Expression,purification and spectra characterization of neuroglobin

The expression, purification and spectra characterization of recombinant human neuroglobin （NGB） are reported. The pET3a plasmid with the gene of NGB was transformed to E. coli BL21 （DE3） plys cells and expressed in TB culture medium. The results indicated that the expression amount of NGB is about 10 percent of the total protein in cells. The NGB protein was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-Sepharose anion exchange column, Hiload 16/60 superdex 75 size exclusion chromatography and a Hiprep 16/10 Q FF anion exchange column, and a red soluble protein was obtained which showed a single band in electrophoresis. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry （ESI-MS） showed that its molecular weight is 16930.0 Da. UV-spectra indicated that the reduced NGB has a strong absorption peak at 425 nm, and two weak peaks at 531 and 559 nm, which can be assigned to γ, β and α bands of porphyrin, respectively, and the oxidized NGB has a strong absorption peak at 413 nm which corresponds to the transition of π electrons in the porphyrin ring. The fluorescence maximal excitation wavelength is at 281 nm and its maximal emission wavelength is at 338 nm. CD spectra indicated that its secondary structure is a typical α helix, and has a positive peak at 410 nm induced by heme, The NGB protein is stable when the pH is higher than 4.     

Involvement of Oxidative Stress and Down-Regulation of Bcl-2 in Arachidonic Acid-Induced Apoptosis in HUVECs

0IntroductionAraacicdhi,diosn fiocu ancidd p(reAdAo)m i,naanntelsys eantt itahle p sonl-y2u npsoastiutiroante doff actetl-ylular phospholipids . Normal free AAconcentrationin humanblood ranges from5 .8μmol/Lto 49 .3μmol/L[1].It is re-leased mostlythroughactivation of phospholipase A2by physi-ological and pathological sti muli[2]. Free AAcan be metabo-lizedinto various eicosanoids via specific enzymes such as cy-clooxygenases ( COX) , lipoxygenase and cytochromesP-450[3]. During AA met…     

Effect of Nano red elemental selenium on GPx activity of broiler chick kidney cells<Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

A new selenium source, Nano red elemental selenium (Nano-Se) was used to study the effect on the GPx activity of broiler chick kidney cells (BCKC)in vitro, Sodium selenite (Na₂SeO₃) and seleno-1-methionine (Se-Met) were used as the controls. The results showed that the effects of three kinds of Se forms on the GPx activity of BCKC were accordant (p>0.05) compared with each other at 0.01. 0.05 and 0.10 μmol/L Se concentrations treatments. In the range of 0.00–0.10 μmol/L Se concentrations, the GPx activity increased with elevation of Se concentrations in medium. For the three kinds of Se forms, the GPx activity reached the climax at 0.10 μmol/L Se concentration. At 0.20 and 0.30 μmol/L Se concentrations, the influnces of three kinds of Se forms were not accordant with one another. For Nano-Se, the GPx activity at 0.20 and 0.30 μmoi/L Se concentrations remained the same as that at 0.10 μmol/L Se concentration treatment. For Se-Met, the GPx activity at 0.20 μmol/L Se concentration treatment remained the same with 0.10 μmol/L treatment; the GPx activity at 0.30 μmol/L Se concentration treatment was declined significantly (p<0.05) compared with 0.10 or 0.20 μmol/L treatment. For Na₂SeO₃, the GPx activity falled gradually with Se concentration increasing from 0.10 μmol/L to 0.30 μmol/L, and at 0.30 μmol/L Se concentration treatment, the GPx activity was less than the original of BCKC. The results implicated, on the GPx activity of BCKCin vitro, the ranking of width range of the most suitable Se concentration for nutrition curve of the three Se formes is Nano-Se>Se-Met>Na₂SeO₃. Foundation item: Supported by the Key Item of the Science and Technology Bureau of Zhejiang Province (021122680) Biography: Xu Bao-hua (1966-), male, Associate professor, Ph. D. research direction: nanobiology and animal nutrition.     

