Circular dichroism of squid rhodopsin and its intermediates

Circular dichroism (CD) and absorption spectra of squid (Todarodes pacificus) rhodopsin, isorhodopsin and the intermediates were measured at low temperatures. Squid rhodopsin has positive CD bands at wavelengths corresponding the - and β-absorption bands at liquid nitrogen temperature (CD maxima: 485 nm at -band and 348 nm at β-band) as well as at room temperature (CD maxima: 474 nm at -band and 347 nm at β-band). The rotational strength of the -band has a molecular ellipticity about twice that of cattle rhodopsin. The CD spectrum of bathorhodopsin displays a negative peak at 532 nm, the rotational strength of which has an absolute value slightly larger than that of rhodopsin. The reversal in sign at -band of the CD spectrum may indicate that the isomerization of retinal chromophore from twisted 11-cis form to twisted 11-trans form has occurred in the process of conversion from rhodopsin to bathorhodopsin. Lumirhodopsin has a small negative CD band at 490 nm, the maximum of which lies at 25 nm shorter wavelengths than the absorption maximum (515 nm), and a large positive CD band near 290 nm, which is not observed in rhodopsin and the other intermediates. This band may be derived from a conformational change of the opsin. In the process of changing from lumirhodopsin to LM-rhodopsin, the CD bands at visible and near ultraviolet regions disappear. Both alkaline and acid metarhodopsins have no CD bands at visible and near ultraviolet regions.     

Formation of hypsorhodopsin in frog retina

Hypsorhodopsin was formed in frog retina by irradiation at liquid helium temperature and converted into bathorhodopsin above about 29 K.     

Rpf蛋白：一种激活休眠状态放线菌的复苏促进因子

放线菌能产生多样性丰富的小分子化合物,但大多数放线菌因为处于“活的尚未培养”状态而无法分离培养。造成“活的尚未培养”状态的原因之一可能是由于一些环境因素,例如有机物、重金属、抗生素等胁迫使细胞处于休眠保护状态,直到遇到适宜的条件才能继续复苏生长。复苏促进因子（Resuscitation-Promoting Factor,Rpf）是由某些放线菌分泌的一类蛋白质,首次在藤黄微球菌（Micrococcus luteus）中发现,之后人们对Rpf蛋白的功能和分布给予了更多的关注。Rpf蛋白能促进一些休眠的革兰氏阳性细菌复苏,这为“活的尚未培养”放线菌的分离培养提供了可能性。同时,针对一些致病放线菌物种,开发Rpf蛋白抑制物为相关疾病的治疗也提供了一条新的途径。基于此,本文对Rpf蛋白的结构组成、特征功能、作用机制及应用前景进行了简要的概述。     

黄土丘陵区人工柠条种植年限和坡位对土壤团聚体稳定性的影响

柠条(Caragana korshinskii Kom.)种植是黄土高原地区生态环境建设中重要的人工植被恢复措施。选择黄土丘陵区条带种植15、25和35年的柠条坡地,以荒草坡地为对照,运用Le Bissonnais法分析柠条种植不同年限和坡位对0—40 cm土层团聚体分布及其稳定性的影响。结果表明:长时间柠条种植对土壤团聚体稳定性的影响主要在0—20 cm土层;不同处理下土壤大团聚体(>0.25 mm)含量总体表现为柠条35年>柠条25年>柠条15年>荒草地,表明柠条种植年限增加促进了大团聚体的形成。从坡面尺度看,柠条平均重量直径整体表现为坡下>坡上>坡中;在上坡的柠条35年样地具有最大值(3.08 mm),但在下坡荒草地显著高于柠条林地(P<0.05)。基于相对消散指数和相对机械破碎指数,上中坡土壤团聚体均对消散作用和机械破碎作用较敏感,而下坡的下层土壤团聚体对破碎作用更敏感。冗余分析表明,土壤有机碳和粘粒含量与柠条平均重量直径呈显著正相关关系(P<0.05)。种植年限是影响土壤团聚体稳定性的主要因素,解释了30.4%的变异;其次是土层...     

Position of the amino terminus of myosin light chain 1 and light chain 2 determined by electron microscopy with monoclonal antibody

The position of the N terminus of myosin light chain 1 (LC1) and myosin light chain 2 (LC2) of rabbit skeletal muscle was mapped on the myosin head with a monoclonal antibody (SI304), which recognized the amino acid sequence N-trimethylalanyl-prolyl-lysyl-lysyl at the N terminus of LC1 and LC2. The complex of the antibody and myosin was observed by electron microscopy. By selective cleavage of the N terminus of LC1 or LC2 with papain or chymotrypsin, the position of the N terminus of LC1 and LC2 was determined separately. The N terminus of LC2 is located at the head-rod junction. The N terminus of LC1 is 11 nm (+/- 3 nm, standard deviation) from the head-rod junction. This position is near the actin-binding site of the myosin head.     

Northern richness and southern poverty: contrasting genetic footprints of glacial refugia in the relictual tree Sciadopitys verticillata (Coniferales: Sciadopityaceae)

Sciadopitys verticillata is amongst the most relictual of all plants, being the last living member of an ancient conifer lineage, the Sciadopityaceae, and is distributed in small and disjunct populations in high rainfall regions of Japan. Although mega‐fossils indicate the persistence of the species within Japan through the Pleistocene glacial–interglacial cycles, how the species withstood the colder and drier climates of the glacials is not well known. The present study utilized phylogeography and palaeodistribution modelling to test whether the species survived within pollen‐based coastal temperate forest glacial refugia or within previously unidentified refugia close to its current range. Sixteen chloroplast haplotypes were found that displayed significant geographical structuring. Unexpectedly, northern populations in central Honshu most distant from coastal refugia had the highest chloroplast diversity and were differentiated from the south, a legacy of glacial populations possibly in inland river valleys close to its current northern range. By contrast, populations near putative coastal refugia in southern Japan, harboured the lower chloroplast diversity and were dominated by a single haplotype. Fragment size polymorphism at a highly variable and homoplasious mononucleotide repeat region in the trnT‐trnL intergenic spacer reinforced the contrasting patterns of diversity observed between northern and southern populations. The divergent histories of northern and southern populations revealed in the present study will inform the management of this globally significant conifer. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 108 , 263–277.