OsRAN2, essential for mitosis,enhances cold tolerance in rice by promoting export of intranuclear tubulin and maintaining cell division under cold stress

With global climate change, abnormally low temperatures have affected the world's rice production. Many genes have been shown to be essential for molecular improvement of rice cold‐tolerance traits. However, less is known about the molecular cellular mechanism of their response to cold stress. Here, we investigated OsRAN2 involved in regulation of cell division during cold stress in rice. Expression of OsRAN2 was increased under cold treatment, but not during salt and drought stress. The mean root mitotic index was closely related to the expression level of OsRAN2. Knockdown transgenic rice lines showed an aberrant organization of spindles during mitosis and stunted growth during development. Overexpression of OsRAN2 enhanced cold tolerance in rice. The transgenic rice overexpressing OsRAN2 showed maintained cell division, decreased proportion of cells with intranuclear tubulin and formation of a normal nuclear envelope under the cold condition. Our study suggests a mechanism for OsRAN2 in regulating cold resistance in rice by maintaining cell division through promoting the normal export of intranuclear tubulin at the end of mitosis. This insight could help improve the cold‐tolerance trait in rice.     

Evolutionary process of a tetranucleotide microsatellite locus in Acipenseriformes

The evolutionary dynamics of the tetra-nucleotide microsatellite locus Spl-106 were investigated at the repeat and flanking sequences in 137 individuals of 15 Acipenseriform species, giving 93 homologous sequences, which were detected in 11 out of 15 species. Twenty-three haplotypes of flanking sequences and three distinct types of repeats, type I, type II and type III, were found within these 93 sequences. The MS-Align phylogenetic method, newly applied to microsatellite sequences, permitted us to understand the repeat and flanking sequence evolution of Spl-106 locus. The flanking region of locus Spl-106 was highly conserved among the species of genera Acipenser, Huso and Scaphirhynchus, which diverged about 150 million years ago (Mya). The rate of flanking sequence divergence at the microsatellite locus Spl-106 in sturgeons is between 0.011% and 0.079% with an average at 0.028% per million years. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic trees produced by MS-Align showed that both the flanking and repeat regions can cluster the alleles of different species into Pacific and Atlantic lineages. Our results show a synchronous evolutionary pattern between the flanking and repeat regions. Moreover, the coexistence of different repeat types in the same species, even in the same individual, is probably due to two duplication events encompassing the locus Spl-106 that occurred during the divergence of Pacific lineage. The first occured before the diversification of Pacific species (121–96 Mya) and led to repeat types I and II. The second occurred more recently, just before the speciation of A. sinensis and A. dabryanus (69–10 Mya), and led to repeat type III. Sequences in the same species with different repeat types probably corresponds to paralogous loci. This study sheds a new light on the evolutionary mechanisms that shape the complex microsatellite loci involving different repeat types.     

不同密度樟子松人工林土壤碳氮磷化学计量特征

以科尔沁沙地不同密度(490、750、1550、1930、2560株·hm-2)樟子松人工林(栽植于1980年)为研究对象,分析林分密度对土壤碳、氮、磷浓度及其计量比的影响,研究林分密度与土壤养分状况的关系。结果表明:随着樟子松林密度增加,各土层(0～10、10～20和20～40 cm)土壤有机碳、全氮、全磷浓度和C∶N呈先增加后降低趋势,而土壤有效磷浓度呈先降低后增加趋势。土壤有机碳浓度在490株·hm-2密度小于其他密度,而有效磷浓度大于其他密度;土壤C∶P和N∶P在2560株·hm-2密度显著大于其他密度。各密度樟子松林土壤有机碳、全氮、全磷和有效磷浓度在0～10 cm土层显著大于10～20和20～40cm土层,樟子松人工林土壤养分具有表聚性。通过典范对应分析发现,密度对樟子松林土壤养分影响的主要因子是土壤有机碳、全氮和全磷,且密度为1550株·hm-2时土壤有机碳、全氮、全磷和碱解氮浓度较高,而C∶P和N∶P较低。因此,当樟子松人工林密度为1550株·hm-2时,土壤养分浓度较高,林木生长较好,为最佳经营密度。     

圆瓣姜花根茎挥发油的化学成分

利用水蒸汽蒸馏法提取圆瓣姜花根茎挥发油,运用毛细管气相色谱-质谱联用法对挥发油进行了分析,分离出60个峰,鉴定了其中的51种成分,所鉴定成分占挥发油总量的97.32%,其主要化学成分为单萜及倍半萜类化合物。     

