定点突变提高解淀粉芽孢杆菌JP-21脲酶应用特性

氨基甲酸乙酯(Ethylcarbamate,EC)是一种存在于发酵食品和酒精饮料中的可致癌物,过量摄入可能会影响人体健康。酶法降解是减少发酵食品中氨基甲酸乙酯及其前体尿素含量的有效方法之一。脲酶具有氨基甲酸乙酯水解酶和尿素酶两种活性,因此在减少发酵食品中氨基甲酸乙酯及其前体尿素方面具有良好的应用前景。目前脲酶降解发酵酒精饮料中氨基甲酸乙酯面临的主要问题是脲酶对氨基甲酸乙酯的催化活性及亲和力较低,因而其降解效果不理想。文中成功在大肠杆菌Escherichia coli中表达了来源于解淀粉芽孢杆菌Bacillus amyloliquefaciens JP-21的脲酶,表达水平为尿素酶3 291.74 U/L,氨基甲酸乙酯水解酶227.26 U/L。通过模拟脲酶中催化亚基UreC与氨基甲酸乙酯对接的结构,确定了M326和M374这两个影响酶与底物结合的位点。采用点饱和突变获得了3株氨基甲酸乙酯水解酶活性提高的突变体M374A、M374T和M326V,以EC为底物时的Km分别为101.84mmol/L、129.49 mmol/L和121.67 mmol/L,比野生型分别降低了37.47%–50.82%。突变体可以降解黄酒中97%的尿素,M374T对黄酒中EC的降解效果最好,可将黄酒中EC从513.90μg/L降至393.57μg/L,降解率是野生脲酶的1.97倍。研究结果对今后改造脲酶催化特性和改善其应用特性具有重要意义,可为开发减控发酵食品中的微生物代谢氨(胺)类危害物策略提供参考。     

B para-Bombay phenotype in China caused by homozygous mutation for site 328 G > A of FUT1 gene: a case report

The aim of this paper is to accurately identify a case of B para-Bombay and to analyze the genetic mutation. ABO and Lewis blood groups were identified by standard serological methods, and trace antigens on RBCs were detected by adsorption-elution test, while blood group substances in the saliva were detected by agglutination inhibition test. The ABO gene exons 6-7, FUT1 gene exon 4 and FUT2 gene exon 2 were directly sequenced. Serological results showed that there were B antigens on RBCs without H antigens, anti-A and anti-HI antibodies in serum, and B and H blood group substances in the saliva. The Lewis phenotype was Le (a-b+). According to gene sequencing analysis, ABO, FUT1 and FUT2 genotypes were B101/O02, h^328G/Ah3^28G/A and Se^357C/TSe^357C/T, respectively. This rare phenotype can be mislabeled as "O" if any of the detailed investigations are not performed. Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of blood transfusion, genetic and serological tests are necessary for the correct identification of difficult blood groups.     

Analysis of mitochondrial protein‐coding genes of Antheraea assamensis: Muga silkworm of Assam

To understand the synonymous codon usage pattern in mitochondrial genome of Antheraea assamensis, we analyzed the 13 mitochondrial protein‐coding genes of this species using a bioinformatic approach as no work was reported yet. The nucleotide composition analysis suggested that the percentages of A, T, G,and C were 33.73, 46.39, 9.7 and 10.17, respectively and the overall GC content was 19.86, that is, lower than 50% and the genes were AT rich. The mean effective number of codons of mitochondrial protein‐coding genes was 36.30 and it indicated low codon usage bias (CUB). Relative synonymous codon usage analysis suggested overrepresented and underrepresented codons in each gene and the pattern of codon usage was different among genes. Neutrality plot analysis revealed a narrow range of distribution for GC content at the third codon position and some points were diagonally distributed, suggesting both mutation pressure and natural selection influenced the CUB.     

Origins and Long-Term Patterns of Copy-Number Variation in Rhesus Macaques

Mutations play a key role in the development of disease in an individual and the evolution of traits within species. Recent work in humans and other primates has clarified the origins and patterns of single-nucleotide variants, showing that most arise in the father’s germline during spermatogenesis. It remains unknown whether larger mutations, such as deletions and duplications of hundreds or thousands of nucleotides, follow similar patterns. Such mutations lead to copy-number variation (CNV) within and between species, and can have profound effects by deleting or duplicating genes. Here, we analyze patterns of CNV mutations in 32 rhesus macaque individuals from 14 parent–offspring trios. We find the rate of CNV mutations per generation is low (less than one per genome) and we observe no correlation between parental age and the number of CNVs that are passed on to offspring. We also examine segregating CNVs within the rhesus macaque sample and compare them to a similar data set from humans, finding that both species have far more segregating deletions than duplications. We contrast this with long-term patterns of gene copy-number evolution between 17 mammals, where the proportion of deletions that become fixed along the macaque lineage is much smaller than the proportion of segregating deletions. These results suggest purifying selection acting on deletions, such that the majority of them are removed from the population over time. Rhesus macaques are an important biomedical model organism, so these results will aid in our understanding of this species and the disease models it supports.     

体内连续进化技术的研究进展

实验室进化是遗传育种、提高微生物性能的重要方式。近几十年来,实验室进化的方法快速发展,应用也越来越广泛,但是常见的菌株进化策略以及针对特定蛋白的进化存在突变过程不连续,需要多轮操作、工作量大等缺点。微生物突变和筛选技术的进步促进了体内连续进化的发展,大大提高了实验室进化的效率。体内连续进化技术实现了体内突变,完美地把突变与筛选相结合,以最少的人工干预进化出特定表型。文中总结了近年来在微生物底盘中开发的基因组范围的体内连续进化技术,以及独立于基因组的针对特定蛋白的体内连续进化技术,主要对这些技术实现体内连续突变的原理及其相关应用进行了介绍。在此基础上,分析了现有技术的优缺点,并对体内连续进化技术的发展进行了展望。     

基于多源数据的“安全公正空间”在大通湖流域环境管理中的应用

如何在确保生态系统安全的同时有效地开发和利用资源、保障人类福祉是当前面临的挑战。近年来兴起的“安全公正空间”(Safe and Just Operating Space, SJOS)理论框架为人类可持续发展提供了有效的评估方法, 即充分利用自然资源来提高人类社会福祉的同时确保环境生态安全。研究以长江中下游地区大通湖流域为例, 根据流域内的社会经济数据、环境监测数据和湖泊沉积记录, 从社会基础和环境系统两个方面构建该流域的SJOS框架, 并利用环境库兹涅兹曲线来揭示总体环境变化特征。结果表明: 流域内淡水利用、空气质量、水质均突破环境上限, 处于危险的状态, 此外流域内无贫困和产业创新两个社会基础维度的完成度相对较低。环境库兹涅兹曲线揭示了大通湖流域内社会-生态系统大致分为初始阶段(1950s—1980s)、严重退化阶段(1980s—2000s)和逐步改善(2000s后)三个阶段。研究为维持区域可持续发展提供了重要的参考信息, 同时也为区域SJOS框架的构建提供了一种有效的方法。     

胸腔积液中肺腺癌细胞EGFR突变状态与DNA含量的相关性

摘要 目的：探究胸腔积液中肺腺癌细胞表皮生长因子受体（epidermalgrowthfactorreceptor,EGFR）突变状态与DNA含量的相关性,以期探究EGFR突变状态是否同肿瘤的恶性程度存在一定关联。方法：选择2015年1月至2020年1月于我院接受EGFR基因检测以及基因定量分析的591例肺腺癌患者为研究对象,按照其是否出现EGFR基因突变将其分为突变组（335例）与非突变组（256例）,两组患者的胸腔积液均使用激光图像细胞仪开展DNA含量以及非整倍体峰检测,并开展组间差异性比较。结果：（1）将591例患者按照年龄、性别及是否吸烟等临床特征进行分组对比显示,性别（P=0.034）与吸烟（P=0.007）同肺腺癌患者胸腔积液细胞出现EGFR突变具有一定关联,而年龄因素与是否出现突变无明显相关性（P>0.05）;（2）突变组患者的最大DNA指数（DI）、大于5C细胞的平均DI以及大于9C细胞的平均DI均明显高于非突变组,组间差异明显（P<0.05）;（3）开展DNA非整倍体细胞峰比较显示突变组在单峰、双峰占比中明显高于非突变组,而无峰占比明显低于非突变组（P<0.05）,多峰占比方面两组差异不大（P>0.05）。结论：经研究显示,同未出现EGFR突变的肺腺癌患者相比较,发生EGFR突变的肺腺癌患者明显DI值更高,非整倍体细胞以及非整倍体峰值也呈现异常升高态,这提示EGFR发生突变的肺腺癌患者恶变洗吧的侵袭性更强。