Antifungal proteins: targets,mechanisms and prospective applications

All organisms have evolved several defence systems in order to protect themselves against bacteria, fungi and viruses. Higher organisms have developed a complex network of humoral and cellular responses, called adaptive immunity. A second defence system, innate immunity, was discovered in the early 1980s, consisting of small cationic peptides with a broad antimicrobial spectrum. These proteins act immediately at sites of infection or inflammation. The production of proteins with antimicrobial activity was not limited to higher organisms but was also found in insects, plants and microorganisms. During the last 2decades a broad range of proteins with very different structural features have been isolated and characterised from differing organisms ranging from bacteria to human beings. Over 500cationic membrane-acting proteins with antimicrobial and antifungal activities have been identified to date. Apart from these proteins, a very large number of antifungal proteins active on the fungal cell wall, on enzymes of the cell wall synthesis machinery, the plasma membrane and on intracellular targets have been characterised.Received 17 June 2003; received after revision 4 August 2003; accepted 18 August 2003     

水稻光温敏核不育系4112S和YW-2S的开花习性观察

通过对水稻光温敏核不育系4112S和YW-2S的开花习性的观察,发现这两个不育系具有开花集中,颖花开颖时间长,张颖角度大,柱头外露率高,柱头生命力不太长且下降快等特点．并就其高产稳产的制种技术措施进行了讨论．     

JWA protein binds to α-tubulin in PC12 cells

Our previous study elucidated that JWA protein was a newly identified microtubule-associated protein (MAP), which combined to and co-localized with α-tubulin. In the present study, we designed a series of experiments to explore if any interactions between JWA protein and α-tubulin existed and how JWA protein would functionally link to α-tubulin, especially in cell mitosis. Results of coimmnnoprecipitation, gene transfection and immnnoflnores-cence microscopy from PC12 and HEK293 cells provided strong evidence for a linkage between JWA protein and α-tubulin. Our data showed that JWA protein bound to α-tubulin stably no matter whether α-tubulin was polymerized or not. In addition, by using antisense oligonncleotides, cell cycle blocking agents and hypothermia disposal techniques, we also found the interaction between JWA protein and α-tubulin. The further analysis using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy showed that both proteins co-existed in PC12 cells and were independent on the cell cycle. In conclusion, JWA protein is a newly identified microtnbnle-associated protein, binds to α-tubulin, and probably plays an important role in regulation of microtnbnlar stability.     

大豆分离蛋白接枝甲基丙烯酸的溶液流变行为

以过硫酸铵为引发剂，2-巯基乙醇为蛋白质变性剂，在浓度为8mol／L的尿素溶液中进行了大豆分离蛋白接枝甲基丙烯酸的反应，并通过比较其^13C核磁共振谱图证明了甲基丙烯酸成功地接枝到大豆分离蛋白上，研究了大豆分离蛋白及其接枝产物溶液的流变学性质及其影响因素，实验结果表明，大豆分离蛋白在尿素体系中表现为牛顿型流体，而其接枝产物在该体系中表现为典型的非牛顿型流体，外加盐以及调节pH值将影响溶液的流变学性质。     

基于隐马尔可夫模型的多重序列分析

隐马尔可夫模型是最近几年在许多机器学习领域都得到成功应用的关于序列分析的重要统计模型,特别是在蛋白质家族的识别方面.这主要是由于生物数据的急剧增长导致2个领域(计算科学和生物学)走向结合引起的.探讨了多重序列比对和序列谱隐马尔可夫模型,讨论了隐马尔可夫模型的基本算法以及如何建立HMMs.根据E值和训练分数进行蛋白质家族的识别和分类.     

前脑啡肽原和热休克蛋白参与宿主对结核分枝杆菌感染的应答

利用双向电泳比较了由临床分离的结核分枝杆菌感染离体巨噬细胞U937前后的全细胞蛋白组表达差异，肽指纹鉴定和生物信息学分析2个表达明显上调的斑点．确定它们分别为热休克蛋白HSP105β和前脑啡肽原．比较蛋白质组学和转录组学研究发现，热休克蛋白表达提高可能源于转录增加．提出了从神经免疫学角度研究结核分枝杆菌致病和宿主免疫机理的新思路，为解释吸毒人群中结核病高发病率提供了基础。     

低温预处理对刺槐种子活力和幼苗生长的影响

采用低温（3～5℃）预处理刺槐种子能显著提高种子的萌发率和萌芽活力，其中以处理5d的效果最好。经低温处理的种子发芽时问缩短．发芽高峰出现的早，发芽指数和活力指数均明显高于对照；质膜透性减弱，外渗液电导率降低；幼苗的逐日生长量大、平均生长量较对照高。表明种子萌发前经低温预处理能有效提高种子活力水平，有利于好苗、壮苗的形成。     

Oligomerization study of NHR3 and NHR4 domains from ETO protein involved in t（8;21）-associated acute myeloid leukemia

Little had been known about ETO protein until t(8;21) was found in 12%-15% of acute myeloid leukemia which resulted in AML1-ETO fusion protein. ETO protein has four conserved nervy homology regions termed NHR1-4. A lot have already been known about NHR1, 2, 4:NHR1 is homologous with the Drosophila TATA-box-associated factor 110 (TAF110); NHR2 is a dimerization domain associated with mSin3A/HDAC; NHR4 is MYND class of zinc fingers associated with NCoR/SMRT/HDAC. Only the function of NHR3 remains unclear. In order to investigate whether NHR3 domain could participate in oligomerization, we cloned and purified this domain. Through gel filtration chromatography, dynamic light scattering and dissolved crystal electrophoresis, we found that NHR3 domain was a tight tetramer. Then we cloned NHR3 4 domain (i.e. NHR3 domain plus NHR4 domain), and discovered, by gel filtration chromatography and native PAGE, that NHR3 4 domaincould form dimer in solution. This was the first time to observe that NHR3 and NHR4 domains may have some contribution to the oligomerization of ETO protein, which might recruit corepressors in the form of dimer, and stabilize ETO dimerization through convergent strength of NHR2, NHR3 and NHR4 domains and then stabilize corepressors recruitment. These speculations are very worthy of further evaluation.     

An integrative model and analysis of cell cycle in fission yeast

Cell cycle is a programmed process, during which a cell proliferates to two daughter cells. The eukaryotic or-ganisms share the same characters, such as four cycle phases G1, S, G2 and M, the evolutionally conserved cell cycle proteins and its dependent kinases, and the check-points mechanism[1,2]. Due to the different functions and the complicated interactions of these proteins involved in cell cycle, it is very difficult to understand the regulatory mechanism of cell cycle in a whole sense …