Salinity tolerance of the barbel,Barbus callensis Valenciennes, 1842 (Pisces,Cyprinidae) and its ecological significance

The lethal salinity limits (LC₅₀ and mean survival times) of two populations of barbel, Barbus callensis, were determined. Conditions in Lake Ichkeul, Tunisia, are lethal for the fish in summer; this explains their seasonal migrations into Oued Sejnane and the other tributaries. Tolerance increased between 1984 and 1985 from LC₅₀ = 15.6 to LC₅₀ = 17.2 in a population from Oued Mejerdah; this may be connected with the dissolution of rock salt in the new Sidi Salem reservoir.

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Résumé Les limites létales de salinité (CL₅₀ et durée moyenne de survie) de deux populations de barbeaux tunisiens ont été déterminées. Nous avons montré que les conditions de salinité dans le lac Ichkeul sont létales pour ces poissons en été, ce qui explique leurs migrations saisonnières vers l'oued Sejnane et les autres affluents. Nous avons aussi constaté une élévation récente de la tolérance de la population de la Mejerdah, qui peut être en relation avec la dissolution des roches salines dans le nouveau réservoir de Sidi Salem.

     

Simple sequence repeat marker development and genetic mapping in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)

Quinoa is a regionally important grain crop in the Andean region of South America. Recently quinoa has gained international attention for its high nutritional value and tolerances of extreme abiotic stresses. DNA markers and linkage maps are important tools for germplasm conservation and crop improvement programmes. Here we report the development of 216 new polymorphic SSR (simple sequence repeats) markers from libraries enriched for GA, CAA and AAT repeats, as well as 6 SSR markers developed from bacterial artificial chromosome-end sequences (BES-SSRs). Heterozygosity (H) values of the SSR markers ranges from 0.12 to 0.90, with an average value of 0.57. A linkage map was constructed for a newly developed recombinant inbred lines (RIL) population using these SSR markers. Additional markers, including amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs), two 11S seed storage protein loci, and the nucleolar organizing region (NOR), were also placed on the linkage map. The linkage map presented here is the first SSR-based map in quinoa and contains 275 markers, including 200 SSR. The map consists of 38 linkage groups (LGs) covering 913 cM. Segregation distortion was observed in the mapping population for several marker loci, indicating possible chromosomal regions associated with selection or gametophytic lethality. As this map is based primarily on simple and easily-transferable SSR markers, it will be particularly valuable for research in laboratories in Andean regions of South America.     

云南茶树上的附生地衣

对云南茶叶农场中的附生地衣进行调查发现:附生在茶树上的地衣有25属,51种;其中,45种是首次报道附生在茶树上,包括2个中国新记录种:癞屑衣(Lepraria lobificans)和阿曼原胚衣(Protoblastenia amagiensis),以及加个云南新分布种.壳状地衣的共生菌丝侵入茶叶树干外皮层组织,在牛长过程中产生地衣酸,一定程度的加速了农场中茶树的老化;靠近茶树发芽点生长的壳状地衣和叶状地衣,造成芽体发育不良,对茶叶的产量和品质有一定影响.     

Gene expression profiles of peripheral blood cells in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy in Asian Indians

Background  

Asian Indians with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) have higher susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy (T2DN), the leading cause of end-stage renal disease and morbidity in diabetes. Peripheral blood cells (PBCs) play an important role in diabetes, yet very little is known about the molecular mechanisms of PBCs regulated in insulin homeostasis. In this study we explored the global gene expression changes in PBCs in diabetes and diabetic nephropathy to identify the potential candidate genes and molecular networks regulated in diabetes and nephropathy.     

Mutants of Staphylococcus aureus with Increased Sensitivity to Ultraviolet Radiation

Nitrosoguanidine (NG) mutagenesis of Staphylococcus aureus resulted in the isolation of eight mutants exhibiting 3 to 28 times greater sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. These mutants were further characterized by their ability to repair UV-irradiated bacteriophage, to act as recipients in the transduction of antibiotic resistance, and their sensitivity to NG. Based on the available data, six of these mutants are reduced in their ability to perform host-cell reactivation. One of the remaining two mutants may be deficient in post-replication repair.     

