Progress in quantitative analysis of plant hormones

Plant hormones are small molecular natural products that regulate all plant developmental processes at low concentrations. Quantitative analysis of plant hormones is increasingly important for in-depth study of their biosynthesis,transport,metabolism and molecular regulatory mechanisms. Although plant hormone analysis remains a bottleneck in plant scientific research owing to the trace concentrations and complex components in plant crude extracts,much progress has been achieved in the development of extraction,purification and detection techniques in recent years. Solid phase extraction and chromatography/mass spectrometry have been applied widely for purification and quantitative analysis of plant hormones owing to their high selectivity and sensitivity. Purification methods such as liquid partition and immunoaffinity chromatography,and detection methods including immunoassay and electrochemical analysis,are employed. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods are discussed. In situ,real-time and multi-plant hormone profiling will comprise mainstream techniques for quantitative analyses in future studies on the regulatory mechanisms and crosstalk of plant hormones.     

Central nervous system control of food intake and body weight

The capacity to adjust food intake in response to changing energy requirements is essential for survival. Recent progress has provided an insight into the molecular, cellular and behavioural mechanisms that link changes of body fat stores to adaptive adjustments of feeding behaviour. The physiological importance of this homeostatic control system is highlighted by the severe obesity that results from dysfunction of any of several of its key components. This new information provides a biological context within which to consider the global obesity epidemic and identifies numerous potential avenues for therapeutic intervention and future research.     

药用植物中四环三萜皂苷合成生物学研究进展

萜类化合物是药用植物中结构和生物活性多样化的一类大分子化合物,是自然界中广泛存在的次级代谢产物,主要应用于食品、保健品、医药等领域。生物信息学和分子生物学研究的不断深入,极大促进了药用植物四环三萜皂苷的生物合成途径解析与关键功能基因的挖掘鉴定。本文对常见药用植物四环三萜皂苷的生物合成学研究现状展开论述,重点介绍以药用植物四环三萜皂苷为代表的几类化合物的分子合成机制和生物合成研究进展,为人工构建、优化微生物“细胞工厂”,高效合成稀有、高附加值的四环三萜类化合物,推动药用植物资源可持续利用等提供参考。     

乳链菌肽（NISIN）的分子遗传学研究进展

着重介绍了乳酸菌的一个重要的细菌素－ｎｉｓｉｎ的分子遗传研究现况：ｎｉｓｉｎ的分子结构、生物合成、基因分析和表达、免疫抗性、作用方式以及在食品工业中应用。指明了研究食品新的生物保藏方法是未来发展的方向。     

Nitric oxide: A potential key point of the signaling network leading to plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis

The endogenous signaling network of plants plays important roles in mediating the exogenous factor-induced biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Nitric oxide (NO) has emerged as a key signaling molecule in plants recently. Numerous studies demonstrated that the main signaling molecules such as salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and NO were not only involved in regulating plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis but also interacted to form a complex signaling network by mutual inhibition and/or synergy. The recent progress in the signal network of plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis has been discussed in this paper. Furthermore, we propose a hypothetical model to show that NO might act as a potential molecular switch in the signaling network leading to plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis.     

Nitric oxide:A potential key point of the signaling network leading to plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis

The endogenous signaling network of plants plays important roles in mediating the exogenous factor-induced biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Nitric oxide (NO) has emerged as a key signaling molecule in plants recently. Numerous studies demonstrated that the main signaling molecules such as salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and NO were not only involved in regulating plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis but also interacted to form a complex signaling network by mutual inhibition and/or synergy. The recent progress in the signal network of plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis has been discussed in this paper. Furthermore, we propose a hypothetical model to show that NO might act as a potential molecular switch in the signaling network leading to plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis.     

