产玉米黄质的人工酵母细胞的构建

为了实现微生物异源合成天然类胡萝卜素玉米黄质,以一株产β-胡萝卜素的酿酒酵母为底盘细胞,利用合成生物学技术构建人工酵母细胞。通过在染色体整合玉米黄质生物合成关键酶-β-胡萝卜素羟化酶（CrtZ）,并对其9种来源进行筛选,发现整合欧文氏菌来源的β-胡萝卜素羟化酶的菌株获得玉米黄质的最高产量。法尼基焦磷酸（FPP）作为合成萜烯类天然产物的重要前体,通过敲除 Lpp1和Dpp1 基因,削减法尼基焦磷酸向法呢醇的转化,为玉米黄质的合成提供更多的前体,使玉米黄质的产量提高了1.27倍（从29 mg/L提高到36.8 mg/L）。在此基础上,通过增加欧文氏菌来源CrtZ的基因拷贝数及调节其启动子的强弱来增强β-胡萝卜素羟化酶的表达强度,使得玉米黄质的摇瓶产量达到96.2 mg/L,是目前公开报道中产量最高的。     

通过番茄红素环化酶的优化构建β-胡萝卜素高产菌株

目标产物的合成途径往往需要对关键酶的来源、表达水平等因素进行系统性优化才能实现代谢通量的最大化。β-胡萝卜素是一类具有重要应用价值的萜类化合物,其中番茄红素环化酶(Lycopene cyclase,CrtY)是β-胡萝卜素合成途径中的关键酶,能够催化FAD依赖的环化反应将番茄红素转化合成β-胡萝卜素。本研究通过对CrtY的系统优化提高β-胡萝卜素的合成水平,并确定CrtY的表达对代谢通路的影响。在大肠杆菌中以番茄红素合成模块为基础,通过引入番茄红素环化酶基因crt Y构建了β-胡萝卜素合成模块。并进一步利用寡聚接头介导的DNA组装方法 (Oligo-linker mediated assembly method,OLMA)引入一系列不同强度的人工设计的核糖体结合位点(Ribosome-binding site,RBS),对CrtY的表达强度、基因来源等因素进行高通量的优化。通过OLMA文库构建和平板筛选,获得了5株高产β-胡萝卜素的工程菌株。在摇瓶中,5株工程菌株的β-胡萝卜素产量可达15.79-18.90 mg/g DCW(Dry cell weight),比优化前提高了65%。进一步选取了其中的CP12菌株,在5 L发酵罐上,利用高密度培养技术验证工程菌株合成β-胡萝卜素的能力。最终β-胡萝卜素产量可达1.9 g/L。RBS强度分析及代谢中间体分析表明,适当地降低CrtY表达强度能够有利于β-胡萝卜素模块相关基因之间协同发挥作用。以上结果为β-胡萝卜素合成途径的优化规律提供了理论指导。     

高效合成番茄红素酿酒酵母菌株的构建

番茄红素作为一种高附加价值的萜类化合物已受到国内外研究者的广泛关注。首先对酿酒酵母Saccharomyces cerevisiae模式菌株S288c和YPH499合成番茄红素的能力进行分析比较,结果表明YPH499更适合作为底盘细胞用于番茄红素的合成。随后比较组成型启动子GPDpr、TEF1pr和诱导型启动子GAL1pr、GAL10pr对番茄红素合成的影响,结果发现以GPDpr、TEF1pr作为番茄红素合成途径基因crtE、crt B和crtI的启动子,摇瓶发酵60 h后,番茄红素产量为15.31 mg/L;以GAL1pr和GAL10pr为启动子时,其产量为123.89 mg/L,提高8.09倍。继续改造甲羟戊酸(MVA)途径,过量表达N-末端截短的关键酶基因t HMG1(3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酸单酰辅酶A还原酶),番茄红素产量为265.68 mg/L,单位菌体产量72.79 mg/g。文中所设计构建的异源表达番茄红素合成途径的酿酒酵母菌株单位细胞产量高,可以进一步改造和优化后用于番茄红素的工业化生产。     

