微机在牙形刺研究中的应用

该文对微机在牙形刺研究中的应用方法上进行了探索,在大量原始资料和数据的基础上,采用了模糊聚类分析和CAI计算机程序系统的研究,在地层划分,化石组合,沉积环境分析及生油气评价等方面都取得了一定的成果。     

The effect of selected viruses on Corynebacterium kutscheri infection in rats

The influence of selected viral pathogens on rats that were previously infected with Corynebacterium kutscheri was investigated. A series of three separate experiments were performed to test the effect of sialodacryoadenitis virus, Sendai virus and rat virus. In each experiment, weanling rats were divided into three groups (C. kutscheri-inoculated, virus-inoculated and C. kutscheri plus virus-inoculated). Two groups were inoculated oronasally with C. kutscheri to establish subclinical infections. Two weeks later, two groups were inoculated intranasally with virus. At 5 weeks, the prevalence of C. kutscheri recovery from oral cavity and submaxillary lymph node and the prevalence of overt pseudotuberculosis was compared between treatment groups. Seroconversion of rats to C. kutscheri was measured by microagglutination and viruses by indirect immunofluorescence assays. Infection of rats with sialodacryoadenitis virus, Sendai virus or rat virus had no discernable effect on C. kutscheri-infected rats.     

Alteration of viral respiratory infections of mice by prior infection with mouse hepatitis virus

Pre-infection with mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) strains S, 3, or JHM reduced the ability of mice to seroconvert to PVM. Geometric mean antibody titers to PVM among MHV pre-infected mice were lower than those for control mice given only PVM, and dually infected mice seroconverted to PVM later than mice given PVM alone. PVM was not recovered from normally permissive respiratory tract tissues of MHV-S pre-infected mice. Pre-infection of DBA/2 mice with MHV-S compromised the susceptibility of these mice to lethal Sendai virus infection but did not substantially reduce the titers of infectious Sendai virus recovered from the lungs. Serologic responses to Sendai virus and lung Sendai virus titers were similar in Sendai virus-resistant C57BL/6 mice pre-infected or not with MHV-S.     

Digital mapping of soil organic matter stocks using Random Forest modeling in a semi-arid steppe ecosystem

Spatial prediction of soil organic matter is a global challenge and of particular importance for regions with intensive land use and where availability of soil data is limited. This study evaluated a Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) approach to model the spatial distribution of stocks of soil organic carbon (SOC), total carbon (C_tot), total nitrogen (N_tot) and total sulphur (S_tot) for a data-sparse, semi-arid catchment in Inner Mongolia, Northern China. Random Forest (RF) was used as a new modeling tool for soil properties and Classification and Regression Trees (CART) as an additional method for the analysis of variable importance. At 120 locations soil profiles to 1 m depth were analyzed for soil texture, SOC, C_tot, N_tot, S_tot, bulk density (BD) and pH. On the basis of a digital elevation model, the catchment was divided into pixels of 90 m?×?90 m and for each cell, predictor variables were determined: land use unit, Reference Soil Group (RSG), geological unit and 12 topography-related variables. Prediction maps showed that the highest amounts of SOC, C_tot, N_tot and S_tot stocks are stored under marshland, steppes and mountain meadows. River-like structures of very high elemental stocks in valleys within the steppes are partly responsible for the high amounts of SOC for grasslands (81?C84% of total catchment stocks). Analysis of variable importance showed that land use, RSG and geology are the most important variables influencing SOC storage. Prediction accuracy of the RF modeling and the generated maps was acceptable and explained variances of 42 to 62% and 66 to 75%, respectively. A decline of up to 70% in elemental stocks was calculated after conversion of steppe to arable land confirming the risk of rapid soil degradation if steppes are cultivated. Thus their suitability for agricultural use is limited.     

Disruption of bbe02 by Insertion of a Luciferase Gene Increases Transformation Efficiency of Borrelia burgdorferi and Allows Live Imaging in Lyme Disease Susceptible C3H Mice

Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne disease in North America and Europe. The causative agent, Borrelia burgdorferi persists in the white-footed mouse. Infection with B. burgdorferi can cause acute to persistent multisystemic Lyme disease in humans. Some disease manifestations are also exhibited in the mouse model of Lyme disease. Genetic manipulation of B. burgdorferi remains difficult. First, B. burgdorferi contains a large number of endogenous plasmids with unique sequences encoding unknown functions. The presence of these plasmids needs to be confirmed after each genetic manipulation. Second, the restriction modification defense systems, including that encoded by bbe02 gene lead to low transformation efficiency in B. burgdorferi. Therefore, studying the molecular basis of Lyme pathogenesis is a challenge. Furthermore, investigation of the role of a specific B. burgdorferi protein throughout infection requires a large number of mice, making it labor intensive and expensive. To overcome the problems associated with low transformation efficiency and to reduce the number of mice needed for experiments, we disrupted the bbe02 gene of a highly infectious and pathogenic B. burgdorferi strain, N40 D10/E9 through insertion of a firefly luciferase gene. The bbe02 mutant shows higher transformation efficiency and maintains luciferase activity throughout infection as detected by live imaging of mice. Infectivity and pathogenesis of this mutant were comparable to the wild-type N40 strain. This mutant will serve as an ideal parental strain to examine the roles of various B. burgdorferi proteins in Lyme pathogenesis in the mouse model in the future.     

