Response of Maize and Sorghum to Excess Boron and Salinity

We have analyzed the stress-associated proteins in a high-rubber-yielding guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray cv. 11591) leaves. Protein profiles in leaf fractions, resolved by SDS-PAGE and visualized by Coomassie Brilliant Blue staining, were different under various stresses. Changes in 25, 34 and 74 kDa polypeptides were noticed in response to low night temperature treatment while 24, 40, 47 and 81 kDa proteins responded to low irradiance. 23, 50, 75 and 82 kDa proteins were altered in response to drought stress. Certain proteins may play a significant role in the acquisition of tolerance in parenchyma cells of guayule leaves and might be useful markers to study adaptation in guayule plants. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

尿素改善SDS-PAGE分离小分子肽的效果

目的：探讨尿素对Tricine—SDS—PAGE系统分离小分子蛋白的影响。方法：利用常规SDS-PAGE和Tricine-SDS-PAGE分离小分子肽,比较不同组成的分离胶的分离效果。结果：调整聚丙烯酰胺凝胶的分子组成,使丙烯酰胺和甲叉双丙烯酰胺的交联度为5．05％,能够改善小分子肽的分离效果。加入36％的尿素比加入甘油可以更有效分离1kD的小肽。但尿素胶聚合太快影响分离效果。结论：尿素改善SDS—PAGE分离小分子肽的效果,制作尿素胶时,宜采用低浓度的AP和TEMED使凝胶慢速聚合。     

Platelets do not express the oxidized or reduced forms of tissue factor

Background

Expression of tissue factor (TF) antigen and activity in platelets is controversial and dependent upon the laboratory and reagents used. Two forms of TF were described: an oxidized functional form and a reduced nonfunctional form that is converted to the active form through the formation of an allosteric disulfide. This study tests the hypothesis that the discrepancies regarding platelet TF expression are due to differential expression of the two forms.

Methods

Specific reagents that recognize both oxidized and reduced TF were used in flow cytometry of unactivated and activated platelets and western blotting of whole platelet lysates. TF-dependent activity measurements were used to confirm the results.

Results

Western blotting analyses of placental TF demonstrated that, in contrast to anti-TF#5, which is directed against the oxidized form of TF, a sheep anti-human TF polyclonal antibody recognizes both the reduced and oxidized forms. Flow cytometric analyses demonstrated that the sheep antibody did not react with the surface of unactivated platelets or platelets activated with thrombin receptor agonist peptide, PAR-1. This observation was confirmed using biotinylated active site-blocked factor (F)VIIa: no binding was observed. Likewise, neither form of TF was detected by western blotting of whole platelet lysates with sheep anti-hTF. Consistent with these observations, no FXa or FIXa generation by FVIIa was detected at the surface of these platelets. Similarly, no TF-related activity was observed in whole blood using thromboelastography.

Conclusion and significance

Platelets from healthy donors do not express either oxidized (functional) or reduced (nonfunctional) forms of TF.     

Influence of substratum hydrophobicity on salivary pellicles: organization or composition?

Different physico-chemical properties (eg adsorption kinetics, thickness, viscoelasticity, and mechanical stability) of adsorbed salivary pellicles depend on different factors, including the properties (eg charge, roughness, wettability, and surface chemistry) of the substratum. Whether these differences in the physico-chemical properties are a result of differences in the composition or in the organization of the pellicles is not known. In this work, the influence of substratum wettability on the composition of the pellicle was studied. For this purpose, pellicles eluted from substrata of different but well-characterized wettabilities were examined by means of sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The results showed that substratum hydrophobicity did not have a major impact on pellicle composition. In all substrata, the major pellicle components were found to be cystatins, amylases and large glycoproteins, presumably mucins. In turn, interpretation of previously reported data based on the present results suggests that variations in substratum wettability mostly affect the organization of the pellicle components.     

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of a GTP-binding protein (MiRab5) in Mangifera indica

The Rab family, the largest branch of Ras small GTPases, plays a crucial role in the vesicular transport in plants. The members of Rab family act as molecular switches that regulate the fusion of vesicles with target membranes through conformational changes. However, little is known about the Rab5 gene involved in fruit ripening and stress response. In this study, the MiRab5 gene was isolated from stress-induced Mangifera indica. The full-length cDNA sequence was 984 bp and contained an open reading frame of 600 bp, which encoded a 200 amino acid protein with a molecular weight of 21.83 kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 6.99. The deduced amino acid sequence exhibited high homology with tomato (91% similarity) and contains all five characteristic Rab motifs. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that MiRab5 was ubiquitously expressed in various mango tree tissues at different levels. The expression of MiRab5 was up-regulated during later stages of fruit ripening. Moreover, MiRab5 was generally up-regulated in response to various abiotic stresses (cold, salinity, and PEG treatments). Recombinant MiRab5 protein was successfully expressed and purified. SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis indicated that the expressed protein was recognized by the anti-6-His antibody. These results provide insights into the role of the MiRab5 gene family in fruit ripening and stress responses in the mango plant.     

