Cryo-EM structure of glycoprotein C from Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a causative agent of serious hemorrhagic diseases in humans with high mortality rates. CCHFV glycoprotein Gc plays critical roles in mediating virus-host membrane fusion and has been studied extensively as an immunogen. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in membrane fusion and Gc-specific antibody-antigen interactions remain unresolved largely because structural information of this glycoprotein is missing. We designed a trimeric protein including most of the ectodomain region of Gc from the prototype CCHFV strain, IbAr10200, which enabled the cryo-electron microscopy structure to be solved at a resolution of 2.8 ?. The structure confirms that CCHFV Gc is a class II fusion protein. Unexpectedly, structural comparisons with other solved Gc trimers in the postfusion conformation revealed that CCHFV Gc adopted hybrid architectural features of the fusion loops from hantaviruses and domain III from phenuiviruses, suggesting a complex evolutionary pathway among these bunyaviruses. Antigenic sites on CCHFV Gc that protective neutralizing antibodies target were mapped onto the CCHFV Gc structure, providing valuable information that improved our understanding of potential neutralization mechanisms of various antibodies.     

Ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 and rodent bocavirus are different genotypes of the same species of virus

Bocaviruses are associated with many human infectious diseases, such as respiratory tract infections, gastroenteritis, and hepatitis. Rats are known to be reservoirs of bocaviruses, including rodent bocavirus and rat bocavirus. Recently, ungulate bocaparvovirus 4, a known porcine bocavirus, has also been found in rats. Thus, investigating bocaviruses in rats is important for determining the origin of the viruses and preventing and controlling their transmission. To the best of our knowledge, no study to date has investigated bocaviruses in the livers of rats. In this report, a total of 624 rats were trapped in southern China between 2014 and 2017. Liver and serum samples from rats were tested for the prevalence of bocaviruses using PCR. Sequences related to ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 and rodent bocavirus were detected in both liver and serum samples. Interestingly, the prevalence of ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 (reference strain:KJ622366.1) was higher than that of rodent bocavirus (reference strain:KY927868.1) in both liver (2.24% and 0.64%, respectively) and serum samples (2.19% and 0.44%, respectively). The NS1 regions of ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 and rodent bocavirus related sequences displayed over 84% and 88% identity at the nucleic acid and amino acid levels, respectively. Furthermore, these sequences had similar genomic structure, genomic features, and codon usage bias, and shared a common ancestor. These viruses also displayed greater adaptability to rats than pigs. Our results suggested that ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 and rodent bocavirus may originate from rats and may be different genotypes of the same bocavirus species.     

朝鲜木本糖料植物考察

根据中朝两国政府文化合作协定,中国科学院外事局在院内组织了糖槭树考察团(四人)于1984年7月中、下旬赴朝鲜民主主义人民共和国考察,得到朝方自然保护联盟中央委员会及其有关部门、单位的热情接待和大力支持,使这次考察获得圆满成功。现仅就朝鲜木本糖料植物的研究概况报道如下:     

甘蓝型油菜小孢子胚状体发生的细胞学观察

应用甘蓝型油菜ＤＨ系保６０４为材料研究小孢子胚发生过程,结果表明,在小孢子离体培养１～５ｄ内,随培养天数增加,小孢子的存活率迅速下降,部分小孢子培养后出现细胞膨大和分裂,并沿２－细胞。“ｆ”形３细胞,多细胞原体,胚柄球形胚,心形胚最终发育成鱼雷形胚,一般在心形胚阶段,胚柄脱离胚主体部分游离到培养基中,大多数膨大的细胞不能分裂或分裂后停止发育或发育异常。     

哺乳动物营养代谢的时间生物学研究进展

时间生物学主要是研究生物体内生理和行为的时间机制的学科,而这种机制主要是由生物钟调控的。研究表明,营养代谢的各个方面如葡萄糖转运、糖原异生、脂质合成及降解、氧化磷酸化等作用都受到生物钟核心转录机制的调控,并具有时间敏感性;相反,代谢信号也可以反馈调节生物钟系统,包括生物钟基因表达和行为活动。生物钟的紊乱会造成诸如心血管疾病、肥胖、糖尿病等多种疾病。本文从代谢与生物钟的相互关系、各类营养信号和营养素对生物钟的作用以及生物钟与营养代谢相关疾病的关系等多方面综述了哺乳动物营养代谢的时间生物学研究进展。     

