Effect of methylene group insertions on the structural rigidity of Aib containing helices

Nonprotein amino acids are being extensively used in the design of synthetic peptides to create new structure mimics. In this study we report the effect of methylene group insertions in a heptapeptide Boc-Ala(1)-Leu(2)-Aib(3)-Xxx(4)-Ala(5)-Leu(6)-Aib(7)-OMe which nicely folds into a mixed 3(10)-/-helical structure when Xxx= Ala. Analogs of this peptide have been made and studied by replacing central Xxx(4) residue with Glycine (-residue), -Alanine (-la), -aminobutyric acid (Gaba), and epsilon-aminocaproic acid (epsilon-Aca). NMR and circular dichroism were used to study the solution structure of these peptides. Crystals of the peptides containing alanine, -la, and Gaba reveal that increasing the number of central methylene (-CH2-) groups introduces local perturbations even as the helical structure is retained. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 104: 720-732, 2015.

Interpenetrated and Catenated Zinc Thiosulfates Frameworks with dia and qtz Nets: Synthesis, Structure, and Properties

Reactions between Zn(NO3)(2)center dot 6H(2)O, Na2S2O3, 4,4'-bipyridine (bpy), 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethene (bpe), 1,2-bis (4-pyridyl) ethane (bpa), and 1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane (bpp) under solvothermal conditions resulted in four new zinc thiosulfate hybrid compounds. Compound I has four-membered zinc thiosulfate rings connected by the ligand, 1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane (bpp) forming a two-dimensional structure. Compounds II-IV have one-dimensional zinc thiosulfate chains connected by the ligands, bpy (II), bpe (III), and bpa (IV) giving rise to three-dimensional structures. All the four-structures exhibit 3-fold interpenetration. Proton conductivity studies indicate reasonable proton mobility at 34 degrees C and at 98% relative humidity. The compounds also exhibit Lewis acid character and good photocatalytic activity for the decomposition of cationic dyes.

Electron transfer in chemically and genetically modified myoglobins

The temperature dependences of the reduction potentials (E^o') of wildtype human myoglobin (Mb) and three site-directed mutants have been measured by using thin-layer spectroelectrochemistry. Residue Val68, which is in van der Waals contact with the heme in Mb, has been replaced by Glu, Asp, and Asn. At pH 7.0, reduction of the heme iron (III) in the former two proteins is accompanied by uptake of a proton by the protein. The changes in E^o', and the standard entropy (ΔS^o') and enthalpy (ΔH^o') of reduction in the mutant proteins were determined relative to values for wild-type; the change in E^o' at 25°C was about -200 millivolts for the Glu and Asp mutants, and about -80 millivolts for the Asn mutant. Reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) in the Glu and Asp mutants is accompanied by uptake of a proton. These studies demonstrate that Mb can tolerate substitution of a buried hydrophobic group by potentially charged and polar residues, and that such amino acid replacements can lead to substantial changes in the redox thermodynamics of the protein.

Through analysis of the temperature dependence and shapes of NMR dispersion signals, it is determined that a water molecule is bound to the sixth coordination site of the ferric heme in the Val68Asp and in the Val68Asn recombinant proteins while the carboxyl group of the sidechain of Glu68 occupies this position in Val68Glu. The relative rhombic distortions in the ESR spectra of these mutant proteins combined with H₂¹⁷O and spin interconversion experiments performed on them confirm the conclusions of the NMRD study.

The rates of intramolecular electron transfer (ET) of (NH₃)₅Ru-His48 (Val68Asp, His81GIn, Cys110AIa)Mb and (NH₃)₅Ru-His48 (Val68GIu,His81GIn,Cys110Ala)Mb were measured to be .85(3)s^-1 and .30(2)s^-1, respectively. This data supports the hypothesis that entropy of 111 reduction and reorganization energy of ET are inversely related. The rates of forward and reverse ET for (NH₃)₅ Ru-His48 (Val68GIu, His81 GIn, Cys110AIa)ZnMb -7.2(5)•10⁴s^-1and 1.4(2)•10⁵s^-1, respectively- demonstrate that the placement of a highly polar residue nearby does not significantly change the reorganization energy of the photoactive Zn porphyrin.

The distal histidine imidazoles of (NH₃)₄isnRu-His48 SWMb and (NH₃)₅Ru-His48 SWMb were cyanated with BrCN. The intramolecular ET rates of these BrCN-modified Mb derivatives are 5.5(6)s^-1 and 3.2(5)s^-1, respectively. These respective rates are 20 and 10 times faster than those of their noncyanated counterparts after the differences in ET rate from driving force are scaled according to the Marcus equation. This increase in ET rate of the cyanated Mb derivatives is attributed to lower reorganization energy since the cyanated Mb heme is pentacoordinate in both oxidation states; whereas, the native Mb heme loses a water molecule upon reduction so that it changes from six to five coordinate. The reorganization energy from Fe-OH₂ dissociation is estimated to be .2eV. This conclusion is used to reconcile data from previous experiments in our lab. ET in photoactive porphyrin-substituted myoglobins proceed faster than predicted by Marcus Theory when it is assumed that the only difference in ET parameters between photoactive porphyrins and native heme systems is driving force. However, the data can be consistently fit to Marcus Theory if one corrects for the smaller reorganization in the photoactive porphyrin systems since they do not undergo a coordination change upon ET.

Finally, the intramolecular ET rate of (NH₃)₄isnRu-His48 SWMb was measured to be 3.0(4)s^-1. This rate is within experimental error of that for (NH₃)₄pyrRu-His48 SWMb even though the former has 80mV more driving force. One likely possibility for this observation is that the tetraamminepyridineruthenium group undergoes less reorganization upon ET than the tetraammineisonicotinamideruthenium group. Moreover, analysis of the (NH₃)₄isnRu-His48 SWMb experimental system gives a likely explanation of why ET was not observed previously in (NH₃)₄isnRu-Cytochrome C.

