摘要：
过去20多年复杂疾病易感基因鉴定的主要方法是连锁分析和关联研究.因为连锁分析确定的数量性状位点通常很宽,加之对区域内大部分基因的功能以及基因功能和疾病之间联系的认识十分有限,所以从数量性状位点到基因的识别是一个挑战.近年来发展了一些利用公共数据库的信息预测疾病易感基因的计算生物学方法.文章简要介绍了DGP、GeneSeeker、Prioritizer、PROSPECTR and SUSPECTS及Endeavor 5种计算生物学方法的基本原理,以2型糖尿病/肥胖和骨质疏松症易感基因的预测为例说明它们的应用方法,并讨论了这些方法的局限及应用前景.
摘要：
Little is known about the mechanism by which mermithid nematodes avoid encapsulation responses of insect hosts. In this study, we investigated the influence of the mermithid nematode Ovomermis sinensis on host Helicoverpa armigera hemocyte number, encapsulation activity, spreading behavior and cytoskeleton. Parasitism by O. sinensis caused a significant increase in the total hemocyte counts (THC) and plasmatocyte numbers of H. armigera. However, in vivo encapsulation assays revealed that hemocyte encapsulation abilities of H. armigera were suppressed by O. sinensis. Moreover, parasitism by O. sinensis changed the spreading behavior and cytoskeletons of the host hemocytes. The results suggested that O. sinensis could actively suppress the hemocyte immune response of its host, possibly by destroying the host hemocyte cytoskeleton. This is the first report of a possible mechanism by which mermithid nematodes suppress encapsulation responses of insect hosts. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
关键词：
Asthma;Airway hyperreactivity;Cytokine;Formaldehyde;Rat model
摘要：
BACKGROUND: Formaldehyde (FA) is a common indoor air pollutant that can cause asthma in people experiencing long-term exposure. While FA and other man-made chemicals contribute to the stimulation of asthma in the general population, the underlying molecular pathogenesis of this relationship is not yet well understood. OBJECTIVE: To explore FA as an irritant for the onset of asthma and as an adjuvant for the induction of allergy. METHODS: In the present study, 40 Wistar rats in five experimental groups were exposed to: (i) saline; (ii) ovalbumin (OVA); (iii) OVA + FA at 417 ppb; (iv) OVA + FA at 2500 ppb; and (v) FA at 2500 ppb. Current and prior occupational exposure limits in China were established at 417 ppb and 2500 ppb, respectively. Gaseous FA was administrated to the animals for 6 h/day before and during OVA immunization or saline treatment. Measured outcomes included in situ lung function analysis, cytokine measurement, and histological changes in the rat lungs. RESULTS: The airway reactivity, lung histological changes, pulmonary interleukin-4 secretion, and eosinophil infiltration in the OVA and FA exposed rats were significantly higher after gaseous FA exposures of 417 and 2500 ppb. While FA exposure alone did not induce significant structural changes to the airway, and the rate of inflammatory cell infiltration was the same as for the control group, pulmonary levels of interferon-gamma were significantly elevated in the exposed rats. CONCLUSIONS: FA may be an irritant as well as serve as an adjuvant for the onset of asthma or asthma-like symptoms.
期刊：
CHINESE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY,2009年52(1):38-46 ISSN：0304-4920
通讯作者：
Jen, Philip H-S.
作者机构：
[Wu, Feijian] Cent China Normal Univ, Coll Life Sci, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China.;[Jen, Philip H-S.] Univ Missouri, Div Biol Sci, Columbia, MO 65211 USA.;[Jen, Philip H-S.] Univ Missouri, Interdisciplinary Neurosci Program, Columbia, MO 65211 USA.
通讯机构：
[Jen, Philip H-S.] U;Univ Missouri, Div Biol Sci, Columbia, MO 65211 USA.
