植物转录抑制子的结构特征及其作用机理

转录因子依转录调控能力可分为激活子和抑制子。植物转录抑制蛋白的分类依据很多,从作用方式上可分为主动抑制子和被动抑制子两大类：根据与DNA结合的方式则可分为锌指类、MYB类、AP2／EREBP类、bHLH类和bZlP类等。植物主动抑制子通过其含有的抑制域对转录直接起抑制作用。抑制域又可分很多类,但多数为含有类似EAR基序的保守性基序,其上具有几个保守性亮氨酸残基。植物转录抑制子主要通过对激活子或基本转录复合物产生作用及改变染色体结构3种方式来抑制目标基因的转录。有关植物转录抑制子的研究虽很欠缺,但以拟南芥SUPERMAN等抑制子的EAR基序为代表的研究表明,抑制域是阐明植物转录抑制子功能和下游基因表达调控机理的核心对象,而融合抑制子沉默技术（CRES-T）也为人为调控基因沉默带来了新的技术手段。     

云南悬钩子蔷薇NBS-LRR类抗病基因同源克隆与分析

为研究云南野生蔷薇属中的NBS类抗病基因,根据已知抗病基因NBSLRR序列中的保守区域设计简并引物,利用RTPCR技术从云南悬钩子蔷薇中进行体外扩增,获得了对应区域的cDNA片段,回收、克隆这些特异片段,测序分析,共得到4个含有NBSLRR保守结构域的抗病基因同源序列（RGAs）,分别命名为AC9、AC39、AC50和AC68。它们与已报道的11个NBS类抗病基因相应区段的氨基酸序列相似性为5.4%~79.2%,其中这4个RGAs片段与Mi、RPS2、Pib和RPM1基因聚为一类。表明这4条RGAs序列可进一步用作悬钩子蔷薇抗病候选基因的分子筛选及遗传图谱的构建。     

Diagnostic parameters for selecting against novel spruce (Picea abies) decline: IV. Response of photosynthesis and transpiration to SO2+NO2 exposures

The dose- and time-response effects of 3 days of 6 h day-time sequential exposures to NO₂, SO₂ and SO₂+NO₂ of 0.45–1.81 μl l⁻¹ (ppm) SO₂ and 1.50–7.65 μl l⁻¹ NO₂ on photosynthesis, transpiration and dark respiration were examined for nine Carpatho-Ukrainian half-sib families and a population from the GFR ('Westerhof') of Norway spruce [ Piecea abies (L.) Karst.], all in their 5th growing season.
SO₂+NO₂ inhibited photosynthesis and transpiration and stimulated dark respiration more than SO₂ alone. SO₂ and SO₂+NO₂ at the lowest concentrations inhibited night transpiration, but increased it at the highest concentration, the strongest effects being obtained with combined exposures. Photosynthesis of the different half-sib families was affected significantly differently by SO₂+NO₂ exposures. NO₂ alone had no effects.
Sensitivity to transpiration decline correlated negatively with branch density. Height of trees correlated postitively with decline sensitivity in the seed orchard. The distribution of photosynthesis and transpiration sensitivities over all tested half-sib families correlated negatively with the distribution of decline sensitivity of their parents in a rural Danish seed orchard. The relative photosynthesis and transpiration sensitivities may thus serve as diagnostic parameters for selecting against novel spruce decline.     

狼疮La蛋白的分子生物学研究进展

狼疮La蛋白,又叫La核糖核蛋白、La自身抗原或干燥综合征B型抗原,是原发性干燥综合征的特异性自身抗原之一。La蛋白拥有多种结构和运输元件,可定位于不同的亚细胞部位与RNA相互作用。通常I丑蛋白主要存在于细胞核内,作为RNA聚合酶Ⅲ的转录因子,与RNA聚合酶Ⅲ转录新生产物结合,调节其转录终止,在转录后发挥分子伴侣作用,稳定RNA前体并促进其正确折叠,帮助其进行加工处理。La蛋白还可以与一类拥有内部核糖体进入位点的细胞内mRNA和病毒RNA结合,调节这类RNA的表达翻译;也可在细胞凋亡时被颗粒酶B酶解,产生特异性酶解片段,诱导特异性抗La自身抗体和干燥综合征的生成。我们就I丑蛋白的分子生物学方面的近期研究进展进行综述。     

Subharmonics increase the auditory impact of female koala rejection calls

Although non‐linear phenomena are common in human and non‐human animal vocalisations, their functional relevance remains poorly understood. One theory posits that non‐linear phenomena generate unpredictability in vocalisations, which increases the auditory impact of vocal signals, and makes animals less likely to habituate to call repetition. Female koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) produce vocal signals when they reject male copulation attempts that contain relatively high levels of non‐linear phenomena, and thus may function as attention grabbing vocal signals during the breeding season. To test this hypothesis, we used playback experiments: firstly, to determine whether female rejection calls induce heightened behavioural responses in free‐ranging male koalas during the breeding season, and secondly, to examine how the relative amount of non‐linear phenomena in rejection calls influences male behavioural response. The results show that male koalas look for longer towards speakers broadcasting playback sequences of male bellows followed by a series of female rejection calls than those broadcasting only male bellows. In addition, female rejection call sequences with more subharmonics, higher harmonics‐to‐noise ratios, and less biphonation produced the greatest male looking responses. Our findings support the hypothesis that female koala rejection calls function to grab male attention during the breeding season, and indicate that subharmonics are the main acoustic feature that increases the auditory impact of these vocal signals.     

