Secretory delivery of heterologous proteins in attenuated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vibrio anguillarum</Emphasis> for potential use in vaccine design

To synthesize and secrete heterologous proteins in an attenuated Vibrio anguillarum strain for potential multivalent live vaccine development, different antigen-delivery systems based on bacterial-originated secretion signal peptides (SPs) were designed and identified in this work. Four SPs were derived from hemolysin of Escherichia coli, RTX protein of V. cholerae, hemolysin of V. anguillarum, zinc-metalloprotease of V. anguillarum, respectively, and their abilities to support secretion of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in an attenuated V. anguillarum strain MVAV6203 were assayed. Immunodetection of GFP showed that the capability of the tested signal leaders to direct secretion of GFP varied greatly. Although all the four signal peptide-fused GFPs could be expressed correctly and trapped intracellularly in recombinant strains, only the EmpA signal peptide could confer efficient secretion to GFP. For the investigation of its potential application in live bacteria carrier vaccines, a heterologous protein EseB of Edwardsiella tarda was fused to the SP(empA) antigen-delivery system and introduced into the strain MVAV6203. Further analysis of EseB demonstrated that the constructed SP(empA) antigen-delivery system could be used to secrete foreign protein in attenuated V. anguillarum and be available for carrier vaccines development.     

大鼠RVLG cDNA的克隆、原核表达和小鼠抗RVLG蛋白多克隆抗体的制备

为了识别大鼠卵巢中的生殖细胞,在原核系统中表达和纯化RVLG蛋白并制备了多克隆抗体.采用RT-PCR方法从大鼠睾丸组织中扩增获得RVLG cDNA片段,然后克隆到pMD19-T载体上进行测序,经双酶切回收目的基因片段后,将其插入到原核表达载体pGEX-4T-1上,转入大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中诱导表达.纯化后的GST-RVLG融合蛋白免疫昆明(KM)小鼠,最后给小鼠腹腔注射S180细胞制备抗RVLG腹水多克隆抗体.用Western blotting及免疫组织化学法鉴定RVLG腹水多克隆抗体的特异性,间接ELISA法测定该抗体的效价.序列分析表明,所克隆的RVLG cDNA片段比GenBank中报道的大鼠RVLG cDNA(NM_001077647)多60 bp,原因是由于RVLG的可变剪切方式造成的.本研究成功构建了重组表达质粒pGEX-RVLG,且GST-RVLG融合蛋白在大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中高效表达,表达的目的蛋白占菌体总蛋白的10%以上.制备的抗体可特异性识别RVLG蛋白,其效价达1:20 000.获得的高效价、高特异性的小鼠抗RVLG蛋白腹水多克隆抗体为下阶段研究RVLG的特异性表达奠定了基础.     

Lateral sharpening of cortical frequency tuning by approximately balanced inhibition

Cortical inhibition plays an important role in shaping neuronal processing. The underlying synaptic mechanisms remain controversial. Here, in vivo whole-cell recordings from neurons in the rat primary auditory cortex revealed that the frequency tuning curve of inhibitory input was broader than that of excitatory input. This results in relatively stronger inhibition in frequency domains flanking the preferred frequencies of the cell and a significant sharpening of the frequency tuning of membrane responses. The less selective inhibition can be attributed to a broader bandwidth and lower threshold of spike tonal receptive field of fast-spike inhibitory neurons than nearby excitatory neurons, although both types of neurons receive similar ranges of excitatory input and are organized into the same tonotopic map. Thus, the balance between excitation and inhibition is only approximate, and intracortical inhibition with high sensitivity and low selectivity can laterally sharpen the frequency tuning of neurons, ensuring their highly selective representation.     

小鼠胚胎干细胞定向分化为神经干细胞过程中microRNA的变化

目的用生物芯片技术分析胚胎干细胞定向分化为神经干细胞过程中microRNA(miRNA)的表达变化,筛选调控的分化的miRNA,研究分化调控机制。方法胚胎干细胞在含LIF培养基中培养3d后,采用经典5步培养方法定向诱导向神经干细胞分化,采用nestin作为神经干细胞标记进行鉴定,送检胚胎干细胞及神经干细胞,提取总RNA以及小分子RNA,经荧光标记后与miRNA基因芯片杂交,获得胚胎干细胞诱导前后miRNA表达谱。结果1)胚胎干细胞在含LIF培养过程中保持未分化状态,Oct-4、碱性磷酸酶表达阳性;2)经典五步法诱导胚胎干细胞定向分化为神经干细胞,nestin阳性细胞为85%;3)通过基因微阵列分析,有90个miRNA的改变显著,其中68个表达上调,22个表达下调。结论miRNA可能对胚胎干细胞定向分化为神经干细胞过程起到关键作用。     

The Impact of Iodine Excess on Thyroid Hormone Biosynthesis and Metabolism in Rats

