真核生物双向启动子的结构与功能

双向启动子(bidirectional promoter)是指位于两个相邻且转录方向相反的基因之间 的一段DNA序列.双向启动子的双向转录机制可能是两个RNA聚合酶同时聚集在无核小 体区的边界,然后在两个方向上起始转录.双向启动子在真核生物基因组中广泛分布 ,大多数的双向启动子缺少TATA盒,而具有较高的GC含量和丰富的CpG岛.本文概述了 双向启动子双向起始转录的最新研究,并对其在双向转录基因对共表达和稳定性表达 调控中的作用及其应用做了详细阐述.     

Interobserver reproducibility of immunohistochemical HER-2/neu assessment in human breast cancer: an update from INQAT round III

The clinical interest in HER-2/neu is related to trastuzumab, a drug used to treat patients with invasive breast carcinoma overexpressing the HER-2/neu protein. It is very important to correctly identify those patients who may benefit from trastuzumab by accurate assessment of the HER-2/neu status. Of the various methods available, the Dako Herceptest for immunohistochemical assay is considered the most reliable to reach this goal. The aim of this study was to investigate within a group of Italian laboratories the reproducibility of the results of HER-2/neu assessment by means of the Dako scoring system on slides stained with the Herceptest kit. This study was also conceived as the continuation of one of our previous studies, which was similar in its aims but different in the classification criteria adopted. Our results show that, whereas the intra-observer reproducibility was generally satisfactory, the interobserver reproducibility was not. Moreover, our findings confirm that the two extreme classes (0 and 3+) are more easy to identify than the other two and that the Herceptest does not allow to discriminate optimally between scoring classes 2+ and 3+. These findings are relevant in clinical practice where the treatment choice is based on categories defined by this assay, suggesting the need of adopting educational programs and/or new reference materials to improve the assay performance.     

Symbiosome-like intracellular colonization of cereals and other crop plants by nitrogen-fixing bacteria for reduced inputs of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers

It has been forecast that the challenge of meeting increased food demand and protecting environmental quality will be won or lost in maize, rice and wheat cropping systems, and that the problem of environmental nitrogen enrichment is most likely to be solved by substituting synthetic nitrogen fertilizers by the creation of cereal crops that are able to fix nitrogen symbiotically as legumes do. In legumes, rhizobia present intracellularly in membrane-bound vesicular compartments in the cytoplasm of nodule cells fix nitrogen endosymbiotically. Within these symbiosomes, membrane-bound vesicular compartments, rhizobia are supplied with energy derived from plant photosynthates and in return supply the plant with biologically fixed nitrogen, usually as ammonia. This minimizes or eliminates the need for inputs of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. Recently we have demonstrated, using novel inoculation conditions with very low numbers of bacteria, that cells of root meristems of maize, rice, wheat and other major non-legume crops, such as oilseed rape and tomato, can be intracellularly colonized by the non-rhizobial, non-nodulating, nitrogen fixing bacterium, Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus that naturally occurs in sugarcane. G. diazotrophicus expressing nitrogen fixing (nifH) genes is present in symbiosome-like compartments in the cytoplasm of cells of the root meristems of the target cereals and non-legume crop species, somewhat similar to the intracellular symbiosome colonization of legume nodule cells by rhizobia. To obtain an indication of the likelihood of adequate growth and yield, of maize for example, with reduced inputs of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, we are currently determining the extent to which nitrogen fixation, as assessed using various methods, is correlated with the extent of systemic intracellular colonization by G. diazotrophicus, with minimal or zero inputs.     

叶绿体J蛋白研究进展

J蛋白是广泛存在于细胞内的一种分子伴侣。它作为Hsp70的辅伴侣分子有着广泛而复杂的生物学功能。本文概述了J蛋白的相关概念、结构、种类、分布及其作用机制,并重点讨论了其在叶绿体内的功能。最后对有关J蛋白研究中需要解决的问题做了展望。     

Characterization of seedling proteomes and development of markers to distinguish the Brassica A and C genomes

The diploid species Brassica rapa(genome AA)and B.oleracea(genome CC)were compared by full-scale proteome analyses of seedling.A total of 28.2% of the proteins was common to both species,indicating the existence of a basal or ubiquitous proteome.However,a number of discriminating proteins(32.0%)and specific proteins(39.8%)of the Brassica A and C genomes,respectively,were identified,which could represent potentially species-specific functions.Based on these A or C genome-specific proteins,a number of PCR-bas...     