溶氧对Blakeslea trispora分批发酵生产β-胡萝卜素的影响

在摇瓶和5 L发酵罐中研究了溶氧 (DO) 对Blakeslea trispora分批发酵生产β-胡萝卜素的影响,总结了5 L发酵罐中β-胡萝卜素发酵过程中溶氧的变化规律.结果表明,当500 mL摇瓶装液量为50 mL,转速为240 r/min条件下发酵生产β-胡萝卜素产量最大,达到3.416 g/L; 5 L发酵罐中,在搅拌转速为1 000 r/min,通气量为1.5 vvm的条件下,β-胡萝卜素的产量可达到3.712 g/L,略高于摇瓶,这可能是由于5 L发酵罐中的气液传递和混合状况好于摇瓶,促进了产物的合成.     

代谢工程改造酿酒酵母生产β-胡萝卜素

β-胡萝卜素在食品、药品和化妆品领域有广泛用途。为获得生产β-胡萝卜素的微生物细胞工厂,本研究首先在酿酒酵母BY4742中过表达甲羟戊酸(MVA)途径的限速酶3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶(HMGR)基因及二萜化合物合成的关键酶牻牛儿基牻牛儿基焦磷酸合酶(GGPS)基因,来提高牻牛儿基牻牛儿基焦磷酸(GGPP)的供给。在酿酒酵母底盘菌BY4742-T2的基础上整合来源于成团泛菌和红法夫酵母的β-胡萝卜素合成基因,比较酿酒酵母工程菌生产β-胡萝卜素的差别。结果表明提高酿酒酵母中HMGR和GGPS酶基因的表达能将工程菌中β-胡萝卜素的产量提高26.0倍。另外,来源于真核生物红法夫酵母的合成基因相比成团泛菌,更有利于酿酒酵母生产β-胡萝卜素。最终获得的酿酒酵母工程菌BW02能生产1.56 mg/g细胞干重的β-胡萝卜素,为进一步获得高产β-胡萝卜素细胞工厂提供基础。     

酿酒酵母中高效积累β-胡萝卜素的代谢途径构建

β-胡萝卜素是一种橘黄色的脂溶性色素，属于类胡萝卜素家族，基于其丰富的生物学活性，在食品、医药、化妆品等领域具有广泛的应用。国内外对β-胡萝卜素市场需求量巨大，特别是天然来源的β-胡萝卜素具有广阔的市场前景，建立适合天然β-胡萝卜素生产的微生物细胞工厂显得尤为重要。本研究利用基因工程手段克隆了β-胡萝卜素生物合成途径中的三个基因，分别是来源于酿酒酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)的香叶基香叶基焦磷酸合成酶基因(ScBTS1)、红法夫酵母(Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous)的八氢番茄红素脱氢酶基因(XdCrtI)以及同时具有八氢番茄红素合成酶和番茄红素环化酶的双功能酶基因(XdCrtYB),构建组成型表达载体pYES2-Kan-CrtI-CrtYB-BTS1,并转化至酿酒酵母MKP-o中，最终筛选获得能够生产β-胡萝卜素的酿酒酵母基因工程菌株。结果显示，此工程菌摇瓶产量达到14.53 mg/g细胞干重(DCW)且发酵周期短，不仅可以稳定高效地积累β-胡萝卜素，同时发酵过程中无需添加诱导剂，有利于节约生产成本。因此，可以将其作为一株具有较高β...     

产β-胡萝卜素酿酒酵母工程菌的构建

以酿酒酵母SaccharomycescereviaiaeBY4742为宿主菌,利用DNA组装（DNAassemble）技术,向宿主菌导入了β-胡萝卜素合成途径,表达了源自Xanthophyllomycesdendrorhous的CrtE,Cn馏和CrtI3个基因,获得了一株染色体整合型工程菌株HCCB08531,β-胡萝卜素产量达3．68mg／g干重。     

