猪水肿病大肠杆菌志贺样毒素Ⅱ型突变体新基因的分子特征

从仔猪水肿病样品中分离的一株大肠杆菌菌株NP9621,抽提染色体DNA,构建NP9621的总DNA文库,经菌落原位杂交筛选、限制酶酶切和Southern印迹等分析,获得含有志贺样毒素基因的重组质粒,核苷酸序列分析表明, 该基因的 A亚基与SLTIIes的同源性为97.6%～98.1%,与SLTIIc、SLTIId及EHEC O157:H7产生的SLTII 的A亚基之间的同源性分别为93.1%、93.0%和92.9%;B亚基与SLTIIes的同源性为99.62%～100%,与SLTIic、SLTIid及SLTII的同源性分别为81.5%、81.1%和81.5%;与29种已知序列的SLTII 、SLTI及志贺毒素STX进行聚类分析,结果证实大肠杆菌NP9621菌株中的志贺样毒素基因属于一种新的SLTIIe亚型。SLTIie/NP9621的A亚基与其它SLTIIe之间存在7～9个氨基酸的差异,B亚基的氨基酸序列完全相同,与A亚基毒力活性密切相关的氨基酸分别为Thr4、Glu167、Arg170和Arg176。     

The genus Pseudo-nitzschia (Bacillariophyceae) in a temperate estuary with description of two new species: Pseudo-nitzschia plurisecta sp. nov. and Pseudo-nitzschia abrensis sp. nov.

The genus Pseudo‐nitzschia contains potentially toxic species of problematic taxonomy, making it one of the most intensively studied diatom genera. The study of 35 clonal strains isolated from the Bilbao estuary, an area that experiences recurrent blooms of Pseudo‐nitzschia, revealed the presence of two new species, P. abrensis and P. plurisecta, differing from their congeners in both morphology and gene sequence. The morphological features were analyzed by LM and EM, whereas molecular analyses were based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) regions of the rDNA. P. plurisecta appears closely related to P. cuspidata/P. pseudodelicatissima in the phylogenetic tree, whereas P. abrensis forms a moderately supported clade with P. heimii/P. subpacifica and P. caciantha/P. circumpora. Comparison of the secondary structure of ITS2 regions reveals marked differences in the most highly conserved regions among related taxa. Morphologically, the new species differ from their closest congeners in the arrangement of the poroid sectors and the density of valve striae and fibulae. The two species share similar pigment composition, and belong to the group of Pseudo‐nitzschia species containing only chlorophyll c₂ and c₃.     

TGF-β signalling-related markers in cancer patients with bone metastasis

We measured transforming growth factor (TGF)-β-dependent biomarkers in plasma and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to identify suitable pharmacodynamic markers for future clinical trials with TGF-β inhibitors. Forty-nine patients with bone metastasis were enrolled in the study, including patients with breast (n=23) and prostate cancer (n=15). Plasma TGF-β1 levels were elevated in more than half of the cancer patients (geometric mean 2.63 ng ml^-1) and positively correlated with increased platelet factor 4 (PF4) levels, parathyroid-related protein (PTHrP), von Willebrand Factor (vWF) and interleukin (IL)-10. PBMC were stimulated ex vivo to determine the individual biological variability of an ex vivo assay measuring pSMAD expression. This assay performed sufficiently well to allow its future use in a clinical trial of a TGF-β inhibitor.     

Diversity and Community Quantitative Characteristics ofFloor Lichen in Yaoluoping National NatureReserve of Anhui,China

Twenty nine quadrats belonging to various habitats were sampled in Yaoluoping National Nature Reserve, lichen species in each quadrat were identified and the lichen coverage of each quadrat was measured, combined with several environmental indices, with the purpose of understanding the lichen distributing pattern and community quantitative characteristics. Factor analysis was used to appraise relationships among ecological factors, cluster analysis and Spearman rank correlation coefficient test were employed for ordination and Fisher’s exact test was applied to evaluate interspecific correlation. Factor analysis showed that the number of species decreased as the altitude increased, and there was significant positive correlation between dominant species quantity and coverage (P=0.034), very significant positive correlation between humidity and habitat type (P=0.001). Based on cluster analysis data, twenty nine quadrats were divided into 5 types of association. Fisher’s exact test indicates 10 species pairs were very significant positive association and four species pairs significant positive, but no species pair was negative significant association. Fisher’s exact test demonstrated that the competition between the species was low.     

