Serological identification and molecular characterization of B (A) 02 subtype in patients and blood donors from Eastern China

This study was designed to identify the rare?type?ABO?blood?groups, B(A) 02, from Eastern China. Three samples with discordant serological results during routine blood type identification and four samples from one sample’ family were selected. All of them were detected by serological method. The exon 6 and 7 of the ABO genes were amplified by PCR and sequenced. They were typed as AsubB by serology and as BO by genotype. In AsubB samples, nt 700C>G mutation was detected in B gene, which was previously defined as B(A)02 alleles. In these seven samples, six showed B(A)02/O01 and one showed B(A)02/O02.B(A)02 allele was found to be more common in this study than B(A)04 which is considered to be more frequent than B(A)02. The careful identification of rare blood types is important for the safety of clinical blood transfusion.     

Identification and mapping of a novel blackleg resistance locus LepR4 in the progenies from Brassica napus × B. rapa subsp. sylvestris

Blackleg, caused by Leptosphaeria maculans, is one of the most economically important diseases of Brassica napus worldwide. Two blackleg-resistant lines, 16S and 61446, were developed through interspecific hybridization between B. napus and B. rapa subsp. sylvestris and backcrossing to B. napus. Classical genetic analysis demonstrated that a single recessive gene in both lines conferred resistance to L. maculans and that the resistance alleles were allelic. Using BC₁ progeny derived from each resistant plant, this locus was mapped to B. napus linkage group N6 and was flanked by microsatellite markers sN2189b and sORH72a in an interval of about 10 cM, in a region equivalent to about 6 Mb of B. rapa DNA sequence. This new resistance gene locus was designated as LepR4. The two lines were evaluated for resistance to a wide range of L. maculans isolates using cotyledon inoculation tests under controlled environment conditions, and for stem canker resistance in blackleg field nurseries. Results indicated that line 16S, carrying LepR4a, was highly resistant to all isolates tested on cotyledons and had a high level of stem canker resistance under field conditions. Line 61446, carrying LepR4b, was only resistant to some of the isolates tested on cotyledons and was weakly resistant to stem canker under field conditions.     

B.B.Brodie(1907～1989)

B.B.Brodie博土,一个先驱药理学家和美国国家科学院院士,1989年2月28日逝世。生前是美国国立卫生研究院心脏研究所化学药理实验室的创始人和第一任主任。     

Pachypteris orientalis (Zhang)comb.nov.的增订兼论Thinnfeldia Ettingshausen属

张采繁(1982)在建立 Thinnfeldia orientalisZhang 一种时,既未作表皮特征描述,也未作详细讨论。本文根据几块保存完好的同种标本的研究,对其特征作了增订。标本系周志炎等于1977年在湖南衡阳县杉桥煤矿塘冲老井井下的下侏罗统观音滩组搭坝口段一层局部可采煤层顶板的灰色泥岩中采集的。同层产出的还有Clathropteris,Nilssonia,Ctenis 等化石,均因标本破碎,难以确定种名。角质层采用舒氏溶液浸解法处理后,制作薄片和扫描电镜样品进行观察。在研究 Thinnfeldia orientalis Zhang 的同     

Karyotyp und DNS-Gehalt von Bufo bufo,B. viridis,B. bufo × B. viridis und B. calamita (Amphibia,Anura)

The karyotypes in spermatogonial and leukocyte metaphases of the toads Bufo bufo, B. viridis and B. calamita (all 2n=22) were analysed and the DNA content of colchicine treated and Feulgen stained spermatogonial metaphase chromosomes measured microspectrophotometrically. The toad species possess similar karyotypes, but the chromosomes of B. bufo are somewhat longer than the chromosomes of B. viridis and B. calamita. All chromosomes of B. bufo contain significantly more than, but in no case twice as much DNA as their homologues in the other two species. Eight chromosomes of B. bufo contain 30–40%, three about 50% more DNA than their homologues in B. viridis. Exactly the same DNA-differences between both sets of chromosomes were found in B. bufo × B. viridis hybrids. Significant differences in the DNA amount of B. viridis and B. calamita exist only between the large chromosomes of these species. The ratio of the total DNA amount of the genomes in the three species is 1.49∶1.07∶1. These DNA-differences between the three toad species are confirmed by microspectrophotometric DNA measurements of their erythrocyte nuclei. It is supposed that these interspecific differences in DNA content of the toads are not a consequence of differential polyteny but are caused during the evolution process by local increase in DNA in all chromosomes of B. bufo and in the large chromosomes of B. viridis.     

