Relationship between gene expression of UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and agar yield in Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Rhodophyta)

UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (UGPase) is an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of UDP-D-galactose, a subunit of agar in red seaweeds. The relationship between agar content and expression levels of the UGPase encoding gene (glugp) was studied in thalli under different treatment conditions using a quantitative real-time PCR-based method (qPCR). Moreover, this qPCR method for the measurement of glugp expression was also applied to commercial varieties of Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis, a red macroalga, in order to examine its reliability on material obtained from field cultivation. Both the agar content and glugp gene expression in G. lemaneiformis grown under low salinity (17?‰) conditions for 1 week showed a slight increase in comparison with the control group (33?‰ salinity, natural salinity of seawater), but the difference was not statistically significant (P?>?0.05). However, when the culture time was extended to 2 weeks, the increase in both the agar yield and glugp expression became significant (P?glugp expression (P?>?0.05). Our results suggest that glugp gene expression and agar content are highly positively correlated and that the measurement of glugp expression, using only a small amount of thalli material, may be an efficient approach to evaluate agar content. In addition, both the agar content and glugp expression in cultivars 981, 07-2, and ZC differed significantly from those of MT-18. The findings of this study suggest that UGPase may be involved in agar biosynthesis and indicate that glugp gene expression could be a fairly reliable molecular marker to reflect the agar content of strains during breeding and selection of G. lemaneiformis.     

我国HEV废旧镍氢电池包中稀贵金属资源化利用环境效益分析

废旧动力电池包中含有丰富的镍、钴、稀土等稀贵金属,其资源化利用是实现混合动力汽车(Hybrid Electrical Vehicle,简称HEV)全生命周期绿色化管理的重要内容之一。随着HEV的不断发展,动力电池包在未来几年将逐渐进入批量报废阶段,其资源化利用的环境效益成为值得关注的问题。鉴于此,以丰田混合动力汽车镍氢电池包为研究对象,利用GREET模型和LIME值法测算出,相比于原生矿开采,单位废旧镍氢电池包中稀贵金属资源化利用所产生的环境效益为1083元;根据报废周期,对我国市场上现存的HEV镍氢电池包的未来报废情况进行预测。结果表明,这些电池包将从2018年开始迎来报废,在2021年达到报废高峰,至2024年基本完成报废;预计其稀贵金属资源化利用的环境效益,可累计达9421万元。提出了加强废旧动力电池回收体系和资源化利用体系建设的政策建议。     

Targeting IL-15 receptor-bearing cells with an antagonist mutant IL-15/Fc protein prevents disease development and progression in murine collagen-induced arthritis

It has been suggested that the inflammatory cytokine IL-15 plays an important role in the development of several autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. We have generated a unique lytic and antagonistic IL-15 mutant/Fcgamma2a fusion protein (CRB-15) that targets the IL-15R. In the present study we examined the effects of targeting the IL-15R on the prevention and treatment of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice and probed the possible mechanisms of action of this IL-15 mutant/Fcgamma2a protein. Upon immunization with type II collagen, DBA/1 mice develop severe articular inflammation and destruction. Treatment of DBA/1 mice with a brief course of CRB-15 at the time of type II collagen challenge markedly inhibited the incidence and severity of arthritis. Moreover, in animals with ongoing established arthritis, treatment with CRB-15 effectively blocked disease progression compared with that in control-treated animals. The therapeutic effect of CRB-15 on either disease development or disease progression is remarkably stable, because withdrawal of treatment did not lead to disease relapse. A detailed analysis revealed that treatment with CRB-15 decreased synovitis in the joints; reduced bone erosion and cartilage destruction; reduced in situ production of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, and IL-17; and decreased the responder frequency of autoreactive T cells. Our study suggests that the effective targeting of IL-15R-triggered events with CRB-15 can be of therapeutic importance in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.     

