Leaf size of woody dicots predicts ecosystem primary productivity

A key challenge in ecology is to understand the relationships between organismal traits and ecosystem processes. Here, with a novel dataset of leaf length and width for 10 480 woody dicots in China and 2374 in North America, we show that the variation in community mean leaf size is highly correlated with the variation in climate and ecosystem primary productivity, independent of plant life form. These relationships likely reflect how natural selection modifies leaf size across varying climates in conjunction with how climate influences canopy total leaf area. We find that the leaf size?primary productivity functions based on the Chinese dataset can predict productivity in North America and vice‐versa. In addition to advancing understanding of the relationship between a climate‐driven trait and ecosystem functioning, our findings suggest that leaf size can also be a promising tool in palaeoecology for scaling from fossil leaves to palaeo‐primary productivity of woody ecosystems.     

Diversity of the O-superfamily conotoxins from Conus miles.

Conopeptides display prominent features of hypervariability and high selectivity of large gene families that mediate interactions between organisms. Remarkable sequence diversity of O-superfamily conotoxins was found in a worm-hunting cone snail Conus miles. Five novel cDNA sequences encoding O-superfamily precursor peptides were identified in C. miles native to Hainan by RT-PCR and 3'-RACE. They share the common cysteine pattern of the O-superfamily conotoxin (C-C-CC-C-C, with three disulfide bridges). The predicted peptides consist of 27-33 amino acids. We then performed a phylogenetic analysis of the new and published homologue sequences from C. miles and the other Conus species. Sequence divergence (%) and residue substitutions to view evolutionary relationships of the precursors' signal, propeptide, and mature toxin regions were analyzed. Percentage divergence of the amino acid sequences of the prepro region exhibited high conservation, whereas the sequences of the mature peptides ranged from almost identical with to highly divergent from inter- and intra-species. Despite the O-superfamily being a large and diverse group of peptides, widely distributed in the venom ducts of all major feeding types of Conus and discovered in several Conus species, it was for the first time that the newly found five O-superfamily peptides in this research came from the vermivorous C. miles. So far, conotoxins of the O-superfamily whose properties have been characterized are from piscivorous and molluscivorous Conus species, and their amino acid sequences and mode of action have been discussed in detail. The elucidated cDNAs of the five toxins are new and of importance and should attract the interest of researchers in the field, which would pave the way for a better understanding of the relationship of their structure and function.     

甘蔗遗传转化研究进展

甘蔗由于其本身的特殊性使其遗传转化较为困难,但利用直接转化法及不同的受体系统已在甘蔗不同品种上获得成功,农杆菌介导法已开始应用于甘蔗转化研究。对甘蔗遗传转化方法及其影响因素,基因工程现状进行了综述。     

毕赤酵母表达体系中重组蛋白的分离纯化

随着基因重组技术的快速发展,基因工程产品的利用越来越广泛,但其分离纯化的成本约占总成本的60%～70%.因此,探索一些简单有效的分离纯化方法尤为必要.简单介绍了目前较为流行的毕赤酵母表达体系,着重概述了重组蛋白分离纯化技术方法的应用情况.     

用地高辛标记探针检测基因工程人β干扰素制品中的外源DNA

基因工程人β干扰素工程菌经发酵培养、纯化后获得纯的制品,采用斑点杂交技术,用非放射性地高辛标记超声裂解的全工程菌ＤＮＡ作为探针,检测基因工程人β干扰素纯品,结果显示：基因工程人β干扰素纯品中的外源ＤＮＡ含量小于１００ｐｇ／剂。     

Sequence diversity of O-superfamily conopetides from Conus marmoreus native to Hainan

The full-length cDNAs of six new O-superfamily conotoxins (CTX) were cloned and sequenced from Conus marmoreus native to Hainan in China South Sea using RT-PCR and 3′-RACE. Six novel conotoxin precursors encoded by these cDNAs consist of three typical regions of signal, pro-peptide and mature peptide. All the six toxin regions share a common O-superfamily cysteine pattern (C-C-CC-C-C, with three disulfide bridges). The predicted precursors are composed of 73–88 amino acids, and the predicted mature peptides consist of 26–34 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis of new conotoxins from C. marmoreus from the present study and published homologue T-superfamily sequences from other Conus species was performed systematically. Patterns of sequence divergence for three regions of signal, pro-region and mature peptides, as well as Cys codon usage define the major O-superfamily branches and suggest how these separate branches arose. Percent identities of the amino acid sequences of the signal region exhibited high conservation, whereas the sequences of the mature peptides ranged from almost identical to highly divergent between inter- and intra-species. Notably, the diversity of the pro-region was also high with intermediate divergence between that observed in signal and toxin regions. Amino acid sequences and their mode of action (target) of previously identified conotoxins from molluscivorous C. marmoreus for the known conotoxins classes are discussed in detail. The data presented are new and should pave the way for chemical synthesis of these unique conotoxins for to allow determination of the molecular targets of these peptides, and also to provide clues for a better understanding of the phylogeny of these peptides.     

高质量毕赤酵母基因组DNA提取方法比较

旨在比较5种毕赤酵母基因组DNA的提取法,以便获得简便高效的提取高质量酵母基因组DNA的优化方法。分别使用蜗牛酶破壁法,超声波破碎法,液氮研磨法,Lyticase破壁法,试剂盒法提取毕赤酵母基因组DNA,然后进行DNA电泳检测以及紫外分光光度计测定DNA浓度和纯度。结果显示,5种方法均能提取出酵母基因组DNA,而酶法所提取的酵母基因组DNA质量最好。由此证实,蜗牛酶法成本低、效果好,是理想的提取高质量酵母基因组DNA的方法,完全满足后续试验要求。     

杧果生物技术研究进展

从杧果组织培养、基因克隆、遗传转化及分子标记等几个方面概述了近年来杧果生物技术研究的进展.     

CRKL promotes hepatocarcinoma through enhancing glucose metabolism of cancer cells via activating PI3K/Akt

Abnormal glucose metabolism may contribute to cancer progression. As a member of the CRK (v-crk sarcoma virus CT10 oncogene homologue) adapter protein family, CRKL (CRK-like) associated with the development and progression of various tumours. However, the exact role and underlying mechanism of CRKL on energy metabolism remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the effect of CRKL on glucose metabolism of hepatocarcinoma cells. CRKL and PI3K were found to be overexpressed in both hepatocarcinoma cells and tissues; meanwhile, CRKL up-regulation was positively correlated with PI3K up-regulation. Functional investigations revealed that CRKL overexpression promoted glucose uptake, lactate production and glycogen synthesis of hepatocarcinoma cells by up-regulating glucose transporters 1 (GLUT1), hexokinase II (HKII) expression and down-regulating glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) expression. Mechanistically, CRKL promoted glucose metabolism of hepatocarcinoma cells via enhancing the CRKL-PI3K/Akt-GLUT1/HKII-glucose uptake, CRKL-PI3K/Akt-HKII-glucose-lactate production and CRKL-PI3K/Akt-Gsk3β-glycogen synthesis. We demonstrate CRKL facilitates HCC malignancy via enhancing glucose uptake, lactate production and glycogen synthesis through PI3K/Akt pathway. It provides interesting fundamental clues to CRKL-related carcinogenesis through glucose metabolism and offers novel therapeutic strategies for hepatocarcinoma.