Elevated GAPDH expression is associated with the proliferation and invasion of lung and esophageal squamous cell carcinomas

Glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase, is one of the most investigated housekeeping genes and widely used as an internal control in analysis of gene expression levels. The present study was designed to assess whether GAPDH is associated with cancer cell growth and progression and, therefore may not be a good internal control in cancer research. Our results from clinical tissue studies showed that the levels of GAPDH protein were significantly up‐regulated in lung squamous cell carcinoma tissues, compared with the adjacent normal lung tissues, and this was confirmed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. GAPDH knockdown by siRNA resulted in significant reductions in proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung squamous carcinoma cells in vitro. In a nude mouse cancer xenograft model, GAPDH knockdown significantly inhibited the cell proliferation and migration/invasion in vivo. In summary, GAPDH may not be an appropriate internal control for gene expression studies, especially in cancer research. The role of GAPDH in cancer development and progression should be further examined in pre‐clinical and clinical studies.     

Responses of two semiarid conifer tree species to reduced precipitation and warming reveal new perspectives for stomatal regulation

Relatively anisohydric species are predicted to be more predisposed to hydraulic failure than relatively isohydric species, as they operate with narrower hydraulic safety margins. We subjected co‐occurring anisohydric Juniperus monosperma and isohydric Pinus edulis trees to warming, reduced precipitation, or both, and measured their gas exchange and hydraulic responses. We found that reductions in stomatal conductance and assimilation by heat and drought were more frequent during relatively moist periods, but these effects were not exacerbated in the combined heat and drought treatment. Counter to expectations, both species exhibited similar g_s temporal dynamics in response to drought. Further, whereas P. edulis exhibited chronic embolism, J. monosperma showed very little embolism due to its conservative stomatal regulation and maintenance of xylem water potential above the embolism entry point. This tight stomatal control and low levels of embolism experienced by juniper refuted the notion that very low water potentials during drought are associated with loose stomatal control and with the hypothesis that anisohydric species are more prone to hydraulic failure than isohydric species. Because direct association of stomatal behaviour with embolism resistance can be misleading, we advocate consideration of stomatal behaviour relative to embolism resistance for classifying species drought response strategies.     

Solar radiation and functional traits explain the decline of forest primary productivity along a tropical elevation gradient

One of the major challenges in ecology is to understand how ecosystems respond to changes in environmental conditions, and how taxonomic and functional diversity mediate these changes. In this study, we use a trait‐spectra and individual‐based model, to analyse variation in forest primary productivity along a 3.3 km elevation gradient in the Amazon‐Andes. The model accurately predicted the magnitude and trends in forest productivity with elevation, with solar radiation and plant functional traits (leaf dry mass per area, leaf nitrogen and phosphorus concentration, and wood density) collectively accounting for productivity variation. Remarkably, explicit representation of temperature variation with elevation was not required to achieve accurate predictions of forest productivity, as trait variation driven by species turnover appears to capture the effect of temperature. Our semi‐mechanistic model suggests that spatial variation in traits can potentially be used to estimate spatial variation in productivity at the landscape scale.     

反刍兽月形单胞菌β-木糖苷酶基因在毕赤酵母中的高效表达及酶学性质

β-木糖苷酶(β-xylosidase,酶编号EC 3.2.1.37)是木聚糖降解酶系中的重要组成部分。本研究以毕赤酵母Pichia pastoris GS115为宿主菌尝试表达反刍兽月形单胞菌Selenomonas ruminantium中的β-木糖苷酶基因Sxa。根据毕赤酵母对密码子的偏爱性、mRNA二级结构、GC含量和稀有密码子,对Sxa基因进行优化;通过基因合成技术获得了全长基因mSxa并构建重组酵母表达载体pPIC9K-mSxa;以BglⅡ酶切重组载体pPIC9K-mSxa,电击转化将m Sxa基因导入毕赤酵母GS115中,获得的转化子经过表型和遗传霉素G418抗性筛选、PCR鉴定,得到表达β-木糖苷酶基因的工程菌GS115-pPIC9K-mSxa;通过活性测定获得高效表达β-木糖苷酶的重组酵母,并对重组β-木糖苷酶的酶学性质进行了初步研究。结果表明,重组β-木糖苷酶的分子量约为66 kDa。在发酵罐水平表达的酶活性达到了287.61 IU/mL。对酶学性质研究显示,该酶在温度为40-60℃,pH为5.0-7.0时较稳定,其最适反应温度和pH分别为55℃和6.0,专一性地作用于β-木糖苷键。Mn~(2+)和Ca~(2+)对该酶具有激活作用,而Fe~(3+)、Cu~(2+)、Co~(2+)、Mg~(2+)、EDTA及SDS抑制其酶活性。本研究首次将反刍兽月形单胞菌的β-木糖苷酶基因转化到毕赤酵母中获得表达,并具有较高活性,为进一步工业化应用奠定了基础。     

