拟南芥霜霉病抗性分子机制研究进展

随着近年分子生物学技术的发展与应用,植物霜霉病抗性的研究有了长足的进展。本文就拟南芥抗霜霉病基因的克隆与结构分析,抗病信号传导,防卫反应和系统获得抗性,以及寄主-寄生菌共进化冲突方面进行了综述,并就今后的研究进行了展望。     

Characterization of the village goat production systems in the rural communities of the Eastern Cape,KwaZulu-Natal,Limpopo and North West Provinces of South Africa

Expansion of goat improvement programs requires exploration of the factors that influence the production system and breeding initiatives. Characterization of goat breeds or populations is crucial in providing information on prevalent goat types and their attributes and may suffice as a guideline on conservation, development, and selection for improved productivity. This study investigated the existing village goat production system and phenotypic diversity of the different village populations from four South African provinces. The study further investigated the use of phenotypic attributes to classify goats to breeds or populations. Data was collected from 142 households in 26 villages of the Eastern Cape (n?=?2 villages), KwaZulu-Natal (n?=?6 villages), Limpopo (n?=?13 villages), and North West (n?=?5 villages) provinces through a survey. Individual interviews and focus group discussions revealed that the mean goat herd size per household was least in Limpopo at 13.2?±?12.40 and highest in Eastern Cape (34.18?±?28.36). Flocks had more (p?<?0.05) adults than kids, and the distribution of breeding animals was biased towards does and less bucks. Goats were kept mainly for meat, for selling, and for ritual ceremonies. The goat production system was mainly scavenging. Goat health was a major challenge across households and villages. Qualitative traits such coat, horn, ears, and wattle characteristics were recorded for populations of village goats (n?=?319) and a feral Tankwa breed (n?=?50). The dominant coat pattern was plain (74.53%) with black as the most common coat color (31.98%). Across breeds, a majority (88.08%) of the goats had horns, and 7.59% had wattles while 56.64% had beard. Adult goats (<3 years; n?=?398) were further analyzed for five quantitative traits of chest girth, height, length, and pin bone and there were significant (p?<?0.05) breed differences in all. A stepwise discriminatory procedure was used to rank the quantitative traits according to their discriminatory power to separate breeds or populations. Significant traits were then subjected to canonical discriminant analysis for principle component analysis. Based on the quantitative traits, the Tankwa, Xhosa, and Tswana goats formed their own cluster separated from commercial meat type breeds and the Venda and Zulu ecotypes. The discriminant function analysis correctly classified 90.41% of the Zulu goats and 82.93% of the Xhosa village populations. None of the Savanna goats were correctly classified. The study demonstrated diversity in village goat populations and production systems, which would allow for within population selection in genetic improvement programs. The heterogeneity in the phenotypic traits in the village goats is reflective of the role of village production systems in the maintenance of animal diversity in local populations.     

Limited awareness of animal influenza prevention and control among Dai Lue smallholder farmers in Southwest China

Awareness of animal influenza and its prevention and control is important for ensuring livestock health, production and welfare. In China, a country stereotyped as a major source of emerging zoonotic infectious diseases, research on the public understanding of animal influenza is limited to the Han, the main ethnic group. The present qualitative study in Southwest China investigated awareness of animal influenza among the Dai, an ethnic minority. The participants (15 men and 10 women, ages 18–83) were smallholder farmers of pigs and poultry in rural areas of Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province. A mixture of interviews and group discussions took place in homes and villages. The participants were asked about their knowledge of avian influenza (H7N9), swine influenza (H1N1), precautions taken to protect against influenza, procedures when animals were sick and perceived risk of animal influenza. The data were analysed following coding and thematic analysis. The findings demonstrated a limited understanding of animal health and welfare among participants. Specifically, they were largely unaware of animal influenza (H7N9, H1N1) including its causes, symptoms, prevention and treatment. The farmers were also uninformed of the risks they faced and unknowingly engaged in behaviours which increased direct or indirect exposure to infected animals, a risk factor for human infection. They also reported poor usage of veterinary services. In order to guarantee the health, welfare and production of their livestock, immediate action is needed to enable Dai smallholder farmers to prevent and respond to animal influenza effectively and timely.     

Adenosine A2A receptor agonists inhibit lipopolysaccharide-induced production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha by equine monocytes

Adenosine is an endogenous nucleoside that regulates many physiological processes by activating one or more adenosine receptor subtypes, namely A1, A2A, A2B and A3. The results of previous studies indicate that adenosine analogues inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by equine neutrophils primarily through activation of A2A receptors. Because peripheral blood monocytes produce cytokines that are responsible for many of the deleterious effects of LPS, the current study was performed to evaluate the effects of an array of novel adenosine receptor agonists on LPS-induced production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and to assess the selectively of these agonists for equine adenosine A2A over the A1 receptor. Radioligand binding studies performed with equine tissues expressing adenosine A1 and A2A receptor subtypes yielded a rank order of affinity for the equine A2A receptor of ATL307>ATL309 approximately ATL310 approximately ATL313>ATL202 approximately ATL361 approximately ATL376>ATL372>CGS21680>NECA. Co-incubation of equine peripheral blood monocytes with LPS and these agonists resulted in inhibition of TNF-alpha production with a rank order of potency that strongly correlated with their binding affinities for equine adenosine A2A receptors. Results of experiments performed with one of the adenosine receptor agonists (ATL313) and selective adenosine receptor antagonists confirmed that inhibition of LPS-induced production of TNF-alpha occurred via stimulation of A2A receptors. Although incubation of monocytes with IB-MECA, a compound purported to act as an adenosine A3 receptor agonist, reduced LPS-induced TNF-alpha production, this effect of IB-MECA was inhibited by the A2A selective antagonist ZM241385 but not by the A3 receptor antagonist MRS1220. These results indicate that the adenosine receptor subtype responsible for regulation of LPS-induced cytokine production by equine monocytes is the A2A receptor. To address the signal transduction mechanism responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects of ATL313 in equine monocytes, production of cAMP was compared in the presence and absence of either the adenosine A2A receptor antagonist ZM241385 or the adenosine A2B receptor antagonist MRS1706. In the absence of the antagonists, ATL313 increased production of cAMP; ZM241385 inhibited this effect of ATL313, whereas MRS1706 did not. Furthermore, incubation of monocytes with either the stable analogue of cAMP, dibutyryl cAMP, or forskolin, an activator of adenylyl cyclase, also inhibited LPS-induced production of TNF-alpha production by equine monocytes. Collectively, the results of the current study indicate that adenosine analogues inhibit LPS-induced production of TNF-alpha by equine monocytes primarily via activation of adenosine A2A receptors and do so in a cAMP-dependent manner. The results of this study indicate that stable adenosine analogues that are selective for adenosine A2A receptors may be suitable for development as anti-inflammatory drugs in horses.     

