利用序列保守模体和局部构象信息预测转录因子结合位点

转录因子结合位点的计算预测是研究基因转录调控的重要环节,但常用的位置特异得分矩阵方法预测特异性偏低.通过深入分析结合位点的生物特征,提出了一种综合利用序列保守模体和局部构象信息的结合位点预测方法,以极大相关得分矩阵作为保守模体的描述模型,并根据二苷参数模型计算位点序列的局部构象,将两类信息得分组合为多维特征向量,在二次判别分析的框架下进行训练和滑动预测.预测过程中还引入了位置信息量以优化似然得分和过滤备选结果.针对大肠杆菌CRP和Fis结合位点数据的留一法测试结果表明,描述模型的改进和多种信息的融合能有效地改善预测方法的性能,大幅度提高特异性.     

中华蜜蜂化学感受蛋白基因Acer-CSP1克隆与表达特征分析

化学感受蛋白(chemosensory proteins, CSPs)是昆虫化学感受系统中重要的组成部分之一。本研究克隆了中华蜜蜂Apis cerana cerana化学感受蛋白基因Acer-CSP1, 其核苷酸全长351 bp （GenBank登录号为FJ157352）, 编码116个氨基酸残基, 预测蛋白分子量为13.85 kD, 等电点为4.89, 且含有4个保守的半胱氨酸残基, 均符合昆虫CSPs的一般特征, 且与意蜂CSP1基因具有99.1%的相似性, 与其他昆虫也有45.3%~68.0%的相似性。利用2^-ΔΔCt法及绝对定量法的real-time PCR技术对Acer-CSP1在中蜂不同器官表达特征进行了研究, 得出的一致结论为Acer-CSP1显著水平地高丰度表达于中华蜜蜂触角, 其次大量表达于头部。由于触角为中华蜜蜂最主要的嗅觉器官, 而头部则具有发达的感觉神经系统和味觉系统, 这也提示Acer-CSP1极有可能参与中华蜜蜂的嗅觉以及其他化学感受功能。     

实时荧光PCR结果的四维杂交的核酸技术分析

本研究采用四维杂交试剂,测定PCR产物的特征熔点温度(temperature of melting point,Tmp),对实时荧光定量PCR所获得阳性信号(特异性的或非特异性的)的结果进行分析和确认,以使检测结论更客观.将荧光探针模式的实时荧光PCR检测后的标本再进行熔解曲线温度扫描,然后在4℃冰箱冷却5min,向反应管加入1μL四维杂交液,再按照温度扫描程序做熔解曲线实验.结果显示,加四维杂交试剂之后的熔解曲线中信号峰值是收敛的,且信噪比增大.相同扩增产物的Tmp的误差是在±1℃之内.实验结果证明,四维杂交试剂对荧光探针模式实时荧光PCR结果可进行更精细的分析和确认.     

56个杂交水稻骨干亲本SSR指纹图谱的构建及遗传相似性分析

以中国56个杂交水稻骨干亲本为研究材料,包括水稻雄性不育系和恢复系。从国标中公布的48对水稻SSR引物中筛选出14对稳定性好、多态性高、杂带少且在染色体上分布均匀的引物作为核心引物,建立56个杂交水稻骨干亲本的SSR指纹图谱,结果表明：14对SSR引物在56份材料中共扩增出48个多态性片段,平均每对引物可以检测3．43个等位基因。聚类分析得出56个品种间的遗传相似性系数在0．63～0．98之间,基本上反映了不同品种间的亲缘关系。     

Phosphorylation of Rad55 on serines 2, 8, and 14 is required for efficient homologous recombination in the recovery of stalled replication forks

DNA damage checkpoints coordinate the cellular response to genotoxic stress and arrest the cell cycle in response to DNA damage and replication fork stalling. Homologous recombination is a ubiquitous pathway for the repair of DNA double-stranded breaks and other checkpoint-inducing lesions. Moreover, homologous recombination is involved in postreplicative tolerance of DNA damage and the recovery of DNA replication after replication fork stalling. Here, we show that the phosphorylation on serines 2, 8, and 14 (S2,8,14) of the Rad55 protein is specifically required for survival as well as for normal growth under genome-wide genotoxic stress. Rad55 is a Rad51 paralog in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and functions in the assembly of the Rad51 filament, a central intermediate in recombinational DNA repair. Phosphorylation-defective rad55-S2,8,14A mutants display a very slow traversal of S phase under DNA-damaging conditions, which is likely due to the slower recovery of stalled replication forks or the slower repair of replication-associated DNA damage. These results suggest that Rad55-S2,8,14 phosphorylation activates recombinational repair, allowing for faster recovery after genotoxic stress.     

