High Altitude Frogs (Rana kukonoris) Adopt a Diversified Bethedging Strategy in the Face of Environmental Unpredictability

Environmental unpredictability can influence strategies of maternal investment among eggs within a clutch. Models predict that breeding females should adopt a diversified bet-hedging strategy in unpredictable environments, but empirical field evidence from Asia is scarce. Here we tested this hypothesis by exploring spatial patterns in egg size along an altitudinal gradient in a frog species(Rana kukunoris) inhabiting the Tibetan Plateau. Within-clutch variability in egg size increased as the environment became variable(e.g., lower mean monthly temperature and mean monthly rainfall at higher altitudes), and populations in environments with more unpredictable rainfall produced eggs that were smaller and more variable in size. We provide support for a diversified bet-hedging strategy in high-altitude environments, which experience dynamic weather patterns and therefore are of unpredictable environmental quality. This strategy may be an adaptive response to lower environmental quality and higher unpredictable environmental variance. Such a strategy should increase the likelihood of breeding success and maximize maternal lifetime fitness by producing offspring that are adapted to current environmental conditions. We speculate that in high-altitude environments prone to physical disturbance, breeding females are unable to consistently produce the optimal egg size due to physiological constraints imposed by environmental conditions(e.g., duration of the active season, food availability). Species and populations whose breeding strategies are adapted to cope with uncertain environmental conditions by adjusting offspring size and therefore quality show a remarkable degree of ability to cope with future climatic changes.     

电针镇痛时人脑脊液中β-内啡肽样免疫活性物质的含量与痛阈的关系

用β-内啡肽放射免疫分析法测定10例无疼痛主诉的患者电针前后侧脑室脑脊液中B-内啡肽样免疫活性物质(B-EPIS)的含量,其中6例用弹簧棒测定了痛阈和耐痛阈。结果表明,每 ml 脑脊液中β-EPIS 的含量比针前增加126.7 fmol/ml(P<0.02),病人的痛阈比针前升高29.5%,耐痛阈升高28.1%(P<0.05)。β-EPIS 含量的增加量与痛阈、耐痛阈的升高值呈直线相关,r_1=0.776,r_2=0.741(P<0.05)。表明电针能促使脑内释放β-内啡肽,释放增加的β-内啡肽参与镇痛作用,这可能是电针镇痛机制的重要环节之一。     

N-糖蛋白去糖基化酶（PNGase）的研究进展

N-糖蛋白去糖基化酶（PNGase）是一种广泛存在于真菌、植物、哺乳动物中的去糖基化酶，可以水解N-糖蛋白或 N-糖肽上天冬酰胺与寡糖链连接的化学键，并释放出完整的N-寡糖。PNGase在生物体内参与蛋白质降解、器官发育、个体生长等过程。人PNGase基因功能缺陷会导致先天性去糖基化障碍，小鼠PNGase缺陷会导致胚胎致死性，线虫PNGase缺陷使其寿命下降。本文对PNGase在不同物种的分布、蛋白质结构、酶学功能及生物学功能进行阐述，为PNGase的生理病理功能及致病机制的基础研究提供思路，为PNGase作为糖生物学工具酶或药物开发的创新应用研究奠定基础。     

Phosphorylation and ubiquitination of dynamin-related proteins (AtDRP3A/3B) synergically regulate mitochondrial proliferation during mitosis

