抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Calcium in Plants

How much and how fast should we react to the threat of global warming? The Stern Review argues that the damages from climate change are large, and that nations should undertake sharp and immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. An examination of the Review’s radical revision of the economics of climate change finds, however, that it depends decisively on the assumption of a near-zero time discount rate combined with a specific utility function. The Review’s unambiguous conclusions about the need for extreme immediate action will not survive the substitution of assumptions that are consistent with today’s marketplace real interest rates and savings rates.

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A Review of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change

Expression and tracking of fluorescent fusion proteins has revolutionized our understanding of basic concepts in cell biology. The protocol presented here has underpinned much of the in vivo results highlighting the dynamic nature of the plant secretory pathway. Transient transformation of tobacco leaf epidermal cells is a relatively fast technique to assess expression of genes of interest. These cells can be used to generate stable plant lines using a more time-consuming, cell culture technique. Transient expression takes from 2 to 4 days whereas stable lines are generated after approximately 2 to 4 months.

Rapid, transient expression of fluorescent fusion proteins in tobacco plants and generation of stably transformed plants.

Serine/Threonine Phosphatases: Mechanism through Structure

Aerenchyma is a tissue type characterised by prominent intercellular spaces which enhance flooding tolerance in some plant species by facilitating gas diffusion between roots and the aerial environment. Aerenchyma in maize roots forms by collapse and death of some of the cortical cells in a process that can be promoted by imposing oxygen shortage or by ethylene treatment. Maize roots grown hydroponically in 3% oxygen, 1 microl x l(-1) ethylene or 21% oxygen (control) were analysed by a combination of light and electron microscopy. Use of in-situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) suggested internucleosomal cleavage of DNA. However, chromatin condensation detectable by electron microscopy was preceded by cytoplasmic changes including plasma membrane invagination and the formation of vesicles, in contrast to mammalian apoptosis in which chromatin condensation is the first detectable event. Later, cellular condensation, condensation of chromatin and the presence of intact organelles surrounded by membrane resembling apoptotic bodies were observed. All these events were complete before cell wall degradation was apparent. Therefore, aerenchyma formation initiated by hypoxia or ethylene appears to be a form of programmed cell death that shows characteristics in part resembling both apoptosis and cytoplasmic cell death in animal cells.

Characterisation of programmed cell death during aerenchyma formation induced by ethylene or hypoxia in roots of maize (Zea mays L.)

Aluminium and silicon are usually abundant in soil mineral matter, but their availability for plant uptake is limited by low solubility and, in the case of AI, high soil pH causes precipitation of the element in insoluble forms. Al toxicity is a major problem in naturally occurring acid soils and in soils affected by acidic precipitation. Al has no known role in higher plants, and is generally known as a toxic element, whereas Si is generally regarded as a beneficial element. Recently, it has been suggested that Al toxicity can be ameliorated by Si in a variety of animal systems. In this review the evidence that amelioration of Al toxicity by Si can also occur in plants is assessed. At present such amelioration has been shown in sorghum, barley, teosinte, and soybean, but not in rice, wheat, cotton, and pea. Plant species vary considerably in the amounts of Al and Si that they transport into their tissues, and it seems that very high Si accumulation and very high Al accumulation are mutually exclusive. The mechanisms considered for amelioration are: solution effects; codeposition of Al and Si within the plant; effects in the cytoplasm and on enzyme activity; and indirect effects

Aluminium/silicon interactions in higher plants

Chez les plantes superieures, le calcium cytosolique est maintenu a une faible concentration grâce a l'action des transporteurs membranaires specifiques. Les proprietes et la localisation cellulaire de ces systemes sont decrites. Le transporteur principal du Ca est une pompe a ATP, l'autre systeme etant un antiport Ca/H + . Le role et les proprietes de ces transporteurs sont presentes, conjointement a l'accumulation du Ca par les chloroplastes et les mitochondries

Active Calcium Transport by Plant Cell Membranes

Aluminium (Al) toxicity is a very important factor limiting the growth of plants on acidic soils. Recently, a number of workers have shown that, under certain conditions, silicon (Si) can ameliorate the toxic effects of Al in hydroponic culture. The mechanism of the amelioration is unclear, but three suggestions have been put forward: Si-induced increase in solution pH during the preparation of hydroponic solutions: reduced availability of Al due to the formation of hydroxyaluminosilicate (HAS) species in those solutions during plant growth; or in planta detoxification. It is now known that it is possible to make up Al and Si solutions in an order in Which pH is lowered prior to Al addition: in these cases amelioration has still been observed. Amelioration has also been noted in experiments where HAS formation is minimal. These observations would suggest that, at least under some circumstances, there is an in planta component to the amelioration phenomenon. Several microanalytical investigations have noted codeposition of Al and Si in root cell walls. We propose a model in which root cell walls are the main internal sites of aluminosilicate (AS) and/or HAS formation and of Al detoxification. Factors promoting AS/HAS formation in this compartment include: high apoplastic pH; the presence of organic substances (e.g. malate); and the presence of suitable local concentrations of reactive forms of Al and Si, on or within the surfaces of the wall matrix. All these are likely to be important in the amelioration of Al toxicity.

The amelioration of aluminium toxicity by silicon in higher plants : Solution chemistry or an in planta mechanism?

Sad1/UNC-84 (SUN)-domain proteins are inner nuclear membrane (INM) proteins that are part of bridging complexes linking cytoskeletal elements with the nucleoskeleton, and have been shown to be conserved in non-plant systems. In this paper, we report the presence of members of this family in the plant kingdom, and investigate the two Arabidopsis SUN-domain proteins, AtSUN1 and AtSUN2. Our results indicate they contain the highly conserved C-terminal SUN domain, and share similar structural features with animal and fungal SUN-domain proteins including a functional coiled-coil domain and nuclear localization signal. Both are expressed in various tissues with AtSUN2 expression levels relatively low but upregulated in proliferating tissues. Further, we found AtSUN1 and AtSUN2 expressed as fluorescent protein fusions, to localize to and show low mobility in the nuclear envelope (NE), particularly in the INM. Deletion of various functional domains including the N terminus and coiled-coil domain affect the localization and increase the mobility of AtSUN1 and AtSUN2. Finally, we present evidence that AtSUN1 and AtSUN2 are present as homomers and heteromers in vivo, and that the coiled-coil domains are required for this. The study provides evidence suggesting the existence of cytoskeletal-nucleoskeletal bridging complexes at the plant NE.

https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-313X.2009.04038.x

David E. Evans

Papers

Characterisation of programmed cell death during aerenchyma formation induced by ethylene or hypoxia in roots of maize (Zea mays L.)

Aluminium/silicon interactions in higher plants

Active Calcium Transport by Plant Cell Membranes

The amelioration of aluminium toxicity by silicon in higher plants : Solution chemistry or an in planta mechanism?

Characterization of SUN-domain proteins at the higher plant nuclear envelope