Osmotically stress-regulated the expression of glutathione peroxidase 3 in Arabidopsis

Gene expression of glutathione peroxidase 3 (ATGPX3) in response to osmotic stress was analyzed in Arabidopsis using ATGPX3 promoter-glucuronidase (GUS) transgenic plants. High levels of GUS ex- pression were detected under osmotic stress in ATGPX3 promoter-GUS transgenic plants. Compared with the wild type, the growth and development of ATGPX3 mutants (atgpx3-1) were more sensitive to mannitol. In addition, the expression of RD29A, ABI1, ABI2 and RbohD in atgpx3-1 was induced by ABA stress. These results suggest that ATGPX3 might be involved in the signal transduction of osmotic stress.     

Involvement of a cytoplasmic glyceraldehyde-3- phosphate dehydrogenase GapC-2 in low-phosphate- induced anthocyanin accumulation in Arabidopsis

Phosphorous is one of the essential mineral elements for plant growth and development.Typically, the shoots of plant seedlings usually turn a dark-brown or purple colour under low-Pi stress. Using protein 2-D gel and peptide mass fingerprinting mapping (PMF) methods, a cytoplasmic glyceralde-hyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase GapC-2 was identified as a low-Pi responsive protein in Arabidopsisplants. Expression of AtGapC-2 protein was significantly decreased after 4 d of low-Pi stress. Two in-dependent T-DNA insertion lines of GapC-2 gene (At1g13440) showed a hypersensitive phenotype inresponse to low-Pi stress compared with wild type plants, while the transgenic complementation linesof the mutants showed a similar phenotype to the wild type. These results indicate that AtGapC-2 mayplay an important role in Arabidopsis responses to low-Pi stress, possibly by regulation of glycoly-sis-associated "Pi-pool" and accumulation of anthocyanin pigments in plants.     

Transpositional behaviour of the Ds element in the Ac/Ds system in rice

Insertional mutagenesis based on maize Activator/Dissociator (Ac/Ds) transposons is becoming a ma- jor approach used to produce a saturated mutant collection in rice. In this research, Ds-T-DNA trans- formed homozygotes were crossed with Ac-T-DNA transformed homozygotes in order to establish an Ac/Ds transposon system in rice. The successive investigation of Ds transposition from F1 to F5 gen- erations indicated that the frequencies of germinal transposition increased over successive genera- tions and reached 54.2% in F3 generation. The Ds transposition pattern revealed that a Ds transposition induced an approximately 170-bp deletion of T-DNA sequence and another Ds transposition carried a 272-bp T-DNA sequence. Using thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR (TAIL-PCR), some flanking se- quences of the Ds element were amplified. Analyses of 17 Ds-flanking sequences showed that five Ds were inserted into gene regions. The Ds could transpose not only to the linked sites but also to the unlinked sites. The frequency of inter-chromosomal transposition of Ds was 33.3%.     

Increased sensitivity to drought stress in <Emphasis Type=Italic>atlon4 Arabidopsis</Emphasis> mutant

The ATP-dependent serine protease Lon belongs to the AAA+ superfamily, which is widely distributed in bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotic cells. Lon participates in the regulation of numerous physiological processes and gene expression via degrading various unstable and non-native regulators. In this study, we showed that the Arabidopsis atlon4 mutant is more sensitive to drought stress than wild-type plants. Compared with wild-type plants, atlon4 mutant plants showed increased water loss, decreased water use efficiency, and impaired stomatal closure in drought stress conditions.     

Advances in Arabidopsis research in China from 2006 to 2007

Arabidopsis thaliana, a model plant species, has a number of advantages over other plant species as an experimental organism due to many of its genetic and genomic features. The Chinese Arabidopsis community has made significant contributions to plant biology research in recent years[1,2]. In 2006, studies of plant biology in China received more attention than ever before, especially those pertaining to Arabidopsis research. Here we briefly summarize recent advances in Arabidopsis re-search in China.     