Genotype × diet interactions in mice predisposed to mammary cancer. I. Body weight and fat

High dietary fat intake and obesity may increase susceptibility to certain forms of cancer. To study the interactions of dietary fat, obesity, and metastatic mammary cancer, we created a population of F₂ mice cosegregating obesity QTL and the MMTV-PyMT transgene. We fed the F₂ mice either a very-high-fat or a matched-control-fat diet and measured growth, body composition, age at mammary tumor onset, tumor number and severity, and formation of pulmonary metastases. SNP genotyping across the genome facilitated analyses of QTL and QTL × diet interaction effects. Here we describe development of the F₂ population (n = 615) which resulted from a cross between the polygenic obesity model M16i and FVB/NJ-TgN (MMTV-PyMT)^634Mul, effects of diet on growth and body composition, and QTL and QTL × diet and/or gender interaction effects for growth and obesity-related phenotypes. We identified 38 QTL for body composition traits that were significant at the genome-wide 0.05 level, likely representing nine distinct loci after accounting for pleiotropic effects. QTL × diet and/or gender interactions were present at 15 of these QTL, indicating that such interactions play a significant role in defining the genetic architecture of complex traits such as body weight and obesity.     

石炭纪一植物新属Reticalethopteris gen.nov.——对Palaeoweichselia yuani Sze的再研究*

对北祁山东段和鄂尔多斯西缘新材料的研究表明,甘肃景泰红水堡晚石炭世早期的杂羊齿属（Ｐａｌａｅｏｗｅｉｃｈｓｅｌｉａ）与西欧的模式标本存在明显差异,遂另建一新属－Ｒｅｔｉｃａｌｅｔｈｏｐｔｅｒｉｓ ｇｅｎ．ｎｏｖ．。新属与Ｎｅｕｒａｌｅｔｈｏｐｔｅｒｉｓ是脉延羊齿类植物中分别代表网状叶脉和羽状叶脉的一对姐妹属。     

Ethylene and cytokinin interaction in the morphogenesis of Pelargonium × hortorum L.H. Bailey in vitro

Pelargonium × hortorum ‘Grand Prix’ which is susceptible to leaf yellowing and ‘Bergpalais’ which is not susceptible to leaf yellowing were chosen for the experiments. Ethylene production and action as well as the associated morphological response of Pelargonium shoots grown in the presence of a precursor of ethylene biosynthesis 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), ethylene inhibitors: α-aminooxyacetic acid (AOA) and silver nitrate (AgNO₃) and different cytokinins: (meta-topolin) (mT) or 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) were studied. It was found that ‘Grand Prix’ was more sensitive to ethylene than ‘Bergpalais’ and it showed the leaf yellowing in response to 0.1 mg l^?1 ACC. Moreover, it was noted that ACC added separately or together with cytokinin influenced Pelargonium morphogenesis. Depending on the concentration of ACC (0.1–2.0 mg l^?1), it either stimulated or inhibited shoot and root formation as well as the growth of shoots and leaf blades. ACC-induced leaf yellowing in ‘Grand Prix’ was effectively inhibited by mT. In contrast, BAP did not enhance shoot quality. Simultaneously, the presence of mT in the medium resulted in up to a twofold increase in the ethylene production by ‘Grand Prix’ shoots throughout the culture period compared with the shoots growing on the BAP-medium. The inhibitor of ethylene action (AgNO₃) added with cytokinin prevented the yellowing of Pelargonium shoots, but simultaneously influenced the formation of mature shoots with limited long-term multiplication potential. The shoots of P. × hortorum ‘Grand Prix’ treated with AgNO₃ and mT emitted two- and sevenfold more ethylene after 11th and 21st day of culture compared with those treated with AgNO₃ and BAP. It is suggested that mT inhibits the early senescence of Pelargonium in vitro by decreasing its sensitivity to ethylene.     

