Recent advances in scanning electrochemical microscopy

The basic principle, instrumentation and recent advances of scanning electrochemical microscopy are briefly reviewed with 55 references.

A review of advances in research on marine molluscan antimicrobial peptides and their potential application in aquaculture

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important components of the host innate immune response against microbial invasion. They are usually characterized by their small-size, heat-stability and broad range of antimicrobial activity. This review covers research advances on marine mollusc AMPs, specifically those isolated from mussels, scallops, oysters, venerid clams and abalone, which mainly include MGD, mytilin, myticin, mytimycin, big defensin, and RPD-1. Their structural characteristics, antibacterial activity, and expression pattern as well as peptide distribution and their release following microbial challenge are also discussed. In addition, the prospect of the application of AMPs as food additives or their use in immunostimulation to prevent diseases of aquatic animals, as well as their potential hazards, are also discussed.

Cultivation of the brown alga Sargassum horneri: sexual reproduction and seedling production in tank culture under reduced solar irradiance in ambient temperature

As a large conspicuous intertidal brown alga, individuals of Sargassum horneri can reach a length of more than 7 m with a fresh weight of 3 kg along the coasts of the Eastern China Sea. The biomass of this alga as a vital component in coastal water ecology has been well documented. In recent years, a steady disappearance of the algal biomass along the once densely populated coastal areas of the Eastern China Sea has drawn attention in China. Efforts have been made to reconstruct the subtidal algal flora or even to grow the alga by use of long-lines. As part of the efforts to establish an efficient technique for producing seedlings of S. horneri, in this investigation a series of culture experiments were carried out in indoor raceway and rectangular tanks under reduced solar irradiance at ambient temperature in 2007-2008. The investigation demonstrated that: (1) sexual reproduction of S. horneri could be accelerated in elevated temperature and light climates, at least 3 months earlier than in the wild; (2) eggs of S. horneri had the potential to be fertilized up to 48 h, much longer than that of known related species; (3) suspension and fixed culture methods were both effective in growing the seedlings to the long-line cultivation stage; and (4) the life cycle of S. horneri in culture could be shortened to 4.5 months, thus establishing this alga as an appropriate model for investigating sexual reproduction in dieocious species of this genus.

Mechanism for Giycinebetaine to Improve Plant Salt Resistance and Its Research Advances in Genetic Engineering

The paper systematically discusses the mechanism for glycinebetaine to improve plant salt resistance and its research advances in genetic engineering at home and abroad as well as summarizing the research progresses about the key enzymes and their genetic engineering in glycinebetaine biosynthesis. It suggests that on the basis of further understanding the mechanism for glycinebetaine to improve plant salt resistance,the transformation of the genes relating to glycinebetaine biosynthesis should be carried out in major crops so that new plant varieties resistant to salt can be obtained.