PATHOGENICITY OF METARHIZIUM ANISOPLIAE VAR. ACRIDU TO THE DEVEOLPMENTAL STAGES OF BROWN PLANTHOPPER NILAPARVATA LUGENS STÅL AND SOGATELLA FURCIFERA (HORVATH)

Abstract  The susceptibility and virulence of entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum to the stages of brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) and whitebacked planthopper (WBPH), Sogatella furcifera (Horvath) were investigated under laboratory conditions. Three dosages of M. anisopliae var. acridum ranging from 10.5, 116.3 and 1027.1 conidial/mm² were used in the experiment. The tested stages of host included three developmental stages, young nymphs (1–2 instars), old nymphs (3–5 instars) and adults. It was found that all tested stages of the planthoppers were susceptible to the fungal infection. The degree of virulence LT₅₀ of M. anisopliae var. acridum against young nymphs of N. lugens are >21, 20.82 and 16.55, respectively with the 3 dosages, the LT₅₀ of the fungus against the old nymphs are 17.68, 15.49 and 13.98, respectively with the 3 dosages; the LT₅₀ of the fungus against the adults are 17.10, 12.57 and 9.14 respectively with the 3 dosages. The degree of virulence LT₅₀ of M. anisopliae var. acridum on young nymphs of S. furcifera are >21, 17.29 and 13.13, respectively with the 3 dosages _; the LT₅₀ of the fungus against the old nymphs are 16.94, 15.02 and 13.03, respectively with the 3 dosages; the LT₅₀ of the fungus against the adults are 12.78, 10.16 and 7.64, respectively with the 3 dosages. Adults were more susceptible to M. anisopliae var. acridum infection than their nymphs and the young nymphs were most resistant to the fungal infection. The cumulative mortality of each stage was dosage-dependent. Of all the developmental stages, WBPH was more susceptible than BPH to M. anisopliae var. acridum infection with the same dosages.     

A DnaK Homolog in Myxococcus xanthus Is Involved in Social Motility and Fruiting Body Formation

Myxococcus xanthus is a gram-negative soil bacterium which exhibits a complex life cycle and social behavior. In this study, two developmental mutants of M. xanthus were isolated through Tn5 transposon mutagenesis. The mutants were found to be defective in cellular aggregation as well as in sporulation. Further phenotypic characterization indicated that the mutants were defective in social motility but normal in directed cell movements. Both mutations were cloned by a transposon-tagging method. Sequence analysis indicated that both insertions occurred in the same gene, which encodes a homolog of DnaK. Unlike the dnaK genes in other bacteria, this M. xanthus homolog appears not to be regulated by temperature or heat shock and is constitutively expressed during vegetative growth and under starvation. The defects of the mutants indicate that this DnaK homolog is important for the social motility and development of M. xanthus.     

Identification and characterization of a human herpesvirus 6 gene segment that trans activates the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 promoter.

Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) is a lymphotropic herpesvirus, and in vitro, HHV-6 can productively infect many of the same cell types as can human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Coinfection by both viruses in vitro can lead to both activation of the HIV promoter and acceleration of cytopathic effects. We have previously demonstrated that a large, 22.25-kb cloned HHV-6 fragment, pZVB70, can trans activate HIV promoter expression in vitro. In this study, we show that the pZVB70 fragment can trans activate the HIV promoter in human T-cell lines as well as in the monkey kidney cell line CV-1. The pZVB70 insert was digested with various restriction enzymes, and individual fragments were transfected into cells to test for their ability to trans activate the HIV promoter. By this method, we have identified a 1.8-kb subfragment, B701, that is involved in trans activation. Sequence analyses show that B701 potentially encodes a 143-amino-acid protein. This protein shares no homology with other herpesvirus proteins, such as ICP0 and ICP4, that have been shown to trans activate the HIV promoter. However, it shows weak sequence homology with the gene products encoded by the cytomegalovirus early US22 gene family, suggesting that the putative B701 protein may be an HHV-6 early regulatory protein. The 143-amino-acid coding sequence of B701 was cloned by polymerase chain reaction, and transfection of this construct into cells activated HIV promoter expression. The target site on the HIV promoter for the putative B701 protein is mapped to the NF-kappa B binding site. Our results suggest that the putative B701 protein may function by directly binding to the NF-kappa B site or may involve cellular factors, such as NF-kappa B, either directly or indirectly.     

