Protein Patterns of Early Mouse Embryos During Development

Using high resolution two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the major protein species (labeled in vitro with ³⁵S-methionine) of mouse embryos were examined starting with the unfertilized egg up to the blastocyst stage (fourth day of development). The analysis was then continued using in vitro culture techniques up to the 10th equivalent gestation day. At all periods of development distinct protein changes could be seen. However, major alterations in the protein synthesis pattern were noted between the 2nd and 3rd day in vivo and around the 8th equivalent gestation day in vitro. A complete series of gels is presented such that proteins can be easily identified in terms of their molecular weights and isoelectric points.     

Lerp-feeding in birds: A smorgasbord experiment

Lerps from three species of psyllids were presented to recently-caught wild birds. A total of 187 birds of 29 species was tested, each for a 20 min period. In most trials some lerps were eaten. Lerps of Glycaspis fuscovena were favoured by 21 of 22 bird species which ate lerps in the trials. Almost all lerps of Creiis ?corniculata were left uneaten. The percentage consumption of lerps of Lasiopsylla striatus was intermediate. This ordering is consistent with biomass and concentration of soluble sugars, though it is the reverse of the order for protein content. There was significant variation between bird species in the number of lerps eaten, with the best performers being thornbills, Weebill, pardalotes. Rufous Whistler, and White-eared, Brown-headed and Fuscous Honeyeaters. In most cases, associated with the detachment of the covering lerp, the psyllid nymph sheltering underneath was eaten also. This varied substantially between bird species and the nymph itself was probably an unimportant object of foraging. Most bird species ate a higher proportion of large (>2 mm long) than of small (< 2 mm) lerps; this was so especially for birds with relatively broad bills.     

耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌消毒剂和抗生素耐药相关基因的聚类分析

目的了解解放军第98医院临床分离的耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌(MRSA)抗菌药物耐药基因存在状况及菌株亲缘性。方法采用聚合酶链反应及序列分析的方法检测50株MRSA中10种耐药相关基因,采用Average法对耐药基因进行聚类分析。结果50株MRSA中m ecA、aac(6')-aph(2')、tetM和erm基因均阳性,qacA、blaTEM、aph(3')-III和ant(4',4')基因阳性率分别为92.0%、40.0%、98.0%和4.0%,vanA和vanB基因均阴性。在1号、2号、3号菌株的qacA基因序列编码区域同一位点均有1个碱基发生有义突变(G→A),相应的苏氨酸(T)被异亮氨酸(I)所取代。根据耐药基因的聚类分析该50株MRSA可分为2个亚群,为院内感染所致。结论临床分离的MRSA耐药相关基因携带率很高;qacA基因存在有义突变为新的发现;MRSA可导致克隆传播院内感染,并存在暴发性流行。     

The turbulent boundary between water science and water management

SUMMARY. 1. It is common to observe friction between limnologists and the managers of water resources. This is often a result of misunderstandings about the cultures within which each works.
2. There are a number of ways that science can contribute to effective management of water resources, but limnologists must appreciate that there are value questions which are not the sole prerogative of science to answer.
3. Managers often misunderstand science and expect it to deliver a truth that is non-arguable. They fail to understand the very process of science demands no such truths, so that assumptions, methods and conclusions can always be challenged.
4. One way to bridge this boundary is to develop the scientific broking role. Another is to do better and more relevant science. Ways of doing both are discussed.     

c‐erbB‐2 and p53 expression in breast cancer fine needle aspirates

The aim of this study was to co‐evaluate c‐ erbB ‐2 and p53 protein expression in breast cancer fine needle aspirates (FNA) and to compare this with histological variables and the immunohistochemical phenotype of the tumours. Furthermore, we assessed the relationship of c‐ erbB ‐2 and p53 immunocytochemical expression to tumour prognostic factors. We examined 124 breast cancer FNAs and 79 matched surgical specimens using the avidin–biotin complex (ABC) and the alkaline phosphatase immunocytochemical techniques. C‐ erbB ‐2 immunopositivity was detected in 37.9% of the FNAs, while 31.7% were positive for p53. A statistically significant correlation was observed between p53 negativity and absence of c‐ erbB ‐2 immunostaining in the FNAs ( P =0.0007). Smears from infiltrating ductal carcinomas tended to be more frequently positive for p53 (36.7%) than those from lobular carcinomas (11.7%) ( P =0.054). In matched tumour tissues, c‐ erbB ‐2 was positive in 16.7% and p53 in 19% of cases. The immunocytochemical results for both c‐ erbB ‐2 and p53 were significantly correlated with the immunohistochemical results. There was no correlation between c‐ erbB ‐2 and p53 immunostaining, in both FNAs and tissues, and patients' menopausal status, tumour size, grade and lymph node status.     

