ParA of Mycobacterium smegmatis co‐ordinates chromosome segregation with the cell cycle and interacts with the polar growth determinant DivIVA

Mycobacteria are among the clinically most important pathogens, but still not much is known about the mechanisms of their cell cycle control. Previous studies suggested that the genes encoding ParA and ParB (ATPase and DNA binding protein, respectively, required for active chromosome segregation) may be essential in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Further research has demonstrated that a Mycobacterium smegmatis parB deletion mutant was viable but exhibited a chromosome segregation defect. Here, we address the question if ParA is required for the growth of M. smegmatis, and which cell cycle processes it affects. Our data show that parA may be deleted, but its deletion leads to growth inhibition and severe disturbances of chromosome segregation and septum positioning. Similar defects are also caused by ParA overproduction. EGFP–ParA localizes as pole‐associated complexes connected with a patch of fluorescence accompanying two ParB complexes. Observed aberrations in the number and positioning of ParB complexes in the parA deletion mutant indicate that ParA is required for the proper localization of the ParB complexes. Furthermore, it is shown that ParA colocalizes and interacts with the polar growth determinant Wag31 (DivIVA homologue). Our results demonstrate that mycobacterial ParA mediates chromosome segregation and co‐ordinates it with cell division and elongation.     

恒磁场增强心肌梗死大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞移植后心脏功能改善

目的：研究恒磁场对心肌梗死大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞（bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells,BMSCs）移植后心脏功能的影响。方法：取180g,9-12周龄雄性SD大鼠骨髓,以密度梯度离心分离出单个核细胞（MNCs）,于体外培养并传代培养出骨髓间充质干细胞（MSCs）。制作大鼠心肌梗死模型,将1.5×106BMSCs注射入梗死梗死区周围,分为磁场照射＋BMSCs植入组、BMSCs植入组及空白对照组。4周后处死动物,每组5只大鼠。磁场照射组用0.4 T恒磁场置于心前区30 min,每日1次,共7天。用颈动脉插管法测定心脏功能,Masson三色染色测定梗死面积,VWF VIII染色计算血管密度。结果：与对照组相比BMSCs组以及磁场组均可以显著提高左心室收缩压（LVSP）,dp/dtmax以及-dp/dtmax,减少LVEDP（P〈0.05）。但是,磁场组与BMSCs组相比LVSP,左心室内压最大上升速率（dp/dtmax）以及左心室内压最大下降速率（-dp/dtmax）增高,左心室舒张末压（LVEDP）减少（P〈0.05）。与对照组相比BMSCs组以及磁场组均可以显著提高减少心梗面积（P〈0.05）。磁场组与BMSCs组相比心梗面积减少（P〈0.05）。与对照组相比BMSCs组以及磁场组均可以显著提高增加血管密度（P〈0.05）。磁场组与BMSCs组相比血管密度增加（P〈0.05）。结论：恒磁场具有加强移植BMSCs改善心脏功能的作用。     

Effects of BmCPV Infection on Silkworm Bombyx mori Intestinal Bacteria

The gut microbiota has a crucial role in the growth, development and environmental adaptation in the host insect. The objective of our work was to investigate the microbiota of the healthy silkworm Bombyx mori gut and changes after the infection of B. mori cypovirus (BmCPV). Intestinal contents of the infected and healthy larvae of B. mori of fifth instar were collected at 24, 72 and 144 h post infection with BmCPV. The gut bacteria were analyzed by pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. 147(135) and 113(103) genera were found in the gut content of the healthy control female (male) larvae and BmCPV-infected female (male) larvae, respectively. In general, the microbial communities in the gut content of healthy larvae were dominated by Enterococcus, Delftia, Pelomonas, Ralstonia and Staphylococcus, however the abundance change of each genus was depended on the developmental stage and gender. Microbial diversity reached minimum at 144 h of fifth instar larvae. The abundance of Enterococcus in the females was substantially lower and the abundance of Delftia, Aurantimonas and Staphylococcus was substantially higher compared to the males. Bacterial diversity in the intestinal contents decreased after post infection with BmCPV, whereas the abundance of both Enterococcus and Staphylococcus which belongs to Gram-positive were increased. Therefore, our findings suggested that observed changes in relative abundance was related to the immune response of silkworm to BmCPV infection. Relevance analysis of plenty of the predominant genera showed the abundance of the Enterococcus genus was in negative correlation with the abundance of the most predominant genera. These results provided insight into the relationship between the gut microbiota and development of the BmCPV-infected silkworm.     

Exploring the cocrystallization potential of urea and benzamide

The cocrystallization landscape of benzamide and urea interacting with aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids was studied both experimentally and theoretically. Ten new cocrystals of benzamide were synthesized using an oriented samples approach via a fast dropped evaporation technique. Information about types of known bi-component cocrystals augmented with knowledge of simple binary eutectic mixtures was used for the analysis of virtual screening efficiency among 514 potential pairs involving aromatic carboxylic acids interacting with urea or benzamide. Quantification of intermolecular interaction was achieved by estimating the excess thermodynamic functions of binary liquid mixtures under supercooled conditions within a COSMO-RS framework. The smoothed histograms suggest that slightly more potential pairs of benzamide are characterized in the attractive region compared to urea. Finally, it is emphasized that prediction of cocrystals of urea is fairly direct, while it remains ambiguous for benzamide paired with carboxylic acids. The two known simple eutectics of urea are found within the first two quartiles defined by excess thermodynamic functions, and all known cocrystals are outside of this range belonging to the third or fourth quartile. On the contrary, such a simple separation of positive and negative cases of benzamide miscibility in the solid state is not observed. The difference in properties between urea and benzamide R2,2(8) heterosynthons is also documented by alterations of substituent effects. Intermolecular interactions of urea with para substituted benzoic acid analogues are stronger compared to those of benzamide. Also, the amount of charge transfer from amide to aromatic carboxylic acid and vice versa is more pronounced for urea. However, in both cases, the greater the electron withdrawing character of the substituent, the higher the binding energy, and the stronger the supermolecule polarization via the charge transfer mechanism.     

PAQR3 controls autophagy by integrating AMPK signaling to enhance ATG14L‐associated PI3K activity

The Beclin1–VPS34 complex is recognized as a central node in regulating autophagy via interacting with diverse molecules such as ATG14L for autophagy initiation and UVRAG for autophagosome maturation. However, the underlying molecular mechanism that coordinates the timely activation of VPS34 complex is poorly understood. Here, we identify that PAQR3 governs the preferential formation and activation of ATG14L‐linked VPS34 complex for autophagy initiation via two levels of regulation. Firstly, PAQR3 functions as a scaffold protein that facilitates the formation of ATG14L‐ but not UVRAG‐linked VPS34 complex, leading to elevated capacity of PI(3)P generation ahead of starvation signals. Secondly, AMPK phosphorylates PAQR3 at threonine 32 and switches on PI(3)P production to initiate autophagosome formation swiftly after glucose starvation. Deletion of PAQR3 leads to reduction of exercise‐induced autophagy in mice, accompanied by a certain degree of disaggregation of ATG14L‐associated VPS34 complex. Together, this study uncovers that PAQR3 can not only enhance the capacity of pro‐autophagy class III PI3K due to its scaffold function, but also integrate AMPK signal to activation of ATG14L‐linked VPS34 complex upon glucose starvation.     

Efficient Detection of Leptosphaeria maculans from Infected Seed lots of Oilseed Rape

An efficient DNA extraction protocol and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for detecting Leptosphaeria maculans from infected seed lots of oilseed rape were developed. L. maculans, the causal agent of blackleg, a damaging disease in oilseeds rape/canola worldwide, was listed as a quarantine disease by China in 2009. China imports several millions of tons of oilseeds every year. So there is a high risk that this pathogen will be introduced to China via contaminated seeds. Seed contamination is one of the most significant factors in the global spread of phytopathogens. Detection of L. maculans in infected seed lots by PCR assay is difficult due to the low level of pathogen mycelium/spores on seeds and PCR inhibitors associated with the seeds of oilseed rape. In our study, these two major obstacles were overcome by the development of a two‐step extraction protocol combined with a nested PCR. This extraction protocol (kit extraction after CTAB method) can efficiently extract high‐quality DNA for PCR. Amplification results showed that the detection threshold for conventional PCR and nested PCR was, respectively, 1 ng and 10 fg of DNA per μl in mycelia samples. On contaminated seed lots of oilseed rape, the detection threshold of conventional and nested PCR was 709 fg/μl and 709 ag/μl of DNA, respectively. The DNA extraction protocol and PCR assay developed in this study can be used for rapid and reliable detection of L. maculans from infected seeds of oilseed rape .     

干旱胁迫下叶面喷施褪黑素对滁菊幼苗生理生化特性的影响

以滁菊品种"金玉"幼苗为材料,通过日光温室内盆栽实验,在中度干旱胁迫条件下(土壤田间持水量的40%),研究叶面喷施外源褪黑素(MT,100μmol·L-1)对滁菊幼苗生长及生理生化特性的影响,探讨提高滁菊耐干旱性的新途径。结果表明:(1)与对照相比,干旱胁迫处理降低了滁菊叶片叶绿素含量、净光合速率和水分利用效率,提高了可溶性蛋白质、可溶性糖和脯氨酸含量,而叶片MDA含量和相对电导率显著增加,显著抑制了滁菊幼苗的生长。(2)在干旱胁迫条件下,外源MT可显著提高滁菊幼苗叶片脯氨酸、可溶性蛋白质和可溶性糖的含量,并显著降低了叶片相对电导率和MDA含量,使幼苗保持较高叶绿素含量和净光合速率。(3)与干旱胁迫处理相比,外源MT处理的滁菊地上部和根系干重、鲜重均显著增加。研究发现,外源褪黑素(MT)在一定程度上可通过促进滁菊幼苗渗透调节物质的积累,有效降低干旱胁迫对其细胞膜的伤害,维持其正常的细胞膜功能,保持其较高的光合速率和水分利用效率,从而增加其对干旱环境的适应性。