The impact of habitat fragmentation on the interaction between Centaurium erythraea (Gentianaceae) and its specialized seed predator Stenoptilia zophodactylus (Pterophoridae, Lepidoptera)

Habitat fragmentation can affect plant population characteristics and plant traits, which in turn can change biotic interactions, such as plant?Cinsect interactions. Because of this, habitat fragmentation can affect reproductive success and survival of both the plant and seed predators, especially when the predator is rare and specialized. This study focuses on the level of fruit predation in Centaurium erythraea by its specific seed predator, the plume moth Stenoptilia zophodactylus, in a fragmented coastal dune landscape. To investigate the consequences of habitat fragmentation, we assessed the effect of population and plant characteristics of 25 C. erythraea populations on fruit predation by S. zophodactylus. Although the distribution of this specialized predator is poorly documented, our results show that S. zophodactylus occurred frequently in most of the studied C. erythraea populations. We found a strong correlation between the spatial isolation of the host plant and the level of fruit predation, with low predation in isolated populations, most likely due to the limited dispersion capacity of the plume moth. C. erythraea individuals experienced a higher risk of fruit predation when showing a large floral display size, presumably because they are more attractive. However, at fruit level, the risk of predation decreases with increasing floral display at individual plant level, representing a sort of dilution effect. Our findings indicate that maintaining and restoring large, dense and rather connected populations of C. erythraea will be beneficial for the sustainable conservation of the rare specialist seed predator S. zophodactylus, without increasing the predation pressure on the host plant.     

不同育秧方式和插植密度下华南双季晚籼稻根系活力的初步研究

本试验于1995年晚季初步研究了水、旱育秧方式和不同插植密度下根系活力的变化趋势及与地上部生长发育的关系。结果表明:(1)旱育秧苗根系活力明显高于水育秧,根系活力与白根数、地上部苗体干/鲜重比值呈显著正相关,与褐根数、苗高、叶龄和百苗干、鲜物重呈负相关。(2)旱育单苗移植处理的根系活力在水稻整个生育过程中均高于旱育多苗移植处理,水秧单苗和多苗移植处理。生育后期根系活力与主茎功能叶片叶绿素含量和叶面积系数分别呈极显著正相关和正相关,旱育秧苗的这些特性有利于移植后叶片与分蘖的快速形成及生育后期延缓叶片衰老,提高籽粒充实度。同时提出,在水肥管理上应适当加大后期穗肥比例,改善光照条件和土壤的通气排水状况,以便充分发挥旱育稀植秧苗的增产优势。     

多叶重楼遗传多样性的RAPD分析

应用RAPD技术检测了多叶重楼(Paris polyphyfzo)2个变种4个居群的遗传多样性,并与1个凌云重楼(P．cronquistii)居群进行了比较。选择的16个随机引物在5个居群中共检测到246个多态位点。在居群水平上,滇重楼2个居群的多态位点百分比(PP鳓分别为57．43％和54．67%,Shannon指数分别为0．3080和0．2830;七叶一枝花2个居群的PPB分别为56．33％和57．75%,Shannon指数分别为0、3080和0．3293。在变种水平上,滇重楼的PPB为75．14％,Shannon指数为0．3922,遗传分化系数(Gst)为0．3085;七叶一枝花的PPB为80．31％,Shannon指数为0．3992,遗传分化系数(Gst)为0．3726;在种的水平PPB达92．05%,遗传分化系数Gst达0．5151。聚类分析显示滇重楼和七叶一枝花有较近的亲缘关系,而与凌云重楼遗传距离较远。此结果从分子水平上支持了过去将滇重楼和七叶一枝花划分为1个种下2个变种的形态分类观点。     

Comparison of the Δ~(12) fatty acid desaturase gene between high-oleic and normal-oleic peanut genotypes

Δ12 fatty acid desaturase gene has been targeted as a logical candidate controlling the high oleate trait in peanut seeds.By RT-PCR method,the full-length cDNAs of Δ12 fatty acid desaturase gene were isolated from peanut(Arachis hypogaea L.) genotypes with normal and high ratio of oleic to linoleic acid,which were designated AhFAD2B and AhFAD2B',respectively.Sequence alignment of their coding regions revealed that an extra A was inserted at the position +442 bp of AhFAD2B' sequence of high oleic acid genoty...     

Use of beta-D-galactosidase and beta-D-glucuronidase activities for quantitative detection of total and fecal coliforms in wastewater

Two enzymatic methods based on the measurement of the beta-D-galactosidase activity of total coliforms and the beta-D-glucuronidase activity of Escherichia coli were used to assess coliform levels in wastewater alongside traditional culture-based techniques, which can be biased by the aggregation of bacteria or their attachment to particles. Enzymatic methods were precise (i.e., coefficients of variation were 9%-15%), rapid (response in 20 min), and correlated well (in log units) with traditional techniques for raw and treated sewage (r2 > 0.75). They were used for rapid assessment of coliform removal efficiency in two different wastewater treatments. These methods could be useful for the estimation of the abundance of coliforms in domestic sewage and their removal by wastewater treatment processes.