Formation ofα,ω-dodecanedioic acid andα,ω-tridecanedioic acid from different substrates by immobilized cells of a mutant ofCandida tropicalis

Summary The metabolic formation of either,-dodecanedioic acid or,-tridecanedioic acid from the individual n-alkane, n-alcohol, n-monoacid and,-diol with corresponding carbon chain length using K-carrageenan entrapped mutants S76 ofCandida tropicalis was studied. The immobilized cells of S76 could also directly produce-hydroxy acid and,-dioic acid from,-diol. With n-alcohol and n-monoacid as substrate, the amount of-hydroxy acid and,-dioic acid produced was also a function of the incubation time.The results demonstrated that in the immobilized cells of S76 the formation of,-dioic acid from n-alcohol can also run both via n-monoacid and via,-diol as well as in the normal cells of S76.     

A new metabolic pathway from n-dodecane to α, ω-dodecanedioic acid in a mutant of Candida tropicalis

Summary The metabolic formation of ,-dodecanedioic acid via ,-dodecanediol from n-dodecane using a mutant S76 of Candida tropicalis was studied.It was found that resting cells of S76 produce ,-dodecanediol from n-dodecane. This intermediate was identified by different analytical methods. With n-dodecanol as substrate the quantitative changes in the concentrations of ,-dodecanediol as well as other intermediates, e.g. monoacid, -hydroxy acid and ,-dioic acid produced by resting cells of S76 for different periods of time were determined. With ,-dodecanediol as the sole carbon source, quantitative changes of -hydroxy acid and ,-dioic acid produced by S76 were also recorded.The results confirm the existence of a new metabolic pathway via ,-diol in the course of ,-dioic acid formation from n-alkane in the mutant S76 of C. tropicalis.     

A radioimmunoassay method for the rapid detection of Candida antibodies in experimental systemic candidiasis

Rabbits were employed as experimental models to evaluate a solid-phase radioimmunoassay (RIA) method for the diagnosis of systemic candidiasis. Ten rabbits were inoculated subcutaneously to mimic superficial candidiasis and were found to produce no antibodies to Candida as determined by both immunodiffusion and RIA procedures. However, 94 per cent of 18 rabbits systemically infected by intravenous injection of Candida cells were observed to produce antibody as assessed by the RIA technique. These data encourage further tests with human sera and the continued development of this RIA procedure as a useful tool in the early serodiagnosis of systemic candidiasis.     

哈尔滨城市和乡村青年居民肠道菌群多样性研究

【目的】分析居住于哈尔滨城市和乡村的青年居民肠道菌群多样性的异同。【方法】采用PCR和DGGE技术相结合的方法对生活于哈尔滨城市和乡村的青年志愿者肠道菌群多样性进行研究。基于DGGE指纹图谱,分别使用聚类和PCA分析对志愿者肠道微生物相似性进行分析,使用Shannon-Weine多样性指数(H′)、丰度(S)和均匀度(EH)对志愿者肠道微生物多样性进行分析,对图谱中具有代表性的共性和特异性条带进行胶回收和克隆测序以分析志愿者肠道微生物组成。基于PCR技术在种水平上对城乡志愿者肠道内乳杆菌属和双歧杆菌属多样性进行定性分析。【结果】相似性分析显示,城乡青年居民间肠道微生物群落结构存在分开趋势,相似性小于城市或乡村青年居民内部;多样性分析显示,城乡青年居民肠道微生物多样性差异不显著;测序结果表明,城乡居民肠道微生物组成在门水平上相同,但是在种属水平上存在差异。PCR定性分析显示Lactobacillus plantarum、L.casei和L.salivarius在哈尔滨城乡青年居民肠道内检出率接近100%,Bifidobacterium longum和B.breve的检测率约90%,在哈尔滨城乡青年居民肠道内普遍存在;乳杆菌属和双歧杆菌属各细菌种在城乡居民肠道中的检出频率差异不显著。【结论】哈尔滨城市和乡村青年居民肠道微生物多样性差异不显著。     

