Overexpression of Jatropha curcas Defensin (JcDef) Enhances Sheath Blight Disease Resistance in Tobacco

Plant defensins are small, basic, cysteine‐rich peptides, belonging to the antimicrobial peptide superfamily, commonly found in the plant kingdom. In this study, we cloned and characterized a plant defensin gene from Jatropha curcas (JcDef). JcDef carried conserved receptor binding sites and a cysteine motif, and it was phylogenetically grouped together with defensin Ec‐AMP‐D2‐like in Elaeis guineensis. JcDef is localized to cytoplasm and highly expressed in young tissues with fast metabolism such as cotyledons and stem apexes. Transgenic expression of JcDef in tobacco showed enhanced resistance against sheath blight disease caused by R. solani, indicating the antibacterial function.     

Toxoplasma gondii: Protective effect of an intranasal SAG1 and MIC4 DNA vaccine in mice

Infections by the intracellular protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii are widely prevalent in humans and other animals which can cause severe or lethal toxoplasmosis. So the development of a more effective vaccine is needed urgently. A multiantigenic vaccine against toxoplasmosis was constructed in the present study, which contains two T. gondii antigens, SAG1 and MIC4 on the basis of previous immunological and immunization studies. The eukaryotic plasmid pcDNA3.1-SAG1-MIC4, pcDNA3.1-SAG1, pcDNA3.1-MIC4 were constructed first, which can express surface protein SAG1 and microneme protein MIC4 from different stages of T. gondii life cycle, and the expression ability of these DNA vaccine in HeLa cells were examined by Western blot. The efficacy of these plasmids with or without co-administration of a plasmid encoding cholera toxin A2/B as a genetic adjuvant by mucosal way to protect BALB/c mice against toxoplasmosis was evaluated. We found these vaccines were able to elicit a significant humoral and cellular immune response in vaccinated mice and they can increase survival rate and prolong the life of mice that were infected by T. gondii especially in the pcDNA3.1-SAG1-MIC4 group. Co-delivery of cholera toxin A2/B further enhanced the potency of multiantigenic DNA vaccine by intranasal route. These results encourage further research towards achieving vaccinal protection against the T. gondii in animals and humans.     

Endometrial stem cell transplantation restores dopamine production in a Parkinson’s disease model

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the loss of dopaminergic neurons. Adult human endometrial derived stem cells (HEDSC), a readily obtainable type of mesenchymal stem‐like cell, were used to generate dopaminergic cells and for transplantation. Cells expressing CD90, platelet derived growth factor (PDGF)‐Rβ and CD146 but not CD45 or CD31 were differentiated in vitro into dopaminergic neurons that exhibited axon projections, pyramidal cell bodies and dendritic projections that recapitulate synapse formation; these cells also expressed the neural marker nestin and tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate‐limiting enzyme in dopamine synthesis. Whole cell patch clamp recording identified G‐protein coupled inwardly rectifying potassium current 2 channels characteristic of central neurons. A 1‐methyl 4‐phenyl 1,2,3,6‐tetrahydro pyridine induced animal model of PD was used to demonstrate the ability of labelled HEDSC to engraft, migrate to the site of lesion, differentiate in vivo and significantly increase striatal dopamine and dopamine metabolite concentrations. HEDSC are a highly inducible source of allogenic stem cells that rescue dopamine concentrations in an immunocompetent PD mouse model.     

食品科学与工程专业生物化学教学体会——从应用型人才培养角度出发

生物化学是生命科学、食品科学、医学等多个领域相关专业的基础课。笔者从食品科学与工程专业应用型人才培养的角度出发,对人才培养目标、教学内容、教学方法与手段和教师的"爱与激情"等几个方面进行了探讨,以期更好地指导、促进生物化学的教学工作。     

The DLC-1 -29A/T polymorphism is not associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk in Chinese population

Deleted in liver cancer-1 (DLC-1), encoding a Rho GTPase-activating protein (GAP), is considered as a promising candidate tumor suppressor gene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) -29A/T upstream of ATG start codon was found when gene mutation profile of DLC-1 in NPC was analyzed. To evaluate the correlation between SNP -29A/T in the promoter region of DLC-1 gene and risk of NPC, a total of 521 samples from a Chinese population, including 320 healthy individuals and 201 NPC patients, were collected for SNP analysis by PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism and sequencing. The differences in allele and genotype frequencies between NPC patients and controls were tested using logistic regression statistical method. No significant differences were found in allele or genotype frequencies between NPC patients and controls or among different NPC clinical stages. Hence, our data indicate that the SNP -29A/T of DLC-1 gene is not associated with NPC susceptibility.     

