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     

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.     

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。     

Measurement of blood flow by heated thermocouple with feedback controlled current

Zusammenfassung Eine neue Messmethode für Durchblutungsmessungen besteht darin, dass selbstgeregelter Strom mit Hilfe des Rückkopplungsregelungssystems für die Heizung gebraucht wird. Mit dieser Methode wird der Temperaturunterschied zwischen den geheizten und den gekühlten Kontaktplatten ganz gering und konstant gehalten, so dass der Effekt der lokalen Wärmeakkumulation, der bei Heizung mit konstantem Strom entsteht, am geprüften Gewebe wegfällt. Diese Methode hat eine höhere Linearität und bessere Anwendungsfähigkeit über weitere Durchblutungsgebiete, und sie spricht auch schneller an als die frühere Methode der Heizung mit konstantem Strom.     

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.