Impacts of iron on phosphate starvation-induced root hair growth in Arabidopsis

In Arabidopsis, phosphate starvation (-Pi)-induced responses of primary root and lateral root growth are documented to be correlated with ambient iron (Fe) status. However, whether and how Fe participates in -Pi-induced root hair growth (RHG) remains unclear. Here, responses of RHG to different Fe concentrations under Pi sufficiency/deficiency were verified. Generally, distinct dosage effects of Fe on RHG appeared at both Pi levels, due to the generation of reactive oxygen species. Following analyses using auxin mutants and the phr1 mutant revealed that auxin and the central regulator PHR1 are required for Fe-triggered RHG under −Pi. A further proteomic study indicated that processes of vesicle trafficking and auxin synthesis and transport were affected by Fe under −Pi, which were subsequently validated by using a vesicle trafficking inhibitor, brefeldin A, and an auxin reporter, R2D2. Moreover, vesicle trafficking-mediated recycling of PIN2, an auxin efflux transporter, was notably affected by Fe under -Pi. Correspondingly, root hairs of pin2 mutant displayed attenuated responses to Fe under -Pi. Together, we propose that Fe affects auxin signalling probably by modulating vesicle trafficking, chiefly the PIN2 recycling, which might work jointly with PHR1 on modulating -Pi-induced RHG.     

Effects of amino acid substitutions in the VP2 B-C loop on antigenicity and pathogenicity of serotype Asia1 foot-and-mouth disease virus

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) exhibits a high degree of antigenic variability. Studies of the antigenic diversity and determination of amino acid changes involved in this diversity are important to the design of broadly protective new vaccines. Although extensive studies have been carried out to explore the molecular basis of the antigenic variation of serotype O and serotype A FMDV, there are few reports on Asia1 serotype FMDV. METHODS: Two serotype Asia1 viruses, Asia1/YS/CHA/05 and Asia1/1/YZ/CHA/06, which show differential reactivity to the neutralizing monoclonal antibody (nMAb) 1B4, were subjected to sequence comparison. Then a reverse genetics system was used to generate mutant versions of Asia1/YS/CHA/05 followed by comparative analysis of the antigenicity, growth property and pathogenicity in the suckling mice. RESULTS: Three amino acid differences were observed when the structural protein coding sequences of Asia1/1/YZ/CHA/06 were compared to that of Asia1/YS/CHA/05. Site-directed mutagenesis and Immunofluorescence analysis showed that the amino acid substitution in the B-C loop of the VP2 protein at position 72 is responsible for the antigenic difference between the two Asia1 FMDV strains. Furthermore, alignment of the amino acid sequences of VP2 proteins from serotype Asia1 FMDV strains deposited in GenBank revealed that most of the serotype Asia1 FMDV strains contain an Asn residue at position 72 of VP2. Therefore, we constructed a mutant virus carrying an Asp-to-Asn substitution at position 72 and named it rD72N. Our analysis shows that the Asp-to-Asn substitution inhibited the ability of the rD72N virus to react with the MAb 1B4 in immunofluorescence and neutralization assays. In addition, this substitution decreased the growth rate of the virus in BHK-21 cells and decreased the virulence of the virus in suckling mice compared with the Asia1/YS/CHA/05 parental strain. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that variations in domains other than the hyper variable VP1 G-H loop (amino acid 140 to 160) are relevant to the antigenic diversity of FMDV. In addition, amino acid substitutions in the VP2 influenced replicative ability and virulence of the virus. Thus, special consideration should be given to the VP2 protein in research on structure-function relationships and in the development of an FMDV vaccine.     

不同细胞破碎方法对无细胞蛋白表达系统细胞抽提物活性的影响

无细胞蛋白表达系统由于能够有效表达膜蛋白等有毒性蛋白,因此近二十年受到了关注,其蛋白表达产率有了显著的提高。细胞抽提物活性的高低是无细胞蛋白表达系统高效运行的关键,若找到简单易行的活性评估方法,将大大降低成本及时间。葡萄糖-6-磷酸脱氢酶 (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, G-6-PDH)是糖代谢的戊糖磷酸途径中的关键调控酶,该酶可以被用来评估细胞抽提物的活性。以G-6-PDH的活性为指标对无细胞蛋白表达系统中的抽提物活性进行评价,并利用G-6-PDH活性评价体系对机械破碎、高压破碎以及超声破碎三种破碎方法进行了比较,得出了三种破碎方法的最佳破碎条件。机械破碎最佳破碎条件是5 000r/min, 用直径0.1 mm玻璃珠,破碎6次;高压破碎的最佳破碎压力为1 300bar;超声破碎最佳破碎条件是功率强度为总功率的60%,破碎30次。酶活性测定结果显示机械破碎和超声破碎得到的抽提物活性比高压破碎得到的抽提物活性略高。     

Structural models and surface equation of state for pulmonary surfactant monolayers

A simple surface equation of state is proposed to describe pi-A isotherms of pulmonary surfactant monolayers. The monolayer is considered as undergoing three characteristic states during the compression: the disordered liquid-expanded (LE) state, the ordered liquid-condensed (LC) state and the collapse state. Structural models of pure protein (SP-B and SP-C) monolayer are proposed to interpret the behavior characteristics of monolayer in the states. The area, ALC, is defined as an instantaneous LC-state area when the monolayer is under the complete LC state. The area, At, is defined as a transition area from the ordered LC state to the collapse state. And the collapse pressure, pi(max), is defined as the maximum surface pressure that the monolayer can bear before collapse. The ideal equation of state is revised by ALC, At and pi(max), and a new equation of state is obtained, which is applicable for pure components of pulmonary surfactant. The theoretical pi-A isotherms described by the equation of state are compared with the experimental ones for SP-B, SP-C, DPPC and DPPG, and good agreements are obtained. The equation of state is generalized to protein-lipid binary mixtures by introducing mixing rules. The predicted pi-A isotherms agree with the experimental ones for various pulmonary surfactant components and the average deviation is about 9.2%.     

