西藏藏族起源初探——来自掌指纹的线索

本文采用分层整群抽样的调查方法捺印1183名藏族青少年的掌指纹, 分析掌指纹参数,然后与其他56个群体的掌指纹参数进行聚类分析, 进而从肤纹学角度探讨藏族的起源。发现藏族指纹以斗型纹为主(52.89%), 其次为箕型纹(42.95%), 弓形纹出现频率最低(4.16%); 总指嵴线计数为139.01(其中男性为144.75, 女性为133.87); atd角在男性为42.95°, 女性为43.28°。掌指纹参数聚类分析显示: 藏族与汉族和氐羌氏族的后裔(门巴族、普米族、羌族等)等我国北方人群聚在一起。因而从肤纹学角度推断藏族与汉族和氐羌氏族的亲缘关系较近, 而与印度人和孟加拉人的亲缘关系较远。     

Enhanced thermostability of a Rhizopus chinensis lipase by in vivo recombination in Pichia pastoris

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Lipase from Rhizopus chinensis is a versatile biocatalyst for various bioconversions and has been expressed at high-level in Pichia pastoris. However, the use of R. chinensis lipase in industrial applications is restricted by its low thermostability. Directed evolution has been proven to be a powerful and efficient protein engineering tool for improvement of biocatalysts. The present work describes improvement of the thermostability of R. chinensis lipase by directed evolution using P. pastoris as the host. RESULTS: An efficient, fast and highly simplified method was developed to create a mutant gene library in P. pastoris based on in vivo recombination, whose recombination efficiency could reach 2.3 x 105 /mug DNA. The thermostability of r27RCL was improved significantly by two rounds of error-prone PCR and two rounds of DNA shuffling in P. pastoris. The S4-3 variant was found to be the most thermostable lipase, under the conditions tested. Compared with the parent, the optimum temperature of S4-3 was two degrees higher, Tm was 22 degrees higher and half-lives at 60degreesC and 65degreesC were 46- and 23- times longer. Moreover, the catalytic efficiency kcat/Km of S4-3 was comparable to the parent. Stabilizing mutations probably increased thermostability by increasing the hydrophilicity and polarity of the protein surface and creating hydrophobic contacts inside the protein. CONCLUSIONS: P. pastoris was shown to be a valuable cell factory to improve thermostability of enzymes by directed evolution and it also could be used for improving other properties of enzymes. In this study, by using P. pastoris as a host to build mutant pool, we succeeded in obtaining a thermostable variant S4-3 without compromising enzyme activity and making it a highly promising candidate for future applications at high temperatures.     

A triple mutation in the second transmembrane domain of mouse dopamine transporter markedly decreases sensitivity to cocaine and methylphenidate

Previously, we reported that Phe105 in transmembrane domain 2 of the mouse dopamine transporter (DAT) is crucial for high-affinity cocaine binding. In the current study, we investigated whether other residues surrounding Phe105 also affect the potency of cocaine inhibition. After three rounds of sequential random mutagenesis at these residues, we found a triple mutant (L104V, F105C and A109V) of mouse DAT that retained over 50% uptake activity and was 69-fold less sensitive to cocaine inhibition when compared with the wild-type mouse DAT. The triple mutation also resulted in a 47-fold decrease in sensitivity to methylphenidate inhibition, suggesting that the binding sites for cocaine and methylphenidate may overlap. In contrast, the inhibition of dopamine uptake by amphetamine or methamphetamine was not significantly changed by the mutations, suggesting that the binding sites for the amphetamines differ from those for cocaine and methylphenidate. Such functional but cocaine-insensitive DAT mutants can be used to generate a knock-in mouse line to study the role of DAT in cocaine addiction.     

大鼠胫骨近端骨骺损伤后骨桥形成分子机制的研究

利用胫骨近端干骺端骨骺损伤的大鼠动物模型,研究骨桥形成的分子病理机制.通过Alcian blue染色观察损伤模型的建立、损伤愈合过程以及骨桥形成情况.采用Tunel试剂盒原位细胞凋亡检测,了解损伤区及周围细胞凋亡情况.利用免疫组织化学及原位杂交实验,观察损伤区周围软骨细胞改变,检测损伤区是否有软骨细胞生成,检测刀Ihh以及Ptch1表达阳性细胞.发现骨骺损伤骨桥形成过程中,完全损伤区中心没有软骨细胞特异的因子Col2al和ColX以及删Ihh和Ptch1的表达,但是完全损伤区和周围正常软骨交界间存在次损伤软骨区,存在软骨细胞凋亡,有Col X的表达,vimentin检测发现,在此区和周围正常软骨间有正常肥大区软骨细胞异常分化而来的成纤维样细胞并形成软骨外膜样结构,次损伤区和软骨外膜结构逐渐被骨桥替代,在此过程中软骨外膜样结构存在Collal、Ptch1和Ihh的表达,提示Ihh可能参与骨桥形成过程.提出骨桥形成过程中损伤中心区域存在膜内化骨,边缘区域存在软骨化骨作用机制.     

