hamlet,a binary genetic switch between single- and multiple- dendrite neuron morphology

The dendritic morphology of neurons determines the number and type of inputs they receive. In the Drosophila peripheral nervous system (PNS), the external sensory (ES) neurons have a single nonbranched dendrite, whereas the lineally related multidendritic (MD) neurons have extensively branched dendritic arbors. We report that hamlet is a binary genetic switch between these contrasting morphological types. In hamlet mutants, ES neurons are converted to an MD fate, whereas ectopic hamlet expression in MD precursors results in transformation of MD neurons into ES neurons. Moreover, hamlet expression induced in MD neurons undergoing dendrite outgrowth drastically reduces arbor branching.     

Domain movement in gelsolin: a calcium-activated switch

The actin-binding protein gelsolin is involved in remodeling the actin cytoskeleton during growth-factor signaling, apoptosis, cytokinesis, and cell movement. Calcium-activated gelsolin severs and caps actin filaments. The 3.4 angstrom x-ray structure of the carboxyl-terminal half of gelsolin (G4-G6) in complex with actin reveals the basis for gelsolin activation. Calcium binding induces a conformational rearrangement in which domain G6 is flipped over and translated by about 40 angstroms relative to G4 and G5. The structural reorganization tears apart the continuous beta sheet core of G4 and G6. This exposes the actin-binding site on G4, enabling severing and capping of actin filaments to proceed.     

CCAAT-enhancer binding protein: a component of a differentiation switch

The CCAAT-enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) has now been found to promote the terminal differentiation of adipocytes. During the normal course of adipogenesis, C/EBP expression is restricted to a terminal phase wherein proliferative growth is arrested, and specialized cell phenotype is first manifested. A conditional form of C/EBP was developed, making it feasible to test its capacity to regulate the differentiation of cultured adipocytes. Premature expression of C/EBP in adipoblasts caused a direct cessation of mitotic growth. Moreover, when abetted by the effects of three adipogenic hormones, C/EBP promoted terminal cell differentiation. Since C/EBP is expressed in a variety of tissues, it may have a fundamental role in regulating the balance between cell growth and differentiation in higher animals.     

噬菌体展示技术

概述了噬菌体展示技术的基本原理,常用的噬菌体表面展示系统以及噬菌体展示技术的应用、展望等方面,并在抗原表位分析和疫苗的研制、人工抗体、多肽药物的开发等方面,进行了探讨。     

Research Progress in Phage

With excessive utilization of antibiotics in recent years,bacterial drug resistance problem is serious increasingly,and it is more and more difficult to develop anti-infective drug,while it does not have these problems to use phage controlling disease.Phage is a kind of prokaryotic virus,widely exists in the nature and includes bacteriophage,cyanophage and actinophage.Due to its potential of replacing antibiotics to treat disease,phage receives more and more attention.In this paper,based on development status of phage research at home and abroad,discovery process,naming method and classification basis of phage are introduced comprehensively,and advantages and limitations of phage applying in prevention and control of bacterial diseases are analyzed.We introduce application status of phage in human medicine,prevention and control of diseases for terrestrial animals and aquaculture,and the effects of phage in sewage treatment,prevention and control of microbial contamination of food and detection technology,and point out the shortages of phage in the above application.Meanwhile,we also discuss application prospects of phage in disease prevention and control,environmental protection and food safety.     

Research Progress in Phage

With excessive utilization of antibiotics in recent years,bacterial drug resistance problem is serious increasingly,and it is more and more difficult to develop anti-infective drug,while it does not have these problems to use phage controlling disease.Phage is a kind of prokaryotic virus,widely exists in the nature and includes bacteriophage,cyanophage and actinophage.Due to its potential of replacing antibiotics to treat disease,phage receives more and more attention.In this paper,based on development status of phage research at home and abroad,discovery process,naming method and classification basis of phage are introduced comprehensively,and advantages and limitations of phage applying in prevention and control of bacterial diseases are analyzed.We introduce application status of phage in human medicine,prevention and control of diseases for terrestrial animals and aquaculture,and the effects of phage in sewage treatment,prevention and control of microbial contamination of food and detection technology,and point out the shortages of phage in the above application.Meanwhile,we also discuss application prospects of phage in disease prevention and control,environmental protection and food safety.     

