土壤中含EB病毒诱导物的检测

从广西壮族自治区梧州市、苍梧县、罗城县和北京市收集的土壤标本中发现有EB病毒诱导物。梧州市和苍梧县沿公路和江河两旁桐油树下的土壤标本,对EB病毒早期抗原诱导的阳性率为40～58％。在其他大戟科植物下的土壤标本中,也发现有EB病毒诱导物。对桐油树下土壤中EB病毒诱导物与鼻咽癌发生的可能关系进行了讨论。     

Phosphate-solubilizing peanut associated bacteria: screening for plant growth-promoting activities

Carbon and nitrogen are supplied by a variety of sources in the desert food web; both vascular and non-vascular plants and cyanobacteria supply carbon, and cyanobacteria and plant-associated rhizosphere bacteria are sources of biological nitrogen fixation. The objective of this study was to compare the relative influence of vascular plants and biological soil crusts on desert soil nematode and protozoan abundance and community composition. In the first experiment, biological soil crusts were removed by physical trampling. Treatments with crust removed had fewer nematodes and a greater relative ratio of bacterivores to microphytophages than treatments with intact crust. However, protozoa composition was similar with or without the presence of crusts. In a second experiment, nematode community composition was characterized along a spatial gradient away from stems of grasses or shrubs. Although nematodes generally occurred in increasing abundance nearer to plant stems, some genera (such as the enrichment-type Panagrolaimus) increased disproportionately more than others (such as the stress-tolerant Acromoldavicus). We propose that the impact of biological soil crusts and desert plants on soil microfauna, as reflected in the community composition of microbivorous nematodes, is a combination of carbon input, microclimate amelioration, and altered soil hydrology.     

1H, 13C and 15N resonance assignments of the Calmodulin-Munc13-1 peptide complex

Ca²⁺-Calmodulin binding to the variable N-terminal region of the diacylglycerol/phorbol ester-binding UNC13/Munc13 family of proteins modulates the short-term synaptic plasticity characteristics in neurons. Here, we report the sequential backbone and side chain resonance assignment of the Ca²⁺-Calmodulin/Munc13-1^458–492 peptide complex at pH 6.8 and 35°C (BMRB No. 15470).     

Effect of lipid composition on the structure and theoretical phase diagrams of DC-Chol/DOPE-DNA lipoplexes

Lipoplexes constituted by calf-thymus DNA (CT-DNA) and mixed cationic liposomes consisting of varying proportions of the cationic lipid 3β-[N-(N',N'-dimethylaminoethane)-carbamoyl]cholesterol hydrochloride (DC-Chol) and the zwitterionic lipid, 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoetanolamine (DOPE) have been analyzed by means of electrophoretic mobility, SAXS, and fluorescence anisotropy experiments, as well as by theoretically calculated phase diagrams. Both experimental and theoretical studies have been run at several liposome and lipoplex compositions, defined in terms of cationic lipid molar fraction, α, and either the mass or charge ratios of the lipoplex, respectively. The experimental electrochemical results indicate that DC-Chol/DOPE liposomes, with a mean hydrodynamic diameter of around (120 ± 10) nm, compact and condense DNA fragments at their cationic surfaces by means of a strong entropically driven electrostatic interaction. Furthermore, the positive charges of cationic liposomes are compensated by the negative charges of DNA phosphate groups at the isoneutrality L/D ratio, (L/D)(?), which decreases with the cationic lipid content of the mixed liposome, for a given DNA concentration. This inversion of sign process has been also studied by means of the phase diagrams calculated with the theoretical model, which confirms all the experimental results. SAXS diffractograms, run at several lipoplex compositions, reveal that, irrespectively of the lipoplex charge ratio, DC-Chol/DOPE-DNA lipoplexes show a lamellar structure, L(α), when the cationic lipid content on the mixed liposomes α ≥ 0.4, while for a lower content (α = 0.2) the lipoplexes show an inverted hexagonal structure, H(II), usually related with improved cell transfection efficiency. A similar conclusion is reached from fluorescence anisotropy results, which indicate that the fluidity on liposome and lipoplexes membrane, also related with better transfection results, increases as long as the cationic lipid content decreases.     

Additional haplogroups of Toxoplasma gondii out of Africa: population structure and mouse-virulence of strains from Gabon

Background

Toxoplasma gondii is found worldwide, but distribution of its genotypes as well as clinical expression of human toxoplasmosis varies across the continents. Several studies in Europe, North America and South America argued for a role of genotypes in the clinical expression of human toxoplasmosis. Genetic data concerning T. gondii isolates from Africa are scarce and not sufficient to investigate the population structure, a fundamental analysis for a better understanding of distribution, circulation, and transmission.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Seropositive animals originating from urban and rural areas in Gabon were analyzed for T. gondii isolation and genotyping. Sixty-eight isolates, including one mixed infection (69 strains), were obtained by bioassay in mice. Genotyping was performed using length polymorphism of 13 microsatellite markers located on 10 different chromosomes. Results were analyzed in terms of population structure by Bayesian statistical modeling, Neighbor-joining trees reconstruction based on genetic distances, F _ST and linkage disequilibrium. A moderate genetic diversity was detected. Three haplogroups and one single genotype clustered 27 genotypes. The majority of strains belonged to one haplogroup corresponding to the worldwide Type III. The remaining strains were distributed into two haplogroups (Africa 1 and 3) and one single genotype. Mouse virulence at isolation was significantly different between haplogroups. Africa 1 haplogroup was the most virulent.