人类新基因WDR24的研究初报

WD40家族是一类结构保守、功能复杂的蛋白.目前很多研究显示该家族成员通过参与MAPK信号途径调控细胞内信号转导而影响细胞的基本生命活动.为了鉴定参与细胞生命活动的新基因,运用同源基因克隆法,通过PCR技术扩增获得一个新的人类基因WDR24, 其cDNA全长3 302 bp,2 373 bp长的开放阅读框编码由790个氨基酸残基组成的蛋白质.生物信息学分析表明,WDR24蛋白在进化上高度保守,与其他脊椎动物中的同源蛋白组成了一个功能未知的亚家族.蛋白序列分析显示其中有6个WD40重复序列和1个ERK的停泊位点D-domain.RT-PCR分析表明,该基因在所有被检测的人类胚胎组织中表达.     

Biotransformation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) by Phanerochaete chrysosporium: oxidation of alkyl side-chain

The white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium, which generally mineralizes substituted aromatics to CO₂, transformed linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) surfactants mainly at their alkyl side chain. Degradation of LAS was evidenced by a zone of clearing on LAS-containing agar plates and colorimetric analysis of liquid cultures. Disappearance of LAS was virtually complete within 10 days in low nitrogen (2.4 mM N), high nitrogen (24 mM N) and malt extract (ME) liquid media. After 5 days of incubation in ME medium, transformation of LAS was complete at concentrations4 mg l^-1, but decreased at higher concentrations. The LAS degradation was not dependent on lignin peroxidases (LiPs) and manganese-dependent peroxidases (MnPs). Mineralization of¹⁴C-ring-LAS to ¹⁴CO₂ by P. chrysosporium was <1% regardless of the culture conditions used. Thin layer chromatography and mass spectral analyses indicated that P. chrysosporium transformed LAS to sulfophenyl carboxylates (SPCs) through oxidative shortening of the alkyl side-chains. While LAS disappearance in the cultures was not dependent on LiPs and MnPs, transformation of the parent LAS moieties to SPCs was more extensive in low N medium that favors expression of these enzymes. The SPCs produced in LN cultures were shorter in chain-length than those produced in ME cultures. Also there was a notable shift in the relative abundance of odd and even chain length metabolites compared to the starting LAS particularly in the low N cultures suggesting the possible involvement of processes other than or in addition to-oxidation in the chain-shortening process.     

Computational analysis of riboswitch-based regulation

Advances in computational analysis of riboswitches in the last decade have contributed greatly to our understanding of riboswitch regulatory roles and mechanisms. Riboswitches were originally discovered as part of the sequence analysis of the 5′-untranslated region of mRNAs in the hope of finding novel gene regulatory sites, and the existence of structural RNAs appeared to be a spurious phenomenon. As more riboswitches were discovered, they illustrated the diversity and adaptability of these RNA regulatory sequences. The fact that a chemically monotonous molecule like RNA can discern a wide range of substrates and exert a variety of regulatory mechanisms was subsequently demonstrated in diverse genomes and has hastened the development of sophisticated algorithms for their analysis and prediction. In this review, we focus on some of the computational tools for riboswitch detection and secondary structure prediction. The study of this simple yet efficient form of gene regulation promises to provide a more complete picture of a world that RNA once dominated and allows rational design of artificial riboswitches. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Riboswitches.     

南丰蜜桔可溶性固形物近红外检测的多元线性回归变量筛选

文章采用反向区间偏最小二乘法结合连续投影算法,筛选南丰蜜桔近红外检测的多元线性回归变量。对南丰蜜桔近红外光谱进行多元散射校正后,利用反向间隔偏最小二乘法,从500～1750 nm中初选出7个光谱区间,用于多元线性回归变量筛选。利用通过遗传算法和连续投影算法筛选出的变量建立了多元线性回归模型。经比较发现,利用反向区间偏最小二乘法结合连续投影算法筛选出的变量建立的多元线性回归模型,预测结果最优,模型预测相关系数为0.937,模型预测均方根误差为0.613 oBrix。结果表明,反向区间偏最小二乘法结合连续投影算法,可以有效地筛选近红外光谱的多元线性回归变量,提高南丰蜜桔可溶性固形物模型的预测精度。