Nitrogenase complexes: multiple docking sites for a nucleotide switch protein

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis in the nitrogenase complex controls the cycle of association and dissociation between the electron donor adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) (Fe-protein) and its target catalytic protein (MoFe-protein), driving the reduction of dinitrogen into ammonia. Crystal structures in different nucleotide states have been determined that identify conformational changes in the nitrogenase complex during ATP turnover. These structures reveal distinct and mutually exclusive interaction sites on the MoFe-protein surface that are selectively populated, depending on the Fe-protein nucleotide state. A consequence of these different docking geometries is that the distance between redox cofactors, a critical determinant of the intermolecular electron transfer rate, is coupled to the nucleotide state. More generally, stabilization of distinct docking geometries by different nucleotide states, as seen for nitrogenase, could enable nucleotide hydrolysis to drive the relative motion of protein partners in molecular motors and other systems.     

An age-induced switch to a hyper-recombinational state

There is a strong correlation between age and cancer, but the mechanism by which this phenomenon occurs is unclear. We chose Saccharomyces cerevisiae to examine one of the hallmarks of cancer--genomic instability--as a function of cellular age. As diploid yeast mother cells aged, an approximately 100-fold increase in loss of heterozygosity (LOH) occurred. Extending life-span altered neither the onset nor the frequency of age-induced LOH; the switch to hyper-LOH appears to be on its own clock. In young cells, LOH occurs by reciprocal recombination, whereas LOH in old cells was nonreciprocal, occurring predominantly in the old mother's progeny. Thus, nuclear genomes may be inherently unstable with age.     

Structural basis of a phototropin light switch

Phototropins are light-activated kinases important for plant responses to blue light. Light initiates signaling in these proteins by generating a covalent protein-flavin mononucleotide (FMN) adduct within sensory Per-ARNT-Sim (PAS) domains. We characterized the light-dependent changes of a phototropin PAS domain by solution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and found that an alpha helix located outside the canonical domain plays a key role in this activation process. Although this helix associates with the PAS core in the dark, photoinduced changes in the domain structure disrupt this interaction. We propose that this mechanism couples light-dependent bond formation to kinase activation and identifies a signaling pathway conserved among PAS domains.     

