拟南芥未知基因At018融合蛋白原核表达条件的优化及纯化

本课题组在前期的研究中利用Al Cl3胁迫筛选碱茅全长c DNAs酵母表达文库获得到一个与铝毒害相关的未知基因(基因编号为018,用put018表示),该基因与拟南芥中未知基因(基因号为At5g57345,本研究中用At018表示)有较高的同源性。为了获得At018的纯化蛋白,本研究将拟南芥At018基因克隆后构建原核表达载体p GEX-6p-3-At018,再将其转入大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)菌株,利用异丙基-β-D-硫代半乳糖苷(IPTG)进行诱导表达。同时运用传统方法优化诱导条件,以提高重组融合蛋白的表达效率。SDS-PAGE分析结果表明,30℃下0.1 mmol/L IPTG的条件下诱导3 h后,GST-At018融合蛋白的表达量最大,蛋白分子质量与预测值相符,该蛋白主要以可溶性形式存在;接着利用Glutathione Sepharose4 Fast Flow亲核层析树脂纯化最终获得GST-At018融合蛋白。本研究可为进一步进行At018的功能解析提供基础。     

过量表达星星草(Puccinellia tenuiflora)液泡型H~+-ATP酶c亚基基因提高转基因酵母的耐盐性

植物液泡型H+-ATP酶(V-ATPase)在次级转运与应对多种逆境胁迫中具有重要作用。本研究克隆并解析了能够生长在盐碱地上的野生星星草V-ATPase c亚基基因(Put VHA-c)的功能。本研究利用荧光蛋白(GFP)标记结合内涵体染色的方法研究了Put VHA-c蛋白在酵母细胞中的定位,并利用转基因酵母分析了Put VHA-c基因在盐胁迫中的作用。共定位实验显示Put VHA-c-GFP融合蛋白主要定位在酵母细胞的内涵体上。Northern杂交和实时定量PCR显示在星星草悬浮细胞中Put VHA-c基因的表达能够被盐胁迫所诱导。研究结果结合过表达Put VHA-c的转基因酵母具有更高的耐盐性的发现,说明Put VHA-c基因参与着盐胁迫的应答。     

Arteriovenous shunts resembling patent ductus arteriosus in dogs: 3 cases

Three dogs presented for the evaluation of cardiac murmurs were diagnosed with aberrant arteriovenous shunts. All cases demonstrated the following findings: 1) relatively soft continuous murmur loudest at the left heart base resembling patent ductus arteriosus (PDA); 2) shunt flow signals in the pulmonary artery on echocardiography; and 3) no PDA on selective angiography, but evidence of anomalous shunting vessels from thoracic aorta to pulmonary vasculature. An aberrant arteriovenous shunt should be considered when a continuous murmur of relatively small intensity is heard.     

水稻（Oryza sativa L．）苹果酸酶（OsNADP-ME3）基因在逆境下的表达特性研究

水稻苹果酸酶（NADP-ME）是多基因家族,由3个胞质型NADP-ME和1个质体型NADP—ME构成。本研究针对水稻胞质型成员（命名为NADP-ME3）（NM001061367）进行初步的功能解析。克隆获得的NADP-ME3基因的cDNA序列全长为2240bp,其中5’非翻译区为151bp,3’非翻译区为376bp,开放读码框（ORF）长1713bp,编码570个氨基酸。为研究NADP-ME3在逆境胁迫下的表达量变化,No．hemblot检测结果显示,在NaCl、NaHCO,和PEG胁迫条件下,NADP-ME3随胁迫处理时间的不同表达量呈现不同程度的变化,推断NADP-ME3可能与非生物胁迫有应答关系,将NADP-ME3转入拟南芥中并通过观察转基因拟南芥在非生物胁迫下表型变化,发现NADP-ME3能够在一定程度上提高植物对非生物胁迫的耐受性。     

The plasma membrane intactness of root-tip cells is a primary factor for Al-tolerance in cultivars of five species

