A basal sphenodontian (Lepidosauria) from the Jurassic of Patagonia: new insights on the phylogeny and biogeography of Gondwanan rhynchocephalians

Herein we describe a new rhynchocephalian taxon from the Middle Jurassic of Patagonia, Argentina, representing the first Jurassic record of the group in South America. The new taxon, consisting of a complete dentary, is ascribed to Sphenodontia based on the presence of a deep and wide Meckelian groove, long posterior process, well‐developed coronoid process, and acrodont teeth showing dental regionalization including successional, alternate hatchling, and additional series. This allocation is reinforced by a phylogenetic analysis that places the new taxon in a basal position within a clade of sphenodontians that excludes Diphydontosaurus and Planocephalosaurus. Additionally, the new taxon clusters within a Gondwanan clade with the Indian Godavarisaurus from the Jurassic Kota Formation, sharing the presence of recurved and relatively large posterior successional teeth that are ribbed and bear a peculiar anterolingual groove. This sister‐group relationship is intriguing from a palaeobiogeographical viewpoint, as it suggests some degree of endemism during the initial stages of the breakup of Pangaea. We also discuss the ontogenetic stage of the new taxon and provide insights on the evolution of successional dentition in rhynchocephalians. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 166 , 342–360.     

Dynamic localisation of Ran GTPase during the cell cycle

Background  

Ran GTPase has multiple functions during the cell division cycle, including nucleocytoplasmic transport, mitotic spindle assembly and nuclear envelope formation. The activity of Ran is determined by both its guanine nucleotide-bound state and its subcellular localization.     

Optimization of physical factors affecting the production of thermo-stable organic solvent-tolerant protease from a newly isolated halo tolerant Bacillus subtilis strain Rand

Background  

Many researchers have reported on the optimization of protease production; nevertheless, only a few have reported on the optimization of the production of organic solvent-tolerant proteases. Ironically, none has reported on thermostable organic solvent-tolerant protease to date. The aim of this study was to isolate the thermostable organic solvent-tolerant protease and identify the culture conditions which support its production. The bacteria of genus Bacillus are active producers of extra-cellular proteases, and the thermostability of enzyme production by Bacillus species has been well-studied by a number of researchers. In the present study, the Bacillus subtilis strain Rand was isolated from the contaminated soil found in Port Dickson, Malaysia.     

The phylogenetic origin of the bifunctional tyrosine-pathway protein in the enteric lineage of bacteria

Because bifunctional enzymes are distinctive and highly conserved products of relatively infrequent gene-fusion events, they are particularly useful markers to identify clusters of organisms at different hierarchical levels of a phylogenetic tree. Within the subdivision of gram-negative bacteria known as superfamily B, there are two distinctive types of tyrosine-pathway dehydrogenases: (1) a broad- specificity dehydrogenase (recently termed cyclohexadienyl dehydrogenase [CDH]) that can utilize either prephenate or L-arogenate as alternative substrates and (2) a bifunctional CDH that also posseses chorismate mutase activity. (T-proteins). The bifunctional T-protein, thought to be encoded by fused ancestral genes for chorismate mutase and CDH, was found to be present in enteric bacteria (Escherichia, Shigella, Salmonella, Citrobacter, Klebsiella, Erwinia, Serratia, Morganella, Cedecea, Kluyvera, Hafnia, Edwardsiella, Yersinia, and Proteus) and in Aeromonas and Alteromonas. Outside of the latter "enteric lineage," the T-protein is absent in other major superfamily-B genera, such as Pseudomonas (rRNA homology group I), Xanthomonas, Acinetobacter, and Oceanospirillum. Hence, the T-protein must have evolved after the divergence of the enteric and Oceanospirillum lineages. 3-Deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthase-phe, an early-pathway isozyme sensitive to feedback inhibition by L- phenylalanine, has been found in each member of the enteric lineage examined. The absence of both the T-protein and DAHP synthase-phe elsewhere in superfamily B indicates the emergence of these character states at approximately the same evolutionary time.      

Molecular phylogenetics of Stenodermatini bat genera: congruence of data from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA

Within the tribe Stenodermatini the systematics of the complex of species allied with the genus Artibeus has generated several alternative phylogenetic hypotheses. The most recent treatment recognized four genera (Artibeus, Dermanura, Enchisthenes, and Koopmania) and suggested that the most recent common ancestor of these four genera would include the common ancestor of all other currently recognized Stenodermatini genera except Sturnira. To test this hypothesis, we examined an EcoRI-defined nuclear satellite DNA repeat and 402 bp of DNA sequence variation from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Phylogenetic conclusions based on Southern blot analyses, in situ hybridization, and mitochondrial DNA sequence data indicate that Enchisthenes is not closely related to Dermanura, Artibeus, or Koopmania and that Dermanura, Artibeus, and Koopmania shared a common ancestor after diverging from the remainder of the Stenodermatini. If our conclusions are correct, then justification for recognizing Dermanura and Koopmania as generically distinct from Artibeus must be based on the magnitude of difference that distinguishes each rather than on the conclusion that to place them as congeneric with Artibeus creates a paraphyletic taxon.      