Programming chemical kinetics: engineering dynamic reaction networks with DNA strand displacement

Over the last century, the silicon revolution has enabled us to build faster, smaller and more sophisticated computers. Today, these computers control phones, cars, satellites, assembly lines, and other electromechanical devices. Just as electrical wiring controls electromechanical devices, living organisms employ "chemical wiring" to make decisions about their environment and control physical processes. Currently, the big difference between these two substrates is that while we have the abstractions, design principles, verification and fabrication techniques in place for programming with silicon, we have no comparable understanding or expertise for programming chemistry.

In this thesis we take a small step towards the goal of learning how to systematically engineer prescribed non-equilibrium dynamical behaviors in chemical systems. We use the formalism of chemical reaction networks (CRNs), combined with mass-action kinetics, as our programming language for specifying dynamical behaviors. Leveraging the tools of nucleic acid nanotechnology (introduced in Chapter 1), we employ synthetic DNA molecules as our molecular architecture and toehold-mediated DNA strand displacement as our reaction primitive.

Abstraction, modular design and systematic fabrication can work only with well-understood and quantitatively characterized tools. Therefore, we embark on a detailed study of the "device physics" of DNA strand displacement (Chapter 2). We present a unified view of strand displacement biophysics and kinetics by studying the process at multiple levels of detail, using an intuitive model of a random walk on a 1-dimensional energy landscape, a secondary structure kinetics model with single base-pair steps, and a coarse-grained molecular model that incorporates three-dimensional geometric and steric effects. Further, we experimentally investigate the thermodynamics of three-way branch migration. Our findings are consistent with previously measured or inferred rates for hybridization, fraying, and branch migration, and provide a biophysical explanation of strand displacement kinetics. Our work paves the way for accurate modeling of strand displacement cascades, which would facilitate the simulation and construction of more complex molecular systems.

In Chapters 3 and 4, we identify and overcome the crucial experimental challenges involved in using our general DNA-based technology for engineering dynamical behaviors in the test tube. In this process, we identify important design rules that inform our choice of molecular motifs and our algorithms for designing and verifying DNA sequences for our molecular implementation. We also develop flexible molecular strategies for "tuning" our reaction rates and stoichiometries in order to compensate for unavoidable non-idealities in the molecular implementation, such as imperfectly synthesized molecules and spurious "leak" pathways that compete with desired pathways.

We successfully implement three distinct autocatalytic reactions, which we then combine into a de novo chemical oscillator. Unlike biological networks, which use sophisticated evolved molecules (like proteins) to realize such behavior, our test tube realization is the first to demonstrate that Watson-Crick base pairing interactions alone suffice for oscillatory dynamics. Since our design pipeline is general and applicable to any CRN, our experimental demonstration of a de novo chemical oscillator could enable the systematic construction of CRNs with other dynamic behaviors.

Produção de carotenoides em culturas in vitro de Cleome rosea Vahl ex DC (Capparaceae) e avaliação de sua toxicidade e potencial antioxidante

A produção e a otimização de substâncias de valor medicinal têm sido alcançadas pelo uso das técnicas de cultura de tecidos vegetais, que têm apresentado grande relevância quando se considera o status de conservação de uma espécie ou sua ocorrência em ambientes ameaçados. No presente trabalho foi avaliada a produção de carotenoides em culturas de calos e células em suspensão de Cleome rosea Vahl ex DC, espécie nativa encontrada em áreas de restinga nos estados do Rio de Janeiro e de São Paulo. Plantas micropropagadas obtidas a partir de raízes produzidas in vitro foram usadas como fonte de explantes para o início das culturas de calos. A produção de massa calogênica foi avaliada em meio MS suplementado com diferentes concentrações das auxinas ácido 2,4-diclorofenoxiacético e ácido 4-amino- 3,5,6-tricloropicolínico, na presença de luz ou no escuro. O uso de diferentes meios básicos de cultura (B5, Nitsch, White) também foi avaliado. A calogênese foi induzida em todos os tratamentos, entretanto a maior produção de biomassa foi alcançada pelas culturas mantidas na presença de luz. A maior produção de massa calogênica foi obtida em culturas iniciadas no meio MS suplementado com 0,2 mg.L-1 de 2,4-D. A exposição das culturas à luz foi um fator essencial para a produção de carotenoides, que só ocorreu nas culturas mantidas nessa condição. Culturas de calos foram submetidas a tratamentos com substâncias elicitoras (extrato de levedura, metil jasmonato, quitosana) em diferentes concentrações e por um período de exposição de sete ou 14 dias visando otimizar a produção do pigmento. A maior produção de carotenoides nas culturas elicitadas foi alcançada com o tratamento com metil jasmonato (MJ) na concentração de 300 μM, independentemente do tempo de exposição ao elicitor. Análises cromatográficas mostraram que o processo de elicitação com MJ induziu ao aumento na produção de β-caroteno. Calos elicitados nessa condição foram usados para iniciar culturas de células em suspensão (CCS). Estas culturas foram acompanhadas por três subculturas realizadas a cada 20 dias, durante a fase exponencial de crescimento. Embora as CCS tenham mantido uma produção de biomassa constante ao longo das subculturas, os valores de produção de carotenoides foram inferiores àqueles alcançados pelas culturas de calos e não houve diferenças estatísticas significativas quando comparadas às CCS iniciadas a partir de calos não elicitados. Extratos de calos produzidos em meio MS suplementado com 0,2 mg.L-1 de 2,4-D foram avaliados quanto à sua capacidade antioxidante por meio da incubação dos extratos com DNA plasmidial em presença de cloreto estanoso (SnCl2), um potente agente redutor capaz de produzir quebras na molécula de DNA. Os extratos foram avaliados em concentrações crescentes (25 - 500 μg.mL-1) e apresentaram uma proteção dose dependente à ação do SnCl2. Estudos de toxicidade com o modelo de Artemia salina demonstraram que os extratos não apresentaram toxicidade nas concentrações avaliadas. Os resultados alcançados mostram que a elicitação foi eficiente para a otimização da produção de β-caroteno nas culturas in vitro e que os extratos obtidos a partir desses materiais apresentaram atividade antioxidante, indicando o êxito das técnicas de cultura de tecidos para a produção deste metabólito sob condição in vitro.