HIFU治疗下生物体焦域温度分布的研究与应用

高强度聚焦超声(HIFU)为无创治疗肿瘤带来了新的途径,本文对HIFU治疗下生物体焦域热分布和热传导模型的理论进行了初步的介绍,并在理论的指导下进行不同治疗剂量的实验研究,结果表明组织内具有热波传热效应,治疗时可以根据治疗剂量的需要选取不同的参数,以达到最佳治疗效果。     

家蚕线粒体ND2、COⅠ和若干tRNA基因的克隆及序列分析

克隆并测定了家蚕（Bombyx mori）线粒体基因组3468bp的EcoRⅠ和HindⅢ双酶一段序列,根据序列同源性比较,该DNA片段包括3个蛋白质编码基因：ND2基因、COⅠ基因和COⅡ基因5′端399bp的序列,以及6个tRNA基因和一个尚待确定的tRNA^Met基因。家蚕与果蝇的ND2基因序列同源性约69.7%,COⅠ基因的同源性约83.8%,COⅡ基因5′端的同源性约80％,这表明细胞色素氧化酶基因在物种间比烟酰胺腺漂呤二核苷酸脱氢酶基因保守,6个推定的tRNA基因序列与果蝇相应tRNA基因序列差异较大,另外,除tRNA^Chn基因的二级结构相似外,其它tRNA基因的二级结构与果蝇相应tRNA基因的二级结构也有较大差异。     

柱前衍生化HPLC法测定黄芪中黄芪甲苷的含量

目的：建立黄芪中黄芪甲苷的柱前衍化高效液相色谱测定法,并用该法对不同产地黄芪中黄芪甲苷的含量进行比较,方法：以吡啶－苯甲酰氯（２．５：１）为衍生化试剂,对黄芪甲苷分子中的羟基进行苯甲酰化,以甲醇－四氢呋喃－水（９０：４：６,０．２％三乙胺）为流动相,ＶＤ３为内标物,在２３０ｎｍ波长处检测。结果黄芪甲苷在０．００４－０．０８０ｍｇ．ｍＬ＾－１范围内呈线性,相关系数为０．９９９９,平均回收率为９４．７     

鹅掌楸贵州烂木山居群的微卫星遗传多样性及空间遗传结构

濒危植物鹅掌楸(Liriodendron chinense)目前仅零散分布于我国亚热带及越南北部地区, 残存居群生境片断化较为严重。研究濒危植物片断化居群的遗传多样性及小尺度空间遗传结构(spatial genetic structure)有助于了解物种的生态进化过程以及制定相关的保育策略。本研究采用13对微卫星引物, 对鹅掌楸的1个片断化居群进行了遗传多样性及空间遗传结构的研究, 旨在揭示生境片断化条件下鹅掌楸的遗传多样性及基因流状况。研究结果表明: 鹅掌楸烂木山居群内不同生境斑块及不同年龄阶段植株的遗传多样性水平差异不显著(P>0.05), 居群内存在寨内和山林2个遗传分化明显的亚居群。烂木山居群个体在200 m以内呈现显著的空间遗传结构, 而2个亚居群内的个体仅在20 m的距离范围内存在微弱或不显著的空间遗传结构。鹅掌楸的空间遗传结构强度较低(Sp = 0.0090), 且寨内亚居群的空间遗传结构强度(Sp = 0.0067)要高于山林亚居群(Sp = 0.0053)。鹅掌楸以异交为主, 种子较轻且具翅, 借助风力传播, 在一定程度上降低了空间遗传结构的强度。此外, 居群内个体密度及生境特征也对鹅掌楸的空间遗传结构产生了一定影响。该居群出现显著的杂合子缺失, 近交系数(F_IS)为0.099 (P < 0.01), 表明生境片断化的遗传效应正逐渐显现。因此, 对鹅掌楸的就地保护应注意维护与强化生境的连续性, 促进基因交流。迁地保护时, 取样距离应不小于20 m, 以涵盖足够多的遗传变异。     

Characterization of the transient species generated by the photoexcitation of C-phycocyanin from Spirulina platensis: a laser photolysis and pulse radiolysis study

Nanosecond laser flash photolysis and pulse radiolysis were used to generate and characterize the triplet state and cation radical of C-phycocyanin (C-PC) from Spirulina platensis. The transient absorption spectra of C-PC were measured from direct excitation and acetone sensitization in aqueous solution at room temperature by KrF (248 nm) laser flash photolysis. Laser-induced transient species have been characterized by the method of acetone sensitization and one-electron oxidation. In nitrous oxide-saturated phosphate buffer saline (pH = 7.0) of C-PC, the produced intermediates are assigned to the excited triplet state and the radical cation. Using acetone as photosensitizer, the C-PC excited triplet states produced via triplet-triplet energy transfer and the C-PC radical cation from electron transfer reaction were further confirmed. Furthermore, the corresponding kinetic parameters were determined. To our knowledge, the transient absorption spectra of C-PC have been reported for the first time.