Pathways of energy flow through the light-harvesting antenna of the photosynthetic purple bacterium rhodobacter sphaeroides

Using low intensity picosecond absorption spectroscopy with independently tunable excitation and probing infrared pulses, we have studied the pathways of energy transport through the light-harvesting antenna pigments of the photosynthetic purple bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides. From the observed excited-state rise time of the red-most pigment B896 as a function of excitation wavelength it is concluded that the B850 pigment of LH2 is spectrally heterogeneous. For excitations originating in the B850 pigment this results in a fast channel (9 ps) that is mainly excited in the peak of the B850 absorption band, and a slow channel (35 ps) that is predominantly excited at ~840 nm. Upon excitation of B800, more than 90% of the excitations follow the fast path. From the observed kinetics it is concluded that the majority of the LH2 → LH1 energy transfer takes place within at most a few picoseconds. The rate-limiting step in the whole energy transfer sequence appears to be the B896 → reaction center transfer. The origin of the B850 heterogeneity and the slow 35-ps component is at the moment unclear. Possibly it represents a highly extended form of LH2 in which transfer to LH1 takes a relatively long time, due to a large number of transfer steps.     

鄂尔多斯盆地晚石炭世孢粉组合

本文报道了鄂尔多斯盆地晚石炭世太原组的孢粉组合,共计68属,148种(类型)。本文描述了其中的9个新种,2个新组合和4个未定种,并建立一个组合带,即 Pseudolyosporaradialis-Gulisporites discersus-Thymospora thiessenit。根据孢粉组合情况,可看出盆地东部更接近于华北,西部则发生区系上的变化。整个孢粉组合可与盆地北缘、华北地区的太原组以及欧美等地区的维斯法期 C-D 和斯蒂芬期的孢粉组合比较。地质时代当属晚石炭世。     

Structural basis of the Cks1-dependent recognition of p27(Kip1) by the SCF(Skp2) ubiquitin ligase

The ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis of the Cdk2 inhibitor p27(Kip1) plays a central role in cell cycle progression, and enhanced degradation of p27(Kip1) is associated with many common cancers. Proteolysis of p27(Kip1) is triggered by Thr187 phosphorylation, which leads to the binding of the SCF(Skp2) (Skp1-Cul1-Rbx1-Skp2) ubiquitin ligase complex. Unlike other known SCF substrates, p27(Kip1) ubiquitination also requires the accessory protein Cks1. The crystal structure of the Skp1-Skp2-Cks1 complex bound to a p27(Kip1) phosphopeptide shows that Cks1 binds to the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain and C-terminal tail of Skp2, whereas p27(Kip1) binds to both Cks1 and Skp2. The phosphorylated Thr187 side chain of p27(Kip1) is recognized by a Cks1 phosphate binding site, whereas the side chain of an invariant Glu185 inserts into the interface between Skp2 and Cks1, interacting with both. The structure and biochemical data support the proposed model that Cdk2-cyclin A contributes to the recruitment of p27(Kip1) to the SCF(Skp2)-Cks1 complex.     

Characterization of conformational epitope of alginate-derived polymannuronates by surface plasmon resonance

In the present study, we developed a mAb to alginate-derived polymannuronates (ADPM) and examined the antigenic epitopes using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in conjunction with a large panel of oligomannuronate probes. We found that tetrasaccharide is the minimum-binding unit, and that increases in chain length from the tetrasaccharide to the heptsaccharide further enhance monovalent binding. A sharp increase in affinity was observed when increasing from the octasaccharide to the cosasaccharide, which is due to a further enhancement of the individual antigenic epitope combined with multivalency. Kinetic binding studies further suggested that the conformational epitope is discontinuous and infrequent and that a C6-carboxyl group is important in maintaining the conformational epitope. Moreover, CD analysis revealed there were conformational structures in epitopes. The data support our hypothesis that the conformational epitope for the mAb may be an extended helical segment of ADPM. ADPM exists mainly in linear form, but it can infrequently and spontaneously form extended helices. Although helices are not prevalent in ADPM, the immune system preferentially selects these conformational epitopes because they are unique. Together, our results indicate that the antigenic epitopes in beta-d-mannuronates are conformational and require C6-carboxyl groups.     

Theoretical approach to blood ejection from the human left ventricle

An ejection dynamics mathematical model of human left ventricle (LV) based on physiological data of human heart is proposed in this study. The mathematical equations were expressed in terms of vorticity-stream function equations in a prolate spheroidal coordinate system. These equations combined with specified boundary conditions were numerically solved by using an alternating-direction-implicit (ADI) algorithm with second order accuracy. The unsteady aspects of the ejection process were subsequently introduced into the numerical simulation. The numerical results have shown that the present ellipsoidal model could be available to simulate the ejection process of the human LV. Such a model combined with cardiac muscle mechanics could be studied further to determine altered left ventricular function in cardiac diseases.