鼎湖山植物群落α多样性与环境的关系

用样带取样法,来研究不同取样尺度和不同取样尺度条件下的多个环境因子与鼎湖山植物群落α多样性的关系.取样尺度分别为10、20、40、80m和160m.涵盖鼎湖山主要的植被类型：季风常绿阔叶林、针阔混交林、沟谷常绿阔叶林和针叶林.相关分析和主成分分析结果表明,环境因子对各层次的α多样性的影响程度各不相同,达到显著相关性的取样尺度也不一样,表现出较大的复杂性,同时也表明样带上的环境异质性较高.因此,用海拔梯度作为主要的环境梯度来研究鼎湖山植物群落多样性具有合理性.海拔高度与乔木层多样性的关系在所有取样尺度上都较密切,这说明海拔高度可能是影响乔木层α多样性的最重要环境因子.     

Mesenchyme-specific Knockout of ESET Histone Methyltransferase Causes Ectopic Hypertrophy and Terminal Differentiation of Articular Chondrocytes

The exact molecular mechanisms governing articular chondrocytes remain unknown in skeletal biology. In this study, we have found that ESET (an ERG-associated protein with a SET domain, also called SETDB1) histone methyltransferase is expressed in articular cartilage. To test whether ESET regulates articular chondrocytes, we carried out mesenchyme-specific deletion of the ESET gene in mice. ESET knock-out did not affect generation of articular chondrocytes during embryonic development. Two weeks after birth, there was minimal qualitative difference at the knee joints between wild-type and ESET knock-out animals. At 1 month, ectopic hypertrophy, proliferation, and apoptosis of articular chondrocytes were seen in the articular cartilage of ESET-null animals. At 3 months, additional signs of terminal differentiation such as increased alkaline phosphatase activity and an elevated level of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13 were found in ESET-null cartilage. Staining for type II collagen and proteoglycan revealed that cartilage degeneration became progressively worse from 2 weeks to 12 months at the knee joints of ESET knock-out mutants. Analysis of over 14 pairs of age- and sex-matched wild-type and knock-out mice indicated that the articular chondrocyte phenotype in ESET-null mutants is 100% penetrant. Our results demonstrate that expression of ESET plays an essential role in the maintenance of articular cartilage by preventing articular chondrocytes from terminal differentiation and may have implications in joint diseases such as osteoarthritis.     

Extracellular Signal-regulated Kinase 5 (ERK5) Mediates Prolactin-stimulated Adult Neurogenesis in the Subventricular Zone and Olfactory Bulb

Prolactin-stimulated adult neurogenesis in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and olfactory bulb (OB) mediates several reproductive behaviors including mating/pregnancy, dominant male pheromone preference in females, and paternal recognition of offspring. However, downstream signaling mechanisms underlying prolactin-induced adult neurogenesis are completely unknown. We report here for the first time that prolactin activates extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 (ERK5), a MAP kinase that is specifically expressed in the neurogenic regions of the adult mouse brain. Knockdown of ERK5 by retroviral infection of shRNA attenuates prolactin-stimulated neurogenesis in SVZ-derived adult neural stem/progenitor cells (aNPCs). Inducible erk5 deletion in adult neural stem cells of transgenic mice inhibits neurogenesis in the SVZ and OB following prolactin infusion or mating/pregnancy. These results identify ERK5 as a novel and critical signaling mechanism underlying prolactin-induced adult neurogenesis.     

Total Flavonoids of Engelhardia roxburghiana Wall. Leaves Alleviated Foam Cells Formation through AKT/mTOR-Mediated Autophagy in the Progression of Atherosclerosis

Engelhardia roxburghiana Wall. is a traditional Chinese medicine used for treating cardiovascular diseases. Our previous study has implicated potential effects of total flavonoids of Engelhardia roxburghiana Wall. (TFER) against hyperlipidemia. The aim of the study is to uncover the effects and underlying mechanisms of TFER on foam cells formation after atherosclerosis. We used high fat diet (HFD) induced Apoe-/- mice and oxidized density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) induced THP-1 cells to mimic process of atherosclerosis in vivo and in vitro, respectively. Lipid accumulation, inflammation response, autophagosomes formation and expressions of autophagy related target genes were assessed. Our present study demonstrated TFER (500 mg/kg) alleviated macrophage infiltration and lipid accumulation in thoracic aortas of HFD-treated mice. In ox-LDL-treated THP-1 cells, MDC staining and Western blot analysis all indicated that the TFER (200 μg/ml) reduced foam cells formation and IL-1β releasing, activated autophagy through suppressing AKT/mTOR signaling, significantly regulating expressions of AKT, p-AKT, mTOR, p-mTOR, Beclin 1, LC3-II, p62. It is suggested that TFER alleviated atherosclerosis progression in vivo and in vitro through reducing foam cells formation and inflammatory responses, and the possible mechanism may be due to the activation of macrophage autophagy by inhibiting AKT and mTOR phosphorylation.     

Characterization of Protein Flexibility Using Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering and Amplified Collective Motion Simulations

Large-scale flexibility within a multidomain protein often plays an important role in its biological function. Despite its inherent low resolution, small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) is well suited to investigate protein flexibility and determine, with the help of computational modeling, what kinds of protein conformations would coexist in solution. In this article, we develop a tool that combines SAXS data with a previously developed sampling technique called amplified collective motions (ACM) to elucidate structures of highly dynamic multidomain proteins in solution. We demonstrate the use of this tool in two proteins, bacteriophage T4 lysozyme and tandem WW domains of the formin-binding protein 21. The ACM simulations can sample the conformational space of proteins much more extensively than standard molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Therefore, conformations generated by ACM are significantly better at reproducing the SAXS data than are those from MD simulations.     

