汉滩病毒M和S基因不同拼接方式嵌合基因免疫效果的研究

本文在前期工作的基础上,构建了汉滩病毒76－118株M基因G2片段与S基因5'端0.7Kb片段的嵌合基因真核表达载体pcDNA3.1-G2S0.7及pcDNA3.1-S0．7G2;用该质粒免疫BALB/c小鼠,结果表明两种质粒免疫小鼠可同时诱导产生抗滩滩病核蛋白（NP)及糖蛋白（GP）特异性的抗体,且前者刺激产生的抗体效价明显高于后者。淋巴细胞增殖实验表明,pcDNA3.1-G2S0.7组免疫小鼠脾细胞时NP及GP的增殖指数均明显高于空载体对照组,而pcDNA3.1-S0．7G2组未检测到其淋巴细胞有明显的增殖。这说明汉滩病毒M基因G2片段及S基因0.7Kb片段的嵌合基因既可刺激机体产生特异的抗汉滩病毒体液免疫应答,也可刺激机体产生特异的细胞免疫应答。不同拼接方式对嵌合基因免疫效果有很大影响,嵌合基因G2S0．7这种拼接方式明显优于S0．7G2。     

Development of software for human muscle force estimation

Muscle force estimation (MFE) has become more and more important in exploring principles of pathological movement, studying functions of artificial muscles, making surgery plan for artificial joint replacement, improving the biomechanical effects of treatments and so on. At present, existing software are complex for professionals, so we have developed a new software named as concise MFE (CMFE). CMFE which provides us a platform to analyse muscle force in various actions includes two MFE methods (static optimisation method and electromyographic-based method). Common features between these two methods have been found and used to improve CMFE. A case studying the major muscles of lower limb of a healthy subject walking at normal speed has been presented. The results are well explained from the effect of the motion produced by muscles during movement. The development of this software can improve the accuracy of the motion simulations and can provide a more extensive and deeper insight in to muscle study.     

液体悬浮培养条件下发菜细胞的光合速率与呼吸速率

用液相氧电极测定离体悬浮生长发菜细胞的光合速率和呼吸速率的结果表明,发菜细胞的光补偿点为15￣16μmol·m-2·s-1,光饱和点为90μmol·m-2·s-1,光抑制点为190μmol·m-2·s-1。25℃下发菜细胞光合速率最高,呼吸速率则在10￣50℃范围内随温度升高而增强。发菜细胞光合作用的最适pH值为7.0￣7.5,呼吸作用最适pH值为9.0。BG110无氮培养基中添加30mmol·L-1NaNO3,发菜细胞的光合速率增加约20%。培养基中Na2HPO4浓度为1.75mmol·L-1时,细胞光合速率和呼吸速率最大,随后保持稳定。钾盐浓度变化对发菜细胞光合速率和呼吸速率的影响不显著。     

Changes of soil organic and inorganic carbon in relation to grassland degradation in Northern Tibet

The effect of livestock grazing on grassland degradation and the resulting impact on soil carbon concentration is an important factor in carbon estimation. We addressed this issue using field observations and laboratory analysis of samples from Tibetan grassland. Based on the field measurements, we investigated the soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) under two contrasting degradation states: lightly or non-degraded grasslands (LDG) and heavily degraded grasslands (HDG). We assessed their relationships with environmental factors using data collected from 99 sites across Northern Tibet during 2011–2012. Data were analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model and one-way ANOVA. The results showed that: (1) SOC concentration decreased and SIC concentration increased following grassland degradation, especially at soil depths in the range of 0–10 cm (P < 0.05); (2) the major environmental factors affecting SOC and SIC were soil pH and plant biomass; (3) spatially, the SOC density increased with the mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation, whereas SIC exhibited the opposite trend; (4) the SOC density increased at first and then decreased with increasing grazing intensity, with an opposite trend in SIC; and (5) soil carbon storage in this region was 0.14 Pg smaller in the HDG than in the LDG. This study suggests that grassland degradation can significantly affect the vertical distribution and storage of SOC and SIC. The carbon sequestration capacity of the top 100 cm of soil in Northern Tibet was estimated as 0.14 Pg.     

