叶绿体基因组进化的速率和方式

叶绿体是植物细胞重要的细胞器,叶绿体基因组被广泛用于系统进化的研究。对叶绿体基因组进化的速度和方式进行了介绍,并对造成其特异的点突变的原因进行了一定的分析。     

Apple Sucrose Transporter SUT1 and Sorbitol Transporter SOT6 Interact with Cytochrome b5 to Regulate Their Affinity for Substrate Sugars

Sugar transporters are central machineries to mediate cross-membrane transport of sugars into the cells, and sugar availability may serve as a signal to regulate the sugar transporters. However, the mechanisms of sugar transport regulation by signal sugar availability remain unclear in plant and animal cells. Here, we report that a sucrose transporter, MdSUT1, and a sorbitol transporter, MdSOT6, both localized to plasma membrane, were identified from apple (Malus domestica) fruit. Using a combination of the split-ubiquitin yeast two-hybrid, immunocoprecipitation, and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays, the two distinct sugar transporters were shown to interact physically with an apple endoplasmic reticulum-anchored cytochrome b5 MdCYB5 in vitro and in vivo. In the yeast systems, the two different interaction complexes function to up-regulate the affinity of the sugar transporters, allowing cells to adapt to sugar starvation. An Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) homolog of MdCYB5, AtCYB5-A, also interacts with the two sugar transporters and functions similarly. The point mutations leucine-73 → proline in MdSUT1 and leucine-117 → proline in MdSOT6, disrupting the bimolecular interactions but without significantly affecting the transporter activities, abolish the stimulating effects of the sugar transporter-cytochrome b5 complex on the affinity of the sugar transporters. However, the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cytochrome b5 ScCYB5, an additional interacting partner of the two plant sugar transporters, has no function in the regulation of the sugar transporters, indicating that the observed biological functions in the yeast systems are specific to plant cytochrome b5s. These findings suggest a novel mechanism by which the plant cells tailor sugar uptake to the surrounding sugar availability.     

Osmolyte-induced protein folding free energy changes

Upon addition of protecting osmolyte to an aqueous solution of an intrinsically unstructured protein, spectral observables are often seen to change in a sigmoid fashion as a function of increasing osmolyte concentration. Commonly, such data are analyzed using the linear extrapolation model (LEM), a method that defines a scale from 0%-100% folded species at each osmolyte concentration by means of extending pre- and post-folding baselines into the transition region. Defining the 0%-100% folding scale correctly for each osmolyte is an important part of the analysis, leading to evaluation of the fraction of folded protein existing in the absence of osmolytes. In this study, we used reduced and carboxyamidated RNase T1 (RCAM-T1) as an intrinsically unstructured protein, and determined the thermodynamic stability of RCAM-T1 induced by naturally occurring osmolytes. Because the folded fraction of the protein population determined by experiments of thermal and urea-induced denaturation is nonzero in the absence of osmolytes at 15 degrees C, the commonly used LEM can lead to false values of DeltaG[stackD-->N0] for protein folding due to the arbitrary assumption that the protein is 100% unfolded in the presence of buffer alone. To correct this problem, titration of the protein solution with urea and extrapolating back to zero urea concentration gives the spectral value for 100% denatured protein. With fluorescence as the observable we redefine F/F0 to F/F0extrap = 1.0 and require that the denatured-state baseline have this value as its intercept. By so doing, the 0%-100% scale-corrected DeltaG[D-->N0] values of RCAM-T1 folding in the presence of various osmolytes are then found to be identical, with small error, demonstrating that DeltaG[D-->N0] is independent of the osmolytes used. Such a finding is an important step in validating this quantity derived from the LEM as having the properties expected of an authentic thermodynamic parameter. The rank order of osmolyte efficacies in stabilizing RCAM-T1 is sarcosine > sucrose > sorbitol > proline > betaine > glycerol.     

