Allergens/Antigens,Toxins and Polyketides of Important <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus</Emphasis> Species

The medical, agricultural and biotechnological importance of the primitive eukaryotic microorganisms, the Fungi was recognized way back in 1920. Among various groups of fungi, the Aspergillus species are studied in great detail using advances in genomics and proteomics to unravel biological and molecular mechanisms in these fungi. Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus parasiticus, Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus terreus are some of the important species relevant to human, agricultural and biotechnological applications. The potential of Aspergillus species to produce highly diversified complex biomolecules such as multifunctional proteins (allergens, antigens, enzymes) and polyketides is fascinating and demands greater insight into the understanding of these fungal species for application to human health. Recently a regulator gene for secondary metabolites, LaeA has been identified. Gene mining based on LaeA has facilitated new metabolites with antimicrobial activity such as emericellamides and antitumor activity such as terrequinone A from A. nidulans. Immunoproteomic approach was reported for identification of few novel allergens for A. fumigatus. In this context, the review is focused on recent developments in allergens, antigens, structural and functional diversity of the polyketide synthases that produce polyketides of pharmaceutical and biological importance. Possible antifungal drug targets for development of effective antifungal drugs and new strategies for development of molecular diagnostics are considered.     

The biochemical womb of schizophrenia: A review

The conclusive identification of specific etiological factors or pathogenic processes in the illness of schizophrenia has remained elusive despite great technological progress. The convergence of state-of-art scientific studies in molecular genetics, molecular neuropathophysiology, in vivo brain imaging and psychopharmacology, however, indicates that we may be coming much closer to understanding the genesis of schizophrenia. In near future, the diagnosis and assessment of schizophrenia using biochemical markers may become a “dream come true” for the medical community as well as for the general population. An understanding of the biochemistry/ visa vis pathophysiology of schizophrenia is essential to the discovery of preventive measures and therapeutic intervention.     

澜沧江-湄公河流域真菌资源研究进展

澜沧江-湄公河流域是世界上生物多样性最丰富的地区之一,整个流域地形复杂、生境多样,孕育了极为丰富的真菌资源。本文介绍了澜沧江-湄公河流域真菌资源的研究历史和分布特点及近年来在该地区发现的一些重要真菌物种。该区真菌资源研究始于十九世纪末,并陆续出版了不少有价值的地区性真菌资源的专著。近30年来的研究更加深入而系统,主要涉及担子菌类,如木耳目、花耳目、蘑菇目、红菇目、牛肝菌目、外担菌目、多孔菌目等,也包括了子囊菌中一些类群,如盘菌目。在过去十余年的时间,在该区仅大型真菌就发现了150余新分类群。因气候及小生境差异,在流域内不同的地区真菌区系成分存在明显的不同:上游地区的灌丛中及草甸上以病原真菌和腹菌类多见,寒温性针叶林下的代表类群则以寒温性大型真菌成分为主;中游地区的常绿阔叶林和暖温性针叶林下主要是温带至亚热带的代表类群;下游地区和湄公河流域气候湿热,以热带成分较为普遍。加强该区域真菌资源的深入研究,不仅具有重要的科学意义,同时也具有为经济发展服务的现实意义。     

外来植物加拿大一枝黄花对入侵地丛枝菌根真菌(AMF)的影响

外来植物入侵对土壤微生物群落的影响一直受到关注.本文研究了外来植物加拿大一枝黄花(Solidago candensis L.)的人侵对本地丛枝菌根真菌(AMF)的影响,发现加拿大一枝黄花的入侵改变了本地植物群落物种组成,本地植物如鸡眼草(Kummerowia striata(Thunb.)Schindl.)和黑麦草(Loliumperertrte L)的菌根侵染率降低.与本地优势植物鸡眼草共生菌的种类发生变化,土壤AMF孢子密度明显降低.土壤由以摩酉球囊菌(Glomus mosseoe)和幼套球囊菌(Glomus etunic atum)为优势转为以地球囊菌(Glomus geosperum)和幼套球囊菌(Glomus etunic atum)为优势种.     

植物先天免疫研究现状与前景展望

因病原微生物侵染导致的植物病害对农作物的产量和质量造成了巨大损失,也对我国的粮食安全构成重大威胁。化学农药能够较有效地控制农作物病害,但其大量施用也给环境带来了巨大污染。植物和病原微生物在漫长的相互作用过程中形成了互相识别、共同进化的机制。深刻理解农作物与病原微生物间的识别与互作分子机制,可以加快农作物抗性品种分子育种,从而减少化学农药的施用。近十多年来,植物免疫识别和病原微生物致病性的分子机理研究取得了显著进展,并逐渐形成了植物与病原微生物分子互作的进化模型,这些成果为农作物的抗病性研究和病原微生物的致病功能解析奠定了基础,也为利用现代生物技术改良植物抗病性提供了新的策略和思路。文章综述了植物先天免疫研究的重要进展,并探讨了未来的重要研究方向。     

Concerted breeding in fungi and its biotechnological application

The biotechnological exploitation of fungi is becoming more and more important both for industrial purposes and in the field of cultivation of edible mushrooms. In the past, breeding of fungi was restricted mainly to selection of better strains after spontaneous or induced mutations. Today, the inclusion of genetic recombination—based on better knowledge of how to handle fungi under controlled conditions, of their life cycles, and of their breeding systems—has given the possibility of ‘concerted breeding’. In addition, some recent basic research provides means of preventing ageing and death of fungal strains, by either genetic alterations or therapeutic treatment. Examples of the application of these ideas and results are given.     

