A dynamic view of peptides and proteins in membranes

Biological membranes are highly dynamic supramolecular arrangements of lipids and proteins, which fulfill key cellular functions. Relatively few high-resolution membrane protein structures are known to date, although during recent years the structural databases have expanded at an accelerated pace. In some instances the structures of reaction intermediates provide a stroboscopic view on the conformational changes involved in protein function. Other biophysical approaches add dynamic aspects and allow one to investigate the interactions with the lipid bilayers. Membrane-active peptides fulfill many important functions in nature as they act as antimicrobials, channels, transporters or hormones, and their studies have much increased our understanding of polypeptide-membrane interactions. Interestingly several proteins have been identified that interact with the membrane as loose arrays of domains. Such conformations easily escape classical high-resolution structural analysis and the lessons learned from peptides may therefore be instructive for our understanding of the functioning of such membrane proteins. Received 11 March 2008; received after revision 2 May 2008; accepted 5 May 2008     

Light-harvesting complexes of vascular plants

Light-harvesting complexes (LHCs) located in the thylakoid membrane of plant chloroplasts are the collectors of solar radiation that fuel photosynthesis, and thus enable life on our planet. They consist of pigments that are non-covalently bound to light-harvesting proteins (Lhc proteins), which form a family whose members share a significant sequence identity. Due to their central role in photosynthesis, LHCs belong in several respects to the best-analysed membrane proteins. In the past decade, tremendous progress has been made in identifying new members of the Lhc family, in localising the LHCs within the photosystems, and in elucidating the structure and function of LHCs, which is summarised in this review. By contrast, gaining insight into the assembly process and the degradation of the LHCs could not keep pace. Therefore, topics for the next decade will be the elucidation of the location(s) and the operating mode of steps in the assembly and degradation process. Received 15 June 2008; received after revision 1 July 2008; accepted 10 July 2008     

Cellular uptake of amelogenin,and its localization to CD63, and Lamp1-positive vesicles

Proteins of the developing enamel matrix include amelogenin, ameloblastin and enamelin. Of these three proteins amelogenin predominates. Protein-protein interactions are likely to occur at the ameloblast Tomes’ processes between membrane-bound proteins and secreted enamel matrix proteins. Such protein-protein interactions could be associated with cell signaling or endocytosis. CD63 and Lamp1 are ubiquitously expressed, are lysosomal integral membrane proteins, and localize to the plasma membrane. CD63 and Lamp1 interact with amelogenin in vitro. In this study our objective was to study the molecular events of intercellular trafficking of an exogenous source of amelogenin, and related this movement to the spatiotemporal expression of CD63 and Lamp1 using various cell lineages. Exogenously added amelogenin moves rapidly into the cell into established Lamp1-positive vesicles that subsequently localize to the perinuclear region. These data indicate a possible mechanism by which amelogenin, or degraded amelogenin peptides, are removed from the extracellular matrix during enamel formation and maturation. Received 27 September 2006; received after revision 24 November 2006; accepted 5 December 2006     

Bioleaching of chalcopyrite and bornite by moderately thermophilic bacteria：an emphasis on their interactions

Interactions between chalcopyrite and bornite during bioleaching by moderately thermophilic bacteria were investigated mainly by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and electrochemical measurements performed in conjunction with bioleaching experiments. The results showed that a synergistic effect existed between chalcopyrite and bornite during bioleaching by bothAcidithiobacillus caldus and Leptospirillum ferriphilum and that extremely high copper extraction could be achieved when chalcopyrite and bornite coexisted in a bioleaching system. Bornite dissolved preferentially because of its lower corrosion potential, and its dissolution was accelerated by the gal-vanic current during the initial stage of bioleaching. The galvanic current and optimum redox potential of 390?480 mV vs. Ag/AgCl pro-moted the reduction of chalcopyrite to chalcocite (Cu2S), thus accelerating its dissolution.     

南海深部过程的探索

 2011-2018年，国家自然科学基金委员会设立“南海深部过程演变”重大研究计划，同时推动实施了三次半的大洋钻探航次，使南海进入国际深海研究的前列，在深海盆洋陆相互作用、边缘海盆地的板缘张裂和气候演变的低纬驱动等3方面取得了突破性进展，挑战了源自西欧、北大西洋的传统观念。深海探索的进展，确立了中国在南海科学上的引导地位，下一轮的深入研究可望将南海建成世界海洋科学的天然实验室，进一步提升中国在海洋基础研究中的国际地位。     

Carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants are a rich food source for a diverse vertebrate community

Carnivorous pitcher plants capture insect prey to acquire essential nutrients while growing on extremely poor soils. A few individual species have evolved mutualistic relationships with small mammals that visit the traps to harvest nectar, and in return leave faecal droppings in the pitchers. Here we report that a diverse guild of nectar-harvesting vertebrates visits pitchers of two common lowland Nepenthes species without providing any obvious benefit for the plants. Over four consecutive field seasons, we observed four species of sunbirds and one species of tree shrew drinking nectar from pitcher plants. Foraging activity was highest in the morning and late afternoon. Van Hasselt’s, Brown-throated and olive-backed sunbirds were regular and highly abundant pitcher visitors in two different field sites. A crimson sunbird and a lesser tree shrew were each observed harvesting nectar on one occasion. The vertebrates harvested nectar from the pitcher rim (peristome) of N. rafflesiana and from the underside of the pitcher lid of N. gracilis. A comparison of the nectar production of these and three further sympatric species revealed exceptionally high quantities of nectar for N. rafflesiana. Other factors such as plant and pitcher abundance and the habitat preferences of the observed vertebrates are likely to also play a role in their choice to visit particular species. This is the first account of a case of obvious nectar robbing from Nepenthes pitchers by a guild of species that are too large to serve as prey, while the pitcher size and shape prevent faecal droppings from reaching the pitcher’s inside. This interaction provides an example of a possible starting point for the evolution of the elaborate mutualistic relationships observed in some species. Follow-up adaptations of pitcher shape could enable the plants to catch the droppings of their visitors and turn an exploitative relationship into a mutualism.     

关于陆-海相互作用的若干问题

陆-海相互作用是一个宽泛的研究领域, 但其同海洋科学的基础研究与我们经济、社会的可持续发展均密切相关. 基于个人对本研究领域的理解, 在本文中提出了一些需要在陆-海相互作用研究中予以关注的问题, 包括陆架边缘的物质交换、流域盆地中的物质流失、近海的富营养化与有害水华、底层水缺氧与“死亡区”、沉积物的“源”与“汇”、对地球其他层圈的反馈、海平面上升及其对社会与经济可持续性的作用、沿海地区的人类活动及其影响, 等等. 本文中未能涉及的命题并非不重要, 仅仅系我个人的知识和能力所限.     

基于柱芳烃的3D超分子聚合物网络的构筑及应用

总结了通过不同的正交非共价键相互作用力,如氢键、π-π堆积、金属配位、主客体作用等,来构筑3D网状结构的超分子聚合物的方法。由于结合了多重的相互作用力,三维网状超分子聚合物在保持动态可逆性质的同时,其结构相对牢固,性能也更加稳定。此外,还概述了3D网状结构的超分子聚合物在催化、药物控释、检测、传感等方面的应用。