絮凝选择载体的构建及β葡萄糖苷酶基因在酿酒酵母中的表达

从强絮凝酿酒酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)ABXL-1D菌株中用PCRA-法扩增到絮凝基因(Flocculation gene,FLO1),构建以絮凝基因作选择标记的酿酒酵母表达栽体：用该栽体表达Bacillus polymyxa的β-葡萄糖苷酶基因,转化子可直接从沉淀中筛选。摇瓶培养细胞得到的β-葡萄糖苷酶比活力为3．91u／mg蛋白。在发酵葡萄糖和纤维二糖混合底物时,转化子的葡萄糖残存量明显低于受体菌。这将有利于利用纤维素发酵生产酒精。     

酿酒酵母工程菌高密度培养生产香紫苏醇

为提高酿酒酵母工程菌S7香紫苏醇产量,采用摇瓶培养,研究了其生长和代谢特点,发现产物合成与菌体生长密切关联。在3 L发酵罐中通过补料-溶氧联动控制的方式,以葡萄糖、乙醇和葡萄糖/乙醇混合物为碳源进行高密度培养,香紫苏醇产量分别达到253 mg/L、386 mg/L和408 mg/L,最高产量是摇瓶培养的27倍。说明添加乙醇作为碳源有助于香紫苏醇合成。研究结果对优化酿酒酵母细胞工厂,高效生产萜类化合物具有重要参考价值。     

基因crtI对重组酿酒酵母β-胡萝卜素产量的影响

本文研究了在一株表达红法夫酵母色素合成相关基因crtE、crtYB、crtI和酿酒酵母HMG1功能域的重组酿酒酵母菌株Sc-EYBIH中,再表达一个拷贝crtI基因,对重组酵母Sc-EYBIH中β-胡萝卜素产量的影响。结果表明再表达crtI基因后,重组酿酒酵母Sc-EYBIH+I中β-胡萝卜素产量达到1136.17μg/g,是出发菌株Sc-EYBIH产量(358.82μ/g)的3倍。且重组菌株Sc-EYBIH+I的死亡率明显要低于不产色素的对照菌株Sc-vector。。这些结果显示,本研究所构建的重组菌ScEYBIH+I有着较好的色素产量和优异的生长性能,无论是用来生成色素类物质还是生产其他生物制品都有着广泛的应用前景。     

Preparation of hair for measurement of elements by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)

The preparation of hair for the determination of elements is a critical component of the analysis procedure. Open-beaker, closedvessel microwave, and flowthrough microwave digestion are methods that have been used for sample preparation and are discussed. A new digestion method for use with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has been developed. The method uses 0.2 g of hair and 3 mL of concentrated nitric acid in an atmospheric pressurelow-temperature microwave digestion (APLTMD) system. This preparation method is useful in handling a large numbers of samples per day and may be adapted to hair sample weights ranging from 0.08 to 0.3 g. After digestion, samples are analyzed by ICP-MS to determine the concentration of Li, Be, B, Na, Mg, Al, P, S, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ge, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Zr, Mo, Pd, Ag, Cd, Sn, Sb, I, Cs, Ba, Pt, Au, Hg, Tl, Pb, Bi, Th, and U. Benefits of the APLTMD include reduced contamination and sample handling, and increased precision, reliability, and sample throughput.     

日本北海道虻类雌性外生殖器形态(双翅目：虻科)(英文)

【目的】利用日本北海道虻类评估和验证外生殖器在分类学上的意义。【方法】将虻类成虫标本浸渍在生理盐水中并置于双目显微镜下通过针和镊子在培养皿中进行解剖并绘图,观察第9背板、第10背板、尾叶、第8腹板、受精囊、受精囊管及生殖叉器的形态特征。【结果】在日本北海道共记录了虻科(Tabanidae) 3亚科7属38种。我们观察并描述了3亚科其中的6属24种的雌性外生殖器的主要特征。亚科之间存在明显差异;然而在一般情况下属之间很难建立一种方法来确定共同点;种之间只有在斑虻属Chrysops中有相似之处,其他属中则比较多样化。因此,亚科鉴定根据第9背板、第8腹板及受精囊足以进行区分,属及种鉴定需要结合第9背板、第10背板、尾叶、第8腹板、受精囊、受精囊管及生殖叉器各自的特征组合在一起才能区分开来。我们也制作了虻类外生殖器的检索表。【结论】和许多其他昆虫一样,外生殖器是虻科的重要分类特征,对于促进分类学和系统学的发展具有重要意义。本研究首次对分布在日本北海道的虻科雌性外生殖器进行了系统研究。     

