Battling for Ribosomes: Translational Control at the Forefront of the Antiviral Response

In the early stages of infection, gaining control of the cellular protein synthesis machinery including its ribosomes is the ultimate combat objective for a virus. To successfully replicate, viruses unequivocally need to usurp and redeploy this machinery for translation of their own mRNA. In response, the host triggers global shutdown of translation while paradoxically allowing swift synthesis of antiviral proteins as a strategy to limit collateral damage. This fundamental conflict at the level of translational control defines the outcome of infection. As part of this special issue on molecular mechanisms of early virus–host cell interactions, we review the current state of knowledge regarding translational control during viral infection with specific emphasis on protein kinase RNA-activated and mammalian target of rapamycin-mediated mechanisms. We also describe recent technological advances that will allow unprecedented insight into how viruses and host cells battle for ribosomes.     

土壤稳定性有机碳组分与优势细菌门类陆向分布及相关性

【目的】为了探究土壤稳定性有机碳组分和优势细菌门类的陆向分布特征及相关性。【方法】本文选择锡林河流域沿着由水及陆的方向依次采集长期性水流、季节性水流、长期性无水流的湿地及旱地土壤,基于国际腐殖物质协会推荐的方法和16SrRNA基因高通量测序技术分别检测土壤稳定性有机碳组分(富里酸、胡敏酸、胡敏素)含量和优势细菌门类的相对丰度,结合Pearson相关性及冗余分析和结构方程模型研究两者的相关性。【结果】三类稳定性有机碳及酸杆菌门、放线菌门、芽单胞菌门呈大致升高的陆向分布趋势,在长期性无水流的旱地土壤中达到峰值;拟杆菌门则呈现降低的陆向分布趋势。结果显示,芽单胞菌门、酸杆菌门和放线菌门作为长期性无水流旱地土壤的优势细菌门类与胡敏酸、胡敏素含量存在显著(P<0.05)或极显著(P<0.01)正相关关系;拟杆菌门作为长期和季节性水流湿地土壤的优势菌门与富里酸、胡敏酸、胡敏素的含量均呈极显著(P<0.01)负相关关系。结构方程模型结果显示,稳定性有机碳组分与优势细菌门类间存在直接和间接作用。【结论】锡林河流域土壤稳定性有机碳组分及优势细菌门类存在陆向分布特征,稳定性有机碳的升高与...     

稳定性同位素探测技术在微生物生态学研究中的应用

稳定性同位素标记技术同分子生物学技术相结合而发展起来的稳定性同位素探测技术（stableisotope probing,SIP）,在对各种环境中微生物群落组成进行遗传分类学鉴定的同时,可确定其在环境过程中的功能,提供复杂群落中微生物相互作用及其代谢功能的大量信息,具有广阔的应用前景.其基本原理是：将原位或微宇宙（microcosm）的环境样品暴露于稳定性同位素富集的基质中,这些样品中存在的某些微生物能够以基质中的稳定（性同位素为碳源或氮源进行物质代谢并满足其自身生长需要,基质中的稳定性同位素被吸收同化进入微生物体内,参与各类物质如核酸（DNA和RNA）及磷脂脂肪酸（PLFA）等的生物合成,通过提取、分离、纯化、分析这些微生物体内稳定性同位素标记的生物标志物,从而将微生物的组成与其功能联系起来.在介绍稳定性同位素培养基质的选择及标记方法、合适的生物标志物的选择及提取分离方法的基础上,举例阐述了此项技术在甲基营养菌、有机污染物降解菌、根际微生物生态、互营微生物、宏基因组学等方面的应用.     

长江口滨海湿地潮间带生态系统的多稳态特征

多稳态现象普遍存在于多种生态系统中,它与生态系统的健康和可持续发展密切相关,已成为生态学研究的热点与难点,但是目前有关滨海湿地生态系统多稳态的形成机制还缺乏深入研究.本文以崇明东滩鸟类自然保护区的潮间带生态系统为研究对象,通过以下内容,开展滨海湿地多稳态研究: 1)通过验证多稳态的判定依据“双峰”和“阈值”特征,证实长江口潮间带生态系统存在多稳态,并确定其稳态类型;2)通过监测潮间带生态系统水动力过程、沉积动力过程以及盐沼植物生长和扩散情况,分析盐沼植被与沉积地貌之间的正反馈作用,进而探讨潮间带生态系统多稳态的形成机制.结果表明: 1)潮间带生态系统的归一化植被指数(NDVI)频度分布存在明显的双峰特征,且盐沼植物成活存在生物量阈值效应,均证实潮间带生态系统存在多稳态,“盐沼”和“光滩”是潮间带生态系统的两种相对稳定状态;2)崇明东滩盐沼前沿的沉积地貌表现出泥沙快速淤积的趋势,显著促进了盐沼植物的生长,盐沼植物与泥沙淤积之间的这种正反馈作用是潮间带生态系统形成多稳态的主要原因;3)盐沼植被扩散格局监测结果在景观尺度上也表明,泥沙淤积作用促进了潮间带生态系统“盐沼”和“光滩”多稳态的形成.本研究既丰富了滨海湿地稳态转换的机理研究,也为我国开展海岸带保护、修复和管理提供了科学依据,具有重要的理论和实践意义.     

