Neoechinulin A as a Promising SARS-CoV-2 Mpro Inhibitor: In Vitro and In Silico Study Showing the Ability of Simulations in Discerning Active from Inactive Enzyme Inhibitors

The COVID-19 pandemic and its continuing emerging variants emphasize the need to discover appropriate treatment, where vaccines alone have failed to show complete protection against the new variants of the virus. Therefore, treatment of the infected cases is critical. This paper discusses the bio-guided isolation of three indole diketopiperazine alkaloids, neoechinulin A (1), echinulin (2), and eurocristatine (3), from the Red Sea-derived Aspergillus fumigatus MR2012. Neoechinulin A (1) exhibited a potent inhibitory effect against SARS-CoV-2 M^pro with IC₅₀ value of 0.47 μM, which is comparable to the reference standard GC376. Despite the structural similarity between the three compounds, only 1 showed a promising effect. The mechanism of inhibition is discussed in light of a series of extensive molecular docking, classical and steered molecular dynamics simulation experiments. This paper sheds light on indole diketopiperazine alkaloids as a potential structural motif against SARS-CoV-2 M^pro. Additionally, it highlights the potential of different molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation approaches in the discrimination between active and inactive structurally related M^pro inhibitors.     

等离子体处理对亚麻籽胶结构和功能特性的影响

为了揭示等离子体技术对亚麻籽胶的物理改性效应,该研究以5 mg/m L亚麻籽胶溶液为对象,比较了不同等离子体处理时间(0～120 s)对亚麻籽胶结构和功能特性的影响规律。结果发现,随着等离子体处理时间的延长,亚麻籽胶溶液p H值、Zeta电位绝对值和平均分子量逐渐减小,而对亚麻籽胶的多糖骨架结构和单糖组成无明显影响。等离子体处理降低亚麻籽胶的炭化和聚合反应温度、表观黏度和界面吸附能力。冷场扫描电镜结合稳定性指数(Turbiscan Stability Index, TSI)结果显示,0～15 s等离子体处理在不明显降低亚麻籽胶中酚类化合物含量和体外抗氧化活性的同时,明显改善了亚麻籽胶构建亚麻籽油乳液的稳定性(P0.05)。因此,等离子体作为一种非热加工技术,能够用于亚麻籽胶的适度改性研究,以拓宽其在健康食品领域中的应用前景。     

First molecular detection of canine herpesvirus 1 (CaHV-1) in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon

BackgroundCanine herpesvirus type 1 (CaHV-1) infects dogs and is associated with neonatal deaths and reproductive, ocular, neurological, and respiratory problems. In Brazil, reports of CaHV-1 have been restricted to the southeast and south regions, particularly in municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.ObjectivesTo assess the presence and variability of CaHV-1 in canine populations in the state of Pará, North Brazil.MethodsBiological samples from 159 dogs from 4 municipalities in the State of Pará were evaluated using polymerase chain reaction and phylogenetic analyses, with the target being the viral enzyme, thymidine kinase.ResultsCaHV-1 was detected in 13 dogs (8.2%), with 2 animals being from the municipality of Santa Bárbara do Pará, 8 from Algodoal Island, 2 from Salinópolis, and one from Capanema. The study sequences revealed 100% identity among themselves and 64% to 100% identity with the other nucleotide sequences from Australia, Brazil, United Kingdom, and United States, including 100% identity with the 2002 isolate from Australia. The 1996 isolate from France was grouped in a branch that was different from the sequence of this study.ConclusionsThis study presents the first molecular detection of CaHV-1 in dogs from the Amazon region in northern Brazil. The nucleotide identity between the strains and cytosine insertion in the sequences isolated in this study suggests at least 2 strains of CaHV-1 circulating in Brazil (Pará and BTU-1).     

基于简化基因组测序技术的甘薯HRM分子标记开发及其应用

目前甘薯中针对SNP位点的分子标记开发及应用的报道较少。为开发甘薯特异SNP分子标记,本研究利用简化基因组测序技术对甘薯种质材料进行测序,筛选稳定的SNP位点,将其开发为基于HRM技术的分子标记,并在甘薯种质材料中进行验证。通过对23个甘薯种质材料简化基因组测序数据的分析,共发现835 756个SNP多态性位点,筛选其中的3 650个含有SNP多态性位点的高质量测序片段,成功设计了134对引物;初步验证发现,22对(16.42%)引物没有扩增产物,15对(11.19%)引物扩增产物2个以上,36对(26.87%)引物的扩增产物没有差异。61对(45.52%)引物在8个样本中的扩增特异性好,而且样本之间有差异。最后筛选34对扩增多态性丰富的引物对52份甘薯种质材料进行扫描,发现材料间多态性介于27.27%~90.91%之间,平均多态性达到59.35%。聚类分析表明,参试52份甘薯种质材料之间的差异较小,多数材料与骨干亲本南瑞苕、徐薯18之间关系较近,国外引进甘薯材料和地方品种差异较大。建议在今后甘薯育种中尽量选用地方品种和国外甘薯品种,从而更好地拓宽甘薯遗传背景。本研究初步建立了基于简化基因组技术和HRM技术开发甘薯SNP分子标记的新思路,为今后甘薯SNP分子标记开发提供了参考。同时本研究开发的甘薯分子标记,丰富了甘薯分子标记类型,为甘薯研究者开展快速的分子标记研究提供了支持。     

