Lineage Specifiers： New Players in the Induction of Pluripotency

Pluripotency-associated factors and their rivals,lineage specifers,have long been considered the determining factors for the identity of pluripotent and differentiated cells,respectively.Therefore,factors that are employed for cellular reprogramming in order to induce pluripotency have been identifed mainly from embryonic stem cell(ESC)-enriched and pluripotency-associated factors.Recently,lineage specifers have been identifed to play important roles in orchestrating the process of restoring pluripotency.In this review,we summarize the latest discoveries regarding cell fate conversion using pluripotency-associated factors and lineage specifers.We highlight the value of the‘‘seesaw’’model in defning cellular identity,opening up a novel scenario to consider pluripotency and lineage specifcation.     

Xanthomonas type III effector XopD targets SUMO-conjugated proteins in planta

Xanthomonas campestris pathovar vesicatoria (Xcv) uses the type III secretion system (TTSS) to inject effector proteins into cells of Solanaceous plants during pathogenesis. A number of Xcv TTSS effectors have been identified; however, their function in planta remains elusive. Here, we provide direct evidence for a functional role for a phytopathogenic bacterial TTSS effector in planta by demonstrating that the Xcv effector XopD encodes an active cysteine protease with plant-specific SUMO substrate specificity. XopD is injected into plant cells by the TTSS during Xcv pathogenesis, translocated to subnuclear foci and hydrolyses SUMO-conjugated proteins in vivo. Our studies suggest that XopD mimics endogenous plant SUMO isopeptidases to interfere with the regulation of host proteins during Xcv infection.     

海南海口温泉真菌、细菌多样性及其环境影响因素分析

【目的】海南海口含有丰富的温泉资源,对温泉微生物多样性进行研究,有助于进一步开发和利用海南温泉微生物资源。【方法】本文采用Illumina Hi Seq高通量测序技术对海口3个温泉[海甸岛荣域温泉(S1)、火山口开心农场温泉(S2)和西海岸海长流温泉(S3)]水样中微生物ITS序列和16Sr RNA基因V3-V4区进行测序及生物信息学分析,探究海口市3个不同区域的温泉真菌多样性与细菌多样性。【结果】(1)α多样性分析表明,真菌群落中,S3(29)S1(29)S2,而在细菌群落中,S2(29)S1(29)S3。β多样性分析表明,3个温泉真菌群落和细菌群落组成差异皆显著。(2)分类分析表明,温泉真菌群落优势菌门为子囊菌门(Ascomycota)和担子菌门(Basidiomycota),细菌群落优势菌门为变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)、Thermi、硝化螺旋菌门(Nitrospirae)、绿菌门(Chlorobi)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)、绿弯菌门(Chloroflexi)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria)。(3) CCA (Canonical correspondence analysis)分析表明,3个温泉的真菌群落主要影响因子是温度,细菌群落主要影响因子是总磷。【结论】海南省海口市温泉中含有丰富的微生物资源,其微生物群落组成受多种环境因子影响,且影响真菌和细菌的主要环境因子不同。     

Prevalence of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus in Uygur and Han populations from the Urumqi and Kashgar regions of Xinjiang,China

Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the infectious etiologic agent associated with Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma, and multicentric Castleman disease. It has been shown that high KSHV prevalence and high incidence of both classic KS and AIDSassociated KS are found mostly among people of Uygur ethnicity in Xinjiang, while people of Han ethnicity in Xinjiang have a higher KSHV seroprevalence than those of other Han populations in mainland China. However, it is still unclear why there is such geographical and population variation in KSHV distribution in China. In this work, we focused on the populations in the Kashgar region and Urumqi area, where a total of 1294 research subjects were randomly selected to investigate the potential correlation between KSHV prevalence and different ethnicities in endemic areas of Xinjiang, and to determine risk factors that may affect KSHV infection rates or KS incidence. We identified a high seroprevalence of KSHV and high peripheral blood DNA infection in the general Uygur and Han populations in both Urumqi and Kashgar regions of Xinjiang, and determined that advancing age, low education level, and stationary population status affect KSHV infection rates. Further, KSHV-positive Uygur participants were shown to have higher prevalence of neutralizing antibodies and neutralizing antibody titers than KSHV-positive Han participants.

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High Throughput SSR Multiplex Kits (12 plex) for Euphrates’ Poplar,Populus euphratica (Salicaceae)

Multiplex PCR of microsatellite is a cost effective and high throughput technique of genotyping. We developed a new 12 plex PCR kit for Populus euphratica, the only tree species in desert area ranging from Western China to Mediterranean coast. Three primers were designed for the expressed sequence tags (ESTs) sequences from the NCBI database and the other nine primers were designed based on the EST sequences of Peuphratica obtained by Solexa. The multiplex kit was tested by 96 samples from three natural populations. The results showed sufficient amplification stability and high polymorphism. All the 12 loci used in this kit showed a high transferability (79%) in other seven species from five sections of the genus. The new 12 plex kit combined with the two eight multiplex kits we had developed in previous studies, should be useful to reveal the genetic mechanism and evolution history of the Peuphratica and related species. During the research, we found that primers selection, amplification efficiency, null allele detection are the essential parts of the multiplex kit development.     

Crystal structure of Natratoxin, a novel snake secreted phospholipaseA2 neurotoxin from Naja atra venom inhibiting A-type K+ currents

Snake secreted phospholipasesA2 (sPLA2s) are widely used as pharmacological tools to investigate their role in diverse pathophysiological processes. Some members of snake venom sPLA2s have been found to block voltage-activated K(+) channels (K(v) channels). However, most studies involved in their effects on ion channels were indirectly performed on motor nerve terminals while few studies were directly done on native neurons. Here, a novel snake sPLA2 peptide neurotoxin, Natratoxin, composed of 119 amino acid residues and purified from Naja atra venom was reported. It was characterized using whole-cell patch-clamp in acutely dissociated rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. It was found to effectively inhibit A-type K(+) currents and cause alterations of channel gating characters, such as the shifts of steady-state activation and inactivation curves to hyperpolarization direction and changes of V(1/2) and slope factor. Therefore, Natratoxin was suggested to be a gating modifier of K(v) channel. In addition, this inhibitory effect was found to be independent of its enzymatic activity. These results suggested that the toxin enacted its inhibitory effect by binding to K(v) channel. To further elucidate the structural basis for this electrophysiological phenomenon, we determined the crystal structure of Natratoxin at 2.2 A resolution by molecular replacement method and refined to an R-factor of 0.190. The observed overall fold has a different structural organization from other K(+) channel inhibitors in animal toxins. Compared with other K(v) channel inhibitors, a similar putative functional surface in its C-terminal was revealed to contribute to protein-protein interaction in such a blocking effect. Our results demonstrated that the spatial distribution of key amino acid residues matters most in the recognition of this toxin towards its channel target rather than its type of fold.     

A mild, efficient, and selective procedure for transprotection of acetonides to acetates catalyzed with HClO4-SiO2

The transformation of acetonides into acetates is frequently required in synthetic chemistry. An efficient procedure for direct conversion of acetonides into acetates in the presence of HClO₄-SiO₂ under mild conditions was developed. The acetonides of primary hydroxy groups are directly converted to diacetates, and the anomeric acetonides of furanosides are stereoselectively transformed into the corresponding acetyl β-d-furanosides with a 2-acetoxyisopropyl group.