Effect of Yulangsan Polysaccharide on the Reinstatement of Morphine-Induced Conditioned Place Preference in Sprague–Dawley Rats

We previously reported that Yulangsan polysaccharide (YLSP), which was isolated from the root of Millettia pulchra Kurz, attenuates withdrawal symptoms of morphine dependence by regulating the nitric oxide pathway and modulating monoaminergic neurotransmitters. In this study, we investigated the effects and mechanism of YLSP on the reinstatement of morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats. A CPP procedure was employed to assess the behavior of rats, and indicators of serum and four brain regions (nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex) were determined to explore its underlying mechanism. YLSP inhibited priming morphine-induced reinstatement of CPP in a dose-dependent manner. YLSP markedly reduced nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase levels in the brain. Moreover, YLSP significantly decreased the dopamine and norepinephrine levels in the serum and brain. Furthermore, YLSP significantly decreased cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) concentrations, inhibited the expression of dopamine D1 receptors and cAMP response element binding protein mRNA, and improved the expression of dopamine D2 receptor mRNA in the four brain regions. Our findings indicated that YLSP could inhibit the reinstatement of morphine-induced CPP possibly by modulating the NO-cGMP and D1R-cAMP signaling pathways.     

Human Vocal Attractiveness as Signaled by Body Size Projection

Voice, as a secondary sexual characteristic, is known to affect the perceived attractiveness of human individuals. But the underlying mechanism of vocal attractiveness has remained unclear. Here, we presented human listeners with acoustically altered natural sentences and fully synthetic sentences with systematically manipulated pitch, formants and voice quality based on a principle of body size projection reported for animal calls and emotional human vocal expressions. The results show that male listeners preferred a female voice that signals a small body size, with relatively high pitch, wide formant dispersion and breathy voice, while female listeners preferred a male voice that signals a large body size with low pitch and narrow formant dispersion. Interestingly, however, male vocal attractiveness was also enhanced by breathiness, which presumably softened the aggressiveness associated with a large body size. These results, together with the additional finding that the same vocal dimensions also affect emotion judgment, indicate that humans still employ a vocal interaction strategy used in animal calls despite the development of complex language.     

氧死亡:一种新型调节性细胞死亡

氧死亡(oxeiptosis)是2018年提出的一种新的调节性细胞死亡方式(regulated cell death,RCD).其特点是活性氧诱导的Caspase非依赖性的凋亡样细胞死亡.它有自身独特的损伤诱因(活性氧)、关健基因与通路(KEAP1-PGAM5-AIFM1),不同于坏死、细胞凋亡、坏死性凋亡、焦亡、铁死...     

黄颡单尾虫(粘体门,双壳目)的重描述及基于28S rDNA和ITS-5.8S序列的系统地位分析

采用形态分类学方法与以28S rDNA和ITS-5.8S序列为基础的分子系统学研究方法,对采自嘉陵江重庆市磁器口江段的黄颡单尾虫Unicauda pelteobagrusMa,1998进行了形态学和分子生物学的研究。基于28S rDNA数据探讨了黄颡单尾虫以及单尾虫属与相邻种属粘孢子虫间的系统地位;基于5.8S rDNA数据比较分析了粘孢子虫的系统地位。补充了黄颡单尾虫重庆种群形态学信息和28S rDNA、ITS-5.8S rDNA序列的分子信息。     

汉坦病毒汉滩型特殊新亚型的发现

应用RT－PCR扩增了皖南山区分离株AH09的M和S片段全基因,克隆于T载体,纯化后测定序列。结果AH09株M片段的全基因序列共3625个核苷酸,编码1135个氨基酸;S片段的全基因序列共1724个核苷酸,编码430个氨基酸。M和S片段全基因核苷酸和氨基酸与汉坦病毒各型株的代表株和HTN型毒株的同源性比较表明,AH09株分枝与HTN型接近,与其它各型病毒则相距较远,故确定为HTN型毒株,但AH09株与HTN型毒株的M和S片段全基因序列有差异,其差异分别高达23．6％和20．4％,经种系发生分析,AH09株是迄今为止所发现的HTN型病毒中差异最大的新基因亚型病毒株,AH09株病毒M片段的氨基酸与HTN型相差13．5％至14．8％,而S片段仅相差7％－8．1％,说明AH09毒株的变异主要发生在M片段。而ORF和3‘端的NCR区核苷酸序列分析比较说明,病毒的变异更主要集中在该片段的3‘端的NCR区。     

