微流控芯片监测绿色荧光蛋白在枯草芽孢杆菌中的表达

目前主要使用激光共聚焦扫描显微镜观察绿色荧光蛋白的表达,但需要昂贵的仪器并耗费大量时间。本研究开发了一种新型激光诱导的微流芯片检测系统来监测绿色荧光蛋白在枯草芽孢杆菌中的表达。该系统主要由激光装置、光路系统、微流控芯片、光电倍增管和计算机处理系统等5部分组成。对该系统的测试结果显示,随着诱导强度的增强监测信号峰也随之增强,并且与激光共聚焦显微镜观察的结果一致。利用该芯片系统能够快速准确地筛选和鉴定用绿色荧光蛋白作为标记的细胞克隆,可以替代PCR鉴定方法。但该系统仅仅能够监测表达强度,不能够满足蛋白定位等高水平研究,因此,该系统适合应用于环境的微生物监测、药物筛选和其他无需观察蛋白定位等研究。     

A new long terminal repeat (LTR) sequence allows to identify J genome from J<Superscript>S</Superscript> and St genomes of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thinopyrum intermedium</Emphasis>

A repetitive sequence of 491 bp, named pMD232-500, was isolated from S. cereale cv. Kustro using wheat SSR marker Xgwm232. GenBank BLAST search revealed that the sequence of pMD232-500 was highly similar to a part of retrotransposon Nusif-1. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis using pMD232-500 as probe indicated that only 14 Thinopyrum intermedium chromosomes and all the chromosomes of S. cereale cv. Kustro bear FISH signals, however, no FISH signals were observed on Dasypyrum villosum chromosomes. In addition, the FISH signals were distributed on whole arms except their terminal regions. Further genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) analysis using genomic DNA from Pseudoroegneria spicata indicated that the 14 Th. intermedium chromosomes bearing FISH signals should belong to J genome. Thereafter, the repetitive elements pMD232-500 showed the unambiguous features of genomic constitution of Th. intermedium. In addition, the results in the present study have indicated the similarity of genomes from Th. intermedium and S. cereale.     

森草净杀灭薇甘菊(Mikania micrantha)及其安全性

在深圳市内伶仃岛薇甘菊危害的不同群落生境中,设立9块样地81个小样方,用森草净（即70%嘧碘降水溶性粉剂）杀灭样地中的薇甘菊施量为0.0001~0.02 g•m^-2,结果表明：各浓度的森草净杀灭效果均较好,杀灭率随着用药量的增加而提高;在坡地和溪谷生境中,森草净用药量分别为0.05~0.1 g•m^-2、>0.2 g•m^-2能较彻底地杀灭薇甘菊。应用HPLC法检测样地土壤中嘧磺隆残留量,溪谷土壤中嘧磺隆半衰期C=C₀•e^-0.083T, T_1/2＝8.4,施药后37 d消解95.9％,坡地高浓度级半衰期C=C₀•e^-0.046T, T_1/2＝15.1 d,施药后37 d消解85.0％,坡地低浓度级半衰期C=C₀•e-0.090T, T_1/2＝7.7 d,施药后15 d消解742％。不同浓度森草净处理样地,施药后7、15、37 d均可检测到嘧磺隆,并且含量越来越小,但施药后68 d的土样,均未检测到嘧磺隆的存在。     

Pharmacokinetic properties of crocin (crocetin digentiobiose ester) following oral administration in rats

This study investigated the pharmacokinetic properties of crocin following oral administration in rats. After a single oral dose, crocin was undetected while crocetin, a metabolite of crocin, was found in plasma at low concentrations. Simultaneously, crocin was largely present in feces and intestinal contents within 24h. After repeated oral doses for 6 days, crocin remained undetected in plasma and plasma crocetin concentrations were comparable to the corresponding data obtained after the single oral dose. Furthermore, the absorption characteristics of crocin were evaluated in situ using an intestinal recirculation perfusion method. During recirculation, crocin was undetected and low concentrations of crocetin were detected in plasma. The concentrations of crocin in the perfusate were reduced through different intestinal segments, and the quantities of drug lost were greater throughout the colon. These results indicate that (1) orally administered crocin is not absorbed either after a single dose or repeated doses, (2) crocin is excreted largely through the intestinal tract following oral administration, (3) plasma crocetin concentrations do not tend to accumulate with repeated oral doses of crocin, and (4) the intestinal tract serves as an important site for crocin hydrolysis.     

