火烧信号对种子萌发影响的研究进展

火作为一个基础的生态因子, 对森林、草地等陆地生态系统的结构和功能有着重要的影响。种子萌发是种子植物的重要生活史阶段, 也是火后植被更新和恢复的主要途径。植被燃烧产生了烟、热以及与烟相关的一系列火烧信号, 在打破种子休眠, 促进种子萌发方面发挥重要作用。该文将火烧信号分为物理信号和化学信号, 物理信号主要是伴随火烧产生的高温, 化学信号主要包括气态烟以及近年来从烟水中提取的影响种子萌发的关键化学物质karrikins和glyceronitrile。该文围绕火烧的基本信息, 火烧信号对种子萌发的影响, 火烧信号在实践中的应用3个方面进行系统综述, 重点探讨了不同类别的火烧信号及其交互作用对种子萌发的影响。在系统总结火烧信号对种子萌发影响的研究进展的基础上, 提出未来的研究应与烟信号作用机理的探究以及全球变化等方面相结合, 旨在充分发挥火的生态服务功能, 为火的科学管理应用和退化生态系统恢复提供理论支撑。     

迁飞昆虫生物学参数反演及种类辨识分析

虫害严重威胁着我国的粮食安全,迁飞昆虫中有许多是农业害虫,其远距离迁飞是导致虫害异地暴发的重要原因.昆虫雷达是观测昆虫迁飞最有效的工具,在迁飞昆虫的监测和预警中发挥着越来越重要的作用,但传统昆虫雷达不能准确获取昆虫的各项生物学参数,因此无法实现昆虫种类的精确识别.随着雷达技术的创新和发展,通过昆虫雷达获得较为准确的昆虫生物学参数成为可能,为基于昆虫雷达实现迁飞昆虫个体种类辨识提供了依据.本文综述了从雷达回波中提取多频和极化散射参量,然后基于不同的电磁散射反演昆虫生物学参数的方法,并对比分析了基于不同方法的昆虫体重、体长、体宽和振翅频率的反演精度.最后基于生物学参数,采用5种机器学习算法以高精度实现了 23种迁飞昆虫的种类辨识,并分析了昆虫生物学参数的测量误差对迁飞昆虫种类辨识精度的影响,初步验证了利用雷达实现高精度迁飞昆虫种类辨识的可行性.     

Zebrafish eggs used as bioreactors for the production of bioactive tilapia insulin-like growth factors

Multiple advantages-including the short generation time, large numbers of fertilized eggs, low cost of cultivation and easy maintenance favor the use of fish as bioreactors for the production of pharmaceutical proteins. In the present study, zebrafish eggs were used as bioreactors to produce mature tilapia insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) proteins using the oocyte-specific zona pellucida (zp3) promoter. The chimeric expression plasmids, pT2-ZP-tIGFs-IRES-hrGFP, in which hrGFP was used as reporter of tilapia IGFs expression, were designed to established Tg (ZP:tIGFs:hrGFP) transgenic lines for the expression of tilapia IGF-1 and IGF-2. Recombinant tilapia IGF-1 and IGF-2 were expressed as soluble forms in cytoplasm of fertilized eggs. The content level of tilapia IGF-1 and IGF-2 were 6.5 and 5.0% of the soluble protein, respectively. Using a simple Ni–NTA affinity chromatography purification process, 0.58 and 0.49 mg of purified tilapia IGF-1 and IGF-2 were obtained, respectively, from 650 fertilized eggs. The biological activity of the purified tilapia IGF-1 and IGF-2 was confirmed via a colorimetric bioassay to monitor the growth stimulation of zebrafish embryonic cells (ZF4), tilapia ovary cells (TO-2) and human osteosarcoma epithelial cells (U2OS). These results demonstrate that the use of zebrafish eggs as bioreactors is a promising approach for the production of biological recombinant proteins.     

Suppression of myostatin with vector-based RNA interference causes a double-muscle effect in transgenic zebrafish

Myostatin belongs to the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily and is a potent negative regulator of skeletal muscle development and growth. We utilized microinjection of an antisense RNA-expressing vector to establish a hereditarily stable myostatin gene knockdown zebrafish strain with a double-muscle phenotype. Real-time PCR and immunostaining revealed that the myostatin messenger (m)RNA and protein levels in homozygous transgenic zebrafish were 33% and 26% those of the non-transgenic controls, respectively. Also, the mRNA levels of myogenic regulatory factor markers such as MyoD, myogenin, Mrf4, and Myf5 were dramatically elevated in myostatin-suppressed transgenic fish compared to the non-transgenic controls. Although there was no significant difference in body length, homozygous transgenic zebrafish were 45% heavier than non-transgenic controls. Histochemical analysis showed that the cross-sectional area of the muscle fiber of homozygous transgenic fish was twice as large as that of non-transgenic controls. This is the first model zebrafish with a hereditarily stable myostatin-suppressed genotype and a double-muscle phenotype.     

