Expression pattern of ABA metabolic and signalling genes during floral development and fruit set in sweet cherry

Abscisic acid plays a crucial role in the regulation of fruit development and ripening, however, its role in the floral development and the fruit set is still unclear. In the present study, the ABA accumulation and the expression patterns of genes related to ABA metabolism and signalling in sweet cherry were investigated. The results showed that ABA accumulation increased and peaked at stage V in ovary, at stage VI in stamen, and in young fruit it peaked at 7 days after full bloom. The expression pattern of ABA synthetase PaNCED1 was consistent with the changes of ABA accumulation. Among four ABA degradation enzymes PaCYP707As, PaCYP707A4 was highly expressed in ovary, PaCYP707A1 was mainly in stamen, and PaCYP707A2 was in young fruit, and their expressions were reversed to the trend of PaNCED1. With regard to ABA signalling genes, among three ABA receptors PaPYLs, PaPYL2 and PaPYL3 were high expression genes in ovary and in young fruit with similar expression patterns, while PaPYL3 was the high expression gene in stamen. Within six PaPP2Cs, PaPP2C1/2/3 were highly expressed in ovary and young fruit, while PaPP2C3/4 were mainly in stamen. The six PaSnRK2s showed different expression patterns: PaSnRK2.1/2.2/2.4 were highly expressed in ovary and young fruit, while PaSnRK2.1/2.3 were highly expressed in stamen. In situ hybridization results showed that PaPYL3, PaPP2C3 and PaSnRK2.4 were expressed in seed, pulp and fruit peel during fruit set. In conclusion, ABA and its signaling may play an important role in the regulation of floral development and fruit set.     

中国驴的地理生态和种群生态

一、驴的起源、驯养与生态环境的关系驴(Equus asinus Vulgaris)在动物分类学上与马是同属而异种。野生驴种有两种:(1)騑驴(E.asinus Taeniopus),亦称非洲野驴,它包括在中央撒哈拉生存的努比亚驴和从埃塞俄比亚到红海沿岸生存的索马驴,栖息在非洲东北部到南部;(2)骞驴(E.hemionus),亦称亚洲野驴,分布于中亚细亚、阿拉伯和中国西部。     

染色体端粒DNA与核骨架的结合关系(简报)

端粒是真核生物染色体的一种特化结构,对于染色体的稳定以及染色体的完全复制有着十分重要的意义。许多种生物的端粒DNA序列已被发现:四膜虫,草履虫为(G_4T_2)_n;人、锥虫、短膜虫为(AG_3T_2)_n;尖毛虫、棘尾虫、游仆虫为(T_4G_4)_n;拟蓝芥菜为(AG_3T_3)_n。     

猪传染性水疱病病毒(SVDV)在微细胞和微胞质体内的复制

本实验研究了SVDV在微细胞和微胞质体两种非完整细胞体系内的复制。用秋水仙素处理IB-RS-2细胞,在含有松胞素B的Ficoll 400不连续梯度中进行高速离心,制备了大量的微细胞。微细胞在正常的培养条件下60小时后仍有70%以上存活,用SVDV感染只需4—5小时就几乎全部脱落。并证明微细胞能繁殖出有感染力的子代病毒。用松胞素B去核技术制备的微胞质体,运用扫描电镜和显微放射自显影的方法证实了SVDV可以在微胞质体内复制病毒RNA,并引起微胞质体病变。同时纯化了用松胞素B处理悬浮的IB-RS-2细胞而制备的大量的微胞质体,SVDV感染后,可以产生一定数量的有感染力的子代病毒。虽然滴度低于完整细胞繁殖的病毒,但证明了SVDV可以利用微胞质体中少量的细胞成分和酶类完成其感染、复制和装配一系列繁殖过程,产生有感染力的子代病毒。     

Plasmon-Induced Transparency in a Surface Plasmon Polariton Waveguide with a Right-Angled Slot and Rectangle Cavity

Plasmonics - The phenomenon of plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) is realized a in surface plasmon polariton waveguide at near-infrared frequencies. The right-angled slot and rectangle cavity...     

Metabolic engineering of sugarcane to accumulate energy‐dense triacylglycerols in vegetative biomass

Elevating the lipid content in vegetative tissues has emerged as a new strategy for increasing energy density and biofuel yield of crops. Storage lipids in contrast to structural and signaling lipids are mainly composed of glycerol esters of fatty acids, also known as triacylglycerol (TAG). TAGs are one of the most energy‐rich and abundant forms of reduced carbon available in nature. Therefore, altering the carbon‐partitioning balance in favour of TAG in vegetative tissues of sugarcane, one of the highest yielding biomass crops, is expected to drastically increase energy yields. Here we report metabolic engineering to elevate TAG accumulation in vegetative tissues of sugarcane. Constitutive co‐expression of WRINKLED1 (WRI1), diacylglycerol acyltransferase1‐2 (DGAT1‐2) and oleosin1 (OLE1) and simultaneous cosuppression of ADP‐glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) and a subunit of the peroxisomal ABC transporter1 (PXA1) in transgenic sugarcane elevated TAG accumulation in leaves or stems by 95‐ or 43‐fold to 1.9% or 0.9% of dry weight (DW), respectively, while expression or suppression of one to three of the target genes increased TAG levels by 1.5‐ to 9.5‐fold. Accumulation of TAG in vegetative progeny plants was consistent with the results from primary transgenics and contributed to a total fatty acid content of up to 4.7% or 1.7% of DW in mature leaves or stems, respectively. Lipid droplets were visible within mesophyll cells of transgenic leaves by confocal fluorescence microscopy. These results provide the basis for optimizations of TAG accumulation in sugarcane and other high yielding biomass grasses and will open new prospects for biofuel applications.     

