阿维菌素对半闭弯尾姬蜂保护酶系和解毒酶系的影响

为明确阿维菌素对半闭弯尾姬蜂保护酶系和解毒酶系的影响,采用试管药膜法以阿维菌素亚致死浓度(LC10和LC25)处理半闭弯尾姬蜂成虫,分别于处理后1、12、24和48 h测定其体内保护酶和解毒酶活性变化。结果表明,阿维菌素亚致死浓度处理后,随着时间的延长,对寄生蜂体内超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)和过氧化物酶(POD)活性总体表现为诱导作用;对过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性表现为先抑制后诱导作用;对酯酶(EST)、谷胱甘肽S-转移酶(GST)和多功能氧化酶(MFO)具有显著的抑制作用。研究结果为深入了解半闭弯尾姬蜂对阿维菌素的防御机理提供了一定的理论基础。     

吕梁山区3种人工林植被、凋落物生物量差异特征及其与土壤养分的关系

通过样地调查和土壤样品采集分析的方法,测定了山杨、油松和辽东栎3种人工林林下植被(灌木、草本)的活地被的生物量以及地表凋落物的生物量和土壤养分的总概况,并探讨了它们之间的相关性。结果表明:活地被生物量表现为油松2.354 7 t·hm~(-2)山杨2.078 5 t·hm~(-2)辽东栎1.137 3 t·hm~(-2),地表凋落物生物量山杨4.797 5 t·hm~(-2)辽东栎2.139 9 t·hm~(-2)油松0.525 0 t·hm~(-2);林下土壤分级指标结果:有机质、全磷均呈现4~5级标准,全氮为1~3级标准;林下土壤养分含量分析比较结果:有机质含量为山杨辽东栎油松,而全氮和全磷为山杨油松辽东栎;同时分析了土壤全量养分与各林分下活地被生物量、凋落物层生物量之间的相关性,结果表明:3种人工林的3种全量养分与活地被生物量、凋落物生物量均呈现极显著相关(P0.01),同时3种林分的土壤全量养分间相关性显著(P0.05),表现出良好的协同效应。     

ssDNA Aptamer Specifically Targets and Selectively Delivers Cytotoxic Drug Doxorubicin to HepG2 Cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of death due to cancer worldwide with over 500,000 people affected annually. Although chemotherapy has been widely used to treat patients with HCC, alternate modalities to specifically deliver therapeutic cargos to cancer cells have been sought in recent years due to the severe side effects of chemotherapy. In this respect, aptamer-based tumor targeted drug delivery has emerged as a promising approach to increase the efficacy of chemotherapy and reduce or eliminate drug toxicity. In this study, we developed a new HepG2-specific aptamer (HCA#3) by a procedure known as systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) and exploited its role as a targeting ligand to deliver doxorubicin (Dox) to HepG2 cells in vitro. The selected 76-base nucleotide aptamer preferentially bound to HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells but not to control cells. The aptamer HCA#3 was modified with paired CG repeats at the 5′-end to carry and deliver a high payload of intercalated Dox molecules at the CG sites. Four Dox molecules (mol/mol) were fully intercalated in each conjugate aptamer-Dox (ApDC) molecule. Biostability analysis showed that the ApDC molecules are stable in serum. Functional analysis showed that ApDC specifically targeted and released Dox within HepG2 cells but not in control cells, and treatment with HCA#3 ApDC induced HepG2 cell apoptosis but had minimal effect on control cells. Our study demonstrated that HCA#3 ApDC is a promising aptamer-targeted therapeutic that can specifically deliver and release a high doxorubicin payload in HCC cells.     

Whole-Genome Sequencing for the Investigation of a Hospital Outbreak of MRSA in China

Staphylococcus aureus is a globally disseminated drug-resistant bacterial species. It remains a leading cause of hospital-acquired infection, primarily among immunocompromised patients. In 2012, the Affiliated People’s Hospital of Jiangsu University experienced a putative outbreak of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) that affected 12 patients in the Neurosurgery Department. In this study, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was used to gain insight into the epidemiology of the outbreak caused by MRSA, and traditional bacterial genotyping approaches were also applied to provide supportive evidence for WGS. We sequenced the DNA from 6 isolates associated with the outbreak. Phylogenetic analysis was constructed by comparing single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the core genome of 6 isolates in the present study and another 3 referenced isolates from GenBank. Of the 6 MRSA sequences in the current study, 5 belonged to the same group, clustering with T0131, while the other one clustered closely with TW20. All of the isolates were identified as ST239-SCCmecIII clones. Whole-genome analysis revealed that four of the outbreak isolates were more tightly clustered into a group and SA13002 together with SA13009 were distinct from the outbreak strains, which were considered non-outbreak strains. Based on the sequencing results, the antibiotic-resistance gene status (present or absent) was almost perfectly concordant with the results of phenotypic susceptibility testing. Various toxin genes were also analyzed successfully. Our analysis demonstrates that using traditional molecular methods and WGS can facilitate the identification of outbreaks and help to control nosocomial transmission.     