ITS序列同源性在苏云金芽孢杆菌分型中的应用研究

ＰＣＲ扩增了苏云金芽孢杆菌９个亚种的１６Ｓ－２３Ｓ ｒＲＮＡ基因转录间隔（ＩＴＳ）片段,它们的长度均为１４４碱基;序列同源性分析结果批出这９个亚种及其它亚种的ＩＴＳ序列高度相似,说明１６Ｓ－２３Ｓ ｒＲＮＡ基因的ＩＴＳ序列不适于苏云金孢杆菌亚种的分型。     

The catabolic pathways of in situ rhizosphere PAH degraders and the main factors driving PAH rhizoremediation in oil-contaminated soil

Rhizoremediation is a potential technique for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) remediation; however, the catabolic pathways of in situ rhizosphere PAH degraders and the main factors driving PAH rhizoremediation remain unclear. To address these issues, stable-isotope-probing coupled with metagenomics and molecular ecological network analyses were first used to investigate the phenanthrene rhizoremediation by three different prairie grasses in this study. All rhizospheres exhibited a significant increase in phenanthrene removal and markedly modified the diversity of phenanthrene degraders by increasing their populations and interactions with other microbes. Of all the active phenanthrene degraders, Marinobacter and Enterobacteriaceae dominated in the bare and switchgrass rhizosphere respectively; Achromobacter was markedly enriched in ryegrass and tall fescue rhizospheres. Metagenomes of ¹³C-DNA illustrated several complete pathways of phenanthrene degradation for each rhizosphere, which clearly explained their unique rhizoremediation mechanisms. Additionally, propanoate and inositol phosphate of carbohydrates were identified as the dominant factors that drove PAH rhizoremediation by strengthening the ecological networks of soil microbial communities. This was verified by the results of rhizospheric and non-rhizospheric treatments supplemented with these two substances, further confirming their key roles in PAH removal and in situ PAH rhizoremediation. Our study offers novel insights into the mechanisms of in situ rhizoremediation at PAH-contaminated sites.     

“DNA signaturing” database construction for Tetradesmus species identification and phylogenetic relationships of Scenedesmus-like green microalgae (Scenedesmaceae,Chlorophyta)

Species identification of Scenedesmus-like microalgae, comprising Desmodesmus, Tetradesmus, and Scenedesmus, has been challenging due to their high morphological and genetic similarity. After developing a DNA signaturing tool for Desmodesmus identification, we built a DNA signaturing database for Tetradesmus. The DNA signaturing tool contained species-specific nucleotide sequences of Tetradesmus species or strain groups with high similarity in ITS2 sequences. To construct DNA signaturing, we collected data on ITS2 sequences, aligned the sequences, organized the data by ITS2 sequence homology, and determined signature sequences according to hemi-compensatory base changes (hCBC)/CBC data from previous studies. Four Tetradesmus species and 11 strain groups had DNA signatures. The signature sequence of the genus Tetradesmus, TTA GAG GCT TAA GCA AGG ACCC, recognized 86% (157/183) of the collected Tetradesmus strains. Phylogenetic analysis of Scenedesmus-like species revealed that the Tetradesmus species were monophyletic and closely related to each other based on branch lengths. Desmodesmus was suggested to split into two subgenera due to their genetic and morphological distinction. Scenedesmus must be analyzed along with other genera of the Scenedesmaceae family to determine their genetic relationships. Importantly, DNA signaturing was integrated into a database for identifying Scenedesmus-like species through BLAST.