辽东山区次生林木本植物空间分布

森林木本植物的空间格局有助于揭示群落结构的形成机制与潜在的生态学过程,且对林分经营具有一定指导意义。在0—50 m尺度范围内综合分析了辽东山区4 hm2温带次生林样地多度10的树种空间格局。研究发现:(1)在完全随机零模型下,大部分树种呈现聚集格局,聚集格局树种的比例随尺度增加而降低;在32 m的较大尺度下,随尺度增加,随机和规则格局成为树种分布的主要形式;(2)在异质性泊松过程零模型下,55.9%的树种呈现随机格局,其余大部分树种在10 m的尺度下呈现聚集格局,且随尺度增加,规则格局成为主要形式;(3)在完全随机零模型下,树种属性(林层、径级和多度)显著地影响种群聚集度,而在异质性泊松过程零模型下,树种属性对种群聚集度不存在显著影响。综上,生境异质性、扩散限制和树种属性部分解释了辽东山区次生林木本植物空间分布格局,相对而言,生境异质性的效应更为突出。研究结果有助于揭示次生林群落生物多样性的维持机制。     

矿区道路两侧雪岭云杉叶片重金属富集效应

采矿及矿产品运输过程会对环境造成重金属污染进而对生物体产生危害。为定量描述艾维尔沟矿区道路两侧重金属污染程度、明确雪岭云杉叶片对重金属的吸收富集效应,通过采集雪岭云杉叶片和土壤样品,测试其铅(Pb)、锌(Zn)、镉(Cd)、砷(As)、铜(Cu)、铬(Cr)的含量,分析重金属的富集效应和空间分异特征。结果表明:(1)雪岭云杉叶片和土壤中各重金属含量差异显著(P0.05),叶片中Pb的含量显著高于其余重金属(P0.05),平均达86.28μg/g,土壤中Zn、Cu超过了国家土壤质量标准的一级限制值,而As比三级限制值大41%;(2)以背景区(板房沟林场)的土壤和雪岭云杉叶片重金属为评价标准,研究区雪岭云杉叶片重金属综合污染指数为2.05,属中度污染,其中As和Pb单项污染指数较高,达3.65和2.57。研究区土壤重金属综合污染指数为1.69,属轻度污染;(3)随距离增加,除土壤和叶片中Pb含量表现为负线性递减外,As和Cu均表现为先升高后降低,土壤中Cr、Zn逐渐升高,但叶片中Cr逐渐降低,Zn变化不大;(4)冗余分析(RDA)结果显示土壤中Cu、As、Pb与雪岭云杉死树胸径和树高呈正相关关系,而Cr、Zn与其呈负相关。采矿及运输已对土壤和雪岭云杉的生长造成影响,本文对天山雪岭云杉森林的生态修复与保育具有一定的借鉴作用。     

钾肥及与秸秆配施对紫色土作物产量和微生物群落结构的影响

基于紫色菜园土壤莴笋-白菜-甜玉米轮作4年12季连续定位施钾肥试验,研究不同种类钾肥及用量对重庆地区紫色菜园土上作物产量和土壤微生物群落结构的影响,为该地区作物生产确定合理的施钾技术提供科学依据。结果表明,在施用氮磷肥基础上,不同钾肥处理莴笋、白菜、甜玉米产量均显著提高;从3种作物4年平均产量和钾肥效益看,以单施适量化学钾(K_2)、单施适量秸秆钾(M_2)和秸秆还田配施少量化学钾(K_1+M_1)的施钾肥模式对白菜的增产效果好,增产28.05%—30.27%;M_2和K_1+M_1施钾肥模式对莴笋的增产效果较好,增产13.89%和13.81%;K_1+M_1施钾肥模式对甜玉米的增产效果最好,增产15.10%,表明秸秆还田配施少量化学钾(K_1+M_1)模式在供试3种作物生产中具有很好的应用前景。不同施钾处理对土壤微生物群落结构及丰度均会产生一定影响,以秸秆还田配施少量化学钾肥(K_1+M_1)对提高土壤细菌、真菌、革兰氏阳性菌的作用较好,并显著增加土壤微生物总PLFA含量,缓解对土壤微生物生存环境的胁迫,说明K_1+M_1能为土壤微生物的生长繁育创造有利环境。莴笋、白菜、甜玉米3种作物4年平均产量与土壤细菌、真菌、革兰氏阳性菌和革兰氏阴性菌数量间存在显著相关性(P0.05),而不同钾肥处理对土壤微生物特征具有一定影响,说明施钾肥可能会调节土壤微生物特征,从而促进作物增产。     

