Systematic Detection of Internal Symmetry in Proteins Using CE-Symm

Symmetry is an important feature of protein tertiary and quaternary structures that has been associated with protein folding, function, evolution, and stability. Its emergence and ensuing prevalence has been attributed to gene duplications, fusion events, and subsequent evolutionary drift in sequence. This process maintains structural similarity and is further supported by this study. To further investigate the question of how internal symmetry evolved, how symmetry and function are related, and the overall frequency of internal symmetry, we developed an algorithm, CE-Symm, to detect pseudo-symmetry within the tertiary structure of protein chains. Using a large manually curated benchmark of 1007 protein domains, we show that CE-Symm performs significantly better than previous approaches. We use CE-Symm to build a census of symmetry among domain superfamilies in SCOP and note that 18% of all superfamilies are pseudo-symmetric. Our results indicate that more domains are pseudo-symmetric than previously estimated. We establish a number of recurring types of symmetry–function relationships and describe several characteristic cases in detail. With the use of the Enzyme Commission classification, symmetry was found to be enriched in some enzyme classes but depleted in others. CE-Symm thus provides a methodology for a more complete and detailed study of the role of symmetry in tertiary protein structure [availability: CE-Symm can be run from the Web at http://source.rcsb.org/jfatcatserver/symmetry.jsp. Source code and software binaries are also available under the GNU Lesser General Public License (version 2.1) at https://github.com/rcsb/symmetry. An interactive census of domains identified as symmetric by CE-Symm is available from http://source.rcsb.org/jfatcatserver/scopResults.jsp].     

四川攀西地区南亚热带观赏花卉引试种初报

本文报道四川攀西地区引进的53科143个观赏花卉品种的引种试种情况。结果表明,所引进的品种在攀西地区均表现为适应性较强,可望成为今后该地区发展观赏花卉的主导品种。     

Programmed Cell Death in Relation to Petal Senescence in Ornamental Plants

Cell death is a common event in all types of plant organisms. Understanding the phenomenon of programmed cell death (PCD) is an important area of research for plant scientists because of its role in senescence and the post-harvest quality of ornamentals, fruits, and vegetables. In the present paper, PCD in relation to petal senescence in ornamental plants is reviewed. Morphological, anatomical, physiological,and biochemical changes that are related to PCD in petals, such as water content, sink-source relationships,hormones, genes, and signal transduction pathways, are discussed. Several approaches to improving the quality of post-harvest ornamentals are reviewed and some prospects for future research are given.     

室内观赏植物耐摆性及更换周期调查分析——以湖南长沙地区为例

依据室内观赏植物耐摆性的评价体系,调查分析湖南长沙地区近百种室内观赏植物的耐摆性,初步确定其中55种观赏植物的更换周期。     

竹类植物的观赏特性及造景艺术手法

分析了竹类植物的观赏特性,讨论其在园林中的造景方式及与园林各要素间的造景艺术手法,并探讨竹类植物的造景原则。     

广东深圳野生观赏植物资源调查

广东省深圳市关内的主要野生观赏植物共109科222属278种,其中蕨类植物18科23属29种,裸子植物5科5属6种,被子植物86科194属243种。文章分析了深圳市观赏植物资源的基本特性和用途,并就其开发利用和保护进行探讨。     

伊犁地区野生毛牛蒡和牛蒡的种群分布、生态和群落特性的研究

在充分踏察的基础上,选择具有代表性的样地,接线路调查法和样地调查法得出野生毛牛蒡和牛蒡种群的分布格局在伊犁地区总体上呈随机分布,占86．7％的调查样地;小范围内也有群聚分布的,占13．3％的调查样地;分布于喜光、低海拔、对土壤适应性高、生活力强等是牛蒡和毛牛蒡的生态习性;常与各类草本为伍,与菊科、禾本科、唇形科、藜科、蓼科、蒺藜科等常见科的植物均能共生于同一环境,是牛蒡和毛牛蒡的群落学特性;植被类型和人为因素是影响它们分布的环境因素。     

Glycated albumin and diabetes mellitus

Background

Diabetes is a growing worldwide problem that is strongly associated with atherosclerosis. Screening and intervention for diabetes in the earliest stages are advocated for the prevention of diabetic complications and cardiovascular disease.

Scope of review

This review gives a background of and discusses the potential clinical utility of glycated albumin (GA) in diabetes.

Major conclusions

GA is a ketoamine formed via a non-enzymatic glycation reaction of serum albumin and it reflects mean glycemia over two to three weeks. GA can be used for patients with anemia or hemoglobinopathies for whom the clinically measured hemoglobin A1c level may be inaccurate. Because both serum and plasma samples can be used, GA can be analyzed from the same samples as common biological markers. GA is a useful marker for the screening of diabetes in a medical evaluation. It can be also used to determine the effectiveness of treatment before initiating or changing medications for diabetic patients. GA is potentially an atherogenic protein in the development of diabetic atherosclerosis.

General significance

GA measurement is useful as part of a routine examination to screen for both diabetes and atherosclerosis. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Serum Albumin.     

施钾时期对冬小麦旗叶光合特性和籽粒淀粉积累的影响

在相同施钾量的基础上。采用一次性基施,1／2基施、1／2于拔节期追施。研究施钾时期对小麦旗叶光合特性和籽粒淀粉积累的影响．结果表明。分期施钾比一次性施钾提高了小麦开花后旗叶的光合速率、旗叶中磷酸蔗糖合成酶(SPS)和籽粒中腺苷二磷酸葡萄糖焦磷酸化酶(ADPGPPase)的活性,提高了籽粒中蔗糖的供应强度和淀粉积累速率。增加了籽粒产量．研究还表明。两个施钾处理均提高了小麦叶片中蔗糖的合成能力和其在籽粒中转化为淀粉的能力,施钾提高产量的主要原因是施钾较好地协调了光合物质合成、运输与转化,即较好地协调了淀粉合成的源库关系．     

苹果炭疽菌低毒性菌株生物学特性的研究

研究了温度、pH值及碳源对苹果炭疽病菌(Colletotrichum gloeosporioides)强毒性菌株及低毒性菌株的生长、产孢和孢子萌发的影响。结果表明:菌丝生长温度范围10℃~35℃、最适温度为28℃,低毒菌株生长速率较快,产生分生孢子的温度范围与分生孢子萌发的温度范围为15℃~35℃,低毒菌株孢子萌发率较高,菌丝生长的最适pH值基本相同,pH在3~10的范围内均能生长和产孢,产生分生孢子的最适pH值为4~5,但经离子注入的低毒性菌株C100-2-5的产孢量在不同的pH值和温度下却一直低于经磁场处理的C0.25-1-2和强毒性菌株(对照)。分生孢子的致死温度为47℃、15 min或50℃、5 min。但菌丝的致死温度却不同,对照为60℃、20 min,C0.25-1-2为60℃、25 min,C100-2-5为60℃、30 min,65℃下5 min(及5 min以上)。