Accelerator-induced transients in Accelerator Driven Subcritical Reactors

Achieving higher particles energies and beam powers have long been the main focus of research in accelerator technology. Since Accelerator Driven Subcritical Reactors (ADSRs) have become the subject of increasing interest, accelerator reliability and modes of operation have become important matters that require further research and development in order to accommodate the engineering and economic needs of ADSRs. This paper focuses on neutronic and thermo-mechanical analyses of accelerator-induced transients in an ADSR. Such transients fall into three main categories: beam interruptions (trips), pulsed-beam operation, and beam overpower. The concept of a multiple-target ADSR is shown to increase system reliability and to mitigate the negative effects of beam interruptions, such as thermal cyclic fatigue in the fuel cladding and the huge financial cost of total power loss. This work also demonstrates the effectiveness of the temperature-to-reactivity feedback mechanisms in ADSRs. A comparison of shutdown mechanisms using control rods and beam cut-off highlights the intrinsic safety features of ADSRs. It is evident that the presence of control rods is crucial in an industrial-scale ADSR. This paper also proposes a method to monitor core reactivity online using the repetitive pattern of beam current fluctuations in a pulsed-beam operation mode. Results were produced using PTS-ADS, a computer code developed specifically to study the dynamic neutronic and thermal responses to beam transients in subcritical reactor systems. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Occurrence of particle debris field during focused Ga ion beam milling of glassy carbon

To explore the machining characteristics of glassy carbon by focused ion beam (FIB), particles induced by FIB milling on glassy carbon have been studied in the current work. Nano-sized particles in the range of tens of nanometers up to 400 nm can often be found around the area subject to FIB milling. Two ion beam scanning modes - slow single scan and fast repetitive scan - have been tested. Fewer particles are found in single patterns milled in fast repetitive scan mode. For a group of test patterns milled in a sequence, it was found that a greater number of particles were deposited around sites machined early in the sequence. In situ EDX analysis of the particles showed that they were composed of C and Ga. The formation of particles is related to the debris generated at the surrounding areas, the low melting point of gallium used as FIB ion source and the high contact angle of gallium on glassy carbon induces de-wetting of Ga and the subsequent formation of Ga particles. Ultrasonic cleaning can remove over 98% of visible particles. The surface roughness (Ra) of FIB milled areas after cleaning is less than 2 nm. © 2010.

Bead-probe complex capture a couple of SINE and LINE family from genomes of two closely related species of East Asian cyprinid directly using magnetic separation

Background: Short and long interspersed elements (SINEs and LINEs, respectively), two types of retroposons, are active in shaping the architecture of genomes and powerful tools for studies of phylogeny and population biology. Here we developed special protocol to apply biotin-streptavidin bead system into isolation of interspersed repeated sequences rapidly and efficiently, in which SINEs and LINEs were captured directly from digested genomic DNA by hybridization to bead-probe complex in solution instead of traditional strategy including genomic library construction and screening. Results: A new couple of SINEs and LINEs that shared an almost identical 3'tail was isolated and characterized in silver carp and bighead carp of two closely related species. These SINEs (34 members), designated HAmo SINE family, were little divergent in sequence and flanked by obvious TSD indicated that HAmo SINE was very young family. The copy numbers of this family was estimated to 2 x 10(5) and 1.7 x 10(5) per haploid genome by Real-Time qPCR, respectively. The LINEs, identified as the homologs of LINE2 in other fishes, had a conserved primary sequence and secondary structures of the 3'tail region that was almost identical to that of HAmo SINE. These evidences suggest that HAmo SINEs are active and amplified recently utilizing the enzymatic machinery for retroposition of HAmoL2 through the recognition of higher-order structures of the conserved 42-tail region. We analyzed the possible structures of HAmo SINE that lead to successful amplification in genome and then deduced that HAmo SINE, SmaI SINE and FokI SINE that were similar in sequence each other, were probably generated independently and created by LINE family within the same lineage of a LINE phylogeny in the genomes of different hosts. Conclusion: The presented results show the advantage of the novel method for retroposons isolation and a pair of young SINE family and its partner LINE family in two carp fishes, which strengthened the hypotheses containing the slippage model for initiation of reverse transcription, retropositional parasitism of SINEs on LINEs, the formation of the stem loop structure in 3'tail region of some SINEs and LINEs and the mechanism of template switching in generating new SINE family.

Identification of novel SINEs from Cyprinidae and their evolutionary significance

Short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs) are widespread among eukaryotic genomes. They are repetitive DNA sequences that have been amplified by retrotransposition. In this study, a class of SINEs were isolated from the Opsariichthys bidens genome, and named Opsar. Sequence analysis confirmed that Opsar is a new class of typical SINEs derived from tRNA molecules. With the tRNA-derived region of Opsar and through BLASTN search, we further identified Zb-SINEs from the zebrafish genome, which includes two groups: Zb-SINE-A and Zb-SINE-B. The Zb-SINE-A group comprises subfamilies of -Al--A5, and the Zb-SINE-B group is a dimer of the tRNA(Ala)-derived region and shares a similar dimeric composition to Alu. Zb-SINEs are composed of three distinct regions: a 5 end tRNA-derived region, a tRNA-unrelated region and a 3 end AT-rich region. The flanking regions are AT rich. The average length of Zb-SINEs elements is about 340 6p. Zb-SINEs account for as much as 0.1% of the whole zebrafish genome. About 70% of the Zb-SINEs are on chromosomes 11, 18, and 19. These Zb-SINEs were characterized by PCR and dot hybridization. The distribution pattern of Zb-SINEs in genome strongly supports the master genes model. The tRNA-derived regions of Opsar and Zb-SINEs were compared with the tRNA(Ala) gene, and they showed 76% similarity, indicating that Opsar and Zb-SINEs originated from an inactive tRNA(Ala) sequence or a tRNA(Ala)-like sequence. In view of the evolutionary status of zebrafish in the Cyprinidae, we deduced that Zb-SINEs were a very old class of interspersed sequences.

