Study on the Promotion of Bacterial Biofilm Formation by a Salmonella Conjugative Plasmid and the Underlying Mechanism

To investigate the effect of the pR_ST98 plasmid, originally isolated from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi), on biofilm (BF) formation, we carried out in vitro experiments using S. Typhi, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). We further explored the effects of pR_ST98 in vivo by establishing two animal models, a tumor-bearing mouse model and a mouse urethral catheter model. Moreover, we examined the relationship between the quorum-sensing (QS) system and pR_ST98-mediated BF formation. These studies showed that pR_ST98 enhanced BF formation in different bacteria in vitro. In both animal models, pR_ST98 promoted BF formation and caused more severe pathological changes. It was previously reported that Salmonella senses exogenous N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) through the regulatory protein SdiA and regulates the expression of genes including the virulence gene rck, which is located on the virulence plasmid of some serotypes of Salmonella. In this study, we confirmed the locus of the rck gene on pR_ST98 and found that AHLs increased rck expression in pR_ST98-carrying strains, thereby enhancing bacterial adherence, serum resistance and bacterial BF formation. In conclusion, the Salmonella conjugative plasmid pR_ST98 promotes bacterial BF formation both in vitro and in vivo, and the mechanism may relate to the AHL-SdiA-Rck signaling pathway.     

Synthesis and evaluation of near-infrared (NIR) dye-herceptin conjugates as photoacoustic computed tomography (PCT) probes for HER2 expression in breast cancer

We are evaluating PCT imaging in conjunction with NIR dye labeled Herceptin antibody for noninvasive assessment of HER2 expression in tumors. Herceptin was labeled with Alexa Fluor-750 amine reactive dye for characterization of photoacoustic and fluorescence signals. Measurements were performed in solution and after incubation in cultured cell lines that were positive or negative in expression of HER2. The dye to antibody ratio was controlled to achieve a broad range of degree of labeling (DOL = 2 to 15). Photoacoustic signal intensity of Herceptin-dye conjugates in solution increased with increases over the entire DOL range studied. In contrast, fluorescence exhibited significant quenching for higher DOL. In vitro PCT imaging of the labeled HER2 (+) and HER2 (-) cells revealed the targeting specificity of the NIR dye labeled Herceptin. In HER2 (+) cells lines, photoacoustic signal intensity gradually increased with increasing DOL and with increasing number of cells. These results demonstrate that PCT-based measurement of HER2 receptor binding using NIR dye labeled Herceptin is feasible. The absence of a quenching effect with increased DOL advantages this method over traditional methods based on fluorescence measurement.     

Biomass structure of exotic invasive plant Galinsona parviflora

Galinsona parviflora (Asteraceae) is a wide-spread annual weed that is invasive,colonizing new ground where it is able to persist.We studied the bio-mass structure of the G.Parviflora population at the module level by using the methods of field plot invest-igation and weighing at 10 sample plots.Modular bio-mass was calculated and used for analysis of relation-ships between various modules.The results show that there was a positive correlation between plant height and modular biomass,between stem biomass and root biomass,stem biomass and capitulum biomass,above-ground biomass and underground biomass,and lastly,stem biomass and leaf biomass.The preferred model which measured all the relationships was a power func-tion model with absolute coefficients(R2) ranging from 0.6303 to 0.9782.     

几种野生植物提取物抑菌作用研究

本文以乙醇为溶剂,分别提取了瓦松、泽漆及一组中草药配方的有效成分;室内测定了三种提取液对5种植物病原菌(棉花枯萎病菌Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.vasinfectum;小麦赤霉病菌Fusarium graminearum Schw;西瓜枯萎病菌Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.niveum;仙人掌软腐病菌Erwinia chrysanthemi pv.chrysanthemi;魔芋软腐病菌Erwiniacarotovora pv.carotovora)的抑菌作用.结果表明:三种提取物对镰刀菌均有不同程度的抑制作用,且三种提取物的抑菌效果差异显著,其中瓦松的抑菌效果最强.当在50 mL培养基中加入5mL不同提取液时,瓦松对不同镰刀菌的相对抑制率为91.39%～100%;中草药配方提取液对不同镰刀菌的相对抑制率分别为41.11%～85.37%;而泽漆提取液对镰刀菌的相对抑制率仅为12.86%～21.23%;当在50 mL培养基中加入提取液体积降低为2 mL、1 mL、0.5mL时,三种提取液对三种镰刀菌的抑制效果骤然下降,但下降的梯度不一.对大白菜软腐病菌与魔芋软腐病菌而言也是瓦松的抑菌效果最强,中草药配方次之,泽漆的抑制效果最差.     

Carbon nanotube-enhanced DNA biosensor for DNA hybridization detection using manganese(II)-Schiff base complex as hybridization indicator

A Mn(II) complex, MnL (L = sodium (E)-3-((1-carboxyethylimino)methyl)-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate), was synthesized and characterized using elemental analysis and IR spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to investigate the interaction between MnL and salmon sperm DNA. It was revealed that MnL presented high electrochemical activity on glassy carbon electrode (GCE), and it could be intercalated into the double helices of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). Using MnL as the hybridization indicator, a novel and sensitive electrochemical DNA biosensor based on multiwall carbon nanotubes functionalized with carboxyl groups (MWCNTs-COOH, on which DNA probes were covalently immobilized) was prepared. The target single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) could be quantified ranging from 6.7 × 10⁻¹⁰ M to 8.4 × 10⁻⁹ M with good linearity (r = 0.9922). A detection limit of 1.4 × 10⁻¹⁰ M (3σ, n = 9) was achieved.