孑遗濒危植物矮扁桃叶绿体全基因组特征分析及亲缘关系鉴定

对第三纪孑遗濒危植物矮扁桃（Amygdalus nana）叶绿体全基因组进行结构特征分析,并探究其与近缘物种之间的系统进化关系。利用Illumina HiSeq Xten测序技术获取叶绿体全基因组序列,对其进行组装、注释和特征分析。结果表明：①矮扁桃叶绿体全基因组总长度为158 596 bp,其中LSC长度为86 771 bp,SSC长度为19 037 bp,2个IRs均为26 394 bp,为环状四分体结构。共注释130个基因,包括85个PCGs、37个tRNA和8个rRNA。②对6种植物进行IR边界区扩张和收缩分析,发现在4个边界区的基因类型和基因分布情况存在一定差异,并且亲缘关系越紧密差异程度越小。③在矮扁桃叶绿体全基因组中共预测了71个SSRs位点。④系统发育分析结果显示,在扁桃亚属中,矮扁桃在亲缘关系上与蒙古扁桃更近,而与长柄扁桃和榆叶梅的亲缘关系稍远。本研究对矮扁桃叶绿体全基因组进行了深度剖析,并且涉及大量被子植物的叶绿体全基因组资料,为桃属植物之间的进化关系和植物鉴定提供参考依据。     

PRPF6 promotes androgen receptor/androgen receptor-variant 7 actions in castration-resistant prostate cancer cells

Androgen receptor (AR) and its variants play vital roles in development and progression of prostate cancer. To clarify the mechanisms involved in the enhancement of their actions would be crucial for understanding the process in prostate cancer and castration-resistant prostate cancer transformation. Here, we provided the evidence to show that pre-mRNA processing factor 6 (PRPF6) acts as a key regulator for action of both AR full length (AR-FL) and AR variant 7 (AR-V7), thereby participating in the enhancement of AR-FL and AR-V7-induced transactivation in prostate cancer. In addition, PRPF6 is recruited to cis-regulatory elements in AR target genes and associates with JMJD1A to enhance AR-induced transactivation. PRPF6 also promotes expression of AR-FL and AR-V7. Moreover, PRPF6 depletion reduces tumor growth in prostate cancer-derived cell lines and results in significant suppression of xenograft tumors even under castration condition in mouse model. Furthermore, PRPF6 is obviously highly expressed in human prostate cancer samples. Collectively, our results suggest PRPF6 is involved in enhancement of oncogenic AR signaling, which support a previously unknown role of PRPF6 during progression of prostate cancer and castration-resistant prostate cancers.     

Reduced calcification decreases photoprotective capability in the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi

Intracellular calcification of coccolithophores generates CO? and consumes additional energy for acquisition of calcium and bicarbonate ions; therefore, it may correlate with photoprotective processes by influencing the energetics. To address this hypothesis, a calcifying Emiliania huxleyi strain (CS-369) was grown semi-continuously at reduced (0.1 mM, LCa) and ambient Ca2? concentrations (10 mM, HCa) for 150 d (>200 generations). The HCa-grown cells had higher photosynthetic and calcification rates and higher contents of Chl a and carotenoids compared with the naked (bearing no coccoliths) LCa-grown cells. When exposed to stressfull levels of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), LCa-grown cells displayed lower photochemical yield and less efficient non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). When the LCa- or HCa-grown cells were inversely shifted to their counterpart medium, LCa to HCa transfer increased photosynthetic carbon fixation (P), calcification rate (C), the C/P ratio, NPQ and pigment contents, whereas those shifted from HCa to LCa exhibited the opposite effects. Increased NPQ, carotenoids and quantum yield were clearly linked with increased or sustained calcification in E. huxleyi. The calcification must have played a role in dissipating excessive energy or as an additional drainage of electrons absorbed by the photosynthetic antennae. This phenomenon was further supported by testing two non-calcifying strains, which showed insignificant changes in photosynthetic carbon fixation and NPQ when transferred to LCa conditions.     

Effects of quorum sensing on cell viability in Streptococcus mutans biofilm formation

Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) uses a quorum sensing (QS) signaling system, which is dependent on competence stimulating peptide (CSP), to regulate diverse physiological activities including bacteriocin production, genetic transformation, and biofilm formation. However, the mechanism of the QS system-induced biofilm formation remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated that the late-stage biofilm formation was increased by the addition of exogenous CSP in S. mutans. The numbers of dead cells in biofilms formed in presence of CSP was 64.5% higher than that without CSP after 12 h (p < 0.05) and 76.3% higher after 24 h (p < 0.05), the numbers of live cells in biofilms formed in presence of CSP were 89.3% higher than that without CSP after 24 h (p < 0.01). The expression of QS-associated genes was increased 3.4-5.3-fold by CSP in biofilms. Our results revealed that cell viability of S. mutans grown in biofilms is affected by the CSP-dependent QS system.     

