The ERECTA gene regulates plant transpiration efficiency in Arabidopsis

Assimilation of carbon by plants incurs water costs. In the many parts of the world where water is in short supply, plant transpiration efficiency, the ratio of carbon fixation to water loss, is critical to plant survival, crop yield and vegetation dynamics. When challenged by variations in their environment, plants often seem to coordinate photosynthesis and transpiration, but significant genetic variation in transpiration efficiency has been identified both between and within species. This has allowed plant breeders to develop effective selection programmes for the improved transpiration efficiency of crops, after it was demonstrated that carbon isotopic discrimination, Delta, of plant matter was a reliable and sensitive marker negatively related to variation in transpiration efficiency. However, little is known of the genetic controls of transpiration efficiency. Here we report the isolation of a gene that regulates transpiration efficiency, ERECTA. We show that ERECTA, a putative leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase (LRR-RLK) known for its effects on inflorescence development, is a major contributor to a locus for Delta on Arabidopsis chromosome 2. Mechanisms include, but are not limited to, effects on stomatal density, epidermal cell expansion, mesophyll cell proliferation and cell-cell contact.     

SRO1 regulates heavy metal mercury stress response in Arabidopsis thaliana

Heavy metals in the environment are harmful limiting factors for the normal growth and development of plants. Here, we isolated and identified an Arabidopsis thaliana T-DNA insertion mutant, named srol-1, which showed a hyper-sensitive response to HgCl2. The SRO1 protein contains a WWE domain that mediates proteinprotein interactions. Under HgCl2 treatment, when compared with the wild-type plants, the growth of srol-1 was repressed dramatically and the number of true leaves was reduced and etiolated. The electrolyte leakage rates showed that cell membrane integrity in srol-1 was damaged more severely than in the wild type. DAB （3,5-diaminobenzidine） staining and confocal microscopy showed that Hg2＋ stress induced more hydrogen peroxide accumulation in srol-1 than in the wild type. The qRT-PCR results indicated that the expression of some abiotic stress-induced genes, such as L-ascorbate peroxidase （APX1）, was reduced under oxidative or Hg2＋ stress. Transgenic plants containing a GFP：：SRO1 fusion protein showed that SRO1 was localized in the nucleus of the cells. SRO1 was shown to be expressed in various tissues, and was most highly expressed in the vigorous tissues. Our results suggest thatSRO1 may play an important role in the stress response of A. thaliana to heavy metals.     

Suppression of Notch signalling by the COUP-TFII transcription factor regulates vein identity

Arteries and veins are anatomically, functionally and molecularly distinct. The current model of arterial-venous identity proposes that binding of vascular endothelial growth factor to its heterodimeric receptor--Flk1 and neuropilin 1 (NP-1; also called Nrp1)--activates the Notch signalling pathway in the endothelium, causing induction of ephrin B2 expression and suppression of ephrin receptor B4 expression to establish arterial identity. Little is known about vein identity except that it involves ephrin receptor B4 expression, because Notch signalling is not activated in veins; an unresolved question is how vein identity is regulated. Here, we show that COUP-TFII (also known as Nr2f2), a member of the orphan nuclear receptor superfamily, is specifically expressed in venous but not arterial endothelium. Ablation of COUP-TFII in endothelial cells enables veins to acquire arterial characteristics, including the expression of arterial markers NP-1 and Notch signalling molecules, and the generation of haematopoietic cell clusters. Furthermore, ectopic expression of COUP-TFII in endothelial cells results in the fusion of veins and arteries in transgenic mouse embryos. Thus, COUP-TFII has a critical role in repressing Notch signalling to maintain vein identity, which suggests that vein identity is under genetic control and is not derived by a default pathway.     

The endothelial-cell-derived secreted factor Egfl7 regulates vascular tube formation

Vascular development is a complex but orderly process that is tightly regulated. A number of secreted factors produced by surrounding cells regulate endothelial cell (EC) differentiation, proliferation, migration and coalescence into cord-like structures. Vascular cords then undergo tubulogenesis to form vessels with a central lumen. But little is known about how tubulogenesis is regulated in vivo. Here we report the identification and characterization of a new EC-derived secreted factor, EGF-like domain 7 (Egfl7). Egfl7 is expressed at high levels in the vasculature associated with tissue proliferation, and is downregulated in most of the mature vessels in normal adult tissues. Loss of Egfl7 function in zebrafish embryos specifically blocks vascular tubulogenesis. We uncover a dynamic process during which gradual separation and proper spatial arrangement of the angioblasts allow subsequent assembly of vascular tubes. This process fails to take place in Egfl7 knockdown embryos, leading to the failure of vascular tube formation. Our study defines a regulator that controls a specific and important step in vasculogenesis.     