民族植物学：学科发展动态与展望

对民族植物学的学科发展进行了简要综述。民族植物学自1896年在美国诞生以来,经历了百年漫长的发展过程。民族植物学由早期的描述编目有用植物,已经发展到了实验性、技术性和定量性研究的新阶段;民族植物学的原理与方法已被广泛应用于植物资源的可持续利用、社区发展和生物多样性保护。近代民族植物学的学科发展可归纳为3个特征：(1)研究方法的进展主要表现在由记载编目和描述到实验性、技术性的定量研究和从基础研究到实际应用的发展;(2)研究途径的发展表现在由调查记录、访谈式的被动研究到参与式研究和取证分析;(3)研究地区已由局部区域性研究扩大到全球范围的民族植物学研究,从对原住民和少数民族的民族植物学研究扩展到所有不同文化背景民族的民族植物学研究。特别是发展中国家的民族植物学研究在近半个世纪以来得到迅速发展,并广泛应用于植物资源的管理和生物多样性保护的实际工作中。民族植物学在中国起步较晚,但在过去20年里已从无到有,建立起了我国民族植物学研究的理论框架、内容、方法和途径,将民族植物学从基础描述性研究(调查、记载、编目),推进到应用研究,在植物资源的可持续利用、生物多样性保护、农村发展和山区扶贫等方面取得了若干进展。当前,我国民族植物学研究面临着发展的新机遇和新的挑战,必须紧跟国民经济发展的新形势,投入西部大开发,加强学科建设,推进研究与产业发展的结合,把民族植物学由地区性研究推进到全国性研究,进一步完善中国特色的民族植物学研究体系,积极参与国际合作与交流,对国民经济的持续发展、民族地区的团结稳定和生物多样性保护作出更大的贡献。     

双斑蟋若虫后足的再生观察

研究蟋蟀若虫是否具有再生的能力,在实验室内对直翅目蟋蟀科的双斑蟋Gryllus bimaculata de Geer若虫后足的再生情况进行初步观察。结果表明:双斑蟋若虫的后足确实具有再生的能力,且再生足的伸长生长与正常足一样,均出现于虫体蜕皮时。再生的过程主要分为3个阶段:突起期、“肢芽”期、短小足期。实验结果还表明:再生能力与断肢发生的时间及断肢部位有关;断肢部位离肢体越远,再生能力越强;断肢发生的时间越早,再生能力越强。     

绵羊fertilin β基因编码区的钓取与结构分析

Fertilin β与精卵的结合和融合有密切关系。为探讨fertilin β蛋白在绵羊受精过程中的作用机理, 采用RACE技术, 首次钓取了该基因的编码区。结果绵羊fertilin β基因的编码区cDNA全长为2,217 bp。同源性分析显示, 绵羊的fertilin β氨基酸序列与牛、猪和人的fertilin β具有79.4%、66.7%和58.1%的同源性。系统发育分析表明, 绵羊fertilin β与牛属于同一分支, 并且也显示了绵羊和牛分类地位最近, 这和传统的分类一致。Fertilin β蛋白结构域分析显示, 绵羊fertilin β去整合素识别序列为TDE, 与牛的序列相同。除了上述三肽序列外, 紧随X-D/E-E的ECD保守序列, 从而形成了X-D/E-ECD五肽保守序列, 在绵羊fertilin β中该五肽序列为TDECE。     

The JAK–STAT Pathway Is Critical in Ventilator-Induced Diaphragm Dysfunction

Mechanical ventilation (MV) is one of the lynchpins of modern intensive-care medicine and is life saving in many critically ill patients. Continuous ventilator support, however, results in ventilation-induced diaphragm dysfunction (VIDD) that likely prolongs patients’ need for MV and thereby leads to major associated complications and avoidable intensive care unit (ICU) deaths. Oxidative stress is a key pathogenic event in the development of VIDD, but its regulation remains largely undefined. We report here that the JAK–STAT pathway is activated in MV in the human diaphragm, as evidenced by significantly increased phosphorylation of JAK and STAT. Blockage of the JAK–STAT pathway by a JAK inhibitor in a rat MV model prevents diaphragm muscle contractile dysfunction (by ~85%, p < 0.01). We further demonstrate that activated STAT3 compromises mitochondrial function and induces oxidative stress in vivo, and, interestingly, that oxidative stress also activates JAK–STAT. Inhibition of JAK–STAT prevents oxidative stress-induced protein oxidation and polyubiquitination and recovers mitochondrial function in cultured muscle cells. Therefore, in ventilated diaphragm muscle, activation of JAK–STAT is critical in regulating oxidative stress and is thereby central to the downstream pathogenesis of clinical VIDD. These findings establish the molecular basis for the therapeutic promise of JAK–STAT inhibitors in ventilated ICU patients.     

Identification of over-expressed genes in human renal cell carcinoma by combining suppression subtractive hybridization and cDNA library array

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a common uro- genital malignancy and often shows odd biological features. RCC accounts for approximately 2% of ma- lignancies worldwide. The incidence of and mortality from RCC have continuously increased during the last 50 years. One third of the patients already have me- tastases when first consulting the doctors. Another 30%—40% of patients develop metastasis after surgi- Identification of over-expressed genes in human RCC 149 cal excision of the pri…     

腺花香茶菜中的对映-贝壳杉烯类二萜化合物

从昆明产腺花香茶菜(Isodon adenanthus (Diels) Kudo)的地上部分分离到8个化合物,通过波谱分析鉴定,化合物1-3为新的对映-贝壳杉烯类二萜化合物,命名为腺花香茶菜素N、0和P;4个已知二萜为白叶香茶菜戊素(4)、无毛狭叶香茶菜素C(5)、腺花香茶菜甲素(6)和白叶香茶菜乙素(7),同时得到一个高度不饱和脂肪酸9,16-二羰基-10,12,14-三烯-十八碳酸(8)。根据ROESY波谱,对化合物4的结构进行了修正。化合物1对K562细胞显示出明显的细胞毒活性(IC50=0．45μg／mL)。