The Acoustic Properties of Low Intensity Vocalizations Match Hearing Sensitivity in the Webbed-Toed Gecko,Gekko subpalmatus

The design of acoustic signals and hearing sensitivity in socially communicating species would normally be expected to closely match in order to minimize signal degradation and attenuation during signal propagation. Nevertheless, other factors such as sensory biases as well as morphological and physiological constraints may affect strict correspondence between signal features and hearing sensitivity. Thus study of the relationships between sender and receiver characteristics in species utilizing acoustic communication can provide information about how acoustic communication systems evolve. The genus Gekko includes species emitting high-amplitude vocalizations for long-range communication (loud callers) as well as species producing only low-amplitude vocalizations when in close contact with conspecifics (quiet callers) which have rarely been investigated. In order to investigate relationships between auditory physiology and the frequency characteristics of acoustic signals in a quiet caller, Gekko subpalmatus we measured the subjects’ vocal signal characteristics as well as auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) to assess auditory sensitivity. The results show that G. subpalmatus males emit low amplitude calls when encountering females, ranging in dominant frequency from 2.47 to 4.17 kHz with an average at 3.35 kHz. The auditory range with highest sensitivity closely matches the dominant frequency of the vocalizations. This correspondence is consistent with the notion that quiet and loud calling species are under similar selection pressures for matching auditory sensitivity with spectral characteristics of vocalizations.     

Single point mutations enhance activity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">cis</Emphasis>-epoxysuccinate hydrolase

Objectives

To enhance activity of cis-epoxysuccinate hydrolase from Klebsiella sp. BK-58 for converting cis-epoxysuccinate to tartrate.

Results

By semi-saturation mutagenesis, all the mutants of the six important conserved residues almost completely lost activity. Then random mutation by error-prone PCR and high throughput screening were further performed to screen higher activity enzyme. We obtained a positive mutant F10D after screening 6000 mutations. Saturation mutagenesis on residues Phe10 showed that most of mutants exhibited higher activity than the wild-type, and the highest mutant was F10Q with activity of 812 U mg^?1 (k _cat /K _m , 9.8 ± 0.1 mM^?1 s^?1), which was 230 % higher than that of wild-type enzyme 355 U mg^?1 (k _cat /K _m , 5.3 ± 0.1 mM^?1 s^?1). However, the thermostability of the mutant F10Q slightly decreased.

Conclusions

The catalytic activity of a cis-epoxysuccinate hydrolase was efficient improved by a single mutation F10Q and Phe10 might play an important role in the catalysis.

     

干旱复水对海棠叶片光合蒸腾及水分利用效率的影响

以13个类型的盆栽海棠为材料,分析了自然干旱及旱后复水时叶片净光合速率(net photosynthesis rate,Pn),蒸腾速率(transpiration rate,Tr)及水分利用效率(water use effi ciency,WUE)。结果表明:13个海棠中,西府海棠的Pn和WUE最低,对水分变化最不敏感;平邑甜茶比较适应轻度和中度干旱,不适应重度干旱。复水后‘紫色王子’、‘绚丽’和‘雪球’等9个类型的Pn明显超过原初状态;‘红艳’、‘糖美林’、‘红粉’、‘红宝石’和‘王族’通过提高WUE来抵抗干旱胁迫,‘绚丽’、‘红丽’和垂丝海棠通过维持较强的恢复能力适应抗旱。干旱时,‘绚丽’比其他海棠能够更高效地利用水分。     

A Cocktail ELISA Semi‐nested RT‐PCR Assay to Detect Bean pod mottle virus in Soya bean Seeds

Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) has been identified as an important pathogen for plant quarantine in China because large quantities of soya bean seeds (approximately 7 × 10⁷ tons) are imported annually. To develop a practical detection programme for BPMV, a cocktail enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) nested RT‐PCR using a combination of serological and molecular methods was designed for soya bean seeds. The single‐vessel detection assay was performed in a 96‐well ELISA plate, which served as a carrier for the subsequent nested RT‐PCR assay. Assay specificity was demonstrated by the production of the expected 330‐ and 296‐bp bands using the external and internal primers, respectively. This method was 10⁴‐fold more sensitive than immunocapture‐RT‐PCR (IC‐RT‐PCR). In particular, it is important to note that this assay resulted in successful micro‐extraction from soya bean seeds and combined the advantages of each individual technique. The cocktail ELISA nested RT‐PCR is a specific, sensitive, rapid and economical procedure to rapidly identify and characterize BPMV and could be suitable for both primary‐level platforms and laboratories.     

基于Farquhar改进模型的北亚热带森林常见树种光合限速因子研究

为探讨北亚热带地区植物的光合限速因子,利用改进的Farquhar模型研究了9种常见树种的光合特性。结果表明,与常绿树种相比,落叶树种枫香(Liquidambar formosana)和乌桕(Sapium sebiferum)的最大净光合速率(Pmax)和表观羧化速率(CE)较大;核酮糖-1,5-二磷酸羧化酶/加氧酶(Rubisco)活性是他们的光合限速因子。地带性树种青冈栎(Cyclobalanopsis glauca)的Pmax和CE在常绿木本植物中最大,青冈较强的光合能力可能是来源于Vcmax和TPU。耐阴灌木八角金盘(Fatsia japonica)和美人茶(Camellia uraku)的Pmax较小,其光合限速因子是叶肉细胞导度和呼吸速率。低光照下植物较低的光合能力是由于较小的叶肉导度(gm)和TPU导致的;有效光合辐射短时间的降低使得物种的gm平均减少了60.14%。因此,不同树种在不同环境条件下的光合限速因子不尽相同,应根据树种不同的光合生理特性来合理布局,科学育林。