Influence of Agricultural Antibiotics and 17β-Estradiol on the Microbial Community of Soil

Agricultural pharmaceuticals are a major environmental concern because of their hazardous effects on human and wildlife. This study analyzed phospholipid ester-linked fatty acids (PLFAs) and quinones to investigate the effects of a steroid (17β-estradiol) and agricultural antibiotics (chlortetracycline and tylosin) on soil microbes in the laboratory. Two different types of soil were used: Sequatchie loam (0.8% organic matter) and LaDelle silt loam (9.2% organic matter). The soils were spiked with 17β-estradiol and antibiotics, alone or in combination. In Sequatchie loam, 17β-estradiol significantly increased the microbial biomass, especially the biomarkers for beta proteobacteria (16:1ω7c, 18:1ω7c, Cy17:0, and UQ-8). The coexistence of antibiotics decreased the stimulatory effect of 17β-estradiol on the microbial community. In LaDelle silt loam, there were no significant differences in total microbial biomass and their microbial community structure among the treatments. Overall, 17β-estradiol changed the microbial community of soil and the presence of antibiotics nullified the effect of 17β-estradiol. However, the effects of 17β-estradiol and antibiotics on soil microbes were sensitive to the soil properties, as seen in the LaDelle silt loam.     

Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of β-thalassaemia using individual fetal erythroblasts isolated from maternal blood after enrichment

Single nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) isolated from maternal circulation were used for prenatal diagnosis of β-thalassaemia. The study included 22 pregnant women in the first trimester, 6 carriers at risk for β-thalassaemia and 16 noncarriers. Methodology involved enrichment of NRBCs by magnetic cell sorting (MACS) and microdissection of single NRBCs with a laser micromanipulation system. Single-cell genotyping based on nested real-time PCR for genotyping β-globin gene mutations was performed followed by a multiplexed minifingerprinting to confirm the origin of the isolated cells and possible contamination. Two polymorphic markers (D13S314 and GABRB3) facilitated the identification of fetal NRBCs through comparison of allele sizes found in the respective parents. In this study, 224 single NRBCs were detached and transferred into individual PCR tubes. Allele amplification in at least one microsatellite marker was achieved in 128/224 cells. Minifingerprinting analysis showed that 22 cells were fetal, 26 maternal and 80 were noninformative due to ADO or homozygosity. In 6 NRBCs the β-globin gene was amplified and in 2, coming from the same pregnancy, only the paternal mutation was detected. The low PCR success when genotyping isolated NRBCs was possibly due to the poor quality of fetal NRBCs and the relatively large size of the β-globin gene product. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

负载β-环糊精的矿物和生物炭对甲基橙的吸附性能

采用HCl溶液对沸石（F0）、蛭石（ZH0）、秸秆（J0）和棕榈生物炭（Z0）进行活化预处理,以环氧氯丙烷为交联剂,将β-环糊精（β-CD）负载到原始材料上,制备了4种新型吸附材料F2、ZH2、J2和Z2。采用FTIR、元素分析、SEM和TG等技术对吸附材料进行了表征,探讨了其对甲基橙的吸附性能。表征结果显示,β-CD被成功地负载到沸石、蛭石、秸秆生物炭和棕榈生物炭上。吸附实验结果表明：负载β-CD后的4种材料对甲基橙的平衡吸附量大小顺序为J2> F2> ZH2> Z2;溶液pH和吸附温度的提高可有效提升4种材料对甲基橙的吸附能力。吸附动力学和热力学研究表明,4种材料对甲基橙的吸附过程中物理吸附起着主导作用,且更趋向于单分子层吸附。4种材料均具有良好的重复使用性能。     

