Table of Content

15 August 2009, Volume 11 Issue 4

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Mechanism for Controlling Plant Branching Development

LI Ya-dong, ZHANG Qian, SUN Xue-hui, LU Tie-gang

2009, 11(4):  1-9. 

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The branching development of higher plants determines plant architecture system above the ground and has direct relationship with plant biomass and crop output. The plant branching development is regulated by environmental factors, genetic factors and plant hormones as well. Recently, peoples understanding for the adjusting mechanism of plant branching development is going deeper and deeper, via studies on various mutants. Scientists have cloned a series of important genes. Nowadays, the studies on adjusting mechanism of plant branching development has become an important reliance for crop molecular genetic breeding.

Research Status and Prospect of e-type Hybrid Rice

ZHANG Hong-lin, LIU Hai-ping, LIU Yue-qing, ZHANG Rui-xiang, ZHONG Xiao-ying

2009, 11(4):  10-15. 

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E-type hybrid rice is the abbreviation for tall-stalk and recessive hybrid rice. For the past over twenty years, agricultural scientists all over the world have shown great concern and committed themselves to research works on discovering, studying and utilization of tall-stalk and recessive rice gene. This paper summarized the research progresses made in recent years and also outlined the prospect.

Research Progress on Molecular Marker and Functional Genomic of Foxtail Millet, Setaria italica Beauv.

LI Zhi-jiang, DIAO Xian-min

2009, 11(4):  16-22. 

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Recently, great progress has been made on the development of SSR markers, EST data base, construction of mapping populations and QTL analysis of foxtail millet, Setaria italica Beauv.. The foxtail millet genomic sequence, which will be completed soon, shall accelerate the advance of foxtail millet genomic study and improve its academic level. This paper briefly reviewed the progress on foxtail millet genomic study, suggested that the main task ahead is to establish a data basis for molecular markers and an efficient platform for heterogenous gene transformation. It also  prospected the development for foxtail millet genomic research.

Research Progress on Folate Biofortification

HAN Yue-ting, JIANG Ling, FAN Yun-liu, ZHANG Chun-yi

2009, 11(4):  23-28. 

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Tetrahydrofolate and its derivatives, commonly grouped under the name of folates, are vital cofactors for enzymes that mediate onecarbon transfer reactions. Folates are involved in a wide range of key metabolic functions. Human cannot synthesize folates de novo and depends entirely on dietary supply. Folate deficiency contributes to many disease risks. Engineering crop plants with elevated folate contents (biofortification) is therefore a rational alternative in addressing global folate deficiency. In the present paper, we summarized the folate metabolism, and progress made in research on folate biofortification. Besides, the folate nutritional status of the Chinese people was summarized and folate biofortification situation in China was prospected.

Research Progress on Metabolic Engineering of Escherichia coli Strains for Ethanol Production

HONG Hao-zhou, MA Rui-qiang, ZHANG Ying, LU Wei, ZHANG Wei, CHEN Ming

2009, 11(4):  29-33. 

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Production of bio-ethanol from low cost cellulosic materials by microbes has been paid more attention. Recent research has focused on metabolic engineering and improvement of strains for high ethanol production. Here we presented a brief summary of the research progress made in recombinant Escherichia coli strains for ethanol production. The studies on metabolic engineering improvement taking E. coli as a model strain will provide techniques and reference for the new ethanologenic recombinant strains.

Progress in Elemental Fingerprint Analysis to Identify the Origin of Agricultural Products

YE Shan-shan, YANG Jian, LIU Hong-bo

2009, 11(4):  34-40. 

