Phylogenetic diversity of endolithic bacteria in Bole granite rock in Xinjiang

The endolithic environment is a ubiquitous microbial habitat for microorganisms, such as lichens, Cyanobacteria and fungi, and it provides mineral nutrients and growth surfaces. In extremely environments, such as hot and cold desert, endolithic communities are often the main form of life. More recently, endolithic microbial communities have been observed inhabiting a variety of rock types ranging from hard granite to porous rocks such as basalt, dolomite, limestone, sandstone and granites. Regardless of geographic location and rock type, each of these habitats is characterized by a subsurface microclimate that prevents endolithic microorganisms growth. Photosynthesis-based endolithic microbial communities commonly inhabit the outer millimeters to centimeters of rocks exposed to the surface. The ability to fix carbon dioxide and in some cases atmospheric dinitrogen, gives the Cyanobacteria a clear competitive advantage over heterotrophic bacteria, so it is been called the main primary producer. Light quality and intensity appear to be the main determinant of the maximum depth to which growth occurs in endolithic phototrophic communities. Valleys of Fantastic Rocks in Bole is close to Alashankou Port of Xinjiang which belongs to extreme continental climate. In order to investigate the structure, composition and diversity of endolithic bacterial community in exposed granitic porphyry in the Valleys of Fantastic Rocks, environmental DNA was directly extracted from granite rock, the 16S rRNA genes were amplified from the total DNA by PCR with bacterial-specific primers, and an endolithic bacterial clone library was constructed. Positive clones were randomly selected from the library and identified by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP). The unique rRNA types clones were sequenced, analysised and then constructed phylogenetic tree. In total, 129 positive clones were screened and grouped into 46 operational taxonomic unites (OTUs). The clone coverage C value was 89.15%, indicating that most of the estimated endolithic bacterial diversity was sampled. BLAST analysis indicated that 46 OTUs were divided into seven phyla (Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Cyanobacteria, Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria) and five unknown groups. Cyanobacteria (43%), especially the Gp I, form the functional basis for an endolithic bacteria community which contain a wide spectrum species of chemotrophic bacteria (33%) with mainly Actinobacteria, α-Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria. Additionally, most clones that derived from the endolithic bacteria clone library showed high similarity to the sequence deposited in GenBank database with 97%–99%. Besides, 35% of the clones showed less than 97% of sequence similarity, of which 12% sequences were affiliated to genus Rubrobacter. The results suggested that endolithic bacteria in Valleys of Fantastic Rocks in Xinjiang were highly diverse in species richness, and maybe have a diversity of potential novel species and lineages.     

Rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantitation of colchicine in human plasma

A rapid and sensitive method to determine colchicine in human plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has been developed. Colchicine and the internal standard (I.S.), tegafur, were extracted from the matrix with n-hexane:dichloromethane:isopropanol (300:150:15, v/v/v) and separated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using formic acid:10 mM ammonium acetate:methanol (1:49:75, v/v/v) as the mobile phase in a run time of 2.5 min. Detection was carried out by electrospray positive ionization mass spectrometry in the multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The assay was linear in the concentration range 0.050-10 ng/ml with intra- and inter-day precision (as relative standard deviation (R.S.D.)) of <2 and <7%, respectively. The method was applied to a pharmacokinetic study of colchicine in healthy volunteers given an oral dose of 2.0 mg.     

稀疏效应下周期系数捕食-被捕食系统的全局渐近稳定性

研究一类稀疏效应下周期系数捕食-被捕食系统,得到了该系统存在唯一全局渐近稳定的正周期解的充分条件．     

Simultaneous analysis of isomers of escin saponins in human plasma by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry: Application to a pharmacokinetic study after oral administration

A rapid and sensitive bioassay based on liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) for the simultaneous determination of four isomeric escin saponins (escin Ia, escin Ib, isoescin Ia and isoescin Ib) in human plasma has been developed and validated. Sample preparation of plasma after addition of telmisartan as internal standard (I.S.) involved solid-phase extraction (SPE) on C18 cartridges. Separation was based on reversed phase chromatography using gradient elution with methanol–acetonitrile (50:50, v/v) and 10 mM ammonium acetate solution (pH 6.8). MS/MS detection in the positive ion mode used multiple reaction monitoring of the transition at m/z 1113.8 → 807.6. Stability issues with the four saponins required the addition of formic acid to plasma samples prior to storage at ?80 °C and analysis within 30 days. The method was linear at concentrations up to 10 ng/mL with correlation coefficients > 0.996 for all analytes. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) for all four saponins was 33 pg/mL. Intra- and inter-day precisions (as relative standard deviation) were all <15% and accuracies (as relative error) in the range ?5.3% to 6.1%. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of escins in healthy volunteers after oral administration of sodium aescinate tablets containing 60 mg escin saponins.     

