甲壳动物保幼激素的研究

近年来，在甲壳动物大颚腺中发现了一种具有保幼激素活性的物质——法呢酸甲酯（MF），它是一昆虫保幼激素Ⅲ（JHⅢ）结构相似的一种倍半萜类化合物，对甲壳动物的生长、发育和繁殖有重要调控作用，而MF的分泌受到眼柄等因子的负调节作用。     

Chemistry of pheromone and hormone metabolism in insects

Chemical evidence is needed in both insect endocrinology and sensory physiology to understand hormone and pheromone action at the molecular level. Radiolabeled pheromones and hormones have been synthesized and used to identify binding and catabolic proteins from insect tissues. Chemically modified analogs, including photoaffinity labels and enzyme inhibitors, are among the tools used to covalently modify the specific acceptor or catalytic sites. Such targeted agents can also provide leads for the design of growth and mating disruptants by allowing manipulation of the physiologically important interactions of the chemical signals with macromolecules.     

A novel target for antidiuretic hormone in insects

Diuresis in insects is controlled by two antagonistic hormone groups: diuretic hormones, which promote water loss, and antidiuretic hormones, which inhibit it. All known antidiuretic factors act solely to promote fluid reabsorption by the hindgut and do not affect secretion by the Malpighian tubules. In the house cricket, Acheta domesticus, an antidiuretic hormone was found that inhibits fluid secretion by the Malpighian tubules but has no effect on the hindgut. Correlations were found between the density of neurosecretory granules and the presence of antidiuretic hormone in the corpora cardiaca, suggesting that the hormone is released from specific axons. Its release is triggered by dehydration; the hormone is detectable in the hemolymph of water-deprived crickets. These results imply that an unusual mechanism regulates water balance in these insects.     

Juvenile hormone induced vitellogenin synthesis in the monarch butterfly

The vitellogenin (yolk protein) of the monarch butterfly has been identified by electrophoretic and immunochemical techniques. In freshly emerged female adults ligature of the neck prevents appearance of this protein in the hemolymph; it prevents yolk deposition and egg maturation as well. These processes are restored by injection of juvenile hormone; the restoration involves induction of vitellogenin synthesis, as shown by incorporation of [(3)H]leucine.     

Juvenile hormone induction of biting behavior in culex mosquitoes

Juvenile hormone deprivation caused by surgical removal of corpora allata shortly after adult emergence blocked the initiation of biting behavior in Culex. pipiens and Culex quinquefasciatus. Reimplantation of corpora allata or injection of a synthetic juvenile hormone (JH-I) corrected the juvenile hormone deficiency and restored biting behavior. Ovariectomy experiments demonstrated that this behavioral effect of juvenile hormone was independent of ovarian involvement.     

Cuticle deposition in imaginal disks: effects of juvenile hormone and fat body in vitro

Wing disks from the last larval instar of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), were successfully cultured in modified Grace's medium. 20-Hydroxyecdysone induced cuticle deposition in these disks in vitro. This response was enhanced by treating the medium with larval fat body and was inhibited by application of juvenile hormone.     

Early tagging of cortical networks is required for the formation of enduring associative memory

Although formation and stabilization of long-lasting associative memories are thought to require time-dependent coordinated hippocampal-cortical interactions, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we present evidence that neurons in the rat cortex must undergo a "tagging process" upon encoding to ensure the progressive hippocampal-driven rewiring of cortical networks that support remote memory storage. This process was AMPA- and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-dependent, information-specific, and capable of modulating remote memory persistence by affecting the temporal dynamics of hippocampal-cortical interactions. Post-learning reinforcement of the tagging process via time-limited epigenetic modifications resulted in improved remote memory retrieval. Thus, early tagging of cortical networks is a crucial neurobiological process for remote memory formation whose functional properties fit the requirements imposed by the extended time scale of systems-level memory consolidation.     

Postreplicative formation of cohesion is required for repair and induced by a single DNA break

Sister-chromatid cohesion, established during replication by the protein complex cohesin, is essential for both chromosome segregation and double-strand break (DSB) repair. Normally, cohesion formation is strictly limited to the S phase of the cell cycle, but DSBs can trigger cohesion also after DNA replication has been completed. The function of this damage-induced cohesion remains unknown. In this investigation, we show that damage-induced cohesion is essential for repair in postreplicative cells in yeast. Furthermore, it is established genome-wide after induction of a single DSB, and it is controlled by the DNA damage response and cohesin-regulating factors. We thus define a cohesion establishment pathway that is independent of DNA duplication and acts together with cohesion formed during replication in sister chromatid-based DSB repair.     

Alteration of disc formation in photoreceptors of rat retina

Autoradiographic experiments demonstrate that the renewal process of the rod photoreceptors in the rat retina is altered during essential fatty acid deficiency. After the administration of tritiated amino acids, animals raised on a fat-free ration show no evidence of disc formation, while those raised on a normnal ration show disc formation and renewal. The latter process is apparently dependent upon the availability of linoleic or linolenic (or both) fatty acids.     

