植物油脂积累机理和品质改良—利用RNAi改良大豆油脂品质—四合木茎积累三脂酰甘油特征

利用RNAi改良大豆油脂品质 大豆[Glycine max (L.) Merr.]起源于中国，栽培历史悠久，是重要的粮食作物， 同时也是植物油和蛋白的重要来源。随着经济的发展和生活水平的提高，人们不但对大豆的需求量大大增加，同时对大豆的品质也提出了更高的要求。近年来，我国大豆进口量逐年攀升，已远远超过本国生产量。国外转抗除草剂转基因大豆大面积种植大大降低了生产成本，直接影响了我国大豆生产。因此，提高产量和改良品质是当前中国大豆生产所面临的重要课题。基因工程是大豆品种改良更为有效和快速的方法，但是由于历史原因我国的大豆转基因育种与发达国家尚存在一定差距，对我国的大豆生产贡献十分有限。因此，建立高效的大豆转化体系，加强大豆基因工程研究和育种是解决大豆面临困境的关键。 本研究的目的是以我国主要栽培大豆品种（黑农、合丰和东农等）为材料，利用GUS（β-glucuronidase）报告基因和RNAi技术，建立高效的大豆基因转化体系和基因功能研究体系。为大豆产量和品质基因工程改良提供技术手段和理论基础。结果如下： 以大豆下胚轴为外植体，对分生组织产生不定芽的频率进行了研究。培养基中添加高浓度BAP（6-benzylaminopurine）可以诱导外植体分生组织增殖产生不定芽的发生率;在培养基中添加银离子可以明显地促进大豆单个外植体多芽的产生，使得诱导不定芽总数目显著增加;不同基因型大豆再生不定芽能力有着较大区别，黑农44，黑农37，合丰35，合丰39等品种再生能力强;相对于大豆子叶节等再生系统，大豆下胚轴体系具有高效高频的再生特点（总的再生频率高于80%），且重复性好，容易操作。 以大豆下胚轴为外植体，用含有GUS报告基因的根癌农杆菌对其进行遗传转化，并重点对农杆菌菌液浓度、农杆菌侵染时间、乙酰丁香酮（AS）和抗氧化剂浓度等因素对农杆菌大豆转化效率的影响进行了研究。组织化学染色结果显示GUS基因在外植体顶端表达强烈，表达位置主要位于初生芽基部周围的分生组织。 农杆菌浸染时间以 4h 为最佳，此时的GUS瞬时表达频率可达73.0%;培养基中添加浓度为200μmol/L的乙酰丁香酮，可以显著增加GUS瞬时表达频率。抗氧化剂可以显著降低共培养阶段外植体的褐化和坏死率，进而显著提高农杆菌转化效率。用根癌农杆菌转化大豆下胚轴的方法得到了表达GUS基因转基因大豆株系。 利用大豆油酸去饱和酶基因(FAD2-1;Genbank, L43920)在第315-852碱基之间的基因片断构建了反向重复的RNAi表达载体，以农杆菌介导大豆下胚轴转化方法进行转化，并且获得转基因植株。经过PCR，Southern杂交和转基因后代的脂肪酸分析，表明沉默结构已经成功整合到大豆基因组中，并成功抑制了内源基因的表达。与栽培大豆品种相比较，转基因大豆种子的脂肪酸组成发生显著变化，油酸含量由栽培大豆的18.1％增加到71.5％¬-81.9％;亚油酸含量从栽培大豆的46.4％降到了约3.4％。 栽培大豆种子中油酸去饱和比率（ODP, oleic desaturation proportion）为0.76 到 0.84，转基因大豆种子的油酸去饱和比率降为0.06-0.26，表明Δ12-去饱和酶活性降低了74%-94%。上述结果表明，我们构建的RNAi反向重复序列沉默结构高效地抑制了大豆种子FAD2-1基因。 在本研究中，我们通过外源GUS基因的表达和内源FAD2基因的抑制，成功地建立了以大豆下胚轴为外植体的高效农杆菌介导大豆转化体系，并获得了相应的转基因株系。本研究对我国大豆品种基因工程改良以及进一步大豆功能基因组研究有重要参考价值。 四合木茎积累三脂酰甘油特征 四合木(Tetraena mongotica Maxim)是蒺藜科(Zygophyllaceac)四合木属唯一的种，是地球上最具代表性的古老残遗濒危珍稀植物。由于四合木极易燃烧，当地居民称其为“油柴”。 通过对四合木内可能存在的“油”成分进行了分析，我们发现其茎组织含有大量的三脂酰甘油（Triacylglycerols），含量达到46 mg/g DM。在韧皮部中更高，达到90 mg/g DM。我们通过半薄切片对四合木中三脂酰甘油在不同组织的分布和存在形式进行了研究，发现三脂酰甘油主要以油体形式存在于木质部和韧皮部的薄壁组织中。在韧皮部中，几乎所有的薄壁细胞都含有大量的油体。 三脂酰甘油在植物的生长发育中起着非常重要的作用。作为植物生长发育所需的碳源和能量，三脂酰甘油一般储存在植物的种子和果实中。虽然也有关于其在茎和叶中发现的报道，但是含量很少。四合木茎组织含有大量的三脂酰甘油，这种现象可能与四合木茎中存在茎特异油脂合成酶系统有关。因此，克隆相关基因并在作物中表达，将对能源植物的开发具有重要意义。