DOM结构特征及其对17β-雌二醇光降解的影响

参照国际腐殖酸协会(IHSS)推荐的方法从滇池底泥提取出胡敏酸(HA)和富里酸(FA),以Sigma Aldrich胡敏酸(SAHA)为参照,利用元素分析、13C核磁共振和紫外-可见光谱对HA和FA的来源和结构进行了表征,并探讨了3种溶解性有机质(DOM)对17β-雌二醇(E2)光降解的影响.结果表明:HA、FA和SAHA具有相似的元素组成,3种腐殖酸的(N+O)/C值分别为0.50、0.82和0.55,与核磁共振13C谱分析的极性指数(0.32、0.42和0.33)一致.HA和FA来自于内源,具有较高的N含量和较多的缔合芳香结构,而SAHA是外源性有机质,具有更高的芳香度.低浓度的3种腐殖酸均能促进E2发生服从准一级动力学规律的光化学降解过程.E2在纯水中光降解速率为0.0071h-1,而在5mgC/L的HA、FA和SAHA作用下,E2光降解速率分别为0.0597、0.1178和0.2048h-1.3种腐殖酸促进E2光降解能力的差异主要是由含氧能团和芳香结构含量差异所致.活性氧分子探针鉴定显示HO?是腐殖酸体系受光照后产生的一种重要活性氧,其氧化降解E2的量占到了E2降解总量的70%左右.与低浓度腐殖酸相比,高浓度的3种腐殖酸均会对E2光降解产生抑制作用.     

硒蛋白R抑制铜离子介导的Aβ_(42)聚集和细胞毒性

阿尔茨海默病(Alzheimer's disease,AD)是一种神经退行性疾病,其主要病理特征包括脑内出现老年斑和神经纤维缠结以及神经元缺失。过渡金属离子如Fe~(2+)、Zn~(2+)、Cu~(2+)等会在AD病人脑中大量蓄集,从而促进,-淀粉样多肽(Aβ)聚集并产生大量活性氧自由基,引起细胞功能改变。硒蛋白R(Sel R)是一种蛋氨酸亚砜还原酶,可将蛋白中的蛋氨酸亚砜还原为蛋氨酸。然而Sel R与金属离子的关系尚无报道。文章对Sel R的突变体Sel R'(Sel R中硒代半胱氨酸Sec95突变为半胱氨酸Cys95)结合Cu~+的性质进行了表征,同时也对Sel R'调节Cu~+/Cu~(2+)诱导的Aβ42聚集和细胞毒性的能力进行了研究。结果表明,Sel R'可与Cu~+特异性螯合剂BCA竞争结合Cu~+,说明Sel R'具有较强的Cu~+结合能力。采用硫磺素荧光法(Th T),发现Cu~+/Cu~(2+)显著性抑制Aβ42的纤维化、诱导其形成非纤维化聚集体,而Sel R'则能够显著抑制Cu~+/Cu~(2+)诱导的Aβ42聚集形态的改变。细胞实验表明:Sel R'能显著降低Cu~+/Cu~(2+)诱导的Aβ42的细胞毒性。上述结果提示:Sel R在脑内除了还原蛋氨酸亚砜,还可通过与铜离子的结合抑制其细胞毒性作用,从而干预AD的发展。     

17β-雌二醇与1-萘酚对雄性罗非鱼（GIFT Oreochromis niloticus）雌激素效应的比较

在实验室条件下,研究了暴露于不同质量浓度1-萘酚（0.064、0.8、2 mg.L-1）与17β-雌二醇（1、10、100μg.L-1）下,对雄性罗非鱼（GIFT Oreochromis niloticus）性腺系数、血清雌二醇质量浓度的影响及血清中卵黄蛋白原的诱导效应,以期对它们的环境雌激素效应有所了解。研究结果显示：暴露于1-萘酚环境下30 d后,雄性罗非鱼的性腺系数有所降低,当质量浓度为2 mg.L-1时,与对照组相比,差异显著（p〈0.05）,雄性罗非鱼血清中雌二醇的量,此时亦达到最大值,为209.3 pg.mL-1,与对照组相比,差异显著（p〈0.05）;但是,血清中卵黄蛋白原并无变化。暴露于17β-雌二醇环境中的雄性罗非鱼,30 d后,其性腺系数有所降低,当质量浓度为10、100μg.L-1时,与对照组相比,差异显著（p〈0.05）;血清中的雌二醇也随着暴露质量浓度的增多,逐渐增多,当质量浓度为100μg.L-1时,差异极显著（p〈0.01）;血清中卵黄蛋白原的质量浓度明显高于对照组,与暴露质量浓度之间呈剂量效应关系。结果显示,17β-雌二醇具有很强的雌激素效应,会使罗非鱼性腺系数下降,诱导血清中雌二醇、卵黄蛋白原的生成;而1-萘酚会使罗非鱼性腺系数下降,诱导血清雌二醇的生成,但是并不诱导卵黄蛋白原的生成,所以推测其雌激素效应可能较弱,需要进一步研究。     

