口蹄疫病毒结构蛋白VP1容忍外源标签的能力

【目的】利用口蹄疫病毒的反向遗传操作技术,构建含不同外源标签口蹄疫病毒的全长克隆,鉴定口蹄疫病毒结构蛋白VP1容忍不同外源标签的能力。【方法】通过融合PCR技术,在FMDV O/HN/93全长感染性克隆的VP1 G-H环分别引入V5、TC12、KT3、3FLAG外源标签,构建全长质粒。全长质粒经Not I线化后转染表达T7 RNA聚合酶的稳定细胞,拯救重组病毒。RT-PCR、序列测定、间接免疫荧光鉴定病毒,噬斑和一步生长曲线分析重组病毒的生物学特性。【结果】成功拯救到表达V5或KT3表位标签的重组病毒,未能拯救到表达TC12或3×FLAG的重组病毒。V5和KT3表位标签的插入均影响了口蹄疫病毒的复制能力。【结论】重组口蹄疫病毒的成功拯救为未来标记疫苗以及口蹄疫病毒作为表达载体等的研究奠定了基础。     

What do Biologists Make of the Species Problem?

The concept of species is one of the core concepts in biology and one of the cornerstones of evolutionary biology, yet it is rife with conceptual problems. Philosophers of biology have been discussing the concept of species for decades, and in doing so they sometimes appeal to the views of biologists. However, their statements as to what biologists think are seldom supported by empirical data. In order to investigate what biologists actually think about the key issues related to the problem of species, we have conducted a survey on the sample of 193 biologists from the population of biologists from over 150 biology departments at universities in the US and the EU. This article presents and discusses the results of the survey. Some results confirm and others falsify the reiterated statements of philosophers of biology as to what biologists think, but all results we obtained should be informative and relevant for future discussions of the problem of species.     

First study on characterization of virulence and antibiotic resistance genes in verotoxigenic and enterotoxigenic <Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis>. <Emphasis Type="Italic">coli</Emphasis> isolated from raw milk and unpasteurized traditional cheeses in Romania

The study focused on the incidence of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and verotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) in raw milk and traditional dairy cheeses marketed in Romania, characterizing the virulence and antibiotic resistance genes of these isolates. One hundred and twenty samples of raw milk and 80 samples of unpasteurized telemy cheese were collected and cultured according to the international standard protocol. All the characteristic E. coli cultures were analyzed for the presence of STa, STb, LT, stx1, and stx2 toxicity genes. The ETEC/VTEC strains were tested for the presence of antibiotic resistance genes, such as aadA1, tetA, tetB, tetC, tetG, dfrA1, qnrA, aaC, sul1, bla _SHV , bla _CMY , bla _TEM , and ere(A), using PCR. The results showed that 27 samples (18.62%) were positive for one of the virulence genes investigated. 48.1% (n = 13) tested positive at the genes encoding for tetracycline resistance, tetA being the most prevalent one (61.5%; n = 8). A high percent (33.3%; n = 9) revealed the beta-lactamase (bla _TEM ) resistance gene, and none of the samples tested positive for bla _CMY and bla _SHV genes. The genes responsible for resistance to sulfonamides (sul1) and trimethoprim (dfrA1) were detected in rates of 14.8% (n = 4) and 7.4% (n = 2), respectively. E. coli is highly prevalent in raw milk and unpasteurized cheeses marketed in Romania. These strains might represent an important reservoir of resistance genes which can easily spread into other European countries, given the unique market.     

