Differential gene expression in whitefly Bemisia tabaci-infested tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants at progressing developmental stages of the insect's life cycle

A suppression-subtractive-hybridization (SSH) strategy was used to identify genes whose expression was modified in response to virus-free whitefly Bemisia tabaci ( Bt , biotype A) infestation in tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) plants. Thus, forward and reverse SSH gene libraries were generated at four points in the whitefly's life cycle, namely at (1) 2 days (adult feeding and oviposition: phase I); (2) 7 days (mobile crawler stage: phase II); (3) 12 days (second to third instar nymphal transition: phase III) and (4) 18 days (fourth instar nymphal stage: phase IV). The 169 genes with altered expression (up and downregulated) that were identified in the eight generated SSH libraries, together with 75 additional genes that were selected on the basis of their involvement in resistance responses against phytofagous insects and pathogens, were printed on a Nexterion^® Slide MPX 16 to monitor their pattern of expression at the above phases. The results indicated that Bt infestation in tomato led to distinctive phase-specific expression/repression patterns of several genes associated predominantly with photosynthesis, senescence, secondary metabolism and (a)biotic stress. Most of the gene expression modifications were detected in phase III, coinciding with intense larval feeding, whereas fewer changes were detected in phases I and IV. These results complement previously reported gene expression profiles in Bt -infested tomato and Arabidopisis, and support and expand the opinion that Bt infestation leads to the downregulation of specific defense responses in addition to those controlled by jasmonic acid.     

Purification of a heterodimeric betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase from wild amaranth plants subjected to water deficit

Betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase was purified to homogeneity from wild-type amaranth plants subjected to water deficit. The enzyme has a native molecular mass of 125 kDa; it is formed by two subunits, one of the subunits with a molecular mass of 63 kDa and the second one of 70 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE and double dimension electrophoresis. IEF studies showed two bands with pI values of 4.93 and 4.85, respectively. Possible glycosilation of the 63- and 70-kDa subunits were tested with negative results. Both subunits cross-reacted strongly with polyclonal antibody raised against porcine kidney BADH. Also antiserum rose against HSP70 cross-reacted strongly with the wild amaranth BADH 70-kDa subunit. The enzyme was stable to extreme pH's and temperatures, and high KCl concentrations. Product inhibition of BADH was not observed.     

Inhibition of porcine kidney betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase by hydrogen peroxide

Renal hyperosmotic conditions may produce reactive oxygen species, which could have a deleterious effect on the enzymes involved in osmoregulation. Hydrogen peroxide was used to provoke oxidative stress in the environment of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase in vitro. Enzyme activity was reduced as hydrogen peroxide concentration was increased. Over 50% of the enzyme activity was lost at 100 μM hydrogen peroxide at two temperatures tested. At pH 8.0, under physiological ionic strength conditions, peroxide inhibited the enzyme. Initial velocity assays of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (0-200 μM) showed noncompetitive inhibition with respect to NAD(+) or to betaine aldehyde at saturating concentrations of the other substrate at pH 7.0 or 8.0. Inhibition data showed that apparent V(max) decreased 40% and 26% under betaine aldehyde and NAD(+) saturating concentrations at pH 8.0, while at pH 7.0 V(max) decreased 40% and 29% at betaine aldehyde and NAD(+) saturating concentrations. There was little change in apparent Km(NAD) at either pH, while Km(BA) increased at pH 7.0. K(i) values at pH 8 and 7 were calculated. Our results suggest that porcine kidney betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase could be inhibited by hydrogen peroxide in vivo, thus compromising the synthesis of glycine betaine.     

Inactivation of porcine kidney betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase by hydrogen peroxide

Concentrated urine formation in the kidney is accompanied by conditions that favor the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Under hyperosmotic conditions, medulla cells accumulate glycine betaine, which is an osmolyte synthesized by betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH, EC 1.2.1.8). All BADHs identified to date have a highly reactive cysteine residue at the active site, and this cysteine is susceptible to oxidation by hydrogen peroxide. Porcine kidney BADH incubated with H(2)O(2) (0-500 μM) lost 25% of its activity. However, pkBADH inactivation by hydrogen peroxide was limited, even after 120 min of incubation. The presence of coenzyme NAD(+) (10-50 μM) increased the extent of inactivation (60%) at 120 min of reaction, but the ligands betaine aldehyde (50 and 500 μM) and glycine betaine (100 mM) did not change the rate or extent of inactivation as compared to the reaction without ligand. 2-Mercaptoethanol and dithiothreitol, but not reduced glutathione, were able to restore enzyme activity. Mass spectrometry analysis of hydrogen peroxide inactivated BADH revealed oxidation of M278, M243, M241 and H335 in the absence and oxidation of M94, M327 and M278 in the presence of NAD(+). Molecular modeling of BADH revealed that the oxidized methionine and histidine residues are near the NAD(+) binding site. In the presence of the coenzyme, these oxidized residues are proximal to the betaine aldehyde binding site. None of the oxidized amino acid residues participates directly in catalysis. We suggest that pkBADH inactivation by hydrogen peroxide occurs via disulfide bond formation between vicinal catalytic cysteines (C288 and C289).     

