A histochemical study of the regional distribution in the rat brain of enzymatic activity hydrolyzing glucose- and 2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate

Summary A modified Wachstein-Meisel lead salt method using glucose-6-phosphate or 2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate as substrates was employed at the light microscopic level to map the rat brain for glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase). As has been described, most of the activity of the enzyme resided in neuronal cell bodies and dendritic stems. No differences were found between the results obtained with the two substrates. Two categories of brain structures with heavy and with moderate staining could be distinguished while the majority of brain regions contained only barely discernible neurons. Structures displaying very high enzyme activity included nuclei of cranial nerves, nuclei of the reticular formation, Purkinje cells, and some parts of the limbic system, e.g., CA 3 and CA 4 pyramidal fields of the hippocampus. It is pointed out that accurate biochemical determinations of G-6-Pase activity will critically depend on pains-taking microdissection of nuclei and cell layers. The histochemical results may be pertinent to the interpretation of the 2-deoxyglucose method for assessment of regional glucose utilization rates in brain. The present observations make it unlikely that regional variations in G-6-Pase activity account for differences in uptake and retention of radioactivity from (1-¹⁴C)glucose and (¹⁴C)2-deoxyglucose reported previously by our group.Dedicated to Professor Dr. T.H. Schiebler on the occasion of his 65th birthday     

Glycoprotein metabolism in the hypothalamus of rat: significance of glial cells.

Incorporation of 3H-fucose injected into the CSF was studied in hypothalamus and hypophysis of rats by biochemical and autoradiographic techniques. The concentration of radioactivity was determined as a function of time from 10 minutes to 28 days in the acid soluble and the acid precipitable fraction of homogenates. The incorporated activity was localized by light microscopic autoradiography in several regions of the hypothalamus. The labelled proteins were transported to the pars nervosa at a velocity of 1.1 to 3.3 mm/hr, i.e. in the fast component of the axoplasmic flow. Differences were found between hypothalamic and pars nervosa tissue regarding rates of increase and maximum concentrations of protein-bound radioactivity. Values for both parameters were about 6 times higher in hypothalamus than in pars nervosa. On the basis of the autoradiographic observations it is concluded that this difference may be due to a considerably higher synthesis rate of glycoproteins in glial cells than in neurons.     

ICSI精子遗传和表观遗传学缺陷

卵胞浆内精子注射(Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, ICSI)技术可用于男性少精、弱精、精子畸形、无精子和常规体外受精周期失败等, 克服了精子数量不足甚至直接从附睾、睾丸获取精子来治疗不育。该技术直接将单个精子注射入卵子, 因违背自然受精的生物学法则而具有很大的遗传风险。文章对ICSI精子遗传缺陷和表观遗传缺陷及其相关疾病进行综述, 可进一步认识ICSI精子遗传与表观遗传缺陷导致后代遗传风险增加的分子的机理, 文章阐述了ICSI精子有待于通过DNA甲基化、组蛋白乙酰化等表观遗传因子进行严格质量控制, 切实降低ICSI遗传及表观遗传缺陷风险的必要性。     

紫草素及其衍生物的调控策略

紫草素及其衍生物在医药、食品、化妆品和印染等领域有着巨大的市场潜力,如何提高它们的产量已成为该领域研究的热点。综述了调控紫草素及其衍生物的合成和积累方法,主要包括高产细胞系的筛选、生产培养基的改良、外加物和外加条件的影响、基因工程调控、生物反应器的影响及分析和提取纯化技术等,并对有关紫草素及其衍生物今后的发展方向进行了展望。     

