Cell wall biochemical alterations during Agrobacterium‐mediated expression of haemagglutinin‐based influenza virus‐like vaccine particles in tobacco

Influenza virus‐like particles (VLPs) have been shown to induce a safe and potent immune response through both humoral and cellular responses. They represent promising novel influenza vaccines. Plant‐based biotechnology allows for the large‐scale production of VLPs of biopharmaceutical interest using different model organisms, including Nicotiana benthamiana plants. Through this platform, influenza VLPs bud from the plasma membrane and accumulate between the membrane and the plant cell wall. To design and optimize efficient production processes, a better understanding of the plant cell wall composition of infiltrated tobacco leaves is a major interest for the plant biotechnology industry. In this study, we have investigated the alteration of the biochemical composition of the cell walls of N. benthamiana leaves subjected to abiotic and biotic stresses induced by the Agrobacterium‐mediated transient transformation and the resulting high expression levels of influenza VLPs. Results show that abiotic stress due to vacuum infiltration without Agrobacterium did not induce any detectable modification of the leaf cell wall when compared to non infiltrated leaves. In contrast, various chemical changes of the leaf cell wall were observed post‐Agrobacterium infiltration. Indeed, Agrobacterium infection induced deposition of callose and lignin, modified the pectin methylesterification and increased both arabinosylation of RG‐I side chains and the expression of arabinogalactan proteins. Moreover, these modifications were slightly greater in plants expressing haemagglutinin‐based VLP than in plants infiltrated with the Agrobacterium strain containing only the p19 suppressor of silencing.     

华北地区冬小麦干旱风险区划

灾害风险评估与区划是是实现灾害应急管理向风险管理转变的关键。综合考虑了影响灾害风险大小的自然属性和社会属性,从多角度选取了干旱灾害强度、基于冬小麦干旱指数的干旱频率、基于灾损的干旱频率、灾年减产率变异系数、区域农业经济发展水平、抗灾性能指数等6个风险评估指标。通过引入CCA排序方法,揭示了不同风险评估指标之间的相关关系以及评估指标与相对气象产量的关系;并以确定的风险评估指标和相对气象产量之间的关系为基础,构建了不考虑抗灾和考虑抗灾2种风险指数。对比两种风险指数分析结果,表明在抗灾和不抗灾2种条件下,华北地区冬小麦干旱风险格局发生了明显改变。说明在当前农业生产水平下,人类的减灾抗灾和风险管理水平对冬小麦生产起着至关重要的作用。最后,以模糊聚类分析为手段,以考虑抗灾能力的风险指数和灾年减产率为分类标准进行聚类,实现了华北地区冬小麦干旱风险综合区划。     

Delayed and incomplete reprogramming of chromosome methylation patterns in bovine cloned embryos

Full-term development has now been achieved in several mammalian species by transfer of somatic nuclei into enucleated oocytes [1, 2]. Although a high proportion of such reconstructed embryos can evolve until the blastocyst stage, only a few percent develop into live offspring, which often exhibit developmental abnormalities [3, 4]. Regulatory epigenetic markers such as DNA methylation are imposed on embryonic cells as normal development proceeds, creating differentiated cell states. Cloned embryos require the erasure of their somatic epigenetic markers so as to regain a totipotent state [5]. Here we report on differences in the dynamics of chromosome methylation between cloned and normal bovine embryos before implantation. We show that cloned embryos fail to reproduce distinguishable parental-chromosome methylation patterns after fusion and maintain their somatic pattern during subsequent stages, mainly by a highly reduced efficiency of the passive demethylation process. Surprisingly, chromosomes appear constantly undermethylated on euchromatin in morulae and blastocysts, while centromeric heterochromatin remains more methylated than that of normal embryos. We propose that the abnormal time-dependent methylation events spanning the preimplantation development of clones may significantly interfere with the epigenetic reprogramming, contributing to the high incidence of physiological anomalies occurring later during pregnancy or after clone birth.     

