高秆野生稻内生固氮细菌多样性

高秆野生稻(Oryza alta)是一种重要的种质资源, 其组织内也蕴藏着非常宝贵的功能微生物资源。本实验采用无氮培养基, 从高秆野生稻中分离到43株内生固氮菌, 结合乙炔还原法测定其固氮酶活性。经固氮酶基因(nifH)的PCR扩增检测, 43株内生固氮菌代表菌株均能扩增出固氮酶基因片段。利用IS-PCR DNA指纹图谱和SDS-PAGE全细胞蛋白电泳图谱将获得的菌株聚类为6个类群(I、II、III、IV、V、VI)。对各个类群的代表菌株(ZF3, ZF8, ZF13, ZF15, ZF24, ZF43)进行16S rRNA基因序列测定, 结果表明, 类群I属于土生拉乌尔菌(Raoultella terrigena), 类群II属于类肺炎克雷伯氏菌类肺炎亚种(Klebsiella quasipnmoniae subsp. quasipneumoniae), 类群III属于越南伯克氏菌(Burkholderia vietnamiensis), 类群IV的菌株代表肠秆菌属的一个类群(Enterobacter sp.), 类群V的菌株属于门多萨假单胞菌(Pseudomonas mendocina), 类群VI归属于固氮植物菌(Phytobacter diazotrophicus)。Biolog聚类结果与IS-PCR指纹图谱类型及SDS-PAGE全细胞蛋白聚类结果一致。Biolog板测定结果显示, 来自不同类群的代表菌株对碳源的利用差异显著, 说明野生稻内多样的内生固氮菌从环境中获取碳源和氮素的适应能力较强。     

中国西藏种子植物区系新资料

本文报道了采自西藏喜马拉雅南坡的8个中国种子植物新记录种以及1个西藏新记录属。前者分别是吉隆牛奶菜(Marsdenia roylei)、塔基棕榈(Trachycarpus takil)、喀西蜂斗草(Sonerila khasiana)、旋花锡生藤(Cissampelos convolvulacea)、吉隆角盘兰(Herminium edgeworthii)、尼泊尔西番莲(Passiflora napalensis)、椭穗姜花(Hedychium ellipticum)和藏南象牙参(Roscoea brandisii); 1个西藏新记录属为箭药藤属(Belostemma) (箭药藤 Belostemma hirsutum)。凭证标本存放于中国科学院西双版纳热带植物园标本馆(HITBC)和西藏自治区高原生物研究所标本室(XZ)。     

Differential insulin responses to oral and intravenous glucose in the transplantable rat insulinoma--a role for GIP

We have previously demonstrated an impaired insulin response to intraperitoneal glucose and arginine by the transplantable NEDH rat insulinoma. The nature of this tumour B-cell defect has been further studied by investigating the response of insulinoma-bearing rats to intravenous and intragastric glucose. Intravenous glucose failed to stimulate plasma immunoreactive insulin (IRI) above high basal levels (14.5 +/- 1.1 micrograms/L). However, significant elevation of the plasma IRI concentration was observed following an intragastric glucose load (17.1 +/- 1.5 micrograms/L; P less than 0.02). In view of the different effects of oral and intravenous glucose on insulin secretion in the RIN, implicating an involvement of incretin factors from the gut, the response of the tumour to GIP was investigated. Plasma IRI concentrations rose significantly in these animals (20.6 +/- 2.5 micrograms/L at 5 min, P less than 0.02). We conclude that (a) the transplantable rat insulinoma is responsive to GIP, and (b) that whilst the tumour B-cell has lost its insulin responsiveness to hyperglycaemia produced by intraperitoneal or intravenous glucose, it retains its ability to respond to intragastric glucose. This could be due to incretin factors from the gut of which GIP is currently the strongest candidate.     

Identifying suitable reference genes for developing and injured mouse CNS tissues

Accurate quantification of gene expression is fundamental for understanding the molecular, genetic and functional bases of tissue development and diseases. Quantitative real‐time PCR (qPCR) is now the most widely used method of quantifying gene expression due to its simplicity, specificity, sensitivity, and wide quantification range. The use of appropriate reference genes to ensure accurate normalization is crucial for the correct quantification of gene expression from the early development, maturation, aging to injury processes in the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, we have determined the expression profiles of 12 candidate housekeeping genes (ACTB, CYC1, HMBS, GAPDH, HPRT1, RPL13A, YWHAZ, PPIA, RPLP0, TFRC, GUS, and 18S rRNA) in developing mouse brain and spinal cord. Throughout development, there was a significant degree of fluctuations in their expression levels, indicating the importance and complexity of finding appropriate reference genes. Three software including BestKeeper, geNorm and NormFinder were used to evaluate the stability of potential reference genes. GUS was the most stable gene and GUS/YWHAZ were the most stable reference gene pair across different developmental stages in different CNS regions, whereas HPRT1 and GAPDH were the most variable genes and thus inappropriate to use as reference genes. Therefore, our results identified GUS and YWHAZ as the best combination of two reference genes for expression data normalization in CNS developmental studies. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 78: 39–50, 2018     