藏羚羊组蛋白去乙酰化酶1 基因编码区的克隆与序列分析

为探讨藏羚羊的低氧适应机制与高原低氧环境的相关性,采用RT-PCR 技术,首次从藏羚羊心肌组织总DNA 中克隆出组蛋白去乙酰化酶1 (Histone deacetylase1,HDAC1)基因的编码区序列。该序列全长为1 449 bp,
编码482 个氨基酸,预测其蛋白质分子量约为55 kDa。序列分析表明,藏羚羊HDAC1 基因的编码区序列与其它哺乳动物相似性超过90% ,其中与牛的相似性最高为98.27% ;它的氨基酸序列与其它哺乳动物的相似性达到
98.76% ～ 99.59%,显示出极高的保守性。利用邻接法(Neighbor-Joining,NJ 法)构建的分子系统进化树聚类结果表明,藏羚羊与牛先聚为一类,该聚类结果与传统的物种进化关系基本一致。藏羚羊HDAC1 基因编码区的成
功获得,为进一步揭示藏羚羊低氧适应的表观遗传机制奠定基础。     

Nucleotide diversity of 11S seed storage protein gene and its implications for ecological adaptation of Oryza nivara

The mechanism by which a new species arises and adapts to its environment is a fundamental question in evolutionary biology.Seed characteristics such as seed size and nutrient composition are important fitness-related traits and have been shown to vary greatly among populations and species.However,the significance of variation in seed traits in plant adaptation and speciation remains unclear.We carried out a population genetic study on nucleotide variation of one 11S seed storage protein gene(Pss) of Oryza rufipogon Griff,and O.nivara Sharma Shastry,two closely related wild rice species.By comparatively examining the genetic variation pattern of the regulatory and coding regions of Pss and fragments of six reference loci across different chromosomes,we found significantly lower polymorphisms at coding regions of the gene(PssI) in O.nivara relative to O.rufipogon.Neutrality tests indicated that the reduction of polymorphisms at PssI in O.nivara was caused by positive selection rather than population demography,implying a role of selection on the 11S seed protein gene.Further phylogenetic and principal component analyses also support the hypotheses that the origin of O.nivara was associated with the adaptive divergence on the coding region of Pss.It is most likely that higher reproductive effort would be favored when O.nivara arose from O.rufipogon populations and adapted to the environment change.     

吡虫啉对褐飞虱DNA甲基化多态性的影响

为了探知基因组甲基化是否参与了昆虫抗药性, 本研究在室内对褐飞虱 Nilaparvata lugens连续9个世代的3龄若虫施用吡虫啉, 用AFLP检测褐飞虱抗性产生过程中DNA甲基化多态性的变化。利用25对AFLP引物共获得120个位点, 其中15个位点呈现甲基化多态性, 共获得78条多态性条带。根据多态性条带在不同世代样本中出现的多少计算多态性条带比例, 其中最高比例出现在G5代（10.26%）, 最低比例出现在G6代（1.28%）。多态性条带在不同世代间比例的变化趋势表明, 褐飞虱对吡虫啉的筛选产生快速应答。在筛选早期（G1, G2和G3）世代间DNA甲基化多态性比例差异相对较小, 变化范围在3.85%～6.41%之间; 在筛选中期（G4, G5和G6）世代间比例差异较大, 变化范围在1.28%～10.26%之间; 在筛选后期（G7, G8和G9）世代间比例差异相对较小, 变化范围在5.13%～7.69%之间。结果说明, 吡虫啉的连续施用能够诱导褐飞虱基因组产生甲基化变异, 初步揭示甲基化在褐飞虱抗药性产生过程中参与了基因组的表达调控。     

克隆植物对种间竞争的适应策略

克隆植物种群因其寿命的持久性、空间上的可移动性和繁殖方式的多样化等特征与非克隆植物有很大区别, 在自然生态系统中占有重要地位, 甚至成为优势种或者建群种。该文通过归纳有关克隆植物的种间竞争适应策略研究案例, 阐述了克隆植物的竞争能力差异和影响竞争力的因素; 论述了克隆植物在构件形态、克隆构型、繁殖对策等方面对种间竞争的响应, 以及生理整合作用与种间竞争的关系; 分析了导致某些同类研究的结论不一致的原因, 认为实验对象差异、实验设计、生境条件与克隆植物形态及生理上的时空动态变化等都可能影响实验结果; 提出了全球变化背景下的克隆植物种间竞争及其分子生态学机制等可能是今后需要重点关注的问题。