甜玉米籽实含糖量的配合力分析

采用不完全双列杂交设计研究了 6个母本3个父本甜玉米自交系籽实含糖量的配合力效应。结果表明,父母本一般配合力和特殊配合力效应均方都显著。根据各亲本的表现把亲本5033归为一般配合力高而特殊配合力方差大的最理想类型;亲本5012和5011属一般配合力高而特殊配合力方差小的类型;亲本5018、5034、5028和5024为一般配合力低,但特殊配合力方差高的类型; 亲本5023和5009属一般配合力效应和特殊配合力方差都低的类型,最缺少实用价值。     

云南松苗木生长与生物量的相关性及通径分析

为了解云南松苗木生长对生物量的影响程度和相对重要性,以采自云南省昆明市宜良县禄丰村林场种子培育的2年生云南松苗木为材料,对苗高、地径、主根长、侧根长、针叶长和侧根数6个生长性状及各组分生物量进行测定,运用相关性分析和逐步回归分析剔除了对生物量影响不大的性状,在此基础上采用通径分析方法研究了云南松苗木生长性状指标与生物量指标间的关系。结果表明：云南松苗木生长性状和生物量之间均呈现极显著的正相关关系。各生长性状对生物量均有直接或间接的正向效应,直接影响云南松苗木生物量的优势因素为地径和苗高,针叶长、侧根长和主根长对生物量的影响也起正向效应。各生长性状对生物量的直接效应均较大,而通过其他性状的间接效应均较小,其中侧根长通过其他性状对生物量产生的间接影响最大。依据相关性分析和通径分析,建立了云南松各组分生物量与生长性状之间的数学模型,可用于云南松苗期生物量的估测。     

家蚕微孢子虫感染对家蚕海龟蛋白(Bmtutl)基因表达水平的影响

【目的】本研究旨在阐明家蚕微孢子虫Nosema bombycis感染不同时间对家蚕Bombyx mori幼虫不同组织中家蚕海龟蛋白(Bombyx Turtle, Bmtutl)基因表达水平的影响,为揭示家蚕微孢子虫的侵染机制奠定基础。【方法】利用生物信息学方法对家蚕海龟蛋白3种亚型Bmtutl-464, Bmtutl-519和Bmtutl-810的序列结构特征进行了分析;利用qPCR检测家蚕微孢子虫感染后12, 24, 48, 72, 96和120 h,家蚕幼虫中肠、血淋巴与脂肪体组织中Bmtutl-464, Bmtutl-519和Bmtutl-810基因表达水平的变化情况。【结果】家蚕海龟蛋白3种亚型的二级结构均主要由无规则卷曲、α螺旋、β转角和延伸链组成,其中无规则卷曲所占比例最高。但是PredictProtein分析发现,Bmtutl-464, Bmtutl-519和Bmtutl-810之间的蛋白/多核苷酸结合位点存在较大差异。qPCR结果表明,感染家蚕微孢子虫后,家蚕幼虫中肠、血淋巴与脂肪体组织中Bmtutl-464, Bmtutl-519和Bmtutl-810基因的整体表达处于被抑制状态,尤其在脂肪体中最为明显：Bmtutl-519和Bmtutl-810基因的表达在家蚕微孢子虫感染家蚕后的72 h开始受到显著抑制,特别是Bmtutl-519基因,其相对表达水平均不到对照的5.0%。【结论】家蚕海龟蛋白这3种亚型的序列结构特征存在较大差异,家蚕微孢子虫感染在一定程度抑制了家蚕幼虫中肠、血淋巴与脂肪体组织中Bmtutl-464, Bmtutl-519和Bmtutl-810基因尤其是Bmtutl-519的表达。结果说明,与其他两种家蚕海龟蛋白亚型相比,Bmtutl-519蛋白可能在家蚕微孢子虫侵染宿主的过程中起主要作用。     

Modulate the phase transition temperature of hydrogels with both thermosensitivity and biodegradability

The synthesis and characterization of thermoresponsive hydrogels on the basis of N-isoproplyarylamide (NIPAAm) and acrylamide (AAm) copolymers crosslinked with a novel biodegradable crosslinker (PEG-co-PLA) were carried out in this study. Swelling measurement results demonstrated that four gels of PNAM5, PNAM10, PNAM12 and PNAM15 are thermoresponsive. The equilibrium swelling ratio and degradation of the hydrogels strongly depend on hydrogels composition. The morphology of the hydrogels was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and their thermal property was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results show that the proportion of AAm in the copolymer has notable effect on the low critical solution temperature (LCST) of the hydrogel. When the molar ratio of AAm to NIPAAm was increased from 1:10 to 3:10 the LCST of the copolymer increased from 39.7 to 64.2 °C. The compression modulus of PNAM15 is of the highest among other hydrogels, because PNAM15 hydrogel has a more compact structure.     

