Structural studies on the acidic exopolysaccharide from Haloferax denitrificans ATCC 35960.

The structure of a linear, acidic exopolysaccharide isolated from the Archaeon Haloferax denitrificans ATCC 35960 has been determined using NMR spectroscopy. The sugar residues in the repeating unit of the polysaccharide were identified as Gal and GlcA2,3NAc after the assignment of the 1H and 13C resonances using COSY, HOHAHA, HMQC and HMQC-TOCSY experiments. The sequence of the residues in the polysaccharide was established from the inter-residue connectivities observed in the HMQC-NOESY plot. The only sugar released on acid hydrolysis was shown to be D-Gal by GLC analysis, while the absolute configuration of the acidic sugars was shown to be D by comparison of the carbon chemical shifts with those of model compounds. Partial acid hydrolysis yielded a tetrasaccharide, terminated by D-Gal at the reducing end, whose structure confirmed that of the repeating unit of the polysaccharide as-->4)-beta-D-GlcpA2,3NAc-(1-->4)-beta-D-GlcpA2, 3NAc-(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcpA2,3NAc-(1-->3)-alpha-D-Galp- (1-->, where D-GlcpA2,3NAc is 2,3-diacetamido-2,3-dideoxy-D-glucopyranosiduronic acid.     

海南脆蛇蜥的分类地位研究

海南脆蛇蜥（Dopasia hainanensis Yang, 1983）为杨戎生根据1号来自海南吊罗山的标本命名,其形态和分子系统发育关系少有人研究。2018年至2019年间,作者获赠2号来自海南脆蛇蜥模式产地的标本和1号来自脆蛇蜥（D. harti）模式产地的组织样。经过形态特征比较和线粒体Cyt b基因序列分析,发现两地样本Cytb基因序列的遗传距离很近（仅有4.96%）,且形态差异不明显,难以找到典型鉴别特征。本文研究成果支持海南脆蛇蜥和台湾脆蛇蜥（Ophisaurus formosensis）为脆蛇蜥的同物异名,同时认为越南的“海南脆蛇蜥”可能为一未描述的新种或新亚种。鉴于脆蛇蜥种下遗传差异较大,其种下关系亟待进一步研究。     

The expression of a novel estrogen receptor, GPR30, in epithelial ovarian carcinoma and its correlation with MMP-9

The aim of the present study is to investigate the expression of a novel estrogen receptor, G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30) and its correlation with matrix metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9) in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Ovary tissues were obtained from 39 female patients, including 30 cases of EOC and 9 cases of benign ovarian tumor. Four normal ovary tissues were used as control. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expressions of GPR30 and MMP-9. Chi square test, Fisher's exact test and Spearman's rank correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis. The results showed that GPR30 overexpression rate in EOC cases was significantly higher than those in benign ovarian tumor and normal ovary cases. Whereas MMP-9 overexpression rate in EOC cases was significantly higher than that in normal ovary cases, without any difference to that in benign ovarian tumor cases. To demonstrate the relationship between GPR30 and clinicopathological variables of EOC, we further analyzed the pathology type, FIGO stage and age of patients sampled in our study. The analysis showed there were significant differences of GPR30 overexpression rate among various pathology types and different FIGO stages (P<0.05), and no significant difference of both GPR30 and MMP-9 among three age groups (P>0.05). Moreover, GPR30 expression was positively correlated with MMP-9 (r(s)=1.000, P=0.002). These results suggest that GPR30 may be involved in the invasion and metastasis of EOC, being a potential index of EOC early diagnosis and malignancy grade prediction.     

Spindlin1, a novel nuclear protein with a role in the transformation of NIH3T3 cells

spindlin1, a novel human gene recently isolated by our laboratory, is highly homologous to mouse spindlin gene. In this study, we cloned cDNA full-length of this novel gene and send it to GenBank database as spindlin1 (Homo sapiens spindlin1) with Accession No. AF317228. In order to investigate the function of spindlin1, we studied further the subcellular localization of Spindlin1 protein and the effects of spindlin1 overexpression in NIH3T3 cells. The results showed that the fusion protein pEGFP-N1-spindlin1 was located in the nucleus and the C-terminal is correlated with nuclear localization of Spindlin1 protein. NIH3T3 cells which could stably express spindlin1 as a result of RT-PCR analysis compared with the control cells displayed a complete morphological change; made cell growth faster; and increased the percentage of cells in G2/M and S phase. Furthermore, overexpressed spindlin1 cells formed colonies in soft agar in vitro and formed tumors in nude mice. Our findings provide direct evidence that spindlin1 gene may contribute to tumorigenesis.     

Using sensitivity analysis to identify keystone species and keystone links in size‐based food webs

Human‐induced alterations in the birth and mortality rates of species and in the strength of interactions within and between species can lead to changes in the structure and resilience of ecological communities. Recent research points to the importance of considering the distribution of body sizes of species when exploring the response of communities to such perturbations. Here, we present a new size‐based approach for assessing the sensitivity and elasticity of community structure (species equilibrium abundances) and resilience (rate of return to equilibrium) to changes in the intrinsic growth rate of species and in the strengths of species interactions. We apply this approach on two natural systems, the pelagic communities of the Baltic Sea and Lake Vättern, to illustrate how it can be used to identify potential keystone species and keystone links. We find that the keystone status of a species is closely linked to its body size. The analysis also suggests that communities are structurally and dynamically more sensitive to changes in the effects of prey on their consumers than in the effects of consumers on their prey. Moreover, we discuss how community sensitivity analysis can be used to study and compare the fragility of communities with different body size distributions by measuring the mean sensitivity or elasticity over all species or all interaction links in a community. We believe that the community sensitivity analysis developed here holds some promise for identifying species and links that are critical for the structural and dynamic robustness of ecological communities.     

Identification and validation of quantitative trait loci conferring tan spot resistance in the bread wheat variety Ernie

Tan spot, caused by Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, is a foliar disease of wheat, and it can inflict serious reduction in grain yield and quality. The bread wheat variety Ernie was found to be immune to this disease in Australia, and its genetic control was investigated by quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis using a doubled haploid population. Eight QTL were identified in this population from three independent trials, and four of them were derived from the parent Ernie. The most significant QTL was located on chromosome arm 2BS, explaining 38.2, 29.8 and 36.2% of the phenotypic variance, respectively, in these trials. The effects of the 2BS QTL were further validated in four additional populations. The presence of this single QTL reduced disease severity by between 29.2 and 67.1% with an average of 50.5%. The significant effects of this QTL and its consistent detection across all the trials with different genetic backgrounds make it an ideal target for breeding programmes as well as for its further characterization. Data from this study also showed that neither plant height nor heading date significantly affects tan spot resistance.