利用单根肌纤维法分离和培养猪骨骼肌卫星细胞及其成肌诱导分化

建立单根肌纤维法体外培养猪骨骼肌卫星细胞的体系,了解其增殖和成肌特性。通过Ⅰ型胶原酶消化,从猪骨骼肌中分离完整的单根肌纤维并培养,用细胞免疫荧光鉴定肌纤维上的卫星细胞,随后对从单根肌纤维上游离出来的卫星细胞进行细胞免疫荧光染色,传代培养,成肌诱导分化和Western blot分析骨骼肌卫星细胞成肌特异性蛋白的表达。结果显示:分离并培养的单根肌纤维上附着有卵圆形的细胞,并随时间的推移,细胞缓慢向外迁移并增殖,卫星细胞特异性标志基因对盒转录因子(Paired protein box,Pax7)和成肌分化抗原(Myogenic Differentiation Antigen,MyoD)免疫荧光染色呈阳性,且阳性率达到90%以上。成肌诱导分化后,细胞开始汇合,并呈方向性生长,最终形成多核肌管,且成肌特异性标志基因Myogenin和myosin heavy chain(MyHC)表达呈阳性。MyoD蛋白高表达于增殖期,而Myogenin和MyHC在进入分化期才表达。该实验成功建立了猪骨骼肌单根肌纤维的体外培养方法并获得了高纯度的卫星细胞,为骨骼肌卫星细胞进行活体移植治疗相关疾病研究提供了实验材料。     

镜鲤体重的QTL定位

本研究利用217个微卫星标记和336个SNPs标记对德国镜鲤F2代68个个体基因组DNA进行基因型检测。其中507个标记共组成62个连锁群,覆盖基因组总长度为2805．85cM,标记问平均距离为6-31cM;利用软件MapQTL4．0采用区间作图法对体重性状进行QTL定位分析。研究结果共检测到14个与体重性状有关的QTLs,分布于9个连锁群。其中BIV-5-J有最大的LOD值,为4．46;BIV—I-1的LOD值最小,为2．25。单个QTL平均解释表型变异介于14．10％～45．50％之间,其中贡献率大于20％的主效QTLs有9个。通过BLASTX与斑马鱼蛋白质序列数据库进行序列比对,找到了与斑马鱼酰基辅酶A脱氢酶蛋白、胰淀粉酶仅2蛋白、Apoebprotein和甘油醛-3-磷酸脱氢酶蛋白同源的分子标记。本研究结果对分子标记辅助育种具有重要应用价值。     

榆林市风沙区水土保持植物配置模式初探

榆林市风沙区是我国西北黄土高原地区水土流失最为严重的地区之一,合理配置水土保持植物措施,可有效降低风沙危害、减少入黄泥沙、改善生态环境。根据该区立地条件类型的划分,以小叶杨、沙柳、沙棘、柠条、爬地柏等乔灌木为主,提出4种水土保持植物配置模式:1)对于平缓沙丘及丘间低地,采用迎风坡前方下部种植灌木或每隔1个沙丘进行乔灌混交的种植模式;2)对盖沙土梁峁坡及沟坡,采用在沟坡配置灌木纯林,梁峁坡为乔灌混交的模式;3)沟谷地川滩地地势平坦,坡度较小,以农田防护林带建设为主;4)盐碱土河滩地主要选择耐盐渍的树种和草种,与河水主流方向成30°～45°交角栽植林带,采取行间混交或带状混交。这些水土保持植物配置模式可为同类地区的水土保持植被建设提供借鉴。     

黄土坡面细沟径流输沙对水动力学参数的响应

细沟径流输沙是细沟侵蚀产沙的重要过程,阐明细沟径流输沙与水动力学参数之间的关系可以有效地揭示细沟径流输沙的动力学机制,并为建立细沟侵蚀过程物理模型奠定基础。采用具有定流量人工放水的组合小区模拟降雨试验,研究黄土坡面细沟径流输沙对水动力学参数的响应关系。结果表明:1)一次降雨径流产生的细沟输沙模数对水动力学参数平均值响应关系大小顺序为平均水流断面单位能量(R=0.99)>平均水流功率(R=0.88)>平均水流切应力(R=0.82)>平均单位水流功率(R=0.76);2)降雨径流过程中,细沟输沙率对水动力学参数瞬时值响应关系为水流切应力(R=0.88)>水流功率(R=0.47),水流断面单位能量和单位水流功率的相关性较差,细沟输沙率对水流切应力的响应关系呈幂函数方程关系。     

