香根草——优良的水土保持植物

结合近５年来的野外定点观测、盆栽试验和室内分析结果以及国内外有关香根草（Ｖｅｔｉｖｅｒｉａｚｉｚａｎｉｏｉｄｅｓ）的研究资料,系统总结了香根草的生物学特性、生态适应性、作用与用途、应用发展历史和推广应用前景,并提出了今后推广香根草工程应采取的主要措施,以期能为在华南山区,尤其在广东,开展水土保持和建立以香根草为纽带的生态农业提供参考     

胚胎脑片免疫荧光组织化学双重漂染技术在神经元发生研究中的应用

目的为更客观地观察胚胎脑神经祖细胞的增殖、分化和迁移,建立胚胎脑片免疫荧光组织化学双重漂染技术。方法灌流固定,取胚胎14天(E14)大鼠脑,低熔点琼脂糖包埋,振动切片机连续冠状切片,免疫荧光组织化学双重漂染,激光扫描共聚焦显微镜下观察。结果波形蛋白(Vimentin)和乙酰胆碱转移酶(ChAT)双阳性细胞呈黄色荧光,胞体位于脑室区,长突起呈放射状。ChAT阳性细胞呈红色荧光,除胞体位于脑室区,长突起呈放射状伸展外,可见皮层板区也有阳性细胞集聚。结论此项技术可直接观察到胚胎脑神经祖细胞和成神经细胞的完整形态,并通过免疫荧光组织化学方法鉴定其表型,从而阐明相互之间的关系。     

国家公园遴选标准的国际经验及对我国的启示

建立以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系,是我国生态文明思想的重大举措。国家公园作为国际普遍认可的自然保护手段,受到世界各国的欢迎。美国、加拿大、德国、南非、日本等国的国家公园建设较早、发展较好,通过分析其国家公园建设经验得出：（1）国家公园是以自然保护为首要目标,并为公众提供享受大自然的场所;（2）其评价对象与标准主要包括,自然景观/自然遗迹、生态系统、生物多样性/重要栖息地、面积/范围、自然区域/自然环境、文化景观等;（3）根据资源条件和目标定位的差异,国外国家公园的选建模式主要有基于生态区划的国家公园建设模式、基于社区共建的国家公园建设模式和基于资源主导的国家公园建设模式。在国际经验研究和分析的基础上,结合我国自然资源状况及国家公园建设需求,提出我国国家公园发展建议：（1）明确国家公园的功能定位和发展目标;（2）制定国家公园评价准则和方法,建立以国家代表性、完整性、原真性为主,包括生态区位重要性、历史文化价值等因素的国家公园评价指标体系;（3）划定面向国家公园规划布局的生态地理分区,在区域内建立国家公园,并与生态系统优先区、生物多样性保护关键区,或代表性自然景观格局相协调。     

Diagnostic value of GLUT-1 in distinguishing malignant mesothelioma from reactive mesothelial cells: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated the diagnostic value of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT-1) to distinguish malignant mesothelioma (MM) from reactive mesothelial cells (RMC), but the results are inconsistent. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of GLUT-1 in distinguishing MM from RMC.

Methods: A systematical search was conducted until May 2019 in PubMed, Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library. The revised tool for the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS-2) was used to assess the quality of the eligible studies. The Stata15 and Review Manager5.3 software programmes were used to perform the meta-analysis.

Results: A total of 24 studies, including 969?MM patients and 1080 RMC individuals were explored in the meta-analysis. The summary assessments revealed that the pooled sensitivity was 0.73 (95% CI, 0.62–0.81) and the pooled specificity was 0.95 (95% CI, 0.91–0.98). The area under the summary ROC curve (AUC) was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.91–0.95).

Conclusions: GLUT-1 is highly accurate to distinguish MM from RMC.     

Crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 nsp10 bound to nsp14-ExoN domain reveals an exoribonuclease with both structural and functional integrity

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 infection has posed unprecedented threat to global public health. The virus-encoded non-structural protein 14 (nsp14) is a bi-functional enzyme consisting of an exoribonuclease (ExoN) domain and a methyltransferase (MTase) domain and plays a pivotal role in viral replication. Here, we report the structure of SARS-CoV-2 nsp14-ExoN domain bound to its co-factor nsp10 and show that, compared to the SARS-CoV nsp10/nsp14-full-length complex, SARS-CoV-2 nsp14-ExoN retains an integral exoribonuclease fold and preserves an active configuration in the catalytic center. Analysis of the nsp10/nsp14-ExoN interface reveals a footprint in nsp10 extensively overlapping with that observed in the nsp10/nsp16 structure. A marked difference in the co-factor when engaging nsp14 and nsp16 lies in helix-α1′, which is further experimentally ascertained to be involved in nsp14-binding but not in nsp16-engagement. Finally, we also show that nsp10/nsp14-ExoN is enzymatically active despite the absence of nsp14-MTase domain. These data demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 nsp10/nsp14-ExoN functions as an exoribonuclease with both structural and functional integrity.     

Whole genome sequencing of a snailfish from the Yap Trench (~7,000 m) clarifies the molecular mechanisms underlying adaptation to the deep sea

Hadal environments (depths below 6,000 m) are characterized by extremely high hydrostatic pressures, low temperatures, a scarce food supply, and little light. The evolutionary adaptations that allow vertebrates to survive in this extreme environment are poorly understood. Here, we constructed a high-quality reference genome for Yap hadal snailfish (YHS), which was captured at a depth of ~7,000 m in the Yap Trench. The final YHS genome assembly was 731.75 Mb, with a contig N50 of 0.75 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 1.26 Mb. We predicted 24,329 protein-coding genes in the YHS genome, and 24,265 of these genes were successfully functionally annotated. Phylogenetic analyses suggested that YHS diverged from a Mariana Trench snailfish approximately 0.92 million years ago. Many genes associated with DNA repair show evidence of positive selection and have expanded copy numbers in the YHS genome, possibly helping to maintain the integrity of DNA under increased hydrostatic pressure. The levels of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a potent protein stabilizer, are much higher in the muscles of YHS than in those of shallow-water fish. This difference is perhaps due to the five copies of the TMAO-generating enzyme flavin-containing monooxygenase-3 gene (fmo3) in the YHS genome and the abundance of trimethylamine (TMA)-generating bacteria in the YHS gut. Thus, the high TMAO content might help YHS adapt to high hydrostatic pressure by improving protein stability. Additionally, the evolutionary features of the YHS genes encoding sensory-related proteins are consistent with the scarce food supply and darkness in the hadal environments. These results clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying the adaptation of hadal organisms to the deep-sea environment and provide valuable genomic resources for in-depth investigations of hadal biology.