Characterization of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles prepared by transfor- mation of α-FeOOH

γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by a chemically induced transformation of α-FeOOH.In this method,the precursor(α-FeOOH)was prepared by chemical precipitation,and then treated with a mixed FeCl2/NaOH solution to produce the nanoparticles.X-ray diffraction indicated that when the precursor was treated with FeCl2(0.22 mol/L)and NaOH(0.19 mol/L),pure γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were obtained.However,when the concentration of FeCl2 was<0.22 mol/L or the concentration of NaOH was<0.19 mol/L,α-FeOOH and γ-Fe2O3 phases co-existed in the nanoparticles.Transmission electron microscopy observations showed that in the samples with co-existing phases,the nanoparticles did not have identical morphologies.The pure γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were polygonal rather than spherical.The volume ratio of α-FeOOH and γ-Fe2O3 was estimated for the two-phase samples from magnetization data obtained from a vibrating sample magnetometer.This chemically induced transformation is novel,and could provide an effective route for the synthesis of other metal oxide nanocrystallites.     

Effect of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> concentrations on the activity of photosynthetic CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> fixation and extracelluar carbonic anhydrase in the marine diatom <Emphasis Type="Italic">Skeletonema costatum</Emphasis>

The growth and activity of photosynthetic CO2 uptake and extracellular carbonic anhydrase (CAext) of the marine diatom Skeletonema costatum were investigated while cultured at different levels of CO2 in order to see its physio-logical response to different CO2 concentrations under either a low (30 靘ol·m-2·s-1) or high (210 靘ol·m-2·s-1) irradiance. The changes in CO2 concentrations (4—31 靘ol/L) affected the growth and net photosynthesis to a greater extent under the low than under the high light re-gime. CAext was detected in the cells grown at 4 mol/L CO2 but not at 31 and 12 靘ol/L CO2, with its activity being about 2.5-fold higher at the high than at the low irradiance. Photo- synthetic CO2 affinity (1/ K1/2(CO2)) of the cells de-creased with increased CO2 concentrations in culture. The cells cultured under the high-light show significantly higher photosynthetic CO2 affinity than those grown at the low-light level. It is concluded that the regulations of CAext activity and photosynthetic CO2 affinity are dependent not only on CO2 concentration but also on light availability, and that the de-velopment of higher CAext activity and CO2 affinity under higher light level could sufficiently support the photosyn-thetic demand for CO2 even at low level of CO2.     

Cloning,expression and binding specificity analysis of odorant binding protein 3 of the lucerne plant bug, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Adelphocoris lineolatus</Emphasis> (Goeze)

Credible evidence shows that odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are required for insect olfaction perception and play a key role in transporting hydrophobic odorants across the sensillum lymph to the olfactory receptors (ORs). In the present study, a novel OBP (AlinOBP3) gene from the lucerne plant bug, Adelphocoris lineolatus, was cloned and expressed. The expression pattern of AlinOBP3 was evaluated by qPCR, which indicated that AlinOBP3 was dominantly expressed in antennae. The binding properties of AlinOBP3 with 9 cotton volatiles and 5 sex pheromone analogs were measured by fluorescence competitive binding assays with the fluorescence probe 1-NPN. The results revealed that of 9 cotton volatiles, Myrcene, β-Ocimene and α-Phellandrene can bind with AlinOBP3. α-Phellandrene especially bound to AlinOBP3 with a high binding affinity, with a dissociation constant of 56.68 μmol/L. Of the 5 sex pheromone analogs, Hexyl butyrate had the strongest binding affinity with AlinOBP3, with a dissociation constant as 59.53 μmol/L. Butyl butyrate, trans-2-Hexenyl butyrate and Ethyl butyrate had medium binding affinities with AlinOBP3, with dissociation constants of 227.39, 108.77 and 143.47 μmol/L, respectively. The results suggest that AlinOBP3 might be a pheromone binding protein (PBP) with a dual-function for the perception of sex pheromones and plant volatiles.     

Passivation process of X80 pipeline steel in bicarbonate solutions

The passivation process of X80 pipeline steel in bicarbonate solutions was investigated using potentiodynamic, dynamic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (DEIS), and Mott-Schottky measurements. The results show that the shape of polarization curves changes with HCO₃⁻ concentration. The critical ‘passive’ concentration is 0.009 mol/L HCO₃⁻ for X80 pipeline steel in bicarbonate solutions. No anodic current peak exists in HCO^3/− solutions when the concentration is lower than 0.009 mol/L, whereas there are one and two anodic current peaks when the HCO^3/− concentration ranges from 0.009 to 0.05 mol/L and is higher than 0.1 mol/L, respectively. DEIS measurements show that there exist active dissolution range, transition range, pre-passive range, passive layer formation range, passive range, and trans-passive range for X80 pipeline steel in the 0.1 mol/L HCO₃⁻ solutions. The results of DEIS measurements are in complete agreement with the potentiodynamic diagram. An equivalent circuit containing three sub-layers is used to explain the Nyquist plots in the passive range. Analyses are well made for explaining the corresponding fitted capacitance and impedance. The Mott-Schottky plots show that the passive film of X80 pipeline steel is an n-type semiconductor, and capacitance measurements are in good accordance with the results of DEIS experiment.     

