Association of tRNA acceptor identity with phosphate-sugar backbone interactions observed in the crystal structure of the Escherichia coli glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase-tRNA complex

We isolated several mutants with nucleotide substitutions in alanine tRNA (tRNA^Ala) that resulted in glutamine tRNA (tRNA^Gli) acceptor identity in Escherichia coli. These substitutions were in three regions of tRNA structure not previously associated with tRNA^Gln acceptor identity. Only the phosphate-sugar backbone moieties of these nucleotides interact with the enzyme in the previously determined X-ray crystal structure of the complex between tRNA^Gln and glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase. We conclude that these sequence-dependent phosphate-sugar backbone interactions contribute to tRNA^Gln identity, and argue that the interactions help communicate enzyme recognition of the anticodon to the acceptor end of the tRNA and the catalytic center of the enzyme.     

浙江省生态保护修复优先区识别

生态保护修复是维持和提升生态系统稳定性和可持续性的重要举措。识别生态保护修复优先区并进行有规划的生态保护修复能够达到抑制生态环境退化的目的。以浙江省为研究对象,运用生态系统服务价值计算模型、神经网络自组织映射(SOM)聚类分析法、空间统计、Spearman非参数相关性分析等方法,识别生态系统服务簇,分析生态系统服务簇演化和人类活动强度变化特征,识别生态保护修复优先区,探讨不同生态系统服务价值的权衡/协同关系,提出生态保护修复优先区规划策略。结果表明：(1)2000—2021年浙江省生态系统服务空间分布逐渐趋于均衡,生态系统服务价值总量由7279.73亿元降低至6980.28亿元;(2)2000—2021年浙江省人类活动强度显著增加,呈现由西到东、由南到北的递增趋势;(3)2000—2021年浙江省生态系统服务与人类活动强度变化Moran′s I指数呈现显著负相关性,说明人类活动强度与生态服务价值两者空间上处于相互制约状态;(4)2000—2021年浙江省90县(区)可划分为4类生态系统服务簇,包括：城市中心簇、农业生产簇、核心生态簇和生态保育簇;(5)基于2021年双变量Moran′s I指数聚类结果将研究区划分的5种类型分区作为生态保护修复一级分区,以区域内主导生态系统服务簇作为生态保护修复二级分区划分依据。浙江省生态保护修复优先区划分为4个类型,即面积占比14.83%的生态预防治理区、面积占比19.94%的生态调控建设区、面积占比50.23%的核心生态保护区和面积占比15.00%的生态综合提升区。据此,提出不同类型优先分区实施生态保护修复的规划策略。     

小鼠自主活动实验中的评价指标

目的为神经精神药物研究中动物自主活动评价提供科学客观、规范灵敏的指标评价体系。方法选用经典的镇静药物力月西、兴奋药咖啡因,以及镇静安神临床疗效肯定的中药远志及人参,研究对小鼠水平自主活动指标,包括周边区、中央区及总区域的运动、静息状态等评价指标的影响。结果总路程、平均速度、运动总时间、周边区运动路程、周边区运动时间与小鼠的兴奋状态成同向变化,静息总时间、周边区静息时间与小鼠的兴奋状态成反向变化。以上7个指标能准确、有效的评价小鼠的行为学改变。结论总路程、平均速度、运动总时间、周边区运动路程、周边区运动时间、静息总时间、周边区静息时间为评价小鼠自主活动客观灵敏的有效指标。     

Hatchery-reared fish have less consistent behavioral pattern compared to wild individuals,exemplified by red tilefish studied using video observation and acoustic telemetry tracking

