Autophagy Contributes to Leaf Starch Degradation

Transitory starch, a major photosynthetic product in the leaves of land plants, accumulates in chloroplasts during the day and is hydrolyzed to maltose and Glc at night to support respiration and metabolism. Previous studies in Arabidopsis thaliana indicated that the degradation of transitory starch only occurs in the chloroplasts. Here, we report that autophagy, a nonplastidial process, participates in leaf starch degradation. Excessive starch accumulation was observed in Nicotiana benthamiana seedlings treated with an autophagy inhibitor and in autophagy-related (ATG) gene-silenced N. benthamiana and in Arabidopsis atg mutants. Autophagic activity in the leaves responded to the dynamic starch contents during the night. Microscopy showed that a type of small starch granule-like structure (SSGL) was localized outside the chloroplast and was sequestered by autophagic bodies. Moreover, an increased number of SSGLs was observed during starch depletion, and disruption of autophagy reduced the number of vacuole-localized SSGLs. These data suggest that autophagy contributes to transitory starch degradation by sequestering SSGLs to the vacuole for their subsequent breakdown.     

木尔坦棉花曲叶病毒基因重组和缺失产生DNAβ相关的新型小分子

【目的】棉花曲叶病是棉花生产上的一种重要的病毒病害,在巴基斯坦和印度等国家地区大面积流行,造成严重的经济损失。近年在中国广西南宁的棉花田间发现了棉花曲叶病害,在广西的黄秋葵中也发生了曲叶病,二者的病原均为木尔坦棉花曲叶病毒(Cotton Leaf Curl Multan Virus,CLCuMV),为了对这2个病害有更深的了解,本文对该双生病毒伴随的DNA小分子进行测序分析。【方法】分别从广西南宁地区感染CLCuMV的3棵棉花和3棵黄秋葵中提取总DNA,用CLCuMV DNAβ的特异引物进行PCR扩增,将产物分离纯化并克隆测序,进行序列比对分析。【结果】从棉花曲叶病害中分离得到了1384 nt的新型重组DNA分子,以及从黄秋葵曲叶病害中分离得到了754 nt的新型缺失型DNA分子。研究结果表明1384 nt重组分子是由CLCuMV GX1的DNA-A和DNAβ重组而成。重组分子大部分来源于CLCuMV的DNA-A,包含基因间隔区,附近的部分AV2和AC1基因,以及反向互补的部分AC3基因。其余部分来源于伴随的DNAβ,包含A-rich区域。分析拼接片段的附近序列,发现接头部分含有2-3个共同碱基,推测为重组作用发生的位点。与以前报道的在实验室中产生的CLCuMV重组分子进行比较显示,DNA-A的基因间隔区和DNAβ的A-rich区在重组过程中非常保守。另外,754 nt的重组小分子是由CLCuMV Okra1 DNAβ缺失突变产生,缺失了大部分的编码C1蛋白开放阅读框(Open Reading Frame,ORF)以及小部分的A-rich区。【结论】本研究在自然条件下分离到了来源于CLCuMV和卫星DNAβ的重组分子,以及DNAβ缺陷型分子。这2种重组小分子以前未见报道,这也是在中国发现的棉花曲叶病毒中首次发现重组分子。这种基因组变异现象在棉花曲叶病毒的进化和寄主适应过程中可能有重要的意义。     

ATP modulation of Ca2+ release by type-2 and type-3 inositol (1, 4, 5)-triphosphate receptors. Differing ATP sensitivities and molecular determinants of action

ATP enhances Ca(2+) release from inositol (1,4,5)-trisphosphate receptors (InsP(3)R). However, the three isoforms of InsP(3)R are reported to respond to ATP with differing sensitivities. Ca(2+) release through InsP(3)R1 is positively regulated at lower ATP concentrations than InsP(3)R3, and InsP(3)R2 has been reported to be insensitive to ATP modulation. We have reexamined these differences by studying the effects of ATP on InsP(3)R2 and InsP(3)R3 expressed in isolation on a null background in DT40 InsP(3)R knockout cells. We report that the Ca(2+)-releasing activity as well as the single channel open probability of InsP(3)R2 was enhanced by ATP, but only at submaximal InsP(3) levels. Further, InsP(3)R2 was more sensitive to ATP modulation than InsP(3)R3 under similar experimental conditions. Mutations in the ATPB sites of InsP(3)R2 and InsP(3)R3 were generated, and the functional consequences of these mutations were tested. Surprisingly, mutation of the ATPB site in InsP(3)R3 had no effect on ATP modulation, suggesting an additional locus for the effects of ATP on this isoform. In contrast, ablation of the ATPB site of InsP(3)R2 eliminated the enhancing effects of ATP. Furthermore, this mutation had profound effects on the patterns of intracellular calcium signals, providing evidence for the physiological significance of ATP binding to InsP(3)R2.     

The contribution of leaching to nutrient release from leaf litter of two emergent tree species in a Malaysian tropical peat swamp forest

Ostracode faunas changed in Lake Bonneville as the lake rose in the closed basin and became more dilute, then overflowed, and eventually returned to closed-basin hydrology; alkalinity (carbonate + bicarbonate) increased throughout the lake history. Fossil-ostracode faunas in marl deposited in the lake between about 30 and 13 cal ka allow reconstruction of these geochemical changes (as shown by R. M. Forester), and permit stratigraphic correlations within the large lake basin, including into the Sevier subbasin, which was connected to the main body of the lake but had different inflowing rivers. The first ostracode to appear in Lake Bonneville deposits at low altitudes is Limnocythere staplini; it was replaced by L. ceriotuberosa as the lake got larger and the water became more dilute and alkaline. Candona adunca and several species of Fabaeformiscandona mark the freshest-water phases. Cytherissa lacustris appeared in lake-margin settings after lake level dropped and cold, fresh groundwater began to discharge into the lake. Candona sp. cf. eriensis lived in the Sevier subbasin during the transgressive phase of the lake, but did not appear in the main body until late in the regressive phase. Limnocythere sappaensis, which requires high alkalinity, showed up late in the regressive phase in the main body when lake level was very low.