Purification and Analysis of Abscisic Acid-Specifically-Inducible Proteins from Rice Callus

Two ABA-specifically-inducible proteins from rice callus were isolated and purified by precipitation with 65-100% saturated （NH4）2SO4, followed by the DEAE-sepharose, TSK-gel, and two-dimension electrophoresis. Iso-electric points （pl） of the proteins with the same molecular mass （24.5 kD） were 6.1 and 6.9, respectively. The Western blot analysis indicated that the proteins expressed in different tissues were obviously different. The A1 （pl 6.1） protein was only detected in calli treated with ABA and seed embryos （SE）. However, the A2 （pl 6.9） protein was found not only in the calli treated with ABA and SE, but also in the white dry callus. Thus it suggested that the two proteins might play some important roles in the processes of seed embryo （or somatic embryo） formation.

Association between intestinal microbiota and inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease(IBD),which includes Crohn’s disease(CD)and ulcerative colitis(UC),has emerged as a global disease with high incidence,long duration,devastating clinical symptoms,and low curability(relapsing immune response and barrier function defects).Mounting studies have been performed to investigate its pathogenesis to provide an ever-expanding arsenal of therapeutic options,while the precise etiology of IBD is not completely understood yet.Recent advances in highthroughput sequencing methods and animal models have provided new insights into the association between intestinal microbiota and IBD.In general,dysbiosis characterized by an imbalanced microbiota has been widely recognized as a pathology of IBD.However,intestinal microbiota alterations represent the cause or result of IBD process remains unclear.Therefore,more evidences are needed to identify the precise role of intestinal microbiota in the pathogenesis of IBD.Herein,this review aims to outline the current knowledge of commonly used,chemically induced,and infectious mouse models,gut microbiota alteration and how it contributes to IBD,and dysregulated metabolite production links to IBD pathogenesis.

Creation of High-Yield Polyhydroxyalkanoates Engineered Strains by Low Energy Ion Implantation

Polyhydroxyalkanoates （PHAs）, as a candidate for biodegradable plastic materials, can be synthesized by numerous microorganisms. However, as its production cost is high in comparison with those of chemically synthesized plastics, a lot of research has been focused on the efficient production of PHAs using different methods. In the present study, the mutation effects of PHAs production in strain pCB4 were investigated with implantation of low energy ions. It was found that under the implantation conditions of 7.8×10^14 N^＋/cm^2 at 10 keV, a high-yield PHAs strain with high genetic stability was generated from many mutants. After optimizing its fermentation conditions, the biomass, PHAs concentration and PHAs content of pCBH4 reached 2.26 g/L, 1.81 g/L, and 80.08% respectively, whereas its wild type controls were about 1.24 g/L, 0.61 g/L, and 49.20%. Moreover, the main constituent of PHAs was identified as poly-3-hydroxybutyrates （PHB） in the mutant stain and the yield of this compound was increased up to 41.33% in contrast to that of 27.78% in the wild type strain.

Antioxidative activity of protein hydrolysates from anchovy

Alcalase hydrolyzed protein from Anchovy under controlled condition, and the hydrolysates were rich in active peptides. The peptide content was determined by TCA-biuret method, and amino acid was determined by Ninhydrin. The antioxidative activity of the hydrolysates was investigated by measuring the reducing ability, the inhibition of lipoxygenase activity, and antioxidative ability in linoleic acid oxidation system. The hydrolysates exhibited high antioxidative activity. In addition, the hydrolysates scavenged 58.38% on hydroxyl radical and 46.88% on superoxide radical.

Atrazine Adsorption Behavior on a Fluvo-Aquic Soil as Influenced by Contact Periods

A batch experiment was performed to investigate nonequilibrium adsorption behavior of atrazine （2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamlno-1,3,5-triazlne） on a fluvo-aquic soil. The amount of atrazine sorbed increased with increasing adsorption contact periods. For a range of initial atrazlne concentrations, the percentage of atrazine sorbed within 24 h ranged from 24% to 77% of the observed total amount sorbed for the longest contact period; when adsorption contact periods were more than 72 h, the deviations in curves fitted using a nonlinear Freundllch equation gradually became less. The opposite trend was observed for the atrazine concentrations in solution. The effect of adsorption contact periods on atrazine adsorption behavior was evaluated by interpreting the temporal variations in linear and nonlinear Freundlich equation parameters obtained from the phase-distribution relationships. As the adsorption contact period increased, the nonlinear Freundlich capacity coefficient kf showed a significant linear increase （r^2 = 0.9063, P 〈 0.001）. However, a significant negative linear correlation was observed for the nonlinear coefficient n, a dimensionless parameter （r^2 = 0.5666, P 〈 0.05）. Furthermore, the linear distribution coefficient kd ranged from 0.38 to 1.44 and exhibited a significant linear correlation to the adsorption contact period （r^2 = 0.72, P 〈 0.01）. The parameters kf and n obtained from a time-dependent isotherm rather than the distribution coefficient kd estimated using the linear Freundlich equation were more appropriate to predict the herbicide residue in the field and thus more meaningful for environmental assessment.