Advances in Transgenic Mouse Models to Study Infections by Human Pathogenic Viruses

Medical research is changing into direction of precision therapy, thus, sophisticated preclinical models are urgently needed. In human pathogenic virus research, the major technical hurdle is not only to translate discoveries from animals to treatments of humans, but also to overcome the problem of interspecies differences with regard to productive infections and comparable disease development. Transgenic mice provide a basis for research of disease pathogenesis after infection with human-specific viruses. Today, humanized mice can be found at the very heart of this forefront of medical research allowing for recapitulation of disease pathogenesis and drug mechanisms in humans. This review discusses progress in the development and use of transgenic mice for the study of virus-induced human diseases towards identification of new drug innovations to treat and control human pathogenic infectious diseases.     

Metabolomics of Genetically Modified Crops

Metabolomic-based approaches are increasingly applied to analyse genetically modified organisms (GMOs) making it possible to obtain broader and deeper information on the composition of GMOs compared to that obtained from traditional analytical approaches. The combination in metabolomics of advanced analytical methods and bioinformatics tools provides wide chemical compositional data that contributes to corroborate (or not) the substantial equivalence and occurrence of unintended changes resulting from genetic transformation. This review provides insight into recent progress in metabolomics studies on transgenic crops focusing mainly in papers published in the last decade.     

Consumer Sensory Analysis of High Flavonoid Transgenic Tomatoes

Tomatoes have ameliorative effects on cardiovascular disease and cancer. In this study, metabolic engineering of flavonoids was utilized to improve the nutritional value of tomatoes by increasing flavonol and anthocyanin content. Total flavonol content was significantly increased in both the peel and flesh using the onion chalcone isomerase (CHI) gene. The Delila (Del) and Rosea1 (Ros1) genes from the snapdragon Antirrhinum majus were concomitantly expressed to produce an anthocyanin‐rich tomato which was purple in color. Sensory evaluation by a panel of 81 untrained consumers revealed no significant difference in liking of color or texture between CHI, Del/Ros1, and wild‐type tomatoes. Consumers reported marginal but significantly higher preference for the flavor and overall liking of CHI tomatoes over Del/Ros1 and wild‐type tomatoes. This study is the first to report the results of sensory tests of transgenic tomatoes by a consumer panel representing the general consuming public.     

抗除草剂转基因作物在美国杂草防除中的地位

以美国为例,介绍了抗除草剂转基因作物在杂草防除中的地位。     

Ordered structure and thermal property of acid-modified high-amylose rice starch

High-amylose cereal starch has a great benefit on human health. Acid modification is very helpful for application of high-amylose starch in food and non-food industries. In this study, the ordered structure of acid-modified high-amylose rice starch was investigated by GPC, HPAEC, ¹³C CP/MAS NMR and XRD. Acid preferentially degraded the amylose, then A chain and short B chain of amylopectin. Relative double helix content and crystallinity both initially increased sharply and then progressively with acid hydrolysis. The relative crystallinity of starches obtained from ¹³C CP/MAS NMR was higher than that from XRD. The onset gelatinisation temperature decreased, while the peak and conclusion temperatures increased with increasing hydrolysis time. The endothermic value initially increased and then decreased with acid hydrolysis. The swelling power decreased while solubility increased after acid hydrolysis. These results add to our understanding of the effect of acid hydrolysis on the high-amylose rice starch.     

棉花优质高产抗旱节水技术大田试验研究

按照生态农业工程理论和抗旱节水工程技术要求,对棉花转基因抗旱品种、不同密度、不同基肥N、P的施用量进行田间水分胁迫综合试验.经在关中灌区3年试验研究结果表明:密度以每公顷种植7.5万株比种植4.5、6万株分别增产671.854、83.30 kg,增产57.49%和41.36%.品种陕402(早熟)、陕576(中早熟)分别比中棉所41(中熟)增产16.62%和16.17%.施磷酸二铵比尿素增产,每公顷施1502、25 kg分别增产11.35%和10.53%.抗旱节水农业工程育种和农艺节水工程技术结合,不仅可降低生产成本44%~47%,还可提高产量和品质,增收1 050~5 000元/hm2,同时节约了水资源,保护了农业生态环境.     

铁蛋白转基因水稻与亲本的稻米营养成分的比较研究

对3份转Fer基因水稻与亲本的稻米营养成分进行了比较与分析,发现其中2份转Fer基因水稻(F2-5和F10-4)铁含量为野生型亲本秀水11的2.21和2.18倍,由此表明,铁蛋白基因表达与稻米铁含量变化有一定相关性。进一步鉴定表明,转基因稻米其它矿质元素以及粗蛋白、粗脂肪、淀粉、粗纤维、总灰分、氨基酸、维生素等关键性营养成分与亲本差异不显著,转基因未改变原亲本的其他品质性状。并就转Fer基因稻米的食品安全性以及转入的外源基因等问题进行了讨论。     

Purification and characterization of recombinant human erythropoietin from milk of transgenic pigs

BACKGROUND: Human erythropoietin (hEPO), a hydrophobic acidic glycoprotein responsible for the regulation of red blood cell production in mammals, is used for the treatment of anemia. In general, the purification of transgenic animal‐derived therapeutic proteins is not easy due to their low titer concentrations and abundant contaminant proteins. For the first time, here the purification and characterization of rhEPO from the milk of transgenic pigs are described. RESULTS: The rhEPO was purified by heparin chromatography, reverse‐phase chromatography, and gel filtration chromatography, resulting in a 16.5% yield and > 98% purity. The rhEPO purified from the milk of transgenic pigs contained less acidic isoforms and was underglycosylated in contrast to CHO‐derived rhEPO. Cell proliferation of the F‐36/EPO‐dependent cell line was proportional to the dose of transgenic pig‐derived rhEPO. CONCLUSION: Transgenic pig‐derived rhEPO with high purity was achieved after three‐step chromatography following two‐step precipitation. The transgenic pig‐derived rhEPO was demonstrated to have comparable potency with CHO‐derived rhEPO. Transgenic pig‐derived rhEPO may not be therapeutically feasible because of different glycosylation, and thus further studies are required to elucidate the effect of this aberrant glycosylation on the biological activity and stability in vivo. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry