Ultra-Deep Sequencing of Intra-host Rabies Virus Populations during Cross-species Transmission

One of the hurdles to understanding the role of viral quasispecies in RNA virus cross-species transmission (CST) events is the need to analyze a densely sampled outbreak using deep sequencing in order to measure the amount of mutation occurring on a small time scale. In 2009, the California Department of Public Health reported a dramatic increase (350) in the number of gray foxes infected with a rabies virus variant for which striped skunks serve as a reservoir host in Humboldt County. To better understand the evolution of rabies, deep-sequencing was applied to 40 unpassaged rabies virus samples from the Humboldt outbreak. For each sample, approximately 11 kb of the 12 kb genome was amplified and sequenced using the Illumina platform. Average coverage was 17,448 and this allowed characterization of the rabies virus population present in each sample at unprecedented depths. Phylogenetic analysis of the consensus sequence data demonstrated that samples clustered according to date (1995 vs. 2009) and geographic location (northern vs. southern). A single amino acid change in the G protein distinguished a subset of northern foxes from a haplotype present in both foxes and skunks, suggesting this mutation may have played a role in the observed increased transmission among foxes in this region. Deep-sequencing data indicated that many genetic changes associated with the CST event occurred prior to 2009 since several nonsynonymous mutations that were present in the consensus sequences of skunk and fox rabies samples obtained from 20032010 were present at the sub-consensus level (as rare variants in the viral population) in skunk and fox samples from 1995. These results suggest that analysis of rare variants within a viral population may yield clues to ancestral genomes and identify rare variants that have the potential to be selected for if environment conditions change.     

The Role of Viral Population Diversity in Adaptation of Bovine Coronavirus to New Host Environments

The high mutation rate of RNA viruses enables a diverse genetic population of viral genotypes to exist within a single infected host. In-host genetic diversity could better position the virus population to respond and adapt to a diverse array of selective pressures such as host-switching events. Multiple new coronaviruses, including SARS, have been identified in human samples just within the last ten years, demonstrating the potential of coronaviruses as emergent human pathogens. Deep sequencing was used to characterize genomic changes in coronavirus quasispecies during simulated host-switching. Three bovine nasal samples infected with bovine coronavirus were used to infect human and bovine macrophage and lung cell lines. The virus reproduced relatively well in macrophages, but the lung cell lines were not infected efficiently enough to allow passage of non lab-adapted samples. Approximately 12 kb of the genome was amplified before and after passage and sequenced at average coverages of nearly 950×(454 sequencing) and 38,000×(Illumina). The consensus sequence of many of the passaged samples had a 12 nucleotide insert in the consensus sequence of the spike gene, and multiple point mutations were associated with the presence of the insert. Deep sequencing revealed that the insert was present but very rare in the unpassaged samples and could quickly shift to dominate the population when placed in a different environment. The insert coded for three arginine residues, occurred in a region associated with fusion entry into host cells, and may allow infection of new cell types via heparin sulfate binding. Analysis of the deep sequencing data indicated that two distinct genotypes circulated at different frequency levels in each sample, and support the hypothesis that the mutations present in passaged strains were “selected” from a pre-existing pool rather than through de novo mutation and subsequent population fixation.     

BmPAH Catalyzes the Initial Melanin Biosynthetic Step in Bombyx mori

Pigmentation during insect development is a primal adaptive requirement. In the silkworm, melanin is the primary component of larval pigments. The rate limiting substrate in melanin synthesis is tyrosine, which is converted from phenylalanine by the rate-limiting enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH). While the role of tyrosine, derived from phenylalanine, in the synthesis of fiber proteins has long been known, the role of PAH in melanin synthesis is still unknown in silkworm. To define the importance of PAH, we cloned the cDNA sequence of BmPAH and expressed its complete coding sequence using the Bac-to-Bac baculovirus expression system. Purified recombinant protein had high PAH activity, some tryptophan hydroxylase activity, but no tyrosine hydroxylase activity, which are typical properties of PAH in invertebrates. Because melanin synthesis is most robust during the embryonic stage and larval integument recoloring stage, we injected BmPAH dsRNA into silkworm eggs and observed that decreasing BmPAH mRNA reduced neonatal larval tyrosine and caused insect coloration to fail. In vitro cultures and injection of 4^th instar larval integuments with PAH inhibitor revealed that PAH activity was essential for larval marking coloration. These data show that BmPAH is necessary for melanin synthesis and we propose that conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine by PAH is the first step in the melanin biosynthetic pathway in the silkworm.     

