Effects of mixtures of lauric and myristic acid on rumen methanogens and methanogenesis in vitro

AIMS: To identify the most effective mixture of non-esterified lauric (C12) and myristic (C14) acid in suppressing ruminal methanogenesis, and to investigate their effects on the methanogenic population. METHODS AND RESULTS: C12/C14 mixtures were incubated with rumen fluid using the Hohenheim gas test apparatus. Methane production and the numbers of Archaea declined with an increasing proportion of C12. With a 2 : 1 proportion of C12/C14, the maximum methane-suppressing effect (96%) was achieved similar to that with C12 alone. The proportions of the individual methanogenic orders of total methanogens were altered by varying the C12/C14 ratio. CONCLUSIONS: Although C14 alone had no effect on methanogenesis, C14 enhanced the methane-suppressing effect of C12 in certain mixtures. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The results support strategies for an environment-friendly ruminant nutrition as it was demonstrated that part of the less palatable C12 could be replaced by C14 without losing its methane-suppressing potential.     

铜绿假单胞菌色素代谢相关基因的研究

首次应用Mu转座重组技术研究铜绿假单胞菌色素合成与调控的机制。通过一系列的表型筛选,得到8株色素合成能力改变的突变子。经基因克隆、核苷酸测序研究,证明转座子分别插入到hmgA、ptsP、sucC、phzS、phzF1五个基因中。hmgA基因转座失活导致酪氨酸分解代谢中间产物尿黑酸的积累,后四种情况转座突变显著地影响了铜绿假单胞菌最重要的色素绿脓素（pyocyanin）的合成,其中PhzS和phzF1是绿脓素合成过程中的结构基因,ptsP基因是1个磷酸转移酶系统的重要组分,sucC基因的产物是三羧酸循环中的琥珀酰辅酶A合成酶,对后两个基因在色素合成的调控方面可能起到重要作用的报道尚属首例。     

The effects of geographic origin and antibiotic treatment on the gut symbiotic communities of Bactrocera oleae populations

The olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is the major insect pest of olive orchards (Olea europaea L.), causing extensive damages on cultivated olive crops worldwide. Due to its economic importance, it has been the target species for a variety of population control approaches including the sterile insect technique (SIT). However, the inefficiency of the current mass‐rearing techniques impedes the successful application of area‐wide integrated pest management programs with an SIT component. It has been shown that insect mass rearing and quality of sterile insects can be improved by the manipulation of the insect gut microbiota and probiotic applications. In order to exploit the gut bacteria, it is important to investigate the structure of the gut microbial community. In the current study, we characterized the gut bacterial profile of two wild olive fruit fly populations introduced in laboratory conditions using next generation sequencing of two regions of the 16S rRNA gene. We compared the microbiota profiles regarding the geographic origin of the samples. Additionally, we investigated potential changes in the gut bacteria community before and after the first exposure of the wild adult flies to artificial adult diet with and without antibiotics. Various genera – such as Erwinia, Providencia, Enterobacter, and Klebsiella – were detected for the first time in B. oleae. The most dominant species was Candidatus Erwinia dacicola Capuzzo et al. and it was not affected by the antibiotics in the artificial adult diet used in the first generation of laboratory rearing. Geographic origin affected the overall structure of the gut community of the olive fruit fly, but antibiotic treatment in the first generation did not significantly alter the gut microbiota community.     

An immunoblotting technique for the detection of bound and secreted bacterial Fc receptors

