The human microbiome project

A strategy to understand the microbial components of the human genetic and metabolic landscape and how they contribute to normal physiology and predisposition to disease.     

Ambra1 regulates autophagy and development of the nervous system

Autophagy is a self-degradative process involved both in basal turnover of cellular components and in response to nutrient starvation or organelle damage in a wide range of eukaryotes. During autophagy, portions of the cytoplasm are sequestered by double-membraned vesicles called autophagosomes, and are degraded after fusion with lysosomes for subsequent recycling. In vertebrates, this process acts as a pro-survival or pro-death mechanism in different physiological and pathological conditions, such as neurodegeneration and cancer; however, the roles of autophagy during embryonic development are still largely uncharacterized. Beclin1 (Becn1; coiled-coil, myosin-like BCL2-interacting protein) is a principal regulator in autophagosome formation, and its deficiency results in early embryonic lethality. Here we show that Ambra1 (activating molecule in Beclin1-regulated autophagy), a large, previously unknown protein bearing a WD40 domain at its amino terminus, regulates autophagy and has a crucial role in embryogenesis. We found that Ambra1 is a positive regulator of the Becn1-dependent programme of autophagy, as revealed by its overexpression and by RNA interference experiments in vitro. Notably, Ambra1 functional deficiency in mouse embryos leads to severe neural tube defects associated with autophagy impairment, accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins, unbalanced cell proliferation and excessive apoptotic cell death. In addition to identifying a new and essential element regulating the autophagy programme, our results provide in vivo evidence supporting the existence of a complex interplay between autophagy, cell growth and cell death required for neural development in mammals.     

Glycosphingolipid synthesis requires FAPP2 transfer of glucosylceramide

The molecular machinery responsible for the generation of transport carriers moving from the Golgi complex to the plasma membrane relies on a tight interplay between proteins and lipids. Among the lipid-binding proteins of this machinery, we previously identified the four-phosphate adaptor protein FAPP2, the pleckstrin homology domain of which binds phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and the small GTPase ARF1. FAPP2 also possesses a glycolipid-transfer-protein homology domain. Here we show that human FAPP2 is a glucosylceramide-transfer protein that has a pivotal role in the synthesis of complex glycosphingolipids, key structural and signalling components of the plasma membrane. The requirement for FAPP2 makes the whole glycosphingolipid synthetic pathway sensitive to regulation by phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and ARF1. Thus, by coupling the synthesis of glycosphingolipids with their export to the cell surface, FAPP2 emerges as crucial in determining the lipid identity and composition of the plasma membrane.     

Trench-parallel flow and seismic anisotropy in the Mariana and Andean subduction systems

Shear-wave splitting measurements above the mantle wedge of the Mariana and southern Andean subduction zones show trench-parallel seismically fast directions close to the trench and abrupt rotations to trench-perpendicular anisotropy in the back arc. These patterns of seismic anisotropy may be caused by three-dimensional flow associated with along-strike variations in slab geometry. The Mariana and Andean subduction systems are associated with the largest along-strike variations of slab geometry observed on Earth and are ideal for testing the link between slab geometry and solid-state creep processes in the mantle. Here we show, with fully three-dimensional non-newtonian subduction zone models, that the strong curvature of the Mariana slab and the transition to shallow slab dip in the Southern Andes give rise to strong trench-parallel stretching in the warm-arc and warm-back-arc mantle and to abrupt rotations in stretching directions that are accompanied by strong trench-parallel stretching. These models show that the patterns of shear-wave splitting observed in the Mariana and southern Andean systems may be caused by significant three-dimensional flow induced by along-strike variations in slab geometry.     

Identification of a mechanism of photoprotective energy dissipation in higher plants

Under conditions of excess sunlight the efficient light-harvesting antenna found in the chloroplast membranes of plants is rapidly and reversibly switched into a photoprotected quenched state in which potentially harmful absorbed energy is dissipated as heat, a process measured as the non-photochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence or qE. Although the biological significance of qE is established, the molecular mechanisms involved are not. LHCII, the main light-harvesting complex, has an inbuilt capability to undergo transformation into a dissipative state by conformational change and it was suggested that this provides a molecular basis for qE, but it is not known if such events occur in vivo or how energy is dissipated in this state. The transition into the dissipative state is associated with a twist in the configuration of the LHCII-bound carotenoid neoxanthin, identified using resonance Raman spectroscopy. Applying this technique to study isolated chloroplasts and whole leaves, we show here that the same change in neoxanthin configuration occurs in vivo, to an extent consistent with the magnitude of energy dissipation. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, performed on purified LHCII in the dissipative state, shows that energy is transferred from chlorophyll a to a low-lying carotenoid excited state, identified as one of the two luteins (lutein 1) in LHCII. Hence, it is experimentally demonstrated that a change in conformation of LHCII occurs in vivo, which opens a channel for energy dissipation by transfer to a bound carotenoid. We suggest that this is the principal mechanism of photoprotection.     

大豆结瘤和固氮的现代遗传学与生物技术学

大豆(Glycine max)是一种重要的供给粮食和动物饲料的主要农作物。作为豆科植物的一员,大豆与一种被称之为根瘤菌的土壤细菌形成了复杂的共生关系,结果导致新的根器官--根瘤的形成。在这个吸引人的新器官中,被植物所囚禁的根瘤菌能把空气中的氮气转换为可利用的氮肥。在巴西,有助于增加种子收成的细菌菌株借助微生物学手段已经被分离出来。目前,现代遗传学、生物技术学、生理学、生物化学和基因组学使得分离根瘤形成过程中的关键基因成为现实。 综合这些研究发现了诱导,并随后控制细胞分裂的一种新的分子机制。笔者所在的研究小组已经在大豆中克隆到了根瘤菌结瘤因子信号的关键受体,以及一些在复杂的根-茎-根信号传递途径中的分子组分,这些组分涉及到肽类激素,受体激酶和小的信号代谢产物。上述发现表明提高大豆产量和抗逆性的大豆改良进入一个新的阶段。     

南极长城站邻近区贼鸥营巢与占域行为研究

2000/2001年夏季,在南极中国长城站附近对麦氏贼鸥(Catharacta maccormicki)和棕贼鸥(Catharacta lonnbergi)的营巢和占域行为进行了研究.对其营巢因子主成分分析的结果表明,巢位高度、巢、食物源(海边及企鸥群)的距离等要素对贼鸥巢址选择有重要影响.贼鸥依赖人类废弃食物的程度及其适应南极多风雪气候的行为学特性等因素,在其营巢对策中发挥显著作用.贼鸥的领域范围和防御行为,随其繁殖活动的不同阶段有明显变化.人类活动不当可能会削弱贼鸥对领域的防范,并影响育雏安全.     

Nanocontacts give efficient hole injection in organic electronics

A key requirement for well performing devices based on organic semiconductors is to ensure ohmic contacts, where an efficient hole and electron injection and ex...