泰州市奶牛乳房炎调查及其病原菌的分离

奶牛乳房炎是奶牛场的常发病和难以防治的疾病,为进一步了解引起奶牛乳房炎的病原微生物,本研究通过对泰州市3个奶牛场572头泌乳牛的乳房炎发病率进行了调查并对乳房炎主要病原菌进行分离和鉴定。结果表明,奶牛临床型乳房炎的发病率为7.69%,隐性型乳房炎发病率为56.64%,乳区阳性率为33.8%,其中临床型:隐性=1:7.36。从65份确定患有乳房炎的奶样中共分离获得8种细菌、156株分离株,且引起乳房炎的主要病原菌是金黄色葡萄球菌和表皮葡萄球菌,其次是停乳链球菌、大肠杆菌、乳房链球菌和无乳链球菌,其检出率分别为42.31%、23.08%、8.97%、6.41%、5.13%和1.28%。该项调查结果初步明确了泰州市乳房炎发病情况,同时为进一步综合防治奶牛乳房炎和研制乳房炎治疗药物提供了科学依据。     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In vivo</Emphasis> fluorescence observation of parasporal inclusion formation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus thuringiensis</Emphasis>

A recombinant gene expressing a Cry1Ac-GFP fusion protein with a molecular mass of approximately 160 kD was constructed to investigate the expression of cry1Ac, the localization of its gene product Cry1Ac, and its role in crystal development in Bacillus thuringiensis. The cry1Ac-gfp fusion gene under the control of the cry1Ac promoter was cloned into the plasmid pHT304, and this construct was designated pHTcry1Ac-gfp. pHTcry1Ac-gfp was transformed into the crystal-negative strain, HD-73 cry⁻, and the resulting strain was named HD-73⁻(pHTcry1Ac-gfp). The gfp gene was then inserted into the large HD-73 endogenous plasmid pHT73 and fused with the 3′ terminal of the cry1Ac gene by homologous recombination, yielding HD-73Φ(cry1Ac-gfp)3534. Laser confocal microscopy and Western blot analyses showed for the first time that the Cry1Ac-GFP fusion proteins in both HD-73⁻(pHTcry1Ac-gfp) and HD-73Φ(cry1Ac-gfp)3534 were produced during asymmetric septum formation. Surprisingly, the Cry1Ac-GFP fusion protein showed polarity and was located near the septa in both strains. There was no significant difference between Cry1Ac-GFP and Cry1Ac in their toxicity to Plutella xylostella larvae.     

Prediction of quantitative phenotypes based on genetic networks: a case study in yeast sporulation

Background  

An exciting application of genetic network is to predict phenotypic consequences for environmental cues or genetic perturbations. However, de novo prediction for quantitative phenotypes based on network topology is always a challenging task.     

Biosynthesis of the iridoid glucoside,lamalbid, in Lamium barbatum

The biosynthesis of the iridoid glucoside lamalbid in Lamium barbatum, a plant species in the Lamiaceae, was investigated by administrating ¹³C-labeled intermediates of MVA and MEP pathways, respectively. The results demonstrated that [3,4,5-¹³C₃]1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate could be incorporated into lamalbid, whereas the incorporation of [2-¹³C₁]mevalonolactone was not observed. Based on the ¹³C labeling pattern of lamalbid and the incorporation data, we deduce that the iridoid glucoside in L. barbatum is biosynthesized through the MEP pathway, whereas the classic MVA pathway is not utilized.     

Genetic and comparative genomics mapping reveals that a powdery mildew resistance gene Ml3D232 originating from wild emmer co-segregates with an NBS-LRR analog in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Powdery mildew caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici is one of the most important wheat diseases worldwide and breeding for resistance using diversified disease resistance genes is the most promising approach to prevent outbreaks of powdery mildew. A powdery mildew resistance gene, originating from wild emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum var. dicoccoides) accessions collected from Israel, has been transferred into the hexaploid wheat line 3D232 through crossing and backcrossing. Inoculation results with 21 B. graminis f. sp. tritici races indicated that 3D232 is resistant to all of the powdery mildew isolates tested. Genetic analyses of 3D232 using an F₂ segregating population and F₃ families indicated that a single dominant gene, Ml3D232, confers resistance in the host seedling stage. By applying molecular markers and bulked segregant analysis (BSA), we have identified polymorphic simple sequence repeats (SSR), expressed sequence tags (EST) and derived sequence tagged site (STS) markers to determine that the Ml3D232 is located on chromosome 5BL bin 0.59–0.76. Comparative genetic analyses using mapped EST markers and genome sequences of rice and Brachypodium established co-linearity of the Ml3D232 genomic region with a 1.4 Mb genomic region on Brachypodium distachyon chromosome 4, and a 1.2 Mb contig located on the Oryza sativa chromosome 9. Our comparative approach enabled us to develop new EST–STS markers and to delimit the genomic region carrying Ml3D232 to a 0.8 cM segment that is collinear with a 558 kb region on B. distachyon. Eight EST markers, including an NBS-LRR analog, co-segregated with Ml3D232 to provide a target site for fine genetic mapping, chromosome landing and map-based cloning of the powdery mildew resistance gene. This newly developed common wheat germplasm provides broad-spectrum resistance to powdery mildew and a valuable resource for wheat breeding programs.     

