Influence of ovariectomy and estrogen replacement on gene expression profile of myocardium in rats

AIM:To investigate the influence of ovariectomy and estrogen replacement treatment on profile of gene expression in myocardium by cDNA microarray,and to characterize the targeting genes of estrogen.METHODS:cDNA microarray containing 1 400 rat cDNAs was used to study the genes differentially expressed in myocardium between sham (Ⅰ),ovariectomy (Ⅱ,OVX) and estrogen replacement treatment (Ⅲ,OVX+E2) group.Then down-regulated genes in myocardium of OVX rats were further confirmed by RT-PCR.RESULTS:177 genes were differentially expressed in myocardium between sham and OVX rats,with 91 genes up-regulated and 86 genes down-regulated in OVX rats.164 genes were differentially expressed in myocardium between OVX and OVX+E2 rats,with 113 genes up-regulated and 54 genes down-regulated in OVX rats.There were 54 genes differentially expressed in OVX compared to sham and OVX+E2.They are involved in membrane channels and transporters (18),cell receptors (9),intracellular transducers/effectors/modulator (7) and metabolism (6).Most of the genes (45) were down-regulated in OVX rats and up-regulated in OVX+E2 rats.RT-PCR test confirmed the results of cDNA microarray.CONCLUSIONS:Long-term estrogen replacement may influence the expression of genes involved in membrane channels and transporters,cell receptors,intracellular transducers/effectors/ modulator and metabolism.Long-term estrogen replacement has some beneficial effects on ionic concentration and cardiac function which partially comes from the results of influence of expression on Na+,K+-ATPase and Na+/H+ exchanger.Estrogen has an inhibitory effect on the expression of dopamine receptor,which partially clarify the myocardial protection of estrogen.     

温度对斯氏伞锥象生长发育速度的影响

在17、20、24、28和32℃条件下，研究温度对防治柽柳的植食性昆虫斯氏伞锥象发育历期的影响。用线性方程拟合了斯氏伞锥象发育速率与温度间的关系式。用直线回归法计算出卵、幼虫、预蛹、蛹、产卵前期成虫及全世代的发育起点温度，依次为13．48、12．48、10．32、13．28、8．71和11．44℃，有效积温依次为：46．52、121．52、31．70、62．17、186．19和445．78日度。并推算出斯氏伞锥象理论年发生代数为3．24代。     

金叶女贞褐斑病病原鉴定

经致病性测定、病原菌形态特征观察及生物学特性测定,明确引起金叶女贞褐斑病的病原菌为素馨生棒孢(Corynespora jasminiicolaMeenu,Kharwar&;Bhartiya),并描述了其病原菌形态特征。该病菌适宜生长温度为25~30℃。用孢子悬浮液人工接种,该菌可侵染菜豆和豇豆,不侵染黄瓜、番茄、茄子和辣椒。     

辣椒分子连锁遗传图谱的构建及抗疫病QTL定位

以抗疫病材料perennial和感疫病材料83-60杂交得到的F2群体144个单株为试材,利用AFLP、RAPD、SSR等分子标记,采用JoinMap3.0构建辣椒分子连锁遗传图谱,该图谱包括12个连锁群,70个标记位点,其中AFLP标记54个,RAPD标记15个,SSR标记1个,覆盖长度为429.02cM,平均图距为6.13cM,连锁群长度在4.30～85.85cM之间。对F2群体进行辣椒疫病的室内人工接种,利用Windows QTL Cartographer2.0软件进行QTL分析,在第4连锁群上检测到两个QTL,解释表型差异的贡献率分别为9.5%和16.4%。     

Note: Pyrethroid resistance and possible involvement of glutathione<Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis>-transferases in<Emphasis Type="Italic">Helicoverpa armigera</Emphasis> from Turkey