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With the rapid growing demand and development of striding regional trade for famous, special, high-quality and novel agricultural products, consumers have shown more attention to information about the geographical origin information of agricultural products. Recently, an amount of successful exploratory researches have been conducted to identify the geographical origin of agricultural products (GOAP) with multi-element and isotopic fingerprint analysis at home and abroad. These researches all indicate that identification of GOAP can be done with fingerprint patterns of multi-elemental concentrations and isotope ratios (especially, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and strontium). The article summarizes the recent progress made in the abovementioned fingerprint analyses to identify GOAP of meat, dairy product, beverage material, cereal, grape wine, etc., so as to provide theoretical bases for relevant studies and protection of GOAP in the near future.

Research Progress on Nutritional and Health-care Functions and Molecular Mechanism of Royal Jelly

SHEN Li-rong, ZHANG Li-wen, DING Mei-hui, et al.

2009, 11(4):  41-47. 

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Royal jelly, an important honeybee product, is not only nutritional food regulating the development and case differentiation of honeybee, but also a health-care product with very effective activities for animal and human health. This paper introduces the active components, total composition and nutritional and healthy functions of main active components, such as 10-hydroxy-2-decanoic acid, proteins and peptides of royal jelly. It also introduces the research progress made in molecular mechanism related to lifespan and fertility. According to the internal and external new research trends, it puts forward related suggestions as paying attention to basic research on royal jelly, developing deep process and biological engineering industry of royal jelly.

Thoughts about a Framework Design for Policy Analyzing and Policy Making System to Support Chinese Agriculture

ZHANG Jian-zhong

2009, 11(4):  48-52. 

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Characterization of Arabidopsis microRNAs |and Matching to its Targets

LIU Chong, SUN Jie, FAN Yun-liu, WANG Lei

2009, 11(4):  53-57. 

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous non-coding single-stranded RNA with about 22 nucleotides length. MicroRNAs function as sequencespecific negative regulators in post-transcriptional gene silencing by base pairing with target mRNAs, which lead to mRNA cleavage or translational repression. We examined the sequence characteristics of all known Arabidopsis miRNAs and the basepairing feature between miRNAs and their targets. The miRNA sequences displayed higher A and U content at the 5′ end, and higher U content at position 1, and higher C content around position 19. There often exist one to four mismatching between miRNAs and their targets, which showed that mismatches occurred frequently at position 1, 2 or 21, but hardly occurred at position 3~6, 9~10, 16~17. The data is potentially applicable to the design of artificial microRNA and prediction of microRNAs targets.

Effect of Trehalose on the Growth and Carcass Performance of AA Broilers

HUANG Jun, DING Hong-biao, ZHAO Guo-qi

2009, 11(4):  58-63. 

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Crop feeding trial was conducted to study the absorption mechanism and the effects of trehalose on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of AA broilers. The results indicated that treherose was absorbed directly into the blood of AA broilers. That was different from other bisaccharides which was converted to glucose first and absorbed afterwards. This is a new discovery about the absorption mechanism of trehalose. Feeding with a basal diet supplemented with trehalose could significantly improve broiler growth, decrease mortality, and increase the carcass weight and eviscerated weight, and therefore improve the carcass characteristics of AA chicken. Adding 0.1% trehalose could have the best effect, with body weight gain increased notably by 9.42% (P<0.05) and feed/gain ratio decreased significantly (P<0.05) compared to the control group.

 

Cloning, Expression and Characterization of a Xylanase Gene, xynBS9, from Streptomyces sp. S9

YAO Guo-yu, LI Ning, SHI Peng-jun, CHEN Qiang, YAO Bin

2009, 11(4):  64-70. 

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The gene xynBS9 encoding β-l, 4-xylanase was cloned from Streptomyces sp.S9 by designing degenerate primers and screening from a genomic library of Streptomyces sp. S9. The xynBS9 gene was 1 023 bp in length and encoded by a protein with 340 amino acids. The xynBS9 gene without signal peptide was inserted into the expression vector of pET-22b (+) and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) to express. The recombinant protein was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitant and hydrophobic interaction chromatography.Characteristic analysis indicated that the optimum temperature and pH value for the recombined xylanase were 60℃ and 6.5, respectively, and XynBS9 showed an extreme stability under alkaline condition.