Saccharibacillus kuerlensis sp nov., isolated from a desert soil

A taxonomic study was performed on strain HR1(T), which was isolated from a desert soil sample collected from Xinjiang Province (China). Cells were aerobic, Gram-positive-staining, pink-pigmented, sporulating rods with a single lateral flagellum. The orga

Single UV excitation of Hoechst 33342 and propidium iodide for viability assessment of rhesus monkey spermatozoa using flow cytometry

Many fluorescent probes excited by visible light have been used to assess sperm quality by flow cytometry. Developing a viability evaluation method using UV excited stains would be useful for multiparameter analysis of sperm function. This investigation was conducted to determine the efficacy of Hoechst 33342 (H342) and propidium iodide (PI) dual staining for evaluating rhesus monkey sperm viability through use of flow cytometry and excited by a single UV laser. The results showed that the live cells stained only with H342 strongly correlated with expected sperm viability, and flow cytometric analyses were highly correlated with fluorescence microscopic observation. Using H342/PI/SYBR-14 triple staining method, it was found that the live/dead sperm distributions were completely concordant in both H342/PI and SYBR-14/PI assays. In addition, this dual staining was extended with fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated peanut agglutinin (FITC-PNA) to simultaneously analyze viability and acrosome integrity of sperm cryopreserved using two different extenders, TTE and TEST, and indicated that TTE offered better Preservation of plasma and acrosome integrity than TEST Therefore, the H342/PI dual staining provides an accurate technique for evaluating viability of rhesus monkey sperm and should be valuable for multiparameter flow cytometric analysis of sperm function.

KARYOTYPE AND BANDING-PATTERNS OF FEA TREE RAT (CHIROMYSCUS-CHIROPUS)

Fea's tree rat (Chiromyscus chiropus) is a very rare species which there are only a few specimens in the world. The chromosomes of two male specimens, collected from Xishuanbanna, Yunnan, are analysed by several banding technique (G-, C-bands, as well as Ag-staining). The diploid chromosome number is 22, and autosomes comprise 5 pairs of metacentrics, 2 pairs of subacrocentrics, and 3 pairs of acrocentrics. The X chromosome is a acrocentric, and Y is a micro-chromosome, almost a point, which could be a marker chromosome of the species and the genus. The centromeric C-bands are very faint, and C-bands of Nos. 1, 2, 9 and Y chromosome are negative. Only one pair Ag-NORs was found on No. 10 in the silver-stained karyotype. The relationship between morphologic and chromosomal features was discussed, and C-banded karyotype evolutionary trend has also been discussed. Moreover, the conventional karyotype of Niviventer confucianus was described.

