三亚市果蔬地重金属空间分布及其污染评价

通过野外调查采样,采用标准对比法和地累积指数法,评价了三亚市果蔬地表层土壤重金属的污染状况。结果表明:土壤中Hg、Cd、Cr、Pb和As5种重金属的积累不显著,其平均值均未超过国家环境质量二级标准(GB15618-1995);但Hg、Cd和Pb的平均值高于海南岛农用地的自然背景值,表明存在区域轻度污染;Cr、Hg、Pb和As4种重金属元素的变异系数均>1,表明土壤中Cr、Hg、Pb和As的分布极不均匀。同时,利用地理信息系统(GIS)Krging插值方法得到了5种重金属的空间分布图,显示出不同重金属元素的空间分异特征,为三亚市果蔬地的可持续开发利用提供指导。     

Engineering the thermostability of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Trichoderma reesei</Emphasis> endo-1,4-β-xylanase II by combination of disulphide bridges

Disulphide bridges were introduced in different combinations into the N-terminal region and the single -helix of mesophilic Trichoderma reesei xylanase II (TRX II). We used earlier disulphide-bridge data and designed new disulphide bridges for the combination mutants. The most stable mutant contained two disulphide bridges (between positions 2 and 28 and between positions 110 and 154, respectively) and the mutations N11D, N38E, and Q162H. With a half-life of ~56 h at 65°C, the thermostability of this sevenfold mutant was ~5,000 times higher than that of TRX II, and the half-life was 25 min even at 75°C. The thermostability of this mutant was ~30 times higher than that of the corresponding mutant missing the bridge between positions 2 and 28. The extensive stabilization at two protein regions did not alter the kinetic properties of the sevenfold mutant from that of the wild-type TRX II. The combination of disulphide bridges enhanced significantly the pH-dependent stability in a wide pH range.     

显齿蛇葡萄提取物抗油脂氧化作用研究

用显齿蛇葡萄Ampelopsis grossedentata幼嫩茎叶提取物进行抗氧化试验,结果表明:显齿蛇葡萄幼嫩茎叶提取物有很强的抗氧化作用.0.2%的显齿蛇葡萄提取物对油脂的抗氧化效果超过同浓度的BHA及生姜提取物,0.7%的显齿蛇葡萄提取物对菜油、猪油的氧化抑制率比0.2%的BHA分别高出49.8%、9.4%,比0.2%生姜提取物分别高出46.5%、62.2%.     

黄瓜同源三倍体创制及减数分裂行为观察

采用常规杂交法研究黄瓜二、四倍体杂交过程中亲本育性、授粉组合及亲本基因型对杂交结实率的影响,并利用减数分裂制片法对获得的黄瓜同源三倍体进行了花粉母细胞减数分裂行为的观察.结果显示:(1)同源四倍体白交结实率比较低(13.0%～14.5%),可能与其花药内所包含的正常花粉粒比例小及花粉管萌发长度较短有关.(2)二、四倍体杂交组合的结实率很低(0.26%～0.02%),但在两种配组方式之间存在着明显差异,即以同源四倍体黄瓜为父本和二倍体黄瓜为母本的杂交结实率比较高,反之则杂交结实率比较低.(3)在二、四倍体杂交过程中,二、四倍体的基因型对杂交结实率的影响较大,以杂交双亲同属一个基因型的杂交效果较好.(4)同源三倍体花粉母细胞减数分裂过程与二倍体基本相同,但存在较高频率的染色体异常行为:中期I染色体构型复杂,在大多数花粉母细胞中可观察到单价体、二价体、三价体的存在;中期Ⅰ和Ⅱ有少数染色体游离于赤道板外;后期I和后期Ⅱ常出现落后染色体、染色体桥及细胞分裂不同步现象,其最终结果导致了不正常四分体和不可育配子的形成.(5)同源三倍体花粉粒的平均可染率和萌发率分别为18.8%和11.3%.研究结果表明,黄瓜二、四倍体正反交能直接获得同源三倍体材料;同源三倍体花粉母细胞减数分裂异常导致不育配子的形成是引起其育性低的细胞学原因;同源三倍体的部分育性为通过同源三倍体的回交来选育初级三体系奠定了基础.     

Inflammatory Stress Increases Hepatic CD36 Translational Efficiency via Activation of the mTOR Signalling Pathway

Inflammatory stress is an independent risk factor for the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Although CD36 is known to facilitate long-chain fatty acid uptake and contributes to NAFLD progression, the mechanisms that link inflammatory stress to hepatic CD36 expression and steatosis remain unclear. As the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signalling pathway is involved in CD36 translational activation, this study was undertaken to investigate whether inflammatory stress enhances hepatic CD36 expression via mTOR signalling pathway and the underlying mechanisms. To induce inflammatory stress, we used tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) stimulation of the human hepatoblastoma HepG2 cells in vitro and casein injection in C57BL/6J mice in vivo. The data showed that inflammatory stress increased hepatic CD36 protein levels but had no effect on mRNA expression. A protein degradation assay revealed that CD36 protein stability was not different between HepG2 cells treated with or without TNF-α or IL-6. A polysomal analysis indicated that CD36 translational efficiency was significantly increased by inflammatory stress. Additionally, inflammatory stress enhanced the phosphorylation of mTOR and its downstream translational regulators including p70S6K, 4E-BP1 and eIF4E. Rapamycin, an mTOR-specific inhibitor, reduced the phosphorylation of mTOR signalling pathway and decreased the CD36 translational efficiency and protein level even under inflammatory stress resulting in the alleviation of inflammatory stress-induced hepatic lipid accumulation. This study demonstrates that the activation of the mTOR signalling pathway increases hepatic CD36 translational efficiency, resulting in increased CD36 protein expression under inflammatory stress.     

