Length‐weight relationships of four fish species from the continental shelf of Yucatán (SW Gulf of México)

This paper presents length‐weight relationships (LWR) for four fish species from the continental shelf of Yucatán, at the Sonda de Campeche (southwestern Gulf of México). Samples were taken using shrimp trawl nets (5.71 cm squared mesh size in the cod‐end) in the mid‐summer of 2016. All LWRs were significant with r² values ranged from .946 to .994 and the values of exponent b, estimated using simple linear least squares of log‐transformed weight and length data, ranged from 2.54 to 3.10 (p < .001).     

猪CAPN1基因部分外显子及3′UTR区的SNPs检测

以野猪、民猪和大白猪为研究对象, 根据网上公布的序列设计了7对引物, 采用测序、PCR-SSCP和PCR-RFLP方法对CAPN1基因的部分外显子和3′UTR区进行了单核苷酸多态性检测和基因型分析, 探讨CAPN1基因多态性与瘦肉率和嫩度的关系。研究发现11个SNPs, 其中5个位于外显子, 4个位于内含子, 2个位于3′UTR区, 外显子中的突变有一处是错义突变, 导致了蛋白质多肽链第260位氨基酸发生了M/V的替代。群体遗传学分析表明, 在所检测的各多态位点上, 野猪、民猪、大白猪3个品种间不同基因型的分布都存在着极显著的差异(P<0.01), 而野猪和民猪之间各基因型的分布差异不显著(P>0.05), 民猪和大白猪之间各基因型的分布存在着极显著的差异(P<0.01)。结合品种特性分析表明, P4、P6引物和3′ UTR区HinfⅠ位点所检测的不同基因型和瘦肉率具有一定的相关性。     

Cloning, expression and characterization of recombinant elastase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Picha pastoris

The gene lasB from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which encoded elastase, was cloned and firstly successfully expressed in Pichia pastoris stain KM71 under the control of AOX promoter. The effects on the recombinant elastase activities of different pH, different temperatures and different metal ions were assayed. The full-length gene (1497 bp) encodes a preproenzyme including an N-terminal signal peptide (23 aa), a propeptide (197 aa) and mature elastase (301 aa). The recombinant elastase was secreted into culture supernatants using signal sequence from lasB and showed a single band at about 34 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The recombinant elastase expression hit the highest level of approximately 450 mg/L and the specific elastolytic activity of the recombinant elastase was 130 U/ml, which was approximately 26-fold higher than that of elastase obtained from P. aeruginosa. The optimal temperature and pH of the recombinant elastase was 28 degrees C and 7.4, respectively. The enzyme possessed high resistance to heat, and can be activated by Ca(2+). These enzyme properties suggested that it could be produced in an industrial scale and has the potential to be a commercial enzyme.     

The concept of population in clonal organisms: mosaics of temporally colonized patches are forming highly diverse meadows of Zostera marina in Brittany

Seagrasses structure some of the world’s key coastal ecosystems presently in decline due to human activities and global change. The ability to cope with environmental changes and the possibilities for shifts in distribution range depend largely on their evolvability and dispersal potential. As large‐scale data usually show strong genetic structure for seagrasses, finer‐grained work is needed to understand the local processes of dispersal, recruitment and colonization that could explain the apparent lack of exchange across large distances. We aimed to assess the fine‐grained genetic structure of one of the most important and widely distributed seagrasses, Zostera marina, from seven meadows in Brittany, France. Both classic population genetics and network analysis confirmed a pattern of spatial segregation of polymorphism at both regional and local scales. One location exhibiting exclusively the variety ‘angustifolia’ did not appear more differentiated than the others, but instead showed a central position in the network analysis, confirming the status of this variety as an ecotype. This phenotypic diversity and the high allelic richness at nine microsatellites (2.33–9.67 alleles/locus) compared to levels previously reported across the distribution range, points to Brittany as a centre of diversity for Z. marina at both genetic and phenotypic levels. Despite dispersal potential of several 100 m, a significant pattern of genetic differentiation, even at fine‐grained scale, revealed ‘genetic patchiness’. Meadows seem to be composed of a mosaic of clones with distinct origins in space and time, a result that calls into question the accuracy of the concept of populations for such partially clonal species.     

Migration-stimulating factor (MSF) is over-expressed in non-small cell lung cancer and promotes cell migration and invasion in A549 cells over-expressing MSF

Migration-stimulating factor (MSF), an oncofetal truncated isoform of fibronectin, is a potent stimulator of cell invasion. However, its distribution and motogenic role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have never been identified. In this study, real-time PCR and immunohistochemical staining (IHC) were performed to detect MSF mRNA and protein levels in tumor tissues and matched adjacent tumor-free tissues. Furthermore, to examine the effect of MSF on invasiveness, MSF was upregulated in A549 cells. The invasiveness and viability of A549 cells were then determined using a transwell migration assay and the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) viability assays, respectively. The expression level of MSF in NSCLC tissue was markedly higher than in matched adjacent tumor-free tissue. Additionally, the level of MSF protein expression in stage III and IV NSCLC samples was higher than in stage I and II NSCLC samples. More importantly, we also demonstrated that migration and invasion of A549 cells increased substantially after upregulating MSF, although proliferation remained unchanged. Meanwhile, we found no correlation between increasing motility and invasiveness of MSF-overexpressing cells and expression levels and activities of matrix metalloprotease MMP-2 and MMP-9. Our current study shows that MSF plays a role in migration and invasion of A549 cells and suggests that MSF may be a potential biomarker of NSCLC progression.     

