隆中风景区蕨类植物分布及其杀虫杀菌种筛选

初步调查隆中风景区蕨类植物的分布,发现该区共有蕨类植物91种,隶属于27科49属,以水龙骨科最多,有18种,其次为鳞毛蕨科,有10种。通过筛选,初步确定14个植物种具有杀虫杀菌价值和开发利用潜力。     

Molecular assessment on impact of uranium ore contamination in soil bacterial diversity

Impact of uranium (U) ore and soluble uranium (at pH 4.0) contamination on agricultural soil bacterial diversity was assessed by using laboratory microcosms for one year. Diversity and abundance of metabolically active bacterial populations in periodically collected microcosm’s samples were analyzed by extracting total RNA and preparation of cDNA followed by analysis of 16S rRNA gene by DGGE and real time PCR. DGGE analysis revealed prominent shift of soil bacterial population due to uranium ore contamination within 12 months while uranium ore along with soluble U completely destroyed the soil bacterial diversity within first six months. Real time PCR based analysis indicated 100–200 folds increase in 16S rRNA gene copies of total as well as individual bacterial taxa in both U ore amended and unamended soils in first six months while increase in incubation period upto 12 months showed reduction of the same only in U ore amended soil. Antagonistic effect of U ore contamination on soil bacterial diversity indicated the severe impact of U mining likely to have on nearby ecosystems. Role of U at acidic pH in destroying the diversity completely is noteworthy as it corroborated the disastrous consequence of acid mine drainage generated from U mine sites.     

胰岛素注射液启封后有效期内细菌污染情况调查分析

目的:分析生物合成胰岛素注射液启封后有效期内细菌污染情况,并总结其合理的使用方法及时间。方法:收集我院各个科室使用的胰岛素注射液96瓶,启封后分别在不同使用时间和保存温度下采集样本进行细菌学检测。结果:本实验中96瓶启封后有效期内的生物胰岛素注射液中,共有10瓶细菌培养呈阳性,阳性率为10.41%。其中7d之内启封的胰岛素注射液细菌培养全部呈阴性,其余各组的胰岛素注射液细菌培养均呈阳性及存在菌落,随着启封时间的延长,细菌培养阳性率及菌落数上升,且各组之间的差异均具有统计学意义(P0.05)。研究中保存温度2~4℃的细菌培养全部呈阴性,其余各组的胰岛素注射液细菌培养均呈阳性及存在菌落,随着保存温度的升高,细菌培养阳性率及菌落数上升,且各组之间的差异均具有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:胰岛素注射液启封后有效期内随着时间的延长以及保存温度的升高,细菌培养的阳性率及菌落数量上升,临床使用时要应尽量在7d内使用完,并且尽量保存在低于25℃环境中。     

采前壳寡糖处理对杏果实黑斑病的抗性诱导

以新疆赛买提杏为试验材料,分别在果实坐果期、膨大期、转色期及采收前48h,采用分子量为5 000、浓度为0.05%的壳寡糖(GOS)溶液对杏果实进行喷施处理,以喷施清水为对照(CK);采收后的杏果实在机械损伤接种链格孢菌后置于4℃、相对湿度90%~95%的条件下贮藏,定期统计接种链格孢菌杏果实的病斑直径和发病率,测定抗病相关酶苯丙氨酸解氨酶(PAL)、β-1,3-葡聚糖酶(GLU)和几丁质酶(CHT)的活性及木质素、富含羟脯氨酸糖蛋白(HRGP)的含量,探讨采前壳寡糖处理对杏果实黑斑病的抗性诱导及其生理机制。结果显示,贮藏结束时,采前壳寡糖处理的果实发病率与病斑直径分别比对照显著降低了16.37%和17.57%。随着贮藏期间的延长,壳寡糖处理杏果实PAL、GLU、CHT的活性和木质素、HRGP的含量均表现出先上升后下降的变化趋势,且始终显著高于同期对照,并分别在接种后第21、28、21、28和14天达到峰值,峰值比同期对照分别显著提高12.17%、78.22%、31.41%、34.81%和77.44%。研究表明,采前壳寡糖处理能通过诱导提高杏果实病程相关蛋白及细胞壁HRGP和木质素的含量来增强杏果实对黑斑病的抗性。     

Calcium,Acylation, and Molecular Confinement Favor Folding of Bordetella pertussis Adenylate Cyclase CyaA Toxin into a Monomeric and Cytotoxic Form

The adenylate cyclase (CyaA) toxin, a multidomain protein of 1706 amino acids, is one of the major virulence factors produced by Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of whooping cough. CyaA is able to invade eukaryotic target cells in which it produces high levels of cAMP, thus altering the cellular physiology. Although CyaA has been extensively studied by various cellular and molecular approaches, the structural and functional states of the toxin remain poorly characterized. Indeed, CyaA is a large protein and exhibits a pronounced hydrophobic character, making it prone to aggregation into multimeric forms. As a result, CyaA has usually been extracted and stored in denaturing conditions. Here, we define the experimental conditions allowing CyaA folding into a monomeric and functional species. We found that CyaA forms mainly multimers when refolded by dialysis, dilution, or buffer exchange. However, a significant fraction of monomeric, folded protein could be obtained by exploiting molecular confinement on size exclusion chromatography. Folding of CyaA into a monomeric form was found to be critically dependent upon the presence of calcium and post-translational acylation of the protein. We further show that the monomeric preparation displayed hemolytic and cytotoxic activities suggesting that the monomer is the genuine, physiologically active form of the toxin. We hypothesize that the structural role of the post-translational acylation in CyaA folding may apply to other RTX toxins.     

