及激素间的相互作用等方面取得的突破性进展。基于国际植物激素总体研究前沿和我国优势领域,我们展望提出了我国在植物激素研究领域的未来发展方向与趋势。     

Pineapple Nematode Research in Hawaii: Past,Present, and Future

The first written record of pineapple in Hawaii is from 1813. In 1901 commercial pineapple production started, and in 1924 the Experiment Station for pineapple research was established. Nematode-related problems were recognized in the early 1900s by N. A. Cobb. From 1920 to approximately 1945 nematode management in Hawaiian pineapple was based on fallowing and crop rotation. During the 1920s and 1930s G. H. Godfrey conducted research on pineapple nematode management. In the 1930s and 1940s M. B. Linford researched biological control and described several new species of nematodes including Rotylenchulus reniformis. In 1941 nematology and nematode management were advanced by Walter Carter''s discovery of the first economical soil fumigant for nematodes, D-D mixture. Subsequently, DBCP was discovered and developed at the Pineapple Research Institute (PRI). Since 1945 soil fumigation has been the main nematode management strategy in Hawaiian pineapple production. Recent research has focused on the development of the nonvolatile nematicides, their potential as systemic nematicides, and their application via drip irrigation. Current and future research addresses biological and cultural alternatives to nematicide-based nematode management.     

Bone Allografts: Past, Present and Future

Bone allograft transplantation has been performed in humans for more than one hundred and twenty years. During the first one hundred years (1880–1980), the major problem in bone allograft transplantation was availability. Most of the bone grafts used during this time were autografts. Allografts were not available due to a lack of legislation protecting procurers and processers. In addition, surgical procedures requiring allografts were not being performed. During the next twenty years (1980–2000), as allografis began to be used, the major issue was safety. Diseases transmitted during this period included AIDS and hepatitis. Avoidance of disease transmission became paramount. Sensitive blood tests and extensive efforts by bone banks to develop ways to clean. bone and clear it of infectious agents helped provide safe transplants. With concerns of availability and safety receding, the major issue in the future (2000–? ) will be the efficacy of the transplant. How allograft bone remodels in the host, how it incorporates and heals to host bone and how it integrates with the host skeleton will be the most important concerns of bone bankers and tissue transplant surgeons. Future research efforts will be applied to bone allograft transplantation to ensure that bone transplants heal quickly and sufficiently to be able to function as part of the weight-bearing skeletal system.