Characterization of two major groups of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli O26 strains which are globally spread in human patients and domestic animals of different species

Twenty-three Escherichia coli O26 strains from humans, cattle, sheep, pigs and chicken were investigated for virulence markers and for genetic similarity by pulsed field gel electrophoresis and multi locus sequence typing. Two groups of genetically closely related O26 strains were defined. One group is formed by enteropathogenic (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) E. coli strains, which do not ferment rhamnose and dulcitol and most of these carry a plasmid encoding enterohemolysin. The other group consists of rhamnose and dulcitol fermenting EPEC strains, which carry plasmids encoding alpha-hemolysin. Multiple species of domestic animals were shown to serve as a reservoir for human pathogenic O26 EPEC and EHEC strains.     

Trypanosoma cruzi: sensitivity of the polymerase chain reaction for detecting the parasite in the blood of mice infected with different clonal genotypes

The polymerase chain reaction showed high sensitivity for detecting Trypanosoma cruzi in the blood of mice, independent of clonal genotype (19, 20-T. cruzi I; 32, 39-T. cruzi II) or phase of the infection (acute or chronic).     

TDZ高效诱导蝴蝶兰叶片不定芽及植株再生

以蝴蝶兰（Phalaenopsis）无菌幼苗叶片为材料,研究添加TDZ（噻重氮苯基脲）条件下不同基因型、激素组合、叶片大小、暗培养时间对不定芽发生和再生植株的影响。结果表明：在相同培养条件下,不同基因型外植体芽诱导率差异显著,‘红天使’最高,达81.5%,‘汕农姑娘’等2个品种为0,‘满天红’等4个品种为9.2%～34.9%;添加TDZ芽诱导率显著高于6-BA;单独添加TDZ或6-BA芽诱导率显著高于NAA与TDZ或6-BA的组合。叶片越小不定芽诱导率越高;短时间暗处理有利于不定芽的发生。以1～2 cm长叶片为材料、15 d暗处理、在1/2 MS添加3 mg/L TDZ培养基中,‘红天使’的叶片外植体芽诱导率和平均不定芽数分别可达100.0%和18.2个。研究发现,在继代培养中TDZ对芽的伸长有抑制作用。     

Genetic analysis of candidate SNPs for metabolic syndrome in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder characterized by the reduction or complete cessation in airflow resulting from an obstruction of the upper airway. Several studies have observed an increased risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality among OSA patients. Metabolic syndrome (MetS), a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors characterized by the presence of insulin resistance, is often found in patients with OSA, but the complex interplay between these two syndromes is not well understood. In this study, we present the results of a genetic association analysis of 373 candidate SNPs for MetS selected in a previous genome wide association analysis (GWAS). The 384 selected SNPs were genotyped using the Illumina VeraCode Technology in 387 subjects retrospectively assessed at the Internal Medicine Unit of the “Virgen de Valme” University Hospital (Seville, Spain). In order to increase the power of this study and to validate our findings in an independent population, we used data from the Framingham Sleep Study which comprises 368 individuals. Only the rs11211631 polymorphism was associated with OSA in both populations, with an estimated OR = 0.57 (0.42–0.79) in the joint analysis (p = 7.21 × 10^− 4). This SNP was selected in the previous GWAS for MetS components using a digenic approach, but was not significant in the monogenic study. We have also identified two SNPs (rs2687855 and rs4299396) with a protective effect from OSA only in the subpopulation with abdominal obesity. As a whole, our study does not support the idea that OSA and MetS share major genetic determinants, although both syndromes share common epidemiological and clinical features.     

Intra- specific variation in response of Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) to elevated CO2 conditions

Twenty genotypes of Jatropha collected from diverse eco-geographic regions from the states of Chhattisgarh (3), Andhra Pradesh (12), Rajasthan (4) and Uttarakhand (1) of India were subjected to elevated CO₂ conditions. All the genotypes showed significant difference (p < 0.05 and 0.01) in the phenotypic traits in both the environments (elevated and ambient) and genotype x environment interaction. Among the physiological traits recorded, maximum photosynthetic rate was observed in IC565048 (48.8 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹) under ambient controlled conditions while under elevated conditions maximum photosynthetic rate was observed in IC544678 (41.3 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹), and there was no significant difference in the genotype x environment interaction. Stomatal conductance (Gs) emerged as the key factor as it recorded significant difference among the genotypes, between the environments and also genotype x environment interaction. The Gs and transpiration (E) recorded a significant decline in the genotypes under the elevated CO₂ condition over the ambient control. Under elevated CO₂ conditions, the minimum values recorded for Gs and E were 0.03 mmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 0.59 mmol m⁻² s⁻¹ respectively in accession IC565039, while the maximum values for Gs and E were 1.8 mmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 11.5 mmol m⁻² s⁻¹ as recorded in accession IC544678. The study resulted in the identification of potential climate ready genotypes viz. IC471314, IC544654, IC541634, IC544313, and IC471333 for future use.     

