In-situ localization of chalcone synthase mRNA in pea root nodule development

In this paper studies on the role of flavonoids in pea root nodule development are reported. Flavonoid synthesis was followed by localizing chalcone synthase (CHS) mRNA in infected pea roots and in root nodules. In a nodule primordium, CHS mRNA is present in all cells of the primordium. Therefore it is hypothesized that the Rhizobium Nod factor induces cell division in the root cortex by stimulating the production of flavonoids that function as auxin transport inhibitors. In nodules CHS mRNA is predominantly present in a region at the apex of the nodule consisting of meristematic and cortical cells. These cells are not infected by Rhizobium. Therefore it is postulated that CHS plays a role in nodule development rather than in a defence response. In roots CHS mRNA is located at a similar position as in nodules, suggesting that CHS has the same function in both root and nodule development. When nodules are formed by mutants of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae that are unable to secrete β(1-2) glucan and to synthesize the O-antigen containing LPS I, CHS genes are also expressed in regions of the nodule that are infected by Rhizobium. It is postulated that the impaired development of nodules formed by these mutants is due to an induction of a plant defence response.     

Rhizobium leguminosarum exoB mutants are deficient in the synthesis of UDP-glucose 4'-epimerase

Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae Exo- mutant strains RBL5523,exo7::Tn5,RBL5523,exo8::Tn5 and RBL5523,exo52::Tn5 are affected in nodulation and in the syntheses of lipopolysaccharide, capsular polysaccharide, and exocellular polysaccharide. These mutants were complemented for nodulation and for the syntheses of these polysaccharides by plasmid pMP2603. The gene in which these mutants are defective is functionally homologous to the exoB gene of Rhizobium meliloti. The repeating unit of the residual amounts of EPS still made by the exoB mutants of R. leguminosarum bv. viciae lacks galactose and the substituents attached to it. The R. leguminosarum bv. viciae and R. meliloti exoB mutants fail to synthesize active UDP-glucose 4'-epimerase.     

生防细菌CNY-04筛选、鉴定及其对灰霉病菌的防效

【目的】为研究土壤细菌对蔬菜灰霉病的生防价值, 从辽宁、山东等地区的蔬菜种植基地采集土壤样本56份, 分离、筛选出对灰霉病具有稳定拮抗作用的细菌9株。【方法】采用平板对峙培养法进行初筛、复筛, 用抑菌圈法测定其抑菌效果, 并进行离体果实试验验证其对蔬菜灰霉病的防治效果, 通过形态学特征、生理生化特征及16S rRNA基因序列分析研究其分类地位。【结果】细菌CNY-04对蔬菜灰霉病的拮抗能力最强且遗传稳定, 抑菌圈直径达到34 mm; 初步鉴定该菌株为格氏沙雷菌(Serratia grimesii), 尚未见该菌在生防上的报道; CNY-04液体菌剂对离体番茄果实灰霉病的防效为69.23%, 50%多菌灵防效为75.39%, 24 h时接种CNY-04处理的番茄发病率为40.0%, 而48 h时接种处理的发病率为51.1%。【结论】CNY-04是一株较为理想的拮抗菌, 丰富了生防资源。     

Malaria parasite liver stages render host hepatocytes susceptible to mitochondria-initiated apoptosis

Intracellular eukaryotic parasites and their host cells constitute complex, coevolved cellular interaction systems that frequently cause disease. Among them, Plasmodium parasites cause a significant health burden in humans, killing up to one million people annually. To succeed in the mammalian host after transmission by mosquitoes, Plasmodium parasites must complete intracellular replication within hepatocytes and then release new infectious forms into the blood. Using Plasmodium yoelii rodent malaria parasites, we show that some liver stage (LS)-infected hepatocytes undergo apoptosis without external triggers, but the majority of infected cells do not, and can also resist Fas-mediated apoptosis. In contrast, apoptosis is dramatically increased in hepatocytes infected with attenuated parasites. Furthermore, we find that blocking total or mitochondria-initiated host cell apoptosis increases LS parasite burden in mice, suggesting that an anti-apoptotic host environment fosters parasite survival. Strikingly, although LS infection confers strong resistance to extrinsic host hepatocyte apoptosis, infected hepatocytes lose their ability to resist apoptosis when anti-apoptotic mitochondrial proteins are inhibited. This is demonstrated by our finding that B-cell lymphoma 2 family inhibitors preferentially induce apoptosis in LS-infected hepatocytes and significantly reduce LS parasite burden in mice. Thus, targeting critical points of susceptibility in the LS-infected host cell might provide new avenues for malaria prophylaxis.     

