Cloning and characterization of AMP-activated protein kinase genes in Daphnia pulex: Modulation of AMPK gene expression in response to polystyrene nanoparticles.

Energy metabolism is essential for almost all organisms. At the molecular level, adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays a vital role in cellular energy homeostasis. Its molecular characterization in invertebrates, including Daphnia pulex, and the understanding of its role in response to environmental contaminants is limited. In this study, three subunits of AMPK (AMPKα, ß, and γ) were cloned in D. pulex, and assigned the GenBank accession numbers MT536758, MT536759, and MT536760, respectively. Their full lengths were 2,000, 1,384, and 2594 bp, respectively, and contained open reading frames of 526, 274, and 580 amino acids, respectively. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that the three AMPK subunits all have features representative of the AMPK superfamily, and were correspondingly clustered with each orthologue branch. The three AMPK subunit genes, AMPKα, ß, and γ, had the highest similarity to those of other organisms at 82%, 94%, and 71%, respectively. Nanoplastics significantly increased AMPKα expression, but decreased that of AMPKß and γ. These results identified AMPKα, ß, and γ in D. pulex, and showed that they all encode proteins with conserved functional domains. This study provides basic information on how three types of AMPK in aquatic organisms respond to environmental contaminants.

Anthropogenically driven environmental changes shift the ecological dynamics of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.

Zoonoses are increasingly recognized as an important burden on global public health in the 21st century. High-resolution, long-term field studies are critical for assessing both the baseline and future risk scenarios in a world of rapid changes. We have used a three-decade-long field study on hantavirus, a rodent-borne zoonotic pathogen distributed worldwide, coupled with epidemiological data from an endemic area of China, and show that the shift in the ecological dynamics of Hantaan virus was closely linked to environmental fluctuations at the human-wildlife interface. We reveal that environmental forcing, especially rainfall and resource availability, exert important cascading effects on intra-annual variability in the wildlife reservoir dynamics, leading to epidemics that shift between stable and chaotic regimes. Our models demonstrate that bimodal seasonal epidemics result from a powerful seasonality in transmission, generated from interlocking cycles of agricultural phenology and rodent behavior driven by the rainy seasons.

Macrobenthic diversity in protected, disturbed, and newly formed intertidal wetlands of a subtropical estuary in China.

In this study, intertidal macrobenthic diversity in protected, disturbed, and newly formed wetlands of Yangtze estuary was assessed using PRIMER 5.2 based on species diversity and species relatedness. We observed high diversity in nature reserves and low diversity in adjacent disturbed and newly formed wetlands. These diversity data were then integrated with historical data to detect the variation in macrobenthic diversity over the past two decades. The integrated data indicated that the intertidal macrobenthic diversity sharply decreased in heavy reclamation tidal flats whereas markedly increased in non-disturbed nature reserve and newly formed wetland. Benthic health was observed with the departure degree of average taxonomic distinctness (Δ(+)) and variation in taxonomic distinctness (Λ(+)) from the simulated 95% confidence funnel. All the habitats were subjected to different levels of human interference, except Jiuduansha and Beigangbeisha. The degradation of intertidal wetland in Yangtze estuary was mainly attributed to land reclamation, overgrazing, and overfishing.