外泌体在白血病中的重要调控作用

目前,白血病复发是患者死亡的主要原因之一。肿瘤细胞和微环境的相互作用,以及隐匿在骨髓中的肿瘤干细胞,促进了白血病的复发和向淋巴组织的转移,因此白血病的治疗、转移和复发问题受到广泛关注。外泌体是由绝大多数细胞分泌的双层脂质膜囊泡,可以调控细胞间的交流和信息传递。在白血病细胞、基质细胞和内皮细胞之间的相互联系中都涉及到外泌体,白血病细胞来源的外泌体存在于白血病患者的血浆中,能把其携带的白血病相关抗原及微小RNA呈递给靶细胞,促进白血病肿瘤细胞的增殖,有助于肿瘤细胞实现免疫逃避,保护白血病细胞抵抗化疗药物导致的细胞毒性作用,促进血管生成及肿瘤细胞的迁移。因此,外泌体与白血病的转移、治疗及预后密切相关,可以用来检测和监测白血病的进展。本文综述了外泌体的来源、形成与分泌机制,以及外泌体在白血病发生前、发展中、预后和免疫治疗中所扮演的重要角色。     

Assessing burrowing, nest construction, and hoarding in mice

Deterioration in the ability to perform "Activities of daily living" (ADL) is an early sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Preclinical behavioural screening of possible treatments for AD currently largely focuses on cognitive testing, which frequently demands expensive equipment and lots of experimenter time. However, human episodic memory (the most severely affected aspect of memory in AD) is different to rodent memory, which seems to be largely non-episodic. Therefore the present ways of screening for new AD treatments for AD in rodents are intrinsically unlikely to succeed. A new approach to preclinical screening would be to characterise the ADL of mice. Fortuitously, several such assays have recently been developed at Oxford, and here the three most sensitive and well-characterised are presented. Burrowing was first developed in Oxford. It evolved from a need to develop a mouse hoarding paradigm. Most published rodent hoarding paradigms required a distant food source to be linked to the home cage by a connecting passage. This would involve modifying the home cage as well as making a mouse-proof connecting passage and food source. So it was considered whether it would be possible to put the food source inside the cage. It was found that if a container was placed on the floor it was emptied by the next morning., The food pellets were, however, simply deposited in a heap at the container entrance, rather than placed in a discrete place away from the container, as might be expected if the mice were truly hoarding them. Close inspection showed that the mice were performing digging ("burrowing") movements, not carrying the pellets in their mouths to a selected place as they would if truly hoarding them. Food pellets are not an essential substrate for burrowing; mice will empty tubes filled with sand, gravel, even soiled bedding from their own cage. Moreover, they will empty a full tube even if an empty one is placed next to it. Several nesting protocols exist in the literature. The present Oxford one simplifies the procedure and has a well-defined scoring system for nest quality. A hoarding paradigm was later developed in which the mice, rather than hoarding back to the real home cage, were adapted to living in the "home base" of a hoarding apparatus. This home base was connected to a tube made of wire mesh, the distal end of which contained the food source. This arrangement proved to yield good hoarding behaviour, as long as the mice were adapted to living in the "home base" during the day and only allowed to enter the hoarding tube at night.     