Expression of functional hexahistidine-tagged ricin B in tobacco

Ricin B (RTB), the lectin subunit of ricin, shows promise as an effective mucosal adjuvant and carrier for use in humans. In order to obtain a recombinant plant source of RTB that is devoid of the toxic ricin A subunit, we expressed RTB in Nicotiana tabacum. RTB was engineered with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag (His-RTB), which may affect protein stability. Lactose-affinity purification of His-RTB from leaves yielded three major glycosylated products of 32, 33.5 and 35 kDa. Their identity as RTB was verified by mass spectrometry and immunoblotting with anti-ricin antibodies. Functionality of His-RTB was confirmed by binding to asialofetuin, lactose and galactose.     

Comparative genome mapping among Picea glauca, P. mariana × P. rubens and P. abies, and correspondence with other Pinaceae

A composite linkage map was constructed from four individual maps for the conifer Picea glauca (Moench) Voss, from anonymous and gene-specific markfers (714 AFLPs, 38 SSRs, and 53 ESTPs). A total of 12 linkage groups were delineated with an average marker density of 2.7 cM. Macro-synteny and macro-colinearity comparisons with two other composite linkage maps developed for the species complex P. mariana (Mill.) B.S.P. × P. rubens Sarg., and for P. abies (L.) Karst. revealed an identical number of linkage groups and a remarkable conservation of the gene content and gene order of linkage groups over the million years since the split between these taxa. Identical gene order among taxa was observed for 10 of the 12 assembled composite linkage groups. The discovery of one breakdown in synteny between P. glauca and the other two taxa indicated the occurrence of an inter-chromosomal rearrangement involving an insertional translocation. Analysis of marker colinearity also revealed a putative segmental duplication. The combined information from these three Picea genomes validated and improved large-scale genome comparisons at the inter-generic level in the family Pinaceae by allowing for the identification of 11 homoeologous linkage groups between Picea and Pinus, and nine such groups between Picea and Pseudotsuga menziesii. Notably, the analysis of synteny among the three genera revealed a putative case of chromosomal fission and an inter-chromosomal rearrangement in the genome of P. menziesii. Both of these changes are inter-connected, indicating much instability in this part of the P. menziesii genome. Overall, the macro-structure of the Pinaceae genome was well conserved, which is notable given the Cretaceous origin of its main lineages.Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada.     

How can Populus euphratica cope with extremely dry growth conditions at 2,800 m a.s.l. on the northern Tibetan Plateau?

Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica) is a key species of Tugai forests in the central Asian deserts and has been the topic of dendrochronological studies in west China since the 1980s. However, little is known about its growth performance at its highest occurrence in the southern Qaidam Basin of the northern Tibetan Plateau. Increment cores of the Euphrates poplar population there did well cross-date and thus showed a high dendrochronological potential. Its growth was persistently positively correlated with temperature from previous September to current August although not significant throughout. The annual precipitation of around 41 mm can not exert any significant effect on Euphrates poplar growth in view of the extremely high annual pan evaporation of 2,150 mm. Water in the nearby Tuolahai River is limited to the period from June–September. The positive correlation of tree growth with spring/early summer temperature indicates that the riparian Euphrates poplar trees may benefit from an increasing river runoff due to an advanced and accelerated snow and glacier melting under warmer conditions. An above-average autumn/early winter temperature in the preceding year may lead to an extended water flow in the river bed and hence to an increased tree growth in the next year. It is crucial to protect this invaluable natural forest from undue human activity.     