作者机构：
[章双; 黄青阳] School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430079, China;[张萍] Metabolic Syndrome Institute, Yiling Hospital in Yichang, Yichang, Hubei, 443100, China
通讯机构：
[Huang, Q.-Y.] S;School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, China
作者机构：
[Li, Meng; Gu, Ji-Dong] Univ Hong Kong, Sch Biol Sci, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Peoples R China.;[Gu, Ji-Dong] Univ Hong Kong, Swire Inst Marine Sci, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Peoples R China.;[Yang, Hong] Cent China Normal Univ, Coll Life Sci, Wuhan 430079, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Gu, Ji-Dong] U;Univ Hong Kong, Swire Inst Marine Sci, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Peoples R China.
关键词：
Archaea;Polychaete;Microbial Community Structure;Much Probable Number;Chloroflexi
摘要：
The phylogenetic diversity and axial distribution of microorganisms in three sections of the gastrointestinal tracts of the polychaete Neanthes glandicincta was evaluated using both most probable number method and cloning analyses of 16S rRNA genes in this study. Quantification of the density of microorganisms in the gut showed that aerobic microorganisms decreased from anterior to posterior, while anaerobic ones showed a reverse trend. The total numbers of microorganisms decreased significantly (p < 0.05, analysis of variance) but more rapidly from the anterior to the middle segment. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the dominating phylogenetic groups included Methanomicrobiales I: Methanosaetaceae (up to 66% of archaeal clones), delta-Proteobacteria (up to 42% of bacterial clones), and gamma-Proteobacteria (up to 30% of bacterial clones) widely distributed throughout the entire gut. Other microbiota distributed in different gut sections were Methanomicrobiales II: Methanospirillaceae, Methanomicrobiales III, Thermoplasmatales, Crenarchaea, Methanobacteriaceae, and Methanosarcinales for archaea; and alpha-Proteobacteria, beta-Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria, Clostridia, Chloroflexi, and Planctomycetes for bacteria. The results reveal a difference in microbial community structure along the gut of N. glandicincta. The various phylogenetic diversity and axial distribution of microbes along the gut might indicate an environmental gradient from anterior to posterior sections affecting the structure of the microbial community.
摘要：
The kinetics and mechanisms of p-nitrophenol (PNP) biodegradation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa HS-D38 were investigated. PNP could be used by HS-D38 strain as the sole carbon, nitrogen and energy source, and PNP was mineralized at the maximum concentration of 500 mg/L within 24 h in an mineral salt medium (MSM). The analytical results indicated that the biodegradation of PNP fit the first order kinetics model. The rate constant KPNP is 2.039×10~(-2) /h in MSM medium, K_(PNP+N) is 3.603×10~(-2) /h with addition of ammonium chloride and K_(PNP+C) is 9.74×10~(-3) /h with additional glucose. Addition of ammonium chloride increased the degradation of PNP. On the contrary, glucose inhibited and delayed the biodegradation of PNP. Chemical analysis results by thin-layer chromatography (TLC), UV-Vis spectroscopy and gas chromatography (GC) techniques suggested that PNP was converted to hydroquinone (HQ) and further degraded via 1,2,4-benzenetriol (1,2,4-BT) pathway.
摘要：
Arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) are a large family of highly glycosylated of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins that play important roles in plant growth, development, and signal transduction. A cDNA encoding a putative classical AGP named GhH6L was isolated from cotton fiber cDNA libraries, and the deduced protein contains 17 copies of repetitive motif of X-Y-proline-proline-proline (where X is serine or alanine and Y is threonine or serine). Northern blotting analysis and quantitative RT-PCR results showed that it was preferentially expressed in 10 days post-anthesis (dpa) fibers and was also developmentally regulated. A promoter fragment was isolated from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) by genome walking PCR. Expression of beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene under the GhH6L promoter was examined in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants; only petiole and pedicel were stained, no staining was detected in other tissues. Subcellular localization indicated that GhH6L was localized to the plasma membrane and in the cytoplasm. These data further our understanding of GhH6L as well as shed light on functional insight to GhH6L in cotton.