Cr^4＋，Nd3＋共掺的钆镓石榴石（Cr，Nd：GGG）的光谱性能与光谱参数的研究

用提拉法生长了掺铬、钕的钆镓石榴石(Cr^4+，Nd^3+:GGG)晶体，研究了室温下的吸收光谱和荧光光谱性质，以及晶体中Cr离子浓度对Nd离子光谱性质的影响。应用Judd—ofelt理论计算了强度参数Ωt(t=2，4，6)，自发辐射跃迁几率、荧光分支比和辐射辱命等光谱参数。应用McCumber理论计算^4F3/2→^4I11/2能级跃迁的受激发射截面。结果表明：Cr^3+在300～900nm之间较强地增加了吸收截面，尤其是伴随Cr^3+→Nd^3+有效的能量转移。Cr^4+在1．06μm附近的吸收减弱了

Luminescence and Magnetic Properties of Two Three -Dimensional Terbium and Dysprosium MOFs Based on Azobenzene-4,4 '-Dicarboxylic Linker

We report the in situ formation of two novel metal-organic frameworks based on terbium and dysprosium ions using azobenzene-4,4-dicarboxylic acid (H(2)abd) as ligand, synthesized by soft hydrothermal routes. Both materials show isostructural three-dimensional networks with channels along a axis and display intense photoluminescence properties in the solid state at room temperature. Textural properties of the metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been fully characterized although no appreciable porosity was obtained. Magnetic properties of these materials were studied, highlighting the dysprosium material displays slightly frequency-dependent out of phase signals when measured under zero external field and under an applied field of 1000 Oe.

Characterization of the temperature sensitivity of gain and recombination mechanisms in 1.3-μm AlGaInAs MQW lasers

The potential of 1.3-μm AlGaInAs multiple quantum-well (MQW) laser diodes for uncooled operation in high-speed optical communication systems is experimentally evaluated by characterizing the temperature dependence of key parameters such as the threshold current, transparency current density, optical gain and carrier lifetime. Detailed measurements performed in the 20°C-100°C temperature range indicate a localized T0 value of 68 K at 98°C for a device with a 2.8μm ridge width and 700-μm cavity length. The transparency current density is measured for temperatures from 20°C to 60°C and found to increase at a rate of 7.7 A·cm -2 · °C-1. Optical gain characterizations show that the peak modal gain at threshold is independent of temperature, whereas the differential gain decreases linearly with temperature at a rate of 3 × 10-4 A-1·°C-1. The differential carrier lifetime is determined from electrical impedance measurements and found to decrease with temperature. From the measured carrier lifetime we derive the monomolecular (A), radiative (B), and nonradiative Auger (C) recombination coefficients and determine their temperature dependence in the 20 °C-80 °C range. Our study shows that A is temperature independent, B decreases with temperature, and C exhibits a less pronounced increase with temperature. The experimental observations are discussed and compared with theoretical predictions and measurements performed on other material systems. © 2005 IEEE.

普通烟草与毛曼陀罗族间体细胞杂交的研究

采用PEG／DMSO融合法，从普通烟草(Nicotiana tabacum L.cv.Xanthi nc)叶肉和毛曼陀罗(Datura innoxia Mill.)茎或叶愈伤组织原生质体融合获得I5株花盆中健康生长的族间体细胞杂种植株;其中11株是在没有选择压力的条件下获得，4株则是在有IOA和R6G选择系统存在下获得。同时获得一株试管开花且形态异常的植株和一株花盆中生长的嵌合植株。lOmM IOA和I5μ g／ml R6G均能分别有效地抑制烟草叶肉和毛曼陀罗愈伤组织原生质体的分裂;10% DMSO能显著提高原生质体融合率;PEG种类并不重要，但浓度则很重要;BAP较ZT，KT对植株分化有更好的诱导效果。杂种的形态、细胞、同工酶、Southern杂交，花粉育性分析结果如下：1、l5株杂种较双亲普遍株型矮小，生长缓慢，形态接近烟草但不很正常，根据形态特征可分为两种类型：(1)共有8株，其叶片大小、形状、颜色、开花习惯、花类型（单花）等均与毛曼陀罗接近，但子房败育;(2)共有7株，其株型、叶片形状、颜色、光滑度、花形状、类型（圆锥状花序）、颜色更接近烟草，但少数杂种开单花或先单花后圆锥状花序或先单花后两种花并存，且开花时间不一，部分子房败育。2、杂种染色体数目大都在60～90之间，个别者较少(48条)或较多(125条)，没有一株为双二倍体(2n=96)，并全部为混倍体。3、15株杂种植株均有双亲的细胞色素氧化酶同工酶特征谱带;大部分都有双亲的过氧化物酶同工酶特征谱带，少都仅具烟草的谱带。4、Hae Ⅲ／水稻rDNA的Southern杂交分析表明杂种1较双亲多一条谱带，杂种2较双亲也多一条弱带，其它杂种尚待定。5、花粉活力测定表明毛曼陀罗（种子再生而来）的为99%，烟草（原生质体再生而来）为80～90%，而杂种的为24～61%，育性普遍低于双亲。