定向进化提高嗜热拟青霉J18耐热β-1,3-1,4-葡聚糖酶在酸性条件下的催化能力

应用定向进化技术提高了嗜热拟青霉Paecilomyces thermophila J18耐热β-1,3-1,4-葡聚糖酶(PtLic16A)在酸性条件下的催化能力.结合易错PCR和DNA改组的方法,构建了β-葡聚糖酶的突变体文库;利用刚果红染色法建立了阳性克隆的高通量筛选体系.筛选得到的突变酶PtLic 16AM1的反应最适pH由7.0变化至5.5,且保持了原有的耐热性和比酶活.突变酶的DNA序列中有4个点位发生突变,引发了4处氨基酸替换,分别是T58S、Y110N、G195E和D221G.结构模拟结果显示,发生突变的4个氨基酸位点中,Y110N位置靠近酶活性中心,而T58S、G195E和D221G则离酶活性中心较远,其中T58S、G195E可能对酶最适pH的变化起到了关键作用.     

Invasive cane toads are unique in shape but overlap in ecological niche compared to Australian native frogs

Invasive species are an important issue worldwide but predicting invasiveness, and the underlying mechanisms that cause it, is difficult. There are several primary hypotheses to explain invasion success. Two main hypothesis based on niche spaces stand out as alternative, although not exclusive. The empty niche hypothesis states that invaders occupy a vacant niche space in the recipient community, and the niche competition hypothesis states that invaders overlap with native species in niche space. Studies on trait similarity/dissimilarity between the invader and native species can provide information on their niche overlap. Here, we use the highly invasive and well‐studied cane toad (Rhinella marina) to test these two hypotheses in Australia, and assess its degree of overlap with native species in several niche dimensions. We compare extensive morphological and environmental data of this successful invader to 235 species (97%) of native Australian frogs. Our study is the first to document the significant morphological differences between the invasive cane toad and a continent‐wide frog radiation: despite significant environmental overlap, cane toads were distinct in body size and shape from most Australian frog species, suggesting that in addition to their previously documented phenotypic plasticity and wide environmental and trophic niche breadth, their unique shape also may have contributed to their success as an invasive species in Australia. Thus, the invasive success of cane toads in Australia may be explained through them successfully colonizing an empty niche among Australian anurans. Our results support that the cane toad's distinct morphology may have played a unique role in the invasiveness of this species in Australia, which coupled with a broad environmental niche breadth, would have boosted their ability to expand their distribution across Australia. We also propose RLLR (Relative limb length ratio) as a potentially useful measure of identifying morphological niche uniqueness and a potential measure of invasiveness potential in anuran amphibians.     

禽病原性大肠杆菌1型菌毛的分离与鉴定

以旋涡混合法使禽病原性大肠杆菌分离株566、1794和TK3菌毛脱落,经硫酸铵沉淀、透析后进行蔗糖密度梯度离心,收集密度为110至115g/cm3的蛋白带,经SDSPAGE测定,3株菌菌毛蛋白的分子量分别在175、170和170kD;提纯菌毛保留了甘露糖敏感性凝集豚鼠红细胞的能力,证明它们为1型菌毛;从1794株提取的1型菌毛免疫BALB/C小鼠产生的高免血清在Western blot中与3个菌株的相应菌毛蛋白均呈阳性反应。上述结果表明,受检的3株禽病原性大肠杆菌均表达了1型菌毛,其分子量在175～170kD之间,3个菌株的1型菌毛间具有较强的抗原相关性。     

数字图像处理法确定林带疏透度随机误差研究

在分析以数字图像处理为测定法确定林带疏透度误差来源的基础上,对其中的随机误差进行研究,结果表明:林带整体疏透度的机误方差小于其冠部和干部的较大者;所研究的各类型林带各部位疏透度随机误差均遵从正态分布;林带整体疏透度随机误差的分布与树种和带内配置无关;北京杨、双阳快杨和其它类杂交杨的矩形或品字形配置林带各自冠部与干部疏透度机误方差之间无显著差异,而乡土杨林带干部的显著大于冠部的。本文还分别各类型林带的各部位确定了由林带疏透度测定值估计其总体实际值的随机误差限,并讨论了在测定林带疏透度过程中据该误差限计算样本量和划定测定范围的应用意义。最后总结提出:以增加测定同一林带不同样段像片数限定随机误差,通过模型计算订正疏透度测定值中的投影误差和影缩误差确定林带疏透度是建立完善的“数字图像处理法确定林带疏透度”新方法的可行途径。