假根羽藻细胞色素b6f蛋白复合体中α-胡萝卜素的结构与功能

细胞色素b6f蛋白复合体（Cyt b6f）是光合链中连接两个光系统（PSII 和PSI）的中间电子载体蛋白复合物，其主要的生理功能是催化电子传递和质子跨膜转移，形成跨膜质子电化学梯度，为ATP的合成提供能量，在光合作用光能转化过程中占有很重要的地位。细菌和莱茵衣藻Cyt b6f的晶体结构已于2003年底获得了近原子水平的解析，但有关该复合物中两种色素（Chl a和β-Car）的生理功能及其机理尚无明确的解释。预计它们将成为今后几年的研究热点,因为揭示Cyt b6f蛋白复合体中Chl a和β-Car分子的生理功能对于进一步阐明光合作用高效转能及其调控的分子机理具十分重要的意义。鉴于目前尚未见到海洋绿藻Cyt b6f的报道，本文以海洋绿藻—假根羽藻（Bryopsis corticulans）类囊体膜上的Cyt b6f蛋白复合体为对象，对其中的类胡萝卜素的分子结构与生理功能进行了比较系统地研究。 首先，我们改进了原用于菠菜类囊体膜Cyt b6f的分离、纯化流程，在原流程的基础上增加了一次2 mol/L NaBr洗膜，彻底地去除了膜表面的杂蛋白;还调整了第二次硫酸铵分级沉淀时的饱和度，并将38-45%饱和度下的沉淀物确定为需要收集的Cyt b6f制剂。采用此改进的流程，我们首次从假根羽藻类囊体膜中分离纯化了高活性、高纯度的Cyt b6f制剂。SDS-PAGE分析的结果显示该制剂的4个多肽亚基 （Cytf 、Cyt b6 、Rieske[Fe-s]及亚基IV）的表观分子量分别为34.8、24.0、18.7和16.7 kD;Cyt b6 / f 比值接近2.0， 其纯度值为9.9 nmol cyt f/mg;其催化电子传递的活性 （C10-PQH2→PC）为73 e/s。HPLC 和共振拉曼光谱分析表明，假根羽藻Cyt b6f中的类胡萝卜素为α-胡萝卜素分子，它是一种在Cyt b6f中尚未报道过的类胡萝卜素。定量分析表明，每个假根羽藻Cyt b6f单体中全反式(all-trans)和9顺式（9-cis）α-胡萝卜素的含量分别为0.2和0.7个分子，另外还含有1.2分子的Chl a。CD光谱分析表明该9-cis-α-胡萝卜素处在一个不对称的蛋白环境中。TLC分析表明该制剂是一种缺脂的Cyt b6f蛋白复合体。 采用稳态荧光激发光谱，时间分辨吸收光谱及Chl a的光破坏实验对假根羽藻Cyt b6f中α-胡萝卜素的功能进行了研究。结果表明，Cyt b6f中α-胡萝卜素可以将它吸收的光能传递给Chl a，其能量传递效率为62.4%，提出α-胡萝卜素分子与Chl a分子之间的单线态能量传递是遵从Föster 机制进行的;α-胡萝卜素分子对Chl a分子有一定的光保护作用，这种保护作用是通过清除单线态氧来实现的。另外还发现Cyt b6f中的Chl a分子可能与其周围的氨基酸残基存在相互作用，认为这是其进行自我光保护的一种方式。 此外，还采用HPLC研究了光和暗交替对假根羽藻Cyt b6f中α-胡萝卜素构型的影响，并对假根羽藻Cyt b6f选择结合α-胡萝卜素的原因进行了初步的分析。

