High-altitude tree growth responses to climate change across the Hindu Kush Himalaya

兴都库什喜马拉雅地区高海拔树木生长对气候变化的响应 高海拔地区快速升温可能导致树木对温度响应更为敏感,而限制高海拔地区树木生长的关键气候因子以及气候变化对树木生长产生多大程度的影响尚不清楚。本研究在兴都库什喜马拉雅地区收集了73 个样点的树轮数据,包括3个优势属的树种(Abies属、Juniperus属和Picea属),样点海拔均在3000 m以上。 将时间动态规整(dynamic time warping)的方法用于建立亚区域年表,以考虑不同站点年表之间变化的同步 性。同时,定量分析了气候因子对树木生长的贡献以及树木生长与气候因子关系的时空动态。研究结果发现,73个站点年表可以聚为3类,且与其所处的生物气候区相对应,即西喜马拉雅地区,中东喜马拉雅地区和藏东南地区。在干旱的西喜马拉雅地区,树木生长与冬、春两季的降水呈正相关关系,而在湿润的藏东南地区,树木生长与冬季温度和春季降水呈正相关关系。树木生长受最低温度的影响最大,特别是冬季温度,其重要性从西到东呈现递增趋势。滑动窗口相关分析表明,在中西喜马拉雅地区,影响树木生长的冬季温度信号在减弱,然而在藏东南地区该信号随着1980年以来的快速升温而增强。本研究结果表明,若该地区升温持续,在西喜马拉雅地区可能会因变暖引起的水分亏缺而造成森林衰退,而在藏东南地区因树木生长得益于变暖而使得森林扩张。     

Scope of Archaea in Fish Feed: a New Chapter in Aquafeed Probiotics?

Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins - The outbreak of diseases leading to substantial loss is a major bottleneck in aquaculture. Over the last decades, the concept of using feed probiotics was...     

Antifungal activity of nanoemulsion from Cleome viscosa essential oil against food-borne pathogenic Candida albicans

Pathogenic and spoilage fungi cause enormous challenges to food related fatal infections. Plant essential oil based classical emulsions can functions as antifungal agents. To investigate the antifungal spectrum, that is the scope of the nanoemulsion composed of Cleome viscosa essential oil and Triton-x-100 fabricated by ultrasonication method. Minimum inhibitory and fungicidal concentration of essential oil nanoemulsion (EONE) was tested against food borne pathogenic C. albicans. The MIC and MFC values ranged from 16.5 to 33 µl/ml with significant reduction on biofilm of C. albicans isolates. The alteration of molecular fingerprints was confirmed by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and subsequent reduction of chitin levels in cell walls was noted by spectroscopic analysis. The EONE and their bioactive compounds cause collateral damage on C. albicans cells.     

Purification,Characterization, and Chemical Modification of Neurotoxic Peptide from Daboia russelii Snake Venom of India

Comprehensive knowledge of venom composition is very important for effective management of snake envenomation and antivenom preparation. Daboia russelii venom from the eastern region of India is the most neurotoxic among the four venom samples investigated. From the eastern D. russelii venom sample, neurotoxic peptide has been purified by combined method of ion exchange gel permeation chromatography and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography. Molecular weight of Daboia neurotoxin III (DNTx‐III) found to be 6,849 Da (as measured on matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionisation‐time of flight mass spectrometer), and N‐terminal amino acid sequences is I K C F I T P D U T S Q A. Approximate LD₅₀ dosage was 0.24 mg/kg body weight. It produced concentration‐ and time‐dependent inhibition of indirectly stimulated twitches of Rana hexadactyla sciatic nerve gastrocnemius muscle preparations. Chemical modification of DNTx‐III tryptophan residue(s) reduced the twitch height inhibition property of toxin, signifying the importance of tryptophan residues for the neurotoxic function. This type of neurotoxic peptide is unique to east Indian regional D. russelii venom. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J BiochemMol Toxicol 27:295‐304, 2013; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/jbt.21486     

Isolation of Messenger Ribonucleic Acid for Myosin Heavy Chain

A chicken embryonic polysome fraction that contains 50–60 monoribosomes and synthesizes the heavy chains of myosin is separated from other polysomes of smaller sizes by centrifugation through two cycles of discontinuous and continuous sucrose gradients. The unique properties of the polyadenylic acid segment present at the 3′-end of eukaryotic messenger RNA (mRNA) were used to purify the mRNA for myosin heavy chain from the phenol-extracted total RNA obtained from this polysome fraction. The total RNA was filtered thro ugh millipore filters resulting in partition of the riboscmal RNA (rRNA) and mRNA species. This millipore-bound RNA fraction, which consists of the mRNA and some ribosomal RNAs, was eluted from the filters with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Subsequent chromatography of this fraction on a cellulose column gave two well-separated peaks: an unadsorbed peak of ribosomal RNAs which was eluted with buffers of high ionic strength and an adsorbed peak of mRNA which was eluted only with a buffer of low ionic strength. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the mRNA peak fraction showed a single band with no detectable amounts of other RNAs, the mRNA migrating slower than 28S rRNA. The product of in vitro translation of the purified mRNA using a homologous cell-free system was identified as the myosin heavy chain by the following criteria: coprecipitation with carrier myosin at low ionic strength; elution properties on DEAE-cellulose column; and comigration with the heavy chain in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In order to demonstrate the fidelity of translation of the mRNA, ¹⁴C-labeled products of the in vitro translation were copurified with unlabeled myosin heavy chains added as a carrier. The mixture of polypeptides was then cleaved with CNBr and the resulting peptides were separated by molecular sieving. The correlation between the radioactivity and the UV absorbance in the separated peptides indicates that total synthesis of the myosin heavy chain was achieved.     