一株裂解性青枯雷尔氏菌噬菌体的分离及生物学特性分析

【目的】分离并纯化出一株裂解性青枯雷尔氏菌(Ralstonia solanacearum)噬菌体,并测定其各项生物学特性,为开发新的抗烟草青枯病制剂提供依据。【方法】取烟草青枯病重病田中健康烟株的根际土壤制成土壤悬浮液,并通过在青枯雷尔氏菌菌液中加入过滤后的土壤悬浮液富集噬菌体,用双层平板法验证噬菌体的存在后挑取单个最大噬菌斑进行反复纯化,直到得到单一清晰的噬菌斑。纯化后的单个噬菌斑加入对数早期的青枯雷尔氏菌菌液中进行增殖培养,将增殖液按常规方法进行噬菌体颗粒浓缩后,取20 μL浓缩液用磷钨酸染色并通过电子显微镜观察噬菌体的形态特征;同时将浓缩液进行SDS-PAGE电泳,观察蛋白条带大小和数量;用λ噬菌体DNA提取试剂盒提取噬菌体增殖液中的噬菌体核酸进行琼脂糖凝胶电泳,确定其基因组片段大小;最后用常规方法测定噬菌体的滴度、最佳感染复数、一步生长曲线,并通过比较加入噬菌体液前后青枯雷尔氏菌菌液的OD₆₀₀值变化测定其对温度、pH、紫外线、氯仿的敏感性。【结果】分离并纯化出了一株裂解性青枯雷尔氏菌噬菌体,命名为∈RS-1, 噬菌斑为圆形,清晰透明,边缘光滑,直径1-2 mm,经电镜观察其形态为蝌蚪状,头部为二十面体的立体对称,直径约为94 nm,并有一带伸缩尾鞘的长尾大约为27 nm×100 nm,按照国际病毒分类委员会分类标准,其属于有尾噬菌体目（Caudovirales）,肌尾噬菌体科(Myoviridae)的裂解性噬菌体,核酸性质为dsDNA;噬菌体浓缩液经SDS-PAGE分析至少可以观察到25条蛋白条带,相对分子质量在10-100 kD,说明其蛋白外壳至少含有25个结构蛋白;将提取的DNA进行琼脂糖凝胶电泳显示其条带大于48 kb,符合肌尾噬菌体科基因组大小范围（31-317 kb）;生物学特性的测定显示该噬菌体对青枯雷尔氏菌的最佳感染复数为0.01;其吸附和感染青枯雷尔氏菌时的潜伏期约为30 min,爆发期约为80 min,裂解量约为156;该噬菌体的裂解活性在28℃时最高,在28-50℃均较强,但在温度超过60℃后活性基本丧失;其对酸碱的耐受力较强,在pH 3-8的范围内均有较强的裂解活性,当pH值超过9后活性开始降低;其对紫外线有一定的耐受能力,经紫外线照射0-9 min后裂解活性依然较强,12 min后活性开始下降,21 min后活性基本丧失;其对氯仿不敏感,5%浓度的氯仿对其活性基本没有影响。【结论】分离到了裂解性的青枯雷尔氏菌噬菌体,属于有尾噬菌体目,肌尾噬菌体科,经过测定其各项生物学特性可知其潜伏期较短,裂解能力较强,具有很好的杀菌效果,且其裂解活性持续时间长,并能在不同温度、不同酸碱性的环境内有较强的适应能力,具有开发为抗青枯雷尔氏菌菌剂的潜力。     

一种大肠杆菌噬菌体新裂解酶的表达与活性检测

前期分离得到1株具有较强裂解能力的大肠杆菌噬菌体v B_Eco M-ep3。测序后发现,噬菌体v B_Eco M-ep3的裂解酶基因在大肠杆菌噬菌体中尚未报道,能够编码一种新的裂解酶,并与绿脓杆菌噬菌体裂解酶具有很高同源性。为了探讨该裂解酶对大肠杆菌和绿脓杆菌的裂解活性,克隆了v B_Eco M-ep3的裂解酶基因,经原核表达和纯化,体外评价了Lysep3裂解活性。结果表明:克隆裂解酶基因Lysep3长为492 bp;表达蛋白分子质量为17.7 ku;裂解酶单独作用时,对大肠杆菌和绿脓杆菌均不能裂解,但是能够显著抑制生长;与柠檬酸配合使用(0.5 mg/m L终浓度的Lysep3和0.5 mmol/L终浓度的柠檬酸),对大肠杆菌和绿脓杆菌均表现出较好的裂解能力,作用从2~24 h持续有效,细菌数量分别下降7.2倍和17.3倍。该结果表明,v B_Eco Mep3的裂解酶不但在基因序列上与绿脓杆菌存在进化关系,在功能上也具有相关性。该研究为解析裂解酶结构与功能的关系提供了一个良好的例证,同时有助于裂解酶的广谱性改造。     

Saline culture of crops: a genetic approach

Increasing salinity of soil and water threatens agriculture in arid and semiarid regions. By itself, the traditional engineering approach to the problem is no longer adequate. Genetic science offers the possibility of developing salt-tolerant crops, which, in conjunction with environmental manipulation, could improve agricultural production in saline regions and extend agriculture to previously unsuited regions.