HORMONAL-REGULATION OF TISSUE-TYPE PLASMINOGEN-ACTIVATOR AND PLASMINOGEN-ACTIVATOR INHIBITOR TYPE-1 IN CULTURED MONKEY SERTOLI CELLS

Sertoli cells play a central role in the control and maintenance of spermatogenesis. Isolated Sertoli cells of mouse and rat testes have been shown to secrete plasminogen activator (PA) and a plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) in culture. In this study, we have investigated the hormonal regulation of PA and PAI-1 activities in cultured monkey Sertoli cells. Sertoli cells (5x10(5) cells/well) isolated from infant rhesus monkey testes were preincubated at 35 degrees C for 16 h in 24-well plates precoated with poly(D-lysine) (5 mu g/cm(2)) in 0.5 mi McCoy's 5a medium containing 5% of fetal calf serum and further incubated for 48 h in 0.5 mi serum-free medium with or without various hormones or other compounds, PA as well as PAI-1 activities in the conditioned media were assayed by fibrin overlay and reverse fibrin autography techniques respectively. The Sertoli cells in vitro secreted only tissue-type PA (tPA), no detectable amount of urokinase-type PA (uPA) could be observed, Monkey Sertoli cells were also capable of secreting PAI-1, Immunocytochemical studies indicated that both tPA and PAI-1 positive staining localized in the Sertoli cells, spermatids and residual bodies of the seminiferous epithelium; Northern blot analysis further confirmed the presence of both tPA and PAI-1 mRNA in monkey Sertoli cells. Addition of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) or cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) derivatives or cAMP-generating agents and gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist or phorbol ester (PMA) to the cell culture significantly increased tPA activity. PAI-1 activity in the culture was also enhanced by these reagents except 8-bromo-dibutyryl-cAMP, forskolin and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthin (MIX) which greatly stimulated tPA activity, whereas decreased PAI-1 activity, implying that neutralization of PAI-1 activity by tile high level of tPA in the conditioned media may occur. These data suggest that increased intracellular signals which activate protein kinase A (PKA), or protein kinase C (PKC) can modulate Sertoli cell tPA and PAI-1 activities, The concomitant induction of PA and PAI-1 by the same reagents in the Sertoli cells may reflect a finely tuned regulatory mechanism in which PAI-1 could limit the excession of the proteolysis.

Localization and distribution of tissue type and urokinase type plasminogen activators and their inhibitors type 1 and 2 in human and rhesus monkey fetal membranes

Fetal membranes consist of 10 distinct layers including components of amnion, chorion and decidua, the latter being of maternal origin. They form mechanically integrated sheets capable of retaining amniotic fluid and play an essential role in protecting fetal growth and development in the pregnant uterus. The extracellular matrix, substrate for plasminogen activators (PAs), is an important supportive framework of the fetal membranes. :Fetal membranes from women with preterm premature rupture of membranes may differ in their protease activity compared with normal membranes. To identify the presence of PAs and their inhibitors (PAI) and their possible role in the process of fetal membrane rupture, this study in investigated the distribution and localization of both protein and mRNA for tissue (t) and urokinase (u) PA and their inhibitors type 1 (PAI-1) and type 2 (PAI-2) in amniochorion of human and rhesus monkey using conventional and. confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. In situ hybridization analysis showed that the distribution and localization of mRNAs for tPA, uPA, PAI-I and PAI-2 were similar in the fetal membranes of human and rhesus monkey; no obvious species difference was observed. Evidence of tPA mRNA was detected in amniotic epithelium, trophoblast cells and nearly all cells of the decidual layer. Strong expression of uPA mRNA was noted in the decidual cells which increased in intensity as the abscission point was approached. Weak staining in chorion laeve trophoblast was also detected. In situ hybridization experiments showed PAI-1 mRNA to be concentrated mainly in the decidual cells, some of which were interposed into the maternal-facing edge of the chorion laeve. Maximal labelling of the decidua occurred towards the zone of abscission. Weak expression of PAI-1 mRNA nas also noted in some cells of the chorion laeve. The distribution of PAI-2 mRNA in amniochorion was also concentrated in the cells of the decidual layer, maximum expression of the mRNA was in the level of abscission. No detectable amount of mRNAs for tPA, uPA, PAI-1 and PAI-2 was found in the fibroblast, reticular and spongy layers. Distribution of the proteins of tPA, uPA and PAI-1 in the fetal membranes of these two species was consistent with the distribution of their mRNA. Anti-PAI-2 immunofluorescence was found to be strongly concentrated in the amniotic epithelium, but PAI-2 mRNA was negative in this layer, suggesting that the epithelium-associated PAI-2 is not of epithelial origin. These findings suggest that a local fibrinolysis in fetal membranes generated by precisely balanced expression of PAs and their inhibitors via paracrine or autocrine mechanisms may play an essential role in fetal membrane development, maturation and in membrane rupture. Following an analysis of the distribution and synthesis of activators and inhibitors it was found that they may play a role in abscission during the third stage of labour. (C) 1998 W. B. Saunders Company Ltd.