微卫星DNA及其在鱼类中的应用

生物的遗传可变性和多态性是生物自组织管理中的重要一环,也正是这一环使得生物得以适应变化的环境,为了更有效的管理和利用生物资源,就必须在遗传多态的水平上对生物种群进行认识和分析。这种分析需要有遗传标记,即需要生物体的某些性状和物质,它们能够稳定的遗传且方式简单,可用以反映生物个体或群体的特征。尽管现在已经有一些分子水平的遗传标记方法可以采用,但是对于一些濒危物种的研究和保护而言,仍需要多态信息含量更大的分子标记体系。       

Compartmentalization of the exocyst complex in lipid rafts controls Glut4 vesicle tethering

Lipid raft microdomains act as organizing centers for signal transduction. We report here that the exocyst complex, consisting of Exo70, Sec6, and Sec8, regulates the compartmentalization of Glut4-containing vesicles at lipid raft domains in adipocytes. Exo70 is recruited by the G protein TC10 after activation by insulin and brings with it Sec6 and Sec8. Knockdowns of these proteins block insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Moreover, their targeting to lipid rafts is required for glucose uptake and Glut4 docking at the plasma membrane. The assembly of this complex also requires the PDZ domain protein SAP97, a member of the MAGUKs family, which binds to Sec8 upon its translocation to the lipid raft. Exocyst assembly at lipid rafts sets up targeting sites for Glut4 vesicles, which transiently associate with these microdomains upon stimulation of cells with insulin. These results suggest that the TC10/exocyst complex/SAP97 axis plays an important role in the tethering of Glut4 vesicles to the plasma membrane in adipocytes.     

Isolation and Characterization of Temperate Bacteriophages of Clostridium difficile

The lack of information on bacteriophages of Clostridium difficile prompted this study. Three of 56 clinical C. difficile isolates yielded double-stranded DNA phages C2, C5, C6, and C8 upon induction. Superinfection and DNA analyses revealed relatedness between the phages, while partial sequencing of C2 showed nucleotide homology to the sequenced C. difficile strain CD630.     

The identification of a new actin-binding region in p57

The actin-binding protein p57 is a member of mammalian coronin-like proteins. The roles of this protein in phagocytic processes conceivably depend on its interactions with F-actin. Two regions, p57^1-34 and p57^111-204, were previously reported to be actin-binding sites. In this study, we found that the C-terminal region of p57 ,p57^297-461 , also possessed F-actin binding activity. Furthermore, the leucine zipper domain at the C-terminus of p57^297-461 was essential for this actin-binding activity. The F-actin cross-linking assay revealed that the region contained in p57^297-461 was sufficient to cross-link actin filaments. Our results strongly suggested that there was a new actin-binding region at the C-terminus of p57.     

Monoubiquitination of proliferating cell nuclear antigen induced by stalled replication requires uncoupling of DNA polymerase and mini-chromosome maintenance helicase activities

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is a homotrimeric, ring-shaped protein complex that functions as a processivity factor for DNA polymerases. Following genotoxic stress, PCNA is modified at a conserved site by either a single ubiquitin moiety or a polyubiquitin chain. These modifications are required to coordinate DNA damage tolerance processes with ongoing replication. The molecular mechanisms responsible for inducing PCNA ubiquitination are not well understood. Using Xenopus egg extracts, we show that ultraviolet radiation and aphidicolin treatment induce the mono- and diubiquitination of PCNA. PCNA ubiquitination is replication-dependent and coincides with activation of the ataxia telangiectasia mutated and Rad3-related (ATR)-dependent DNA damage checkpoint pathway. However, loss of ATR signaling by depletion of the ATR-interacting protein (ATRIP) or Rad1, a component of the 911 checkpoint clamp, does not impair PCNA ubiquitination. Primed single-stranded DNA generated by uncoupling of mini-chromosome maintenance helicase and DNA polymerase activities has been shown previously to be necessary for ATR activation. Here we show that PCNA ubiquitination also requires uncoupling of helicase and polymerase activities. We further demonstrate that replicating single-stranded DNA, which mimics the structure produced upon uncoupling, is sufficient to induce PCNA monoubiquitination. Our results suggest that PCNA ubiquitination and ATR activation are two independent events that occur in response to a common single-stranded DNA intermediate generated by functional uncoupling of mini-chromosome maintenance (MCM) helicase and DNA polymerase activities.     

冷型小麦旗叶衰老和活性氧代谢特性研究

以典型的冷型小麦和暖型小麦为试验材料,研究了同一环境背景下不同温度型小麦开花后的旗叶衰老和活性氧代谢特性。结果表明,与暖型小麦相比,冷型小麦籽料灌浆期旗叶叶绿素和可溶性蛋白质含量下降缓慢、含量高,整个业粒形成和灌浆期ＭＤＡ积累速度慢、含量低,籽粒灌浆期防御活性氧伤害的关键性保护酶（ＳＯＤ、ＣＡＴ和ＰＯＤ）活性下隆幅度小,灌浆中后期活性水平高。由此认为,小麦旗叶衰老和活性氧代谢特性与其温度型的归属关