Products containing biocides: perceptions and realities

The mechanisms of action for chemical germicides and antibiotics for inactivating microorganisms are significantly different and methods for determining resistance by microorganisms to these agents are also different. Chemical germicides usually have multiple targets and the mechanisms for inactivation and resistance are not measured in absolute terms but rather in the rapidity with which they reduce levels of microorganisms. The term tolerance is much more suited for germicides than the term resistance. The mechanism of resistance to chemical germicides is often dependent on the concentration of the germicide. At high concentrations multiple cellular and metabolic targets are involved, and at low concentrations fewer cellular targets. In contrast antibiotics usually have a singular cellular or metabolic target and resistance implies the ability of the microorganism to grow in the presence of the antibiotic, and in a clinical sense, to initiate or continue infection in the presence of the antibiotic. When methods used to assess resistance to antibiotics are applied to chemical germicides, inappropriate interpretations can be made regarding the ability of microorganisms to develop resistance to antibiotics as a result of developing resistance to chemical germicides. The use of chemical germicides in health-care institutions and especially the home setting has increased in recent years. Although there may be an overuse of germicides in these settings the consequence is a cost issue and not one that involves the development of antibiotic resistant microorganisms.     

害虫及害螨对阿维菌素抗药性研究进展

阿维菌素(avermectins)是一类新型高效广谱的生物源农药,对多种害虫及害螨具有极好的防效。随着阿维菌素在害虫及害螨防治中的广泛应用,害虫和害螨对其的抗性问题日益受到关注。文章综述国内外的最新研究结果表明:小菜蛾Pluttella xylostella(L.)、二斑叶螨Tetranychus urticate Koch等已对阿维菌素产生抗性,对阿维菌素产生抗性的害虫和螨并不总是表现适合度劣势,且抗性一旦产生敏感性较难以恢复;抗性遗传多数由多基因、不完全隐性控制;抗性机理涉及多种因素。综合分析发现害虫和螨对阿维菌素存在较大的、潜在抗性风险。     

植物抗寒冻基因工程研究进展

低湿寒害是限制农作物产量和分布的一种全球性的自然灾害。提高农作物的抗寒性具有重要意义。目前随着植物寒害机理、抗寒冻和冷驯化分子机理的深入发展,已研究发现了多种抗寒基因,包括各种抗寒调控基因和各种抗寒功能基因,从而使植物抗寒冻基因工程的研究与应用得以了广泛开展,以期最终有效地提高农作物的抗寒性,增加农业产量。本文综合概述了国内外有关植物抗寒冻基因工程的最新研究方向、进展及成就,并提出了此领域尚存在的一些问题及其前景展望。     

植物抗寒冻基因工程研究进展

低温寒害是限制农作物产量和分布的一种全球性的自然灾害,提高农作物的抗寒性具有重要意义。目前随着植物寒害机理、抗寒冻和冷驯化分子机理的深入发展,已研究发现了多种抗寒基因,包括各种抗寒调控基因和各种抗寒功能基因,从而使植物抗寒冻基因工程的研究与应用得到了广泛开展,以期最终有效地提高农作物的抗寒性,增加农业产量。本文综合概述了国内外有关植物抗寒冻基因工程的最新研究方向、进展及成就,并提出了此领域尚存在的一些问题及其前景展望。     

植物抗寒机理研究进展

本文综合概述了国内外有关植物抗寒机理研究的动态,主要讨论了植物抗寒性与细胞膜系、酶系多态性及抗寒基因表达与调控之间的相关性。此外,亦提出了有关植物抗寒机制研究领域值得深入研讨的问题。     

不可分型流感嗜血杆菌致病机制及耐药

作为全球两大高发疾病—儿童中耳炎和成人慢性阻塞性肺疾病的急性加重的主要病原菌,不可分型流感嗜血杆菌(NTHi)日益受到国内外学者的关注,然而目前,NTHi感染致病的相关机制及耐药并未得到全面地阐释,在一定程度上影响了临床对NTHi感染的有效控制。该文综合分析NTHi引起的主要感染,从以黏附作用为基础的定植策略、生物膜的形成、免疫逃逸和细菌耐药4个方面对NTHi感染致病的相关机制及耐药作一综述,以期为研究NTHi疫苗和特异抗感染药物提供理论依据。     

