Bats respond to polarity of a magnetic field

Bats have been shown to use information from the Earth's magnetic field during orientation. However, the mechanism underlying this ability remains unknown. In this study we investigated whether bats possess a polarity- or inclination-based compass that could be used in orientation. We monitored the hanging position of adult Nyctalus plancyi in the laboratory in the presence of an induced magnetic field of twice Earth-strength. When under the influence of a normally aligned induced field the bats showed a significant preference for hanging at the northern end of their roosting basket. When the vertical component of the field was reversed, the bats remained at the northern end of the basket. However, when the horizontal component of the field was reversed, the bats changed their positions and hung at the southern end of the basket. Based on these results, we conclude that N. plancyi, unlike all other non-mammalian vertebrates tested to date, uses a polarity-based compass during orientation in the roost, and that the same compass is also likely to underlie bats' long-distance navigation abilities.     

Cardiomyocyte-specific knockout of endothelin receptor a attenuates obesity cardiomyopathy

Endothelin (ET)-1 is implicated in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases although its role in obesity anomalies has not been fully elucidated. This study was designed to examine the impact of ET-1 receptor A (ET_A) ablation on obesity-induced changes in cardiac geometry and contractile function, as well as the mechanisms involved with a focus on autophagy. Cardiomyocyte-specific ET_A receptor knockout (ETAKO) and WT mice were fed either low-fat (10% calorie from fat) or high-fat (45% calorie from fat) diet for 24?weeks. Glucose tolerance test was examined to confirm insulin resistance. High-fat diet intake compromised myocardial geometry (enlarged left ventricular diameters in systole and diastole), morphology (cardiac hypertrophy, increased wall thickness and interstitial fibrosis), contractile function (reduced fractional shortening, ejection fraction and cardiomyocyte shortening) and intracellular Ca²⁺ handling, the effect of which was significantly attenuated by ETAKO. TUNEL staining revealed overt apoptosis in high-fat-fed group, the effect was reverted by ETAKO. Western blot analysis noted that high-fat intake downregulated leptin receptor and PPARγ, insulin signaling (elevated basal/dampened insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of Akt and IRS1), phosphorylation of AMPK, ACC, upregulated GATA-4, ANP, NFATc3, PPARα, m-TOR/p70s6k signaling, which were attenuated by ETAKO with the exception of AMPK/ACC. Furthermore, high-fat intake suppressed cardiac autophagy, which was abrogated by ETAKO. In cultured murine cardiomyocytes, palmitic acid challenged mimicked high-fat diet-induced hypertrophic and autophagic responses, the effect of which were abolished by the ET_A receptor antagonist BQ123 or mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. These results suggest that inhibition of ET_A rescues high-fat intake-induced cardiac anomalies possibly through autophagy regulation.     

Mechanisms,origin and heredity of Glu-1Ay silencing in wheat evolution and domestication

Key message

Allotetraploidization drives Glu-1Ay silencing in polyploid wheat.

Abstract

The high-molecular-weight glutenin subunit gene, Glu-1Ay, is always silenced in common wheat via elusive mechanisms. To investigate its silencing and heredity during wheat polyploidization and domestication, the Glu-1Ay gene was characterized in 1246 accessions containing diploid and polyploid wheat worldwide. Eight expressed Glu-1Ay alleles (in 71.81% accessions) and five silenced alleles with a premature termination codon (PTC) were identified in Triticum urartu; 4 expressed alleles (in 41.21% accessions), 13 alleles with PTCs and 1 allele with a WIS 2-1A retrotransposon were present in wild tetraploid wheat; and only silenced alleles with PTC or WIS 2-1A were in cultivated tetra- and hexaploid wheat. Both the PTC number and position in T. urartu Glu-1Ay alleles (one in the N-terminal region) differed from its progeny wild tetraploid wheat (1–5 PTCs mainly in the repetitive domain). The WIS 2-1A insertion occurred?~?0.13 million years ago in wild tetraploid wheat, much later than the allotetraploidization event. The Glu-1Ay alleles with PTCs or WIS 2-1A that arose in wild tetraploid wheat were fully succeeded to cultivated tetraploid and hexaploid wheat. In addition, the Glu-1Ay gene in wild einkorn inherited to cultivated einkorn. Our data demonstrated that the silencing of Glu-1Ay in tetraploid and hexaploid wheat was attributed to the new PTCs and WIS 2-1A insertion in wild tetraploid wheat, and most silenced alleles were delivered to the cultivated tetraploid and hexaploid wheat, providing a clear evolutionary history of the Glu-1Ay gene in the wheat polyploidization and domestication processes.

     

Deciphering the bat virome catalog to better understand the ecological diversity of bat viruses and the bat origin of emerging infectious diseases

Studies have demonstrated that ~60%–80% of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) in humans originated from wild life. Bats are natural reservoirs of a large variety of viruses, including many important zoonotic viruses that cause severe diseases in humans and domestic animals. However, the understanding of the viral population and the ecological diversity residing in bat populations is unclear, which complicates the determination of the origins of certain EIDs. Here, using bats as a typical wildlife reservoir model, virome analysis was conducted based on pharyngeal and anal swab samples of 4440 bat individuals of 40 major bat species throughout China. The purpose of this study was to survey the ecological and biological diversities of viruses residing in these bat species, to investigate the presence of potential bat-borne zoonotic viruses and to evaluate the impacts of these viruses on public health. The data obtained in this study revealed an overview of the viral community present in these bat samples. Many novel bat viruses were reported for the first time and some bat viruses closely related to known human or animal pathogens were identified. This genetic evidence provides new clues in the search for the origin or evolution pattern of certain viruses, such as coronaviruses and noroviruses. These data offer meaningful ecological information for predicting and tracing wildlife-originated EIDs.     

广东肇庆石灰岩植物区系的基本特征

肇庆石灰岩共有维管植物９１科２２６属３０３种。经过对种子植物、蕨类植物地理成分分析和与邻近植物区系比较,表明肇庆石灰岩植物区系服从植物地理分带规律,以热带－亚热带分布成分为主体,表现出明显的南亚热带南缘植物区系性质;同时显示出岩溶基质特点;与紧邻的土山植物区系具有完全迥异的表征科。区系区划上属于华南植物区,位于粤中亚区与粤西－桂中亚区的汇合点     

脂肪酶催化有机硅化合物的生物转化

C.cylindracea脂肪酶可催化有机介质中有机硅醇与脂肪酸的酯化反应。微水有机介质比水-水不溶有机介质更有利于酶的反应,有机硅醇是比其碳结构类似物更好的酰基受体。对不同有机硅醇底物,当其空间障碍大时,不利于酶催化酯化反应,对不同脂肪酸底物,有机硅醇未影响该脂肪酶的脂肪酸底物特异性。     

超声波在生物工程中的应用

研究发现在酶和细胞催化的生物反应过程中,较低强度的超声作用可提高酶的催化活性或加速细胞的代谢过程。本文主要简述超声波作用的物理机制并对其在生物工程中的应用前景进行讨论。     

秦岭川金丝猴下地活动的初步调查

川金丝猴(Ｒｈｉｎｏｐｉｔｈｅｃｕｓｒｏｘｅｌｌａｎａ)是以树栖为主的灵长类动物。近年来,人类在秦岭地区的森林砍伐对金丝猴的行为生态产生一定影响,我们就此问题对行进中的金丝猴下地行为和森林植被类型间的关系进行定量研究,以探讨森林砍伐是否为导致川金丝猴下地?..