Thyroid function ultimately depends on appropriate iodine supply to the gland. There is a complex series of checks and balances that the thyroid uses to control the orderly utilization of iodine for hormone synthesis. The aim of our study is to evaluate the mechanism underlying the effect of iodine excess on thyroid hormone metabolism. Based on the successful establishment of animal models of normal-iodine (NI) and different degrees of high-iodine (HI) intake in Wistar rats, the content of monoiodotyrosine (MIT), diiodotyrosine (DIT), T₄, and T₃ in thyroid tissues, the activity of thyroidal type 1 deiodinase (D1) and its (Dio1) mRNA expression level were measured. Results showed that, in the case of iodine excess, the biosynthesis of both MIT and DIT, especially DIT, was increased. There was an obvious tendency of decreasing in MIT/DIT ratio with increased doses of iodine intake. In addition, iodine excess greatly inhibited thyroidal D1 activity and mRNA expression. T₃ was greatly lower in the HI group, while there was no significant difference of T₄ compared with NI group. The T₃/T₄ ratio was decreased in HI groups, antiparalleled with increased doses of iodine intakes. In conclusion, the increased biosyntheses of DIT relative to MIT and the inhibition of thyroidal Dio1 mRNA expression and D1 activity may be taken as an effective way to protect an organism from impairment caused by too much T₃. These observations provide new insights into the cellular regulation mechanism of thyroid hormones under physiological and pathological conditions.     

Engineering biofuel tolerance in non-native producing microorganisms

Large-scale production of renewable biofuels through microbiological processes has drawn significant attention in recent years, mostly due to the increasing concerns on the petroleum fuel shortages and the environmental consequences of the over-utilization of petroleum-based fuels. In addition to native biofuel-producing microbes that have been employed for biofuel production for decades, recent advances in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology have made it possible to produce biofuels in several non-native biofuel-producing microorganisms. Compared to native producers, these non-native systems carry the advantages of fast growth, simple nutrient requirements, readiness for genetic modifications, and even the capability to assimilate CO₂ and solar energy, making them competitive alternative systems to further decrease the biofuel production cost. However, the tolerance of these non-native microorganisms to toxic biofuels is naturally low, which has restricted the potentials of their application for high-efficiency biofuel production. To address the issues, researches have been recently conducted to explore the biofuel tolerance mechanisms and to construct robust high-tolerance strains for non-native biofuel-producing microorganisms. In this review, we critically summarize the recent progress in this area, focusing on three popular non-native biofuel-producing systems, i.e. Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus and photosynthetic cyanobacteria.     

Climatic and technological ceilings for Chinese rice stagnation based on yield gaps and yield trend pattern analysis

Climatic or technological ceilings could cause yield stagnation. Thus, identifying the principal reasons for yield stagnation within the context of the local climate and socio‐economic conditions are essential for informing regional agricultural policies. In this study, we identified the climatic and technological ceilings for seven rice‐production regions in China based on yield gaps and on a yield trend pattern analysis for the period 1980–2010. The results indicate that 54.9% of the counties sampled experienced yield stagnation since the 1980. The potential yield ceilings in northern and eastern China decreased to a greater extent than in other regions due to the accompanying climate effects of increases in temperature and decreases in radiation. This may be associated with yield stagnation and halt occurring in approximately 49.8–57.0% of the sampled counties in these areas. South‐western China exhibited a promising scope for yield improvement, showing the greatest yield gap (30.6%), whereas the yields were stagnant in 58.4% of the sampled counties. This finding suggests that efforts to overcome the technological ceiling must be given priority so that the available exploitable yield gap can be achieved. North‐eastern China, however, represents a noteworthy exception. In the north‐central area of this region, climate change has increased the yield potential ceiling, and this increase has been accompanied by the most rapid increase in actual yield: 1.02 ton ha^?1 per decade. Therefore, north‐eastern China shows a great potential for rice production, which is favoured by the current climate conditions and available technology level. Additional environmentally friendly economic incentives might be considered in this region.     

以葡萄糖为底物一步法合成γ-氨基丁酸整合型重组钝齿棒杆菌的构建

[目的]为了构建一株直接利用廉价的葡萄糖合成γ-氨基丁酸的重组钝齿棒杆菌,将来自于植物乳杆菌γ-氨基丁酸合成途径的关键酶谷氨酸脱羧酶基因(lpgad)在产谷氨酸菌株钝齿棒杆菌中进行整合表达,实现葡萄糖到GABA的一步法生产.[方法]运用PCR技术扩增得到带有tac启动子的谷氨酸脱羧酶基因tacgad.通过重叠PCR的方法获得钝齿棒杆菌精氨酸合成途径关键酶N-乙酰谷氨酸激酶(NAGK)基因内部缺失型基因△argB.利用自杀载体pK18mobsacB构建同源整合载体pK18-△argB::tacgad,以△argB的上下游序列为同源臂,通过两次同源重组将tacgad基因整合到钝齿棒杆菌基因组,同时将NAGK基因argB灭活,利用蔗糖致死基因sacB反向筛选标记筛选得到谷氨酸脱羧酶的重组钝齿棒杆菌C.crenatum △argB::tacgad.重组钝齿棒杆菌以葡萄糖为底物进行发酵,测定GABA含量.[结果]重组菌C.crenatum △argB::tacgad成功表达谷氨酸脱羧酶,同时阻断了精氨酸合成途径对谷氨酸到GABA代谢途径的竞争,粗酶液基本检测不到NAGK活性,发酵液无精氨酸合成.通过96 h发酵,重组菌可积累约8.28 g/L的GABA.[结论]本研究通过将谷氨酸脱羧酶基因定向整合到钝齿棒杆菌精氨酸合成途径的关键酶基因argB内部,成功表达谷氨酸脱羧酶的同时阻断竞争途径精氨酸的合成.本研究为实现直接利用葡萄糖合成GABA的一步法生产奠定了基础.