Bis(7)-Tacrine, a promising anti-Alzheimer's agent, attenuates glutamate-induced cell injury in primary cultured cerebrocortical neurons of rats

The effects of bis(7)-tacrine, a novel dimeric acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor, on glutamate-induced cell injury were investigated in primary cerebral cortical neurons of rats. Exposure of cultured neurons (12 days after plating) to 0.5 mmol/L glutamate for 30 min resulted in significant cell damage. Pretreatment with bis(7)-tacrine (0.03–1.0 μmol/L) reduced the glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in a concentration dependent manner and the maximal response was seen at 1 μmol/L with approximately, 30% protection. A receptor binding assay showed that bis(7)-tacrine can completely displace MK-801 binding to rat cortical membrane with an IC₅₀ of 0.57 μmol/L. These findings suggest that bis(7)-tacrine can directly interact with N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor channel complex, which may contribute to the inhibitor's protective effects against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity. Thus, it is possible that anti-glutamate/anti-AChE synergism is responsible for potentially better Alzheimer's therapy of bis(7)-tacrine relative to tacrine. Biography: Zhang Bai-fang (1974-), female, Ph. D. candidate, research direction: Alzheimer's disease and ischemia     

The foxtail millet Si69 gene is a Wali7 (wheat aluminum-induced protein 7) homologue and may function in aluminum tolerance

We isolated a clone, named Si69, from a foxtail millet immature seed cDNA library. The protein encoded by Si69 contains a conserved Wali7 (wheat aluminum induced protein 7) domain and shares high-level homology with aluminum-induced proteins from other species including rice and Arabidopsis. The Si69 gene presents as a single locus in foxtail millet genome and is globally expressed in all tissues examined. Its expression is up-regulated by aluminum. The sequence feature and expression pattern suggest that the Si69 gene is involved in aluminum tolerance or detoxification. To confirm its biological functions, Si69 controlled by the CaMV35S promoter was introduced into Arabidopsis. Transgenic plants did not show any visible morphological changes compared to wild-type plants under normal growth conditions. However, when treated with 20 or 50 μmol/L Aluminum (Al), the root apices of wild-type plants were heavily stained by hematoxylin, whereas those of Si69 transgenic plants were not stained when treated with 20 μmol/L Al and slightly stained when treated with 50 μmol/L Al. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results further demonstrated that the damage of the root apices was severer in wild-type plants than in transgenic plants. Inhibition of root growth and accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA), an indicator of lipid peroxidation, were lower in transgenic plants than in wild-type plants. The results show that overexpression of Si69 may increase Al tolerance in transgenic plants, indicating that a series of Wali7-containing genes may play similar roles in Al tolerance/detoxification.     

Sequence modification of merB gene and high organomercurial resistance of transgenic tobacco plants

Mercury pollution has caused severe damage to environment and great attention has been paid to its control. Phytoremediation may become one of the most efficient measures to recover the polluted soil since it is economical, highly efficient and friendly to environment. In this report, plant genetic engineering methods were employed to modify the DNA sequence of merB genes that catalyze the conversion of organomercurals into ionic mercury. The modified merBhe genes were introduced into tobacco by Agrobacterium, and the resultant transgenic plants were verified by Southern and Northern hybridization. High level of organomercurial resistance was detected on progenies of transgenic plants, some of which were resistant to PMA (phenyl mercury acetate) of 2.5 μmol/L whereas 0.1 μmol/L PMA killed the seedlings of wild-type tobacco in soiless culrure. With the increase of PMA concentration, the inhibition of the seedling growth became apparent. This result makes it possible to breed mercury-resistant tobacco for phytoremediation of mercury-polluted soil.     

