Peptide MSI-1 inhibited MCR-1 and regulated outer membrane vesicles to combat immune evasion of Escherichia coli

Polymyxin resistance is conferred by MCR-1 (mobile colistin resistance 1)-induced lipopolysaccharide (LPS) modification of G⁻ bacteria. However, the peptide MSI-1 exerts potent antimicrobial activity against mcr-1-carrying bacteria. To further investigate the potential role of MCR-1 in improving bacterial virulence and facilitating immune evasion, and the immunomodulatory effect of peptide MSI-1, we first explored outer membrane vesicle (OMV) alterations of mcr-1-carrying bacteria in the presence and absence of sub-MIC MSI-1, and host immune activation during bacterial infection and OMV stimulation. Our results demonstrated that LPS remodelling induced by MCR-1 negatively affected OMV formation and protein cargo by E. coli. In addition, MCR-1 diminished LPS-stimulated pyroptosis but facilitated mitochondrial dysfunction, further aggravating apoptosis in macrophages induced by OMVs of E. coli. Similarly, TLR4-mediated NF-κB activation was markedly alleviated once LPS was modified by MCR-1. However, peptide MSI-1 at the sub-MIC level inhibited the expression of MCR-1, further partly rescuing OMV alteration and attenuation of immune responses in the presence of MCR-1 during both infection and OMV stimulation, which can be exploited for anti-infective therapy.     

Low genetic diversity and population connectivity fuel vulnerability to climate change for the Tertiary relict pine Pinus bungeana

Endemic species are important components of regional biodiversity and hold the key to understanding local adaptation and evolutionary processes that shape species distributions. This study investigated the biogeographic history of a relict conifer Pinus bungeana Zucc. ex Endl. confined to central China. We examined genetic diversity in P. bungeana using genotyping-by-sequencing and chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA markers. We performed spatial and temporal inference of recent genetic and demographic changes, and dissected the impacts of geography and environmental gradients on population differentiation. We then projected P. bungeana's risk of decline under future climates. We found extremely low nucleotide diversity (average π 0.0014), and strong population structure (global F_ST 0.234) even at regional scales, reflecting long-term isolation in small populations. The species experienced severe bottlenecks in the early Pliocene and continued to decline in the Pleistocene in the western distribution, whereas the east expanded recently. Local adaptation played a small (8%) but significant role in population diversity. Low genetic diversity in fragmented populations makes the species highly vulnerable to climate change, particularly in marginal and relict populations. We suggest that conservation efforts should focus on enhancing gene pool and population growth through assisted migration within each genetic cluster to reduce the risk of further genetic drift and extinction.     

西方蜜蜂Lozenge基因的克隆鉴定及时空表达分析

Lozenge蛋白（Lz蛋白）是昆虫的重要转录因子,在昆虫胚胎发育过程中发挥重要作用。为研究Lozenge在西方蜜蜂Apis mellifera中的作用,本研究克隆了Lozenge基因,并对其进行生物信息学分析,同时基于荧光定量PCR技术检测该基因在西方蜜蜂不同发育时期（卵期、幼虫期、蛹期和成年蜂）和10日龄哺育蜂各组织的表达谱。生物信息学分析结果显示,Lozenge基因的开放阅读框（ORF）为1 554 bp,共编码517个氨基酸,预测分子量为54.63918 kDa,等电点为6.08;结构域预测分析发现Lozenge蛋白含有一个Runt结构域,多物种蛋白序列对比发现该蛋白同源性高。时期表达谱表明,该基因在第1日卵和第2日卵的表达量远高于其他时期,在卵期表达量随时间依次递减,幼虫期表达量极低,蛹期表达量呈先增后减的趋势,而成年蜂中均有表达;组织表达谱显示,该基因在哺育蜂头部、上颚腺中的表达量较高,而在腹部的表达量低。这些结果表明,Lozenge基因可能在西方蜜蜂胚胎期细胞发育过程、哺育蜂蜂王浆合成和分泌过程中发挥重要作用,这些结果为该基因功能的深入研究提供了重要的理论参考。     

Frankia菌种保藏

对用4种方法保藏的Frankia菌,进行了培养物存活、形态及其固氮活性的检测.发现在无氮液体培养基中保藏6年的Frankia.菌丝断裂,孢囊不完整.同期经有氮液体保藏的Frankia菌孢囊较完整.冷冻干燥保藏3.5年和砂管保藏8年,孢囊和菌丝均较完整.上述方法保藏的菌种,经活化后均能生长,且具有典型的Frankia菌形态特征和固氮活性.4种方法比较,无氮液体保藏法的菌体细胞生长速度快,固氮活性强,有侵染结瘤能力.     

Effect of cadmium intoxication on glucose utilization in energy metabolism of muscles

The influence of cadmium intoxication on carbohydrate metabolism in skeletal muscles and liver of the male Wistar rats has been studied. Cadmium was administered as cadmium acetate in a dose of 0.3 mg Cd2+/kg body weight for three months. At the same time the control rats were injected with 0.9% NaCl. The animals were decapitated and samples of their skeletal muscles: the soleus muscle (composed mainly of red slow twitch fibers; ST) the gastrocnemius muscle containing two types of fibers (white fast twitch fibers FTb and red fast twitch fibers, FTa) and the liver were dissected out. In the samples of muscles, liver and serum contents of glycogen, glucose, pyruvate and lactate, as well as activities of hexokinase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase were measured. Intoxication of rats with cadmium for three months resulted in a reduction of glycolytic enzymes in the serum, ST and FTa muscle fibers and in the liver but did not change the activities of glycolytic enzymes in the FTb muscle fibers. The data obtained for the concentrations of glycogen in the liver and skeletal muscles suggest different mechanisms of cadmium influence on glycogen utilization in these organs.     

Redescription of the Chengjiang arthropod Squamacula clypeata Hou and Bergström, from the Lower Cambrian, south-west China

The anatomy of the arthropod Squamacula clypeata Hou and Bergström, 1997 from the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang Lagersta¨tte is redescribed based on four newly excavated specimens. The new material was collected from localities recently discovered in the Kunming area, Yunnan Province, south-west China, and preserves remarkable details of the ventral morphology, revealed by preparation. Squamacula clypeata is dorsoventrally flattened and rounded in outline. The cephalon was covered by a wide, short shield, with a large doublure and a pair of uniramous antennae on the ventral side. The thorax consists of nine somites, each protected by a tergite and carrying at least one pair of biramous limbs. The pygidium is covered with a small rounded tergum. The endopod is segmented, equipped with short spines on the inner margin of the coxa and a claw-like structure distally, and the exopod flap-like, fringed with setae. The limbs in the pygidium are like those in the thorax in shape. Squamacula was most probably a nektobenthic predator. The spinose endopod could walk, grasp and grind. The large flap-like exopod was adapted for swimming and respiration. Its affinities lie with the Arachnomorpha, but the relationships with other known taxa remain ambiguous.     

Crystal structure determination of basic phospholipase A2 from venom of Agkistrodon halys pallas by molecular replacement method

Basic phospholipase A₂ (BPLA₂) from the venom of Agkistrodon halys pallas has a strong ability to hemolyze erythrocytes. The asymmetrical unit of P2₁2₁2₁ crystal of BPLA₂ contains two molecules. Self-rotation function was used to study the orientation relationship of these two molecules. Cross-rotation and translation functions were then used to determine the orientations and positions of the two molecules in the unit cell. The model building and preliminary structure refinement were carried out. The result shows that the two molecules in the asymmetrical unit of orthorhombic crystal are related by a non-crystallographic 2-fold symmetry axis.