A strategy for fusion expression and preparation of functional glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue by introducing an enterokinase cleavage site

KGLP-1, a 31-amino acid glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue, has a great therapeutic potential for anti-diabetes. In this work, a strategy for expression and purification of functional KGLP-1 peptide has been established. KGLP-1 cDNA was fused with glutathione S-transferase (GST), with an enterokinase cleavage site in the fusion junction. The recombinant fusion protein GST–KGLP-1 was affinity purified via the GST-tag, and then digested with enterokinase. The resulting GST part as well as the enzymes were eliminated by ultra-filtration followed by size exclusion chromatograph. The yield of purified KGLP-1 was approximately 12.1 mg/L, with purity of 96.18 %. The recombinant KGLP-1 was shown to have similar bioactivity as native GLP-1 when evaluated in a Chinese hamster ovary cell line expressing a GLP-1 receptor-egfp reporter gene.     

Different protective roles in vitro of alpha- and beta-domains of growth inhibitory factor (GIF) on neuron injuries caused by oxygen free radicals.

It was well known that beta-amyloid (Abeta) and tau protein play an important role in pathological procedure of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a senile dementia. The growth inhibitory factor (GIF, also named metallothionein-3, MT-3) had been demonstrated to inhibit the outgrowth of cortex neurons in the medium with extract of the AD patient brain. In our experiments, it was found that the neurons of cortex and the PC12 (pheochromocytoma) cells could be protected from the cytotoxicity of beta-amyloid 25-35 in presence of GIF and its domains. Additionally, GIF can scavenge the hydroxyl radical efficiently in CytC-VitC radical producing system and its alpha-domain shown more effective potentials than its beta-domain. The electron paramagnetic resonance spectra also show that the alpha-domain has more potential ability for eliminating reactive oxygen free radicals than its beta-domain. The results suggest that GIF could act as an efficient scavenger against free radicals in vitro and the alpha-domain in GIF molecule shows more potential in protecting against reactive oxygen species injury than the beta-domain.     

Molecular genetic characterization of rice seed lipoxygenase 3 and assessment of its effects on seed longevity

Lipoxygenases (LOXs) are enzymes involved in lipid peroxidation. Here we reported the identification, molecular and functional characterization of the gene encoding rice (Oryza sativa L.) seed LOX3 (sLOX3). Via a map-based cloning strategy we identified Os03g0700400 as the candidate gene encoding sLOX3. Further functional complementary test and biochemical characterization of the recombinant Os03g0700400 protein verified the identification. The sLOX3 gene was highly expressed in roots, moderately in embryos and very weakly in leaves, leaf sheaths and stems. Transient expression experiment (in rice protoplasts) and subsequent laser confocal microscopic analysis demonstrated that the sLOX3 protein was localized into the cytosol. We next showed that overexpression of sLOX3 in a japonica sLOX3-normal rice cultivar, Wuyunjing 7 accelerated the decrease of seed germination ability when the seeds were routinely stored, which demonstrated that sLOX3 had a negative effect on seed longevity (storability). Meanwhile, an increased occurrence of embryo decay was observed in the same transgenic seeds, suggesting that sLOX3 might negatively affect seed longevity by facilitating colonization of particular seed pathogens. Our result forwarded the understanding of the effects of 9-LOX on rice seed longevity.     

马来良姜花柱卷曲运动的结构基础

山姜属(Alpinia L.)植物的花柱具卷曲运动的能力,该属植物的野生种群有两种表型的个体,其花柱运动方向相反。该文通过观察马来良姜(Alpinia mutica Roxb.)花柱的显微和超微结构来研究花柱卷曲运动的结构基础。结果表明两种表型的花柱解剖结构相同。花柱仅形态学上端区域(约占花柱总长度的25%)有卷曲运动能力,其它区域不能运动。运动区近轴侧分布着几层直径较大、形状不规则、相对较短且细胞壁较薄的细胞,远轴侧的细胞直径较小、狭长;非运动区近轴和远轴侧的细胞都呈狭长形。花柱运动区域近轴侧和远轴侧细胞结构和细胞层数的不对称可能是导致花柱卷曲运动的结构原因。     

耐阴地被植物及其在园林中的应用

阐述了耐阴地被植物的概念及分类,并根据植物特点、习性和园林造景实例说明阴生地被植物在园林中的应用选择,为园林绿化工作者提供了参考依据。     

Development of highly polymorphic SNP markers from the complexity reduced portion of maize [Zea mays L.] genome for use in marker-assisted breeding