Cloning and Characterization of Hydroxyquinol 1, 2-dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp.: A Novel Member of 4-Nitrophenol Degradation Gene Cluster

SUN Wen, XU Li, ZHANG Shuang-yu, TIAN Jian, CHU Xiao-yu, WU Ning-feng

2009, 11(4):  71-76. 

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A bacterium 1-7 with the capability of degrading both methyl parathion and 4-nitrophenol, identified as Pseudomonas sp. by 16S rDNA, was isolated by enrichment method from OP-polluted activated sludge. The degenerate primers were designed according to the conservative domains of hydroxyquinol 1, 2-dioxygenase to amplify the partial hydroxyquinol 1, 2-dioxygenase gene. The complete enzyme gene dio1 was obtained by TAIL-PCR subsequently and confirmed by DNA sequence analysis. The dio1 gene is 873 bp long comprising one open reading frame encoding a polypeptide of 290 amino acids with a molecular weight of 32.8 kDa. The dio1 gene was then over-expressed in E.coli BL21, and the recombinant protein Dio1 was further purified with Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. The hydroxyquinol 1, 2-dioxygenase Dio1 was proved to have catalytic activity. It was suggested that 4-NP was degraded via hydroxyquinol by Pseudomonas sp.1-7. 4-NP degradation pathway was preliminarily discussed in this research.

Effects of Black Mouth Disease and Reproduction on Five Physiological and Biochemical Parameters of Sea Urchins (Strongylocentrotus intermedius)

ZHANG Bo, DING Jun, WANG Yuan, DONG Xu, CHANG Ya-qing

2009, 11(4):  77-82. 

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Five physiological and biochemical parameters were studied in sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus intermedius) suffering from black mouth disease and after breeding. The results showed that under pathological status, the H₂O₂ content and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were significantly higher than those of control sea urchins, while catalase (CAT) activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity  and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) were notablely lower than those in control ones. Among these parameters, the H₂O₂ content, T-AOC and SOD activity were significantly different (P<0.05) between control and sick groups, while the difference of MDA content and CAT activity were extremely significant (P<0.01) between them. After breeding, the H₂O₂ content remained while the other four types of immune parameters decreased, among which the T-AOC and MDA content were significantly different (P<0.05), while the difference of CAT activity and SOD activity between after and before breeding were extremely significant (P<0.01). The results suggest that the content of MDA and CAT of coelomic liquid can be used as monitoring indicators of black mouth disease in sea urchins.

Studies on Mg-Al-Co Compound Oxide Catalyzed Synthesis of a New Fresh Keeping Material OHAA

XIONG Wei, MA Mei-hu, CAI Zhao-xia, ZHANG Ji-mei, FU Xing, CHEN Miao

2009, 11(4):  83-88. 

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In this paper, we studied the synthesis of a new type catalyst Mg-Al-Co metal compound oxide, then with this catalyst to synthesize a new fresh keeping material OHAA for agricultural products. TLC result showed that the distribution index of OHAA catalyzed by Mg-Al-Co compound oxide reached over 80% with very good narrow distribution effect. The L9(33) orthogonal experiments were made to  investigate the best reaction conditions. The best reaction conditions of OHAA synthesis by Mg-Al-Co compound oxide catalyst were 3% of catalyst amount, 160 ℃ of temperature and under the pressure of 0.6 MPa.

Over-expression of AT-hook Gene AHL27 Can Delay the Flowering of Arabidopsis

XIAO Chao-wen,CHEN Fu-lu,FU Yong-fu

2009, 11(4):  89-94. 