力生长因子在大肠杆菌中的表达及活性分析

MGF(Mechano-growth factor)是一种IGF-1变体形式, 研究发现该因子具有应力敏感性, 并且具有促进肌肉肥大、再生以及神经损伤修复的功能。通过RT-PCR从拉伸刺激的人成骨细胞中克隆MGF cDNA序列, 并去除5'端9 bp的序列, 使N端缺少对肠激酶(Enterokinase, EK)具有抑制作用的脯氨酸, 将截短型MGF (des(1-3) MGF) cDNA序列克隆入pET32a(+)质粒, 构建重组表达质粒。重组质粒转化E. coli BL21(DE3), 在30oC培养下以可溶形式表达融合蛋白Trx/ des(1-3)MGF, 采用离子交换层析和Ni2+金属亲和层析, 获得纯度95%以上的融合蛋白。再对融合蛋白EK酶切, rpHPLC分离获得纯度达98%的des(1-3)MGF, SDS-PAGE电泳及质谱分析蛋白分子量与理论值相符。生物活性实验显示, 所制备的des(1-3)MGF比des(1-3)IGF-1更显著的促进MC3T3-E1细胞的增值和迁移。     

覆膜方式对一膜两年覆盖旱地玉米籽粒产量、水分利用效率和土壤水分平衡的影响

以挖掘黄土高原半干旱区全膜双垄沟播玉米节本增效技术,探讨一膜两年覆盖系统土壤水分平衡为目标,通过大田定位试验,量化研究了一膜两年覆盖条件下,全膜沟垄作(F₁M)、全膜平作(F₂M)、半膜平作(F₃M)和不覆膜平作(F₄M,对照)玉米的产量、经济收益、水分利用效率和土壤水分平衡.结果表明: 2年全膜沟垄作、平作的生物产量较对照平均增加32.8%和32.9%,籽粒产量增加60.8%和51.7%,水分利用效率和降水利用效率平均增加59.8%、35.9%和87.6%、64.4%.新覆膜全膜沟垄作、平作属于高产高投模式,其总产值较对照增加51.0%、41.2%,产投比较对照降低15.1%和16.2%;一膜两年覆盖全膜沟垄作、平作属于节本增效型生产模式,其总产值较对照增加40.8%和42.2%,产投比增加40.3%和42.2%.在606.5 mm的低降水条件下,一膜两年覆盖全膜沟垄作、平作的总耗水量分别达731.3和746.8 mm,土壤水分亏缺分别达124.8和140.3 mm,较对照增加22.7%和38.0%.一膜两年覆盖使全膜沟垄作、平作休闲期土壤水耗水量较对照降低了28.6%和30.0%,休闲效率较对照增加178.9%、148.3%.这说明全膜沟垄作、平作具有明显的增产和提高水分利用效率的作用,该技术结合一膜两年覆盖技术能实现节本增效,但在推广应用时需考虑低降水条件下的土壤水分亏缺问题.     

玉米对二氧化硫胁迫响应的相关cDNA克隆与分析

应用mRNA差异显示技术,对高耐SO2玉米自交系Q9进行了SO2胁迫下的基因差异表达分析.结果显示,30对引物组合进行的PCR扩增中,获得了13条差异表达的cDNA片段,其中3条诱导表达,2条增强表达,6条减量表达,2条抑制表达.序列分析和数据库比对表明,GenBank中只搜寻到5条cDNA序列,其中2条增强表达的cDNA片段D1和D5分别与氨基酸结合蛋白ABP、锌指结构转录因子蛋白DOF部分序列高度同源,其他诱导表达的3条cDNA(D3、D6、D11)功能未知,可能是新的cDNA片段.经半定量RT-PCR分析验证,D1和D5转录水平受SO2胁迫表达显著增强,推测D1和D5可能参与了玉米对SO2胁迫的抗性反应.     

温泉蛇属Thermophis一新种——四川温泉蛇

From 2004 to 2006, several field trips in western Sichuan, China were carried out. A number of Thermophis snakes were collected in Litang County. After detailed morphological studies, we found that these Thermophis specimens were much different from those from Xizang (Tibet). We believed that Litang snakes should be a new species and describe it as below.     

Differentiating the 2,3-diols of glucopyranosides by 4,6-O-benzylidene-protected-1,2-d-glucopyranosylorthoesters strategy

A facile and efficient method to differentiate the 2,3-diols of glucopyranosides based on 1,2-orthoesters strategy was developed. Stable thioglucosides were employed as the starting materials to prepare the corresponding 1,2-orthoesters. When treated with HCl aqueous solution and followed with Et₃N, differentiation of the 2,3-diols was efficiently achieved along with the generation of a convertible anomeric hydroxyl group. In addition, an easy and practical method based on NOE was proposed to determine whether the 1,2-orthoesters were endo-type or exo-type.