Mercury pollution in Rana Chensinensis in Weisha River reach, in the upstream region of Songhua River

Twice a year continuous samples of Rana Chensinensis and sediments have been collected near gold mine in the upstream region of Songhua River from 2000 to 2002, for analyzing the total mercury （THg）, methylmercury （MeHg） concentration and correlation in sediments, muscles, livers of the frog. The study indicates that THg and MeHg concentrations in polluted samples near the gold mine are higher than those in unpolluted ones. THg and MeHg con- centrations are higher in autumn, in female, and in livers than those in spring, in male, in muscles respectively. The order of concentration degree in the frog organizations is as follows： liver〉muscle〉ovum〉Fallopian tube. MeHg is the main form of mercury （Hg） existing in autumn, while inorganic Hg is in spring. There is no distinct difference of CMeHg/CTHg between male and female, livers and muscles. The correlation between MeHg concentrations in the river sediments and in the frog＇s livers and muscles are significant, which is related to disorderly discharge of Hg.     

Gadd45a promotes epigenetic gene activation by repair-mediated DNA demethylation

DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification that is essential for gene silencing and genome stability in many organisms. Although methyltransferases that promote DNA methylation are well characterized, the molecular mechanism underlying active DNA demethylation is poorly understood and controversial. Here we show that Gadd45a (growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible protein 45 alpha), a nuclear protein involved in maintenance of genomic stability, DNA repair and suppression of cell growth, has a key role in active DNA demethylation. Gadd45a overexpression activates methylation-silenced reporter plasmids and promotes global DNA demethylation. Gadd45a knockdown silences gene expression and leads to DNA hypermethylation. During active demethylation of oct4 in Xenopus laevis oocytes, Gadd45a is specifically recruited to the site of demethylation. Active demethylation occurs by DNA repair and Gadd45a interacts with and requires the DNA repair endonuclease XPG. We conclude that Gadd45a relieves epigenetic gene silencing by promoting DNA repair, which erases methylation marks.     

鄱阳湖水生态安全遥感监测分析

湖泊是自然生态系统中最为脆弱和最难恢复的生态系统之一。加强湖泊水生态安全的监测,建立湖泊水生态安全监测体系,及时掌握湖泊水生态的变化状况,是保障湖泊生态系统安全的重要环节,对湖泊水生态安全具有积极的作用和深远的意义。阐述了湖泊水生态安全监测的概念与内涵,分析了遥感技术在湖泊水生态安全中的应用和发展,在鄱阳湖水生态安全遥感监测现状研究的基础上,提出了鄱阳湖水生态安全遥感监测的对策建议,为保障鄱阳湖水生态安全提供科学依据。     

我国水产在可持续发展中的贡献和问题

可持续发展是我国发展战略与国策，我国水产通过繁殖保护，增殖水产资源，发展与强化水产养殖，扩大与充分利用养殖水体，综合养殖，特别是渔业生态工程等高速大幅度增产多种水产品，提高人民生活水平，增加经济收入，促进一些物质的良性循环，从而对可持续发展有所贡献，但其中有些部分忽略了水产所依托的水生生态系统的整体性，协调性和稳态，导致人与自然在某些方面失调，不利可持续发展。本文着重从一些生态学方面分析这些贡献和     

IDH mutation impairs histone demethylation and results in a block to cell differentiation

