Accepted 17 Jun. 2008Received 16 Mar. 2008

Trehalose is a non-reducing disaccharide that is present in diverse organisms ranging from bacteria and fungi to invertebrates, in which it serves as an energy source, osmolyte or protein/membrane protectant. The occurrence of trehalose and trehalose biosynthesis pathway in plants has been discovered recently. Multiple studies have revealed regulatory roles of trehalose-6-phosphate, a precursor of trehalose, in sugar metabolism, growth and development in plants. Trehalose levels are generally quite low in plants but may alter in response to environmental stresses. Transgenic plants overexpressing microbial trehalose biosynthesis genes have been shown to contain increased levels of trehalose and display drought, salt and cold tolerance. In.silico expression profiling of all Arabidopsis trehalose-6-phosphate synthases (TPSs) and trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatases (TPPs) revealed that certain classes of TPS and TPP genes are differentially regulated in response to a variety of abiotic stresses. These studies point to the importance of trehalose biosynthesis in stress responses.     

Accepted 17 Jun. 2008Received 16 Mar. 2008

Trehalose is a non-reducing disaccharide that is present in diverse organisms ranging from bacteria and fungi to invertebrates, in which it serves as an energy source, osmolyte or protein/membrane protectant. The occurrence of trehalose and trehalose biosynthesis pathway in plants has been discovered recently. Multiple studies have revealed regulatory roles of trehalose-6-phosphate, a precursor of trehalose, in sugar metabolism, growth and development in plants. Trehalose levels are generally quite low in plants but may alter in response to environmental stresses. Transgenic plants overexpressing microbial trehalose biosynthesis genes have been shown to contain increased levels of trehalose and display drought, salt and cold tolerance. In.silico expression profiling of all Arabidopsis trehalose-6-phosphate synthases (TPSs) and trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatases (TPPs) revealed that certain classes of TPS and TPP genes are differentially regulated in response to a variety of abiotic stresses. These studies point to the importance of trehalose biosynthesis in stress responses.     

北京市2008年奥运前后植被覆盖变化趋势

基于2000-2009年的MODIS-NDVI数据,分析了2008年奥运前后北京市植被覆盖变化趋势的时间动态和空间分布特征.结果表明:研究期间,归一化植被指数(NDVI)显著增加像元比例为20.7％,显著减小像元仅占4.1％,减少速率略快于增加速率;植被的显著变化主要集中在低海拔、小坡度的人类活动密集地区,并在平原区形成2个环带,分别为五环路以内的植被增加环带、五环路到六环路外侧的植被减少环带;植被显著变化区存在明显的NDVI高值段和低值段之间的转化,中值段变化不大,主要由土地覆被类型的转变引起;首都功能核心区和生态涵养保护区主要表现为植被增加,城市功能拓展区和城市发展新区则兼有植被增加和植被减少的双重特征,奥运筹备期一系列的生态工程是研究区植被增加的主要原因.     

Protein translation, 2008

The important role that regulation of protein translation plays in determining longevity in invertebrate organisms became widely appreciated in 2007, with the publication of several papers discussed in last year's review. During 2008, several studies have further strengthened the idea that regulation of translation is one component of a highly evolutionarily conserved pathway that modifies longevity. Importantly, studies published this year also began to provide insights into specific mechanisms by which altered mRNA translation does (and in some cases does not) slow aging in invertebrate model organisms.     

2007―2008年肠道病毒71型北京地区分离株的VP4基因序列分析

为了解2007 ― 2008 年北京地区流行的肠道病毒71 型( EV71) 是否存在基因序列变异及其与病毒毒力的关系, 我们选择2007 年分离的3 株EV71( 其中1 株分离自重症手足口病患儿的咽拭子标本, 其余2 株分离自普通手足口病患儿咽拭子标本) 和2008 年分离的5 株EV71( 其中3 株分离自重症手足口病患儿的咽拭子或鼻拭子标本, 2 株分离自普通手足口病患儿的疱疹液标本) , 提取基因组RNA, 经反转录-聚合酶链反应( RT-PCR) 扩增得到VP4 基因片段, 并进行核苷酸序列测定, 使用生物信息软件与GenBank 中的EV71 VP4 基因进行序列及病毒型别分析。结果表明, 所测得的8 株EV71 VP4 基因全长均为207 bp, 编码69 个氨基酸, 理论相对分子质量( Mr) 为7 ×10³。8 株EV71 病毒VP4 基因的核苷酸同源性在94% ～100% , 与GenBank 中其他EV71 病毒株VP4 的核苷酸同源性为82% ～100% , 与阜阳、深圳和台湾等地区流行的EV71 VP4 的核苷酸同源性比其他地区高。除了与印度报道的VP4 编码的氨基酸在第7 和54 位不同外( 印度株: 7 位蛋氨酸, 54位苏氨酸; 其余株7 位苏氨酸,54 位丙氨酸) , 这8 株EV71 VP4 编码的氨基酸序列之间以及与其他EV71 VP4编码的氨基酸同源性均为100%。8 株EV71 病毒VP4 与文献报道的3 株重症感染病毒株VP4 ( BrCr、MS 和NCKU9822) 核苷酸有较大差别, 而8 株病毒株中从重症感染( BJ97、BJ110B、BJ110Y 和BJ4243) 与轻症感染( BJ25、BJ47、BJ65 和BJ67) 分离到的毒株之间VP4 基因序列未见明显改变, 只有几个核苷酸存在差别。VP4 核苷酸序列的进化树分析表明, 这8 株EV71 均属于C4 亚型, 显示2007 ― 2008 年北京地区流行的EV71的VP4 基因相当保守, 分离自伴有神经系统感染的重症手足口病和普通手足口病患儿的EV71 的VP4 基因之间在核苷酸水平未出现同样的变异。结果提示, 近2 年来北京地区所流行的EV71 属C4 亚型。     

Aging and cancer cell biology, 2008

There is increasing support for the idea that aging and cancer are intimately connected by the activity of specific genes and the cellular responses to potentially oncogenic insults. This Hot Topics review discusses some recently published articles that shed light on both the commonalities--and intricacies--of the cancer-aging relationship. These articles reveal the expected complexities, but also surprising conservation, in mechanisms that link cancer and aging.