镉对长江华溪蟹金属硫蛋白mRNA表达的诱导及低分子量壳聚糖的联合作用

采用实时荧光定量PCR法,研究了不同浓度镉（Cd2＋）对长江华溪蟹（Sinopotamon yangtsekiense）金属硫蛋白（metallothionein,简称MT）在肝胰腺、鳃、肌肉和心脏中mRNA表达的诱导作用及低分子量壳聚糖（lowmolecular weight chitosan,简称LMWC）的联合作...     

应用重组孕激素基因酵母测定饮用水中内分泌干扰物的方法

研究了用重组孕激素受体基因酵母测定饮用水中内分泌干扰物的方法,并利用该种方法检测了南方某水厂不同处理工艺过程水样对孕激素受体活性的抑制水平.结果表明,重组孕激素受体基因酵母能够与孕激素专一性的结合,诱导产生明显的剂量-效应关系,EC₅₀值为0.5 nmol/L,具有较高灵敏度;环境内分泌干扰物五氯酚和壬基酚具有孕激素受体抑制活性,其IC₅₀值分别为2.4μmol/L和3.7μmol/L;重组孕激素受体基因/报道基因的酵母技术是一种筛选和定量分析具有孕激素受体抑制活性的内分泌干扰物的快速、有效方法.结合固相萃取的前处理技术,重组孕激素受体基因酵母对水厂不同处理工艺水样检测出明显的孕激素受体抑制活性,抑制率均大于58%,表明重组孕激素受体基因酵母检测技术能够快速监测和鉴别水样中具有抑制孕激素受体活性的物质.     

利用重组大肠杆菌SOS法评价污水厂出水的遗传毒性以及工艺去除效果

SOS/umu测试法被广泛应用于化合物和复杂混合物遗传毒性的评价,由于该技术所用菌种为致病菌且操作步骤繁琐等原因,制约了技术的推广应用。研究建立了基于重组大肠杆菌SOS效应的水质遗传毒性检测方法(专利号:ZL201110022476.1),应用该方法评价了某市4座污水厂出水的直接遗传毒性效应,同时以污水处理一厂为例考察了直接遗传毒性效应的季节变化规律以及不同的工艺对水中直接遗传毒性物质的去除情况。结果显示:各污水厂出水均表现出一定的直接遗传毒性,对应的4-NQO毒性当量浓度范围为0.018~0.514 mg·L-1;一年四季中夏季进出水直接遗传毒性效应最高,现有工艺中生化处理工艺段对直接遗传毒性去除效果最佳,去除率为33.33%。该方法操作便利、检测敏感性较高、操作危险性较低,可用于水中直接遗传毒性效应的测试。     

2,2'',4,4''-四溴联苯醚对赤子爱胜蚓的抗氧化酶、代谢酶及其基因表达的影响

多溴联苯醚(PBDEs)是广泛存在于环境中的一种新型持久性有机污染物.四溴联苯醚同分异构体中的BDE-47是多溴联苯醚中最重要的单体之一.试验采用人工土壤培养法,通过亚急性试验,研究了在不同暴露时间阶段下,不同BDE-47剂量对赤子爱胜蚓(Eisenia fetida)抗氧化酶(过氧化氢酶CAT)、代谢酶(谷胱甘肽转移酶GST)以及二者基因表达的影响.结果表明,在暴露14 d和28 d时,CAT活性被诱导上升并且差异显著;GST活性变化差异不显著;CAT基因表达水平在第14 d时呈现抑制效应,在后续的第28 d和第42 d基因表达水平上调;GST基因表达水平整体呈现诱导效应,并且差异显著,随着暴露时间的增加,低毒处理组(10、50 mg·kg-1)的基因表达水平逐渐下调至低于对照组的水平,高毒处理组(100、200 mg·kg-1)的基因表达量仍高于对照组水平;在BDE-47的暴露试验中,CAT与GST活性及其基因表达水平两项指标对低毒处理组较高毒处理组更为敏感.     

