Effects of Melatonin on Growth,Physiology and Gene Expression in Rice Seedlings Under Cadmium Stress

Melatonin (MLT) is a hormonal substance found in many organisms and can improve plant stress resistance. In this study, the japonica rice variety Y32 and indica rice variety NJ6 were cultivated in hydroponics under different concentrations of CdCl₂ at the two-leaf stage. The growth, physiological and biochemical responses of the seedlings and the expression of cadmium (Cd)-related genes under exogenous melatonin (MLT) treatment were assessed. The results indicated that Cd stress destroyed the dynamic balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and removal, resulting in ROS accumulation, membrane lipid peroxidation, and impaired growth and development. Following the application of exogenous MLT to rice seedlings, increases in plant biomass including both underground and above-ground areas were observed. MLT also scavenged the inhibition of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) in a concentration dependent manner in response to Cd stress. Catalase (CAT) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) expression also decreased following MLT treatment. Amongst the six Cd-related genes assessed, five genes were down-regulated and one was up-regulated in response to MLT treatment. Taken together, these data demonstrate that MLT improves the resilience of rice seedlings at the biochemical, physiological, and molecular levels, and diminishes the damage caused by Cd stress.     

Serum free prostate-specific antigen and zinc levels in experimental acute pancreatitis

Serum free prostate-specific antigen (fPSA) is the most useful tumor marker for prostatic cancer screening. However, recently, fPSA has also been detected in sera from patients with pancreatic diseases. In addition, it has been shown that zinc (Zn) concentration might change in both serum and tissues in pancreatic disease. In the present study, we measured serum concentrations of fPSA and Zn as possible markers and prognostic factors in an experimental acute-pancreatitis model. Twenty-five female Wistar albino rats were divided into two groups: the control group (n=10) and the experimental group (n=15). Acute pancreatitis was induced by injection of ethyl alcohol into the common biliary duct. The animals were sacrificed 24 h later to detect the concentrations of serum fPSA and Zn. fPSA values were detected to be significantly higher in the experimental group p<0.001). There was also a significant decrease in the serum Zn level of the acute-pancreatitis group (p<0.001). In conclusion, these findings suggested that a combination of these parameters might represent a significant improvement on the diagnostic value of each of them separately and provide a powerful tool for differential diagnosis and prognosis in pancreatic diseases.     

鲇的消化能力与营养价值分析

采用常规方法测定了鲇(Silurusasotus)的消化道指数,其比肠长、比胃重、比肠重、比肝胰脏重和比内脏重分别为0726±0087、0027±0015、0013±0008、0022±0004和0081±0041。体重与体长的回归方程Y=00124X2.8451(r=09940,P<001);鲇的胃、前肠、中肠和后肠中消化液的pH值分别为48～62、66～70、69～75、72～77,且消化道各部分具有较高的蛋白酶和淀粉酶活性,蛋白酶的活性为前肠>胰脏>胃>中肠>后肠;而淀粉酶的活性则为胰脏>胃>前肠>中肠>后肠;肌肉中粗蛋白的含量1881%,粗脂肪含量152%;必需氨基酸含量占氨基酸总量的4451%,鲜味氨基酸含量占氨基酸总量的4598%,综合肌肉的常规营养成分和氨基酸分析的结果,鲇是一种营养价值较高的优质鱼类。     

Lactic acid bacteria as prime candidates for codon optimization

In species having a strong correlation of expressivity and codon bias it has been shown that heterologous expression can be optimized by changing codons of the introduced gene towards the set of codons that the host organism naturally uses in its highly expressed genes. Even though two lactic acid bacteria are fully sequenced, there are no reports on attempts of codon optimization in the literature. In this report it is demonstrated that codons used in highly expressed genes tend to differ from the codons in lowly expressed genes, and that there is a strong correlation of codon bias and empirical expressivity (codon adaptation index) in Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus plantarum. This strongly suggests that codon optimization strategies could be applied to expression systems with lactic acid bacteria as producer strains. A good example of a candidate for codon optimization is the mouse interleukin-2 gene, which in its natural form has an extremely low codon adaptation index for expression in Lc. lactis.     

Gastroprotective,cytoprotective and antioxidant effects of Oleum cinnamomi on ethanol induced damage

Peptic ulcer disease is a gastrointestinal disorder defined by mucosal damage and free oxygen radicals associated with peptic ulcer and gastritis. Cinnamon is a traditional herb used for many diseases and it has also effects as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and anti-ulcerative. Our research is based on oxidative stress and effects of Oleum cinnamomi on stomach, liver and kidney disorders induced by ethanol. In our experiment, 2–3 month old male Sprague–Dawley rats were used. One hour before the mucosal damage induced by 70 % ethanol, O. cinnamomi (2.5 ml/kg) was added into the groups. Gastric pH, analysis of gastric mucus and ulcer index were calculated from samples obtained from the stomach. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde and catalase (CAT) levels were determined in stomach, liver and kidney homogenates and erythrocyte hemolysate. Histopathological examination of stomach, liver and kidney were determined with H&E staining. The non-treated ulcerative group showed higher scores than the control group which was treated with O. cinnamomi, when ulcer scores, gastric mucus and pH level of stomach are compared. Increased lipid peroxidation levels were observed in the liver, kidney and erythrocyte hemolysate. SOD activity was decreased in liver whereas increased in stomach of ethanol treated ulcerative groups. CAT levels were increased in stomach and liver of ethanol treated rats. Histopathological findings showed that ethanol treatment cause multiply organ damage such as stomach, liver and kidney injury. O. cinnamomi treatment protected these tissues from ethanol-induced damage. Consequently, the current investigation shows that O. cinnamomi has protective effects on ethanol-induced oxidative and mucosal damage.     

