Energy exchange between subject and belt during treadmill walking

Treadmill walking aims to simulate overground walking, but intra-stride belt speed variations of treadmills result in some interaction between treadmill and subject, possibly obstructing this aim. Especially in self-paced treadmill walking, in which the belt speed constantly adjusts to the subject, these interactions might affect the gait pattern significantly. The aim of this study was to quantify the energy exchange between subject and treadmill, during the fixed speed (FS) and self-paced (SP) modes of treadmill walking. Eighteen subjects walked on a dual-belt instrumented treadmill at both modes. The energy exchange was calculated as the integration of the product of the belt speed deviation and the fore-aft ground reaction force over the stride cycle. The total positive energy exchange was 0.44 J/stride and the negative exchange was 0.11 J/stride, which was both less than 1.6% of the performed work on the center of mass. Energy was mainly exchanged from subject to treadmill during both the braking and propulsive phase of gait. The two treadmill modes showed a similar pattern of energy exchange, with a slightly increased energy exchange during the braking phase of SP walking. It is concluded that treadmill walking is only mildly disturbed by subject-belt interactions when using instrumented treadmills with adequate belt control.     

Identification of AFLP fragments linked to seed coat colour in Brassica juncea and conversion to a SCAR marker for rapid selection

A Brassica juncea mapping population was generated and scored for seed coat colour. A combination of bulked segregant analysis and AFLP methodology was employed to identify markers linked to seed coat colour in B. juncea. AFLP analysis using 16 primer combinations revealed seven AFLP markers polymorphic between the parents and the bulks. Individual plants from the segregating population were analysed, and three AFLP markers were identified as being tightly linked to the seed coat colour trait and specific for brown-seeded individuals. Since AFLP markers are not adapted for large-scale application in plant breeding, our objective was to develop a fast, cheap and reliable PCR-based assay. Towards this goal, we employed PCR-walking technology to isolate sequences adjacent to the linked AFLP marker. Based on the sequence information of the cloned flanking sequence of marker AFLP8, primers were designed. Amplification using the locus-specific primers generated bands at 0.5 kb and 1.2 kb with the yellow-seeded parent and a 1.1-kb band with the brown-seeded parent. Thus, the dominant AFLP marker (AFLP8) was converted into a simple codominant SCAR (Sequence Characterized Amplified Region) marker and designated as SCM08. Scoring of this marker in a segregating population easily distinguished yellow- and brown-seeded B. juncea and also differentiated between homozygous (BB) and heterozygous (Bb) brown-seeded individuals. Thus, this marker will be useful for the development of yellow seed B. juncea cultivars and facilitate the map-based cloning of genes responsible for seed coat colour trait. Received: 2 October 1999 / Accepted: 11 November 1999     

Body size effects on locomotion and load carriage in the highly polymorphic leaf-cutting ants Atta colombica and Atta cephalotes

Leaf-cutting ants reduce their walking speed under the weightof the leaf fragments they carry, an effect likely to havesome consequence for the foraging performance of a colony.I manipulated loads carried by workers from two Atta speciesto determine how load mass and body size affect walking speed.A comparison of speeds before and after load manipulation indicatesthat change in load mass has a linear effect on velocity. Several different regression models of speed as a function of loadsand body size have similar fit to the data, so a single bestmodel cannot easily be identified. However, there is statisticalevidence that the slope of the linear effect is more pronouncedfor smaller ants, an outcome most consistent with a regression model based on loading ratio, a metric that scales load massrelative to body mass. I then examined the effect of loadingratio on the leaf transport rate (the product of load massand carriage velocity). It has been claimed that this rateis maximized over a range of loading ratios that is the samefor all ants regardless of their size. However, I found thata latent body mass effect persists in the relation of transportrate to loading ratio, even though loading ratio is alreadyscaled relative to body mass. The maxima seem to be reachedonly at artificially elevated loading ratios, so that transportrates with natural fragments tend to be sub-maximal. This conclusionis in agreement with analytical predictions of rate-maximizingload masses derived from the regression models. Thus, loadingratio does not adequately scale load mass relative to bodysize when used in this context (effect on leaf transport rate),and should be used cautiously. Ants are likely to accommodateloads through modulation of both stride length and step frequency,but precisely how this takes place requires future study.     

麻疯树苯丙氨酸解氨酶启动子的克隆和表达载体的构建

苯丙氨酸解氨酶（phenylalanine ammonia lyase, PAL）是苯丙烷类代谢途径的关键酶,催化苯丙氨酸转化为肉桂酸,促进黄酮、香豆素等次生代谢物的生成。本文根据已克隆的麻疯树苯丙氨酸解氨酶基因JcPAL的序列设计引物,通过DNA步移技术,克隆出长度为1 334 bp的JcPAL基因起始密码子上游序列。序列分析显示其不仅具备CAAT、TATA盒这些保守元件,而且包含多种胁迫诱导元件,特别是在序列中发现一些苯丙氨酸解氨酶特有的元件。为了鉴定JcPAL基因的启动子元件,分别将长度不同的5′端侧翼区缺失体定向插入载体pBI121中, 取代原有的CaMV35S启动子,构建了4个驱动报告基因GUS的植物表达载体。     

