Ribulose Diphosphate Carboxylase from Autotrophic Euglena gracilis

Ribulose 1,5-diphosphate carboxylase (RUDPcase) from autotrophically grown Euglena gracilis was purified to homogeneity as measured by analytical ultracentrifugation, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and immunoprecipitation reactions. The enzyme represented about 9% of total protein and 24% of soluble protein in the autotrophic cell. Light-grown, heterotrophic cells seemed to contain considerably less RUDPcase. Native carboxylase from autotrophic Euglena showed an s_{20, w} at low protein concentrations of 17 to 17.5, suggesting a molecular weight of >500,000 daltons. Upon denaturation, the enzyme dissociated into two subunits having different amino acid compositions and molecular weights of 59,000 and 12,000 daltons. Based upon the amino acid mass ratios, a quaternary organization of 7 to 8 large and 8 to 10 small subunits per native enzyme molecule was indicated.     

Zinc Nutrition and Starch Metabolism in Phaseolus vulgaris L

The effect of Zn nutrition on leaf starch metabolism was studied in two navy bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) varieties, Sanilac and Saginaw. Sanilac is much more susceptible to Zn deficiency than is Saginaw. The variables examined in these two strains were starch content, the activity of soluble starch synthetase (ADP-glucose: starch α-4-glucosyltransferase, EC 2.4.1.b), and the size and number of starch grains. All of these variables decreased during Zn deficiency. The reductions were much greater in Sanilac than in Saginaw. Thus, positive correlations exist between the relative changes in these variables in Sanilac and Saginaw under low Zn and their genotypic difference in growth response to low Zn. These results are taken to purport that the above observations most likely represent characteristic responses to Zn deficiency. We therefore suggest that, as a possible role in plant metabolism, Zn is involved in starch formation.     

洪水漫溢对林窗微环境时空差异的影响——以塔里木河中游荒漠河岸林为例

林窗是森林生态系统中普遍存在的干扰形式。探究洪水漫溢对林窗内部微环境时空异质性的影响,对揭示荒漠河岸林物种多样性变化及其更新特征具有重要意义。在塔里木河中游非洪水和洪水漫溢区各选取一个大小相似的林窗样地,并使用便携式气象监测仪对林窗内不同方位的空气温湿度进行监测,对比分析不同水淹条件下林窗内微环境的时空分布差异,为深入探索荒漠河岸林植被更新机制奠定基础。结果表明：（1）非洪水漫溢区和洪水漫溢区林窗内空气温度均呈现先上升后下降的变化趋势,空气湿度均呈现先下降后上升的变化趋势,且同一个样地中温度与湿度之间存在明显的负相关关系,而洪水漫溢改变了森林微环境,使林窗内湿度升高,温度下降。（2）非洪水漫溢区和洪水漫溢区林窗内不同方位温度分布差异较小,洪水漫溢对温度变化影响不大;两个样地林窗内湿度变化过程较为复杂,差异明显,洪水漫溢区湿度变化梯度更为密集。（3）非洪水漫溢区和洪水漫溢区林窗内温度差界限明显,西南方向温度差较小,中心位置温度差最大,洪水漫溢并未改变不同方位温度变化趋势;湿度差以中心偏北方向较大,其中非洪水漫溢区湿度差在西北方向较小,而洪水漫溢区湿度差最小值出现在西南方向。研究结果表示荒漠河岸林林窗微环境时空差异具有干旱区独特性,同时阐明了林窗微环境对洪水漫溢的响应,为深入研究林窗干扰对荒漠河岸林更新与演替提供了科学依据。     

西瓜食酸菌与黄瓜互作转录组分析

【背景】细菌性果斑病是一种严重的种传细菌病害,其病原菌为西瓜食酸菌。截至目前对该病病原菌与寄主的互作机制认识极为有限。葫芦科的模式植物黄瓜易被西瓜食酸菌侵染发病,对西瓜食酸菌-黄瓜互作体系进行转录组分析,可以为探究西瓜食酸菌与寄主互作机制奠定重要基础。【目的】解析西瓜食酸菌-黄瓜互作时的相互响应规律。【方法】以细菌悬液注射接种6d黄瓜子叶,处理48 h的子叶作为转录组测序样本。利用RNA-Seq技术分析西瓜食酸菌FC440菌株与黄瓜9930品种互作时基因的表达特征。【结果】测序数据质量分析发现,各样品不同重复间相关性较强,与参考基因组比对率达95%以上,聚类分析发现对照组与处理组表达模式相反,样品处理达到一定效果,表明数据整体质量较高。选取6个差异表达基因进行RT-qPCR验证,结果显示6个基因的表达模式与转录组结果基本一致,表明转录组测序结果比较可靠。西瓜食酸菌和黄瓜互作48 h后,在转录组水平分别检测到1 618个和8 698个差异表达基因。Gene Ontology (GO)功能注释显示,细菌的差异基因显著富集在细胞组分中的细胞膜(37.5%)和膜部分(27.0%),生物过程中的氧化还原过程(66.7%)以及分子功能中的水解酶活性(66.5%);黄瓜的差异基因显著富集在细胞组分中的质体(22.2%)和叶绿体(21.3%),分子功能中的催化活性(70.0%)以及生物过程中的碳水化合物衍生物代谢(32.2%)。Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG)分析显示,细菌中致病相关基因显著富集在群体感应及细菌趋化性途径,而且群体感应系统基因下调更显著。黄瓜中调控钙依赖蛋白激酶(Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase,CDPK)、钙调素和类钙调素(Calmodulin and Calmodulin-Like,CaMCML)及呼吸氧暴发激酶(Respiratory Burst Oxidase Homologne,Rboh)的基因总体上调,调控苯丙氨酸裂解酶(Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase,PAL)的基因和谷胱甘肽S-转移酶(Glutathione S-Transferase,GST)的基因在相应代谢途径中数量最多且上调程度明显。【结论】获得较高质量的西瓜食酸菌与黄瓜互作的转录组测序结果。群体感应与西瓜食酸菌FC440菌株致病力密切相关;寄主黄瓜应对西瓜食酸菌侵染以Ca~(2+)信号激活的防御反应为主。PAL和GST在黄瓜抵抗西瓜食酸菌侵染中发挥重要作用。本研究为进一步深入解析西瓜食酸菌与寄主互作的机制奠定了基础。     