摘要：
To enhance the survival probability in cold stress, plant cells often increase their cold- and freezing-tolerance in response to low, nonfreezing temperatures by expressing some cold-related genes. In present study, a cotton gene encoding tonoplast intrinsic protein (TIP) was isolated from a cotton seedling cDNA library, and designated as GhTIP1;1. GFP fluorescent microscopy indicated that GhTIP1;1 protein was localized to the vacuolar membrane. Assay on GhTIP1;1 expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes demonstrated that GhTIP1;1 protein displayed water channel activity and facilitated water transport to the cells. At normal conditions, GhTIP1;1 transcripts were predominantly accumulated in roots and hypocotyls, but less abundance in other tissues of cotton. The GhTIP1;1 expression was dramatically up-regulated in cotyledons, but down-regulated in roots within a few hours after cotton seedlings were cold-treated. Overexpression of GhTIP1;1 in yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) significantly enhanced the cell survival probability, suggesting that the GhTIP1;1 protein is involved in cell freezing-tolerance.
摘要：
Most pathogens require a relatively long period of development in their mosquito vector before they can be transmitted to a new human host; hence, only older insects are of epidemiological importance. The successful transfer of a life-shortening strain of the inherited bacterial symbiont, Wolbachia, into the major mosquito vector of dengue, Aedes aegypti, halved adult life span under laboratory conditions. The association is stable, and the Wolbachia strain is maternally inherited at high frequency. It is capable of inducing complete cytoplasmic incompatibility, which should facilitate its invasion into natural field populations and its persistence over time. Our data suggest that targeting mosquito age with inherited Wolbachia infections may be a viable strategy to reduce the transmission of pathogens such as dengue viruses.
摘要：
DNA methylation is an important biochemical epigenetic determinant of gene expression in cells and therefore actively involved in gene regulation, chromosomal conformation, and protein activity. Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) play a major role in the methylation of proteins that have an arginine residue, catalyzing both the asymetric dimethylation of arginine (aDMA) and symetric dimethylation of arginine (sDMA). PRMT5, a type II PRMT which catalyzes sDMA, has been shown to have a pivotal role in pole plasm assembly and germ cell development in Drosophila and also to be an associate factor of Blimp1 for germ cell development in mouse. Here, we report a homolog of prmt5 identified in medaka, Oryzias latipes, which was detected in the brain, gill, muscle, heart, liver, spleen, intestine, testis and ovary of adult fish by reverse transcriptase-PCR. The expression of prmt5 in the gonads is restricted to oocytes of the ovary, spermatogonia, and spermatocytes of testis. The prmt5 transcripts were detected as early as the one-cell stage and in all the tissues of embryos during embryogenesis. In summary, prmt5 is a maternal determinant factor of embryogenesis of medaka, possibly playing an important role in oogenesis and spermatogenesis in adult medaka.
作者机构：
[Zheng, L. -L.; Cao, W. -B.; Zhang, Z. -F.; Li, X. -B.] Huazhong Normal Univ, Coll Life Sci, Hubei Key Lab Genet Regulat & Integrat Biol, Wuhan 430079, Peoples R China.;[Cao, W. -B.] Zhengzhou Univ, Basic Med Coll, Zhengzhou 450001, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Cao, W. -B.] Z;Zhengzhou Univ, Basic Med Coll, Zhengzhou 450001, Peoples R China.
摘要：
Analysis of genetic diversity in maize populations is a very important step for understanding genetic structure and subsequently for genetic manipulations in maize breeding. Sh2, Bt2, Sh1, Wx1, Ae1 and Su1 involved in starch biosynthesis are important genes associated with yield and quality traits in maize breeding programs. In this study, genetic diversity of these six genes in 67 Chinese elite maize inbred lines was measured using single-nucleotide amplified polymorphisms (SNAPs). The results indicated that the number of haplotypes of each gene and population was far less than theoretically expected 2n (n = the number of the SNAPs). Phenetic clustering analysis showed that the kernel phonetic (semi-) dent and (semi-) flint lines were belong to distinct subclusters based on haplotypes of SNAPs, with a few exceptions. In addition, the genetic origin of these maize inbred lines was associated with the clustered subgroups. Intragenic linkage disequilibrium (LD) was observed in some of the SNAPs in Bt2, Sh1 and Ae1, while intergenic LD was observed in some of the SNAPs in Bt2, Sh1 and Su1. Association study of kernel phenotypes and SNAP haplotypes showed that the (semi-) dent and (semi-) flint lines had the common haplotype of TA and CC at two SNAP sites in Bt2 (Bt2-2 and Bt2-5), respectively. Two haplotypes of ATGT and GTGC at four SNAP sites in Sh1 (Sh1-2, Sh1-3, Sh1-4 and Sh1-5) were associated with temperature and tropical origin of the maize inbred lines, respectively.
