Current methods for molecular typing of Campylobacter species

Campylobacter remains one of the most common bacterial causes of gastroenteritis worldwide. Tracking sources of this organism is challenging due to the large numbers of human cases, and the prevalence of this organism throughout the environment due to growth in a wide range of animal species. Many molecular subtyping methods have been developed to characterize Campylobacter species, but only a few are commonly used in molecular epidemiology studies. This review examines the applicability of these methods, as well as the role that emerging whole genome sequencing technologies will play in tracking sources of Campylobacter spp. infection.     

不同抗药性水平二化螟幼虫中肠细菌群落多样性分析

为探讨二化螟Chilo suppressalis （Walker）肠道微生物多样性与抗药性的关系, 本研究采用基于16S rDNA 的变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE)和16S rDNA文库序列分析方法, 检测和分析了二化螟4个抗药性水平不同的种群幼虫中肠细菌群落多样性。生测结果表明, 以二化螟黑龙江种群（HLJ种群）作为相对敏感品系, 连云港种群（LYG种群）对杀虫单、 毒死蜱、 三唑磷的抗性为低抗至中抗水平, 瑞安种群（RA种群）和诸暨种群（ZJ种群）的抗性为中抗至极高抗水平, 这3个种群对阿维菌素均为敏感水平。16S rDNA文库序列分析表明, PCR 扩增得到的16S rDNA基因代表了二化螟幼虫中肠内21种细菌系统发育型, 其中大多数属于链球菌属Streptococcus。在不同抗药性水平二化螟种群中, 幼虫中肠微生物群落除ZJ种群的Lactococcus garvieae, L. lactissubsplactis和Ochrobactrum anthropic等3种菌较丰富外, 其余均以肠球菌属Enterococcus为主。DGGE 图谱显示, HLJ种群条带较为单一, LYG种群条带最为丰富, ZJ种群与RA种群条带丰富度相似。4个种群均出现Enterococcus faecium, E. hirae. 和Arthrobacter sp.等细菌, 且以肠球菌属Enterococcus为主。结果显示了不同抗药性水平的二化螟种群中肠细菌群落的丰富度存在差异, 推测可能与二化螟不同抗药性差异有关。     

Fine structure and 18S rDNA phylogeny of a marine araphid pennate diatom Plagiostriata goreensis gen. et sp. nov. (Bacillariophyta)

A marine araphid pennate diatom Plagiostriata goreensis is described from the sand grains of Goree Island, Dakar, Republic of Senegal, based on observations of fine structure of its frustule. The most striking feature of the species is its striation, which is angled at approximately 60° across the robust sternum. The other defining features of the species are its one highly reduced rimoportula and apical pores located at both ends of the valve margin. In the 18S rDNA phylogeny, the species appears as a member of a ‘small‐celled clade’ of araphid pennate diatoms that consist of Nanofrustulum, Opephora and Staurosira. The results of the phylogenetic analyses suggest that the distinct characters of the diatom; namely, oblique striae and apical pores, may have been acquired independently. However, it remains unclear whether the rimoportula of P. goreensis is a reduced state or P. goreensis acquired its morphologically curious rimoportula independently after the loss of an ancient rimoportula at the root of the small‐celled clade.     

用于高灵敏可视化检测松材线虫的闭管等温扩增法

建立了一种基于环介导等温核酸扩增技术(LAMP)的松材线虫高灵敏可视化闭管检测方法。针对松材线虫核糖体DNA的序列保守区域设计LAMP引物,通过优化LAMP体系中的Mg2+、甜菜碱浓度和反应温度等因素,建立了环介导等温扩增法;并结合蜡封反应管对产物进行检测,检测结果可直接通过肉眼观察SYBR Green I荧光显色进行判定。结果表明,本方法可检测到低至10拷贝/管的松材线虫核酸片段,可对单条线虫进行检测,并且具有很高的特异性,能区分检测松材线虫与拟松材线虫。由于整个反应恒温进行,无需热循环仪;闭管检测极大地降低了扩增产物交叉污染的风险;检测速度快,整个检测过程只需40 min,为松材线虫的现场快速筛检提供了一种简便、高灵敏、高特异的工具。     

Bi-directional PCR allele-specific amplification (bi-PASA) for detection of caspase-8 -652 6N ins/del promoter polymorphism (rs3834129) in breast cancer

Caspase-8 (CASP8) plays a critical role in regulating apoptosis, and its functional polymorphisms may modify cancer risk. We investigated the possible association between CASP8 -652 6N ins/del (rs3834129) and the risk of breast cancer in a sample of Iranian population. This case-control study was done on 236 breast cancer patients and 203 cancer free healthy female. We designed a rapid and simple bi-directional PCR allele-specific amplification (bi-PASA) for detection of CASP8 -652 6N ins/del polymorphism. The results showed that the CASP8 -652 6N del/dl genotype was inversely associated with breast cancer risk (OR=0.33, 95% CI=0.17-0.65, p=0.001). The frequencies of the del allele in cases and controls were 29.1% and 38.6%, respectively. An inverse association between CASP8 6N del variant and the risk of breast cancer (OR=0.66, 95% CI=0.66-0.87, p=0.002) was found. In conclusion, the result suggests that the CASP8 -652 6N del polymorphism plays a protective role in susceptibility to breast cancer in our population. Further studies in other populations with larger samples are needed to confirm these findings.     

Chlorsulfuron resistance in Daucus carota cell lines and plants:Involvement of gene amplification

Daucus carota L. cell lines stably resistant to the herbicide chlorsulfuron (CS) have been isolated according to a stepwise selection. Studies carried out during different selection steps show that the specific activity of the target enzyme acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) increases along with CS resistance. Southern hybridization analysis performed with aBrassica napus AHAS probe in a CS highly-resistant cell line reveals the presence of a greatly amplifiedEcoRI fragment of genomic DNA. This indicates that AHAS overproduction induced by stepwise selection is due to gene amplification. Regenerants from some resistant cell lines maintained the CS-resistant trait at the whole plant level.