Origin and evolution of the RIG-I like RNA helicase gene family

Background: The DExD/H domain containing RNA helicases such as retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) and melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) are key cytosolic pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) for detecting nucleotide pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) of invading viruses. The RIG-I and MDA5 proteins differentially recognise conserved PAMPs in double stranded or single stranded viral RNA molecules, leading to activation of the interferon system in vertebrates. They share three core protein domains including a RNA helicase domain near the C terminus (HELICc), one or more caspase activation and recruitment domains (CARDs) and an ATP dependent DExD/H domain. The RIG-I/MDA5 directed interferon response is negatively regulated by laboratory of genetics and physiology 2 (LGP2) and is believed to be controlled by the mitochondria antiviral signalling protein (MAVS), a CARD containing protein associated with mitochondria. Results: The DExD/H containing RNA helicases including RIG-I, MDA5 and LGP2 were analysed in silico in a wide spectrum of invertebrate and vertebrate genomes. The gene synteny of MDA5 and LGP2 is well conserved among vertebrates whilst conservation of the gene synteny of RIG-I is less apparent. Invertebrate homologues had a closer phylogenetic relationship with the vertebrate RIG-Is than the MDA5/LGP2 molecules, suggesting the RIG-I homologues may have emerged earlier in evolution, possibly prior to the appearance of vertebrates. Our data suggest that the RIG-I like helicases possibly originated from three distinct genes coding for the core domains including the HELICc, CARD and ATP dependent DExD/H domains through gene fusion and gene/domain duplication. Furthermore, presence of domains similar to a prokaryotic DNA restriction enzyme III domain (Res III), and a zinc finger domain of transcription factor (TF) IIS have been detected by bioinformatic analysis. Conclusion: The RIG-I/MDA5 viral surveillance system is conserved in vertebrates. The RIG-I like helicase family appears to have evolved from a common ancestor that originated from genes encoding different core functional domains. Diversification of core functional domains might be fundamental to their functional divergence in terms of recognition of different viral PAMPs.

