Evidence for Tissue-Specific JAK/STAT Target Genes in Drosophila Optic Lobe Development

The evolutionarily conserved JAK/STAT pathway plays important roles in development and disease processes in humans. Although the signaling process has been well established, we know relatively little about what the relevant target genes are that mediate JAK/STAT activation during development. Here, we have used genome-wide microarrays to identify JAK/STAT targets in the optic lobes of the Drosophila brain and identified 47 genes that are positively regulated by JAK/STAT. About two-thirds of the genes encode proteins that have orthologs in humans. The STAT targets in the optic lobe appear to be different from the targets identified in other tissues, suggesting that JAK/STAT signaling may regulate different target genes in a tissue-specific manner. Functional analysis of Nop56, a cell-autonomous STAT target, revealed an essential role for this gene in the growth and proliferation of neuroepithelial stem cells in the optic lobe and an inhibitory role in lamina neurogenesis.     

Impact of GC content on gene expression pattern in chicken

Background

GC content varies greatly between different genomic regions in many eukaryotes. In order to determine whether this organization named isochore organization influences gene expression patterns, the relationship between GC content and gene expression has been investigated in man and mouse. However, to date, this question is still a matter for debate. Among the avian species, chicken (Gallus gallus) is the best studied representative with a complete genome sequence. The distinctive features and organization of its sequence make it a good model to explore important issues in genome structure and evolution.

Methods

Only nuclear genes with complete information on protein-coding sequence with no evidence of multiple-splicing forms were included in this study. Chicken protein coding sequences, complete mRNA sequences (or full length cDNA sequences), and 5^′ untranslated region sequences (5^′ UTR) were downloaded from Ensembl and chicken expression data originated from a previous work. Three indices i.e. expression level, expression breadth and maximum expression level were used to measure the expression pattern of a given gene. CpG islands were identified using hgTables of the UCSC Genome Browser. Correlation analysis between variables was performed by SAS Proprietary Software Release 8.1.

Results

In chicken, the GC content of 5^′ UTR is significantly and positively correlated with expression level, expression breadth, and maximum expression level, whereas that of coding sequences and introns and at the third coding position are negatively correlated with expression level and expression breadth, and not correlated with maximum expression level. These significant trends are independent of recombination rate, chromosome size and gene density. Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis indicated that GC content in genes could explain approximately 10% of the variation in gene expression.

Conclusions

GC content is significantly associated with gene expression pattern and could be one of the important regulation factors in the chicken genome.     

青藏高原长花马先蒿的细胞地理学研究

对青藏高原长花马先蒿9个居群的核型及细胞地理学进行研究,所有居群的染色体数目均为2n=16,染色体基数为x=8。现有的细胞学资料表明:分布于云南中甸的居群可能为较原始的类群,而分布于西藏日土和青海门源的居群较为进化。长花马先蒿的9个居群均为二倍体,并未出现多倍化现象,可能是由于在末次冰期青藏高原存在广泛的避难所,二倍体得到很好的保存,冰期对它们的影响不是很大; 也可能是对环境的选择压力造成的。     

盐穗木过氧化氢酶基因的克隆与功能分析

利用同源基因克隆法,从新疆荒漠盐碱地多年生灌木盐穗木(Halostachys caspica)中克隆获得盐穗木过氧化氢酶基因(HcCAT1)。序列分析表明,HcCAT1基因开放阅读框为1 479 bp,编码492个氨基酸,推测编码蛋白质的分子量为56.7 kD,等电点为6.84。基因序列比对发现,HcCAT1与多种植物过氧化氢酶基因具有较高的同源性。半定量RT-PCR结果表明,HcCAT1基因受盐胁迫而上调表达。将构建的重组质粒pET32a-HcCAT1转化大肠杆菌BL21(DE3),以IPTG诱导重组蛋白His-HcCAT1的表达;SDS-PAGE和Western印迹检测显示,重组蛋白的分子量大小为77.7 kD,其大小与推测的大小一致;在低温诱导下以可溶性形式表达,且表现出一定的过氧化氢酶活性。盐胁迫实验结果显示,在添加400 mmol/L NaCl、400 mmol/L KCl以及300 mmol/L甘露醇的LB培养基中,重组质粒转化菌的生长情况和生长速率明显优于对照,表明HcCAT1可明显提高大肠杆菌的耐盐性。该研究结果将有助于从抗氧化角度认识盐生植物盐穗木的耐盐分子机理。     

汶川地震对两栖动物栖息地的影响

2008年5月汶川地震对两栖动物栖息地造成了巨大的影响。采用卫星遥感照片评估了汶川地震后3种两栖动物栖息地震损状况,结果表明:(1)15.2%的两栖动物的适宜栖息地遭到了地震的破坏;(2)震损栖息地纬向分布于31°～32°N之间,震区的南部和中部;(3)被破坏的栖息地垂直分布于2000m以下的中低海拔区段。汶川地震及次生灾害使两栖动物的生存和发展面临着极严重风险。     

