HbCIPK2, a novel CBL-interacting protein kinase from halophyte Hordeum brevisubulatum, confers salt and osmotic stress tolerance

Protein kinases play an important role in regulating the response to abiotic stress in plant. CIPKs are plant‐specific signal transducers, and some members have been identified. However, the precise functions of novel CIPKs still remain unknown. Here we report that HbCIPK2 is a positive regulator of salt and osmotic stress tolerance. HbCIPK2 was screened out of the differentially expressed fragments from halophyte Hordeum brevisubulatum by cDNA‐AFLP technique, and was a single‐copy gene without intron. Expression of HbCIPK2 was increased by salt, drought and ABA treatment. HbCIPK2 is mainly localized to the plasma membrane and nucleus. Ectopic expression of 35S:HbCIPK2 not only rescued the salt hypersensitivity in Arabidopsis mutant sos2‐1, but also enhanced salt tolerance in Arabidopsis wild type, and exhibited tolerance to osmotic stress during germination. The HbCIPK2 contributed to the ability to prevent K⁺ loss in root and to accumulate less Na⁺ in shoot resulting in K⁺/Na⁺ homeostasis and protection of root cell from death, which is consistent with the gene expression profile of HbCIPK2‐overexpressing lines. These findings imply possible novel HbCIPK2‐mediated salt signalling pathways or networks in H. brevisubulatum.     

Melamine Impairs Female Fertility via Suppressing Protein Level of Juno in Mouse Eggs

Melamine is an organic nitrogenous compound widely used as an industrial chemical, and it has been recently reported by us that melamine has a toxic effect on the female reproductive system in mice, and renders females subfertile; the molecular basis, however, has not been adequately assessed. In the present study, we explore the underlying mechanism regarding how melamine compromises fertility in the mouse. The data showed that melamine exposure significantly impaired the fertilization capability of the egg during in vitro fertilization. To further figure out the cause, we analyzed ovastacin localization and protein level, the sperm binding ability of zona pellucida, and ZP2 cleavage status in unfertilized eggs from melamine fed mice, and no obvious differences were found between control and treatment groups. However, the protein level of Juno on the egg plasma membrane in the high-dose feeding group indeed significantly decreased compared to the control group. Thus, these data suggest that melamine compromises female fertility via suppressing Juno protein level on the egg membrane.     

GTP is required for iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis in mitochondria

Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster biogenesis in mitochondria is an essential process and is conserved from yeast to humans. Several proteins with Fe-S cluster cofactors reside in mitochondria, including aconitase [4Fe-4S] and ferredoxin [2Fe-2S]. We found that mitochondria isolated from wild-type yeast contain a pool of apoaconitase and machinery capable of forming new clusters and inserting them into this endogenous apoprotein pool. These observations allowed us to develop assays to assess the role of nucleotides (GTP and ATP) in cluster biogenesis in mitochondria. We show that Fe-S cluster biogenesis in isolated mitochondria is enhanced by the addition of GTP and ATP. Hydrolysis of both GTP and ATP is necessary, and the addition of ATP cannot circumvent processes that require GTP hydrolysis. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments suggest that GTP must enter into the matrix to exert its effects on cluster biogenesis. Upon import into isolated mitochondria, purified apoferredoxin can also be used as a substrate by the Fe-S cluster machinery in a GTP-dependent manner. GTP is likely required for a common step involved in the cluster biogenesis of aconitase and ferredoxin. To our knowledge this is the first report demonstrating a role of GTP in mitochondrial Fe-S cluster biogenesis.     

Dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and glomalin under <Emphasis Type="Italic">Psammochloa villosa</Emphasis> along a typical dune in desert,North China