Biotinyl-l-3-(2-naphthyl)-alanine hydrazide derivatives of N-glycans: versatile solid-phase probes for carbohydrate-recognition studies

Biotinyl-oligosaccharides are a relatively new generation of saccharide probes that enable immobilization of desired oligosaccharides on streptavidin matrices for studies of carbohydrate-protein interactions. Here we describe the facile preparation of biotinyl-l-3-(2-naphthyl)- alanine hydrazide (BNAH) derivatives of oligosaccharides, containing a strong UV absorbing and fluorescent group, in which the ring of the reducing-end monosaccharide is nonreduced. We evaluate reactivities of immobilized BNAH- N -glycans with plant lectins that recognize aspects of the oligosaccharide core or outer-arms. We make some comparisons with 2-amino-6-amidobiotinyl-pyridine (BAP) derivatives obtained by reductive amination, and 6-(biotinyl)-aminocaproyl-hydrazide (BACH) derivatives which have a longer spacer-arm. N -Glycan-BNAH and-BAP derivatives have, overall, comparable reactivities with lectins which recognize N -glycan outer-arms or the trimannosyl core, but only BNAH and BACH derivatives are bound by lectins which recognize the non- reduced core. Moreover, with Pisum sativum agglutinin (PSA) which additionally requires the fucosyl- N- glycan-asparaginyl core for high affinity binding, the immobilized BNAH derivative (which is an alanine hydrazide beta-glycoside) can substitute for the natural beta- glycosylasparaginyl core, whereas the BACH derivative (aminocaproyl- hydrazide-beta-glycoside) is less effective. BNAH is a derivatization reagent of choice, therefore, for solid phase carbohydrate-binding experiments with immobilized N -glycans.      

New conformational constraints in isotopically (13C) enriched oligosaccharides

Multidimensional heteronuclear NMR studies have been applied to the resonance assignment and conformational analysis of 13C-enriched Neu5Acalpha2-3Galbeta1-4Glc. It is demonstrated that three-dimensional ROESY-HSQC experiments provide through-space distance restraints which cannot be observed with conventional homonuclear 1H techniques due to resonance overlap. In particular, connectivities demonstrating the existence of the "anti" conformation about the Galbeta1-4Glc glycosidic linkage are unambiguously observed. It is shown that 13C isotopic enrichment of the trisaccharide at a level >95% enables straightforward measurement of trans-glycosidic 1H-13C and 13C-13C coupling constants and a Karplus-type relation is derived for the latter. In total 15 conformational restraints were obtained for the trisaccharide in aqueous solution, all of which were in excellent agreement with theoretical parameters computed from a 5 ns molecular dynamics simulation of the glycan.      

Trypanosoma brucei mitochondrial ribosomes: affinity purification and component identification by mass spectrometry

Although eukaryotic mitochondrial (mt) ribosomes evolved from a putative prokaryotic ancestor their compositions vary considerably among organisms. We determined the protein composition of tandem affinity-purified Trypanosoma brucei mt ribosomes by mass spectrometry and identified 133 proteins of which 77 were associated with the large subunit and 56 were associated with the small subunit. Comparisons with bacterial and mammalian mt ribosomal proteins identified T. brucei mt homologs of L2-4, L7/12, L9, L11, L13-17, L20-24, L27-30, L33, L38, L43, L46, L47, L49, L52, S5, S6, S8, S9, S11, S15-18, S29, and S34, although the degree of conservation varied widely. Sequence characteristics of some of the component proteins indicated apparent functions in rRNA modification and processing, protein assembly, and mitochondrial metabolism implying possible additional roles for these proteins. Nevertheless most of the identified proteins have no homology outside Kinetoplastida implying very low conservation and/or a divergent function in kinetoplastid mitochondria.     

Mitochondrial complexes in Trypanosoma brucei: a novel complex and a unique oxidoreductase complex

African trypanosomes, early diverged eukaryotes and the agents of sleeping sickness, have several basic cellular processes that are remarkably divergent from those in their mammalian hosts. They have large mitochondria and switch between oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis as the major pathways for energy generation during their life cycle. We report here the identification and characterization of several multiprotein mitochondrial complexes from procyclic form Trypanosoma brucei. These were identified and purified using a panel of monoclonal antibodies that were generated against a submitochondrial protein fraction and using tandem affinity purification (TAP) tag affinity chromatography and localized within the cells by immunofluorescence. Protein composition analyses by mass spectrometry revealed substantial divergence of oxidoreductase complex from that of other organisms and identified a novel complex that may have a function associated with nucleic acids. The relationship to divergent physiological processes in these pathogens is discussed.