烟粉虱携带番茄黄化曲叶病毒检测及其传入山东省的考证

【背景】番茄黄化曲叶病毒（TYLCV）是由媒介昆虫烟粉虱传播的一种双生病毒,对蔬菜及烟草等经济作物造成严重危害。前人资料表明,该病毒于2006年传人我国南方地区,2007年传人山东省,2008年后在山东各地逐渐蔓延扩散。【方法】为了考证TYLcV传人山东省的时间,本研究利用mtCOI基因对于2005和2006年7—8月份在山东省不同地区作物上共采集的15份烟粉虱样品进行了生物型鉴定,并进一步检测了烟粉虱携带TYLCV情况,同时对PCR扩增产物进行了测序分析。【结果】2005年的4份样品烟粉虱生物型均为B型,均不携带TYLCV。2006年的11份烟粉虱样品为B型与Q型混合样品,其中,2份烟粉虱样品检测到TYLCV,进一步证实该病毒为TYLCV。【结论与意义】本研究首次证实了TYLCV早在2006年就已经传入山东省。研究结果不仅对于防控该病毒具有重要指导意义,而且对于其入侵生物学研究也具有重要参考价值。     

Selenite and ebselen supplementation attenuates <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">d</Emphasis>-galactose-induced oxidative stress and increases expression of SELR and SEP15 in rat lens

Selenite and ebselen supplementation has been shown to possess anti-cataract potential in some experimental animal models of cataract, however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The present study was designed to evaluate the anti-cataract effects and the underlying mechanisms of selenite and ebselen supplementation on galactose induced cataract in rats, a common animal model of sugar cataract. Transmission electron microscopy images of lens fiber cells (LFC) and lens epithelial cells (LEC) were observed in d-galactose-induced experimental cataractous rats treated with or without selenite and ebselen, also redox homeostasis and expression of proteins such as selenoprotein R (SELR), 15kD selenoprotein (SEP15), superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), catalase (CAT), β-crystallin protein, aldose reductase (AR) and glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) were estimated in the lenses. The results showed that d-galactose injection injured rat lens and resulted in cataract formation; however, selenite and ebselen supplementation markedly alleviated ultrastructural injury of LFC and LEC. Moreover, selenite and ebselen supplementation could mitigate the oxidative damage in rat lens and increase the protein expressions of SELR, SEP15, SOD1, CAT and β-crystallin, as well as decrease the protein expressions of AR and GRP78. Taken together, these findings for the first time reveal the anti-cataract potential of selenite and ebselen in galactosemic cataract, and provide important new insights into the anti-cataract mechanisms of selenite and ebselen in sugar cataract.     

Language Differences in the Brain Network for Reading in Naturalistic Story Reading and Lexical Decision

Differences in how writing systems represent language raise important questions about whether there could be a universal functional architecture for reading across languages. In order to study potential language differences in the neural networks that support reading skill, we collected fMRI data from readers of alphabetic (English) and morpho-syllabic (Chinese) writing systems during two reading tasks. In one, participants read short stories under conditions that approximate natural reading, and in the other, participants decided whether individual stimuli were real words or not. Prior work comparing these two writing systems has overwhelmingly used meta-linguistic tasks, generally supporting the conclusion that the reading system is organized differently for skilled readers of Chinese and English. We observed that language differences in the reading network were greatly dependent on task. In lexical decision, a pattern consistent with prior research was observed in which the Middle Frontal Gyrus (MFG) and right Fusiform Gyrus (rFFG) were more active for Chinese than for English, whereas the posterior temporal sulcus was more active for English than for Chinese. We found a very different pattern of language effects in a naturalistic reading paradigm, during which significant differences were only observed in visual regions not typically considered specific to the reading network, and the middle temporal gyrus, which is thought to be important for direct mapping of orthography to semantics. Indeed, in areas that are often discussed as supporting distinct cognitive or linguistic functions between the two languages, we observed interaction. Specifically, language differences were most pronounced in MFG and rFFG during the lexical decision task, whereas no language differences were observed in these areas during silent reading of text for comprehension.     

KfoE encodes a fructosyltransferase involved in capsular polysaccharide biosynthesis in Escherichia coli K4

Escherichia coli K4 synthesizes a capsular polysaccharide (CPS) consisting of a fructose-branched chondroitin (GalNAc-GlcA(fructose)n), which is a biosynthetic precursor of chondroitin sulfate. Here, the role of kfoE in the modification of the chondroitin backbone was investigated using knock-out and recombinant complementation experiments. kfoE disruption and complementation had no significant effect on cell growth. CPS production was increased by 15 % in the knock-out strain, and decreased by 21 % in the knock-out strain complemented with recombinant kfoE. CPS extracted from the knock-out strain was chondroitin, whereas CPS extracted from the complemented strain was a fructose-branched chondroitin. The results demonstrated that the kfoE gene product altered the fructose group at the C3 position of the GlcA residue during production of K4CPS.     

