转cry1Ac＋cry2Ab基因棉与转cry1Ac＋剧咯邢基因棉荒地的生存竞争能力

【背景】此研究为“十二五”转基因生物新品种培育国家项目中创建新的转基因棉花品种环境安全评价技术而设。【方法】以转双价双成抗虫基因（cry1Ac＋cry2Ab）棉和转双价抗虫、抗除草剂基因（cry1Ac＋肼强阳）棉为观察品种,非转基因棉赣棉11号为对照品种,在荒地用撒播和3cm深度播种2种方式,于2011年5月一2012年3月对棉花出苗率、株高、生育进程、棉吐絮瓣数、絮瓣脱落率、自生苗等生存竞争能力进行比较,检测、评价其杂草化的风险,并探讨、验证检测技术的可行性。【结果】在荒地条件下,以2种方式播种的转cry1Ac＋cry2Ab基因棉和转cry1Ac＋EP5P5基因棉与非转基因棉相比,上述各项指标的竞争能力总体上未表现显著优势。【结论与意义】转cry1Ac＋cry2Ab基因棉和转cry1Ac＋EPSPS基因棉在荒地条件下生长无杂草化风险。同时,研究证明,在荒地自然生态条件下,可以采用撒播和3cm深度播种方法检测新的转基因棉花品种在生存竞争能力上的杂草化风险,在测评上有互为参照效应,为定性评价新的转基因棉花品种的杂草化风险提供了保障。     

经典与非经典生物操纵理论及其应用

湖泊是我国的重要水资源之一,为人类提供了无法替代的生态及社会服务功能。但我国湖泊富营养化日趋严重。以食物网为基础的经典与非经典生物操纵成为湖泊富营养化修复的重要理论支撑。论文综述了经典与非经典生物操纵理论的原理、发展与应用,分析了鱼类(肉食性、滤食性)、浮游动物在控制藻类数量上发挥的功能,并讨论了两种理论的适用条件及实际应用中遇到的问题,以期为我国富营养化湖泊修复工作提供参考。经典与非经典生物操纵理论均是通过改变食物网结构控制藻类,分别利用浮游动物、滤食性鱼类控制藻类数量,但两者都未降低水中N、P含量。因此,实施有效的藻类水华生物操纵应与其它修复措施联合使用。     

Sexual selection uncouples the evolution of brain and body size in pinnipeds

The size of the vertebrate brain is shaped by a variety of selective forces. Although larger brains (correcting for body size) are thought to confer fitness advantages, energetic limitations of this costly organ may lead to trade-offs, for example as recently suggested between sexual traits and neural tissue. Here, we examine the patterns of selection on male and female brain size in pinnipeds, a group where the strength of sexual selection differs markedly among species and between the sexes. Relative brain size was negatively associated with the intensity of sexual selection in males but not females. However, analyses of the rates of body and brain size evolution showed that this apparent trade-off between sexual selection and brain mass is driven by selection for increasing body mass rather than by an actual reduction in male brain size. Our results suggest that sexual selection has important effects on the allometric relationships of neural development.     

肠道微生物与疾病关系的研究新进展- 运用454 测序技术分析

由于传统研究方法成本和速度的限制,远远满足不了对微生物群落大规模的研究,以454测序为代表的新一代高通量测序技术凭借低成本、高通量、流动自动化的优势为研究微生物的多样性和组成提供了新的技术平台。本文就近年来454测序技术在研究人体肠道微生物与疾病关系的应用进行了综述。     

陕西杨凌地区黑光灯下金龟甲种类组成及优势种群发生动态

2011年5～9月,在陕西省杨凌区西北农林科技大学植物保护学院试验站设置黑光灯,系统诱集金龟甲并鉴定种类,分析金龟甲种群的发生动态。结果表明,陕西杨凌地区黑光灯可诱到金龟甲3科17种,从5月上旬至9月上旬均可发生,以6月下旬至7月中旬为发生盛期;优势种类为铜绿丽金龟、赤绒鳃金龟、华北大黑鳃金龟和暗黑鳃金龟,发生盛期分别为6月下旬至7月下旬、7月下旬至8月上旬、7月上旬和6月下旬至7月下旬。     

Examining the dynamic energy landscape of an antiporter upon inhibitor binding

Previously, we applied single-molecule force spectroscopy to detect and locate interactions within the functional Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter NhaA from Escherichia coli. It was observed that the binding of the inhibitor 2-aminoperimidine established interactions different from those introduced by the binding of the native ligand. To understand the inhibitory mechanism of the inhibitor, we applied single-molecule dynamic force spectroscopy to reconstruct the energy landscape of NhaA. Dynamic force spectroscopy revealed that the energy landscape of the antiporter remained mainly unchanged except for the energy barrier of the functionally important transmembrane α-helix IX. Inhibitor binding set this domain into a newly formed deep and narrow energy minimum that kinetically stabilized α-helix IX and reduced its conformational entropy. The entropy reduction of α-helix IX is thought to inhibit its functionally important structural flexibility, while the deeper energy barrier shifted the population of active antiporters towards inhibited antiporters.     

