Floral scent emission is the highest at the second night of anthesis in Lonicera japonica (Caprifoliaceae)

Floral color change in diverse plants has been thought to be a visual signal reflecting changes in floral rewards, promoting pollinator foraging efficiency as well as plant reproductive success. It remains unclear whether olfactory signals co-vary with floral color change. We investigated the production rhythms of floral scent and nectar associated with floral color change in Lonicera japonica. The flowers generally last 2–3 days. They are white on opening at night (N1) and become light yellow the following day (D1), yellow on the second night (N2), and golden on the second day of flowering (D2). Our measurements in the four stages indicated that nectar production decreased significantly from N1 and D1 to N2 and D2, tracking the floral color change. A total of 34 compounds were detected in floral scent and total scent emission was significantly higher in N2 than in the other three stages. The scent emission of three major compounds, Linalool, cis-3-Hexenyl tiglate, and Germacrene D was also significantly higher in N2, but the relative content of Linalool decreased gradually, cis-3-Hexenyl tiglate increased gradually, and the relative content of Germacrene D did not differ among the four measured stages. Greater scent emission by night than by day suggested a strong olfactory signal to attract nocturnal hawkmoths, the effective pollinators. However, floral scent rhythms in the four stages did not match the color change and nectar secretion, suggesting that floral color (visual) and scent (olfactory) in this species may play different roles in attracting or filtering various visitors.     

氮磷钾配施对填充型烤烟烟碱含量的影响

以东北填充型烤烟品种"龙江911"为试验材料,通过正交回归田间试验,建立了氮、磷、钾肥与烤烟上部叶片烟碱含量的回归效应模型,并对各因子和交互作用进行了分析,模拟计算得出以降低上部叶片烟碱含量为目标的优化施肥方案.对模型解析表明,随施氮量增加,上部叶片烟碱含量呈先上升后下降趋势;随施磷量增加,烟碱含量呈上升趋势;随施钾量增加,烟碱含量呈急剧下降趋势.双因素效应大小依次为:氮钾＞磷钾＞氮磷,在一定范围内,氮磷、磷钾与烟碱含量表现为负相关,存在拮抗作用;而氮钾则相反,存在促进作用.对氮、磷、钾肥与烤烟上部叶片烟碱含量模型的综合分析得出:在植烟土壤为河淤土的生产区,烟田的基础施肥量建议为:氮肥33.5～47.8kg·hm-2,磷肥40.2～63.6 kg·hm-2,钾肥78.0～119.6kg·hm-2.     

外源钙对干旱胁迫下烤烟幼苗光系统Ⅱ功能的影响

以叶绿素快相荧光动力学曲线(OJIP)为探针,研究了外源钙对干旱胁迫下烤烟幼苗光系统Ⅱ(PSⅡ)功能的影响.结果表明:干旱胁迫降低了烤烟幼苗PSⅡ原初光能转换效率(Fv/Fm)和电子传递速率(ETR),抑制了光合作用的原初过程,烤烟幼苗叶片发生了明显的光抑制.叶面喷施10.0 mmol·L-1CaCl2溶液后烤烟叶片的光合电子传递能量比例(ФEo)在干旱胁迫下的降低幅度明显小于对照(喷施清水),电子转运效率(ET0/RC)在干旱胁迫下明显高于对照.叶面喷施CaC12溶液增加了PSⅡ捕获光能用于光合电子传递的比例、剩余有活性反应中心的效率和电子传递链中的能量传递,使烤烟叶片的光系统Ⅱ在干旱胁迫下保持相对较高的活性,从而提高了烤烟幼苗的抗旱能力.     

甘草次酸对Bloom解旋酶生物学特性的影响

甘草次酸(glycyrrhetinic acid,GA)是甘草主要活性组分,可诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡,抑制肿瘤细胞生长.然而,其对BLM解旋酶的抑制作用尚未见报道.本文注视甘草次酸对BLM解旋酶构象、二级结构和生化活性的影响.圆二色光谱和紫外光谱分析显示,GA可破坏BLM642-1290解旋酶α-螺旋结构,改变其构象,并具有2个结合位点.采用荧光偏振技术和自由磷检测证明,GA以浓度依赖的方式抑制BLM642-1290解旋酶与底物dsDNA及ssDNA的结合,抑制BLM642-1290解旋酶活性及ATP酶活性,且抑制类型为混合抑制.综上所述,本文证明GA可通过结合BLM解旋酶,改变BLM解旋酶构象,抑制BLM解旋酶与DNA的结合,从而抑制BLM解旋酶的生化活性.我们的发现将对深入认识GA的抗肿瘤作用有新的启示.     