An improved microtiter assay for evaluating anti-HIV-I neutralizing antibodies from sera or plasma

Background: The anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibody assay is widely used in AIDS vaccine research and other experimental and clinical studies. The vital dye staining method applied in the detection of anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibody has been used in many laboratories. However, the unknown factor(s) in sera or plasma affected cell growth and caused protection when the tested sera or plasma was continuously maintained in cell culture. In addition, the poor solubility of neutral red in medium (such as RPMI-1640) also limited the use of this assay. Methods: In this study, human T cell line C8166 was used as host cells, and 3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)- 2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) instead of neutral red was used as vital dye. In order to avoid the effect of the unknown factor( s), the tested sera or plasma was removed by a washout procedure after initial 3 - 6 h culture in the assay. Result: This new assay eliminated the effect of the tested sera or plasma on cell growth, improved the reliability of detection of anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibody, and showed excellent agreement with the p24 antigen method. Conclusion: The results suggest that the improved assay is relatively simple, highly duplicable, cost-effective, and well reliable for evaluating anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies from sera or plasma.

农杆菌介导的单子叶植物早熟禾的转化(英文)

利用种子和胚分别在两种培养基K3和K5诱导产生了早熟禾(Poa pratensis L.)一个品种Mado的胚性愈伤组织。K3培养基含有10.0μmol/L的二氯苯氧乙酸(2,4-D)、0.5μmol/L的苄氨基嘌呤(BAP)。K5培养基是K3另加0.5μmol/L的硫酸铜。光照条件为20～30μmol·m~(-2)·s~(-1)、16h光照、8h黑暗。温度保持在24℃。用携有bar基因和gus基因的pDM805质粒转化的农杆菌AGL1对胚性愈伤组织进行转化。共得到4个转基因株系。影响转基因效率的主要因素

Hexabromocyclododecane-induced developmental toxicity and apoptosis in zebrafish embryos

Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) is widely used as a brominated flame retardant, and has been detected in the aquatic environment, wild animals, and humans. However, details of the environmental health risk of HBCD are not well known. In this study, zebrafish embryos were used to assess the developmental toxicity of the chemical. Four-hour post-fertilization (hpf) zebrafish embryos were exposed to various concentrations of HBCD (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mg L-1) until 96 h. Exposure to 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mg L-1 HBCD significantly increased the malformation rate and reduced survival in the 0.5 and 1.0 mg L-1 HBCD exposure groups. Acridine orange (AO) staining showed that HBCD exposure resulted in cell apoptosis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) was significantly induced at exposures of 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mg L-1 HBCD. To test the apoptotic pathway, several genes related to cell apoptosis, such as p53, Puma, Apaf-1, caspase-9, and caspase-3, were examined using real-time PCR. The expression patterns of these genes were up-regulated to some extent. Two anti-apoptotic genes, Mdm2 (antagonist of p53) and Bcl-2 (inhibitor of Bax), were down-regulated, and the activity of capspase-9 and caspase-3 was significantly increased. The overall results demonstrate that waterborne HBCD is able to produce oxidative stress and induce apoptosis through the involvement of caspases in zebrafish embryos. The results also indicate that zebrafish embryos can serve as a reliable model for the developmental toxicity of HBCD. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Involvement of Fas/FasL system in apoptotic signaling in testicular germ cells of male Wistar rats injected i.v. with microcystins