RecA-mediated, targeted mutagenesis in zebrafish

We have evaluated the efficacy of RecA, a prokaryotic protein involved with homologous recombination, to direct site-specific mutagenesis in zebrafish embryos. For this we coinjected a vector containing a mutated enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene plus 236-nucleotide corrective single-stranded DNAs coated with RecA into I-cell zebrafish embryos. Twenty-hours after fertilization, about 5% to 20% of injected embryos showed EGFP expression in I or more cells when RecA-coated corrective DNAs were used, but not when RecA was omitted. Mutated EGFP genes with 1-bp insertions or deletions were inefficiently activated, whereas those with 7-bp insertions were activated about 4-fold more efficiently. RecA-coated template strand had a higher efficiency than its complementary strand in activation of EGFP expression. Prior irradiation of the embryos with UV light enhanced RecA-mediated restoration of gene activity, suggesting that the effects we observed were augmented by one or more factors of zebrafish DNA repair systems.

Numerical simulation of thermal loading produced by shaped high power laser onto engine parts

Recently a new method for simulating the thermal loading on pistons of diesel engines was reported. The spatially shaped high power laser is employed as the heat source, and some preliminary experimental and numerical work was carried out. In this paper, a further effort was made to extend this simulation method to some other important engine parts such as cylinder heads. The incident Gaussian beam was transformed into concentric multi-circular patterns of specific intensity distributions, with the aid of diffractive optical elements (DOEs). By incorporating the appropriate repetitive laser pulses, the designed transient temperature fields and thermal loadings in the engine parts could be simulated. Thermal-structural numerical models for pistons and cylinder heads were built to predict the transient temperature and thermal stress. The models were also employed to find the optimal intensity distributions of the transformed laser beam that could produce the target transient temperature fields. Comparison of experimental and numerical results demonstrated that this systematic approach is effective in simulating the thermal loading on the engine parts. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