甘草属植物中三萜类化合物的抗病毒作用研究进展

甘草为豆科甘草属植物,是我国重要的传统中草药,三萜类化合物是其主要活性成分之一。近年来,多种甘草属植物中的三萜类化合物被证明具有显著而广谱的抗病毒活性,成为抗病毒免疫研究的热点,并有望作为新型广谱抗病毒药物而被广泛应用于临床治疗中。本文综述了近年来国内外关于甘草酸、甘草甜素、甘草次酸及其衍生物等甘草属三萜类化合物的抗病毒作用研究进展,主要对该类化合物抗疱疹病毒、人类免疫缺陷病毒(human immunodeficiency virus,HIV)、肝炎病毒、严重急性呼吸综合征(severe acute respiratory syndrome,SARS)冠状病毒、流感病毒等的作用进行简要综述。     

猴头菌多糖不同脱色方法的研究

为选择最适于猴头菌多糖的脱色方法,本论文先比较了活性炭吸附法、化学脱色法、大孔树脂法等三种常用的脱色方法对猴头菌多糖的脱色效果及脱色前后免疫活性的变化,发现大孔树脂法更适合于猴头菌多糖的脱色,接着对十种不同类型的大孔树脂进行了筛选,通过脱色前后脱色率、多糖保留率及体外免疫活性的比较,最后发现大孔弱碱性阴离子树脂D315最适合用于猴头菌粗多糖的脱色.     

Supplementation with branched-chain amino acids to a low-protein diet regulates intestinal expression of amino acid and peptide transporters in weanling pigs

This study determined the effects of dietary branched-chain amino acids (AA) (BCAA) on growth performance, expression of jejunal AA and peptide transporters, and the colonic microflora of weanling piglets fed a low-protein (LP) diet. One hundred and eight Large White × Landrace × Duroc piglets (weaned at 28 days of age) were fed a normal protein diet (NP, 20.9 % crude protein), an LP diet (LP, 17.1 % crude protein), or an LP diet supplemented with BCAA (LP + BCAA, 17.9 % crude protein) for 14 days. Dietary protein restriction reduced piglet growth performance and small-intestinal villous height, which were restored by BCAA supplementation to the LP diet to values for the NP diet. Serum concentrations of BCAA were reduced in piglets fed the LP diet while those in piglets fed the LP + BCAA diet were similar to values for the NP group. mRNA levels for Na⁺-neutral AA exchanger-2, cationic AA transporter-1, b^0,+ AA transporter, and 4F2 heavy chain were more abundant in piglets fed the LP + BCAA diet than the LP diet. However, mRNA and protein levels for peptide transporter-1 were lower in piglets fed the LP + BCAA diet as compared to the LP diet. The colonic microflora did not differ among the three groups of pigs. In conclusion, growth performance, intestinal development, and intestinal expression of AA transporters in weanling piglets are enhanced by BCAA supplementation to LP diets. Our findings provide a new molecular basis for further understanding of BCAA as functional AA in animal nutrition.     

Cloning,expression and characterization of d-aminoacylase from Achromobacter xylosoxidans subsp. denitrificans ATCC 15173

d-Aminoacylase catalyzes the conversion of N-acyl-d-amino acids to d-amino acids and fatty acids. The aim of this study was to identify the d-aminoacylase gene from Achromobacter xylosoxidans subsp. denitrificans ATCC 15173 and investigate the biochemical characterization of the enzyme. A previously uncharacterized d-aminoacylase gene (ADdan) from this organism was cloned and sequenced. The open reading frame (ORF) of ADdan was 1467 bp in size encoding a 488-amino acid polypeptide. ADdan, with a high amino acid similarity to N-acyl-d-aspartate amidohydrolase from Alcaligenes A6, showed relatively low sequence similarities to other characterized d-aminoacylases. The recombinant ADdan protein was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) using pET-28a with a T7 promoter. The enzyme was purified in a single chromatographic step using nickel affinity gel column. The molecular mass of the expressed protein, calculated by SDS–PAGE, was about 52 kDa. The purified ADdan showed optimal activity at pH 8.0 and 50 °C, and was stable at pH 6.0–8.0 and up to 45 °C. Its activity was inhibited by Cu²⁺, Fe²⁺, Ca²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Hg²⁺, whereas Mg²⁺ had no significant influence on this recombinant d-aminoacylase. This is the first report on the characterization of d-aminoacylase with activity towards both N-acyl derivatives of neutral d-amino acids and N-acyl-d-aspartate. The characteristics of ADdan could prove to be of interest in industrial production of d-amino acids.     

Extraction of crude polysaccharides from Duchesnea indica (Andrews) Focke: optimization by response surface methodology

A full set of optimization procedure was applied to the extraction of anti-viral polysaccharides from Duchesnea indica (Andrews) Focke. By Plackett–Burman factorial design, three parameters (extraction time, extraction temperature, and ratio of water to raw material) were identified as significant to the extraction yield. However, no significant parameters had been identified for antiviral activity. A three-level-three-factor Box–Behnken factorial design was then employed to further optimize the extraction condition. The experimental data were fitted to a second-order polynomial equation using multiple regression analysis and also examined using appropriate statistical methods. This led to the construction of a response surface indicating the optimal values for each parameter and response studied. Concerning the extraction yield, an extraction at 98.51?ºC for 6.16 h with a ratio of water to raw material of 30.94 mL/g was found to be optimal. Under the optimized conditions, the experimental yield was 6.430 ± 0.078%, which was well matched with the predicted yield of 6.509%.