A study on in vitro and in vivo bioactivity of nano hydroxyapatite/polymer biocomposite

When bioactive materials are implanted in vivo, a bone-like apatite layer can be found on their surfaces, which is critical to the establishment of bone-bonding between materials and living tissues. In this study, bone-like apatite formation in vitro and in vivo on surface of nano apatite/polyamide (n-HA/PA66) composite was investigated, and the interface between the implanted composite and surrounding bone tissue of rabbit were also examined. The results revealed that in both simulated body fluids (SBF) and dorsal muscles of rabbit, bone-like apatite could form on the biocomposite surface. When the samples were implanted in cortical bone, they combined directly with the natural bone without fibrous tissue in-between. The results showed that the n-HA/PA66 biocomposite had excellent bioactivity, which might be a good candidate for bone defect replacement.     

dr1127： A novel gene of Deinococcus radiodurans responsible for oxidative stress

The functional analysis of dr1127,a novel gene in Deinococcus radiodurans was performed in this pa-per. The dr1127 gene was found occasionally in our microarray and 2-DE gel experiments. Mutation of the dr1127 gene decreased the γ-radiation and H2O2 resistance of D. radiodurans,and weakened the scavenging abilities of cell extracts for free radicals (superoxide anion,hydrogen peroxide,and hy-droxyl radical). Further oxidative damage assays demonstrated that the purified DR1127 protein of D. radiodurans could bind to double stranded DNA in vitro and protect DNA from oxidative damage in this way. These results suggest that the dr1127 gene is an important gene that can maintain γ-radiation and oxidative resistance in D. radiodurans and may take part in the oxidative stress process.     

B-Valued Dyadic Derivative

The principles of the new maximal operator H＊ we defined are discussed. We prove that it is bounded from martingale Hardy-Lorentz L^Xp.q[0,1） to the Lorentz L^Xp.q[0,1） for 1/2〈 p〈∞, 0〈~ q ≤ ∞, where X is any Banach space. When the Banach space X has the RN property, the sequence dnHnf converges to f a.e. Meanwhile the convergence in L^Xp norm for 1≤p〈∞ is a consequence of that the family functions K （n∈N） is an approximate identity.     

Separation and Anti-Hantaan Virus Activity of Extracts from Alternanthera philoxcroides in vitro and in vivo

A water-soluble substance was extracted from the Chinese herb, Alternantheraphiloxcroides with hot water and alcohol. Aliquots of this initial extract were further fractionated by treatment with ether, ethyl acetate and alcohol respectively. The four extracts were assayed for anti-viral activity against three serum, Hantaan virus 114 （HV114）, HV435 and A9 strains. Results show that the four extracts are capable of inhibiting Hantaan virus propagation, of which extract No. 1 has the best efficiency. The three dosage of extract No. 1, which are used upon three Hantaan virus serum IC50, are 153, 157, 154 μg/mL. New-born mice were made to be infected with HV114 and then fed in vivo with extract No.l on the 3rd, 10th and 14th days after being infected by the virus. The treatment continued for 8 days with a dosage of 2.5 g/kg. Result shows that survival rates of mice were 75%, 50% and 0, respectively. The median time to death （MTDs） of the three groups were 37, 30, 23 days.     

Developmental sequence of Cambrian embryo Markuelia

Based on more exquisitely preserved specimens of Markuelia hunanensis recently recovered from Middle and Upper Cambrian in western Hunan and in the light of Synchrotron radiation X-ray tomo-graphic microscopy, the developmental sequence from cleavage through organogenesis to the pre-hatching of Cambrian embryo Markuelia, especially the developmental sequence during the pre-hatching stage, i.e. from the earliest period when the scalids and tail spines only took shape to the latest period (just about hatching), is established. This developmental sequence provides a pattern of embryonic development during the pre-hatching stage, which has not been established in the living scalidophorans (priapulids, loriciferans and kinorhynchs). Thus, it not only enriches our knowledge on the embryonic development of the extant descendants of Markuelia, but also opens a new window to the evolution and development of the animal.     

