Multiple β-1,3 Glucanases in the Lytic Enzyme Complex of Bacillus circulans WL 12

The lytic enzyme complex produced by Bacillus circulans WL 12 upon induction with the myceiia of Piricularia oryzae P₂ was analyzed by large scale polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Six β-1,3 glucanases were separated. Activity profiles were obtained of these multiple β-1,3 glucanases against P. oryzae P₂ cell walls, Saccharomyces cerevisiae walls, laminarin, oat glucan, Phytophthora glucan and pachyman.     

Drinking tools of wild chimpanzees at Bossou

Use of drinking tools by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and the context in which the tools were used were studied at Bossou, Republic of Guinea, West Africa. During the middle to late dry season and early wet season liquids are available occasionally in the holes of trees. Chimpanzees drank water or sap using a leaf (or fiber) as a sponge or spoon. When the chimpanzees were on the ground, they tended to use one of a few kinds of soft, hairless leaves, if they were available nearby. Females, particularly juveniles and adolescents, were thought to be the main users of the drinking tool. In a few episodes, a tool set was used to procure liquid. Once a chimpanzee used a stick to push a leaf sponge into a water hole and to pull it out from the hole. In addition, three chimpanzees used a pestle to squeeze sap from an oil-palm tree before using a fiber sponge. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Symbiophagy and biomineralization in the “living fossil” Astrosclera willeyana

Representatives of all major metazoan lineages form biominerals. The molecular mechanisms that underlie this widespread and evolutionarily ancient ability are gradually being revealed for some lineages. However, until a wider range of metazoan biomineralization strategies are understood, the true diversity, and therefore the evolutionary origins of this process, will remain unknown. We have previously shown that the coralline demosponge, Astrosclera willeyana, in some way employs its endobiotic bacterial community to form its highly calcified skeleton. Here, using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, we show that an ortholog of ATG8 (most likely a GABARAPL2/GATE-16 ortholog) is expressed in cells that construct the individual skeletal elements of the sponge. In TEM sections sponge cells can be observed to contain extensive populations of bacteria, and frequently possesses double-membrane structures which we interpret to be autophagosomes. In combination with our previous work, these findings support the hypothesis that the host sponge actively degrades a proportion of its bacterial community using an autophagy pathway, and uses the prokaryotic organic remains as a framework upon which calcification of the sponge skeleton is initiated.     

泰绫及明胶海绵在乳腺癌手术中的应用

目的：观察可吸收性止血纱布（商品名：泰绫）及明胶海绵用于乳腺癌改良根治术的止血效果及其对引流量及拔管时间的影响。方法：将180例准备接受乳腺癌改良根治术的患者,随机分为泰绫组、明胶海绵组和对照组,每组各60例,术后分别给予泰绫、明胶海绵及空白对照处理,记录和比较两组术后第1、2、3天的引流量、引流液红细胞计数、总引流量及拔管时间。结果：与对照组比较,泰绫组、明胶海绵组术后l、2、3天的引流量均显著减少、引流液红细胞计数、总引流量均明显减少且拔管时间显著缩短,差别均有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。与明胶海绵组相比,泰绫组术后1、2、3天引流量、引流液红细胞计数、总引流量及拔管时间亦显著减少或缩短,差别均有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。结论：泰绫及明胶海绵在乳腺癌改良根治术后有较好的止血效果,减少了术后出血、渗血、皮下积液,且泰绫较明胶海绵效果更优。     

泰绫及明胶海绵在乳腺癌手术中的应用

目的:观察可吸收性止血纱布(商品名:泰绫)及明胶海绵用于乳腺癌改良根治术的止血效果及其对引流量及拔管时间的影响。方法:将180例准备接受乳腺癌改良根治术的患者,随机分为泰绫组、明胶海绵组和对照组,每组各60例,术后分别给予泰绫、明胶海绵及空白对照处理,记录和比较两组术后第1、2、3天的引流量、引流液红细胞计数、总引流量及拔管时间。结果:与对照组比较,泰绫组、明胶海绵组术后1、2、3天的引流量均显著减少、引流液红细胞计数、总引流量均明显减少且拔管时间显著缩短,差别均有统计学意义(P0.05)。与明胶海绵组相比,泰绫组术后1、2、3天引流量、引流液红细胞计数、总引流量及拔管时间亦显著减少或缩短,差别均有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:泰绫及明胶海绵在乳腺癌改良根治术后有较好的止血效果,减少了术后出血、渗血、皮下积液,且泰绫较明胶海绵效果更优。     