Cellulase and Xylanase Production by the Mexican Strain <Emphasis Type="Italic">Talaromyces stollii</Emphasis> LV186 and Its Application in the Saccharification of Pretreated Corn and Sorghum Stover

A Mexican strain of Talaromyces stollii LV186 was isolated from decaying pretreated corn stover. The production of cellulase and xylanase enzyme cocktails was evaluated with corn and sorghum stover used as inducers in a mineral medium. The volumetric and specific activities of T. stollii LV186 were compared with the values produced by Trichoderma reesei ATCC 26921 in a time-course experiment. After the submerged culture and a posterior ultrafiltration stage, the enzyme complexes were evaluated over acid-pretreated corn or sorghum stover in baffled flasks under controlled temperature and agitation conditions, and hydrolysis levels of 30 and 39 % of the theoretical maximum were obtained after only 72-h reactions, for each substrate. A side-by-side comparison showed a better ratio of endoglucanase to cellobiohydrolase to β-glucosidase and of xylanase to β-xylosidase enzymes in T. stollii than in T. reesei ATCC 26921. Furthermore, the hydrolysis of pretreated corn and sorghum stover achieved by T. stollii is significantly higher compared with that of a commercial cocktail from T. reesei ATCC 26921 (Celluclast). Therefore, the T. stollii LV186 strain is a good candidate for the hydrolysis of complex lignocellulose substrates. To the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to describe the cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic activities produced by a T. stollii strain.     

α-Ketoglutarate biosynthesis in wild and industrial strains of Lactococcus lactis

Aims:  This study was carried out to explore the ability of wild and industrial strains of Lactococcus lactis to produce α-ketoglutarate (α-KG), which is essential during the conversion of amino acids to flavour compounds.
Methods and Results:  Two pathways in α-KG biosynthesis were explored in strains of L. lactis isolated from dairy products, vegetables and commercial dairy starter cultures. Half of the strains efficiently converted glutamine to glutamate (Glu) and grew in Glu-free medium. Strains did not present isocitrate dehydrogenase and aconitase activities. However, half of the strains presented glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) activity.
Conclusions:  The ability of L. lactis to synthesize either α-KG or Glu via GDH was confirmed. However, L. lactis strains were not able to biosynthesize α-KG by the citrate–isocitrate pathway. NADP-GDH activity was mainly found in strains isolated from vegetables, whereas NAD-GDH activity was mainly found in strains isolated from dairy products.
Significance and Importance of the Study:  The origin of isolation highly influenced NAD or NADP-GDH activities. These enzymatic activities may be correlated to the flavour production capacity of the different strains.     

Evaluation of <i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L. with Different Concentrations of K⁺ as an Inhibitor of Pathogenic Bacterial Strains

The extraction of bioactive compounds has become one of the most interesting areas of modern chemistry. For therapeutic reasons, it´s important to obtain antimicrobial agents from natural origin. The objective of the present study was to determine the inhibitory effect of ethanolic extract of basil (Ocimum basilicum L. var. Red Rubin) subjected to different concentrations of potassium (K⁺) on the activity of three bacterial strains that are pathogens in humans. Susceptibility was evaluated by inhibition surface and these results were compared to two antibiotics: Gentamicin (GE) and Ciprofloxacin (CPF) for their efficacy against each bacterial strain. Analyzed variables presented significant difference (p ≤ 0.05). According to the results, basil extract evaluated showed positive antibacterial activity against the three strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus on Mueller Hinton agar. It was observed highest inhibition areas of different diameters (15.3 mm, 21.3 mm and 21.6 mm respectively) when the extract used was obtained from the plants with the highest concentration of potassium (13 mmol L^–1). These values were even superior to the highest values showed on the treatments with the antibiotic gentamicin.     

Use of a simple method to isolate intact RNA from partially hydratedSelaginella lepidophylla plants

Isolation of high-quality RNA is a necessary step in gene expression analysis. Although many methods can be used to isolate RNA from plants where contamination of preparations with complex carbohydrates or phenolic compounds is a problem, the application of these methods toSelaginella lepidophylla tissues has failed to obtain good-quality RNA. Here we introduce 2 modifications to the method developed by Chomczynski and Sacchi (1987), generating a simple and rapid method that allows the isolation of intact RNA fromS. lepidophylla-dehydrated tissues. Although the introduced modifications are not new, their addition proved to be decisive for success in RNA isolation. Quality of the RNA obtained was evaluated by electrophoresis in agarose and by 3 different PCR-based techniques—RT-PCR, RNA differential display, and synthesis of a cDNA library.     

Immunolocalization of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase in porcine kidney.

Polyclonal anti-BADH serum was raised in rabbits against native BADH purified from porcine kidney. The antiserum cross-reacted strongly with BADH purified from kidney, Amaranthus palmierii, and Pseudomona aeuroginosa (1:1000), and weakly with Amaranthus hypochondriacus L (1:100). Antibodies bound to purified native kidney BADH in immunoblots showed a major band of an apparent molecular mass of 340 kDa and a subunit with an apparent molecular mass of 52 kDa. Data on activity assays showed higher activity in cortex sections (81.3 nmol/min/mg protein) than in medulla sections (21.3 nmol/min/mg protein). Immunolocalization of BADH in kidney tissue sections showed that BADH is found in cortex and medulla. In inner medulla, the enzyme was mainly localized in cells surrounding the tubules. Western blot analysis on extracts from the cortex and medulla sections showed higher concentration of BADH protein in cortex than in medulla. These results were in accordance with immunolocalization and activity analysis.