The crosstalk between lncRNAs and the Hippo signalling pathway in cancer progression

LncRNAs play a pivotal role in the regulation of epigenetic modification, cell cycle, differentiation, proliferation, migration and other physiological activities. In particular, considerable studies have shown that the aberrant expression and dysregulation of lncRNAs are widely implicated in cancer initiation and progression by acting as tumour promoters or suppressors. Hippo signalling pathway has attracted researchers’ attention as one of the critical cancer‐related pathways in recent years. Increasing evidences have demonstrated that lncRNAs could interact with Hippo cascade and thereby contribute to acquisition of multiple malignant hallmarks, including proliferation, metastasis, relapse and resistance to anti‐cancer treatment. Specifically, Hippo signalling pathway is reported to modulate or be regulated by widespread lncRNAs. Intriguingly, certain lncRNAs could form a reciprocal feedback loop with Hippo signalling. More speculatively, lncRNAs related to Hippo pathway have been poised to become important putative biomarkers and therapeutic targets in human cancers. Herein, this review focuses on the crosstalk between lncRNAs and Hippo pathway in carcinogenesis, summarizes the comprehensive role of Hippo‐related lncRNAs in tumour progression and depicts their clinical diagnostic, prognostic or therapeutic potentials in tumours.     

基于生态系统服务的城市生态管理分区——以深圳市为例

生态系统服务是人类赖以生存和发展的基础,开展城市生态系统服务评估并对生态管理单元实行分区管控有助于人居环境的改善。针对高度城市化地区生态系统服务的功能特征,采用生态系统服务价值当量测算不同用地类型的生态系统服务价值。研究从生态功能和经济功能2个方面构建生态系统服务指标体系,对2017年深圳市666个社区单元的生态系统服务价值进行评估;运用空间自相关分析方法,依据局部空间自相关的集聚特征叠加产生的组合类型,划分不同社区生态管理单元,并提出生态分区管控策略。研究结果表明：①生态系统服务价值评估便于高度城市化地区城市生态系统服务功能的整体评价。②2017年深圳市生态系统服务价值空间差异明显,呈现东部高、中西部低的空间格局。深圳市生态系统服务总价值约583.96亿元,最高值为大鹏新区的160.25亿元,最低值为福田区的13.24亿元。③将深圳市666个社区单元划分为4类城市生态管理分区,并采用差异化的分区管控措施,表明有效的城市生态管理分区能够兼顾各项生态系统服务功能并实现功能效益的最优化。该研究结果可为区域生态系统服务精细化管理和生态治理差异化管控提供借鉴。     

互花米草入侵对胶州湾河口湿地土壤总铁分布的影响

互花米草是胶州湾滨海湿地典型的入侵物种,为进一步了解互花米草入侵对胶州湾河口湿地土壤总铁含量分布的影响,于2017年3月、5月、7月、9月和11月分别在互花米草湿地和光滩采集土壤样品,并对土壤总铁含量、有机质含量、土壤可溶性盐、pH、含水率、容重和土壤粒度进行测定与分析。结果表明:互花米草入侵显著提高了土壤总铁含量,两样区0—50 cm土层土壤总铁含量差异显著(P0.05),5月和7月互花米草湿地总铁含量在垂直方向上呈先上升后下降趋势;与光滩在同一采样月份相比,互花米草湿地土壤总铁含量增幅分别为25.36%、29.50%、17.52%、30.28%和14.48%。相关性分析表明,互花米草湿地和光滩土壤总铁含量均与有机质含量和可溶性盐呈显著正相关(P0.01);并且光滩土壤总铁含量与含水率呈显著正相关(P0.01),与容重呈显著负相关(P0.01),表明两样区土壤总铁含量受有机质含量和可溶性盐影响较大。     

宁夏兽类一属、种新纪录——淡灰豹鼩（Pantherina griselda Thomas，1912）

正淡灰豹鼩(Pantherina griselda)隶属于鼩形目(Soricomorpha)鼩鼱亚科(Soricinae)豹鼩属(Pantherina),其模式产地为中国甘肃省临潭县(Thomas,1912)。由于淡灰豹鼩整体形态与黑齿鼩鼱属(Blarinella)中的原甘肃川鼩(B.griselda)相似,且二者同域分布,曾被记录为黑齿鼩鼱属中的一个隐存种Blarinella sp.(Bannikova et al.,2017);He等     

An elusive endosymbiont: Does Wolbachia occur naturally in Aedes aegypti?

