Cell suspension culture-mediated incorporation of the rice bel gene into transgenic cotton

Cotton plants engineered for resistance to the herbicides, glyphosate or glufosinate have made a considerable impact on the production of the crop worldwide. In this work, embryogenic cell cultures derived from Gossypium hirsutum L. cv Coker 312 hypocotyl callus were transformed via Agrobacterium tumefaciens with the rice cytochrome P450 gene, CYP81A6 (bel). In rice, bel has been shown to confer resistance to both bentazon and sulfanylurea herbicides. Transformed cells were selected on a liquid medium supplemented alternately or simultaneously with kanamycin (50mg/L) and bentazon (4.2 μmol). A total of 17 transgenic cotton lines were recovered, based on the initial resistance to bentazon and on PCR detection of the bel transgene. Bel integration into the cotton genome was confirmed by Southern blot and expression of the transgene was verified by RT-PCR. In greenhouse and experimental plot trials, herbicide (bentazon) tolerance of up to 1250 mg/L was demonstrated in the transgenic plants. Transgenic lines with a single copy of the bel gene showed normal Mendelian inheritance of the characteristic. Importantly, resistance to bentazon was shown to be stably incorporated in the T1, T2 and T3 generations of self-fertilised descendents and in plants outcrossed to another upland cotton cultivar. Engineering resistance to bentazon in cotton through the heterologous expression of bel opens the possibility of incorporating this trait into elite cultivars, a strategy that would give growers a more flexible alternative to weed management in cotton crops.     

Drug discovery prospect from untapped species: indications from approved natural product drugs

Due to extensive bioprospecting efforts of the past and technology factors, there have been questions about drug discovery prospect from untapped species. We analyzed recent trends of approved drugs derived from previously untapped species, which show no sign of untapped drug-productive species being near extinction and suggest high probability of deriving new drugs from new species in existing drug-productive species families and clusters. Case histories of recently approved drugs reveal useful strategies for deriving new drugs from the scaffolds and pharmacophores of the natural product leads of these untapped species. New technologies such as cryptic gene-cluster exploration may generate novel natural products with highly anticipated potential impact on drug discovery.     

Hepato-specific microRNA-122 facilitates accumulation of newly synthesized miRNA through regulating PRKRA

microRNAs (miRNAs) are a versatile class of non-coding RNAs involved in regulation of various biological processes. miRNA-122 (miR-122) is specifically and abundantly expressed in human liver. In this study, we employed 3'-end biotinylated synthetic miR-122 to identify its targets based on affinity purification. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of the affinity purified RNAs demonstrated a specific enrichment of several known miR-122 targets such as CAT-1 (also called SLC7A1), ADAM17 and BCL-w. Using microarray analysis of affinity purified RNAs, we also discovered many candidate target genes of miR-122. Among these candidates, we confirmed that protein kinase, interferon-inducible double-stranded RNA-dependent activator (PRKRA), a Dicer-interacting protein, is a direct target gene of miR-122. miRNA quantitative-RT-PCR results indicated that miR-122 and small interfering RNA against PRKRA may facilitate the accumulation of newly synthesized miRNAs but did not detectably affect endogenous miRNAs levels. Our findings will lead to further understanding of multiple functions of this hepato-specific miRNA. We conclude that miR-122 could repress PRKRA expression and facilitate accumulation of newly synthesized miRNAs.     

人为干扰对溪流鱼类功能多样性及其纵向梯度格局的影响

溪流鱼类多样性沿着河流纵向梯度的空间分布规律已得到大量报道, 但这些研究大多聚焦基于物种组成的分类α多样性, 而有关分类β多样性和功能多样性的纵向梯度分布规律及其对人类干扰的响应研究较少。本文以青弋江上游3条人为干扰程度不同的河源溪流为研究区域, 比较研究了人为干扰对溪流鱼类功能α和β多样性及其纵向梯度分布格局的影响。结果显示, 人类干扰改变了河源溪流鱼类功能多样性的纵向梯度格局——由线性变化变为二项式分布。此外, 我们发现, 人为干扰导致土著种被本地入侵种取代, 且较强的土地利用和水污染排放可能增大环境的不连续性, 而群落周转和嵌套变化往往取决于环境的变化。尽管功能β多样性由嵌套成分主导, 但周转成分占比相对于人为干扰较小的溪流而言明显增加。人为干扰显著改变了受干扰溪流鱼类的物种组成和功能多样性, 且功能多样性的纵向梯度格局在不同的多样性指标上存在差异。本研究强调, 在评估人为干扰下多样性的变化时, 需要从多方面考虑, 包括空间尺度和多样性指标等。     

