Molecular Characterization of Two Genes Encoding Novel Ca2+-Independent Phospholipase A2s from the Silkworm,Bombyx mori

Eicosanoids are crucial downstream signals in the insect immune responses. Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) catalyzes phospholipids, the initial step in eicosanoid biosynthesis. In mammals, the biological roles of Ca²⁺-independent Phospholipase A2 (iPLA2) have been extensively studied; however, only a few studies have attempted to explore iPLA2 functions in insects. In this study, we identified two iPLA2 genes (designated as BmiPLA2A and BmiPLA2B) in the silkworm, Bombyx mori. BmiPLA2A had a 2427 base pair (bp) open reading frame (ORF) that coded for a protein with 808 amino acids. In contrast, BmiPLA2B had a 1731 bp ORF that coded for a protein with 576 amino acids. Domain analysis revealed that BmiPLA2A had six ankyrin repeat domains, but BmiPLA2B lacks these domains. BmiPLA2A and BmiPLA2B were transcribed widely in various tissues and developmental stages with different expression patterns. The administration of 20-hydroxyecdysone increased their expression levels in the epidermis and hemocytes. Furthermore, challenged with virus, fungus, Gram-negative bacteria, and Gram-positive bacteria induced the expression of BmiPLA2A and BmiPLA2B with variable degrees along with different time points. Our findings imply that BmiPLA2A and BmiPLA2B may have important biological roles in the development and innate immunity of B. mori.     

蔚县盆地牛头山(铺路)剖面晚上新世/早更新世小哺乳动物

牛头山(=铺路)剖面6个含化石层位中,第3、6、9和第12层为晚上新世,第15、16层为早更新世。晚上新世以Hypolagus,Nannocricetus mongolicus,Sinocricetus progressus,Mesosiph- neus,Pliosiphneus,Pseudomeriones complicidens,Micromys tedfordi等的最后绝灭为特征;早更新世以Allophaiomys deucalion,Yangia等的出现为特征。根据岩石地层和小哺乳动物组合分析,该剖面上新世/更新世界限应在第12-13层之间。根据动物组合或动物群的对比,将牛头山剖面、钱家沙洼村的洞沟剖面与小水沟剖面、东窑子头村的大南沟剖面及稻地村的老窝沟剖面的不同层位进行了时代排序。     

苹果对硒的吸收及其积聚特征研究

对秦冠苹果采用不同浓度的硒溶液进行了花期喷施、对干注射和土壤施加３种处理,研究了苹果树对硒的吸收,找到了生产富硒苹果的有效方法。研究表明,硒并不是苹果必需的微显元素;首次提出了苹果树属非积聚硒植物的新概念;同时也对食用富硒苹果的有效性与安全性进行了分析     

糖类在植物组织培养中的效应

糖类是影响植物组织培养成功与否的关键之一。迄今为止,已用于植物组织培养的糖类有５０多种。在植物体细胞组织培养中,蔗糖一直作为标准碳源,然而其他糖类物质如：葡萄糖、麦芽糖和山梨醇对植物体细胞培养也产生了一定的影响。在植物花药培养中,蔗糖较好,但应注意麦芽糖对花药培养的促进作用。     

棉铃虫核型多角体病毒Hind III-K片段的核苷酸序列及其分析

测定了棉铃虫（Ｈｅｌｉｃｏｖｅｒｐａａｒｍｉｇｅｒａ）核型多角体病毒（ＨａＳＮＰＶ）基因组ＤＮＡ的ＨｉｎｄＩＩＫ片段核苷酸序列。该片段全长３２５５ｂｐ,含可编码大于４０个氨基酸残基的多肽的开放阅读框（ＯＲＦ）１５个,包括多角体蛋白（ｐｈ）基因编码区３′端４８９ｂｐ和蛋白激酶ＨａｖＰＫ基因编码区８０１ｂｐ。在ｐｈ和ＨａｖＰＫ两基因之间鉴定出一个可编码４１２个氨基酸残基的ＯＲＦ１２３６,转录方向与ｐｈ和ＨａｖＰＫ基因相反。同源分析表明,ＯＲＦ１２３６与谷实夜蛾（Ｈｅｌｉｃｏｖｅｒｐａｚｅａ）核型多角体病毒（ＨｚＳＮＰＶ）的ＯＲＦ８推导的蛋白氨基酸序列有９５．９％同源性,与苜蓿丫纹夜蛾（Ａｕｔｏｇｒａｐｈａｃａｌｉｆｏｒｎｉａ）核型多角体病毒（ＡｃＭＮＰＶ）ＯＲＦ１６２９只有２４．８％同源性,但三者均含有二组由多个脯氨酸残基串联而成的特征基序。     