Previous studies have shown that gonads were the second target organ of microcystins (MCs), and that MCs exposure exerted obvious toxic effects on male reproductive system of mammals. However, relevant molecular evidences are still lacking. Fas-signaling pathway plays a key role in toxicant-induced germ cell apoptosis. This study was to evaluate the responses of Fas/FasL system related genes and proteins in testes of rats injected intravenously with MCs. Enhanced apoptosis of germ cells in the testes of MCs-treated rats was detected by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxy-UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) associated with up-regulation of the Fas/FasL system. Both Fas and FasL protein expression were induced evidently from I h post-injection, and this high expression level maintained throughout the experiment. In addition, the activation of caspase-8 and caspase-3 protein was also observed, which were indicators of apoptosis. These results suggested the likely involvement of Fas/FasL system in the MCs-induced germ cell apoptosis. It is also suggested that MCs can cause damage to Sertoli cells directly. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Expression pattern of cellular nucleic acid-binding protein (CNBP) during embryogenesis and spermatogenesis of gibel carp

By differential screening, we cloned the CagCNBP, demonstrated its predominant expression in ovary and testis, and reported its development behavior during folliculogenesis and oogenesis by immunofluorescence localization (Liu and Gui, Gene 365:181-192, 2005), but its developmental behavior during spermatogenesis and its transcript distribution during embryogenesis are not revealed. In the present study, by in situ hybridization, we analyze CagCNBP expression pattern during gibel carp embryogenesis. The CagCNBP transcripts ubiquitously distributed in all embryonic cells in early developmental stage embryos, and peak in midbrain, hindbrain and somites of gibel carp larva during organogenesis. By antibody detection, we reveal CagCNBP protein distribution change during spermatogenesis. The cell-specific distribution of CagCNBP is revealed by immunofluorescence staining, and predominant CagCNBP expression in testis somatic cells and spermatogonia is demonstrated in this paper. For the first time, the CNBP distribution during spermatogenesis in vertebrate has been revealed.

A high throughput Nile red method for quantitative measurement of neutral lipids in microalgae

Isolation of high neutral lipid-containing microalgae is key to the commercial success of microalgae-based biofuel production. The Nile red fluorescence method has been successfully applied to the determination of lipids in certain microalgae, but has been unsuccessful in many others, particularly those with thick, rigid cell walls that prevent the penetration of the fluorescence dye. The conventional "one sample at a time" method was also time-consuming. In this study, the solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was introduced to microalgal samples as the stain carrier at an elevated temperature. The cellular neutral lipids were determined and quantified using a 96-well plate on a fluorescence spectrophotometer with an excitation wavelength of 530 nm and an emission wavelength of 575 run. An optimized procedure yielded a high correlation coefficient (R-2 = 0.998) with the lipid standard triolein and repeated measurements of replicates. Application of the improved method to several green algal strains gave very reproducible results with relative standard errors of 8.5%, 3.9% and 8.6%, 4.5% for repeatability and reproducibility at two concentration levels (2.0 mu g/mL and 20 mu g/mL), respectively. Moreover, the detection and quantification limits of the improved Nile red staining method were 0.8 mu g/mL and 2.0 mu g/mL for the neutral lipid standard triolein, respectively. The modified method and a conventional gravimetric determination method provided similar results on replicate samples. The 96-well plate-based Nile red method can be used as a high throughput technique for rapid screening of a broader spectrum of naturally-occurring and genetically-modified algal strains and mutants for high neutral lipid/oil production. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Rana grylio virus thymidine kinase gene: an early gene of iridovirus encoding for a cytoplasmic protein

The presence of thymidine kinase (TK) is a feature of many large DNA viruses. Here, a TK gene homologue was cloned and characterized from Rana grylio virus (RGV), a member of family Iridoviridae. RGV TK encodes a protein of 195 aa with a predicted molecular mass of 22.1 kDa. Homologues of the protein were present in all the currently sequenced iridoviruses, and phylogenetic analysis showed that it was much close to cellular TK type 2 (TK2), deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) and deoxyguanosine kinase (dGK). Subsequently, Western blotting revealed TK expression increased with time from 6 h post-infection in RGV-infected cells. Using drug inhibition analysis by protein synthesis inhibitor (cycloheximide) and DNA replication inhibitor (cytosine arabinofuranoside), RGV TK was classified as the early expression gene during in vitro infection. Subcellular localization by TK-GFP fusion protein expression and immunofluorescence staining showed RGV TK was an exclusively cytoplasmic protein in fish cells. Collectively, current data indicate that RGV TK was an early gene of iridovirus which encoded a cytoplasmic protein in fish cells.