β-甘露聚糖酶基因在枯草芽孢杆菌中的克隆及表达

从Bacillus subtilis JNA 3-10中克隆出β-甘露聚糖酶基因成熟肽链编码序列manA1和含信号肽的β-甘露聚糖酶基因manA2,在B.subtilis 168中克隆表达,分别筛选获得高效分泌表达β-甘露聚糖酶的重组菌株BPM1001(pMA5-manA1/B.subtilis 168)和BPM1002(pMA5-manA2/B.subtilis 168),结果表明菌株BPM1002总酶活力是菌株BPM1001的9.65倍,是原始菌株的13.1倍.在基因manA2下游引入His序列克隆出β-甘露聚糖酶基因manA3,获得枯草芽孢杆菌168重组菌株BPM1003.采用Ni-NTA柱纯化重组菌株BPM1003分泌表达的β-甘露聚糖酶,并研究其酶学性质,该酶促反应的最适pH为6.5,最适温度为65℃,在37℃条件下保存一个月酶活力依然保留有77.8%.5 L发酵罐放大实验结果表明魔芋粉对于产β-甘露聚糖酶具有明显的诱导作用,酶活力最高可达2 748.82 U/mL.图9表3参19     

Biological activity of a red-tide alga-A. tamarense under co-cultured condition with bacteria

The relationship between Alexandrium tamarense （Lebour） Balech, one of red-tide alga, and two strains of marine bacteria, Bacillius megaterium（S7 ） and B. halmapulus（ S10 ） isolated from Xiamen Western Sea, was investigated by evaluating the growth state of A. tamarense and the variation of β-glucosidase activity in co-culture system. The results showed the growth and multiplication of the alga were related with the concentration, genus speciality of the bacteria, and growth stage of the alga itself. The growth of A. tamarense was obviously inhibited by S7 and S10 at high concentration. Either inhibition or promotion contributed much more clearly in earlier than in later stageof the growth of the alga. Furthermore, there was a roughly similar variation trend of the activity of extra-cellular enzyme, β- glucosidase, in the water of the separately co-cultured bacteria S7 and S10 with the alga. The β-glucosidase activity（β-GlcA） rapidly increased during the later algal growth accompanying the increase of the lysis of the alga cells. The obvious inhibition of A. tamarense by marine bacteria at high concentration and evident increase of β-GlcA in co-colture system would help us in better understanding the relationship between red-tide alga and bacteria, and also enlightened us the possible use of bacteria in the bio-control of red-tide.     

Effects of β-cyclodextrins on the enzymatical hydrolysis of chiral dichlorprop methyl ester

The effect of β-cyclodextrins(β-CDs) on the enzymatical hydrolysis of chiral dichlorprop methyl ester (DCPPM) was studied.Four kinds of β-cyclodextrins(β-cyclodextrin, Partly methylated-CD( PM-β-CD), hydroxypropyl-cyclodextrin(HP-β-CD) and carboxymethylcyclodextrin(CM-β-CD) ) were used. Compared with 100% DCPPM in the absence of β-cyclodextrins, the activity of lipase decreased with the increase of β-cyclodextrin and PM-β-cyclodextrin. However, CM-β-cyclodextrin stimulated the lipase activity. The inhibition effect of β-cyclodextrin and PM-β-cyclodextrin on the hydrolysis of DCPPM is affected by many factors other than degree of the methylation blocking the active site of lipase. UV-Vis and Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy studies of the complexation of aqueous DCPPM with β-CDs provide fresh insight into the molecular structure of the complex and explain the effects of β-CDs on enzymatical hydrolysis of chiral DCPPM. Data showed that inclusion complexes had formed by complexation of the CM-β-CD with DCPPM and the solubility of DCPPM was increased in water, which leaded to the increased lipase activity.