Molecular characterization and developmental expression patterns of thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) and their responsiveness to TR agonist and antagonist in Rana nigromaculata

Considering some advantages of Rana nigromaculata as an experimental species, we propose that this species, like Xenopus laevis, could be used to assay thyroid hormone（TH） signaling disrupting actions. To validate the utilizability of R. nigromaculata, we investigated the responsiveness of R. nigromaculata to a TH receptor（TR） agonist（T3） and antagonist（amiodarone） by analyzing expression, based on characterizing TR cDNA and developmental expression patterns. With high levels of identity with the corresponding genes in X. laevis, both TRα and TRβ in R. nigromaculata exhibited roughly similar developmental expression patterns to those of X. laevis, in spite of some species-specific differences. Both TRα and TRβ expression had greater changes in the liver and intestine than in the tail and brain during metamorphosis. T3 exposure for 2 days induced more dramatic increases of TRβ expression in stage 27 than in stage34 tadpoles but not in stage 42 tadpoles, showing that the responsiveness of R. nigromaculata to TH decreased with development and disappeared at the onset of metamorphic climax.Corresponding to greater changes of TRβ expression in the liver and intestine than in the tail and brain during metamorphosis, the liver and intestine had higher responsiveness to exogenous T3 than the tail and brain. Amiodarone inhibited T3-induced TRβ expression. Our results show that R. nigromaculata can be used as a model species for assaying TH signaling disrupting actions by analyzing TRβ expression, and intestine tissues at stage 27 are ideal test materials due to high responsiveness and easy accessibility.     

A screening assay for thyroid hormone signaling disruption based on thyroid hormone-response gene expression analysis in the frog Pelophylax nigromaculatus

Amphibian metamorphosis provides a wonderful model to study the thyroid hormone (TH) signaling disrupting activity of environmental chemicals, with Xenopus laevis as the most commonly used species. This study aimed to establish a rapid and sensitive screening assay based on TH-response gene expression analysis using Pelophylax nigromaculatus, a native frog species distributed widely in East Asia, especially in China. To achieve this, five candidate TH-response genes that were sensitive to T3 induction were chosen as molecular markers, and T3 induction was determined as 0.2 nmol/L T3 exposure for 48 hr. The developed assay can detect the agonistic activity of T3 with a lowest observed effective concentration of 0.001 nmol/L and EC50 at around 0.118–1.229 nmol/L, exhibiting comparable or higher sensitivity than previously reported assays. We further validated the efficiency of the developed assay by detecting the TH signaling disrupting activity of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), a known TH signaling disruptor. In accordance with previous reports, we found a weak TH agonistic activity for TBBPA in the absence of T3, whereas a TH antagonistic activity was found for TBBPA at higher concentrations in the presence of T3, showing that the P. nigromaculatus assay is effective for detecting TH signaling disrupting activity. Importantly, we observed non-monotonic dose-dependent disrupting activity of TBBPA in the presence of T3, which is difficult to detect with in vitro reporter gene assays. Overall, the developed P. nigromaculatus assay can be used to screen TH signaling disrupting activity of environmental chemicals with high sensitivity.     

Zebrafish embryos/larvae for rapid determination of effects on hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) and hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis: mRNA expression

To identify and prioritize chemicals that may affect thyroid and adrenal/interregnal endocrine system and to reduce cost and animal use by conventional toxicity assay, an in vivo screening assay was developed using zebrafish embryos/larvae based on measurement of expression of genes that were suggested to play important roles in hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) and hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis. Model chemicals that could modulate HPT and HPI axis in adult fish were selected in assay validation, including anti-thyroid agent 6-Propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU) and cytochrome P450 11B (Cyp11b) enzyme inhibitor metyrapone (MET). Zebrafish embryos were exposed to different concentrations of model chemical from 4 h post-fertilization (hpf) to 5 d post-fertilization (dpf). Exposure to PTU increased mRNA expression of sodium iodide symporter (nis) and thyroglobulin (tg) involved in HPT axis, and MET treatment up-regulated all the mRNA expression tested involved in HPI axis by a compensatory mechanism. These results suggested that HPT and HPI axis were active upon chemical exposure at least at 5 dpf zebrafish. Furthermore, we studied the effects of PTU or MET on the cross-talk between HPT and HPI axis. The results demonstrated that PTU and MET could affect cross-talk responses in zebrafish embryos/larvae.     