植物抗盐机理研究进展

对近年来植物抗盐机理的研究进展作了概述,阐明了植物对盐分的反应及盐分对植物的不同伤害,并从盐生植物的形态、生理和分子水平上综述了盐生植物的抗盐机理,最后对今后植物抗盐机理的研究可能存在的问题提出了自己的观点.     

群体感应与微生物耐药性

微生物耐药性已成为全球关注的严重问题,其演化机制和调控机理也已成为研究热点。近年来的研究发现,一些微生物耐药性机制受到群体感应系统的调控。群体感应是一种在微生物界广泛存在并与菌体密度关联的细胞-细胞间的通讯系统。高密度的菌落群体能够产生足够数量的小分子信号,激活下游包括致病毒力和耐药性机制在内的多种细胞进程,耐受抗生素并且危害寄主。本文结合国内外最新的研究进展,对微生物群体感应系统的研究现状进行了概括性介绍,重点阐述了群体感应系统对微生物耐药性机制的调控作用,如微生物生物被膜形成和药物外排泵调控等方面的作用,并探讨了利用群体淬灭控制微生物耐药性的新策略。     

Mechanisms of metal resistance in plants: aluminum and heavy metals

Plants have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to deal with toxic levels of metals in the soil. In this paper, an overview of recent progress with regards to understanding fundamental molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying plant resistance to both aluminum (Al) and heavy metals is presented. The discussion of plant Al resistance will focus on recent advances in our understanding of a mechanism based on Al exclusion from the root apex, which is facilitated by Al-activated exudation of organic acid anions. The consideration of heavy metal resistance will focus on research into a metal hyperaccumulating plant species, the Zn/Cd hyperaccumulator, Thlaspi caerulescens, as an example for plant heavy metal research. Based on the specific cases considered in this paper, it appears that quite different strategies are used for Al and heavy metal resistance. For Al, our current understanding of a resistance mechanism based on excluding soil-borne Al from the root apex is presented. For heavy metals, a totally different strategy based on extreme tolerance and metal hyperaccumulation is described for a hyperaccumulator plant species that has evolved on naturally metalliferous soils. The reason these two strategies are the focus of this paper is that, currently, they are the best understood mechanisms of metal resistance in terrestrial plants. However, it is likely that other mechanisms of Al and/or heavy metal resistance are also operating in certain plant species, and there may be common features shared for dealing with Al and heavy resistance. Future research may uncover a number of novel metal resistance mechanisms in plants. Certainly the complex genetics of Al resistance in some crop plant species, such as rice and maize, suggests that a number of presently unidentified mechanisms are part of an overall strategy of metal resistance in crop plants.     

Evolution of antifungal-drug resistance: mechanisms and pathogen fitness

Like other microorganisms, fungi exist in populations that are adaptable. Under the selection imposed by antifungal drugs, drug-sensitive fungal pathogens frequently evolve resistance. Although the molecular mechanisms of resistance are well-characterized, there are few measurements of the impact of these mechanisms on pathogen fitness in different environments. To predict resistance before a new drug is prescribed in the clinic, the full spectrum of potential resistance mutations and the interactions among combinations of divergent mechanisms can be determined in evolution experiments. In the search for new strategies to manage drug resistance, measuring the limits of adaptation might reveal methods for trapping fungal pathogens in evolutionary dead ends.     

Why should parasite resistance be costly?

Parasite resistance is sometimes associated with fitness costs. Costs of resistance are fundamentally important in epidemiology, and in the ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions. The cost of resistance is often envisioned as the cost of re-allocating limiting resources to resistance machinery from other traits. This popular paradigm has resulted in a spate of research that assumes a fitness cost to resistance. We comment on this trend and propose a working framework of various resistance means and mechanisms. Within these means and mechanisms, we suggest that many are not likely to incur significant fitness costs.     