The slow Wallerian degeneration protein, WldS, binds directly to VCP/p97 and partially redistributes it within the nucleus

Slow Wallerian degeneration (Wld(S)) mutant mice express a chimeric nuclear protein that protects sick or injured axons from degeneration. The C-terminal region, derived from NAD(+) synthesizing enzyme Nmnat1, is reported to confer neuroprotection in vitro. However, an additional role for the N-terminal 70 amino acids (N70), derived from multiubiquitination factor Ube4b, has not been excluded. In wild-type Ube4b, N70 is part of a sequence essential for ubiquitination activity but its role is not understood. We report direct binding of N70 to valosin-containing protein (VCP; p97/Cdc48), a protein with diverse cellular roles including a pivotal role in the ubiquitin proteasome system. Interaction with Wld(S) targets VCP to discrete intranuclear foci where ubiquitin epitopes can also accumulate. Wld(S) lacking its N-terminal 16 amino acids (N16) neither binds nor redistributes VCP, but continues to accumulate in intranuclear foci, targeting its intrinsic NAD(+) synthesis activity to these same foci. Wild-type Ube4b also requires N16 to bind VCP, despite a more C-terminal binding site in invertebrate orthologues. We conclude that N-terminal sequences of Wld(S) protein influence the intranuclear location of both ubiquitin proteasome and NAD(+) synthesis machinery and that an evolutionary recent sequence mediates binding of mammalian Ube4b to VCP.     

棉铃虫β-微管蛋白基因cDNA序列的克隆与序列分析

β-微管蛋白是构成细胞骨架的重要组成性蛋白,对昆虫的蜕皮、器官形成等生长发育阶段均能产生重要影响。本文以棉铃虫Helicoverpa armigera(Hübner)3日龄成虫为材料,利用RACE末端扩增技术克隆得到棉铃虫的β-微管蛋白基因的cDNA序列。序列分析表明:棉铃虫β-微管蛋白基因的cDNA序列包含1775个碱基,包括一个1347个碱基的开放阅读框,编码448个氨基酸组成的多肽。GenBank登录号:JF767013。同源性分析表明,棉铃虫的微管蛋白基因与本研究所比对其它昆虫的β-微管蛋白基因具有高度的同源性,达到90%左右。本研究克隆得到棉铃虫的β-微管蛋白基因的cDNA序列,对进一步深入研究该基因功能有重要意义。     

A Novel Assay for Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity against HIV-1- or SIV-Infected Cells Reveals Incomplete Overlap with Antibodies Measured by Neutralization and Binding Assays

The resistance of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) to antibody-mediated immunity often prevents the detection of antibodies that neutralize primary isolates of HIV-1. However, conventional assays for antibody functions other than neutralization are suboptimal. Current methods for measuring the killing of virus-infected cells by antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) are limited by the number of natural killer (NK) cells obtainable from individual donors, donor-to-donor variation, and the use of nonphysiological targets. We therefore developed an ADCC assay based on NK cell lines that express human or macaque CD16 and a CD4⁺ T-cell line that expresses luciferase from a Tat-inducible promoter upon HIV-1 or simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection. NK cells and virus-infected targets are mixed in the presence of serial plasma dilutions, and ADCC is measured as the dose-dependent loss of luciferase activity. Using this approach, ADCC titers were measured in plasma samples from HIV-infected human donors and SIV-infected macaques. For the same plasma samples paired with the same test viruses, this assay was approximately 2 orders of magnitude more sensitive than optimized assays for neutralizing antibodies—frequently allowing the measurement of ADCC in the absence of detectable neutralization. Although ADCC correlated with other measures of Env-specific antibodies, neutralizing and gp120 binding titers did not consistently predict ADCC activity. Hence, this assay affords a sensitive method for measuring antibodies capable of directing ADCC against HIV- or SIV-infected cells expressing native conformations of the viral envelope glycoprotein and reveals incomplete overlap of the antibodies that direct ADCC and those measured in neutralization and binding assays.