A survey of airborne algae and cyanobacteria within the indoor environment of an office building in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia

This study investigates the occurrence of airborne algae and cyanobacteria (AAC) within the indoor environment of an office building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Samples of air, wall scrapings and soils of potted plants were collected from various sites within the building and surrounding areas. In addition, AAC were collected by exposing a culture medium to the indoor air. Based on the cultured material, 14 taxa of AAC consisting of cyanobacteria such as Phormidium angustissima and Chroococcus minor and chlorophytes such as Chlorella vulgaris and Chlorococcum humicola were recorded. The surrounding areas of the building recorded the highest occurrence (75%) of AAC. Within the building, the highest occurrence of AAC (45%) was recorded on the lower ground floor, an area exposed to the outdoor environment. Some of the AAC recorded were also detected in the wall scraping and soil samples. Areas with heavy human movement appeared to have high occurrence of AAC. Human movement appeared to be an important factor in affecting the dispersal of the AAC.     

Structures of 5-methylthioribose kinase reveal substrate specificity and unusual mode of nucleotide binding

The methionine salvage pathway is ubiquitous in all organisms, but metabolic variations exist between bacteria and mammals. 5-Methylthioribose (MTR) kinase is a key enzyme in methionine salvage in bacteria and the absence of a mammalian homolog suggests that it is a good target for the design of novel antibiotics. The structures of the apo-form of Bacillus subtilis MTR kinase, as well as its ADP, ADP-PO(4), AMPPCP, and AMPPCP-MTR complexes have been determined. MTR kinase has a bilobal eukaryotic protein kinase fold but exhibits a number of unique features. The protein lacks the DFG motif typically found at the beginning of the activation loop and instead coordinates magnesium via a DXE motif (Asp(250)-Glu(252)). In addition, the glycine-rich loop of the protein, analogous to the "Gly triad" in protein kinases, does not interact extensively with the nucleotide. The MTR substrate-binding site consists of Asp(233) of the catalytic HGD motif, a novel twin arginine motif (Arg(340)/Arg(341)), and a semi-conserved W-loop, which appears to regulate MTR binding specificity. No lobe closure is observed for MTR kinase upon substrate binding. This is probably because the enzyme lacks the lobe closure/inducing interactions between the C-lobe of the protein and the ribosyl moiety of the nucleotide that are typically responsible for lobe closure in protein kinases. The current structures suggest that MTR kinase has a dissociative mechanism.     

A novel pigmented and heavy metal biosorptive bacterium, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leucobacter epilobiisoli</Emphasis> sp. nov., isolated from rhizosphere soil of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Epilobium hirsutum</Emphasis> L.

A novel yellow pigmented, Gram-positive, aerobic and heavy metal biosorptive bacterium designated SYP-B2667^T was isolated from rhizosphere soil of Epilobium hirsutum L. in Tongren, Guizhou province, China. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses, it was shown that strain SYP-B2667^T represents a novel species in the genus Leucobacter, with Leucobacter chromiireducens subsp. solipictus JCM 15573^T as a close phylogenetic neighbour (sequence similarity of 98.2%). Chemotaxonomic characteristics also supported the affiliation to the genus Leucobacter. Strain SYP-B2667^T was determined to have a DNA G+C content of 66.6 mol%; 2,4-diaminobutyric acid in the cell wall peptidoglycan amino acids; MK-11 as predominant menaquinone; an abundance of anteiso-C_15:0 and anteiso-C_17:0 fatty acids; and polar lipids including diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, glycolipids and unidentified phospholipids. The DNA–DNA hybridization value between strain SYP-B2667^T and L. chromiireducens subsp. solipictus JCM 15573^T was 19.7?±?2.8%. Based on these phylogenetic and phenotypic results, it can be concluded that strain SYP-B2667^T represents a novel species, for which the name Leucobacter epilobiisoli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SYP-B2667^T (=DSM 105145^T=CPCC 204976^T). This strain can tolerate and adsorb five heavy metals and so may have potential to facilitate heavy metal removal and bioremediation.     

Progranulin compensates for blocked IGF-1 signaling to promote myotube hypertrophy in C2C12 myoblasts via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway

It is well known that growth hormone (GH)-induced IGF-1 signaling plays a dominant role in postnatal muscle growth. Our previous studies have identified a growth factor, progranulin (PGRN), that is co-induced with IGF-1 upon GH administration. This result prompted us to explore the function of PGRN and its association with IGF-1. In the present study, we demonstrated that, similar to IGF-1, PGRN can promote C2C12 myotube hypertrophy via the PI(3)K/Akt/mTOR pathway. Moreover, PGRN can rescue the muscle atrophy phenotypes in C2C12 myotube when IGF-1 signaling is blocked. This result shows that PGRN can substitute for IGF-1 signaling in the regulation of muscle growth. Our findings provide new insights into IGF-1-modulated complicated networks that regulate muscle growth.