动物对孢子植物的传播模式及进化意义

孢子植物物种多样性丰富, 是自然生态系统的重要组成部分。孢子植物的传播通常被认为主要依靠风、水、弹力等非生物媒介, 而动物的作用往往被忽略。本文主要概述了: (1)孢子植物对动物传播的适应: 一方面孢子植物可为动物提供食物、庇护所、繁殖场所等, 另一方面孢子植物也可产生视觉、嗅觉等方面的线索来吸引动物, 从而促进动物传播其繁殖体。(2)动物对孢子植物的传播模式: 包括体内传播(消化道和组织寄生)和体外传播两种, 这些模式都能对孢子植物繁殖体进行有效传播。由于动物间形态或生活习性的不同, 以致传播距离存在差异, 最短距离为0.1 cm, 最长距离可从北半球至南半球。(3)动物对孢子植物传播的生态与进化意义; 由于某些孢子植物繁殖体的结构特点或萌发的需求, 以致其繁殖体只能通过动物的传播才能得以定殖, 因此动物与孢子植物之间存在密不可分的关系。目前, 动物对孢子植物的传播研究主要是描述性的内容以及研究单方面的传播途径, 建议在今后的研究中考虑动物对孢子植物传播的有效性以及多途径同时传播对孢子植物定殖的影响, 同时应更加关注孢子植物和动物互惠关系的形成、维持机制及将来的进化趋势。     

海拔对青海湖流域群落水平植物功能性状的影响

海拔变化会引起气压、温度、降水、土壤湿度和风速等环境因子发生急剧变化, 植物功能性状-海拔的相互关系对于预测全球变化背景下山地植物的适应方式具有重要意义。该研究在青海湖流域海拔3 400-4 200 m范围内布设了5个样地(海拔间隔约200 m), 通过植物群落调查, 测定植物功能性状和土壤理化性质, 结合气象数据, 探讨了海拔对青海湖流域群落水平植物功能性状的影响。结果如下: (1)群落加权平均植株高度(H)、叶片干物质含量(LDMC)、叶片碳氮比(C:N)和叶片氮磷比(N:P)随海拔升高显著降低, 比根表面积(SRA)随海拔升高波动下降, 比叶面积(SLA)、叶片氮含量(LNC)和叶片磷含量(LPC)随海拔升高显著升高, 叶片碳含量(LCC)、比根长(SRL)和根组织密度(RTD)随海拔未发生显著变化。(2)所有性状的变异来源以物种组成变化为主, N:P和LPC的种内性状变异与物种组成变化呈现正的协变效应, 其余性状为负的协变效应。(3)降水和0- 10 cm土层土壤养分含量对SLA变化的解释率较高, 温度和10-20 cm土层土壤养分含量对其余性状随海拔变化的解释率较高。以上结果表明青海湖流域植物群落主要通过物种更替来适应随海拔升高而剧烈变化的环境, 且各群落中的非优势种倾向于占据与优势种相反的性状空间来提高资源利用率, 随海拔变化的热量和深层土壤养分含量是群落水平植物功能性状变化的主要影响因子。     

丁酸梭菌抑制Cdk2表达经Wnt/βcatenin 信号通路调控结直肠癌细胞迁移

目的研究丁酸梭菌(Clostridium butyricum,C. butyricum)与细胞周期蛋白激酶2(Cdk2)对结直肠癌细胞迁移的作用,探讨其作用机制。方法以结直肠癌细胞DLD1作为研究载体,运用蛋白印迹法(Western blot)、MTT、定量聚合酶链反应(qPCR)、Transwell和划痕实验等研究C. butyricum和Cdk2对结直肠癌形成的影响。结果Western blot和qPCR结果显示,癌组织Cdk2阳性表达率明显高于癌旁组织(t=8.271,P<0.01)。qPCR结果表明C. butyricum在结直肠癌患者粪便中的丰度明显低于正常人群(t=6.903,P<0.05)。MTT、Transwell和划痕实验表明,C. butyricum培养上清作用的结直肠癌细胞生长速度明显低于对照组(MTT:96 h t=4.356,P<0.05; 120 h t=6.025,P<0.05。Transwell:C. butyricum t=3.794,P<0.05; Cdk2 knockdown t=5.086,P<0.01;丁酸梭菌+Cdk2 knockdown t=4.815,P<0.01。划痕:24 h t=4.356,P<0.01; 48 h t=6.025,P<0.01),且C. butyricum通过Cdk2抑制了结直肠癌细胞增殖与迁移能力。Western blot结果显示C. butyricum抑制Cdk2的表达,且与Cdk2协同作用调控Wnt/βcatenin信号通路。结论C. butyricum通过抑制Cdk2经Wnt/βcatenin信号通路调控结直肠癌细胞的增殖和迁移。     

Heterogeneous interactome between Litopenaeus vannamei plasma proteins and Vibrio parahaemolyticus outer membrane proteins