拟南芥有性生殖模式和叶片特性对大气CO2浓度变化的响应

预计到本世纪末，大气CO2浓度将会增加到540～970ppm，大气CO2浓度升高所引起的全球气候变化已经受到广泛的关注。植物生长依赖CO2，并且对大气CO2浓度升高在结构和生理上产生响应。目前已有大量报道，从生态系统、群落、种群、个体、器官、组织、生理以及生化等水平上研究高浓度CO2所对植物产生的影响。但是有关高浓度CO2对植物有性生殖影响的报道却很少，同时多数实验均建立在短期的生殖响应，忽视了植物在长期高CO2浓度下具有的反馈作用和CO2浓度变化对植物的驯化作用。植物有性生殖与其生态适应性和农作物籽粒产量的关系极为密切;同时，植物有性生殖特性的变化，也可作为预测植物对全球气候变化响应的重要指标之一。为此，利用高浓度CO2对植物进行长期选择实验将很有必要。研究结果将为预测未来大气CO2浓度增加的条件下陆地生态系统的演变趋势、全球变化对植物有性生殖响应的方式和机制提供新的思路和有效方法。 　　在本研究中，我们以模式植物拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)作为实验材料，利用370和700ppm CO2对其进行连续8个世代处理，首先研究高浓度CO2对每一个世代的拟南芥有性生殖特性的影响，然后比较各个世代中各种生殖特性指标变化的规律，从细胞、组织和个体尺度上揭示拟南芥有性生殖对全球变化的响应模式。此外，在700ppm CO2处理下，我们对拟南芥叶片生理、生化以及结构的变化进行了相关研究。两部分研究结果及主要结论如下： 　　首先，在每一个世代中，与370ppm CO2相比较，700ppm CO2处理显著促进了拟南芥开花，缩短生长周期，增加花、角果及种子等生殖的产量，降低种子N含量，提高种子C/N比、种子千粒重以及生殖生物量所占总生物量的比例等，而对种子萌发率、角果所含种子数目以及角果长度则无显著影响。但是， 通过对相同CO2浓度处理条件下，不同世代之间的研究结果比较发现，不同世代之间相关的生殖生物学指标并无显著差异。 　　其次，高浓度CO2显著降低叶片气孔密度、气孔指数、气孔导度以及蒸腾速率。在高浓度CO2处理下，叶肉细胞中叶绿体数目、叶绿体宽度和表观面积、淀粉粒大小和数量、叶片和细胞壁厚度等都显著增加，但是基粒内囊体膜的数量却显著下降。叶片中碳水化合物如可溶性总糖、淀粉以及纤维素含量在高浓度CO2下分别显著增加71.9%、78.7% 和 22.3%。此外，在高浓度CO2处理下，叶片中多数激素如如吲哚乙酸(indole-3-acetic acid, IAA)、赤霉素(gibberellin, GA)、玉米素核苷(zeatin riboside, ZR)、二氢玉米素核苷(dihydrozeatin riboside, DHZR)和异戊烯基腺苷(isopentenyl adenosine, iPA)均都显著地增加，而脱落酸(abscisic acid, ABA)含量却有所下降。最后，叶片中各种矿物质元素含量如N、P、K、Ca和Mg等含量在高浓度CO2处理下也都显著下降，而C/N比增加24.8％。 　　以上结果表明： 　　(1) 在每一个世代中，700ppm CO2处理对拟南芥各种有性生殖特性具有显著的影响，但是高浓度CO2处理对植物所引起的效应在多个世代以内并不能够传递给后代，所以在多个有性生殖世代内，高浓度CO2处理对植物生长、生殖没有驯化作用。 　　(2) 在高浓度CO2处理下，拟南芥叶片中叶绿体超微结构的变化，可能主要是由于叶绿体中淀粉粒数量和体积大小显著增加而引起。 　　(3) 在高浓度CO2处理下，由于拟南芥叶片内与促进细胞分裂与伸长的激素含量显著增加，从而对拟南芥植株生长发育速率的提高起了重要的作用。 　　(4) 拟南芥生长在高浓度CO2条件下，其叶片中各种矿质元素含量（如N、P、K、Ca和Mg）均显著降低，究其原因可能是，第一由于叶片中碳水化合物含量的显著增加而对矿物质元素具有稀释作用;第二由于蒸腾速率下降，引起矿质元素从根部随着蒸腾流运输到地上部分的含量相应减少。 　　

