The roles of autophagy in development and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana

Autophagy is a dynamic process that involves the recycling process of the degradation of intracellular materials. Over the past decade, our molecular and physiological understanding of plant autophagy has greatly been increased. Most essential autophagic machineries are conserved from yeast to plants. The roles that autophagy-related genes (ATGs) family play in the lifecycle of the Arabidopsis are proved to be similar to that in mammal. Autophagy is activated during certain stages of development, senescence or in response to starvation, or environmental stress in Arabidopsis. In the progression of autophagy, ATGs act as central signaling regulators and could develop sophisticated mechanisms to survive when plants are suffering unfavorable environments. It will facilitate further understanding of the molecular mechanisms of autophagy in plant. In this review, we will discuss recent advances in our understanding of autophagy in Arabidopsis, areas of controversy, and highlight potential future directions in autophagy research.     

The Atg8 and Atg12 ubiquitin-like conjugation systems in macroautophagy. 'Protein modifications: beyond the usual suspects' review series

As a lysosomal/vacuolar degradative pathway that is conserved in eukaryotic organisms, autophagy mediates the turnover of long-lived proteins and excess or aberrant organelles. The main characteristic of autophagy is the formation of a double-membrane vesicle, the autophagosome, which envelops part of the cytoplasm and delivers it to the lysosome/vacuole for breakdown and eventual recycling of the degradation products. Among the approximately 30 autophagy-related (Atg) genes identified so far, there are two ubiquitin-like proteins, Atg12 and Atg8. Analogous to ubiquitination, Atg12 is conjugated to Atg5 by Atg7--an E1-like protein--and Atg10--an E2-like protein. Similarly, Atg7 and Atg3 are the respective E1-like and E2-like proteins that mediate the conjugation of Atg8 to phosphatidylethanolamine. Both Atg12-Atg5 and Atg8 localize to the developing autophagosome. The Atg12-Atg5 conjugate facilitates the lipidation of Atg8 and directs its correct subcellular localization. Atg8-phosphatidylethanolamine is probably a scaffold protein that supports membrane expansion and the amount present correlates with the size of autophagosomes.     

虾青素对超低温冷冻大黄鱼精子具有细胞膜保护作用

为研究虾青素对冷冻损伤的大黄鱼精子细胞的保护作用,探讨其内在机制,我们将大黄鱼精子稀释于含10%二甲基亚砜和各浓度虾青素的冷冻稀释液中,冷冻并解冻后,显微镜观察发现,1.43×10-4mol/L的虾青素使大黄鱼精子寿命、运动时间和激活率分别增加13.8%、36.0%和5.5%,接近于鲜精;单细胞凝胶电泳显示,核DNA受损程度明显减少,彗星拖尾变短;流式细胞术结果显示,质膜和线粒体明显受到保护,线粒体质量提高了19.27%(P<0.05)。通过双层类脂膜法测定不同浓度虾青素对H+的传递能力,发现2%的虾青素能较高效率地传递H+。结果表明适当浓度的虾青素能通过传递H+维持线粒体功能,从而保护冷冻损伤的大黄鱼精细胞。     

MicroRNAs and their role in viral infection

Recently, a class of about 22 nucleotides (nt) small RNA has been discovered in many eukaryotes, termed microRNAs (miRNAs), which have a variety of functions. Many recent findings have demonstrated that viruses can also encode their own miRNAs. Meanwhile, other findings reveal a relationship between host miRNA and viral infection. These findings suggest a tight relationship between host and viral infection via miRNA pathway. This article introduces the miRNAs encoded by viruses and reviews the advances of the interaction of the mammalian host miRNAs and viral infection.     

Soil respiration in Tibetan alpine grasslands: belowground biomass and soil moisture, but not soil temperature, best explain the large-scale patterns

The Tibetan Plateau is an essential area to study the potential feedback effects of soils to climate change due to the rapid rise in its air temperature in the past several decades and the large amounts of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, particularly in the permafrost. Yet it is one of the most under-investigated regions in soil respiration (Rs) studies. Here, Rs rates were measured at 42 sites in alpine grasslands (including alpine steppes and meadows) along a transect across the Tibetan Plateau during the peak growing season of 2006 and 2007 in order to test whether: (1) belowground biomass (BGB) is most closely related to spatial variation in Rs due to high root biomass density, and (2) soil temperature significantly influences spatial pattern of Rs owing to metabolic limitation from the low temperature in cold, high-altitude ecosystems. The average daily mean Rs of the alpine grasslands at peak growing season was 3.92 μmol CO(2) m(-2) s(-1), ranging from 0.39 to 12.88 μmol CO(2) m(-2) s(-1), with average daily mean Rs of 2.01 and 5.49 μmol CO(2) m(-2) s(-1) for steppes and meadows, respectively. By regression tree analysis, BGB, aboveground biomass (AGB), SOC, soil moisture (SM), and vegetation type were selected out of 15 variables examined, as the factors influencing large-scale variation in Rs. With a structural equation modelling approach, we found only BGB and SM had direct effects on Rs, while other factors indirectly affecting Rs through BGB or SM. Most (80%) of the variation in Rs could be attributed to the difference in BGB among sites. BGB and SM together accounted for the majority (82%) of spatial patterns of Rs. Our results only support the first hypothesis, suggesting that models incorporating BGB and SM can improve Rs estimation at regional scale.     