青稞B组醇溶蛋白基因与上游调控区的克隆及基因表达

高等植物种子胚乳贮藏蛋白是种子发芽时的主要氮源，也是人类和动物食用植物蛋白的主要来源。大麦种子胚乳贮藏蛋白主要是醇溶蛋白（hordeins），占大麦胚乳总蛋白的50–60%。根据大麦醇溶蛋白的大小和组成特点，大麦醇溶蛋白被划分为三种类型：富硫蛋白亚类(B，γ-hordeins)、贫硫蛋白亚类（C-hordeins)以及高分子量蛋白亚类(D-hordeins)。B组和C组醇溶蛋白是大麦胚乳的两类主要贮藏蛋白，它们分别占大麦总醇溶蛋白成分的70–80%和10–12%。遗传分析表明，大麦B、C、D和γ-组醇溶蛋白分别是由位于大麦第五染色体1H（5）上的Hor2、Hor1、Hor3和Hor5位点编码。Hor2位点编码大量分子量相同但组成不同的B组醇溶蛋白（B-hordein）。B-hordein的种类、数量和分布是影响大麦酿造、食用及饲养品质的重要因素之一。为深入了解B-hordein基因家族的结构和染色体组织，探明Hor2位点基因表达的发育调控机制，最终达到改良禾谷类作物籽粒品质的目的，本研究以青藏高原青稞为材料，采用同源克隆法，分别克隆B-hordein基因和启动子，通过原核生物表达验证B-hordein基因功能，并利用实时定量PCR探索B-hordein基因表达时空关系，取得如下研究结果： 1. 以具有特殊B组醇溶蛋白亚基组成的9份青藏高原青稞为材料，根据GenBank中三个B-hordein基因序列（GenBank No. X03103, X53690和X53691）设计一对引物，通过PCR扩增，获得23个B-hordein基因克隆并对其进行了序列分析。核苷酸序列分析表明，所有克隆均包含完整的开放阅读框。有11个克隆都存在一个框内终止密码子，推测这11个克隆可能是假基因。推测的氨基酸序列分析表明，所有大麦B-hordein具有相似的蛋白质基本结构，均包括一个高度保守的信号肽、中间重复区以及C-端结构域。不同大麦种重复区内重复基元的数目有较大差异。青稞材料Z07–2和Z26的B-hordeins仅具有12个重复基元结构，更接近于野生大麦。这些重复基元数目的差异导致了重复区序列长度和结构的变异。这种现象极可能是由于醇溶谷蛋白基因在进化过程中染色体的不平衡交换或复制滑动所造成的。对所克隆基因和禾本科代表性醇溶谷蛋白基因进行聚类分析，结果表明所有来自栽培大麦的B-hordeins聚类成一个亚家族，来自野生大麦的B-hordeins以及普通小麦的LMW-GS聚类成另外一个亚家族，表明这两个亚家族的成员存在显著差异。此外，我们发现B-hordein基因推测的C-末端序列具有一些有规律的特征：即具有相同C-末端序列的B-hordein基因在系统发生树中聚类为同一个亚组（除BXQ053，BZ09-1，BZ26-5分别单独聚为一类外）。这个特征将有助于我们对所有B组醇溶蛋白基因家族成员进行分类，避免了在SDS-PAGE电泳图谱上仅依靠大小分类的局限性。 2. 根据上述克隆的青稞B-hordein基因的5’端序列设计三条基因特异的反向引物，以青稞Z09和Z26的基因组DNA为模板，采用SON-PCR和TAIL-PCR技术分离克隆出8个B-hordein基因的上游调控序列（命名为Z09P和Z26P）。序列分析表明，推测的TATA box位于–80 bp，CAAT–like box位于–140 bp处。此外，Z09P和Z26P中有六个序列在–300 bp处均存在一个由高度保守的EM基序和类GCN4基序构成的胚乳盒(Endosperm Box，EB)，在约–560 bp处存在一个胚乳盒类似结构。而Z09P-2和Z26P-3不存在保守的胚乳盒或其类似结构，预示着这两个启动子所调控的基因表达可能受不同类型反式作用因子的调节，推测该启动子对基因的表达调控具有多样性。 3. 将B-hordein基因的开放阅读框定向克隆到表达载体pET-30a中，将其导入大肠杆菌表达菌株BL21中进行外源基因的诱导表达以验证所克隆基因的功能。结果表明仅含重组子pET-BZ07-2和pET-BZ26-5的BL21细菌有目的表达蛋白产生。在诱导3 h时的蛋白表达量最高；3 mM IPTG诱导的蛋白表达量要高于1 mM IPTG诱导的表达量。这为分离纯化B-hordein蛋白以及进一步研究其对大麦籽粒品质的影响奠定基础。 4. 根据从青稞Z09和Z26中分离克隆的B-hordein基因序列设计一对基因特异的引物，同时，选择大麦α-微管蛋白基因（GenBank no. U40042）为看家基因并设计特异引物，利用实时荧光定量PCR检测了青稞籽粒4个胚乳发育时间段的B-hordein基因表达，荧光定量结果显示：两份材料中B-hordein基因的表达量均随发育过程的进行而逐渐升高。Z09中B-hordein基因在开花后7天开始转录，而Z26开花4天后就有低水平B-hordein的表达，这表明Z26中B-hordein基因可能比Z09表达的较早或者Z09中B-hordein基因表达水平较低以致于不能被检测到。此外，在4个不同的胚乳发育时期中，Z26中B-hordein基因的表达量均高于Z09材料。在开花12天到18天的过程中，Z09和Z26中B-hordein基因的表达水平有一个急剧性的升高。这说明在不同胚乳发育时期，Hor2位点的B-hordein等位基因变异体存在mRNA的差异表达。 Seed endosperm storage proteins in higher plants are the main resources of nitrogen for germinating and plant proteins for human and animals. Barley prolamins (also called hordeins) are the major storage proteins in the endosperm and account for 50–60% of total proteins. Hordeins are classically divided into three groups: sulphur-rich (B, γ-hordeins), sulphur-poor (C-hordeins) and high molecular weight (HMW, D-hordeins) hordeins based on the size and composition. B-hordeins and C-hordeins are two major groups and each respectively account for about 70-80% and 10-12% of the total hordein fraction in barley endosperm. Genetic analysis showed that B-, C-, C-, γ-hordeins are encoded by Hor2, Hor1, Hor3 and Hor5 locus on the chromosome 1H (5). Hor2 locus is rich in alleles that encode numerous heterogeneous B-hordein polypeptides. It is reported that B-hordein species, quantity and distribution are significant factors affecting malting, food and feed quality of barley. To understand comprehensively the structure and organization of B-hordein gene family in hull-less barley and explore the developmental control mechanisms of Hor2 locus gene expression and eventually to better exploitation in crop grain quality improvement, we isolated and cloned B-hordein genes and promotors of hull-less barley from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by PCR, and testified their expression founction in bacteria expression system and explore their spatial and temporal expression pattern by quantitative real time PCR. Our results are as followed, 1. Twenty-three copies of B-hordein gene were cloned from nine hull-less barley cultivars of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with special B-hordein subunits and molecularly characterized by PCR, based on three B-hordein genes published previously (GenBank No. X03103, X53690 and X53691). DNA sequences