中药青蒿紫穗槐二烯合酶基因表达及调控的研究

青蒿素是从我国传统药用植物中药青蒿（Artemisia annua L.）中提取的新型抗疟特效药，其生物合成途径属于植物类异戊二烯代谢途径。目前，青蒿素生物合成的组织部位及其调控机制仍不完全清楚。紫穗槐二烯合酶（amorpha-4， 11-diene synthase, ADS）作为青蒿素生物合成分支途径的第一个关键酶，催化倍半萜化合物的通用前体法呢基焦磷酸环化，生成紫穗槐二烯。本论文通过对ADS 表达特性的分析，研究了青蒿素生物合成的组织特异性及其调控机制，主要研究结果如下： 一．紫穗槐二烯合酶基因启动子功能的研究 从青蒿高产株系001 中克隆得到了2850 bp 的ADS 启动子调控区。通过比较5’RACE 的测序结果与启动子序列，确定转录起始位点位于翻译起始位点上游44 bp，TATA 盒下游27 bp。该启动子序列包含的顺式作用元件有脱落酸应答元件(ABRE )、乙烯应答元件(ERE)、生长素应答元件(AUXRE）等植物激素反应元件，以及低温应答元件（LTRE）、高温应答元件（HSE）等与逆境有关的反应元件，还有与真菌诱导有关的W-box 元件等。将不同长度ADS 启动子与报告基因GUS 融合，构建了植物表达载体，通过农杆菌介导的方法获得稳定整合的转基因烟草。经过组织化学、GUS 荧光活性检测及RT-PCR 分析，发现该启动子的转录活性很低，无法通过GUS 染色进行观察。GUS 荧光活性检测及RT-PCR 结果表明，转录起始位点上游346 bp 是ADS 基础表达所必需的。高温、低温、干旱、水杨酸、茉莉酸甲酯等处理均能促进青蒿中ADS 的表达，而脱落酸和乙烯的作用效果较小，与启动子序列分析的结果并不完全一致。 二．紫穗槐二烯合酶基因表达特性的研究 以青蒿高产株系001 为材料，在基因和蛋白水平揭示了ADS 的表达特性。RT-PCR 和Western 分析结果表明，ADS 在幼叶和花蕾中大量表达，在老叶和完全开放的花中表达量很低，而在青蒿的根和茎中几乎检测不到ADS 的表达。石蜡切片和整体原位杂交的结果表明，ADS 在顶端分生组织、叶原基及分泌腺毛中表达，在非分泌的T 型腺毛中不表达。当叶片完全展开后，ADS 只在分泌腺毛中表达，而且随着叶片的生长和老化，ADS 的表达量逐渐减少。另一个非常有趣的发现是同一叶片上的分泌腺毛，有些有ADS 的表达，有些则没有。用强光、低温、高温和水杨酸等因素处理后，有ADS 表达的分泌腺毛的比例没有明显的变化。 三．外源水杨酸促进青蒿素的生物合成 研究了外源水杨酸对青蒿素生物合成的影响，结果表明：1 mM 水杨酸处理后，青蒿叶片中的游离态水杨酸含量快速增加，处理后4 h 达到 0.79 μg g-1 FW，是对照的3.5 倍。外源水杨酸能够抑制青蒿中过氧化氢酶活性，提高抗坏血酸过氧化物酶活性，并通过对抗氧化酶活性的抑制引起青蒿体内活性氧水平的迅速升高。在处理后4 h，青蒿中H2O2 和O2-的含量分别达到对照的2.1 倍和2.4 倍。青蒿素含量在水杨酸处理后的前8 h 缓慢升高，随后升高的速度增加。外源水杨酸处理后8 h 和96 h，青蒿素含量分别达到9.1 mg g-1DW 和13.9 mg g-1DW，比对照高21.7%和75.8%。处理后8 h，青蒿酸的含量没有明显变化，随后开始增加。处理后16 h，青蒿酸的含量达到3.6 mg g-1DW，比对照高90%， 随后继续升高，至96 h 达到4.98 mg g-1 DW，比对照高127%。二氢青蒿酸的含量在处理后的8 h 内有所下降，随后缓慢升高。处理后8 h，二氢青蒿酸的含量降低了23.3%，随后二氢青蒿酸的含量开始升高，在处理后96 h，达到7.4 mg g-1DW，比对照高72.1%。外源SA 处理提高了青蒿素及其前体的总含量，在处理后1、2、4 天分别比对照提高了1.3、1.5 和1.8 倍。Northern 结果表明，水杨酸强烈诱导了青蒿素生物合成基因HMGR、ADS 的表达，但是对FPS、CYP71AV1 的诱导作用较小。这些研究结果表明，外源水杨酸至少通过两条途径诱导青蒿素的生物合成：一是通过诱导活性氧的产生促进二氢青蒿酸向青蒿素的转化；二是上调部分青蒿素生物合成相关基因的表达。根据这一研究成果，在青蒿田间栽培中，可以在收获前通过喷施水杨酸来快速、有效和低成本地提高青蒿素产量。

