OsRLCK160 contributes to flavonoid accumulation and UV-B tolerance by regulating OsbZIP48 in rice

Science China Life Sciences - Plants produce specialized metabolites to adapt to the ever-changing environments. Flavonoids are antioxidants essential for growth, development, and breeding with...     

White to brown fat phenotypic switch induced by genetic and environmental activation of a hypothalamic-adipocyte axis

Living in an enriched environment with complex physical and social stimulation leads to improved cognitive and metabolic health. In white fat, enrichment induced the upregulation of the brown fat cell fate determining gene Prdm16, brown fat-specific markers, and genes involved in thermogenesis and β-adrenergic signaling. Moreover, pockets of cells with prototypical brown fat morphology and high UCP1 levels were observed in the white fat of enriched mice associated with resistance to diet-induced obesity. Hypothalamic overexpression of BDNF reproduced the enrichment-associated activation of the brown fat gene program and lean phenotype. Inhibition of BDNF signaling by genetic knockout or dominant-negative trkB reversed this phenotype. Our genetic and pharmacologic data suggest a mechanism whereby induction of hypothalamic BDNF expression in response to environmental stimuli leads to selective sympathoneural modulation of white fat to induce "browning" and increased energy dissipation.     

CASCIRE surveillance network and work on avian influenza viruses

正Studies on influenza virus by Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)could be traced back as early as 2005 by the CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology(CASPMI),who discovered that Qinghai-like Clade 2.2H5N1 subtype highly pathogenic avian influenza virus(HPAIV)first caused severe outbreak in wild birds in Qinghai Lake(Liu et al.,2005).     

Changes in the Length of the Neuraminidase Stalk Region Impact H7N9 Virulence in Mice

The neuraminidase stalk of the newly emerged H7N9 influenza virus possesses a 5-amino-acid deletion. This study focuses on characterizing the biological functions of H7N9 with varied neuraminidase stalk lengths. Results indicate that the 5-amino-acid deletion had no impact on virus infectivity or replication in vitro or in vivo compared to that of a virus with a full-length stalk, but enhanced virulence in mice was observed for H7N9 encoding a 19- to 20-amino-acid deletion, suggesting that N9 stalk length impacts virulence in mammals, as N1 stalk length does.     

长江口邻近海域营养盐分布特征及其控制过程的初步研究

利用1997年秋季和1998年春季对长江口邻近海域两个航次的调查结果,对该海域营养盐分布、结构特征以及其主要控制过程进行了探讨．结果表明,该海域的营养盐分布及结构具有明显的季节变化,秋季海水中NO3--N、SiO3^2-．SiSiO3^2-,Si及PO4^3--P,DOP、PP均高于春季,平均含量分别为4．97、11．6、0．44、0．26、0．82μmol·L-1,而春季则是NO2--N、NH4+-N、DON、PN含量高,平均含量分别为0．70、2．26、9．88、7．88μmol·L-·PP(54％)和PO4^3--P(51％)分别为秋季和春季磷的主要形态,两个季节氮结构基本一致,均以DON和PN为主．除春季PO4^3--P外,营养盐受长江冲淡水等陆源输入的影响而呈现近岸含量较高,溶解无机氮秋季以NO3^- -N为主而春季则以NH4^+-N为主,秋季PO4^3- -P同时来源于长江冲淡水和台湾暖流．而春季则主要来源于台湾暖流．显示出春季台湾暖流对调查海区的影响程度大于秋季．     

Genomic characterizations of H4 subtype avian influenza viruses from live poultry markets in Sichuan province of China, 2014–2015

正Dear Editor,Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) have posed a serious threat to poultry production and public health. To date, more than fourteen AIV subtypes that are able to infect human beings have been documented. Also, it is suggested that new subtypes may be reported in the future, owing to the migration of wild birds and live poultry transportation (Gao, 2018).Poultry may act as a potential incubator for novel subtypes of avian influenza virus (Bi et al., 2016a; Bi et al., 2016b; Liu et al., 2014a; Su et al., 2017). Up to date, the H7N9 AIV emerged in February 2013 has caused 1,567 human cases,with a fatality rate of 39.2%(http://www.who.int/influenza/     

Restoration of Hearing in the VGLUT3 Knockout Mouse Using Virally Mediated Gene Therapy

Mice lacking the vesicular glutamate transporter-3 (VGLUT3) are congenitally deaf due to loss of glutamate release at the inner hair cell afferent synapse. Cochlear delivery of VGLUT3 using adeno-associated virus type 1 (AAV1) leads to transgene expression in only inner hair cells (IHCs), despite broader viral uptake. Within 2?weeks of AAV1-VGLUT3 delivery, auditory brainstem response (ABR) thresholds normalize, along with partial rescue of the startle response. Lastly, we demonstrate partial reversal of the morphologic changes seen within the afferent IHC ribbon synapse. These findings represent?a successful restoration of hearing by gene replacement in mice, which is a significant advance toward gene therapy of human deafness.     

城市新建景观湖泊浮游植物群落结构及其与环境因子的关系

2019年对南通市中央创新区新建湖泊紫琅湖的浮游植物进行了4个季度的调查,旨在研究典型城市新建景观湖泊的浮游植物群落结构特征及其与环境因子关系。紫琅湖全年共鉴定出浮游植物种类7门186种,春季种类数最多,共6门113种,其中蓝藻门（Cyanophyta）占17.7%,绿藻门（Chlorophyta）占19.5%,硅藻门（Bacillariophyta）占39.8%;夏季种类数最少,共7门43种,其中蓝藻门占32.6%,绿藻门占30.2%,硅藻门占16.3%;冬季和春季则硅藻种类多。从丰度来看,各季节浮游植物组成均以蓝藻为主,冬、夏、秋季蓝藻的丰度分别为（26.81±6.70）×10⁶ ind./L、（12.77±1.02）×10⁶ ind./L和（31.99±10.23）×10⁶ ind./L,显著高于其他藻类（P<0.05）。典范对应分析（CCA）表明透明度、pH、总磷和浊度是与浮游植物群落相关性较强的4个环境因子,其中透明度是最主要的环境因子。冬季和春季浮游植物主要与透明度正相关,夏季主要与总磷和浊度呈正相关,秋季主要与pH呈正相关。紫琅湖的浮游植物优势类群以蓝藻门为主,其中伪鱼腥藻（Pseudoanabaena sp.）为全年唯一的优势藻类（优势度指数分别为Y_冬=0.66,Y_春=0.10,Y_夏=0.16,Y_秋=0.26）。综合营养指数表明湖泊处于轻度富营养水平,浮游植物多样性水质评价表明夏季水体污染相对严重。城市新建景观湖泊紫琅湖营养水平较高、透明度低、浮游植物群落结构波动大,暴发蓝藻水华的可能性较高,研究结果可为城市新建景观湖泊水质改善和健康生态系统的构建提供科学依据。     

作物磷素养分的动态模拟

基于养分平衡原理,分别建立了土壤有机磷与有机肥分解磷的释放、土壤有效磷吸附的动态模型,用Langmuir方程描述土壤吸附磷量与土壤溶液磷浓度的关系,建立了植株临界磷浓度与生理发育时间的关系模型,以及基于生长潜在需要和土壤水溶性磷浓度限制的作物磷素吸收动态模型.检验结果表明,模型对小麦植株含磷率的动态变化有较好的预测效果.