The three-dimensional structure of tubulin protofilaments.

A three-dimensional image of tubulin protofilaments, reconstructed to 20 A resolution from electron micrographs of negatively stained zinc-induced sheets, has been used to generate an improved model for microtubule substructure. This model has been used to phase a reconstructed image from X-ray amplitudes, which is compatible with the electron microscope results.     

Prokaryotic origin of the actin cytoskeleton.

It was thought until recently that bacteria lack the actin or tubulin filament networks that organize eukaryotic cytoplasm. However, we show here that the bacterial MreB protein assembles into filaments with a subunit repeat similar to that of F-actin-the physiological polymer of eukaryotic actin. By elucidating the MreB crystal structure we demonstrate that MreB and actin are very similar in three dimensions. Moreover, the crystals contain protofilaments, allowing visualization of actin-like strands at atomic resolution. The structure of the MreB protofilament is in remarkably good agreement with the model for F-actin, showing that the proteins assemble in identical orientations. The actin-like properties of MreB explain the finding that MreB forms large fibrous spirals under the cell membrane of rod-shaped cells, where they are involved in cell-shape determination. Thus, prokaryotes are now known to possess homologues both of tubulin, namely FtsZ, and of actin.     

小议薄利多销与厚利多销

介绍了“薄利多销”与“厚利多销”的利弊及实现途径,指出企业制定价格时应认真分析产品的特征和市场状况,在不同时候采取不同的销售策略。     

荧光标记哌嗪抗菌聚合物的制备及生物学评价

针对目前抗菌材料生物相容性差、无荧光标记能力、细菌耐药性差等问题,本研究利用高分子抗菌材料的优势,以1,4双-(3-氨丙基)哌嗪、7-N,N-二乙氨基-3-醛基香豆素、相对分子质量800聚乙二醇的二丁二酸酯(PB)、叔丁基异腈、苯甲醛为原料,通过便捷高效、原子经济的Ugi反应制得新型含有哌嗪结构的荧光标记抗菌性哌嗪聚合物:聚(1,4双-(3-氨丙基)哌嗪/PB/醛/叔丁基异腈)(PC).借助¹H NMR、FTIR表征了PC结构,并对PC进行了生物学性能研究:采用滤纸片法和细菌生长曲线法考察PC对金黄色葡萄球菌和大肠杆菌的抑菌性能.以MTT法及AM-PI双染色法评价PC的细胞毒性,并利用激光共聚焦显微镜对PC进行了活细胞成像研究.结果表明,质量浓度为50 mg/mL PC对大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)和金黄色葡萄球菌(Staphylococcus aureus)的生长均有明显抑制作用.质量浓度为100 μg/mL持续作用72 h的PC不会产生明显的细胞毒性;同时PC能够标记活细胞并具有良好的荧光性能.综上所述,利用Ugi反应合成的带香豆素与哌嗪结构的聚合物PC可作为一种既有荧光标记能力又具有抗菌性能、对人体无害的生物材料.     

Separate sodium and calcium spikes in the same axon

Aglantha digitale is a jellyfish (order Hydromedusae) capable of two distinct kinds of locomotion; 'slow' swimming which is generated endogenously and is used in fishing behaviour, and 'fast' swimming which is evoked by predators and serves for escape. Both forms of swimming are produced by contraction of the bell-shaped body wall and expulsion of a jet of water from an opening at the base of the animal. During slow swimming, the contractions are weak and the animal moves about 15 mm, roughly one body length, but during a fast swim there is a more violent contraction which can propel the animal five times as far. Both forms of contraction depend on impulses in the eight giant motor axons that synapse directly with the muscle sheet making up the inner surface of the body wall. We report here that the giant motor axons are able to mediate both kinds of activity because they can conduct two different sorts of impulse. Fast swimming requires a rapidly conducted Na+-dependent action potential whereas slow swimming depends on a low amplitude Ca2+ 'spike'. This is the first report of an axon capable of two kinds of impulse propagation and it provides a physiological function for low potential Ca2+ activation.     

Retinotopic order in the absence of axon competition

The retinotectal projection has long been studied experimentally and theoretically, as a model for the formation of topographic brain maps. Neighbouring retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) project their axons to neighbouring positions in the optic tectum, thus re-establishing a continuous neural representation of visual space. Mapping along this axis requires chemorepellent signalling from tectal cells, expressing ephrin-A ligands, to retinal growth cones, expressing EphA receptors. High concentrations of ephrin A, increasing from anterior to posterior, prevent temporal axons from invading the posterior tectum. However, the force that drives nasal axons to extend past the anterior tectum and terminate in posterior regions remains to be identified. We tested whether axon-axon interactions, such as competition, are required for posterior tectum innervation. By transplanting blastomeres from a wild-type (WT) zebrafish into a lakritz (lak) mutant, which lacks all RGCs, we created chimaeras with eyes that contained single RGCs. These solitary RGCs often extended axons into the tectum, where they branched to form a terminal arbor. Here we show that the distal tips of these arbors were positioned at retinotopically appropriate positions, ruling out an essential role for competition in innervation of the ephrin-A-rich posterior tectum. However, solitary arbors were larger and more complex than under normal, crowded conditions, owing to a lack of pruning of proximal branches during refinement of the retinotectal projection. We conclude that dense innervation is not required for targeting of retinal axons within the zebrafish tectum but serves to restrict arbor size and shape.     

TCP1 complex is a molecular chaperone in tubulin biogenesis.

A role in folding of newly translated proteins in the cytosol of eukaryotes has been proposed for t-complex polypeptide-1 (TCP1), although its molecular targets have not yet been identified. Tubulin is a major cytosolic protein whose assembly into microtubules is critical to many cellular processes. Although numerous studies have focused on the expression of tubulin, little is known about the processes whereby newly translated tubulin subunits acquire conformations that enable them to form alpha-beta-heterodimers. We examined the biogenesis of alpha- and beta-tubulin in rabbit reticulocyte lysate, and report here that newly translated tubulin subunits entered a 900K complex in a protease-sensitive conformation. Addition of Mg-ATP, but not nonhydrolysable analogues, released the tubulin subunits as assembly-competent protein with a conformation that was relatively protease-resistant. The 900K complex purified from reticulocyte lysate contained as its major constituent a 58K protein that cross-reacted with a monoclonal antiserum against mouse TCP1. We conclude that TCP1 functions as a cytosolic chaperone in the biogenesis of tubulin.     

Regulation of the G1-S transition in postembryonic neuronal precursors by axon ingrowth.

In the newly cellularized Drosophila embryo, progress through the cell cycle is regulated at the G2-M transition. We have examined cell-cycle regulation later in Drosophila development, in a group of postembryonic neuronal precursors. The S-phase precursor cells, which generate photoreceptor target neurons (lamina neurons) in the central nervous system, are not present in the absence of photoreceptor innervation. Here we report that axons selectively approach G1-phase precursors. Without axon ingrowth, lamina precursors do not enter their final S phase and by several criteria, arrest in the preceding G1 phase. These findings provide evidence that at this stage in development the control of cell division can occur at the G1-S transition.     

饭店员工流动分析及应对策略

员工流动率过高一直困扰饭店业。本文从社会、饭店和员工个人三个方面分析了饭店员工流动率过高的原因，提出了有效防止饭店员工流动的措施。     

饭店员工流动分析及应对策略

员工流动率过高一直困扰饭店业。本文从社会、饭店和员工个人三个方面分析了饭店员工流动率过高的原因,提出了有效防止饭店员工流动的措施。