大黄素降糖及改善脂质代谢的实验研究

目的:探讨大黄素对2型糖尿病模型db/db小鼠血糖及血脂水平的影响.方法:4周龄16只db/db雄性小鼠随机分为治疗组和对照组,每组8只;治疗组经灌胃每天给予100mg/kg大黄素;对照组灌胃给予相仿体积的生理盐水,开始10天每天算进食量,每周测空腹血糖及体重1次,连续干预8周,干预前及实验结束前1周测胰岛素耐量,干预结束后于颈动脉取血测血脂水平(HDLC、LDL-C、TG、TC).结果:①大黄素干预不影响db/db小鼠的进食量,与对照组比较,P＞0.05;②大黄素可显著减轻db/db小鼠体重,与对照组比较,P＜0.05;③大黄素可改善db/db小鼠胰岛素敏感性,降低小鼠的空腹血糖水平,与对照组比较,P＜0.05或P＜0.01;④大黄素可降低db/db小鼠血TG、TC、LDL-C水平,P＜0.01.结论:大黄素可有效地改善db/db小鼠的糖脂紊乱状态,其降糖及改善血脂代谢机制值得进一步深入研究.     

青藏高原隆升的气候环境效应与脊椎动物演化模式*

在青藏高原逐渐形成的过程中, 本地区的现代生物多样性塑造受到其巨大的影响, 与此同时, 许多起源于高原的物种甚至现代广布类群祖先的洲际扩散也由其驱动。在中生代时期, 青藏高原今天所处的地区覆盖着广阔的海洋, 喜马拉雅山脉的三叠纪海相沉积中产有鱼龙和旋齿鲨等脊椎动物化石。至侏罗—白垩纪, 西藏东南部的部分地区逐渐脱离海洋环境, 在昌都盆地形成了与当时四川盆地相似的淡水湖泊, 恐龙等爬行动物则在湖边活动。新生代早期印度板块与欧亚板块的碰撞使青藏高原逐渐隆起, 一些热带、亚热带鱼类的发现, 表明当时青藏地区内部与东南亚的热带地区之间可能有水系连通。随着这一地区地势隆起幅度显著升高, 环境变干、变凉, 致使喜暖鱼类终于在此绝迹, 并转换为青藏高原特有的裂腹鱼类。青藏高原的快速上升导致季风气候加强, 中亚内陆地区的气候持续走向干旱, 中国西部的中新世动物群主要由耐旱的草原型哺乳动物组成, 还有耐旱的鸟类和爬行动物共生。青藏高原在上新世最终达到现代的高度, 其气候环境已具有冰冻圈的特点, 成为冰期动物群最初的演化中心。2.6 Ma全球气温第一次下降到低于今天的水平, 已经适应了冰冻环境的动物迅速扩散到青藏高原周边以及更遥远的地区, 成为现代动物多样性的基础。青藏高原在地质历史时期经历了复杂而大规模的环境变化, 这一系列的地质运动和地貌演化引发并形成了青藏高原及周边地区气候格局, 促进了本地区生物多样性的发展。     

干旱与条锈病复合胁迫对小麦的生理影响

以抗旱性和抗病性不同的小麦为材料,以正常生长为对照,观察了病原菌和水分复合胁迫对小麦叶片相对含水量、活性氧代谢以及对抗氰呼吸的发生、运行的影响。讨论了在干旱与病原菌侵染复合胁迫下,抗氰呼吸在植物抗逆机制中所扮演的角色。复合胁迫下,抗病小麦显然具备更强的水分调控能力,而感病品种不能有效控制病叶水分散失。水分胁迫能引起抗氰呼吸的下降,但不能抵消因病原菌侵染引起的抗氰呼吸的增强,条锈菌侵染对小麦抗氰呼吸的影响远远大于水分胁迫。病原菌侵染和水分复合胁迫下,活性氧产生的速率表现出累加效应,而抗氰呼吸表现出和基质抗氧化酶的活性互补。植物交替氧化酶在干旱与病原菌侵染复合胁迫中具有重要的抗氧化功能,并可能调节着逆境下物质与能量需求间的矛盾。     

Molecular insights into the antifungal mechanism of bacilysin

Bacilysin is one of the simplest antimicrobial peptides and has drawn great attention for its excellent performance against Candida albicans. In this study, the antifungal mechanism of bacilysin was investigated. The target enzyme glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase (GFA) was expressed heterologously in Escherichia coli and its inhibition by bacilysin and derivatives was studied. It was concluded that bacilysin could be hydrolyzed by a proteinase of C. albicans, and that the released product, anticapsin, then inhibited the aminotransferase activity of GFA. This result was verified by molecular simulation, and the interaction mode of anticapsin with GFA was detailed, which provides data for the development of novel antifungal drugs. Transport of bacilysin into fungal cells was also simulated and it was shown that bacilysin is more readily transported into cells than anticapsin. Thus, our findings support a mechanism whereby bacilysin is transported into fungal pathogens, hydrolyzed to anticapsin, which then inhibits GFA.     

