Phylogenetics of Tribe Collabieae (Orchidaceae,Epidendroideae) Based on Four Chloroplast Genes with Morphological Appraisal

Collabieae (Orchidaceae) is a long neglected tribe with confusing tribal and generic delimitation and little-understood phylogenetic relationships. Using plastid matK, psaB, rbcL, and trnH-psbA DNA sequences and morphological evidence, the phylogenetic relationships within the tribe Collabieae were assessed as a basis for revising their tribal and generic delimitation. Collabieae (including the previously misplaced mycoheterotrophic Risleya) is supported as monophyletic and nested within a superclade that also includes Epidendreae, Podochileae, Cymbidieae and Vandeae. Risleya is nested in Collabiinae and sister to Chrysoglossum, a relationship which, despite their great vegetative differences, is supported by floral characters. Ania is a distinct genus supported by both morphological and molecular evidence, while redefined Tainia includes Nephelaphyllum and Mischobulbum. Calanthe is paraphyletic and consists four clades; the genera Gastrorchis, Phaius and Cephalantheropsis should be subsumed within Calanthe. Calanthe sect. Ghiesbreghtia is nested within sect. Calanthe, to which the disputed Calanthe delavayi belongs as well. Our results indicate that, in Collabieae, habit evolved from being epiphytic to terrestrial.     

Tandem duplication and divergence of a sea urchin protein belonging to the troponin C superfamily

The Spec1 and Spec2 proteins of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus are related to calmodulin, troponin C, and myosin light chains by sequence similarity in their four calcium binding domains. These domains, the EF-hands, are distinct helix-loop-helix structures of about 40 amino acids. The Spec1 and Spec2 genes are expressed specifically in aboral ectoderm cells of the developing embryo; however, the function of the Spec proteins in these cells is unknown. To find conserved regions of the proteins that might be important for structure and function, Spec homologues from Lytechinus pictus, a distantly related sea urchin, were sought. L. pictus embryos do not synthesize detectable amounts of the 14,000-17,000-Da Spec proteins as determined by two-dimensional gel electro-phoresis, but do synthesize three 34,000-Da proteins that cross-react with Spec1 antibodies and display a similar ontogenetic pattern of expression. cDNA clones were isolated by hybridization to a synthetic oligonucleotide corresponding to the EF-hand. One clone, LpS1, encodes an mRNA with developmental properties like those of the S. purpuratus Spec mRNAs. However, LpS1 contains an open reading frame for a protein of 34,000 Da rather than 17,000 Da, and antibodies raised against part of the LpS1 reading frame demonstrate that LpS1 encodes a 34,000-Da protein in L. pictus embryos. The sequence of LpS1 reveals the presence of eight EF-hand domains, which share structural homology with the Spec1 or Spec2 EF-hands; however, little else in the protein sequence is conserved. The results support the hypothesis that the LpS1 gene arose from a duplication of an ancestral Spec gene and that the overall structural features of the Spec family of proteins are more conserved than the amino acid sequences.     

Studies on atrophic change of soleus muscle and its countermeasures in suspended rat

In the environment of microgravity, the disused atrophy of skeletal muscle, especially leg's muscle, would occur. The three purposes of this study were: 1. To observe the dynamic changes of disused atrophy of skeletal muscle under simulated weightlessness; 2. To approach the mechanism of disused atrophy of muscle; 3. To approach the countermeasures for reducing the degree of atrophy of muscle.     

High-Resolution Performance of Polycaprolactone Functionalized with Guanidinium Ionic Liquid for Gas Chromatography

This work firstly reported a new polycaprolactone based material functionalized with guanidinium ionic liquid (PCL-GIL) as the stationary phase with high resolution performance for capillary gas chromatography (GC). It is composed of polycaprolactone (PCL) and guanidinium ionic liquid (GIL) with amphiphilic conformation. The PCL-GIL capillary column coated by static method exhibited high column efficiency of 3942 plates/m and moderate polarity. As a result, the PCL-GIL column exhibited high-resolution capability. For a mixture of 27 analytes with a wide ranging polarity and outperformed the PCL-2OH and HP-35 columns, showing its advantageous separation capability for analytes of diverse types. Moreover, the PCL-GIL column showed high resolving capability for various positional isomers and cis-/trans-isomers, including alkylbenzenes, chlorobenzenes, naphthalenes, bromonitrobenzenes, chloronitrobenzenes, benzaldehydes, phenols, alcohols, respectively. In a word, PCL derivatized by GIL units as a new type of stationary phase has a promising future in GC separations.     

人胸腺素α原cDNA的克隆及在大肠杆菌中的表达

采用基因工程方法制取人胸腺素α原获得成功。用２０ｕｇ／ｍｌ植物血球凝集素（ＰＨＡ）和５００Ｕ／ｍｌ重组人白细胞介素２（ＩＬ－２）联合刺激人胎儿胸腺细胞,从中提取总ＲＮＡ,经反转录ＰＣＲ获得了人胸腺素α原ｃＤＮＡ;将之克隆入ｐＵＣ１９中,序列测定表明与已报道序列一致,进一步将之亚克隆入原核表达载体ｐＢＶ２２０,转化大肠杆菌ＤＨ５ａ．观察到在不改变氨基酸编码的前提下,增加胸腺素ａ原上游引物中Ａ、Ｔ含量,可以明显提高胸腺素α原的表达量,同时,不同培养基对它的表达也有影响。胸腺素α原在大肠杆菌中以可溶形式表达,不需复性。初步活性测定显示,它可明显刺激人外周血淋巴细胞Ｅ－玫瑰花结形成率。重组人胸腺素α原在大肠杆菌中表达,为其临床应用及基础研究奠定了基础。     