莱茵衣藻类胡萝卜素生物合成及其遗传控制的研究进展

随着对类胡萝卜素药用、食品、化妆等方面认识的提高,人类对类胡萝卜素的种类和产量需求也越来越高。单细胞真核微藻-莱茵衣藻是国际上研究光合作用遗传控制的最佳模式生物,也是天然类胡萝卜素主要来源之一。本文主要介绍了类胡萝卜素生物合成途径及用莱茵衣藻研究类胡萝卜素光合遗传控制等方面的最新研究进展。     

Progress in quantitative analysis of plant hormones

Plant hormones are small molecular natural products that regulate all plant developmental processes at low concentrations. Quantitative analysis of plant hormones is increasingly important for in-depth study of their biosynthesis, transport, metabolism and molecular regulatory mechanisms. Although plant hormone analysis remains a bottleneck in plant scientific research owing to the trace concentrations and complex components in plant crude extracts, much progress has been achieved in the development of extraction, purification and detection techniques in recent years. Solid phase extraction and chromatography/mass spectrometry have been applied widely for purification and quantitative analysis of plant hormones owing to their high selectivity and sensitivity. Purification methods such as liquid partition and immunoaffinity chromatography, and detection methods including immunoassay and electrochemical analysis, are employed. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods are discussed. In situ, real-time and multi-plant hormone profiling will comprise mainstream techniques for quantitative analyses in future studies on the regulatory mechanisms and crosstalk of plant hormones.     

The genetic and molecular basis of cytoplasmic male sterility and fertility restoration in rice

Cytoplasmic male sterility （CMS） is a maternally inherited characteristic found in many （〉150） plant species. CMS/restoration systems are useful tools for hybrid seed production, and are ideal models for study of the interactions between nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. CMS/restoration systems in rice have been widely used for hybrid seed production, greatly contributing to the food supply. This article reviews the progress of the studies on the genetic and molecular basis of cytoplasmic male sterility and fertility restoration in rice.     

蛙皮多肽抗生素的研究进展

蛙皮多肽抗生素(peptide antibiotics)是由两栖动物皮肤分泌的,有抗菌、抗癌作用的多肽,广泛存在于两栖动物的皮肤分泌物中.由于具有抗菌谱广、种类多、不易产生耐药性等优点,其应用已涉及到医药工业、食品工业等领域,应用前景广阔.从蛙皮多肽抗生素的分类、分子结构与功能、作用机制、生物学活性、化学修饰和基因工程方面概述了其研究现状与进展.     

Localization and functionality of microsporidian iron-sulphur cluster assembly proteins

Microsporidia are highly specialized obligate intracellular parasites of other eukaryotes (including humans) that show extreme reduction at the molecular, cellular and biochemical level. Although microsporidia have long been considered as early branching eukaryotes that lack mitochondria, they have recently been shown to contain a tiny mitochondrial remnant called a mitosome. The function of the mitosome is unknown, because microsporidians lack the genes for canonical mitochondrial functions, such as aerobic respiration and haem biosynthesis. However, microsporidial genomes encode several components of the mitochondrial iron-sulphur (Fe-S) cluster assembly machinery. Here we provide experimental insights into the metabolic function and localization of these proteins. We cloned, functionally characterized and localized homologues of several central mitochondrial Fe-S cluster assembly components for the microsporidians Encephalitozoon cuniculi and Trachipleistophora hominis. Several microsporidial proteins can functionally replace their yeast counterparts in Fe-S protein biogenesis. In E. cuniculi, the iron (frataxin) and sulphur (cysteine desulphurase, Nfs1) donors and the scaffold protein (Isu1) co-localize with mitochondrial Hsp70 to the mitosome, consistent with it being the functional site for Fe-S cluster biosynthesis. In T. hominis, mitochondrial Hsp70 and the essential sulphur donor (Nfs1) are still in the mitosome, but surprisingly the main pools of Isu1 and frataxin are cytosolic, creating a conundrum of how these key components of Fe-S cluster biosynthesis coordinate their function. Together, our studies identify the essential biosynthetic process of Fe-S protein assembly as a key function of microsporidian mitosomes.     

微生物果胶酶研究及其在食品加工中的应用进展

果胶酶是一类能够分解果胶物质的复合酶．根据作用机理将其分为四大类：果胶酯酶、果胶水解酶、果胶裂解酶和原果胶酶．果胶酶最主要来源是通过大规模微生物发酵生产,本文综述了微生物果胶酶的分类、生产菌、分子生物学研究、分离纯化、发酵生产方式及微生物果胶酶在食品加工的应用．     

