小麦亲本遗传距离与产量杂种优势间的相关性研究

本文以10个小麦品种和按双列杂交配制的45个组合为材料,对遗传距离与产量杂种优势的关系进行了研究,结果表明:亲本遗传距离与产量杂种优势有极显著的非线性回归关系.遗传距离等于零时,杂种优势等于零;随着遗传距离的增大,杂种优势迅速达到最大值,然后缓慢下降,为通过原点的不对称抛物线.并对玉米、棉花的遗传距离与杂种优势的关系重新进行了探讨,一致表明,非线性回归关系优于抛物线回归关系.     

Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist inhibits metastatic potential by down-regulating CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling axis in colorectal cancer

Wnt signaling plays key roles in cellular and physiological processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation and migration during development and tissue homeostasis in adults. This pathway can be defined as Wnt/β-catenin-dependent or β-catenin-independent or “non-canonical”, both signaling are involved in neurite and synapse development/maintenance. Porcupine (PORCN), an acylase that o-acylates Wnt ligands, a major modification in secretion and interaction with its receptors. We use Wnt-C59, a specific PORCN inhibitor, to block the secretion of endogenous Wnts in embryonic hippocampal neurons (DIV 4). Under these conditions, the activity of exogenous Wnt ligands on the complexity of the dendritic tree and axonal polarity were evaluated Cultured primary embryonic hippocampal neurons obtained from Sprague–Dawley rat fetuses (E18), were cultured until day in vitro (DIV) 4 (according to Banker´s protocol) and treated with Wnt-C59 for 24 h, Wnt ligands were added to the cultures on DIV 3 for 24 h. Dendritic arbors and neurites were analysis by fluorescence microscopy. Transfection with Lipofectamine 2000 on DIV 2 of plasmid expressing eGFP and KIF5-Cherry was carried out to evaluate neuronal polarity. Immunostaining was performed with MAP1B and Tau protein. Immunoblot analysis was carried out with Wnt3a, β-catenin and GSK-3β (p-Ser9). Quantitative analysis of dendrite morphology was carried out with ImageJ (NIH) software with Neuron J Plugin. We report, here, that Wnt-C59 treatment changed the morphology of the dendritic arbors and neurites of embryonic hippocampal neurons, with decreases β-catenin and Wnt3a and an apparent increase in GSK-3β (p-Ser9) levels. No effect was observed on axonal polarity. In sister cultures, addition of exogenous Wnt3a, 5a and 7a ligands rescued the changes in neuronal morphology. Wnt3a restored the length of neurites to near that of the control, but Wnt7a increased the neurite length beyond that of the control. Wnt5a also restored the length of neurites relative to Wnt concentrations. Results indicated that Wnt ligands, added exogenously, restored dendritic arbor complexity in embryonic hippocampal neurons, previously treated with a high affinity specific Porcupine inhibitor. We proposed that PORCN is an emerging molecular target of interest in the search for preclinical options to study and treat Wnt-related diseases.     

Fe3+ immobilized metal affinity chromatography with silica monolithic capillary column for phosphoproteome analysis

Immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) is a commonly used technique for phosphoproteome analysis due to its high affinity for adsorption of phosphopeptides. Miniaturization of IMAC column is essential for the analysis of a small amount of sample. Nanoscale IMAC column was prepared by chemical modification of silica monolith with iminodiacetic acid (IDA) followed by the immobilization of Fe3+ ion inside the capillary. It was demonstrated that Fe3+-IDA silica monolithic IMAC capillary column could specifically capture the phosphopeptides from tryptic digest of alpha-casein with analysis by MALDI-TOF MS. The silica monolithic IMAC capillary column was manually coupled with nanoflow RPLC/nanospray ESI mass spectrometer (muRPLC-nanoESI MS) for phosphoproteome analysis. The system was validated by analysis of standard phosphoproteins and then it was applied to the analysis of protein phosphorylation in mouse liver lysate. Besides MS/MS spectra, MS/MS/MS spectra were also collected for neutral loss peak. After database search and manual validation with conservative criteria, 29 singly phosphorylated peptides were identified by analyzing a tryptic digest of only 12 mug mouse liver lysate. The results demonstrated that the silica monolithic IMAC capillary column coupled with muRPLC-nanoESI MS was very suitable for the phosphoproteome analysis of minute sample.     