Apelin对改善小鼠低氧性肺动脉高压的作用及与调节脂质代谢的关系

目的：探讨外源性apelin对小鼠慢性低氧性肺动脉高压的作用及其机制。方法：SPF级雄性apoE基因敲除（apoE-KO）小鼠30只,随机均分为3组（n=10）,即常氧组、低氧组和低氧+apelin组,apelin组小鼠每天于低氧前经腹腔注射apelin-13（10 nmol/（kg·d））,其他组腹腔注射相同体积的生理盐水。采用常压连续低氧方法（9%~11% O₂,23 h/d）复制慢性低氧性肺动脉高压模型。低氧3周后,采用右心导管法测定小鼠右心室压（RVSP）和右心室与左心室加室间隔重量比,Elisa法检测血浆中高密度脂蛋白（HDL）、低密度脂蛋白（LDL）和总胆固醇（TC）的含量;real-time PCR法检测肝组织中三磷酸腺苷结合盒转运体A1（ABCA1）、清道夫受体B1（SR-B1）、低密度脂蛋白受体（LDLR）和3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酸单酰辅酶A还原酶（HMGCR）等基因的表达。Western blot法检测小鼠肺组织中过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体γ（PPARγ）蛋白的表达。结果：①低氧组小鼠RVSP、RV/（LV+S）较常氧组分别高87%、85%（P均<0.05）,apelin组小鼠RVSP、RV/（LV+S）较低氧组分别低39%、33%（P均<0.05）。②apelin组小鼠血浆中HDL-C含量、HDL/LDL比值分别较hypoxia组高21%、20%（P均<0.05）,而血浆中TC、LDL-C含量两组间无显著差异（P均>0.05）。③apelin组小鼠肝组织中LDLR、SR-B1、ABCA1基因表达分别较低氧组上调241%、112%、69%（P均<0.05）,而HMGCR基因表达下调45%（P<0.05）。④apelin组小鼠肺组织中PPARγ蛋白表达较低氧组上调47%。结论：Apelin可降低小鼠低氧性肺动脉高压,其机制与调节脂质代谢有关。     

Glandular trichome-specific expression of alcohol dehydrogenase 1 (<Emphasis Type="Italic">ADH1</Emphasis>) using a promoter-GUS fusion in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Artemisia annua</Emphasis> L.

Petunia, a commercially important ornamental plant worldwide, has been subjected to breeding programs that have yielded a high number of varieties. One of the key factors in the commercial value of these varieties is plant compactness. Currently, compact petunias are obtained through the application of expensive, harmful and short-lasting chemicals. To avoid the use of these chemicals, transgenic plants that over-express dwarf-inducing genes have been recently proposed as an alternative, but the current legislation regarding transgenic plants restricts their commercialization. In this work, we studied the effect of polyploidization in the plant architecture of Petunia axillaris, an Argentine native petunia. We developed a new polyploidization protocol that consisted in culturing petunia leaves in RL medium (MS medium supplemented with 30 g l^?1 sucrose, 1 mg l^?1 BA and 0.2 mg l^?1 IAA) supplemented with 0.2 g l^?1 colchicine for 15 days. This protocol allowed the regeneration of stable autotetraploid petunias (polyploidization rate: 29.0?±?8,2%), which were 54% more compact than the diploid ones. Furthermore, they exhibited no variations in agronomical traits compared to the initial genotypes, except for a short delay in blooming. These autotetraploid plants can be used in different breeding programs and the polyploidization method developed can be tested in others cultivars of the genus Petunia for the same purpose.     

Promotion of artemisinin content in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Artemisia annua</Emphasis> by overexpression of multiple artemisinin biosynthetic pathway genes

Artemisinin, isolated from an annual herbaceous plant Artemisia annua L., is an effective antimalarial compound. However, artemisinin is accumulated in small amounts (0.01–0.1% leaf dry weight) in A. annua, resulting in constant high artemisinin price. Although metabolic engineering of partial artemisinin metabolic pathway in yeast achieved great success, artemisinin from A. annua is still the important business resource. Here, we report on the generation of transgenic plants with simultaneously overexpressing four artemisinin biosynthetic pathway genes, amorpha-4,11-diene synthase gene (ADS), amorpha-4,11-diene 12-monooxygenase gene (CYP71AV1), cytochrome P450 reductase gene (CPR), and aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 gene (ALDH1) via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated that the introduced four genes of the transgenic lines were all highly expressed. Through high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, the artemisinin contents were increased markedly in transformants, with the highest being 3.4-fold higher compared with non-converter. These results indicate that overexpression of multiple artemisinin biosynthetic pathway genes is a promising approach to improve artemisinin yield in A. annua.     

