The 3'-terminal sequence of Bamboo mosaic virus minus-strand RNA interacts with RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and initiates plus-strand RNA synthesis

A 3'-terminal, 77-nucleotide sequence of Bamboo mosaic virus (BaMV) minus-strand RNA (Ba-77), comprising a 5' stem-loop, a spacer and a 3'-CUUUU sequence, can be used to initiate plus-strand RNA synthesis in vitro . To understand the mechanism of plus-strand RNA synthesis, mutations were introduced in the 5' untranslated region of BaMV RNA, resulting in changes at the 3' end of minus-strand RNA. The results showed that at least three uridylate residues in 3'-CUUUU are required and the changes at the penultimate U are deleterious to viral accumulation in Nicotiana benthamiana protoplasts. Results from UV-crosslinking and in vitro RNA-dependent RNA polymerase competition assays suggested that the replicase preferentially interacts with the stem structure of Ba-77. Finally, CMV/83 + UUUUC, a heterologus RNA, which possesses about 80 nucleotides containing the 3'-CUUUU pentamer terminus, and which folds into a secondary structure similar to that of Ba-77, could be used as template for RNA production by the BaMV replicase complex in vitro .     

Seeing red: the origin of grain pigmentation in US weedy rice

Weedy forms of crop species infest agricultural fields worldwide and are a leading cause of crop losses, yet little is known about how these weeds evolve. Red rice (Oryza sativa), a major weed of cultivated rice fields in the US, is recognized by the dark‐pigmented grain that gives it its common name. Studies using neutral molecular markers have indicated a close relationship between US red rice and domesticated rice, suggesting that the weed may have originated through reversion of domesticated rice to a feral form. We have tested this reversion hypothesis by examining molecular variation at Rc, the regulatory gene responsible for grain pigmentation differences between domesticated and wild rice. Loss‐of‐function mutations at Rc account for the absence of proanthocyanidin pigments in cultivated rice grains, and the major rc domestication allele has been shown to be capable of spontaneous reversion to a functional form through additional mutations at the Rc locus. Using a diverse sample of 156 weedy, domesticated and wild Oryzas, we analysed DNA sequence variation at Rc and its surrounding 4 Mb genomic region. We find that reversion of domestication alleles does not account for the pigmented grains of weed accessions; moreover, we find that haplotypes characterizing the weed are either absent or very rare in cultivated rice. Sequences from genomic regions flanking Rc are consistent with a genomic footprint of the rc selective sweep in cultivated rice, and they are compatible with a close relationship of red rice to Asian Oryzas that have never been cultivated in the US.     

Matrix metalloproteinases: old dogs with new tricks

The matrix metalloproteinase family in humans comprises 23 enzymes, which are involved in many biological processes and diseases. It was previously thought that these enzymes acted only to degrade components of the extracellular matrix, but this view has changed with the discovery that non-extracellular-matrix molecules are also substrates.     

Breeding ecology of Styan's Bulbul Pycnonotus taivanus in Taiwan

The breeding ecology of Styan's Bulbul Pycnonotus taivanus , an endemic species in Taiwan, was studied in Kenting, Taiwan. The duration of the breeding season of Styan's Bulbul stretched from March to July in 1983. The average clutch size was 3.3 eggs ( n =34), and hatching success was 60%. The average number of nestlings at hatching was 2.7 per clutch, and 73% of the young fledged. Styan's Bulbuls selected their nest sites among dense vegetation. In the study area, 75% ( n =84) of nests were found in the Indiapoon Beautyleaf tree Calophyllum inophyllum , which had a relative vegetation density of only 33.5%. Factor analysis was used to analyse 13 nest-site characteristics of 63 nests, and five factors accounted for 69% of the variation.     

氨甲酰胆碱(Carbamylcholine)对大鼠缺血心室致颤阈值的影响及其与cAMP、cGMP的关系

本实验以心室颤动阈(VFT)作为心室易颤性的指标,观察胆碱类物质氨甲酰胆碱对大鼠缺血心室 VFT 的影响及其与心肌 cAMP 和 cGMP 水平的关系。实验结果表明,氨甲酰胆碱可提高正常心脏和急性局部缺血心脏的 VFT,提高缺血和未缺血心肌的 cGMP 水平,但明显降低缺血心肌 cAMP 水平,使缺血和未缺血心肌的 cAMP/cGMP 比值显著降低,其作用与肾上腺素正好相反。实验结果还表明,急性局部缺血心脏的 VFT 与缺血心肌 cAMP/cGMP 比值之间有密切的负相关关系,相关系数 r=-0.905(n=22,P<0.001)。上述结果提示缺血心肌 cAMP/cGMP 比值的提高可能是急性心肌梗塞早期发生心室纤维性颤动的重要因素。     

青海新恙螨属三新种记述(蜱螨目:恙螨科)

1982年采到一些恙螨,经鉴定为三新种,现描述如下。文内量度单位均为微米。新种模式标本保存于青海省地方病防治研究所。 似田鼠新恙螨Neotrombicula microides新种(图1—4)。     

小鼠胚胎组织、成体组织和胚胎癌细胞酯酶同功酶谱的比较研究

本文比较了129品系小鼠几种胚胎组织及其相应的成体组织的酯酶同功酶谱。几种胚胎组织都可检测到共同的具有相同迁移率的C区酶带和E区酶带。在这些胚胎组织的功能发育过程中,C区酶带被其它区带所取代;E区酶带在成体组织中有的活性降低,有的完全消失。从这些比较分析中可以观察到酯酶同功酶从“胚胎型”向“成体型”的转变。与这些结果相对应,F9-1和B7-2胚胎癌细胞克隆株及来源于早期胚胎细胞的细胞系细胞也都具有酯酶C和E的活性。     

Molecular evolution of the ZFY and ZNF6 gene families

Members of the ZFY and ZNF6 gene families have been cloned from species representing different taxa and different modes of sex determination. Comparisons of these genes show the ZFY-like and ZNF6 sequences to be strongly conserved across marsupials, birds, and lepidosaurians. Sequence analyzed by neighbor-joining indicated that both gene families are monophyletic with a high bootstrap value. Pairing of sequences from males and females of nonmammalian species showed there to be no significant difference between male and female sequences from a single species, consistent with autosomal locations. The molecular distances between murine Zfy-1, Zfy-2, and other ZFY-like sequences suggested that Zfy genes have undergone a period of rapid evolutionary change not seen in human ZFY.