Efflux pump‐deficient mutants as a platform to search for microbes that produce antibiotics

Pseudomonas putida DOT‐T1E‐18 is a strain deficient in the major antibiotic efflux pump (TtgABC) that exhibits an overall increased susceptibility to a wide range of drugs when compared with the wild‐type strain. We used this strain as a platform to search for microbes able to produce antibiotics that inhibit growth. A collection of 2400 isolates from soil, sediments and water was generated and a drop assay developed to identify, via growth inhibition halos, strains that prevent the growth of DOT‐T1E‐18 on solid Luria–Bertani plates. In this study, 35 different isolates that produced known and unknown antibiotics were identified. The most potent inhibitor of DOT‐T1E‐18 growth was an isolate named 250J that, through multi‐locus sequence analysis, was identified as a Pseudomonas sp. strain. Culture supernatants of 250J contain four different xantholysins that prevent growth of Gram‐positive bacteria, Gram‐negative and fungi. Two of the xantholysins were produced in higher concentrations and purified. Xantholysin A was effective against Bacillus, Lysinibacillus and Rhodococcus strains, and the effect against these microbes was enhanced when used in combination with other antibiotics such as ampicillin, gentamicin and kanamycin. Xantholysin C was also efficient against Gram‐positive bacteria and showed an interesting antimicrobial effect against Pseudomonas strains, and a synergistic inhibitory effect with ampicillin, chloramphenicol and gentamicin.     

碱性成纤维细胞生长因子促进神经损伤修复的研究进展

碱性成纤维细胞生长因子(basic fibroblast growth factor,b FGF)是成纤维细胞生长因子家族(FGFs)的成员之一。它是哺乳动物和人体中一种非常微量的活性物质,因其具有广泛的生理功能和重要的临床应用价值受到了国内外学者的高度重视。b FGF生物活性的多效性以及神经营养的广谱性,为其从基础走向临床提供了保证。而b FGF如何发挥神经损伤修复作用的功能和机制,仍有待进一步的发现及研究,这也是目前国内外探索和开发b FGF新临床药物的研究热点之一。针对b FGF的生物学特点及其在神经损伤修复中的功能,特别是在中枢神经系统和外周神经系统疾病中的研究进展进行了综述。     

Optimising long‐term monitoring projects for species distribution modelling: how atlas data may help

Long‐term biodiversity monitoring data are mainly used to estimate changes in species occupancy or abundance over time, but they may also be incorporated into predictive models to document species distributions in space. Although changes in occupancy or abundance may be estimated from a relatively limited number of sampling units, small sample size may lead to inaccurate spatial models and maps of predicted species distributions. We provide a methodological approach to estimate the minimum sample size needed in monitoring projects to produce accurate species distribution models and maps. The method assumes that monitoring data are not yet available when sampling strategies are to be designed and is based on external distribution data from atlas projects. Atlas data are typically collected in a large number of sampling units during a restricted timeframe and are often similar in nature to the information gathered from long‐term monitoring projects. The large number of sampling units in atlas projects makes it possible to simulate a broad gradient of sample sizes in monitoring data and to examine how the number of sampling units influences the accuracy of the models. We apply the method to several bird species using data from a regional breeding bird atlas. We explore the effect of prevalence, range size and habitat specialization of the species on the sample size needed to generate accurate models. Model accuracy is sensitive to particularly small sample sizes and levels off beyond a sufficiently large number of sampling units that varies among species depending mainly on their prevalence. The integration of spatial modelling techniques into monitoring projects is a cost‐effective approach as it offers the possibility to estimate the dynamics of species distributions in space and over time. We believe our innovative method will help in the sampling design of future monitoring projects aiming to achieve such integration.     

