GP37蛋白结构分析与昆虫病毒分子进化的关系

The gp37 gene from LsMNPV has been sequenced and the deduced amino acid sequence was compared with other GP37 amino acid sequences from 8 insect viruses. The maximum homology of amino acid sequences and the conserved structural regions were analyzed with PROSIS software. The relationship of evolution of 9 insect viruses was discussed and the evolutionary tree was drawned.     

Effect of filaments within the synaptic cleft on the response of excitatory synapses simulated by computer experiments

Mathematical models of the excitatory synapse are furnishing valuable information about the synaptic response. Based on Brownian-diffusion of glutamate molecules, a synapse model was utilized to investigate the synaptic response on a femto-second time scale by the use of a parallel computer. In particular, the presence of fibrils crossing the synaptic cleft was simulated, which could have a role in shaping the brain activity. To this aim the model of synapse was modified by considering trans-synaptic filaments with diameters ranging from 7 nm to 3 nm, disposed on a grid with spacing of 14 nm or 8 nm. The simulation demonstrated that the presence of filaments induced an increase in the synaptic response, most likely linked to an increment in the probability of encounter between glutamate molecules and receptors. The increase was small - from 5 to 20%, but metabolic and functional considerations provide substantive hints about the importance of these small changes for brain activity. Moreover, it was shown that the presence of filaments made more stable the response of the synapse to random variations of pre-synaptic elements. Originated by these computational results, some inferences about the biological bases of mind diseases such as autism, mental retardation and schizophrenia, are reported in the Discussion.     

Retrospective and perspective of rice breeding in China

Breeding is the art and science of selecting and changing crop traits for the benefit of human beings. For several decades, tremendous efforts have been made by Chinese scientists in rice breeding in improving grain yield, nutrition quality, and environmental performance, achieving substantial progress for global food security. Several generations of crop breeding technologies have been developed, for example, selection of better performance in the field among variants (conventional breeding), application of molecular markers for precise selection (molecular marker assisted breeding), and development of molecular design (molecular breeding by rational design). In this review, we briefly summarize the advances in conventional breeding, functional genomics for genes and networks in rice that regulate important agronomic traits, and molecular breeding in China with focuses on high yield, good quality, stress tolerance, and high nutrient-use efficiency. These findings have paved a new avenue for rational design of crops to develop ideal varieties with super performance and productivity.     

Quantifying soil organic carbon in complex landscapes: an example of grassland undergoing encroachment of woody plants

The invasion of woody plants into grass‐dominated ecosystems has occurred worldwide during the past century with potentially significant impacts on soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, ecosystem carbon sequestration and global climate warming. To date, most studies of tree and shrub encroachment impacts on SOC have been conducted at small scales and results are equivocal. To quantify the effects of woody plant proliferation on SOC at broad spatial scales and to potentially resolve inconsistencies reported from studies conducted at fine spatial scales, information regarding spatial variability and uncertainty of SOC is essential. We used sequential indicator simulation (SIS) to quantify spatial uncertainty of SOC in a grassland undergoing shrub encroachment in the Southern Great Plains, USA. Results showed that both SOC pool size and its spatial uncertainty increased with the development of woody communities in grasslands. Higher uncertainty of SOC in new shrub‐dominated communities may be the result of their relatively recent development, their more complex above‐ and belowground architecture, stronger within‐community gradients, and a greater degree of faunal disturbance. Simulations of alternative sampling designs demonstrated the effects of spatial uncertainty on the accuracy of SOC estimates and enabled us to evaluate the efficiency of sampling strategies aimed at quantifying landscape‐scale SOC pools. An approach combining stratified random sampling with unequal point densities and transect sampling of landscape elements exhibiting strong internal gradients yielded the best estimates. Complete random sampling was less effective and required much higher sampling densities. Results provide novel insights into spatial uncertainty of SOC and its effects on estimates of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystem and suggest effective protocol for the estimating of soil attributes in landscapes with complex vegetation patterns.     

