METTL3 promotes IL‐1β–induced degeneration of endplate chondrocytes by driving m6A‐dependent maturation of miR‐126‐5p

METTL3 is an important regulatory molecule in the process of RNA biosynthesis. It mainly regulates mRNA translation, alternative splicing and microRNA maturation by mediating m6A‐dependent methylation. Interleukin 1β (IL‐1β) is an important inducer of cartilage degeneration that can induce an inflammatory cascade reaction in chondrocytes and inhibit the normal biological function of cells. However, it is unclear whether IL‐1β is related to METTL3 expression or plays a regulatory role in endplate cartilage degeneration. In this study, we found that the expression level of METTL3 and methylation level of m6A in human endplate cartilage with different degrees of degeneration were significantly different, indicating that the methylation modification of m6A mediated by METTL3 was closely related to the degeneration of human endplate cartilage. Next, through a series of functional experiments, we found that miR‐126‐5p can play a significant role in IL‐1β–induced degeneration of endplate chondrocytes. Moreover, we found that miR‐126‐5p can inhibit the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway by targeting PIK3R2 gene, leading to the disorder of cell vitality and functional metabolism. To further determine whether METTL3 could regulate miR‐126‐5p maturation, we first confirmed that METTL3 can bind the key protein underlying pri‐miRNA processing, DGCR8. Additionally, when METTL3 expression was inhibited, the miR‐126‐5p maturation process was blocked. Therefore, we hypothesized that METTL3 can promote cleavage of pri‐miR‐126‐5p and form mature miR‐126‐5p by combining with DGCR8.     

Production and characterization of laccase from Pleurotus ferulae in submerged fermentation

Pleurotus ferulae is a mushroom typically found in arid steppe that is distributed widely in the Junggar Basin of Xinjiang, China. In this work, laccase production by P. ferulae JM30X was optimized in terms of medium composition and culture conditions. After optimization, the highest laccase activity obtained was 6,832.86 U/L. A single isozyme with a molecular weight of 66 kDa was observed by SDS-PAGE and native-PAGE. Optimum pH and temperature were 3.0 and 50–70 °C, respectively. The best laccase substrate was ABTS, for which the Michaelis-Menten constant (K _m) and catalytic efficiency (K _cat/K _m) value for P. ferulae laccase were 0.193 mM and 2.73?×?10⁶ (mM s)^?1, respectively. The activity of purified laccase was increased by more than four-fold by Cu²⁺, Mn²⁺ and Mg²⁺, while it was completely inhibited by Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺. The production of laccase was influenced by the initial pH and K⁺ concentration, and the activity of purified laccase was enhanced by Cu²⁺, Mn²⁺ and Mg²⁺. This Pleurotus genus laccase from P. ferulae JM30X was analyzed by MS spectrum and the results are conducive to furthering our understanding of Pleurotus genus laccases.     

异养微生物固定CO2的合成生物学研究进展

人类活动造成大气二氧化碳（CO₂）浓度不断升高,使当今世界面临着气候变化的重大危机。微生物CO₂固定为实现地球“碳中和”提供了一条有前景的绿色发展路线。与自养微生物相比,异养微生物具有更快的生长速度和更先进的遗传工具,但是其固定CO₂的能力还很有限。近年来,基于合成生物学技术强化异养微生物CO₂固定受到诸多关注,主要包括优化能量供给、改造羧化途径以及基于异养微生物间接固定CO₂。本综述将围绕上述3个方面重点讨论异养微生物CO₂固定的研究进展,为将来更好地利用微生物CO₂固定技术实现“碳达峰、碳中和”提供参考。     

四川省自然保护区时空分布与影响因素

自然保护区是为保护具有代表性的生态系统和濒危动植物而划分的特定区域,在涵养水土,防风固沙、净化空气、保护生物多样性等方面发挥着重要作用。四川省有自然保护区166处,类型丰富多样,是中国自然保护地体系的重要组成部分,其保护对象涵盖珍稀动植物,保护功能涉及物种、水源和生态环境,与国家地质公园、湿地公园、森林公园等共同维系着中国西南地区,乃至青藏高原东缘的生态系统。因此,研究四川省自然保护区的空间分布格局及其影响因素具有重要的价值和意义。运用地理空间分析方法对1963-2018年间四川省自然保护区的空间分布和影响因素进行了研究。研究发现:①四川省自然保护区空间分布的总体特征以集聚为主,呈现集聚-随机-集聚的变化特征,且前期变化幅度大,后期变化幅度小,总体发展明显分为1963-1998年的单核形成与发展阶段和1998-2018年的双核阶段;②四川省自然保护区主要分布在成都平原向川西高原的过渡区域,其均衡度类型在时间上表现出由"差距悬殊"到"差距较大"的演变特征;③四川省自然保护区的重心活动范围相对较小,基本稳定在阿坝州南部。标准差椭圆的长短半轴和面积均变化强烈,总体呈现出大幅度的增长,空间分布由南-北向演变为东北-西南向;④自然保护区受到自然因素和社会因素的双重影响,高密度区域分布在地势适中、气候温和、河流众多、土壤肥沃、人口稀少的阿坝州南部与东部地区。未来,四川省生态功能建设应该立足国家公园、自然保护区和自然公园的特点、分布状况,对自然保护区分布较少的川西北、川东北和川南部分地区进行优化布局,以加强这些地区的生态功能建设。同时,探索自然保护区的发展模式,实现自然保护区与周边区域社会经济的协调发展。     