An introductory study was conducted to investigate the pyrethroid resistance ofHelicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) strains in Turkey, collected from cotton fields in the Adana and Antalya provinces, through two different synthetic pyrethroid insecticides: lambda-cyhalothrin and esfenvalerate. In addition, the roles of glutathioneS-transferases (GSTs) in this resistance mechanism were analyzed. It was found that whereas resistance ratios for lambda-cyhalothrin (LD₅₀ levels) were 3- and 98-fold increased in the Adana and Antalya strains, respectively, esfenvalerate ratios were 3.3- and 92.3-fold increased in the Adana and Antalya strains, respectively, with respect to the susceptible strain. Furthermore, Adana and Antalya strains showed 2.4- and 2.9-fold higher GST activities than the susceptible strain, respectively. In the Antalya field strain, the minor increase in GST activity compared with the resistance levels implies that GSTs may be not greatly involved in this resistance. It also provides evidence that they could not be the only metabolic mechanism responsible for resistance to lambda-cyhalothrin and esfenvalerate inH. armigera from Turkey. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting Nov. 16, 2006.     

Critical Use Exemption for methyl bromide for soil disinfestation: Italy’s experience with the European union process

Methyl bromide (MB) was phased out on January 1, 2005, and a Critical Use Exemption (CUE) process has been established in order to define the rules for allocating the needed amounts of the fumigant. This paper deals with the effects of the CUE process on Italian horticulture. The actual usage of the amounts of MB allocated to Italy for the year 2005 in the different areas and on the economically most important crops was monitored and critically evaluated. The usage pattern monitored shows that already in the first year after MB phaseout, Italy was able to replace it completely on crops such as zucchini, salad greens, basil and watermelon. However, on crops such as tomato, pepper, melon, eggplant, strawberry, and cut flowers, further work is required in order fully to replace MB. The emerging problems and research needs are discussed briefly.     

Towards identifying pathogenic determinants of the chickpea pathogen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ascochyta rabiei</Emphasis>

Ascochyta blight is a serious disease of cool-season grain legumes (chickpea, faba bean, lentil and pea) caused by fungal species of the anamorphic genus Ascochyta and related genera. Despite extensive studies on the biology, ecology, epidemiology and management of the disease, little is known about the pathogenic determinants of these pathogens. This research aims at using Ascochyta rabiei as a model for the genus in investigating genetic factors of pathogenicity, with the ultimate goal of elucidating pathogenic mechanisms. Three advances were made: (1) insertional mutants with altered pathogenicity were identified through in vivo screening, and genomic regions adjacent to the insertion sites in selected mutants were determined; (2) a phage library of A. rabiei genomic DNA was constructed, and the library was estimated to provide complete coverage of the A. rabiei genome. This library was used successfully to recover clones with DNA adjacent to insertional mutation sites and to isolate specific genes; (3) DNA probes specific for an acyl-CoA ligase (cps1) and a polyketide synthase gene (pks1) were developed and library clones containing the corresponding genomic regions were identified from the phage library. These advances provide the foundation and necessary tools for experimentation of ectopic complementation assays and targeted mutagenesis to elucidate the genetic mechanisms of pathogenicity of A. rabiei.     

非洲鸵鸟的雌雄鉴别研究

对鸵鸟进行早期的性别鉴定，可以确保期望的鸵鸟雌雄性别比例，雏鸟雌雄分群饲养，加快鸵鸟驯养进程，提高育雏成活率都有着重要意义。本研究采用翻肛法，对人工饲养的1～3月龄育雏期非洲鸵鸟进行试验与研究。结果表明，在1月龄时就可根据有无生殖交媾器及其形态、大小的差别进行雌雄鉴别，打破了通常认为鸵鸟在4月龄时才可以进行性别鉴定的传统做法，为非洲鸵鸟的饲养管理提供了有利的依据。     

改进型B-P神经网络优选木耳牛奶发酵酸乳工艺参数的研究

在木耳酸乳工艺参数设计中,使用自适应调节学习步长修正BP神经网络,模拟参数试验,用计算机取代全面试验和寻找最佳工艺参数的方法,并建立数学模型。其最佳工艺参数为:木耳浸提液用量为7%,蔗糖、琼脂添加量分别为6%和0.4%,接种量为5%,发酵温度为42℃,发酵时间7h。通过对比实验,最终优选出工艺参数所得出的结果符合实际实验情况。