analyses confirmed that the six clones all contained a full-length coding region of the barley B-hordein genes. Eleven clones all contain an in-frame stop codon and they are probably pseudogenes. The analysis of deduced amino acid sequences of the genes shows that they have similar structures including signal peptide domain, central repetitive domain, and C-terminal domain. The number of the repeats was largerly variable and resulted in polypeptides in different sizes or structures among the genes. Twelve such repeated motifs were found in Z07–2 and Z26, and they are close to those of the wild barleys, and it is most probably caused by unequal crossing-over and/or slippage during replication as suggested for the evolution of other prolamins. The relatedness of prolamin genes of barley and wheat was assessed in the phylogenetic tree based on their polypeptides comparison. Our phylogenetic analysis suggested that the predicted B-hordeins of cultivated barley formed a subfamily, while the B-hordeins of wild barleys and the two most similar sequences of LMW-GS of T. aestivum formed another subfamily. This result indicated that the members of the two subfamilys have a distinctive difference. In addition, we found the B-hordeins with identical C-terminal end sequences were clustered into a same subgroup (except BXQ053，BZ09-1 and BZ26-5 as a sole group, respectively), so we believe that B-hordein gene subfamilies possibly can be classified on the basis of the conserved C-terminal end sequences of predicted polypeptide and without the limit of SDS-PAGE protein banding patterns. 2. The specific primers were designed according to the published sequences of barley B-hordein genes from Z09 and Z26. Using total DNA isolated from them as the templates, eight clones (designated Z09Pand Z26P) of upstream sequences of the known B-hordein genes was obtained by TAIL-PCR and SON-PCR. Sequences analysis shows that the putative TATA box was present at position –80 bp and CAAT-like box at position –140 bp. Besides, a putative Endosperm Box including an Endosperm Motif (EM) and a GCN4-Like Motif was found at position –300 bp in six clones, and another Endosperm-like box was found at positon –560 bp. While the Endosperm Box or Endosperm-like box was not found in Z09P-2 and Z26P-3. This may indicate that gene expression drived by the two promtors was probably controlled by different trans-acting factors and the genetic control mechanism of corresponding gene expression may be diverse. 3. The B-hordein genic region coding for the mature peptide was cloned into expression vector pET-30a and transformed into bacterial strain BL21 for identifying gene expression fountion. Protein SDS–PAGE analysis showed that only the transformed lysate with the pET-BZ07-2 and pET-BZ26-5 constructs produced proteins related to B-group hordeins of barley, and the mounts of proteins induced by 3 mM IPTG and 3 h were higher than other conditions. This established a base for isolating and putifying B-hordein and further exploring their effects on barley grain quality. 4. The gene-specific primers of B-hordein genes from Z09 and Z26 were used for the quantification of B-hordein gene expression. The α-tubulin gene from Hordeum vulgare subsp. vulgare (GenBank accession number U40042) was used as a control gene. The result shows the transcription of the B-hordein genes in Z09 was found 7 days after flowering, while the transcription of the B-hordein genes in Z26 was found 4 days after flowering, but at a very low level, and it suggested that the B-hordein genes in Z26 probably expressed earlier than those in Z09, or the B-hordein genes in Z09 expressed at so a lower level than Z26 that it can not detected. In addition, B-hordein genes in Z26 accession showed higher expression levels than those in Z09 in four developing stages. Furthermore, a progressive increase in the expression levels of the B-hordein genes between 12 and 18 days after anthesis was observed in both Z09 and Z26. It implies that the B-hordein allelic variants encoded by Hor2 locus exist the differential expression in mRNA levels of during barley endosperm development.

