贵州马比木内生真菌的多样性研究

为了解贵州省马比木内生真菌的多样性,通过采集贵阳修文、遵义播州、铜仁万山3个县区的不同季节的健康马比木植物不同组织部位样本进行内生真菌的分离,分析分离菌ITS rDNA序列,采用分子系统学方法,对3个地区的不同季节马比木植物不同组织部位的内生真菌进行鉴定、归类,并进行多样性评价。结果表明,从1 444个马比木组织块中分离出1 037株内生真菌,分别隶属于30个属,其中间壳座属Diaporthe为优势属,分离率与分离频率分别为40.24%与57.58%;夏季内生真菌的多样性指数最高,4个季节的相似度在0.40-0.71之间,贵阳的相似性指数最高,三地的相似性指数在0.42-0.55之间,果实的多样性指数最高,各个组织部位的相似性指数在0.00-0.54之间。表面植株生长环境及部位对内生真菌的组成和多样性均有影响。     

cycle基因对噻嗪酮、噻虫嗪防治白背飞虱效果影响探索研究

白背飞虱Sogatella furcifera是我国重要的迁飞性水稻害虫,长期以来,其防治手段主要是化学防治。大量使用化学农药易导致环境污染及害虫抗药性增加等,因此需要探索高效的农药使用方法。本研究在1 d内不同时间点用0.27 g/L噻虫嗪、5 mL/L噻嗪酮对白背飞虱的致死率进行检测,结果发现,7∶00时噻虫嗪、噻嗪酮浸染72 h后的校正死亡率均最低,分别为54%、13.9%;16∶00时噻虫嗪、噻嗪酮浸染72 h后的校正死亡率均最高,分别为89.8%、44.9%。定量结果表明节律基因Sfcycle在白背飞虱雌虫或雄虫的中肠表达量最高,4龄和5龄若虫期在蜕皮前表达量比蜕皮后高,成虫期表达量相对稳定。RNAi研究结果发现Sfcycle能够影响白背飞虱P450基因SfCYP4DE1和SfCYP353D1v2的表达,用农药处理干涉后的白背飞虱死亡率都在7∶00、16∶00两个时间点都增高,且没有显著性差异,表明Sfcycle基因能够影响噻虫嗪、噻嗪酮对白背飞虱的防治效率。     

DNA barcoding of economically important freshwater fish species from north‐central Nigeria uncovers cryptic diversity

This study examines the utility of morphology and DNA barcoding in species identification of freshwater fishes from north‐central Nigeria. We compared molecular data (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences) of 136 de novo samples from 53 morphologically identified species alongside others in GenBank and BOLD databases. Using DNA sequence similarity‐based (≥97% cutoff) identification technique, 50 (94.30%) and 24 (45.30%) species were identified to species level using GenBank and BOLD databases, respectively. Furthermore, we identified cases of taxonomic problems in 26 (49.00%) morphologically identified species. There were also four (7.10%) cases of mismatch in DNA barcoding in which our query sequence in GenBank and BOLD showed a sequence match with different species names. Using DNA barcode reference data, we also identified four unknown fish samples collected from fishermen to species level. Our Neighbor‐joining (NJ) tree analysis recovers several intraspecific species clusters with strong bootstrap support (≥95%). Analysis uncovers two well‐supported lineages within Schilbe intermedius. The Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of Nigerian S. intermedius with others from GenBank recover four lineages. Evidence of genetic structuring is consistent with geographic regions of sub‐Saharan Africa. Thus, cryptic lineage diversity may illustrate species’ adaptive responses to local environmental conditions. Finally, our study underscores the importance of incorporating morphology and DNA barcoding in species identification. Although developing a complete DNA barcode reference library for Nigerian ichthyofauna will facilitate species identification and diversity studies, taxonomic revisions of DNA sequences submitted in databases alongside voucher specimens are necessary for a reliable taxonomic and diversity inventory.     

