吲(口朶)乙酸和苄基腺嘌呤对菊芋再生新皮组织分化的影响

根据前人的研究,植物激素对部分茎段剥皮后新皮再生有一定的影响。草本植物菊芋(Helianthus tuberosus L.)在正常情况下环剥后,其维管组织的分化过程与杜仲、茄子很不一样,对于一些外源激素的刺激反应可能也有差异,为此,有必要应用一些外源激素对菊芋环剥后再生新皮的组织分化进行试验研究。     

A simple and efficient method for the separation and detection of small DNA fragments by electrophoresis in formamide containing agarose gels and Southern blotting to DBM-paper.

We show in this report that DNA fragments smaller than 300 bp are separated with high resolution by electrophoresis in concentrated (up to 7%) agarose gels containing 50% formamide. The separated DNA fragments can subsequently be quantitatively transferred to DBM-paper [Alwine, J.C. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1977) 74, 5350-54] using the Southern technique [Southern, E.M., J. Mol. Biol. (1975) 98, 503-517], while preserving the sharpness of the original gel pattern. Since thin (0.2-0.4 mm) and thick (up to 5 mm) agarose slab gels can be easily handled in vertical or horizontal apparatus, this method should prove to be a very useful extention of the Southern technique, applicable to a variety of analytical and preparative purposes.     

Cryo-EM structure of the fatty acid reductase LuxC–LuxE complex provides insights into bacterial bioluminescence

The discovery of reduced flavin mononucleotide and fatty aldehydes as essential factors of light emission facilitated study of bacterial luminescence. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial luminescence have been studied for more than 60 years, the structure of the bacterial fatty acid reductase complex remains unclear. Here, we report the cryo-EM structure of the Photobacterium phosphoreum fatty acid reductase complex LuxC–LuxE to a resolution of 2.79 Å. We show that the active site Lys238/Arg355 pair of LuxE is >30 Å from the active site Cys296 of LuxC, implying that catalysis relies on a large conformational change. Furthermore, mutagenesis and biochemical experiments support that the L-shaped cleft inside LuxC plays an important role in substrate binding and reaction. We obtained a series of mutants with significantly improved activity as measured by in vitro bioluminescence assays and demonstrated that the double mutant W111A/F483K displayed the highest activity (370% of the WT). Our results indicated that the activity of LuxC significantly affects the bacterial bioluminescence reaction. Finally, we expressed this mutated lux operon in Escherichia coli but observed that the in vivo concentrations of ATP and NADPH limited the enzyme activity; thus, we conclude that the luminous intensity mainly depends on the level of metabolic energy.     

Economic burden of dengue fever in China: A retrospective research study

BackgroundDengue fever has been a significant public health challenge in China. This will be particularly important in the context of global warming, frequent international travels, and urbanization with increasing city size and population movement. In order to design relevant prevention and control strategies and allocate health resources reasonably, this study evaluated the economic burden of dengue fever in China in 2019.MethodsThe economic burden of dengue fever patients was calculated from both family and the organisation perspectives. A survey was conducted among 1,027 dengue fever patients in Zhejiang, Chongqing, and Yunnan Provinces. Treatment expenses, lost working days, and insurance reimbursement expenses information were collected to estimate the total economic burden of dengue fever patients in 2019. The expenditures related to dengue fever prevention and control from government, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), communities and subdistrict offices of 30 counties (or districts) in Zhejiang Province and Chongqing City were also collected.ResultsThe direct, indirect and total economic burden for dengue fever patients in 2019 in the three Provinces were about 36,927,380.00 Chinese Yuan (CNY), 10,579,572.00 CNY and 46,805,064.00 CNY, respectively. The costs for prevention and control of dengue fever for the counties (or districts) without cases, counties (or districts) with imported cases, and counties (or districts) with local cases are 205,800.00 CNY, 731,180.00 CNY and 6,934,378.00 CNY, respectively. The total investment of dengue fever prevention and control in the 30 counties in China in 2019 was approximately 3,166,660,240.00 CNY.ConclusionThe economic burden of dengue fever patients is relatively high, and medical insurance coverage should be increased to lighten patients’ direct medical economic burden. At the same time, the results suggests that China should increase funding for primary health service institutions to prevent dengue fever transmission.     

SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein causes acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)-like pathological damages and constitutes an antiviral target

Cytokine storm and multi-organ failure are the main causes of SARS-CoV-2-related death. However, the origin of excessive damages caused by SARS-CoV-2 remains largely unknown. Here we show that the SARS-CoV-2 envelope (2-E) protein alone is able to cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)-like damages in vitro and in vivo. 2-E proteins were found to form a type of pH-sensitive cation channels in bilayer lipid membranes. As observed in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells, heterologous expression of 2-E channels induced rapid cell death in various susceptible cell types and robust secretion of cytokines and chemokines in macrophages. Intravenous administration of purified 2-E protein into mice caused ARDS-like pathological damages in lung and spleen. A dominant negative mutation lowering 2-E channel activity attenuated cell death and SARS-CoV-2 production. Newly identified channel inhibitors exhibited potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity and excellent cell protective activity in vitro and these activities were positively correlated with inhibition of 2-E channel. Importantly, prophylactic and therapeutic administration of the channel inhibitor effectively reduced both the viral load and secretion of inflammation cytokines in lungs of SARS-CoV-2-infected transgenic mice expressing human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE-2). Our study supports that 2-E is a promising drug target against SARS-CoV-2.Subject terms: Cell death, Molecular biology     

TEB/POLQ plays dual roles in protecting Arabidopsis from NO-induced DNA damage

Nitric oxide (NO) is a key player in numerous physiological processes. Excessive NO induces DNA damage, but how plants respond to this damage remains unclear. We screened and identified an Arabidopsis NO hypersensitive mutant and found it to be allelic to TEBICHI/POLQ, encoding DNA polymerase θ. The teb mutant plants were preferentially sensitive to NO- and its derivative peroxynitrite-induced DNA damage and subsequent double-strand breaks (DSBs). Inactivation of TEB caused the accumulation of spontaneous DSBs largely attributed to endogenous NO and was synergistic to DSB repair pathway mutations with respect to growth. These effects were manifested in the presence of NO-inducing agents and relieved by NO scavengers. NO induced G2/M cell cycle arrest in the teb mutant, indicative of stalled replication forks. Genetic analyses indicate that Polθ is required for translesion DNA synthesis across NO-induced lesions, but not oxidation-induced lesions. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that Polθ bypasses NO-induced base adducts in an error-free manner and generates mutations characteristic of Polθ-mediated end joining. Our experimental data collectively suggests that Polθ plays dual roles in protecting plants from NO-induced DNA damage. Since Polθ is conserved in higher eukaryotes, mammalian Polθ may also be required for balancing NO physiological signaling and genotoxicity.     

云南主要有害实蝇种类及区划

采用诱剂诱捕辅以受害瓜果调查的方法,系统梳理了云南有害实蝇类群,确定主要有害种类25种。基于云南自然地理特征,采用聚类分析法深入探讨了云南实蝇区系,提出云南实蝇地理区划可分为德宏、版纳盆谷区,南部边缘中低山宽谷区,滇西南山原峡谷区,中东部高原、岩溶山原区以及北部高原山地区等5大区域。研究发现,受热量条件制约,云南主要有害实蝇类群呈南北向梯度递减;受纵向岭谷区"通道-阻隔"综合作用影响,云南西南部河谷地区是实蝇危害较为严重的区域。首次系统揭示了云南主要有害实蝇的地理分布规律。     

Rapid improvement of rice eating and cooking quality through gene editing toward glutelin as target

Rice eating and cooking quality(ECQ) is a major concern of breeders and consumers, determining market competitiveness worldwide. Rice grain protein content(GPC) is negatively related to ECQ,making it possible to improve ECQ by manipulating GPC. However, GPC is genetically complex and sensitive to environmental conditions; therefore, little progress has been made in traditional breeding for ECQ. Here, we report that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of genes encoding the grain storage protein gluteli...