Wolbachia are maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria found within many insect species. Aedes mosquitoes experimentally infected with Wolbachia are being released into the field for Aedes‐borne disease control. These Wolbachia infections induce cytoplasmic incompatibility which is used to suppress populations through incompatible matings or replace populations through the reproductive advantage provided by this mechanism. However, the presence of naturally occurring Wolbachia in target populations could interfere with both population replacement and suppression programs depending on the compatibility patterns between strains. Aedes aegypti were thought to not harbor Wolbachia naturally but several recent studies have detected Wolbachia in natural populations of this mosquito. We therefore review the evidence for natural Wolbachia infections in A. aegypti to date and discuss limitations of these studies. We draw on research from other mosquito species to outline the potential implications of natural Wolbachia infections in A. aegypti for disease control. To validate previous reports, we obtained a laboratory population of A. aegypti from New Mexico, USA, that harbors a natural Wolbachia infection, and we conducted field surveys in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where a natural Wolbachia infection has also been reported. However, we were unable to detect Wolbachia in both the laboratory and field populations. Because the presence of naturally occurring Wolbachia in A. aegypti could have profound implications for Wolbachia‐based disease control programs, it is important to continue to accurately assess the Wolbachia status of target Aedes populations.     

Comparison of Morphological and Anatomical Characteristics of <i>Taxus chinensis</i> var. <i>mairei </i>Seedlings Root under Waterlogging Stress in Different Substrates

Four different ratios of river sand, ceramic pellets, vermiculite and perlite (1:1), and field soil were selected as the substrates in this experiment, and four gradient levels of root waterlogging, half waterlogging, full waterlogging and normal were set to investigate the effects of different gradients of waterlogging stress on the root morphology of Taxus chinensis var. mairei seedlings under different substrates. In this study, the root anatomical structure of Taxus chinensis var. mairei under different waterlogging stress was observed by the paraffin section method. The roots of T. chinensis var. mairei were diarch, with no pith and resin canals. There was a large number of tannins in the pericycle of the aerial adventitious roots of seedlings adapted to waterlogging. Also, the endodermis has obvious casparian strip thickening, and there were 4-5 layers of large parenchymatous cells in the close to the inner side of the pericycle in the vascular cylinder, which could increase the storage capacity, and transport capacity of the root. Under the treatment of root waterlogging stress, the development of plant roots in the mixed substrate of vermiculite and, perlite was the earliest. Under half waterlogging stress, T. chinensis var. mairei seedlings treated with various substrates all could better adapt to the environment of waterlogging stress. Under the stress of fully waterlogging, the roots of seedlings planted in river sand substrate developed secondary growth.     

幽门螺杆菌外膜囊泡研究进展

幽门螺杆菌(Helicobacter pylori)被认为是引起人类胃部疾病的元凶之一。外膜囊泡(Outer Membrane Vesicles,OMVs)是由细菌外膜自发脱落而形成的囊泡状结构,其具有细菌外膜多数成分,包括外膜蛋白、多糖、脂质以及其他蛋白组分。越来越多的研究正在关注外膜囊泡在幽门螺杆菌感染、发生、发展过程中的作用。同时,研究表明幽门螺杆菌外膜囊泡作为疫苗,在防治幽门螺杆菌感染中也展现了良好的应用潜力。因此,本综述总结了目前关于幽门螺杆菌外膜囊泡组成成分的研究,并讨论了外膜囊泡在幽门螺杆菌存活和致病机制中的作用,以及外膜囊泡在幽门螺杆菌感染治疗中发挥的作用。     

Allometric growth and carbon storage in the mangrove Sonneratia apetala

Allometric growth reflects different allocation patterns and relationships of different components or traits of a plant and is closely related to ecosystem carbon storage. As an introduced species, the growth and carbon storage of Sonneratia apetala are still unclear. To derive allometric relationships of the mangrove S. apetala and to estimate carbon storage in mangrove ecosystems, we harvested 12 individual Sonneratia apetala trees from four different diameter classes in the Futian National Nature Reserve, Guangdong, China. Allometric growth models were fitted. The results showed that diameter at breast height (DBH) and wood density were better variables for predicting plant biomass (including above- and below-ground biomass) than plant height. There were significant power function relationships between biomass and DBH, with a mean allometric exponent of 2.22, and stem biomass accounted for 97% of the variation in S. apetala total biomass. Nearly isometric scaling relationships were developed between stem biomass and other biomass components. To better understand the carbon stocks of the S. apetala ecosystem, we categorized all trees into five age classes and quantified vegetation carbon storage. The S. apetala vegetation carbon storage ranged from 96.48 to 215.35 Mg C ha^?1, and the carbon storage significantly increased with stand age. The allometric equations developed in this study are useful to estimate biomass and carbon storage of S. apetala ecosystems.