大肠杆菌肠毒素ST1、LTB基因融合及其免疫原性研究

目的:构建大肠杆菌肠毒素ST1-LTB融合基因,并研究其表达产物的免疫原性。方法:采用PCR和基因突变技术,从大肠杆菌C83902质粒中扩增ST1突变基因和LTB基因,通过基因分离、纯化、内切酶酶切、连接和转化,构建含ST1-LTB融合基因表达载体的重组菌株,并用酶切和DNA序列分析鉴定重组质粒,同时用ST1-LTB融合蛋白粗提物免疫小鼠,观察免疫攻毒保护效果。结果:构建了含ST1-LTB融合基因表达载体的重组菌株BL21(DE3)(pXSL1),ST1-LTB融合基因的序列和阅读框架均正确,其表达的ST1-LTB融合蛋白能够被ST1单抗和LTB抗体识别,且该融合蛋白已丧失天然ST1肠毒素的活性。ST1-LTB融合蛋白能够诱发小鼠产生抗体,该抗体具有中和天然ST1肠毒素的毒性作用。结论:构建的重组菌株BL21(DE3)(pXSL1)可以高效表达ST1-LTB融合蛋白,其表达产物ST1-LTB融合蛋白具有良好的免疫原性,为更有效地预防仔猪黄痢提供了一种新型基因工程菌苗候选菌株。     

Coral reef mesopredators switch prey,shortening food chains,in response to habitat degradation

Diet specificity is likely to be the key predictor of a predator's vulnerability to changing habitat and prey conditions. Understanding the degree to which predatory coral reef fishes adjust or maintain prey choice, in response to declines in coral cover and changes in prey availability, is critical for predicting how they may respond to reef habitat degradation. Here, we use stable isotope analyses to characterize the trophic structure of predator–prey interactions on coral reefs of the Keppel Island Group on the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. These reefs, previously typified by exceptionally high coral cover, have recently lost much of their coral cover due to coral bleaching and frequent inundation by sediment‐laden, freshwater flood plumes associated with increased rainfall patterns. Long‐term monitoring of these reefs demonstrates that, as coral cover declined, there has been a decrease in prey biomass, and a shift in dominant prey species from pelagic plankton‐feeding damselfishes to territorial benthic algal‐feeding damselfishes, resulting in differences in the principal carbon pathways in the food web. Using isotopes, we tested whether this changing prey availability could be detected in the diet of a mesopredator (coral grouper, Plectropomus maculatus). The δ¹³C signature in grouper tissue in the Keppel Islands shifted from a more pelagic to a more benthic signal, demonstrating a change in carbon sources aligning with the change in prey availability due to habitat degradation. Grouper with a more benthic carbon signature were also feeding at a lower trophic level, indicating a shortening in food chains. Further, we found a decline in the coral grouper population accompanying a decrease in total available prey biomass. Thus, while the ability to adapt diets could ameliorate the short‐term impacts of habitat degradation on mesopredators, long‐term effects may negatively impact mesopredator populations and alter the trophic structure of coral reef food webs.     

Evaluation of regression models in metabolic physiology: predicting fluxes from isotopic data without knowledge of the pathway

This study explores the ability of regression models, with no knowledge of the underlying physiology, to estimate physiological parameters relevant for metabolism and endocrinology. Four regression models were compared: multiple linear regression (MLR), principal component regression (PCR), partial least-squares regression (PLS) and regression using artificial neural networks (ANN). The pathway of mammalian gluconeogenesis was analyzed using [U−¹³C]glucose as tracer. A set of data was simulated by randomly selecting physiologically appropriate metabolic fluxes for the 9 steps of this pathway as independent variables. The isotope labeling patterns of key intermediates in the pathway were then calculated for each set of fluxes, yielding 29 dependent variables. Two thousand sets were created, allowing independent training and test data. Regression models were asked to predict the nine fluxes, given only the 29 isotopomers. For large training sets (>50) the artificial neural network model was superior, capturing 95% of the variability in the gluconeogenic flux, whereas the three linear models captured only 75%. This reflects the ability of neural networks to capture the inherent non-linearities of the metabolic system. The effect of error in the variables and the addition of random variables to the data set was considered. Model sensitivities were used to find the isotopomers that most influenced the predicted flux values. These studies provide the first test of multivariate regression models for the analysis of isotopomer flux data. They provide insight for metabolomics and the future of isotopic tracers in metabolic research where the underlying physiology is complex or unknown.We acknowledge the support of NIH Grant DK58533 and the DuPont-MIT Alliance.     

Evolutionarily stable stealing: game theory applied to kleptoparasitism

We present an individual-based model of a group of foraginganimals. Individuals can obtain food either by discovering itthemselves or by stealing it from others (kleptoparasitism).Given that challenging another individual for a discovered fooditem costs time (which could otherwise be spent searching foran undiscovered item), attempting to steal from another maynot always be efficient We show that there is generally a uniquestrategy that maximizes uptake rate—always or never challengingothers. For any combination of parameter values, we can identifywhich strategy is appropraite. As a corollary to this, we predictthat small changes in ecolgical conditions can, under some circumstances,cause a dramatic change in the aggressive behavior of individuals.Further, we investigate situations where searching for undiscoveredfood and searching for potential opportunities for stealingare mutually exclusive activities (i.e., success at one canonly be improved at the expense of the other). Using game theory,we are able to find the evolutionarily stable strategy for investmentin these two activities in terms of the ecological parametersof the model.     

Food‐web structure and mercury dynamics in a large subarctic lake following multiple species introductions

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