A great loss has been suffered by microbial infectious diseases under intensive shrimp farming in recent years. In this background, the understanding of shrimp innate immunity becomes an importantly scientific issue, but little is known about the heterogeneous protein–protein interaction between pathogenic cells and hosts, which is a key step for the invading microbes to infect internet organs through bloodstream. In the present study, bacterial outer membrane (OM) protein array and pull-down approaches are used to isolate both Vibrio parahaemolyticus OM proteins that bind to shrimp serum proteins and the shrimp serum proteins that interact with bacterial cells, respectively. Three interacting shrimp serum proteins, hemocyanin, β-1,3-glucan binding protein and LV_HP_RA36F08r and thirty interacting OM proteins were determined. They form 63 heterogeneous protein–protein interactions. Nine out of the 30 OM proteins were randomly demonstrated to be up-regulated or down-regulated when bacterial cells were cultured with shrimp sera, indicating the biological significance of the network. The interesting findings uncover the complexity of struggle between host immunity and bacterial infection. Compared with our previous report on heterogeneous interactome between fish grill and bacterial OM proteins, the present study further extends the investigation from lower vertebrates to invertebrates and develops a bacterial OM protein array to identify the OM proteins bound with shrimp serum proteins, which elevates the frequencies of the bound OM proteins. Our results highlight the way to determine and understand the heterogeneous interaction between hosts and microbes.     

竹叶菜的组织培养研究

竹叶菜为百合科鹿药属一种多年生草本植物,因做菜口感好,且营养丰富、药用价值高而成为深受人们喜爱的一种野生蔬菜.有关竹叶菜及其同属的组织培养研究均未见报道.本文以竹叶菜的顶芽为外植体,通过器官发生途径,初步探索了竹叶菜的组织培养技术,结果表明:芽诱导的合适培养基为:MS +6-BA 1.5 +NAA 0.05+0.6％琼脂+3％蔗糖;芽继代培养的合适培养基为:MS+6-BA 1.2 +NAA 0.05 +0.6％琼脂+3％蔗糖;无菌小苗生根的合适培养基为:MS+ IAA 1.5+ NAA 0.2+ 0.6％琼脂+3％蔗糖.为竹叶菜今后较大规模地栽培或生产提供种苗及技术贮备,为实现竹叶菜资源的可持续性开发利用奠定了基础.     

Effect of Arborvitae Seed on Cognitive Function and α7nAChR Protein Expression of Hippocampus in Model Rats with Alzheimer’s Disease

The aim was to investigate the effect of the arborvitae seed on cognitive function and α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) protein expression of the hippocampus in model rats with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Thirty-six adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into the control, test, and drug groups. A dose of Aβ_1–40 was injected into the rats’ hippocampus in the test and drug groups and the control rats were injected with the same amount of normal saline. After the model was successful, the rats in the control and test groups were gavaged with sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (500 mg/kg) and the rats in the drug group were gavaged with arborvitae seed powder (500 mg/kg) for 15 days. The Morris water maze test was used for cognitive function. The effect of arborvitae seed on α7nAChR protein immunoreactivity on the hippocampus neurons was studied by the immunohistochemistry method. Behavioral tests showed that the mean escape latencies and search time of the test group were obviously longer than the control and drug groups. The percentage of the search distance of the test group was shorter than that of the control and drug groups. The immunohistochemistry results are as follows: α7nAChR-positive cells and optical density in the hippocampus of the rats in the test group are less than that of the rats in the control and drug groups (all P < 0.01). Arborvitae seed can treat AD by increased expression of α7nAChR.     

Surface Properties and Corrosion Behavior of Co–Cr Alloy Fabricated with Selective Laser Melting Technique

We sought to study the corrosion behavior and surface properties of a commercial cobalt–chromium (Co–Cr) alloy which was fabricated with selective laser melting (SLM) technique. For this purpose, specimens were fabricated using different techniques, such as SLM system and casting methods. Surface hardness testing, microstructure observation, surface analysis using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical corrosion test were carried out to evaluate the corrosion properties and surface properties of the specimens. We found that microstructure of SLM specimens was more homogeneous than that of cast specimens. The mean surface hardness values of SLM and cast specimens were 458.3 and 384.8, respectively; SLM specimens showed higher values than cast ones in hardness. Both specimens exhibited no differences in their electrochemical corrosion properties in the artificial saliva through potentiodynamic curves and EIS, and no significant difference via XPS. Therefore, we concluded that within the scope of this study, SLM-fabricated restorations revealed good surface properties, such as proper hardness, homogeneous microstructure, and also showed sufficient corrosion resistance which could meet the needs of dental clinics.     

PTEN overexpression promotes glioblastoma death through triggering mitochondrial division and inactivating the Akt pathway

Abstract

Objective: PTEN has been acknowledged as an anticancer factor in the progression of glioblastoma. Mitochondrial division has been found to be associated with cancer cell death.

Objective: The aim of our study is to explore whether PTEN attenuates the development of glioblastoma by modulating mitochondrial division.

Materials and methods: PTEN adenovirus was used to overexpress PTEN in U87 cells. Mitochondrial function was detected via western blot and immunofluorescence. Pathway blocker was used to inhibit the Akt activation.

Results: The results of our study demonstrated that PTEN overexpression reduced cell viability by increasing cell apoptosis. At the molecular level, PTEN overexpression activated mitochondrial apoptosis by mediating mitochondrial dysfunction. Furthermore, we found that Drp1-related mitochondrial division was required for PTEN-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death. Finally, we found that PTEN modulated Drp1-related mitochondrial division via the Akt pathway; inactivation of Akt induced cell death, and mitochondrial damage, similar to the results obtained via PTEN overexpression.

Conclusions: Taken together, our results clarify that the anticancer mechanism of PTEN in glioblastoma is dependent on the activation of Drp1-related mitochondrial division via Akt pathway modulation. This finding might provide new insight into the tumor-suppressive role played by PTEN in glioblastoma.