Gastrophysa polygoni herbivory on Rumex confertus: single leaf VOC induction and dose dependent herbivore attraction/repellence to individual compounds

We report large induction (>65_fold increases) of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from a single leaf of the invasive weed mossy sorrel, Rumex confertus Willd. (Polygonaceae), by herbivory of the dock leaf beetle, Gastrophysa polygoni L. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). The R. confertus VOC blend induced by G. polygoni herbivory included two green leaf volatiles ((Z)-3-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl acetate) and three terpenes (linalool, ß-caryophyllene, (E)-ß-farnesene). Uninjured leaves produced small constitutive amounts of the GLVs and barely detectable amounts of the terpenes. A Y-tube olfactometer bioassay revealed that both sexes of adult G. polygoni were attracted to (Z)-3-hexenal and (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl acetate at a concentration of 300 ng h⁻¹. No significant G. polygoni attraction or repellence was detected for any VOC at other concentrations (60 and 1500 ng h⁻¹). Yet, G. polygoni males and females were significantly repelled by (or avoided) at the highest test concentration (7500 ng h⁻¹) of both GLVs and (E)-ß-farnesene. Mated male and female G. polygoni might be attracted to injured R. confertus leaves, but might avoid R. confertus when VOC concentrations (especially the terpene (E)-ß-farnesene) suggest high overall plant injury from conspecifics, G. viridula, or high infestations of other herbivores that release (E)-ß-farnesene (e.g., aphids). Tests in the future will need to examine G. polygoni responses to VOCs emitted directly from uninjured (constitutive) and injured (induced) R. confertus, and examine whether R. confertus VOC induction concentrations increase with greater tissue removal on a single leaf and/or the number of leaves with feeding injury.     

Photosynthetic activity and proteomic analysis highlights the utilization of atmospheric CO2 by Ulva prolifera (Chlorophyta) for rapid growth

Free‐floating Ulva prolifera is one of the causative species of green tides. When green tides occur, massive mats of floating U. prolifera thalli accumulate rapidly in surface waters with daily growth rates as high as 56%. The upper thalli of the mats experience environmental changes such as the change in carbon source, high salinity, and desiccation. In this study, the photosynthetic performances of PSI and PSII in U. prolifera thalli exposed to different atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels were measured. Changes in photosynthesis within salinity treatments and dehydration under different CO₂ concentrations were also analyzed. The results showed that PSII activity was enhanced as CO₂ increased, suggesting that CO₂ assimilation was enhanced and U. prolifera thalli can utilize CO₂ in the atmosphere directly, even when under moderate stress. In addition, changes in the proteome of U. prolifera in response to salt stress were investigated. Stress‐tolerance proteins appeared to have an important role in the response to salinity stress, whereas the abundance of proteins related to metabolism showed no significant change under low salinity treatments. These findings may be one of the main reasons for the extremely high growth rate of free‐floating U. prolifera when green tides occur.     

Barnase-barstar high affinity interaction phenomenon as the base for the heterogenous bioluminescence pseudorabies virus' immunoassay

The effective new variant of "sandwich" bioluminescent enzyme immunoassay (BEIA) for the sensitive detection of glycoprotein B (gB) of pseudorabies virus (PrV) was presently developed. The high affinity interaction of barnase-barstar protein pair and photoprotein obelin as bioluminescent marker were for the first time successfully applied to BEIA development. Preliminary the two monoclonal antibodies, 11/5 and 34/2, were raised against gB for ELISA PrV detection. Presently we used the same immuno-"sandwich" principle for BEIA. To do this the two different bioconjugates were elaborated. Recombinant barnase was chemically conjugated with monoclonal anti-PrV's gB IgG, and also barstar was fused in frame to obelin. The characteristics of BEIA method have been compared to ELISA PrV detection. We have shown the proposed here gB-BEIA was 40-fold more sensitive as opposed to gB-ELISA test. The construction might have a broad promise in multiple potential immunological applications.     