Tomato contains two differentially expressed genes encoding B-type phytochromes,neither of which can be considered an ortholog of Arabidopsis phytochrome B

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.) contains two B-type phytochrome genes (PHYB1 and PHYB2). Fragments of these two PHYB were cloned following amplification by the polymerase chain reaction of a portion of their relatively well conserved 5 coding regions. Polypeptides encoded by these gene fragments exhibit 90% sequence identity. These two PHYB are independently expressed in organ-specific fashion. In mature plants, PHYB2 mRNA is most abundant in fruit and PHYB1 mRNA in expanded leaves. A phylogenetic analysis fails to establish which tomato PHYB is orthologous to either Arabidopsis PHYB or PHYD, the latter being a second B-type phytochrome. Instead, this analysis indicates that following the divergence of the Solanaceae and Brassicaceae from one another, a PHYB gene duplicated independently in each lineage. Consequently, Arabidopsis PHYB mutants cannot be considered strictly equivalent to the tomato tri mutants, which appear to be mutated at the PHYB1 locus. Similarly, other putative PHYB mutants might not be equivalent to those described for Arabidopsis and tomato. This situation complicates efforts to determine PHYB function because there might be no one answer to this question.Abbreviations PCR polymerase chain reaction - PHY undesignated phytochrome gene - PHYA, PHYB, etc phytochrome gene(s) of the A, B, etc. type This research was supported by USDA NRICGP grant 93-00939 and by NATO travel grant CRG 931183. It was initiated when two of us (L.H.P., M.-M.C.-P.) spent a sabbatical year at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in Versailles, France. L.H.P. gratefully acknowledges support provided by a senior guest fellowship from the Ministère de l'enseignement superieur et de la recherche during his stay in Versailles. L.H.P. and M.-M.C.-P thank all of their colleagues in Versailles for their warm hospitality and their willingness to share their expertise with us. We also thank Russell Malmberg, Richard Meagher and Robert Price for helpful discussions concerning the interpretation of molecular phylogenies.     

Molecular cloning,characterization and expression of a nitrofuran reductase gene ofescherichia coli

Mini-mu derivatives carrying plasmid replicons can be used to clone genesin vivo. This method was adopted to generate phasmid clones which were later screened for their ability of restore nitrofurantoin sensitivity of a nitrofuran-resistant host by eliciting nitroreductase activity. One phasmid-derived clone (pAJ101) resulted in considerable increase in nitroreductase activity when introduced into a nitrofurantoin-resistant mutant ofEscherichia coli with reduced nitroreductase activity. Subsequently, a 1.8 kb fragment obtained from pAJ101 by partial digestion with 5au3A, was subcloned into pUC18 to yield pAJ102. The nitroreductase activity attributable to pAJ102 was capable of reducing both nitrofurantoin and nitrofurazone. The polypeptides encoded by pAJ102 were identified by the minicell method. A large, well-defined band corresponding to 37 kDa and a smaller, less-defined band corresponding to 35 kDa were detected. Tnl000 mutagenesis was used to delineate the coding segment of the 1.8 kb insert of pAJ102. A 0.8 kb stretch of DNA was shown to be part of the nitroreductase gene. The gene was mapped at 19 min on theEscherichia coli linkage map.     

Phylogenetics, species boundaries and timing of resource tracking in a highly specialized group of seed beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae)

Though for a long time it was hypothesized that the extraordinary diversity of phytophagous insects was better explained by a synchronous pattern of co-diversification with plants, the results of recent studies have led to question this theory, suggesting that the diversification of insects occurred well after that of their hosts. In this study we address this issue by investigating the timing of diversification of a highly specialized group of seed beetles, which mostly feeds on legume plants from the tribe Indigofereae. To that purpose, a total of 130 specimens were sequenced for six genes and analyzed under a Bayesian phylogenetic framework. Based on the resulting trees we performed several analyses that allowed a better definition of the group boundaries and to investigate the status of several taxa through the use of molecular species delimitation analyses in combination with morphological evidences. In addition the evolution of host plant use was reconstructed and different molecular-dating approaches were carried out in order to assess the ages of several clades of interest. The resulting framework suggests a more ancient than previously thought origin for seed beetles, and a pattern of rapid host plant colonization. These findings call for further similar studies in other highly specialized groups of phytophagous insects.     

中国近海牡蛎系统分类研究的现状和对策

探讨了中国近海沿岸牡蛎分类的诸多疑难和热点问题,回顾了国内外包括贝类等动物的分子系统发生学研究的主要进展,分析了中国近海牡蛎系统分类目前存在的问题,重点阐述了利用分子标记等手段解决形态相似种的鉴定和种系发生关系等问题的巨大潜力,报道了利用分子标记进行牡蛎分类研究所取得的最新进展。预期经典分类学和分子系统发生学研究的交叉综合,将大力推动中国近海牡蛎的系统分类和系统发生研究的发展。