Taxonomy, biology and abundance of icefishes, or noodlefishes (Salangidae), in the Yellow River estuary of the Bohai Sea, China

Four species of icefishes were sampled in the Yellow River estuary of the Bohai Sea from April 1984 to April 1985 and from February 1988 to June 1989. Morphological analysis showed that they belonged to three subfamilies of Salangidae: one species from Protosalangicae, Protosalanx chinensis ; two species from Salanginae, Salanx ariakensis and Salanx prognathus ; and one species, Neosalanx andersoni , from Salangichthyinae, a new subfamily. External morphological characteristics, population composition, growth, maturity, food habits, longevity, fecundity, abundance and distribution of these icefishes are described. Based on these analyses, a clear outline of taxonomy, zoogeography aod biology of icefishes in the Yellow River estuary of the Bohai Sea was established.     

大肠杆菌共表达LeGGPS2、LePSY1和crtI基因合成番茄红素

利用大肠杆菌研究番茄红素的合成,不仅可以获得副产物少的高产菌株,而且可以探讨基因或基因簇的功能。文中将番茄LeGGPS2和LePSY1的cDNA序列,及欧文氏菌crtI的编码序列分别添加上核糖体结合位点后,以单独或组合的方式受控于T7启动子和终止子,在大肠杆菌菌株BL21(DE3)中进行表达和诱导番茄红素合成。结果显示,仅T7::crtI-LeGGPS2-LePSY1三价基因共表达时才能合成番茄红素,且将种子液以1∶50接种于含3%蔗糖的LB培养基(pH 6.8)中,于37℃摇8 h左右的对数生长后期加IPTG至80μmol/L,30℃诱导表达5 h的发酵条件下,获得2.124 mg/g DCW的番茄红素。该结果既验证了原核化的番茄LeGGPS2和LePSY1基因及与crtI基因协同作用的功能,又为在番茄质体中建立独立的番茄红素合成途径奠定了基础。     

Breeding bacterial blight-resistant hybrid rice with the cloned bacterial blight resistance gene Xa21

The cloned bacterial blight (BB) resistance gene Xa21 was transferred into Minghui63, a widely used restorer line of indica hybrid rice in China, through an Agrobacterium-mediated system. Molecular and resistance analyses revealed that the Xa21 gene was integrated in the genomes of transgenic plants and their progeny inherited resistance stably. For the purpose of hybrid breeding, Xa21 transgenic homozygous restorer lines were selected through `within-lane' dosage comparison of hybridization signal in combination with PCR and resistance analyses. The selected transgenic restorer lines were then crossed with a commonly used sterile line, Zhenshan97A, to produce Xa21 transgenic hybrid rice, Shanyou63-Xa21. The hybrid rice plants with Xa21 displayed high broad-spectrum resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) races and maintained elite agronomic characters of Shanyou63. The propagation of this BB-resistant hybrid variety with Xa21 will benefit rice production.     

Amplification, analysis and chromosome mapping of novel homeobox-containing and homeobox-flanking sequences in rice

Homeobox genes, widely distributed among animal and plant kingdoms, play an important role in developmental process. Several homeobox conserved fragments were amplified by PCR and the flanking regions were also obtained by an LM-PCR procedure. Sequencing and Southern analysis showed that they belong to a homeobox gene family of rice. Six homeobox-containing fragments were mapped on the molecular linkage map of rice. They were located on chromosomes 3, 4 and 7 respectively. It is noteworthy that there are 4 homeobox fragments located on rice chromosome 3 and the result is also consistent with the comparative genomics between rice and maize.     

A novel and highly efficient production system for recombinant adeno-associated virus vector

Recombinant adeno-associated virus(rAAV) has proven to be a promising gene delivery vector for human gene therapy. However, its application has been limited by difficulty in obtaining enough quantities of high-titer vector stocks. In this paper, a novel and highly efficient production system for rAAV is described. A recombinant herpes simplex virus type 1(rHSV-1) designated HSV1-rc/△UL2, which expressed adeno-associated virus type2(AAV-2) Rep and Cap proteins, was constructed previously. The data confirmed that its functions were to support rAAV replication and packaging, and the generated rAAV was infectious. Meanwhile, an rAAV proviral cell line designated BHK/SG2, which carried the green fluorescent protein(GFP) gene expression cassette, was established by transfecting BHK-21 cells with rAAV vector plasmid pSNAV-2-GFP. Infecting BHK/SG2 with HSV1-rc/△UL2 at an MOI of 0.1 resulted in the optimal yields of rAAV, reaching 250 transducing unit(TU) or 4.28×104 particles per cell. Therefore, compared with the conventional transfection method, the yield of rAAV using this "one proviral cell line, one helper virus" strategy was increased by two orders of magnitude. Large-scale production of rAAV can be easily achieved using this strategy and might meet the demands for clinical trials of rAAV-mediated gene therapy.     

水稻OsPR10A的表达特征及其在干旱胁迫应答过程中的功能

利用免疫印迹(WB)分析了水稻(Oryza sativa) OsPR10A在其不同生长时期、不同组织部位及多种非生物逆境胁迫下的表达特征, 发现OsPR10A在干旱、盐胁迫以及茉莉酸甲酯(MeJA)和脱落酸(ABA)诱导下表达量明显升高, 表明该蛋白可能在干旱和盐胁迫应答过程中发挥作用。为证明这一推测, 我们构建了OsPR10A超表达载体, 经农杆菌介导转化水稻, 获得超表达OsPR10A的纯合株系。田间表型观察表明, 转基因株系株高变矮、穗长变短、结实率降低。用20% PEG6000在水稻种子萌发过程中进行干旱处理, 结果显示, OsPR10A超表达株系的根长和芽长均显著高于野生型, 证明超表达OsPR10A可增强水稻萌发期耐旱性。该研究有助于增进人们对水稻OsPR10A功能的了解。     

Notch signaling in ocular vasculature development and diseases

Ocular angiogenesis, characterized by the formation of new blood vessels in the avascular area in eyes, is a highly coordinated process involved in retinal vasculature formation and several ocular diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, proliferative diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity. This process is orchestrated by complicated cellular interactions and vascular growth factors, during which endothelial cells acquire heterogeneous phenotypes and distinct cellular destinations. To date, while the vascular endothelial growth factor has been identified as the most critical angiogenic agent with a remarkable therapeutic value, the Notch signaling pathway appears to be a similarly important regulator in several angiogenic steps. Recent progress has highlighted the involvement, mechanisms and therapeutic potential of Notch signaling in retinal vasculature development and pathological angiogenesis-related eye disorders, which may cause irreversible blindness.