Possible origin of Triticum petropavlovskyi based on cytological analyses of crosses between T. petropavlovskyi and tetraploid, hexaploid, and synthetic hexaploid (SHW-DPW) wheat accessions

Intraspecific hybridization between Triticum petropavlovskyi Udacz. et Migusch., synthetic hexaploid wheat (SHW-DPW), and tetraploid and hexaploid wheat, was performed to collect data on seed set, fertility of F1 hybrid, and meiotic pairing configuration, aiming to evaluate the possible origin of T. petropavlovskyi. Our data showed that (1) seed set of crosses T. petropavlovskyi × T. polonicum and T. petropavlovskyi × T. aestivum cv. Chinese Spring was significantly high; (2) fertility of hybrids T. petropavlovskyi × T. polonicum and T. petropavlovskyi × T. aestivum ssp. yunnanense was higher than that of the other hybrids; (3) fertility of F1 hybrids SHW-DPW × T. dicoccoides and SHW-DPW×T. aestivum ssp. tibetanum was significantly high; and (4) c-value of T. petropavlovskyi × T. polonicum and T. petropavlovskyi × T. aestivum cv. Changning white wheat was also significantly high. The results indicate that the probable origin of T. petropavlovskyi is divergence from a natural cross between T. aestivum and T. polonicum, via either spontaneous introgression or breeding effort

Composition and Morphology of Nanocrystals in Urines of Lithogenic Patients and Healthy Persons

The composition and morphology of nanocrystals in urines of healthy persons and lithogenic patients were comparatively investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was shown that the main composition of urinary nanocrystals in healthy persons were calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD), uric acid, and ammonium magnesium phosphate (struvite). However, the main compositions of urinary nanocrystals in lithogenic patients were struvite, β-tricalcium phosphate, uric acid, COD, and calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM). According to the XRD data, the size of nanocrystals was calculated to be 23∼72 nm in healthy urine and 12∼118 nm in lithogenic urine by Scherer formula. TEM results showed that the nanocrystals in healthy urine were dispersive and uniform with a mean size of about 38 nm. In contrast, the nanocrystals in lithogenic urine were much aggregated with a mean size of about 55 nm. The results in this work indicated that the urinary stone formation may be prevented by diminishing the aggregation and the size differentiation of urinary nanocrystals by physical or chemical methods

Construction and prokaryotic expression of the fusion gene PRRSV GP5 and Mycobacterium bovis Hsp70

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is an economically important swine disease that has devastated the swine industry worldwide. Vaccination with live attenuated vaccine or inactivated vaccine is the main treatment to control PRRS. However, the disadvantages such as virulence resumption of the attenuated vaccine and low immunogenicity of the inactivated vaccine call for a more efficient and safer genetically engineered vaccine. In this study, the structural protein GP5 of the PRRS virus (PRRSV), one of the major protective antigens which stimulates a protective immune response was selected to develop a genetically engineered subunit vaccine. In order to promote the immune reaction of the host to GP5, heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) was selected as immuno-adjuvant to enhance PRRSV GP5 immunogenicity. The Hsp70 gene was amplified by PCR from attenuated Mycobacterium bovis, and the PRRSV GP5 gene was amplified by RT-PCR from the total RNA of PRRSV SCQ strain which was isolated, identified and maintained by the Animal Biotechnological Center, Sichuan Agricultural University, China. The fusion expressing plasmid pET32-GP5-Hsp70 was constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21. Ni2+-chelating resin was used to purify the His-tagged fusion protein expressed under optimized expressing conditions. The rabbit anti-GP5-Hsp70 fusion protein antibody was made, and Western blot assay verified the successful expression of the fusion protein, making it possible for further investigation whether Hsp70 could improve the immunogenicity of the PRRSV GP5 subunit vaccine, or evaluating the immunogenicity of the GP5-Hsp70 subunit vaccine.Keywords: Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) GP5 gene, Mycobacterium bovis Hsp70 gene, cloning, prokaryotic expression, identification.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(30), pp. 4754-476

Identification and functional characterization of ApisOr23 in pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum

peer reviewedPea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, is a serious pest of many different leguminous plants, and it mainly relies on its odorant receptors (Ors) to discriminate among host species. However, less is known about the role that Ors play in the host plant location. In this study, we identified a novel conserved odorant receptor clade by phylogenetic analysis, and conducted the functional analysis of ApisOr23 in A. pisum. The results showed that the homologous Ors from A. pisum, Aphis glycines and Aphis gossypii share 94.28% identity in amino acid sequences. Moreover, conserved motifs were analyzed using the annotated homologous Or23 from eight aphid species, providing further proof of the high conservation level of the Or23 clade. According to the tissue expression pattern analysis, ApisOr23 was mainly expressed in the antennae. Further functional study using a heterologous Xenopus expression system revealed that ApisOr23 was tuned to five plant volatiles, namely trans-2-hexen-1-al, cis-2-hexen-1-ol, 1-heptanol, 4´-ethylacetophenone, and hexyl acetate. Among them, trans-2-hexen-1-al, which is one of the main volatile organic compounds released from legume plants, activated the highest response of ApisOr23. Our findings suggest that the conserved Or23 clade in most aphid species might play an important role in host plant detection

Genetic characterization of H1N2 influenza a virus isolated from sick pigs in Southern China in 2010