Vaccination against a Virus-Encoded Cytokine Significantly Restricts Viral Challenge

Identification of immune correlates of protection for viral vaccines is complicated by multiple factors, but there is general consensus on the importance of antibodies that neutralize viral attachment to susceptible cells. Development of new viral vaccines has mostly followed this neutralizing antibody paradigm, but as a recent clinical trial of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) vaccination demonstrated, this singular approach can yield limited protective efficacy. Since HCMV devotes >50% of its coding capacity to proteins that modulate host immunity, it is hypothesized that expansion of vaccine targets to include this part of the viral proteome will disrupt viral natural history. HCMV and rhesus cytomegalovirus (RhCMV) each encode an ortholog to the cellular interleukin-10 (cIL-10) cytokine: cmvIL-10 and rhcmvIL10, respectively. Despite extensive sequence divergence from their host''s cIL-10, each viral IL-10 retains nearly identical functionality to cIL-10. Uninfected rhesus macaques were immunized with engineered, nonfunctional rhcmvIL-10 variants, which were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis to abolish binding to the cIL-10 receptor. Vaccinees developed antibodies that neutralized rhcmvIL-10 function with no cross-neutralization of cIL-10. Following subcutaneous RhCMV challenge, the vaccinees exhibited both reduced RhCMV replication locally at the inoculation site and systemically and significantly reduced RhCMV shedding in bodily fluids compared to controls. Attenuation of RhCMV infection by rhcmvIL-10 vaccination argues that neutralization of viral immunomodulation may be a new vaccine paradigm for HCMV by expanding potential vaccine targets.     

In silico identification of opossum cytokine genes suggests the complexity of the marsupial immune system rivals that of eutherian mammals

Background

Cytokines are small proteins that regulate immunity in vertebrate species. Marsupial and eutherian mammals last shared a common ancestor more than 180 million years ago, so it is not surprising that attempts to isolate many key marsupial cytokines using traditional laboratory techniques have been unsuccessful. This paucity of molecular data has led some authors to suggest that the marsupial immune system is 'primitive' and not on par with the sophisticated immune system of eutherian (placental) mammals.

Results

The sequencing of the first marsupial genome has allowed us to identify highly divergent immune genes. We used gene prediction methods that incorporate the identification of gene location using BLAST, SYNTENY + BLAST and HMMER to identify 23 key marsupial immune genes, including IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-13, in the genome of the grey short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica). Many of these genes were not predicted in the publicly available automated annotations.

Conclusion

The power of this approach was demonstrated by the identification of orthologous cytokines between marsupials and eutherians that share only 30% identity at the amino acid level. Furthermore, the presence of key immunological genes suggests that marsupials do indeed possess a sophisticated immune system, whose function may parallel that of eutherian mammals.     

Arthropod- and host-specific Borrelia burgdorferi bbk32 expression and the inhibition of spirochete transmission

Antisera to BBK32 (a Borrelia burgdorferi fibronectin-binding protein) and BBK50, two Ags synthesized during infection, protect mice from experimental syringe-borne Lyme borreliosis. Therefore, B. burgdorferi bbk32 and bbk50 expression within Ixodes scapularis ticks and the murine host, and the effect of BBK32 and BBK50 antisera on spirochetes throughout the vector-host life cycle were investigated. bbk32 and bbk50 mRNA and protein were first detected within engorged ticks, demonstrating regulated expression within the vector. Then bbk32 expression increased in mice at the cutaneous site of inoculation. During disseminated murine infection, bbk32 and bbk50 were expressed in several murine tissues, and mRNA levels were greatest in the heart and spleen at 30 days. BBK32 antisera protected mice from tick-borne B. burgdorferi infection and spirochete numbers were reduced by 90% within nymphs that engorged on immunized mice. Moreover, 75% of these ticks did not retain spirochetes upon molting, and subsequent B. burgdorferi transmission by adult ticks was impaired. Larval acquisition of B. burgdorferi by I. scapularis was also inhibited by BBK32 antisera. These data demonstrate that bbk32 and bbk50 are expressed during tick engorgement and that BBK32 antisera can interfere with spirochete transmission at various stages of the vector-host life cycle. These studies provide insight into mechanisms of immunity to Lyme borreliosis and other vector-borne diseases.