The structure, catalytic mechanism and regulation of adenylyl cyclase

The recent structure determinations of the mammalian effector enzyme adenylyl cyclase reveal the structure of its catalytic core, provide new insights into its catalytic mechanism and suggest how diverse signaling molecules regulate its activity.     

Interaction of Plum Pox Virus with Specific Colloidal Gold-Labeled Antibodies and Development of Immunochromatographic Assay of the Virus

Two monoclonal antibodies (mABs) raised against plum pox virus (PPV) were shown to recognize its D, M, and C strains. Conjugates of the antibodies with colloidal gold (CG) nanoparticles averaging 26 nm in diameter were synthesized. The binding constants of PPV with both the native and conjugated mABs were determined using a Biacore X device. The complexes between the CG-mAB conjugates and plum pox virions were examined by means of transmission electron and atomic force microscopy. Using the conjugates with optimal component ratio, an express immunochromatographic assay of PPV was developed with a detection limit of 3 ng/ml and duration of 10 min. The assay was tested for PPV detection in sam- ples of stone fruit tree leaves and demonstrated a good compatibility with the data obtained by “sandwich”-ELISA. The developed assay can be used in the field and applied for monitoring viral infection and for quarantine purposes.     

Association of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D status and genetic variation in the vitamin D metabolic pathway with FEV1 in the Framingham Heart Study

Background

Vitamin D is associated with lung function in cross-sectional studies, and vitamin D inadequacy is hypothesized to play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Further data are needed to clarify the relation between vitamin D status, genetic variation in vitamin D metabolic genes, and cross-sectional and longitudinal changes in lung function in healthy adults.

Methods

We estimated the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and cross-sectional forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV₁) in Framingham Heart Study (FHS) Offspring and Third Generation participants and the association between serum 25(OH)D and longitudinal change in FEV₁ in Third Generation participants using linear mixed-effects models. Using a gene-based approach, we investigated the association between 241 SNPs in 6 select vitamin D metabolic genes in relation to longitudinal change in FEV₁ in Offspring participants and pursued replication of these findings in a meta-analyzed set of 4 independent cohorts.

Results

We found a positive cross-sectional association between 25(OH)D and FEV₁ in FHS Offspring and Third Generation participants (P = 0.004). There was little or no association between 25(OH)D and longitudinal change in FEV₁ in Third Generation participants (P = 0.97). In Offspring participants, the CYP2R1 gene, hypothesized to influence usual serum 25(OH)D status, was associated with longitudinal change in FEV₁ (gene-based P < 0.05). The most significantly associated SNP from CYP2R1 had a consistent direction of association with FEV₁ in the meta-analyzed set of replication cohorts, but the association did not reach statistical significance thresholds (P = 0.09).

Conclusions

Serum 25(OH)D status was associated with cross-sectional FEV₁, but not longitudinal change in FEV₁. The inconsistent associations may be driven by differences in the groups studied. CYP2R1 demonstrated a gene-based association with longitudinal change in FEV₁ and is a promising candidate gene for further studies.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12931-015-0238-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Increase of histidine content in Brassica rapa subsp. oleifera by over-expression of histidine-rich fusion proteins

An approach that enables the increase of the quantity of a specific amino acid in crop plants is reported. Oleosin gene from Arabidopsis thaliana or 30K movement protein gene of Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV; genus Tobamovirus) were cloned under the control of napin or hybrid promoters, and in fusion to synthetic poly-histidine (poly-His) sequences for transformation into spring turnip rape (Brassica rapa subsp. oleifera; synonym to B. campestris). The most stable expression cassettes for the poly-His production prior to the plant transformation were selected by analyzing the protein expression in in vitro translation and in transient plant expression systems using GFP as marker. Expression of the poly-His-constructs in transgenic Brassica rapa plants was analyzed using dot and western blotting and PCR. The constructs were stably expressed in the third generation of the transgenic plant lines. Histidine content was measured from the seeds of the transgenic plants, and some plant lines had more than 20% increase in histidine content compared to wild type. The methodology may be widely applicable to increase the content of any amino acid in crop plants including those encoded by rare codons.     

Role of the leader sequence in tobacco pectin methylesterase secretion

We report that unprocessed tobacco pectin methylesterase (PME) contains N-terminal pro-sequence including the transmembrane (TM) domain and spacer segment preceding the mature PME. The mature portion of PME was replaced by green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene and various deletion mutants of pro-sequence fused to GFP were cloned into binary vectors and agroinjected in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. The PME pro-sequence delivered GFP to the cell wall (CW). We showed that a transient binding of PME TM domain to endoplasmic reticulum membranes occurs upon its transport to CW. The CW targeting was abolished by various deletions in the TM domain, i.e., anchor domain was essential for secretion of GFP to CW. By contrast, even entire deletion of the spacer segment had no influence on GFP targeting.     

Mitochondrial DNA structure and colony expansion dynamics of New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) around Banks Peninsula

New Zealand fur seals are one of many pinniped species that survived the commercial sealing of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in dangerously low numbers. After the enforcement of a series of protection measures in the early twentieth century, New Zealand fur seals began to recover from the brink of extinction. We examined the New Zealand fur seal populations of Banks Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand using the mitochondrial DNA control region. We identified a panmictic population structure around Banks Peninsula. The most abundant haplotype in the area showed a slight significant aggregated structure. The Horseshoe Bay colony showed the least number of shared haplotypes with other colonies, suggesting a different origin of re-colonisation of this specific colony. The effective population size of the New Zealand fur seal population at Banks Peninsula was estimated at approximately 2500 individuals. The exponential population growth rate parameter for the area was 35, which corresponds to an expanding population. In general, samples from adjacent colonies shared 4.4 haplotypes while samples collected from colonies separated by between five and eight bays shared 1.9 haplotypes. The genetic data support the spill-over dynamics of colony expansion already suggested for this species. Approximate Bayesian computations analysis suggests re-colonisation of the area from two main clades identified across New Zealand with a most likely admixture coefficient of 0.41 to form the Banks Peninsula population. Approximate Bayesian computations analysis estimated a founder population size of approximately 372 breeding individuals for the area, which then rapidly increased in size with successive waves of external recruitment. The population of fur seals in the area is probably in the late phase of maturity in the colony expansion dynamic.