[Comparison of direct immune-fluorescent assay and real-time quantitative PCR in detecting the Hantavirus].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the differences between the direct immuno-fluorescent assay (DFA) and real-time quantitative PCR in detecting the Hantavirus (HV) in rat lungs. METHODS: From April to October in 2012, a total of 479 rats were caught by mouse-trap in residential or wild areas in Huxian, Jingyang, and Meixian of Shaanxi province, where haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) was highly prevalent. The rats were dissected to take the two lungs, one was frozen and applied immuno-fluorescent assay to detect HV antigen while the other one was extracted its RNA and detected HV nucleic acid by real-time quantitative PCR. Then we compared the positive rate of the two methods. RESULTS: Out of the 479 rats, 105 were caught from residential areas and the other 374 were caught from wild areas. Among the 105 rats caught from residential areas, no HV were detected out neither by DFA nor by real-time quantitative PCR. Among the 374 wild rats, 13.1% (49/374) were detected HV positive by DFA and 14.7% (55/374) were detected HV positive by real-time quantitative PCR. The difference showed no statistical significance (χ(2) = 0.402, P = 0.526). When detecting each lung sample, the HV positive rate was 10.2% (49/479) under the detection by DFA while the HV positive rate was 11.5% (55/479) under the detection by real-time quantitative PCR. The difference had no statistical significance (χ(2) = 1.286, P = 0.257) and the consistency coefficient was 68.2% under the paired chi-square test analysis, which showed high consistency (u = 11.759, P < 0.05). The sensitivity of real-time quantitative PCR to detect HV was 77.6% (38/49) comparing with DFA as standard, and the specificity was 96.1% (413/430). Out of the 9 suspected HV positive sample detected by DFA, 6 were confirmed positive by real-time quantitative PCR and 3 were denied. CONCLUSION: Compared with the DFA, real-time quantitative PCR could also be used to detect the infection of HV in rats, and the result might be more stable.

[Variations of zooplankton's community structure in reclaimed waters of Nanhui east tidal flat of Shanghai, East China].

From October 2010 to July 2011, an investigation was conducted on the zooplankton communities in reclaimed and natural waters in Nanhui east tidal flat to study the seasonal variations of the zooplankton's species composition, abundance, biomass, dominant species, and biodiversity, aimed to explore the differences in the zooplankton's community structure within and outside the reclaimed waters and the relationships of the community structure with several indispensable environmental factors such as water salinity, water temperature, and human activities. A total of 30 zooplankton species were identified, among which, 24 species were in reclaimed waters and dominated by rotifers, and 14 species were in natural waters and dominated by copepods. The average abundance of the zooplankton was obviously higher in reclaimed waters than in natural waters, but the average biomass was in adverse. The dominant species in reclaimed waters were freshwater species, such as Brachionus angularis, B. calyciflorus, and Mesocyclops leuckarti, while those in natural waters were brackish species, such as Sinocalanus sinensis, Schmackeria poplesia, and Tortanus vermiculus. Both in reclaimed and in natural waters, the dominant species had seasonal alternation. The Shannon index (H) and Pielou evenness index (J) of the zooplankton communities were higher in natural waters, but the Margalef species richness (d) and simplicity index (C) were higher in reclaimed waters. Cluster analysis and MDS evaluation indicated that there was an obvious difference in the community structure of zooplankton between reclaimed and natural waters. Reclamation could be the primary cause for the variations of the zooplankton's community structure in reclaimed waters, and environmental factors such as water salinity and tidal power also contributed to the variations.

[Long term epidemiological effects of vaccination on hemorrhagical fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Shaanxi provincial HFRS epidemic areas].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the protective rate and the variation of HFRS-IgG on hemorrhagical fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) vaccine. METHODS: Cluster, random sampling and cross-sectional study were used to assess the protective rate of HFRS vaccination. Level of HFRS-IgG was detected with ELISA in epidemic and non-epidemic areas of HFRS. RESULTS: Curve equation was obtained as Yprotective rate=(0.863+0.283/Xvaccination term)×100% by protective rate with vaccination term. Protective rates showed a reducing trend, 90% after 7-8 years of vaccination, 88% after 10 years, and 94% on average. Absorbance (A) value of HFRS-IgG was 4 times higher in persons with vaccination than those without, in the epidemic area. Higher antibody level could be obtained after primary vaccination, but the level of antibody had a 50% reduction after 5-10 years of vaccination, and a 60% reduction after 10 years of vaccination. CONCLUSION: HFRS antibody had a 50% reduction after 5-10 years of vaccination. The protective rate of HFRS vaccination had a 90% loss, after 7-8 years of vaccination. Booster dose was necessary after 7 years of vaccination.