A complementary transposon tool kit for Drosophila melanogaster using P and piggyBac

With the availability of complete genome sequence for Drosophila melanogaster, one of the next strategic goals for fly researchers is a complete gene knockout collection. The P-element transposon, the workhorse of D. melanogaster molecular genetics, has a pronounced nonrandom insertion spectrum. It has been estimated that 87% saturation of the approximately 13,500-gene complement of D. melanogaster might require generating and analyzing up to 150,000 insertions. We describe specific improvements to the lepidopteran transposon piggyBac and the P element that enabled us to tag and disrupt genes in D. melanogaster more efficiently. We generated over 29,000 inserts resulting in 53% gene saturation and a more diverse collection of phenotypically stronger insertional alleles. We found that piggyBac has distinct global and local gene-tagging behavior from that of P elements. Notably, piggyBac excisions from the germ line are nearly always precise, piggyBac does not share chromosomal hotspots associated with P and piggyBac is more effective at gene disruption because it lacks the P bias for insertion in 5' regulatory sequences.     

F-box proteins in flowering plants

In eukaryotes, the ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation pathway has been shown to control several key biological processes such as cell division, development, metabolism and immune response. F-box proteins, as a part of SCF (Skp1-Cullin (or Cdc53)-F-box) complex, functioned by interacting with substrate proteins, leading to their subsequent degradation by the 26S proteasome. To date, several F-box proteins identified in Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum have been shown to play important roles in auxin signal transduction, floral organ formation, flowering and leaf senescence. Arabidopsis genome sequence analysis revealed that it encodes over 1000 predicted F-box proteins accounting for about 5% of total predicted proteins. These results indicate that the ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation involving the F-box proteins is an important mechanism controlling plant gene expression. Here, we review the known F-box proteins and their functionsin flowering plants.     

Observation of ligand effects during alkene hydrogenation catalysed by supported metal clusters

Homogeneous organometallic catalysts and many enzymes activate reactants through coordination to metal atoms; that is, the reactants are turned into ligands and their reactivity controlled through other ligands in the metal's coordination sphere. In the case of supported metal clusters, catalytic performance is influenced by the support and by adsorbed reactants, intermediates or products. The adsorbates are usually treated as ligands, whereas the influence of the supports is usually ascribed to electronic interactions, even though metal clusters supported on oxides and zeolites form chemical bonds to support oxygen atoms. Here we report direct observations of the structure of supported metal clusters consisting of four iridium atoms, and the identification of hydrocarbon ligands bound to them during propene hydrogenation. We find that propene and molecular hydrogen form propylidyne and hydride ligands, respectively, whereas simultaneous exposure of the reactants to the supported iridium cluster yields ligands that are reactive intermediates during the catalytic propane-formation reaction. These intermediates weaken the bonding within the tetrahedral iridium cluster and the interactions between the cluster and the support, while replacement of the MgO support with gamma-Al2O3 boosts the catalytic activity tenfold, by affecting the bonding between the reactant-derived ligands and the cluster and therefore also the abundance of individual ligands. This interplay between the support and the reactant-derived ligands, whereby each influences the interaction of the metal cluster with the other, shows that the catalytic properties of supported metal catalysts can be tuned by careful choice of their supports.     

BTB proteins are substrate-specific adaptors in an SCF-like modular ubiquitin ligase containing CUL-3

Programmed destruction of regulatory proteins through the ubiquitin-proteasome system is a widely used mechanism for controlling signalling pathways. Cullins are proteins that function as scaffolds for modular ubiquitin ligases typified by the SCF (Skp1-Cul1-F-box) complex. The substrate selectivity of these E3 ligases is dictated by a specificity module that binds cullins. In the SCF complex, this module is composed of Skp1, which binds directly to Cul1, and a member of the F-box family of proteins. F-box proteins bind Skp1 through the F-box motif, and substrates by means of carboxy-terminal protein interaction domains. Similarly, Cul2 and Cul5 interact with BC-box-containing specificity factors through the Skp1-like protein elongin C. Cul3 is required for embryonic development in mammals and Caenorhabditis elegans but its specificity module is unknown. Here we report the identification of a large family of BTB-domain proteins as substrate-specific adaptors for C. elegans CUL-3. Biochemical studies using the BTB protein MEL-26 and its genetic target MEI-1 (refs 12, 13) indicate that BTB proteins merge the functional properties of Skp1 and F-box proteins into a single polypeptide.     

