文蛤（Meretrix meretrix）幼虫生长发育相关基因的克隆和功能分析

贝类养殖是我国海水养殖业中最重要的组成部分之一。贝类人工大规模养殖中的关键环节是种苗的人工繁育，早期幼虫能否正常生长发育，对幼虫变态和变态后生长率及成活率有很大的影响，直接关系到生产产量和经济效益，所以，了解幼虫发育机制对于生产实践具有重要的指导意义。 文蛤（Meretrix meretrix）是一种在东亚各国沿海和滩涂地区广泛分布的双壳贝类，是我国一种重要的经济品种。本论文以文蛤幼虫为研究对象，分别对文蛤幼虫发育过程中贝壳形成相关的铁蛋白（MmeFer）、营养及变态相关的组织蛋白酶B（MmeCB）及变态过程中细胞凋亡相关的caspase三个基因进行了克隆，分析了基因及编码蛋白在担轮幼虫期（L1）、D形幼虫期（L2）、壳顶幼虫期（L3）和稚贝期（L4）的时空表达特征，解析了其可能的功能，并研究了相应酶类的特异性抑制剂作用对幼虫发育过程的影响，进行了目标蛋白的功能验证，详述如下： 研究结果显示，在文蛤胚胎发育到原肠胚时放入不含铁离子的人工海水中培养，发育成无壳的畸形，随着人工海水中铁离子添加浓度的升高，幼虫长出壳状组织接近正常状态；而发育到L1期幼虫放入不含铁离子的人工海水中培养却可以发育出正常的壳，推测铁和铁代谢相关蛋白在幼虫贝壳初始形成有重要的作用。根据构建的文蛤幼虫cDNA文库中提供的序列信息，从文蛤中克隆了与铁离子代谢密切相关的铁蛋白（MmeFer）的全长cDNA 序列；通过Real time PCR发现，MmeFer mRNA的表达量在贝壳形成前后有明显改变；整体原位杂交结果显示MmeFer mRNA在L1期的表达部位刚好是贝壳生成的起始部位，推断文蛤铁蛋白与文蛤幼虫贝壳初始形成密切相关。 利用文蛤幼虫cDNA文库中的EST信息在幼虫中克隆到文蛤组织蛋白酶B（MmeCB）全长cDNA序列；通过整体原位杂交分析发现MmeCB mRNA在L2至L4期幼虫的消化腺部位表达，而且在L2期的幼虫表皮也有表达，说明MmeCB可能和幼虫消化相关，而且可能参与幼虫从表皮摄取营养的过程。利用MmeCB特异性抑制剂（CA074Me）处理饥饿幼虫，发现其生长受到明显抑制，验证了MmeCB参与幼虫表皮营养代谢的推论。利用免疫组织化学技术，研究了MmeCB蛋白在文蛤幼虫中的时空分布，发现其在L2期幼虫表面和胃部有阳性信号，而在L3期，MmeCB在幼虫面盘基部有强烈的表达，提示MmeCB在文蛤幼虫中不仅起到营养的作用，而且可能和幼虫附着变态有关。利用CA074Me分别处理文蛤胚胎和变态期幼虫，发现抑制MmeCB的活性对胚胎发育和幼虫变态都有显著影响。研究结果提示MmeCB在幼虫发育各阶段均具有重要的生物学功能。 根据caspase在不同物种中的保守区域设计简并引物，在文蛤幼虫中扩增到cDNA序列片段；检测有活性的caspase在文蛤幼虫各发育时期的分布部位，发现其在L1至L3期幼虫中都有分布，说明整个幼虫形态变化过程中都有caspase的参与；细胞凋亡检测结果显示，幼虫主要发生细胞凋亡的部位在L3期幼虫的面盘，即变态过程中要退化的器官，说明细胞凋亡可能是文蛤幼虫变态过程中面盘退化的主要机制；用caspase特异性抑制剂处理变态前幼虫，发现幼虫变态率下降，初步验证了caspase在文蛤幼虫变态过程中的作用。 通过对上述三种基因的研究，分别探讨了文蛤幼虫发育阶段中的几个主要事件（L1期到L2期的贝壳形成、L2到L3期的幼虫营养摄食及L3到L4期的附着变态）相关的基因及其功能，为研究贝类生长发育调控的分子机理提供了新的线索。

Porównawcza analiza udziału pokrewnych kinaz MAPK (MKK1, MKK2, MKK4 i MKK5) Arabidopsis thaliana w odpowiedzi na stres suszy

Wydział Biologii: Instytut Biologii Molekularnej i Biotechnologii

Plasmid biology of natural Lactococcus lactis strains and molecular mechanisms of bacteriophage-host interaction

