聚苹果酸聚合途径中苹果酰辅酶A连接酶基因的克隆、表达及酶学性质

【目的】研究出芽短梗霉聚苹果酸聚合途径中苹果酰辅酶A连接酶基因及其酶学特性。【方法】通过设计兼并引物,采用IPCR技术从出芽短梗霉CCTCC M2012223的基因组中扩增得到苹果酰辅酶A连接酶基因的cDNA全长序列,构建表达载体,通过大肠杆菌异源表达,Ni-NTA柱层析纯化酶蛋白,分析其酶学特性。【结果】获得苹果酰辅酶A连接酶基因序列全长为1498 bp,编码440 aa,含有4个外显子和3个内含子。该重组酶最适反应温度为25℃,最适反应pH值为8.0,高浓度底物ATP明显对酶活性具有抑制作用,单体选择性表明对底物草酸、草酰乙酸、丁酸、丙二酸也具有很好催化活性。【结论】成功从出芽短梗霉CCTCC M2012223中克隆获得聚苹果酸聚合途径的苹果酰辅酶A连接酶基因,为聚苹果酸聚合途径解析及新型可降解材料创制奠定基础。

Asymmetric construction of all-carbon quaternary stereocenters in the total synthesis of natural products

Structure units containing all-carbon quaternary stereogenic center are found in many bioactive natural products. However, enantioselective construction of this type of structure units has been a formidable challenge for synthetic community due to the steric hindrance enforced by all-carbon quatemary stereocenters. In this review, we present the achievements made by Chinese scientists in the area of asymmetric synthesis of all-carbon quaternary stereocenters in natural products during the past two years.

The relationship between intraspecific assortative mating and reproductive isolation between divergent populations

The term ＇assortative mating＇ has been applied to describe two very different phenomena： （1） the tendency for indi- viduals to choose phenotypically similar mates from among conspecifics; or （2） the tendency to prefer conspecific over hete- rospecific mates （behavioral reproductive isolation）. Both forms of assortative mating are widespread in nature, but the relation- ship between these behaviors remains unclear. Namely, it is plausible that a preference for phenotypically similar conspecifics in cidentally reduces the probability of mating with phenotypically divergent heterospecifics. We present a model to calculate how the level of reproductive isolation depends on intraspecific assortative mating and the phenotypic divergence between species. For empirically reasonable levels of intraspecific assortment on a single trait axis, we show that strong reproductive isolation requires very substantial phenotypic divergence. We illustrate this point by applying our model to empirical data from threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus and Darwin＇s Finches （Geospiza spp）. We conclude that typical levels of intraspecific assortment cannot generally be extrapolated to explain levels of interspecific reproductive isolation. Instead, reproductive isolation between species likely arises from different mate choice behaviors, or multivariate assortative mating [Current Zoology 58 （3）： 484-492, 2012].

Schiff base aluminum catalysts containing morpholinomethyl groups in the ring opening polymerization of rac-lactide

A series of Schiff base aluminum(III) complexes bearing morpholinomethyl substituents were synthesized. Comprehensive investigations on their stereoselective and kinetic features in the ring opening polymerization of lactide were carried out. The ring opening polymerization proved to be first-order in the catalyst and the monomer. Linear relationships between the numberaverage molecular weight of the polylactide and the monomer conversion were consistent with a well-controlled polymerization. The propagation rate was strongly affected by morpholinomethyl substituents on the salicylaldehyde moiety.