To understand how the nervous system develops from a small pool of progenitors during early embryonic development,it is fundamentally important to identify the diversity of neuronal subtypes,decode the origin of neuro...To understand how the nervous system develops from a small pool of progenitors during early embryonic development,it is fundamentally important to identify the diversity of neuronal subtypes,decode the origin of neuronal diversity,and uncover the principles governing neuronal specification across different regions.Recent single-cell analyses have systematically identified neuronal diversity at unprecedented scale and speed,leaving the deconstruction of spatiotemporal mechanisms for generating neuronal diversity an imperative and paramount challenge.In this review,we highlight three distinct strategies deployed by neural progenitors to produce diverse neuronal subtypes,including predetermined,stochastic,and cascade diversifying models,and elaborate how these strategies are implemented in distinct regions such as the neocortex,spinal cord,retina,and hypothalamus.Importantly,the identity of neural progenitors is defined by their spatial position and temporal patterning factors,and each type of progenitor cell gives rise to distinguishable cohorts of neuronal subtypes.Microenvironmental cues,spontaneous activity,and connectional pattern further reshape and diversify the fate of unspecialized neurons in particular regions.The illumination of how neuronal diversity is generated will pave the way for producing specific brain organoids to model human disease and desired neuronal subtypes for cell therapy,as well as understanding the organization of functional neural circuits and the evolution of the nervous system.展开更多
Many metabolites produced by various microorganisms have proven their usefulness in the area concerning human health. However, most of their diverse natural compound biosyntheses are hardly discovered. These metabolit...Many metabolites produced by various microorganisms have proven their usefulness in the area concerning human health. However, most of their diverse natural compound biosyntheses are hardly discovered. These metabolites might have specific or novel functions and these diverse active compounds can be achieved by biosynthesis, semi-biosynthesis, or chemical synthesis. A strategy to exploit the biosynthesis potential of a fungal strain is to use various culture conditions and to evaluate the chemical profiles of the culture extracts. The value of this approach was demonstrated with the fungal strain Aigialus parvus BCC 5311, producer of hypothemycin, aigialospirol, and aigialomycin A-D. The optimization of hypothemycin production and its derivative diversity by Aigialus parvus BCC 5311 was carried out using qualitative (general factorial design) and quantitative analysis (two-level fractional factorial design). Qualitative analysis revealed that soluble starch and yeast extract were shown to be the best carbon and nitrogen source respectively for the production of hypothemycin, aigialospirol and aigialomycin A-D. Quantitative analysis showed that the initial pH of culture medium is the most important factor that affects the production of hypothemycin and its derivatives (aigialospirol and aigialomycin A-D) production. Optimal medium composition used in a 5 L bioreactor generated a specific growth rate of A. parvus BCC 5311 of 0.0295 h-1, biomass yield of 1.6 g×gstarch-1, hypothemycin yield of 13.6 mg×gbiomass-1, and hypothemycin production rate of 0.6 mg×L-1×day-1. The maximum concentration of 58.0 mg×L-1 of hypothemycin was obtained at 120 h of culturing. Furthermore, the Aigialomycin A-D and Aigialospirol obtained were diversified towards various cultural conditions used. The high amount of hypothemycin produced and the diversity of derivatives obtained from this study should be useful for future mass production.展开更多
This autumn fruitful autumn,Beijing International Studies University(BISU)is about to celebrate the54th anniversary since its foundation.Meanwhile,the Department of English established in1964turned into the School of ...This autumn fruitful autumn,Beijing International Studies University(BISU)is about to celebrate the54th anniversary since its foundation.Meanwhile,the Department of English established in1964turned into the School of English Language,Literature and Culture(SELLC)in2009.Are there any moving stories behind these name-changes,and did the teaching philosophy change accordingly?展开更多
Chemosensation is the most ubiquitous sense in animals,enacted by the products of complex gene families that detect environmental chemical cues and larger-scale sensory structures that process these cues.While there i...Chemosensation is the most ubiquitous sense in animals,enacted by the products of complex gene families that detect environmental chemical cues and larger-scale sensory structures that process these cues.While there is a general conception that olfactory receptor(OR)genes evolve rapidly,the universality of this phenomenon across vertebrates,and its magnitude,are unclear.The supposed correlation between molecular rates of chemosensory evolution and phenotypic diversity of chemosensory systems is largely untested.We combine comparative genomics and sensory morphology to test whether OR genes and olfactory phenotypic traits evolve at faster rates than other genes or traits.Using published genomes,we identified ORs in 21 tetrapods,including amphibia ns,reptiles,birds,and mammals and compared their rates of evolution to those of orthologous non-OR protein-coding genes.We found that,for all clades investigated,most OR genes evolve nearly an order of magnitude faster than other protein-coding genes,with many OR genes showing signatures of diversifying selection across nearly all taxa in this study.This rapid rate of evolution suggests that chemoreceptor genes are in "evolutionary overdrive,"perhaps evolving in response to the ever-changing chemical space of the environment.To obtain complementary morphological data,we stained whole fixed specimens with iodine,μCT-scanned the specimens,and digitally segmented chemosensory and nonchemosensory brain regions.We then estimated phenotypic variation within traits and among tetrapods.While we found considerable variation in chemosensory structures,they were no more diverse than nonchemosensory regions.We suggest chemoreceptor genes evolve quickly in reflection of an ever-changing chemical space,whereas chemosensory phe no types and processing regions are more conserved because they use a standardized or constrained architecture to receive and process a range of chemical cues.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(2019YFA0801900 and 2018YFA0801104)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81891002,32070972,31921002,and 31771131)+2 种基金the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB32020000)the Hundred-Talent Program(Chinese Academy of Sciences)the Beijing Municipal Science&Technology Commission(Z210010 and Z181100001518001).