The duplicated and the highly repetitive nature of the maize genome has historically impeded the development of true single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in this crop. Recent advances in genome complexity reduction methods coupled with sequencing-by-synthesis technologies permit the implementation of efficient genome-wide SNP discovery in maize. In this study, we have applied Complexity Reduction of Polymorphic Sequences technology (Keygene N.V., Wageningen, The Netherlands) for the identification of informative SNPs between two genetically distinct maize inbred lines of North and South American origins. This approach resulted in the discovery of 1,123 putative SNPs representing low and single copy loci. In silico and experimental (Illumina GoldenGate (GG) assay) validation of putative SNPs resulted in mapping of 604 markers, out of which 188 SNPs represented 43 haplotype blocks distributed across all ten chromosomes. We have determined and clearly stated a specific combination of stringent criteria (>0.3 minor allele frequency, >0.8 GenTrainScore and >0.5 Chi_test100 score) necessary for the identification of highly polymorphic and genetically stable SNP markers. Due to these criteria, we identified a subset of 120 high-quality SNP markers to leverage in GG assay-based marker-assisted selection projects. A total of 32 high-quality SNPs represented 21 haplotypes out of 43 identified in this study. The information on the selection criteria of highly polymorphic SNPs in a complex genome such as maize and the public availability of these SNP assays will be of great value for the maize molecular genetics and breeding community.     

Organization and possible origin of the Bari-1 cluster in the heterochromatic h39 region of Drosophila melanogaster

The molecular organization of the heterochromatic h39 region of the Drosophila melanogaster second chromosome has been investigated by studying two BAC clones identified both by Southern blotting and by FISH experiments as containing tandem arrays of Bari1, a transposable element present only in this region. Such BAC clones appear to contain different portions of the h39 region since they differ in the DNA sequences flanking the Bari1 repeats on both sides. Thus, the 80 Bari1 copies estimated to be present in the h39 region are split into at least two separated subregions. On the basis of the analysis of the flanking sequences a possible mechanism depending on an aberrant activity of the Bari1 transposase is proposed for the genesis of the heterochromatic tandem arrays of the element.     

Nitrogen deposition enhances moss growth,but leads to an overall decline in habitat condition of mountain moss‐sedge heath

Ecosystems are subject to multiple, natural and anthropogenic environmental influences, including nitrogen (N) deposition, land use and climate. Assessment of the relative importance of these influences on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is crucial for guiding policy and management decisions to mitigate global change; yet, few studies consider multiple drivers. In the UK, ongoing loss of the internationally important arctic/alpine moss‐sedge community, Racomitrium heath, has been linked to elevated N deposition, high grazing pressures and their combination; however, the relative importance of these drivers remains unclear. We used environmental gradients across the habitat's European distribution (UK, Faroes, Norway and Iceland) to investigate the relative impact of N deposition and grazing pressure, as well as climate, on the condition of the dominant moss species, Racomitrium lanuginosum. Key variables including tissue chemistry, growth and cover were measured at 36 sites, and multiple linear regressions were used to examine the relative importance of the drivers across sites. Our results clearly show that regional variation in the condition of R. lanuginosum across Europe is primarily associated with the impacts of N deposition, with climate (air temperature) and grazing pressure playing secondary roles. In contrast to previous experimental studies, we found moss growth to be stimulated by elevated N deposition; this apparent discrepancy may result from the use of artificially high N concentrations in many experiments. Despite increased growth rates, we found that moss mat depth and cover declined in response to N deposition. Our results suggest that this is due to increased decomposition of material in the moss mat, which ultimately leads to loss of moss cover and habitat degradation. This study clearly demonstrates both the key role of N deposition in degradation of Racomitrium heath and the importance of observational studies along natural gradients for testing predictions from experimental studies in the real world.     

两株淡水微囊藻的藻蓝蛋白基因间隔序列(PC-IGS)分析

对2株编号为003和004的淡水水华微囊藻(Microcystis.sp)的藻蓝蛋白基因间隔序列进行测定,获得长度均为608bp的2条序列。同时从GenBank中获取铜绿微囊藻(Microcystis aeruginosa Kütz,NCBI序列号AJ003179)及惠氏微囊藻(Microcystis wesenbergii,NCBI序列号AF385391)的序列。分别运用MEGA3及ClustalX(Version1.83)软件对这4株藻的PC-IGS序列进行碱基组成分析和序列比对。碱基组成的比对结果表明4株藻的G+C含量分别为003(50.5%),004(51.7%),铜绿微囊藻(50.7%),惠氏微囊藻(52.3%),相差范围在0.2%~1.8%之间,其结果不足以区分这四株微囊藻;序列比对则表明003号藻株与铜绿微囊藻和惠氏微囊藻的序列相似性分别为100%和88.35%,而004号藻株与铜绿微囊藻和惠氏微囊藻的序列相似性比较结果为95.13%和89.04%。此外,文章还探讨了PC-IGS序列作为微囊藻种间鉴定分子标记的可行性。