2018年我国19株猪链球菌4型分离株的病原学特征及分析

[背景]近年来,猪链球菌4型(Streptococcus suis serotype 4,SS4)分离率逐渐上升,但是有关SS4的系统研究报道匮乏.[目的]研究19株SS4临床分离株的病原学特征.[方法]以2株猪链球菌2型(Streptococcus suis serotype 2,SS2)强毒株为参考菌株,对19株S...     

Response of Chestnut Flowering in Beijing to Photosynthetically Active Radiation Variation and Change in Recent Fifty Years

Climate warming has affected plant phenology throughout the world, but few studies have evaluated plant phenology response to other climate factors (eg. photosynthetically active radiation PAR). In particular, the response of fruit flowering to PAR variation has not been explored yet. Long term (1963-2008) of chestnut (Castanea mollissima Blume) first flowering dates from Beijing, China were related with daily PAR for the 12 months, using Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression analysis. Two relevant phases were identified, during which mean PAR, temperature, and relative humidity (RH) were correlated with flowering dates, respectively. PAR during the both relevant periods decreased significantly in Beijing over the past 50 years. Reduced PAR during 24 September 5 February showed an advance impact on chestnut flowering, and could explain 12% of advance trend in flowering timing. Deceased PAR during 6 February 31 May had a delayed effect on tree flowering, but it was not significant enough to reject the null hypothesis of no impact over time. Advanced flowering of chestnut was mainly determined by increasing temperature between 6 February and 31 May which could explain 41% of flowering trend. Relative humidity variation during this period played secondly important role on tree flowering. Considering the interaction among these three climate factors, the impacts of PAR and RH on flowering timing could partially be attributed to the effects of temperature variation.     

Correction to: Effects of Exogenous Spermidine and Elevated CO2 on Physiological and Biochemical Changes in Tomato Plants Under Iso-osmotic Salt Stress

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - The original version of this article unfortunately contained errors in two authors' names. The given and family names of the authors were incorrectly...     

阿胶冲剂与阿胶的化学成分对比分析研究

阿胶在我国有着悠久的历史,是常用滋补中药,具有许多特殊的功效,国内外享有盛誉。据《本草纲目》及《本草纲目拾遗》等介绍,阿胶在明代以前系用(沙牛)牛,水牛,驴皮或猪、马、驼皮等杂皮熬制而成。自清代始一律采用黑驴皮熬制。以往服用阿胶必须将阿胶先用水浸泡后,然后加热溶解后才能服用.为了克服这一缺点,山东化工学院研制了一种用开水冲服的阿胶新制剂——阿胶冲剂.为了弄清阿胶经物理方法处理后的化学组成成份与原阿谱的化学组成成分的不同变化。我们对其所含微量元素、氨基酸进行了对比分析.另外,本文首次报道了阿胶及阿胶冲剂的红外光谱分析结果.     

Chromatin interacting factor OsVIL2 increases biomass and rice grain yield

Grain number is an important agronomic trait. We investigated the roles of chromatin interacting factor Oryza sativa VIN3‐LIKE 2 (OsVIL2), which controls plant biomass and yield in rice. Mutations in OsVIL2 led to shorter plants and fewer grains whereas its overexpression (OX) enhanced biomass production and grain numbers when compared with the wild type. RNA‐sequencing analyses revealed that 1958 genes were up‐regulated and 2096 genes were down‐regulated in the region of active division within the first internodes of OX plants. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis showed that, among the downregulated genes, OsVIL2 was directly associated with chromatins in the promoter region of CYTOKININ OXIDASE/DEHYDROGENASE2 (OsCKX2), a gene responsible for cytokinin degradation. Likewise, active cytokinin levels were increased in the OX plants. We conclude that OsVIL2 improves the production of biomass and grain by suppressing OsCKX2 chromatin.