我国禽流感研究进展及成就

禽流感不仅严重危害养禽业,而且给公共卫生造成巨大威胁。为了科学认识和积极防控禽流感,我国科学家进行了大量且富有成效的研究,取得了举世瞩目的成果。通过长期的监测,基本掌握了禽流感在我国的流行情况和进化规律;利用反向遗传操作技术和蛋白质组学技术,发现了影响流感病毒致病力、传播力和受体结合能力的部分关键位点,阐释了其作用机制;通过对传统技术的改进和先进方法的应用,不断成功建立禽流感诊断、检测技术;新型禽流感疫苗不断涌现并逐步被推广和应用,取得了良好的免疫效果。上述成果为我国禽流感的防控奠定了良好的基础,也为后续研究提供了依据。但是禽流感的防控形势依然严峻,2013年新型H7N9病毒的出现,使禽流感的防控面临新的挑战。     

LRP6 downregulation promotes cardiomyocyte proliferation and heart regeneration

The adult mammalian heart is thought to be a terminally differentiated organ given the postmitotic nature of cardiomyocytes. Consequently, the potential for cardiac repair through cardiomyocyte proliferation is extremely limited. Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6) is a Wnt co-receptor that is required for embryonic heart development. In this study we investigated the role of LRP6 in heart repair through regulation of cardiomyocyte proliferation. Lrp6 deficiency increased cardiomyocyte cell cycle activity in neonatal, juvenile and adult mice. Cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of Lrp6 in the mouse heart induced a robust regenerative response after myocardial infarction (MI), led to reduced MI area and improvement in left ventricular systolic function. In vivo genetic lineage tracing revealed that the newly formed cardiomyocytes in Lrp6-deficient mouse hearts after MI were mainly derived from resident cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, we found that the pro-proliferative effect of Lrp6 deficiency was mediated by the ING5/P21 signaling pathway. Gene therapy using the adeno-associated virus (AAV)9 miRNAi-Lrp6 construct promoted the repair of heart injury in mice. Lrp6 deficiency also induced the proliferation of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs). Our study identifies LRP6 as a critical regulator of cardiomyocyte proliferation, which may lead to the development of a novel molecular strategy to promote myocardial regeneration and repair.Subject terms: Cell-cycle exit, Cytokinesis     

STE20 phosphorylation of AMPK-related kinases revealed by biochemical purifications combined with genetics

We have recently purified mammalian sterile 20 (STE20)–like kinase 3 (MST3) as a kinase for the multifunctional kinases, AMP-activated protein kinase–related kinases (ARKs). However, unresolved questions from this study, such as remaining phosphorylation activities following deletion of the Mst3 gene from human embryonic kidney cells and mice, led us to conclude that there were additional kinases for ARKs. Further purification recovered Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinases 1 and 2 (CaMKK1 and 2), and a third round of purification revealed mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase kinase 5 (MAP4K5) as potential kinases of ARKs. We then demonstrated that MST3 and MAP4K5, both belonging to the STE20-like kinase family, could phosphorylate all 14 ARKs both in vivo and in vitro. Further examination of all 28 STE20 kinases detected variable phosphorylation activity on AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the salt-inducible kinase 3 (SIK3). Taken together, our results have revealed novel relationships between STE20 kinases and ARKs, with potential physiological and pathological implications.     

Chromosome-level genome assembly and characterization of Sophora Japonica

Sophora japonica is a medium-size deciduous tree belonging to Leguminosae family and famous for its high ecological, economic and medicinal value. Here, we reveal a draft genome of S. japonica, which was ∼511.49 Mb long (contig N50 size of 17.34 Mb) based on Illumina, Nanopore and Hi-C data. We reliably assembled 110 contigs into 14 chromosomes, representing 91.62% of the total genome, with an improved N50 size of 31.32 Mb based on Hi-C data. Further investigation identified 271.76 Mb (53.13%) of repetitive sequences and 31,000 protein-coding genes, of which 30,721 (99.1%) were functionally annotated. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that S. japonica separated from Arabidopsis thaliana and Glycine max ∼107.53 and 61.24 million years ago, respectively. We detected evidence of species-specific and common-legume whole-genome duplication events in S. japonica. We further found that multiple TF families (e.g. BBX and PAL) have expanded in S. japonica, which might have led to its enhanced tolerance to abiotic stress. In addition, S. japonica harbours more genes involved in the lignin and cellulose biosynthesis pathways than the other two species. Finally, population genomic analyses revealed no obvious differentiation among geographical groups and the effective population size continuously declined since 2 Ma. Our genomic data provide a powerful comparative framework to study the adaptation, evolution and active ingredients biosynthesis in S. japonica. More importantly, our high-quality S. japonica genome is important for elucidating the biosynthesis of its main bioactive components, and improving its production and/or processing.