Conclusion

Africa 1 and 3 haplogroups were proposed as being new major haplogroups of T. gondii circulating in Africa. A possible link with strains circulating in South and Central America is discussed. Analysis of population structure demonstrated a local spread within a rural area and strain circulation between the main cities of the country. This circulation, favored by human activity could lead to genetic exchanges. For the first time, key epidemiological questions were addressed for the West African T. gondii population, using the high discriminatory power of microsatellite markers, thus creating a basis for further epidemiological and clinical investigations.     

Evaluation of the association between the AC3 genetic polymorphisms and obesity in a Chinese Han population

Background

AC3 is one of adenylyl cyclase isoforms involved in cAMP and insulin signaling pathway. Recent reports have demonstrated that the AC3 genetic polymorphisms are associated with obesity in a Swedish population. AC3 knock out mice exhibit obese when they age. These findings suggest that AC3 plays an important role in the regulation of body weight.

Methodology/Principal Findings

In the present study, we evaluated the association between the AC3 genetic polymorphisms and obesity in a Han Chinese population. A total of 2580 adults, including 1490 lean (BMI = 18.5–23.9), 677 overweight (BMI 24.0–27.9) and 413 obese (BMI ≥28.0) subjects were genotyped for 5 TagSNPs in the AC3 gene. Single maker association analyses indicated that SNP rs753529 was significantly associated with BMI in obese subjects (P = 0.022, OR = 0.775 95%CI = 0.623–0.963), but not in overweight subjects (P = 0.818). Multiple maker association analyses showed that the haplotype (G-G-G) constructed with SNPs rs1127568, rs7604576 and rs753529 was significantly associated with obesity (P = 0.029). Further genotyping of SNP rs753529 in 816 children, including 361 overweight subjects (BMI>P₈₀) and 455 controls (BMI = P_20–50) were performed, and no significant association with BMI was found. All tests were adjusted for age, sex, physical activity index, household income and/or diet expenses.

Conclusions

The present study provides replication evidence that the AC3 genetic polymorphisms are associated with decreased risk of obesity among adults but not in children in a Chinese Han population. The data also suggest that the AC3 genetic effects on BMI may have interaction with the factors related to ageing and environment.     

Annotated expressed sequence tags for studies of the regulation of reproductive modes in aphids

The damaging effect of aphids to crops is largely determined by the spectacular rate of increase of populational expansion due to their parthenogenetic generations. Despite this, the molecular processes triggering the transition between the parthenogenetic and sexual phases between their annual life cycle have received little attention. Here, we describe a collection of genes from the cereal aphid Rhopalosiphum padi expressed during the switch from parthenogenetic to sexual reproduction. After cDNA cloning and sequencing, 726 expressed sequence tags (EST) were annotated. The R. padi EST collection contained a substantial number (139) of bacterial endosymbiont sequences. The majority of R. padi cDNAs encoded either unknown proteins (56%) or housekeeping polypeptides (38%). The large proportion of sequences without similarities in the databases is related to both their small size and their high GC content, corresponding probably to the presence of 5'-unstranslated regions. Fifteen genes involved in developmental and differentiation events were identified by similarity to known genes. Some of these may be useful candidates for markers of the early steps of sexual differentiation.     

Studies of the enzymic mechanism of Candida tenuis xylose reductase (AKR 2B5): X-ray structure and catalytic reaction profile for the H113A mutant

Xylose reductase from the yeast Candida tenuis (CtXR) is a family 2 member of the aldo-keto reductase (AKR) superfamily of proteins and enzymes. Active site His-113 is conserved among AKRs, but a unified mechanism of how it affects catalytic activity is outstanding. We have replaced His-113 by alanine using site-directed mutagenesis, determined a 2.2 A structure of H113A mutant bound to NADP(+), and compared catalytic reaction profiles of NADH-dependent reduction of different aldehydes catalyzed by the wild type and the mutant. Deuterium kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) on k(cat) and k(cat)/K(m xylose) show that, relative to the wild type, the hydride transfer rate constant (k(7) approximately 0.16 s(-1)) has decreased about 1000-fold in H113A whereas xylose binding was not strongly affected. No solvent isotope effect was seen on k(cat) and k(cat)/K(m xylose) for H113A, suggesting that proton transfer has not become rate-limiting as a result of the mutation. The pH profiles of log(k(cat)/K(m xylose)) for the wild type and H113A decreased above apparent pK(a) values of 8.85 and 7.63, respectively. The DeltapK(a) of -1.2 pH units likely reflects a proximally disruptive character of the mutation, affecting the position of Asp-50. A steady-state kinetic analysis for H113A-catalyzed reduction of a homologous series of meta-substituted benzaldehyde derivatives was carried out, and quantitative structure-reactivity correlations were used to factor the observed kinetic substituent effect on k(cat) and k(cat)/K(m aldehyde) into an electronic effect and bonding effects (which are lacking in the wild type). Using the Hammett sigma scale, electronic parameter coefficients (rho) of +0.64 (k(cat)) and +0.78 (k(cat)/K(m aldehyde)) were calculated and clearly differ from rho(k(cat)/K(aldehyde)) and rho(k(cat)) values of +1.67 and approximately 0.0, respectively, for the wild-type enzyme. Hydride transfer rate constants of H113A, calculated from kinetic parameters and KIE data, display a substituent dependence not seen in the corresponding wild-type enzyme rate constants. An enzymic mechanism is proposed in which His-113, through a hydrogen bond from Nepsilon2 to aldehyde O1, assists in catalysis by optimizing the C=O bond charge separation and orbital alignment in the ternary complex.