Prediction of Plant Vulnerability to Salinity Increase in a Coastal Ecosystem by Stable Isotope Composition (δ<Superscript>18</Superscript>O) of Plant Stem Water: A Model Study

Sea level rise and the subsequent intrusion of saline seawater can result in an increase in soil salinity, and potentially cause coastal salinity-intolerant vegetation (for example, hardwood hammocks or pines) to be replaced by salinity-tolerant vegetation (for example, mangroves or salt marshes). Although the vegetation shifts can be easily monitored by satellite imagery, it is hard to predict a particular area or even a particular tree that is vulnerable to such a shift. To find an appropriate indicator for the potential vegetation shift, we incorporated stable isotope ¹⁸O abundance as a tracer in various hydrologic components (for example, vadose zone, water table) in a previously published model describing ecosystem shifts between hammock and mangrove communities in southern Florida. Our simulations showed that (1) there was a linear relationship between salinity and the δ¹⁸O value in the water table, whereas this relationship was curvilinear in the vadose zone; (2) hammock trees with higher probability of being replaced by mangroves had higher δ¹⁸O values of plant stem water, and this difference could be detected 2 years before the trees reached a tipping point, beyond which future replacement became certain; and (3) individuals that were eventually replaced by mangroves from the hammock tree population with a 50% replacement probability had higher stem water δ¹⁸O values 3 years before their replacement became certain compared to those from the same population which were not replaced. Overall, these simulation results suggest that it is promising to track the yearly δ¹⁸O values of plant stem water in hammock forests to predict impending salinity stress and mortality.     

No ethical divide between China and the West in human embryo research

This is a discussion of the reaction to the recent research article publication in the journal Protein & Cell by a group of scientists at Sun Yat‐sen University using the CRISPR/Cas9 technique on editing non‐viable human zygotes. Many commentators condemned the Chinese scientists for overstepping ethical boundaries long accepted in Western countries and accused China of having lax regulations on genomic research in general. We argue that not only did this research follow strict ethical standards and fully comply with current regulations, but China also has a well‐developed regulatory framework governing such research comparable to many developed countries. We see the reactions among Western commentators as a misunderstanding of the current situation and an expression of a lack of willingness to acknowledge China as an equal partner in the international debate about proper limits to the development of new biotechnologies.     

减毒鼠伤寒沙门菌三型分泌表达系统的构建及其特性

为开发新型重组减毒鼠伤寒沙门菌口服活疫苗载体,本研究以pYA3493质粒为基础,用鼠伤寒沙门菌sopE_(Nt100)基因及其启动子替代原有的P_(trc)启动子,构建沙门菌三型分泌表达载体pYA-sopE_(Nt100);再将质粒pYA-sopE_(Nt100)电转入沙门菌ΔcrpΔasd SL1344,构建减毒鼠伤寒沙门菌ΔcrpΔasd SL1344(p YA-sop E_(Nt100))三型分泌表达系统,研究其生物学特性,进一步将报告基因egfp克隆入sop E基因下游,构建重组菌株ΔcrpΔasd SL1344(p YA-sop E_(Nt100)-egfp),感染Vero细胞,用Western blotting分析该系统递呈外源抗原的能力。PCR、酶切及测序结果表明,减毒鼠伤寒沙门菌ΔcrpΔasd SL1344(p YA-sop E_(Nt100))三型分泌表达系统构建成功;生物学特性鉴定结果表明,其血清型与亲本株Δcrp SL1344及野生株SL1344保持一致;其生化特性与亲本株基本相近,但与野毒株相比发生明显变化;生长速度也更为缓慢;重组菌株ΔcrpΔasd SL1344(p YA-sop E_(Nt100))的LD50较野生株SL1344降低了7.0×104倍;Western blotting结果发现,重组菌培养上清中能检测到Sop E_(Nt100)-egfp融合蛋白(37 k Da);重组菌株感染Vero细胞后,可以同时检测到Sop E_(Nt100)-egfp融合蛋白(37 k Da)和EGFP蛋白(27 k Da)。以上结果证实,本研究成功构建了新型减毒鼠伤寒沙门菌ΔcrpΔasd(p YA-sop E_(Nt100))三型分泌表达系统,其能够有效递呈外源抗原,该重组菌株有潜力作为安全、稳定、高效表达外源基因的口服重组活疫苗载体。