rhddADAM15抑制肝癌细胞Bel-7402增殖的作用研究

ADAMl5属于跨膜蛋白ADAM家族中的一员,在乳腺癌、宫颈癌、卵巢癌等多种实体瘤中均发现其表达量提高。ADAMl5在降解细胞外基质、介导细胞的黏附、细胞间信号转导及在肿瘤发展进程中起到重要作用。因其去整合素区域含有RGD序列,ADAMl5可与多种整合素相互作用。在前期工作中,实验组利用大肠杆菌表达系统表达了重组人ADAMl5去整合素区域蛋白,记作rhddADAMl5。该研究将进一步针对rhddADAMl5抑制肝癌细胞Bel-7402增殖的机理进行分析及探讨。SRB法显示,rhddADAMl5可抑制Bel-7402细胞增殖并呈剂量依赖性,IC50为1．14gmol／L;利用DAPI核染发现,rhddADAMl5可显著诱导Bel-7402细胞凋亡;流式细胞仪分析发现,rhddAD—AMl5浓度为6gmol／L时,（87．44±7．25）％的细胞发生凋亡;PI单染分析细胞周期表明,rhddADAMl5作用后,部分Bel-7402细胞周期被阻滞于S期及G2／M期,并呈剂量依赖性,4gmol／LrhddADAMl5处理后G0／Gl期含量下降约14％;Westernblot分析显示,rhddADAMl5可下调Bel-7402细胞周期蛋白CDC26的表达,抑制CDC2-TyrM的去磷酸化,引起G2／M期的阻滞。     

Simple DNA elution from agarose gels

We developed a simple DNA elution method from agarose gels. After electrophoresis of DNA in an agarose gel, the DNA fragment to be recorved was excised out of gel with a scalpel. The excised gel was placed in the middle of small Parafilm piece, and the Parafilm was folded over the gel piece. Using the petriplate, or thumb, the gel piece was pressed between the Parafilm. Upon squeezing, the DNA inside of the gel gets extruded along with the buffer. The droplets were collected with a pipet. The DNA was then purified by conventional phenol: chloroform extraction method. Typical yields are greater than 50% as determined by UV absorbance.     

Fasting up‐regulates ferroportin 1 expression via a Ghrelin/GHSR/MAPK signaling pathway

The significant positive correlation between ghrelin and iron and hepcidin levels in the plasma of children with iron deficiency anemia prompted us to hypothesize that ghrelin may affect iron metabolism. Here, we investigated the effects of fasting or ghrelin on the expression of hepcidin, ferroportin 1 (Fpn1), transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1), ferritin light chain (Ft‐L) proteins, and ghrelin, and also hormone secretagogue receptor 1 alpha (GHSR1α) and ghrelin O‐acyltransferase (GOAT) mRNAs in the spleen and/or macrophage. We demonstrated that fasting induces a significant increase in the expression of ghrelin, GHSR1α, GOAT, and hepcidin mRNAs, as well as Ft‐L and Fpn1 but not TfR1 proteins in the spleens of mice in vivo. Similar to the effects of fasting on the spleen, ghrelin induced a significant increase in the expression of Ft‐L and Fpn1 but not TfR1 proteins in macrophages in vitro. In addition, ghrelin was found to induce a significant enhancement in phosphorylation of ERK as well as translocation of pERK from the cytosol to nuclei. Furthermore, the increased pERK and Fpn1 induced by ghrelin was demonstrated to be preventable by pre‐treatment with either GHSR1α antagonist or pERK inhibitor. Our findings support the hypothesis that fasting upregulates Fpn1 expression, probably via a ghrelin/GHSR/MAPK signaling pathway.     

