DDT降解菌株Chryseobacterium sp. PYR2对小麦的促生作用及其机理

【背景】前期结果表明,DDT降解菌株Chryseobacterium sp. PYR2可高效去除土壤中的DDT等污染物,具有潜在的应用价值,但该菌对植物的影响尚不清楚。【目的】探讨菌株Chryseobacterium sp. PYR2对植物的促生作用及其机理,为后续开发DDT降解及植物促生双效功能菌剂提供理论依据。【方法】配制该菌株的不同梯度稀释菌悬液,用纸卷发芽法和盆栽法研究菌悬液对小麦种子萌发和植株生长的影响;Salkowski法测定PYR2合成吲哚-3-乙酸(Indole-3-acetic acid,IAA)量;单因素实验研究不同培养条件对菌株生长及IAA合成的影响;液相色谱-串联质谱-多反应监测(LC-MS/MS-MRM)方法分析IAA在PYR2菌体内的生物合成途径。【结果】PYR2菌悬液可明显提高小麦种子萌发率并促进小麦植株的生长,小麦的侧根数、株高、鲜重、干重等指标均明显提高。该作用是由于菌株PYR2可以合成植物生长激素IAA。最适IAA合成条件:温度30°C,pH 7.0-8.0,盐浓度0.5%,L-色氨酸50mg/L。代谢液中检测到色醇、色胺和吲哚-3-乙酰胺3种中间代谢产物,推测PYR2体内存在3条IAA合成途径,分别为吲哚-3-丙酮酸(IPy A)、TAM和IAM途径。【结论】菌株PYR2对小麦具有明显的促生效果,是由于其具有多条高效合成IAA的代谢途径,表明其在农药污染土壤的生物修复及作物种植中具有潜在的应用前景。     

检测猪丹毒杆菌抗体重组SpaA ELISA的建立

【目的】利用表达纯化的猪丹毒杆菌表面保护性蛋白SpaA,建立检测猪丹毒杆菌抗体的间接ELISA方法。【方法】克隆扩增猪丹毒杆菌SpaA基因,并将SpaA基因与原核表达载体p GEX-6P-1连接,通过PCR、双酶切及测序鉴定后,将阳性重组质粒转化入受体菌E.coli Rosetta(DE3),并利用IPTG进行诱导表达,SDS-PAGE和Western blot鉴定表达产物。将SpaA重组蛋白按不同浓度包被酶标板,通过方阵滴定法确定最佳抗原包被浓度及血清稀释度,并对其他条件进行优化,最终建立检测猪丹毒杆菌抗体的间接ELISA方法。【结果】利用克隆表达的猪丹毒杆菌SpaA蛋白作抗原,通过方阵滴定法确定蛋白最佳包被浓度为1.0 mg/L,血清的最佳稀释度为1:100,建立了检测猪丹毒杆菌抗体的间接ELISA方法,批内及批间变异系数均小于10%,具有较好的重复性及特异性。用建立的间接ELISA方法检测猪丹毒疫苗免疫后的健康猪血清样品,检测结果与美国TSZ公司猪丹毒杆菌抗体检测试剂盒和Western blot鉴定结果进行对比,两者总符合率分别为92.20%、92.59%。【结论】试验利用原核表达的SpaA重组蛋白作抗原建立的检测猪丹毒杆菌抗体的间接ELISA方法,特异性强、重复性好、敏感性高,可用于猪丹毒杆菌的抗体检测及流行病学调查。     

溶藻弧菌群体基因组学研究

溶藻弧菌(Vibrio alginolyticus)是一种能够对人类以及鱼、虾、贝类等水产品致病的弧菌,给人类健康带来威胁,也给水产养殖业造成巨大的经济损失.目前该物种基于全基因组的遗传多样性和重要遗传元件研究报道较少.本研究对采集自全国4个省份的68株溶藻弧菌进行高通量测序,获得全基因组序列,并结合113株公开发表的...     