S-glutathionylation uncouples eNOS and regulates its cellular and vascular function

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is critical in the regulation of vascular function, and can generate both nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide (O(2)(?-)), which are key mediators of cellular signalling. In the presence of Ca(2+)/calmodulin, eNOS produces NO, endothelial-derived relaxing factor, from l-arginine (l-Arg) by means of electron transfer from NADPH through a flavin containing reductase domain to oxygen bound at the haem of an oxygenase domain, which also contains binding sites for tetrahydrobiopterin (BH(4)) and l-Arg. In the absence of BH(4), NO synthesis is abrogated and instead O(2)(?-) is generated. While NOS dysfunction occurs in diseases with redox stress, BH(4) repletion only partly restores NOS activity and NOS-dependent vasodilation. This suggests that there is an as yet unidentified redox-regulated mechanism controlling NOS function. Protein thiols can undergo S-glutathionylation, a reversible protein modification involved in cellular signalling and adaptation. Under oxidative stress, S-glutathionylation occurs through thiol-disulphide exchange with oxidized glutathione or reaction of oxidant-induced protein thiyl radicals with reduced glutathione. Cysteine residues are critical for the maintenance of eNOS function; we therefore speculated that oxidative stress could alter eNOS activity through S-glutathionylation. Here we show that S-glutathionylation of eNOS reversibly decreases NOS activity with an increase in O(2)(?-) generation primarily from the reductase, in which two highly conserved cysteine residues are identified as sites of S-glutathionylation and found to be critical for redox-regulation of eNOS function. We show that eNOS S-glutathionylation in endothelial cells, with loss of NO and gain of O(2)(?-) generation, is associated with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation. In hypertensive vessels, eNOS S-glutathionylation is increased with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation that is restored by thiol-specific reducing agents, which reverse this S-glutathionylation. Thus, S-glutathionylation of eNOS is a pivotal switch providing redox regulation of cellular signalling, endothelial function and vascular tone.     

Sequence of human tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases and its identity to erythroid-potentiating activity

Collagen fibres form the stable architecture of connective tissues and their breakdown is a key irreversible step in many pathological conditions. The destruction of collagen is usually initiated by proteinases, the best known of which is the metalloproteinase collagenase (EC 3.4.24). Collagenase and related metalloproteinases are regulated at the level of their synthesis and secretion, through the action of specific stimuli such as hormones and cytokines, and also at the level of their extracellular activity through the action of a specific inhibitor, TIMP (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases), which irreversibly forms inactive complexes with metalloproteinases. Although the mechanisms governing the production of TIMP are unknown, immunologically identical forms of this glycoprotein have been detected in a wide variety of human body fluids and cell and tissue culture media. We therefore suggested that under physiological conditions this ubiquitous inhibitor predominates over active metalloproteinases and that tissue destruction may arise when any perturbation of this controlling excess arises. However, further progress towards testing this theory has been hindered by a lack of knowledge about the structure of TIMP and insufficient material for studying it in model systems. Here we describe the structure of TIMP predicted from its complementary DNA, its synthesis in Escherichia coli and transfected animal cells, and the finding that it is identical to a protein recently reported to have erythroid-potentiating activity (EPA).     

Lymphoid tissue genesis induced by commensals through NOD1 regulates intestinal homeostasis

Intestinal homeostasis is critical for efficient energy extraction from food and protection from pathogens. Its disruption can lead to an array of severe illnesses with major impacts on public health, such as inflammatory bowel disease characterized by self-destructive intestinal immunity. However, the mechanisms regulating the equilibrium between the large bacterial flora and the immune system remain unclear. Intestinal lymphoid tissues generate flora-reactive IgA-producing B cells, and include Peyer's patches and mesenteric lymph nodes, as well as numerous isolated lymphoid follicles (ILFs). Here we show that peptidoglycan from Gram-negative bacteria is necessary and sufficient to induce the genesis of ILFs in mice through recognition by the NOD1 (nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain containing 1) innate receptor in epithelial cells, and beta-defensin 3- and CCL20-mediated signalling through the chemokine receptor CCR6. Maturation of ILFs into large B-cell clusters requires subsequent detection of bacteria by toll-like receptors. In the absence of ILFs, the composition of the intestinal bacterial community is profoundly altered. Our results demonstrate that intestinal bacterial commensals and the immune system communicate through an innate detection system to generate adaptive lymphoid tissues and maintain intestinal homeostasis.     