Deficiency of Macf1 in osterix expressing cells decreases bone formation by Bmp2/Smad/Runx2 pathway

Microtubule actin cross‐linking factor 1 (Macf1) is a spectraplakin family member known to regulate cytoskeletal dynamics, cell migration, neuronal growth and cell signal transduction. We previously demonstrated that knockdown of Macf1 inhibited the differentiation of MC3T3‐E1 cell line. However, whether Macf1 could regulate bone formation in vivo is unclear. To study the function and mechanism of Macf1 in bone formation and osteogenic differentiation, we established osteoblast‐specific Osterix (Osx) promoter‐driven Macf1 conditional knockout mice (Macf1^f/fOsx‐Cre). The Macf1^f/fOsx‐Cre mice displayed delayed ossification and decreased bone mass. Morphological and mechanical studies showed deteriorated trabecular microarchitecture and impaired biomechanical strength of femur in Macf1^f/fOsx‐Cre mice. In addition, the differentiation of primary osteoblasts isolated from calvaria was inhibited in Macf1^f/fOsx‐Cre mice. Deficiency of Macf1 in primary osteoblasts inhibited the expression of osteogenic marker genes (Col1, Runx2 and Alp) and the number of mineralized nodules. Furthermore, deficiency of Macf1 attenuated Bmp2/Smad/Runx2 signalling in primary osteoblasts of Macf1^f/fOsx‐Cre mice. Together, these results indicated that Macf1 plays a significant role in bone formation and osteoblast differentiation by regulating Bmp2/Smad/Runx2 pathway, suggesting that Macf1 might be a therapeutic target for bone disease.     

Inspection and feeding of larvae by worker honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae): Effect of starvation and food quantity

Honey bee larvae are frequently inspected and, sometimes, provided with food by adult workers, but the stimuli that elicit the important task of food provisioning have never been investigated. Larvae with their food experimentally deprived received more frequent inspection and feeding visits from nurse bees than normally fed larvae, suggesting that there could be a hunger signal. Food-deprived larvae with artificially supplied larval food received the same rate of feeding visits from nurse bees as did normally fed larvae but still received more inspection visits. These results suggest that stimuli eliciting feeding are different from those for inspection. They also support the hypothesis that worker bees deposit food in a larval cell only when the quantity of food is below a certain minimum threshold that is perceived during larval inspections. A model is presented regarding the stimuli from larvae that result in worker feeding behavior.     

Production of Recombinant Hinnavin II/MSH Hybrid in Insect Cells

The increasing problem of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria requires development of new antimicrobial agents. For the purpose of this study, a cDNA encoding hinnavin II‐α‐melanocyte stimulating hormone (hin/MSH) hybrid was chemically synthesized, annealed, and then cloned into transfer vector pBacPAK 9 for expression in Sf21 insect cells. Recombinant hin/MSH (rhin/MSH) hybrid was efficiently produced in baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) as a hybrid peptide. The antibacterial activity of the rhin/MSH hybrid was compared to that of the recombinant hinnavin II (rhin), using inhibition zone and overlay assay. This new recombinant hybrid peptide may serve as an attractive candidate for powerful novel class of antimicrobial pharmaceuticals.     

A set of nearest neighbor parameters for predicting the enthalpy change of RNA secondary structure formation

A complete set of nearest neighbor parameters to predict the enthalpy change of RNA secondary structure formation was derived. These parameters can be used with available free energy nearest neighbor parameters to extend the secondary structure prediction of RNA sequences to temperatures other than 37°C. The parameters were tested by predicting the secondary structures of sequences with known secondary structure that are from organisms with known optimal growth temperatures. Compared with the previous set of enthalpy nearest neighbor parameters, the sensitivity of base pair prediction improved from 65.2 to 68.9% at optimal growth temperatures ranging from 10 to 60°C. Base pair probabilities were predicted with a partition function and the positive predictive value of structure prediction is 90.4% when considering the base pairs in the lowest free energy structure with pairing probability of 0.99 or above. Moreover, a strong correlation is found between the predicted melting temperatures of RNA sequences and the optimal growth temperatures of the host organism. This indicates that organisms that live at higher temperatures have evolved RNA sequences with higher melting temperatures.     

海南岛早志留世晚期腕足类Xinanospirifer的发现--兼论南好组

海南岛保亭县毛感乡南兵至南好公路边南好组以往被确认为下石炭统岩关阶 ,并认为与其下的上志留统足赛岭组呈角度不整合接触。著者最近在该剖面南好组中发现兰多维列世特里奇期晚期 (LateTelychian)Xi nanospirifer腕足动物群和三叶虫Latiproetuscf.latilimbatus,证明久归于下石炭统岩关阶南好组的地质时代应改归于早志留世 (Llandoverian) ;海南岛地区在早志留世明显属于扬子地台区的范畴 ;从地质时间上还暗示南好组与其下伏的足赛岭组不可能存在角度不整合接触 ;