Zhizhou Zhang

Enhanced amplification of GC-rich DNA with two organic reagents

Amplification of GC-rich DNA sequences is still a difficult task worldwide. Two frequently seen and inexpensive reagents-ethylene glycol and 1,2-propanediol-were found to be more effective than betaine in the amplification of 104 randomly selected GC-rich human DNA sequences with GC contents of 60-80% and lengths of 700-800 bp.

Gene Network Study Revealed Molecular Links Among Genes for Alcohol Metabolism and Breast Cancer Susceptibility

The relationship between alcohol consumption and onsets of breast cancer (BC) keeps obscure. A local gene network (LGN) was constructed using 24 breast cancer susceptibility genes that participate in known signal transduction pathways. It was found that the LGN was able to directly link several genes (ALDH, ADH1B and HDAC1) that have approved functions in alcohol metabolism. Further analysis indicated that the above three genes were associated with each other by other genes and metabolic molecules. Microarray data from 106 individual breast cancer patients and 4 normal people indicated that several key alcohol metabolism related genes were de-regulated and would induce genotypic combinations with the BC-specific LGN.

Local Gene Network Pattern (LGNP) Approach to Tackle Mechanisms of Complicated Phenotypes

In the post-genome era, high-throughput technologies such as DNA microarray are generating large amount of functional data. But in face of lots of data, biologists still lack efficient ways to investigate complicated relations of multi-genes. In this study, hypertension related gene database and lab-made microarray data from peripheral blood samples of hypertension people and normal people were combined to postulate a collection of genes possibly sensitive to dietary intake of low-sodium salt, and a novel local gene network pattern (LGNP) approach was employed to directly describe possible connections among those most susceptible genes. LGNP display would be useful for primary analysis of gene network data aiming at multi-gene relationship for any biological phenotype.

Molecular Association between Diabetes-Specific Local Gene Network and Nutrient Metabolism Modules

Local gene network pattern (LGNP) is a useful tool to display complex relationship between multiple genes. A diabetes-specific local gene network (LGN) was constructed with 29 genes (including 9 diabetes susceptibility genes and 20 extra genes to join them) that participate in 30 biological pathways. Further analysis indicated diabetes-specific LGN has close relations with carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, cofactor and vitamin metabolism. Especially, molecular links demonstrated diabetes was associated with alanine and nicotinamide metabolism, consistent with previous reports. Preliminary six microarray data revealed that some key nutrient metabolism related genes were de-regulated in insulin treated muscles, providing clues how to transform diabetes-specific-LGNP with personalized nutrient formula in future.

Measuring the Effect of Chromate Pollution on Duckweed Half-Fronds by Chlorophyll Fluorescence

Accumulated chromate from the medium was responsible for the inhibition of the photosystem II. In this study, we focused on the alteration of the photosynthetic apparatus through analysis of the Chlorophyll a fluorescence of duckweed half-fronds. Chromate induced the K step on the fluorescence transient in 6-BA treated half-fronds. Chromate affected several targets of photosynthetic II apparatus. The oxygen evolving complex (OEC) was the more highly sensitive to chromate than the reaction center (RC) in 6-BA treated half-fronds. We showed that 6-BA treated half-fronds would be taken as a potential useful system to estimate the effect of water pollution.