We investigated the role of the cell wall and plasma membrane (PM) of root-tip cells in Al tolerance in Al-tolerant and Al-sensitive cultivars of five plant species (rice, maize, pea, wheat, and sorghum). No correlation was found between the differences in Al tolerance and the cation exchange capacity of cell walls isolated from root-tips (0–1 em). Preliminary exposure to Al for 1 h was sufficient to inhibit subsequent root re-elongation in an Al-free solution, and the inhibitory effect was more pronounced in the Al-sensitive cultivars than in the Al-tolerant ones. Together with the inhibition of root re-elongation, the PM of the root-tip cells of all the Al-sensitive cultivars was more permeabilized than that of the Al-tolerant cultivars, based on the FDA-PI fluorescence staining technique. Exposure for 30 min to Al treatment at 100 µM significantly increased the PM permeability of protoplasts isolated from the root-tips for the Al-sensitive pea cultivar placed in a moderately hypotonic medium. Protoplasts from root-tip portions of all the Al-sensitive cultivars took up more Al than those of the Al-tolerant ones when treated with 100 pM Al under isotonic conditions for 30 min. The co-existence of DNP or hypotonic conditions led to a larger increase of Al uptake by the protoplasts from Al-sensitive maize cultivars. These results suggest that Al ions rapidly alter the PM of the root-tip portion in the Al-sensitive cultivars, irrespective of plant species, resulting in an increase of the PM permeability.     

Comparative aspects on the role of polypyrimidine tract-binding protein in internal initiation of hepatitis C virus and picornavirus RNAs

We compared the effects of polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (PTB) on hepatitis C virus (HCV genotype IIa), encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) and poliovirus internal ribosome entry site (IRES) activities in vitro. It bound strongly to EMCV IRES, but weakly to PV and HCV RNAs. PV IRES showed the strongest dependency to PTB and it showed less than one-tenth of IRES activity after the immuno-depletion of PTB from HeLa S10 lysate with pre-coated anti-PTB IgG beads, comparing to the normal IgG beads-treated S10 lysate. EMCV IRES activity was approximately 40% of that of normal control after PTB depletion. Especially, HCV IRES activity was approximately 95%, and most weekly affected by the depletion of PTB. Repletion of PTB to depleted S10 lysate restored activities of PV and EMCV IRESs. The data suggest that PTB plays an important role in picornaviral IRESs, but not in HCV IRES.     

Molecular detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in cattle and Ixodes persulcatus ticks

The tick-borne pathogen, Anaplasma phagocytophilum (A. phagocytophilum), the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), is increasingly becoming a public health concern as an aetiological agent for emerging infectious disease. We found A. phagocytophilum infection in a pooled sample of field-collected Ixodes persulcatus (I. persulcatus) ticks from one district in Hokkaido, Japan. Thus, to further investigate the prevalence in field-collected ticks, we used PCR assays targeting the A. phagocytophilum gene encoding 44 kDa major outer membrane protein (p44) for screening of I. persulcatus ticks and samples from cattle from pastures. Out of the 281 I. persulcatus ticks, 20 (7.1%) were found to harbor A. phagocytophilum DNA. The infection rate for A. phagocytophilum in cattle was 3.4% (42/1251). In future studies, it will be necessary to investigate effects of the infection in order to understand its pathogenesis of A. phagocytophilum in domestic animals.     

Development of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to feline interferon (fIFN)-γ as tools to evaluate cellular immune responses to feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV)

Feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV) can cause a lethal disease in cats, feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). The antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of FIPV infection has been recognised in experimentally infected cats, and cellular immunity is considered to play an important role in preventing the onset of FIP. To evaluate the importance of cellular immunity for FIPV infection, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against feline interferon (fIFN)-γ were first created to establish fIFN-γ detection systems using the MAbs. Six anti-fIFN-γ MAbs were created. Then, the difference in epitope which those MAbs recognise was demonstrated by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and IFN-γ neutralisation tests. Detection systems for fIFN-γ (sandwich ELISA, ELISpot assay, and two-colour flow cytometry) were established using anti-fIFN-γ MAbs that recognise different epitopes. In all tests, fIFN-γ production from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from cats experimentally infected with an FIPV isolate that did not develop the disease was significantly increased by heat-inactivated FIPV stimulation in comparison with medium alone. Especially, CD8(+)fIFN-γ(+) cells, but not CD4(+)fIFN-γ(+) cells, were increased. In contrast, fIFN-γ production from PBMCs isolated from cats that had developed FIP and specific pathogen-free (SPF) cats was not increased by heat-inactivated FIPV stimulation. These results suggest that cellular immunity plays an important role in preventing the development of FIP. Measurement of fIFN-γ production with the anti-fIFN-γ MAbs created in this study appeared to be useful in evaluating cellular immunity in cats.