一种新型免疫PCR基因探针的构建及其在诊断中的初步研究

利用叶绿素分子 (chlorophyll)作为共价连接蛋白质与核酸的中间分子 ,构建了甲胎蛋白 (α fetoprotein ,AFP)抗体的基因探针 ,并用构建的基因探针通过免疫PCR对AFP进行了诊断的初步研究 .结果表明 ,其检测灵敏度比ELISA高 1 0 ⁴～1 0 ⁵ 倍 .基因探针的构建方法完全避免了蛋白质与有机溶剂的接触 ,基本保持了抗体的原有活性 ;并且人为地将蛋白质定向地锚定在dsDNA分子上 ,使PCR扩增不受任何影响 .构建的基因探针采用一定的保藏方法 ,室温中活性保存至少 6个月 .构建方法精简 ,成本低 ,易于推广应用     

Molecular genetic analysis of virus isolates from wild and cultivated plants demonstrates that East Africa is a hotspot for the evolution and diversification of Sweet potato feathery mottle virus

Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV, genus Potyvirus) is globally the most common pathogen of cultivated sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas; Convolvulaceae). Although more than 150 SPFMV isolates have been sequence‐characterized from cultivated sweet potatos across the world, little is known about SPFMV isolates from wild hosts and the evolutionary forces shaping SPFMV population structures. In this study, 46 SPFMV isolates from 14 wild species of genera Ipomoea, Hewittia and Lepistemon (barcoded for the matK gene in this study) and 13 isolates from cultivated sweet potatoes were partially sequenced. Wild plants were infected with the EA, C or O strain, or co‐infected with the EA and C strains of SPFMV. In East Africa, SPFMV populations in wild species and sweet potato were genetically undifferentiated, suggesting inter‐host transmission of SPFMV. Globally, spatial diversification of the 178 isolates analysed was observed, strain EA being largely geographically restricted to East Africa. Recombination was frequently detected in the 6K2‐VPg‐NIaPro region of the EA strain, demonstrating a recombination ‘hotspot’. Recombination between strains EA and C was rare, despite their frequent co‐infections in wild plants, suggesting purifying selection against strain EA/C recombinants. Positive selection was predicted on 17 amino acids distributed over the entire coat protein in the globally distributed strain C, as compared to only four amino acids in the coat protein N‐terminus of the EA strain. This selection implies a more recent introduction of the C strain and a higher adaptation of the EA strain to the local ecosystem. Thus, East Africa appears as a hotspot for evolution and diversification of SPFMV.     

动物源农药斑蝥素对部分非靶标生物的安全性评价

评价农药对环境中非靶标生物的毒性是开发和应用新农药的重要环节.本试验依据国家环保局"化学农药环境安全性评价试验准则",测定了斑蝥素纯品及1.0%斑蝥素乳油对部分非靶标生物的毒性,并进行了安全性评价.结果表明,1.0%斑蝥素乳油对鹌鹑急性经口LD50为12.096 mg/kg,蓄积毒性为轻度蓄积;1.0%斑蝥素乳油对瓢虫触杀、胃毒的LC50分别为114.724 mg/L、48.007 mg/L;斑蝥素纯品、乳油浓度达100 mg/kg时,对土壤微生物呼吸作用的抑制率均小于50%;斑蝥素纯品对鲤鱼24 h、48 h、72 h、96 h的LC50分别为7.992、4.790、3.401、2.440 mg/L.可见,斑蝥素及1.0%斑蝥素乳油对鹌鹑、瓢虫及土壤微生物均为低毒,而对鲤鱼为中等毒性.     

Restriction fragment length polymorphism of ovine casein genes: close linkage between the αs1-,αs2-,ß- and k-casein loci

Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of ovine casein genes was investigated. Genomic DNA from 56 rams was digested with 10 restriction endonucleases and Southern blots probed with the four ovine casein cDNAs (alpha s1-, beta-, alpha s2- and kappa-Cn). Five enzymes, namely, BglI, PvuII, RsaI, TaqI and HindIII revealed nine different RFLPs. The inheritance of six of these polymorphisms was studied by segregation analysis of gametes in nine rams' families, and each of them could be related to the existence of alleles at the relevant casein locus. A close linkage between the four ovine casein genes was demonstrated since no recombination within the four pairs of loci examined, alpha s1-beta-Cn, alpha s1-kappa-Cn, beta-kappa-Cn and alpha s2-kappa-Cn, was observed in the progeny of double heterozygous rams. The casein genes are thus clustered in the ovine species as in the case of other mammals.