The Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Gossypium hirsutum and Evolutionary Analysis of Higher Plant Mitochondrial Genomes

Background

Mitochondria are the main manufacturers of cellular ATP in eukaryotes. The plant mitochondrial genome contains large number of foreign DNA and repeated sequences undergone frequently intramolecular recombination. Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is one of the main natural fiber crops and also an important oil-producing plant in the world. Sequencing of the cotton mitochondrial (mt) genome could be helpful for the evolution research of plant mt genomes.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We utilized 454 technology for sequencing and combined with Fosmid library of the Gossypium hirsutum mt genome screening and positive clones sequencing and conducted a series of evolutionary analysis on Cycas taitungensis and 24 angiosperms mt genomes. After data assembling and contigs joining, the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of G. hirsutum was obtained. The completed G.hirsutum mt genome is 621,884 bp in length, and contained 68 genes, including 35 protein genes, four rRNA genes and 29 tRNA genes. Five gene clusters are found conserved in all plant mt genomes; one and four clusters are specifically conserved in monocots and dicots, respectively. Homologous sequences are distributed along the plant mt genomes and species closely related share the most homologous sequences. For species that have both mt and chloroplast genome sequences available, we checked the location of cp-like migration and found several fragments closely linked with mitochondrial genes.

Conclusion

The G. hirsutum mt genome possesses most of the common characters of higher plant mt genomes. The existence of syntenic gene clusters, as well as the conservation of some intergenic sequences and genic content among the plant mt genomes suggest that evolution of mt genomes is consistent with plant taxonomy but independent among different species.     

玉米赤霉烯酮降解酶毕赤酵母表达载体的构建及其表达

目的构建毕赤酵母表达载体pPIC9-ZEN-jjm,筛选高效分泌表达活性目的蛋白的菌株。方法克隆ZEN-jjm基因,经EcoRⅠ和NotⅠ双酶切连接至pPIC9中,电转化至毕赤酵母GS115。利用RDB培养基和甲醇诱导表达进行筛选。HPLC检测表达蛋白降解玉米赤霉烯酮的活性。结果测序表明ZEN-jjm成功插入pPIC9中,SDS-PAGE表明获得1株高效表达目的蛋白的重组酵母,其分子量约29 kDa。HPLC表明其能有效地降解玉米赤霉烯酮。结论玉米赤霉烯酮降解酶在毕赤酵母中获得了高效分泌表达。     

Century-Scale Responses of Ecosystem Carbon Storage and Flux to Multiple Environmental Changes in the Southern United States

Terrestrial ecosystems in the southern United States (SUS) have experienced a complex set of changes in climate, atmospheric CO₂ concentration, tropospheric ozone (O₃), nitrogen (N) deposition, and land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) during the past century. Although each of these factors has received attention for its alterations on ecosystem carbon (C) dynamics, their combined effects and relative contributions are still not well understood. By using the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model (DLEM) in combination with spatially explicit, long-term historical data series on multiple environmental factors, we examined the century-scale responses of ecosystem C storage and flux to multiple environmental changes in the SUS. The results indicated that multiple environmental changes shifted SUS ecosystems from a C source of 1.20?±?0.56?Pg (1?Pg?=?10¹⁵?g) during the period 1895 to 1950, to a C sink of 2.00?±?0.94?Pg during the period 1951 to 2007. Over the entire period spanning 1895–2007, SUS ecosystems were a net C sink of 0.80?±?0.38?Pg. The C sink was primarily due to an increase in the vegetation C pool, whereas the soil C pool decreased during the study period. The spatiotemporal changes of C storage were caused by changes in multiple environmental factors. Among the five factors examined (climate, LULCC, N deposition, atmospheric CO₂, and tropospheric O₃), elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration was the largest contributor to C sequestration, followed by N deposition. LULCC, climate, and tropospheric O₃ concentration contributed to C losses during the study period. The SUS ecosystem C sink was largely the result of interactive effects among multiple environmental factors, particularly atmospheric N input and atmospheric CO_2.     