西藏胡黄连和鸡矢藤的化学成分及黄芪多糖的提取工艺研究

本论文由四部分组成，前三部分为实验论文，第四部分为文献综述。第一、二部分分别报道了中药西藏胡黄连和鸡矢藤的化学成分研究结果。从两种药用植物中共分离和鉴定了32个化学成分，其中3个为新化合物。第三部分为黄芪多糖的提取工艺研究。第四部分概述了近年来植物多糖的研究进展。 第一章为西藏胡黄连化学成分研究。通过正、反相硅胶柱层析等分离方法从药用植物西藏胡黄连（Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora Pennell）的根茎中共分离纯化出7个化合物。运用MS、1H-NMR、13C-NMR、DEPT、HSQC和HMBC等现代谱学方法，结合理化分析对这些化合物的结构进行了分析鉴定。7个化合物中有两个是酚性的葡萄糖苷类成分：西藏胡黄连酚苷D (1)、4-O-β-D-(6-O-vanilloyl glucopyranosyl) vanillic acid (6)；四个苯乙基苷类化合物：plantamajoside (2)、plantainoside D (3)、西藏胡黄连苷A (4) 和西藏胡黄连苷F (5)；一个苯基小分子化合物：香豆酸甲酯 (7)。其中化合物1和5未见文献报道，确定为新化合物；化合物3为首次从该种植物中分到。 第二章为鸡矢藤化学成分研究。从鸡矢藤（Paederia scandense (Lour) Merrill）全草中分离出25个化合物，通过理化常数和波谱数据鉴定了它们的结构。25个化合物中包括一个蒽醌类成分：茜根定-1-甲醚 (1)；两个香豆素：异东莨菪香豆素 (2)和5-羟基-8-甲氧基吡喃香豆素 (3)；两个香豆素-木脂素化合物：臭矢菜素 B (4)和臭矢菜素 D (5)；一个木脂素：异落叶松树脂醇 (6)；两个黄酮：diadzein (7)和蒙花苷 (8)；三个三萜类化合物：齐墩果酸 (9)、乌苏酸 (10)和 3-O-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖基乌苏烷 (11)；三个甾体及其糖苷：b-谷甾醇 (12)、胡萝卜苷 (13)和(24R)-豆甾-4-烯-3-酮 (14)；六个小分子化合物：对羟基苯甲酸 (15)，咖啡酸 (16)，香豆酸 (17)，丁烯二酸 (18)，3,5-二甲氧基-4-羟基苯甲酸(19)，咖啡酸-4-O-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖苷(20)；五个环烯醚萜类化合物：鸡矢藤苷 (21)，鸡矢藤酸 (22)，鸡矢藤酸甲酯 (23)，saprosmoside E (24)和paederoside B (25)。其中化合物25未见文献报道，为新化合物。化合物1～8、11、14、15～20为首次从该化合物中分离得到。同时对鸡矢藤中环烯醚萜类化合物做了高效液相-串联质谱(HPLC-MSn)分析，探讨了这类化合物的质谱裂解规律。 第三章为黄芪多糖的提取工艺研究。首先确定了黄芪多糖含量的测定方法，并进行了方法学验证；其次探讨了黄芪中黄芪多糖的提取工艺，确定以酶法-Sevag法联用来去除黄芪多糖中的蛋白质，可使其提取物中黄芪多糖总含量达到70％以上。 第四章为近年来植物多糖的研究进展。主要包括植物多糖的提取纯化、多糖的定性定量检测方法、多糖的结构分析和多糖的药理活性。 This dissertation consists of four parts. The first and second parts reports the studies on the chemical constituents of medicinal plants of Picrorhiza Scrophulariiflora and Paederia scandens. The third part is about the extract technique of Astragalan Polysaccharide (APS). The last part reviews the progress of the studies on plant polysaccharides. 　 The first chapter is about the chemical constituents of P. Scrophulariiflora which is widely used as an important medicine to treat various immune-related diseases. A new phenyl glycoside, scrophenoside D (1) and a new phenylethyl glycoside, scroside F (5), together with five known compounds, plantamajoside (2), plantainoside D (3), scroside A (4), 4-O-β-D-(6-O-vanilloylglucopyranosyl) vanillic acid (6); and methyl-p-coumarate (7) were isolated from the stems of P. scrophulariiflora. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic and chemical methods. The second chapter is about the chemical constituents of medicinal herb of P. scandens. Twenty-five compounds were isolated and purified by normal and reversed phase silica gel column chromatography. By physicochemical properties and spectral analysis, their structures were identified as rubiadin-1-methylether (1), isoscopoletin (2), 5-hydroxyl-8-methoxyl-coumarin (3), cleomiscosin B (4), cleomiscosin D (5), isolariciresinol (6), diadzein (7), linarin (8), oleanolic acid (9), ursolic acid (10), 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyloxyl-ursane (11), b-sitosterol (12), b-daucosterol (13), (24R)-stigmast-4-ene-3-one (14), p-hydroxyl-benzoic acid (15), caffic acid (16), coumaric acid (17), trans-butenedioic acid (18), 3,5-dimethoxyl-4-hydroxylbenzoic acid (19), caffeic acid 4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (20), paederoside (21), paederosidic acid (22), paederosidic acid methyl ester (23), saprosmoside E (24), paederoside B (25). Among them, compound 25 is a new compound. Compounds 1～8、11、14、15～20 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Futhermore, we studied the HPLC-MSn analysis and investigation of fragmentation behavior of the sulfur-containing iridoid glucosides. The third chapter is about the extracting process of Astragalan Polysaccharide (APS). The method of the content determination is built. The optimum condition of extraction of polysaccharides from Radix Astragali is defined and the more effective way to remove protein is combined enzyme method with Sevag method, by which the content of polysaccharides extract can be up to 70%. The last part is a review of the research progress of the plant polysaccharides, which includes its extraction, isolation, purification, determination, structure analysis, and pharmacology.