家蚕色氨酸羟化酶(TRH)基因的克隆及表达特性分析（英文）

5-羟色胺(5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT)是生物界广泛分布的信号分子,涉及动物的重要行为。5-HT是色氨酸羟化酶(Tryptophan hydroxylase, TRH)将L-色氨酸羟化为5-羟-L-色氨酸,5-羟-L-色氨酸随即被多巴脱羧酶(Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase, DDC)脱羧而成。TRH作为5-HT合成的限速酶,在无脊椎动物神经调控中具有重要地位。鳞翅目昆虫中TRH的功能研究并不多。在家蚕中克隆了家蚕TRH (Bombyx mori TRH, BmTRH)的cDNA序列1667bp,其中包含1632bp的开放读码框(Openreadingframe,ORF)。人类TPH或者果蝇TRH(Drosophila TRH, DmTRH)与BmTRH有高度相似性,尤其BmTRH和DmTRH之间大多数氨基酸保守说明它们在系统发育上的密切关系并可能有相似功能。基因表达分析显示BmTRH主要表达于头部和中枢神经组织,免疫组织化学和Western blotting结果显示BmTRH只存在于神经组织中,即BmTRH可能仅参与家蚕的神经活动。此外,家蚕DDC(B.moridecarboxylase,BmDDC)和蛋白具有TRH活性的苯丙氨酸羟化酶基因(Phenylalanine hydroxylase, BmPAH)也在中枢神经系统中有表达,暗示家蚕神经系统5-HT的合成与果蝇中不同,可能有两种不同的调控机制。     

家蚕色氨酸羟化酶 (TRH) 基因的克隆及表达特性分析

5-羟色胺 (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) 是生物界广泛分布的信号分子,涉及动物的重要行为。5-HT是色氨酸羟化酶 (Tryptophan hydroxylase, TRH) 将L-色氨酸羟化为5-羟-L-色氨酸,5-羟-L-色氨酸随即被多巴脱羧酶 (Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase, DDC) 脱羧而成。TRH作为5-HT合成的限速酶,在无脊椎动物神经调控中具有重要地位。鳞翅目昆虫中TRH的功能研究并不多。在家蚕中克隆了家蚕TRH (Bombyx mori TRH, BmTRH) 的cDNA序列1 667 bp,其中包含1 632 bp的开放读码框 (Open reading frame, ORF)。人类TPH或者果蝇TRH (Drosophila TRH, DmTRH) 与BmTRH有高度相似性,尤其BmTRH和DmTRH之间大多数氨基酸保守说明它们在系统发育上的密切关系并可能有相似功能。基因表达分析显示BmTRH主要表达于头部和中枢神经组织,免疫组织化学和Western blotting结果显示BmTRH只存在于神经组织中,即BmTRH可能仅参与家蚕的神经活动。此外,家蚕DDC (B. mori decarboxylase, BmDDC) 和蛋白具有TRH活性的苯丙氨酸羟化酶基因 (Phenylalanine hydroxylase, BmPAH) 也在中枢神经系统中有表达,暗示家蚕神经系统5-HT的合成与果蝇中不同,可能有两种不同的调控机制。     

Juvenile Rats Show Altered Gut Microbiota After Exposure to Isoflurane as Neonates

Neurochemical Research - Inhaled anesthetic agents may be neurotoxic to the developing brain of a neonatal rodent. Isoflurane is a commonly used volatile anesthetic agent for maintenance of general...     

Mannopeptimycin esters and carbonates, potent antibiotic agents against drug-resistant bacteria

A series of ester and carbonate derivatives of the glycopeptide mannopeptimycin alpha (1) with potent activity against G+ bacteria, including the methicillin-resistant staphylococci and vancomycin-resistant enterococci, was synthesized. The SAR data obtained from natural and semisynthetic compounds demonstrated the importance of a hydrophobic group in the terminal mannosyl moiety for antibacterial activity.     

