R-loop的调控及其生理功能

R环（R-loop）是一种DNA∶RNA杂合链（DNA∶RNA hybrids）,由一条RNA单链侵入双链DNA,与其中一条DNA模板链结合,从而释放出一条DNA单链而产生。R-loop在细胞生命活动中扮演着重要角色,与基因组稳定性、转录调控,以及表观修饰等重要生物学过程有着密不可分的关系。很多因素参与对R-loop的调控,例如RNA转录和加工、染色体的修饰、DNA损伤反应等;同时,许多酶蛋白,如核糖核酸酶、解旋酶和拓扑异构酶等也参与调节细胞内的R-loop水平。了解R-loop的调控机制及其生物学功能有助于更好地理解基因组稳定性的维持机制,为治疗骨髓增生异常综合征、白血病、乳腺癌、前列腺癌等疾病开拓新思路。     

A role for oxalic acid generation in ozone‐induced signallization in Arabidopis cells

Ozone (O₃) is an air pollutant with an impact increasingly important in our industrialized world. It affects human health and productivity in various crops. We provide the evidences that treatment of Arabidopsis thaliana with O₃ results in ascorbate‐derived oxalic acid production. Using cultured cells of A. thaliana as a model, here we further showed that oxalic acid induces activation of anion channels that trigger depolarization of the cell, increase in cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentration, generation of reactive oxygen species and cell death. We confirmed that O₃ reacts with ascorbate in the culture, thus resulting in production of oxalic acid and this could be part of the O₃‐induced signalling pathways that trigger programmed cell death.     

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor in the regulation of myoblast proliferation and differentiation

Obesity is documented to be a state of chronic mild inflammation associated with increased macrophage infiltration into adipose tissue and liver and skeletal muscle. As a pleiotropic inflammatory mediator, macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is associated with metabolic disease, so MIF may signal molecular links between adipocytes and myocytes. MIF expression was modified during myoblast differentiation, but the role of MIF during this process is unclear. C2C12 cells were transfected with MIF to investigate their role during differentiation. MIF expression attenuated C2C12 differentiation. It did not change proliferation, but downregulated cyclin D1 and CDK4, causing cell accumulation in the G1 phase. p21 protein was increased significantly and MyoD, MyoG, and p21 mRNA also increased significantly in the C2C12 cells treated with ISO-1, suggesting that inhibition of MIF promotes differentiation. MIF inhibits the myoblast differentiation by affecting the cell cycle progression, but does not affect proliferation.     

QRAR models for cardiovascular system drugs using biopartitioning micellar chromatography

The capability of biopartitioning micellar chromatography (BMC) to describe and estimate pharmacological parameters of cardiovascular system drugs has been studied. The retention of cardiovascular system drugs was studied using different pH of Brij-35 as micellar mobile phase in modified C(18) stationary phase. Quantitative retention-activity relationships (QRAR) in BMC were investigated for these compounds. An adequate correlation between the retention factors (log k) and the toxicity (LD(50)) of cardiovascular system drugs was obtained.     

The blood system and the organism adaptation to extreme factor

The formation of blood system adoptive reaction in many cases is defined by the type of action and the condition of hemopoietic inductive microenvironment: hemodynamics of hemopoietic tissue, functional conditions of bone marrow macrophages, mast cells and glycosaminoglycans content. The shift in hemodlobin fraction occurs in extreme conditions requiring an increased gas transport by the blood. In case of tissue lesion, lymphocytes stimulate their regeneration. Morphogenetic function of lymphoid cells may be alerted by immunomodulators. Blood cells participate in angiogenesis, and this property may be used for vessel grafts production.     

Preliminary estimates of the potential for carbon mitigation in European soils through no-till farming

In this paper we estimate the European potential for carbon mitigation of no-till farming using results from European tillage experiments. Our calculations suggest some potential in terms of (a) reduced agricultural fossil fuel emissions, and (b) increased soil carbon sequestration. We estimate that 100% conversion to no-till farming would be likely to sequester about 23 Tg C y^–1 in the European Union or about 43 Tg C y^–1 in the wider Europe (excluding the former Soviet Union). In addition, up to 3.2 Tg C y^–1 could be saved in agricultural fossil fuel emissions. Compared to estimates of the potential for carbon sequestration of other carbon mitigation options, no-till agriculture shows nearly twice the potential of scenarios whereby soils are amended with organic materials. Our calculations suggest that 100% conversion to no-till agriculture in Europe could mitigate all fossil fuel-carbon emissions from agriculture in Europe. However, this is equivalent to only about 4.1% of total anthropogenic CO₂-carbon produced annually in Europe (excluding the former Soviet Union) which in turn is equivalent to about 0.8% of global annual anthropogenic CO₂-carbon emissions.     

Effects of fine‐scale genetic structure on male mating success in gynodioecious Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima

Plant mating systems are known to influence population genetic structure because pollen and seed dispersal are often spatially restricted. However, the reciprocal outcomes of population structure on the dynamics of polymorphic mating systems have received little attention. In gynodioecious sea beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima), three sexual types co‐occur: females carrying a cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) gene, hermaphrodites carrying a non‐CMS cytoplasm and restored hermaphrodites that carry CMS genes and nuclear restorer alleles. This study investigated the effects of fine‐scale genetic structure on male reproductive success of the two hermaphroditic forms. Our study population was strongly structured and characterized by contrasting local sex‐ratios. Pollen flow was constrained over short distances and depended on local plant density. Interestingly, restored hermaphrodites sired significantly more seedlings than non‐CMS hermaphrodites, despite the previous observation that the former produce pollen of lower quality than the latter. This result was explained by the higher frequency of females in the local vicinity of restored (CMS) hermaphrodites as compared to non‐CMS hermaphrodites. Population structure thus strongly influences individual fitness and may locally counteract the expected effects of selection, suggesting that understanding fine scale population processes is central to predicting the evolution of gender polymorphism in angiosperms.