瓠瓜KNOX基因家族全基因组鉴定及组织表达分析

【目的】 探明瓠瓜KNOX基因家族特征,在瓠瓜全基因组水平上对KNOX基因家族成员进行鉴定和分析,研究其组织表达模式。【方法】利用生物信息学方法,对瓠瓜KNOX家族基因成员进行鉴定、编码蛋白理化性质分析及家族成员结构域和保守基序分析,利用MEGA 5.05软件构建系统进化树,采用实时荧光定量PCR技术,分析KNOX基因在瓠瓜不同组织（根、茎、叶、花、果实）中的表达情况。【结果】鉴定到12个瓠瓜KNOX家族基因,这些基因分布在6条染色体上,且均定位于细胞核。大多数瓠瓜KNOX家族蛋白含有同源异型盒蛋白特有的4种结构域KNOX1、KNOX2、ELK 和Homeobox_KN。系统进化分析将瓠瓜KNOX基因分为KNOX Class Ⅰ和KNOX Class Ⅱ 2大类群,2个类群又可进一步分为5个分支,其中Class Ⅰ-C为瓠瓜特有的进化分支。KNOX基因启动子区有多个激素响应元件和植物生长相关元件。组织表达分析发现,瓠瓜KNOX基因具有不同的表达模式,KNOX Class Ⅰ类基因表达具有组织特异性,在根、茎和果实中表达量较高,在其余组织中表达量较低或不表达,其中Lsi04G014450在根和茎中表达量最高,Lsi11G006380在果实中表达量最高;KNOX Class Ⅱ类基因在所有组织中均有较高表达。【结论】瓠瓜KNOX基因家族有12个成员,分布于6条染色体上,在进化关系上可分为5组,具有瓠瓜特有的进化分支,在不同组织中的表达具有特异性。     

草莓对干旱胁迫生理及分子响应研究进展

干旱胁迫不仅会引起草莓大面积减产,还会直接影响果实的品质,已成为我国栽培品种草莓减产的主要非生物因子之一。本文主要综述干旱胁迫对草莓产量和品质、生理生化特性及部分基因表达的影响;此外,详细介绍了国内外在提高草莓干旱耐受性方面取得的研究进展和成果,以期为研究草莓耐旱机制和选育耐旱性优良的草莓新品种提供一定的参考依据和理论支持。     

莱姆病螺旋体感染对蜱的4个功能基因的转录影响

为探索蜱及蜱传病的防控新策略,了解病原与媒介硬蜱相互作用的分子机制,本研究以莱姆病病原伯氏疏螺旋体感染后对长角血蜱4个功能基因的转录影响进行了研究。将不同浓度梯度的伯氏疏螺旋体显微注射到长角血蜱体内,分不同的时间段提取蜱的总RNA,反转录成cDNA后,用实时荧光定量PCR检测蜱基因的表达水平。结果显示:伯氏疏螺旋体感染对蜱半胱氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂1(HLcyst-1)、半胱氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂3(HLcyst-3)、卵泡抑素(FRP)、凝血酶抑制剂(Hemalin)4个功能基因的转录均产生了显著影响,但存在时间和剂量相关性,感染后第4天显著诱导了长角血蜱HLcyst-1基因的表达,抑制了Hemalin基因表达。     

禽呼肠孤病毒P17蛋白基因在大肠杆菌中的表达及其ELISA检测方法的建立

用设计合成的1对跨越禽呼肠孤病毒（ARV）P17非结构蛋白基因完整开放阅读框（ORF）的特异性引物，对ARVS1133株进行了RT-PCR扩增。扩增产物与pGEX-4T-1原核表达载体连接后，转化大肠杆菌BL21感受态细胞。经0．2mmol／LIPTG诱导，表达的融合蛋白分子质量为42.4ku，占茵体总蛋白的34％。表达产物P17蛋白经不同浓度尿素纯化后，纯度达到85％。Western-blotting显示，纯化的P17蛋白能与感染ARV的阳性血清反应，说明其具有抗原性。以此重组蛋白为包被抗原初步建立了用于鉴别检测ARV活病毒感染与灭活疫苗免疫的SPF鸡血清的ELISA。     