Effect of Cl- on photosynthetic bicarbonate uptake in two cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa and Synechocystis PCC6803

Photosynthetic inorganic carbon utilization was investigated in two cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa and Synechocystis PCC6803 grown in standing culture. Photosynthetic rates for the two algae reached about 10 times the theoretical CO₂ supply rate at low dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) of 100 μmol/L, and the rates were unaffected by the addition of 20 mmol/L Na⁺, indicating that the two algae possessed Na+-independent HCO^-₃ utilization for photosynthesis under low DIC. Their photo- synthetic rates at low DIC were inhibited by higher Cl^- and the degrees of inhibition were increased with the rise of CI^- concentration, and in the presence of Diphenylamine-2-carboxylate (DPC), a reported Cl^- channel inhibitor, the rates decreased by 74%－82%, implying that putative DPC-sensitive Cl^- channels participate in Na+-independent HCO₃^- uptake for photosynthesis. The experiment of intracellular 14C-DIC accumulation for photosynthesis showed that internal DIC pools decreased by about 80% with 200 μmol/L DPC and by 64%－70% with 100 mmol/L Cl^-. The experiment of chlorophyll a fluorescence quenching showed that initial rates and extents of fluorescence quenching obviously decreased with 200 μmol/L DPC or 100 mmol/L Cl^-. The two experiments gave further evidence that putative DPC-sen- sitive Cl^- channels participate in Na+-independent HCO^-₃ uptake for photosynthesis in the two algae grown in standing culture.     

Effect of Aβ1-40 on membrane permeability and intracellular free Ca2+ of nerve cells

The effects of soluble and fibrillar Aβ1-40 on membrane permeability and intracellular free Ca^2 of nerve cells were investigated by the laser confocal microscopy. Results indicate that: i) Effects of soluble and fibrillar Aβ1-40 on cell membrane permeability are both concentration-dependent. Soluble Aβ1-40 increases membrane permeability only at concentration of 3μmol/L, while the toxic effect of fibrillar Aβ1-40 is much stronger, its evident effect begins from 1μmol/L. When its concentration rose to 3μmol/L, not only the membrane permeability increased, but also the nuclear membrane broke seriously, ii) Both soluble and fibrillar Aβ1-40 at high concentrations increased the intracellular free Ca^2 , and the increased amplitudes are concentration-dependent. However, the fibrillar one induces the increase of intracellular Ca^2 much quicker and synchronously.These results indicate that some correlation exists between the neurotoxicity of high concentration soluble and fibrillar Aβ1-40 and the change of physico-chemical properties and intracellular Ca ion imbalance.     

Synergistic effect of trace elements and flavonoids from Epimedium koreanum Nakai on primary osteoblasts

Several trace elements, particularly, manganese （Mn） and zinc （Zn）, are essential in bone metabolism as cofactors for specific enzymes. It has been reported that there exists the relationship between osteoporosis and trace element-deficiency and the efficacy of Ca, Mn and Zn supplementation on spinal bone mineral density in postmenopausal women. Traditional Chinese medicines （TCM）, such as Herba epimedii, were proved to be effective for prevention of osteoprosis in vivo; however, the efficacy of the main constituents and/or crude extract was not ideal in vitro, which suggested that they may work in another way. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the combination of icariin and total flavonoids （TF） from Herba epimedii with mineral elements, which were abundant in Herba epimedii, would have a more beneficial effect on the viability and differentiation of primary osteoblasts than either agent alone, and to analyze the dada for a possible synergistic, additive or antagonistic effect. The combinations of 10 μmol/L Zn, Ca and Mn with icariin and total flavonoids greatly improved the cell viability and meanwhile dramatically enhanced the alkaline phosphatase activity as compared to each agent alone. On the other hand, an increased cell growth inhibition was also observed by combining 0.1 μmol/L, 1 pmol/L Zn with 10μmol/L icariin, and 10 μmol/L Mn with 0.06 μg/mL total flavonoids. Meanwhile a decreased alkaline phosphatase activity was also found in several icariin-Zn/Mn and total flavonoids-Zn/Ca/Mn combinations. These results suggested that mineral elements （Zn, Ca, Mn） greatly enhanced the efficacy of icariin and total flavonoids from Herba epimedii on the viability and differentiation of primary osteoblasts by certain combinations.     