钼对滇重楼生长、养分和总皂甙含量的影响

采用盆栽试验,设4个施钼水平,即0、0.2、0.4、0.8 mg/kg,研究了施钼对滇重楼生长、养分元素含量和根茎总皂甙含量的影响。结果表明,与不施钼相比,施钼显著提高了滇重楼株高、光合速率、生物量和根茎产量,分别以0.4、0.2、0.4、0.2mg/kg处理最高。中低施钼水平（0.2、0.4mg/kg）下,叶和新根茎氮含量呈增加的趋势,高施钼水平（0.8mg/kg）可显著降低叶和新根茎氮含量;施钼降低了叶和新根茎中的磷含量,但增加了地上茎中的磷含量;施钼增加了叶中钾含量,但降低了茎中钾含量。各施钼处理叶、地上茎、新根茎中钼含量均显著高于不施钼处理;随施钼水平的增加,各部位钼含量呈先增加后降低的趋势。与不施钼相比,各施钼处理新根茎中总皂甙含量显著增加,以Mo 0.8 mg/kg处理最高。综合考虑滇重楼生长、药用部位生物量累积、钼和总皂甙含量,本试验条件下,以施Mo 0.2～0.4 mg/kg较为适宜。     

Impacts of land use and plant characteristics on dried soil layers in different climatic regions on the Loess Plateau of China

A dried soil layer (DSL) formed in the soil profile is a typical indication of soil drought caused by climate change and/or poor land management. The responses of a soil to drought conditions in water-limited systems and the impacts of plant characteristics on these processes are seldom known due to the lack of comparative data on soil water content (SWC) in the soil profile. The occurrence of DSLs can interfere in the water cycle in soil-plant-atmosphere systems by preventing water interchanges between upper soil layers and groundwater. Consequently, a DSL may limit the sustainability of environmental restoration projects (e.g., revegetation, soil and water conservation, etc.) on the Loess Plateau of China and in other similar arid and semiarid regions. In this study, we investigated and compared the impacts of soil type, land use and plant characteristics within each of the three climatic regions (arid, semiarid, semihumid) of the Loess Plateau. A total of 17,906 soil samples from 382 soil profiles were collected to characterize DSLs across the Plateau.Spatial patterns of DSLs (represented by four indices: (1) DSL thickness, DSLT; (2) DSL forming depth, DSLFD; (3) mean SWC within the DSL, DSL-SWC; and (4) stable field water capacity, SFC) differed significantly among the climatic regions, emphasizing the importance of considering climatic conditions when assessing DSL variations. The impact of land use on DSLs varied among the three climatic regions. In the arid region, land use had no significant effect on DSLs but there were significant effects in the semiarid and semihumid regions (P < 0.05). The development of DSLs under trees and grasses was more severe in the semiarid region than in the semihumid region. In each climatic region, the extent of DSLs depended on the plant species (e.g., native or exotic, tree or grass) and growth ages; while only in the semiarid region, the DSL-SWC and SFC (P < 0.001) were significantly influenced by soil type. The DSL distribution pattern was related to the climatic region and the soil texture, which both followed gradients along the southeast-northwest axis of the Plateau. Optimizing land use can mediate DSL formation and development in the semiarid and semihumid regions of the Loess Plateau and in similar regions elsewhere. Understanding the dominant factors affecting DSLs at the regional scale enables scientifically based policies to be made that would alleviate the process of soil desiccation and sustain development of the economy and restoration of the natural environment. Moreover, these results can also be useful to the modeling of the regional water cycle and related eco-hydrological processes.     

