Genetic screen for genes involved in Chk2 signaling in Drosophila

Chk2 is a well characterized protein kinase with key roles in the DNA damage response. Chk2 is activated by phosphorylation following DNA damage, and relays that signal to various substrate proteins to induce cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, and apoptosis. In order to identify novel components of the Chk2 signaling pathway in Drosophila, we screened 2,240 EP misexpression lines for dominant modifiers of an adult rough eye phenotype caused by Chk2 overexpression in postmitotic cells of the eye imaginal disc. The rough eye phenotype was suppressed by mutation of the ATM kinase, a well-described activator of Chk2. Twenty-five EP modifiers were identified (three enhancers and 22 suppressors), none of which correspond to previously known components of Chk2 signaling. Three EPs caused defects in G2 arrest after irradiation with incomplete penetrance when homozygous, and are likely directly involved in the response to DNA damage. Possible roles for these modifiers in the DNA damage response and Chk2 signaling are discussed.     

Activation of GSK‐3 disrupts cholinergic homoeostasis in nucleus basalis of Meynert and frontal cortex of rats

The cholinergic impairment is an early marker in Alzheimer's disease (AD), while the mechanisms are not fully understood. We investigated here the effects of glycogen synthase kinse‐3 (GSK‐3) activation on the cholinergic homoeostasis in nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) and frontal cortex, the cholinergic enriched regions. We activated GSK‐3 by lateral ventricular infusion of wortmannin (WT) and GF‐109203X (GFX), the inhibitors of phosphoinositol‐3 kinase (PI3‐K) and protein kinase C (PKC), respectively, and significantly decreased the acetylcholine (ACh) level via inhibiting choline acetyl transferase (ChAT) rather than regulating acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Neuronal axonal transport was disrupted and ChAT accumulation occurred in NBM and frontal cortex accompanied with hyperphosphorylation of tau and neurofilaments. Moreover, ChAT expression decreased in NBM attributing to cleavage of nuclear factor‐κB/p100 into p52 for translocation into nucleus to lower ChAT mRNA level. The cholinergic dysfunction could be mimicked by overexpression of GSK‐3 and rescued by simultaneous administration of LiCl or SB216763, inhibitors of GSK‐3. Our data reveal the molecular mechanism that may underlie the cholinergic impairments in AD patients.     

细胞色素C_3在Rhodopseudomonas caosulata载色体光合磷酸化中的作用

细胞色素C_3不仅能增进除去铁氧还蛋白载色体的循环光合磷酸化活性的恢复,而且也增进以DCPIPH_2为电子供体,维生素K_3、反丁烯二酸分别为电子受体构成的非循环光合磷酸化活性的恢复。 氩气相下,细胞色素C_3促进正常载色体光合磷酸化活性的最适浓度是1.8 μmol,当PMS存在时,这一促进作用随C_3浓度的增加而直线上升,然后呈稳态。 Antimycin A(10~(-7)mol/L)能充分抑制C_3参与的光合磷酸化活性,这一抑制现象在PMS存在时消失。 o~-phenanthroline(1×10~(-5)mol/L.)对C_3参与的光合磷酸化活性亦具抑制作用,并被PMS的添加而消失,当浓度提高时(10~(-3)mol/L),抑制现象不因PMS的存在而消失。 氢气相下的载色体光合磷酸化活性比氩气相下的低,并且随着载色体贮存(-20℃)时间的增长而急剧下降,24h贮存,丧失活性达60％。C_3对氢气相下的光合磷酸化活性具明显的促进作用,而铁氧还蛋白则不能,但两者同时存在时,其磷酸化活性显著提高。     

Identification of sparse neural functional connectivity using penalized likelihood estimation and basis functions

One key problem in computational neuroscience and neural engineering is the identification and modeling of functional connectivity in the brain using spike train data. To reduce model complexity, alleviate overfitting, and thus facilitate model interpretation, sparse representation and estimation of functional connectivity is needed. Sparsities include global sparsity, which captures the sparse connectivities between neurons, and local sparsity, which reflects the active temporal ranges of the input-output dynamical interactions. In this paper, we formulate a generalized functional additive model (GFAM) and develop the associated penalized likelihood estimation methods for such a modeling problem. A GFAM consists of a set of basis functions convolving the input signals, and a link function generating the firing probability of the output neuron from the summation of the convolutions weighted by the sought model coefficients. Model sparsities are achieved by using various penalized likelihood estimations and basis functions. Specifically, we introduce two variations of the GFAM using a global basis (e.g., Laguerre basis) and group LASSO estimation, and a local basis (e.g., B-spline basis) and group bridge estimation, respectively. We further develop an optimization method based on quadratic approximation of the likelihood function for the estimation of these models. Simulation and experimental results show that both group-LASSO-Laguerre and group-bridge-B-spline can capture faithfully the global sparsities, while the latter can replicate accurately and simultaneously both global and local sparsities. The sparse models outperform the full models estimated with the standard maximum likelihood method in out-of-sample predictions.     

