Expression of HvHMA2 in tobacco modifies Zn–Fe–Cd homeostasis

HvHMA2 is a plasma membrane P_1B-ATPase from barley that functions in Zn/Cd root-to-shoot transport. To assess the usefulness of HvHMA2 for modifying the metal content in aerial plant parts, it was expressed in tobacco under the CaMV35S promoter. Transformation with HvHMA2 did not produce one unique pattern of Zn and Cd accumulation; instead it depended on external metal supply. Thus Zn and Cd root-to-shoot translocation was facilitated, but not at all applied Zn/Cd concentrations. Metal uptake was restricted in HvHMA2-transformed plants and the level in the shoot was not enhanced. It was shown that HvHMA2 localizes to the plasma membrane of tobacco cells, and overloads the apoplast with Zn, which could explain the overall decrease in metal uptake observed. Despite the lower levels in the shoot, HvHMA2 transformants showed increased Zn sensitivity. Moreover, introduction of HvHMA2 into tobacco interfered with Fe metabolism and Fe accumulation was modified in HvHMA2-transformants in a Zn- and Cd-concentration dependent manner. The results indicate that ectopic expression of the export protein HvHMA2 in tobacco interferes with tobacco metal Zn–Cd–Fe cross-homeostasis, inducing internal mechanisms regulating metal uptake and tolerance.     

铅锌尾矿中耐重金属镉的丝状真菌的分离鉴定

【目的】旨在从重金属污染地分离出耐重金属镉真菌, 获得耐受重金属镉污染的高效菌株, 为重金属污染微生物修复提供菌种资源。【方法】利用稀释平板涂布法, 采用4种培养基对粤东北梅州市梅县铅锌尾矿废弃地9个样品进行分离, 并结合形态学和ITS rDNA基因序列分析, 鉴定分离到的耐镉真菌, 最后对分离到的耐镉真菌进行最小抑制浓度 (MIC) 检测。【结果】从粤东北梅州市梅县铅锌尾矿废弃地分离出72株丝状真菌, 经形态学和分子技术鉴定, 它们主要属于曲霉属(Aspergillus)、青霉属(Penicillium)、枝孢属(Cladosporium)、油瓶霉属(Lecythophora)、拟青霉属(Paecilomyces)、镰刀孢属(Fusarium)等。MIC检测发现有4株丝状真菌耐镉浓度较高, Paecilomyces lilacinus (Thom) Samson (6?20 p), Penicillium pinophilum Hedgcock (6?16 p), Penicillium rolfsii Thom (6?16 m) 和Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht. (8?11 p) 分别为200、40、25和15 mmol/L。【结论】从粤东北梅州市梅县铅锌尾矿废弃地分离到的72株丝状真菌, 不同程度耐受重金属镉, 在重金属污染的治理中有可能发挥作用。本研究为镉污染环境的微生物修复提供了重要菌株。     

潮虫消耗木本植物凋落物的可选择性试验

近年来,越来越多的学者关注外来植物入侵对土壤生态功能的影响效应及其相应反馈机制的探索与研究,然而本地原生土壤生物群落对不同入侵程度下的外来植物种以及本地原生植物种之间是否存在消耗差异却尚不明了.通过等足目潮虫的选择性喂养试验来测试10个本地种、5个非入侵性外来种和5个强入侵性外来种之间的适口性差异,试图求证外来植物的入侵性是否与植物落叶被消耗率呈现必然联系.数据分析结果显示潮虫对本地种、非入侵性外来种和入侵性外来种的消耗并无显著差异;而潮虫对不同生活型下木本植物的取食却存在显著差异,即灌木消耗率显著高于乔木.其次,通过植物初始性状指标(包括木质素、纤维素、半纤维素、碳、氮含量)与相应消耗率的相关比较,消耗量总体上与植物凋落物的氮含量呈正相关关系(R2 =0.358).由此,研究结论强调植物落叶的降解速率并不一定与植物入侵性或入侵阶段呈绝对相互关连,但是氮含量,抑或各种形式的植物氮元素成分都可能在一定程度上参与并影响着外来植物的入侵进程.     

黄东海陆架区沉积物中磷的形态分布及生物可利用性

采用1992年Ruttenberg连续提取法(SEDEX)将黄东海陆架区沉积物中的磷分为交换态磷(Ex-P),Fe结合态磷(Fe-P),自生磷(Au-P),碎屑磷(De-P),有机磷(Or-P),分析了各形态磷的平面和垂直分布特征;利用沉积物年代序列测定的结果,探讨了柱状沉积物中不同形态磷的含量变化,并进一步分析了该区域磷形态的生物可利用性.结果表明,黄东海陆架区表层沉积物各形态磷平均含量为:Au-P(140.72 μg/g)＞De-P(59.23 μg/g)＞Or-P(32.69 μg/g)＞Fe-P(29.91 μg/g)＞Ex-P(5.92 μg/g);各形态磷在沉积时间序列上分布不同,反映了不同时期人类活动和气候环境等因子对磷埋藏量影响的不同,其中Au-P在长江口H1-18站位含量比南黄海中部3个站位要低得多;调查区表层潜在生物有效磷为13.55％左右,仅仅占沉积磷中的一小部分.     

