Comparative and functional analyses of fecal microbiome in Asian elephants

Asian elephant is large herbivorous animal with elongated hindgut. To explore fecal microbial community composition with various ages, sex and diets, and their role in plant biomass degrading and nutrition conversation. We generated 119 Gb by metagenome sequencing from 10 different individual feces and identified 5.3 million non-redundant genes. The comprehensive analysis established that the Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria constituted the most dominant phyla in overall fecal samples. In different individuals, the alpha diversity of the fecal microbiota in female was lower than male, and the alpha diversity of the fecal microbiota in older was higher than younger, and the fecal microbial diversity was the most complex in wild elephant. But the predominant population compositions were similar to each other. Moreover, the newborn infant elephant feces assembled and maintained a diverse but host-specific fecal microbial population. The discovery speculated that Asian elephant maybe have start to building microbial populations before birth. Meanwhile, these results illustrated that host phylogeny, diets, ages and sex are significant factors for fecal microbial community composition. Therefore, we put forward the process of Asian elephant fecal microbial community composition that the dominant populations were built first under the guidance of phylogeny, and then shaped gradually a unique and flexible gut microbial community structure under the influences of diet, age and sex. This study found also that the Bacteroidetes were presumably the main drivers of plant fiber-degradation. A large of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters, and genes related to enediyne biosynthesis were found and showed that the Asian elephant fecal microbiome harbored a diverse and abundant genetic resource. A picture of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) reservoirs of fecal microbiota in Asian elephants was provided. Surprisingly, there was such wide range of ARGs in newborn infant elephant. Further strengthening our speculation that the fetus of Asian elephant has colonized prototypical fecal microbiota before birth. However, it is necessary to point out that the data give a first inside into the gut microbiota of Asian elephants but too few individuals were studied to draw general conclusions for differences among wild and captured elephants, female and male or different ages. Further studies are required. Additionally, the cultured actinomycetes from Asian elephant feces also were investigated, which the feces of Asian elephants could be an important source of actinomycetes.

     

Activation of the Imprinted Dlk1-Dio3 Region Correlates with Pluripotency Levels of Mouse Stem Cells

Low reprogramming efficiency and reduced pluripotency have been the two major obstacles in induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell research. An effective and quick method to assess the pluripotency levels of iPS cells at early stages would significantly increase the success rate of iPS cell generation and promote its applications. We have identified a conserved imprinted region of the mouse genome, the Dlk1-Dio3 region, which was activated in fully pluripotent mouse stem cells but repressed in partially pluripotent cells. The degree of activation of this region was positively correlated with the pluripotency levels of stem cells. A mammalian conserved cluster of microRNAs encoded by this region exhibited significant expression differences between full and partial pluripotent stem cells. Several microRNAs from this cluster potentially target components of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) and may form a feedback regulatory loop resulting in the expression of all genes and non-coding RNAs encoded by this region in full pluripotent stem cells. No other genomic regions were found to exhibit such clear expression changes between cell lines with different pluripotency levels; therefore, the Dlk1-Dio3 region may serve as a marker to identify fully pluripotent iPS or embryonic stem cells from partial pluripotent cells. These findings also provide a step forward toward understanding the operating mechanisms during reprogramming to produce iPS cells and can potentially promote the application of iPS cells in regenerative medicine and cancer therapy.     

贵州省安顺市土地资源信息空间数据库的建立与应用

1　引　　言要制订不会危及环境的土地资源开发和保护计划 ,必须首先掌握可靠的、较新的有关土地资源的时空信息[3 ] .近年来 ,以ＧＩＳ和遥感技术为主的现代信息科学技术在土地覆盖/利用调查与填图[2 ,6] 、土地资源动态变化监测[13 ] 、土地质量退化与土壤侵蚀监测[5,8] 、土地资源评价[12 ] 与管理[10 ] 中得到了广泛应用 .这些技术可以较好地解决以往传统方法在获取、分析和处理大量、复杂土地信息中的众多限制 ,使我们得以动态地、综合地分析土地资源环境信息[4,7] .贵州省安顺市地处我国西南岩溶山区 ,生态环境脆弱 ,土地资源相对不足…     

凝胶层析在发酵液中分离提纯透明质酸中的应用

采用葡聚糖凝胶G-100,以0.1 mol/L氯化钠溶液为洗脱剂,在优化的凝胶层析条件(层析柱高度30 cm、进样量2 ml、洗脱流速1 ml/4 min)下,对透明质酸发酵液进行分离纯化,得到了高纯度的透明质酸.HA提取率达到79.85%,蛋白质去除率为84.93%.     

油桃优异种质早红2号的评价与利用

早红2号为中国农科院郑州果树所从新西兰引入的美国油桃品种,试验表明其需冷量500h,果实发育期92d,极丰产,外观漂亮,耐贮运,离核,含有矮化基因,其主要优良经济性状如果形、色泽和肉质具有较高的遗传能力,已在我国育种和生产中得到有效利用,是一优异的品种资源.     