B.B.R对严重烧伤大鼠肠道屏障功能的保护作用

目的 :探索 B.B.R(复合生态制剂 )对严重烧伤早期肠道屏障功能的保护作用 ,为防治肠源性感染寻找新途径。方法 :选用健康 Wistar大鼠 13 0只 ,体重 180～ 2 2 0 g,雌雄各半 ,随机分为 B.B.R治疗组 ,BFL(单一双歧杆菌制剂 )治疗组 ,烧伤对照组 (BC)和正常对照组 (NC) ,建立 3 0 % °烫伤肠源性感染的动物模型 ,按时分批活杀取材 ,检测细菌易位率、盲肠膜菌群、血浆内毒素和肠粘膜 s Ig A的含量。结果 :B.B.R和 BFL 组 ,伤后 3 d肠道细菌易位率分别为 10 %、2 0 .7% ,与 BC组 (3 3 % )比较明显降低了细易位率。血浆内毒素 BC组明显高于 NC组 (P>0 .0 5 ) ,而 B.B.R组与 NC组比较 ,差异无显著性 (P<0 .0 1)。BC组盲肠中双歧杆菌数量与 BC组比较明显减少 ,而 B.B.R、BFL 组与 NC组比较差异无显著性 (P>0 .0 5 ) ;NC组肠道中酵母菌和大肠埃希菌与 NC比较明显增加 ,B.B.R组差异无显著性 ,肠粘液 s Ig A水平与上述指标有类似变化。结论 :3 0 % °烫伤大鼠肠道内容物双歧杆菌明显下降 ,大肠埃希菌、酵母菌迅速过度生长 ,导致肠道微生态失衡 ,应用 B.B.R治疗后 ,促进肠粘膜机械屏障功能的恢复 ,减少细菌和内毒素的易位 ,调整肠道微生态平衡 ,提高了肠道局部和全身免疫功能     

hAT element population genetics in Anopheles gambiae s.l. in Mozambique

Herves is a functional Class II transposable element in Anopheles gambiae belonging to the hAT superfamily of elements. Class II transposable elements are used as gene vectors in this species and are also being considered as genetic drive agents for spreading desirable genes through natural populations as part of an effort to control malaria transmission. In this study, Herves was investigated in populations of Anopheles gambiae s.s., Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles merus in Mozambique over a period of 2 years. The copy number of Herves within these three species was approximately 5 copies per diploid genome and did not differ among species or between years. Based on the insertion-site occupancy-frequency distribution and existing models of transposable element dynamics, Herves appears to be transpositionally active currently or, at least recently, in all species tested. Ninety-five percent of the individuals within the populations of the three species tested contained intact elements with complete Herves transposase genes and this is consistent with the idea that these elements are currently active.     

Molecular cytogenetic identification of B genome chromosomes linked to blackleg disease resistance in Brassica napus × B. carinata interspecific hybrids

Key message

Provide evidence that the Brassica B genome chromosome B3 carries blackleg resistance gene, and also the B genome chromosomes were inherited several generations along with B. napus chromosomes.

Abstract

Blackleg disease caused by fungus Leptosphaeria maculans causes significant yield losses in Brassica napus. Brassica carinata possesses excellent resistance to this disease. To introgress blackleg resistance, crosses between B. napus cv. Westar and B. carinata were done. The interspecific-hybrids were backcrossed twice to Westar and self-pollinated three times to produce BC₂S₃ families. Doubled haploid lines (DH1) were produced from one blackleg resistant family. SSR markers were used to study the association between B genome chromosome(s) and blackleg resistance. The entire B3 chromosome of B. carinata was associated with blackleg resistance in DH1. A second DH population (DH2) was produced from F₁s of resistant DH1 lines crossed to blackleg susceptible B. napus cv. Polo where resistance was found to be associated with SSR markers from the middle to bottom of the B3 and top of the B8 chromosomes. The results demonstrated that the B3 chromosome carried gene(s) for blackleg resistance. Genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) and GISH-like analysis of the DH2 lines revealed that susceptible lines, in addition to B. napus chromosomes, possessed one pair of B genome chromosomes (2n = 40), while resistant lines had either one (2n = 40) or two pairs (2n = 42) of B chromosomes. The molecular and GISH data suggested that the B chromosome in the susceptible lines was B7, while it was difficult to confirm the identity of the B chromosomes in the resistant lines. Also, B chromosomes were found to be inherited over several generations along with B. napus chromosomes.