Bortezomib and sphingosine kinase inhibitor interact synergistically to induces apoptosis in BCR/ABl cells sensitive and resistant to STI571 through down-regulation Mcl-1

Interactions between the proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, and the sphingosine kinase (SPK1) inhibitor, SKI, were examined in BCR/ABL human leukemia cells. Coexposure of K562 or chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells from patients to subtoxic concentrations of SKI (10 μM) and bortezomib (100 nM) resulted in a synergistic increase in caspase-3 cleavage and apoptosis. These events were associated with the downregulation of BCR–ABL and Mcl-1, and a marked reduction in SPK1 expression. In imatinib mesylate-resistant K562 cells that displayed decreased BCR–ABL expression, bortezomib/SKI treatment markedly increased apoptosis and inhibited colony-formation in association with the downregulation of Mcl-1. Finally, the bortezomib/SKI regimen also potently induced the downregulation of BCR/ABL and Mcl-1 in human leukemia cells. Collectively, these findings suggest that combining SKI and bortezomib may represent a novel strategy in leukemia, including apoptosis-resistant BCR–ABL⁺ hematologic malignancies.     

响应面法优化太白贝母粗多糖超声波提取工艺研究

对太白贝母粗多糖提取工艺的研究,为太白贝母的深入综合利用提供依据。采用超声波提取太白贝母粗多糖,在单因素试验基础上,利用响应面法对提取工艺参数进行优化研究。建立料液比、时间、超声温度之间的数学模型,通过典型性分析得出最优工艺条件为:提取时间为16 min,提取温度75℃,料液比为1∶15,总糖的含量为0.461%。试验表明,响应面法对太白贝母粗多糖提取条件的优化是可行的,可用于实际预测。     

细菌素发酵培养基的优化及动力学初步分析

用响应面方法对Lactococcus lactis生产细菌素乳链菌肽的培养基进行了优化。首先用部分重复因子实验对培养基组份蔗糖,大豆蛋白胨,酵母粉,KH₂PO₄,NaCl,MgSO₄·7H2O对乳链菌肽的影响进行评价,并找出主要影响因子为大豆蛋白胨和磷酸二氢钾,前者为负影响,后者为正效应,其它组份对乳链菌肽产量的影响不显著。第二步用最陡爬坡路径逼近最大响应区域。最后用中心组合设计及响应面分析确定主要影响因子的最佳浓度。菌株在优化培养基中的乳链菌肽产量增加1倍为2150(IU/mL)。动力学分析表明,菌株生长与细菌素的产生为部分耦联型,进入对数中期菌体比生长速率和细菌素比产率在优化培养基中均大于优化前培养基。     

猫下丘中央核GABA能神经元年龄相关变化

目的比较研究猫下丘中央核(CIC)GABA能神经元年龄相关变化,探索老年个体听力下降的神经机制。方法Nissl染色显示下丘神经元,免疫组织化学ABC法显示γ-氨基丁酸(GABA)免疫阳性神经元。光镜下观察、拍照,对神经元和GABA能神经元分别计数并换算成密度,测量GABA能神经元直径取平均值。结果GABA阳性反应神经元、阳性纤维及其终末在青年猫及老年猫下丘中央核均有分布。与青年猫相比,老年猫下丘中央核神经元及GABA能神经元密度均显著下降(P<0.01),GABA能神经元下降幅度较大;GABA能神经元胞体直径明显减小(P<0.01),阳性反应明显减弱。结论在衰老过程中猫下丘神经元尤其是GABA能神经元有显著丢失现象,提示GABA能神经元显著减少导致下丘兴奋性和抑制性神经递质之间的平衡失调,可能是引起老年个体听觉功能衰退的重要原因。     

高效的植物DNA提取方法

利用液氮研磨植物幼芽,以苯酚─氯仿─异戊醇─核糖核酸酶法提取了大豆、菜豆、玉米、高梁等几种农作物的总ＤＮＡ。所提取的ＤＮＡ经岛津ＵＶ－２６５紫外分光光度计检测及０．６％的琼脂糖凝胶电泳,结果证明：该方法所提取的植物总ＤＮＡ纯度高,片段长度整齐,约５０ｋｂ左右,符合外源ＤＮＡ导入作物的要求,并且ＤＮＡ收率很高。