Microsatellite Variations of Elite Setaria Varieties Released during Last Six Decades in China

Crop improvement is a multifaceted micro-evolutionary process, involving changes in breeding approaches, planting configurations and consumption preferences of human beings. Recent research has started to identify the specific genes or genomic regions correlate to improved agronomic traits, however, an apparent blank between the genetic structure of crop elite varieties and their improving histories in diverse modern breeding programs is still in existence. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) was one of the earliest cereal crops to be domesticated and served as a staple crop for early civilizations in China, where it is still widely grown today. In the present trial, a panel of foxtail millet elite varieties, which were released in the last sixty years in different geographical regions of China, was characterized using microsatellite markers (SSRs). A clear separation of two subpopulations corresponding to the two eco-geographical regions of foxtail millet production in China was identified by the dataset, which also indicated that in more recently released elite varieties, large quantities of accessions have been transferred from spring-sowing to summer-sowing ecotypes, likely as a result of breeding response to planting configurations. An association mapping study was conducted to identify loci controlling traits of major agronomic interest. Furthermore, selective sweeps involved in improvement of foxtail millet were identified as multi-diverse minor effect loci controlling different agronomic traits during the long-term improvement of elite varieties. Our results highlight the effect of transition of planting configuration and breeding preference on genetic evolvement of crop species.     

不同浓度IBA、NAA对紫萼龙吐珠扦插生根的影响

以紫萼龙吐珠Clerodendrum speciosum为试材,采用单因素完全随机设计,研究不同浓度IBA、NAA混合溶液对紫萼龙吐珠扦插生根的影响。结果表明,当NAA为50 mg·L-1,IBA为150或200 mg·L-1时,紫萼龙吐珠插穗成活率和生根率最高,可达100%;根系数量、根长最大值分别是对照组的9.4倍和4.9倍;当NAA、IBA分别为50、150 mg·L-1时,根系效果指数在9、11月均较高,最高可达6.42。运用隶属函数法对9、11月扦插各处理组合的生根效果进行综合评价,认为NAA 50 mg·L-1、IBA 150或200 mg·L-1混合溶液处理紫萼龙吐珠插条均最有利于生根,可得到较高的生根质量。     

Identification of pathogens in culture-negative infective endocarditis cases by metagenomic analysis

Background

Pathogens identification is critical for the proper diagnosis and precise treatment of infective endocarditis (IE). Although blood and valve cultures are the gold standard for IE pathogens detection, many cases are culture-negative, especially in patients who had received long-term antibiotic treatment, and precise diagnosis has therefore become a major challenge in the clinic. Metagenomic sequencing can provide both information on the pathogenic strain and the antibiotic susceptibility profile of patient samples without culturing, offering a powerful method to deal with culture-negative cases.

Methods

To assess the feasibility of a metagenomic approach to detect the causative pathogens in resected valves from IE patients, we employed both next-generation sequencing and Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION nanopore sequencing for pathogens and antimicrobial resistance detection in seven culture-negative IE patients. Using our in-house developed bioinformatics pipeline, we analyzed the sequencing results generated from both platforms for the direct identification of pathogens from the resected valves of seven clinically culture-negative IE patients according to the modified Duke criteria.

Results

Our results showed both metagenomics methods can be applied for the causative pathogen detection in all IE samples. Moreover, we were able to simultaneously characterize respective antimicrobial resistance features.

Conclusion

Metagenomic methods for IE detection can provide clinicians with valuable information to diagnose and treat IE patients after valve replacement surgery. However, more efforts should be made to optimize protocols for sample processing, sequencing and bioinformatics analysis.

     

马立克氏病病毒超强毒感染鸡羽髓蛋白质组分析

【目的】羽毛是细胞游离马立克氏病病毒(Marek’s disease virus,MDV)释放的部位,为了解感染MDV后鸡羽中宿主基因表达的变化及对病毒感染的应答,进行了MDV感染鸡的羽髓蛋白质组学分析。【方法】1日龄无特定病原体(specific pathogen free,SPF)鸡人工感染MDV超强毒RB1B株(1000PFU),感染后21d采集鸡羽毛,提取羽髓蛋白,以17cm,pH5-8的IPG胶条进行二维电泳,以未感染病毒的SPF鸡羽髓蛋白为对照,使用PDQuest软件对二维电泳图谱进行差异蛋白分析,并选取部分差异斑点进行质谱鉴定。【结果】PDQuest软件分析发现攻毒组和对照组表达差异大于两倍的蛋白点有41个,其中攻毒组表达上调的蛋白点25个,下调的蛋白点7个,新出现的蛋白点有9个。质谱分析共成功鉴定了21个斑点,对应于20个蛋白。如载脂蛋白AI(apolipoprotein AI)、14-3-3 sigma(两个斑点均为该蛋白)、癌蛋白18(stathmin)等。【结论】功能预测表明这些蛋白涉及到宿主的抗病毒应答、物质代谢、细胞骨架成分、细胞增殖相关等方面。