鸡溶菌酶基因3＇端MAR在同源细胞系对基因表达调控的研究

用带有鸡溶菌酶基因增强子（Ｅ）和启动子（Ｐ）的编码细菌氯霉素乙酰基转移酶（ＣＡＴ）的融合基因（ＥＰＣ），在其上游区、下游区或在上游和下游区同时插入鸡溶菌酶基因３＇端核基质附着区（ＭＡＲ）的不同表达载体ＭＥＰＣ、ＥＰＣＭ和ＭＥＰＣＭ，稳定转染鸡ＨＤ１１Ｐｒｏｍａｃｒｏｐｈａｇｅ同源细胞系，筛选不同表达载体稳定整合后的细胞株，检测ＣＡＴ表达水平，确定其表达基因拷贝数，从而分析鸡溶菌酶基因３＇端ＭＡＲ对基因表达的影响。稳定整合表达和瞬时表达实验结果表明，鸡溶菌酶基因３＇端ＭＡＲ在同源细胞系对基因表达没有激活作用，与该基因５＇端ＭＡＲ在同源或异源细胞系中能激活基因表达形成鲜明对照，说明５＇瑞ＭＡＲ和３＇端ＭＡＲ在调节鸡溶菌酶基因表达上存在一种协调关系。     

Body weight of newborn and suckling piglets affects their intestinal gene expression

Modern hyperprolific sows must deal with large litters (16–20 piglets) which reduce piglet birthweight with a concomitant increase in the proportion of small and intrauterine growth retarded piglets. However, larger litters do not only have a greater variation of piglet weights, but also a greater variation in colostrum and milk consumption within the litter. To further understand the impact that body weight has on piglets, the present study aimed to evaluate the degree of physiological weakness of the smallest piglets at birth and during the suckling period (20 d) compared to their middle-weight littermates through their jejunal gene expression. At birth, light piglets showed a downregulation of genes related to immune response (FAXDC2, HSPB1, PPARGC1α), antioxidant enzymes (SOD2m), digestive enzymes (ANPEP, IDO1, SI), and nutrient transporter (SLC39A4) (P < 0.05) but also a tendency for a higher mRNA expression of GBP1 (inflammatory regulator) and HSD11β1 (stress hormone) genes compared to their heavier littermates (P < 0.10). Excluding HSD11β1 gene, all these intestinal gene expression differences initially observed at birth between light and middle-weight piglets were stabilized at the end of the suckling period, when others appeared. Genes involved in barrier function (CLDN1), pro-inflammatory response (CXCL2, IL6, IDO1), and stress hormone signaling (HSD11β1) over-expressed compared to their middle-weight littermates (P < 0.05). In conclusion, at birth and at the end of suckling period, light body weight piglets seem to have a compromised gene expression and therefore impaired nutrient absorption, immune and stress responses compared to their heavier littermates.     

Therapeutic Intervention with Dietary Chitosan Nanoparticles Alleviates Fish Pathological and Molecular Systemic Inflammatory Responses against Infections

Marine bio-sourced chitosan nanoparticles (CSNP) are antimicrobial and immunomodulatory agents beneficial for fish medicine. Herein, dietary CSNP was investigated for the amelioration of the systemic inflammatory responses of an induced fish model. One hundred and forty-four rainbow trout were assigned to one pathogen-free and non-supplemented group (negative control), and three challenged groups: non-supplemented (positive control), CSNP-preventive, and CSNP-therapeutic. After a feeding experiment extended for 21 days, the organosomatic indices (OSI) and molecular aspects were assessed. After a challenge experiment extended for further 28 days, CSNP-therapeutic intervention was assessed on fish survival and systemic inflammatory responses on pathology, histo-morphology, and molecular aspects. With CSNP administration, OSI nonsignificantly decreased and the relative expression of targeted inflammatory-mediator genes was significantly increased. The CSNP-therapeutic fish showed an RPS of 80% as compared to the positive control group, and CSNP-therapeutic administration retained the highest gene expression augmentation up to 28 days after the challenge. Notably, the splenic reticulin fibers framework of the CSNP-therapeutic group retained the highest integrity among the groups during the infection. After recovery, reticulin fibers density in the CSNP-therapeutic samples was significantly higher than in the negative control group, which indicates high innate immunity. Thus, CSNP showed promising biotherapeutic features enhancing fish resistance against infections.     

