Molecular Genetic Variation in a Clonal Plant Population of Leymus chinensis （Trin.） Tzvel.

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA （RAPD） analysis was used to investigate the genetic variation among populations, between populations, and within populations, relationships between genetic distance and geographic distance, and the molecular variation and population size. The effects of geographic and genetic distances, as well as of genetic differentiation and population size, on genetic variations of Leymus chinensis （Trin.） Tzvel. are discussed. The present study showed that there was significant RAPD variation between the Baicheng region population and the Daqing region population, with a molecular variance of 6.35% （P 〈 0.04）, and for differentiation among area populations of the Daqing region, with a molecular variance of 8.78% （P 〈 0.002）. A 21.06% RAPD variation among all 16 populations among two regions was found （P 〈 0.001）, as well as 72.59% variation within populations （P 〈 0.001）. Molecular variation within populations was significantly different among 16 populations.     

Critical Role of Cys168 in Noggin Protein's Biological Function

Previous studies have indicated that noggin exerts its neural inducing effect by binding andantagonizing bone morphogenetic protein 4(BMP4).In order to further clarify the relationship between thestructure and the function of noggin,and elucidate the possible mechanism responsible for noggin-BMP4interaction,we generated three noggin mutants,C168S,C174S and C197S,by using a site-directed mu-tagenesis method.Ectopic expression of wild-type(WT)noggin,C174S or C197S,in Xenopus animal caps(ACs)by mRNA injection converted the explants(prospective ectoderm)into neural tissue,as indicated bythe neural-like morphology and expression of the neural cell adhesion molecule(NCAM)in the ACs.Incontrast,ACs expressing C 168S suffered an epidermal fate similar to the control caps.Similarly,among the threemutants,only C 168S lost the dorsalizing function.These studies highlight the critical role played by Cys168in noggin's biological activities.It probably participates in the formation of an intermolecular disulfide bridge.     

Identification of prior candidate genes for Sclerotinia local resistance in Brassica napus using Arabidopsis cDNA microarray and Brassica-Arabidopsis comparative mapping

Arabidopsis was the leading model of dicot plant. An accomplished platform had been established for functional genomics studies. The platform had largely facilitated molecular biology research of Arabidopsis itself as well as research on its phylogenetic related plants[1,2]. Brassica napus, as an important cooking oil crop, had a close phylogenetic relationship with Arabidopsis[3―5]. In order to take advantage of avail-able Arabidopsis genetic and molecular tools, Girke et al. had explored …     

云南铁杉中一个新的倍半木脂素

从云南铁杉(Tsuga dumosa) 心材中分离得到9 个化合物, 采用波谱方法鉴定了它们的结构。其中化合物1 (3 (4 hydroxy 3 methoxy benzyl ) 5 [2 (4 hydroxy 3 methoxy phenyl ) 3 hy droxymethyl 7 methoxy 2, 3 dihydro benzofuran 5 yl] 4 hydroxymethyl dihydro furan 2 one) 为一个新的倍半木脂素, 命名为dumosaol, 2~9为首次从该种植物中分离得到。     

用Overlap-PCR法从Trichoderma reesei QM9414基因组DNA中克隆并表达木聚糖酶Ⅲ

禾本科植物木聚糖酶在其成熟过程中需在细胞进入程序性死亡后,经蛋白水解酶多次剪切方显活性,常规蛋白质克隆表达系统无法表达这类酶。通过GenBank搜索获得一与之同族、结构相似的来源于T．reesei QM9414(ATCC26921)突变种PC—3—7菌株的xynⅢ。但该酶在T．reesei QM9414中不表达,而在基因组中存在。通过overlap-PCR法将4个外显子分别克隆、测序,再连接测序,最终获得该基因的全长cDNA序列。将该基因连接到表达载体pETBlue—2上,并转化到Tuner DE3表达菌株中,常规条件下可表达并有木聚糖酶活性显示。低温(15℃)64h诱导显著提高可溶性xynⅢ酶活。     

Commentary on “Prevalence and evolution of drug resistance HIV-1 variants in Henan, China”

Critical to the implementation and scale-up of successful antiretroviral therapy worldwide is an understanding of the efficacy, toxicities and durability of antiretroviral regimens in the specific populations, which they are utilized. In order to obtain this information monitoring and evaluation or operational research must be done in each country or population. The article by Li et al in this issue represents an outstanding example of the importance of data obtained in the populations treated . The authors proactively evaluated the outcomes at 3 and 6 months of 118 and 124 HIV infected individuals, respectively, treated with zidovudine, didanosine and nevirapine in one region in China.     

Assessment of the immune responses to Treponema pallidum Gpd DNA vaccine adjuvanted with IL-2 and chitosan nanoparticles before and after Treponema pallidum challenge in rabbits

Syphilis is a multistage,sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochete,Treponema pallidum(Tp).A significantly high incidence of syphilis has been reported in several countries,including China,and there is an urgent need for the development of efficacious vaccines against syphilis.DNA vaccines are a major breakthrough in the field of vaccination with several advantages over traditional vaccines.Animal model studies of Tp DNA vaccines have not been reported elsewhere but our previous reports describe the development of a single-gene Tp DNA vaccine and preclinical immunization study.In this study,chitosan(CS) nanoparticles were used as a vector and an interleukin-2 expression plasmid(pIL-2) as an adjuvant to enhance a TpGpd DNA vaccine candidate(pTpGpd) in a rabbit Tp skin challenge model.At week 8 after the first immunization,three rabbits from each group were used to determine cytokine measurements and spleen lymphocyte proliferation assay.pTpGpd in combination with pIL-2 wrapped with CS led to the greatest enhancement of anti-TpGpd antibodies and T-cell proliferation.During infection,levels of anti-TpGpd antibodies and T-cell proliferation were measured.Both the serum special IgG and IL-2,interferon-γ were significantly increased by the co-injection of the IL-2 plasmid compared with the injection of TpGpd DNA alone(P<0.05).Furthermore,IL-2 plasmid coinjection efficiently enhanced the antigen-specific lymphocyte proliferation response.Additionally,the ratios of positive skin lesions and ulcer lesions in groups immunized with pTpGpd were significantly lower than those of the pIL-2,CS or pIL-2 mixed with CS control groups(P<0.001).CS vectored and pIL-2 adjuvanted pTpGpd immunized animals exhibited the lowest rates of positive skin tests(8.33%) and ulcer lesions(4.17%) and the fastest recovery(42 d).These experiments indicate that co-injection of a pIL-2 plasmid with pTpGpd DNA vaccine wrapped with CS can significantly strengthen the long-term stability of immune response during infection,efficiently improve the protective effect against T.pallidum spirochetes infection and attenuate syphilitic lesion development.     

Green tea catechins prevent obesity through modulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors

Epidemiological evidence and experimental studies suggest that drinking green tea is associated with a lower risk of obesity and related diseases. However, the mechanisms of these effects are not clear. In the present study, we investigated the anti-obesity mechanisms of green tea catechins (GTCs) through modulation of peroxisome proliferator activated-receptor (PPAR) pathways in high-fat diet-induced obesity in rats. GTC supplementation significantly attenuated the increased body and liver weights and the elevated serum and liver triglyceride levels. Meanwhile, GTCs increased the PPARγ levels in subcutaneous white adipose tissue (SWAT) and decreased the PPAR levels in visceral white adipose tissue (VWAT). In addition, GTC treatment up-regulated the levels of PPARδ in SWAT, VWAT, and brown adipose tissue and increased the expression of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation in brown adipose tissue. Our results suggest that GTCs exert their anti-obesity mechanism in part by modulating PPAR signaling pathways.