Genetic and physical mapping of AvrPi7, a novel avirulence gene of Magnaporthe oryzae using physical position-ready markers

Rice blast, caused by the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae, is one of the most devastating crop diseases worldwide. The avirulence gene corresponding to rice blast resistance gene Pi7 in field isolate CHL346 was inherited as a single gene, designated AvrPi7, in a segregating population consisting of 189 ascospore progenies derived from a cross between field isolates CHL346 and CHL42. In order to determine the chromosomal location of the AvrPi7 locus, a total of 121 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed based on the whole-genome sequence of reference isolate 70-15 of M. oryzae. Linkage analysis of the locus with these SSR markers showed that eight SSR markers on chromosome 1 were linked to the locus, among which the closest flanking markers MS1-9 and MS1-15 were 3.2 and 16.4 cM from the locus, respectively. For fine mapping, additional PCR-based makers including eight SSR markers and three candidate avirulence gene (CAG) markers were developed in the region flanking both markers. The AvrPi7 locus was genetically delimited within a 1.6-cM region flanked by markers MS1-21 and MS1-22, and co-segregated with the marker CAG2. To construct a physical map of the AvrPi7 locus, molecular markers linked to the Avr gene were mapped on the supercontigs of the ref-erence isolate 70-15 through bioinformation analysis (BIA). Consequently, the AvrPi7 locus was delim-ited to a 75-kb interval flanked by markers MS1-21 and MS1-22 based on the reference sequence. Merodiploids observed in this study are also discussed.     

Molecular cloning, expression and biochemical property analysis of AtKP1, a kinesin gene from Arabidopsis thaliana

Kinesins are common in a variety of eukaryotic cells with diverse functions. A cDNA encoding a member of the Kinesin-14B subfamily is obtained using 3＇-RACE technology and named AtKP1 （for Arabidopsis kinesin protein 1）. This cDNA has a maximum open reading frame of 3.3 kb encoding a polypeptide of 1087 aa. Protein domain analysis shows that AtKP1 contains the motor domain and the calponin homology domain in the central and amino-terminal regions, respectively. The carboxyl-terminal region with 202 aa residues is diverse from other known kinesins. Northern blot analysis shows that AtKP1 is widely expressed at a higher level in seedlings than in mature plants. 2808 bp of the AtKP1 promoter region is cloned and fused to GUS. GUS expression driven by the AtKP1 promoter region shows that AtKP1 is mainly expressed in vasculature of young organs and young leaf trichomes, indicating that AtKP1 may participate in the differentiation or development of Arabidopsis thaliana vascular bundles and trichomes. A truncated AtKP1 protein containing the putative motor domain is expressed in E. coil and affinity-purified. In vitro characterizations indicate that the polypeptide has nucleotide-dependent microtubule-binding ability and microtubule-stimulated ATPase activity.     

Mutagenesis of Ser24 of Cytochrome b559 α Subunit Affects PSII Acitivies in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

In order to study the functions of cytochrome b559 (Cyt b559) in photosystem two (PSII) activity, mutant S24F of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was constructed using site directed mutagenesis, in which Serine24 (Ser24) locating downstream of Histidine23 (His23) in α subunit of Cyt b559 was replaced by Phenylalanine (Phe). Physiological and biochemical analysis showed that mutant S24F could be grown photoautotrophically or photoheterotrophically. However, their growth rate was slower either on HSM or TAP medium than that of the control; Analysis of PSII activity revealed that its oxygen evolution was about 71% of wild type (WT); The Photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) of S24F was reduced 0.23 compared with WT; S24F was more sensitive to strong light irradiance than the wild type; Furthermore, SDS-PAGE and Western-blotting analysis indicated that the expression levels of α subunit of Cyt b559, LHCII and PsbO of S24F were a little less than those of the wild type. Overall, these data suggests that Ser24 plays a significant role in making Cyt b559 structure maintain PSII complex activity of oxygen evolution although it is not directly bound to heme group.