鼎湖山森林群落多样性垂直分布格局的研究

根据鼎湖山10 m×1 200 m的植物固定样带调查,沿海拔梯度对植物群落分布格局及生物多样性特性进行了分析。结果表明,本固定样带有3个森林类型,5个群落类型,构成一演替序列,但在垂直梯度上有交错现象。生物多样性指数为:乔木层,中生性阔叶林>针阔混交林>阳生性阔叶林;草本层,针阔混交林>阔叶林。阳性草本植物为主的草本群大部分生长在阳性树种为主的阔叶林和针阔混交林下,但是林下微环境变化对草本层植物优势度的影响也较大,以耐荫植物为主的草本群在阳性树种为主的阔叶林和针阔混交林也有分布,表明相同群落类型林下小环境的变化。     

抗山羊ΔfosB基因表达产物抗体的制备及应用

ΔfosB是fosB基因的自然截短型,稳定存在于许多组织中,在脂肪细胞和成骨细胞的形成和分化中起到重要作用。ΔFosB蛋白可能与钙在骨和乳腺中的代谢有关,并且调控钙从骨向乳腺转移的信号通路。将奶山羊的ΔfosB基因亚克隆到pET32a载体得到pET32a-ΔfosB原核表达载体,IPTG诱导其在大肠杆菌中表达,纯化融合蛋白免疫兔子制备多克隆抗体。ELISA检测显示抗体效价达1:51200,Western blotting结果显示制备的抗体能特异性检测原核表达的ΔFosB蛋白以及在HEK-293细胞中表达的ΔFosB蛋白。进一步的组织差异表达检测表明ΔFosB在山羊的乳腺、骨髓、脑髓、肌肉、心脏、肝和肺组织中均有表达。     

Multiple transporters associated with malaria parasite responses to chloroquine and quinine

Mutations and/or overexpression of various transporters are known to confer drug resistance in a variety of organisms. In the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, a homologue of P-glycoprotein, PfMDR1, has been implicated in responses to chloroquine (CQ), quinine (QN) and other drugs, and a putative transporter, PfCRT, was recently demonstrated to be the key molecule in CQ resistance. However, other unknown molecules are probably involved, as different parasite clones carrying the same pfcrt and pfmdr1 alleles show a wide range of quantitative responses to CQ and QN. Such molecules may contribute to increasing incidences of QN treatment failure, the molecular basis of which is not understood. To identify additional genes involved in parasite CQ and QN responses, we assayed the in vitro susceptibilities of 97 culture-adapted cloned isolates to CQ and QN and searched for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DNA encoding 49 putative transporters (total 113 kb) and in 39 housekeeping genes that acted as negative controls. SNPs in 11 of the putative transporter genes, including pfcrt and pfmdr1, showed significant associations with decreased sensitivity to CQ and/or QN in P. falciparum. Significant linkage disequilibria within and between these genes were also detected, suggesting interactions among the transporter genes. This study provides specific leads for better understanding of complex drug resistances in malaria parasites.     

黄金树B类MADS-box基因表达特征分析

采用同源克隆技术, 从黄金树(Catalpa speciosa)花芽中克隆得到B类MADS-box基因CaspAP3和CaspPI的cDNA序列。序列分析表明, CaspAP3基因cDNA序列的完整开放阅读框(ORF)为696 bp, 编码231个氨基酸残基; CaspPI基因cDNA序列的ORF为639 bp, 编码212个氨基酸残基。蛋白质序列相似性比对和分子系统发生分析表明, CaspAP3属于AP3/DEF进化支, 其C末端包含保守的euAP3基序和PI-derived基序, 而CaspPI聚类于PI/GLO进化支, 其C末端包含保守的PI基序。半定量RT-PCR分析结果表明, CaspAP3和CaspPI基因均仅在花瓣和雄蕊中表达。实时荧光定量PCR分析表明, CaspAP3和CaspPI基因在花瓣和雄蕊原基分化期至成熟期均有表达, 这2个基因在雄蕊中表达高峰出现的时间均早于花瓣; 且花瓣中的CaspAP3和CaspPI基因表达高峰均出现在快速伸长阶段; 这与花瓣和雄蕊的形态发育阶段相吻合。     

CO2浓度升高条件下长白赤松幼苗种植密度对净光合速率的影响

1　引　　言自 19世纪 70年代工业革命以来 ,由于人类活动的影响 ,大气ＣＯ2 浓度不断升高 ,已由工业革命前的 2 80 μｍｏｌ·ｍｏｌ-1增至目前的 35 0 μｍｏｌ·ｍｏｌ-1.据预测 ,到 2 0 5 0年将比工业革命前增加 1倍 ,到本世纪末将增加到 70 0 μｍｏｌ·ｍｏｌ-1左右[4 ,12 ,18] .大气ＣＯ2 浓度升高引起的温室效应对生物过程的影响 ,无疑是研究全球变化对陆地生态系统影响的基本问题 .目前 ,这方面的研究已成为国内外学者普遍关注的一个热点[2 ,3 ,5,6,9,17] .生态系统中的生物因子不是孤立存在的 ,每个有机体既处于无机环境之中 ,同…