Association between polymorphisms in IL21 gene and risk for sepsis

Context: Sepsis is now the leading cause of death in the noncardiovascular intensive care unit (ICU).

Objective: To investigate whether polymorphisms in IL21 gene contribute to sepsis susceptibility.

Materials and methods: Three single-nucleotide polymorphisms of IL21 (rs907715, rs2055979, rs12508721) were genotyped by TaqMan assay in patients with sepsis and control subjects.

Results: Polymorphisms rs2055979 and rs12508721 in IL21 were more frequent in sepsis patients compared to general population. But allele frequency of rs907715 was not significantly different between sepsis patients and control subjects.

Conclusion: Polymorphisms in IL21 may be associated with sepsis risk.     

Transposon insertion resulted in the silencing of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Wx-B1n</Emphasis> in Chinese wheat landraces

Key message

A novel Wx-B1 allele was characterized; a transposon insertion resulted in the loss of its function, which is different from the previously reported gene silencing mechanisms at the Wx-B1 locus.

Abstract

The waxy protein composition of 53 Chinese wheat landraces was analyzed using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis; of these, 10 did not show the expression of Wx-A1 (four accession) or Wx-B1 (six accessions) protein. The results of molecular marker detection revealed that the Wx-B1 allele (Wx-B1n) showed normal expression, inconsistent with the findings of SDS-PAGE for the Xiaobaipi accession. Further cloning of the 9160-bp region covering the Wx-B1 coding region and 3′-downstream region revealed that a 2178-bp transposon fragment had been inserted at 2462 bp within the tenth exon of Wx-B1n ORF, leading to the absence of Wx-B1 protein. Sequence analysis indicated that the insertion possessed the structural features of invert repeat and target repeat elements, we deduced that it was a transposon. Further PCR analysis revealed that this fragment had moved, but not copied itself, from 3B chromosome to the current location in Wx-B1n. Therefore, the reason for the inactivation of Wx-B1n was considerably different from those for the inactivation of Wx-B1b, Wx-B1k, and Wx-B1m; to our knowledge, this kind of structural mutation has never been reported in Wx-B1 alleles. This novel allele is interesting, because it was not associated with the deletion of other quality-related genes included in the 67 kb region lost with the common null allele Wx-B1b. The null Wx-B1n might be useful for investigating gene inactivation and expression as well as for enriching the genetic resource pool for the modification of the amylose/amylopectin ratio, thereby improving wheat quality.

     

Epigenetic divergence of key genes associated with water temperature and salinity in a highly invasive model ascidian

Invasive species offer good models for studying mechanisms of response to rapid changing environments in the wild. DNA methylation is considered to be one of crucial drivers for rapid local adaptation. However, the extent of epigenetic variation and the factors driving such variation remain largely unexplored in biological invasions. Here we used direct bisulfite sequencing to investigate DNA methylation patterns of five key genes corresponding to two important environmental factors in marine ecosystems, water temperature and salinity, in a model invasive ascidian Ciona robusta (=C. intestinalis spA). Our results clearly showed that DNA methylation mainly occurred in gene bodies, rather than promoters, at regions with low values of CpG O/E. We detected significant variation of DNA methylation among populations in two genes (heat shock protein 90 and Na⁺-K⁺-2Cl^? cotransporter). Interestingly, significant correlation was detected between methylation levels and the two environmental factors at some CpGs in these two genes. When the data of all CpGs was subjected to principal component analysis, individuals were assigned back to their population orgins. All the results suggest that environmental factors likely contribute, at least partially, to the observed DNA methylation variation. Such variation, either by some loci alone or through gene networks, might be involved in rapid local adaptation during biological invasions.