Effect of gamma radiation on retroviral recombination.

To elucidate the mechanism(s) of retroviral recombination, we exposed virions to gamma radiation prior to infecting target cells. By using previously described spleen necrosis virus-based vectors containing multiple markers, recombinant proviruses were studied after a single round of retrovirus replication. The current models of retroviral recombination predict that breaking virion RNA should promote minus-strand recombination (forced copy-choice model), decrease or not affect plus-strand recombination (strand displacement/assimilation model), and shift plus-strand recombination towards the 3' end of the genome. However, we found that while gamma irradiation of virions reduced the amount of recoverable viral RNA, it did not primarily cause breaks. Thus, the frequency of selected recombinants was not significantly altered with greater doses of radiation. In spite of this, the irradiation did decrease the number of recombinants with only one internal template switch. As a result, the average number of additional internal template switches in the recombinant proviruses increased from 0.7 to 1.4 as infectivity decreased to 6%. The unselected internal template switches tended to be 5' of the selected crossover even in the recombinants from irradiated viruses, inconsistent with a plus-strand recombination mechanism.     

Effect of physiological age on radiation resistance of some bacteria that are highly radiation resistant.

Physiological age-dependent variation in radiation resistance was studied for three bacteria that are highly radiation resistant: Micrococcus radiodurans, Micrococcus sp. isolate C-3, and Moraxella sp. isolate 4. Stationary-phase cultures of M. radiodurans and isolate C-3 were much more resistant to gamma radiation than were log-phase cultures. This pattern of relative resistance was reversed for isolate 4. Resistance of isolate 4 to UV light was also greater during log phase, although heat resistance and NaCl tolerance after heat stress were greater during stationary phase. Radiation-induced injury of isolate 4 compared with injury of Escherichia coli B suggested that the injury process, as well as the lethal process, was affected by growth phase. The hypothesis that growth rate affects radiation resistance was tested, and results were interpreted in light of the probable confounding effect of methods used to alter growth rates of bacteria. These results indicate that dose-response experiments should be designed to measure survival during the most resistant growth phase of the organism under study. This timing is particularly important when extrapolations of survival results might be made to potential irradiation processes for foods.     

Genetic mapping based on radiation hybrid data.

Radiation hybrid mapping is a recently developed technique for constructing high-resolution maps of mammalian chromosomes. The chromosome of interest is exposed to X rays, which cause it to break into numerous fragments. The fragments are randomly recovered into hamster cells. The resulting hybrids are then analyzed for the presence or absence of DNA markers of interest. A simple method for using this information to order the markers on the chromosome is developed here. For any particular ordering of the loci, the least number of breaks consistent with the data can be determined. The best order is taken to be that which minimizes this number of obligatory breaks. Some statistical properties of the method are examined, both theoretically and by use of a simulation study. Except for some extreme cases, the method gives good results, which compare well with results obtained by a full maximum likelihood analysis. The method is used to order a set of 14 loci on chromosome 21 with encouraging results.     

The Tradescantia-micronucleus test on the genotoxicity of UV-B radiation.

Lanzhou city is located in north central China near inner Mongolia. The solar UV-B background radiation in this area is occasionally extremely high (8 microW/cm2). Such high background solar UV-B radiation could be attributed to the sporadic depletion of the ozone layer in the stratosphere. The excessive UV-B radiation is a potential hazard in the environment. This prompted the present study on the effect of UV-B radiation on the cytogenetic damage to pollen mother cells of the plant Tradescantia. The Tradescantia-micronucleus (Trad-MCN) test was used to determine the genotoxicity of UV-B radiation. In addition to the usual 10 h of solar emission of UV light a series of increasing dosages (2, 4, 6, 8 h) of artificial UV-B radiation was applied to Tradescantia (clone 3) plant cuttings. Inflorescences of the treated and control plants were fixed and used for preparation of microslides. Micronuclei frequencies were observed in the early tetrads to show the degree of genotoxicity. Results of two repeated experiments show a dose-related increase of MCN frequencies under normal sunshine days. In the third experiment conducted under a cloudy and rainy day and an extraordinary high solar UV-B background, the MCN frequencies were markedly higher than that of the negative control but did not show the clear dose response to the treatment as in the first two experiments. The Trad-MCN test has successfully detected the effect of artificial UV-B radiation over the solar UV-B background radiation.     

Efficacy of radiation countermeasures depends on radiation quality

The detonation of a nuclear weapon or a nuclear accident represent possible events with significant exposure to mixed neutron/γ-radiation fields. Although radiation countermeasures generally have been studied in subjects exposed to pure photons (γ or X rays), the mechanisms of injury of these low linear energy transfer (LET) radiations are different from those of high-LET radiation such as neutrons, and these differences may affect countermeasure efficacy. We compared 30-day survival in mice after varying doses of pure γ and mixed neutron/γ (mixed field) radiation (MF, Dn/Dt = 0.65), and also examined peripheral blood cells, bone marrow cell reconstitution, and cytokine expression. Mixed-field-irradiated mice displayed prolonged defects in T-cell populations compared to mice irradiated with pure γ photons. In mouse survival assays, the growth factor granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) was effective as a (post-irradiation) mitigator against both γ-photons and mixed-field radiation, while the thrombopoietin (TPO) mimetic ALXN4100TPO was effective only against γ irradiation. The results indicate that radiation countermeasures should be tested against radiation qualities appropriate for specific scenarios before inclusion in response plans.     

农田光能利用效率研究进展

光能利用率(RUE)是作物生长模型的主要参数之一.RUE被广泛应用于基于遥感的净初级生产力估算.受环境条件影响,作物生长季内RUE并非常数.RUE估算不准将给净初级生产力的模拟计算带来很大误差.本文分析了农田RUE的测定方法和变化特征.讨论了辐射、温度、饱和差、植物叶片氮含量和作物种类对RUE的影响,分析了目前RUE研究中存在的问题,提出在作物模型中用RUE作参数时必须考虑作物生长发育所引起的RUE变化.今后应加强作物生物量和截获辐射间关系的机理研究.利用涡度相关技术等微气象方法研究短时间尺度上RUE的变化将成为未来研究的热点.