Effects of adults body size and larvae diet on the fecundity and percent fertility of eggs laid by Xylotrechus arvicola (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) females,insect pest in Spanish vineyards

Xylotrechus arvicola is a pest of grape in some vine‐producing regions of the Iberian Peninsula. Biological parameters and relationships (fecundity and percent fertility of eggs in relationship to body size) of females obtained in the laboratory and captured in vineyards were studied. In laboratory conditions, the mean developmental time of larvae ranged from 384 to 392 days and pupal stage varied between 12 to 14 days. Body size (BS) of X. arvicola females was significantly bigger than males. Fecundity was greater in the laboratory (147 eggs) than in the field (50 eggs) females, but the percent fertility of the laboratory eggs was lower (16 eggs). Laboratory females showed a bigger relationship between the production of eggs and BS than females captured in vineyards. Wild females (PDO Ribera del Duero and Tierra de León) had a positive relationship between the percent fertility of eggs and the BS. No correlation between the percent fertility of eggs and the BS was displayed by females captured in PDO Toro, but these females had a higher percent fertility (53 eggs) than the others PDO's. These biological parameters and relationships studied suggest that the artificial diet may lack certain essential nutrients that vine varieties can provide that favor the fertility of eggs. This explains why wild females have the potential to become a problem pest in the Tempranillo grape variety, with bilateral cordon and bush vines training systems that have the highest incidence of this cerambycid.     

Structural analysis of chloroplast tail‐anchored membrane protein recognition by ArsA1

In mammals and yeast, tail‐anchored (TA) membrane proteins destined for the post‐translational pathway are safely delivered to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane by a well‐known targeting factor, TRC40/Get3. In contrast, the underlying mechanism for translocation of TA proteins in plants remains obscure. How this unique eukaryotic membrane‐trafficking system correctly distinguishes different subsets of TA proteins destined for various organelles, including mitochondria, chloroplasts and the ER, is a key question of long standing. Here, we present crystal structures of algal ArsA1 (the Get3 homolog) in a distinct nucleotide‐free open state and bound to adenylyl‐imidodiphosphate. This approximately 80‐kDa protein possesses a monomeric architecture, with two ATPase domains in a single polypeptide chain. It is capable of binding chloroplast (TOC34 and TOC159) and mitochondrial (TOM7) TA proteins based on features of its transmembrane domain as well as the regions immediately before and after the transmembrane domain. Several helices located above the TA‐binding groove comprise the interlocking hook‐like motif implicated by mutational analyses in TA substrate recognition. Our data provide insights into the molecular basis of the highly specific selectivity of interactions of algal ArsA1 with the correct sets of TA substrates before membrane targeting in plant cells.     

基于LSMM与MSPA的深圳市绿色景观连通性研究

基于线性光谱混合模型(LSMM,Linear Spectral Mixture Model),引入形态学空间格局分析(MSPA,Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis)进行城市地域绿色景观连通性评价。根据城市绿色景观特点和MSPA方法中的7种连通性类型的涵义,定义了城市绿色景观连通性功能类型。以深圳市1986年、1995年、2000年、2005年及2010年五期Landsat TM影像为数据源,应用线性光谱混合模型提取植被覆盖率,得到深圳市植被覆盖图。在此基础上,提取出高、全植被覆盖作为目标像元进行MSPA处理,分析植被覆盖状况与绿色景观功能类型的时序总体特征及空间梯度动态。结果表明:深圳市绿色景观破碎程度较高,表现为对结构连通性贡献最小的斑块类型总数最大。城市内部东西部连通性呈现出不同变化的趋势;右侧外圈层的大鹏半岛结构连通性最佳;在同一城市化发展梯度上,东部的样带连通性水平比西部要好。在城市化过程中,深圳市高、全覆被植被像元连通性大小受以下因素的影响:城市化程度,地形因素及区域定位。在同一城市化程度上,地形因素对景观连通性的影响较大。从整体的时间变化和空间梯度动态分析可知,在快速城市化过程中植被覆盖率和连通性功能均下降,而到稳定城市化阶段植被覆盖率和连通性均得到改善。研究表明线性光谱混合模型与形态学空间格局分析相结合可以较好的表征城市绿色景观连通性类型时空分布特征,进而明晰城市化过程与区域内绿色景观数量及连通性动态变化关系。     

Differential Phosphorylation of Smad1 Integrates BMP and Neurotrophin Pathways through Erk/Dusp in Axon Development

1. Download : Download full-size image

     

Viral tegument proteins restrict cGAS-DNA phase separation to mediate immune evasion

1. Download : Download high-res image (223KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

Development of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers for the assessment of gene flow between sea beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima) populations

Molecular markers can be used to estimate gene flow indirectly by monitoring the relative frequency of alleles in adjacent populations. Sea beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima) is a wild plant species found along the coastlines of many European countries and is closely related to cultivated beets. A set of six simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers that are polymorphic in UK populations have been developed for sea beet to assess the problems of indirect measurement of gene flow in these populations.     

Regulation of alternative splicing of Bcl-x by IL-6, GM-CSF and TPA

The splicing of many alternative exons in the precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) is regulated by extracellular factors but the underlying molecular bases remain unclear. Here we report the differential regulation of Bcl-x pre-mRNA splicing by extracellular factors and their distinct requirements for pre-mRNA elements. In K562 leukemia cells, treatment with interleukin-6 (IL-6) or granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) reduced the proportion of the Bcl-xL variant mRNA while treatment with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) had no effect. In U251 glioma cells, however, TPA efficiently increased the Bcl-xL level. These regulations were also seen for a transfected splicing reporter mini-gene. Further analyses of deletion mutants indicate that nucleotides 1-176 of the downstream intron are required for the IL-6 effect, whereas additional nucleotides 177-284 are essential for the GM-CSF effect. As for the TPA effect, only nucleotides 1-76 are required in the downstream intron. Thus, IL-6, GM-CSF and TPA differentially regulate Bcl-x splicing and require specific intronic pre-mRNA sequences for their respective effects.     

Network-assisted analysis to prioritize GWAS results: principles, methods and perspectives

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have rapidly become a powerful tool in genetic studies of complex diseases and traits. Traditionally, single marker-based tests have been used prevalently in GWAS and have uncovered tens of thousands of disease-associated SNPs. Network-assisted analysis (NAA) of GWAS data is an emerging area in which network-related approaches are developed and utilized to perform advanced analyses of GWAS data in order to study various human diseases or traits. Progress has been made in both methodology development and applications of NAA in GWAS data, and it has already been demonstrated that NAA results may enhance our interpretation and prioritization of candidate genes and markers. Inspired by the strong interest in and high demand for advanced GWAS data analysis, in this review article, we discuss the methodologies and strategies that have been reported for the NAA of GWAS data. Many NAA approaches search for subnetworks and assess the combined effects of multiple genes participating in the resultant subnetworks through a gene set analysis. With no restriction to pre-defined canonical pathways, NAA has the advantage of defining subnetworks with the guidance of the GWAS data under investigation. In addition, some NAA methods prioritize genes from GWAS data based on their interconnections in the reference network. Here, we summarize NAA applications to various diseases and discuss the available options and potential caveats related to their practical usage. Additionally, we provide perspectives regarding this rapidly growing research area.