昆虫TMED基因进化及家蚕TMED基因表达模式分析

跨膜p24 (transmembrane emp24 domain, TMED)基因与哺乳动物的免疫反应、信号传导、生长发育和疾病发展等密切相关。然而，昆虫中仅有果蝇TMED的报道。本研究从基因组鉴定了家蚕、赤拟谷盗、烟草天蛾和意大利蜂的TMED家族基因，并发现1个α类、1个β类、1个δ类和多个γ类的TMED家族基因成员构成模式产生于膜翅目分化前昆虫的共同祖先，而果蝇类TMED家族成员构成在进化中形成了独特模式。昆虫TMED家族γ类基因进化速度较快，分化成了TMED6-like、TMED5-like和TMED3-like这3个独立的亚类。TMED5-like基因在膜翅目昆虫发生了丢失，在鳞翅目昆虫祖先中发生了复制，在果蝇类发生了重复。昆虫TMED蛋白除具有典型的TMED结构特征外，还有明显的信号肽。家蚕7个TMED基因分布在6条染色体上，1个基因为单外显子，6个基因为多外显子。从幼虫组织克隆了家蚕7个TMED基因的开放阅读框(open reading frame, ORF)全序列并登录到GenBank数据库。BmTMED1、BmTMED2和BmTMED6在家蚕各个时期和组织中均表达，所...     

Enhanced chemiluminescence of the luminol–AgNO3 system by Ag nanoparticles

The oxidation reaction of luminol with AgNO₃ can produce chemiluminescence (CL) in the presence of silver nanoparticles (NPs) in alkaline solution. Based on the studies of UV‐vis absorption spectra, photoluminescence (PL) spectra and CL spectra, a CL enhancement mechanism is proposed. The CL emission spectrum of the luminol–AgNO₃–Ag NPs system indicated that the luminophore was still 3‐aminophthalate. On injection of silver nanoparticles into the mixture of luminol and AgNO₃, they catalysed the reduction of AgNO₃ by luminol. The product luminol radicals reacted with the dissolved oxygen, to produce a strong CL emission. As a result, the CL intensity was substantially increased. Moreover, the influences of 18 amino acids, e.g. cystine, tyrosine and asparagine, and 25 organic compounds, including gallic acid, tannic acid and hydroquinone, on the luminol–AgNO₃–Ag NPs CL system were studied by a flow‐injection procedure, which led to an effective method for detecting these compounds. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Negative Affect Mediates Effects of Psychological Stress on Disordered Eating in Young Chinese Women

Background

The bi-relationships between psychological stress, negative affect and disordered eating has been well studied in western culture, while tri-relationship among them, i.e. how some of those factors influence these bi-relationships, has rarely been studied. However, there has been little related study in the different Chinese culture. This study was conducted to investigate the bi-relationships and tri-relationship between psychological stress, negative affect, and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in young Chinese women.

Methodology

A total of 245 young Chinese policewomen employed to carry out health and safety checks at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo were recruited in this study. The Chinese version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Beck Depression Inventory Revised (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) were administered to all participants.

Principal Findings

The total scores of PSS-10, BDI-II and BAI were all highly correlated with that of EAT-26. The PSS-10 score significantly correlated with both BDI-II and BAI scores. There was no statistically significant direct effect from perceived stress to disordered eating (–0.012, 95%CI: –.038∼0.006, p = 0.357), however, the indirect effects from PSS-10 via affect factors were statistically significant, e.g. the estimated mediation effects from PSS to EAT-26 via depression and anxiety were 0.036 (95%CI: 0.022∼0.044, p<0.001) and 0.015 (95%CI: 0.005∼0.023, p<0.01), respectively.

Conclusions

Perceived stress and negative affects of depression and anxiety were demonstrated to be strongly associated with disordered eating. Negative affect mediated the relationship between perceived stress and disordered eating. The findings suggest that effective interventions and preventative programmes for disordered eating should pay more attention to depression and anxiety among the young Chinese female population.