Strategies for cloning unknown cellular flanking DNA sequences from foreign integrants

Many virus and transposon DNAs can integrate into the host genome. In this review, techniques, including inverse polymerase chain reaction (IPCR), novel Alu-PCR and vectorette- or splinkerette-PCR are introduced as possible strategies for cloning flanking DNA regions of the integrants. Targeted gene-walking PCR, restriction-site PCR, capture PCR, and panhandle PCR and boomerang DNA amplification are also described. The principles, advantages and limitations of each approach are discussed. Received 9 July 1998; received after revision 2 October 1998; accepted 7 October 1998     

Quasirational dynamic system

Using the iterations of quasirational mappings, the theorems on dynamic system are generalized to the quasirational dynamic system. Some different results are also obtained.     

电解锌中MnO2的形成机理及其形态对阴极锌质量的影响

研究电解锌过程中电解液锰离子浓度对阳极保护层ＭｎＯ２沉积的形态、形成机理、对铅阳极的保护作用和对阴极锌质量的影响。指出ＺｎＳＯ４电解液［Ｍｎ＾２＋］应该保持在３￣５ｇ／Ｌ，并注意维持在整个系统中该浓度下的锰平衡。     

不同品种小麦幼穗离体培养的研究

通过对(李杂3号×晋2148)×(豫麦1号×Alondvas)、京花1号、晋2148、豫麦18号、陕农7859、冀麦5418、豫麦13号、Alondvas和花培28九种不同品种的小麦幼穗在N6培养基中进行体外培养,发现山不同的小麦幼穗脱分化所形成的愈伤组织之间有明显的差异,其再分化出根和苗的能力也各不相同。其中以(李杂3号×晋2148)×(豫麦1号×Alondvas)、晋2148、京花1号、豫麦18号和陕农7859五个品种小麦幼穗所形成的愈伤组织生长状况较佳,冀麦5418和豫麦13号次之,Alondvas和花培28愈伤组织长势较弱。再分化的能力与愈伤组织的生长情况呈相对应之关系。     

Mutations in VPS33B, encoding a regulator of SNARE-dependent membrane fusion, cause arthrogryposis-renal dysfunction-cholestasis (ARC) syndrome

ARC syndrome (OMIM 208085) is an autosomal recessive multisystem disorder characterized by neurogenic arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, renal tubular dysfunction and neonatal cholestasis with bile duct hypoplasia and low gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (gGT) activity. Platelet dysfunction is common. Affected infants do not thrive and usually die in the first year of life. To elucidate the molecular basis of ARC, we mapped the disease to a 7-cM interval on 15q26.1 and then identified germline mutations in the gene VPS33B in 14 kindreds with ARC. VPS33B encodes a homolog of the class C yeast vacuolar protein sorting gene, Vps33, that contains a Sec1-like domain important in the regulation of vesicle-to-target SNARE complex formation and subsequent membrane fusion.     

Adhesion: elastocapillary coalescence in wet hair

We investigated why wet hair clumps into bundles by dunking a model brush of parallel elastic lamellae into a perfectly wetting liquid. As the brush is withdrawn, pairs of bundles aggregate successively, forming complex hierarchical patterns that depend on a balance between capillary forces and the elasticity of the lamellae. This capillary-driven self-assembly of flexible structures, which occurs in the tarsi of insects and in biomimetic adhesives but which can also damage micro-electromechanical structures or carbon nanotube 'carpets', represents a new type of coalescence process.     

Lymphocyte egress from thymus and peripheral lymphoid organs is dependent on S1P receptor 1

Adaptive immunity depends on T-cell exit from the thymus and T and B cells travelling between secondary lymphoid organs to survey for antigens. After activation in lymphoid organs, T cells must again return to circulation to reach sites of infection; however, the mechanisms regulating lymphoid organ exit are unknown. An immunosuppressant drug, FTY720, inhibits lymphocyte emigration from lymphoid organs, and phosphorylated FTY720 binds and activates four of the five known sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptors. However, the role of S1P receptors in normal immune cell trafficking is unclear. Here we show that in mice whose haematopoietic cells lack a single S1P receptor (S1P1; also known as Edg1) there are no T cells in the periphery because mature T cells are unable to exit the thymus. Although B cells are present in peripheral lymphoid organs, they are severely deficient in blood and lymph. Adoptive cell transfer experiments establish an intrinsic requirement for S1P1 in T and B cells for lymphoid organ egress. Furthermore, S1P1-dependent chemotactic responsiveness is strongly upregulated in T-cell development before exit from the thymus, whereas S1P1 is downregulated during peripheral lymphocyte activation, and this is associated with retention in lymphoid organs. We find that FTY720 treatment downregulates S1P1, creating a temporary pharmacological S1P1-null state in lymphocytes, providing an explanation for the mechanism of FTY720-induced lymphocyte sequestration. These findings establish that S1P1 is essential for lymphocyte recirculation and that it regulates egress from both thymus and peripheral lymphoid organs.     

Molecular gas in the host galaxy of a quasar at redshift z = 6.42

Observations of molecular hydrogen in quasar host galaxies at high redshifts provide fundamental constraints on galaxy evolution, because it is out of this molecular gas that stars form. Molecular hydrogen is traced by emission from the carbon monoxide molecule, CO; cold H2 itself is generally not observable. Carbon monoxide has been detected in about ten quasar host galaxies with redshifts z > 2; the record-holder is at z = 4.69 (refs 1-3). Here we report CO emission from the quasar SDSS J114816.64 + 525150.3 (refs 5, 6) at z = 6.42. At that redshift, the Universe was only 1/16 of its present age, and the era of cosmic reionization was just ending. The presence of about 2 x 1010 M\circ of H2 in an object at this time demonstrates that molecular gas enriched with heavy elements can be generated rapidly in the youngest galaxies.