鄂尔多斯高原景观要素空间格局及植物与环境关系的定量解析

鄂尔多斯高原是一个多层次、复杂的生态过渡带，具有复杂多样的环境条件、生态特点，因此也就具有复杂多样的植物与环境关系。本文从群落和景观两个尺度水平上研究鄂尔多斯高原植物或植被与环境关系及景观空间格局。利用鄂尔多斯高原野外植物群落样方调坦数据、微生境环境数据、气候数据，以典范对应分析（Canonical Correspondence Analysis, CCA）的方法分析了鄂尔多斯高原植物分布空间格局与环境要素的关系并对秋类环境要素对鄂尔多斯高原植物空间分布格局的贡献进行了定量分解;利用1:500 000 鄂尔多斯高原植被、土壤、土地利用、土地沙漠化类型等专题地图在GIS支持下分析了鄂尔多斯高原景观空间格局、并利用上述专题图数据加上鄂尔多斯高原气候数据库分析了土壤、土地利用、土地利用、土地沙漠化和气候等对鄂尔多斯高原植被空间分布格局的作用。通过分析，得到了以下主要结论： 1 在分析方法上、利用典范对应分析的方法，把植物分布的空间因素与环境因素分离的方法发展为植物分布空间格局不同类型影响因素作用的定量分离，提出了相应的概念模型和实现方法。 2 影响鄂尔多斯高原植物分布空间格局的主要微生境环境要素是基质类型、地下水位、覆沙厚度等，而影响鄂尔多斯高原分布空间格局的主要气候要素中，降水和干湿指标的作用大于温度和热量指标的作用。 3 通过对鄂尔多斯高原植物分布空间格局与环境关系的研究，以植物对微生境环境要素的反应为根据，把鄂尔多斯高原主要植物划分为4个大类群：梁地植物、沙地植物、草甸植物和耐盐植物。根据它们对气候要素的反应，把鄂尔多斯高原主要植物划分为典型草原植物、荒漠草原植物和草原化荒漠植物3大类。进一步，根据鄂尔多劳动保护高原植物与环境关系的研究，进行了鄂尔多斯高原植被功能型划分的尝试，得到了鄂尔多斯高原的12种主要植被功能型。 4 对鄂尔多斯高原植物分布的空间格局的影响环境因素的贡献作了定量地分解。分析结果显示：鄂尔多斯高原植物分布空间格局中有27.02％可由已知环境变量得到解释，其中21.56％与微生境环境要素相关，7.51％与气候要素的作用有关，而气候与微生境环境要素的耦合作用的份额为2.05％。根据植物生长是否直接受到地下水的影响，鄂尔多斯高原存在两大类型生态特点差异明显的生境类型：中性立地和隐域生境，对两大类型生境上影响植物空间分布格局的环境要素的作用也进行了定量分解。分析结果表明：对于植物生长不直接受地下水影响的中性立地，已知环境要素的作用可以解释植物空间分布格局总信息的29.36％，稍大于对总体上鄂尔多斯高原植物分布空间格局的解释，其中9.23％与气候要素相关，22.08％与微生境环境要素相关，而两种类型环境要素的耦合作用则占1.95％。对于植物生长直接受到地下水影响的隐域生境，所有已知环境要素对植物分布空间格局的贡献率为72.28％，其中气候要素的作用为30.31％，微生境环境要素的作用为49.08％，两类环境要素的耦合作用为7.11％。 5 描述景观空间格局的指数多种多样，这些能数在描述特定区域的景观空间格局时是有信息冗余的。本文对利用FRAGSTATS所获得的鄂尔多斯高原植被、土壤、土地利用、土地沙漠化等景观分量的20个景观指数实施了因子分析。通过因子分析，我们可以把描述鄂尔多斯高原景观空间格局的景观指数归并为以下8类：多样性指数、斑块多度指数、斑块类型丰富度指数、斑块面积指数、斑块形状指数、分形维数、空间配置指数和斑块面积变异指数。通过因子分析，还得到了这些景观指数对描述鄂尔多斯景观格局的共性特征：在描述鄂尔多斯高原景观空间格局时，作用最大的是多样性指数、斑块多度指数、面积加权平均斑块形状指数和面积加权平均分形维数，其次是斑块类型丰富度指数、平均分维指数、平均形状指数和斑块面积指数，而空间配置指数（扩散与毗连指数）和斑块面积变异指数的作用则比较微弱。 6 对鄂尔多斯高原景观指数的因子分析是非常有效和成功的。因子分析对鄂尔多斯高原植被、土壤、土地利用、土地沙漠化景观指数的分析分别得到了5-6个主要因子，可以表达原有20个景观指数所表达信息的91.1-96.0％，即可以反应鄂尔多斯高原景观空间格局的大部分信息。本文所进行的因子分析对因子进行了方差最大化(Varimax)正交旋转的处理，因子分析得到的每一个主要因子都有一个或几个与之相关性非常高的景观指数与之对应，因此，就可以用与因子分析所得主要因子相关性最高的景观指数代替该主要因子来表达鄂尔多斯高原的景观空间格局。另外还因为有些景观指数之间具有极高的相关系数，所以对因子分析所得到的景观指数可以进一步精减，最后利用因子分析成功地把原有20个景观指数减少到了11个。最后被选来描述鄂尔多斯高原景观格局的景观指数有下列11个：MSIEI（修正的Simpson均匀度指数）、AWMPFD（面积加权平均斑块分形维数）、AWMSI（面积加权平均形状指数）、NP（斑块数目）、PR（斑块类型丰富度）、MSI（平均形状指数）、MPFD（平均斑块分形维数）、MPS（平均斑块面积）、PSCV（斑块面积变异系数）、DLFD（双对数分形维数）和IJI（扩散与毗连指数）。 7 鄂尔多斯高原植被、土壤、土地利用在景观组成结构上具有一个共同特点，就是各种类型的面积差异极大，少数类型占有极大比重，而其余面积则很小。产生这一情形的原因主要与人为活动的强烈影响有关，表现在地带性的植被与土壤面积所占的比重不高，沙地、沙生植被与风沙土则占有很大比重。 8 以地带性植被和滩地隐域性植被表示的鄂尔多斯高原的原生植被仅占高原面积的不足30％，而以地带性土壤和滩地隐域性土壤表示的原生性土壤占鄂尔多斯高原总面积的近40％，说明土壤退化不如植被退化严重，或滞后于植被退化。 9 鄂尔多斯高原各景观指数的空间变化曲线，植被与土壤很相近，具有非常相似的格局;土地利用景观格局空间变化特征与植被、土壤等明显不同;土地沙漠化的景观格局空间变化曲线介植被曲线、土壤曲线与土地利用曲线之间，说明土地沙漠化不仅是一个受人为活动影响的过程，而且与自然过程密切相关。 10 鄂尔多斯高原景观格局的空间梯度变化表现出了东西向和南北向的梯度，但总体上以东西向的变化比较明显。 11 通过鄂尔多斯高原土壤类型、土地利用、土地沙漠化等景观要素、气候、空间要素与鄂尔多斯高原植被空间分布格局的CCA分析，探讨了它们之间的相互关系。以对鄂尔多斯高原植被组成数据的总方差解释的百分率为标准，土壤对鄂尔多斯植被分布的空间格局的作用最大，其方差贡献率可达44.28％，其次是土地利用与鄂尔多斯高原植被的关系也很密切，土地利用对鄂尔多斯高原植被空间分布格局的方差贡献率为22.45％，空间因素对鄂尔多斯高原植被空间分布格局的贡献率为17.51％，土地沙漠化对鄂尔多斯高原植被空间分布格局的贡献为15.65％，排在第四位;气候因素对鄂尔多斯高原植被空间格局的贡献率为11.95％，居第五位。 12 在气候要素对鄂尔多斯高原植被空间分布格局的作用中，降水与干湿指标的作用大于温度与热量指标的作用。这一点与利用野外调查样方的群落数据植物与气候关系的分析是完全一致的。CCA分析还表明鄂尔多斯高原植被空间格局的东西向变化大于南北向分异。 13 在群落和景观水平上，鄂尔多斯高原植物空间分布或植被格局的影响因素的作用具有相似的格局，即气候因子的作用明显地小于地质、土壤、水文等微生境环境要素（群落水平）或土壤（景观水平）的作用，并在这两个尺度上气候要素对植物空间分布或植被格局的定量解释份额上也是非常相近的，都仅有10％左右。气候因子对鄂尔多斯高原植物空间分布格局的这种弱的解释能力，从侧面说明了人为活动等非自然因素对鄂尔多斯高原植物空间分布格局的强烈作用。 14 在鄂尔多斯高原生态系统管理上，应协调人与自然的关系;加强鄂尔多斯高原的生物多样性保育，对于本区生态和经济对非常重要的滩地，应协调好对其开发利用与保护的关系;在鄂尔多斯高原土地沙漠化防治方面，应把调整人地关系与自然生态背景与条件相结合，如使用“三圈”模式等生态系统管理模式等。