白斑狗鱼早期发育阶段的高温耐受性分析

对白斑狗鱼早期发育阶段的高温耐受性进行分析,旨为白斑狗鱼的养殖和生态适应性研究奠定理论基础.采用高温胁迫法研究白斑狗鱼受精卵及仔鱼的高温耐受性,用24hUILT50和CTmax进行评估;采用实时荧光定量PCR(qRT-PCR)技术和相对定量2-ΔΔCt法,分别比较了不同温度和不同时间高温胁迫下HSP70基因在白斑狗鱼幼...     

Microbial polysaccharides with actual potential industrial applications

The microbial polysaccharides reviewed include xanthan gum, scleroglucan, PS-10, PS-21 and PS-53 gums, polysaccharides from Alcaligenes sp., PS-7 gum, gellan gum, curdlan, bacterial alginate, dextran, pullulan, Baker's Yeast Glycan, 6-deoxy-hexose-containing polysaccharides and bacterial cellulose. Factors limiting the commercial potential of certain microbial polysaccharides such as availability, rheological properties, and polyvalency are outlined. The polysaccharides are classified according to their uses as viscosity-increasing agents and as gelling agents. A third category includes polysaccharides with specific applications such as tailor-made dextran and pullulan and polysaccharides used as substrates for the preparation of rare sugars. The difficulties encountered in development of a polysaccharide at the industrial level are pointed out.     

Ultrastructural study of oogenesis and yolk formation in an opisthobranch mollusc, Runcina

Runcina is a hermaphroditic opisthobranch mollusc of small size. It produces large eggs, rich in yolk substances, and it is thus ideal for studying the mechanisms of vitellogenesis. The rough endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus appear to be involved in early build up of yolk precursors. Endocytotic vesicles carrying yolk proteins, taken up from the haemolymph, dominate yolk formation at a later stage. The findings presented in this study enhance the proposition of a dual pathway of auto- and heterosynthesis in yolk formation. It is not found that the yolk bodies in Runcina acquire lysosomal enzymes in order to digest the perivitelline fluid, as has been described for some pulmonates. The importance of the role played by the follicle cells in oocyte development is discussed.     

Spatial scale and the determinants of plant species richness

Traditional ecological theory has stressed the importance of competitive interactions in regulating species richness. Recent research has transcended this viewpoint by considering the role of stochastic processes, mosaic phenomena and nonequilibrium conditions in the regulation of richness. This growing body of work indicates that the determinants of plant species richness may vary predictably over different spatial scales.     

The feeding apparatus of a chitinivorous ciliate

The chitinivorous ciliate Ascophrys, an ectosymbiont of the shrimp Palaemon serratus, is enclosed by a thick cyst wall except for a ventral hiatus exposing a circular area of exoskeleton to the interior of the cyst. The exoskeleton underlying the cyst wall remains intact, but the circular area of exoskeleton is dissolved enzymatically and ingested. The feeding ciliate forms a cavity in the exoskeleton into which it sinks. Its complex oral apparatus resembles a pump encircled by cytoplasm containing Golgi and high concentrations of coated vesicles that join pellicular pores between cilia. The ingestive apparatus is formed of microtubular lamellae that originate in the midplane of the body, descend toward a coated membrane on the surface, and ascend again as a lamellar lining to a complex food tube that ends in the middle of the body surrounded by food vacuoles. The cytoplasm enclosed between the descending lamellae and the food tube is crowded with membrane organelles that recycle as food vacuole membranes at the coated membrane. We hypothesize that vacuoles containing dissolved exoskeleton are drawn up into the oral tube and are released into the cytoplasm at the terminus of the tube, where their contents are concentrated and excess vacuolar membrane collapsed into membrane organelles.