Induction,purification, and characterization of a thermo and pH stable laccase from Abortiporus biennis J2 and its application on the clarification of litchi juice

A fungus J2 producing laccase with high yield was screened in soils and identified as Abortiporus biennis. The production of laccase was induced by 0.1 mM Cu²⁺, 0.1 mM tannic acid, and 0.5 M ethanol. The laccase from Abortiporus biennis J2 was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by a couple of steps. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme was AIGPTADLNISNADI. The properties of the purified laccase were investigated. The result showed the laccase from Abortiporus biennis J2 is a thermo and pH stable enzyme. The laccase activity was inhibited by Hg²⁺, Cd²⁺, Fe²⁺, Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, and Zn²⁺, while promoted by Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺ at 10 mM level. Purified laccase was used to the clarification of litchi juice. After treatment with this laccase, the phenolic content of litchi juice had been found to be greatly reduced along with an increase in the clarity of the juice. The result indicated the potential of this laccase for application in juice procession.     

Insular Organization of Gene Space in Grass Genomes

Wheat and maize genes were hypothesized to be clustered into islands but the hypothesis was not statistically tested. The hypothesis is statistically tested here in four grass species differing in genome size, Brachypodium distachyon, Oryza sativa, Sorghum bicolor, and Aegilops tauschii. Density functions obtained under a model where gene locations follow a homogeneous Poisson process and thus are not clustered are compared with a model-free situation quantified through a non-parametric density estimate. A simple homogeneous Poisson model for gene locations is not rejected for the small O. sativa and B. distachyon genomes, indicating that genes are distributed largely uniformly in those species, but is rejected for the larger S. bicolor and Ae. tauschii genomes, providing evidence for clustering of genes into islands. It is proposed to call the gene islands “gene insulae” to distinguish them from other types of gene clustering that have been proposed. An average S. bicolor and Ae. tauschii insula is estimated to contain 3.7 and 3.9 genes with an average intergenic distance within an insula of 2.1 and 16.5 kb, respectively. Inter-insular distances are greater than 8 and 81 kb and average 15.1 and 205 kb, in S. bicolor and Ae. tauschii, respectively. A greater gene density observed in the distal regions of the Ae. tauschii chromosomes is shown to be primarily caused by shortening of inter-insular distances. The comparison of the four grass genomes suggests that gene locations are largely a function of a homogeneous Poisson process in small genomes. Nonrandom insertions of LTR retroelements during genome expansion creates gene insulae, which become less dense and further apart with the increase in genome size. High concordance in relative lengths of orthologous intergenic distances among the investigated genomes including the maize genome suggests functional constraints on gene distribution in the grass genomes.     

珠颈斑鸠繁殖期占据领域鸣声特征及行为

2003年4～6月,在四川省南充市通过野外观察、录音、室内计算机处理及声谱分析对珠颈斑鸠繁殖期占据领域鸣声特征及行为做了研究。结果表明：珠颈斑鸠有一般占据和召唤配偶共同占据两类鸣声,两类鸣声雌雄不同,但均由3音节组成;其鸣唱具有应答性,且每次在各栖位点的鸣唱顺序大致相同;日鸣唱频次变化大,具3个高峰期;繁殖各时期鸣唱频次变化亦大。     

Engineering microbial systems to explore ecological and evolutionary dynamics

A major goal of biological research is to provide a mechanistic understanding of diverse biological processes. To this end, synthetic biology offers a powerful approach, whereby biological questions can be addressed in a well-defined framework. By constructing simple gene circuits, such studies have generated new insights into the design principles of gene regulatory networks. Recently, this strategy has been applied to analyze ecological and evolutionary questions, where population-level interactions are critical. Here, we highlight recent development of such systems and discuss how they were used to address problems in ecology and evolutionary biology. As illustrated by these examples, synthetic ecosystems provide a unique platform to study ecological and evolutionary phenomena that are challenging to study in their natural contexts.     

内源植物激素与光敏核不育水稻农垦58S育性的关系

采用气相色谱－质谱联用选择离子检测（ＧＣ－ＭＳ－ＳＩＭ）技术,定性、定量分析了光敏核不育水稻农垦５８Ｓ（Ｏｒｙｚａ ｓａｔｉｖａ Ｌ． ｓｕｂｓｐ． ｊａｐｏｎｉｃａ）及对照品种“农垦５８”在长（ＬＤ）、短（ＳＤ）日照处理下,不同发育时期顶端全展叶片中内源ＩＡＡ、ＡＢＡ 和生殖器官中内源ＩＡＡ、ＡＢＡ、ＧＡ１、ＧＡ４ 的含量变化。实验结果表明：在ＬＤ 处理下,农垦５８Ｓ雌雄蕊形成期的叶片和花粉母细胞形成期的幼穗中ＩＡＡ 相继发生亏缺;农垦５８Ｓ－ＬＤ花粉母细胞形成期、单核期和扬花期,生殖器官中内源ＡＢＡ 均低于农垦５８Ｓ－ＳＤ 的含量,“农垦５８”则与此相反;扬花期不育花药中内源ＧＡ１ 和ＧＡ４ 含量剧减。据此认为：生殖器官中早期ＩＡＡ 的亏损、ＡＢＡ 含量剧减伴随着抗逆性能的减弱及ＧＡＳ的不足共同导致了农垦５８Ｓ的雄性败育     

Establishment of Male and Female Eucommia Fingerprints by UPLC Combined with OPLS-DA Model and Its Application

Eucommia ulmoides Oliver is a dioecious plant, which plays an important role in traditional Chinese medicine. However, there has not yet been any research on male and female E. ulmoides. The UPLC fingerprints and OPLS-DA approach were able to quickly and easily identify and quantify E. ulmoides and differentiate between the male and female fingerprints. In this study, we optimized the UPLC conditions and analyzed them to investigate fingerprints of twenty-four extracts of Eucommiae Cortex (EC) and twenty-four extracts of Eucommiae Folium (EF) under optimal conditions. It was demonstrated that thirteen and twelve substances were possible chemical markers for EC and EF male and female discrimination and that the level of these markers – chlorogenic acid and protocatechuic acid – was many times higher in male than in female. This approach offered a reference for quality control and precise treatment of male and female E. ulmoides in the clinic.     

Comparative proteomic and physiological analysis of diurnal changes in Nostoc flagelliforme

Nostoc flagelliforme is a terrestrial cyanobacterium species whose metabolism follows an obvious diurnal pattern. Diurnal changes at physiological and proteomic levels of N. flagelliforme were obtained. In the morning (7:00 H), net photosynthesis, dark respiration, as well as the activities of total Rubisco, nitrogenase, glutamine synthetase, SOD and CAT were comparatively high. All these physiological activities significantly decreased in the afternoon (13:00 H), and then slowly increased in the evening (19:00 H). Thirty-one differentially expressed proteins with a variety of important functions were reproducibly detected and identified over a diurnal cycle. These proteins were categorized according to their predicted functions into secretion and regulation (15.79 %), antioxidative processes (21.05 %), nitrogen metabolism (10.53 %), carbohydrate and energy metabolism (10.53 %), as well as cell division (2.63 %). The remaining proteins had unclassified/unknown functions (21.05 %) or were unidentified (18.42 %). The results suggested a metabolic shift from active (7:00 H) to quiescent (13:00 H) and then to active (19:00 H) over the diurnal cycle. The differential expression level of ferritin, Mn-CAT, SOD and Fe-SOD may serve as molecular markers for the diurnal metabolism in N. flagelliforme.