固定化红酵母细胞合成L-苯丙氨酸研究

In this paper, bioconversion of trans-cinnamic acid(t-Ca)to L-phenylalanine (L-phe) has been investigated by using immobilized yeast cells with induced L-phe Ammonia-lyase(PAL, EC.4.3.1.5) as biocatalysts. The contents are the following. (1) Thirty strains of yeasts, including two genera (Rhodotorula, Sporobolomyces), six species (R. glutinis R. minuta,R.rubra,R.sineses,R.roseus and S.salmonicolor)were screened for their ability to converse the substrates, t-Ca and ammonia, to the product, L-phe, by using yeast cells as biocatalyst, and primary evaluation for PAL activity of the selected strains was investigated. From the results of the screening experiments, it was found that 22 strains were able to produce L-phe from t-Ca with the range of conversion yield from 2% to 67%. Studies on PAL formation time course during cultivation show that the maximum PAL activity of several different strains ranges from 2.3 to 14.4×10-3U/mg cell dry weight. The biomass of tested strains at their maximum enzyme activity is also greatly varied. (2)One of the selected strains, R. rubra as 2.166, was used for immobilized cells as biocatalysts to produce L-phe. The optimum conversion conditions and effective stablization agents were investigated. The results shown that polyacrylamide gel was chosen as a suitable matrix for immobilization of the yeast cells, and it can retain 88% of the PAL activity in the reverse direction at the following reactive conditions: [t-Ca]: 34mM. [NH4OH]: 6.OM.PH10.00, temperature: 30℃. (3) The effects of various kinds of effectors on the production of L-phe were also examined. Membrane permeabilizing agents can stimulate L-phe synthesis, but make the stability of PAL decline greatly. Polyalchoholic agents and glutamic acid were very effective for the stabilization of PAL. At the presence of glutamic acid (5%), the half life of L-phe productivity with the immobilized cells was extended to 192 hours, which was much higher than most of that having been reproted, while the half life of resting cells was only about 15 hours. (4) Use of initial velocity studies on the kinetics of enzyme-catalized reaction indicated that the apparent Km value was 13.0mM for the immobilized cells, and 4.8mM for the resting cells. Thermostability of the immobilized cells was better than the resting cells. Fluid bed bioreactor is more effective than batch bioreator in prolonging the thermostability of the biocatalysts. (5) CGA- 688 resin column chromatographic procedure was employed in the isolation and purification of L-phe, t-Ca and other substances from the reactire mixture. (6) Preparative-scale production of L-phe on a level of gram amount by immobilized cells from the culture broth of R. rubra AS2.166 allowed for the conversion yield with 30%. The characteristic physico-chemical criteria (including melting point, optical activity, elements analysis, IR, NMR) are the same with the standard L-phe. 本文报告了利用诱导的苯丙氨酸解氨酶 (PAL.EC.4.3.1.5)催化反式肉桂酸(t-Ca)氨加 成制备L-苯丙氨酸(L-phe)的研究，主要内容为：(1) 我们搜集了三十株酵母菌株，利用全细胞转化t-Ca生成L-phe的能力进行了直 接筛选，并对其PAL活性水平进行了初步评估研究。研究结果表明，其中22株酵母具有转化t-Ca生产L-phe的能力，它们包括 Rhodotorula glutinis,R.rubra, R.sineses 和Sporobolomyces roseus 的菌株，转化率在2-67%。细胞生长和PAL形成过程的研究 表明，不同菌株PAL最大活力在2.3-14.4×10-3U/mg 细胞干重，达到最大PAL活性时各株酵母的生长情况也极不一致。(2) 利用筛 选出的一株深红酵母R.rubra AS2.166 作为供试菌株，研究了细胞固定化条件下生物转化的最适条件及PAL在固定化条件下的稳定 性。结果表明以聚丙烯酰胺凝胶包埋法较为理想，能使细胞合成L-phe活力保持88%，最适t-Ca浓度为34mM，最适NH4OH浓度为6M,最 适PH10.0，最适温度45℃。(3) 多种效应物对L-phe 合成的影响研究表明：表面活性剂能刺激L-phe的合成，但使PAL稳定性下降。 多羟基化合物及Glu对PAL的稳定十分有效在有Glu存在下，能使固定化细胞合成L-phe的半寿期达192小时左右，高于大部分现已报 导的固定化结果。(4) 用初速度法研究了深红酵母AS2.166中PAL的酶促反应特征，测得固定化细胞对t-Ca的表观米氏常数Km为 13.0mM，全细胞为4.8mM，细胞固定后热稳定性提高。(5) 建立了适合低浓度分离纯化产物与底物的聚苯乙烯大孔树脂柱层析技术 ，能使L-phe与t-Ca及产物混合物中其它成分有效分开。(6) 利用固定化的R.rubra AS2.166细胞所做的制备实验能够使L-phe的产 率达到30%左右，其主要的理化指标(包括熔点、比旋光度、元素分析、IR、NMR等)与标准L-phe一致。

Analysis of poly (arylene phosphonate) cyclic oligomer by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MAIDI-TOF-MS) was used for analysis of poly(arylene phosphonate) cyclic oligomers. A comparison was made by using 1,8,9-dithranol, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid and retinoic acid as the matrix. The result showed that the retinoic acid produced the strongest ion signals under the conditions used. Different salts of metals were used as the cationization agents to examine the effect on the cyclic oligomers. It was found that the salts could produce metal-cyclic oligomer cation spectra and lithium was the stronger one than those of silver so, the suitable matrix and cationization agent for the new cyclic oligmer were obtained. They were very effective for the analysis of poly(arylene phosphonate) cyclic oligomer.

Phase structure and transitions in a poly(methyloctadecylsilane) oligomer

A poly(methyloctadecylsilane) oligomer was synthesized by a typical Wurtz coupling reaction. Upon cooling, three transitions were observed at temperatures of 39.9, 37.5 and 33.9 degreesC at a rate of 2.5 degreesC/min in differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The first transition, with enthalpy change of 0.47 kT/mol and supercooling of 0.2 degreesC, was characteristic of the conformational change in the Si-Si backbone into an all-trans conformation, which was detected by temperature-dependent Fourier transform infrared (FT-FR) spectroscopy. The second and the third transitions with large supercooling were identified as the formation of two-dimensional hexagonal crystal packing and three-dimensional two-chain orthorhombic crystal packing, respectively. The crystal structure was determined by the combination of WAXD and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conformation transformation of syndiotactic polypropylene induced by stretching and annealing

Conformation transformation of syndiotactic polypropylene(sPP) induced by stretching and annealing processes has been investigated by WAXD, IR and DSC, The results indicate that not only the quenched samples but also the isothermally crystallized samples can form the crystals with all-trans conformation by means of uniaxially stretching at room temperature. The all-trans conformation crystals are of metastability, which can transform to stable crystals with (TTGG)(2) helical conformation at higher annealing temperatures.

AN INFRARED SPECTROSCOPIC STUDY ON THE STRUCTURAL PHASE-TRANSITIONS OF LAURYLAMMONIUM CHLORIDE

Infrared spectroscopy was used to study the structural phase, transitions of laurylammonium chloride in the temperature range from 290 to 365K. It was shown that there is a solid-solid phase transition at 339 K with a pre-transition at 327 K. The infrared spectra indicated that virgin crystals at room temperature form a well-ordered phase with all-trans hydrocarbon chains, and the lengths of N-H...Cl hydrogen bonds are different. The spectra suggested that the gauche conformers begin to appear at temperature above 327 K. The spectra at high temperature over 339 K demonstrated that the interaction between the chains decreases, the partial ''melting'' of the chains is obvious, and the hydrogen bonds (N-H...Cl) have the same lengths. The main transition and pre-transition are mainly assigned to the intramolecular and intermolecular order-disorder changes, respectively.

Molecular characterization of Trimeresurus stejnegeri venom L-amino acid oxidase with potential anti-HIV activity

A novel L-amino acid oxidase, named TSV-LAO, has been purified and cloned from the snake Trimeresurus stejnegeri. Fifty percentage cytotoxic concentrations (CC50) of TSV-LAO on C8166 cells were 24 and 390 nM in the absence or presence of catalase (400nM), respectively. However, at concentrations that showed little effect on cell viability, TSV-LAO displayed dose dependent inhibition on HIV-1 infection and replication. The antiviral selectivity indexes (CC50/EC50) were 16 and 6, respectively, corresponding to the measurements of syncytium formation and HIV-1 p24 antigen expression. Interestingly, the presence of catalase resulted in an increase of its antiviral selectivity to 52 and 38. Under the same conditions, no anti-HIV-1 activity was observed by exogenous addition of H2O2. The complete amino acid sequence of TSV-LAO, as deduced from its cDNA, exhibits a high degree of sequence identity with other snake venom LAOs. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Purification, characterization and biological activity of an L-amino acid oxidase from Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus venom

An L-amino acid oxidase (TM-LAO) from the venom of Hunan Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus was purified to homogenicity by three steps including DEAE Sephadex A-50 ion-exchange chromatography, Sephadex G-75 gel filtration and Resourse Q ion-exchange chromatography. TM-LAO is composed of two identical subunits with a molecular weight of 55 kD by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight was different with that of LAO purified from the same species distributed in Taiwan that was 70 kD. The 24 N-terminal ammo acid sequence of TM-LAO is ADNKNPLEECFRETNYEEFLEIAR, which shares high similarity with other Viperid snake venom LAOs and has moderate similarity with Elapid snake venom LAOs. Further studies found that TM-LAO inhibited the growth of E. colt, S. aurues and B. dysenteriae. TM-LAO also showed cytotoxicity and platelet aggregation activity. All the biological activities were eliminated by catalase, a H2O2 scavenger. It shows that these biological effects are possibly due to the formation of H2O2 produced by TM-LAO.

Amino acid requirements for maturation of rhesus monkey (Macacca mulatta) oocytes in culture

This study evaluated the effects of different amino acid formulations on supporting meiotic and cytoplasmic maturation of rhesus monkey (Macacca mulatta) oocytes in vitro. Five hundred and forty-six cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) aspirated from unstimulated adult monkey follicles (greater than or equal to 1000 mum in diameter) were cultured in either modified Connaught Medical Research Laboratories 1066 medium (mCMRL-1066) or in one of eight chemically defined media (modified basic medium 5 supplemented with 5.5 mmol glucose l(-1), 0.003 mmol pantothenic acid l(-1) and different amino acid formulations) as below: (1) modified basic medium 5 (mBM5) containing no amino acid; (2) mBM5 + 0.2 mmol glutamine l(-1); (3) mBM5 + 11 amino acids from hamster embryo culture medium 6 (HECM-6) (11 AA); (4) mBM5 + Eagle's non-essential amino acids (NEA); (5) mBM5 + NEA + 0.2 mmol glutamine l(-1); (6) mBM5 + Eagle's essential amino acids (EA) without glutamine; (7) mBM5 + EA + 0.2 mmol glutamine l(-1); (8) mBM5 + Eagle's 20 amino acids (20 AA) + 0.2 mmol glutamine l(-1); and (9) mCMRL-1066 (control). All media contained FSH, LH, oestradiol and progesterone. After maturation, mature oocytes were subjected to the same fertilization and embryo culture procedures. COCs matured in treatment 5 had greater potential to progress to metaphase II (66%; P < 0.05) than did those in treatments 1 (37.3%), 2 (48.3%)f 3 (41%), 6 (41%) and 9 (43%). Oocytes matured in treatment 8 had the best morula (53%) and blastocyst (18%) developmental responses (P<0.05). The lowest (P<0.05) morula and blastocyst developmental responses were obtained from COCs matured in treatments 1 (0%) and 6 (8%). The other media supported intermediate embryonic development (range 11-38% of morula and blastocyst). These results indicate that the choice of amino acids affects the competence of oocyte maturation and that Eagle's 20 AA with 0.2 mmol glutamine l(-1) is more efficient than the other amino acid formulations for maturation of rhesus monkey oocytes.

Physiological Responses of Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806 to Nonanoic Acid Stress

A recent study has shown that nonanoic acid (NA) is one of the strongest allelochemicals to a cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa, but the physiological responses of M. aeruginosa to NA stress remain unknown. In this study, physiological characters such as the growth rate, photosynthetic processes, phosphorus and nitrogen uptake kinetics, and the contents of intracellular microcystin of M. aeruginosa PCC7806 were studied under the NA stress. The results showed that the growth rates of M. aeruginosa PCC 7806 were significantly inhibited in all NA stress treatments during first 3 days after exposure, and the growth rate was recovered after 5-day exposure. After 2-day exposure, the contents of both phycocyanin and allophycocyanin per cell decreased at NA concentration of 4 mg L-1, and oxygen evolution was inhibited even at the concentration of 0.5 mg L-1, but carotenoid content per cell was slightly boosted in NA stress. Physiological recovery of M. aeruginosa PCC7806 was observed after 7-day exposure to NA. It was shown that NA stress had no effect on uptake of nitrogen, but could stimulate the uptake of phosphorus. The contents of intracellular microcystin have not been affected in all NA treatments in contrast with the control. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 24: 610-617, 2009.

Effect of dietary linolenic acid/linoleic acid ratio on growth performance, hepatic fatty acid profiles and intermediary metabolism of juvenile yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary linolenic acid (LNA)linoleic acid (LA) ratio on growth performance, hepatic fatty acid profile and intermediary metabolism of juvenile yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco. Six isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets were formulated to contain incremental levels of LNA from 0 to 5% at the expense of corn oil (rich in LA), resulting in six dietary treatments with LNA to LA ratios ranging from 0.35 to 14.64. The experiment continued for 7 weeks. Best growth and feed intake were obtained in the fish fed the diets containing the LNA/LA ratios of 1.17 and 2.12 (P<0.05). In contrast, feed conversion ratio was the lowest for fish fed the diets containing the LNA/LA ratios of 1.17 and 2.12 (P<0.05). Dietary LNA to LA ratios significantly influenced viscerosomatic index and hepatosomatic index (P<0.05), but not condition factor (P>0.05). Body composition was also significantly influenced by dietary LNA to LA ratios (P<0.05). Generally, liver FA compositions reflected dietary FA profiles. Declining LA and increasing LNA contents in liver were observed with the increasing dietary LNA/LA ratios (P<0.05). Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) increased with the increasing LNA to LA ratios, suggesting that yellow catfish could elongate and desaturate C18 polyunsaturated fatty acids into highly unsaturated fatty acids. As a consequence, the n-6 fatty acids (FA) declined, and total n-3 FA and n-3/n-6 ratios increased with the dietary ratios of LNA/LA (P<0.05). Dietary LNA to LA ratios significantly influenced several enzymatic activities involved in liver intermediary metabolism (P<0.05), such as lipoprotein lipase, hepatic lipase, pyruvate kinase, succinate dehydrogenase, malic dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase, suggesting that dietary LNA/LA ratios had significant effects on nutrient metabolism in the liver. To our knowledge this is the first demonstration of the effects of dietary LNA to LA ratios on the enzymatic activities of liver in fish, which provides information on diet quality and utilization, and can also be used as an indicator of the nutritional status of this fish. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

CHARACTERISTICS OF FATTY ACID METHYL ESTERS (FAMEs) AND ENZYMATIC ACTIVITIES IN SEDIMENTS OF TWO EUTROPHIC LAKES

Enzymatic activities and fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) in the sediments of two eutrophic lakes in Wuhan city were investigated. The results showed phosphatase and dehydrogenase activities in the lotus zone and plant floating bed zone were significantly lower than those in other sites, and urease activity was the highest where microorganism agents were put in. Fatty acid group compositions indicated the predominance of aerobic bacteria in the surface sediments in shallow lakes. The ratios of FAMEs specific for bacteria and Gram-positive bacteria exibited significant differences between the two lakes. The results of trans to cis indicated that the microorganisms in Lake Yuehu could adapt themselves to environmental stress better. The enzymatic activities and FAMEs showed differences in different sites, indicating that ecological restoration measures and environmental conditions could affect lake sediment to some extent. But the monitoring, work would be done in series to exactly evaluate the effect of the remediation measures.

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.