Progressive determination of cell fates along the dorsoventral axis in the sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma

In the direct-developing sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma the first cleavage division bisects the dorsoventral axis of the developing embryo along a frontal plane. In the two-celled embryo one of the blastomeres, the ventral cell (V), gives rise to all pigmented mesenchyme, as well as to the vestibule of the echinus rudiment. Upon isolation, however, the dorsal blastomere (D) displays some regulation, and is able to form a small number of pigmented mesenchyme cells and even a vestibule. We have examined the spatial and temporal determination of cell fates along the dorsoventral axis during subsequent development. We demonstrate that the dorsoventral axis is resident within both cells of the two-celled embryo, but only the ventral pole of this axis has a rigidly fixed identity this early in development. The polarity of this axis remains the same in half-embryos developing from isolated ventral (V) blastomeres, but it can flip 180° in half-embryos developing from isolated dorsal (D) blastomeres. We find that cell fates are progressively determined along the dorsoventral axis up to the time of gastrulation. The ability of dorsal half-embryos to differentiate ventral cell fates diminishes as they are isolated at progressively later stages of development. These results suggest that the determination of cell fates along the dorsoventral axis in H. erythrogramma is regulated via inductive interactions organized by cells within the ventral half of the embryo.     

基于益生菌治疗帕金森病的研究进展

帕金森病是常见的神经退行性疾病,其发病原因至今尚未明确,目前的治疗方法价格昂贵、效果差且副作用大。帕金森病患者常见胃肠道功能障碍,帕金森病和肠道菌群之间的关联已得到实验证实,患者有望通过益生菌改善肠道菌群达到治疗的目的。工程益生菌的出现使得人们可以按照自己的意愿改造益生菌,提高其稳定性和靶向性,展现出其特有的应用潜力。本文将从益生菌治疗帕金森病的研究现状出发,阐述益生菌治疗帕金森病的可能机制,进一步分析工程益生菌治疗帕金森病的可行性,为该疾病的安全治疗提供新的思路。     

花生种子萌发早期胚轴细胞DNA合成的特点

花生种子吸胀6h后胚轴DNA中有~3H-胸苷掺入。咖啡因和羟基脲均对6～12h的~3H—胸苷掺入具强烈的抑制作用;当12～24h时,咖啡因的抑制作用较大;但30h以后,羟基脲的抑制作用超过咖啡因。双链DNA放射性从种子吸胀9h后迅速上升,单链DNA放射性在吸胀12h后出现一个明显的峰。但在吸胀12h后,单链DNA形成和存在的时间是短暂的。     

肠道菌群在脊髓损伤后胃肠道炎症反应中的研究进展

脊髓损伤(spinal cord injury, SCI)目前尚无有效的治疗手段。脊髓损伤后,患者常伴有严重的胃肠功能障碍,严重影响患者的生活质量。研究发现,脊髓损伤后肠道菌群的紊乱和脊髓损伤后的胃肠道功能障碍密切相关。因此,本文围绕脊髓损伤后肠道菌群的变化,探讨肠道菌群在迷走神经、下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺和肠道菌群代谢物3个途径中发挥的作用,及与胃肠道炎症反应相关的研究进展。     

Non-crystallographic symmetry of crystal of neutral phospholipase A2 from Agkistrodon halys Pallas

Agkistrodotoxin, a neutral phospholipase A₂ with high presynaptic neurotoxicity from the venom of Agkistrodon halys Pallas, has been crystallized by hanging drop vapor diffusion method. The crystal belongs to P2₁ space group with the cell dimensions a = 10.836 nm, b=8.486nm, c = 7.082nm, β=109.87$ showing C2 pseu-do-symmetry. Diffraction data to 0. 26 nm resolution have been collected on a Siemens X-200B area detector. C2 pseu-do-symmetry suggests that there exists a non-crystallographic two-fold axis parallel to crystallographic b axis. Self-rotation function calculation with different integrated radius and resolution ranges using the program POLARRFN yields four stable high peaks corresponding to three more non-crystallographic two-fold axis and one special non-crystal-lographic symmetry. The molecules in the asymmetric unit are suggested to be arranged in a manner of "dimer of dimers" by inference.     