Novel inhibitor for prolyl tripeptidyl aminopeptidase from Porphyromonas gingivalis and details of substrate-recognition mechanism

A new inhibitor, H-Ala-Ile-pyrrolidin-2-yl boronic acid, was developed as an inhibitor against prolyl tripeptidyl aminopeptidase with a K_i value of 88.1 nM. The structure of the prolyl tripeptidyl aminopeptidase complexed with the inhibitor (enzyme-inhibitor complex) was determined at 2.2 Å resolution. The inhibitor was bound to the active site through a covalent bond between Ser603 and the boron atom of the inhibitor. This structure should closely mimic the structure of the reaction intermediate between the enzyme and substrate. We previously proposed that two glutamate residues, Glu205 and Glu636, are involved in the recognition of substrates. In order to clarify the function of these glutamate residues in substrate recognition, three mutant enzymes, E205A, E205Q, and E636A were generated by site-directed mutagenesis. The E205A mutant was expressed as an inclusion body. The E205Q mutant was expressed in soluble form, but no activity was detected. Here, the structures of the E636A mutant and its complex with the inhibitor were determined. The inhibitor was located at almost the same position as in the wild-type enzyme-inhibitor complex. The amino group of the inhibitor interacted with Glu205 and the main-chain carbonyl group of Gln203. In addition, a water molecule in the place of Glu636 of the wild-type enzyme interacted with the amino group of the inhibitor. This water molecule was located near the position of Glu636 in the wild-type and formed a hydrogen bond with Gln203. The k_cat/K_M values of the E636A mutant toward the two substrates used were smaller than those of the wild-type by two orders of magnitude. The K_i value of our inhibitor for the E636A mutant was 48.8 μM, which was 554-fold higher than that against the wild-type enzyme. Consequently, it was concluded that Glu205 and Glu636 are significant residues for the N-terminal recognition of a substrate.     

Structural analysis of the PP2C phosphatase tPphA from Thermosynechococcus elongatus: a flexible flap subdomain controls access to the catalytic site

The homologue of the phosphoprotein PII phosphatase PphA from Thermosynechococcus elongatus, termed tPphA, was identified and its structure was resolved in two different space groups, C222₁ and P4₁2₁2, at a resolution of 1.28 and 3.05 Å, respectively. tPphA belongs to a large and widely distributed subfamily of Mg²⁺/Mn²⁺-dependent phosphatases of the PPM superfamily characterized by the lack of catalytic and regulatory domains. The core structure of tPphA shows a high degree of similarity to the two PPM structures identified so far. In contrast to human PP2C, but similar to Mycobacterium tuberculosis phosphatase PstP, the catalytic centre exhibits a third metal ion in addition to the dinuclear metal centre universally conserved in all PPM members. The fact that the third metal is only liganded by amino acids, which are universally conserved in all PPM members, implies that the third metal could be general for all members of this family. As a specific feature of tPphA, a flexible subdomain, previously recognized as a flap domain, could be revealed. Comparison of different structural isomers of tPphA as well as site-specific mutagenesis implied that the flap domain is involved in substrate binding and catalytic activity. The structural arrangement of the flap domain was accompanied by a large side-chain movement of an Arg residue (Arg169) at the basis of the flap. Mutation of this residue strongly impaired protein stability as well as catalytic activity, emphasizing the importance of this amino acid for the regional polysterism of the flap subdomain and confirming the assumption that flap domain flexibility is involved in catalysis.     

Structural insights into the recognition of peroxisomal targeting signal 1 by Trypanosoma brucei peroxin 5

Glycosomes are peroxisome-like organelles essential for trypanosomatid parasites. Glycosome biogenesis is mediated by proteins called “peroxins,” which are considered to be promising drug targets in pathogenic Trypanosomatidae. The first step during protein translocation across the glycosomal membrane of peroxisomal targeting signal 1 (PTS1)-harboring proteins is signal recognition by the cytosolic receptor peroxin 5 (PEX5). The C-terminal PTS1 motifs interact with the PTS1 binding domain (P1BD) of PEX5, which is made up of seven tetratricopeptide repeats. Obtaining diffraction-quality crystals of the P1BD of Trypanosoma brucei PEX5 (TbPEX5) required surface entropy reduction mutagenesis. Each of the seven tetratricopeptide repeats appears to have a residue in the α_L conformation in the loop connecting helices A and B. Five crystal structures of the P1BD of TbPEX5 were determined, each in complex with a hepta- or decapeptide corresponding to a natural or nonnatural PTS1 sequence. The PTS1 peptides are bound between the two subdomains of the P1BD. These structures indicate precise recognition of the C-terminal Leu of the PTS1 motif and important interactions between the PTS1 peptide main chain and up to five invariant Asn side chains of PEX5. The TbPEX5 structures reported here reveal a unique hydrophobic pocket in the subdomain interface that might be explored to obtain compounds that prevent relative motions of the subdomains and interfere selectively with PTS1 motif binding or release in trypanosomatids, and would therefore disrupt glycosome biogenesis and prevent parasite growth.     

Mutations in the hydrophobic core of ubiquitin differentially affect its recognition by receptor proteins

Ubiquitin (Ub) is one of the most highly conserved signaling proteins in eukaryotes. In carrying out its myriad functions, Ub conjugated to substrate proteins interacts with dozens of receptor proteins that link the Ub signal to various biological outcomes. Here we report mutations in conserved residues of Ub's hydrophobic core that have surprisingly potent and specific effects on molecular recognition. Mutant Ubs bind tightly to the Ub-associated domain of the receptor proteins Rad23 and hHR23A but fail to bind the Ub-interacting motif present in the receptors Rpn10 and S5a. Moreover, chains assembled on target substrates with mutant Ubs are unable to support substrate degradation by the proteasome in vitro or sustain viability of yeast cells. The mutations have relatively little effect on Ub's overall structure but reduce its rigidity and cause a slight displacement of the C-terminal β-sheet, thereby compromising association with Ub-interacting motif but not with Ub-associated domains. These studies emphasize an unexpected role for Ub's core in molecular recognition and suggest that the diversity of protein-protein interactions in which Ub engages placed enormous constraints on its evolvability.