小麦胚乳蛋白组分和Glu-B3位点基因核心编码区差异与小麦品质关系的研究

小麦加工品质改良已成为我国小麦育种的主要目标之一。特别是我国加入WTO以后，对小麦产品的质量提出了更高的要求，小麦品质改良的任务将更加艰巨和重要，小麦胚乳蛋白是影响小麦加工品质性状的重要因素。因此，深入了解小麦胚乳蛋白对加工品质性状的影响及其分子基础，为品质改良提供理论依据和科学指导，对加速我国小麦品质育种和优质小麦生产具有重要意义。本研究选用在麦谷蛋白5个基因位点(Glu-A1、Glu-B1、Glu-D1、Glu-B3和Glu-D3)上均含不同等位基因的小麦品种99G45和京771及Pm97034和京771杂交F9代共164个麦谷蛋白纯合系，及228个中国推广普通小麦品种和高代育成品系为试材，研究了麦谷蛋白Glu-1和Glu-3位点基因等位变异对籽粒蛋白、湿面筋含量、Zeleny沉降值和SDS沉降值间的关系；本研究还利用小麦A、B和D基因组中低分子量麦谷蛋白亚基（LMW-GS）基因特异引物，通过PCR方法克隆了1个Glu-A3位点和3个Glu-B3位点LMW-GS基因片段，在此基础上分析了不同等位基因对品质造成差异的分子基础；另外，本研究对中国近年推广的部分品种和育成的高代品系资源的多样性进行了分析。现将主要研究结果简述如下： 1. 对来自三个麦区的148份材料的醇溶蛋白组成进行了分析，结果表明，各麦区醇溶蛋白模式具有较大差异。在ω区,A7、B、E、F、G、J、P、Q、S和U仅存在于西南秋播麦区；A3、M、N、R、W和X仅存在于黄淮特种麦区；K仅存在于北方冬麦区；A6是北方冬麦区出现频率最高的带型模式，而西南秋播麦区中D出现的频率最高。ω-区的E、H和M几种模式是以前国内外未曾报道的。且初步确定，这些模式对品质性状具有正效应。至于γ区,A、B、D、E和F在各区均有出现，其中B和E在各区出现的频率都很高，在26.1-39.6％之间。相反，H 仅出现在黄淮特种麦区，J仅限于西南秋播麦区。对于β-区醇溶蛋白，B型模式在所有区中都相当高，而模式A仅存在于第三区.对于α-区，模式A在Ⅲ区而模式D在Ⅱ区出现的频率很高。1BL.1RS易位系在中国小麦品种中出现频率高达41.2％，在I, II和Ⅲ麦区的出现频率分别为 45.5、43.5和35.2%。各生态区模式的差异可能是品种适应不同生态条件和人为选择的结果，但这有待进一步证明。由于醇溶蛋白位点（Gli-1）与LMW-GS位点（Glu-3）紧密连锁，本结果可为下面确定普通小麦LMW-GS等位基因变异所用。 2. 利用Gli-1与Glu-3的紧密连锁，以228个小麦品种/系为材料，首次对中国小麦品种麦谷蛋白亚基的6个位点进行综合分析，研究小麦籽粒蛋白与品质性状间的关系，结果表明6个高分子量（HMW）和低分子量（LMW）麦谷蛋白位点对蛋白质含量的效应大小为，Glu-D1>Glu-B3>Glu-A1=Glu-B1> Glu-A3=Glu-D3；对GMP含量的效应大小为, Glu-A3>Glu-B3>Glu-D1> Glu-B1>Glu-A1>Glu-D3；对湿面筋含量的效应大小为, Glu-B1>Glu-B3= Glu-D3>Glu-A3>Glu-A1>Glu-D1；对Zeleny沉降值的效应大小为, Glu-A1> Glu-B3>Glu-D3>Glu-D1>Glu-B1>Glu-A3；对SDS沉降值的效应大小为, Glu-B3>Glu-A1=Glu-D1=Glu-A3>Glu-D3>Glu-B1。对蛋白含量而言，各位点的最佳组合方式为1、17+18、5+10、Glu-A3e、Glu-B3g、Glu-D3b；对湿面筋含量而言，各位点的最佳组合方式为1、6+8、5+10、Glu-A3d、Glu-B3c、Glu-D3b；对Zeleny沉降值而言，各位点的最佳组合方式为N、17+18、5+10、Glu-A3d、Glu-B3d、Glu-D3b；对SDS沉降值而言，各位点的最佳组合方式为1、7+8、2.2+12、Glu-A3b、Glu-B3g、Glu-D3b。另外，分析了稀有亚基对5+12与2.2+12与品质性状的关系，认为5+12对品质有负效应，2.2+12对品质有正效应。在品质育种时，应对优异组合或优异亚基加以利用。 3. 首次利用重组自交系（RILs）为材料，研究麦谷蛋白亚基表达量与品质性状的关系，通过对重组自交系中各HMW-GS表达量的分析，认为，就单个亚基的表达量而言，7亚基最高；其次为2亚基、5亚基、12亚基和10亚基；亚基9和1的表达量最小；N亚基不表达。对成对出现的亚基对而言，x型和y型亚基的总表达量2+12>5+10>7+9>17+18。就单个亚基与品质性状的关系而言，仅有10亚基的表达量与蛋白含量的相关性达5%的显著水平，2亚基的表达量与湿面筋含量呈负相关，显著水平也达5%，其余单个亚基对品质性状均无显著影响；就x型/y型亚基的比例来看，2/12和5/10对湿面筋含量都有显著的负效应；对某一位点等位基因控制的亚基表达总量来看，2+12对SDS沉降值有显著负效应。另外，本研究得出：2＋12的亚基对的负效应主要体现在2亚基上，且在同一位点上，x型亚基的表达量大于y型。所以推导稀有亚基组合2+10很可能也是劣质亚基。 4. 以 Glu-A1、Glu-B1、Glu-D1、Glu-B3和Glu-D3作为5个因素对99G45/京771和Pm97034/京771杂交后代的蛋白质含量和SDS沉降值进行多因素方差分析。结果表明，Glu-A1和Glu-D3对蛋白含量的加性效应达5％显著水平；Glu-D1 * Glu-D3对蛋白质含量的互作效应也达5%显著水平；其余位点的加性和互作效应对蛋白质含量的影响均不显著。对SDS 沉降值而言，Glu-D1的加性效应最大,贡献率为4.2 % ,达1 %显著水平,其次是Glu-B1位点,贡献率为3.3% ,达5%显著水平。其余位点对SDS 沉降值的加性和互作效应均未达5%显著水平。总体而言, 各位点对蛋白含量的效应大小为Glu-D3 > Glu-A1 > Glu-D1>Glu-B1>Glu-B3；对SDS沉降值的效应大小为Glu-D1>Glu-B1> Glu-D3>Glu-A1> Glu-B3。Glu-D1和Glu-D3位点上等位基因变异对蛋白含量有显著或极显著影响，含Glu-D1d和Glu-D3 GD、Glu-D3 JD基因的株系分别比含Glu-D1a和Glu-D3 PD基因的株系有较高的蛋白含量；在该遗传背景下，麦谷蛋白各基因位点对蛋白含量的效应大小依次排列为：Glu-A1位点1>N；Glu-B1位点7+9>17+18>14+15；Glu-D1位点5+10>2+12；Glu-B3位点GB>JB>PB；Glu-D3位点GB>JB>PB。对SDS沉降值的效应大小依次排列为：Glu-A1位点1>N；Glu-B1位点7+9=17+18>14+15；Glu-D1位点5+10>2+12；Glu-B3位点GB>JB>PB；Glu-D3位点GB>JB>PB。所以，对蛋白含量和SDS沉降值均较好的组合为1，7+9，5+10，GB，GD。 5. 因为GB和PB对品质的效应有显著差异，选取LMW-GS位点特异扩增引物对京771、99G45和Pm97034的Glu-B3位点进行扩增，结果得到三个不一样的扩增片段（Genebank号为DQ539657－DQ539659），得到的基因片段与Genebank中已报道的同类序列高度同源。通过克隆片段组成的分析，发现对Pm97034的序列较京771和99G45段少一个7氨基酸的重复单元，这可能是它较另外两个片段对面筋强度影响小的主要原因；另外，在99G45的序列中，124位处出现L（亮氨酸）代替P（脯氨酸），158位处出现了T（苏氨酸）代换M(蛋氨酸)，这可能是99G45Glu-B3位点序列对SDS沉降值的效应显著优于Pm97034的原因。 6．通过对RILs各位点同普通小麦品种（系）各位点与品质关系的比较，发现对SDS沉降值的效应，各位点在不同研究材料中是不同的，普通小麦中：Glu-B3>Glu-A1=Glu-D1=Glu-A3>Glu-D3>Glu-B1，RILs中：Glu-D1>Glu-B1> Glu-D3>Glu-A1> Glu-B3。利用重组自交系材料（完全排除了1BL/1RS易位干扰）所得到的结果与Gupta and MacRitchie (1994)所得结论一致。进一步证实了1BL/1RS易位对小麦品质的重要影响。对蛋白含量而言，普通小麦品种（系）中，Glu-D1>Glu-B3>Glu-A1=Glu-B1> Glu-A3=Glu-D3，RILs中，Glu-D3 > Glu-A1 > Glu-D1>Glu-B1>Glu-B3，和对SDS沉降值的效应一样，推断在非1BL/1RS易位的情况下，各位点对其效应应为Glu-D3 > Glu-A1 > Glu-D1>Glu-B1>Glu-B3。 对同一位点的等位基因而言，普通小麦和重组自交系中Glu-A1和Glu-D1上的等位基因对品质性状的贡献是一致的，但Glu-B1上的等位基因对SDS沉降值的贡献发生了变化，普通小麦中17+18>7+9，RILs中7+9>17+18，这可能也是1BL/1RS造成的。 Baking quality improved is one of the main object of wheat bread in China. The overall objective of the present studies was to increase the understanding about protein quality in wheat, i.e. to make it possible to improve the production of wheat with desired quality for different end-uses. With the analysis of gluten protein in RILs, 99G45/Jing 771 and Pm97034/Jing, and 228 wheat cultivars or lines in China, the correlations between glutenin compositions and protein content, glutenin macropolymer(GMP), wet gluten content, Zeleny sedimentation value and SDS sedimentation value contentand breadmaking quality were studied. Also a rapid and efficient detection method of geneticpolymorphism at Glu-B3 loci in wheat was established using polymerase chain reaction(PCR).The results obtained were as follows: 1. Cultivated Chinese wheat germplasm has been a valuable genetic resource in international plant breeding. Patterns of gliadin among cultivated Chinese