原始生殖细胞发生的机制

生殖细胞的发生是发育和遗传的基础。在几乎所有哺乳动物中,原始生殖细胞（primordial germ cell,PGC）均由近端上胚层体细胞在周边细胞特定的信号诱导下特化而成。目前的研究已经发现一些与生殖细胞特化有关的信号分子和关键转录调控元件,以及特化后生殖细胞获得的与体细胞不同的生物特性。生殖细胞的特化是一个结合了体细胞发育程序的抑制、细胞多能性程序的启动和全基因组表观遗传重编程三个方面的动态的复杂过程。多能性干细胞（胚胎干细胞或诱导型多能干细胞）具有发育全能性,能分化为机体任何一种细胞类型,包括生殖细胞。利用多能性干细胞体外分化形成生殖细胞有助于深入系统地研究配子发生的调控机制,为干细胞在不育症治疗方面的应用带来新希望。     

铜绿假单胞菌全局调控因子RsmA的缺失影响2个吩嗪基因簇的表达

[目的]为了研究铜绿假单胞菌全局调控因子RsmA对两个吩嗪(Phenazine)合成基因簇phz1和phz2的调控方式与机制.[方法]采用基因缺失和抗性基因(gentamycin resistance cassette,aacC1)插入相结合的策略构建了rsmA基因缺失突变株PA-RG ;通过构建互补表达载体和过表达载体,进一步确认RsmA对绿脓菌素的调控作用 ;采用电转化方法将构建的翻译融合表达载体pMEZ1(phz1'-'lacZ)和pMEZ2(phz2'-'lacZ)分别导入铜绿假单胞菌突变株PA-RG和野生株PAO1,采用Miller法测定融合β-半乳糖苷酶活性.[结果]在GA培养基中,互补分析和过表达分析表明,RsmA抑制绿脓菌素的合成.此外,pMEZ1在突变株PA-RG中的表达增强,为野生株的2-3倍 ;而pMEZ2在突变株PA-RG中的表达降低,野生株是突变株的2倍.[结论]由此初步判定,铜绿假单胞菌全局调控因子RsmA对两个不同吩嗪合成基因簇的调控作用具有特异性,在一定程度上RsmA负调控phz1,正调控phz2.     

三峡库区三种林下地被物储水特性

通过对三峡库区3种森林类型(松栎混交林、栓皮栎纯林、马尾松纯林)林下地被物调查及其持水试验,分别得到3种森林类型林下地被物最大储水量、吸水速率等水文特征参数,结果表明,栓皮栎纯林林下苔藓层储水量最大,为其风干重的303．1％,松栎混交林林下的为283．8％,马尾松纯林林下的为242．3％．松栎混交林林下枯落物最大储水量为其风干重的282.2％,栓皮栎纯林林下的为262．5％,马尾松纯林林下的为239．3％。经分析拟合,得到林下苔藓层、林下枯落物吸水速率与浸泡时间之间关系式为S=kt^n,在同为中龄林条件下,3种森林类型林下苔藓层储水量均高于林下枯落物储水量,而林下地被物储水量随时间变化过程与森林类型无关。     

Smad3 signaling is required for satellite cell function and myogenic differentiation of myoblasts

TGF-β and myostatin are the two most important regulators of muscle growth. Both growth factors have been shown to signal through a Smad3-dependent pathway. However to date, the role of Smad3 in muscle growth and differentiation is not investigated. Here, we demonstrate that Smad3-null mice have decreased muscle mass and pronounced skeletal muscle atrophy. Consistent with this, we also find increased protein ubiquitination and elevated levels of the ubiquitin E3 ligase MuRF1 in muscle tissue isolated from Smad3-null mice. Loss of Smad3 also led to defective satellite cell (SC) functionality. Smad3-null SCs showed reduced propensity for self-renewal, which may lead to a progressive loss of SC number. Indeed, decreased SC number was observed in skeletal muscle from Smad3-null mice showing signs of severe muscle wasting. Further in vitro analysis of primary myoblast cultures identified that Smad3-null myoblasts exhibit impaired proliferation, differentiation and fusion, resulting in the formation of atrophied myotubes. A search for the molecular mechanism revealed that loss of Smad3 results in increased myostatin expression in Smad3-null muscle and myoblasts. Given that myostatin is a negative regulator, we hypothesize that increased myostatin levels are responsible for the atrophic phenotype in Smad3-null mice. Consistent with this theory, inactivation of myostatin in Smad3-null mice rescues the muscle atrophy phenotype.     

Century-Scale Responses of Ecosystem Carbon Storage and Flux to Multiple Environmental Changes in the Southern United States

Terrestrial ecosystems in the southern United States (SUS) have experienced a complex set of changes in climate, atmospheric CO₂ concentration, tropospheric ozone (O₃), nitrogen (N) deposition, and land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) during the past century. Although each of these factors has received attention for its alterations on ecosystem carbon (C) dynamics, their combined effects and relative contributions are still not well understood. By using the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model (DLEM) in combination with spatially explicit, long-term historical data series on multiple environmental factors, we examined the century-scale responses of ecosystem C storage and flux to multiple environmental changes in the SUS. The results indicated that multiple environmental changes shifted SUS ecosystems from a C source of 1.20?±?0.56?Pg (1?Pg?=?10¹⁵?g) during the period 1895 to 1950, to a C sink of 2.00?±?0.94?Pg during the period 1951 to 2007. Over the entire period spanning 1895–2007, SUS ecosystems were a net C sink of 0.80?±?0.38?Pg. The C sink was primarily due to an increase in the vegetation C pool, whereas the soil C pool decreased during the study period. The spatiotemporal changes of C storage were caused by changes in multiple environmental factors. Among the five factors examined (climate, LULCC, N deposition, atmospheric CO₂, and tropospheric O₃), elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration was the largest contributor to C sequestration, followed by N deposition. LULCC, climate, and tropospheric O₃ concentration contributed to C losses during the study period. The SUS ecosystem C sink was largely the result of interactive effects among multiple environmental factors, particularly atmospheric N input and atmospheric CO_2.     

