Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on soil enzyme activities at different nitrogen application treatments

It has been predicted that elevated atmospheric CO₂ will increase enzyme activity as a result of CO₂-induced carbon entering the soil. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of elevated atmospheric CO₂ on soil enzyme activities under a rice/wheat rotation. This experiment was conducted in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China as part of the China FACE (Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment) Project. Two atmospheric CO₂ concentrations (580±60) and (380±40) μmol·mol^-1) and three N application treatments (low-150, normal-250 and high-350 kg N·hm^-2) were included. Soil samples (0-10 cm) were collected for analysis of β-glucosidase, invertase, urease, acid phosphates and β-glucosaminidase activities. The results revealed that with elevated atmospheric CO₂ β-glucosidase activity significantly decreased (P < 0.05) at low N application rates; had no significant effect with a normal N application rate; and significantly increased (P < 0.05) with a high N application rate. For urease activity, at low and normal N application rates (but not high N application rate), elevated atmospheric CO₂ significantly increased (P < 0.05) it. With acid phosphatase elevated atmospheric CO₂ only had significant higher effects (P < 0.05) at high N application rates. Under different CO₂ concentration, effects of N fertilization are also different. Soil β-glucosidase activity at ambient CO₂ concentration decreased with N fertilization, while it increased at elevated CO₂ concentration. In addition, invertase and acid phosphatase activities at elevated CO₂ concentration, significantly increased (P < 0.05) with N treatments, but there was no effect with the ambient CO₂ concentration. For urease activity, at ambient CO₂ concentration, N fertilization increased it significantly (P < 0.05), whereas at elevated CO₂ concentration it was not significant. Additionally, with β-glucosaminidase activity, there were no significant effects from N application. In general, then, elevated atmospheric CO₂ increased soil enzyme activity, which may be attributed to the following two factors: (1) elevated atmospheric CO₂ led to more plant biomass in the soil, which in turn stimulated soil microbial biomass and activity; and (2) elevated atmospheric CO₂ increased plant photosynthesis, thereby increasing plant-derived soil enzymes.     

马铃薯Y病毒外壳蛋白基因的克隆及序列分析

本文报道应用聚合酶链式反应(PCR)技术,在体外扩增马铃薯 Y 病毒外壳蛋白基因及其克隆和序列分析的结果。病毒 RNA 从马铃薯 Y 病毒感染的烟草叶片中提取,用合成的PCR 3引物及 AMV 逆转录酶合成了单链的 cDNA。利用 PCR 技术,经30个循玎的扩增。得到了一特异的0.8kb 片段。克隆后对此片段进行了限制性内切酶物理图谱分析,并测定了其全序列。实验结果证明,我们克隆到的是完整的马铃薯 Y 病毒的外壳蛋白基因。与国外报道的马铃薯 Y 病毒 N 株相比,其核苷酸序列及推测的氨基酸序列的同源率分别为97.8%和97%。将该基因导入马铃薯以期获得抗 Y 病毒马铃薯的工作正在进行。本文还对 PCR 技术用于扩增植物 RNA 病毒的方法以及用基因工程方法培育抗病毒作物新品种的可行性等进行了讨论。     

Enhancement of protein kinase C in murine lymphokine-activated killer cells by retinoic acid.

We previously reported that retinoic acid (RA) augmented mouse (BALB/c) lymphokine (interleukin-2)-activated killer (LAK) cell activity in a dose and time dependent manner. As evidence available has suggested the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the regulation of cell mediated cytotoxicity, the present work was to investigate whether or not PKC may mediate the enhancement of LAK cell activity by RA. Accompanied with an augmented LAK cell activity, RA increased total PKC enzyme activity, [3H]phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate binding activity, and the amount of immunoreactive PKC. A prolonged treatment (18 h) of LAK cells with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate resulted in the loss of both PKC and LAK cell activity. PKC inhibitors, 1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-methyl-piperazine dihydrochloride and staurosporine, also drastically reduced LAK cell activity. Although most of the total PKC activity (97%) was detected in the cytosol fraction, the increase in PKC activity was attributed to an increased enzyme activity in both cytosol and membrane fractions, and shown to be RA dose-dependent. Kinetics study revealed that the increase in PKC was a time-dependent process and the enhancement was detectable as early as 8 h after the addition of RA to LAK cell culture. By immunoblotting, the cytosol PKC of LAK cells was shown to contain alpha and beta isoforms, but not gamma. RA further increased the expression of PKC alpha. The enhanced expression of alpha isozyme of PKC by RA was also in a dose and time dependent manner. Taken together, these results indicate that the mechanism of the augmentation of LAK cell activity by RA may in part result from the increase in PKC, especially PKC alpha isozyme.     

Studies on the Chemical Constituents of Limonium aureum (L.) Hill

Five different crystals have been obtained for the first time from the aerial parts of Limonium aureum (L.)Hill ex kuntze. They were identified as follows: (Ⅰ) homoeriodictyol, (Ⅱ) naringenin, (Ⅲ) eriodictyol (Ⅳ) myricetin-3-O-β-D-glucoside and (Ⅴ) myricetin-3-O-β-D-galactoside.     

