Modelling of a seasonally perturbed competitive three species impulsive system

The population of biological species in the ecosystem is known sensitive to the periodic fluctuations of seasonal change, food resources and climatic conditions. Research in the ecological management discipline conventionally models the behavior of such dynamic systems through specific impulsive response functions, but the results of such research are applicable only when the environments conform exactly to the conditions as defined by the specific response functions that have been implemented for specific scenarios. This means that the application of previous work may be somewhat limited. Moreover, the intra and inter competitions among species have been seldom studied for modelling the prey-predator ecosystem. To fill in the gaps this paper models the delicate balance of two-prey and one-predator system by addressing three main areas of: ⅰ) instead of using the specific impulse response this work models the ecosystem through a more general response function; ⅱ) to include the effects due to the competition between species and ⅲ) the system is subjected to the influences of seasonal factors. The seasonal factor has been implemented here in terms of periodic functions to represent the growth rates of predators. The sufficient condition for the local and global asymptotic stability of the prey-free periodic solution and the permanence of the system have been subsequently obtained by using the Comparison techniques and the Floquet theorems. Finally, the correctness of developed theories is verified by numerical simulation, and the corresponding biological explanation is given.2017005,2017019: Shanxi Agricultural University of Science and Technology Innovation Fund Projects

Dynamic metabolic control: towards precision engineering of metabolism

Advances in metabolic engineering have led to the synthesis of a wide variety of valuable chemicals in microorganisms. The key to commercializing these processes is the improvement of titer, productivity, yield, and robustness. Traditional approaches to enhancing production use the “push–pull-block” strategy that modulates enzyme expression under static control. However, strains are often optimized for specific laboratory set-up and are sensitive to environmental fluctuations. Exposure to sub-optimal growth conditions during large-scale fermentation often reduces their production capacity. Moreover, static control of engineered pathways may imbalance cofactors or cause the accumulation of toxic intermediates, which imposes burden on the host and results in decreased production. To overcome these problems, the last decade has witnessed the emergence of a new technology that uses synthetic regulation to control heterologous pathways dynamically, in ways akin to regulatory networks found in nature. Here, we review natural metabolic control strategies and recent developments in how they inspire the engineering of dynamically regulated pathways. We further discuss the challenges of designing and engineering dynamic control and highlight how model-based design can provide a powerful formalism to engineer dynamic control circuits, which together with the tools of synthetic biology, can work to enhance microbial production

Rapid Estrogen-Induced Phosphorylation of the SRC-3 Coactivator Occurs in an Extranuclear Complex Containing Estrogen Receptor

SRC-3/AIB1/ACTR/pCIP/RAC3/TRAM1 is a primary transcriptional coregulator for estrogen receptor (ER). Six SRC-3 phosphorylation sites have been identified, and these can be induced by steroids, cytokines, and growth factors, involving multiple kinase signaling pathways. Using phosphospecific antibodies for six phosphorylation sites, we investigated the mechanisms involved in estradiol (E2)-induced SRC-3 phosphorylation and found that this occurs only when either activated estrogen receptor α (ERα) or activated ERβ is present. Both the activation function 1 and the ligand binding domains of ERα are required for maximal induction. Mutations in the coactivator binding groove of the ERα ligand binding domain inhibit E2-stimulated SRC-3 phosphorylation, as do mutations in the nuclear receptor-interacting domain of SRC-3, suggesting that ERα must directly contact SRC-3 for this posttranslational modification to take place. A transcriptionally inactive ERα mutant which localizes to the cytoplasm supports E2-induced SRC-3 phosphorylation. Mutations of the ERα DNA binding domain did not block this rapid E2-dependent SRC-3 phosphorylation. Together these data demonstrate that E2-induced SRC-3 phosphorylation is dependent on a direct interaction between SRC-3 and ERα and can occur outside of the nucleus. Our results provide evidence for an early nongenomic action of ER on SRC-3 that supports the well-established downstream genomic roles of estrogen and coactivators

Impacts of freezing and thawing dynamics on foliar litter carbon release in alpine/subalpine forests along an altitudinal gradient in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Carbon (C) release from foliar litter is a primary component in C exchange among the atmosphere, vegetation, soil and water from respiration and leaching, but little information is currently related to the effects of freezing and thawing dynamics on C release of foliar litter in cold regions. A 2-year field litter decomposition experiment was conducted along an altitudinal gradient (~ 2700 to ~ 3600 m) to mimic temperature increases in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. C release was investigated for fresh foliar litter of spruce, fir and birch. The onset of the frozen stage, deep frozen stage and thawing stage was partitioned according to changes in the freezing and thawing dynamics of each winter. More rapid 2-year C released from fresh foliar litter at upper elevations compared to lower elevations in the alpine/subalpine region. However, high C release was observed at low altitudes during winter stages, but high altitudes exhibited high C release during growing season stages. The deep frozen stage showed higher rates of C release than other stages in the second year of decomposition. Negative-degree days showing freezing degrees were correlated to C release rates for the deep frozen stages in both years, and this relationship continued for the duration of the experiment, indicating that changes in freezing can directly modify C release from foliar litter. The results suggested that the changed freezing and thawing dynamics could delay the onset of C release in fresh litter in this cold region in the scenario of climate warming