血红素氧合酶-2基因真核表达载体的构建

为构建血红素氧合酶-2（HO-2）真核表达载体pEF1α-HO-2-AcGFP,并观察其在小鼠脑血管内皮细胞中的表达情况。试验利用PCR技术从C57BL/6小鼠海马组织中扩增出HO-2基因cDNA序列,用双酶切法将此序列克隆到真核表达载体pEF1α-IRES-AcGFP上,构建HO-2的真核表达载体pEF1α-HO-2-AcGFP,重组载体经EcoRI和BamHI双酶切和测序鉴定。电穿孔法转染小鼠脑血管内皮细胞,48h后,实时定量PCR、Western blot检测HO-2在小鼠脑血管内皮细胞中mRNA和蛋白质水平的表达情况。结果表明,pEF1α-HO-2-AcGFP载体构建正确;重组载体转染小鼠脑血管内皮细胞后HO-2在mRNA水平表达量较空载体转染极显著增高（P〈0.01）,在蛋白水平表达量较空载体转染显著增高（P〈0.05）。表明HO-2基因的真核表达载体pEF1α-HO-2-AcGFP构建成功,为进一步研究其机制和功能奠定了基础。     

Laminar inflammatory gene expression in the carbohydrate overload model of equine laminitis

Reasons for performing study: There is a need to assess the laminar inflammatory response in a laminitis model that more closely resembles clinical cases of sepsis‐related laminitis than the black walnut extract (BWE) model. Objectives: To determine if a similar pattern of laminar inflammation, characterised by proinflammatory cytokine expression, occurs in the CHO model of laminitis as has been previously reported for the BWE model. Methods: Sixteen horses administered 17.6 g of starch (85% corn starch/15% wood flour)/kg bwt via nasogastric (NG) tube were anaesthetised either after developing a temperature >38.9°C (DEV group, n = 8) or at onset of Obel grade 1 lameness (OG1 group, n = 8). Control horses (CON group, n = 8) were anaesthetised 24 h after NG administration of 6 l of deionised water. Laminar tissue was collected from horses while under anaesthesia, followed by humane euthanasia. Real time‐quantitative PCR was used to assess laminar mRNA concentrations of genes involved in inflammatory signalling. Results: Increased mRNA concentrations (P<0.05) for IL‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐12p35, COX‐2, E‐selectin and ICAM‐1 were present in laminae from horses with OG1 lameness but not at the DEV time, when compared to the CON horses. No differences between the groups were found for IL‐2, IL‐4, IL‐10, TNF‐α, IFN‐γ or COX‐1 at either the DEV or OG1 time points. Conclusions: There was a notable difference in the temporal pattern of inflammatory events between the BWE and CHO models, with the majority of laminar inflammatory events appearing to occur at or near the onset of lameness in the CHO model, whereas many of these events peak earlier in the developmental stages in the BWE model. This suggests that, in addition to circulating inflammatory molecules, there may be a local phenomenon in the CHO model resulting in the simultaneous onset of multiple laminar events including endothelial activation, leucocyte emigration and proinflammatory cytokine expression. Potential relevance: The similar (although somewhat delayed) inflammatory response in the CHO model of laminitis indicates that inflammatory signalling is a consistent entity in the pathophysiology of laminitis.     

Gastrointestinal motility modulation by stress is associated with reduced smooth muscle contraction through specific transient receptor potential channel

Excessive stress response causes disability in social life. There are many diseases caused by stress, such as gastrointestinal motility disorders, depression, eating disorders, and cardiovascular diseases. Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels underlie non-selective cation currents and are downstream effectors of G protein-coupled receptors. Ca²⁺ influx is important for smooth muscle contraction, which is responsible for gastrointestinal motility. Little is known about the possible involvement of TRP channels in the gastrointestinal motility disorders due to stress. The purpose of this study was to measure the changes in gastrointestinal motility caused by stress and to elucidate the mechanism of these changes. The stress model used the water immersion restraint stress. Gastrointestinal motility, especially the ileum, was recorded responses to electric field stimulation (EFS) by isometric transducer. EFS-induced contraction was significantly reduced in the ileum of stressed mouse. Even under the conditions treated with atropine, EFS-induced contraction was significantly reduced in the ileum of stressed mouse. In addition, carbachol-induced, neurokinin A-induced, and substance P-induced contractions were all significantly reduced in the ileum of stressed mouse. Furthermore, the expression of TRPC3 was decreased in the ileum of stressed mouse. These results suggest that the gastrointestinal motility disorders due to stress is associated with specific non-selective cation channel.