Temporal-spatial epidemiology of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in Mongolia, 2000 – 2002

Prior to 2000, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) had not been observed in Mongolia since 1973; however, between April 2000 and July 2002, Mongolia reported 44 FMD outbreaks that affected cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. The objectives of this study were to describe the distributions of the 44 reported FMD outbreaks in Mongolia and to assess their spatial clustering and directions of movement. Official reports were collected to obtain the number and species of animals both affected and at risk, and the date and geographical coordinates of each outbreak. Significant global and local spatial clusters of reported FMD outbreaks were identified. Disease spread during the second epidemic moved 76° northeast and the spread of the disease during the third epidemic moved 110° northwest. FMD outbreaks were clustered intensely close to other FMD-positive counties. These findings can be used in the future to help plan prevention and control measures in high risk areas.     

一起不履行动物强制免疫义务案的分析

通过对一起不履行动物强制免疫义务案件的分析,指出同类案件在办理过程中容易出现的问题,以及的目前执法工作中存在的一些不足,针对这些问题提出了解决建议。     

根据个体间蛋白质多位点基因型的比较分析中国黄牛的遗传关系

现行群体间遗传距离的度量方法都以等位基因频率的计算为依据，这些方法的缺点之一是在位点不多，多态笥不高时要求群体有较大的取样个体数目，另外，这些方法所建造的树素图不能反映群体是由混血引起还是由长期进化引起这一问题，针对这些问题，本文提出了以个体间蛋白质多位点基因型比较为基础的群体间遗传距离和群体内基因杂合度的度量方法，以十个主要中国黄牛群体的遗传关系分析为例，比较圆满的解决了上面几个问题。     

改性蒙脱石钙黏土(脱霉素)人体短期安全评估

脱霉素(NS)在多种动物身上均可对黄曲霉毒素引起的不良影响起到保护作用,因为其降低了黄曲霉毒素(AFs)在胃肠道中的生物利用。假定脱霉素可以安全地添加到人的日粮中,就可以减少人对黄曲霉毒素污染食物的接触及其健康风险。为了鉴定脱霉素对人的安全性及耐受性,建立长期功效研究的剂量确定方案,我们进行了随机双盲一期临床试验。临床审查志愿者(年龄在20～45岁),确认其健康状况。50个受试者(女性23人,男性27人)随机分成2组:低剂量组9个胶囊含1.5g/d,高剂量组9个胶囊含3.0g/d,试验周期为2周。脱霉素胶囊做的颜色和大小相同,每天分3次在指定地点分发给每个参与者,并跟踪记录每组的副反应和疾病情况。在实验室分析研究前后分别收集血液和尿样。所有参与者均完成了本试验,依从性99.1%。在一些参与者中出现了轻微的胃肠反应。症状包括腹痛(6%,3/50)、胃气胀(4%,2/50)、便秘(2%,1/50)、腹泻(2%,1/50)、胃肠气胀(8%,4/50)。两组之间的这些副作用没有统计学意义(p0.25)。每组中血液学、肝肾功能、电解质、VA和VE、矿物质等均无明显差别。这些结果表明脱霉素在人体应用是相对安全的,这可作为黄曲霉毒素中毒症高危人群长期人体试验的一个依据。     

Synergistic effects of Miconazole and Polymyxin B on microbial pathogens

The therapeutic value of antibiotics depends on the susceptibility of the infecting microorganism and the pharmacological profile of the drugs. To assess the value of an antibiotic combination of polymyxin B and miconazole this study examined the in vitro synergistic potential of the two drugs on Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and yeast. Antifungal and antibacterial activity was tested by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of broth macrodilution and urea broth microdilution, by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Synergism was calculated using the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICi). With Staphylococcus intermedius as target we found up to an eightfold reduction of the individual MICs when both drugs were combined. However, the FICi was 0.63 suggesting no real interaction between the two drugs. With Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Malassezia pachydermatis as targets the antimicrobial drug combination reduced the MICs of polymyxin B and miconazole from fourfold to hundredfold resulting in FICi between 0.06 and 0.5 which defines a synergistic action. Thus, if polymyxin B and miconazole are combined their effect is greater than the sum of the effects observed with polymyxin B and miconazole independently, revealing bactericidal and fungicidal synergism. Our results indicate a strong therapeutic value for the combination of these antimicrobial agents against Gram-negative bacteria and yeast and a weaker value against Gram positive bacteria for clinical situations where these pathogens are involved.