Recurrent mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) and IDH2 have been identified in gliomas, acute myeloid leukaemias (AML) and chondrosarcomas, and share a novel enzymatic property of producing 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) from α-ketoglutarate. Here we report that 2HG-producing IDH mutants can prevent the histone demethylation that is required for lineage-specific progenitor cells to differentiate into terminally differentiated cells. In tumour samples from glioma patients, IDH mutations were associated with a distinct gene expression profile enriched for genes expressed in neural progenitor cells, and this was associated with increased histone methylation. To test whether the ability of IDH mutants to promote histone methylation contributes to a block in cell differentiation in non-transformed cells, we tested the effect of neomorphic IDH mutants on adipocyte differentiation in vitro. Introduction of either mutant IDH or cell-permeable 2HG was associated with repression of the inducible expression of lineage-specific differentiation genes and a block to differentiation. This correlated with a significant increase in repressive histone methylation marks without observable changes in promoter DNA methylation. Gliomas were found to have elevated levels of similar histone repressive marks. Stable transfection of a 2HG-producing mutant IDH into immortalized astrocytes resulted in progressive accumulation of histone methylation. Of the marks examined, increased H3K9 methylation reproducibly preceded a rise in DNA methylation as cells were passaged in culture. Furthermore, we found that the 2HG-inhibitable H3K9 demethylase KDM4C was induced during adipocyte differentiation, and that RNA-interference suppression of KDM4C was sufficient to block differentiation. Together these data demonstrate that 2HG can inhibit histone demethylation and that inhibition of histone demethylation can be sufficient to block the differentiation of non-transformed cells.     

两种赤潮藻对汞富集和甲基化影响的研究

研究塔玛亚历山大藻(Alexandrium tamarens)和锥状斯式藻(Scrippsiella trochoidea)两种赤潮藻对海水中汞的富集和甲基化的影响, 探讨赤潮藻对硫铁还原地杆菌 Geobacter sulfurreducens PCA (G. sulfurreducensPCA)汞生物甲基化的抑制作用。实验结果表明, 不同种类藻对汞的耐受性不同, 高浓度HgCl₂ (≥25 μg/L)抑制锥状斯式藻的生长, 而对塔玛亚历山大藻的影响较小。两种藻均可有效地富集无机汞, 但直接进行汞甲基化的效果不显著。FTIR分析发现, 藻细胞表面分泌的大量羧基、氨基和羟基等官能团是富集汞的主要位点。汞-藻-菌实验中, 当HgCl₂初始浓度为10 ug/L时, G. sulfurreducens PCA驱动的汞生物甲基化效率可达 (6.38±0.4)%, 在G. sulfurreducens PCA与塔玛亚历山大藻共存的实验组中, 汞甲基化效率为 (1.04±0.44)%,G. sulfurreducens PCA与锥状斯式藻的实验组中汞甲基化效率低至 (0.76±0.05)%, 两种赤潮藻的加入抑制了G.sulfurreducens PCA的汞生物甲基化。     

Demethylation of CpG islands in embryonic cells

DNA in differentiated somatic cells has a fixed pattern of methylation, which is faithfully copied after replication. By contrast, the methylation patterns of many tissue-specific and some housekeeping genes are altered during normal development. This modification of DNA methylation in the embryo has also been observed in transgenic mice and in transfection experiments. Here we report the fate in mice of an in vitro-methylated adenine phosphoribosyltransferase transgene. The entire 5' CpG island region became demethylated, whereas the 3' end of the gene remained modified and was even methylated de novo at additional sites. Transfection experiments in vitro show that the demethylation is rapid, is specific for embryonic cell-types and affects a variety of different CpG island sequences. This suggests that gene sequences can be recognized in the early embryo and imprinted with the correct methylation pattern through a combination of demethylation and de novo methylation.     

DNA甲基化异常与人类肿瘤

DNA甲基化是表遗传学上研究最深入的一种机制,是一种酶介导的化学修饰过程,在DNA的某些碱基上增加一个甲基.在人类的肿瘤中都可以发现不同程度的DNA异常甲基化现象.介绍DNA甲基化在基因表达中的作用及其抑制基因转录、表达的机理,尤其发生在抑癌基因CpG岛和其他相关基因的甲基化异常与肿瘤发生、演进的关系,甲基化的检测方法以及去甲基化在肿瘤治疗方面的应用前景.     