文摘To understand how the nervous system develops from a small pool of progenitors during early embryonic development,it is fundamentally important to identify the diversity of neuronal subtypes,decode the origin of neuronal diversity,and uncover the principles governing neuronal specification across different regions.Recent single-cell analyses have systematically identified neuronal diversity at unprecedented scale and speed,leaving the deconstruction of spatiotemporal mechanisms for generating neuronal diversity an imperative and paramount challenge.In this review,we highlight three distinct strategies deployed by neural progenitors to produce diverse neuronal subtypes,including predetermined,stochastic,and cascade diversifying models,and elaborate how these strategies are implemented in distinct regions such as the neocortex,spinal cord,retina,and hypothalamus.Importantly,the identity of neural progenitors is defined by their spatial position and temporal patterning factors,and each type of progenitor cell gives rise to distinguishable cohorts of neuronal subtypes.Microenvironmental cues,spontaneous activity,and connectional pattern further reshape and diversify the fate of unspecialized neurons in particular regions.The illumination of how neuronal diversity is generated will pave the way for producing specific brain organoids to model human disease and desired neuronal subtypes for cell therapy,as well as understanding the organization of functional neural circuits and the evolution of the nervous system.
文摘Many metabolites produced by various microorganisms have proven their usefulness in the area concerning human health. However, most of their diverse natural compound biosyntheses are hardly discovered. These metabolites might have specific or novel functions and these diverse active compounds can be achieved by biosynthesis, semi-biosynthesis, or chemical synthesis. A strategy to exploit the biosynthesis potential of a fungal strain is to use various culture conditions and to evaluate the chemical profiles of the culture extracts. The value of this approach was demonstrated with the fungal strain Aigialus parvus BCC 5311, producer of hypothemycin, aigialospirol, and aigialomycin A-D. The optimization of hypothemycin production and its derivative diversity by Aigialus parvus BCC 5311 was carried out using qualitative (general factorial design) and quantitative analysis (two-level fractional factorial design). Qualitative analysis revealed that soluble starch and yeast extract were shown to be the best carbon and nitrogen source respectively for the production of hypothemycin, aigialospirol and aigialomycin A-D. Quantitative analysis showed that the initial pH of culture medium is the most important factor that affects the production of hypothemycin and its derivatives (aigialospirol and aigialomycin A-D) production. Optimal medium composition used in a 5 L bioreactor generated a specific growth rate of A. parvus BCC 5311 of 0.0295 h-1, biomass yield of 1.6 g×gstarch-1, hypothemycin yield of 13.6 mg×gbiomass-1, and hypothemycin production rate of 0.6 mg×L-1×day-1. The maximum concentration of 58.0 mg×L-1 of hypothemycin was obtained at 120 h of culturing. Furthermore, the Aigialomycin A-D and Aigialospirol obtained were diversified towards various cultural conditions used. The high amount of hypothemycin produced and the diversity of derivatives obtained from this study should be useful for future mass production.
文摘This autumn fruitful autumn,Beijing International Studies University(BISU)is about to celebrate the54th anniversary since its foundation.Meanwhile,the Department of English established in1964turned into the School of English Language,Literature and Culture(SELLC)in2009.Are there any moving stories behind these name-changes,and did the teaching philosophy change accordingly?
基金L.R.Y.was supported by the National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology(NSF-DBI 1812035)and the Linnean Society of London and the Systematics Association Systematics Research Fund.M.H.was supported by the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies Small Grants Program Doctoral Pilot Award.B.A.S.B.was supported by Yale University and the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies.
文摘Chemosensation is the most ubiquitous sense in animals,enacted by the products of complex gene families that detect environmental chemical cues and larger-scale sensory structures that process these cues.While there is a general conception that olfactory receptor(OR)genes evolve rapidly,the universality of this phenomenon across vertebrates,and its magnitude,are unclear.The supposed correlation between molecular rates of chemosensory evolution and phenotypic diversity of chemosensory systems is largely untested.We combine comparative genomics and sensory morphology to test whether OR genes and olfactory phenotypic traits evolve at faster rates than other genes or traits.Using published genomes,we identified ORs in 21 tetrapods,including amphibia ns,reptiles,birds,and mammals and compared their rates of evolution to those of orthologous non-OR protein-coding genes.We found that,for all clades investigated,most OR genes evolve nearly an order of magnitude faster than other protein-coding genes,with many OR genes showing signatures of diversifying selection across nearly all taxa in this study.This rapid rate of evolution suggests that chemoreceptor genes are in "evolutionary overdrive,"perhaps evolving in response to the ever-changing chemical space of the environment.To obtain complementary morphological data,we stained whole fixed specimens with iodine,μCT-scanned the specimens,and digitally segmented chemosensory and nonchemosensory brain regions.We then estimated phenotypic variation within traits and among tetrapods.While we found considerable variation in chemosensory structures,they were no more diverse than nonchemosensory regions.We suggest chemoreceptor genes evolve quickly in reflection of an ever-changing chemical space,whereas chemosensory phe no types and processing regions are more conserved because they use a standardized or constrained architecture to receive and process a range of chemical cues.
