神农架山体对濒危植物连香树遗传结构影响的研究

山体屏障能阻断植物连续的生境,干扰居群的基因交流,从而影响植物居群的遗传结构.本研究应用AFLP标记探讨神农架地区南北坡4条河岸带分布的连香树4个居群的遗传多样性水平,以及山体隔离对居群遗传结构和基因流的影响.结果显示连香树居群水平的Nei's基因多样性(h)和Shannon信息指数(/)分别为0.116和0.173,遗传多样性水平相对较高.在遗传结构方面,邻接树(NJ)和主坐标分析的结果清晰地将南北坡分开,从居群和个体上都分成两组.并且STRUCTURE的结果显示基因流在同坡向的居群间比不同坡向的居群间要大.这些表明神农架山体可能对连香树居群的基因交流产生了一定的限制作用.神农架南北坡居群间的分化程度较低(FST为0.075),推测与连香树自身有较强的种子散布和花粉传播能力有关.本研究结果表明,神农架山体及相关的生态因子可能对连香树居群的基因交流产生了限制作用.     

海金沙草多糖的提取及抗氧化活性(英文)

用响应面优化技术研究了提取时间、固液比、提取温度等对海金沙草粗多糖提取的定量影响,获得了提取工艺的最优工艺参数:提取时间为123.3 min,固液比(s/w)为1∶20.9,提取温度为49.9℃,二阶多项式曲线回归模型预测多糖产量为12.466%,多糖提取验证试验结果(提取率)为12.85±0.18%(n=3),比模型预测稍高。多糖经纯化并进行体外抗氧化活性研究(以维生素C为对照品),结果发现,多糖产物对超氧阴离子(O2–.)和羟基氧自由基(.OH)具有较好的清除作用。     

Plasmodium yoelii: axenic development of the parasite mosquito stages

Study of the parasite mosquito stages of Plasmodium and its use in the production of sporozoite vaccines against malaria has been hampered by the technical difficulties of in vitro development. Here, we show the complete axenic development of the parasite mosquito stages of Plasmodium yoelii. While we demonstrate that matrigel is not required for parasite development, soluble factors produced and secreted by Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells appear to be crucial for the ookinete to oocyst transition. Parasites cultured axenically are both morphologically and biologically similar to mosquito-derived ookinetes, oocysts, and sporozoites. Axenically derived sporozoites were capable of producing an infection in mice as determined by RT-PCR; however, the parasitemia was significantly much less than that produced by mosquito-derived sporozoites. Our cell free system for development of the mosquito stages of P. yoelii provides a simplified approach to generate sporozoites that may be for biological assays and genetic manipulations.     

Bayesian estimation of community prevalences of Schistosoma japonicum infection in China

A Bayesian approach to overcome the imperfections of an immunological test (an antibody-based ELISA) and a parasitological test (Kato-Katz) in the detection of Schistosoma japonicum infection, was used to estimate community prevalences of S. japonicum infection in China. At the same time, the similarity between the prevalence estimates based on data from ELISA alone and those using data from both ELISA and Kato-Katz tests was explored. The database from the third nationwide sampling survey of schistosomiasis in China, 2004, was used for analysis, in which a total of 239 endemic villages were sampled from seven endemic provinces through a stratified cluster sampling technique and 250,987 residents aged from 6 to 65 years, were examined by ELISA followed by a Kato-Katz test applied to the seropositives. Bayesian hierarchical models incorporating random effects to reflect the nested data structure and uncertainty about test properties were employed to analyse the data. Our analysis suggested that using data from ELISA alone or both ELISA and Kato-Katz tests resulted in similar prevalence estimates, probably owing to the lack of sensitivity of Kato-Katz and the fact that Kato-Katz was only applied to the seropositives. We conclude that it is feasible to employ only ELISA, instead of combined ELISA and Kato-Katz tests, to estimate prevalence of S. japonicum infection in large-scale epidemiological settings. This study confirmed heterogeneity in the prevalence of S. japonicum infection in space by the fact that the estimated prevalences of S. japonicum infection in the sampled villages ranged from 0.02% to about 56% (posterior median). It is indicated that the disease remains a threat in some areas along the Yangtze River, although great achievements have been made in the control programme of schistosomiasis in China.     

海金沙孢子壁结构和发育的研究

利用光镜、扫描电镜和透射电镜对海金沙科(Lygodiaceae)海金沙[Lygodium japonicum (Thunb.) Sw.]孢壁的形成和发育进行了研究.结果表明:海金沙孢子壁由内壁、外壁和周壁3部分构成.外壁由2层构成,即薄的内层和厚的外层,其中外层是在四分体分离前通过孢粉素的逐层沉积并浓缩凝聚而形成的均质层,其表面具不明显的疣状突起.周壁由绒毡层残余物在外壁表面逐层沉积形成,可分为周壁内层、周壁中层和周壁外层3部分;周壁中层具辐射状排列的长条形成分,周壁外层形成瘤状纹饰的轮廓.本研究为孢粉学和蕨类植物系统演化分析提供基础资料.     

