芝麻愈伤组织诱导与植株再生体系的建立

以芝麻栽培种(Sesamum indicum, 2n=26)、野生种(S. radiatum, 2n=64; S. schinzianum, 2n=64)及其远源杂交后代(S. schinzianum × S. indicum)为材料, 研究了不同基因型、外植体类型、激素种类及其浓度对芝麻愈伤组织诱导及植株再生的影响, 建立了芝麻愈伤组织诱导及高频植株再生的技术体系。结果表明, 6-BA/NAA激素组合有利于绿色紧密型愈伤组织的形成及分化; 最佳愈伤组织诱导及分化培养基为MS+ 0.1 mg·L^–1NAA + 2.0 mg·L^–16-BA+ 30 g·L^–1蔗糖。在该培养条件下, 野生种下胚轴愈伤组织的诱导率最高为97.50%, 分化率为94.02%; 栽培种下胚轴愈伤组织的诱导率最高为40.60%, 分化率为8.16%; 远缘杂交后代幼胚外植体愈伤组织的诱导率最高为46.67%, 分化率为89.29%。该研究结果为芝麻转基因技术体系的建立及新种质创制奠定了基础。     

Knockdown of phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activator induces apoptosis via mitochondrial pathway and the attenuation by simultaneous tau hyperphosphorylation

Phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activator (PTPA) is decreased in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the AD transgenic mouse models. Here, we investigated whether down‐regulation of PTPA affects cell viability and the underlying mechanisms. We found that PTPA was located in the integral membrane of mitochondria, and knockdown of PTPA induced cell apoptosis in HEK293 and N2a cell lines. PTPA knockdown decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and induced Bax translocation into the mitochondria with a simultaneous release of Cyt C, activation of caspase‐3, cleavage of poly (DNA ribose) polymerase (PARP), and decrease in Bcl‐xl and Bcl‐2 protein levels. Over‐expression of Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) catalytic subunit (PP2A_C) did not rescue the apoptosis induced by PTPA knockdown, and PTPA knockdown did not affect the level of and their phosphorylation of mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPKs), indicating that PP2A and MAPKs were not involved in the apoptosis induced by PTPA knockdown. In the cells with over‐expression of tau, PTPA knockdown induced PP2A inhibition and tau hyperphosphorylation but did not cause significant cell death. These data suggest that PTPA deficit causes apoptotic cell death through mitochondrial pathway and simultaneous tau hyperphosphorylation attenuates the PTPA‐induced cell death.

     

Improving the accuracy of genomic prediction in Chinese Holstein cattle by using one-step blending

Background

The one-step blending approach has been suggested for genomic prediction in dairy cattle. The core of this approach is to incorporate pedigree and phenotypic information of non-genotyped animals. The objective of this study was to investigate the improvement of the accuracy of genomic prediction using the one-step blending method in Chinese Holstein cattle.

Findings

Three methods, GBLUP (genomic best linear unbiased prediction), original one-step blending with a genomic relationship matrix, and adjusted one-step blending with an adjusted genomic relationship matrix, were compared with respect to the accuracy of genomic prediction for five milk production traits in Chinese Holstein. For the two one-step blending methods, de-regressed proofs of 17 509 non-genotyped cows, including 424 dams and 17 085 half-sisters of the validation cows, were incorporated in the prediction model. The results showed that, averaged over the five milk production traits, the one-step blending increased the accuracy of genomic prediction by about 0.12 compared to GBLUP. No further improvement in accuracies was obtained from the adjusted one-step blending over the original one-step blending in our situation. Improvements in accuracies obtained with both one-step blending methods were almost completely contributed by the non-genotyped dams.

Conclusions

Compared with GBLUP, the one-step blending approach can significantly improve the accuracy of genomic prediction for milk production traits in Chinese Holstein cattle. Thus, the one-step blending is a promising approach for practical genomic selection in Chinese Holstein cattle, where the reference population mainly consists of cows.     

Inter- and intra-genetic variation of four wild populations of Prosopis using rapd-pcr fingerprints

The species of Prosopis (Leguminosae) are welladapted to grow in the arid regions of the world. In Mexico, nearly 70%of its territory accounts for arid lands and nine species of this genus arefound in the country which are currently utilized for multiple purposes. Giventhat a sustainable exploitation of this important natural resource is necessary,knowledge of the genetic variability of natural populations is required. Thegenetic variation among and within four wild populations of Prosopisglandulosa, P. juliflora, and two ofP. laevigata, located in the Mexican States of Chihuahua(1), Sinaloa (2), Guanajuato (3) and Hidalgo (4), respectively, was determinedusing random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPDs). There was a genetic variation of72.48% among these four populations, and within them the estimated geneticvariation was 27.52%. Between the populations of P.laevigata the genetic variation obtained was 7.15%, and within them92.85% (AMOVA, P < 0.001). Based on the assumption ofWright's island model, the genetic variation found among populations correspondsto a gene flow (N_em) of 0.09, while the gene flow detected betweenthe populations of P. laevigata was 3.2. A total of 27 RAPDphenotypes were identified in the four populations; among them, 11 correspondedto P. laevigata. The phylogenetic analyses showed that thethree species are differentiated in three clades and that probably P.juliflora was the origin of the other two species. The protogynoustrait of their flowers and the outcrossing are the main factors that may explainthe genetic variation observed in these populations.     