通讯机构：
[Li, Xue-Bao] H;Huazhong Normal Univ, Coll Life Sci, Hubei Key Lab Genet Regulat & Integrat Biol, Wuhan 430079, Peoples R China.
关键词：
Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum);Aquaporin;Regulation of gene expression;Root development;Stress
摘要：
Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), the most important textile crop worldwide, often encounters water stress such as drought or waterlog during its growth season (Summer). To investigate molecular mechanism of water regulation in cotton plants, three cDNAs encoding the plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP) were isolated from cotton root cDNA library, and designated GhPIP1;1, GhPIP2;1 and GhPIP2;2, respectively. All of the three PIP proteins displayed water channel activity in Xenopus laevis oocytes. GhPIP2;1 and GhPIP2;2 proteins, however, showed much higher water transport activity than that of the GhPIP1;1 protein. Northern blot analysis revealed that all of the three genes were preferentially expressed in young roots. Further analysis by Real-time quantitative RT-PCR revealed that the transcripts of all the three genes were accumulated at high levels in 3-day-old young roots, but dramatically declined to much lower levels in 6-14 days old roots during seedling development, suggesting that expressions of the isolated GhPIP genes are developmentally regulated in roots. Additionally, expressions of the three genes were remarkably up-regulated or down-regulated under different stresses such as NaCl, cold, PEG (polyethylene glycol) treatments. Collectively, the results suggest that these genes may be involved in root development and in response to stresses.
作者：
Luo, Feng;Metzner, Walter;Wu, Feijian J.;Zhang, Shuyi Y.*;Chen, Qicai C.
期刊：
JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY,2008年99(1):284-296 ISSN：0022-3077
通讯作者：
Zhang, Shuyi Y.
作者机构：
[Luo, Feng; Zhang, Shuyi Y.] E China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Shanghai 200062, Peoples R China.;[Luo, Feng; Chen, Qicai C.; Wu, Feijian J.] Cent China Normal Univ, Coll Life Sci, Wuhan, Peoples R China.;[Metzner, Walter] Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Physiol Sci, Los Angeles, CA USA.
通讯机构：
[Zhang, Shuyi Y.] E;E China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Shanghai 200062, Peoples R China.
摘要：
Homeodomain-leucine zipper （HD-Zip） proteins are transcriptional factors involved in plant development. In this study, one cDNA clone （Gossypium hirsutum homeoboxl, designated GhHB1） encoding HD-Zip protein was isolated from a cotton root cDNA library. The GhHB1 cDNA is 1132 bp in length, including an 828 bp open reading frame that encodes a peptide with 275 amino acids, and 5＇-/3＇- untranslated regions. The predicted GhHB1 protein containing a homeodomaln and a leucine-rich zipper motif shares relatively high identity with other plant HD-Zip proteins. Analysis using quantitative real-time RT-PCR indicated that the GhHB1 gene is predominantly expressed in roots and hypocotyls. Furthermore, GhHB1 transcripts were largely accumulated in early root development, and significantly reduced to very low levels as roots further developed, suggesting that the gene might function in the early development of roots. Under treatment with 1% NaCI, the expression level of the GhHB1 gene was dramatically increased in roots. Likewise, GhHB1 activity in roots was up-regulated by abscisic acid. These results imply that GhHB 1 might play an important role in response to salt stress and to abscisic acid signaling.