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of a cytochrome P450 gene in tomato

A full-length cytochrome P450 cDNA, CYP71A2, was cloned from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) by RT-PCR and RACE. CYP71A2 (GenBank accession no. GQ370622) encoded a single polypeptide of 495 amino acid residues and shared 46–68% of identity with CYP71A1 which associated with avocado fruit ripening. The polypeptide, which held the conserved domains in all P450s, was classified as CYP71. CYP71A2-GFP fusion protein localised in the endoplasmic reticulum. The expression of CYP71A2 was detected in all the tissues (root, leaf, stem, bud, flower, immature green fruit, mature green fruit, breaker fruit, ripe fruit); however, the CYP71A2 expression was utmost in immature green fruit. During development of fruit, the expression of CYP71A2 reduced rapidly at mature green stage, then gradually increased at breaker and ripening stages. CYP71A2 was regulated by wounding, methyl jasmonate and ethylene. Promoter analysis indicated that CYP71A2 regulatory region had all the specific responding elements to these stresses. This suggested that the role of CYP71A2 is pleiotropic in tomato development and its adaptability to the environment.     

Growth and photosynthetic efficiency promotion of sugar beet (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Beta vulgaris</Emphasis> L.) by endophytic bacteria

Very little is known about the physiological interactions between plants and endophytic bacteria. We investigated the impact of three endophytic bacteria, Bacillus pumilus 2-1, Chryseobacterium indologene 2-2, and Acinetobacter johnsonii 3-1, on the photosynthetic capacity and growth of sugar beet. Endophyte-free plants were obtained first and infected with the bacteria. Measurements of total chlorophyll content revealed very significant differences between endophyte-free beet plants and some infected by endophytic bacteria. The maximum photochemical yield (Fv/Fm) was used to determine any photosynthetic effect on plants caused by biotic or abiotic factors. After 30 days of growth, there was significantly higher Fv/Fm for endophyte-infected than endophyte-free plants. The light response curves of beet showed that photosynthetic capacity was significantly increased in endophyte-infected plants. Photosynthesis of endophyte-free plants was saturated at 1,300 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹, whereas endophyte-infected plants were not saturated at the irradiance used. The effect seemed to be due to promotion of electron transport in the thylakoid membranes. Promotion of photosynthetic capacity in sugar beet was due to increased chlorophyll content, leading to a consequent increased carbohydrate synthesis. It is possible that the increased maximum yield of photosynthesis in sugar beet was promoted by phytohormones and produced by the bacteria.     

醉马草内生菌的分离、鉴定及杀虫效果

【目的】探明醉马草内生菌的种类,筛选对农作物虫害有毒杀作用的菌株。【方法】采用研磨法从健康醉马草植物的根、茎、叶和种子中进行菌种分离;通过对其形态、培养特征、生理生化及其他生物学特性的研究;16SrDNA及ITS序列的系统发育学分析进行鉴定;用玻片浸渍法和喷雾法筛选产杀虫活性物质菌株。【结果】获得细菌89株,分别属于枯草芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus)、链霉菌属(Streptomyces)、棒状杆菌属(Corynebacterium)、叶杆菌属(Phyllobacterium)、鞘脂单胞菌属(Sphingomonnas)、类芽孢杆菌(Paenibacillus)、假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas)和不动杆菌属(Acinetobacter)8个属;真菌2株,分别属于麦角菌属(Claviceps)和毛壳菌属(Chaetomium)。经初筛及复筛,内生菌娄彻氏链霉菌Streptomyces rochei(GA)和黑麦麦角菌Claviceps purpurea(PF-2)发酵液粗提物对棉蚜虫(Aphis gossypii)致死率达85%以上。【结论】醉马草内生菌株PF-2和GA的粗提代谢物对棉蚜虫有明显的毒杀作用,为开发新的生物源农药提供了生物源物质。     

A long downstream probe-based platform for multiplex target capture

A simple and rapid detection platform was established for multiplex target capture through generating single-strand long downstream probe (ssLDP), which was integrated with the ligase detection reaction (LDR) method for the purpose of multiplicity and high specificity. To increase sensitivity, the ladder-like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicons were generated by using universal primers that complement ligated products. Each of the amplicons contained a stuffer sequence with a defined yet variable length. Thus, the length of the amplicon is an index of the specific suppressor, allowing its identification via electrophoresis. The multiplexed diagnostic platform was optimized using standard plasmids and validated by using potato virus suppressors as a detection model. This technique can detect down to 1.2 × 10³ copies for single or two mixed target plasmids. When compared with microarray results, the electrophoresis showed 98.73–100% concordance rates for the seven suppressors in the 79 field samples. This strategy could be applied to detect a large number of targets in field and clinical surveillance.