多花黑麦草杂交种SSR分子标记鉴定及表型比较分析

多花黑麦草为异花受粉植物,杂交过程中易出现杂交种生物性混杂现象,有必要对杂交后代进行真假鉴定分析.本研究旨在筛选出多花黑麦草优势杂交组合和优异杂交后代材料,为多花黑麦草杂交育种工作提供基础资料.实验利用SSR分子标记辅助鉴定5个多花黑麦草(Lolium multiflorum)骨干品种为亲本创制的杂种后代真实性,并对亲本与杂种后代主要表型进行比较.结果表明:(1)用20对引物组合共得到多态性条带426条,多态性位点百分率为82.41％,说明SSR分子标记能够很好的揭示多花黑麦草材料间的差异;(2)经SSR分子鉴定,将后代分为有父本特征谱带的杂种后代、无父本特征带的后代2类,在150个杂交后代单株中有父本特征谱带的杂种后代有108个为真杂种,其中杂交组合GC、CG真杂种最多均为24个,WG组合真杂种最少为19个;(3)杂交组合CG的F1代部分形态特征显著优于亲本,5个杂交组合内(间)在营养器官与生殖器官性状均存在显著差异,其中杂交组合MG的变异系数最高,WG的变异系数最低,杂交组合CG形态特征显著高于其他杂交组合.由研究结果可以初步判断长江2号×赣选一号多花黑麦草为优势杂交组合,其杂交种为优异杂交后代材料,可为后续杂交选育新品系提供后备材料.     

Fractionation of soil humic acids by preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of concentrated urea

To separate soil humic acids (HAs) into their constituents and characterize them, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) was carried out in the presence of 7 M urea using a preparative electrophoresis system. Two types of soil HAs were fractionated into nine fractions by PAGE. The dark-colored constituents were recovered from the electrophoretic fractions by precipitation on acidification, and the brown-colored constituents dissolved in the acidic solution of fast-moving fractions were recovered by adsorption onto DAX-8 resin. High-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) confirmed that the constituents of the HAs were separated based on their molecular size by PAGE. The dark-colored constituents exhibited higher degrees of humification than did the corresponding unfractionated HAs, except for the constituents remaining in the electrophoretic gels at the end of electrophoresis. Diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy revealed that the chemical properties of the dark-colored constituents changed regularly: the content of carboxyl groups decreased and the proportions of proteinous, aliphatic and polysaccharide moieties increased with increasing molecular size. The humification degrees of the constituents adsorbed onto DAX-8 resin were considerably lower than those of the corresponding unfractionated HAs. The chemical properties of the DAX-8-adsorbed constituents were different from those of the dark-colored constituents. Observation of electrophoretic fractions under blue light (470 nm) and HPSEC with fluorescence detection at an excitation wavelength of 460 nm and an emission wavelength of 520 nm showed that green fluorescent substances were largely concentrated in the smallest molecular size fractions and were partitioned into both the dark-colored precipitates and DAX-8-adsorbed fractions. The proportion of organic carbon recovered by precipitation and adsorption onto DAX-8 resin was 45–63%, indicating that substantial parts of the HA constituents were missing. The unrecovered constituents were considered to be acid-soluble, nearly colorless substances. The dissociation of the acid-soluble constituents from the acid-insoluble dark-colored constituents during the preparative PAGE of soil HAs was ascribed to disruption of hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions caused by concentrated urea.     

大白菜InDels标记开发及其在剩余杂合体鉴定中的应用

大白菜(Brassica rapa ssp.pekinensis)参考基因组序列的公布及测序成本的降低为大规模开发插入/缺失(Insertion/Deletion,InDel)标记提供了可能.本研究以性状差异明显的大白菜自交系He102与06-247为亲本,开展了全基因组重测序、标记开发和验证工作.二者测序深度分别为10×和8×,经筛选共获得330 218个InDels差异位点,出现频率为1.2个/kb,其中有11 238个差异位点位于编码区,包括5 184个差异基因,每个基因平均包含2.2个差异位点.分别以He102与06-247测序数据中筛选出的多态性InDels位点为参照,从10条染色体上随机选择933个位点进行了PCR扩增及电泳检测验证.结果表明,测序深度对假阳性率有直接影响,以测序较深的材料中筛选到的差异位点为参照,其验证结果的假阳性率亦较高,反之则较低.本研究中以He102与06-247为参照选择InDels位点验证的平均假阳性率分别是51.9％和22.5％.从933个位点中共筛选出593个在亲本之间实际表现为多态性的位点,这些差异位点中有375个位于编码区,是潜在的功能性标记.利用上述差异位点,检测了He102与06-247衍生的F7代重组自交系群体,明确了F7代各株系在593个位点的纯/杂合状态,为利用剩余杂合株系精细解析和精准定位大白菜耐抽薹、抗病毒、抗干烧心等重要农艺性状奠定了基础.     