Lacticin 3147, enterocin AS-48, lacticin 481, variacin, and sakacin P are bacteriocins offering promising perspectives in terms of preservation and shelf-life extension of food products and should find commercial application in the near future. The studies detailing their characterization and bio-preservative applications are reviewed. Transcriptomic analyses showed a cell wall-targeted response of Lactococcus lactis IL1403 during the early stages of infection with the lytic bacteriophage c2, which is probably orchestrated by a number of membrane stress proteins and involves D-alanylation of membrane lipoteichoic acids, restoration of the physiological proton motive force disrupted following bacteriophage infection, and energy conservation. Sequencing of the eight plasmids of L. lactis subsp. cremoris DPC3758 from raw milk cheese revealed three anti-phage restriction/modification (R/M) systems, immunity/resistance to nisin, lacticin 481, cadmium and copper, and six conjugative/mobilization regions. A food-grade derivative strain with enhanced bacteriophage resistance was generated via stacking of R/M plasmids. Sequencing and functional analysis of the four plasmids of L. lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis DPC3901 from raw milk cheese revealed genes novel to Lactococcus and typical of bacteria associated with plants, in addition to genes associated with plant-derived lactococcal strains. The functionality of a novel high-affinity regulated system for cobalt uptake was demonstrated. The bacteriophage resistant and bacteriocin-producing plasmid pMRC01 places a metabolic burden on lactococcal hosts resulting in lowered growth rates and increased cell permeability and autolysis. The magnitude of these effects is strain dependent but not related to bacteriocin production. Starters’ acidification capacity is not significantly affected. Transcriptomic analyses showed that pMRC01 abortive infection (Abi) system is probably subjected to a complex regulatory control by Rgg-like ORF51 and CopG-like ORF58 proteins. These regulators are suggested to modulate the activity of the putative Abi effectors ORF50 and ORF49 exhibiting topology and functional similarities to the Rex system aborting bacteriophage λ lytic growth.

A mathematical theory of stochastic microlensing. II. Random images, shear, and the Kac-Rice formula

Continuing our development of a mathematical theory of stochastic microlensing, we study the random shear and expected number of random lensed images of different types. In particular, we characterize the first three leading terms in the asymptotic expression of the joint probability density function (pdf) of the random shear tensor due to point masses in the limit of an infinite number of stars. Up to this order, the pdf depends on the magnitude of the shear tensor, the optical depth, and the mean number of stars through a combination of radial position and the star's mass. As a consequence, the pdf's of the shear components are seen to converge, in the limit of an infinite number of stars, to shifted Cauchy distributions, which shows that the shear components have heavy tails in that limit. The asymptotic pdf of the shear magnitude in the limit of an infinite number of stars is also presented. All the results on the random microlensing shear are given for a general point in the lens plane. Extending to the general random distributions (not necessarily uniform) of the lenses, we employ the Kac-Rice formula and Morse theory to deduce general formulas for the expected total number of images and the expected number of saddle images. We further generalize these results by considering random sources defined on a countable compact covering of the light source plane. This is done to introduce the notion of global expected number of positive parity images due to a general lensing map. Applying the result to microlensing, we calculate the asymptotic global expected number of minimum images in the limit of an infinite number of stars, where the stars are uniformly distributed. This global expectation is bounded, while the global expected number of images and the global expected number of saddle images diverge as the order of the number of stars. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.

Aircraft Cost Modelling using the Genetic Causal Technique within a Systems Engineering Approach

The paper is primarily concerned with the modelling of aircraft manufacturing cost. The aim is to establish an integrated life cycle balanced design process through a systems engineering approach to interdisciplinary analysis and control. The cost modelling is achieved using the genetic causal approach that enforces product family categorisation and the subsequent generation of causal relationships between deterministic cost components and their design source. This utilises causal parametric cost drivers and the definition of the physical architecture from the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to identify product families. The paper presents applications to the overall aircraft design with a particular focus on the fuselage as a subsystem of the aircraft, including fuselage panels and localised detail, as well as engine nacelles. The higher level application to aircraft requirements and functional analysis is investigated and verified relative to life cycle design issues for the relationship between acquisition cost and Direct Operational Cost (DOC), for a range of both metal and composite subsystems. Maintenance is considered in some detail as an important contributor to DOC and life cycle cost. The lower level application to aircraft physical architecture is investigated and verified for the WBS of an engine nacelle, including a sequential build stage investigation of the materials, fabrication and assembly costs. The studies are then extended by investigating the acquisition cost of aircraft fuselages, including the recurring unit cost and the non-recurring design cost of the airframe sub-system. The systems costing methodology is facilitated by the genetic causal cost modeling technique as the latter is highly generic, interdisciplinary, flexible, multilevel and recursive in nature, and can be applied at the various analysis levels required of systems engineering. Therefore, the main contribution of paper is a methodology for applying systems engineering costing, supported by the genetic causal cost modeling approach, whether at a requirements, functional or physical level.

On stratifiable locally convex spaces

In the present paper we prove several results on the stratifiability of locally convex spaces. In particular, we show that a free locally convex sum of an arbitrary set of stratifiable LCS is a stratifiable LCS, and that all locally convex F'-spaces whose bounded subsets are metrizable are stratifiable. Moreover, we prove that a strict inductive limit of metrizable LCS is stratifiable and establish the stratifiability of many important general and specific spaces used in functional analysis. We also construct some examples that clarify the relationship between the stratifiability and other properties.

Compactness properties of operator multipliers

We continue the study of multidimensional operator multipliers initiated in~cite{jtt}. We introduce the notion of the symbol of an operator multiplier. We characterise completely compact operator multipliers in terms of their symbol as well as in terms of approximation by finite rank multipliers. We give sufficient conditions for the sets of compact and completely compact multipliers to coincide and characterise the cases where an operator multiplier in the minimal tensor product of two C*-algebras is automatically compact. We give a description of multilinear modular completely compact completely bounded maps defined on the direct product of finitely many copies of the C*-algebra of compact operators in terms of tensor products, generalising results of Saar