Whole genome PCR scanning reveals the syntenic genome structure of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae strains in the O1/O139 population

Vibrio cholerae is commonly found in estuarine water systems. Toxigenic O1 and O139 V. cholerae strains have caused cholera epidemics and pandemics, whereas the nontoxigenic strains within these serogroups only occasionally lead to disease. To understand the differences in the genome and clonality between the toxigenic and nontoxigenic strains of V. cholerae serogroups O1 and O139, we employed a whole genome PCR scanning (WGPScanning) method, an rrn operon-mediated fragment rearrangement analysis and comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) to analyze the genome structure of different strains. WGPScanning in conjunction with CGH revealed that the genomic contents of the toxigenic strains were conservative, except for a few indels located mainly in mobile elements. Minor nucleotide variation in orthologous genes appeared to be the major difference between the toxigenic strains. rrn operon-mediated rearrangements were infrequent in El Tor toxigenic strains tested using I-CeuI digested pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis and PCR analysis based on flanking sequence of rrn operons. Using these methods, we found that the genomic structures of toxigenic El Tor and O139 strains were syntenic. The nontoxigenic strains exhibited more extensive sequence variations, but toxin coregulated pilus positive (TCP+) strains had a similar structure. TCP+ nontoxigenic strains could be subdivided into multiple lineages according to the TCP type, suggesting the existence of complex intermediates in the evolution of toxigenic strains. The data indicate that toxigenic O1 El Tor and O139 strains were derived from a single lineage of intermediates from complex clones in the environment. The nontoxigenic strains with non-El Tor type TCP may yet evolve into new epidemic clones after attaining toxigenic attributes.     

TNF-α和IL-13对人肺成纤维细胞胶原蛋白生成的影响

以胶原蛋白过量沉积为主要特征的纤维化是临床肺部疾患常见的病理现象。该研究利用RT-PCR技术检测不同剂量TNF-α和IL-13对人肺成纤维细胞IL-13Rα1、IL-13Rα2和Ⅰ型胶原蛋白转录水平的影响;ELISA检测细胞培养上清sIL-13Rα2分泌量;羟脯氨酸法定量分析各组肺成纤维细胞胶原蛋白生成情况。结果发现:在实验剂量条件下,TNF-α和IL-13对人肺成纤维细胞IL-13Rα1的表达无显著影响;两者均能不同程度地上调IL-13Rα2的表达;与对照组相比,TNF-α对胶原蛋白的表达有下调作用,IL-13则无显著影响。     

Genetic evidence for functional dependency of p18Ink4c on Cdk4

The INK4 family of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors negatively regulates cyclin D-dependent CDK4 and CDK6 and induces the growth-suppressive function of Rb family proteins. Mutations in the Cdk4 gene conferring INK4 resistance are associated with familial and sporadic melanoma in humans and result in a wide spectrum of tumors in mice, suggesting that INK4 is a major regulator of CDK4. Mice lacking the Cdk4 gene exhibit various defects in many organs associated with hypocellularity, whereas loss of the p18(Ink4c) gene results in widespread hyperplasia and organomegaly. To genetically test the notion that the function of INK4 is dependent on CDK4, we generated p18; Cdk4 double-mutant mice and examined the organs and tissues which developed abnormalities when either gene is deleted. We show here that, in all organs we have examined, including pituitary, testis, pancreas, kidney, and adrenal gland, hyperproliferative phenotypes associated with p18 loss were canceled. The double-mutant mice exhibited phenotypes very close to or indistinguishable from that of Cdk4 single-mutant mice. Mice lacking p27(Kip1) develop widespread hyperplasia and organomegaly similar to those developed by p18-deficient mice. The p27; Cdk4 double-mutant mice, however, displayed phenotypes intermediate between those of p27 and Cdk4 single-mutant mice. These results provide genetic evidence that in mice p18(Ink4c) and p27(Kip1) mediate the transduction of different cell growth and proliferation signals to CDK4 and that p18(Ink4c) is functionally dependent on CDK4.     

Quorum Sensing Enhances the Stress Response in Vibrio cholerae

Vibrio cholerae lives in aquatic environments and causes cholera. Here, we show that quorum sensing enhances V. cholerae viability under certain stress conditions by upregulating the expression of RpoS, and this regulation acts through HapR, suggesting that a quorum-sensing-enhanced stress response plays a role in V. cholerae environmental survival.