香菇B交配型位点的分子遗传学结构研究I.信息素受体和信息素前体编码基因的克隆和序列分析

本研究结合简并PCR和染色体步行两种方法研究了香菇135菌株的交配型B位点的分子遗传学结构。从135菌株的原生质体单核体1号菌株中获得了1个信息素受体编码基因LErcb1-B1和1个信息素前体编码基因LEphb1-B1。经序列比对分析,香菇的信息素受体LErcb1-B1序列与灰盖鬼伞和裂褶菌的信息素受体之间具有同源性,经SOSUI软件分析该序列具有7次跨膜结构特征。信息素前体LEphb1-B1具有CaaX基序特征。     

一株产耐热普鲁兰酶菌株Anoxybacillus sp.LM14-2分离鉴定及酶学性质研究

从云南轮马热泉下游淤泥中筛选得到了一株产耐热普鲁兰酶菌株LM14-2.根据形态特征及16S rRNA序列同源性分析,初步判定为Anoxybacillus sp.LM14-2.该菌株发酵上清液中有耐热普鲁兰酶积累,其反应最适pH值为6.0,最适温度为70℃.利用染色体步移技术获得了完整的普鲁兰酶编码基因(HQ660582),经序列相似性进一步分析,确定该蛋白与Ⅰ型普鲁兰酶保守区b相吻合.通常的普鲁兰酶在高温下很快失活,难以满足淀粉加工,洗涤剂等相关工业的需求,而该新型的耐热普鲁兰醇的作用温度广泛,热稳定性较好,65℃保温55 h后达到其半衰期,具有广阔的开发应用前景.     

苏云金芽胞杆菌大质粒pBMB28的克隆

苏云金芽胞杆菌幕虫亚种YBT-020具有典型的晶胞粘连表型。在前期的研究中,通过质粒消除实验,推测晶胞粘连现象与YBT-020内生质粒pBMB28有关。为了定位质粒pBMB28上控制晶胞粘连表型的基因,首先对质粒pBMB28进行克隆。利用穿梭载体pEMB0557,成功构建了苏云金芽胞杆菌YBT-020的基因组人工染色体(BAC)文库。前期的研究表明晶体蛋白基因cry28Aa定位在质粒pBMB28上,根据cry28Aa基因序列设计引物,从文库中筛选到含有cry28Aa的重组质粒pBMB231。镜检和SDS-PAGE证明质粒pBMB231转化无晶体突变株BMB171形成的重组子BMB231可以产生Cry28Aa晶体蛋白,但不能恢复晶胞粘连表型。对重组质粒pBMB231的插入片段末端序列测定并设计引物筛选文库,通过染色体步移方式得到4个可以重叠覆盖质粒pBMB28不同区域的克隆子,从而克隆了该质粒。对这4个克隆子末端测序和酶切分析,测算出该质粒的大小约为140 kb。进一步确定应用基因组BAC文库以及重叠片段筛选的方法,可以快速有效的克隆苏云金芽胞杆菌大质粒。     

一种简单有效的克隆未知旁侧DNA片段的方法

操作含长插入片段的DNA克隆时 ,经常需要进行亚克隆和测序实验。通常的方法首先是得到插入片段的限制性内切酶谱 ,然后选择合适的内切酶消化DNA ,分离靶片段 ,将其连接入质粒载体中进行下一步操作。但这种方法工作量大 ,步骤繁琐。在此 ,介绍一种不需要做限制性内切酶谱分析 ,而根据靶片段的旁侧序列直接进行亚克隆实验的方法。首先 ,选择合适的限制性内切酶消化含长插入片段的DNA克隆 ,其中一种酶切在已知的旁侧序列上 ,另一为随机选择 ;然后酶切混合物与线性化的质粒载体连接 ,转化细菌得到一“亚克隆库” ;将其中的克隆挑选入 96孔板培养后 ,按行或列混合菌液得到相应的“pool” ;最后 ,用PCR方法筛选获得含靶DNA片段的阳性克隆 ,其中所用的引物一个与已知的旁侧DNA序列配对 ,另一个与质粒载体上序列配对 ,PCR扩增已知的旁侧DNA片段以鉴定阳性克隆。多次独立实验表明该方法简单有效 ,可广泛用于亚克隆和DNA步移实验     

Understanding a molecular motor walking along a microtubule: an asymmetric Brownian motor driven by bubble formation with a focus on binding affinity

In recent years, many studies on a molecular motor have been conducted in the fields of biorheology and nanoengineering. The molecular motor is a molecule that converts the chemical energy obtained by ATP hydrolysis into mechanical energy. Explaining this mechanism is important for nanoengineering. A kinesin, which is a type of molecular motor, has the characteristics to move on a microtubule with hand-over-hand steps. The kinesin walking behaviour is explained by the ‘asymmetric Brownian ratchet model’. Previously, we had suggested that the walking mechanism was achieved by the bubble formation in a nanosized channel surrounded by hydrophobic atoms with the transition between the two states – bubble state and liquid state. However, the walking behaviour of the model motor was different from that of a single molecule measurement of a kinesin. In this study, we constructed a new motor system focused on the asymmetric binding affinity of a motor protein and performed a model simulation using the dissipative particle dynamics method. As a result, it was observed that hand-over-hand walking depends on the transition position ratio and the transition frequency coefficient. Moreover, the efficiency of the new motor system is higher than that of the previous motor systems. The new motor model can provide a simulation guide for the design of biomimetic nanomachines.