德国小蠊抗药性机理

德国小蠊(Blattella germanica)是一种重要的室内卫生害虫,化学防治是目前主要的防治手段,但抗药性已逐渐成为制约德国小蠊防治的关键因素。德国小蠊抗药性的产生存在多种机理,本文从行为抗性、表皮穿透性降低、代谢抗性、靶标抗性及微生物降解等方面对德国小蠊抗药性产生机理进行了综述,重点阐述了近年来德国小蠊抗药性机理最新的研究进展。     

Common cabbage resistance mechanisms against the diamondback moth: still an open book?

Despite the extensive research on host plant resistance of Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata (common cabbage) against Plutella xylostella L. (diamondback moth), knowledge of the resistance mechanisms involved remains incomplete. While robust evidence exists for the physical (antixenosis) mechanisms believed to cause resistance in glossy-leaved breeding lines, the one mechanism proposed in the literature to date (polar leaf extracts causing antibiosis) at best only explains a part of the resistance observed in two partially-resistant normal-bloom breeding lines in the field and the evidence is suggestive rather than direct.
Evidence from other host plant resistance studies involving P. xylostella is discussed and the other possible mechanisms are considered with the aim of providing a context for further investigations on host plant resistance mechanisms against P. xylostella.     

Significance of biocide usage and antimicrobial resistance in domiciliary environments

Recent events have raised awareness of the need for effective hygiene in the home. Not least is the requirement to reduce antibiotic resistance by reducing the need for antibiotic prescribing. Current evidence suggests that improved hygiene in the domestic setting could have a significant impact. Recently, it has been suggested that widespread biocide usage, particularly in consumer products, may be a contributory factor in antibiotic resistance. In developing home hygiene policies, however, it is important that biocide use as an integral part of good hygiene practice is not discouraged in situations where there is real benefit. Although laboratory data indicate possible links, it is necessary to assess whether and to what extent biocide exposure could contribute to antibiotic resistance in clinical practice. The extent to which reduced susceptibility to biocides resulting from biocide exposure could compromise their 'in-use' effectiveness must also be considered. Equally, it is important that changes in susceptibility induced by biocide exposure are assessed relative to those induced by antibiotic exposure or the phenotypic changes induced by 'normal' environmental 'stresses'. It is proposed that to be effective, home hygiene policy should be based on the concept of risk assessment and risk prevention. Using this approach, critical risk situations are identified and appropriate hygiene procedures applied to reduce risks. This may involve either soap and water cleaning, or cleaning combined with a disinfection process. A 'targeted' hygiene approach not only provides the most effective means of preventing infectious disease, it also offers a means of addressing concerns about 'too much hygiene' and 'too many antibacterials' amongst a public who have lost confidence regarding appropriate hygiene for their home environment.     

SIRT6在缺血再灌注损伤中的作用机制及研究进展

缺血性损伤后恢复血液供应会导致缺血再灌注（ischemia reperfusion, IR）损伤,这会导致组织损伤进一步加剧。IR损伤伴随着一系列机制,包括谷氨酸兴奋性毒性、钙超载、氧化应激、炎症和细胞凋亡,最终导致细胞死亡。IR损伤过程均由Sirtuins家族调控,在Sirtuins家族中,特异性定位于细胞核中的SIRT6可以促进对DNA损伤和氧化应激的抵抗,抑制基因组的不稳定性,在代谢稳态中发挥作用,同时SIRT6在人重要脏器中处于高度表达状态。但SIRT6在IR损伤中研究较少,结合国内外最新的研究进展,对SIRT6在IR损伤中的作用进行了回顾性的总结和分析,希望对国内外学者对于SIRT6在IR损伤中的研究提供一些参考依据。     