m6A modification of HSATIII lncRNAs regulates temperature‐dependent splicing

Nuclear stress bodies (nSBs) are nuclear membraneless organelles formed around stress‐inducible HSATIII architectural long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). nSBs repress splicing of hundreds of introns during thermal stress recovery, which are partly regulated by CLK1 kinase phosphorylation of temperature‐dependent Ser/Arg‐rich splicing factors (SRSFs). Here, we report a distinct mechanism for this splicing repression through protein sequestration by nSBs. Comprehensive identification of RNA‐binding proteins revealed HSATIII association with proteins related to N⁶‐methyladenosine (m⁶A) RNA modification. 11% of the first adenosine in the repetitive HSATIII sequence were m⁶A‐modified. nSBs sequester the m⁶A writer complex to methylate HSATIII, leading to subsequent sequestration of the nuclear m⁶A reader, YTHDC1. Sequestration of these factors from the nucleoplasm represses m⁶A modification of pre‐mRNAs, leading to repression of m⁶A‐dependent splicing during stress recovery phase. Thus, nSBs serve as a common platform for regulation of temperature‐dependent splicing through dual mechanisms employing two distinct ribonucleoprotein modules with partially m⁶A‐modified architectural lncRNAs.     

Optimization, production, and partial characterization of an alkalophilic amylase produced by sponge associated marine bacterium Halobacterium salinarum MMD047

An endosymbiont Halobacterium salinarum MMD047, which could produce high yields of amylase, was isolated from marine sponge Fasciospongia cavernosa, collected from the peninsular coast of India. Maximum production of enzyme was obtained in minimal medium supplemented with 1% sucrose. The enzyme was found to be produced constitutively even in the absence of starch. The optimum temperature and pH for the enzyme production was 40°C and 8.0, respectively. The enzyme exhibited maximum activity in pH range of 6∼10 with an optimum pH of 9.0. The enzyme was stable at 40°C and the enzyme activity decreased dramatically above 50°C. Based on the present findings, the enzyme was characterized as relatively heat sensitive and alkalophilic amylase which can be developed for extensive industrial applications.     

Seasonal production of primmorphs from the marine sponge Petrosia ficiformis (Poiret, 1789) and new culturing approaches

The need to produce bioactive compounds from marine sponges leads several groups of research to the culture of primmorphs from different species, which are generally maintained in aquaria for long time before processing. Here we present a study where the importance of several parameters on primmorphs production from the symbiotic sponge Petrosia ficiformis has been evaluated: (i) the sterility of sea water, (ii) the maintenance in aquarium before processing, (iii) the seasonal cycle. Sterility of sea water does not improve primmorphs production in this species. The maintenance of sponges in aquaria before processing negatively affects cell cultures. Regarding seasonality, it is evident that both the number and the size of primmorphs can deeply change depending on the period of the year the sponge is collected. April and July are the months that lead to the highest number of primmorphs, May and June are the months that lead to their biggest sizes. Possible relationships of these results with the life cycle of P. ficiformis are discussed.     

繁茂膜海绵细胞内微生物多样性的研究

采用海绵组织离散、细胞分离的方法,对繁茂膜海绵细胞进行纯化、胞内微生物DNA提取,构建了繁茂膜海绵细胞内微生物的16SrDNA克隆,对其遗传多样性进行了分析,发现海绵细胞内微生物16SrDNA序列主要归类于紫硫细菌门(Proteobacteria)中的α-亚门、γ-亚门和浮霉菌门(Planctomycetes)等类群。与研磨直接提取海绵组织DNA所得海绵组织中总微生物多样性相比,海绵细胞内存在丰富的浮霉菌(23%),说明浮霉菌主要存在于海绵细胞胞内。     

Hypothesized Kinetic Models for Describing the Growth of Globular and Encrusting Demosponges

The marine sponges Dysidea avara and Chondrosia reniformis (globular forms) were cultured in the laboratory on a diet of viable Phaeodactylum tricornutum cells and dissolved nutrients (algae and fish powders). Our growth data were combined with literature data for Pseudosuberites andrewsi (a globular sponge) and for the encrusting sponges Oscarella lobularis, Hemimycale columella, and Crambe crambe. The suitability of three growth models—linear, exponential, and radial accretive—for describing the growth of globular and encrusting sponges was assessed. Radial accretive growth was determined to be the best model to describe growth of both encrusting and globular sponges. Average growth rates of 0.051 ± 0.016 and 0.019 ± 0.003 mm/day (calculated as the increase of the radius of the sponge per day) were obtained experimentally for D. avara and C. reniformis, respectively.