Ⅰ 虎杖聚酮类化合物生物合成相关基因的克隆及功能分析 Ⅱ 高山红景天酪醇生物合成代谢途径机制分析

Ⅰ 虎杖聚酮类化合物生物合成相关基因的克隆及功能分析 虎杖 (Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc) 属于蓼科蓼属多年生草本植物，在中国和日本民间曾被广泛用于动脉粥样硬化、高血压、咳嗽、化脓性皮肤炎以及淋病的治疗，具有祛风利湿、散瘀定痛、止咳化痰等功效。而在现代医学上最令人瞩目和具有发展前景的是其在抗肿瘤、心血管保护、抗氧化方面的作用，相关疗效主要来自于虎杖中结构迥异、种类丰富的聚酮化合物及其衍生物资源。这些聚酮类化合物主要包括蒽醌、大黄素、大黄素-甲醚、大黄酚、芪类以及类黄酮化合物等。其中，大部分聚酮类化合物生物合成途径机制尚不明确，但可以肯定的是植物类型III聚酮合酶type III polyketide synthases (PKSs) 在这些聚酮化合物的生物合成起始反应中行使着关键的作用。因此，除了我们所熟悉的类黄酮化合物、芪类化合物之外，进一步分离和分析虎杖中其它重要聚酮类化合物生物合成所涉及的类型III聚酮合酶基因的是非常值得期待的。 目前，已经有14个植物类型III PKS基因被克隆和功能分析。植物类型III PKS的共同特征包括基因结构、序列相似性、保守的活性中心、酶学性质以及共同的催化机制等。显花植物（裸子植物和被子植物）中，植物类型III PKS的基因结构绝对保守，除了一个早期报道的金鱼草（Antirrhinum majus）查尔酮合酶chalcone synthase (CHS) 含有第二个内含子外，迄今为止所有已知的植物类型III PKS基因均含有一个内含子且该内含子位置保守。有趣的是，在本研究中，两个含有3个内含子的类型III PKS基因从虎杖中被分离，且两个基因3个内含子的位置完全保守，这是三内含子类型III PKS基因首次得到分离。除了新奇的基因结构外，体外功能分析显示上述两个基因还具有特殊的酶学性质和功能。 本论文围绕上述2个三内含子基因开展了以下工作： 虎杖中一个由三内含子基因编码的新型类型III聚酮合酶 一个类型III PKS的cDNA及其相应的基因（PcPKS2）从药用植物虎杖中被克隆。序列分析结果表明，PcPKS2的开放阅读框被3个内含子分隔，这是一个出人意料的发现，因为截至到目前为止，除了金鱼草一个CHS基因外，所有已知的类型III PKS基因均在固定位置上含有一个内含子。除了特殊的基因结构外，PcPKS2显示了一些有趣的特性：(i) CHS“守卫”苯丙氨酸——Phe215和Phe265在PcPKS2中双双缺失，它们分别被亮氨酸和半胱氨酸取代;(ii) 体外功能分析结果表明，当酶促反应体系的pH值为6.5-8.5时，大肠杆菌中过表达的重组PcPKS2高效地合成丁烯酮非环化产物——4-香豆酰甘油酸内酯（4-coumaroyltriacetic acid lactone (CTAL)）为主产物，而丙烯酮非环化产物bis-noryangonin (BNY) 以及苯亚甲基丙酮为副产物;而当酶促反应体系的pH值为9.0时，PcPKS2高效地合成苯亚甲基丙酮为主产物，而CTAL、BNY为副产物。另外，除了上述3种产物外，在不同的pH条件下，还有痕量的柚皮素查尔酮能被检测到。此外，在4-香豆酰辅酶A（4-coumaroyl-CoA）的类似化合物中，除了4-香豆酰辅酶A外，只有feruloyl-CoA能够被PcPKS2接受作为起始底物。PcPKS2不接受脂肪酰辅酶A——异丁酰基辅酶A（isobutyryl-CoA）、异戊酰基辅酶A（isovaleryl-CoA）以及乙酰辅酶A（acetyl-CoA）作为起始底物。Southern blot杂交结果表明，在虎杖基因组中存在2-4个PcPKS2基因的拷贝。Northern blot杂交结果表明，在根茎和幼叶中，PcPKS2表达量很高，而在根中无表达。叶中的PcPKS2的表达受病原菌诱导，但不受伤诱导。 虎杖中一个编码双功能类型III聚酮合酶的三内含子基因的鉴定 显花植物中，所有已知的类型III PKS 基因均含有一个内含子且位置绝对保守。本研究中，综合运用PCR技术，从富含聚酮类化合物的植物虎杖中克隆得到一个类型III PKS 基因（PcPKS1）及其cDNA。序列分析结果表明，PcPKS1含有3个内含子。系统发育分析结果表明，PcPKS1与其它植物的CHSs归为一类。然而，体外功能分析结果表明，当酶促反应体系pH值为7.0时，大肠杆菌中过表达的重组PcPKS1高效地合成柚皮素查尔酮（naringenin）为单一产物;而当pH值为9.0时，苯亚甲基丙酮（p-hydroxybenzalacetone）几乎为重组PcPKS1的唯一产物。后续的研究表明，与典型的CHSs相比，PcPKS1具有另外一些不同的特点：在pH值为9.0时（PcPKS1的苯亚甲基丙酮合成活性最适pH值），在4-香豆酰辅酶A的类似化合物中，只有feruloyl-CoA能够被PcPKS1接受作为起始底物。与CHSs展现出的对脂肪酰辅酶A宽泛的底物特异性不同，在不同的pH条件下，PcPKS1不接受异丁酰基辅酶A（isobutyryl-CoA）、异戊酰基辅酶A（isovaleryl-CoA）以及乙酰辅酶A（acetyl-CoA）作为起始底物。以上数据指出重组PcPKS1是一个具有查尔酮合酶（CHS）和苯亚甲基丙酮合酶（BAS）活性的双功能酶。Southern blot杂交结果表明，在虎杖基因组中存在2-4个PcPKS1基因的拷贝。Northern blot杂交结果表明，PcPKS1可能在防御病原菌和草食动物方面起着重要作用。PcPKS1和PcPKS2共同从虎杖中被分离的事实极有可能暗示了苯丁烷类化合物（phenylbutanoid）及其衍生物存在于虎杖中。 Ⅱ 高山红景天酪醇生物合成代谢途径机制研究 高山红景天（Rhodiola sachalinensis A. Bor）是景天科（Crassulaceae）红景天属多年生草本植物，作为一种适应原性中草药在中国的应用史已经超过800年。最近红景天提取物作为一种重要的商业药用制剂资源，其应用遍及欧洲、亚洲和美国，其主要治疗范围包括抗变应性和消炎，提高心理机敏性等。目前已经非常明确，红景天甙（salidroside）和甙元酪醇（tyrosol）是红景天属植物的主要功效成分，主要分布于这类植物的根中并且具有抗缺氧、抗疲劳、延缓衰老、预防紫外线辐射伤害等功效。红景天甙为酪醇8-O-β-D葡萄糖甙，是酪醇在葡萄糖基转移酶UDP-glucosyltransferase (UGT) 的催化下糖基化后形成的，可以认为是酪醇在植物体内的贮存形式。酪醇作为一种重要的活性分子，同样存在于橄榄树和葡萄酒中。 虽然已经非常明确酪醇来自于莽草酸代谢途径，然而其具体的生物合成途径及其调控仍不明确。总结以往的报道，在酪醇的生物合成上主要存在两种观点：一是酪醇可能来自于苯丙烷代谢途径产生的4-香豆酸（4-coumaric acid）前体;二是来自于酪氨酸的酪胺（tyramine）可能是酪醇生物合成的直接前体。我们的工作兴趣主要围绕着鉴别高山红景天中的酪醇生物合成途径展开： 高山红景天内源苯丙氨酸解氨酶PALrs1的过表达对红景天甙积累的影响 红景天甙是来自于药用植物高山红景天的一种适应原性新型药物，其生物合成途径可能起始于苯丙氨酸或酪氨酸。由于高山红景天野生植物资源的匮乏和相对含量很低，阐明红景天甙的生物合成途径对于增加红景天甙的供给至关重要。在我们以前的工作中，运用cDNA末端快速扩增技术（RACE），一个编码苯丙氨酸解氨酶phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL)的cDNA从高山红景天中被克隆，命名为PALrs1。在本研究中，PALrs1置于35S启动子+Ω增强子序列的控制下通过农杆菌（Agrobacterium tumefaciens）介导法转化回高山红景天。PCR 和 PCR–Southern blot分析结果表明，PALrs1已经整合到了转基因植物的基因组上。Northern blot杂交结果表明，PALrs1已经获得在转录水平上的高水平表达。与预期的结果相同，高效液相色谱High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)测定结果显示PALrs1的过表达引起4-香豆酸含量增长3.3倍。然而，与之相反的是，酪醇和红景天甙含量与对照相比反而分别下降4.7和7.7倍。此外，我们发现PALrs1的过表达造成酪氨酸含量下降2.6倍。这些数据暗示着PALrs1的过表达和4-香豆酸的积累并不能促进酪醇的生物合成。酪醇，作为一种苯乙烷类衍生物并非来自苯丙氨酸，而酪氨酸含量的下降则极有可能是酪醇生物合成和红景天甙积累大规模下降的直接原因。