Colonization dynamics and life history traits of seven Daphnia pulex genotypes

Summary A series of experiments revealed significant differences in the potential ability of seven Daphnia pulex genotypes to colonize two lakes in which this species does not naturally reside. Life table experiments, in which individuals from each genotype were raised separately on water and natural phytoplankton from the two lakes, revealed several significant differences among genotypes in life history traits, including age and size at first reproduction, clutch size and offspring body size. Significant differences among genotypes were also found in mean genotype fitness and rate of population increase, although all genotypes were able to increase in absolute numbers. Significant genotypexlake interaction was found for several life history traits and mean fitness, indicating that the relative success of invading genotypes may depend on habitat characteristics. Enclosure experiments, in which all seven genotypes were introduced together into enclosures in both lakes, revealed that some genotypes increased greatly while others declined in relative abundance, and that the most successful genotypes differed between lakes. In addition, the most successful genotypes in the enclosures were not necessarily the genotypes that displayed the highest fitness in the life table experiments, possibly because individuals in the enclosures competed for food resources, leading to exclusion of certain genotypes.     

Effect of MgSO4 and K2SO4 on somatic embryo differentiation in Theobroma cacao L.

Somatic embryogenesis in cacao is difficult and this species is considered as recalcitrant. Therefore, reformulation of culture media might be a breakthrough to improve its somatic embryogenesis. In cacao, acquisition of somatic embryogenesis competence involves three main stages: induction of primary callus, induction of secondary callus and embryo development. Screening for MgSO₄ and K₂SO₄ concentrations for somatic embryo differentiation was conducted on three genotypes (Sca6, IMC67 and C151-61) at the three stages. The effect of these two salts in culture media appears to be most efficient at the embryo development stage. At this stage, high MgSO₄ (24 mM) and K₂SO₄ (71.568 mM) in the culture media induced direct somatic embryos on staminodes and petals of the Sca6 and IMC67 genotypes. Media supplemented with 6.0 mM and 12.0 mM MgSO₄ enabled high responsive of explants and produced high proportion of embryos. The positive effect of MgSO₄ and K₂SO₄ on the acquisition of embryogenesis competence was further tested on seven cacao genotypes reputed as non embryogenic: SNK12, ICS40, POR, IMC67, PA121, SNK64 and SNK10. All these genotypes were able to produce somatic embryos depending on the MgSO₄ concentration. Thus, our results showed that the recalcitrance of cacao to somatic embryo differentiation can be overcome by screening for the suitable MgSO₄ or K₂SO₄ concentration. Studies of the influence of different K⁺/Mg²⁺ ratios (at normal sulphate concentration) on somatic embryo differentiation revealed that sulphate supply was the main factor promoting responsive explants and the proportion of embryos. Cysteine synthase isoforms showed patterns related to morphogenetic structures sustaining that sulphur supply and its assimilation improve somatic embryogenesis in cacao.     

嗜肺巴斯德杆菌基因分型及在分子流行病学中的意义

目的　探讨我国部分地区嗜肺巴斯德杆菌分子流行病学特征。方法　随机多态扩增PCR(RAPD -PCR) ,两条单一随机引物S1和S3 ,对分离来自北京和南京不同实验动物饲养单位的大鼠、小鼠、野鼠的 1 5株嗜肺巴斯德杆菌及参考株共 1 6株菌基因组随机扩增 ,比较DNA多态性图谱。结果　 1 5个流行株可分成 4种基因型 :来自相同饲养单位的小鼠株、大鼠株及野鼠株基因型亦不相同 ;野鼠株与部分小鼠分离株基因型相同。结论　同一地区嗜肺巴斯德杆菌流行株呈明显的多态性 ;野鼠有可能成为实验动物嗜肺巴斯德杆菌的传染源     

小麦不同基因型材料花药培养中雄核发育的研究

对小麦离体花药中花粉发育的调查表明 :难诱导材料花药在培养初期 ,花粉退化快 ,大量小孢子败育 ,多细胞 (核 )花粉出现晚、频率低 ;而易诱导材料花药培养初期 ,花粉退化相对延缓 ,多细胞 (核 )花粉出现早且频率高 ,这些内在的优势使得更多的小孢子有可能转向孢子体发育 ,从而获得较高的出愈率。     

广州地区尖锐湿疣患者HPV感染情况及其基因分型

目的 分析广州地区尖锐湿疣患者人乳头瘤病毒感染状况及其基因型分布情况,为临床早期诊断和治疗提供依据。方法 采用基因芯片技术对2013年1月至2017年12月在我院皮肤科就诊的421例不同年龄性别的尖锐湿疣患者进行HPV基因检查,分析HPV-DNA亚型分布状况。结果 421例受检者中共检出HPV阳性者395例,阳性率为93.82%,其中高危型HPV感染阳性率为39.43%（166/421）。在被检测的21个HPV亚型中,最常见类型依次为6型（45.13%,190/421）、11型（29.22%,123/421）和16型（9.03%,38/421）,其中女性高危型HPV感染率为23.28%（98/421）,明显高于男性的16.15%（68/421）。HPV阳性者中多重感染率为32.54%（137/421）,以二重感染最常见（19.71%,83/421）。不同年龄段人群HPV阳性率有差异,21~30岁人群HPV阳性率最高（47.74%,201/421）。结论 广州地区尖锐湿疣患者HPV最常见的亚型是HPV6、HPV11和HPV16型,高危型HPV感染率较高并多以混合感染形式存在。分析HPV基因亚型是临床尖锐湿疣诊断和疗效观察的理想方法。