Diversity and compatibility of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) bradyrhizobia and their host plants

A high degree of genetic diversity among 125 peanut bradyrhizobial strains and among 32 peanut cultivars collected from different regions of China was revealed by using the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique. Eighteen different peanut bradyrhizobial genotypes and six peanut cultivars were selected for symbiotic cross-inoculation experiments. The genomic diversity was reflected in the symbiotic diversity. The peanut cultivars varied in their ability to nodulate with the strains used. Some cultivars had a more restricted host range than the others. Also the strains displayed a range of nodulation patterns. In yield formation there were clear differences between the plant cultivar/bradyrhizobium combinations. There was good compatibility between some peanut bradyrhizobial strains and selected cultivars, with inoculation resulting in well-nodulated, high-yielding symbiotic combinations, but no plant cultivar was compatible with all strains used. The strains displayed a varying degree of effectiveness, with some strains being fairly effective with all cultivars and others with selected ones. The AFLP genotypes of the strains did not explain the symbiotic behavior, whereas the yield formation of the plant cultivars was more related to the genotype. It is concluded that to obtain optimal nitrogen fixation efficiency of peanut in the field, compatible plant cultivar-bradyrhizobium combinations should be selected either by finding inoculant strains compatible with the plant cultivars used, or plant cultivars compatible with the indigenous bradyrhizobia.     

A TPR-family membrane protein gene is required for light-activated heterotrophic growth of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

The unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 can grow heterotrophically in complete darkness, given that a brief period of illumination is supplemented every day (light-activated heterotrophic growth, LAHG), or under very weak (<0.5 micromol m(-2) s(-1)) but continuous light. By random insertion of the genome with an antibiotic resistance cassette, mutants defective in LAHG were generated. In two identical mutants, sll0886, a tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR)-family membrane protein gene, was disrupted. Targeted insertion of sll0886 and three downstream genes showed that the phenotype was not due to a polar effect. The sll0886 mutant shows normal photoheterotrophic growth when the light intensity is at 2.5 micromol m(-2) s(-1) or above, but no growth at 0.5 micromol m(-2) s(-1). Homologs to sll0886 are also present in cyanobacteria that are not known of LAHG. sll0886 and homologs may be involved in controlling different physiological processes that respond to light of low fluence.     

草地螟第三个暴发周期的发生特点、成因及防治对策

分析了1949年以来草地螟3次周期性大暴发的原因。通过对1979-2001年康保县23年草地螟系统监测资料的分析,重点剖析了草地螟第3个暴发周期发生特点、成因,认为种群数量、气候和耕作制度是导致草地螟暴发的重要原因,并提出防治对策。     

Approaches to stabilization of inter-domain recombination in polyketide synthase gene expression plasmids

Regions of extremely high sequence identity are recurrent in modular polyketide synthase (PKS) genes. Such sequences are potentially detrimental to the stability of PKS expression plasmids used in the combinatorial biosynthesis of polyketide metabolites. We present two different solutions for circumventing intra-plasmid recombination within the megalomicin PKS genes in Streptomyces coelicolor. In one example, a synthetic gene was used in which the codon usage was reengineered without affecting the primary amino acid sequence. The other approach utilized a heterologous subunit complementation strategy to replace one of the problematic regions. Both methods resulted in PKS complexes capable of 6-deoxyerythronolide B analogue biosynthesis in S. coelicolor CH999, permitting reproducible scale-up to at least 5-l stirred-tank fermentation and a comparison of diketide precursor incorporation efficiencies between the erythromycin and megalomicin PKSs. Electronic Publication