Detection of early effects of a single herbicide (diuron) and a mix of herbicides and pharmaceuticals (diuron, isoproturon, ibuprofen) on immunological parameters of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) spat

In the context of massive summer mortality events of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, the aim of this study was to investigate the early effects on genes, enzymes and haemocyte parameters implicated in immune defence mechanisms in C. gigas oysters exposed to a potentially hostile environment, i.e. to an herbicide alone or within a mixture. Following 2 h of exposure to the herbicide diuron at 1 μg L⁻¹, the repression of different genes implicated in immune defence mechanisms in the haemocytes and the inhibition of enzyme activities, such as laccase-type phenoloxidase (PO) in the plasma, were observed. The inhibition of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the plasma was also observed after 6 and 24 h of exposure. In the mixture with the herbicides diuron and isoproturon, and the pharmaceutical ibuprofen, catecholase-type PO activity in the plasma and the percentage of phagocytosis in the haemocytes were reduced after 6 h of exposure. Our results showed that early effects on molecular, biochemical and cellular parameters can be detected in the presence of diuron alone or within a mixture, giving an insight of its potential effect in situations that can be found in natural environments, i.e. relatively high concentrations for short periods of time.     

番茄ARF4基因果实特异RNAi载体的构建及遗传转化

构建ARF4基因果实特异表达的RNA干涉载体,对转基因番茄果实进行初步分析,可为采用基因工程方法改良番茄果实品质做出新尝试.利用RT-PCR技术从番茄果实cDNA中扩增SlARF4基因全长,将番茄ARF4基因正反向重复序列片段导入到植物表达载体pBI121上,启动子是番茄果实特异表达的TFM7.将构建的ARF4基因果实特异RNA干涉载体pBI121-TFM7-A4Ri通过根癌农杆菌介导转入到野生型番茄中,进而对转化获得的植株进行了阳性鉴定.分别以转基因番茄和野生型番茄为材料,分析ARF4在果实中的表达水平,测定绿熟期果实叶绿素含量、果实的单果重量和果皮厚度.酶切证实pBI121-TFM7-A4Ri果实特异表达载体构建成功,而且,PCR检测也得到阳性转基因株.半定量RT-PCR分析显示,转基因番茄果实中ARF4的表达量明显低于野生型果实.转基因番茄果实的叶绿素含量、单果重量和果皮厚度都比野生型有提高.因此,ARF4果实特异表达的RNAi方法能够改良番茄果实品质.     

杂合抗菌肽LPCB在毕赤酵母中的表达条件优化

为获取能表达具有天然活性的杂合抗菌肽的重组酵母菌,确定其最佳表达条件,将构建好的重组酵母表达载体pPICZα-A-CecropinB(1～10)-Magainin2(1～12)(简称pPICZα-A-CBMA)和pPICZα-A-Lfcin-Pro-CecropinB(简称pPICZα-A-LPCB)经SacⅠ线性化处理,分别电转入巴斯德毕赤酵母Pichia pastoris X-33,利用抗生素Zeocin筛选阳性克隆,PCR扩增验证,甲醇诱导表达.采用抑菌圈法初步测定产物活性,优化杂合肽LPCB诱导时间、诱导剂浓度、诱导温度、培养基pH等表达条件,传代检测其质粒稳定性.结果显示,基因工程菌P.pastoris X-33/pPICZα-A-CBMA和P.pastoris X-33/pPICZα-A-LPCB成功构建.表达产物前者抑菌活性微弱,后者抑菌活性良好.杂合肽LPCB的最佳表达条件为:25℃,pH中性培养,每24 h添加0.5%(V/V,φ)甲醇,诱导表达72 h.重组酵母菌pPICZα-A-LPCB在培养超过100代后,未发生质粒丢失.