In vitro micropropagation of Dracaena sanderiana Sander ex Mast: An important indoor ornamental plant

A protocol has been developed for in vitro plant regeneration from a nodal explant of Dracaena sanderiana Sander ex Mast. Nodal explant showed high callus induction potentiality on MS medium supplemented with 6.78 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) followed by 46.5 μM chlorophenoxy acetic acid (CPA). The highest frequency of shoot regeneration (85%) and number of shoots per explant (5.6) were obtained on medium supplemented with 7.84 μM N⁶-benzylaminopurine (BA). Rooting was high on MS solid compared to liquid medium when added with 7.38 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Fifty percent of the roots were also directly rooted as microcuttings on soil rite, sand and peat mixture (1:1:1). In vitro and ex vitro raised plantlets were used for acclimatization. More than 90% of the plantlets was successfully acclimatized and established in plastic pots. Ex vitro transferred plantlets were normal without any phenotypic aberrations.     

Proteomic profiling of serum samples from chikungunya-infected patients provides insights into host response

Background

Chikungunya is a highly debilitating febrile illness caused by Chikungunya virus, a single-stranded RNA virus, which is transmitted by Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquito species. The pathogenesis and host responses in individuals infected with the chikungunya virus are not well understood at the molecular level. We carried out proteomic profiling of serum samples from chikungunya patients in order to identify molecules associated with the host response to infection by this virus.

Results

Proteomic profiling of serum obtained from the infected individuals resulted in identification of 569 proteins. Of these, 63 proteins were found to be differentially expressed (≥ 2-fold) in patient as compared to control sera. These differentially expressed proteins were involved in various processes such as lipid metabolism, immune response, transport, signal transduction and apoptosis.

Conclusions

This is the first report providing a global proteomic profile of serum samples from individuals infected with the chikungunya virus. Our data provide an insight into the proteins that are involved as host response factors during an infection. These proteins include clusterin, apolipoproteins and S100A family of proteins.     

Characterizing the normal proteome of human ciliary body

Background

The ciliary body is the circumferential muscular tissue located just behind the iris in the anterior chamber of the eye. It plays a pivotal role in the production of aqueous humor, maintenance of the lens zonules and accommodation by changing the shape of the crystalline lens. The ciliary body is the major target of drugs against glaucoma as its inhibition leads to a drop in intraocular pressure. A molecular study of the ciliary body could provide a better understanding about the pathophysiological processes that occur in glaucoma. Thus far, no large-scale proteomic investigation has been reported for the human ciliary body.

Results

In this study, we have carried out an in-depth LC-MS/MS-based proteomic analysis of normal human ciliary body and have identified 2,815 proteins. We identified a number of proteins that were previously not described in the ciliary body including importin 5 (IPO5), atlastin-2 (ATL2), B-cell receptor associated protein 29 (BCAP29), basigin (BSG), calpain-1 (CAPN1), copine 6 (CPNE6), fibulin 1 (FBLN1) and galectin 1 (LGALS1). We compared the plasma proteome with the ciliary body proteome and found that the large majority of proteins in the ciliary body were also detectable in the plasma while 896 proteins were unique to the ciliary body. We also classified proteins using pathway enrichment analysis and found most of proteins associated with ubiquitin pathway, EIF2 signaling, glycolysis and gluconeogenesis.

Conclusions

More than 95% of the identified proteins have not been previously described in the ciliary body proteome. This is the largest catalogue of proteins reported thus far in the ciliary body that should provide new insights into our understanding of the factors involved in maintaining the secretion of aqueous humor. The identification of these proteins will aid in understanding various eye diseases of the anterior segment such as glaucoma and presbyopia.     

Utility of Host Delivered RNAi of Two FMRF Amide Like Peptides,flp-14 and flp-18, for the Management of Root Knot Nematode,Meloidogyne incognita

Root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, is an obligate sedentary endoparasite that infects a large number of crop species and causes substantial yield losses. Non-chemical based control strategies for these nematodes are gaining importance. In the present study, we have demonstrated the significance of two FMRFamide like peptide genes (flp-14 and flp-18) for infection and development of resistance to M. incognita through host-derived RNAi. The study demonstrated both in vitro and in planta validation of RNAi-induced silencing of the two genes cloned from J2 stage of M. incognita. In vitro silencing of both the genes interfered with nematode migration towards the host roots and subsequent invasion into the roots. Transgenic tobacco lines were developed with RNAi constructs of flp-14 and flp-18 and evaluated against M. incognita. The transformed plants did not show any visible phenotypic variations suggesting the absence of any off-target effects. Bioefficacy studies with deliberate challenging of M. incognita resulted in 50-80% reduction in infection and multiplication confirming the silencing effect. We have provided evidence for in vitro and in planta silencing of the genes by expression analysis using qRT-PCR. Thus the identified genes and the strategy can be used as a potential tool for the control of M. incognita. This is the first ever report that has revealed the utility of host delivered RNAi of flps to control M. incognita. The strategy can also be extended to other crops and nematodes.