Development of genome-wide insertion and deletion markers for maize,based on next-generation sequencing data

Background

Insertions and deletions (indels) are the most abundant form of structural variation in all genomes. Indels have been increasingly recognized as an important source of molecular markers due to high-density occurrence, cost-effectiveness, and ease of genotyping. Coupled with developments in bioinformatics, next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms enable the discovery of millions of indel polymorphisms by comparing the whole genome sequences of individuals within a species.

Results

A total of 1,973,746 unique indels were identified in 345 maize genomes, with an overall density of 958.79 indels/Mbp, and an average allele number of 2.76, ranging from 2 to 107. There were 264,214 indels with polymorphism information content (PIC) values greater than or equal to 0.5, accounting for 13.39 % of overall indels. Of these highly polymorphic indels, we designed primer pairs for 83,481 and 29,403 indels with major allele differences (i.e. the size difference between the most and second most frequent alleles) greater than or equal to 3 and 8 bp, respectively, based on the differing resolution capabilities of gel electrophoresis. The accuracy of our indel markers was experimentally validated, and among 100 indel markers, average accuracy was approximately 90 %. In addition, we also validated the polymorphism of the indel markers. Of 100 highly polymorphic indel markers, all had polymorphisms with average PIC values of 0.54.

Conclusions

The maize genome is rich in indel polymorphisms. Intriguingly, the level of polymorphism in genic regions of the maize genome was higher than that in intergenic regions. The polymorphic indel markers developed from this study may enhance the efficiency of genetic research and marker-assisted breeding in maize.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1797-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

ICU开放人工气道患者下呼吸道病原菌分布及耐药性分析

目的了解重症监护室（ICU）开放气道患者下呼吸道感染病原菌分布及耐药特点,为临床用药提供依据。方法回顾性分析2007年1月至2008年12月,重症监护室开放气道患者下呼吸道感染者的痰标本418株病原菌进行鉴定及药敏试验。结果革兰阴性杆菌占69．6％,其中铜绿假单胞菌27．02％,其次为鲍曼不动杆菌20．16％。革兰阳性球菌占20．16％,以金黄色葡萄球菌为主占12．5％,真菌10．24％。结论目前重症监护室下呼吸道致病菌以G^-杆菌为主,细菌的耐药性严重,应根据药敏试验选择抗生素。     

APP substitutions V715F and L720P alter PS1 conformation and differentially affect Abeta and AICD generation

The 37-43 amino acid Abeta peptide is the principal component of beta-amyloid deposits in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain, and is derived by serial proteolysis of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) by beta- and gamma-secretase. gamma-Secretase also cleaves APP at Val50 in the Abeta numbering (epsilon cleavage), resulting in the release of a fragment called APP intracellular domain (AICD). The aim of this study was to determine whether amino acid substitutions in the APP transmembrane domain differentially affect Abeta and AICD generation. We found that the APPV715F substitution, which has been previously shown to dramatically decrease Abeta40 and Abeta42 while increasing Abeta38 levels, does not affect in vitro generation of AICD. Furthermore, we found that the APPL720P substitution, which has been previously shown to prevent in vitro generation of AICD, completely prevents Abeta generation. Using a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) method, we next found that both the APPV715F and APPL720P substitutions significantly increase the distance between the N- and C-terminus of presenilin 1 (PS1), which has been proposed to contain the catalytic site of gamma-secretase. In conclusion, both APPV715F and APPL720P change PS1 conformation with differential effects on Abeta and AICD production.     

锌转运体ZNT7在Alzheimer病动物模型APP/PS1转基因鼠脑内的表达

目的研究阿尔茨海默病（Alzheimer disease,AD）模型小鼠APP/PS1转基因小鼠脑内锌转运体ZNT7的分布和表达,探讨ZNT7参与Aβ老年斑形成的机理。方法应用免疫组织化学染色观察ZNT7在脑内分布情况,应用Western Blot方法分析ZNT7在APP/PS1转基因小鼠大脑内的表达。结果ZNT7免疫阳性反应产物主要分布在APP/PS1转基因小鼠大脑皮层、纹状体和海马的老年斑内,强阳性的ZNT7免疫产物定位于老年斑的核心。Western Blot分析结果表明ZNT7在APP/PS1转基因小鼠大脑内的表达明显高于野生型小鼠。结论ZNT7在APP/PS1转基因小鼠大脑内的高表达以及在Aβ老年斑的定位,提示ZNT7可能参与了锌离子在老年斑内的聚集,进而参与了APP/PS1转基因小鼠大脑内老年斑的形成。