CCL5/CCR5 axis promotes the motility of human oral cancer cells

CCL5 (previously called RANTES) is in the CC‐chemokine family and plays a crucial role in the migration and metastasis of human cancer cells. On the other hand, the effect of CCL5 is mediated via CCR receptor. RT‐PCR and flow cytometry studies demonstrated CCR5 but not CCR1 and CCR3 mRNA in oral cancer cell lines, especially higher in those with high invasiveness (SCC4) as compared with lower levels in HSC3 cells and SCC9 cells. Stimulation of oral cancer cells with CCL5 directly increased the migration and metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9) production. MMP‐9 small interfering RNA inhibited the CCL5‐induced MMP‐9 expression and thereby significantly inhibited the CCL5‐induced cell migration. Activations of phospholipase C (PLC), protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ), and NF‐κB pathways after CCL5 treatment was demonstrated, and CCL5‐induced expression of MMP‐9 and migration activity was inhibited by the specific inhibitor of PLC, PKCδ, and NF‐κB cascades. In addition, migration‐prone sublines demonstrate that cells with increasing migration ability had more expression of MMP‐9, CCL5, and CCR5. Taken together, these results indicate that CCL5/CCR5 axis enhanced migration of oral cancer cells through the increase of MMP‐9 production. J. Cell. Physiol. 220: 418–426, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The expression of a novel estrogen receptor, GPR30, in epithelial ovarian carcinoma and its correlation with MMP-9

The aim of the present study is to investigate the expression of a novel estrogen receptor, G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30) and its correlation with matrix metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9) in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Ovary tissues were obtained from 39 female patients, including 30 cases of EOC and 9 cases of benign ovarian tumor. Four normal ovary tissues were used as control. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expressions of GPR30 and MMP-9. Chi square test, Fisher's exact test and Spearman's rank correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis. The results showed that GPR30 overexpression rate in EOC cases was significantly higher than those in benign ovarian tumor and normal ovary cases. Whereas MMP-9 overexpression rate in EOC cases was significantly higher than that in normal ovary cases, without any difference to that in benign ovarian tumor cases. To demonstrate the relationship between GPR30 and clinicopathological variables of EOC, we further analyzed the pathology type, FIGO stage and age of patients sampled in our study. The analysis showed there were significant differences of GPR30 overexpression rate among various pathology types and different FIGO stages (P<0.05), and no significant difference of both GPR30 and MMP-9 among three age groups (P>0.05). Moreover, GPR30 expression was positively correlated with MMP-9 (r(s)=1.000, P=0.002). These results suggest that GPR30 may be involved in the invasion and metastasis of EOC, being a potential index of EOC early diagnosis and malignancy grade prediction.     

A comparative study of cobra (Naja) venom enzymes

1. The L-amino acid oxidase, hyaluronidase, alkaline phosphomonoesterase, protease, phosphodiesterase, acetylcholinesterase, phospholipase A and 5'-nucleotidase activities of 47 samples of venoms from all the six species of cobra (Naja), including five subspecies of Naja naja, were examined. 2. The results demonstrated interspecific differences in the venom contents of phospholipase A, acetylcholinesterase, hyaluronidase and phosphodiesterase. These differences in venom enzyme contents can be used for the differentiation of species of the genus Naja. 3. Thus, our results revealed a correlation between the enzyme composition of venom and the taxonomic status of the snake at the species level for the genus Naja.     

Isolation of polyhydroxyalkanoate-producing bacteria from an integrated-farming pond and palm-oil mill effluent ponds

Bacterial isolates from two environments, an integrated-farming pond in the university and palm-oil mill effluent (POME) ponds at a local palm-oil-processing factory, were screened for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). Initially Sudan Black B staining was performed to detect lipid cellular inclusions. Lipid-positive isolates were then grown in a nitrogen-limiting medium containing 2% (w/v) glucose to promote accumulation of PHA before the subsequent Nile Blue A staining. The PHA extracted from positive isolates was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The proportion of PHA-positive bacterial isolates was higher in the POME ponds compared to the integrated-farming pond.