Responses of soil chemical and biological properties to nitrogen addition in a Dahurian larch plantation in Northeast China

Soil microbial properties play a key role in belowground ecosystem functioning, but are not well understood in forest ecosystems under nitrogen (N) enrichment. In this study, soil samples from 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm layers were collected from a Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii Rupr.) plantation in Northeast China after six consecutive years of N addition to examine changes in soil pH, nutrient concentrations, and microbial biomass and activities. Nitrogen addition significantly decreased soil pH and total phosphorus, but had little effect on soil total organic carbon (TOC) and total N (TN) concentrations. The NO ₃ ^? -N concentrations in the two soil layers under N addition were significantly higher than that in the control, while NH ₄ ⁺ -N concentrations were not different. After six years of N addition, potential net N mineralization and nitrification rates were dramatically increased. Nitrogen addition decreased microbial biomass C (MBC) and N (MBN), and MBC/TOC and MBN/TN in the 0–10 cm soil layer, but MBC/MBN was increased by 67% in the 0–10 cm soil layer. Soil basal respiration, microbial metabolic quotient (qCO₂), and β-glucosidase, urease, acid phosphomonoesterase and nitrate reductase activities in the two soil layers showed little change after six years of N addition. However, soil protease and dehydrogenase activities in the 0–10 cm layer were 41% and 54% lower in the N addition treatment than in the control, respectively. Collectively, our results suggest that in the mid-term N addition leads to a decline in soil quality in larch plantations, and that different soil enzymes show differentiated responses to N addition.     

Detection of bloom-forming dinoflagellates Karenia mikimotoi and Prorocentrum donghaiense using qPCR assays

Journal of Applied Phycology - The dinoflagellates Karenia mikimotoi and Prorocentrum donghaiense are both important causative species of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the East China Sea. The...     

The brown seaweed Sargassum hemiphyllum exhibits α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and enhances insulin release in vitro

Diabetes is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases globally. In this study, major polyphenols (17.35 ± 0.93–36.66 ± 2.01 mg/g) and minor fucoxanthin (non detected 15.12 ± 0.09 mg/g) were isolated from water, ethanol, and acetone extracts (WES, EES, and AES, respectively) of Sargassum hemiphyllum. Inhibition of α-amylase, α-glucosidase, sucrose, and maltase activities and stimulation of insulin secretion was greater with AES than with WES or EES and correlated with polyphenol and fucoxanthin concentrations in extracts. Moreover, 250 μg/ml EES and AES significantly increased insulin secretion in the presence of 25 mg/ml glibenclamide to higher levels than those obtained with 50 mg/ml glibenclamide. None of the extracts exhibited cytotoxicity, exacerbated the side effects of glibenclamide, or inhibited glibenclamide-induced insulin secretion. These results suggested that the S. hemiphyllum extracts WES, EES, and AES could be used as pharmaceuticals and functional foods to reduce dosages of synthetic diabetes drugs.     

A proteomic analysis of aorta from spontaneously hypertensive rat: RhoGDI alpha upregulation by angiotensin II via AT(1) receptor

Arteries undergo remodeling as a consequence of increased wall stress during hypertension. However, the molecular mechanisms of the vascular remodeling are largely unknown. Proteomics is a powerful tool to screen for differentially expressed proteins, but little effort was made on vascular disease research, especially on hypertension. In the present study, the differentially expressed proteins in aortas from 18-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and their normotensive counterpart, Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY), were examined by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). We found 50 proteins to be differentially expressed, among which 27 were highly or only expressed in SHR and 23 in WKY. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and online data search, nine proteins, including Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor alpha (RhoGDIalpha), were identified with high confidence. Further, the upregulation of RhoGDIalpha was verified at both mRNA and protein level in SHR. In addition, when cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from aortas of SHR and WKY were treated with angiotensin II (Ang II) and antagonist of angiotensin II type I (AT(1)) receptor, L158809, respectively, RhoGDIalpha was upregulated by Ang II and downregulated by L158809 in VSMCs of SHR. These results demonstrate that vascular remodeling results in significant alterations in the protein expression profile of the aorta during hypertension and suggest that the upregulation of RhoGDIalpha in hypertension is induced by Ang II via AT(1) receptor.