Characterization of an Actin-targeting ADP-ribosyltransferase from Aeromonas hydrophila

The mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase (mART) toxins are contributing factors to a number of human diseases, including cholera, diphtheria, traveler''s diarrhea, and whooping cough. VahC is a cytotoxic, actin-targeting mART from Aeromonas hydrophila PPD134/91. This bacterium is implicated primarily in diseases among freshwater fish species but also contributes to gastrointestinal and extraintestinal infections in humans. VahC was shown to ADP-ribosylate Arg-177 of actin, and the kinetic parameters were K_m(NAD⁺) = 6 μm, K_m(actin) = 24 μm, and k_cat = 22 s⁻¹. VahC activity caused depolymerization of actin filaments, which induced caspase-mediated apoptosis in HeLa Tet-Off cells. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis of predicted catalytic residues showed the predicted loss of in vitro mART activity and cytotoxicity. Bioinformatic and kinetic analysis also identified three residues in the active site loop that were critical for the catalytic mechanism. A 1.9 Å crystal structure supported the proposed roles of these residues and their conserved nature among toxin homologues. Several small molecules were characterized as inhibitors of in vitro VahC mART activity and suramin was the best inhibitor (IC₅₀ = 20 μm). Inhibitor activity was also characterized against two other actin-targeting mART toxins. Notably, these inhibitors represent the first report of broad spectrum inhibition of actin-targeting mART toxins.     

Identification of bacterial target proteins for the salicylidene acylhydrazide class of virulence-blocking compounds

A class of anti-virulence compounds, the salicylidene acylhydrazides, has been widely reported to block the function of the type three secretion system of several Gram-negative pathogens by a previously unknown mechanism. In this work we provide the first identification of bacterial proteins that are targeted by this group of compounds. We provide evidence that their mode of action is likely to result from a synergistic effect arising from a perturbation of the function of several conserved proteins. We also examine the contribution of selected target proteins to the pathogenicity of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and to expression of virulence genes in Escherichia coli O157.     

Rhizosphere dynamics during phytoremediation of olive mill wastewater

The potential of phytoremediation as a treatment option for olive mill wastewater (OMW) was tested on five perennial tree species. Cupressus sempervirens and Quercus ilex proved tolerant to six-month OMW treatment followed by six-month water irrigation, whereas Salix sp. and Laurus nobilis and, later, Pinus mugo suffered from phytotoxic effects. Test plants were compared to controls after treatment and irrigation, by monitoring biochemical and microbiological variations in the rhizosphere soil. OMW-treated soils were exposed to 50-fold higher phenols concentrations, which, irrespective of whether the respective plants were OMW-resistant or susceptible, were reduced by more than 90% by the end of the irrigation cycle, owing to significantly increased laccase, peroxidase and β-glucosidase activities, recovery/acquisition of bacterial culturability and transitory development of specialized fungal communities sharing the presence of Geotrichum candidum. Of all results, the identification of Penicillium chrysogenum and Penicillium aurantiogriseum as dominant rhizosphere fungi was distinctive of OMW-tolerant species.     

Enzymic arrangement and allosteric regulation of the aromatic amino acid pathway in Neisseria gonorrhoeae

The pathway construction and allosteric regulation of phenylalanine and tyrosine biosynthesis was examined in Neisseria gonorrhoeae. A single 3-deoxy-d-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate (DAHP) synthase enzyme sensitive to feedback inhibition by l-phenylalanine was found. Chorismate mutase and prephenate dehydratase appear to co-exist as catalytic components of a bifunctional enzyme, known to be present in related genera. The latter enzyme activities were both feedback inhibited by l-phenylalanine. Prephenate dehydratase was strongly activated by l-tyrosine. NAD⁺-linked prephenate dehydrogenase and arogenate dehydrogenase activities coeluted following ion-exchange chromatography, suggesting their identity as catalytic properties of a single broad-specificity cyclohexadienyl dehydrogenase. Each dehydrogenase activity was inhibited by 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate, but not by l-tyrosine. Two aromatic aminotransferases were resolved, one preferring the l-phenylalanine:2-ketoglutarate substrate combination and the other preferring the l-tyrosine: 2-ketoglutarate substrate combination. Each aminotransferase was also able to transaminate prephenate. The overall picture of regulation is one in which l-tyrosine modulates l-phenylalanine synthesis via activation of prephenate dehydratase. l-Phenylalanine in turn regulates early-pathway flow through inhibition of DAHP synthase. The recent phylogenetic positioning of N. gonorrhoeae makes it a key reference organism for emerging interpretations about aromatic-pathway evolution.     

Analysis of the composition of bacterial communities in oil reservoirs from a southern offshore Brazilian basin

The aim of this study was to characterize and compare the bacterial community structure of two distinct oil samples from a petroleum field in Brazil by using both molecular, based on the construction of 16S rRNA gene libraries, and cultivation methods. Statistical comparisons of libraries based on Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA) data revealed no significant differences between the communities recovered in the non-biodegraded (NBD) and highly biodegraded oils (HBD). BlastN analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences representative of distinct ribotypes from both oils showed the presence of nine different bacterial genera in these samples, encompassing members of the genera Arcobacter, Halanaerobium, Marinobacter, Propionibacterium, Streptomyces, Leuconostoc, Acinetobacter, Bacillus and Streptococcus. Enrichments obtained using oil as inoculum and sole carbon source yielded bacterial isolates showing high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Achromobacter xylosoxidans, Bacillus subtilis, Brevibacillus sp., Dietzia sp. and Methylobacterium sp. Comparison between the data obtained using cultivation-independent and enrichment cultures suggests that different selection of community members may occur when using distinct approaches. All the organisms found, except for Leuconostoc sp. and Streptococus sp., have been previously reported in the literature as hydrocarbon degraders and/or associated to oil field environments.