内蒙古赛罕乌拉国家级自然保护区猞猁食物构成初步分析

猞猁(Lynxlynx)是内蒙古赛罕乌拉国家级自然保护区内的顶级捕食者,在维持该地区生态平衡和调节猎物数量上具有重要地位。分析猞猁粪便样品残留物不仅能明确其猎物构成,了解与同域分布其他捕食者的关系,还能为制定物种保护措施和栖息地管理策略提供科学参考。本研究在2006至2008年间利用样线法在该区域收集到35份猞猁粪便样品。通过相对出现频率法对粪样进行食性分析,发现猞猁的主要食物组成以蒙古兔(Lepus tolai,30.85%)和植物(28.72%)较多;年度(χ~2=18.696,P <0.001)和季节性(χ~2=74.695,P <0.001)食物构成均存在显著差异。结果表明,蒙古兔在猞猁的食物组成中占最重要地位;猞猁的食物构成与季节有关,寒冷季节捕食大型猎物,而温暖季节捕食的小型猎物更常见。     

光照、盐分和埋深对无芒隐子草和条叶车前种子萌发的影响

光照、盐分和埋深对无芒隐子草(Cleistogenes songorica)和条叶车前(Plantago lessingii)种子萌发的影响研究结果显示,无芒隐子草和条叶车前种子为萌发需光性种子。随着盐(NaCl)浓度的增加,2种植物种子的发芽率呈直线下降趋势(P<0.01),但以条叶车前下降较为缓慢。当盐分浓度为0.4 mol.L-1时,2种植物种子皆不能萌发。低浓度的盐分促进胚根的生长,高浓度则表现为抑制作用;盐分对胚芽的生长则一直起抑制作用。2种植物种子发芽率随埋深的增加而减小,当埋深>2 cm时不能萌发。     

杉木人工林土壤微生物生物量碳氮特征及其与土壤养分的关系

研究了湖南会同红黄壤区杉木人工林和常绿阔叶林土壤微生物量和养分状况.结果表明,该区杉木人工林取代地带性常绿阔叶林和杉木连栽后,土壤微生物碳、氮和土壤养分含量下降,土壤严重退化.在0～10 cm土层内,常绿阔叶林土壤微生物碳和氮含量为800.5和84.5 mg·kg^-1,分别是第1代杉木林的1.90和1.03倍、第2代杉木林的2.16和1.27倍;在10～20 cm土层内,常绿阔叶林土壤微生物碳和氮含量为475.4和63.3 mg·kg^-1,分别是第1代杉木纯林的1.86、1.60倍和第2代杉木林的2.11和1.76倍.在0～10 cm 和10～20cm土层内,杉木人工林取代常绿阔叶林和杉木栽植代数增加后,土壤全氮、全钾、铵态氮和速效钾含量均明显降低,但差异并不显著.人工杉木林林分组成单一,其凋落物分解慢、归还养分数量少;炼山等造成的表土流失是杉木人工林土壤微生物量和养分库退化的重要原因.土壤微生物碳与土壤全氮、铵态氮、全钾和速效钾含量呈极显著的正相关,土壤微生物氮与土壤养分含量也达到极显著水平.     

茉莉酸信号转导突变体ber15 的分离和基因克隆表明油菜素内酯的合成影响茉莉酸信号转导

bestatin是一种氨肽酶抑制剂, 能够激活茉莉酸信号转导途径而诱导抗性相关基因的表达, 从而为用化学遗传学手段解析茉莉酸途径提供了一个有效的工具。ber15是我们鉴定到的一个对bestatin不敏感的拟南芥突变体, 随后的研究表明该突变体对外源茉莉酸的敏感性也明显降低, 表明相应的野生型基因BER15在茉莉酸信号转导中起重要作用。图位克隆结果表明BER15编码一个细胞色素P450单加氧酶, 是植物激素油菜素内酯合成途径中的一个关键酶。对BER15基因功能的深入研究将会为了解油菜素内酯的合成与茉莉酸信号途径间的互作关系提供证据。     

Monitoring vegetation recovery after China’s May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake using Landsat TM time-series data: a case study in Mao County

The Wenchuan earthquake (Richter scale 8) on 12 May 2008 in southwestern China caused widespread ecosystem damage in the Longmenshan area. It is important to evaluate natural vegetation recovery processes and provide basic information on ecological aspects of the recovering environment after the earthquake. To circumvent the weather limits of remote sensing in the Wenchuan earthquake-hit areas, and to meet the need for regional observation analyses, three Landsat TM images pre- and post-earthquake in Mao County were used for analysis. Post-earthquake normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values were compared to pre-earthquake values with an NDVI-based index differencing method to determine the extent to which the vegetation was damaged in relation to the pre-earthquake pattern, and the rate of recovery was evaluated. The spatial characteristics of vegetation loss and natural recovery patterns were analyzed in relation to elevation, slope and aspect. The results indicated that severely damaged sites occurred mainly in river valleys, within a range of 1,500?C2,500?m elevation and on slopes of 25?C55°. The distance from rivers, rather than the distance from active faults, controls the damage patterns. After 1?year of natural regeneration, 36?% of the destroyed areas showed a decrease in NDVI value, 28.8?% showed very little change, 19.1?% showed an increase, and 16.1?% also increased with a recovery rate greater than 100?%. Moreover, there is a good correlation between recovery rate and both slope and elevation, but recovery patterns in the damaged area are complicated. Our results indicate that natural recovery in this arid valley is a slow process.