Genetic variation in the mitochondrial enzyme carbamyl-phosphate synthetase I predisposes children to increased pulmonary artery pressure following surgical repair of congenital heart defects: a validated genetic association study

Increased pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) can complicate the postoperative care of children undergoing surgical repair of congenital heart defects. Endogenous NO regulates PAP and is derived from arginine supplied by the urea cycle. The rate-limiting step in the urea cycle is catalyzed by a mitochondrial enzyme, carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase I (CPSI). A well-characterized polymorphism in the gene encoding CPSI (T1405N) has previously been implicated in neonatal pulmonary hypertension. A consecutive modeling cohort of children (N=131) with congenital heart defects requiring surgery was prospectively evaluated to determine key factors associated with increased postoperative PAP, defined as a mean PAP>20 mmHg for at least 1h during the 48h following surgery measured by an indwelling pulmonary artery catheter. Multiple dimensionality reduction (MDR) was used to both internally validate observations and develop optimal two-variable through five-variable models that were tested prospectively in a validation cohort (N=41). Unconditional logistic regression analysis of the modeling cohort revealed that age (OR=0.92, p=0.01), CPSI T1405N genotype (AC vs. AA: OR=4.08, p=0.04, CC vs. AA: OR=5.96, p=0.01), and Down syndrome (OR=5.25, p=0.04) were independent predictors of this complex phenotype. MDR predicted that the best two-variable model consisted of age and CPSI T1405N genotype (p<0.001). This two-variable model correctly predicted 73% of the outcomes from the validation cohort. A five-variable model that added race, gender and Down's syndrome was not significantly better than the two-variable model. In conclusion, the CPSI T1405N genotype appears to be an important new factor in predicting susceptibility to increased PAP following surgical repair of congenital cardiac defects in children.     

Cyclosporine A suppresses keratinocyte cell death through MPTP inhibition in a model for skin cancer in organ transplant recipients

Transplant recipients have an elevated risk of skin cancer, with a 65- to 250-fold increase in squamous cell carcinoma. Usage of the immunosuppressant cyclosporine A (CsA) is associated with the development of skin cancer. We hypothesized that the increased incidence of skin cancer was due to the action of CsA within keratinocyte mitochondria where it can inhibit mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) opening. Normally, MPTP opening is induced by oxidative stress such as that caused by UV light and leads to cell death, thereby eliminating a cell that has been exposed to genotoxic insult. However, in the presence of CsA, damaged cells may survive and consequently form tumors. To test this hypothesis, we treated keratinocytes with levels of CsA used therapeutically in transplant patients and assessed their viability following UVA-irradiation. CsA prevented cell death by inhibiting MPTP opening, even though the levels of oxidative stress were increased markedly. Nim811, a non-immunosuppressive drug that can block the MPTP had a similar effect while the immunosuppressive drug tacrolimus that does not interact with the mitochondria had no effect. These findings suggest that CsA may promote skin cancer in transplant patients by allowing keratinocyte survival under conditions of increased genotoxic stress.     

Construction of a Festuca pratensis BAC library for map-based cloning in Festulolium substitution lines

Introgression in Festulolium is a potentially powerful tool to isolate genes for a large number of traits which differ between Festuca pratensis Huds. and Lolium perenne L. Not only are hybrids between the two species fertile, but the two genomes can be distinguished by genomic in situ hybridisation and a high frequency of recombination occurs between homoeologous chromosomes and chromosome segments. By a programme of introgression and a series of backcrosses, L. perenne lines have been produced which contain small F. pratensis substitutions. This material is a rich source of polymorphic markers targeted towards any trait carried on the F. pratensis substitution not observed in the L. perenne background. We describe here the construction of an F. pratensis BAC library, which establishes the basis of a map-based cloning strategy in L. perenne. The library contains 49,152 clones, with an average insert size of 112 kbp, providing coverage of 2.5 haploid genome equivalents. We have screened the library for eight amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) derived markers known to be linked to an F. pratensis gene introgressed into L. perenne and conferring a staygreen phenotype as a consequence of a mutation in primary chlorophyll catabolism. While for four of the markers it was possible to identify bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones, the other four AFLPs were too repetitive to enable reliable identification of locus-specific BACs. Moreover, when the four BACs were partially sequenced, no obvious coding regions could be identified. This contrasted to BACs identified using cDNA sequences, when multiple genes were identified on the same BAC.     

牙周病摄片数字化分析用于临床诊断的探讨

本文探讨了牙周病摄片数字化分析,即纹理分析技术,应用于牙周病诊断的可能性。数字化分析能提供牙槽骨图象的细部特征特征描述和定量表达的形式,将为牙周病提供一种新的诊断方法。