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans regulate autophagy in Drosophila

Heparan sulfate-modified proteoglycans (HSPGs) are important regulators of signaling and molecular recognition at the cell surface and in the extracellular space. Disruption of HSPG core proteins, HS-synthesis, or HS-degradation can have profound effects on growth, patterning, and cell survival. The Drosophila neuromuscular junction provides a tractable model for understanding the activities of HSPGs at a synapse that displays developmental and activity-dependent plasticity. Muscle cell-specific knockdown of HS biosynthesis disrupted the organization of a specialized postsynaptic membrane, the subsynaptic reticulum (SSR), and affected the number and morphology of mitochondria. We provide evidence that these changes result from a dysregulation of macroautophagy (hereafter referred to as autophagy). Cellular and molecular markers of autophagy are all consistent with an increase in the levels of autophagy in the absence of normal HS-chain biosynthesis and modification. HS production is also required for normal levels of autophagy in the fat body, the central energy storage and nutritional sensing organ in Drosophila. Genetic mosaic analysis indicates that HS-dependent regulation of autophagy occurs non-cell autonomously, consistent with HSPGs influencing this cellular process via signaling in the extracellular space. These findings demonstrate that HS biosynthesis has important regulatory effects on autophagy and that autophagy is critical for normal assembly of postsynaptic membrane specializations.     

Combination of bone tissue engineering and BMP-2 gene transfection promotes bone healing in osteoporotic rats

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop a feasible approach to promote bone healing in osteoporotic rats using autogenous bone tissue-engineering and gene transfection of human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (hBMP-2). METHODS: Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) from the left tibia of osteoporotic rats were transfected with the hBMP-2 gene in vitro which was confirmed by immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization and Western blotting. Autogenous transfected or untransfected BMSCs were seeded on macroporous coral hydroxyapatite (CHA) scaffolds. Each cell-scaffold construct was implanted into a defect site which was created in the ramus of the mandible of osteoporotic rats. Four or eight weeks after implantation in situ hybridization was performed in BMSCs transfected with hBMP-2, X-ray examinations, histological and histomorphological analyses were used to evaluate the effect of tissue-engineered bone on osseous defect repair. RESULTS: Newly formed bone was observed at the margin of the defect 4 weeks after implantation with BMSCs transfected with BMP-2. Mature bone was observed 8 weeks after treatment. In the control group there was considerably less new bone and some adipose tissue was observed at the defect margins 8 weeks after implantation. CONCLUSIONS: Autogenous cells transfected with hBMP-2 promote bone formation in osteoporotic rats. BMSC-mediated BMP-2 gene therapy used in conjunction with bone tissue engineering may be used to successfully treat bone defects in osteoporotic rats. This method provides a powerful tool for bone regeneration and other tissue engineering.     

Molecular Cloning of Novel Cellulase Genes <Emphasis Type="Italic">cel</Emphasis>9A and <Emphasis Type="Italic">cel</Emphasis>12A from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus licheniformis</Emphasis> GXN151 and Synergism of Their Encoded Polypeptides

A thermophilic bacterial strain GXN151 which could degrade Avicel efficiently was isolated and identified as Bacillus licheniformis. A genomic library of GXN151 was constructed and two novel endoglucanase genes designated cel9A and cel12A were isolated by screening the library on carboxylmethyl cellulase indicator plates. The analysis of amino acid sequences deduced from the genes indicated that Cel9A consisted of a catalytic domain belonging to glycosyl hydrolase family 9, a linker domain, and a carbohydrate binding module family 3 from N-terminal to C-terminal; Cel12A had only one catalytic domain belonging to glycosyl hydrolase family 12. The combinations of Cel9A and Cel12A produced by the recombinant E. coli exhibited synergistic action against substrates of carboxylmethyl cellulose as well as Avicel.     

北京地区红隼的迁徙路线和活动区域

红隼(Falco tinnunculus)被列为国家二级重点保护野生动物,是能同时适应农村和城市环境的小型猛禽,对维持城市生态系统稳定具有重要意义。2022年4月至7月,为在北京救助的7只红隼佩戴了卫星追踪器,追踪其活动轨迹,依据追踪的动物活动位点数据,采用净平方位移-时间曲线依次对各红隼的迁徙模式进行了判别,深入分析了迁徙红隼的迁徙时间、距离和路线等,并采用核心密度法分别计算了迁徙及留居型红隼95%及50%活动区面积。研究结果表明,在北京地区红隼的迁徙模式为部分迁徙,追踪的7只红隼个体(N01 ~ N07)中,4只为留鸟,1只为迁徙鸟,2只居留类型无法准确判断。N01为迁徙红隼,其度夏地和越冬地分别在内蒙古锡林郭勒盟和河北廊坊,此红隼秋季迁徙速度明显高于春季,其春季迁徙距离551 km,历时25 d,平均迁徙速度为22 km/d,而秋季迁徙距离412 km,历时2 d,平均迁徙速度为203 km/d,河北承德滦平县是其春季迁徙的重要中途停歇地。不同红隼个体间95%及50%活动区面积均存在较大差异,迁徙红隼N01 95%、50%活动区面积在度夏区分别为93.10 km²、17.50 km²,在越冬区分别为7.03 km²、0.99 km²;留居型红隼95%、50%活动区面积均值分别为1 165.34 km²、178.71 km²(n = 4),其中最大95%、50%活动区面积分别为4 320.26 km²(N02)、648.22 km²(N02),最小95%、50%活动区面积分别为2.80 km²(N03)、0.29 km²(N03)。本研究揭示了北京地区红隼的迁徙模式、迁徙路线、重要停歇地及活动区状况,为红隼的针对性保护和管理提供了科学依据。