石油污染土壤生物修复过程中氮循环功能基因的动态检测

氮循环相关功能微生物在土壤发挥其生态功能中起着重要的作用.为定量分析其中的固氮细菌、反硝化细菌和硝化细菌在石油污染土壤生物修复过程中的演变情况,采用了实时定量PCR技术对其相关功能基因nifH、narG和amoA的拷贝数进行检测.结果表明,污染土壤中nifH、narG和amoA基因拷贝数及其占总16S rRNA基因拷贝数的比例远低于正常土壤,修复后土壤中的同类分析结果与正常土壤接近.表明石油污染物破坏了氮循环相关菌落结构,而生物修复则使其得以恢复.进一步分析了不同修复方式下氮循环功能基因的恢复情况以及土壤中石油烃降解率.也表明同时添加秸秆和菌剂具有最好的修复效果,处理40 d后其nifH、narG和amoA基因拷贝数（以干土计）分别恢复到2.68×106、1.71×106和8.54×104g-1,石油烃降解率达到48%.投加真菌-细菌复合菌剂的效果优于只投加细菌菌剂的效果.本研究结果表明氮循环功能基因的动态监测可以从基因和物种水平上反映土壤修复的效果,为土壤修复的监控和效果评估提供参考.     

Monitoring aromatic hydrocarbon biodegradation by functional marker genes

The development of biological treatment technologies for contaminated environments requires tools for obtaining direct information about the biodegradation of specific contaminants. The potential of functional gene array analysis to monitor changes in the amount of functional marker genes as indicators of contaminant biodegradation was investigated. A prototype functional gene array was developed for targeting key functions in the biodegradation of naphthalene, toluene and xylenes. Internal standard probe based normalization was introduced to facilitate comparison across multiple samples. Coupled with one-colour hybridization, the signal normalization improved the consistency among replicate hybridizations resulting in better discrimination for the differences in the amount of target DNA. During the naphthalene biodegradation in a PAH-contaminated soil slurry microcosm, the normalized hybridization signals in naphthalene catabolic gene probes were in good agreement with the amount of naphthalene-degradation genes and the production of 14CO2. Gene arrays provide efficient means for monitoring of contaminant biodegradation in the environment.     

苏云金芽孢杆菌新基因cry1Ab17的克隆和生物信息学

利用高效克隆PCR产物的专用载体pMD18T,直接从苏云金芽孢杆菌WB9的PCR产物中克隆了cry1Ab17新基因.测序结果表明,该基因(GenBank登录号为AY646166)由3471个碱基组成,其编码的蛋白质含有1156个氨基酸残基,其中亲水性氨基酸占30.8%,疏水性氨基酸占45.2%,酸性氨基酸占12.9%,碱性氨基酸占11.1%.氨基酸序列的同源性分析结果表明,Cry1Ab17蛋白与已报道的Cry1Ab蛋白同源性为95.4%～99.7%,该蛋白的4个氨基酸残基———Pro170、Gly449、Gly796和Gly863与其它已报道Cry1Ab蛋白相应位置的氨基酸残基均不同.在核苷酸序列和氨基酸序列多重比较的基础上,应用PAUP4.0构建了Cry1A蛋白家族的系统发育树.SignalP分析结果显示,Cry1Ab17蛋白中不含信号肽序列.此外,对Cry1Ab17蛋白的二级结构和3个结构域也进行了预测和分析.图4表2参15     

Prenatal diagnosis in three cases of iniencephaly with unusual postmortem findings

Iniencephaly is a rare and lethal congenital malformation of the neural tube characterized by occipital bone defect, cervical dysraphism, fixed retroflexion of the fetal head and severe lordosis of the cervicothoracic spine. The etiology is unknown. Prenatally diagnosed cases of iniencephaly are rare because careful and early ultrasonographic evaluation is necessary. We present three cases of iniencephaly prenatally diagnosed by sonography at 20–22 weeks' gestation in which therapeutic abortion was induced. The sonographic findings were compatible with the postmortem findings. The present cases of iniencephaly were found to carry unusual associated malformations such as two lobes in the right lung and chorangiosis of the placenta. Only hypoplastic lungs have been reported by previous authors. We also studied the 677C→T mutation on the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene in the parents in one of the present cases. The mother was found to be heterozygous for the 677CT polymorphism. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome in association with a balanced reciprocal translocation involving chromosomes 3 and 5

We present a case report on a fetus with multiple malformations, diagnosed by ultrasound at 20 weeks' gestation. From the combination of intrauterine growth retardation and limb abnormalities that were observed, the most likely diagnosis was considered to be Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS). Following counselling, the mother opted to terminate the pregnancy. Chromosome analysis of cultured amniotic fluid cells showed a karyotype of 46,XX,t(3;5)(q21;p13). Postmortem examination of the baby confirmed the presence of features consistent with a diagnosis of CdLS. This case provides a report of a definitive diagnosis of Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, suspected on the basis of ultrasound imaging and confirmed by amniocentesis findings. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The prenatal diagnosis of cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) by mutation analysis

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is an important cause of hereditary stroke. Mutations in the Notch3 gene are clearly causally linked to this progressive vascular disorder. Cerebral ischemic attacks, cognitive decline, strokes, and vascular dementia constitute the major manifestations of this disorder. This report details the prenatal detection of a Notch3 mutation in the fetus of a couple where the father had a known mutation in this gene. This is the first report of a prenatal diagnosis of CADASIL, and another example of a serious, highly penetrant, and relentlessly progressive degenerative genetic disorder presenting decades after birth and for which prenatal diagnosis is an option. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Genetic Bottlenecks Driven by Population Disconnection

Abstract: Connectivity among populations plays a crucial role in maintaining genetic variation at a local scale, especially in small populations affected strongly by genetic drift. The negative consequences of population disconnection on allelic richness and gene diversity (heterozygosity) are well recognized and empirically established. It is not well recognized, however, that a sudden drop in local effective population size induced by such disconnection produces a temporary disequilibrium in allelic frequency distributions that is akin to the genetic signature of a demographic bottleneck. To document this effect, we used individual‐based simulations and empirical data on allelic richness and gene diversity in six pairs of isolated versus well‐connected (core) populations of European tree frogs. In our simulations, population disconnection depressed allelic richness more than heterozygosity and thus resulted in a temporary excess in gene diversity relative to mutation drift equilibrium (i.e., signature of a genetic bottleneck). We observed a similar excess in gene diversity in isolated populations of tree frogs. Our results show that population disconnection can create a genetic bottleneck in the absence of demographic collapse.     

水平基因转移及其在污染修复中的应用

水平基因转移加速了部分生物体基因组的进化和革新;但随着基因改造生物的大量运用,由水平基因转移引起的生态安全问题越来越成为人们争论的焦点.由于大量异生污染物的产生,污染地区成为细菌水平基因转移的一个"热点"区域.为了实现污染地区的生物修复及强化难降解废水处理的效果,人为的制造和加快特定降解基因的水平转移被认为是解决这些问题的一个新思路.图2参57