上皮细胞生物学——生物医学多学科交叉的切入点

上皮细胞在机体内分布广泛,介导着包括呼吸、消化、生殖、听觉和免疫防御在内的一系列重要生理功能。上皮细胞功能紊乱将会导致广泛的病例改变和疾病,例如囊性纤维化病。"上皮细胞生物学研究中心"成立10年来,致力于上皮细胞生物学相关的研究,并通过多学科交叉性的合作取得了一定的成果。本文总结了研究中心以上皮细胞作为多学科交叉的切入点的研究进展,并探讨上皮细胞生物学对机体功能与疾病研究的重要性。     

加强环境与健康研究 助力美丽中国建设

经济快速发展导致的环境污染问题在我国日益突出，同时研究表明多种疾病与环境污染密切相关。理论和方法创新是我国环境与健康研究的挑战和机遇，需要不断聚集和吸引优秀科学家形成集群优势持续攻关，探寻环境致病的原因和机理，为我国区域高发疾病环境污染寻因，以及为相关健康保障技术的研发奠定理论与方法基础。     

发展基因沉默技术,控制作物土传真菌病害

作物土传真菌病害是当前农业所面临的最重要问题之一,由于防治困难,正日趋成为限制我国农业生产可持续发展的重要因素。基因沉默(或RNA沉默,RNAi)是广泛存在于真核生物中,基于同源序列调控基因表达的一条重要途径,而由此发展起来的基因沉默技术,作为一种新防治策略被广泛地应用于防控植物有害生物的研究中。文章综合介绍了作物土传真菌病害的发生与防治现状、RNA沉默及其在植物有害生物防控应用的最新研究进展,客观分析了基因沉默技术在防治作物土传真菌病害的巨大潜力和亟需解决的主要问题,阐述了研发基因沉默技术对可持续控制作物土传真菌病害的重要性及其巨大应用前景。     

国际生物技术研究开发安全管理现状与启示

为了解国际生物技术研究开发安全管理现状,通过文献调研、分析与综合、比较研究等方法,对当前国际生物技术研究开发活动存在的安全问题及其监管进行较为深入的分析,发现当前生物技术两用性问题日益严重,国内外对此开展一定研究并采取相应的管理措施。并总结这些管理措施具有有法可依或有章可循、但管理模式存在差异,管理对象类型不同、管理范围有宽有窄,对于特殊研究开发活动多以许可方式严格管理,设有特定的安全管理机构等特点,以期对我国构建生物技术研究开发安全管理体系提供借鉴。     

认知网络中频谱感知技术研究

认知网络作为一种能够提高有限频谱资源利用率的颇具应用前景的技术,可从根本上缓解日益严重的频谱资源紧张问题,已成为无线通信领域内的一个研究热点,并受到越来越多的关注。本文介绍了认知网络的概念,并从认知网络频谱感知方面综述了现有的研究成果,讨论了目前存在的问题和进一步研究的方向。     

Detection ofAspergillus Fumigatus based on Asp fl gene in clinical specimens

Oligonucleotide primers were synthesised based on the gene sequence of an 18 kDa allergen/antigen ofA. fumigatus isolated from a pathogenic strain. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out using the forward and reverse primers and genomic DNA ofA. fumigatus, A. flavus andA. niger as template. This resulted in a PCR product of 480 bp with onlyA. fumigatus. The absence of PCR product inA. flavus andA. niger with the primers of Asp fl facilitated use of these primers for detection ofA. fumigatus in clinical specimens of patients. The results were compared with microscopy, culture and serology. Application of PCR test to clinical samples of aspergillosis patients is discussed.     

SQL Server数据库的安全研究

本文首先从理论上介绍了通用数据库的安全要求和关键技术,然后详细地介绍了基于SQLServer的安全管理机制,最后给出了有效的防范措施。     

敌杀死乳油混滑石粉防治马尾松毛虫浅试

发生马尾松毛虫虫害,生物防治是治理松毛虫、又保护生态环境的理想防治措施,如果生物制剂紧缺,或有的时间段受天气、温度、湿度的影响,不适宜使用生物制剂,那么化学防治就是保护松树的有效急救措施。敌杀死属拟除虫菊酯类杀虫剂,杀虫谱广,击倒速度快,对鳞翅目幼虫杀伤力大,试验以敌杀死乳油混滑石粉形成敌杀死粉剂,用动力喷粉机喷粉防治马尾松毛虫,旨在为马尾松毛虫化学防治技术的合理应用提供科学依据。     