The behavior of wild and hatchery-reared red tilefish Branchiostegus japonicus was analyzed using two different methods: video observation and acoustic telemetry tracking. In the laboratory, digging and swimming activity of seven wild and five hatchery-reared fish were recorded for 2–4 days in an experimental aquarium and related to changes in light intensity. The activity of wild individuals increased with light intensity, while hatchery-reared individuals were active during both day and night. In the field, 18 wild and 9 hatchery-reared fish were released and tracked using an acoustic telemetry system during the winter and the summer in Maizuru Bay, Kyoto (Japan). Seven wild and three hatchery-reared fish settled within 2 km of the release point for 21–200 days whilst 11 wild and 6 hatchery-reared fish were detected in the central part of the bay within 13 days. The settled fish demonstrated a diel pattern of behavior; most of them probably stayed outside their burrows in the daytime but inside their burrows during the nighttime. During the winter wild fish tended to stay near the release site for longer periods than the hatchery-reared fish. However, in summer the hatchery-reared fish tended to remain close to the release site for longer than the wild fish. Based on these two experiments, we suggest that the activity of wild red tilefish respond to changes in low levels of light intensity (0–0.1 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹) at dawn and display a diel behavior. Hatchery-reared fish may differ from wild fish with regard to their behavior, response to water temperature and light conditions. Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available for this article at and accessible for authorized users     

Mitotic inheritance of the Golgi complex

In mammals, the Golgi complex is structured in the form of a continuous membranous system composed of stacks connected by tubular bridges, the “Golgi ribbon”. At the onset of mitosis, the Golgi complex undergoes a multi-step fragmentation process that is required for its correct partition into the dividing cells. Regulation of Golgi fragmentation and cell cycle progression appear to be precisely coordinated. Here, we review recent studies that are revealing the fundamental mechanisms, the molecular players and the biological significance of the mitotic inheritance of the Golgi complex in mammalian cells.     

Short form of α9 promotes α9β1 integrin-dependent cell adhesion by modulating the function of the full-length α9 subunit

The α9β1 integrin is a multifunctional receptor that interacts with a variety of ligands including vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, tenascin-C, and osteopontin. A 2.3-kb truncated form of α9 integrin subunit cDNA was identified by searching the Medline database. This splice variant, which we called the short form of α9 integrin (SFα9), encodes a 632-aa isoform lacking transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains, and its authentic expression was verified by PCR and Western blotting. SFα9 is expressed on the cell surface but cannot bind ligand in the absence of the full-length α9 subunit. Over-expression of SFα9 in cells expressing full-length α9 promotes α9-dependent cell adhesion. This promoting effect of SFα9 requires the authentic cytoplasmic domain of the co-expressed full-length α9 subunit. Thus, SFα9 is a novel functional modulator of α9β1 integrin by inside-out signaling.     

Shaping tubular carriers for intracellular membrane transport

The particular compositions of the intracellular membrane organelles rely on the proteins and lipids received frequently through membrane trafficking. The delivery of these molecules is driven by the membrane-bound organelles known as transport carriers (TCs). Advanced microscopy approaches have revealed that TC morphology ranges from small vesicles to complex tubular membrane structures. These tubular TCs (TTCs) support effectively both sorting and transport events within the biosynthetic and endocytic pathways, while a coherent picture of the processes that define the formation and further fate of TTCs is still missing. Here, we present an overview of the mechanisms operating during the TTC life cycle, as well as of the emerging role of tubular carriers in different intracellular transport routes.     

Proteomic analysis of B-cell malignancies

The identification of proteins aberrantly expressed in malignant B-cells can potentially be used to develop new diagnostic, prognostic or therapeutic targets. Proteomic studies of B-cell malignancies have made significant progress, but further studies are needed to increase our coverage of the B-cell malignant proteome. To achieve this goal we stress the advantages of using sub-cellular fractionation, protein separation, quantitation and affinity purification techniques to identify hitherto unidentified signalling and regulatory proteins. For example, proteomic analysis of B-cell plasma membranes isolated from patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) identified the voltage-gated proton channel (HVCN1,[1]). This protein has now been characterised as a key modulator of B-cell receptor (BCR) signalling and abrogation of HVCN1 function could have a role in the treatment of B-cell malignancies dependent on maintained BCR signalling [2]. Similarly, proteomic studies on cell lysates from prognostic subtypes of CLL, distinguished by the absence (UM-CLL) or presence (M-CLL) of somatic hypermutation of the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus identified nucleophosmin 1 (NMP1) as a potential prognostic marker [3,4]. Thus, targeted proteomic analysis on selected organelles or sub-cellular compartments can identify novel proteins with unexpected localisation or function in malignant B-cells that could be developed for clinical purposes.