“氯敌鼠”防治对农田小哺乳动物群落结构的影响及群落演替分析

对不同防治对策下施用氯敌鼠作为杀鼠剂对农田小哺乳动物群落结构的影响进行了研究．结果表明,杀鼠剂对群落组成有很大影响,灭鼠时机、灭鼠次数不同,群落的反应也不同．秋季灭鼠,小哺乳动物数量逐年下降,３ 年后可达到较低密度．群落多样性也逐年下跌,且回升极弱．春季灭鼠,数量可持续在低水平,群落多样性较其它处理高,对化学灭鼠破坏的生物多样性有较强的恢复力．灭鼠频次的增加对小哺乳动物总体数量降低有强化作用．可以认为,化学灭鼠明显地降低了群落中小哺乳动物的密度,也降低了群落的多样性．促使小哺乳动物群落向着优势种突出、种类单调、群落稳定性差的方向演替．     

Highly efficient and inducible DNA excision in transgenic silkworms using the FLP/<Emphasis Type="Italic">FRT</Emphasis> site-specific recombination system

Efficient and inducible recombinase-mediated DNA excision is an optimal technology for automatically deleting unwanted DNA sequences, including selection marker genes. However, this methodology has yet to be established in transgenic silkworms. To achieve efficient and inducible FLP recombinase-mediated DNA excision in transgenic silkworms, one transgenic target strain (TTS) containing an FRT-flanked silkworm cytoplasmic actin 3 gene promoter (A3)-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) expression cassette, as well as two different types of FLP recombinase expression helper strains were generated. Then, the FLP recombinase was introduced into the TTS silkworms by pre-blastoderm microinjection and sexual hybridization. Successful recombinase-mediated deletion of the A3-EGFP expression cassette was observed in the offspring of the TTS, and the excision efficiencies of the FLP expression vector and FLP mRNA pre-blastoderm microinjection were 2.38 and 13.3 %, respectively. The excision efficiencies resulting from hybridization between the TTS and the helper strain that contained a heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70)-FLP expression cassette ranged from 32.14 to 36.67 % after heat shock treatment, while the excision efficiencies resulting from hybridization between the TTS and the helper strain containing the A3-FLP expression cassette ranged from 97.01 to 100 %. These results demonstrate that the FLP/FRT system can be used to achieve highly efficient and inducible post-integration excision of unwanted DNA sequences in transgenic silkworms in vivo. Our present study will facilitate the development and application of the FLP/FRT system for the functional analysis of unknown genes, and establish the safety of transgenic technologies in the silkworm and other lepidopteran species.     

CTSB promotes porcine preadipocytes differentiation by degrading fibronectin and attenuating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

The process of preadipocytes differentiation plays a vital role in adipose tissue expansion and many factors are involved in this event. Cathepsin B (CTSB), secreted from lysosome, has been reported in regulating a variety of physiological processes. In this study, we demonstrated CTSB promotes lipid accumulation and adipogenic genes expression in porcine primary preadipocytes by degrading fibronectin (Fn), a key component of extracellular matrix. Lithium chloride (LiCl) is an activator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling through stabilizing β-catenin. We found that CTSB can relieve the anti-adipogenic effects of LiCl, indicating that CTSB could impact Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Interestingly, Fn is an important target gene of Wnt/β-catenin. So we considered that CTSB promote preadipocytes differentiation by suppressing these two pathways.     

CXCR4 is a major chemokine receptor on glioma cells and mediates their survival

Chemokines were described originally in the context of providing migrational cues for leukocytes. They are now known to have broader activities, including those that favor tumor growth. We addressed whether and which chemokines may be important promoters of the growth of the incurable brain neoplasm, malignant gliomas. Analyses of 16 human glioma lines for the expression of chemokine receptors belonging to the CXCR and CCR series revealed low to negligible levels of all receptors, with the exception of CXCR4 that was expressed by 13 of 16 lines. All six resected human glioma specimens showed similarly high CXCR4 expression. The CXCR4 on glioma lines is a signaling receptor in that its agonist, stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1; CXCL12), produced rapid phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases. Furthermore, SDF-1 induced the phosphorylation of Akt (protein kinase B), a kinase associated with survival, and prevented the apoptosis of glioma cells when serum was withdrawn from the culture medium. SDF-1 also mediated glioma chemotaxis, in accordance with this better known role of chemokines. We conclude that glioma cells express a predominant chemokine receptor, CXCR4, and that this functions to regulate survival in part through activating pathways such as Akt.     