The balance between mitochondrial fission and fusion is disrupted during mitosis, but the mechanism governing this phenomenon in plant cells remains enigmatic. Here, we used mitochondrial matrix‐localized Kaede protein (mt‐Kaede) to analyze the dynamics of mitochondrial fission in BY‐2 suspension cells. Analysis of the photoactivatable fluorescence of mt‐Kaede suggested that the fission process is dominant during mitosis. This finding was confirmed by an electron microscopic analysis of the size distribution of mitochondria in BY‐2 suspension cells at various stages. Cellular proteins interacting with Myc‐tagged dynamin‐related protein 3A/3B (AtDRP3A and AtDRP3B) were immunoprecipitated with anti‐Myc antibody‐conjugated beads and subsequently identified by microcapillary liquid chromatography–quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (CapLC Q‐TOF) MS/MS. The identified proteins were broadly associated with cytoskeletal (microtubular), phosphorylation, or ubiquitination functions. Mitotic phosphorylation of AtDRP3A/AtDRP3B and mitochondrial fission at metaphase were inhibited by treatment of the cells with a CdkB/cyclin B inhibitor or a serine/threonine protein kinase inhibitor. The fate of AtDRP3A/3B during the cell cycle was followed by time‐lapse imaging of the fluorescence of Dendra2‐tagged AtDRP3A/3B after green‐to‐red photoconversion; this experiment showed that AtDRP3A/3B is partially degraded during interphase. Additionally, we found that microtubules are involved in mitochondrial fission during mitosis, and that mitochondria movement to daughter cell was limited as early as metaphase. Taken together, these findings suggest that mitotic phosphorylation of AtDRP3A/3B promotes mitochondrial fission during plant cell mitosis, and that AtDRP3A/3B is partially degraded at interphase, providing mechanistic insight into the mitochondrial morphological changes associated with cell‐cycle transitions in BY‐2 suspension cells.     

Loci controlling lymphocyte production of interferon γ after alloantigen stimulation in vitro and their co-localization with genes controlling lymphocyte infiltration of tumors and tumor susceptibility

Low infiltration of lymphocytes into cancers is associated with poor prognosis, but the reasons why some patients exhibit a low and others a high infiltration of tumors are unknown. Previously we mapped four loci (Lynf1–Lynf4) controlling lymphocyte infiltration of mouse lung tumors. These loci do not encode any of the molecules that are involved in traffic of lymphocytes. Here we report a genetic relationship between these loci and the control of production of IFNγ in allogeneic mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLC). We found that IFNγ production by lymphocytes of O20/A mice is lower than by lymphocytes of OcB-9/Dem mice (both H2 ^pz ) stimulated in MLC by irradiated splenocytes of C57BL/10SnPh (H2 ^b ) or BALB/cHeA (H2 ^d ) mice, or by ConA. IFNγ production in MLCs of individual (O20 × OcB-9)F₂ mice stimulated by irradiated C57BL/10 splenocytes and genotyped for microsatellite markers revealed four IFNγ-controlling loci (Cypr4-Cypr7), each of which is closely linked with one of the four Lynf loci and with a cluster of susceptibility genes for different tumors. This suggests that inherited differences in certain lymphocyte responses may modify their propensity to infiltrate tumors and their capacity to affect tumor growth.     

量天尺根部内生真菌的多样性

为了解不同量天尺（火龙果）品种根部内生真菌菌群组成及多样性,采集GHL-1、GHL-2、GHL-3、ML-1和DL 5个量天尺品种健康根部样品,进行内生真菌分离,采用形态观察和ITS序列分析相结合的方法进行鉴定、归类。共分离得到内生真菌菌株117株,总体分离率为25.71%,分别隶属于13个属,其中Trichoderma、Fusarium、Chaetomium和Phoma为量天尺内生真菌的优势种群,分别占总菌株数的24.79%、35.04%、10.26%和10.26%;不同量天尺品种内生真菌的结构和组成存在一定差异,GHL-2、GHL-3和DL 3个品种中分离频率最高的内生真菌类群为Fusarium,GHL-1和ML-1分离频率最高的类群为Trichoderma;多样性分析结果反映出不同量天尺品种内生真菌菌群的多样性指数、丰富度指数和均匀度指数水平存在差异,其中GHL-2的3项指数均为最高。表明品种差异对内生真菌的组成和多样性均有影响。     

广东省种子植物分布新资料

报道广东省种子植物分布新记录2属——甜茅属(Glyceria R. Br.)及锦鸡儿属(Caragana Fabr.)，2个新记录种——甜茅[Glyceria acutiflora subsp. japonica (Steud.) T. Koyama et Kawano]及锦鸡儿[Caragana sinica (Buc’hoz) Rehder]，均发现于丹霞山国家级自然保护区。新记录的发现对于研究丹霞山的区系发生具有一定指示意义。