accessions are unknown, despite the proven value and potential novelty. The objective of this work was to analyse the diversity within improved Chinese wheat germplasm. The electrophoretic banding patterns of gliadin in common wheat cultivars and advanced lines were determined by acid-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. For 148 leading commercial cultivars and promising advanced lines used in our study, 48 patterns were identified, 29 corresponding to ω-gliadin, 9 to γ-gliadin, 5 to β-gliadin and 5 to α-gliadin. The most frequent patterns were A6 in ω; B in γ; B in β and A in the region of α. 116 band types appeared in the148 samples: 94 accessions had unique gliadin types, and 22 gliadin types while not unique were found in 54 accessions. The gliadin patterns of Chinese wheat cultivars and lines greatly differed from the patterns of wheat lines from other countries. Three patterns, E, J, H, M, N and O in the ω-zone had not previously been reported. Three wheat zones，the Northern Winter Wheat Region, the Yellow and Huai Valley River valleys Winter Wheat Region and the Southwestern Winter Wheat Region，in China showed different frequencies in their gliadin patterns. This information can be used to monitor genetic diversity with Chinese wheat germplasm. 2. To analyse the relationship between the loci and characteristics quality, we utilized the 228 cultivars/lines. The results showed that : For protein content, Glu-D1 >Glu-B3>Glu-A1=Glu-B1>Glu-A3=Glu-D3. For GMP content, Glu-A3>Glu-B3 >Glu-D1>Glu-B1>Glu-A1>Glu-D3. For wet gluten content, Glu-B1>Glu-B3= Glu-D3>Glu-A3>Glu-A1>Glu-D1. For Zeleny sedimentation value, Glu-A1>Glu-B3> Glu-D3>Glu-D1>Glu-B1>Glu-A3, For SDS sedimentation value, Glu-B3>Glu-A1= Glu-D1= lu-A3>Glu-D3>Glu-B1。For protein content, the best combination of 6 loci is (1,17+18,5+10,Glu-A3e, Glu-B3g,Glu-D3b). For wet gluten content, the best combination of 6 loci is (1,6+8,5+10,Glu-A3d,Glu-B3c,Glu-D3b). For Zeleny sedimentation value, the best combination of 6 loci is (N,17+18,5+10,Glu-A3d, Glu-B3d, Glu-D3b). For SDS sedimentation value, the best combination of 6 loci is(7+8,2.2+12,Glu-A3b, Glu-B3g,Glu-D3b)。Additional, we analysed the relationship between the subunits 5+12 and 2.2+12, think that 5+12 was negative for quality, 2.2+12 is postive for quality. It should be effective utilized. 3. It’s the first time to utilize RILs to study the relationship between subunits expression quantity and characteristics quality. The results showed that: For single subunit, the expression quantity of 7 is the highest. Then the 2, 5, 12 and 10. The expression of subunit 9 and 1 is the lowest. Subunit N is not expressed. For subunits, the expression quantity of x type and y type are 2+12>5+10>7+9>17+18. The significant relation of 5% only showed between the expression quantity of subunit 10 and protein content. The relationship between expression quantity of others and characteristic quality was not significant. For x type/ytype, 2/12 and 5/10 is negative relation insignificant level. For the subunit(s) in a loci, Only 2+12 effect SDS sedimentation value negative in significant level. 4. With RILs 99G45/Jing 771 and Pm97034/Jing 771, we found that: The effective of Glu-A1, Glu-D3 and Glu-D1 * Glu-D3 for protein content is significant at 5% level. The effect of other loci for protein wre not significant. For SDS sedimentation value, the effect of Glu-D1is the highest, which contribution is 4.2 % .Then the Glu-B1, contribution is 3.3%. The effect of other loci for SDS sedimentationvalue were not significant. In total, for protein content: Glu-D3 > Glu-A1 > Glu-D1>Glu-B1>Glu-B3; for SDS sedimentationvalue: Glu-D1>Glu-B1> Glu-D3>Glu-A1>Glu-B3. The effect of alleles in Glu-D1 and Glu-D3 loci are significant at 1% or 5%. In Glu-A1, 1>N; Glu-B1, 7+9>17+18>14+15; Glu-D, 5+10>2+12; Glu-B3, GB>JB>PB; Glu-D3, GB>JB>PB. For SDS sedimentation, Glu-A1, 1>N; Glu-B1, 7+9=17+18>14+15; Glu-D1, 5+10>2+12; Glu-B3, GB>JB>PB; Glu-D3, GB>JB>PB. The best combinations for SDS sedimentation value is 1，7+9，5+10，GB，GD. 5. Because of the difference of GB and PB for SDS sedimentation value, we selected the specific primer for LMW-GS loci to amplified the Glu-B3 of Jing771, 99G45and Pm97034. We got 3 amplify fragment (Gene Bank accession number are DQ539657－DQ539659）. We found that the fragment of Pm97034 were deleted a repetitive 7 amino acid domain, which is perhaps the reason effect the gluten strength. Furthermore, in the position 124 of sequence 99G45, L has been replaced with P. Position 158, T replaced M, which may be the reason why the Glu-B3 locus of 99G45 is prefer to Pm97034 when refer to SDS sedimentation value. 6. Comparing the results of RILs and common wheat, we found that perhaps just the1BL/1RS made the difference of loci in different accession.