Effects of culture treatments on HUFA levels in Artemia cysts

Artemia cysts (of GSL, Utah, USA origin) were produced from the modified traditional solar salt works of Bangladesh during winter months through different feeding/fertilization treatments (T1, T2, T3, T4 ) were analyzed to understand the effects of treatments on their fatty acid profile. Palmitic, Linolenic, Eicosapantaenonic and Docohexaenoic acids (mg/g. DW) were found highest for the cysts in T1 (16.0% ±1 .36), T2 (14.7% ±0.47), T3 (4.7% ±0.40) and T4 (0.7% ±0.06) treatments, respectively. High amount of 18:3(n-3) acids in the cysts of all sources proves to be freshwater type of the cysts. The presence of marine type essential fatty acids in the cysts of all sources were found low for 20:5n-3 (3.7-4.7%) and very low for 22:6n-3 (0.09-0.7%). No significant variation was observed for 16:0 acids within the treatments, but for 18:3(n-3) acid, the variation was found highly significant (P= 0.0052) between T2 and T4 treatments. For 20:5(n-3), only variation between T2 and T4 was found insignificant (P=0.1161), but between other treatments, significant variation was observed between T2 and T4 (P=0.0241), T2 and T4 (P=0.0022) and T1 andT4 (P=0.0161). No significant variation was found in other treatments.