Nickel-Resistant Determinant from Leptospirillum ferriphilum

Leptospirillum ferriphilum strain UBK03 isolated from a mine in Jiangxi, China, is resistant to Ni²⁺ (30 to 40 mM). A four-gene nickel resistance cluster was identified and, when transformed into Escherichia coli, enabled growth in 6 mM nickel. Mutation experiments revealed that the genes ncrA, ncrB, and ncrC could confer nickel resistance in Escherichia coli, whereas the gene ncrY could have a negative effect on nickel resistance.     

Effects of circadian rhythms of fluctuating temperature on growth and biochemical composition of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ulva pertusa</Emphasis>

The marcoalga Ulva pertusa was cultured under (20 ± 2)°C, (20 ± 4)°C, (20 ± 6)°C, (20 ± 8)°C and (20 ± 10)°C circadian rhythms of fluctuating temperature conditions, and constant temperature of 20°C was used as the control. The growth rate of macroalga at (20 ± 2)°C, (20 ± 4)°C and (20 ± 6)°C were significantly higher than that at constant temperature of 20°C, while growth rate at (20 ± 8)°C and (20 ± 10)°C were significantly lower than that at constant temperature of 20°C. The growth rate of macroalga was a quadratic function of the thermal amplitude. Such a growth model can be described by G = β ₀ + β ₁(TA) + β ₂(TA)², where G represents the relative growth rate, TA is thermal amplitude in degree Celsius, β ₀ is the intercept on the G axis, and β ₁ and β ₂ are the regression coefficients. The optimal thermal amplitude for the growth of thallus at mean temperature of 20°C was estimated to be ± 3.69°C. Analysis of biochemical composition at the final stages of thaulls growth revealed that diel fluctuating temperature caused various influences (P < 0.05). The content of chlorophyll, protein and total solute carbohydrate at (20 ± 2)°C and (20 ± 4)°C were slightly higher than those at constant temperature of 20°C, however no statistically significant differences were found among them (P > 0.05). While osmolytes (total solute carbohydrate and free proline) at (20 ± 10)°C were significantly higher than that at 20°C (P < 0.05). Therefore, more chlorophyll and carbohydrate production might account for the enhancement in the growth of macroalga at the diel fluctuating temperatures in the present study. Handling editor: S. M. Thomaz     

Homochiral metal-organic coordination networks from l-typtophan

Three homochiral metal-organic coordination networks [Co₂(l-Trp)₂(Py)₆] · Py · (ClO₄)₂ (1), [Ni(l-Trp)(Py)₃] · H₂O · ClO₄ (2) and [Co₂(l-Trp)(INT)₂(H₂O)₂(ClO₄)] (3), all containing natural amino acid l-HTrp (l-typtophan), were hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. The compounds 1 and 2 crystallize in the orthorhombic space group C222₁, with a = 10.731(2) Å, b = 19.709(4) Å, c = 27.365(6) Å and Z = 4 for 1 and a = 10.710(10) Å, b = 20.088(18) Å, c = 27.63(3) Å and Z = 8 for 2, respectively. The compound 3 has the monoclinic space group P2₁, with a = 8.1934(14) Å, b = 13.209(2) Å, c = 12.464(2) Å, β = 104.107(3)° and Z = 2. Both 1 and 2 consist of 1D helical chains. Compound 3 is composed of 2D networks, which further assemble into a 3D supramolecular structure via weak interlayer interactions. The optically pure amino acid l-HTrp plays an important role leading to homochiral structures reported here.     

Synthesis and crystal structure of a new macrocyclic dimethyltin(IV) complex with 5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol linked by intermolecular CS?O non-bonded weak interactions

A new macrocycle dimethyltin(IV) complex 1 has been synthesized by the reaction of 5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol with dimethyltin dichloride in the presence of sodium ethoxide. The complex 1 has been characterized by elemental, IR, ¹H, ¹³C, ¹¹⁹Sn NMR spectra and X-ray crystallography diffraction analyses. X-ray data reveal that a 24-membered macrocycle associated by intermolecular CS?O non-bonded weak interactions. The geometry about each tin atom involved is distorted trigonal bipyramidal.     

Dendritic cells modified with 6Ckine/IFNγ fusion gene induce specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes in vitro

Backgroud and objective Dendritic cells play an important role in initiation and regulation of immune responses. Previous studies demonstrated that intratumoral administration of 6Ckine-modified DCs enhanced local and systemic antitumor effects. Herein we report the investigation of the specific CTL responses elicited by adenoviral 6Ckine/IFNγ fusion gene-modified DCs in vitro. Methods Human monocyte-derived DCs were modified with an adenoviral vector encoding 6Ckine/IFNγ fusion protein (Ad-6Ckine/IFNγ), and then investigated the effect of 6Ckine/IFNγ fusion protein on the maturation, cytokine and chemokine secretion of DCs, and their activities of recruiting and activating T cells in vitro were investigated. Results 6Ckine/IFNγ fusion protein induced DC maturation characterized with the upregulation of CD83 and CCR7. And it up-regulated the expression of RANTES and IL-12p70, down-regulated that of IL-10 in DCs. Additionally, 6Ckine/IFNγ markedly increased DC’s recruiting ability for naive T cells, benefiting from the enhanced expression of chemokines 6Ckine and RANTES in DCs. Fusion gene-modified DCs significantly promoted the proliferation of autologous T cells, induced Th1 differentiation by upregulating the expression of IL-2 and T-bet in T cells, and increased specific cytotoxicity of CTLs against specific tumor cells, HepG2 or LoVo cells, respectively. Conclusion Combining the effects of 6Ckine and IFNγ, Ad-6Ckine/IFNγ modified DCs induced enhanced CTL responses in vitro, which indicated that Ad-6Ckine/IFNγ modified DCs might be used as an adjuvant to trigger an effective antitumor immune response. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Gang Xue, Ran-yi Liu, Yan Li contributed equally to this work.     