多孔淀粉负载青蒿素微球的溶出、生物利用度和组织分布研究

探讨多孔淀粉负载青蒿素微球(ART-PS)在体外溶出实验中,相比于青蒿素原药的溶出效果以及在大鼠体内的生物利用度和组织分布规律。在体外溶出实验中,分别在水、人工胃液和人工肠液三种溶出介质中,与青蒿素原药的溶出效果进行比较分析。在体内生物利用度实验中,通过对18只大鼠分别灌胃青蒿素原药与多孔淀粉负载青蒿素微球后,检测不同时间点的血药浓度,考察药物在大鼠体内的吸收和代谢差异。在组织分布规律的研究中,对98只大鼠分别灌胃多孔淀粉负载青蒿素微球和青蒿素原药,在不同时间点检测大鼠心、肝、脾、肺、肾、脑,共6个组织器官中的药物浓度。多孔淀粉负载青蒿素微球的体外溶出率在水、人工胃液、人工肠液中分别是青蒿素原药的4.04、3.59和3.82倍。多孔淀粉负载青蒿素微球在大鼠体内的血药浓度明显高于青蒿素原药,生物利用度提高为青蒿素原药的2.90倍。在组织分布的结果中,多孔淀粉负载青蒿素微球和青蒿素原药都主要分布在心脏和肝脏中,其中多孔淀粉负载青蒿素微球在不同时间各个组织中的相应含量都比原药高。多孔淀粉负载青蒿素微球相比于青蒿素原药,在体外的溶出效果更好,在体内的吸收释放效果更佳,在各组织器官中的药物含量明显高于原药,为解决青蒿素因难溶于水而在实际应用中受限提供了重要的理论依据。     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rubellimicrobium roseum</Emphasis> sp. nov., a Gram-negative bacterium isolated from the forest soil sample

A novel pink-coloured, non-spore-forming, non-motile, Gram-negative bacterium, designated YIM 48858^T, is described by using a polyphasic approach. The strain can grow at pH 6.5–9 (optimum at pH 7) and 25–30°C (optimum at 28°C). NaCl is not required for its growth. Positive for oxidase and catalase. Urease activity, nitrate reduction, starch and Tween 80 tests are negative reaction. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies showed that strain YIM 48858^T is a member of the genus Rubellimicrobium, with similarities of 96.3, 95.7 and 95.5% to Rubellimicrobium mesophilum MSL-20^T, Rubellimicrobium aerolatum 5715S-9^T and Rubellimicrobium thermophilum DSM 16684^T, respectively. Q-10 was the predominant respiratory ubiquinone as in the other members of the genus Rubellimicrobium. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphoglycolipid, glycolipid and the major fatty acids were C18:1 ω7c, C16:0 and C10:0 3-OH, which are very different from the valid published species. The DNA G + C content was 67.7 mol%. Both phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic evidence supports that YIM 48858^T is a novel species of the genus Rubellimicrobium, for which the name Rubellimicrobium roseum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM 48858^T (=CCTCC AA 208029^T =KCTC 23202^T).     

多胚水稻ApⅢ（双13）的胚胎学观察

对多胚水稻（Ｏｒｙｚａ ｓａｔｉｖａ Ｌ．）ＡｐⅢ的大量成熟颖果、人工萌发的幼苗和开花后３～５ ｄ 的幼嫩颖果进行的整体解剖和显微制片观察表明：ＡｐⅢ的５０００粒成熟颖果中,８９．０％ 含单胚单苗,８．９％ 和１．２％分别含双胚双苗和三胚三苗;７００多粒幼嫩颖果中,９０．０％ ～９５．０％ 含单胚,５．０％ ～７．０％ 含双胚。因制片的数目有限,未见到含三胚的;在含单胚和多胚颖果中,胚均位于同一胚囊的珠孔端,未见到胚囊以外存在不定胚。根据上述结果,似可以认为ＡｐⅢ单粒颖果的双胚和三胚是由同一胚囊内的卵细胞和１或２个助细胞受精或不受精发育而来的     

祁连山两侧中国沙棘不同居群的遗传多样性研究

应用RAPD技术研究了祁连山中段中国沙棘(Hippophae rhamnoidoes ssp．sinensis)4个居群和1个对照居群的遗传多样性水平,探讨中国沙棘边缘居群的遗传变异以及天然屏障祁连山对中国沙棘居群遗传结构的影响。结果显示,祁连山地区中国沙棘居群水平的Nei’基因多样度(h)和Shannon多态信息指数(I)分别为0．2070和 0．297 4,基因分化系数(Gst)为0．319 3,均高于中国沙棘整个分布区的平均值,表明该地中国沙棘边缘居群遗传多样性水平及居群间的遗传分化都有增加的趋势;居群间每代迁移数(Nm=1．065 9)显著低于异交风媒植物(Nm= 5．380),表明祁连山的隔离对中国沙棘居群间的基因交流有限制作用,造成了该地中国沙棘边缘居群间较高的遗传分化。