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There are 29 AHL proteins (AT-hook motif nuclear localized proteins) in Arabidopsis, but the functions of their mojorities remain unknown. The AHL27 protein, reported in this study, contains an AT-hook motif and a PPC domain. The analysis of mRNA expression in different tissue organs and GUS histochemical staining showed that AHL27 was mainly expressed in roots and flowers. The sub-cellular localization of GFP-AHL27 indicated that AHL27 was a nuclear protein. AHL27 over-expression could inhibit the expression of flowering gene FT and promote the FLC expression, therefore, delay the Arabidopsis flowering time both under long daylight and short daylight conditions. Our data suggested that AHL27 could play a very important role in Arabidopsis growth and development.

Interaction between APX and ATP6 by the Yeast Two-Hybrid System in Brassica napus L.

LI Zhi,2, LIU Zhi-bin, XIANG Jun-bei, et al.

2009, 11(4):  95-99. 

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The ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was the key enzyme eliminating H₂O₂ in stress condition of ASA-GSH cycle in plant. In order to explore the mechanism of APX  in cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS), we constructed different length APX cDNA sequence fusion vector by pGADT7 plasmid, analyzed the interacting area and point between ATP6 and APX by the yeast two-hybrid system in Brassica napus. The results showed that the interacting area with ATP6 amino acid sequence pointed at 250~439 aa of C-end in APX amino acid sequence.

Analysis of Glyphosate Tolerance in Transgenic Tobacco with 2mG2-epsps Gene

SUN He, LANG Zhi-hong, LU Wei, LIN Min, HUANG Da-fang

2009, 11(4):  100-106. 

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The glyphosate tolerance 2mG2-epsps gene was transferred into tobacco via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The results of PCR detection showed that 87 transformed tobacco plants were positive and the transfer rate was 43%. Southern blot, RT-PCR, Western blot and ELISA results showed that the foreign gene had been integrated into the tobacco genome and expressed effectively. The highest expression level of 2mG2-EPSPS protein reached 26.03 μg/g fresh weight. The glyphosate-tolerance assay indicated that there were 15 events showed good glyphosate tolerance. The glyphosate tolerance level of the transgenic plants reached 1%. Their seeds could germinate at the medium containing 10 mmol/L glyphosate and the transgenic seedlings could survive after spaying with 0.8% glyphosate. The research results indicated that the transgenic tobacco had good tolerance to glyphosate, and the 2mG2-epsps gene could be used for cultivation of glyphosate tolerant crops.

Studies on Allelopathy of Peanut Root Exudates on Root Rot Fungi and N-fixing Bacteria

LIU Ping, JIANG Li-hua, WAN Shu-bo, et al.

2009, 11(4):  107-111. 

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Continuous collecting method was used to get root exudates of peanut, and their allelopathy on root rot fungi (Fusarium sp. 36194) and N-fixing bacteria (Bradyrhizobium vigna 14046) was studied.  Results showed that the neutral, acidic and alkaline fractions of peanut root exudates all exhibited allelopathic promotion effects on the mycelium growth of root rot fungi (Fusarium sp.), and allelopathic inhibition effects on the growth of N-fixing bacteria (Bradyrhizobium vigna). The allelopathy was strengthened with the increase of the added concentration of root exudates, and the allelopathy of neutral fraction was relatively stronger. The 2,4-dimethylbenzaldehyde, lauric acid, tetradecanoic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, and stearic acid were identified from the neutral fraction through GC-MS.

Initial Studies on Isolation and Identification of Cellulase producing Strain from Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Alpine
Wetland and Enzymatic Production

HE Te, LI Ni, HUANG Xiao-fei, YANG Zhi-rong, ZHANG Jie

2009, 11(4):  112-117. 

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The facultative anaerobic strain, H-2, was screened and isolated form the soil 80 cm depth from the surface layer at Zoige alpine wetland in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. It was identified as a Bacillus cereus by its morphological, physiological and biochemical characters and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The results of cellulose producing research showed that the optimum carbon resource was 1.5% CMC-Na, the optimum temperature was 30℃ and rotating speed was 180 rpm. H-2 retained 80% enzyme producing activity at 15℃. Enzymology properties showed that the optimum pH and temperature were 7.0 and 40℃, and the highest cellulose activity was 15.443 U.