Enrichment of phosphopeptides by Fe3+-immobilized mesoporous nanoparticles of MCM-41 for MALDI and nano-LC-MS/MS analysis

Fe3+-immobilized mesoporous molecular sieves MCM-41 with particle size of ca. 600 nm and pore size of ca. 3 nm is synthesized and applied to selectively trap and separate phosphopeptides from tryptic digest of proteins. For the capture of phosphopeptides, typically 10 microL of tryptic digest solution was first diluted to 1 mL by solution of ACN/0.1% TFA (50:50, v/v) and incubated with 10 microL of 0.1% acetic acid dispersed Fe3+-immobilized MCM-41 for 1 h under vibration. Fe3+-immobilized MCM-41 with trapped phosphopeptides was separated by centrifugation. The deposition was first washed with a volume of 300 microL of solution containing 100 mM NaCl in ACN/0.1% TFA (50:50, v/v) and followed by a volume of 300 microL of solution of 0.1% acetic acid to remove nonspecifically bound peptides. The nanoparticles with trapped phosphopeptides are mixed with 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,5-DHB) and deposited onto the target for analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). It was found that phosphopeptides from tryptic digest of alpha-casein and beta-casein are effectively and specifically trapped on Fe3+-immobilized MCM-41 with few peptides nonspecifically adsorbed. After the extraction by Fe3+-immobilized MCM-41, the suppression to the detection of phosphopeptides caused by abundant nonphosphopeptides from tryptic digest is effectively eliminated, and the detection of phosphopeptides by MALDI is greatly enhanced with the value of signal-to-noise (S/N) increased by more than an order of magnitude. It is demonstrated that the mechanism of the adsorption of phosphopeptides on Fe3+-immobilized MCM-41 is based on the interaction between the Fe3+ and the phosphate group. Finally, Fe3+-immobilized MCM-41 is applied to extract phosphopeptides from tryptic digest of the lysate of mouse liver for phosphoproteome analysis by nano-LC-MS/MS.     

Proteomic analysis of Ketogulonicigenium vulgare under glutathione reveals high demand for thiamin transport and antioxidant protection

Ketogulonicigenium vulgare, though grows poorly when mono-cultured, has been widely used in the industrial production of the precursor of vitamin C with the coculture of Bacillus megaterium. Various efforts have been made to clarify the synergic pattern of this artificial microbial community and to improve the growth and production ability of K. vulgare, but there is still no sound explanation. In previous research, we found that the addition of reduced glutathione into K. vulgare monoculture could significantly improve its growth and productivity. By performing SEM and TEM, we observed that after adding GSH into K. vulgare monoculture, cells became about 4-6 folds elongated, and formed intracytoplasmic membranes (ICM). To explore the molecular mechanism and provide insights into the investigation of the synergic pattern of the co-culture system, we conducted a comparative iTRAQ-2-D-LC-MS/MS-based proteomic analysis of K. vulgare grown under reduced glutathione. Principal component analysis of proteomic data showed that after the addition of glutathione, proteins for thiamin/thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP) transport, glutathione transport and the maintenance of membrane integrity, together with several membrane-bound dehydrogenases had significant up-regulation. Besides, several proteins participating in the pentose phosphate pathway and tricarboxylic acid cycle were also up-regulated. Additionally, proteins combating intracellular reactive oxygen species were also up-regulated, which similarly occurred in K. vulgare when the co-cultured B. megaterium cells lysed from our former research results. This study reveals the demand for transmembrane transport of substrates, especially thiamin, and the demand for antioxidant protection of K. vulgare.     

Zirconium phosphonate-modified porous silicon for highly specific capture of phosphopeptides and MALDI-TOF MS analysis

Phosphorylation is one of the most important post-translational modifications of proteins, which modulates a wide range of biological functions and activity of proteins. The analysis of phosphopeptides is still one of the most challenging tasks in proteomics research by mass spectrometry. In this study, a novel phosphopeptide enrichment approach based on the strong interaction of zirconium phosphonate (ZrP) modified surface with phosphopeptides has been developed. ZrP modified porous silicon (ZrP-pSi) wafer was prepared to specifically capture the phosphopeptides from complex peptide mixtures, and then the captured phosphopeptides were analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS by directly placing the wafer on a MALDI target. The phosphopeptide enrichment and MALDI analysis were both performed on the ZrP-pSi wafer which significantly reduced the sample loss and simplified the analytical procedures. The prepared ZrP-pSi wafer has been successfully applied for the enrichment of phosphopeptides from the tryptic digest of standard phosphoproteins beta-casein and alpha-casein. The excellent selectivity of this approach was demonstrated by analyzing phosphopeptides in the digest mixture of beta-casein and bovine serum albumin with molar ratio of 1:100. High detection sensitivity has been achieved for the analysis of the phosphopeptides from tryptic digestion of 2 fmol beta-casein on the ZrP-pSi surface.     