黄土高原马栏林区辽东栎更新特性研究

研究了黄土高原马栏林区主要植被类型中的辽东栎幼苗的数量特征,更新层幼苗、幼树的实生和萌生特性及其辽东栎在垂直结构上的数量分布。结果表明:(1)辽东栎幼苗在黄土高原马栏林区分布广泛且数量充足。不同的植被类型中辽东栎种群表现出不同的大小级结构,在油松—辽东栎混交林、油松林和辽东栎林中辽东栎种群的幼苗、幼树和成树均占一定的比例,而在油松—白桦混交林、白桦林、山杨林和山杨—白桦混交林中辽东栎种群则以幼苗和幼树为主。表明辽东栎种群在该地区植被的发展过程中将产生重要的作用。(2)辽东栎在这一地区是由实生和萌生的个体混合组成的。在各种植被类型中实生植株的密度都高于萌生植株,辽东栎种群的更新在该地区可能主要是通过实生植株来完成的,即辽东栎实生植株在更新过程中起重要的作用。但萌生植株作为辽东栎顺利通过瓶颈的一种手段,作为辽东栎种群繁衍和稳定的一种途径,在辽东栎种群的更新中也起着一定的作用。     

沙梨8个栽培品种的DNA指纹鉴定

利用RAPD标记技术,对8个沙梨(Pyrus pyrifolia)主栽品种进行RAPD分析。结果显示,从33个10碱基随机引物中筛选出了2个多态性高的引物S2075和S1296,扩增位点分别为11个和10个,以此为基础建立了8个品种的DNA指纹图谱;根据这2个引物中任何一个的扩增图谱均可以将这8个品种区分。研究结果为沙梨品种的区别与鉴定提供了一种有效方法。     

翼蓼和中华抱茎蓼挥发油化学成分分析

采用水蒸气蒸馏法分别从翼蓼和中华抱茎蓼中提取其挥发油,并用气相色谱-质谱联用技术(GC-MS)对挥发油中的化学成分进行分离和结构鉴定,运用气相色谱峰面积归一化法确定各成分的相对百分含量.结果表明:翼蓼中总共鉴定出31种成分,中华抱茎蓼中鉴定出21种成分,分别占到挥发油总含量的84.0%和93.8%,翼蓼挥发油中主要成分是表蓝桉醇(15.9%)、甲苯(8.6%)、反式橙花叔醇(6.9%);中华抱茎蓼挥发油主要成分为邻苯二甲酸二异丁酯(19.9%)、2,4-戊二酮(17.2%)、邻苯二甲酸二丁酯(11.7%)、3-甲基-2,3-二氢苯并呋喃(10.7%).     

不同氮素水平下施硫对高产小麦碳氮运转和产量的影响

在大田栽培条件下,以2个不同穗型的高产冬小麦品种为试验材料,在施240 kg·hm-2(N240)和330 kg·hm-2(N330)纯氮水平下,分别施纯硫60 kg·hm-2(S60)和0 kg·hm-2(S0),研究了施硫对小麦不同器官碳氮运转及其对籽粒产量和蛋白质产量的影响.结果显示:(1)2个供氮水平下,施硫(S60)均比对照(S0)增加了2个小麦品种的叶片、茎、鞘、颖壳和穗轴等营养器官花前贮藏干物质、氮素的运转量和运转率以及总运转量和总运转率,提高了转运干物质、氮素对籽粒重和籽粒氮素的贡献率,极显著提高了籽粒和蛋白质产量.(2)施硫对豫农949品种籽粒和蛋白质产量提高幅度显著高于兰考矮早八;与对照(S0)相比,豫农949的N240S60和N330S60处理使籽粒产量分别增加12.74%和16.41%,蛋白质产量分别增加16.84%和16.14%.结果表明,中氮和高氮水平下施硫均可明显促进高产小麦植株的C-N运转,提高植株对氮的吸收利用和碳物质的积累,从而增加籽粒产量,但不同品种间的施硫效应存在差异.     

珍珠菜属四种植物的核型分析

对珍珠菜属4种植物的核型进行了研究。结果表明,叶头过路黄(Lysimachia phyllocephala Hand.-Mazz.)的核型为:2n=2x=24=2m 6sm 2st 14t,茂汶过路黄(L. stellarioidesHand.-Mazz.)的核型为:2n=2x=24=4m 2sm 18t,均属首次报道。矮桃(L. clethroidesDuby)的核型为:2n=2x=24=16m 8sm(1SAT),腺药珍珠菜(L. stenosepala Hemsl.)的核型为:2n=2x=24=10m 12sm 2st,与前人报道的有所不同。还对该属已报道的23种植物的核型进行了比较。