Cre-conditional expression of constitutively active Notch1 in transgenic mice

The Notch signaling pathway plays a critical role during mammalian development. To bypass embryonic lethality associated with constitutive Notch1 signaling, we created transgenic mice with a floxed beta-geo/stop signal between a cytomegalo virus promoter and the constitutively active intracellular domain of Notch1 (IC-Notch1). IC-Notch1 is activated upon introduction of Cre recombinase and it is coexpressed with an enhanced green fluorescent protein or human placental alkaline phosphatase reporter. We created three IC-Notch1 transgenic mouse lines and crossed them to a general Cre deletor mouse line, pCX-Cre. The double transgenic IC-Notch1/pCX-Cre embryos have widespread expression of IC-Notch1 and reporters and die before 10.5 days of gestation. Morphological and histological analysis of the double transgenic embryos indicated growth arrest and various developmental defects, including lack of neural tube closure, disorganized somites, and disrupted vasculature. The conditional IC-Notch1 expressing transgenic mice provide a unique tool to investigate the Notch pathway using tissue-specific Cre mice and inducible Cre systems.     

Penicacids A-C, three new mycophenolic acid derivatives and immunosuppressive activities from the marine-derived fungus Penicillium sp. SOF07

Three new mycophenolic acid derivatives, penicacids A-C (1-3), together with two known analogues, mycophenolic acid (MPA, 4) and 4'-hydroxy-MPA (5), were isolated from a fungus Penicillium sp. SOF07 derived from a South China Sea marine sediment. The structures of compounds 1-3 were elucidated on the basis of MS and NMR ((1)H, (13)C, HSQC and HMBC) data analyses and comparisons with the known compounds. Structure-activity relationship studies of compounds 1-5 focused on inosine-monophosphate dehydrogenase inhibition revealed that hydroxylation at C-4', methylation at C-7-OH, dual hydroxylation at C-2'/C-3' double bond of MPA diminished bioactivity whereas glucosyl hydroxylation at C-4' correlated to bioactivity comparable to that observed for MPA.     

Characterization of Cyt2Bc toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. medellin

We cloned and sequenced a new cytolysin gene from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. medellin. Three IS240-like insertion sequence elements and the previously cloned cyt1Ab and p21 genes were found in the vicinity of the cytolysin gene. The cytolysin gene encodes a protein 29.7 kDa in size that is 91.5% identical to Cyt2Ba from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis and has been designated Cyt2Bc. Inclusions containing Cyt2Bc were purified from the crystal-negative strain SPL407 of B. thuringiensis. Cyt2Bc reacted weakly with antibodies directed against Cyt2Ba and was not recognized by an antiserum directed against the reference cytolysin Cyt1Aa. Cyt2Bc was hemolytic only upon activation with trypsin and had only one-third to one-fifth of the activity of Cyt2Ba, depending on the activation time. Cyt2Bc was also mosquitocidal against Aedes aegypti, Anopheles stephensi, and Culex quinquefasciatus, including strains resistant to the Bacillus sphaericus binary toxin. Its toxicity was half of that of Cyt2Ba on all mosquito species except resistant C. quinquefasciatus.     

Novel complexes of guanylate cyclase with heat shock protein 90 and nitric oxide synthase

Soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) is an important downstream intracellular target of nitric oxide (NO) that is produced by endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS). In this study, we demonstrate that sGC exists in a complex with eNOS and heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) in aortic endothelial cells. In addition, we show that in aortic smooth muscle cells, sGC forms a complex with HSP90. Formation of the sGC/eNOS/HSP90 complex is increased in response to eNOS-activating agonists in a manner that depends on HSP90 activity. In vitro binding assays with glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins that contain the alpha- or beta-subunit of sGC show that the sGC beta-subunit interacts directly with HSP90 and indirectly with eNOS. Confocal immunofluorescent studies confirm the subcellular colocalization of sGC and HSP90 in both endothelial and smooth muscle cells. Complex formation of sGC with HSP90 facilitates responses to NO donors in cultured cells (cGMP accumulation) as well as in anesthetized rats (hypotension). These complexes likely function to stabilize sGC as well as to provide directed intracellular transfer of NO from NOS to sGC, thus preventing inactivation of NO by superoxide anion and formation of peroxynitrite, which is a toxic molecule that has been implicated in the pathology of several vascular diseases.     

From Mesolithic hunters to Iron Age herders: a unique record of woodland use from eastern central Europe (Czech Republic)

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany - In a continuous, perfectly stratified sedimentary sequence which was discovered under a large sandstone overhang in northern Bohemia, Czech Republic, we...