Enzymatically catalyzed synthesis of low-calorie structured lipid in a solvent-free system: optimization by response surface methodology

A kind of low-calorie structured lipid (LCSL) was obtained by interesterification of tributyrin (TB) and methyl stearate (St-ME), catalyzed by a commercially immobilized 1,3-specific lipase, Lipozyme RM IM from Rhizomucor miehei . The condition optimization of the process was conducted by using response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal conditions for highest conversion of St-ME and lowest content LLL-TAG (SSS and SSP; S, stearic acid; P, palmitic acid) were determined to be a reaction time 6.52 h, a substrate molar ratio (St-ME:TB) of 1.77:1, and an enzyme amount of 10.34% at a reaction temperature of 65 °C; under these conditions, the actually measured conversion of St-ME and content of LLL-TAG were 78.47 and 4.89% respectively, in good agreement with predicted values. The target product under optimal conditions after short-range molecular distillation showed solid fat content (SFC) values similar to those of cocoa butter substitutes (CBS), cocoa butter equivalent (CBE), and cocoa butters (CB), indicating its application for inclusion with other fats as cocoa butter substitutes.     

Effects of green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate on newly developed high-fat/Western-style diet-induced obesity and metabolic syndrome in mice

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on newly developed high-fat/Western-style diet-induced obesity and symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a high fat/Western-style (HFW; 60% energy as fat and lower levels of calcium, vitamin D(3), folic acid, choline bitartrate, and fiber) or HFW with EGCG (HFWE; HFW with 0.32% EGCG) diet for 17 wks. As a comparison, two other groups of mice fed a low-fat diet (LF; 10% energy as fat) and high-fat diet (HF; 60% energy as fat) were also included. The HFW group developed more body weight gain and severe symptoms of metabolic syndrome than the HF group. The EGCG treatment significantly reduced body weight gain associated with increased fecal lipids and decreased blood glucose and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels compared to those of the HFW group. Fatty liver incidence, liver damage, and liver triglyceride levels were also decreased by the EGCG treatment. Moreover, the EGCG treatment attenuated insulin resistance and levels of plasma cholesterol, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), C-reactive protein (CRP), interlukin-6 (IL-6), and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). Our results demonstrate that the HFW diet produces more severe symptoms of metabolic syndrome than the HF diet and that the EGCG treatment can alleviate these symptoms and body fat accumulation. The beneficial effects of EGCG are associated with decreased lipid absorption and reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines.     

Characterization of phytochemicals and antioxidant activities of a purple tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

A newly developed nongenetically modified purple tomato V118 was investigated for its phytochemical compositions and antioxidant activities. A highly efficient and sensitive UPLC method was developed for both the phenolics and carotenoids, which showed that in addition to the phytochemicals commonly known for tomatoes, V118 had a unique composition of anthocyanins. The total carotenoid content of V118 was 234.78 μg/g dry weight (DW), and the total phenolic content was 659.11 mg GAE/100 g DW. The antioxidant activities of the lipophilic extract as measured by the PCL and ORAC-L assays were 30.11 μmol TE/g DW and 11.97 μmol TE/g DW, respectively, while the hydrophilic extracts as determined by the ORAC-H and FRAP assays were 323.23 μmol TE/g DW and 54.95 μmol AAE/g DW, respectively. The LC-MS study showed three major anthocyanins, which were mainly acylglycosides of petunidin and malvidin. This study showed that purple tomatoes such as V118 possess additional phytochemicals like anthocyanins, which can potentially have added health benefits.     

Environmentally friendly slow-release nitrogen fertilizer

To sustain the further world population, more fertilizers are required, which may become an environmental hazard, unless adequate technical and socioeconomic impacts are addressed. In the current study, slow-release formulations of nitrogen fertilizer were developed on the basis of natural attapulgite (APT) clay, ethylcellulose (EC) film, and sodium carboxymethylcellulose/hydroxyethylcellulose (CMC/HEC) hydrogel. The structural and chemical characteristics of the product were examined. The release profiles of urea, ammonium sulfate, and ammonium chloride as nitrogen fertilizer substrates were determined in soil. To further compare the release profiles of nitrogen from different fertilizer substrates, a mathematical model for nutrient release from the coated fertilizer was applied to calculate the diffusion coefficient D. The influence of the product on water-holding and water-retention capacities of soil was determined. The experimental data indicated that the product can effectively reduce nutrient loss, improve use efficiency of water, and prolong irrigation cycles in drought-prone environments.