Selection and proliferation of rapid growing cell lines from embryo derived cell cultures of yew tree (Taxus cuspidata Sieb. et Zucc)

Calli were induced from 300,000 embryos isolated from immature to mature stage of seeds collected on late September from 14 elite trees. When the embryos were cultured onto plastic Petri-dish containing 20 mL of modified B5 basal medium supplemented with 3% (w/v) sucrose, 500 mg/L casein hydrolysate, 250 mg/L myo-inositol, 0.5% (w/v) polyvinyl polypyrrolidon (PVPP), 2×MS vitamins, 0.5 mg/L gibberellic acid, and 10 mg/L 2,4-D after 2 weeks of culture, yellowish-white calli were immediately formed on the surfaces of embryos, and subcultured for 4 weeks in same culture medium. Because most of calli maintained for more than 3 months were revealed differences in their colors, surface texture, and growth rate, visual selection was made for first round screening. When the size of visually selected calli larger than 19 mm in their diameter were inoculated, persistent proliferation was observed. Among the plating methods tested for the selection of rapid growing cell lines at single cell and/or small cell aggregate level, 2-layer spread plating revealed as the best for single cell cloning. To enhance cell growth and maintain high rate of viability for long-term culture of yew cells in bioreactor, final cell volume less than 50% in SCV seemed to be the best. Time course study revealed that 30% of inoculum density was suitable for fed batch culture. Among the tested conditional media, the rate of 1∶2 (old medium: fresh medium) was recorded at the best for cell growth.     

The impact of special issues

With support from many authors from many different scientific fields,Zoological Research(ZR)successfully released eight special issues from 2011 to 2014 on various topics,including Animal Ecology and Resources,Animal Genetic Diversity,Development and Evolution,Fish Diversity and Primates and Animal Models of Human Diseases.These special issues strongly align with our aims and scope,which have been     

Modulation of Intracellular Calcium Levels by Calcium Lactate Affects Colon Cancer Cell Motility through Calcium-Dependent Calpain

Cancer cell motility is a key phenomenon regulating invasion and metastasis. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) plays a major role in cellular adhesion and metastasis of various cancers. The relationship between dietary supplementation of calcium and colon cancer has been extensively investigated. However, the effect of calcium (Ca²⁺) supplementation on calpain-FAK-motility is not clearly understood. We sought to identify the mechanism of FAK cleavage through Ca²⁺ bound lactate (CaLa), its downstream signaling and role in the motility of human colon cancer cells. We found that treating HCT116 and HT-29 cells with CaLa immediately increased the intracellular Ca²⁺ (iCa²⁺) levels for a prolonged period of time. Ca²⁺ influx induced cleavage of FAK into an N-terminal FAK (FERM domain) in a dose-dependent manner. Phosphorylated FAK (p-FAK) was also cleaved in to its p-N-terminal FAK. CaLa increased colon cancer cells motility. Calpeptin, a calpain inhibitor, reversed the effects of CaLa on FAK and pFAK cleavage in both cancer cell lines. The cleaved FAK translocates into the nucleus and modulates p53 stability through MDM2-associated ubiquitination. CaLa-induced Ca²⁺ influx increased the motility of colon cancer cells was mediated by calpain activity through FAK and pFAK protein destabilization. In conclusion, these results suggest that careful consideration may be given in deciding dietary Ca²⁺ supplementation to patient undergoing treatment for metastatic cancer.     

Prevalence of Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment in China: A Community-Based,Cross-Sectional Study

International hospital-based studies have indicated a high risk of cognitive impairment after stroke, evidence from community-based studies in China is scarce. To determine the prevalence of post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) and its subtypes in stroke survivors residing in selected rural and urban Chinese communities, we conducted a community-based, cross-sectional study in 599 patients accounting for 48% of all stroke survivors registered in the 4 communities, who had suffered confirmed strokes and had undergone cognitive assessments via the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Hachinski Ischemia Scale (HIS). Detection of PSCI was based on scores in these neuropsychological scales. Factors potentially impacting on occurrence of PSCI were explored by comparing demographic characteristics, stroke features, and cardiovascular risk factors between patients with and without PSCI. The overall prevalence of PSCI was 80.97% (95%CI: 77.82%-84.11%), while that of non-dementia PSCI (PSCI-ND) and post-stroke vascular dementia (PSD) was 48.91% (95%CI: 44.91%-52.92%) and 32.05% (95%CI: 28.32%-35.79%), respectively. Prior stroke and complications during the acute phase were independent risk factors for PSCI. The risk of recurrent stroke survivors having PSCI was 2.7 times higher than for first-episode survivors, and it was 3 times higher for those with complications during the acute phase than for those without. The higher prevalence of PSCI in this study compared with previous Chinese studies was possibly due to the combined effects of including rural stroke survivors, a longer period from stroke onset, and different assessment methods. There is an urgent need to recognize and prevent PSCI in stroke patients, especially those with recurrent stroke and complications during the acute phase.     