The causes of epistasis in genetic networks

Epistasis refers to the nonadditive interactions between genes in determining phenotypes. Considerable efforts have shown that, even for a given organism, epistasis may vary both in intensity and sign. Recent comparative studies supported that the overall sign of epistasis switches from positive to negative as the complexity of an organism increases, and it has been hypothesized that this change shall be a consequence of the underlying gene network properties. Why should this be the case? What characteristics of genetic networks determine the sign of epistasis? Here we show, by evolving genetic networks that differ in their complexity and robustness against perturbations but that perform the same tasks, that robustness increased with complexity and that epistasis was positive for small nonrobust networks but negative for large robust ones. Our results indicate that robustness and negative epistasis emerge as a consequence of the existence of redundant elements in regulatory structures of genetic networks and that the correlation between complexity and epistasis is a byproduct of such redundancy, allowing for the decoupling of epistasis from the underlying network complexity.     

Yellow band and dark spot syndromes in Caribbean corals: distribution,rate of spread,cytology, and effects on abundance and division rate of zooxanthellae

Yellow band and dark spot syndromes have been frequently observed to affect coral species throughout the Caribbean within the last 10 years. These syndromes significantly impair at least three important reef-building species. Yellow band (also known as yellow blotch) appears as rings or blotches on Montastrea annularis throughout the Caribbean. The coral tissue necrosis occurs at a rate of approximately 0.6 cm/month. Transect measurements at various locations indicated that as many as 90% of M. annularis were affected by yellow band during 1997–98. Tissue samples reveal a 41–96.9% decrease in zooxanthellae/sample compared to healthy specimens, depending on distance from healthy tissue. Mitotic indices (MI) of zooxanthellae (symbiotic algae appearing as doublets) for M. annularis are 2.5%. MI in yellow band samples directly bordering healthy tissue are less than 0.9%, and zooxanthellae directly within the band bordering exposed skeleton had a mitotic index of 0.0%. This indicates impairment of zooxanthellae cell division in yellow band specimens. Zooxanthellae are not expelled and appear vacuolated and devoid of organelles. Dark spot, characterized by tissue necrosis as well as a depression of the colony surface, affects Stephanocoenia michelinii and Siderastrea siderea throughout the Caribbean. Transects showed that as many as 56% of S. michelinii and S. siderea showed signs of dark spot during 1997–98. Affected tissues of S. siderea died at a rate of 4.0 cm/month. In dark spot samples from S. siderea, the total number of zooxanthellae was 56% of that in healthy tissue; dark spot-affected specimens of S. michelinii showed a 14% decrease in the number of zooxanthellae compared to healthy tissue samples. Mitotic indices of zooxanthellae from healthy specimens of S. sidereawere 1.20% compared to 0.40% in dark spot samples. Mitotic indices of healthy S. michelinii were 1.54% compared to 0.23% in dark spot samples, also indicating a decrease in algal cell division. Zooxanthellae from dark spot tissue are swollen and darker in pigment. Due to the changes that are evident in the symbiotic algae, we suggest that both syndromes act primarily on the zooxanthellae symbiont, and secondarily on the cnidarian host.     

Are tropical fungal endophytes hyperdiverse?

Fungal endophytes are ubiquitous fungi that inhabit healthy plant tissues without causing disease. Endophytes have been found in every plant species examined to date and may be important, but often overlooked, components of fungal biodiversity. In two sites in a lowland, moist tropical forest of central Panama, we quantified endophyte colonization patterns, richness, host preference, and spatial variation in healthy leaves of two co-occurring, understory tree species [ Heisteria concinna (Olacaceae) and Ouratea lucens (Ochnaceae)]. From 83 leaves, all of which were colonized by endophytes, we isolated 418 endophyte morphospecies (estimated 347 genetically distinct taxa), most of which were represented by only a single isolate (59%). Among morphospecies encountered in more than one leaf (nonsingletons), we found evidence of host preference and spatial heterogeneity using both morphospecies frequencies and presence/absence records. Based on these data, we postulate that tropical endophytes themselves may be hyperdiverse and suggest that extrapolative estimates that exclude them will markedly underestimate fungal species diversity.     

可持续生计框架下连片特困区发展机理——以宁夏限制开发生态区为例

生计资本与农户收支有着密切关系,决定农户的生计策略,影响区域的发展机理与发展模式.基于参与式农村评估和数理统计方法,分民族、地形、农户类型对宁夏限制开发生态区农户生计资本与农户收支状况进行定量评估,创建农户非农性指数,揭示生计资本与农户收支和非农性指数的关系,结合研究区实际对农户可持续生计进行研究,探讨区域发展机理.结果表明: 研究区农户生计资本量整体偏低,其中,回族略高于汉族、川道农户高于山地农户、兼业户和非农业户显著高于农业户;区域发展与非农性指数和人力、物质等资本显著正相关,与自然资本显著负相关,需着力提升农户的非农性指数和人力、物质等资本量,同时引导农户对农业生产资料进行流转,促进自然资本两极分化.