柴油降解基因工程菌的构建及降解特性

【目的】构建柴油降解基因工程菌,提高柴油降解速率,研究p450基因在柴油降解过程中的作用。【方法】将Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2的p450基因合成后,连接至烷烃响应表达载体p Com8中,构建该基因的表达载体p450-SK2/p Com8,并将其转入大肠杆菌DH5α中,通过SDS-PAGE检测该基因在大肠杆菌DH5α中的表达,并将重组质粒p450-SK2/p Com8转入柴油降解菌Acinetobacter sp.Y9中,构建基因工程菌p450-SK2/Y9,研究工程菌p450-SK2/Y9对柴油的降解特性及p450基因在构建的工程菌p450-SK2/Y9中的表达。【结果】PCR、酶切及测序结果表明重组质粒p450-SK2/p Com8构建正确。当柴油诱导浓度大于1%时,目的基因在大肠杆菌DH5α中的蛋白表达量较大,且随着诱导时间的延长而呈增加趋势。通过PCR检测构建的基因工程菌p450-SK2/Y9中的p450基因表明,工程菌构建正确,利用单菌株降解柴油时,宿主菌Y9与工程菌p450-SK2/Y9的柴油降解效率未见明显差异,但工程菌p450-SK2/Y9在构建的菌群中对柴油降解的促进效果明显。SDS-PAGE结果表明,p450基因在构建的工程菌p450-SK2/Y9中能得到准确表达,在混合菌中的表达量高于单菌株。【结论】柴油降解基因工程菌在混合菌群中对柴油降解具有促进作用,而在单菌株情况下未见促进作用,且p450基因的蛋白表达在混合菌中也高于单菌株,这对于提高柴油的降解速率及研究p450基因在柴油降解过程中的作用机理具有一定意义。     

北京地区典型落叶阔叶乔木叶片含氮量和δ15N值对大气氮沉降的响应

为探究植物对大气氮沉降的响应和对这部分氮素的来源指示作用,本研究通过对北京地区198个采样点,典型落叶阔叶乔木杨属(Populus)和柳属(Salix)植物叶片进行采样,测定其叶片样品含氮量和δ~(15)N值。结果表明:北京地区杨属植物叶片含氮量为16.5—38.6g/kg,平均(24.0±4.0)g/kg;柳属植物叶片含氮量为17.2—36.2g/kg,平均(25.9±4.1)g/kg。研究区域范围内杨属、柳属植物叶片的含氮量均呈现出西北低、东南高的对角线型分布,与该区域大气氮沉降的空间变异相吻合。由于研究区域范围内气候因子无明显的变异,植物叶片的含氮量变化反应了大气氮沉降对植物元素化学计量特征的影响和植物对大气氮沉降的响应。北京地区杨属植物叶片δ~(15)N值为-3.95‰—8.10‰,平均(1.15±2.48)‰;柳属植物叶片δ~(15)N值为-3.04‰—9.73‰,平均(2.31±2.60)‰。杨属和柳属植物叶片的δ~(15)N值均呈现出西北高、中部高、东南低的空间分布,与叶片含氮量空间分布趋势相反。中部城区较高的δ~(15)N值反应了交通污染对大气含氮化合物增加的影响;西北部较高的δ~(15)N值反应了该区域受人为活动排放源的影响较少,自然的氮循环是其较高δ~(15)N值的主要原因;东南部较低的δ~(15)N值则有可能是由农业活动和交通共同作用的结果。     

Epidemic management and control through risk-dependent individual contact interventions

Testing, contact tracing, and isolation (TTI) is an epidemic management and control approach that is difficult to implement at scale because it relies on manual tracing of contacts. Exposure notification apps have been developed to digitally scale up TTI by harnessing contact data obtained from mobile devices; however, exposure notification apps provide users only with limited binary information when they have been directly exposed to a known infection source. Here we demonstrate a scalable improvement to TTI and exposure notification apps that uses data assimilation (DA) on a contact network. Network DA exploits diverse sources of health data together with the proximity data from mobile devices that exposure notification apps rely upon. It provides users with continuously assessed individual risks of exposure and infection, which can form the basis for targeting individual contact interventions. Simulations of the early COVID-19 epidemic in New York City are used to establish proof-of-concept. In the simulations, network DA identifies up to a factor 2 more infections than contact tracing when both harness the same contact data and diagnostic test data. This remains true even when only a relatively small fraction of the population uses network DA. When a sufficiently large fraction of the population (≳ 75%) uses network DA and complies with individual contact interventions, targeting contact interventions with network DA reduces deaths by up to a factor 4 relative to TTI. Network DA can be implemented by expanding the computational backend of existing exposure notification apps, thus greatly enhancing their capabilities. Implemented at scale, it has the potential to precisely and effectively control future epidemics while minimizing economic disruption.     