小麦高分子量谷蛋白新亚基基因1Dx5’的克隆与分子标记

小麦是世界第一大粮食作物, 而HMW- GS 是直接影响小麦品质的重要因子。我国小麦面粉的烘烤品质普遍较差, 这与我国品种缺少优质的HMW- GS 有关，因此创造与发掘新的优质谷蛋白亚基编码基因，并开展相关生化、农学、分子生物学等方面研究、探讨优质的分子机理，对于培育优质小麦新品种具有重要意义。W958是我们培育的种间远缘杂交（T.durum Desf. ×T.aestivum L）优良品系，该品系在1D染色体上具有父母本没有的新型亚基，由于此亚基在SDS- PAGE电泳中具有和1Dx5亚基一样的电泳迁移率, 因此我们将该亚基命名为1Dx5’亚基。为了进一步从分子水平确证该亚基为新亚基和在育种中利用该亚基，本研究对该亚基的遗传规律、基因分子结构、品质特性和农艺性状等进行了分析。结果表明1Dx5’亚基在品质上与1Dx5亚基一样优质，对于品质的贡献大于1Dx2亚基。1Dx5’亚基具有特异的遗传规律，在分离群体中，此亚基占有极大的比例，该特性十分有利于将其导入高产小麦遗传背景中。此外，本研究扩增出了1Dx5’亚基基因的启动子区域、N－端区域和部分中间重复区域，并比较了1Dx5’和传统的1Dx5、1Dx2亚基在此区域氨基酸序列。结果进一步证明了1Dx5’是一个新的基因。通过蛋白质结构模拟分析，认为1Dx5’亚基的优良特性可能是由于1Dx5’亚基的的中部重复区域能形成分子间较强的氢键，加大了分子间的相互作用，使1Dx5’亚基的面团具有优良的品质，这为1Dx5’亚基的应用提供了理论基础。同时，本研究还设计用于区分1Dx5’和1Dx5等位基因的分子标记，解决了利用SDS-PAGE生化标记难以将二者区分的问题。Wheat is one of the major crops utilized worldwide. Nevertheless, due to the lackof the superior HMW- GS, the wheat quality in China is not satisfying. Therefore,identification and characterization of the superior HMW- GS will lay good foundation to the wheat breeding.W958 is a new bread wheat line developed by interspecific cross (T.durum Desf.×T.aestivum L). It contains a novel HMW- GS. We have designated such subunit as1Dx5’ here for its unique character. To confirm that such subunit is innovative andbeneficial for wheat breeding program on the molecular level, we have investigated itin terms of inheritance, DNA and protein sequence, dough property and agronomictrait associated with it. The result shows that 1Dx5’is as superior as 1Dx5 in terms of dough property.In addition, we have cloned the promoter, N- terminal as well as partial centralrepetitive domain of the allele coding for this subunit. Comparison of the amino acidsequence of 1Dx5’ with that of 1Dx5 and 1Dx2 showed that the superior quality of1Dx5’ subunit may result from the degree of conservation of the repetitive sequencesby which the glutenin polymers interact via inter-chain hydrogen bonds formedbetween the subunit repetitive domains with longer subunits forming more stableinteractions. In addition, we have developed two dominant molecular markers tofacilitate the discrimination of 1Dx5’ and 1Dx5 which could no be achieved by SDS-PAGE.

~(12)C~(6+)重离子辐照胡麻种子初步研究

本文研究了6×108cm-2、1.8×109cm-2和3.6×109cm-2的12C6+重离子束辐照对胡麻种子M1代生物学性状和DNA分子多态性等方面的影响。6×108cm-2辐照处理可引起胡麻发芽率提高,促进植株株高,增强花粉活力。同时辐照处理使胡麻种子千粒重和含油量有不同程度提高,辐射剂量越高,两者数值越大,3.6×109cm-2辐射剂量的胡麻种子千粒重和含油量与对照组的相比分别高出了16.5%和19.9%,此外在此剂量处发现了花粉发生了形态变化。辐照处理对胡麻DNA分子也产生了影响,筛选出的14个随机引物可以扩增出清晰、稳定、重复性好的DNA片段,有52个是多态性DNA片段,比率为52.5%。

Genomic organization, nucleotide sequence analysis of the core histone genes cluster in Chlamys farreri and molecular evolution assessment of the H2A and H2B

