An antidepressant that extends lifespan in adult Caenorhabditis elegans

The mechanisms that determine the lifespan of an organism are still largely a mystery. One goal of ageing research is to find drugs that would increase lifespan and vitality when given to an adult animal. To this end, we tested 88,000 chemicals for the ability to extend the lifespan of adult Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes. Here we report that a drug used as an antidepressant in humans increases C. elegans lifespan. In humans, this drug blocks neural signalling by the neurotransmitter serotonin. In C. elegans, the effect of the drug on lifespan is reduced or eradicated by mutations that affect serotonin synthesis, serotonin re-uptake at synapses, or either of two G-protein-coupled receptors: one that recognizes serotonin and the other that detects another neurotransmitter, octopamine. In vitro studies show that the drug acts as an antagonist at both receptors. Testing of the drug on dietary-restricted animals or animals with mutations that affect lifespan indicates that its effect on lifespan involves mechanisms associated with lifespan extension by dietary restriction. These studies indicate that lifespan can be extended by blocking certain types of neurotransmission implicated in food sensing in the adult animal, possibly leading to a state of perceived, although not real, starvation.     

Alternative stable states explain unpredictable biological control of Salvinia molesta in Kakadu

Suppression of the invasive plant Salvinia molesta by the salvinia weevil is an iconic example of successful biological control. However, in the billabongs (oxbow lakes) of Kakadu National Park, Australia, control is fitful and incomplete. By fitting a process-based nonlinear model to thirteen-year data sets from four billabongs, here we show that incomplete control can be explained by alternative stable states--one state in which salvinia is suppressed and the other in which salvinia escapes weevil control. The shifts between states are associated with annual flooding events. In some years, high water flow reduces weevil populations, allowing the shift from a controlled to an uncontrolled state; in other years, benign conditions for weevils promote the return shift to the controlled state. In most described ecological examples, transitions between alternative stable states are relatively rare, facilitated by slow-moving environmental changes, such as accumulated nutrient loading or climate change. The billabongs of Kakadu give a different manifestation of alternative stable states that generate complex and seemingly unpredictable dynamics. Because shifts between alternative stable states are stochastic, they present a potential management strategy to maximize effective biological control: when the domain of attraction to the state of salvinia control is approached, augmentation of the weevil population or reduction of the salvinia biomass may allow the lower state to trap the system.     

A cat cloned by nuclear transplantation

Sheep, mice, cattle, goats and pigs have all been cloned by transfer of a donor cell nucleus into an enucleated ovum, and now we add the successful cloning of a cat (Felis domesticus) to this list. However, this cloning technology may not be readily extendable to other mammalian species if our understanding of their reproductive processes is limited or if there are species-specific obstacles.     

A family of candidate taste receptors in human and mouse

The gustatory system of mammals can sense four basic taste qualities, bitter, sweet, salty and sour, as well as umami, the taste of glutamate. Previous studies suggested that the detection of bitter and sweet tastants by taste receptor cells in the mouth is likely to involve G-protein-coupled receptors. Although two putative G-protein-coupled bitter/sweet taste receptors have been identified, the chemical diversity of bitter and sweet compounds leads one to expect that there is a larger number of different receptors. Here we report the identification of a family of candidate taste receptors (the TRBs) that are members of the G-protein-coupled receptor superfamily and that are specifically expressed by taste receptor cells. A cluster of genes encoding human TRBs is located adjacent to a Prp gene locus, which in mouse is tightly linked to the SOA genetic locus that is involved in detecting the bitter compound sucrose octaacetate. Another TRB gene is found on a human contig assigned to chromosome 5p15, the location of a genetic locus (PROP) that controls the detection of the bitter compound 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil in humans.     

拟南芥bHLH家族转录因子DYT1在花药发育过程中调控胼胝质降解(英文)

胼胝质的合成和降解是雄配子体减数分裂过程中的一个重要特征,对后期花粉成熟有重要作用.在此研究中,分离到了一个雄性不育突变体msl57,该突变体的绒毡层分化及胼胝质降解过程出现异常,导致花粉败育.图位克隆和遗传分析表明:MSl57基因与bHLI-I家族转录因子DYTI(At4g21330)是同一基因.因此,将ms157突变体改名为dyt1-2.反式激活作用实验揭示了DYTI的激活功能域位于基因的250 ～504bp之间.通过酵母双杂交实验发现DYT1蛋白在体内可以形成同源二聚体来执行其功能.RT-PCR及定量PCR分析表明胼胝质酶相关基因A6的表达在突变体背景下严重下调.因此,DVF1通过调控胼胝质的降解来影响花药发育过程.     

浑善达克沙漠化防治重点生态系统功能区防风固沙功能动态特征分析

浑善达克沙漠化防治重点生态系统功能区是位于内蒙古地区维护国家北方生态安全屏障的重要区域.本文基于气象、遥感数据,运用RWEQ(Revised Wind Erosion Equation)模型,定量分析了1990—2015年浑善达克防风固沙功能区生态系统结构与防风固沙功能的时空变化特征,揭示了生态系统结构变化对防风固沙服务功能的影响.结果表明:26年间各生态系统间转换强烈,以草地生态系统转出为主,2005年之前主要向农田生态系统和荒漠生态系统转变,2005年以后得益于生态建设工程的实施和禁牧封育等措施,主要向草地、森林生态系统转变.研究区以微度和轻度土壤侵蚀为主,风蚀情况整体好转.农田生态退耕、荒漠化程度减轻、草地质量提高等生态系统转换有益于提升防风固沙功能.同时,也揭示了该功能区内生态退耕对防风固沙服务功能的影响,两者呈显著负相关.     

Genetic tracing reveals a stereotyped sensory map in the olfactory cortex.

The olfactory system translates myriad chemical structures into diverse odour perceptions. To gain insight into how this is accomplished, we prepared mice that coexpressed a transneuronal tracer with only one of about 1,000 different odorant receptors. The tracer travelled from nasal neurons expressing that receptor to the olfactory bulb and then to the olfactory cortex, allowing visualization of cortical neurons that receive input from a particular odorant receptor. These studies revealed a stereotyped sensory map in the olfactory cortex in which signals from a particular receptor are targeted to specific clusters of neurons. Inputs from different receptors overlap spatially and could be combined in single neurons, potentially allowing for an integration of the components of an odorant's combinatorial receptor code. Signals from the same receptor are targeted to multiple olfactory cortical areas, permitting the parallel, and perhaps differential, processing of inputs from a single receptor before delivery to the neocortex and limbic system.