Nonmuscle Myosin-Dependent Synthesis of Type I Collagen

Type I collagen, synthesized in all tissues as the heterotrimer of two α1(I) polypeptides and one α2(I) polypeptide, is the most abundant protein in the human body. Here we show that intact nonmuscle myosin filaments are required for the synthesis of heterotrimeric type I collagen. Conserved 5′ stem-loop in collagen α1(I) and α2(I) mRNAs binds the RNA-binding protein LARP6. LARP6 interacts with nonmuscle myosin through its C-terminal domain and associates collagen mRNAs with the filaments. Dissociation of nonmuscle myosin filaments results in secretion of collagen α1(I) homotrimer, diminished intracellular colocalization of collagen α1(I) and α2(I) polypeptides (required for folding of the heterotrimer), and their increased intracellular degradation. Inhibition of the motor function of myosin has similar collagen-specific effects, while disruption of actin filaments has a general effect on protein secretion. Nonmuscle myosin copurifies with polysomes, and there is a subset of polysomes involved in myosin-dependent translation of collagen mRNAs. These results indicate that association of collagen mRNAs with nonmuscle myosin filaments is necessary to coordinately synthesize collagen α1(I) and α2(I) polypeptides. We postulate that LARP6/myosin-dependent mechanism regulates the synthesis of heterotrimeric type I collagen by coordinating the translation of collagen mRNAs.     

酸提高绿茶提取物对脂肪酸合酶的抑制活性

脂肪酸合酶和肥胖、癌症等人类重大疾病相关.获取高活性脂肪酸合酶抑制剂有重要应用价值.50％乙醇的绿茶提取物具有抑制脂肪酸合酶和经口服降低大、小鼠体重的功能.该提取物在酸的作用下可明显地提高其抑制脂肪酸合酶的能力.采用1 mol/L硫酸或盐酸在100℃下处理绿茶提取物,发现该提取物对脂肪酸合酶的抑制活性随时间逐步提高.在25℃至120℃温度下,提高处理温度使抑制活性提高的速度加快和程度加大. 用1 mol/L盐酸120℃处理35 min或3 mol/L盐酸100℃处理30 min可使绿茶提取物抑制脂肪酸合酶的半抑制浓度下降20倍左右,达到1 μg/ml以下.用pKa值4.76至1.27的1 mol/L浓度的4种有机酸在100℃作用150 min使绿茶提取物抑制活性分别提高到1.48至5.84倍.提高酸的浓度也使被作用的提取物的抑制活性提高的更多.表现抑制活性提高的速度及程度和氢离子浓度正相关.判断绿茶提取物在酸作用下抑制活性的提高来源于其中所含儿茶素在氢离子作用下发生了化学变化.初步实验表明其变化过程比较复杂,确定其分子机制还需进一步的研究工作.     

Metabolic profiling in validation of plasma biomarkers for green tea polyphenols

Green tea polyphenols (GTP) effectively protect against chronic diseases in various animal models but human studies have been inconclusive. GTP components and metabolites in body fluids have been suggested as potential biomarkers, but validation of these biomarkers has rarely been done in human populations. A randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled phase IIa chemoprevention study with GTP was conducted in 120 human subjects for 3 months. To validate GTP biomarker profiles, plasma samples were collected at baseline, 1-month, and 3-month and were analyzed by HPLC-Coularray electrochemical detection (ECD) for specific GTP components as well as for non-targeted metabolites. The levels of 2 GTP components, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), were homogenous at baseline (p > 0.45) but were significantly elevated (p < 0.01) by GTP treatment. Metabolic profiling identified 106 metabolites, and 56 of them were chosen to construct discriminant functions (DFs) based on the data at 3 months. The DFs clearly separated the placebo, 500 mg GTP, and 1000 mg GTP groups with an accuracy rate of 97.3%. When the DFs were applied to the combined baseline and 1-month data, the accuracy rate was 62.9% in classifying subjects into the 3 intervention groups. DFs derived from 1-month data showed similar results. Overall, this study validated plasma EGCG and ECG as reliable biomarkers for GTP consumption, and found metabolic profiles effective in discriminating different GTP dosages.     

The bacterial paromomycin resistance gene, aphH, as a dominant selectable marker in Volvox carteri

The aminoglycoside antibiotic paromomycin that is highly toxic to the green alga Volvox carteri is efficiently inactivated by aminoglycoside 3′-phosphotransferase from Streptomyces rimosus. Therefore, we made constructs in which the bacterial aphH gene encoding this enzyme was combined with Volvox cis-regulatory elements in an attempt to develop a new dominant selectable marker – paromomycin resistance (Pm^R) – for use in Volvox nuclear transformation. The construct that provided the most efficient transformation was one in which aphH was placed between a chimeric promoter that was generated by fusing the Volvox hsp70 and rbcS3 promoters and the 3′ UTR of the Volvox rbcS3 gene. When this plasmid was used in combination with a high-impact biolistic device, the frequency of stable Pm^R transformants ranged about 15 per 10⁶ target cells. Due to rapid and sharp selection, Pm^R transformants were readily isolated after six days, which is half the time required for previously used markers. Co-transformation of an unselected marker ranged about 30%. The chimeric aphH gene was stably integrated into the Volvox genome, frequently as tandem multiple copies, and was expressed at a level that made selection of Pm^R transformants simple and unambiguous. This makes the engineered bacterial aphH gene an efficient dominant selection marker for the transformation and co-transformation of a broad range of V. carteri strains without the recurring need for using auxotrophic recipient strains.     

茶园间作柑桔杨梅或吊瓜对叶蝉及蜘蛛类群数量和空间格局的影响

为评价茶园间作几种常见经济作物对重要害虫假眼小绿叶蝉及其主要天敌蜘蛛类群数量和空间格局的影响,遂选乌牛早品种纯茶园、乌牛早分别与柑桔、杨梅和吊瓜的间作茶园、以及安吉白茶与吊瓜间作茶园,2007年9月上旬—2008年12月下旬,每旬1次调查茶丛上、中、下层叶蝉和各种蜘蛛的数量。结果表明:(1)与纯茶园相比,间作茶园叶蝉种群数量和蜘蛛类群个体数量显著地增加,间作茶园蜘蛛种数显著地增加;(2)间作茶园茶丛上、中、下层叶蝉、蜘蛛个体数量分布明显区别于纯茶园茶丛上、中、下层叶蝉、蜘蛛个体数量分布;(3)茶丛上层的嫩梢是制作高档茶的原料,而纯茶园茶丛上层叶蝉虫口百分率为54.16%,间作茶园茶丛上层叶蝉虫口百分率皆减小,并且叶蝉高峰期间蜘蛛的跟随效应增强;(4)间作增加了经济收入并减少了防治次数。认为:(1)间作可在一定程度上调控叶蝉种群、蜘蛛类群的数量和空间格局;(2)间作可减轻叶蝉为害造成的产值损失,增强了茶园群落对于叶蝉的自然控制潜能。     

pKILLIN: a versatile positive-selection cloning vector based on the toxicity of Killin in Escherichia coli

The invention of DNA cloning over 40 years ago marked the advent of molecular biology. The technique has now become a routine practice in any modern biomedical laboratory. Although positive-selection of recombinants in DNA cloning seems to be superior to blue/white selection based on the disruption of the lacZ gene, it is rarely practiced due to its high background, lack of multiple cloning sites, and inability to express the genes of interest or purify the protein products. Here we report the creation of a new positive-selection cloning vector dubbed pKILLIN, which overcomes all of the above pitfalls. The essence behind its high cloning efficiency is the extreme toxicity and small size of the toxic domain of killin, a recently discovered p53 target gene. Insertion inactivation of killin within the multiple cloning site via either blunt- or sticky-end ligation not only serves as a highly efficient cloning trap, but also may allow any cloned genes to be expressed as His-tagged fusion proteins for subsequent purification. Thus, pKILLIN is a versatile positive-selection vector ideal for cloning PCR products, making DNA libraries, as well as routine cloning and bacterial expression of genes.     

Green synthesis and physiochemical characterization of nickel oxide nanoparticles: Interaction studies with Calf thymus DNA

One of the most promising applications of nanomaterials is that of nanobiosensors, using biomolecules such as nucleic acids as receptors. This study aimed to synthesize nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs) by an environmentally friendly green synthesis, using the extract of the herb Coriandrum sativum (coriander). The synthesized NPs were characterized using UV–Visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photon spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential and transmission electron microscopy. All results confirmed the synthesis of pure, spherical, positively charged NiO NPs of around 95 nm in diameter with prominent hydroxyl groups attached to the surface. Furthermore, interaction studies of synthesized NiO NPs with calf thymus DNA (CT DNA) were performed using UV–Visible spectroscopy, UV–thermal melting, circular dichroism, and fluorescence spectroscopy. CT DNA served as a substitute for nucleic acid biosensors. All experimental studies indicated that the NiO NPs bound electrostatically with CT DNA. These studies may facilitate exploring the potential of NiO NP–nucleic acid conjugated materials to be used as nanobiosensors for various applications, especially in pharmacological, epidemiological, and environmental diagnostic applications, and in detection.