Extraordinarily low evolutionary rates of short wavelength-sensitive opsin pseudogenes

Aquatic organisms such as cichlids, coelacanths, seals, and cetaceans are active in UV–blue color environments, but many of them mysteriously lost their abilities to detect these colors. The loss of these functions is a consequence of the pseudogenization of their short wavelength-sensitive (SWS1) opsin genes without gene duplication. We show that the SWS1 gene (Bden_S1ψ) of the deep-sea fish, pearleye (Benthalbella dentata), became a pseudogene in a similar fashion about 130 million years ago (Mya) yet it is still transcribed. The rates of nucleotide substitution (~ 1.4 × 10^− 9/site/year) of the pseudogenes of these aquatic species as well as some prosimian and bat species are much smaller than the previous estimates for the globin and immunoglobulin pseudogenes.     

Characterization of the most abundant Lactobacillus species in chicken gastrointestinal tract and potential use as probiotics for genetic engineering

The count and diffusion of Lactobacilli species in the differ ent gastrointestinal tract （GI） regions of broilers were investigated by quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction, and the probiotic characteristics of six L. reuteri species isolated from broilers＇ GI tract were also investi gated to obtain the potential target for genetic engineering. Lactobacilli had the highest diversity in the crop and the lowest one in the cecum. Compared with the lower GI tract, more LactobaciUi were found in the upper GI tract. Lactobacillus reuteri, johnsonii, L. acidophilus, L. crispatus, L. salivarius, and L. aviarius were the predominant Lactobacillus species and present throughout the GI tract of chickens. Lactobacillus reuteri was the most abundant Lactobacillus species. Lactobacillus reuteri XC1 had good probiotic characteristics that would be a potential and desirable target for genetic engineering.     

Fifteen polymorphic microsatellite markers for the giant spiny frog, Paa spinosa

We characterized 15 polymorphic microsatellite loci for the giant spiny frog, Paa spinosa. These loci were highly polymorphic when screened in 38 individuals from two different populations, with nine to 23 alleles per locus. The range of observed and expected heterozygosities was 0.231-0.916 and 0.296-0.944, respectively. These polymorphic loci will be useful for assessing genetic diversity, population structure, gene flow, population assignment and determining paternity in the giant spiny frog.     

产小檗碱诱变菌株培养条件的优化

S-NU-3-2菌株是对源自药用植物黄檗的内生真菌S6进行诱变获得的小檗碱产量比出发菌株有明显提高的突变株,本研究对其培养条件进行了优化,以期进一步提高其产量,为开发利用真菌发酵生产植物活性成分的新途径奠定基础。以菌丝生长和小檗碱产量为指标,筛选出了适宜该菌株发酵的基本培养基、碳源、氮源、光照和培养温度,并经进一步的正交试验优化,得出该高产菌株的最佳培养条件为豆芽汁基本培养基含蔗糖3%,酵母膏0.2%,pH7.0,温度26℃,全光照培养。与初始培养条件相比,在优化后的条件下,该菌株的小檗碱得率提高了47.2%,菌体生物量提高了24%。     

Novel A14841G mutation is associated with high penetrance of LHON/C4171A family

We report the clinical and genetic characterization of a Chinese LHON family carrying an ND1/C4171A mutation. This family has high penetrance of visual impairment and extremely low frequency of vision recovery, which is in marked contrast to previously reported results for Korean LHON families with the same mutation. Sequence analysis of the complete mtDNA in the partially defined East Asian haplogroup N9a1 revealed the presence of 29 other variants. A novel heteroplasmic A14841G mutation, one of the variants with a serine substituted for a highly conserved asparagine at amino acid 32 of Cytochrome b (Cytb), may play a synergistic role with the C4171A mutation, leading to significantly different clinical manifestations of LHON among these families. The study further confirmed that C4171A was a rare primary LHON mutation, and the mtDNA background could also contribute to the clinical manifestation of the LHON/C4171A mutation.     

Evolution of ribosomal DNA-derived satellite repeat in tomato genome

Background  

Tandemly repeated DNA, also called as satellite DNA, is a common feature of eukaryotic genomes. Satellite repeats can expand and contract dramatically, which may cause genome size variation among genetically-related species. However, the origin and expansion mechanism are not clear yet and needed to be elucidated.     

The iron regulatory hormone hepcidin reduces ferroportin 1 content and iron release in H9C2 cardiomyocytes

Iron plays a key pathophysiological role in a number of cardiac diseases. Studies on the mechanisms of heart iron homeostasis are therefore crucial for understanding the causes of excessive heart iron. In addition to iron uptake, cellular iron balance in the heart also depends on iron export. We provided evidence for the existence of iron exporter ferroportin 1 (Fpn1) in the heart in a recent study. The presence of hepcidin, a recently discovered iron regulatory hormone, was also confirmed in the heart recently. Based on these findings and the inhibiting role of hepcidin on Fpn1 in other tissues, we speculated that hepcidin might be able to bind with, internalize and degrade Fpn1 and then decrease iron export in heart cells, leading to an abnormal increase in heart iron and iron mediated cell injury. We therefore investigated the effects of hepcidin on the contents of Fpn1 and iron release in H9C2 cardiomyocyte cell line. We demonstrated that hepcidin has the ability to reduce Fpn1 content as well as iron release in this cell. The similar regulation patterns of hepcidin on the Fpn1 and iron release suggested that the decreased iron release resulted from the decreased content of Fpn1 induced by hepcidin. We also found that hepcidin has no significant effects on ceruloplasmin (CP) and hephaestin (Heph) — two proteins required for iron release from mammalian cells. The data imply that Fpn1, rather than Heph and CP, is the limited factor in the regulation of iron release from heart cells under physiological conditions.     

A new synthesis and an antiviral assessment of the 4′-fluoro derivative of 4′-deoxy-5′-noraristeromycin

A synthetic route to (1S,2S,3R,5S)-3-(6-amino-9H-purin-9-yl)-5-fluorocyclopentane-1,2-diol (that is, the 4′-fluoro derivative of 4′-deoxy-5′-noraristeromycin, 3) is described via a fluorinated cyclopentanol, which is in contrast to existing schemes where fluorination occurred once the purine ring was present. Compound 3 was assayed versus a number of viruses. A favorable response was observed towards measles (IC₅₀ of 1.2 μg/mL in the neutral red assay and 14 μg/mL by the visual assay) but this was accompanied by cytotoxicity in the CV-1 host cells (21–36 μg/mL). Among the viruses unaffected by 3 were human cytomegalovirus and the poxviruses (vaccinia and cowpox), which are three viruses that were inhibited by the 4′,4′-difluoro analog of 3 (that is, 2).     

Dimerization of Hepatitis E Virus Capsid Protein E2s Domain Is Essential for Virus–Host Interaction

Hepatitis E virus (HEV), a non-enveloped, positive-stranded RNA virus, is transmitted in a faecal-oral manner, and causes acute liver diseases in humans. The HEV capsid is made up of capsomeres consisting of homodimers of a single structural capsid protein forming the virus shell. These dimers are believed to protrude from the viral surface and to interact with host cells to initiate infection. To date, no structural information is available for any of the HEV proteins. Here, we report for the first time the crystal structure of the HEV capsid protein domain E2s, a protruding domain, together with functional studies to illustrate that this domain forms a tight homodimer and that this dimerization is essential for HEV–host interactions. In addition, we also show that the neutralizing antibody recognition site of HEV is located on the E2s domain. Our study will aid in the development of vaccines and, subsequently, specific inhibitors for HEV.