Different patterns of agonist-induced modulation of α1B-adrenoceptor density at different initial expression levels

We compared the norepinephrine (NE) induced α_1B-adrenoceptor (α_1B-AR) expression modulation between two transfected human embryonic kidney (MEK) 293 cell lines in which α_1B-AR densities were (6 336 ± 913) and (773 ± 164) fmol ▪ mg¹, respectively. Treatment of cells with NE (10 μmol ▪ L₁) for 48 h decreased high-level expressed α_1B-AR density, but increased low-level expressed α_1B-AR density. The protein kinase C inhibitor Calphostin C or Ro-31-8220 reversed, and its activator PMA mimicked the NE-induced down-regulation of high-level expressed α_1B-AR. Moreover, PMA induced a down-regulation of low-level expressed α_1B-AR. The endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺-ATPase inhibitor cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) and the calcium chelator BAPTA/AM did not affect the down-regulation of high-level expressed α_1B-AR, but inhibited the up-regulation of low-level expression α_1B-AR induced by NE. These results suggest that α_1B-adrenoceptor densities at different initial expression levels are differentially regulated by NE and their signal transduction pathways are different.     

Interaction of HIV-1 fusion peptide and its mutant with lipid membrane

HIV_WT and HIV_V2E represent the 23 amino acids fusion peptide of HIV-1 gp41 N terminus and its position 2 mutant (Val→Glu). We have studied the structure-function relationship of HIV_WT and HIV_V2E when they interact with acidic and neutral lipid membranes. The results show that HIV_WT and HIV_V2E have the same conformational characteristics and tendencies of conformational transition but definitely different functions: HIV_WT destabilizes membrane and induces fusion by adopting predominant α-helix conformation when interacting with acidic POPG membrane, its phenylalanine residues can penetrate into the hydrophobic core of POPG bilayer; HIV_V2E also adopts predominant α-helix when interacting with POPG membrane, but it cannot destabilize POPG membrane and induce fusion, the phenylalanine residues of it are located near the surface of POPG bilayer. HIV_WT and HIV_V2E both adopt predominant β-sheet conformation to interact with neutral POPC membrane, and cannot destabilize POPC membrane and induce fusion, the position of phenylalanine residues of both HIV_WT and HIV_V2E are close to the surface of POPC bilayer. These results demonstrate that the N terminal hydrophobicity of fusion peptide and the secondary structure when interacting with lipid membrane play important roles for fusion peptide exerting its function.     

Effect of cadmium and herbicides on the growth,chlorophyll and soluble sugar content in rice seedlings

To investigate the combined effects of Cd^2＋ （ 0,10,100,500 μmol/L） , acetochlor （AC） （0,1.6,4.0,8.0μmol/L）, and bensulfuronmethyl （BSM） （ 0,0.16,0.40,0.80 μmol/L） on the biomass,leaf soluble sugar, total chlorophyll （chl） content, chl a/b ratio, and Cd content in roots and shoots in the rice seedlings, pot culture experiments were conducted with rice （Oryza sativa L. ） cultivar Jinyou 402. The results showed that the Cd and AC combined treatment （Cd＋ AC treatment） significantly inhibited the growth of the roots and shoots. The root dry weight/shoot dry weight （RDW/SDW） ratio, total chlorophyll content and chl a/b ratio decreased by 41%, 50%, 56% , respectively, in comparison with the control, as well as the leaf soluble sugar content, plant dry weight /plant fresh weight （PDW/PFW） ratio increased by 284% and 44% , respectively. Cd content in the roots and shoots had a decreasing tendency with the increasing concentration of AC under the Cd＋AC treatment. The Cd and BSM combined treatment （Cd＋BSM treatment） had a similar result to the Cd＋AC treatment. The results suggest that the toxicity of Cd to rice seedlings has been enhanced due to its combination with herbicides.     

Synergistic defensive mechanism of phytochelatins and antioxidative enzymes in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica chinensis</Emphasis> L. against Cd stress

Brassica chinensis L. was chosen and exposed to different concentrations of Cd exposure to evaluate its Cd-accumulating capacity and its potential cellular defensive mechanisms. Cd accumulation in the shoots and roots of B. chinensis was up to 1348.3±461.8 and 3761.0±795.0 mg per killogram of dry weight, respectively, under 200 μmol/L of Cd exposure. Increasing Cd accumulation in the plant was accompanied by rapid accumulation of phytochelatins （PCs）, and the sequestration of Cd by PCs provided a primary cellular mechanism for Cd detoxification and tolerance of B. chinensis. Furthermore, malondialdehyde formation, hydrogen peroxide content and antioxidative enzyme activities such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, guaiacol peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase were observed in the shoots of Cd-stressed B. chinensis. Increasing enzyme activities in response to concentrations of 5 to 50 μmol/L Cd showed an efficient defense against oxidative stress, suggesting that the antioxidative system was a secondary defensive mechanism. These resulted in reduced free Cd damage and enhanced Cd accumulation and tolerance. Glutathione plays a pivotal role in these two detoxification pathways. In general, these results suggested that PCs and the antioxidative system are synergistic in combatting Cd-induced oxidative stress and that they play important roles in Cd detoxification of B. chinensis, and also give a deep understanding of the natural defensive mechanisms in plants under heavy metal stress.     