This work represents the nucleotide sequence of the core histone gene cluster from scallop Chlamys farreri. The tandemly repeated unit of 5671 bp containing a copy of the four core histone genes H4, H2B, H2A and H3 was amplified and identified by the techniques of homology cloning and genomic DNA walking. All the histone genes in the cluster had the structures in their 3' flanking region which related to the evolution of histone gene expression patterns throughout the cell cycle, including two different termination signals, the hairpin structure and at least one AATAAA polyadenylation signal. In their 5' region, the transcription initiation sites with a conserved sequence of 5'-PyATTCPu-3' known as the CAP site were present in all genes except to H2B, generally 37-45 bp upstream of the start code. Canonical TATA and CAAT boxes were identified only in certain histone genes. In the case of the promoters of H2B and H2A genes, there was a 5'-GATCC-3' element, which had been found to be essential to start transcription at the appropriate site. After this element, in the promoter of H2B, there was another sequence, 5'-GGATCGAAACGTTC-3', which was similar to the consensus sequence of 5'-GGAATAAACGTATTC-3' corresponding to the H2B-specific promoter element. The presence of enhancer sequences (5'-TGATATATG-3') was identified from the H4 and H3 genes, matching perfectly with the consensus sequence defined for histone genes. There were several slightly more complex repetitive DNA in the intergene regions. The presence of the series of conserved sequences and reiterated sequences was consistent with the view that mollusc histone gene cluster arose by duplicating of an ancestral precursor histone gene, the birth-and-death evolution model with strong purifying selection enabled the histone cluster less variation and more conserved function. Meanwhile, the H2A and the H2B were demonstrated to be potential good marks for phylogenetic analysis. All the results will be contributed to the characterization of repeating histone gene families in molluscs.

Automated voltammetric system for shipboard determination of metal speciation in sea water

An automated and semi-intelligent voltammetric system is described for trace metal analysis. The system consists of a voltammeter interfaced with a personal computer, a sample changer, 2 peristaltic pumps, a motor burette and a hanging mercury drop electrode. The system carries out fully automatically approximately 5 metal determinations per hour (including at least 3 repetitive scans and calibration by standard addition) at trace levels encountered in clean sea water. The computer program decides what level of standard addition to use and evaluates the data prior to switching to the next sample. Alternatively, the system can be used to carry out complexing ligand titration with copper whilst recording the labile copper concentration; in this mode up to 8 full titrations are carried out per day. Depth profiles for chromium speciation in the Mediterranean Sea and a profile for copper complexing ligand concentrations in the North Atlantic Ocean measured on board-ship with the system are presented. The chromium speciation was determined using a new method to differentiate between Cr(III) and Cr(VI) utilizing adsorption of Cr(III) on silica particles.

Label-Free Colorimetric Detection of Aqueous Mercury Ion (Hg2+) Using Hg2+-Modulated G-Quadruplex-Based DNAzymes

Mercury ion (Hg2+) is able to specifically bind to the thymine-thymine (T-T) base pair in a DNA duplex, thus providing a rationale for DNA-based selective detection of Hg2+ with various means. In this work, we for the first time utilize the Hg2+-mediated T-T base pair to modulate the proper folding of G-quadruplex DNAs and inhibit the DNAzyme activity, thereby pioneering a facile approach to sense Hg2+ with colorimetry. Two bimolecular DNA G-quadruplexes containing many T residues are adopted here, which function well in low- and high-salt conditions, respectively. These G-quadruplex DNAs are able to bind hemin to form the peroxidase-like DNAzymes in the folded state. Upon addition of Hg2+, the proper folding of G-quadruplex DNAs is inhibited due to the formation of T-Hg2+-T complex. Ibis is reflected by the notable change of the Soret band of hemin when investigated by using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. As a result of Hg2+ inhibition, a sharp decrease in the catalytic activity toward the H2O2-mediated oxidation of 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)diammonium salt (ABTS) is observed, accompanied by a change in solution color. Through this approach, aqueous Hg2+ can be detected at 50 nM (10 ppb) with colorimetry in a facile way, with high selectivity against other metal ions.

Adaptive recognition of small molecules by nucleic acid aptamers through a label-free approach

We report a novel label-free method for the investigation of the adaptive recognition of small molecules by nucleic acid aptamers using capillary electrophoresis analysis. Cocaine and argininamide were chosen as model molecules, and the two corresponding DNA aptamers were used. These single-strand DNAs folded into their specific secondary structures, which were mainly responsible for the binding of the target molecules with high affinity and specificity. For molecular recognition, the nucleic acid structures then underwent additional conformational changes, while keeping the target molecules stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The intrinsic chemical and physical properties of the target molecules enabled them to act as indicators for adaptive binding. Thus any labeling or modification of the aptamers or target molecules were made obsolete. This label-free method for aptamer-based molecular recognition was also successfully applied to biological fluids and therefore indicates that this approach is a promising tool for bioanalysis.

Structural features of the L-argininamide-binding DNA aptamer studied with ESI-FTMS

The 24-mer DNA aptamer of Harada and Frankel ( Harada, K.; Frankel, A. D. EMBO J. 1995, 14, 5798-5811) that binds L-argininamide (L-Arm) was studied by electrospray ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry (ESI-FTMS). This DNA folds into a stem and loop such that the loop is able to engulf L-Arm. As controls, two derivatives of the same base composition, one with the same stem but a scrambled loop and the other with no ability to form a secondary structure, were studied. The two DNAs that could fold into stem-loop structures showed a more negatively charged distribution of ions than the linear control. This tendency was preserved in the presence of ligand; complexes expected to have more secondary structure had ions with more negative charges. Distinct species corresponding to no, one, and two bound L-Arm molecules were observed for each DNA. The fractional peak intensities were fit to a straightforward binding model and binding constants were obtained. Thus, ESI-FTMS can provide both qualitative and quantitative data regarding the structure of DNA and its interactions with noncovalent ligands.