Transport of nitric oxide by perfluorocarbon emulsion

Perfluorocarbon (PFC) emulsions can transport and release various gases based on concentration gradients. The objective of this study was to determine the possibility of carrying and delivering exogenous nitric oxide (NO) into the circulation by simply loading PFC emulsion with NO prior infusion. PFC was equilibrated with room air (PFC) or 300 ppm NO (PFC‐NO) at atmospheric pressure. Isotonic saline solution was used as a volume control (Saline). PFC and PFC‐NO were infused at a dose of 3.5 mL/kg in the hamster window chamber model. Blood chemistry, and systemic and microvascular hemodynamic response were measured. Infusion of PFC preloaded with NO reduced blood pressure, induced microvascular vasodilation and increased capillary perfusion; although these changes lasted less than 30 min post infusion. On the other hand, infusion of PFC (without NO) produced vasoconstriction; however, the vasoconstriction was followed by vasodilatation at 30 min post infusion. Plasma nitrite and nitrate increased 15 min after infusion of NO preloaded PFC compared with PFC, 60 min after infusion nitrite and nitrate were not different, and 90 min after infusion plasma S‐nitrosothiols increased in both groups. Infusion of NO preloaded PFC resulted in acute vascular relaxation, where as infusion of PFC (without NO) produced vasoconstriction, potentially due to NO sequestration by the PFC micelles. The late effects of PFC infusion are due to NO redistribution and plasma S‐nitrosothiols. Gas solubility in PFC can provide a tool to modulate plasma vasoactive NO forms availability and improve microcirculatory function and promote increased blood flow. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 29:1565–1572, 2013     

Evidence for ecological speciation via a host shift in the holly leaf miner,Phytomyza glabricola (Diptera: Agromyzidae)

Evolutionary radiations have been well documented in plants and insects, and natural selection may often underly these radiations. If radiations are adaptive, the diversity of species could be due to ecological speciation in these lineages. Agromyzid flies exhibit patterns of repeated host‐associated radiations. We investigated whether host‐associated population divergence and evidence of divergent selection exist in the leaf miner Phytomyza glabricola on its sympatric host plants, the holly species, Ilex coriacea and I. glabra. Using AFLPs and nuclear sequence data, we found substantial genetic divergence between host‐associated populations of these flies throughout their geographic range. Genome scans using the AFLP data identified 13 loci under divergent selection, consistent with processes of ecological speciation. EF‐1α data suggest that I. glabra is the original host of P. glabricola and that I. coriacea is the novel host, but the AFLP data are ambiguous with regard to directionality of the host shift.     

Cadmium reduces the efficiency of Sindbis virus replication in human cells and promotes their survival by inhibiting apoptosis

Arthritogenic alphaviruses are emerging arthropod-borne viruses that occasionally cause sporadic to global outbreaks all over the world. Many environmental factors including xenobiotics have been identified as capable of influencing the spread, the susceptibility and the outcome of viral infection. Among them cadmium is a toxic non-essential heavy metal and a prevalent environmental contaminant. In the present study we evaluated the effect of cadmium exposure on alphavirus infection in vitro. We infected Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK) 293 cells in the presence of cadmium chloride (CdCl₂) with Sindbis virus. Cell viability, apoptosis and viral growth were then examined. Our data show that effective doses of cadmium decreased the virus mediated-cell death by inhibition of apoptosis. Moreover, virus growth in HEK 293 cells was also reduced by CdCl₂ treatment. Altogether our results demonstrate that cadmium triggers a protective response which renders HEK 293 cells resistant against Sindbis virus infection.     

Spectrofluorimetric determination of thioridazine and flupentixol in dosage forms; application to content uniformity test

A reliable, sensitive, cheap and non‐extractive spectrofluorimetric method has been developed and validated for determination of thioridazine and flupentixol based on ternary complex formation with eosin and lead(II) in the presence of methylcellulose as surfactant at pH 3.2. Under the optimum conditions, the quantitative quenching effect of investigated drugs on the native fluorescence of eosin has been investigated. The quenching of the eosin fluorescence was measured at 517 nm after excitation at 462 nm. The different experimental parameters affecting the development and stability of the reaction products were carefully studied and optimized, and the results were satisfactory. The calibration plots were constructed over the range of 0.5–3.0 µg mL^?1. The developed method was successfully applied for determination of investigated drugs in commercial tablets without interference from common excipients. It was further applied for content uniformity testing of flupentixol in its tablets. Statistical comparisons of the results with those of the reference methods revealed excellent agreement and indicated no significant difference in accuracy and precision. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intense Chiral Optical Phenomena in Racemic Polymers by Cocrystallization With Chiral Guest Molecules: A Brief Overview

This review is devoted to the chiral optical behavior of films of racemic polymers whose chirality is induced by cocrystallization with nonracemic (also temporary) guest molecules. We provide examples of macromolecular amplification of chirality, produced by molecular and supramolecular mechanisms, on industrially relevant polymers like poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene)oxide (PPO) and syndiotactic polystyrene (s‐PS). Chirality 28:29–38, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.