Assaying poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity in plants by polarographic method

A new method has been developed to assay poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activity in plant tissues through determining the content of nicotinamide (NIC) produced by enzymatic reaction by linear sweeping polarographic method. The detection limit of NIC was 0.03μmol/L, the calibration graph was linear up to 5 Mmol/L ( r = 0.999). The recoveries were approximately in the range of 92% to 98% and the relative standard deviations were less than 6.6% . Moreover, NAD+ and other interference existing in the mixture after enzymatic reaction had been removed by simple pretreatment, thus PARP assays were not interfered. A rapid, simple, sensitive and reliable nonisotopic method is reported to assay PARP activity in plant tissues . The results show that the KmNAD+ value of PARP in maize ( Zea mays L.) seedlings is 59 and the optimum pH for PARP activity is 8.5. Moreover, physiological conditions affect PARP activity in plant tissues, which has not been reported previously. When tobacco ( Nico-tiana tobacum) suspension cells were stressed by NaCI at low concentrations (100, 200 mmol/ L), the PARP activity increased significantly; when the cells were stressed at high concentrations (400, 1 000 mmol/L), it decreased to or even below the control level. PARP activity in etiolated maize seedlings was higher than that in light-grown seedlings.     

Determination of isocarbophos by cathodically sweeping oscilliopolarography

Determination of isocarbophos by cathodically sweeping oscilliopolarography is described. In a 1.0×10⁻⁵ mol/L sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDS)+0.1 mol/L HAC-NaAC (pH=4.0) buffer medium, isocarbophos and its alkaline hydrolysate exhibited sensitive second derivative wave at −0.50 V and −0.48 V respectively. The peak current was linearly proportional to the concentration of isocarbophos in the range of 5.40×10⁻⁶−1.05×10⁻⁴ mol/L by detecting isocarbophos directly. The detection limit was 3.60×10⁻⁶ mol/L with the relative standard derivation (RSD) of 7.3%. By employing an alkaline hydrolysis, the peak current was linearly proportional to the concentration of isocarbophos in the range from 7.70×10⁻⁷ mol/L to 1.24×10⁻⁴ mol/L, and the detection limit was 5.80×10⁻⁷ mol/L with RSD of 3.1%. The hydrolysis procedure and the electrode reaction were studied by voltammetry. Foundation item: Supported by the Foundation of Chinese-France Cooperation Program on Advanced Research Biography: ZHANG Wu-ming (1929-), female, Professor.     

Effect of iron deficiency on heterocyst differentiation and physiology of the filamentous cyanobacterium<Emphasis Type="Italic">Anabaena</Emphasis> sp. PCC 7120

The effect of iron deficiency on heterocyst differentiation and some physiological properties of the filamentous cyanobacteriumAnabaena sp. PCC 7120 was investigated. Under moderate iron limitation conditions, achieved by addition of iron chelator 2, 2′-Dipyridyl (<80 μmol/L) led to delayed heterocyst differentiation, no heterocyst differentiation was observed under severe iron limitation conditions, when the concentration of 2,2′-Dipyridyl in the medium was more than 100 μmol/L. it seemed that there are certain iron-regulated genes or operons whose function is to control heterocyst development. In addition, iron deficiency impaired the growth. Low iron cells had a decrease in the quantities of pigment content (chlorophyll and phycocyanin content), the whole cellin vivo absorbance spectra confirmed the decrease, the protein electrophoretic profiles revealed that iron-deficient cells had less protein bands, with the increase of 2,2′-Dipyridyl, the protein bands was more and more less. And differently, iron deficiency also caused an increase of ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) and SOD activity, it suggests that iron deficiency led to oxidative stress, which generally occured under high-iron conditions. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (30070154), the Frontier Science Projects Programme of the Institute of Hydrobiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (220316), State Key Project on Cyanobacterial Bloom Control in Lake Danchi (K9905-35-01) Biography: Xu Wenllang (1974-), male, Ph. D. research direction: molecular genetics of eyanobacteria.