Lithium inhibits oxidative stress-induced neuronal senescence through miR-34a

Molecular Biology Reports - Neuronal senescence, triggered by telomere shortening, oncogene activation, DNA damage, or oxidative stress, has been associated with neurodegenerative diseases’...     

A New Type of Anatolian Propolis: Evaluation of Its Chemical Composition,Activity Profile and Botanical Origin

This study was undertaken to analyze the phenolic profiles of 19 propolis samples from Turkey by using a high‐performance thin‐layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method in order to identify their plant origins. Furthermore, their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity profiles were comparatively evaluated. For the appraisal of antioxidant potential, total phenolic (TPC) and total flavonoid contents (TFC) of propolis samples were firstly determined and then their effects on free radicals were evaluated by FRAP, ABTS^.+, CUPRAC, DPPH^. and HPTLC‐DPPH^. methods. Antimicrobial activity of propolis samples against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 15442), Escherichia coli (ATCC 11229) and Candida albicans ATCC 10231 were determined by disc diffusion and broth dilution methods. HPTLC fingerprinting analyses revealed that O‐type (botanical origin from Populus nigra L.) was the primarily available propolis type in Turkey. Moreover, 3‐O‐methylquercetin (3MQ) rich propolis was identified as a new propolis type for the first time. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that 3MQ‐type propolis differs from the O‐type. Antioxidant activity studies showed that O‐type of propolis possesses higher antioxidant effect than the other tested propolis types. Quercetin, caffeic acid, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) and galangin were determined to contribute significantly to the antioxidant potential of O‐type propolis among others. Propolis extracts exerted moderate antimicrobial activity against the tested microorganisms with MIC values between the ranges of 128–512 μg/mL.     

Tailoring of recombinant FDH: effect of histidine tag location on solubility and catalytic properties of Chaetomium thermophilum formate dehydrogenase (CtFDH)

Abstract

Several protein expression systems can be used to get enzymes in required quantities and study their functions. Incorporating a polyhistidine tag is a beneficial way of getting various enzymes such as FDHs for industrial applications. The NAD⁺ dependent formate dehydrogenase from Chaetomium thermophilum (CtFDH) can be utilized for interconversion of formate to carbon dioxide coupled with the conversion of NAD⁺ to NADH. In this study, N-terminal His tagged CtFDH (N-CtFDH) and C-terminal His tagged CtFDH (C-CtFDH) was constructed to learn the effect of His tag location on the activity and kinetic parameters of the enzyme. The solubility of proteins was not affected by tag position, however, an interference on the N-terminal region caused a deterioration in specific activity and the kinetic ability of enzyme. The obtained results indicated that the C-terminus of the enzyme is an appropriate region for tag engineering. The C-CtFDH has an approximately three-fold larger specific activity and two-fold higher catalytic efficiency than N-CtFDH. The results suggest that insertion of a His-tag at the N-terminal or C-terminal end of CtFDH has different effects on the protein and the N-terminal fragment of the protein is crucial for the function of CtFDH.     

Towards ex situ conservation of globally rare Turkish endemic Tripleurospermum fissurale (Asteraceae)

In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant - A rapid and efficient in vitro micropropagation system was developed to conserve Tripleurospermum fissurale (Sosn.) E.Hossain (Asteraceae), a...     

CaGE: cardiac gene expression knowledgebase

CaGE is a Cardiac Gene Expression knowledgebase we have developed to facilitate the analysis of genes important to human cardiac function. CaGE integrates the functionality of the LocusLink database with data from several human cardiac expression libraries, phenotypic data from OMIM and data from large-scale microarray gene expression studies to create a knowledgebase of gene expression in human cardiac tissue. The knowledgebase is fully searchable via the web using several intuitive query interfaces. Results can be displayed in several concise easy to navigate formats. AVAILABILITY: CaGE is located at http://www.cage.wbmei.jhu.edu     

Microcolonial fungi from antique marbles in Perge/Side/Termessos (Antalya/Turkey)

In this study rock surfaces of archaeological sites in Antalya were investigated with a focus on black fungi for the first time. Black, meristematic fungi were isolated from surfaces of antique marble monuments in Antalya (Side, Perge, Termessos). Their morphology was characterized, their diversity was documented and the taxonomy and phylogeny of new isolates was clarified based on molecular methods, that is, by sequencing parts of the small ribosomal subunit (18S) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. From a total of around 250 samples 99 different fungal strains were isolated. In most of 99 strains the rDNA sequencing data and the lack of homologies in “Genbank” gave strong evidence that these strains have to be described as new species/subspecies and/or genera. All of them, however, clustered within the ascomycete orders of Dothideales, Chaetothyriales, and Pleosporales. Field studies show that these organisms cause color changes, black spots, crater shaped lesions as well as chipping and exfoliation of the rock surfaces in Antalya and thus they have to be regarded as a serious threat to the antique cultural heritage in Turkey.     

A new species of Capnobotryella from monument surfaces

Capnobotryella is a monotypic genus of melanized fungi based on C. renispora. The purpose of this investigation was to use morphological and molecular genetic techniques to characterize strains of newly discovered species isolated in Turkey on historical marble monuments.