Genetic Manipulation in Δku80 Strains for Functional Genomic Analysis of Toxoplasma gondii

Targeted genetic manipulation using homologous recombination is the method of choice for functional genomic analysis to obtain a detailed view of gene function and phenotype(s). The development of mutant strains with targeted gene deletions, targeted mutations, complemented gene function, and/or tagged genes provides powerful strategies to address gene function, particularly if these genetic manipulations can be efficiently targeted to the gene locus of interest using integration mediated by double cross over homologous recombination.Due to very high rates of nonhomologous recombination, functional genomic analysis of Toxoplasma gondii has been previously limited by the absence of efficient methods for targeting gene deletions and gene replacements to specific genetic loci. Recently, we abolished the major pathway of nonhomologous recombination in type I and type II strains of T. gondii by deleting the gene encoding the KU80 protein^1,2. The Δku80 strains behave normally during tachyzoite (acute) and bradyzoite (chronic) stages in vitro and in vivo and exhibit essentially a 100% frequency of homologous recombination. The Δku80 strains make functional genomic studies feasible on the single gene as well as on the genome scale^1-4.Here, we report methods for using type I and type II Δku80Δhxgprt strains to advance gene targeting approaches in T. gondii. We outline efficient methods for generating gene deletions, gene replacements, and tagged genes by targeted insertion or deletion of the hypoxanthine-xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HXGPRT) selectable marker. The described gene targeting protocol can be used in a variety of ways in Δku80 strains to advance functional analysis of the parasite genome and to develop single strains that carry multiple targeted genetic manipulations. The application of this genetic method and subsequent phenotypic assays will reveal fundamental and unique aspects of the biology of T. gondii and related significant human pathogens that cause malaria (Plasmodium sp.) and cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidium).     

Staining protocols for human pancreatic islets

Estimates of islet area and numbers and endocrine cell composition in the adult human pancreas vary from several hundred thousand to several million and beta mass ranges from 500 to 1500 mg. With this known heterogeneity, a standard processing and staining procedure was developed so that pancreatic regions were clearly defined and islets characterized using rigorous histopathology and immunolocalization examinations. Standardized procedures for processing human pancreas recovered from organ donors are described in part 1 of this series. The pancreas is processed into 3 main regions (head, body, tail) followed by transverse sections. Transverse sections from the pancreas head are further divided, as indicated based on size, and numbered alphabetically to denote subsections. This standardization allows for a complete cross sectional analysis of the head region including the uncinate region which contains islets composed primarily of pancreatic polypeptide cells to the tail region. The current report comprises part 2 of this series and describes the procedures used for serial sectioning and histopathological characterization of the pancreatic paraffin sections with an emphasis on islet endocrine cells, replication, and T-cell infiltrates. Pathology of pancreatic sections is intended to characterize both exocrine, ductular, and endocrine components. The exocrine compartment is evaluated for the presence of pancreatitis (active or chronic), atrophy, fibrosis, and fat, as well as the duct system, particularly in relationship to the presence of pancreatic intraductal neoplasia. Islets are evaluated for morphology, size, and density, endocrine cells, inflammation, fibrosis, amyloid, and the presence of replicating or apoptotic cells using H&E and IHC stains. The final component described in part 2 is the provision of the stained slides as digitized whole slide images. The digitized slides are organized by case and pancreas region in an online pathology database creating a virtual biobank. Access to this online collection is currently provided to over 200 clinicians and scientists involved in type 1 diabetes research. The online database provides a means for rapid and complete data sharing and for investigators to select blocks for paraffin or frozen serial sections.     

A Microplate Assay to Assess Chemical Effects on RBL-2H3 Mast Cell Degranulation: Effects of Triclosan without Use of an Organic Solvent

Mast cells play important roles in allergic disease and immune defense against parasites. Once activated (e.g. by an allergen), they degranulate, a process that results in the exocytosis of allergic mediators. Modulation of mast cell degranulation by drugs and toxicants may have positive or adverse effects on human health. Mast cell function has been dissected in detail with the use of rat basophilic leukemia mast cells (RBL-2H3), a widely accepted model of human mucosal mast cells^3-5. Mast cell granule component and the allergic mediator β-hexosaminidase, which is released linearly in tandem with histamine from mast cells⁶, can easily and reliably be measured through reaction with a fluorogenic substrate, yielding measurable fluorescence intensity in a microplate assay that is amenable to high-throughput studies¹. Originally published by Naal et al.¹, we have adapted this degranulation assay for the screening of drugs and toxicants and demonstrate its use here.Triclosan is a broad-spectrum antibacterial agent that is present in many consumer products and has been found to be a therapeutic aid in human allergic skin disease^7-11, although the mechanism for this effect is unknown. Here we demonstrate an assay for the effect of triclosan on mast cell degranulation. We recently showed that triclosan strongly affects mast cell function². In an effort to avoid use of an organic solvent, triclosan is dissolved directly into aqueous buffer with heat and stirring, and resultant concentration is confirmed using UV-Vis spectrophotometry (using ε₂₈₀ = 4,200 L/M/cm)¹². This protocol has the potential to be used with a variety of chemicals to determine their effects on mast cell degranulation, and more broadly, their allergic potential.     