Cloning and expression profiles of tumor suppressor QM homologue in response to granulovirus in Pieris rapae

The tumor suppressor, QM, has been cloned and characterized from various model organisms such as human, plant and invertebrates. Yet, it has not been seriously investigated for its role in conjunction with antiviral mechanisms involving innate insect immunity. From the expressed sequence tag (ESTs) project, conducted with larval cDNA library of cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae, a partial fragment (718 bp) of QM homologue, termed PrQM containing 660 bp long open reading frame (ORF) encoding protein of 219 amino acids was identified. In silico analysis of PrQM ORF revealed the presence of ribosomal protein L10a/L10e type domain. Phylogenetic analysis of the P. rapae QM‐like protein showed high amino acid sequence similarity with other PrQM polypeptides identified from Heliothis virescenes (95%), Plutella rapae (92%), Bombyx mori (92%), Drosophila melanogaster (89%), and Polyrhachis vicina (85%). The butterfly QM has the closest phylogenetic relationship to a moth (Hv) QM homologue. Further investigations revealed the expression of PrQM at all developmental stages, with pronounced presence at the egg stage. In addition, spatial pattern analysis indicated its high expression in the head, salivary gland, integument and fat body with visible presence in Malpighian tubule and gut. Time course expression studies conducted after immune‐challenge with lipoteichoic acid (LTA) showed the induction of PrQM mRNA at 12 h and 24 h after challenge and also in response to granulovirus (GV). Results of this investigation therefore suggest possible role of QM‐like proteins from Pieris rapae to be involved in innate antiviral immune responses. Further elucidation on the precise function of PrQM during antiviral immune responses by using RNA interference remains a viable research front.     

Effects of lifestyle and genetic polymorphisms on consumption of coffee or black tea and urinary caffeine levels

To find the cause of individual differences in caffeine intake and its metabolism, we investigated the effects of lifestyle and genetic polymorphisms of caffeine metabolic enzymes on coffee or black tea and urinary caffeine levels among 259 male Japanese. It was seen that cigarette smokers drank more coffee or black tea than non-smokers (p < 0.001). There was an inverse correlation between the amount of coffee or black tea consumed and age or the frequency of alcohol drinking (p < 0.05). Genetic polymorphisms of N -acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2), cytochrome P450 (CYP)1A1 and 2E1 did not significantly affect the habit of drinking coffee or black tea. The frequency of allele 1, the NAT2 allele of rapid acetylators, increased according to coffee or black tea consumption (0.05 < p < 0.1). Among lifestyle factors, two factors, i.e. smoking and the amount of coffee or black tea consumed, were related to urinary caffeine levels (p < 0.05). Geometric means of urinary caffeine levels were higher in the group who consumed higher amounts of coffee or black tea (p < 0.05) and those of smokers were lower than non-smokers- approximately 70% of non-smokers (p < 0.05). The genetic polymorphisms of NAT2, CYP1A1 and CYP2E1 were not significantly associated with the urinary caffeine levels according to each consumption level of coffee or black tea. This study suggests that smoking should be considered for the proper appreciation of individual differences in caffeine intake and urinary caffeine levels.     

Peptide-based polyclonal antibody against mosquito 14-3-3ζ recognizes 14-3-3 homolog from dipteran and lepidopteran insects

The 14-3-3 proteins are known to play an important regulatory role in apoptosis, and various cell signaling cascades. However, no investigation on mosquito 14-3-3 has been reported. To investigate the role of 14-3-3 proteins in mosquito midgut cells undergoing apoptosis, we decided to take advantage of Anopheles gambiae genome data, and were able to find Ag14-3-3ζ cDNA and protein sequences from Ensembl ( http://www.ensembl.org ). Further in silico analysis using BLAST search revealed that Ag14-3-3ζ protein is a polypeptide of 248 amino acids, and shares high identity with 14-3-3ζ homologues from Aedes aegypti (100%), Drosophila melanogaster (96%) and Bombyx mori (93%). Due to the perfect match and high homology, we hypothesized that Ag14-3-3ζ peptide antibody may recognize 14-3-3ζ homologs from other anopheline mosquitoes and insects. We thus generated 14-3-3ζ polyclonal antibody against a unique region located in the C-terminal end of Ag14-3-3ζ after in silico epitope analysis. As expected, zoo-western blot analysis of 14-3-3 proteins revealed that a polyclonal antibody against Ag14-3-3ζ peptide recognizes 14-3-3 homologs from dipteran and lepidopteran insects. To our knowledge, this is the first report on polyclonal antibody production against mosquito 14-3-3ζ. The mosquito-based 14-3-3ζ antibody will be very useful for studying the functional characterization of 14-3-3ζ in the context of host–pathogen interactions in midgut and other immune cells.