The genome sequence and structure of rice chromosome 1

The rice species Oryza sativa is considered to be a model plant because of its small genome size, extensive genetic map, relative ease of transformation and synteny with other cereal crops. Here we report the essentially complete sequence of chromosome 1, the longest chromosome in the rice genome. We summarize characteristics of the chromosome structure and the biological insight gained from the sequence. The analysis of 43.3 megabases (Mb) of non-overlapping sequence reveals 6,756 protein coding genes, of which 3,161 show homology to proteins of Arabidopsis thaliana, another model plant. About 30% (2,073) of the genes have been functionally categorized. Rice chromosome 1 is (G + C)-rich, especially in its coding regions, and is characterized by several gene families that are dispersed or arranged in tandem repeats. Comparison with a draft sequence indicates the importance of a high-quality finished sequence.     

血红蛋白(Hb)的低温保护剂

通过 ３ 种糖对血红蛋白（ Ｈｂ）在冷冻贮藏中的影响, 表明这些糖对 Ｈｂ 的变性沉淀具有抑制作用, 并能维持其诱导形态的稳定, 防止其由氧化型向高铁氧化型转化, 同时对 Ｈｂ 的氧合功能具有较好的保护作用     

运用MuPS标记识别马尾松抗松材线虫病个体

运用14个SCAR标记引物对松材线虫病马尾松(Pinus massoniana)抗性候选个体开展MuPS(Multiplex PCR of SCAR markers)分析。结果表明，120个样品中出现104个不同的MuPS型，区分率86.7%、74.2%的个体完全能够被识别。引物Pmscar157、Pmscar007、Pmscar053的多态位点数出现率非常高，分别占总位点数的131%、13.3%、18.4%，而引物Pmscar039、Pmscar499的位点数出现率非常低，分别占总位点数的0.16%、048%。因引物重复性高、稳定可靠，可通过获得的MuPS型识别抗性候选个体、管理抗性候选家系。     

GIBBERELLIN INSENSITIVE DWARF1 encodes a soluble receptor for gibberellin

Gibberellins (GAs) are phytohormones that are essential for many developmental processes in plants. It has been postulated that plants have both membrane-bound and soluble GA receptors; however, no GA receptors have yet been identified. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a new GA-insensitive dwarf mutant of rice, gid1. The GID1 gene encodes an unknown protein with similarity to the hormone-sensitive lipases, and we observed preferential localization of a GID1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) signal in nuclei. Recombinant glutathione S-transferase (GST)-GID1 had a high affinity only for biologically active GAs, whereas mutated GST-GID1 corresponding to three gid1 alleles had no GA-binding affinity. The dissociation constant for GA4 was estimated to be around 10(-7) M, enough to account for the GA dependency of shoot elongation. Moreover, GID1 bound to SLR1, a rice DELLA protein, in a GA-dependent manner in yeast cells. GID1 overexpression resulted in a GA-hypersensitive phenotype. Together, our results indicate that GID1 is a soluble receptor mediating GA signalling in rice.     

Intrinsic transition of embryonic stem-cell differentiation into neural progenitors

The neural fate is generally considered to be the intrinsic direction of embryonic stem (ES) cell differentiation. However, little is known about the intracellular mechanism that leads undifferentiated cells to adopt the neural fate in the absence of extrinsic inductive signals. Here we show that the zinc-finger nuclear protein Zfp521 is essential and sufficient for driving the intrinsic neural differentiation of mouse ES cells. In the absence of the neural differentiation inhibitor BMP4, strong Zfp521 expression is intrinsically induced in differentiating ES cells. Forced expression of Zfp521 enables the neural conversion of ES cells even in the presence of BMP4. Conversely, in differentiation culture, Zfp521-depleted ES cells do not undergo neural conversion but tend to halt at the epiblast state. Zfp521 directly activates early neural genes by working with the co-activator p300. Thus, the transition of ES cell differentiation from the epiblast state into neuroectodermal progenitors specifically depends on the cell-intrinsic expression and activator function of Zfp521.     

Self-formation of functional adenohypophysis in three-dimensional culture

The adenohypophysis (anterior pituitary) is a major centre for systemic hormones. At present, no efficient stem-cell culture for its generation is available, partly because of insufficient knowledge about how the pituitary primordium (Rathke's pouch) is induced in the embryonic head ectoderm. Here we report efficient self-formation of three-dimensional adenohypophysis tissues in an aggregate culture of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. ES cells were stimulated to differentiate into non-neural head ectoderm and hypothalamic neuroectoderm in adjacent layers within the aggregate, and treated with hedgehog signalling. Self-organization of Rathke's-pouch-like three-dimensional structures occurred at the interface of these two epithelia, as seen in vivo, and various endocrine cells including corticotrophs and somatotrophs were subsequently produced. The corticotrophs efficiently secreted adrenocorticotropic hormone in response to corticotrophin releasing hormone and, when grafted in vivo, these cells rescued the systemic glucocorticoid level in hypopituitary mice. Thus, functional anterior pituitary tissue self-forms in ES cell culture, recapitulating local tissue interactions.     

A III-V nanowire channel on silicon for high-performance vertical transistors

Silicon transistors are expected to have new gate architectures, channel materials and switching mechanisms in ten years' time. The trend in transistor scaling has already led to a change in gate structure from two dimensions to three, used in fin field-effect transistors, to avoid problems inherent in miniaturization such as high off-state leakage current and the short-channel effect. At present, planar and fin architectures using III-V materials, specifically InGaAs, are being explored as alternative fast channels on silicon because of their high electron mobility and high-quality interface with gate dielectrics. The idea of surrounding-gate transistors, in which the gate is wrapped around a nanowire channel to provide the best possible electrostatic gate control, using InGaAs channels on silicon, however, has been less well investigated because of difficulties in integrating free-standing InGaAs nanostructures on silicon. Here we report the position-controlled growth of vertical InGaAs nanowires on silicon without any buffering technique and demonstrate surrounding-gate transistors using InGaAs nanowires and InGaAs/InP/InAlAs/InGaAs core-multishell nanowires as channels. Surrounding-gate transistors using core-multishell nanowire channels with a six-sided, high-electron-mobility transistor structure greatly enhance the on-state current and transconductance while keeping good gate controllability. These devices provide a route to making vertically oriented transistors for the next generation of field-effect transistors and may be useful as building blocks for wireless networks on silicon platforms.     

"起-停"巡航控制系统的纵向车距控制方法

针对单一设计距离控制中出现的速度滞后问题,综合考虑速度和距离的控制,提出了一种基于"起停"巡航控制系统的纵向车间距控制器设计方法。该控制器的设计中引入了控制因子,建立了兼顾速度和距离控制的目标性能函数,并对控制因子的取值作了讨论。通过理论分析和仿真实验表明,所提出的控制方法使速度滞后的问题得到改善,同时控制器对质量具有鲁棒性。