Mevalonic acid increases trans-astaxanthin and carotenoid biosynthesis in Phaffia rhodozyma

Summary Mevalonic acid has been tested as enhancer of pigment biosynthesis in wild-type Phaffia rhodozyma. The addition of 0.1% mevalonic acid to the culture media stimulated both trans-astaxanthin and total carotenoids biosynthesis, with average increases by ca 400%.     

An Acinetobacter baumannii,Zinc-Regulated Peptidase Maintains Cell Wall Integrity during Immune-Mediated Nutrient Sequestration

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The c‐di‐GMP phosphodiesterase BifA is involved in the virulence of bacteria from the Pseudomonas syringae complex

In a recent screen for novel virulence factors involved in the interaction between Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi and the olive tree, a mutant was selected that contained a transposon insertion in a putative cyclic diguanylate (c‐di‐GMP) phosphodiesterase‐encoding gene. This gene displayed high similarity to bifA of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas putida. Here, we examined the role of BifA in free‐living and virulence‐related phenotypes of two bacterial plant pathogens in the Pseudomonas syringae complex, the tumour‐inducing pathogen of woody hosts, P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi NCPPB 3335, and the pathogen of tomato and Arabidopsis, P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000. We showed that deletion of the bifA gene resulted in decreased swimming motility of both bacteria and inhibited swarming motility of DC3000. In contrast, overexpression of BifA in P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi had a positive impact on swimming motility and negatively affected biofilm formation. Deletion of bifA in NCPPB 3335 and DC3000 resulted in reduced fitness and virulence of the microbes in olive (NCPPB 3335) and tomato (DC3000) plants. In addition, real‐time monitoring of olive plants infected with green fluorescent protein (GFP)‐tagged P. savastanoi cells displayed an altered spatial distribution of mutant ΔbifA cells inside olive knots compared with the wild‐type strain. All free‐living phenotypes that were altered in both ΔbifA mutants, as well as the virulence of the NCPPB 3335 ΔbifA mutant in olive plants, were fully rescued by complementation with P. aeruginosa BifA, whose phosphodiesterase activity has been demonstrated. Thus, these results suggest that P. syringae and P. savastanoi BifA are also active phosphodiesterases. This first demonstration of the involvement of a putative phosphodiesterase in the virulence of the P. syringae complex provides confirmation of the role of c‐di‐GMP signalling in the virulence of this group of plant pathogens.     

The res (restored cell structure by salinity) tomato mutant reveals the role of the DEAD-box RNA helicase SlDEAD39 in plant development and salt response

Increasing evidences highlight the importance of DEAD-box RNA helicases in plant development and stress responses. In a previous study, we characterized the tomato res mutant (restored cell structure by salinity), showing chlorosis and development alterations that reverted under salt-stress conditions. Map-based cloning demonstrates that RES gene encodes SlDEAD39, a chloroplast-targeted DEAD-box RNA helicase. Constitutive expression of SlDEAD39 complements the res mutation, while the silencing lines had a similar phenotype than res mutant, which is also reverted under salinity. Functional analysis of res mutant proved SlDEAD39 is involved in the in vivo processing of the chloroplast, 23S rRNA, at the hidden break-B site, a feature also supported by in vitro binding experiments of the protein. In addition, our results show that other genes coding for chloroplast-targeted DEAD-box proteins are induced by salt-stress, which might explain the rescue of the res mutant phenotype. Interestingly, salinity restored the phenotype of res adult plants by increasing their sugar content and fruit yield. Together, these results propose an unprecedented role of a DEAD-box RNA helicase in regulating plant development and stress response through the proper ribosome and chloroplast functioning, which, in turn, represents a potential target to improve salt tolerance in tomato crops.     

Activity-dependent Protein Dynamics Define Interconnected Cores of Co-regulated Postsynaptic Proteins