Aberrant DNA methylation patterns in cultured mouse embryos

Mouse early embryos undergo genome-wide demethylation and remethylation events during pre-implantation development. Abnormal methylation reprogramming is thought to be associated with development arrest. Using immunofluorescence staining with an antibody against 5-methylcytosine (MeC), we examined the genome methylation patterns of mouse embryos cultured in vitro. The results did not show the difference in staining patterns between development-blocked two-cell embryos that cultured in vitro and the two-cell embryos that were freshly collected from the donor mice. But in vitro-arrested morulae displayed a strong positive staining when compared to the morulae freshly collected from the donor mice. At the blastocyst stage, although most embryos showed the expected methylation patterns, with highly stained inner cell mass (ICM) and weekly stained trophectoderm (TE), a proportion of embryos were dimly stained in both ICM and TE. These results indicated that the methylation profile of the embryos could be changed by culturing in vitro when the embryos were in the transition from morulae to blastocyst.     

高活力水稻种子萌发过程中DNA甲基化变化的MSAP分析

DNA甲基化是基因组DNA的一种主要表观遗传修饰形式,是调节基因组功能的重要手段。本实验采用MSAP方法分析,旨在研究高活力水稻种子萌发过程中的甲基化与去甲基化变化的规律,为研究种子的老化机理和种子的长期保存提供依据。结果表明:水稻种子萌发过程中,同时发生了甲基化与去甲基化作用,且去甲基化作用先于甲基化作用发生。发生去甲基化可能与基因活化有关,发生甲基化可能与组织特异性有关。     

A mammalian protein with specific demethylase activity for mCpG DNA

DNA-methylation patterns are important for regulating genome functions, and are determined by the enzymatic processes of methylation and demethylation. The demethylating enzyme has now been identified: a mammalian complementary DNA encodes a methyl-CpG-binding domain, bears a demethylase activity that transforms methylated cytosine bases to cytosine, and demethylates a plasmid when the cDNA is translated or transiently transfected into human embryonal kidney cells in vitro. The discovery of this DNA demethylase should provide a basis for the molecular and developmental analysis of the role of DNA methylation and demethylation.     

DNMT1 and DNMT3b cooperate to silence genes in human cancer cells

Inactivation of tumour suppressor genes is central to the development of all common forms of human cancer. This inactivation often results from epigenetic silencing associated with hypermethylation rather than intragenic mutations. In human cells, the mechanisms underlying locus-specific or global methylation patterns remain unclear. The prototypic DNA methyltransferase, Dnmt1, accounts for most methylation in mouse cells, but human cancer cells lacking DNMT1 retain significant genomic methylation and associated gene silencing. We disrupted the human DNMT3b gene in a colorectal cancer cell line. This deletion reduced global DNA methylation by less than 3%. Surprisingly, however, genetic disruption of both DNMT1 and DNMT3b nearly eliminated methyltransferase activity, and reduced genomic DNA methylation by greater than 95%. These marked changes resulted in demethylation of repeated sequences, loss of insulin-like growth factor II (IGF2) imprinting, abrogation of silencing of the tumour suppressor gene p16INK4a, and growth suppression. Here we demonstrate that two enzymes cooperatively maintain DNA methylation and gene silencing in human cancer cells, and provide compelling evidence that such methylation is essential for optimal neoplastic proliferation.     

Contributions of microbial biofilms to ecosystem processes in stream mesocosms

In many aquatic ecosystems, most microbes live in matrix-enclosed biofilms and contribute substantially to energy flow and nutrient cycling. Little is known, however, about the coupling of structure and dynamics of these biofilms to ecosystem function. Here we show that microbial biofilms changed the physical and chemical microhabitat and contributed to ecosystem processes in 30-m-long stream mesocosms. Biofilm growth increased hydrodynamic transient storage-streamwater detained in quiescent zones, which is a major physical template for ecological processes in streams-by 300% and the retention of suspended particles by 120%. In addition, by enhancing the relative uptake of organic molecules of lower bioavailability, the interplay of biofilm microarchitecture and mass transfer changed their downstream linkage. As living zones of transient storage, biofilms bring hydrodynamic retention and biochemical processing into close spatial proximity and influence biogeochemical processes and patterns in streams. Thus, biofilms are highly efficient and successful ecological communities that may also contribute to the influence that headwater streams have on rivers, estuaries and even oceans through longitudinal linkages of local biogeochemical and hydrodynamic processes.     

Differentiation and adaptation epigenetic networks: Translational research in gastric carcinogenesis

There are several kinds of epigenetic networks in the human body including the cell differentiation epigenetic network(DiEN) and the host adaptation epigenetic network(AdEN).DiEN networks are static and cell/tissue-specific.AdEN networks are variable and dependent upon environmental factors.DiEN and AdEN alterations can respectively serve as biomarkers for different kinds of diseases.Cancer is a consequence of accumulated pathophysiological adaptations of tissue stem cells to exposure of environmental carcinogens.Cancer cells are de-differentiated cells that obtain the capacity of unrestricted proliferation,local invasion,and distant migration/metastasis.Both DiEN and AdEN changes can be observed in cancer tissues.Alterations of DNA methylation are the most stable epigenetic modifications and can be sensitively detected in a small cell population.These advantages make DNA methylation the optimal biomarkers for detection of initiated cells in precancerous lesions and metastasis stem cells in cancer tissues.It has been proven that p16 methylation can be used as a diagnostic biomarker to determine malignant potential of epithelium dysplasia in many organs including the stomach.In a large-scale validation study on the DNA methylome of gastric carcinomas(GC),the methylation status of more than 90 CpG islands has been analyzed by DHPLC.Furthermore,GFRA1 demethylation and methylation of SRF and ZNF382 are frequent events during gastric carcinogenesis and consistently correlate to GC metastasis and overall survival of GC patients from China,Japan,and Korea,respectively.In a population study,it has been demonstrated that gradual increasing of plasma miR-211 and other miRNA levels may be an early risk predictor for GC development.     

中国水生生态系统中多环芳烃的生态毒性与生态风险研究进展

多环芳烃是我国环境中的主要污染物之一,对生态系统和人体健康具有严重危害。对中国水生生态系统中多环芳烃的生态毒性与生态风险研究进展进行了综述。从基因、细胞、个体、种群和群落等不同层次概括了多环芳烃的水生态毒性研究进展,介绍了水生生态系统多环芳烃生态风险的主要评价方法,综述了这些评价方法在中国的应用情况,分析了中国水生生态系统中多环芳烃的生态毒性与生态风险研究的存在问题与发展方向。多环芳烃的水生态毒性研究主要集中在水生生物种群与群落水平,基因与细胞水平的研究较少,而生态系统水平的研究基本为空白。在多环芳烃的水生生态风险方面,主要利用国外提出的一些评价方法,缺少自主创新的评价方法,探讨系统水平生态风险评价方法是中国研究人员可能的突破方向。     

Mass-independent fractionation of even mercury isotopes

Practically all physical, chemical, and biological processes can induce mass-dependent fractionation of mercury (Hg) isotopes. A few special processes such as photochemical reduction of Hg(II) and photochemical degradation of methylmercury (MeHg) can produce mass-independent fractionation (MIF) of odd Hg isotopes (odd-MIF), which had been largely reported in variable natural samples and laboratory experiments, and was thought to be caused by either nuclear volume effect or magnetic isotope effect. Recently, intriguing MIF of even Hg isotopes (even-MIF) had been determined in natural samples mainly related to the atmosphere. Though photo-oxidation in the tropopause (inter-layer between the stratosphere and the troposphere) and neutron capture in space were thought to be the possible processes causing even-MIF, the exact mechanism triggering significant even Hg isotope anomaly is still unclear. Even-MIF could provide useful information about the atmospheric chemistry and related climate changes, and the biogeochemical cycle of Hg.