Pulmonary type II cell hypertrophy and pulmonary lipoproteinosis are features of chronic IL-13 exposure

Interleukin (IL)-13, a key mediator of Th2-mediated immunity, contributes to the pathogenesis of asthma and other pulmonary diseases via its ability to generate fibrosis, mucus metaplasia, eosinophilic inflammation, and airway hyperresponsiveness. In these studies, we compared surfactant accumulation in wild-type mice and mice in which IL-13 was overexpressed in the lung. When compared with littermate controls, transgenic animals showed alveolar type II cell hypertrophy under light and electron microscopy. Over time, their alveoli also filled with surfactant in a pulmonary alveolar proteinosis pattern. At the same time, prominent interstitial fibrosis occurs. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from these mice had a three- to sixfold increase in surfactant phospholipids. Surfactant proteins (SP)-A, -B, and -C showed two- to threefold increases, whereas SP-D increased 70-fold. These results indicate that IL-13 is a potent stimulator of surfactant phospholipid and surfactant accumulation in the lung. IL-13 may therefore play a central role in the broad range of chronic pulmonary conditions in which fibrosis, type II cell hypertrophy, and surfactant accumulation occur.     

Identification and molecular mapping of a resistance gene to powdery mildew from the synthetic wheat line M53

Powdery mildew disease caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt) is an economically important disease in wheat worldwide. The identification of germplasms resistant to the disease can not only facilitate the breeding of resistant cultivars, but can also broaden the diversity of resistance genes. The Mexican M53 is a synthetic hexaploid wheat line developed at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) from the cross between Triticum durum and Aegilops tauschii249. Infection of M53 with 15 different pathogen races revealed that the resistance in M53 was race-dependent and effective against the majority of the tested Bgt races, including the race 15 predominant in the Beijing wheat growing area. Inoculation of the parents of M53 with the race 15 demonstrated that M53 and Ae. tauschii249 were resistant, whereas T. durum was susceptible. The inoculation of three segregating F₂ populations developed from the crosses between M53 and three susceptible Chinese wheat cultivars with the race 15 showed that the resistant gene in M53 segregated in a single dominant manner. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to map the gene in a segregating F₂ population consisting of 213 lines developed from the cross Wan7107 × M53. Two closely linked AFLP markers, Apm109 and Apm161, were identified to flank the gene with genetic distances of 1.0 cM and 3.0 cM, respectively. The recognized gene was assigned to the long arm of chromosome 5D as determined by three linked SSR markers, Xwmc289b, Xgwm583, and Xgwm292, and by the physical mapping of Apm109 using Chinese Spring nullisomic–tetrasomic and ditelosomic stocks. The resistance gene identified in M53, temporarily designated as Pm-M53, could be used in local wheat-breeding programs to improve powdery mildew resistance.     

Flower-specific expression of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">PCS1</Emphasis> driven by <Emphasis Type="Italic">AGAMOUS</Emphasis> second intron in tobacco decreases the fertility of transgenic plants

The PROMOTION OF CELL SURVIVAL 1 (PCS1) gene, encoding an aspartic protease, has an important role in determining the fate of cells in embryonic development and reproduction processes in Arabidopsis. To explore the potential function of the PCS1 gene in generating reproductive sterility, we placed the PCS1 gene under the control of an 1,869-bp nucleotide sequence from the 3′ end of the second intron (AG-I) of Arabidopsis AGAMOUS and CaMV 35S (–60) minimal promoter [AG-I-35S (–60)::PCS1], and introduced it into tobacco. RT–PCR results demonstrated that the PCS1 gene driven by AG-I-35S (–60) chimeric promoter was expressed only in anthers and carpels in the reproductive tissues of transgenic tobacco. Compared to wild-type plants, all AG-I-35S (–60) and AG-I-35S (–60)::PCS1 transgenic lines showed a normal phenotype throughout the vegetative growth phase. However, during the reproductive stage, most AG-I-35S (–60)::PCS1 transgenic plant anthers displayed delayed dehiscence, failed dehiscence, petalody and hypoplasia, and the pollen grains had different shapes and sizes with a distorted, shrunken, or collapsed morphology. Moreover, three transgenic lines, PCS1-1, PCS1-3 and PCS1-4, showed higher sterility than wild-type and AG-I-35S (–60) transgenic plants, respectively. These results showed that the construct of AG-I-35S (–60)::PCS1 was partially effective at preventing seed set and provided a novel sterility strategy.     

耕作方法和除草剂对玉米田杂草群落的影响

应用群落生态学方法,在中国科学院沈阳生态实验站对玉米田杂草群落进行了调查研究,探讨了耕作方法和除草剂对杂草群落组成、多样性和生物量的影响.结果表明,玉米田优势种杂草为野黍、苘麻、大狼把草和鸭趾草,其中野黍重要值最高;免耕不施加除草剂处理6月下旬杂草生物量较大,5月末到8月中旬物种丰富度较高(S),7月1日和8月1日均匀度(J)较低,优势集中性(C)较高,均与常规施加除草剂处理有显著差异.施用除草剂可减少免耕玉米田杂草种类,抑制杂草生物量的增长.耕作方法和除草剂可对杂草群落组成、多样性及稳定性产生影响.     

Biotype status and distribution of Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in Shandong province of China based on mitochondrial DNA markers

Bemisia tabaci has caused significant crop losses in China during the last decade. Recent research has shown that two potentially invasive variants, biotypes B and Q, have been found in several regions of China. Our objective was to determine the biotype status and the distribution of B. tabaci in Shandong province, an important agricultural region of China. Based on mitochondrial DNA markers, both biotypes B and Q were detected, with B being the predominant biotype. The results indicate that the more recently introduced biotype Q has not only been located in China but also has established and spread in some regions.