Engineering tolerance and accumulation of lead and cadmium in transgenic plants

We have studied the utility of the yeast protein YCF1, which detoxifies cadmium by transporting it into vacuoles, for the remediation of lead and cadmium contamination. We found that the yeast YCF1-deletion mutant DTY167 was hypersensitive to Pb(II) as compared with wild-type yeast. DTY167 cells overexpressing YCF1 were more resistant to Pb(II) and Cd(II) than were wild-type cells, and accumulated more lead and cadmium. Analysis of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants overexpressing YCF1 showed that YCF1 is functionally active and that the plants have enhanced tolerance of Pb(II) and Cd(II) and accumulated greater amounts of these metals. These results suggest that transgenic plants expressing YCF1 may be useful for phytoremediation of lead and cadmium.     

Identification of cry1I-type genes from Bacillus thuringiensis strains and characterization of a novel cry1I-type gene

A PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism method for identification of cry1I-type genes from Bacillus thuringiensis was established by designing a pair of universal primers based on the conserved regions of the genes to amplify 1,548-bp cry1I-type gene fragments. Amplification products were digested with the Bsp119I and BanI enzymes, and four kinds of known cry1I-type genes were successfully identified. The results showed that cry1I-type genes appeared in 95 of 115 B. thuringiensis isolates and 7 of 13 standard strains. A novel cry1I-type gene was found in one standard strain and six isolates. The novel cry1I gene was cloned from B. thuringiensis isolate Btc007 and subcloned into vector pET-21b. Then it was overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). The expressed product was shown to be toxic to the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), Asian corn borer (Ostrinia furnacalis), and soybean pod borer (Leguminivora glycinivorella). However, it was not toxic to the cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera), beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua), or elm leaf beetle (Pyrrhalta aenescens) in bioassays. Subsequently, the Cry protein encoded by this novel cry gene was designated Cry1Ie1 by the B. thuringiensis delta-endotoxin nomenclature committee.     

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction/membrane hybridization assay for detection of genetically modified organisms

To improve detection efficiency and result accuracy, four screening primer pairs, four identifying primer pairs, one common primer pair and corresponding probes were designed for the development of multiplex polymerase chain reaction/membrane hybridization assay (MPCR-MHA) for detection of the foreign genes insert in genetically modified organisms (GMOs). After detecting condition and parameter were optimized and determined, MPCR reactions were developed for amplifying several target genes simultaneously in one tube. Primers were labeled with biotin at the 5'-end; biotinylated MPCR products were detected by hybridization to the oligonucleotide probes immobilized on a membrane with subsequent colorimetric detection to confirm hybridization. The testing of screening primers can judge whether the sample contains GMOs, and that of identifying primers can further judge what kinds of trait genes are contained in the sample. We detected nine soybean samples, six maize samples, seven potato samples and two rice samples by the MPCR-MHA method; at the same time we also detected them with single PCR-MHA method. The results between two methods have good consistency.     

The first intron of rice EPSP synthase enhances expression of foreign gene

The first intron (EPI) of rice 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate synthase gene was isolated by PCR from one clone with genomic EPSP synthase gene. Sequence analysis showed that the first intron is 704 bp in length with 36.2% G+C content. To investigate its effect on expression of foreign gene, we inserted the first intron between CaMV35S promoter and β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene. The transient expression results showed that GUS could be expressed effectively with EPI. The GUS activity in transgenic tobacco shows that the EPI can greatly enhance the expression level of β-glucuronidase (P < 0.01) compared with transgenic tobacco without the first intron, and 3-to 6-fold increase in GUS activity in some transgenic tobaccos. Northern blot indicated the first intron was spliced from GUS pre-mRNA, and the steady-state mRNA levels of GUS with EPI in transgenic tobaccos were higher than that in transgenic tobacco without EPI, which suggested that the first intron of EPSP was a non-translated intron.     

A newly synthesized,potent tyrosinase inhibitor: 5-(6-Hydroxy-2-naphthyl)-1,2,3-benzenetriol

In searching for new agents with a depigmenting effect, we synthesized a derivative of resveratrol, 5-(6-hydroxy-2-naphthyl)-1,2,3-benzenetriol (5HNB) with a potent tyrosinase inhibitory activity. 5HNB inhibited mushroom tyrosinase with an IC₅₀ value of 2.95 μM, which is more potent than the well-known anti-tyrosinase activity of kojic acid (IC₅₀ = 38.24). The results of the enzymatic inhibition kinetics by Lineweaver–Burk analysis indicated 5HNB inhibits tyrosinase non-competitively when l-tyrosine was used as the substrate. Based on the strong inhibitory action of 5HNB, it is expected that 5HNB can suppress melanin production in which tyrosinase plays the essential role. Our expectation was confirmed by the experimentations with B16 melanoma cells in which 5HNB inhibited melanin production. We propose that 5HNB might have skin-whitening effects as well as therapeutic potential for treating skin pigmentation disorders.