Juvenile hormone: evidence of its role in the reproduction of ticks

Ovarian dlevelopmnent, vitellogenesis, andt etnbrvogenesis in recently matedlce fiemnales of tlhe sofi tick Ornithodoros parkeri Coolev were prevented by topical application of the insect antiallatotropin precocene 2. ThCe blockage was relieved by topical application of jtivenile hormonoe. Cancellation of the anti-juvenile hormnone jJects of precocene 2 and the reestablishment of oogenesis (and oviposition in one specimen) bv a naturally occurring insect juvenile hormone argues strongly for a physiological role of juvenile hormone in acarine reproduction.     

UDP-glucose dehydrogenase required for cardiac valve formation in zebrafish

Cardiac valve formation is a complex process that involves cell signaling events between the myocardial and endocardial layers of the heart across an elaborate extracellular matrix. These signals lead to marked morphogenetic movements and transdifferentiation of the endocardial cells at chamber boundaries. Here we identify the genetic defect in zebrafish jekyll mutants, which are deficient in the initiation of heart valve formation. The jekyll mutation disrupts a homolog of Drosophila Sugarless, a uridine 5'-diphosphate (UDP)-glucose dehydrogenase required for heparan sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, and hyaluronic acid production. The atrioventricular border cells do not differentiate from their neighbors in jekyll mutants, suggesting that Jekyll is required in a cell signaling event that establishes a boundary between the atrium and ventricle.     

BRITTLE CULM16(BRITTLE NODE) is required for the formation of secondary cell walls in rice nodes

Plant cell walls constitute the skeletal structures of plant bodies,and thus confer lodging resistance for grain crops.While the basic cell wall synthesis machinery is relatively well established now,our understanding of how the process is regulated remains limited and fragmented.In this study,we report the identification and characterization of the novel rice(Oryza sativa L.)brittle culm16(brittle node;bc16)mutant.The brittle node phenotype of the bc16 mutant appears exclusively at nodes,and resembles the previously reported bc5 mutant.Combined histochemical staining and electron microscopy assays revealed that in the bc16 mutant,the secondary cell wall formation and thickening of node sclerenchyma tissues are seriously affected after heading.Furthermore,cell wall composition assays revealed that the bc16 mutation led to a significant reduction in cellulose and lignin contents.Using a map-based cloning approach,the bc16 locus is mapped to an approximately 1.7-Mb region of chromosome 4.Together,our findings strengthen evidence for discretely spatial differences in the secondary cell wall formation within plant bodies.     

磷营养对马铃薯试管薯及连生试管薯发生的影响

前期初步研究发现,磷营养影响马铃薯试管薯发生,且观察到磷营养与1个腋芽着生2个以上的试管薯(连生试管薯)性状有关.为进一步探讨磷营养对马铃薯试管薯及连生试管薯发生的影响,比较了在不同磷浓度下试管薯的产量、形态、品质及相关生理指标的差异.结果表明:磷营养对试管薯及连生试管薯发生产生有规律性的影响;适当降低磷浓度,有利于增加试管薯粒数、重量及连生试管薯比率,但试管薯直径及大薯率下降;连生试管薯含水量低于非连生试管薯;低磷浓度下,试管薯淀粉含量降低,而可溶性糖含量升高;连生试管薯淀粉含量低于非连生试管薯,而可溶性糖含量则连生试管薯高于非连生试管薯.     

The proteasome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is required for resistance to nitric oxide

The production of nitric oxide and other reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI) by macrophages helps to control infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). However, the protection is imperfect and infection persists. To identify genes that Mtb requires to resist RNI, we screened 10,100 Mtb transposon mutants for hypersusceptibility to acidified nitrite. We found 12 mutants with insertions in seven genes representing six pathways, including the repair of DNA (uvrB) and the synthesis of a flavin cofactor (fbiC). Five mutants had insertions in proteasome-associated genes. An Mtb mutant deficient in a presumptive proteasomal adenosine triphosphatase was attenuated in mice, and exposure to proteasomal protease inhibitors markedly sensitized wild-type Mtb to RNI. Thus, the mycobacterial proteasome serves as a defense against oxidative or nitrosative stress.     

Juvenile hormone action mediated in male accessory glands of Drosophila by calcium and kinase C

In an in vitro system for the Drosophila melanogaster male accessory gland, it was found that 10(-9)M juvenile hormone III could accurately mimic the copulation-induced response of increased protein synthesis in glands from virgin flies. Stimulation by this hormone required calcium in the medium. Experiments with tumor-promoting phorbol esters indicated that activation of protein kinase C can also cause the glands to increase protein synthesis. Stimulation of protein synthesis by juvenile hormone did not occur in mutants deficient in kinase C activity. These results suggest a membrane-protein-mediated effect of juvenile hormone that involves calcium and kinase C.     

Trim28 is required for epigenetic stability during mouse oocyte to embryo transition

Phenotypic variability in genetic disease is usually attributed to genetic background variation or environmental influence. Here, we show that deletion of a single gene, Trim28 (Kap1 or Tif1β), from the maternal germ line alone, on an otherwise identical genetic background, results in severe phenotypic and epigenetic variability that leads to embryonic lethality. We identify early and minute epigenetic variations in blastomeres of the preimplantation embryo of these animals, suggesting that the embryonic lethality may result from the misregulation of genomic imprinting in mice lacking maternal Trim28. Our results reveal the long-range effects of a maternal gene deletion on epigenetic memory and illustrate the delicate equilibrium of maternal and zygotic factors during nuclear reprogramming.