MsmE, a lipoprotein involved in sugar transport in Streptococcus mutans.

Metabolic labelling by [14C]palmitic acid showed that growth of Streptococcus mutans LT11 in raffinose, an inducer of the msm operon, resulted in increased production of a 45-kDa lipoprotein corresponding to MsmE, which is believed to be a sugar-binding protein. MsmE was also labelled when an msmE clone was expressed in Escherichia coli. The presence of a lipid anchor on MsmE provides a likely explanation of how the sugar-binding protein component of the msm binding protein-dependent multiple sugar transport system is retained at the cell surface.     

Hindered diffusion of high molecular weight compounds in brain extracellular microenvironment measured with integrative optical imaging.

This paper describes the theory of an integrative optical imaging system and its application to the analysis of the diffusion of 3-, 10-, 40-, and 70-kDa fluorescent dextran molecules in agarose gel and brain extracellular microenvironment. The method uses a precisely defined source of fluorescent molecules pressure ejected from a micropipette, and a detailed theory of the intensity contributions from out-of-focus molecules in a three-dimensional medium to a two-dimensional image. Dextrans tagged with either tetramethylrhodamine or Texas Red were ejected into 0.3% agarose gel or rat cortical slices maintained in a perfused chamber at 34 degrees C and imaged using a compound epifluorescent microscope with a 10 x water-immersion objective. About 20 images were taken at 2-10-s intervals, recorded with a cooled CCD camera, then transferred to a 486 PC for quantitative analysis. The diffusion coefficient in agarose gel, D, and the apparent diffusion coefficient, D*, in brain tissue were determined by fitting an integral expression relating the measured two-dimensional image intensity to the theoretical three-dimensional dextran concentration. The measurements in dilute agarose gel provided a reference value of D and validated the method. Values of the tortuosity, lambda = (D/D*)1/2, for the 3- and 10-kDa dextrans were 1.70 and 1.63, respectively, which were consistent with previous values derived from tetramethylammonium measurements in cortex. Tortuosities for the 40- and 70-kDa dextrans had significantly larger values of 2.16 and 2.25, respectively. This suggests that the extracellular space may have local constrictions that hinder the diffusion of molecules above a critical size that lies in the range of many neurotrophic compounds.     

肺癌患者胸水游离氨基酸分析

本文对11例肺癌患者胸水13种游离氨基酸作了分析,并与28例正常人血浆游离氨基酸水平作了对照,结果表明:肺癌患者胸水的必需及非必需氨基酸普遍高于正常人血浆游离氨基酸,但其胸水谷氨酰胺水平则明显低于正常人血浆水平。     

遮阴对石笔木苗木生长和保护酶活性的影响

为探讨石笔木Tutcheria championi苗木对遮阴环境的适应性,以全光照(无遮阴覆盖)为对照,研究遮阴30%、50%和70%对2年生石笔木苗生长和生理特性的影响。结果表明,全光照下石笔木苗木生长较为健壮,其苗高、地径生长优于遮阴处理;全光照下石笔木总生物量、根生物量比以及根冠比显著大于遮阴处理(P<0.05);50%遮阴处理苗木叶片叶绿素含量显著高于全光照和70%遮阴处理(P<0.05),叶绿素a/b值在各处理间无显著差异。丙二醛(MDA)含量、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性在各处理间无显著差异(P>0.05);70%遮阴处理的苗木叶片过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性最高,显著高于全光照和50%遮阴。由此表明,充足的光照环境有利于石笔木苗木生长。     

厌氧氨氧化菌驱动脱氮途径的研究进展

厌氧氨氧化菌(anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, AnAOB)的代谢多样性,使得该菌群能够在海洋、湿地和陆地等不同的自然生态系统中广泛分布,甚至在一些极热和极寒环境中也检测到了该菌群的存在。本文回顾并总结了厌氧氨氧化菌在不同生态系统中的发现、分布及脱氮贡献等方面的研究,分析了厌氧氨氧化菌分布的主要环境影响因素。该综述将帮助我们更好地理解全球氮循环中厌氧氨氧化菌的实际角色和功能,并基于厌氧氨氧化(anaerobicammoniaoxidation,anammox)过程,探究能与其进行协作的新型生物脱氮工艺,以期为这些工艺的研发和推广提供生态学基础和新的思考,从而实现脱氮工艺的技术变革。     

高砷含水层参与腐殖酸-铁矿物转化的关键微生物群落及其对砷迁移转化的影响

【目的】探究不同腐殖酸浓度下参与含砷水铁矿转化的微生物类群组成和丰度变化及对砷释放的影响,预测原位高砷含水层中功能微生物群参与有机质—含砷铁矿物转化过程对砷转化释放的作用。【方法】对河套平原高砷地下水和同深度高砷沉积物中的铁还原功能群落进行富集培养,构建室内厌氧微宇宙体系,将富集菌群分别加入到实验室条件下合成的不同浓度腐殖酸(0、1.5、7、14 mg C/L)-含砷水铁矿体系中,通过体系中砷、铁形态及浓度的变化分析,结合高通量测序技术、X-射线衍射(X-ray diffractometer, XRD),探究不同条件下砷的释放固定和群落的演替。【结果】高砷地下水组(G组)和沉积物组(S组)富集得到的铁还原功能群落具有明显差异,G组中以Aeromonadaceae为特殊优势菌群,而S组中以Shewanellaceae为特殊优势菌群。微宇宙实验结果显示,S组的铁还原量相对较高且速率较快;G组与S组中液相砷形态存在明显差异,整个培养期内G组均以As(Ⅴ)为主,而S组中前期以As(Ⅴ)为主,当反应到达20 d时液相As(Ⅲ)高达3.4μmol/L,推测此时具有砷还原功能的群落占优势地位。当反应...     

细菌Ⅵ型分泌系统效应蛋白的装配及功能的研究进展

蛋白分泌作为细胞之间传递信号的途径之一,在微生物生存竞争中也扮演着重要的角色。革兰氏阴性菌可以通过Ⅵ型分泌系统(type Ⅵ secretion system, T6SS)将效应蛋白传递至胞外或原核和真核微生物中,从而介导微生物间的竞争或宿主-细菌的相互作用,最终建立竞争优势。本文主要总结了T6SS的结构与组成,并重点对效应蛋白的装配以及其与免疫蛋白的作用机制的研究进展进行阐述,为以后靶向T6SS抗菌药物的研制提供新思路。     

Crevice-forming mutants in the rigid core of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor: crystal structures of F22A, Y23A, N43G, and F45A.

Crystal structures of four mutants of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (F22A, Y23A, N43G, and F45A), engineered to alter their stability properties, have been determined. The mutated residues, which are highly conserved among Kunitz-type inhibitors, are located in the rigid core of the molecule. Replacement of the partially buried bulky residues of the wild-type protein with smaller residues resulted in crevices open to the exterior of the molecule. The overall three-dimensional structure of these mutants is very similar to that of the wild-type protein and only small rearrangements are observed among the atoms lining the crevices.