A rapid semiquantitative procedure that enables bacteria to be screened for surface or secreted receptors for the Fc region of human IgG is described. Surface Fc receptors were detected by direct transfer of bacterial colonies to nitrocellulose by electroblotting and then probing with ¹²⁵I-labeled human IgG in the presence of a two fold molar excess of unlabeled F(ab′)₂fragments. The blots were exposed to X-ray film and the intensity of the resulting autoradiograph was a measure of surface Fc receptors expression. This procedure reliably distinguished Staphylococcus aureus strains which expressed different levels of surface Fc receptors. When applied to the study of group A streptococci, a number of Fc receptor-positive strains were identified. Unlike the homogeneous Fc receptor expression on individual colonies of the staphylococcal strains, a wide variation in the level of Fc receptor expression was observed within a given streptococcal strain. Group A streptococcal substrains which expressed high and low levels of surface Fc receptors could be isolated from replica plates.Secreted Fc receptors were measured by a simple modification of the blotting procedure in which the nitrocellulose was placed on the opposite side of the agar from the bacterial colonies. Secreted Fc receptors was electroblotted through the agar onto nitrocellulose and probed as described above. This approach readily detected nanogram quantities of secreted type I Fc receptor (protein A) from the Staphylococcus aureus Cowan strain. None of the group A streptococcal strains tested were found to secrete detectable quantities of Fc receptors.     

Preparation and characterization of flurbiprofen beads by melt solidification technique

Amelt solidification technique has been developed to obtain sustained-release waxy beads of flurbiprofen. Low glass transition temperature (t _g) and shear-induced crystallization of flurbiprofen made it a suitable candidate for melt solidification technique. The process involved emulsification and solidification of flurbiprofen-cetyl alcohol melt at significantly low temperature (5°C). The effect of variables, namely, the amount of cetyl alcohol and the speed of agitation, was studied using 3² factorial design. The technique and the beads were evaluated on the basis of process and desired yield, surface topography, Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), particle size distribution, crushing strength, and drug release. Average values for process and desired yields were 97% wt/wt and 26% wt/wt, respectively. No interaction was observed between drug and excipient. Multiple regression analysis was carried out, and response surfaces were obtained. A curvilinear relationship was observed between percentage of desired yield and the amount of cetyl alcohol. Linear decrease in crushing strength was observed with increase in the amount of cetyl alcohol. Drug released from the beads followed zero order kinetics. Burst release was shown to a greater extent in beads containing a lower amount of cetyl alcohol. Response surfaces of time required for certain percentage of drug (t _D%) showed that after critical concentration of about 20% of cetyl alcohol (400 mg/batch), no significant release retardant effect was observed.     

The Pro to glycine mutation of staphylococcal nuclease simplifies the unfolding—folding kinetics

Kinetics of unfolding and refolding of a staphylococcal nuclease mutant, in which Pro¹¹⁷ is replaced by glycine, have been investigated by stopped-flow circular dichroism, and the results are compared with those for the wild-type protein. In contrast to the biphasic unfolding of the wild-type nuclease, the unfolding of the mutant is represented by a single-phase reaction, indicating that the biphasic unfolding for the wild-type protein is caused by cis-trans isomerization about the prolyl peptide bond in the native state. The proline mutation also simplifies the kinetic refolding. Importance of the results in elucidating the folding mechanism is discussed.     

优良槭树橄榄槭的苗期试验与培育技术

橄榄槭为是我国自然分布的优良乡土槭树之一。通过在南京的引种试验,阐明了其幼苗生长特性,并概括了壮苗培育技术,以期为该种植物的合理开发与利用提供参考。     

反向遗传学技术及其在FMDV研究中的应用

反向遗传技术是一种新兴的分子生物学技术,已广泛应用于生命科学研究的各个领域。综述反向遗传技术研究进展,并讨论该技术在口蹄疫病毒研究中的应用。     

有柄石韦总多酚含量测定及其超声提取工艺优化

为优选有柄石韦Pyrrosia petiolos中总多酚超声提取工艺,采用Folin-Ciocalteus比色法对总多酚进行含量测定,通过单因素和正交试验,对提取工艺参数进行优化。结果表明,没食子酸对照品在浓度为1～10 mg·L-1范围内,与吸光度呈良好线性关系（y=2.406x-0.012,R=0.9994）,有柄石韦总多酚的最佳提取工艺条件为：55%乙醇,料液比1∶10（W/V）,超声提取60 min,超声提取温度75℃,总多酚提取率为21.47 mg·g-1。