Knockout of 5‐lipoxygenase prevents dexamethasone‐induced tau pathology in 3xTg mice

Emerging evidence suggests that dysregulation stress hormones, such as glucocorticoids, in aged persons put them at a higher risk to develop Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the mechanisms underlying such vulnerability remain to be unraveled. Pharmacologic inhibition of 5‐lipoxygenase (5LO), an active player in AD pathogenesis whose protein level increases with aging in the human, has been shown to blunt glucocorticoid‐mediated amyloid β (Ab) formation in vitro. In this article, we investigated the role of this pathway in modulating the development of the corticosteroid‐dependent AD‐like phenotype in the triple transgenic mice (3xTg). Dexamethasone was administered for 1 week to 3xTg or 3xTg genetically deficient for 5LO (3xTg/5LO^?/?) mice, and its effect on memory, amyloid‐β and tau levels, and metabolism assessed. At the end of the treatment, we observed that dexamethasone did not induce changes in behavior. Compared with controls, treated mice did not show significant alterations in brain soluble Aβ levels. While total tau protein levels were unmodified in all groups, we found that dexamethasone significantly increased tau phosphorylation at S396, as recognized by the antibody PHF‐13, which was specifically associated with an increase in the GSK3β activity. Additionally, dexamethasone‐treated mice had a significant increase in the tau insoluble fraction and reduction in the postsynaptic protein PDS‐95. By contrast, these modifications were blunted in the 3xTg/5LO^?/? mice. Our findings highlight the functional role that 5LO plays in stress‐induced AD tau pathology and support the hypothesis that pharmacologic inhibition of this enzyme could be a useful tool for individuals with this risk factor.     

Genomewide association study for economic traits in the large yellow croaker with different numbers of extreme phenotypes

A traditional genomewide association study (GWAS) detects genotype–phenotype associations by the vast number of genotyped individuals. This method requires large-scale samples and considerable sequencing costs. Extreme phenotypic sampling proposes make GWAS more cost-efficient and are applied more widely. With extreme phenotypic sampling, we performed a GWAS for n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) and eviscerated weight (EW) traits in the large yellow croaker population. Of the 32,249 and 29,748 detected SNPs for the two traits, three candidate regions were found in each trait. Three candidate regions associated with HUFA were known near genes on chromosomes 4 and 11, and three candidate regions were on chromosome 6, and 15 for the EW trait. By combing through our GWAS results and the biological functional analysis of the genes, we suggest that the FABP, DGAT, ATP8B1, FAF2 and CERS2 genes,  as well as the IGF2, BORA, CYP1A1, GRTP1 and HOX genes are promising candidate genes for n-3 HUFA and EW, respectively, in the large yellow croaker. Moreover, compared with the different numbers of the extreme phenotypic sampling, we conclude that 60% of the extreme phenotypic subsample can obtain a similar result as GWAS with whole phenotypes. Thus, extreme phenotypic sampling could save 40% of the cost for genotyping and DNA extraction without loss of the candidate regions and functional genes. Our study may provide a basis for further genomic breeding and a reference for others who want to perform GWAS with extreme phenotypes.     

空心莲子草性可塑性影响下的克隆整合

植物的生活史由其有性生殖构件和营养体构件相互作用共同完成,克隆整合作为克隆植物的重要特征,其与有性生殖特征的相互作用关系却所知很少。该研究通过同质园种植实验,分析了空心莲子草的分株表型、生理、性别等与克隆整合的关系。结果表明:(1)克隆整合以及分株间是否连接对空心莲子草的表型特征、气体交换等生理性状和性别特征均有显著影响。(2)克隆整合显著缩小了雌雄同花和雄蕊心皮化两种性别植株间表型特征的差距,后代的性别特征与营养体表型特征显著相关。(3)在贫瘠的沙土基质中克隆整合明显增加了空心莲子草的营养体生长特征和气体交换等光合生理指标,但这种增加在富含有机质的塘泥基质中不明显。(4)居于不同土壤基质分株间的联系会减少分株表型特征和气体交换对生长环境的响应,并保持母体性别特征不受环境的影响,但单独居于沙土或塘泥单一土壤基质的分株性别特征却因受到环境影响而改变。因此,克隆整合有利于空心莲子草性别特征的稳定。