Synapses are highly dynamic structures that mediate cell–cell communication in the central nervous system. Their molecular composition is altered in an activity-dependent fashion, which modulates the efficacy of subsequent synaptic transmission events. Whereas activity-dependent trafficking of individual key synaptic proteins into and out of the synapse has been characterized previously, global activity-dependent changes in the synaptic proteome have not been studied.To test the feasibility of carrying out an unbiased large-scale approach, we investigated alterations in the molecular composition of synaptic spines following mass stimulation of the central nervous system induced by pilocarpine. We observed widespread changes in relative synaptic abundances encompassing essentially all proteins, supporting the view that the molecular composition of the postsynaptic density is tightly regulated. In most cases, we observed that members of gene families displayed coordinate regulation even when they were not known to physically interact.Analysis of correlated synaptic localization revealed a tightly co-regulated cluster of proteins, consisting of mainly glutamate receptors and their adaptors. This cluster constitutes a functional core of the postsynaptic machinery, and changes in its size affect synaptic strength and synaptic size. Our data show that the unbiased investigation of activity-dependent signaling of the postsynaptic density proteome can offer valuable new information on synaptic plasticity.Excitatory synaptic transmission is the primary mode of cell–cell communication in the central nervous system. The efficacy of synaptic transmission is highly regulated, and alterations in the strength of synaptic signaling within networks of neurons provide a mechanism for learning and memory storage, as well as for overall network stability. Modulation of synapse efficacy can occur through alterations in the structure and composition of the postsynaptic spine. The synaptic abundance of several molecules has been shown to be regulated in response to activity (1).The levels of individual proteins at postsynaptic spines are regulated through multiple processes. Active transport mechanisms exist and have been well characterized for AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPA-Rs)¹ via either insertion into the synapse or tighter association with the postsynaptic density (PSD) following lateral diffusion within the cell membrane (2). In addition to AMPA-Rs, other proteins known to be subject to activity-dependent regulation include calcium calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II alpha and beta, NMDA-type glutamate receptors (NMDA-Rs), and proteosome subunits (3–5). Synaptic protein content is dysregulated in a number of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer''s disease and fragile X mental retardation (6–8).Most studies reported thus far have focused on a small number of selected molecules in individual experiments using a subset of synapses. Whereas learning and memory rely on the differential response of individual synapses to their specific input patterns, overall network excitability has to be maintained by homeostatic means. This homeostasis is governed by multiple pathways, and very little is known about the principles that regulate synaptic protein content across large numbers of synapses and neurons. The contributions of individual pathways and the interactions among them are largely unknown.In order to explore synaptic dynamics with a global view, we took advantage of a chemically induced mass stimulation protocol to stimulate synapses broadly throughout the central nervous system. We employed mass spectrometry and isotopically encoded isobaric peptide tagging with the iTRAQ reagent to quantify changes in the abundance of 893 proteins (9). We then analyzed changes in the relative abundance of these proteins at 0, 10, 20, and 60 min after the onset of stimulation.We observed evidence of the coordinated activation of synaptic protein groups, thereby identifying functional core complexes within the PSD. We demonstrate that adopting a quantitative systems biology approach provides insight allowing for a new level of analysis of synaptic function.     

Diagnostic utility of HFE variants in Spanish patients: Association with HLA alleles and role in susceptibility to acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Human Hemochromatosis (HFE) gene, C282Y and H63D, are the major variants associated to altered iron status and it is well known that these mutations are in linkage disequilibrium with certain Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA)-A alleles. In addition, the C282Y SNP has been previously suggested to confer susceptibility to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We have aimed to assess the diagnosis utility of these polymorphisms in a population of Spanish subjects with suspicion of hereditary iron overload and to evaluate the effect of their associations with HLA-A alleles on the susceptibility to ALL. Both the 63DD [OR = 4.31 (1.7–11.2)] and 282YY (p for trend = 0.02) genotypes were more frequently found among subjects with suspicion of iron overload than among controls. 282YY carriers displayed significantly higher transferrin saturation index (TSI) values (p < 0.001) as well as serum iron (p = 0.01) and ferritin (p = 0.01) levels. In addition, transferrin levels were lower in these subjects (p = 0.01). Likewise, patients who were carriers of the compound heterozygous diplotype (282CY/63HD) showed significantly higher TSI and serum iron and ferritin concentrations. The H63D SNP did not significantly affect the analytical parameters measured. All 282YY carriers and 69.2% of compound heterozygotes showed an altered biochemical index. The frequencies of the HFE SNPs in ALL pediatric patients were lower than those found in controls, whereas the HLA-A*24 allele was significantly overrepresented in the patients group [OR = 3.76 (1.9–7.3)]. No HFE-HLA-A associations were found to modulate the ALL risk. These results suggest that it may be useful to test for both HFE H63D and C282Y polymorphisms in patients with iron overload, as opposed to just genotyping for the C282Y SNP, which is customary in some healthcare centers. These HFE variants and their associations with HLA-A alleles were not observed to be relevant for the susceptibility to ALL in our population.     

Spatial patterns in phage-Rhizobium coevolutionary interactions across regions of common bean domestication

Bacteriophages play significant roles in the composition, diversity, and evolution of bacterial communities. Despite their importance, it remains unclear how phage diversity and phage-host interactions are spatially structured. Local adaptation may play a key role. Nitrogen-fixing symbiotic bacteria, known as rhizobia, have been shown to locally adapt to domesticated common bean at its Mesoamerican and Andean sites of origin. This may affect phage-rhizobium interactions. However, knowledge about the diversity and coevolution of phages with their respective Rhizobium populations is lacking. Here, through the study of four phage-Rhizobium communities in Mexico and Argentina, we show that both phage and host diversity is spatially structured. Cross-infection experiments demonstrated that phage infection rates were higher overall in sympatric rhizobia than in allopatric rhizobia except for one Argentinean community, indicating phage local adaptation and host maladaptation. Phage-host interactions were shaped by the genetic identity and geographic origin of both the phage and the host. The phages ranged from specialists to generalists, revealing a nested network of interactions. Our results suggest a key role of local adaptation to resident host bacterial communities in shaping the phage genetic and phenotypic composition, following a similar spatial pattern of diversity and coevolution to that in the host.Subject terms: Microbial ecology, Bacteriophages, Microbial ecology, Biogeography, Microbial communities