Two cotton fiber‐associated glycosyltransferases,GhGT43A1 and GhGT43C1, function in hemicellulose glucuronoxylan biosynthesis during plant development

Xylan is the major hemicellulosic constituent in dicot secondary cell walls. Cell wall composition of cotton fiber changes dynamically throughout development. Not only the amounts but also the molecular sizes of the hemicellulosic polysaccharides show substantial changes during cotton fiber development. However, none of the genes encoding glycosyltransferases (GTs) responsible for synthesizing xylan have been isolated and characterized in cotton fiber. In this study, we applied a bioinformatics approach and identified two putative GTs from cotton, designated GhGT43A1 and GhGT43C1, which belong to the CAZy GT43 family and are closely related to Arabidopsis IRX9 and IRX14, respectively. We show that GhGT43A1 is highly and preferentially expressed in 15 and 20 days post‐anthesis (dpa) cotton fiber, whereas GhGT43C1 is ubiquitously expressed in most organs, with especially high expression in 15 dpa fiber and hypocotyl. Complementation analysis demonstrates that GhG43A1 and GhGT43C1 are orthologs of Arabidopsis IRX9 and IRX14, respectively. Furthermore, we show that overexpression of GhGT43A1 or GhGT43C1 in Arabidopsis results in increased xylan content. We also show that overexpression of GhGT43A1 or GhGT43C1 leads to more cellulose deposition. These findings suggest that GhGT43A1 and GhGT43C1 likely participate in xylan synthesis during fiber development.     

水稻群体冠层光分布及光合作用模型

作物冠层光分布及光合作用模型,是作物栽培学、作物育种学研究的共同基础,对优化设计和评价作物株型、模拟作物生长发育与对环境变化的响应研究都有十分重要的价值.本文根据水稻群体冠层结构的特点,在虚拟切层法的基础上,建立了水稻群体冠层光分布及光合速率模型,模型包括冠层形态子模型、冠层光分布子模型和冠层光合速率子模型等.利用本模型,对设定的15625种水稻株型的光合速率进行了模拟计算,获得水稻最佳株型模型.结果表明,水稻群体光合速率与叶片数、叶含氮量、叶长、叶宽和叶倾角等5因素密切相关;最佳株型的上述5因素在冠层上部取值大,向下逐渐变小.     

Comparison of glutathione peroxidase 1 and iodothyronine deiodinase 1 mRNA expression in murine liver after feeding selenite or selenized yeast

The experiment was conducted to compare the effect of different selenium sources on the expression of glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1) and iodothyronine deiodinase 1 (Dio1) mRNA in mice by quantitative real-time PCR. A total of 60 male Kunming mice at average body weight of 20 g were allotted to three groups in a randomized complete block design, namely two treatments and one control. Mice in Group 1 were fed a basal diet as control, while mice in Groups 2 and 3 were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.1 mg/kg selenium as sodium selenite or selenized yeast, respectively. Whole feeding experiment lasted for 30 d. At the end of the feeding trial, liver mRNA levels of GPx1 and Dio1 were determined by quantitative real-time PCR, as well as growth performance, body composition, blood and GPx activity were determined. The results showed that no significant differences in overall growth performance and body composition, including body weight, body length, heart weight, kidney weight and liver weight, were found between the experimental groups (P>0.05). Blood GPx activity increased in all of the selenium supplemented groups compared with control group (P<0.01). However, blood GPx activity in selenized yeast group was higher than that in sodium selenite group (P<0.05). Liver mRNA levels of GPx1 and Dio1 also increased in the two selenium supplemented groups compared with the control group (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference between the sodium selenite and selenized yeast groups (P>0.05). In conclusion, selenium increased the mRNA expression of GPx1 and Dio1 genes in murine liver, and there was no significant difference between the organic or inorganic form of selenium used.     