Ontogeny of head and caudal fin shape of an apex marine predator: The tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier)

How morphology changes with size can have profound effects on the life history and ecology of an animal. For apex predators that can impact higher level ecosystem processes, such changes may have consequences for other species. Tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) are an apex predator in tropical seas, and, as adults, are highly migratory. However, little is known about ontogenetic changes in their body form, especially in relation to two aspects of shape that influence locomotion (caudal fin) and feeding (head shape). We captured digital images of the heads and caudal fins of live tiger sharks from Southern Florida and the Bahamas ranging in body size (hence age), and quantified shape of each using elliptical Fourier analysis. This revealed changes in the shape of the head and caudal fin of tiger sharks across ontogeny. Smaller juvenile tiger sharks show an asymmetrical tail with the dorsal (upper) lobe being substantially larger than the ventral (lower) lobe, and transition to more symmetrical tail in larger adults, although the upper lobe remains relatively larger in adults. The heads of juvenile tiger sharks are more conical, which transition to relatively broader heads over ontogeny. We interpret these changes as a result of two ecological transitions. First, adult tiger sharks can undertake extensive migrations and a more symmetrical tail could be more efficient for swimming longer distances, although we did not test this possibility. Second, adult tiger sharks expand their diet to consume larger and more diverse prey with age (turtles, mammals, and elasmobranchs), which requires substantially greater bite area and force to process. In contrast, juvenile tiger sharks consume smaller prey, such as fishes, crustaceans, and invertebrates. Our data reveal significant morphological shifts in an apex predator, which could have effects for other species that tiger sharks consume and interact with. J. Morphol. 277:556–564, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

UHRF2, a Ubiquitin E3 Ligase,Acts as a Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier E3 Ligase for Zinc Finger Protein 131

Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO), a member of the ubiquitin-related protein family, is covalently conjugated to lysine residues of its substrates in a process referred to as SUMOylation. SUMOylation occurs through a series of enzymatic reactions analogous to that of the ubiquitination pathway, resulting in modification of the biochemical and functional properties of substrates. To date, four mammalian SUMO isoforms, a single heterodimeric SUMO-activating E1 enzyme SAE1/SAE2, a single SUMO-conjugating E2 enzyme ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2I (UBC9), and a few subgroups of SUMO E3 ligases have been identified. Several SUMO E3 ligases such as topoisomerase I binding, arginine/serine-rich (TOPORS), TNF receptor-associated factor 7 (TRAF7), and tripartite motif containing 27 (TRIM27) have dual functions as ubiquitin E3 ligases. Here, we demonstrate that the ubiquitin E3 ligase UHRF2 also acts as a SUMO E3 ligase. UHRF2 effectively enhances zinc finger protein 131 (ZNF131) SUMOylation but does not enhance ZNF131 ubiquitination. In addition, the SUMO E3 activity of UHRF2 on ZNF131 depends on the presence of SET and RING finger-associated and nuclear localization signal-containing region domains, whereas the critical ubiquitin E3 activity RING domain is dispensable. Our findings suggest that UHRF2 has independent functional domains and regulatory mechanisms for these two distinct enzymatic activities.     

Cleavage of territrems by alkaline hydrogen peroxide: Isolation and characterization of the aromatic moiety of territrems

The chemical reaction of cleavaging territrem B to give 3,4,5-trimethoxy benzoic acid by alkaline hydrogen peroxide was investigated. The method was applied for confirmation of the chemical structure of the aromatic moiety of territrem A, A’, B, and B’. The physicochemical properties of the aromatic cleavage product of territrem Aindicated the structure as 3,4-methylendioxy, 5-methoxy benzoic acid (or 4-methoxy, 6-carboxy, 1, 3-benzodioxole). The experiment also gave the evidences that territrem A and A’, on the other hand territrem B and B’ have the identical aromatic moieties on their structures.     

Polyphosphate Formation from Pyrophosphate in Intact Cells of a Photosynthetic Bacterium, Rhodospirillum rubrum

The hypothesis that the photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodospirillumrubrum, may synthesize polyphosphate using pyrophosphate asa precursor has been tested. The cells were cultured in thepyrophosphate media, and the cell yield, cell shape, and thepolyphosphate content were determined and compared with thatgrown in the orthophosphate media. In the control experiment, the total amount of polyphosphateformed by the cultures grown in the pyrophosphate media wasfound to be up to 70% less than that grown in orthophosphatemedia. When the ATP formation was blocked by using the phosphorylationinhibitor, antimycin A, however, the cells grown in the pyrophosphatemedia formed up to 50% more polyphosphate than that grown inthe orthophosphate media. The results seem to support the hypothesis that Rhodospirillumrubrum may use pyrophosphate as the precursor of polyphosphate. (Received May 26, 1986; Accepted February 21, 1987)     

白洋淀和太湖地区鸟类绦虫区系的比较研究

本文对白洋淀和太湖地区鸟类绦虫区系进行了比较研究,并对太湖鸟类绦虫区系作了初步分析。结果表明,鸟类绦虫区系分布与宿主区系分布密切相关,亲缘关系相近的宿主有许多相同的或亲缘相近的绦虫,这种现象为研究宿主与寄生虫的演化提供了可靠途径;发现鸟的越冬地绦虫种类比迁徙地种类丰富,分析其原因,除温、湿度、中间宿主等生态条件之外,与鸟的迁徙有一定关系。太湖地区的绦虫具有北方型和随遇型,亦有世界性种类和东半球广布种,提出了两地区家禽和野生鸟类所寄生的共同种类的绦虫。