土壤中高产蛋白酶菌株产酶条件及酶学性质

【背景】微生物蛋白酶已经成为工业用蛋白酶的主要来源,筛选具有特殊环境适应性的微生物成为生物酶资源的开发热点。【目的】通过对青藏高原土壤微生物产蛋白酶菌株的筛选、优化及相关特性研究,寻找新的蛋白酶资源,为高原菌种资源利用提供科学依据。【方法】采用形态学和分子生物学对筛选菌株进行菌种鉴定,利用单因素试验和正交试验对菌株进行发酵条件优化及酶学性质的探究。【结果】筛选出一株高产蛋白酶菌株XC2,经鉴定菌株XC2为枯草芽孢杆菌(Bacillus subtilis)。XC2最优产酶条件:可溶性淀粉4.0%,牛肉膏1.0%,K~+0.6%,培养温度34°C、初始pH 7.0、接种量2.0%的条件下200 r/min振荡培养13 h,所产蛋白酶活力最高为638.5 U/mL。XC2所产蛋白酶最适反应温度60°C,最适pH9.0;40-50°C、pH8.0-10.0条件下酶活稳定性较高;Mn~(2+)对酶活力有明显激活作用,而Zn~(2+)、Cu~(2+)、Fe~(2+)、Fe3+对酶活力有明显抑制作用。【结论】枯草芽孢杆菌XC2有较强的产碱性蛋白酶的能力,具有较好的应用前景。     

DHHC4 and DHHC5 Facilitate Fatty Acid Uptake by Palmitoylating and Targeting CD36 to the Plasma Membrane

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Insight of Autophagy in Spontaneous Miscarriage

In some cases of spontaneous miscarriage (SM), the exact etiology cannot be determined. Autophagy, which is responsible for cellular survival under stress conditions, has also been implicated in many diseases. Recently, it is also surmised to be correlated with SM. However, the detailed mechanism remains elusive. In fact, there are several essential steps during pregnancy establishment and maintenance: trophoblasts invasion, placentation, decidualization, enrichment and infiltration of decidua immune cells (e.g., natural killer, macrophage and T cells). Accordingly, upstream molecules and downstream effects of autophagy are discussed in these processes, respectively. Of note, autophagy regulates the crosstalk between these cells at the maternal-fetal interface as well. Aberrant autophagy is found in villi, decidual stromal cells, peripheral blood mononuclear cells in SM patients, although the findings are inconsistent among different studies. Furthermore, potential treatments targeting autophagy are included, during which rapamycin and vitamin D are hot-spots in recent literatures. To conclude, a moderately activated autophagy is deeply involved in pregnancy, suggesting that autophagy should be a regulator and promising target for treating SM.     

High Mean Water Vapour Pressure Promotes the Transmission of Bacillary Dysentery

Bacillary dysentery is an infectious disease caused by Shigella dysenteriae, which has a seasonal distribution. External environmental factors, including climate, play a significant role in its transmission. This paper identifies climate-related risk factors and their role in bacillary dysentery transmission. Harbin, in northeast China, with a temperate climate, and Quzhou, in southern China, with a subtropical climate, are chosen as the study locations. The least absolute shrinkage and selectionator operator is applied to select relevant climate factors involved in the transmission of bacillary dysentery. Based on the selected relevant climate factors and incidence rates, an AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model is established successfully as a time series prediction model. The numerical results demonstrate that the mean water vapour pressure over the previous month results in a high relative risk for bacillary dysentery transmission in both cities, and the ARIMA model can successfully perform such a prediction. These results provide better explanations for the relationship between climate factors and bacillary dysentery transmission than those put forth in other studies that use only correlation coefficients or fitting models. The findings in this paper demonstrate that the mean water vapour pressure over the previous month is an important predictor for the transmission of bacillary dysentery.