Phospholipid surface density determines the partitioning and permeability of acetic acid in DMPC:cholesterol bilayers

Relationships between the permeability coefficient (P_HA) and partition coefficient (K _m/w) of acetic acid and the surface density of DMPC:cholesterol bilayers have been investigated. Permeability coefficients were measured in large unilamellar vesicles by NMR line broadening. Bilayer surface density, , was varied over a range of 0.5–0.9 by changing cholesterol concentration and temperature. The temperature dependence of P_HA for acetic acid exhibits Arrhenius behavior with an average apparent activation energy (E _a ) of 22±3 kcal/mole over a cholesterol mole fraction range of 0.00–0.40. This value is much greater than the enthalpy change for acetic acid partitioning between bulk decane and water (H° = 4.8±0.8 kcal/mole) and the calculated E _a (= 8.0 kcal/mole) assuming a bulk phase permeability model which includes the enthalpy of transfer from water to decane and the temperature dependence of acetic acid's diffusion coefficient in decane. These results suggest that dehydration, previously considered to be a dominant component, is a minor factor in determining E _a . Values of 1n P_HA decrease linearly with the normalized phospholipid surface density with a slope of = -12.4±1.1 (r = 0.90). Correction of P_HA for those temperature effects considered to be independent of lipid chain order (i.e., enthalpy of transfer from water to decane and activation energy for diffusion in bulk hydrocarbon) yielded an improved correlation ( = -11.7±0.5 (r = 0.96)). The temperature dependence of K_m/w is substantially smaller than that for P_HA and dependent on cholesterol composition. Values of 1n K_m/w decrease linearly with the surface density with a slope of = -4.6±0.3 (r = 0.95), which is 2.7-fold smaller than the slope of the plot of 1n P_HA vs. . Thus, chain ordering is a major determinant for molecular partitioning into and transport across lipid bilayers, regardless of whether it is varied by lipid composition or temperature.This work was supported by grants from Glaxo, INTERx/Merck, and University of Utah Research Committee.     

Three-dimensional structure prediction of the NAD binding site of proton-pumping transhydrogenase from Escherichia coli

A three-dimensional structure of the NAD site of Escerichia coli transhydrogenase has been predicted. The model is based on analysis of conserved residues among the transhydrogenases from five different sources, homologies with enzymes using NAD as cofactors or substrates, hydrophilicity profiles, and secondary structure predictions. The present model supports the hypothesis that there is one binding site, located relatively close to the N-terminus of the α-subunit. The proposed structure spans residues α145 to α287, and it includes five β-strands and five α-helices oriented in a typical open twisted α/β conformation. The amino acid sequence following the GXGXXG dinucleotide binding consensus sequence (residues α172 to α177) correlates exactly to a typical fingerprint region for ADP binding βαβ folds in dinucleotide binding enzymes. In the model, aspartic acid α195 forms hydrogen bonds to one or both hydroxyl groups on the adenosine ribose sugar moiety. Threonine α196 and alanine α256, located at the end of βB and βD, respectively, create a hydrophobic sandwich with the adenine part of NAD buried inside. The nicotinamide part is located in a hydrophobic cleft between αA and βE. Mutagenesis work has been carried out in order to test the predicted model and to determine whether residues within this domain are important for proton pumping directly. All data support the predicted structure, and no residue crucial for proton pumping Was detected. Since no three-dimensional structure of transhydrogenase has been solved, a well based tertiary structure prediction is of great value for further experimental design in trying to elucidate the mechanism of the energy-linked proton pump. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Nuclear migration advances in fungi

Nuclear migration encompasses three areas: separation of daughter nuclei during mitosis, congress of parental nuclei before they fuse during fertilization, and positioning of nuclei in interphase cells. This review deals primarily with interphase nuclear migration, which is crucial for events as disparate as vertebrate embryonic development and growth of fungal mycelia. Mutants of Aspergillus nidulans, Neurospora crassa and Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been particularly informative, and a detailed molecular analysis of this process is now well under way.     

不同胃疾患胃内微生态变化的研究

本文对75例不同胃疾患胃液内的菌群及影响胃内微生态环境的因素进行了研究,发现健康胃内基本无菌或只有少量口腔细菌,未发现厌氧菌。而不同胃疾患胃内均分离到细菌(log10~n/ml),慢性萎缩性胃炎:3.89±0.99,残胃炎:4.45±0.16,胃癌:4.23,十二指肠球部溃疡治疗前(2.8±0.62)与抗酸治疗后(4.35±0.61)差别显著,慢性浅表性胃炎:3.39±0.98,胃溃疡:3.42±0.29。所分离到的细菌既有来自于口腔的细菌,也有来自于肠道的细菌。影响胃内细菌增殖的主要因素是胃液的PH值,幽门功能失调及幽门切除亦可使胃内细菌过度生长。本研究提示对胃病的治疗亦应进行生态防治。     

产电微生物Shewanella菌厌氧呼吸代谢网络研究进展

以模式菌株Shewanella oneidensis MR-1为代表的Shewanella菌属产电微生物广泛分布于自然水体环境中。作为兼性厌氧菌,Shewanella菌除了能进行有氧呼吸外,还能利用多种电子受体进行厌氧呼吸。通过多种细胞色素所组成的复杂电子传递网络,Shewanella菌不仅能利用渗入到周质空间的可溶性电子受体进行厌氧呼吸,更为特殊的是其能够借助电子的跨膜传递实现对胞外不溶性电子受体的异化还原代谢。本文概述了近年来Shewanella菌厌氧代谢途径的研究进展,探讨电子传递网络对Shewanella菌呼吸多样性及环境适应性的影响。