A GIM-Based Biomimetic Learning Approach for Motion Generation of a Multi-Joint Robotic Fish

In this paper, we propose a biomimetic learning approach for motion generation of a multi-joint robotic fish. Based on a multi-joint robotic fish model, two basic Carangiform swimming patterns, namely ＂cruise＂ and ＂C sharp turning＂, are extracted as training samples from the observations of real fish swimming. A General Internal Model （GIM）, which is an imitation of Central Pattern Generator （CPG） in nerve systems, is adopted to learn and to regenerate coordinated fish behaviors. By virtue of the universal function approximation ability and the temporal/spatial scalabilities of GIM, the proposed learning approach is able to generate the same or similar fish swimming patterns by tuning two parameters. The learned swimming patterns are implemented on a multi-joint robotic fish in experiments. The experiment results verify the effectiveness of the biomimetic learning approach in generating and modifying locomotion patterns for the robotic fish.     

哈密瓜疫病的病理解剖研究

以新疆厚皮甜瓜＂红心脆＂作为供试植株,甜瓜疫霉作为病原,对其在植物体内的侵染途径及对组织的危害进行了观察,结果为：（１）菌丝可穿过寄主表皮或通过表面伤口、自然孔口对茎蔓部、下胚轴进行侵染;（２）菌丝在寄主组织中蔓延时产生分枝,沿着细胞间隙或胞间层纵向或横向延伸,以纵向侵染速度快;（３）疫霉菌对寄主组织的危害是引起表皮、皮层、韧皮部和髓射线细胞变形直至收缩,在木质部导管中,菌丝及其侵染时所产生的絮状物、侵填体可单独或共同堵塞整个导管。     

卧龙巴郎山川滇高山栎灌丛地上生物量及其模型

川滇高山栎广泛分布于横断山地区,属于亚高山硬叶栎林,是中国植被非常特殊的类型。采用标准地法和样方收获法,对卧龙自然保护区5个海拔梯度的川滇高山栎灌丛生物量进行调查。结果表明,用地径(D)、树高(H)估测单株林木器官生物量的适合模型均为指数模型和幂函数模型,且以指数模型为最佳,相关系数为0.941~0.988;而用D2H估测单株林木器官生物量的适合模型均为直线和指数模型,以直线模型为最佳,相关系数为0.982~0.996;川滇高山栎灌丛总生物量为3.3891×104kg.hm-2,各层生物量排序为川滇高山栎层>枯枝落叶层>伴生灌木层>苔藓层>草本层,其生物量占总生物量百分率分别为77.92%、17.64%、2.14%、1.23%和1.07%;川滇高山栎种群平均总生物量为2.6408×104kg.hm-2,各器官生物量大小排序为根>干>枝>叶>皮,其生物量占种群总生物量的百分率分别为31.03%、29.85%、18.54%、18.54%和6.91%。     

The differential affinity of the usher for chaperone–subunit complexes is required for assembly of complete pili

Attachment to host cells via adhesive surface structures is a prerequisite for the pathogenesis of many bacteria. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli assemble P and type 1 pili for attachment to the host urothelium. Assembly of these pili requires the conserved chaperone/usher pathway, in which a periplasmic chaperone controls the folding of pilus subunits and an outer membrane usher provides a platform for pilus assembly and secretion. The usher has differential affinity for pilus subunits, with highest affinity for the tip‐localized adhesin. Here, we identify residues F21 and R652 of the P pilus usher PapC as functioning in the differential affinity of the usher. R652 is important for high‐affinity binding to the adhesin whereas F21 is important for limiting affinity for the PapA major rod subunit. PapC mutants in these residues are specifically defective for pilus assembly in the presence of PapA, demonstrating that differential affinity of the usher is required for assembly of complete pili. Analysis of PapG deletion mutants demonstrated that the adhesin is not required to initiate P pilus biogenesis. Thus, the differential affinity of the usher may be critical to ensure assembly of functional pilus fibres.     

Locomotion Generation and Motion Library Design for an Anguilliform Robotic Fish

In this paper, modeling, locomotion generation, motion library design and path planning for a real prototype of an Anguilliform robotic fish are presented. The robotic fish consists of four links and three joints, and the driving forces are the torques applied to the joints. Considering kinematic constraints and hydrodynamic forces, Lagrangian formulation is used to obtain the dynamic model of the fish. Using this model, three major locomotion patterns of Anguilliform fish, including forward locomotion, backward locomotion and turning locomotion are investigated. It is found that the fish exhibits different locomotion patterns by giving different reference joint angles, such as adding reversed phase difference, or adding deflections to the original reference angles. The results are validated by both simulations and experiments. Furthermore, the relations among the speed of the fish, angular frequency, undulation amplitude, phase difference, as well as the relationship between the turning radius and deflection angle are investigated. These relations provide an elaborated motion library that can be used for motion planning of the robotic fish.