DENTIGEROUS CYST IN THE VENTRAL CONCHAL SINUS OF A HORSE

A 14-year-old Quarter Horse was presented for evaluation of a chronic, intermittent purulent discharge from the left nostril. A radioopaque mass and multiple, air-fluid interfaces in the paranasal sinuses were identified on survey radiographs. The mass was removed and identified as a dentigerous cyst. Substantiated reports of dentigerous cysts in the paranasal sinuses are rare.     

小麦根高亲和NO_3~-转运体全长基因(TaNRT2.1)的克隆和鉴定

 在前期获得的 pTaAF 的工作基础上,采用 RACE 方法进一步克隆和鉴定了小麦根 NO3 转运体全长基因-(TaNRT2.1)。将TaNRT2.1和已知的硝态氮转运体基因家族进行同源性比较,指出TaNRT2.1属于HATS中的NRT2家族。Southern　印迹揭示小麦基因组中有1个TaNRT2.1拷贝。Northern　分析示出硝态氮可瞬时诱导TaNRT2.1　mRNA积累,NO 处理 1 h　TaNRT2.1　mRNA很快增加,4　h 达到最大,24　h恢复至诱导前水平,具根专一表达特点。 - 3     

Resistance to the Whitefly Aleurotrachelus socialis (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and SSR Marker Identification in Advanced Populations of the Hybrid Manihot esculenta subsp. Manihot flabellifolia

Genes resistant to Aleurotrachelus socialis were transferred to the F₁ from the interspecific hybrid wild species of Manihot flabellifolia to M. esculenta and two advanced generations of backcrosses (BC₁ and BC₂). We characterized the resistance of A. socialis transferred to BC₂ parents (CW67-160, CW67-130, CW67-44), MTAI-8 (BC₁), resistant (CMB9B-73) and susceptible (CMB9B-104) genotypes from contrasting pools, and resistant (MEcu-72) and susceptible (CMC-40) genotypes. Whitefly demography and biology were evaluated. SSR molecular markers associated with a phenotypic response of plant resistance were detected in segregating populations (BC₂). Results showed that although female survival time was similar on all hosts, the lowest averages of longevity, fecundity and oviposition rate were observed in the resistant control MEcu-72, only being significantly similar to the parent CW67-130. When the BC₁ and BC₂ populations were compared, it was found that A. socialis fecundity was eight times lower on CMB9B-73 progeny than on CW67-130, expressing the highest levels of resistance to the whitefly. Ten genotypes of CMB9A and CMB9B family had the best segregation. A total of 486 microsatellite primers were evaluated using bulked segregant analysis (BSA), 11 showed polymorphism between the contrasting pools and only one showed significant differences between resistant and susceptible individuals. In conclusion, fecundity was the parameter that impacted most on the intrinsic rate of A. socialis population growth.     

Structure and receptor specificity of the hemagglutinin from an H5N1 influenza virus

The hemagglutinin (HA) structure at 2.9 angstrom resolution, from a highly pathogenic Vietnamese H5N1 influenza virus, is more related to the 1918 and other human H1 HAs than to a 1997 duck H5 HA. Glycan microarray analysis of this Viet04 HA reveals an avian alpha2-3 sialic acid receptor binding preference. Introduction of mutations that can convert H1 serotype HAs to human alpha2-6 receptor specificity only enhanced or reduced affinity for avian-type receptors. However, mutations that can convert avian H2 and H3 HAs to human receptor specificity, when inserted onto the Viet04 H5 HA framework, permitted binding to a natural human alpha2-6 glycan, which suggests a path for this H5N1 virus to gain a foothold in the human population.     

Genome sequence diversity and clues to the evolution of variola (smallpox) virus

Comparative genomics of 45 epidemiologically varied variola virus isolates from the past 30 years of the smallpox era indicate low sequence diversity, suggesting that there is probably little difference in the isolates' functional gene content. Phylogenetic clustering inferred three clades coincident with their geographical origin and case-fatality rate; the latter implicated putative proteins that mediate viral virulence differences. Analysis of the viral linear DNA genome suggests that its evolution involved direct descent and DNA end-region recombination events. Knowing the sequences will help understand the viral proteome and improve diagnostic test precision, therapeutics, and systems for their assessment.     

A clamping mechanism involved in SNARE-dependent exocytosis

During neurotransmitter release at the synapse, influx of calcium ions stimulates the release of neurotransmitter. However, the mechanism by which synaptic vesicle fusion is coupled to calcium has been unclear, despite the identification of both the core fusion machinery [soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE)] and the principal calcium sensor (synaptotagmin). Here, we describe what may represent a basic principle of the coupling mechanism: a reversible clamping protein (complexin) that can freeze the SNAREpin, an assembled fusion-competent intermediate en route to fusion. When calcium binds to the calcium sensor synaptotagmin, the clamp would then be released. SNARE proteins, and key regulators like synaptotagmin and complexin, can be ectopically expressed on the cell surface. Cells expressing such "flipped" synaptic SNAREs fuse constitutively, but when we coexpressed complexin, fusion was blocked. Adding back calcium triggered fusion from this intermediate in the presence of synaptotagmin.