Siderophore uptake in bacteria and the battle for iron with the host; a bird’s eye view

Siderophores are biosynthetically produced and secreted by many bacteria, yeasts, fungi and plants, to scavenge for ferric iron (Fe³⁺). They are selective iron-chelators that have an extremely high affinity for binding this trivalent metal ion. The ferric ion is poorly soluble but it is the form of iron that is predominantly found in oxygenated environments. Siderophore uptake in bacteria has been extensively studied and over the last decade, detailed structural information for many of the proteins that are involved in their transport has become available. Specifically, numerous crystal structures for outer membrane siderophore transporters, as well as for soluble periplasmic siderophore-binding proteins, have been reported. Moreover, unique siderophore-binding proteins have recently been serendipitously discovered in humans, and the structures of some of their siderophore-complexes have been characterized. The binding pockets for different ferric-siderophores in these proteins have been described in great molecular detail. In addition to highlighting this structural information, in this review paper we will also briefly discuss the relevant chemical properties of iron, and provide a perspective on our current understanding of the human and bacterial iron uptake pathways. Potential clinical uses of siderophores will also be discussed. The emerging overall picture is that iron metabolism plays an extremely important role during bacterial infections. Because levels of free ferric iron in biological systems are always extremely low, there is serious competition for iron and for ferric-siderophores between pathogenic bacteria and the human or animal host.     

On the roles of substrate binding and hinge unfolding in conformational changes of adenylate kinase

We characterized the conformational change of adenylate kinase (AK) between open and closed forms by conducting five all-atom molecular-dynamics simulations, each of 100 ns duration. Different initial structures and substrate binding configurations were used to probe the pathways of AK conformational change in explicit solvent, and no bias potential was applied. A complete closed-to-open and a partial open-to-closed transition were observed, demonstrating the direct impact of substrate-mediated interactions on shifting protein conformation. The sampled configurations suggest two possible pathways for connecting the open and closed structures of AK, affirming the prediction made based on available x-ray structures and earlier works of coarse-grained modeling. The trajectories of the all-atom molecular-dynamics simulations revealed the complexity of protein dynamics and the coupling between different domains during conformational change. Calculations of solvent density and density fluctuations surrounding AK did not show prominent variation during the transition between closed and open forms. Finally, we characterized the effects of local unfolding of an important hinge near Pro¹⁷⁷ on the closed-to-open transition of AK and identified a novel mechanism by which hinge unfolding modulates protein conformational change. The local unfolding of Pro¹⁷⁷ hinge induces alternative tertiary contacts that stabilize the closed structure and prevent the opening transition.     

Systematic analysis of biochemical performance and the microbial community of an activated sludge process using ozone-treated sludge for sludge reduction

Two lab-scale bioreactors (reactors 1 and 2) were employed to examine the changes in biological performance and the microbial community of an activated sludge process fed with ozonated sludge for sludge reduction. During the 122 d operation, the microbial activities and community in the two reactors were evaluated. The results indicated that, when compared with the conventional reactor (reactor 1), the reactor that was fed with the ozonated sludge (reactor 2) showed good removal of COD, TN and cell debris, without formation of any excess sludge. In addition, the protease activity and intracellular ATP concentration of reactor 2 were increased when compared to reactor 1, indicating that reactor 2 had a better ability to digest proteins and cell debris. DGGE analysis revealed that the bacterial communities in the two reactors were different, and that the dissimilarity of the bacterial population was nearly 40%. Reactor 2 also contained more protozoa and metazoa, which could graze on the ozone-treated sludge debris directly.     

Zoogeography of Intertidal Communities in the West Indian Ocean as Determined by Ocean Circulation Systems: Patterns from the Tetraclita Barnacles

The Indian Ocean is the least known ocean in the world with the biogeography of marine species in the West Indian Ocean (WIO) understudied. The hydrography of WIO is characterized by four distinct oceanographic systems and there were few glacial refugia formations in the WIO during the Pleistocene. We used the widely distributed intertidal barnacle Tetraclita to test the hypothesis that the distribution and connectivity of intertidal animals in the WIO are determined by the major oceanographic regime but less influenced by historical events such as Pleistocene glaciations. Tetraclita were studied from 32 locations in the WIO. The diversity and distribution of Tetraclita species in the Indian Ocean were examined based on morphological examination and sequence divergence of two mitochondrial genes (12S rDNA and COI) and one nuclear gene (histone 3, H3). Divergence in DNA sequences revealed the presence of seven evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) of Tetraclita in WIO, with most of them recognized as valid species. The distribution of these ESUs is closely tied to the major oceanographic circulation systems. T. rufotincta is distributed in the Monsoonal Gyre. T. ehsani is present in the Gulf of Oman and NW India. Tetraclita sp. nov. is associated with the Hydrochemical Front at 10°S latitude. T. reni is confined to southern Madagascan and Mauritian waters, influenced by the West Wind Drift. The endemic T. achituvi is restricted to the Red Sea. Tetraclita serrata consists of two ESUs (based on mtDNA analysis) along the east to west coast of South Africa. The two ESUs could not be distinguished from morphological analysis and nuclear H3 sequences. Our results support that intertidal species in the West Indian Ocean are associated with each of the major oceanographic circulation systems which determine gene flow. Geographical distribution is, however, less influenced by the geological history of the region.     

小叶龙竹（Dendrocalamus barbatus）愈伤组织诱导及植株再生

以小叶龙竹种子为外植体,通过研究MS培养基中不同植物生长调节剂浓度组合对外植体愈伤组织诱导和不定芽分化的影响以及不同配比对生根的作用,建立了稳定的繁殖再生体系。试验结果表明愈伤组织诱导的最适培养基为MS＋2,4-D5．0mg·L-1;不定芽分化的最适培养基为MS＋2,4-D0．5mg·L-1＋6．BA1．0mg·L-1＋KT0．25mg·L-1;小苗的最适生根培养基为1／2MS＋6-BA0．5mg·L-1＋NAA1．0mg·L-1＋IBA0．4mg·L-1,建立的繁殖再生体系将为进一步利用分子生物学技术对竹类植物进行遗传改良奠定基础。