湖北省楠属植物叶表皮微形态特征及其分类学意义

【目的】楠属（Phoebe）各物种在形态学方面差异甚微,种间界限模糊,物种的识别鉴定较为困难,尤其在缺少花、果的时期。叶微形态特征对植物种间界定具有重要价值,但目前楠属植物叶显微特征的研究仍然较少。【方法】利用体视显微镜、光学显微镜对湖北省楠属8种及1变种的叶形态和微形态进行观察,并测定分析各物种气孔、表皮毛的质量和数量性状,以期为楠属植物的识别和鉴定提供必要依据。【结果】结果表明,叶形态有大型叶、中型叶、小型叶和不规则叶4种类型;毛被类型有粗短柔毛、细短柔毛、长柔毛、混生短柔毛和长柔毛（脉上被长柔毛）4种。毛密度在湘楠（200根/mm2）与闽楠、浙江楠、紫楠（低于100根/mm2）之间差异显著。表皮细胞类型为多边形或不规则形,垂周壁为平直-弓形、浅波或波状。气孔除披针叶楠、闽楠、裂叶白楠为近圆形外,其余物种均为宽椭圆形。气孔密度以紫楠最高,山楠和湘楠最低。此外,气孔大小与气孔密度之间,毛长度与毛密度之间存在负相关关系。【结论】研究表明,叶形态和微形态的特征组合可作为9种楠属植物鉴定和区分的必要依据,可为楠属植物识别和种间界定提供参考。     

绢丝丽蚌寄生变态发育的研究

绢丝丽蚌钩介幼虫在雌蚌外鳃中发育成熟后于冬季排放到体外,而后寄生到宿主鱼的鳃丝进行变态发育,寄生期历时近4个月.寄生后3d,内、外足丝消失;35d后,肉足形成;90d后,肠、闭壳肌、肾脏和鳃原基等生成;壳面加厚且外凸.次年春季,钩介幼虫变态发育成大小为253.37×273.26×179.96μm的稚蚌,脱离鱼鳃营独立生活     

Multi-Hop Routing Optimization Method Based on Improved Ant Algorithm for Vehicle to Roadside Network

This paper proposes a route optimization method to improve the performance of route selection in Vehicle Ad-hoc Network （VANET）. A novel bionic swarm intelligence algorithm, which is called ant colony algorithm, was introduced into a traditional ad-hoc route algorithm named AODV. Based on the analysis of movement characteristics of vehicles and according to the spatial relationship between the vehicles and the roadside units, the parameters in ant colony system were modified to enhance the performance of the route selection probability rules. When the vehicle moves into the range of several different roadsides, it could build the route by sending some route testing packets as ants, so that the route table can be built by the reply information of test ants, and then the node can establish the optimization path to send the application packets. The simulation results indicate that the proposed algorithm has better performance than the traditional AODV algorithm, especially when the vehicle is in higher speed or the number of nodes increases.     

The crystal structure of the human co-chaperone P58(IPK)

P58^IPK is one of the endoplasmic reticulum- (ER-) localised DnaJ (ERdj) proteins which interact with the chaperone BiP, the mammalian ER ortholog of Hsp70, and are thought to contribute to the specificity and regulation of its diverse functions. P58^IPK, expression of which is upregulated in response to ER stress, has been suggested to act as a co-chaperone, binding un- or misfolded proteins and delivering them to BiP. In order to give further insights into the functions of P58^IPK, and the regulation of BiP by ERdj proteins, we have determined the crystal structure of human P58^IPK to 3.0 Å resolution using a combination of molecular replacement and single wavelength anomalous diffraction. The structure shows the human P58^IPK monomer to have a very elongated overall shape. In addition to the conserved J domain, P58^IPK contains nine N-terminal tetratricopeptide repeat motifs, divided into three subdomains of three motifs each. The J domain is attached to the C-terminal end via a flexible linker, and the structure shows the conserved Hsp70-binding histidine-proline-aspartate (HPD) motif to be situated on the very edge of the elongated protein, 100 Å from the putative binding site for unfolded protein substrates. The residues that comprise the surface surrounding the HPD motif are highly conserved in P58^IPK from other organisms but more varied between the human ERdj proteins, supporting the view that their regulation of different BiP functions is facilitated by differences in BiP-binding.     

Inactivation of the Ventral Pallidum by GABAA Receptor Agonist Promotes Non-rapid Eye Movement Sleep in Rats

Neurochemical Research - GABA, the most abundant inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, is closely linked with sleep and wakefulness. As the largest area input to the ventral pallidum (VP), the...