Insights into complexity of congenital disorders of glycosylation

Biochemical and biological properties of glycoconjugates are strongly determined by the specific structure of its glycan parts. Glycosylation, the covalent attachment of sugars to proteins and lipids, is very complex and highly-coordinated process involving > 250 gene products. Deficiency of glycosylation enzymes or transporters results in impaired glycosylation, and consequently pathological modulation of many physiological processes. Inborn defects of glycosylation enzymes, caused by the specific mutations, lead to the development of rare, but severe diseases - congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDGs). Up today, there are more than 45 known CDGs. Their clinical manifestations range from very mild to extremely severe (even lethal) and unfortunately, only three of them can be effectively treated nowadays. CDG symptoms highly vary, though some are common for several CDG types but also for other unrelated diseases, especially neurological ones, leaving the possibility that many CDGs cases are under- or misdiagnosed. Glycan analysis of serum transferrin (by isoelectric focusing or more sophisticated methods, such as HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) or MALDI (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization)) or serum N-glycans (by MS), enzyme activity assays and DNA sequence analysis are the most frequently used methods for CDG screening and identification, since no specific tests are available yet. In this review we summarize the current knowledge on the clinical, biochemical and genetic characteristic of distinct CDGs, as well as existing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, aiming to contribute to the awareness on the existence of these rare diseases and encourage the efforts to elucidate its genetic background, improve diagnostics and develop new strategies for their treatment.     

后牙折裂

后牙折裂是临床上较常见的牙体病,从大量的临床资料中,总结了该病的临床表现、病因、诊断及治疗,并对预防问题进行了讨论。     

Plasma Voriconazole Estimation by HPLC

Voriconazole, an antifungal drug exhibiting wide inter-individual variability, is an ideal candidate for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). The aim of the present study was to standardize a simple, sensitive and rapid high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with ultraviolet detection to determine plasma voriconazole concentration. The HPLC method consisted of a combination of acetonitrile and water (7:3) as mobile phase with 1 ml/min flow rate and detection at 255 nm. Plasma protein precipitation was carried out using perchloric acid and the filtered supernatant was passed through C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) for the separation of voriconazole. The limit of quantification of voriconazole was 0.2 mg/L. The assay was validated with a linearity of 0.2–15 mg/L and used clinically for TDM in patient samples. The inter-assay precision was below 15 % for routine quality control samples. Weight based voriconazole doses were prescribed to 26 patients for empirical treatment of invasive fungal infections. Voriconazole therapy was managed from the baseline drug levels and follow up analysis reflected achievement in clinical efficacy. Routine TDM of voriconazole may reduce adverse events and improve the treatment response in invasive fungal infections.     

Electrochemiluminescence—Improving the performance of immunossays

Conclusion  The novel combination of an electrochemiluminescent label used in a magnetic microparticle-based immunoassay format defines a significantly improved level of immunodiagnostic performance. The main advantages of electrochemiluminescent immunoassays are high sensitivity, extended linearity of signal response together with speed of signal generation and measurement. These attributes in conjunction with fully automated random access analyser lead to superior level of user convenience and clinical application. Electrochmemiluminescence has been applied today to a wide range of analytes of biological interest including thyroid and fertility hormones, infectious desease, as well as various markers of cardiac, malignant and auto immune disease. However, the spectrum of applications is far from being exhausted. The capacity of this technology goes beyond current requirements for diagnostic laboratory tests.     

Diversity and antimicrobial activity of culturable fungi associated with sea anemone Anthopleura xanthogrammica

BackgroundThe main objective of this study was to isolate fungi associated with Anthopleura xanthogrammica and measure their antimicrobial and enzymatic activities. A total of 93 fungal strains associated with A. xanthogrammica were isolated in this study, of which 32 isolates were identified using both morphological characteristics and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis. The antibacterial activities of 32 fungal isolates were tested against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Edwardsiella tarda, Vibrio harveyi, Fusarium oxysporum, and Pyricularia oryzae by agar diffusion assay. Extracellular hydrolytic enzyme activities of the fungal isolates were determined by agar diffusion assays. Enzyme activities were detected from clear halo size.ResultsThe isolated fungi belonged to 18 genera within 7 taxonomic orders of 1 phylum. The genera Aspergillaceae were the most diverse and common. The antimicrobial activities of 32 isolates were evaluated, and 19 (59.4%) of fungi isolate displayed unique antimicrobial activities. All fungal strains displayed at least one enzyme activity. The most common enzyme activities in the fungi isolates were amylase and protease, while the least common were pectinase and xylanase.ConclusionsThis is first report on the sea anemone-derived fungi with antimicrobial and enzyme activities. Results indicated that sea anemone is a hot spot of fungal diversity and a rich resource of bioactive natural products.How to cite: Liu S, Ahmed S, Zhang C, et al. Diversity and antimicrobial activity of culturable fungi associated with sea anemone Anthopleura xanthogrammica. Electron J Biotechnol 2020;44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt.2020.01.003