DGGE analysis of 16S rDNA of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in chemical–biological flocculation and chemical coagulation systems

Microbial community DNA was extracted from activated sludge samples taken from a chemical bioflocculation process and a chemical coagulation process in Shanghai, China. 16S rDNA of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB)was amplified by nested polymerase chain reaction and fingerprinted by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis for microbial structure analysis. The Shannon diversity index of each sample was determined. The results indicated that the microbial structure of AOB in chemical bioflocculation process was comparable at two operational conditions. The ammonia-oxidizing bacterial communities were similar in three channels of the chemical bioflocculation process and in three serial tanks in the chemical coagulation process at the same condition. The diversity of microbial structures in the chemical bioflocculation process was higher than in the chemical coagulation process, in which the microbial structure was similar to that in the influent. Although the microbial study provides insights to the nitrification removal, higher microbial diversity of AOB does not necessarily mean higher ammonia oxidization. Molecular analysis should be combined with chemical assays to optimize operational conditions.     

Conditional knockout mice to study alternative splicing in vivo

Analysis of genomes has revealed that the total number of human genes is comparable to those of simpler organisms, and thus, the number of genes does not correlate with the complexity and functional diversity of different organisms. Multiple mechanisms, including alternative splicing, are believed to contribute to the molecular complexity in higher eukaryotes. Given the fact that more than half of human genes undergo alternative splicing, however, little is known about the biological relevance of most alternative splicing events and their regulatory mechanisms. Recent work has highlighted the power of reverse genetic approaches in addressing regulated splicing in animal models. Here, we focus on the conditional knockout approach adapted for splicing research with the intention to provide a general guide to the generation of mouse models to study regulated splicing in development and disease.     

DNA-PKcs, but not TLR9, is required for activation of Akt by CpG-DNA

CpG-DNA and its related synthetic CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODNs) play an important role in immune cell survival. It has been suggested that Akt is one of the CpG-DNA-responsive serine/threonine kinases; however, the target protein of CpG-DNA that leads to Akt activation has not been elucidated. Here, we report that ex vivo stimulation of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from mice lacking the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs) results in defective phosphorylation and activation of Akt by CpG-DNA. Unexpectedly, loss of the Toll-like receptor 9 has a minimal effect on Akt activation in response to CpG-DNA. Further in vitro analysis using purified DNA-PK and recombinant Akt proteins reveals that DNA-PK directly induces phosphorylation and activation of Akt. In addition, in BMDMs, DNA-PKcs associates with Akt upon CpG-DNA stimulation and triggers transient nuclear translocation of Akt. Thus, our findings establish a novel role for DNA-PKcs in CpG-DNA signaling and define a CpG-DNA/DNA-PKcs/Akt pathway.     

Integration and expression of theEscherichia coli xylose isomerase gene inSchizosaccharomyces pombe

Summary The xyclose isomerase gene inEscherichia coli was cloned complementarily into a Leu2-negativeSchizosaccharomyces pombe mutant (ATCC 38399). The subsequent integration of the plasmid into the chromosomal DNA of the host yeast was verified by using the dot blot and southern blot techniques. The expressed xylose isomerase showed activity on a nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel. The expression of xylose isomerase gene was influenced by the concentration of nutrients in the fermentation broth. The yeast possessed a xylose isomerase activity of 20 nmol/min/mg by growing in an enriched medium containing yeast extract-malt extract-peptone (YMP) andd-xylose. The conversion ofd-xylose tod-xylulose catalyzed by xylose isomerase in the transformed yeast cells makes it possible to fermentd-xylose with ethanol as a major product. When the fermentation broth contained YMP and 5% (w/v)d-xylose, the maximal ethanol yield and productivity reached 0.42 g/g and 0.19 g/l/h, respectively.