Studies on Precipitation Conditions of Phytase Protein from Transgenic Corn

YAN Guang-wei, CHEN Ru-mei, SHI Peng-jun, et al.

2009, 11(4):  118-122. 

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In order to carry out further studies on enzymology properties of phytase protein expressed in transgenic corn seeds, we studied the relations between solubility of phytase and total protein and the saturation of ammonium sulfate with crude phytase extracted from transgenic corn seeds as material. The results showed that in the saturation range 0~60% of ammonium sulfate, the precipitated phytase only accounted for 1.85% of the total phytase in initial extraction, while the precipitated protein in the same saturation range accounted for 57% of the total protein in initial extraction. The specific activity of phytase was 0.44 U/mg. In the saturation ranging from 60%~80% of ammonium sulfate, the precipitated phytase and total protein accounted for 58% and 10% of the total in initial extraction, respectively. And the specific activity of phytase was 84.4 U/mg. In the saturation ranging from 80%~100% of ammonium sulfate, the yield of precipitated phytase accounted for 1.9% of the initial extraction. Therefore, the saturation ranging from 60%~80% of ammonium sulfate was set as the optimal condition to precipitate phytase. The specific activity of phytase obtained under this condition was 6.1 times higher than the crude extraction (13.8 U/mg).

Technological Improvement of Southern Blot Using Digoxigenin-labeled Probes with Random-primed Method

ZHOU Zhang-fa, ZHANG Rui, ZHANG Xiao, LUO Shu-ping, GUO San-dui

2009, 11(4):  123-128. 

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Southern blot using digoxigenin(DIG)-labeled probes with random-primed method and chemiluminescent detection was used to detect Bt Cry1A gene of transgenic insect-resistant cotton. A serial of procedure was modified by purifying the DIG-labeled probes, using optimum probes concentration, improving the process of vacuum transferring, hybridization and immunoassay. Finally, we achieved good Southern blot result with low background and high sensitivity.

Optimization of Polysaccharide Extraction from Tricholoma Mongolicum Imai.

QU Zhi-zhen, YAO Qing-zhi, YAN Wei

2009, 11(4):  129-132. 

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Orthogonal experiments were applied to optimize the polysaccharide extraction from fruiting bodies and mycelium of Tricholoma mongolicum Imai. respectively. The optimal extraction parameters for fruiting bodies were predicted as followed: extraction temperature was 70℃, the ratio of raw material and water was 1∶10, extraction time was 4 hours, extraction was done  for 4 times and by 80% (V/V) of ethanol for polysaccharide precipitation. With this technics, the yield of polysaccharides was 5.78%. The optimum extraction conditions for mycelium  were extracted at temperature of 90℃, with ratio between raw material and water  as 1∶10. The extract would last for 3 hours, and be made for 3 times and by 80% ethanol for polysaccharide precipitation. With this technics, the yield of polysaccharides was 5.93%.

Effects of Different Additives on Silage Fermentation Quality and in vitro Digestibility of White Clover

YU Zhu, CHEN Yan, SUN Qi-zhong, YU Yan-dong

2009, 11(4):  133-138. 

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The experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of different additives on silage fermentation quality  of white clover and in vitro digestibility. The silage additives include:FAST-SILE(FS), cellulase (CE), molasses (M) and  formic acid (FA). The result shows that white clover can be silaged by itself, but can not obtain silage feed with good fermentation quality. Adding formic acid can significantly increase the contents of soluble sugar, decrease the pH value and the content of WSC (P<0.05). Adding molasses can notably increase the contents of lactic acid and WSC, decrease the pH value and the contents of ammonia-N, NDF and ADF (P<0.05). Different additives and additive groups have different effects on in vitro digestibility of DM, CP, NDF and ADF.