Schistosoma haematobium total antigen induces increased proliferation, migration and invasion, and decreases apoptosis of normal epithelial cells

Schistosome worms are blood-dwelling flukes that cause chronic infection in more than 200 million people and are thought to be responsible for 500,000 deaths annually. During infection with Schistosoma haematobium, eggs are deposited in the mucosa and submucosa of the bladder and lower ureters. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the bladder is a long-term sequela of chronic infection. The mechanisms underlying the association between S. haematobium and SCC of the bladder are largely unknown, with all reports to date exclusively demonstrating epidemiological evidence linking S. haematobium infection with SCC of the bladder. We hypothesised that the parasite antigens might induce alterations in epithelial cells towards cancer. For this we used Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells and treated the cells in culture with S. haematobium total antigen (Sh). Our results showed increased proliferation, increased S-phase and decreased apoptosis, as well as down-regulation of tumour suppressor p27 and up-regulation of anti-apoptotic molecule Bcl-2 in Sh-treated cells compared with controls. We also found increased migration and invasion. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating alterations of normal epithelial cells as a direct effect of S. haematobium antigens.     

The sex lives of parasites: Investigating the mating system and mechanisms of sexual selection of the human pathogen Schistosoma mansoni

The mating systems of internal parasites are inherently difficult to investigate although they have important implications for the evolutionary biology of the species, disease epidemiology, and are important considerations for control measures. Using parentage analyses, three topics concerning the mating biology of Schistosoma mansoni were investigated: the number of mates per adult male and female, variance in reproductive success among individuals, and the potential role for sexual selection on male body size and also mate choice for genetically dissimilar individuals. Results indicated that schistosomes were mostly monogamous, and evidence of only one mate change occurred over a period of 5-6 weeks. One male was polygynous and contained two females in its gynecophoral canal although offspring were only detected for one of the females. Even though they were primarily monogamous and the sex ratio near even, reproductive success was highly variable, indicating a potential role for sexual selection. Male body size was positively related to reproductive success, consistent with sexual selection via male-male competition and female choice for large males. However, relatedness of pairs was not associated with their reproductive success. Finally, genetically identical individuals differed significantly in their reproductive output and identical males in their body size, indicating important partner and environmental effects on these traits.     

9个水稻栽培种和1个水稻组培种对稻螟赤眼蜂和赤眼卵蜂的互利作用（英文）

采用培养皿法对营养生长期和开花期的9个水稻栽培种（Pusa Sugandh-2, Pusa Basmati-1, Pusa-2511, Pusa Basmati-370, Pusa-1077, Karnal Local, PRR-78, Jaya, Pusa-1238）和1个组培种（Culture No.34）的正己烷提取物进行了生测,以调查它们对稻螟赤眼蜂Trichogramma japonicum Ashmead和赤眼卵蜂Trichogramma chilonis (Ishii)平均寄生活性指数（PAI）和平均寄生百分率的影响。将不同水稻品种的正己烷提取物进行气相 液相色谱,来测定饱和碳氢化合物。其中,营养生长期的Pusa Sugandh-2叶片提取物激发两种寄生蜂产生最大的反应,平均寄生率最大。而开花期的Pusa Basmati-1使两种寄生蜂的平均寄生率最高。对营养生长阶段的叶片提取物进行的气相 液相色谱分析表明：Pusa Sugandh-2 含有25个碳原子(C25) 和29个碳原子 (C29)的2种化合物。对开花期的叶片提取物进行的气相 液相色谱分析也表明：Basmati-1 含有25个碳原子(C25)、26个碳原子(C26)和29个碳原子 (C29)的3种化合物,可激发寄生蜂产生最大的反应     

Schistosoma mansoni: Developmental arrest of miracidia treated with histone deacetylase inhibitors

In the present study, we examined the effect of the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors trichostatin A (TSA), valproic acid (VA) and sodium-butyrate on the metamorphosis of larvae of the human blood-fluke Schistosoma mansoni from the free-swimming miracidia into the intramolluskal sporocyst. We show that HDAC inhibitors block transformation in concentration dependant manner. TSA reversibly blocks this developmental process: only 13 ± 11% of TSA treated miracidia transform into sporocysts in-vitro, compared to 92 ± 3% in the mock-treated control. Other enzyme inhibitors such as cycloheximide or hydroxyurea had no effect on metamorphosis. For treatment of up to 4 h, the effect of TSA was completely reversible. Our data indicates that HDAC activity is necessary for the transformation of S. mansoni miracidia during infection of the snail host.     

Transport of glutathione transferase-fold structured proteins into living cells

Glutathione transferases are a family of enzymes that are traditionally known to contribute to the phase II class of detoxification reactions. However, a novel property of the Schistosoma japonicum glutathione transferase (Sj.GST26) involves its translocation from the external medium into a variety of different cell types. Here we explore the efficiency and mechanism of cell entry for this class of protein. Using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy, we have examined the internalisation of Sj.GST26 into live cells under a variety of conditions designed to shed light on the mode of cellular uptake. Our results show that Sj.GST26 can effectively enter cells through an energy-dependent event involving endocytosis. More specifically, Sj.GST26 was found to colocalise with transferrin within the cell indicating that the endocytosis process involves clathrin-coated pits. A comprehensive study into the cellular internalisation of proteins from other classes within the GST structural superfamily has also been conducted. These experiments suggest that the ‘GST-fold’ structural motif influences cellular uptake, which presents a novel glimpse into an unknown aspect of GST function.