Carbon monoxide differentially modulates STAT1 and STAT3 and inhibits apoptosis via a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt and p38 kinase-dependent STAT3 pathway during anoxia-reoxygenation injury

Carbon monoxide (CO), previously considered a toxic waste product of heme catabolism, is emerging as an important gaseous molecule. In addition to its important role in neurotransmission, exogenous CO protects against vascular injury, transplant rejection, and acute lung injury. However, little is known regarding the precise signaling mechanisms of CO. We have recently shown that CO attenuates endothelial cell apoptosis during anoxia-reoxygenation injury by activating MKK3/p38alpha mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. Our current study is the first to demonstrate that CO can differentially modulate STAT1 and STAT3 activation and, specifically, that STAT3 activation by CO is responsible for the anti-apoptotic effect in endothelial cells. In addition, we show that the anti-apoptotic effects of CO depend upon both phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt and p38 MAPK signaling pathways in endothelial cells, whereas previous reports have implicated only the MKK3/p38 MAPK pathway. Using chemical inhibitors and dominant negative constructs, we show that CO enhances STAT3 activation via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt and p38 MAPK pathways with subsequent attenuation of Fas expression and caspase 3 activity. These data highlight the anti-apoptotic signaling mechanisms of CO and, importantly, delineate potential therapeutic strategies to prevent ischemia-reperfusion or anoxia-reoxygenation injury in the vasculature.     

桂林小花苣苔离体快速繁殖技术

对抗结核植物桂林小花苣苔(Chiritopsis repanda var. guilinensis)进行离体培养与快速繁殖技术研究。结果表明: 桂林小花苣苔叶片外植体的最适初代诱导培养基为MS+0.5 mg·L^–16-BA+0.05 mg·L^–1IBA, pH8.0; 最适继代增殖培养基为 MS+0.1 mg·L^–16-BA+0.05 mg·L^–1IBA, pH6.0, 繁殖系数7.0/35天; 最适生根培养基为1/2MS+0.2 mg·L^–1NAA, pH6.0, 生根率为93.6%。模拟桂林小花苣苔自然生境, 在春季对生根试管苗进行大棚移栽, 成活率达90%。根据上述快繁技术, 理论上每株试管苗每年可繁殖桂林小花苣苔种苗46万株。     

对TMV不同抗性番茄品种的叶绿体DNA限制性内切酶酶谱分析

选用对TMV有抗性和敏感的番茄品种、制备其ct-DNA, 用限制性内切酶BumHI、EcoRI和PstI完全酶解, 三种酶切图谱与前人报道一致, 由酶切片段计算番茄ct-DNA。分子量约为156.9kb。比较抗性和敏感品种的ct-DNA图谱, 发现三种酶切图谱均存在差异, 但由差异片段计算分子量之和又很除近。我们推测这是由于检基顺序变异或小段DNA顺序插入或缺失所造成, 由此证明, 叶绿体基因组与核中的TMV抗性基因, 共同决定着植物体对TMV的抗性。     

水牛精子蛋白质组双向电泳体系的建立和优化

建立和优化一种适合水牛精子蛋白质组学研究的双向电泳技术。以水牛精子为研究对象,比较两种不同配方的裂解液,以及不同上样量对其2-DE图谱质量的影响。结果显示,以7 mol/L尿素、2 mol/L硫脲、4%CHAPS、1%DTT、0.5%Cocktail of protease inhibitors为裂解液,24 cm胶条上样量200μg时,可获得较好的精子总蛋白质2-DE图谱。运用ImageMaster 2-Dplatinum分析软件检测出约500个蛋白质点,蛋白质大部分分布在等电点5-7之间,分子量范围约40-90 kD。