A phylogenetic analysis of 100+ genera and 50+ families of euasterids based on morphological and molecular data with notes on possible higher level morphological synapomorphies

 A data matrix of 143 morphological and chemical characters for 142 genera of euasterids according to the APG system was compiled and complemented with rbcL and ndhF sequences for most of the genera. The data were subjected to parsimony analysis and support was assessed by bootstrapping. Strict consensus trees from analyses of morphology alone and morphology + rbcL + ndhF are presented. The morphological data recover several groups supported by molecular data but at the level of orders and above relationships are only superficially in agreement with molecular studies. The analyses provide support for monophyly of Gentianales, Aquifoliales, Apiales, Asterales, and Dipsacales. All data indicate that Adoxaceae are closely related to Dipsacales and hence they should be included in that order. The trees were used to assess some possible morphological synapomorphies for euasterids I and II and for the orders of the APG system. Euasterids I are generally characterised by opposite leaves, entire leaf margins, hypogynous flowers, “early sympetaly” with a ring-shaped corolla primordium, fusion of stamen filaments with the corolla tube, and capsular fruits. Euasterids II often have alternate leaves, serrate-dentate leaf margins, epigynous flowers, “late sympetaly” with distinct petal primordia, free stamen filaments, and indehiscent fruits. It is unclear which of these characters represent synapomorphies and symplesiomorphies for the two groups, respectively, and there are numerous expections to be interpreted as reversals and parallelisms. Received August 28, 2000 Accepted August 7, 2001     

Automated High-throughput Behavioral Analyses in Zebrafish Larvae

We have created a novel high-throughput imaging system for the analysis of behavior in 7-day-old zebrafish larvae in multi-lane plates. This system measures spontaneous behaviors and the response to an aversive stimulus, which is shown to the larvae via a PowerPoint presentation. The recorded images are analyzed with an ImageJ macro, which automatically splits the color channels, subtracts the background, and applies a threshold to identify individual larvae placement in the lanes. We can then import the coordinates into an Excel sheet to quantify swim speed, preference for edge or side of the lane, resting behavior, thigmotaxis, distance between larvae, and avoidance behavior. Subtle changes in behavior are easily detected using our system, making it useful for behavioral analyses after exposure to environmental toxicants or pharmaceuticals.     

Unraveling regulation and new components of human P-bodies through a protein interaction framework and experimental validation

The cellular factors involved in mRNA degradation and translation repression can aggregate into cytoplasmic domains known as GW bodies or mRNA processing bodies (P-bodies). However, current understanding of P-bodies, especially the regulatory aspect, remains relatively fragmentary. To provide a framework for studying the mechanisms and regulation of P-body formation, maintenance, and disassembly, we compiled a list of P-body proteins found in various species and further grouped both reported and predicted human P-body proteins according to their functions. By analyzing protein-protein interactions of human P-body components, we found that many P-body proteins form complex interaction networks with each other and with other cellular proteins that are not recognized as P-body components. The observation suggests that these other cellular proteins may play important roles in regulating P-body dynamics and functions. We further used siRNA-mediated gene knockdown and immunofluorescence microscopy to demonstrate the validity of our in silico analyses. Our combined approach identifies new P-body components and suggests that protein ubiquitination and protein phosphorylation involving 14-3-3 proteins may play critical roles for post-translational modifications of P-body components in regulating P-body dynamics. Our analyses provide not only a global view of human P-body components and their physical interactions but also a wealth of hypotheses to help guide future research on the regulation and function of human P-bodies.