Somatic histone H3 alterations in pediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas and non-brainstem glioblastomas

To identify somatic mutations in pediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), we performed whole-genome sequencing of DNA from seven DIPGs and matched germline tissue and targeted sequencing of an additional 43 DIPGs and 36 non-brainstem pediatric glioblastomas (non-BS-PGs). We found that 78% of DIPGs and 22% of non-BS-PGs contained a mutation in H3F3A, encoding histone H3.3, or in the related HIST1H3B, encoding histone H3.1, that caused a p.Lys27Met amino acid substitution in each protein. An additional 14% of non-BS-PGs had somatic mutations in H3F3A causing a p.Gly34Arg alteration.     

Maize HapMap2 identifies extant variation from a genome in flux

Whereas breeders have exploited diversity in maize for yield improvements, there has been limited progress in using beneficial alleles in undomesticated varieties. Characterizing standing variation in this complex genome has been challenging, with only a small fraction of it described to date. Using a population genetics scoring model, we identified 55 million SNPs in 103 lines across pre-domestication and domesticated Zea mays varieties, including a representative from the sister genus Tripsacum. We find that structural variations are pervasive in the Z. mays genome and are enriched at loci associated with important traits. By investigating the drivers of genome size variation, we find that the larger Tripsacum genome can be explained by transposable element abundance rather than an allopolyploid origin. In contrast, intraspecies genome size variation seems to be controlled by chromosomal knob content. There is tremendous overlap in key gene content in maize and Tripsacum, suggesting that adaptations from Tripsacum (for example, perennialism and frost and drought tolerance) can likely be integrated into maize.     

Ramp initiation in a thrust wedge

Collisional mountain belts are characterized by fold and thrust belts that grow through sequential stacking of thrust sheets from the interior (hinterland) to the exterior (foreland) of the mountain belt. Each of these sheets rides on a fault that cuts up through the stratigraphic section on inclined ramps that join a flat basal fault at depth. Although this stair-step or ramp-flat geometry is well known, there is no consensus on why a particular ramp forms where it does. Perturbations in fault shape, stratigraphy, fluid pressure, folding, and surface slope have all been suggested as possible mechanisms. Here we show that such pre-existing inhomogeneities, though feasible causes, are not required. Our computer simulations show that a broad foreland-dipping plastic strain band forms at the surface near the topographic inflection produced by the previous ramp. This strain band then migrates towards the rigid base, where the plastic strain is preferentially concentrated in a thrust ramp. Subsequent ramps develop toward the foreland in a similar fashion. Syntectonic erosion and deposition may strongly control the location of thrust ramps by enhancing or removing the surface point of initiation.     

氧化铁/氧化锌超疏水复合材料的制备及其光催化性能

A facile approach was developed to construct Fe₂O₃-modified ZnO micro/nanostructures with excellent superhydrophobicity and photocatalytic activities. The effects of stearic acid (SA) and Fe₂O₃ on the morphological characteristics, water contact angle (WCA), and photocatalytic degradation were investigated. Superhydrophobicity results showed that WCA increased from 144° ± 2° to 154° ± 2° when the weight of SA increased from 5 to 20 mg because of the formation of a hierarchical or rough structure. Furthermore, Fe₂O₃-modified ZnO micro/nanostructure surfaces before and after SA treatment (20 mg) were chosen to evaluate the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under the support of visible light. MB degraded after 80 min of irradiation, and its photodegradation efficiencies were 91.5% at the superhydrophobic state and 92% at the hydrophilic state. This improvement in photocatalytic activity at both states might be attributed to an increase in surface area and improvement in charge carrier separation.     

Non-volcanic tremor driven by large transient shear stresses

Non-impulsive seismic radiation or 'tremor' has long been observed at volcanoes and more recently around subduction zones. Although the number of observations of non-volcanic tremor is steadily increasing, the causative mechanism remains unclear. Some have attributed non-volcanic tremor to the movement of fluids, while its coincidence with geodetically observed slow-slip events at regular intervals has led others to consider slip on the plate interface as its cause. Low-frequency earthquakes in Japan, which are believed to make up at least part of non-volcanic tremor, have focal mechanisms and locations that are consistent with tremor being generated by shear slip on the subduction interface. In Cascadia, however, tremor locations appear to be more distributed in depth than in Japan, making them harder to reconcile with a plate interface shear-slip model. Here we identify bursts of tremor that radiated from the Cascadia subduction zone near Vancouver Island, Canada, during the strongest shaking from the moment magnitude M(w) = 7.8, 2002 Denali, Alaska, earthquake. Tremor occurs when the Love wave displacements are to the southwest (the direction of plate convergence of the overriding plate), implying that the Love waves trigger the tremor. We show that these displacements correspond to shear stresses of approximately 40 kPa on the plate interface, which suggests that the effective stress on the plate interface is very low. These observations indicate that tremor and possibly slow slip can be instantaneously induced by shear stress increases on the subduction interface-effectively a frictional failure response to the driving stress.     

TRPV3 is a calcium-permeable temperature-sensitive cation channel

Transient receptor potential (TRP) proteins are cation-selective channels that function in processes as diverse as sensation and vasoregulation. Mammalian TRP channels that are gated by heat and capsaicin (>43 degrees C; TRPV1 (ref. 1)), noxious heat (>52 degrees C; TRPV2 (ref. 2)), and cooling (< 22 degrees C; TRPM8 (refs 3, 4)) have been cloned; however, little is known about the molecular determinants of temperature sensing in the range between approximately 22 degrees C and 40 degrees C. Here we have identified a member of the vanilloid channel family, human TRPV3 (hTRPV3) that is expressed in skin, tongue, dorsal root ganglion, trigeminal ganglion, spinal cord and brain. Increasing temperature from 22 degrees C to 40 degrees C in mammalian cells transfected with hTRPV3 elevated intracellular calcium by activating a nonselective cationic conductance. As in published recordings from sensory neurons, the current was steeply dependent on temperature, sensitized with repeated heating, and displayed a marked hysteresis on heating and cooling. On the basis of these properties, we propose that hTRPV3 is thermosensitive in the physiological range of temperatures between TRPM8 and TRPV1.     

Plant thioredoxins: the multiplicity conundrum

Thioredoxins are small proteins distinguished by the presence of a conserved dicysteine active site. In oxidized thioredoxin, the two cysteines form a disulfide bond that is targeted by the enzyme thioredoxin reductase. Together with an electron donor, thioredoxin and thioredoxin reductase form the 'thioredoxin system' that is present in all organisms. Thioredoxins participate in dithiol/disulfide exchange reactions with a large range of cellular substrates. Higher plants possess a very complex thioredoxin profile consisting of at least two different thioredoxin systems that contain distinct, multigenic thioredoxin classes which have different intracellular localizations. In this review we summarise the current state of knowledge regarding the function of plant thioredoxins representing all systems and classes. Received 30 October 2001; received after revision 13 December 2001; accepted 17 December 2001