Super-stretched pachytene chromosomes for fluorescence in situ hybridization mapping and immunodetection of DNA methylation

Meiotic pachytene chromosome-based fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) mapping is one of the most important tools in plant molecular cytogenetic research. Here we report a simple technique that allows stretching of pachytene chromosomes of maize to up to at least 20 times their original size. A modified Carnoy's II fixative (6:1:3 ethanol:chloroform:acetic acid) was used in the procedure, and proved to be key for super-stretching of pachytene chromosomes. We demonstrate that super-stretched pachytene chromosomes provide unprecedented resolution for chromosome-based FISH mapping. DNA probes separated by as little as 50 kb can be resolved on super-stretched chromosomes. A combination of FISH with immunofluorescent detection of 5-methyl cytosine on super-stretched pachytene chromosomes provides a powerful tool to reveal DNA methylation of specific chromosomal domains, especially those associated with highly repetitive DNA sequences.     

填充床反应器中酶法连续合成甘油二酯的研究

近年来,1,3-甘油二酯(DAG)由于其广泛用途及健康作用日益受到人们的重视。报道了一种无溶剂条件下填充床反应器中连续酶促合成1,3-DAG的方法。研究了填充柱的长径比、进料体积流速、温度、底物摩尔比对酯化率和1,3-DAG产量的影响。结果表明固定化酶填充柱长径比7.8,亚油酸、甘油摩尔比1∶2 ,进料速度1.2mL/min ,65℃条件下酯化反应可实现脂肪酸酯化率、1,3-DAG纯度及生产效率的统一。填充床反应器中固定化酶连续催化酯化反应的一个主要问题即体系水分清除困难。实验研究了采用过量甘油吸附脱水的可行性,亚油酸、甘油摩尔比为1∶2时,可明显改善固定化酶的稳定性,增加LipozymeRMIM的使用寿命。连续运行10d ,残余酶活仍保持在80 %以上,而对照组则仅为52%。     

Caveolin-1 is not essential for biosynthetic apical membrane transport

Caveolin-1 has been implicated in apical transport of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins and influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA). Here we have studied the role of caveolin-1 in apical membrane transport by generating caveolin-1-deficient Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells using retrovirus-mediated RNA interference. The caveolin-1 knockdown (cav1-KD) MDCK cells were devoid of caveolae. In addition, caveolin-2 was retained in the Golgi apparatus in cav1-KD MDCK cells. However, we found no significant alterations in the apical transport kinetics of GPI-anchored proteins or HA upon depletion of caveolin-1. Similar results were obtained using embryonic fibroblasts from caveolin-1-knockout mice. Thus, we conclude that caveolin-1 does not play a major role in lipid raft-mediated biosynthetic membrane trafficking.     

Radial compression of microtubules and the mechanism of action of taxol and associated proteins

Microtubules (MTs) are hollow cylindrical polymers composed of alphabeta-tubulin heterodimers that align head-to-tail in the MT wall, forming linear protofilaments that interact laterally. We introduce a probe of the interprotofilament interactions within MTs and show that this technique gives insight into the mechanisms by which MT-associated proteins (MAPs) and taxol stabilize MTs. In addition, we present further measurements of the mechanical properties of MT walls, MT-MT interactions, and the entry of polymers into the MT lumen. These results are obtained from a synchrotron small angle x-ray diffraction (SAXRD) study of MTs under osmotic stress. Above a critical osmotic pressure, P(cr), we observe rectangular bundles of MTs whose cross sections have buckled to a noncircular shape; further increases in pressure continue to distort MTs elastically. The P(cr) of approximately 600 Pa provides, for the first time, a measure of the bending modulus of the interprotofilament bond within an MT. The presence of neuronal MAPs greatly increases P(cr), whereas surprisingly, the cancer chemotherapeutic drug taxol, which suppresses MT dynamics and inhibits MT depolymerization, does not affect the interprotofilament interactions. This SAXRD-osmotic stress technique, which has enabled measurements of the mechanical properties of MTs, should find broad application for studying interactions between MTs and of MTs with MAPs and MT-associated drugs.