Immobilization of cellulases on the reversibly soluble polymer Eudragit S‐100 for cotton treatment

Cellulases can penetrate into the fiber, causing tensile strength loss of the cellulosic fibers or fabrics. To minimize the tensile strength loss, we have immobilized cellulases on Eudragit S‐100. The characteristics of covalent Eudragit cellulase were evaluated using gel filtration analysis and UV spectra. Gel filtration analysis revealed that the cellulases were covalently bound to the polymer. Covalent Eudragit cellulase was loaded with the enzyme of about 40% and had a relative activity about 80% at a Eudragit S‐100 concentration of 15 g/L. When cellulase is bound to the polymer, the solubility profile becomes similar to the one of Eudragit. In addition, the effects of the enzyme on the cotton yarns and fabric using cellulases have been investigated. Native and immobilized cellulases caused improvements in whiteness and wrinkle recovery angle of the fabric in comparison to the control samples. The bending stiffness results show that native and immobilized cellulase treated cotton fabric has an improved softness than the control samples. It was found that using the immobilized cellulase reduced the weight and tensile strength, because the hydrolytic attack is only limited to the surfaces of cotton fibers.     

MicroRNA-30a sensitizes tumor cells to cis-platinum via suppressing beclin 1-mediated autophagy

Autophagy is activated in cancer cells during chemotherapy and often contributes to tumor chemotherapy resistance. In this study, we characterized the role of microRNA-30a (miR-30a) in the coordination of cancer cell apoptosis and autophagy, which determines the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy. First, the autophagy activity in cancer cells increased after cis-dichloro-diamine platinum (cis-DDP) or Taxol treatment, as indicated by the enhanced expression of beclin 1, a key regulator of autophagy, and increased number of LC3-positive autophagosomes. Second, miRNA screening using a TaqMan probe-based quantitative RT-PCR assay identified that miR-30a, a miRNA that targets beclin 1, was significantly reduced in tumor cells by cis-DDP treatment. Forced expression of miR-30a significantly reduced beclin 1 and the autophagy activity of tumor cells induced by cis-DDP. Third, the blockade of tumor cell autophagy activity by miR-30a expression or 3-methyladenine significantly increased tumor cell apoptosis induced by cis-DDP treatment. Finally, an in vivo tumor implantation mouse model clearly showed that elevation of miR-30a in implanted tumor cells by administration of the recombinant lentivirus expressing miR-30a strongly enhanced cis-DDP-induced apoptosis of tumor cells. In conclusion, our results demonstrate for the first time that miR-30a can sensitize tumor cells to cis-DDP via reducing beclin 1-mediated autophagy and that increasing miR-30a level in tumor cells represents a novel approach to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy during cancer treatment.     

水稻病程相关PR1家族蛋白质在叶片生长及与白叶枯病菌互作反应中的表达

病程相关(PR)蛋白质经常被用作抗病反应的分子标记。利用免疫印迹(WB)技术检测了7个PR1家族蛋白质在水稻(Oryza sativa)叶片生长及与白叶枯病菌互作反应过程中的表达,发现6个PR1家族蛋白质在叶片生长中有表达。检测PR1蛋白质在Xa21介导的抗白叶枯病过程中的表达,结果显示PR1#052、PR1#072、PR1#073和PR1#121四个蛋白质在抗病反应后期呈上调或诱导表达,PR1#071则表达下调。进一步比较它们在抗病、感病和对照(Mock)反应中的表达丰度,发现在抗病和感病反应中的变化幅度均明显大于对照反应,推测这些PR蛋白质在水稻-白叶枯病菌互作反应中发挥作用。另外,对PR1基因上游启动子区的cis元件进行了分析。该研究初步揭示了水稻PR1家族蛋白质的表达谱,为进一步了解PR1蛋白质的功能提供了线索。     

Three‐dimensional reconstruction and comparison of vacuolar membranes in response to viral infection