Increased tolerance of rice to cold, drought and oxidative stresses mediated by the overexpression of a gene that encodes the zinc finger protein ZFP245

ZFP245 is a cold- and drought-responsive gene that encodes a zinc finger protein in rice. The ZFP245 protein localizes in the nucleus and exhibits trans-activation activity. Transgenic rice plants overexpressing ZFP245 were generated and found to display high tolerance to cold and drought stresses. The transgenic plants did not exhibit growth retardation, but showed growth sensitivity against exogenous abscisic acid, increased free proline levels and elevated expression of rice pyrroline-5-carboxylatesynthetase and proline transporter genes under stress conditions. Overproduction of ZFP245 enhanced the activities of reactive oxygen species-scavenging enzymes under stress conditions and increased the tolerance of rice seedlings to oxidative stress. Our data suggest that ZFP245 may contribute to the tolerance of rice plants to cold and drought stresses by regulating proline levels and reactive oxygen species-scavenging activities, and therefore may be useful for developing transgenic crops with enhanced tolerance to abiotic stress.     

Long-term blue light exposure induces RGC-5 cell death in vitro: involvement of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis,oxidative stress,and MAPK signaling pathways

The mechanism of blue light-induced retinal ganglion cell (RGC) injury is poorly understood. In this study, we established a patented light-emitting diode-based system to study the effects of long-term blue light exposure under culture conditions on RGC-5 cells. Long-term blue light exposure significantly reduced cell viability in a time-dependent manner and induced apoptosis and necrosis in RGC-5 cells. Long-term blue light exposure marked an increase in the expression of Bax and active Caspase-3 (p17), which was accompanied by Bcl-2 down-regulation, and displayed features of the mitochondria-dependent apoptosis pathway. Blue light exposure also increased the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and was a strong inducer of ROS-sensitive protein nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression. Moreover, blue light exposure constitutively activated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), as well as induced the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase in the early phase, in blue light-exposed RGC-5 cells. The protein expression of c-jun and c-fos was further enhanced after RGC-5 cells were exposed to blue light. Taken together, these findings indicated that blue light induced RGC-5 cell line death in dependence upon exposure duration. The potential mechanisms for this phenomenon might be via activated mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, increased ROS production and protein expressions of Nrf2 and HO-1, and activated JNK/p38 MAPK signaling pathways.     

利用ISSR标记分析福云(半)同胞系茶树品种(系)的遗传多样性和亲缘关系

福鼎大白茶和云南大叶茶是茶树育种中的骨干亲本,利用这两个亲本选育了许多优良的品种(系).本研究利用ISSR标记技术分析了40个福云(半)同胞系茶树品种(系)的遗传变异水平和亲缘关系.14个ISSR引物在供试品种(系)间共扩增出251条谱带,多态性条带的比率为96.4%.引物的PIC值平均为0.94,Rp值平均为29.35,表明引物扩增位点的高多态性和对品种的强辨别能力.40份供试品种(系)的基因多样性指数(H)为0.35,Shannon信息指数(1)为0.52.按母本来源和育种机构对供试品种(系)进行分组分析,结果表明不同品种(系)组间的遗传多样性水平比较接近,遗传变异主要存在于组内品种(系)的个体之间,不同组间基因交流明显.供试品种(系)间的相似系数介于0.52～0.75,根据相似系数矩阵按UPGMA法对40个供试品种(系)进行聚类分析,构建了不同品种(系)间的亲缘关系树状图.福鼎大白茶在树状图中形成单独的分支,在树状图的根基处,其它品种(系)根据遗传距离聚类成不同的类群.来源于同一育种单位的部分茶树品种(系)聚类在同一类群中,但未发现按母本来源区分的独立类群.总之,通过ISSR标记分析,可在基因组水平上进一步了解福云(半)同胞系茶树品种(系)间的遗传变异水平,并进一步明确其亲缘关系,为今后福云(半)同胞系在茶树育种上的有效利用提供依据.     

转基因技术在水产动物中的运用

水产养殖业是动物性食物生产增长速度最快的领域,采用现代生物技术以满足人们对水产养殖产品的数量和质量增长的需求日益迫切.在水产养殖动物中已经发展了显微注射、电穿孔、基因枪轰击、精子介导、直接混合、脂质体介导、电穿孔精子载体、生殖腺直接注射等转基因方法,各种方法各有优缺点,针对不同的动物和不同的目的可以选择其中一种方法或几种方法结合使用.鱼类的转基因技术和应用发展较为成熟,但在虾类和贝类中还不稳定,目前主要集中在发展有效的转基因技术上:影响转基因技术在水产动物中的因素除技术的稳定性和基因的整合率外,转基因动物的生态和遗传风险也需要高度关注.