pKILLIN: a versatile positive-selection cloning vector based on the toxicity of Killin in Escherichia coli

The invention of DNA cloning over 40 years ago marked the advent of molecular biology. The technique has now become a routine practice in any modern biomedical laboratory. Although positive-selection of recombinants in DNA cloning seems to be superior to blue/white selection based on the disruption of the lacZ gene, it is rarely practiced due to its high background, lack of multiple cloning sites, and inability to express the genes of interest or purify the protein products. Here we report the creation of a new positive-selection cloning vector dubbed pKILLIN, which overcomes all of the above pitfalls. The essence behind its high cloning efficiency is the extreme toxicity and small size of the toxic domain of killin, a recently discovered p53 target gene. Insertion inactivation of killin within the multiple cloning site via either blunt- or sticky-end ligation not only serves as a highly efficient cloning trap, but also may allow any cloned genes to be expressed as His-tagged fusion proteins for subsequent purification. Thus, pKILLIN is a versatile positive-selection vector ideal for cloning PCR products, making DNA libraries, as well as routine cloning and bacterial expression of genes.     

Single nucleotide polymorphism scanning and expression of the FRZB gene in pig populations

Secreted frizzled-related protein 3 (sFRP3), encoded by the gene FRZB, is a member of the sFRP family with important roles in inhibition of the Wnt signalling pathway through competitive binding of the Wnt receptor. Here, we investigated pig FRZB as a candidate gene for growth traits and identified three polymorphic sites, an insertion (A-532B) and two SNPs (G636A and C650T) in its 5′-UTR. The genotype distributions of G636A and C650T were significantly different among mini-type indigenous (Diannan Small-ear and Tibetan), normal indigenous (Laiwu and Huai), and introduced (Large Yorkshire and Landrace) breeds. In semi-quantitative PCR expression analysis, expression of FRZB mRNA was abundant in tissues of hypophysis, longissimus dorsi muscle, and adipose tissues, and low in the heart, hypothalamus, and brain. Quantitative determination of mRNA level and protein expression analysis were corresponding. The results demonstrated that FRZB gene expression in longissimus dorsi muscle and liver tissue was significantly higher in Diannan Small-ear and Tibetan pigs than in the Large Yorkshire breed (P < 0.05); however, in back fat tissue, the expression was significantly higher in Diannan Small-ear pig than in Tibetan or Large Yorkshire breeds (P < 0.05). Given the known growth and fat characteristics of the breeds, these results indicate that FRZB expression has a negative association with muscle growth and a positive association with fat deposition. In conclusion, FRZB may be a major candidate gene for growth traits in pigs.     

Yeast cell-free enzyme system for bio-ethanol production at elevated temperatures

A yeast cell-free enzyme system containing an intact fermentation assembly and that is capable of bio-ethanol production at elevated temperatures in the absence of living cells was developed to address the limitations associated with conventional fermentation processes. The presence of both yeast glycolytic and fermentation enzymes in the system was verified by SDS-PAGE and LC–MS/MS Q-TOF analyses. Quantitative measurements verified sufficient quantities of the co-factors ATP (1.8 mM) and NAD⁺ (0.11 mM) to initiate the fermentation process. Bio-ethanol was produced at a broad temperature range of 30–60 °C but was highly specific to a pH range of 6.0–7.0. The final bio-ethanol production at 30, 40, 50, and 60 °C was 3.37, 3.83, 1.94, and 1.60 g/L, respectively, when a 1% glucose solution was used, and the yield increased significantly with increasing cell-free enzyme concentrations. A comparative study revealed better results for the conventional fermentation system (4.46 g/L) at 30 °C than the cell-free system (3.37 g/L); however, the efficacy of the cell-free system increased with temperature, reaching a maximum (3.83 g/L) at 40 °C, at which the conventional system could only produce 0.48 g/L bio-ethanol. Successful bio-ethanol production using a single yeast cell-based enzyme system at higher temperatures will lead to the development of novel strategies for efficient bio-ethanol production through SSF.