苏云金芽孢杆菌杀虫活性的增效机制研究进展

为了克服苏云金芽孢杆菌（Bacillius thuringiensis, Bt）制剂在实践过程中存在的速效性差、持效期短、防效不稳定以及使害虫逐渐产生抗药性等诸多缺陷,各类添加剂已经被广泛应用于防治过程中以起到增效作用。就目前国内外已开展的各类添加剂对苏云金芽孢杆菌杀虫活性的增效机制和方式的研究进行了概述,并指出其作用方式的潜在可能与途径,以期为苏云金芽孢杆菌生物农药作用机制的研究提供参考。     

害虫抗药性进化的遗传起源与分子机制

根据生物进化理论深入理解害虫抗药性进化的遗传起源,并根据解释基因新功能进化的基因重复理论,推测认为基因重复为抗性基因变异提供了原材料。最后,根据现有抗性报道的例子将抗性突变的分子机制进行归类,并发现在多样化的抗性突变中存在一定的规律性,如靶标位点的点突变导致抗性的机制是靶标抗性机制的主要形式,基因扩增或基因过表达导致的代谢酶活性增加是代谢抗性的重要机制,这种规律性与变异的适合度密切相关。     

草原植物的放牧抗性

放牧抗性是指在放牧系统中,草原植物生存和生长的相对能力,包括避食性和耐牧性两部分,放牧避食性是指植物降低被牧食的机率和强度等机制,而耐牧性是指植物被牧食以后刺激植物再生长的机制,对物种抗性阈值和耐牧性阈值的研究将有利于解释放牧演替理论的原因和机制,不同的物种其抗性阈值和耐牧性阈值不同,这主要起决于它们放牧抗性策略,在草地管理中,认识植物将避食性和／或耐牧性机制作为诱导物种组成变化的优先抗性策略具有重要的理论和实践意义。     

Varied tastes: home range implications of foraging‐patch selection

Despite evidence of home range behaviour across many taxa, the mechanisms underlying the development of home ranges are still unknown. Recently, models have been developed to explore these mechanisms for both territorial and non‐ territorial species. One such model for a generic forager suggests animal memory and optimal foraging theory as underlying mechanisms driving forager movement and the development of stable home ranges. Although this is a promising model for ungulate home range development, assumptions of the model have yet to be evaluated. Using GPS relocation data from two populations of elk, we explored how foraging patch selection might influence the structure and development of home ranges in elk Cervus elaphus. During the summer growing season, we identified and sampled foraging patches used by elk. Points along elk paths not used for foraging were sampled identically for comparison. We contrasted ‘patch’ and ‘nonpatch’ data points, to identify foraging selection differences across herd, sex and season using a combination of directly sampled and remotely sensed covariates. In general, elk selected patches with higher biomass, cover, slope and lower traffic on the nearest road. These patch‐selection results speak directly to differences between foraging areas and other areas used by elk and demonstrate that both physiographic and anthropocentric features influence foraging patch selection. Our results offer insight as to what defines a valuable foraging patch for elk and how these patches might influence the development and structure of home ranges in a free‐ranging ungulate.     

Molecular mechanisms of drug resistance and its reversal in cancer

Chemotherapy is the main strategy for the treatment of cancer. However, the main problem limiting the success of chemotherapy is the development of multidrug resistance. The resistance can be intrinsic or acquired. The resistance phenotype is associated with the tumor cells that gain a cross-resistance to a large range of drugs that are structurally and functionally different. Multidrug resistance arises via many unrelated mechanisms, such as overexpression of energy-dependent efflux proteins, decrease in uptake of the agents, increase or alteration in drug targets, modification of cell cycle checkpoints, inactivation of the agents, compartmentalization of the agents, inhibition of apoptosis and aberrant bioactive sphingolipid metabolism. Exact elucidation of resistance mechanisms and molecular and biochemical approaches to overcome multidrug resistance have been a major goal in cancer research. This review comprises the mechanisms guiding multidrug resistance in cancer chemotherapy and also touches on approaches for reversing the resistance.