地震滑坡迹地的植物群落与土壤恢复效果评价

地震滑坡是大陆山区常见的次生地质灾害,其会带来植被损毁、土壤破坏、生物栖息地破碎化等一系列生态问题。已有不少学者对地震滑坡迹地的植物群落特征和土壤性质进行调查研究,但对其恢复效果的综合评价鲜有报道。以龙门山东坡的地震滑坡迹地为研究对象,通过调查分析不同恢复方式下的植物群落特征和土壤性质,并基于模糊数学模型,结合主成分分析,定量地综合评价地震滑坡迹地恢复十年的植物群落与土壤恢复效果。结果表明：（1）地震滑坡迹地的乔木层平均高度和胸径显著小于未受损区（P<0.05）,灌木层平均基径和草本层α多样性与未受损区无显著差异（P>0.05）,人工恢复与自然恢复的灌草层α多样性均无显著性差异（P>0.05）;（2）地震滑坡迹地的土壤容重显著大于未受损区（P<0.05）,孔隙度和碱解氮含量显著小于未受损区（P<0.05）,土壤微生物生物量碳氮以及脱氢酶、蛋白酶、脲酶、磷酸酶和蔗糖酶活性小于未受损区;（3）地震滑坡迹地的植物群落特征与土壤性质综合得分小于邻近未受损区,人工恢复滑坡迹地的综合得分小于自然恢复;（4）与自然恢复相比,水平阶整地滑坡迹地的综合恢复率小于0,栽植不同树种对其恢复率无显著影响（P>0.05）;穴状整地后,栽植刺槐(Robinia pseudoacacia)滑坡迹地的综合恢复率大于0,且显著高于栽植柳杉(Cryptomeria fortunei)的滑坡迹地（P<0.05）;进行穴状整地的综合恢复率显著高于水平阶整地的滑坡迹地（P<0.05）。龙门山东坡地震滑坡迹地恢复十年,其植物群落与土壤还未恢复到未受损区水平,通过穴状整地并栽植适宜树种可在一定程度上提高其恢复率。     

A matrix of 3,4-diaminobenzophenone for the analysis of oligonucleotides by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A new matrix of 3,4-diaminobenzophenone (DABP) was demonstrated to be advantageous in the analysis of oligonucleotides by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. With DABP as a matrix, intact oligonucleotide ions can be readily produced with lower laser powers, resulting in better detection limits, less fragmentation and fewer alkali metal ion adducts compared with the results obtained with conventional matrices. Importantly, minimal fragmentation and fewer alkali metal ion adducts were seen even at low concentrations of oligonucleotides. It was also found that samples prepared with DABP are highly homogenous and therefore reducing the need for finding ‘sweet’ spots in MALDI. In addition, excellent shot-to-shot reproducibility, resolution and signal-to-noise ratio were seen with DABP as the matrix.     

样本对小麦遗传距离与杂种优势关系的影响

本文以10个小麦品种和按双列杂交配制的45个组合为材料,研究了样本容量和样本的数据结构对遗传距离与杂种优势关系的影响．结果表明：（1）当样本容量较小时,遗传距离与产量杂种优势的关系为不相关;随着样本容量的增加,遗传距离与产量杂种优势的关系有由不相关,到Y=axe～bx(a＞0,b＜0）,Y=ax～be～cx（a、b＞0,c＜0）相关的变化趋势．（2）当样本的数据结构较差时,需较大样本容量,才能真实反映遗传距离与产量杂种优势的关系．     

Elaiophylin reduces body weight and lowers glucose levels in obese mice by activating AMPK

Obesity is an epidemic affecting 13% of the global population and increasing the risk of many chronic diseases. However, only several drugs are licensed for pharmacological intervention for the treatment of obesity. As a master regulator of metabolism, the therapeutic potential of AMPK is widely recognized and aggressively pursued for the treatment of metabolic diseases. We found that elaiophylin (Ela) rapidly activates AMPK in a panel of cancer-cell lines, as well as primary hepatocytes and adipocytes. Meanwhile, Ela inhibits the mTORC1 complex, turning on catabolism and turning off anabolism together with AMPK. In vitro and in vivo studies showed that Ela does not activate AMPK directly, instead, it increases cellular AMP/ATP and ADP/ATP ratios, leading to AMPK phosphorylation in a LKB1-dependent manner. AMPK activation induced by Ela caused changes in diverse metabolic genes, thereby promoting glucose consumption and fatty acid oxidation. Importantly, Ela activates AMPK in mouse liver and adipose tissue. As a consequence, it reduces body weight and blood glucose levels and improves glucose and insulin tolerance in both ob/ob and high-fat diet-induced obese mouse models. Our study has identified a novel AMPK activator as a candidate drug for the treatment of obesity and its associated chronic diseases.Subject terms: Cell biology, Drug discovery