The vacuole is a unique plant organelle that plays an important role in maintaining cellular homeostasis under various environmental stress conditions. However, the effects of biotic stress on vacuole structure has not been examined using three‐dimensional (3D) visualization. Here, we performed 3D electron tomography to compare the ultrastructural changes in the vacuole during infection with different viruses. The 3D models revealed that vacuoles are remodeled in cells infected with cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) or tobacco necrosis virus A Chinese isolate (TNV‐A^C), resulting in the formation of spherules at the periphery of the vacuole. These spherules contain neck‐like channels that connect their interior with the cytosol. Confocal microscopy of CMV replication proteins 1a and 2a and TNV‐A^C auxiliary replication protein p23 showed that all of these proteins localize to the tonoplast. Electron microscopy revealed that the expression of these replication proteins alone is sufficient to induce spherule formation on the tonoplast, suggesting that these proteins play prominent roles in inducing vacuolar membrane remodeling. This is the first report of the 3D structures of viral replication factories built on the tonoplasts. These findings contribute to our understanding of vacuole biogenesis under normal conditions and during assembly of plant (+) RNA virus replication complexes.     

Autophagy in Retinal Ganglion Cells in a Rhesus Monkey Chronic Hypertensive Glaucoma Model

Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by physiological intraocular hypertension that causes damage to the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). In the past, RGC damage in POAG was suggested to have been attributed to RGC apoptosis. However, in the present study, we applied a model closer to human POAG through the use of a chronic hypertensive glaucoma model in rhesus monkeys to investigate whether another mode of progressive cell death, autophagy, was activated in the glaucomatous retinas. First, in the glaucomatous retinas, the levels of LC3B-II, LC3B-II/LC3B-I and Beclin 1 increased as demonstrated by Western blot analyses, whereas early or initial autophagic vacuoles (AVi) and late or degraded autophagic vacuoles (AVd) accumulated in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) and in the inner plexiform layer (IPL) as determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. Second, lysosome activity and autophagosome-lysosomal fusion increased in the RGCs of the glaucomatous retinas, as demonstrated by Western blotting against lysosome associated membrane protein-1 (LAMP1) and double labeling against LC3B and LAMP1. Third, apoptosis was activated in the glaucomatous eyes with increased levels of caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-3 and an increased number of TUNEL-positive RGCs. Our results suggested that autophagy was activated in RGCs in the chronic hypertensive glaucoma model of rhesus monkeys and that autophagy may have potential as a new target for intervention in glaucoma treatment.     

Impact of cranberry juice on initial adhesion of the EPS producing bacterium Burkholderia cepacia

The impact of cranberry juice was investigated with respect to the initial adhesion of three isogenic strains of the bacterium Burkholderia cepacia with different extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) producing capacities, viz. a wild-type cepacian EPS producer PC184 and its mutant strains PC184rml with reduced EPS production and PC184bceK with a deficiency in EPS production. Adhesion experiments conducted in a parallel-plate flow chamber demonstrated that, in the absence of cranberry juice, strain PC184 had a significantly higher adhesive capacity compared to the mutant strains. In the presence of cranberry juice, the adhesive capacity of the EPS-producing strain PC184 was largely reduced, while cranberry juice had little impact on the adhesion behavior of either mutant strain. Thermodynamic modeling supported the results from adhesion experiments. Surface force apparatus (SFA) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies demonstrated a strong association between cranberry juice components and bacterial EPS. It was concluded that cranberry juice components could impact bacterial initial adhesion by adhering to the EPS and impairing the adhesive capacity of the cells, which provides an insight into the development of novel treatment strategies to block the biofilm formation associated with bacterial infection.     

皂荚半乳甘露聚糖胶分级醇沉及表征

使用不同浓度乙醇和异丙醇分别对皂荚半乳甘露聚糖胶水溶液进行分级沉降,沉淀物用凝胶渗透色谱(GPC)和高效液相色谱(HPLC)等进行表征.结果表明,异丙醇可在较小浓度下更快沉降皂荚多糖胶,当异丙醇溶液浓度为28.6％ (V/V)时,沉淀物中半乳甘露聚糖浓度达到12.50％(w/w);随着醇浓度上升,沉降组分半乳甘露聚糖得率呈增加趋势,且在后期增加幅度最大,多糖最高得率可达80％,纯化后皂荚多糖胶(GSG)表现出较高的甘露糖/半乳糖(M/G)之比值,在异丙醇沉降中表现更加明显(低浓度的异丙醇达到最高的M/G =4.1);低浓度醇沉主要得到大分子组分,随乙醇浓度增加组分分子量明显降低,多糖胶更加均匀,而在异丙醇沉降后期均一性有所下降.