拮抗Bacillus subtilis的筛选及发酵条件对拮抗能力的影响

筛选了3株对大肠埃希菌具有拮抗活性的枯草芽胞杆菌,并对这3个菌株的拮抗能力最强的Bf菌株的发酵条件进行了初步研究。先将不同枯草芽胞杆菌菌株与株大肠埃希菌进行拮抗试验,根据抑菌率,筛选出对大肠埃希菌拮抗效果较好的枯草芽胞杆菌Bf。然后,在不同pH值、温度以及不同的培养时间下观察记录Bf对大肠埃希菌的拮抗作用。根据实验结果分析得到:筛选到的枯草芽胞杆菌在pH值为7.0,37℃下培养40 h后抑菌效果最好。     

Comparison between pentobarbital- and muscimol-induced feeding in satiated sheep

Twenty sheep were used to study the mechanisms by which the intracerebral administration of pentobarbital and of muscimol induces feeding in ruminants. Injections of 1 mumol calcium induced a weak feeding response at 1 h postinjection compared with control values (108 vs. 63 g, p less than 0.05). Injections of 78 mumol pentobarbital and of 100 nmol muscimol elicited strong feeding responses (p less than 0.01). A preinjection of 1 mumol calcium reduced the response to pentobarbital by about 40% but did not affect the response to muscimol. Administration of 1.1 mmol sodium chloride reduced the effect to pentobarbital by about 60% but only partially decreased the effect to muscimol. Administration of picrotoxin, a GABA antagonist, slightly decreased the feeding response to pentobarbital and to muscimol. Administration of gamma-vinyl GABA, an inhibitor of the enzyme GABA transaminase, did not affect feeding behavior of sheep at any of the doses tested (0-10 mumol). Injections of gamma-vinyl GABA followed by equimolar injections of GABA failed to provoke any feeding response. The data suggest that pentobarbital and muscimol may induce feeding by acting on a similar hypothalamic receptor complex but by different mechanisms. The lack of effect of GABA itself remains unexplained.     

克仑特罗对绵羊肝脏血液中IGF-Ⅰ、GH和胰岛素水平的影响

克仑特罗 (ｃｌｅｎｂｕｔｅｒｏｌ ,ＣＬ)为一种 β -肾上腺素能受体激动剂。自 80年代初发现 β -受体激动剂可促进机体生长并改变机体胴体组成以来 ,许多研究均显示 β -激动剂具促进脂肪动员、减少体脂沉积、增加氮素贮存和促进蛋白质合成等作用 ,进而调节机体的生长发育 ,因而 β -激动剂又被称为“营养分重分配剂” (Ｙａｎｇ＆ＭｃＥｌｌｉｇｏｔｔ ,1989;Ｃａｒｄｏｓｏ＆Ｓｔｏｃｋ ,1996;Ｓｍｉｔｈ ,1998)。然而机体内代谢水平在很大程度上受内分泌的调控。在对影响机体生长发育的内分泌研究中 ,越来越多的证据表明胰岛素样生长…     

Polymorphism of FecB Gene in Nine Sheep Breeds or Strains and Its Effects on Litter Size, Lamb Growth and Development

Nine sheep breeds or strains, including 615 individuals were screened with forced PCR RFLP method for the FecB gene to study the polymorphism and its effects on litter size, body weight and body size. Results showed that the polymorphism frequencies of FecB gene were significantly imbalanced in these breeds or strains. The Hu sheep were all homozygous carriers of FecB gene(BB). In the Chinese Merino prolific meat strain, the genotype frequencies of BB, B+ and ++ were 51%, 30% and 19%, respectively, whereas all the other flocks had only the wild-type (++) genotype. Results within the Chinese Merino prolific meat strain showed that the mean litter size of ewes with genotype BB and B+ were 2.8 (±0.74) and 2.3 (±0.63) (P<0.05). whereas ++ genotype ewes had a litter size of only 1.2 (±0.68) (P<0.01). At day 90 after birth, the body weights of BB/B+ genotype lambs were higher than that of ++ genotype lambs (18.6±3.70 kg. 18.0±3.71 kg vs 15.6±2.22 kg, P<0.05). In addition, the heart girth and chest width of BB/B+ genotype lambs were significantly longer than those of the ++ lambs (P<0.05). No significant differences were observed in either body weight or body size at day 120. Litter size at first lambing from Hu at Natural Source Conservative Region was found to be significantly higher than that from the other two regions sampled (P<0.05). In addition to the additive effect on litter size, these findings showed for the first time that the FecB gene had a positive effect on early postnatal body growth.