Agronomical,quality, and molecular characterization of twenty Italian emmer wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum dicoccon</Emphasis>) accessions

Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccon Schrank, 2n = 4x = 28) consists in a hulled wheat; its cultivation has been drastically reduced during the last century as a consequence of its low yield. Recently, its agronomic and nutritive values, as well as the increase of popularity of organic agriculture, have led to a renewed interest making its cultivation economically viable in the marginal lands with an increase of the cultivated areas. In Italy, it mainly survives in few marginal lands of central and southern Italy, where local varieties, adapted to the natural environment from where they originate, are used; moreover, some selected lines have also been developed. In the present work, agro-morphological and qualitative traits, together with molecular analyses of 20 emmer accessions consisting of Italian landraces, breeding lines, and cultivars, were performed. The field experiments were conducted for two consecutive years (2001/2002–2002/2003) in two locations: Viterbo in central Italy, and Foggia in south Italy. The analyzed emmer wheat accessions showed a good amount of genetic variability for both evaluated agro-morphological and molecular traits. This study illustrates an increase in earliness, GY, TW, TKW, and YI going from landraces, breeding lines to cultivars, while the variability does not change proportionally.     

Nomenclature and genetic relationships of apples and pears from Terceira Island

Heritage apple (Malus domestica Borkh. hybrids) and pear (Pyrus communis L. hybrid) trees grow in villages throughout Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal. Some of these pears have different names but similar morphology. The objective of this study was to determine synonymy, homology, and phylogeny of apples and pears from Terceira and to examine potential relationships of the island pears with standard apples and pears of Portuguese or American descent. Nine apple microsatellite markers were used to determine genetic relationships. Distance- and parsimony-based cluster analysis grouped these genotypes into separate apple and pear clades. The Terceira apples were divided into two clades: the maçā and the reineta-reinette. Among the 17 heritage apple genotypes, seven unique accessions were identified and four groups of synonyms, or possibly clones, were detected including: ‘Reineta Agosto’ and ‘Reineta Verde’ from Altares; ‘Reineta Castanha’ and ‘Reineta Verde Miuda’; ‘Maçā Pêra,’ ‘Maçā Calhau’, ‘Pêro Branco’ from Salga and from Terra-Chā and ‘Maçā Marmelo’; and the five genotypes ‘Maçā Sao Joao’, ‘Malápio Rosa’, ‘Maçā Gaspar’, ‘Maçā Branca’ and ‘Maçā Pato’. In addition, two homonyms were detected. ‘Pêro Vermelho’ from Terra Chā was a separate genotype from a tree from Doze Ribeiras of the same name, but Pêro Branco from Terra Chā appears to be a clone that can be distinguished by an additional allele at CH1F07a from a tree with that name from Salga. One pair of apple clones, ‘Reineta Agosto’ and ‘Reineta Verde’ from Altares appear to be derived from an unreduced gamete of ‘Golden Delicious.’ Another apple genotype ‘Maçā Acida’ could be a sibling of the ‘Maçā Pêra’ clonal group. Other tested standard apples from the US genebank were unrelated to Terceira genotypes. Of the seven heritage pears, five unique genotypes and one pair of synonyms were detected. ‘Pêra Papo Pintassilgo’ from Raminho and ‘Pêra Vermelha’ from the nursery of Serviço de Desenvolvimento Agario da Terceira (SDAT) were synonyms. ‘Passans du Portugal’ was related to ‘Pêra Cabaca’ but other standard pears from the US genebank were unrelated to Terceira genotypes. Future studies will include additional apple and pear cultivars from other Islands of the Azores and continental Portugal, and wild Asian species to further explore genetic relationships.     

低分子有机酸对土壤中重金属的解吸及影响因素

研究了柠檬酸、草酸、酒石酸和苹果酸对矿区土壤中重金属Pb、Cd、Cu和Zn的解吸行为,并探讨了介质pH值对其解吸土中重金属的影响。振荡解吸试验结果表明四种低分子有机酸对供试污染土壤中Pb、Cd、Cu和Zn都具有一定的解吸能力。由于土壤中重金属有效态含量较低,各重金属的解吸率都不高。在对Pb和Cd的解吸中,各低分子有机酸能力大小顺序为柠檬酸>酒石酸≈苹果酸>草酸;Cu的解吸顺序为柠檬酸>草酸>酒石酸≈苹果酸;Zn的解吸顺序为酒石酸>柠檬酸≈苹果酸>草酸。低分子有机酸随浓度的增加,其解吸能力提高。低分子有机酸对重金属的解吸量随pH值的降低而增加。