Balancing crosstalk between 20-hydroxyecdysone-induced autophagy and caspase activity in the fat body during Drosophila larval-prepupal transition

In the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster, autophagy and caspase activity function in parallel in the salivary gland during metamorphosis and in a common regulatory hierarchy during oogenesis. Both autophagy and caspase activity progressively increase in the remodeling fat body, and they are induced by a pulse of the molting hormone (20-hydroxyecdysone, 20E) during the larval-prepupal transition. Inhibition of autophagy and/or caspase activity in the remodeling fat body results in 25–40% pupal lethality, depending on the genotypes. Interestingly, a balancing crosstalk occurs between autophagy and caspase activity in this tissue: the inhibition of autophagy induces caspase activity and the inhibition of caspases induces autophagy. The Drosophila remodeling fat body provides an in vivo model for understanding the molecular mechanism of the balancing crosstalk between autophagy and caspase activity, which oppose with each other and are induced by the common stimulus 20E, and blockage of either path reinforces the other path.     

Analysis of the serotype-specific epitopes of avian infectious bronchitis virus strains Ark99 and Mass41.

The Ark and Mass serotype-specific epitopes of infectious bronchitis virus were studied by immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation of mutant and recombinant spike glycoproteins (S protein) expressed in mouse L cells. Serotype-specific monoclonal antibodies could bind to the recombinant proteins of Ark99 and Mass41 expressed from the chimeras in which the N-terminal thirds of the S1 sequences were reciprocally exchanged. Therefore, it appears that the respective serotype-specific epitopes of both strains were localized within the C-terminal two-thirds of the S1 proteins. Deletion and insertion of a five-amino-acid fragment on the S1 proteins of Ark99 and Mass41, altered the serotype-specific epitopes. This result implies that the five-amino-acid insertion on the S1 protein of the Ark serotype was involved in determining the conformation of the protein, probably acting as a spacer. In addition, it appears that an interaction between sequences of the N-terminal third and the remaining portion of the S1 protein determines the tertiary structure of the protein as well as the conformation of the serotype-specific epitope.     

Chloroplast DNA restriction analysis and the infrageneric grouping ofAllium (Alliaceae)

The utility of chloroplast DNA variation for checking a recently proposed infrageneric classification of the genusAllium was tested. cpDNA restriction patterns of 49 species representing the main subgenera, sections, and subsections of the existing classification were compared. 363 different fragments generated by 4 restriction enzymes were identified and analysed by UPGMA clustering. The resulting phenogram largely confirms the subgeneric classification based on an integration of morphological and other methods.     

RFLP-based maps of the homoeologous group-6 chromosomes of wheat and their application in the tagging of Pm12, a powdery mildew resistance gene transferred from Aegilops speltoides to wheat

Genetic maps of the homoeologous group-6 chromosomes of bread wheat, Triticum aestivum, have been constructed spanning 103 cM on 6A, 90 cM on 6B and 124 cM on 6D. These maps were transferred to a Chinese Spring (CS) x line #31 cross to locate a dominant powdery mildew resistance gene, Pm12, introgressed into line #31 from Aegilops speltoides. Pm12 was shown to lie on the short arm of translocation chromosome 6BS-6SS.6SL in line #31, but could not be mapped more precisely due to the lack of recombination between the 6S Ae. speltoides segment and chromosome 6B. Possible strategies to reduce the size of the alien segment, which probably encompasses the complete long arm and more than 82% of the short arm of chromosome 6B, are discussed.     

On the existence of stable pairing distributions

We formulate and analyze pair-formation models for multiple groups with general pairing rates and arbitrary mixing probabilities. Under the assumption of constant recruitment rates and equal average duration of all types of partnerships, we have shown that the dynamics are relatively simple because of the monotonicity properties of the dynamical system associated with the pairing/mixing of heterogeneous populations of male and female individuals. In fact, we have shown that the corresponding asymptotic stable paired distribution is given precisely by the asymptotic values of the matrices that prescribe the mixing/contact structure. In other words, if the sizes of the mixing subpopulations of males and females are asymptotically constant and if the average durations of partnerships are about the same regardless of type, then the matrices that describe the mixing between subpopulations also characterize the distribution of paired types. Alternatively, if the distribution of the average duration of relationships between individuals has a large variance then it may be impossible to detect any relationship between the mixing/contact structure and the observed distribution of paired types. The study of models with constant per-capita recruitment rates give rise to homogeneous systems of degree one. The analysis of the dynamics of pairs for models with exponentially growing populations of singles is complicated. So far, we are only able to classify the stability of all non-strictly positive boundary exponential solutions. From our incomplete analysis, it is not possible to detect necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence and stability of strictly interior exponential solutions. We cannot rule out the possibility of oscillations. The mathematical problems associated with the stability of exponential solutions of dynamical systems of degree one are of relevance in demography, epidemiology, and population dynamics.On leave from University of Alabama in Huntsville     

Low temperature cultivation — A step towards process optimisation

Adherent recombinant BHK cells were cultivated at temperatures between 30 and 37°C. Batch and repeated-batch-cultivations in a 2-litre bioreactor showed a significant influence on metabolism and cell growth. The low-temperature-cultivations showed a lower growth rate and a lower glucose consumption rate and, therefore, less lactate production. On the other hand, the maximum cell density and productivity seemed not to be affected by the temperature reduction.     

抗氧化剂对苜蓿原生质体早期培养的影响

研究发现,分离原生质体的酶解脱壁处理可以诱导苜蓿细胞产生活性氧。培养基中添加抗氧化剂,有助于提高培养原生质体的分裂频率,缓解褐化现象的出现。经紫外照射处理的培养基不利于苜蓿原生质体的生长和分裂,添加抗氧化剂后,紫外辐射所引起的不良效应则被抵消。因而,通过抗氧化剂对活性氧的清除,有助于早期原生质体的培养。     

Identification of a UDP-glucosyltransferase conferring deoxynivalenol resistance in Aegilops tauschii and wheat

Aegilops tauschii is the diploid progenitor of the wheat D subgenome and a valuable resource for wheat breeding, yet, genetic analysis of resistance against Fusarium head blight (FHB) and the major Fusarium mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) is lacking. We treated a panel of 147 Ae. tauschii accessions with either Fusarium graminearum spores or DON solution and recorded the associated disease spread or toxin-induced bleaching. A k-mer-based association mapping pipeline dissected the genetic basis of resistance and identified candidate genes. After DON infiltration nine accessions revealed severe bleaching symptoms concomitant with lower conversion rates of DON into the non-toxic DON-3-O-glucoside. We identified the gene AET5Gv20385300 on chromosome 5D encoding a uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glucosyltransferase (UGT) as the causal variant and the mutant allele resulting in a truncated protein was only found in the nine susceptible accessions. This UGT is also polymorphic in hexaploid wheat and when expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae only the full-length gene conferred resistance against DON. Analysing the D subgenome helped to elucidate the genetic control of FHB resistance and identified a UGT involved in DON detoxification in Ae. tauschii and hexaploid wheat. This resistance mechanism is highly conserved since the UGT is orthologous to the barley UGT HvUGT13248 indicating descent from a common ancestor of wheat and barley.