Autophagy in cancer associated fibroblasts promotes tumor cell survival: Role of hypoxia,HIF1 induction and NFκB activation in the tumor stromal microenvironment

Recently, using a co-culture system, we demonstrated that MCF7 epithelial cancer cells induce oxidative stress in adjacent cancer-associated fibroblasts, resulting in the autophagic/lysosomal degradation of stromal caveolin-1 (Cav-1). However, the detailed signaling mechanism(s) underlying this process remain largely unknown. Here, we show that hypoxia is sufficient to induce the autophagic degradation of Cav-1 in stromal fibroblasts, which is blocked by the lysosomal inhibitor chloroquine. Concomitant with the hypoxia-induced degradation of Cav-1, we see the upregulation of a number of well-established autophagy/mitophagy markers, namely LC3, ATG16L, BNIP3, BNIP3L, HIF-1α and NFκB. In addition, pharmacological activation of HIF-1α drives Cav-1 degradation, while pharmacological inactivation of HIF-1 prevents the downregulation of Cav-1. Similarly, pharmacological inactivation of NFκB—another inducer of autophagy—prevents Cav-1 degradation. Moreover, treatment with an inhibitor of glutathione synthase, namely BSO, which induces oxidative stress via depletion of the reduced glutathione pool, is sufficient to induce the autophagic degradation of Cav-1. Thus, it appears that oxidative stress mediated induction of HIF1- and NFκB-activation in fibroblasts drives the autophagic degradation of Cav-1. In direct support of this hypothesis, we show that MCF7 cancer cells activate HIF-1α- and NFκB-driven luciferase reporters in adjacent cancer-associated fibroblasts, via a paracrine mechanism. Consistent with these findings, acute knockdown of Cav-1 in stromal fibroblasts, using an siRNA approach, is indeed sufficient to induce autophagy, with the upregulation of both lysosomal and mitophagy markers. How does the loss of stromal Cav-1 and the induction of stromal autophagy affect cancer cell survival? Interestingly, we show that a loss of Cav-1 in stromal fibroblasts protects adjacent cancer cells against apoptotic cell death. Thus, autophagic cancer-associated fibroblasts, in addition to providing recycled nutrients for cancer cell metabolism, also play a protective role in preventing the death of adjacent epithelial cancer cells. We demonstrate that cancer-associated fibroblasts upregulate the expression of TIGAR in adjacent epithelial cancer cells, thereby conferring resistance to apoptosis and autophagy. Finally, the mammary fat pads derived from Cav-1 (−/−) null mice show a hypoxia-like response in vivo, with the upregulation of autophagy markers, such as LC3 and BNIP3L. Taken together, our results provide direct support for the “autophagic tumor stroma model of cancer metabolism”, and explain the exceptional prognostic value of a loss of stromal Cav-1 in cancer patients. Thus, a loss of stromal fibroblast Cav-1 is a biomarker for chronic hypoxia, oxidative stress and autophagy in the tumor microenvironment, consistent with its ability to predict early tumor recurrence, lymph node metastasis and tamoxifen-resistance in human breast cancers. Our results imply that cancer patients lacking stromal Cav-1 should benefit from HIF-inhibitors, NFκB-inhibitors, anti-oxidant therapies, as well as autophagy/lysosomal inhibitors. These complementary targeted therapies could be administered either individually or in combination, to prevent the onset of autophagy in the tumor stromal compartment, which results in a “lethal” tumor microenvironment.Key words: caveolin-1, autophagy, BNIP3, cancer-associated fibroblasts, HIF1, hypoxia, LC3, mitophagy, NFκB, oxidative stress, predictive biomarker, TIGAR, tumor stroma     

体细胞克隆牛产品安全分析

体细胞克隆技术是将已分化的体细胞移到去核的成熟卵母细胞中,通过体外激活和培养,再移植入受体母畜子宫内,繁殖出具有相同基因型后代的一种技术。该技术可以大幅提升繁殖效率,并提供高质、充足和营养丰富的动物食品。近年来,美国、日本和欧洲等国家相继宣布体细胞克隆动物食品可以上市。然而,目前体细胞克隆效率相当低下,即使是出生的克隆动物也往往伴随发育畸形或高死亡率等现象,在对克隆动物发育异常知之甚少的情况下,宣布克隆动物产品上市是否为时过早?以下综述了克隆牛肉、奶及其产品安全。