Gigantic jets between a thundercloud and the ionosphere

Transient luminous events in the atmosphere, such as lighting-induced sprites and upwardly discharging blue jets, were discovered recently in the region between thunderclouds and the ionosphere. In the conventional picture, the main components of Earth's global electric circuit include thunderstorms, the conducting ionosphere, the downward fair-weather currents and the conducting Earth. Thunderstorms serve as one of the generators that drive current upward from cloud tops to the ionosphere, where the electric potential is hundreds of kilovolts higher than Earth's surface. It has not been clear, however, whether all the important components of the global circuit have even been identified. Here we report observations of five gigantic jets that establish a direct link between a thundercloud (altitude approximately 16 km) and the ionosphere at 90 km elevation. Extremely-low-frequency radio waves in four events were detected, while no cloud-to-ground lightning was observed to trigger these events. Our result indicates that the extremely-low-frequency waves were generated by negative cloud-to-ionosphere discharges, which would reduce the electrical potential between ionosphere and ground. Therefore, the conventional picture of the global electric circuit needs to be modified to include the contributions of gigantic jets and possibly sprites.     

加强大学生网络道德教育的认识与思考

随着人类进入信息社会，网络以其独特的方式影响着社会的各个领域。大学生作为一个特殊群体，网络给他们带来了诸多影响。重视与加强网络时代大学生网络道德教育是当前高校德育与思想政治工作的一项重要任务。文章分析了加强大学生网络道德教育的必要性，并提出加强大学生网络道德教育的途径。     

福州发展乡村旅游的思考

近年来,乡村旅游以其特有的风格与魅力吸引了大批城市游客,成为旅游业中新的亮点,乡村旅游开发也继农业产业化之后成为农村经济发展新的增长点。如今,福州的乡村旅游得到了较快的发展,而在迅速发展的同时,也存在一些不足之处。本文从乡村旅游的概念入手,在分析福州发展乡村旅游的有利条件、现状及存在的问题的基础上,提出发展福州乡村旅游的建议。     

The equilibrium between diagenetic calcites and dolomites and its impact on reservoir quality in the sandstone reservoir of Kela 2 gas field

Based on the equilibrium theory of chemical reactions between water and rocks,this paper establishes a thermodynamic phase relationship diagram among calcites,dolomites and water solution under the condition of diagenesis based on the thermodynamic database of related minerals and fluids and dolomite's degree of order parameters.It has been discovered that the equilibrium between calcites and dolomites in the diagenetic environment is strongly impacted by temperature and the Ca/Mg ratios in groundwater,and that the dolomite's degree of order in the diagenetic environment is a function of crystallization temperature and time,not controlled by water solution.Hereby,the authors make a further analysis of the close relationship of chemical reaction between carbonate cements and pore water in the sandstone reservoirs of Kala 2 gas field in Kuche sag.It can be seen that there are different impacts on sandstone reservoir quality among the equilibrium system of calcites,dolomites and pore water at different depths of reservoirs.     

马尾松愈伤组织诱导条件的研究

采用马尾松(Pinus massoniana Lamb.)成熟合子胚为起始材料,经过0.1%升汞溶液7~9min消毒后,接种于WPM培养基上,在温度26℃,光照强度2 000~3 000 lx,光照时间16 h/d的条件下培养得到无菌苗.采用无菌苗的各器官作为外植体在光照条件下进行愈伤组织的诱导条件的研究,结果显示,以幼茎为外植体,在含GD 6-BA 4.0 mg.L-1 NAA 0.10 mg.L-1 0.3%~0.4%活性碳(CA) 500 mg.L-1水解酪蛋白的培养基上,愈伤组织诱导率可达到93%.