心肌肥厚大鼠血管膜周脂肪组织对血管舒缩功能的影响

目的观察正常大鼠及部分结扎腹主动脉致心肌肥厚大鼠的血管膜周脂肪组织对血管舒缩功能的影响.方法手术部分结扎腹主动脉致心肌肥厚模型,采用血管张力记录法,观察正常大鼠及模型大鼠血管膜周脂肪组织对血管舒缩功能的影响.结果对于正常大鼠,血管膜周脂肪组织可显著降低血管对苯肾上腺素的反应性;对于模型鼠,血管膜周脂肪组织可显著升高血管对苯肾上腺素的反应性.结论血管膜周脂肪组织对于血管的舒缩功能有重要的调节作用.     

心肌肥厚大鼠血管膜周脂肪组织对血管舒缩功能的影响

目的:观察正常大鼠及部分结扎腹主动脉致心肌肥厚大鼠的血管膜周脂肪组织对血管舒缩功能的影响.方法:手术部分结扎腹主动脉致心肌肥厚模型,采用血管张力记录法,观察正常大鼠及模型大鼠血管膜周脂肪组织对血管舒缩功能的影响.结果:对于正常大鼠,血管膜周脂肪组织可显著降低血管对苯肾上腺素的反应性;对于模型鼠,血管膜周脂肪组织可显著升高血管对苯肾上腺素的反应性.结论:血管膜周脂肪组织对于血管的舒缩功能有重要的调节作用.     

心肌肥厚大鼠血管膜周脂肪组织对血管舒缩功能的影响

目的:观察正常大鼠及部分结扎腹主动脉致心肌肥厚大鼠的血管膜周脂肪组织对血管舒缩功能的影响。方法:手术部分结扎腹主动脉致心肌肥厚模型,采用血管张力记录法,观察正常大鼠及模型大鼠血管膜周脂肪组织对血管舒缩功能的影响。结果:对于正常大鼠,血管膜周脂肪组织可显著降低血管对苯肾上腺素的反应性;对于模型鼠,血管膜周脂肪组织可显著升高血管对苯肾上腺素的反应性。结论:血管膜周脂肪组织对于血管的舒缩功能有重要的调节作用。     

补肾醒脑方对血管性痴呆大鼠脑组织中粘附分子的影响

目的：观察补肾醒脑方对血管性痴呆大鼠脑组织中粘附分子的影响,探讨该方对血管性痴呆大鼠脑的保护作用。方法：成年Wistar大鼠经筛选、造模后随即等分为假手术组(A组)、模型组(B组)、喜得镇组(C组)、补肾醒脑方组(D组),每组10只均灌胃给药。A组和B组采用蒸馏水,C组给予喜得镇,D组给予补肾醒脑方。术后第2d、4d、6d测试大鼠学习记忆能力,术后1W采用ELISA法检测大鼠脑组织中粘附分子ICAM-1、VCAM-1 、P-selectin、E-selectin的含量。结果：D组AAR习得率较B组各个时间点均明显提高;与B组相比较,ICAM-1、P-selectin含量差异极其显著(P＜0.01)。结论：补肾醒脑方可有效改善血管性痴呆大鼠的学习记忆能力,控制下调粘附分子的含量,降低血管的炎性反应,从而保护大脑组织。     

数论中欧拉恒等式的若干注记

利用新建立的丢番图的定理,我们以回顾历史的眼光来探究数论中著名的欧拉恒等式,本文用实例证明欧拉恒等式所表达的理念与意识形态存在明显的错误。     

Temporal identity in axonal target layer recognition

The segregation of axon and dendrite projections into distinct synaptic layers is a fundamental principle of nervous system organization and the structural basis for information processing in the brain. Layer-specific recognition molecules that allow projecting neurons to stabilize transient contacts and initiate synaptogenesis have been identified. However, most of the neuronal cell-surface molecules critical for layer organization are expressed broadly in the developing nervous system, raising the question of how these so-called permissive adhesion molecules support synaptic specificity. Here we show that the temporal expression dynamics of the zinc-finger protein sequoia is the major determinant of Drosophila photoreceptor connectivity into distinct synaptic layers. Neighbouring R8 and R7 photoreceptors show consecutive peaks of elevated sequoia expression, which correspond to their sequential target-layer innervation. Loss of sequoia in R7 leads to a projection switch into the R8 recipient layer, whereas a prolonged expression in R8 induces a redirection of their axons into the R7 layer. The sequoia-induced axon targeting is mediated through the ubiquitously expressed Cadherin-N cell adhesion molecule. Our data support a model in which recognition specificity during synaptic layer formation is generated through a temporally restricted axonal competence to respond to broadly expressed adhesion molecules. Because developing neurons innervating the same target area often project in a distinct, birth-order-dependent sequence, temporal identity seems to contain crucial information in generating not only cell type diversity during neuronal division but also connection diversity of projecting neurons.