花生种子萌发早期胚轴DNA合成与种子活力的关系

随着花生种子萌发率和活力指数的下降,胚轴DNA开始合成的时间推迟,其合成水平也降低。但DNA合成都是先于吸胀的12h(高活力胚)或18h(低活力胚)出现一个峰,然后再持续上升。腐胺预处理明显地促进老化胚轴萌发早期(12～2dh)的DNA合成。钙离子预处理则有一定抑制作用,但两种预处理均能提高种子的活力指数,并能促进吸胀30h以后的DNA合成。     

Uptake of [2-14C]abscisic acid and distribution of 14C in apple embryos

Pyrus malus L. var. Golden delicious embryos were incubated with (±)-[2-¹⁴C]abscisic acid (ABA) (10^-5 M, 355 kBq mol^-1). After incubations of various durations, the radioactivity was measured in whole embryos, cotyledons, and embryonic axes.With either 48-h or 16-d incubation periods, the uptake of [¹⁴C]ABA depended upon the mode of culture used. The lowest values corresponded to the absorption by the embryonic axis, the highest to the absorption by the distal parts of the two cotyledons. The cotyledons accumulated the main part of the radioactivity under all conditions. Dormant and almost completely after-ripened embryos cultivated for 4 d showed no significant differences in the radioactivity uptake for identical modes of culture. There was a linear relationship between exogenous ABA concentrations (0.5 to 3.10^-5 M) and ABA uptake for embryos cultivated for 4 d with the distal parts of the cotyledons immersed in the medium.Abbreviations ABA abscisic acid. RM, RM⁺, C/2 M, and CM are different modes of embryo cultures: embryonic axis immersed alone (RM), together with the proximal parts of the cotyledons (RM⁺); distal parts of the cotyledons immersed alone (CM); embroyo flat on the medium, the root and the external surface of one cotyledon being in contact with the medium (C/2 M) - PP proximal parts of the cotyledons - DP distal parts of the cotyledons     

长江经济带国土空间开发与保护路径优化

长江经济带是重大国家战略发展区域,优化其国土空间开发保护格局是实现生态文明建设的重要内容。研究基于“核心点-发展轴-战略区”的框架,通过国土空间利用强度表征指标及夜间灯光数据识别发展核心点,借助有序加权平均算法模拟多种决策愿景下的空间发展阻力面,运用最小累积阻力模型和电路理论模型识别空间发展轴线及其内部的开发保护战略区,定量构建不同决策偏好的空间格局优化方案,突破了传统研究中单一目标和定性分析的局限。结果表明：长江经济带国土空间发展核心点共63个,约占区域总面积的5%,呈现自东向西递减的空间分布特征;城镇扩张、协同发展和生态约束三类情景下发展轴线均为61条,所覆盖的县级单元分别占总数的36.6%、36.5和36.7%,呈现出“一横三纵”的格局特征;城镇扩张、协同发展和生态约束三类情景下开发战略区分别占轴线面积的4.5%、4.9%、4.8%,多分布于长江干流及其支流沿线。保护战略区分别占轴线面积的17.1%、13.9%、15.3%,主要分布于长江南岸区域。在此基础上形成的国土空间开发保护格局基础架构,能够为落实长江经济带“共抓大保护、不搞大开发”提供决策参考。     

粪菌移植通过微生物-肠-脑轴改善抑郁症的研究进展

人类粪菌移植(fecal microbiota transplantation,FMT)早在19世纪50年代的西方医学中便有临床应用.FMT已被证明可以很好地缓解艰难梭菌感染(Clostridium difficile infection,CDI)的胃肠道疾病,在调节微生物-肠-脑轴(microbiota-gut-br...     

Social buffering of the stress response: insights from fishes

Social buffering of stress refers to the effect of a social partner in reducing the cortisol or corticosterone response to a stressor. It has been well studied in mammals, particularly those that form pair bonds. Recent studies on fishes suggest that social buffering of stress also occurs in solitary species, gregarious species that form loose aggregations and species with well-defined social structures and bonds. The diversity of social contexts in which stress buffering has been observed in fishes holds promise to shed light on the evolution of this phenomenon among vertebrates. Equally, the relative simplicity of the fish brain is advantageous for identifying the neural mechanisms responsible for social buffering. In particular, fishes have a relatively small and simple forebrain but the brain regions that are key to social buffering, including the social behaviour network, the amygdala and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal/interrenal axis, are functionally conserved across vertebrates. Thus, we suggest that insight into the mechanistic and evolutionary underpinnings of stress buffering in vertebrates can be gained from the study of social buffering of stress in fishes.