A differential proteomics study of cerebrospinal fluid from individuals with Niemann-Pick disease,Type C1

Niemann-Pick, type C1 (NPC1) is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease, which belongs to the family of lysosomal diseases. In NPC1, endo/lysosomal accumulation of unesterified cholesterol and sphingolipids arise from improper intracellular trafficking resulting in multi-organ dysfunction. With the proximity between the brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), performing differential proteomics provides a means to shed light to changes occurring in the brain. In this study, CSF samples obtained from NPC1 individuals and unaffected controls were used for protein biomarker identification. A subset of these individuals with NPC1 are being treated with miglustat, a glycosphingolipid synthesis inhibitor. Of the 300 identified proteins, 71 proteins were altered in individuals with NPC1 compared to controls including cathepsin D, and members of the complement family. Included are a report of 10 potential markers for monitoring therapeutic treatment. We observed that pro-neuropeptide Y (NPY) was significantly increased in NPC1 individuals relative to healthy controls; however, individuals treated with miglustat displayed levels comparable to healthy controls. In further investigation, NPY levels in a NPC1 mouse model corroborated our findings. We posit that NPY could be a potential therapeutic target for NPC1 due to its multiple roles in the central nervous system such as attenuating neuroinflammation and reducing excitotoxicity.     

乙烯调控灵芝酸生物合成关键基因的筛选

灵芝是我国著名的药用真菌,灵芝酸是其主要活性成分,具有多种药理活性。乙烯可以促进灵芝酸的生物合成,但其调控机理尚不明确。本实验利用非靶向代谢组研究发现Top 20差异代谢物中含有6种灵芝的活性成分(灵芝酸η、赤芝酸F、赤芝酸N、丹芝酸A、灵芝酸V1和灵芝酸δ),其中有4种灵芝酸(灵芝酸η、赤芝酸F、赤芝酸N和灵芝酸V1)为上调积累,2种灵芝酸(灵芝酸δ和丹芝酸A)为下调积累。通过非靶向代谢组与转录组的关联分析发现基因GL23307、GL25546和GL29595同时与3种灵芝酸积累显著相关,并通过启动子顺式元件预测,发现分别编码泛素蛋白和抑肽酶基因GL25546、GL23307的启动子区域含有响应乙烯信号的顺式作用元件GCC-box,因此,推测这两个基因在乙烯调控灵芝酸生物合成中发挥重要作用。     

珍稀濒危植物细果秤锤树开花生物学特性和繁育系统

为了解珍稀濒危植物细果秤锤树（Sinojackia microcarpa）开花特征和有性繁殖,对其花部形态特征、开花动态、花粉胚珠比（P/O）、柱头可授性、花粉活力、套袋试验、访花昆虫及访花频率进行观测。结果表明：（1）细果秤锤树的杂交指数（OCI）为4,单花期5~7 d,种群花期可持续20 d左右。花粉与胚珠比为4 093.21±498.56。开花后第3天的花粉活力最高（76.21%）,而开花后第7天时花粉活力较低（18.37%）。细果秤锤树柱头最适可授期在开花后第2天。（2）套袋试验表明,细果秤锤树存在部分自交不亲和性,同时不存在无融合生殖,传粉昆虫是其完成生殖过程所必需的,且异株授粉能够提高其坐果率和结籽率。细果秤锤树的访花昆虫有3目5科7种,主要访花昆虫有黄胸木蜂（Xylocopa appendiculata）、熊蜂（Bombus sp.）、胡蜂（Vespa sp.）、中华蜜蜂（Apis cerana）、黑带食蚜蝇（Episyrphus balteatus）、其中熊蜂平均访花频率最高,达（8.67±0.21） 次·h^-1。对该物种开花生物学特征与繁育系统进行深入研究,有利于进一步探究其濒危机制,为后续珍稀濒危植物的研究提供理论依据和参考。     

Genomic analyses reveal natural selection on reproduction related genes between two closely related Populus (Salicaceae) species

Identifying the factors that cause reproductive isolation and their relative importance in species divergence is crucial to our understanding of speciation processes. In most species, natural selection is commonly considered to play a large role in driving speciation. Based on whole genome re-sequencing data from 27 Populus alba and 28 Populus adenopoda individuals, we explored the factors related to reproductive isolation of these two closely related species. The results showed that the two species diverged ~5–10 million years ago (Ma), when the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau reached a certain height and the inland climate of the Asian continent became arid. In highly differentiated genomic regions, the relative divergence (F_ST) and absolute divergence (d_xy) were significantly higher than the genomic background, θπ and shared polymorphisms decreased whereas fixed differences increased, which indicated that natural selection played a key role in the reproductive isolation of the two species. In addition, we found several genes that were related to reproduction that may be involved in explaining the reproductive isolation. Using phylogenetic trees resolved from haplotype data of Populus tomentosa and P. adenopoda, the maternal origin of P. tomentosa from P. adenopoda was likely to be located in Hubei and Chongqing Provinces.