Functional expression of a Rhodospirillum rubrum gene encoding dinitrogenase reductase ADP-ribosyltransferase in enteric bacteria

The function of the cloned draT gene of Rhodospirillum rubrum was studied by placing it under the control of the tac promoter in the vector, pKK223-3. After induction with isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside, dinitrogenase reductase ADP-ribosyltransferase (DRAT) activity was detected in crude extracts of the heterologous hosts Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. In addition, the expression of draT produced a Nif- phenotype in the otherwise wild-type K. pneumoniae strains, the result of the ADP-ribosylation of accumulated dinitrogenase reductase (DR). DR from a nifF- background was also susceptible to ADP-ribosylation, indicating that the oxidized form of DR will serve as a substrate for DRAT in vivo. A mutation that changes the Arg-101 residue of DR, the ADP-ribose attaching site, eliminates the ADP-ribosylation of DR in vivo, confirming the necessity of this residue for modification.     

陕南茶树栽培区域生态与地方品种分布

陕南秦巴山区是亚热带北缘地区。由于生态环境复杂,地区差异性大,茶树栽培与引种受到一定限制。大致以汉江谷地粮作区为界,南部大巴山北麓低山丘陵区为适栽区;北部秦岭南麓低山丘陵区则为次适栽区。地方茶树群体品种有7个,约由28个地方品种组成,呈斑、块状分布。     

Acetylcholine in the posterior hypothalamic nucleus is involved in the elevated blood pressure in the spontaneously hypertensive rat

Intravenous injection of physostigmine, 40 and 80 ug/kg, in unanesthetized normotensive rats increased systolic blood pressure (SBP) by 21 +/- 3 and 42 +/- 7 mmHg. This pressor response was 80% inhibited by intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of hemicholinium-3 (HC-3), 20 ug. Simultaneous icv injection of HC-3 and choline (365 ug) prevented the inhibition of the pressor response by HC-3. In spontaneously hypertensive rats, injection of HC-3 either icv (20 ug) or bilaterally into the posterior hypothalamic nuclei (1 ug) decreased SBP by about 40 mmHg. The effect of intrahypothalamic HC-3 was completely blocked by simultaneous injection of choline (24.3 ug) into the same site. The hypotensive effect of icv HC-3 was completely blocked by icv choline (243 ug) and was inhibited up to 60% by injections of choline (24.3 ug) into the posterior hypothalamic nuclei.     

Intervention trial with selenium for the prevention of lung cancer among tin miners in Yunnan,China

This pilot study evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of conducting a double-blind clinical trial for the prevention of lung cancer with selenium (Se) in Yunnan Tin Corporation, the People's Republic of China, where the incidence rates of lung cancer are extraordinarily high among the miners. Forty healthy miners were randomized to either 300 μg of Se in high Se malt cakes or an identical placebo of malt cakes daily for one year. Subjects consumed their usual daily diet. The low Se concentrations in plasma (0.05±0.008 μg/mL) and hair (0.442±0.085 μg/g) reflected their low dietary Se intake in the control subjects. In Se-supplemented group, the Se status was increased by 178% for serum and 194.8% for hair. The serum GSHpx activity was increased by 155.7%, whereas the lipid peroxide level was reduced by 74.5% compared to the placebo. The results of UDS assay indicated that the lymphocyte DNA damage induced by ultraviolet irradiation and carcinogen 3,4-benzpyrene could be protected by Se supplementation. Se-supplementation did not affect the liver function test (SGPT), as well as the concentrations of hemoglobin, albumin, and cholesterol. Thus, daily intake of 300 μg Se in form of Se-malt as a chemopreventive measure is safe and effective to humans with low Se status.     

PIXE determination of essential trace elements in some traditional Chinese medicines

Biological Trace Element Research - The essential trace elements in 30 traditional Chinese medicines, (24 tonics and 6 nontonics) were determined by proton-induced X-ray emission. The...     

Oncogenic activation of the human trk proto-oncogene by recombination with the ribosomal large subunit protein L7a.

The trk-2h oncogene, isolated from the human breast carcinoma cell line MDA-MB 231 by genomic DNA-transfection into NIH3T3 cells, consists of the trk proto-oncogene receptor kinase domain fused to a N-terminal 41 amino acid activating sequence (Kozma, S.C., Redmond, S.M.S., Xiao-Chang, F., Saurer, S.M., Groner, B. and Hynes, N.E. (1988) EMBO J., 7, 147-154). Antibodies raised against a bacterially produced beta gal-trk receptor kinase fusion protein recognized a 44 kd phosphoprotein phosphorylated on serine, threonine and tyrosine in extracts of trk-2h transformed NIH3T3 cells. In vitro, in the presence of Mn2+/gamma ATP, this protein became phosphorylated extensively on tyrosine. Cells transformed by trk-2h did not, however, show an elevation in total phosphotyrosine. We have cloned and sequenced the cDNA encoding the amino terminal activating sequences of trk-2h (Kozma et al., 1988). The encoded protein has a high basic amino acid content and the gene is expressed as an abundant 1.2 kb mRNA in human, rat and mouse cells. Antipeptide antibodies raised against a C-terminal peptide recognized specifically a 30 kd protein on Western blots of human, rat and mouse cell extracts. Immunofluorescence revealed, in addition to granular cytoplasmic fluorescence, intense nucleolar staining. The high basic amino acid content and nucleolar staining prompted us to investigate whether the 30 kd protein could be a ribosomal protein. Western immunoblotting analysis of 2D-electrophoretically resolved ribosomal proteins indicated that the 30 kd protein is the ribosomal large subunit protein L7a.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

安徽省达到芒属植物资源及其开发利用

安徽省芒属植物有3种量变种:五节芒(Miscanthus floridulus)、芒(M.sinensis var. sinensis)、紫芒(M. sinensis var. purpurascens)和荻(M. saccharifl-orus);其中紫芒为本省地理分布新记录。它们的资源量大;如全省仅连片五节芒草地即达260多万亩,一般亩产鲜草1000—2500公斤。芒属植物是利用价值很高的资源禾草:饲用价值“良等”;保持水土能力强;纤维品质优良,为制浆造纸及编织的上等原料;并可药用。最后,提出了开发利用芒属植物资源的几点建议。     

木里柠檬种子油的脂肪酸组成和果实主要营养成分的研究

本文报道,采用气相色谱(GC)分析新发现的野生木里柠檬,和栽培的尤力克柠檬种子油的8种脂肪酸成分,和用常规化学方法对比测定两种柠檬果实中的糖,有机酸和维生素C的含量。研究结果表明,木里柠檬的脂肪酸及其它营养成分与尤力克柠檬相近。