In China H3N2 and H1N1 swine influenza viruses have been circulating for many years. In January 2010, before swine were infected with foot and mouth disease in Guangdong, some pigs have shown flu-like symptoms: cough, sneeze, runny nose and fever. We collected the nasopharyngeal swab of all sick pigs as much as possible. One subtype H1N2 influenza viruses were isolated from the pig population. The complete genome of one isolate, designated A/swine/Guangdong/1/2010(H1N2), was sequenced and compared with sequences available in GenBank. The nucleotide sequences of all eight viral RNA segments were determined, and then phylogenetic analysis was performed using the neighbor-joining method. HA, NP, M and NS were shown to be closely to swine origin. PB2 and PA were close to avian origin, but NA and PB1were close to human origin. It is a result of a multiple reassortment event. In conclusion, our finding provides further evidence about the interspecies transmission of avian influenza viruses to pigs and emphasizes the importance of reinforcing swine influenza virus (SIV) surveillance, especially before the emergence of highly pathogenic FMDs in pigs in Guangdong

Degradation of the Separase-cleaved Rec8, a Meiotic Cohesin Subunit, by the N-end Rule Pathway

The Ate1 arginyltransferase (R-transferase) is a component of the N-end rule pathway, which recognizes proteins containing N-terminal degradation signals called N-degrons, polyubiquitylates these proteins, and thereby causes their degradation by the proteasome. Ate1 arginylates N-terminal Asp, Glu, or (oxidized) Cys. The resulting N-terminal Arg is recognized by ubiquitin ligases of the N-end rule pathway. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the separase-mediated cleavage of the Scc1/Rad21/Mcd1 cohesin subunit generates a C-terminal fragment that bears N-terminal Arg and is destroyed by the N-end rule pathway without a requirement for arginylation. In contrast, the separase-mediated cleavage of Rec8, the mammalian meiotic cohesin subunit, yields a fragment bearing N-terminal Glu, a substrate of the Ate1 R-transferase. Here we constructed and used a germ cell-confined Ate1−/− mouse strain to analyze the separase-generated C-terminal fragment of Rec8. We show that this fragment is a short-lived N-end rule substrate, that its degradation requires N-terminal arginylation, and that male Ate1−/− mice are nearly infertile, due to massive apoptotic death of Ate1−/− spermatocytes during the metaphase of meiosis I. These effects of Ate1 ablation are inferred to be caused, at least in part, by the failure to destroy the C-terminal fragment of Rec8 in the absence of N-terminal arginylation

Changes of tau profiles in brains of the hamsters infected with scrapie strains 263 K or 139 A possibly associated with the alteration of phosphate kinases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Phospho-tau deposition has been described in a rare genetic human prion disease, Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome, but is not common neuropathological picture for other human and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). This study investigated the possible changes of tau and phosphorylated tau (p-tau, at Ser396, Ser404, and Ser202/Thr205) in scrapie experimental animals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The profiles of tau and p-tau (p-tau, at Ser396, Ser404, and Ser202/Thr205) in the brain tissues of agents 263K- or 139A-infected hamsters were evaluated by Western blots and real-time PCR. Meanwhile, the transcriptional and expressive levels of GSK3β and CDK5 in the brains were tested.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The contents of total tau and p-tau at Ser202/Thr205 increased, but p-tau at Ser396 and Ser404 decreased at the terminal stages, regardless of scrapie strains. Transcriptional levels of two tau isoforms were also increased. Additionally, it showed higher CDK5, but lower GSK3β transcriptional and expressive levels in the brains of scrapie-infected animals. Analysis of brain samples collected from different times after inoculated with agent 263 K revealed that the changes of tau profiles and phosphate kinases were time-relative events.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data suggest that changes of profiles of p-tau at Ser396, Ser404 and Ser202/Thr205 are illness-correlative phenomena in TSEs, which may arise of the alteration of phosphate kinases. Alteration of tau, p-tau (Ser396, Ser404, and Ser202/Thr205), GSK3β and CDK5 were either intermediate or consequent events in TSE pathogenesis and proposed the potential linkage of these bioactive proteins with the pathogenesis of prion diseases.</p

Salmonella paratyphi C: Genetic Divergence from Salmonella choleraesuis and Pathogenic Convergence with Salmonella typhi

BACKGROUND: Although over 1400 Salmonella serovars cause usually self-limited gastroenteritis in humans, a few, e.g., Salmonella typhi and S. paratyphi C, cause typhoid, a potentially fatal systemic infection. It is not known whether the typhoid agents have evolved from a common ancestor (by divergent processes) or acquired similar pathogenic traits independently (by convergent processes). Comparison of different typhoid agents with non-typhoidal Salmonella lineages will provide excellent models for studies on how similar pathogens might have evolved. METHODOLOGIES/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We sequenced a strain of S. paratyphi C, RKS4594, and compared it with previously sequenced Salmonella strains. RKS4594 contains a chromosome of 4,833,080 bp and a plasmid of 55,414 bp. We predicted 4,640 intact coding sequences (4,578 in the chromosome and 62 in the plasmid) and 152 pseudogenes (149 in the chromosome and 3 in the plasmid). RKS4594 shares as many as 4346 of the 4,640 genes with a strain of S. choleraesuis, which is primarily a swine pathogen, but only 4008 genes with another human-adapted typhoid agent, S. typhi. Comparison of 3691 genes shared by all six sequenced Salmonella strains placed S. paratyphi C and S. choleraesuis together at one end, and S. typhi at the opposite end, of the phylogenetic tree, demonstrating separate ancestries of the human-adapted typhoid agents. S. paratyphi C seemed to have suffered enormous selection pressures during its adaptation to man as suggested by the differential nucleotide substitutions and different sets of pseudogenes, between S. paratyphi C and S. choleraesuis. CONCLUSIONS: S. paratyphi C does not share a common ancestor with other human-adapted typhoid agents, supporting the convergent evolution model of the typhoid agents. S. paratyphi C has diverged from a common ancestor with S. choleraesuis by accumulating genomic novelty during adaptation to man

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio