RadA： A protein involved in DNA damage repair processes of Deinococcus radiodurans R1

RadA is highly conserved in bacteria and belongs to the RecA/RadA/Rad51 protein su-perfamily found in bacteria,archaea and eukarya. In Archaea,it plays a critical role in homologous re-combination process due to its RecA-like function. In Escherichia coli,it takes part in conjugational recom-bination and DNA repair but is not as important as that of archaea. Using PSI-BLAST searches,we found that Deinococcus radiodurans RadA had a higher similarity to that of bacteria than archaea and eukarya. Disruption of radA gene in D. radiodurans resulted in a modestly decreased resistance to gamma radiation and ultraviolet,but had no effect on the resistance to hydrogen peroxide. Complementa-tion of the radA disruptant by both E. coli radA and D. radiodurans radA could fully restore its resistance to gamma radiation and ultraviolet irradiation. Further domain function analyses of D. radiodurans RadA showed that the absence of the zinc finger domain resulted in a slightly more sensitive phenotype to gamma and UV radiation than that of the radA mutant,while the absence of the Lon protease domain exhib-ited a slightly increased resistance to gamma and UV radiation. These data suggest that D. radiodurans RadA does play an important role in the DNA damage repair processes and its three different domains have different functions.     

Engineering Deinococcus radiodurans into biosensor to monitor radioactivity and genotoxicity in environment

Based on a genetically modified radioresistant bacteria Deinococcus radiodurans, we constructed a real time whole cell biosensor to monitor radioactivity and genotoxicity in highly radioactive environ-ment. The enhanced green fluorescence protein (eGFP) was fused to the promoter of the crucial DNA damage-inducible recA gene from D. radiodurans, and the consequent DNA fragment (PrecA-egfp) car-ried by plasmid was introduced into D. radiodurans R1 strain to obtain the biosensor strain DRG300. This engineered strain can express eGFP protein and generate fluorescence in induction of the recA gene promoter. Based on the correlation between fluorescence intensity and protein expression level in live D. radiodurans cells, we discovered that the fluorescence induction of strain DRG300 responds in a remarkable dose-dependent manner when treated with DNA damage sources such as gamma radiation and mitomycin C. It is encouraging to find the widely detective range and high sensitivity of this re-constructed strain comparing with other whole cell biosensors in former reports. These results suggest that the strain DRG300 is a potential whole cell biosensor to construct a detective system to monitor the biological hazards of radioactive and toxic pollutants in environment in real time.     

重组纤溶酶原激活剂及其突变体的表达研究

利用PCR技术 ,获得了人体组织型纤溶酶原激活剂tPAcDNA的缺失突变体———rPA ;在此基础上 ,运用定点突变技术 ,得到rPA的定点突变体———rPA(KHRR2 96～ 2 99AAAA) ,rPA(A473S)和二者的复合突变体rPA(KHRR2 96～2 99AAAA A473S) ;将rPA及其 3个突变体分别亚克隆至原核表达载体pET 2 8a( )中 ,获得表达载体pErA ,pErA(K) ,pErA(A)和pErA(KA) .酶切鉴定和序列分析结果均表明实现了实验设计的氨基酸突变 .表达载体转化大肠杆菌 ,经IPTG诱导、菌体裂解及SDS PAGE电泳分析发现 ,只缺失而无突变的pErA和突变的pErA(A)都未表达目的蛋白 ,突变体pErA(K)与pErA(KA)则获高水平表达 ;蛋白产量分别占菌体总蛋白的 35 .97%与 37.71% ,分子量均为 39.6kD .Westernblotting显示 ,表达产物与抗tPA抗体呈特异性阳性反应 .该产物经初步纯化后进行复性与活性 (mFAPA)测定 ,结果表明其复性产物具有明显的体外纤溶活性 .以上结果为rPA突变体的进一步纯化、体内活性研究以及规模化制备提供了基础     

HDACs link the DNA damage response, processing of double-strand breaks and autophagy

Protein acetylation is mediated by histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and deacetylases (HDACs), which influence chromatin dynamics, protein turnover and the DNA damage response. ATM and ATR mediate DNA damage checkpoints by sensing double-strand breaks and single-strand-DNA-RFA nucleofilaments, respectively. However, it is unclear how acetylation modulates the DNA damage response. Here we show that HDAC inhibition/ablation specifically counteracts yeast Mec1 (orthologue of human ATR) activation, double-strand-break processing and single-strand-DNA-RFA nucleofilament formation. Moreover, the recombination protein Sae2 (human CtIP) is acetylated and degraded after HDAC inhibition. Two HDACs, Hda1 and Rpd3, and one HAT, Gcn5, have key roles in these processes. We also find that HDAC inhibition triggers Sae2 degradation by promoting autophagy that affects the DNA damage sensitivity of hda1 and rpd3 mutants. Rapamycin, which stimulates autophagy by inhibiting Tor, also causes Sae2 degradation. We propose that Rpd3, Hda1 and Gcn5 control chromosome stability by coordinating the ATR checkpoint and double-strand-break processing with autophagy.     

人胰岛素原DNA疫苗的构建与鉴定

构建1型糖尿病关键自身抗原胰岛素原（Proinsulin）的DNA疫苗,并在体外对其表达产物进行鉴定。从人胰腺cDNA库用半巢式PCR扩增出编码Proinsulin的cDNA,克隆入载体PGEM－T中,再将其亚克隆至真核表达载体pcDNA3.1（＋）中,构建重组载体pcDNA3.1( )／Proinsulin,测序后在真核细胞COS－7中进行体外短暂表达,Western印迹法对其表达产物进行鉴定。结果克隆的人Proinsulin基因,测序表明其cDNA序列与Genbank公布的序列基本相同,仅在第63位氨基酸（C肽区）有一CAG（Glu)→CGG（Arg）的突变,Western免疫印迹法证实DNA疫苗在COS－7细胞中有效地获得了表达。结果说明运用基因克隆方法构建的Proinsulin DNA疫苗,在真核细胞内能有效地表达Proinsulin重组抗原。该疫苗的构建成功,为1型糖尿病的免疫干预提供了实验基础。     

Degradation of Cdc25A by beta-TrCP during S phase and in response to DNA damage

The Cdc25A phosphatase is essential for cell-cycle progression because of its function in dephosphorylating cyclin-dependent kinases. In response to DNA damage or stalled replication, the ATM and ATR protein kinases activate the checkpoint kinases Chk1 and Chk2, which leads to hyperphosphorylation of Cdc25A. These events stimulate the ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis of Cdc25A and contribute to delaying cell-cycle progression, thereby preventing genomic instability. Here we report that beta-TrCP is the F-box protein that targets phosphorylated Cdc25A for degradation by the Skp1/Cul1/F-box protein complex. Downregulation of beta-TrCP1 and beta-TrCP2 expression by short interfering RNAs causes an accumulation of Cdc25A in cells progressing through S phase and prevents the degradation of Cdc25A induced by ionizing radiation, indicating that beta-TrCP may function in the intra-S-phase checkpoint. Consistent with this hypothesis, suppression of beta-TrCP expression results in radioresistant DNA synthesis in response to DNA damage--a phenotype indicative of a defect in the intra-S-phase checkpoint that is associated with an inability to regulate Cdc25A properly. Our results show that beta-TrCP has a crucial role in mediating the response to DNA damage through Cdc25A degradation.     

Construction and characterization of partiallyntrC-deleted mutants inAlcaligenes faecalis

To study the effect of ntrC gene product on the expression and regulation of other important nitrogen-fixing genes in Alcaligenes faecalis, partially ntrC-deleted mutants of A. faecalis have been generated. To start with, the ntrC gene of A. faecalis was cloned into a suicide plasmid pSUP202 to create a recombinant plasmid pSUM1. The ntrC gene in pSUM1 was then replaced by a lacZ-Km^r fragment resulted in the generation of a plasmid pSUM2. The lacZ fragment in pSUM2 was further removed and a plasmid pSUM3 produced. As a second step, the plasmid pSUM2 or pSUM3 was introduced into the wild type of A. faecalis A1501 by conjugation and two partially ntrC-deleted mutants A15CM1 (ntrC∷lacZ) and A15CM2 (ntrC ^- ) were obtained. To understand the regulatory effect of the NtrC on the expression of nifH and nifA, a nifH-lacZ gene or a nifH-lacZ gene was introduced into the ntrC^- mutant by conjugation. The results indicated that: (ⅰ) although the ntrC^-mutant was nif ⁺ , its nitrogen fixation activity was only 20% that of the wild type; (ⅱ) the ntrC^- mutant failed to grow on the medium containing nitrate as a sole nitrogen source; (ⅲ) the regulation of ntrC gene expression did not require its own product; (ⅳ) the expression of nifH in A . faecalis was positively regulated by the ntrC. Deletion of the ntrC resulted in the reduction of nifH expression or even totally inactivated nitrogen fixation; (ⅴ) there was no obvious influence on the expression of nifA in A. faecalis if the ntrC gene was deleted.     

Chk1 prevents abnormal mitosis of S-phase HeLa cells containing DNA damage

To explore effects of DNA damage on cell-cycle progression in p53-deficient tumor cells, synchronized HeLa cells at G1, S and G2/M phases were treated with methyl methanesulfnate （MMS）. The results showed that the MMS treatment resulted in the cell-cycle arrest or delay in all 3 phases, while the S-phase cells were the most sensitive to MMS. Further studies demonstrated that ATM-Chk2 and p38 MAPK signaling pathways were activated in all 3 phases when the cells were treated with MMS; whereas Chk1 was activated only in S phase under the drug treatment, indicating that Chk1 specifically participated in S-phase checkpoints. To analyze the role of Chk1 in S-phase checkpoints, we administered a specific Chk1 inhibitor, UCN-01, to the S-phase cells. The results showed that the S-phase cells treated with MMS＋UCN-01 could enter aberrant mitosis without finishing DNA replication, indicating that Chk1 mainly functions in the DNA damage checkpoint rather than in the replication checkpoint. In addition, MMS treatment alone inhibited the accumulation of cyclin B1, a key component of M-phase CDK-cyclin complex, in the S-phase cells, whereas the inhibition of Chk1 activation resulted in the accumulation of cyclin B1 in the MMS-treated S-phase cells. This observation further supports the view that DNA-damaged S-phase cells enter abnormal mitosis when Chk1 activation is inhibited. Our results demonstrate that Chk1 is a specific kinase that plays an important role in the MMS-induced S-phase DNA damage checkpoint. As p53 is not involved in this process, Chk1 may be a potential target for p53-deficient tumor therapy.     

Construction and characterization of double mutants in nitrogenase of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Klebsiella pneumoniae</Emphasis>

Two mutants in nitrogenase of Klebsiella pneumoniae are constructed by site-directed mutagenesis and gene replacement procedure, which express the nitrogenases with Lysine and Glutamine substituting for α-Glutamine 190 and α-Histidine 194 respectively (Kp-Q α190 K and Kp-Hα194 Q). The above two substitutions are respectively introduced into a nifV mutant (expressing a citrate-containing nitrogenase) and sequentially two double mutants are obtained (Kp-Q α190 K-nifV and Kp-H α194 Q-nifV). All four mutants exhibit strict Nif phenotype under the N2-fixation condition and fail to grow diazotrophically. Altered nitrogneases are effectively depressed and the C2H2 reduction analysis shows that the double substitutions in Kp-Q α190 K-nifV abolish cell C2H2 reduction activity, but Kp-H α194 Q-nifV cells maintain a C2H2 reduction activity at 10% of that of wild type. Whole cell C2D2 reduction by all four mutants in comparison to the wild type and nifV mutant is also detected. The results show that only single α-Gln^194 substitution does not perturb the stereospecificity of protonation of C2D2. These results indicate that the α-Glutamine 190 and its combination with homocitrate are essential to the catalytic activity of nitrogenase and it is proposed that α-Glutamine 190 and its combination with homocitrate are involved in the proton and/or electron transfer to FeMoco. The nitrogenases from these double mutants will be useful in further analysis of the entry of the proton and/or electron to FeMoco and the substrate binding sites.     

GAGE-1 DNA肿瘤疫苗的构建及其抗肿瘤治疗效果的试验研究

目的 观察G antigen 1 (GAGE-1)核酸疫苗pcDNA3.1+/GAGE-1免疫小鼠后,对表达GAGE-1抗原的B-16/GAGE-1肿瘤细胞的保护作用.方法 将C57 BL/6小鼠随机分为4组,与0、2、4周分别接种pcDNA3.1＋/GAGE-1（实验组1）、pcDNA3.1＋/GAGE-1/白介素2（实验组2）、pcDNA3.1＋（对照组1）,pcDNA3.1＋/白介素2（对照组2）各三次.末次免疫后10d小鼠用于肿瘤细胞攻击试验：分别于左背部、右背部皮下种植B16肿瘤细胞、B16/GAGE-1肿瘤细胞.种植肿瘤细胞（荷瘤）后观察成瘤时间、肿瘤大小和荷瘤后小鼠的生存时间及生存率. 结果： pcDNA3.1+/GAGE-1/IL-2质粒免疫的小鼠在种植B16/GAGE-1、B16/pcDNA3.1+后,发现小鼠成瘤时间明显延迟,成瘤减小,生存期明显延长.结论:pcDNA3.1+/GAGE-1/IL-2 DNA 疫苗在体内能诱导出显著的GAGE-1特异性肿瘤免疫应答,且能抑制体内已经存在的少量肿瘤细胞的成瘤     

Fine mapping of the red plant gene R_1 in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)

Sub 16 is a substitution line with G. hirsutum cv. TM-1 genetic background except that the 16th chro-mosome (Chr. 16) is replaced by the corresponding homozygous chromosome of G. barbadense cv. 3-79, and T586 is a G. hirsutum multiple gene marker line with 8 dominant mutation genes. The R1 gene for anthocyanin pigmentation was tagged in Chr. 16 in T586. The objective of this research was to screen SSR markers tightly linked with R1 by using the F2 segregating population containing 1259 plants derived from t...     

社鼠和针毛鼠线粒体DNA序列的歧异及其系统进化关系

社鼠和针毛鼠是有着广泛地理分布的山地鼠种,它们的一些形态特征及核型明显有别于同属的其它鼠类.社鼠的亚种--雷琼社鼠局限于分布在广东省西部地区和海南省,它的形态特征多似社鼠,但也有少数特征相似于针毛鼠.对于社鼠和针毛鼠的分类地位及社鼠亚种的分化一直有着各种讨论.本研究进行了社鼠和雷琼社鼠以及针毛鼠龙门种群和香港种群的细胞色素b (264个核苷酸位点)和12S rRNA (387个核苷酸位点)基因片段的测序.社鼠与雷琼社鼠线粒体的细胞色素b基因片段间包含有19个变异位点、12S rRNA 基因片段间包含11个变异位点和2个插入/缺失位点.针毛鼠的2个种群间的细胞色素b 和12S rRNA 基因片段分别包含了3个和11个变异位点.通过邻接法和最大简约法重建的系统进化关系表明:雷琼社鼠与社鼠有着紧密的亲缘关系,它的亚种地位得到了线粒体DNA序列证据的肯定.针毛鼠龙门种群和香港种群细胞色素b和12S rRNA 基因片段序列的歧异反映出两个种群由于长期的地理隔离及其所经历自然选择的结果.     

Immune responses of a designed HIV-1 DNA vaccine on rhesus monkeys

According to the UNAIDS/WHO report (http:// www.unaids.org/Epi2005/doc/report.html), there are about 40.3 million HIV/AIDS survivors, and the new HIV infection number amounts to about 4.9 million, while the death number is some 3.1 million in the world in…     

利用吖啶酯化学发光研究甲醛和乙醛对DNA的损伤

以吖啶酯为嵌入DNA双螺旋结构的化学发光指示剂,以0.10 mol/L HNO3 0.3%H2O2和0.3 mol/L NaOH 2%TritonX—100为发光启动试剂,建立了一种简单的评价DNA断裂损伤的化学发光分析新方法.结果表明,低浓度的甲醛引起DNA的断裂损伤,高浓度的甲醛引起DNA链的交联,乙醛仅引起DNA链的断裂损伤.同时研究了甲醛和乙醛对DNA的损伤行为及其可能的机制.     

番茄ACC合成酶基因的反义RNA—核酶嵌合基因植物表达载体的构建及对番茄的转

将克隆的番茄ACC合成酶基因的反义RNA－核酶联合的DNA序列用Hind Ⅲt KpnI切割后重组于植物表达载体pGA643中,用三亲融全导入农杆菌LBA4404中,采用叶盘法转化茄子叶,诱导出再生小植株,获得了卡那霉素的抗性植株。提取植物总DNA,用pGA643作探针,通过斑点杂交,已筛选出整合有外源基因的工程植株。为进一步研究该嵌合基因对ACC合成酶基因表达的影响及获得商品化的转基因番茄奠定了基础。     

DNA damage stress induces the dissociation of Smurf1/2 from MDM2 in a slow manner

The tumor suppressor p53 locates at the key point of cell growth or apoptosis balance, and the expression level of p53 is tightly controlled by ubiquitin ligases including MDM2. Upon DNA damage stresses, p53 was accumulated and activated, leading to cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. We previously showed that Smad ubiquitylation regulatory factor 1/2 (Smurf1/2) promotes p53 degradation by interacting with and stabilizing MDM2, and consequently enhancing MDM2-mediated ubiquitylation of p53. However, it is uncle...     

Identification and primary genetic analysis of Arabidopsis stomatal mutants in response to multiple stresses

In response to variable environmental conditions, guard cells located in the leaf epidermis can integrate and cope with a multitude of complicated stimuli, thereby making stomata in an appro- priate state. However, many signaling components in guard cell signaling remain elusive. In our laboratory, a tool for non-invasive remote infrared thermal images was used to screen an ethyl methane sulfonate-mutagenized population for Arabidopsis stomatal response mutants under multiple stresses (ABA, H2O2, CO2, etc.). More than forty "hot" or "cold" mutants were isolated (above or below 0.5℃ in con- trast to normal plantlets). Identification and primary genetic analysis of these mutants show that they are monogenic recessive mutations and there exist distinct difference in stomata apertures compared to wild type. These mutants in response to various environmental stresses and hormones were comprehen- sively investigated, which enables us to further un- derstand the cross-talk in different signal transduction pathways.