Integration of a multicomponent intervention for hypertension into primary healthcare services in Singapore—A cluster randomized controlled trial

BackgroundDespite availability of clinical practice guidelines for hypertension management, blood pressure (BP) control remains sub-optimal (<30%) even in high-income countries. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a potentially scalable multicomponent intervention integrated into primary care system compared to usual care on BP control.Methods and findingsA cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted in 8 government clinics in Singapore. The trial enrolled 916 patients aged ≥40 years with uncontrolled hypertension (systolic BP (SBP) ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP (DBP) ≥90 mmHg).Multicomponent intervention consisted of physician training in risk-based treatment of hypertension, subsidized losartan-HCTZ single-pill combination (SPC) medications, nurse training in motivational conversations (MCs), and telephone follow-ups. Usual care (controls) comprised of routine care in the clinics, no MC or telephone follow-ups, and no subsidy on SPCs. The primary outcome was mean SBP at 24 months’ post-baseline. Four clinics (447 patients) were randomized to intervention and 4 (469) to usual care. Patient enrolment commenced in January 2017, and follow-up was during December 2018 to September 2020. Analysis used intention-to-treat principles. The primary outcome was SBP at 24 months. BP at baseline, 12 and 24 months was modeled at the patient level in a likelihood-based, linear mixed model repeated measures analysis with treatment group, follow-up, treatment group × follow-up interaction as fixed effects, and random cluster (clinic) effects.A total of 766 (83.6%) patients completed 2-year follow-up. A total of 63 (14.1%) and 87 (18.6%) patients in intervention and in usual care, respectively, were lost to follow-up. At 24 months, the adjusted mean SBP was significantly lower in the intervention group compared to usual care (−3.3 mmHg; 95% CI: −6.34, −0.32; p = 0.03). The intervention led to higher BP control (odds ratio 1.51; 95% CI: 1.10, 2.09; p = 0.01), lower odds of high (>20%) 10-year cardiovascular risk score (OR 0.67; 95% CI: 0.47, 0.97; p = 0.03), and lower mean log albuminuria (−0.22; 95% CI: −0.41, −0.02; p = 0.03). Mean DBP, mortality rates, and serious adverse events including hospitalizations were not different between groups. The main limitation was no masking in the trial.ConclusionsA multicomponent intervention consisting of physicians trained in risk-based treatment, subsidized SPC medications, nurse-delivered motivational conversation, and telephone follow-ups improved BP control and lowered cardiovascular risk. Wide-scale implementation of a multicomponent intervention such as the one in our trial is likely to reduce hypertension-related morbidity and mortality globally.Trial registrationTrial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT02972619","term_id":"NCT02972619"}}NCT02972619.

Tazeen H Jafar and colleagues present findings from a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention designed to manage hypertension.     

Genome-wide CRISPR screen identifies synthetic lethality between DOCK1 inhibition and metformin in liver cancer

Metformin is currently a strong candidate anti-tumor agent in multiple cancers. However, its anti-tumor effectiveness varies among different cancers or subpopulations, potentially due to tumor heterogeneity. It thus remains unclear which hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patient subpopulation(s) can benefit from metformin treatment. Here, through a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9-based knockout screen, we find that DOCK1 levels determine the anti-tumor effects of metformin and that DOCK1 is a synthetic lethal target of metformin in HCC. Mechanistically, metformin promotes DOCK1 phosphorylation, which activates RAC1 to facilitate cell survival, leading to metformin resistance. The DOCK1-selective inhibitor, TBOPP, potentiates anti-tumor activity by metformin in vitro in liver cancer cell lines and patient-derived HCC organoids, and in vivo in xenografted liver cancer cells and immunocompetent mouse liver cancer models. Notably, metformin improves overall survival of HCC patients with low DOCK1 levels but not among patients with high DOCK1 expression. This study shows that metformin effectiveness depends on DOCK1 levels and that combining metformin with DOCK1 inhibition may provide a promising personalized therapeutic strategy for metformin-resistant HCC patients.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13238-022-00906-6.     

蜻蜓凤梨开花相关基因AfFPF1初步研究

FPF1 (flowering-promoting factor 1)是参与植物开花期遗传控制的重要家族之一。迄今为止,人们对蜻蜓凤梨中FPF1家族了解有限。本研究以热带花卉蜻蜓凤梨为材料,基于转录组测序数据,克隆获得AfFPF1基因。该基因编码的蛋白含103个氨基酸,分子质量为12.06 kD。AfFPF1转录本在蜻蜓凤梨的根中显著高表达,此外其表达量受外源乙烯强诱导,且响应赤霉素。AfFPF1基因在拟南芥中异位表达使其开花时间提前,莲座叶数目减少,促进其根系生长。对转基因拟南芥内源开花基因进行表达量检测,发现转基因植株中,一些开花促进基因如AtFT、AtAP1、AtLFY、AtFUL、AtSOC1表达量显著升高,而抑制开花基因AtFLC表达量下调,进一步证实AfFPF1能正调控拟南芥的开花时间,且可能与这些基因相互作用。研究结果初步证实AfFPF1可能参与调控蜻蜓凤梨开花过程,为进一步研究AfFPF1功能、通过基因工程调控蜻蜓凤梨开花以及乙烯诱导蜻蜓凤梨开花分子机制提供了理论依据。