Systems genetic analysis of hippocampal neuroanatomy and spatial learning in mice

Variation in hippocampal neuroanatomy correlates well with spatial learning ability in mice. Here, we have studied both hippocampal neuroanatomy and behavior in 53 isogenic BXD recombinant strains derived from C57BL/6J and DBA/2J parents. A combination of experimental, neuroinformatic and systems genetics methods was used to test the genetic bases of variation and covariation among traits. Data were collected on seven hippocampal subregions in CA3 and CA4 after testing spatial memory in an eight‐arm radial maze task. Quantitative trait loci were identified for hippocampal structure, including the areas of the intra‐ and infrapyramidal mossy fibers (IIPMFs), stratum radiatum and stratum pyramidale, and for a spatial learning parameter, error rate. We identified multiple loci and gene variants linked to either structural differences or behavior. Gpc4 and Tenm2 are strong candidate genes that may modulate IIPMF areas. Analysis of gene expression networks and trait correlations highlight several processes influencing morphometrical variation and spatial learning.     

Age-related variation in wing shape of migratory and sedentary Blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla

In many passerines, juveniles have shorter and more rounded wings than adults. Given that (1) long and pointed wings improve endurance in migratory flights, (2) shorter and rounded wings improve manoeuvrability, and (3) juvenile birds are more vulnerable to predators than adults, it has been hypothesised that ontogenetic variation in wing shape results from a greater importance of predation avoidance relative to migration performance during the first year of life. If so, wing shape should not change with age in the absence of migration-related selection for longer and more pointed wings. We test this by studying the variation with respect to age in wing length and wing pointedness of migratory and sedentary Blackcaps wintering in southern Spain. Migratory Blackcaps had longer and more pointed wings than sedentary Blackcaps. Juveniles had shorter wings than adults in migratory populations, but not in sedentary populations. The variation with age in wing pointedness was less pronounced, and was found in migratory females only. These differences between the two traits could be related to a stronger selection for pointed wings than for longer wings with increasing distance of migration, and to an increased migratoriness of females in partially migratory Blackcap populations. We hypothesise that, in migratory Blackcaps, a shorter and more rounded wing in juveniles could be selected for if the decrease in predation rate compensated for the somewhat greater costs of the first migration attempt. On the other hand, there are no costs of migration in sedentary Blackcaps, which hence maintain a similar wing shape, giving high manoeuvrability, both as juveniles and as adults.     

Kinetics of Veratryl Alcohol Oxidation by Lignin Peroxidase and in situ Generated Hydrogen Peroxide in an Electrochemical Reactor

The cathodic reduction of oxygen to hydrogen peroxide, the current efficiency for the production of H₂O₂ and the oxidation of veratryl alcohol with an in situ generated hydrogen peroxide‐lignin peroxidase complex were studied in this paper. The complex was prepared by utilizing a novel preparation technique in an electrochemical reactor. The oxidation of veratryl alcohol (VA; 3,4‐dimethoxybenzyl alcohol) was carried out with or without lignin peroxidase under an electric field. The redox properties of veratryl alcohol on a carbon electrode in the presence of lignin peroxidase have been investigated using cyclic voltammetry. The kinetics of veratryl alcohol oxidation in an electrochemical reactor were compared to the oxidation when hydrogen peroxide was supplied externally. Further, the oxidation of veratryl alcohol by lignin peroxidase was optimized in terms of enzyme dosage, pH, and electrical potential. The novel electroenzymatic method was found to be effective using in situ generated hydrogen peroxide for the oxidation of veratryl alcohol by lignin peroxidase.     

Synthesis of 7-O-galloyl-D-sedoheptulose

A facile synthetic approach to 7-O-galloyl-D-sedoheptulose (1), a natural product with notable immunosuppressant activity, was developed. The starting material, 2,7-anhydro-d-sedoheptulose (2), was converted in three steps into 1,3,4,5-tetra-O-benzyl-d-sedoheptulose (5), a key intermediate that allows specific functionalization at C-7 of the sedoheptulpyranose. After regioselective esterification of 5 with 3,4,5-tri-O-benzyl galloyl acid, followed by catalytic debenzylation (Pd-C), 1 was obtained in an overall yield of 60%. The spectroscopic data and TLC behavior of 1 were found to be identical to that of the natural product.