分子马达模型综述

介绍三类马达酶的结构,功能和生命体内分子马达的研究状况,并详细介绍几类典型分子马达的理论模型,同时展望了分子马达的发展前景和应用。     

生物法制取透明质酸的研究进展

透明质酸是一种高分子量的酸性黏多糖，由于其特殊的生理作用，已被广泛应用于医药、化妆品、食品添加剂等领域。现综述了生物法制取透明质酸的研究进展，重点阐述了菌种选育、发酵工艺和分离纯化，并对其未来研究的趋势进行了展望。     

Recent development of peptide self-assembly

Amino acids are the building blocks to build peptides and proteins. Recent development in peptide synthesis has however enabled us to mimic this natural process by preparing various long and short peptides possessing different conformations and biological functions. The self-assembly of short designed peptides into molecular nanostructures is becoming a growing interest in nanobiotechnology. Self-assembled peptides exhibit several attractive features for applications in tissue regeneration, drug delivery, biological surface engineering as well as in food science, cosmetic industry and antibiotics. The aim of this review is to introduce the readers to a number of representative studies on peptide self-assembly.     

The epigenetic involvement in plant hormone signaling

The biosynthesis and signaling of plant hormones play a critical role in almost all biological processes. It is well-documented that phytohormones cross-talk with each other. Epigenetic mechanisms were suggested to regulate expression of downstream targets in hormone signaling pathways that help implement hormone functions. This new layer of complexities that integrate epigenetic information such as DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling, histone modification, microRNAs and siRNAs with plant hormone signaling and regulations of gene expression, has been gradually revealed. In this short review, the author tries to assemble recent progress to establish a molecular linkage between these two large and momentum research fields and also to help readers digest the literature.     

Recent development of peptide self-assembly

Amino acids are the building blocks to build peptides and proteins. Recent development in peptide synthesis has however enabled us to mimic this natural process by preparing various long and short peptides possessing different conformations and biological functions. The self-assembly of short designed peptides into molecular nanostructures is becoming a growing interest in nanobiotechnology. Self- assembled peptides exhibit several attractive features for applications in tissue regeneration, drug delivery, biological surface engineering as well as in food science, cosmetic industry and antibiotics. The aim of this review is to introduce the readers to a number of representative studies on peptide self-assembly.     

黄曲霉毒素的产生机制及污染防控策略

黄曲霉是一种广泛分布的环境习居菌,经常在种植、贮藏、加工、运输过程污染玉米、花生等富含脂肪酸的粮食及相关食品和饲料,并会产生多种有毒次生代谢产物。其中,黄曲霉毒素是黄曲霉产生的最主要真菌毒素之一,是公认的一类致癌物。黄曲霉毒素污染严重影响农产品质量安全;带来巨大的经济损失和贸易争端;更重要的是,黄曲霉毒素具有高毒性、高致癌性、致突变性和免疫抑制性,严重威胁人畜健康。因此,黄曲霉毒素合成、调控及防控的相关工作一直是食品安全领域的研究重点和热点。阐述已知的黄曲霉毒素产生途径及相关调控机制,并介绍了多种有效的防控手段。重点讨论光照、温度、水活度、营养物质、pH值、氧化胁迫等环境因子对黄曲霉毒素合成的影响及已明确的调控机制;阐明了参与不同环境因子调控毒素合成的关键转录因子;同时分别从物理、化学和生物等不同技术层面介绍了多种有效抑制或降解黄曲霉毒素的方法,总结了黄曲霉毒素污染防控策略;并对今后的关键研究方向和重点防控措施做出了展望。     

分子标记及其在葡萄属植物研究上的应用(综述)

介绍了RFLP ,RAPD ,AFLP和微卫星DNA分子标记技术的原理和特点 ,综述了分子标记技术在葡萄属植物上的研究进展 ,并对其应用前景进行了评述     

HMG-CoA还原酶抑制剂的3D-QSAR研究

3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶（HMG—CoAR）是肝脏中胆固醇合成的限速酶．酶的底物HMG—CoA和NADP分子分别与酶的L区和S区充分结合,催化HMG—CoA还原裂解生成甲羟戊酸（mevalonate）．甲羟戊酸经一系列反应生成胆固醇,而高胆固醇和高脂蛋白是心血管疾病的主要危险因素,因此HMG—CoAR是治疗心脑血管疾病、冠心病、心肌梗塞主要靶标酶．他汀类药物可以选择性地进入肝脏HMG—CoAR活性空腔,