Aziqne letale e azione mutagena della metil β β′ dicloroetilammina su spore di Aspergillus niger

Summary

It is shown that the lethal action of nitrogen mustard on spores of Aspergillus niger can be described in terms of the target theory, if one assumes that the intensity of this action varies with time. A two-hit curve can be fitted on the experimental data, on the assumption that a decrease of lethality depends on the inactivation of the substance with time.

By diluting the suspension containing the spores with a solution of glycine and sodium bicarbonate, the action of nitrogen mustard is stopped. The lethal action of nitrogen mustard is much weaker at 0° C than at 27° C.

Even though exact mutation rates have not been evaluated, an outstanding number of morphological and physiological mutants among the colonies developing from irradiated spores have been observed.     

病原菌TAL效应子与寄主靶基因相互识别的分子密码

黄单胞杆菌属TAL效应子类蛋白作为病原菌的毒性因子或无毒因子,能够与寄主靶基因DNA的启动子进行特异性识别,调控寄主的基因表达,引起致病或抗病反应。TAL效应子类蛋白识别靶基因DNA的模式,是2个氨基酸决定1个核苷酸的识别。这种新型的蛋白质-DNA互作方式有可能在基因治疗、植物抗病基因发掘、广谱抗病基因构建等生物医学工程和农业工程方面得到广泛应用。文中综述了TAL效应子类蛋白的发现及功能,TAL效应子与寄主靶基因识别的专一性及分子密码,并对该分子密码当前的应用现状及前景进行了讨论和展望。     

稻镰状瓶霉对水稻白叶枯病的生物防治

本文研究了野生稻暗色有隔内生真菌稻镰状瓶霉与水稻的共生关系,通过根部接种DsRED荧光标记菌株,观察稻镰状瓶霉在水稻根系内的定殖,并对其抗白叶枯病特性进行调查,结果发现：经叶部接种白叶枯病菌后,对照组发病严重,病级集中在7级和9级,分别占比43.33%和34.67%,病情指数为79.26;相比之下,接种了稻镰状瓶霉的水稻植株发病较轻,叶片病斑面积小,并伴随零星黑色过敏性坏死斑出现,未发病植株占8%,72%的植株病级为1级,病情指数仅为15.26。稻镰状瓶霉对水稻白叶枯病的防治效果达到80.75%。稻镰状瓶霉的定殖能够引起叶片中超氧化物歧化酶、过氧化氢酶和过氧化物酶活性极显著提高,分别是对照组的5.26、12.08和10.53倍;诱导PR1a和PR1b显著上调表达8.71和3.37倍,AOS、OsSAUR2和EL5基因显著下调表达0.28、0.57和0.65倍。利用野生稻内生真菌防控水稻白叶枯病,在国内外尚属首次,可为水稻白叶枯病的生物防治提供新途径。     

Structural and functional analysis of SGT1-HSP90 core complex required for innate immunity in plants

SGT1 (Suppressor of G2 allele of skp1), a co-chaperone of HSP90 (Heat-shock protein 90), is required for innate immunity in plants and animals. Unveiling the cross talks between SGT1 and other co-chaperones such as p23, AHA1 (Activator of HSP90 ATPase 1) or RAR1 (Required for Mla12 resistance) is an important step towards understanding the HSP90 machinery. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mutational analyses of HSP90 revealed the nature of its binding with the CS domain of SGT1. Although CS is structurally similar to p23, these domains were found to non-competitively bind to various regions of HSP90; yet, unexpectedly, full-length SGT1 could displace p23 from HSP90. RAR1 partly shares the same binding site with HSP90 as the CS domain, whereas AHA1 does not. This analysis allowed us to build a structural model of the HSP90–SGT1 complex and to obtain a compensatory mutant pair between both partners that is able to restore virus resistance in vivo through Rx (Resistance to potato virus X) immune sensor stabilization.     

Endless Hide-and-Seek： Dynamic Co-evolution in Plant-Bacterium Warfare

Plants possess innate Immune systems to prevent most potential Infections. The ancient and conserved innate immune responses are triggered by microbe-associated molecular patterns （MAMPs） and play important roles in broad-spectrum defenses. However, successful bacterial pathogens evolved type Ⅲ virulence effectors to suppress MAMP-medlated immunity. To survive, plants further developed highly specific resistance （R） genes to trigger gene-for-gene-mediated immunity and turn the virulent pathogens into avirulent ones. We summarize here the very recent advances in this dynamic coevolution of plantbacterium interaction.     

Interplay between calcium signalling and early signalling elements during defence responses to microbe- or damage-associated molecular patterns

While diverse microbe- or damage-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs/DAMPs) typically trigger a common set of intracellular signalling events, comparative analysis between the MAMPs flg22 and elf18 revealed MAMP-specific differences in Ca(2+) signalling, defence gene expression and MAMP-mediated growth arrest in Arabidopsis thaliana. Such MAMP-specific differences are, in part, controlled by BAK1, a kinase associated with several receptors. Whereas defence gene expression and growth inhibition mediated by flg22 were reduced in bak1 mutants, BAK1 had no or minor effects on the same responses elicited by elf18. As the residual Ca(2+) elevations induced by diverse MAMPs/DAMPs (flg22, elf18 and Pep1) were virtually identical in bak1 mutants, a differential BAK1-mediated signal amplification to attain MAMP/DAMP-specific Ca(2+) amplitudes in wild-type plants may be hypothesized. Furthermore, abrogation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, either in the rbohD mutant or through inhibitor application, led to loss of a second Ca(2+) peak, demonstrating a feedback effect of ROS on Ca(2+) signalling. Conversely, mpk3 mutants showed a prolonged accumulation of ROS but this did not significantly impinge on the overall Ca(2+) response. Thus, fine-tuning of MAMP/DAMP responses involves interplay between diverse signalling elements functioning both up- or downstream of Ca(2+) signalling.