通过优化表达元件及培养基组分提高地衣芽胞杆菌中碱性丝氨酸蛋白酶产量

【背景】碱性丝氨酸蛋白酶(Subtilisin)是一种具有广泛用途的工业酶制剂。【目的】旨在通过优化启动子、信号肽及培养基组分来提高地衣芽胞杆菌中碱性丝氨酸蛋白酶产量。【方法】以地衣芽胞杆菌BL10为出发菌株,构建了含有4种不同类型启动子(PbacA、P43、PaprE和PsrfA)及4种不同类型信号肽(SPVpr、SPSacB、SPSacC和SPAprE)的碱性丝氨酸蛋白酶表达菌株,并在获得高产菌株的基础上进行培养基优化。【结果】4种启动子的表达水平为PbacAPaprEP43PsrfA,4种信号肽的分泌效率为SPAprESPSacCSPSacBSPVpr。其中,菌株BL10/pPbacA-aprE产生最高的碱性丝氨酸蛋白酶酶活(275.21 U/mL),相比于出发菌株BL10/pHY-aprE (167.98 U/mL)提高了64%。随后,通过对发酵培养基成分进行优化并结合正交优化,获得了一种高产碱性丝氨酸蛋白酶的培养基(g/L):玉米淀粉40.0,豆粕50.0,(NH4)2SO4 4.0,K2HPO4 3.0,CaCO3 1.0。最后,碱性丝氨酸蛋白酶酶活提高到747.37 U/mL,是初始酶活的4.45倍。【结论】为工业化高产碱性丝氨酸蛋白酶提供了一种有效策略。     

多光子显微成像技术在脑部疾病研究中的应用

由于多光子显微技术具有高时空分辨率、低损伤性、可对活体长时间成像等特点,近年来已被广泛应用于生物医学等领域,并且在多种疾病诊断中展现出巨大的应用潜力.尤其是在脑部疾病的研究中,利用多光子成像技术可实现对复杂神经网络的研究,包括对脑部神经细胞、血管、肿瘤等进行实时成像并研究各自之间的相互作用,能进一步揭示脑疾病的发病机制并指导检测治疗方法的开发.本文简要介绍了多光子成像技术的基本原理及特点,总结了其在阿尔茨海默病、脑中风、脑肿瘤等多种脑部疾病中的应用,详细阐述了近年来利用多光子成像技术在脑部疾病研究中所获得的成果,并对多光子成像技术的发展前景进行了展望,预期其在脑部疾病的研究中将发挥更大的作用.     

Body mass and behavior in Swiss mice subjected to continuous or discontinuous food restriction and refeeding

Food restriction (FR) is hypothesized to decrease body fat content of an animal and thus prevent obesity. However, the response of energy budget to a continuous (CFR) or discontinuous FR (DFR) remains inconsistent. In the present study, effects of CFR or DFR and refeeding on energy budget and behavior were examined in male Swiss mice. CFR significantly decreased the energy expenditure associated with basal metabolic rate (BMR) and activity behavior, but not sufficiently to compensate for energy deficit and thus resulted in lower body mass and fat content. DFR mice had a significantly higher food intake on ad libitum days and showed increases in BMR and activity after 4 weeks’ DFR, which might resulted in lower body mass and less body fat than controls. After being refed ad libitum, both CFR and DFR mice had similar body mass, BMR, and behavioral patterns to controls but had 95% and 75% higher fat content. This suggested that not only CFR but also DFR would be a significant factor in the process of obesity for animals that were refed ad libitum. It also indicated that food restriction interrupted many times by periods of ad libitum feeding had the same long-term effects like continuous underfeeding.