Fluorescent metal nanoshell and CK19 detection on single cell image

In this article, we report the synthesis strategy and optical properties of a novel type of fluorescence metal nanoshell when it was used as imaging agent for fluorescence cell imaging. The metal nanoshells were made with 40 nm silica cores and 10 nm silver shells. Unlike typical fluorescence metal nanoshells which contain the organic dyes in the cores, novel metal nanoshells were composed of Cy5-labelled monoclonal anti-CK19 antibodies (mAbs) on the external surfaces of shells. Optical measurements to the single nanoparticles showed that in comparison with the metal free labelled mAbs, the mAb-Ag complexes displayed significantly enhanced emission intensity and dramatically shortened lifetime due to near-field interactions of fluorophores with metal. These metal nanoshells were found to be able to immunoreact with target cytokeratin 19 (CK19) molecules on the surfaces of LNCAP and HeLa cells. Fluorescence cell images were recorded on a time-resolved confocal microscope. The emissions from the metal nanoprobes could be clearly isolated from the cellular autofluorescence backgrounds on the cell images as either individuals or small clusters due to their stronger emission intensities and shorter lifetimes. These emission signals could also be precisely counted on single cell images. The count number may provide an approach for quantifying the target molecules in the cells.     

Distinct Promoters Affect Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Production in Recombinant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae

Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is a versatile quinone cofactor participating in numerous biological processes. Klebsiella pneumoniae can naturally synthesize PQQ for harboring intact PQQ synthesis genes. Previous metabolic engineering of K. pneumoniae failed to overproduce PQQ due to the employment of strong promoter in expression vector. Here we report that a moderate rather than strong promoter is efficient for PQQ production. To screen an appropriate promoter, a total of four distinct promoters—lac promoter, pk promoter of glycerol dehydratase gene (dhaB1), promoter of kanamycin resistance gene, and T7 promoter (as the control)—were individually used for overexpressing the endogenous PQQ genes in K. pneumoniae along with heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. We found that all recombinant K. pneumoniae strains produced more PQQ than recombinant E. coli strains that carried corresponding vectors, indicating that K. pneumoniae is superior to E. coli for the production of PQQ. Particularly, the recombinant K. pneumoniae recruiting the promoter of kanamycin resistance gene produced the highest PQQ (1,700 nmol), revealing that a moderate rather than strong promoter is efficient for PQQ production. Furthermore, PQQ production was roughly proportional to glucose concentration increasing from 0.5 to 1.5 g/L, implying the synergism between PQQ biosynthesis and glucose utilization. This study not only provides a feasible strategy for production of PQQ in K. pneumoniae, but also reveals the exquisite synchronization among PQQ biosynthesis, glucose metabolism, and cell proliferation.     

高梁抗蚜研究进展

高粱(Sorghum bicolour)是世界上最重要的粮食、饲料、酿造和能源作物之一,也是C4植物研究的模式植物.蚜虫是农业生产上的重要害虫,几乎危害所有的栽培作物.危害高粱的蚜虫主要包括高粱蚜(Melanaphis sacchan)、麦二叉蚜(Schizaphis graminum)和玉米蚜(Rhopalosiphum maidis).高粱的抗蚜资源尚不丰富且缺乏深入系统的研究.目前研究较多的是麦二叉蚜的抗性遗传方面,已定位20个抗性QTLs,单一QTL对抗性差异贡献率最高可达80.3％,对高粱蚜和玉米蚜的研究尚需进一步加强.高粱的理化特性与其抗蚜性能相关,故可与育种实践相结合.高粱和蚜虫(Acyrthosiphon pisum)的全基因组测序工作已经完成,这将有助于蚜虫-植物间的相互作用关系及植物对蚜虫的抗性机制研究.目前已克隆到2个抗蚜基因,且多个抗蚜基因(位点)已被定位在染色体上.该文重点综述了上述研究成果并对高粱抗蚜的研究前景进行了展望.     

中国茶对变形链球菌的抑菌作用

对３６只ｓｐｒａｑｕｅ－Ｄａｗｌｅｙ鼠分４组给予诱龋饲料（Ｄｉｅｔ２０００,ｋｅｙｓ）,并连续５天在口腔内接种变链菌６７１５菌株,分别给予我国主要产茶区的三种茶浸液：龙井绿茶（Ｂ组）,四川涪陵红茶（Ｃ组）,乌龙茶（Ｄ组）,先用０．５ｇ茶和５０ｍｌ双蒸馏水加热煮沸过滤后浸泡１０分钟以及对照组（Ａ组）用双蒸馏水为饮料喂养实验鼠。实验６０天后,杀鼠观察计算鼠磨牙面的菌落形成单位（ＣＦＵ）和菌斑指数（ｐｌａｑｕｅｓｃｏｒｅ）均显著下降。实验结果,实验组和对照组菌斑指数下降值顺序如下：Ｃ组＞Ｄ组＞Ｂ组＞Ａ组,并与实验组含氟量有相关性。很多研究表明变链菌是较为肯定的致龋菌、茶中氟化物对变链菌生长、粘附都有抑制作用。本研究选用茶来源广泛、价廉、无毒安全等优点,为开拓新的防龋方法进行探索。