The subtype-specific molecular function of SPDEF in breast cancer and insights into prognostic significance

Breast cancer (BC) is a molecular diverse disease which becomes the most common malignancy among women worldwide. There are four BC subtypes (Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-enriched and Basal-like) robustly established following gene expression pattern-based characterization, behave significant differences in terms of their incidence, risk factors, prognosis and therapeutic sensitivity. Thus, there is an urgent need to provide mechanism research, treatment strategies and/or prognosis evaluation based on the patient stratification of BC subtypes. The prostate-derived ETS factor SPDEF was first identified as an activator of prostate specific antigen, and then, the involvements in many aspects of BC have been proposed. However, the subtype-specific molecular function of SPDEF in BC and insights into prognostic significance have not been clearly elucidated. This study demonstrated for the first time that SPDEF may play a diversity role in the expression levels, clinicopathologic importance, biological function and prognostic evaluation in BC via bioinformatics and experimental evidence, which mainly depends on different BC subtyping. In summary, our findings would help to better understand the possible mechanisms of various BC subtypes and to find possible candidate genes for prognostic and therapeutic usage.     

Ultra‐high α‐linolenic acid accumulating developmental defective embryo was rescued by lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase 2

For decades, genetic engineering approaches to produce unusual fatty acids (UFAs) in crops has reached a bottleneck, including reduced seed oil production and seed vigor. Currently, plant models in the field of research are primarily used to investigate defects in oil production and seedling development, while the role of UFAs in embryonic developmental defects remains unknown. In this study, we developed a transgenic Arabidopsis plant model, in which the embryo exhibits severely wrinkled appearance owing to α‐linolenic acid (ALA) accumulation. RNA‐sequencing analysis in the defective embryo suggested that brassinosteroid synthesis, FA synthesis and photosynthesis were inhibited, while FA degradation, endoplasmic reticulum stress and oxidative stress were activated. Lipidomics analysis showed that ultra‐accumulated ALA is released from phosphatidylcholine as a free FA in cells, inducing severe endoplasmic reticulum and oxidative stress. Furthermore, we identified that overexpression of lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase 2 rescued the defective phenotype. In the rescue line, the pool capacity of the Kennedy pathway was increased, and the esterification of ALA indirectly to triacylglycerol was enhanced to avoid stress. This study provides a plant model that aids in understanding the molecular mechanism of embryonic developmental defects and generates strategies to produce higher levels of UFAs.     

福建省耕地土壤重金属含量和可浸提性研究

测定了福建省6市、县耕地土壤中的Cu、Zn、Cd、Ni、Pb、Hg、As等7种重金属元素的全量和可浸提态含量,并对测定结果进行了数理统计。结果表明,福建省耕地土壤存在着不同程度的重金属污染,但依元素不同而不同,重金属可浸提态含量占全量的10.0?52.2 Cu、Zn、Cd、Pb、Ni的可浸提态含量与全量之间的相关达极显著水平,Zn、Cd、Pb、As等4元素含量之间存在着显著正相关,而Ni则只与Zn元素有极显著正相关,Cu和Hg与其它重金属元素的相关则均不显著。     

水分胁迫对沙棘(Hippophae rhamnoides)和中间锦鸡儿(Caragana intermedia)蒸腾作用影响的比较

多年生灌木沙棘和中间锦鸡儿是黄土高原生态重建的重要物种,设计人工模拟水分胁迫实验,测量沙棘和中间锦鸡儿蒸腾作用的各种指标,研究其蒸腾特性对水分胁迫的适应方式。结果表明,同等水分处理条件下,中间锦鸡儿单叶水平上的蒸腾速率高于沙棘。沙棘和中间锦鸡儿的蒸腾速率日进程在晴天、阴雨天和生长发育的不同阶段明显不同。夜间蒸腾占全天蒸腾的比例相当大,夜间蒸腾在不同物种之间、不同供水量之间存在明显差异,而且越干旱的环境比例越大。两种植物气孔阻力的季节变化格局在不同水分处理间大体相似。沙棘的昼夜蒸腾节律在各种水分处理条件下都表现出明显的气孔振荡现象,而中间锦鸡儿没有。叶片温度、光合有效辐射和气孔阻力是各种水分条件下沙棘和中间锦鸡儿蒸腾作用的共同的限制因子,相对于沙棘,中间锦鸡儿还更多地受到空气相对湿度的影响。