The temporal and spatial dynamics of AM fungi and glomalin were investigated in Saibei sandland, North China. The soil samples in the rhizosphere of Psammochloa villosa were collected from the three sites (the top-dune, mid-dune, and foot-dune) along one typical dune in June, August, and October 2013 and 2014. The results demonstrated that P. villosa could form symbiotic relationships with AM fungi. The AM fungal status and glomalin significantly differed among the three studied plots and six sampling times. Correlation coefficient analysis revealed that spore density was significantly and positively correlated with soil moisture, soil organic carbon (SOC), available K, and phosphatase activities. Furthermore, the total infection level was significantly and positively correlated with soil edaphic factors. The two glomalin-related soil proteins (total glomalin-related soil proteins and easily extractable glomalin-related soil proteins) were also significantly and positively correlated with soil edaphic factors. The means of total glomalin-related soil proteins (T-GRSP,TG) and easily extractable glomalin-related soil proteins (EE-GRSP,EEG) were 3.03 and 0.68 mg·g^?1, respectively. The GRSP levels in Saibei sandland were lower than those in grassland soils, but the GRSP:SOC ratios were higher than those noted in grassland and some desert soils. Thus, the dynamics of AM fungi and glomalin exhibited highly temporal and spatial patterns, which were influenced by soil factors in Saibei sandland. Moreover, AM fungal infections and glomalin may be useful to monitor desertification and soil degradation.     

人肝癌血清对人体胚胎干细胞文库的筛选及方法改进

用人肝癌血清从人体胚胎干细胞cDNA表达文库中筛选肝癌相关抗原,并对SEREX条件方法的改良作进一步的探索。将已构建好的人胚胎干细胞cDNA表达文库进行滴度计算。利用38例原发性肝癌病人血清,结合SEREX技术,应用Western blot方法,对表达文库中的相关抗原做血清学免疫筛选。同时,对SEREX技术贴膜条件及假阳性的排除方法进行改良。cDNA表达文库滴度为3.8×10~8pfu/ml,筛选出阳性克隆有31个。从人胚胎干细胞cDNA表达文库中能筛查到部分有效的肝癌肿瘤相关抗原,为后续工作提供宝贵资料。     

Characterization of the Xanthomonas AvrXv4 effector, a SUMO protease translocated into plant cells

Homologs of the Yersinia virulence factor YopJ are found in both animal and plant bacterial pathogens, as well as in plant symbionts. The conservation of this effector family indicates that several pathogens may use YopJ-like proteins to regulate bacteria-host interactions during infection. YopJ and YopJ-like proteins share structural homology with cysteine proteases and are hypothesized to functionally mimic small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) proteases in eukaryotic cells. Strains of the phytopathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria are known to possess four YopJ-like proteins, AvrXv4, AvrBsT, AvrRxv, and XopJ. In this work, we have characterized AvrXv4 to determine if AvrXv4 functions like a SUMO protease in planta during Xanthomonas-plant interactions. We provide evidence that X. campestris pv. vesicatoria secretes and translocates the AvrXv4 protein into plant cells during infection in a type III-dependent manner. Once inside the plant cell, AvrXv4 is localized to the plant cytoplasm. By performing AvrXv4 deletion and mutational analysis, we have identified amino acids required for type III delivery and for host recognition. We show that AvrXv4 recognition by resistant plants requires a functional protease catalytic core, the domain that is conserved in all of the putative YopJ-like cysteine proteases. We also show that AvrXv4 expression in planta leads to a reduction in SUMO-modified proteins, demonstrating that AvrXv4 possesses SUMO isopeptidase activity. Overall, our studies reveal that the YopJ-like effector AvrXv4 encodes a type III SUMO protease effector that is active in the cytoplasmic compartment of plant cells.     

致幻毒蘑菇卵囊裸盖菇化学成分研究初探

从一种采集于贵州省的致幻毒蘑菇——卵囊裸盖菇Psilocybe ovoideocystidiata中首次分离得到3种化合物,分别是3β-羟基-5α,8α-桥二氧麦角甾-6,22E-二烯(化合物1)、β-D-葡萄糖(化合物2)和腺苷(化合物3)。基于高分辨质谱与核磁共振谱数据以及相关文献比对确定以上3种化合物的结构,并首次推导出化合物2和3质谱裂解规律,其中重排与中性丢失在质谱裂解过程中起主导作用。利用UPLC-MS/MS法对卵囊裸盖菇的干燥子实体和新鲜子实体中的裸盖菇素和脱磷裸盖菇素进行检测,在干燥子实体中检测到裸盖菇素和脱磷裸盖菇素,但在-80 ℃保存6个月的新鲜子实体中未检测到裸盖菇素和脱磷裸盖菇素,推测可能是由于保存方法和提取方法的原因导致化合物发生变化。