Proteasome-dependent degradation of replisome components regulates faithful DNA replication

The replication machinery, or the replisome, collides with a variety of obstacles during the normal process of DNA replication. In addition to damaged template DNA, numerous chromosome regions are considered to be difficult to replicate owing to the presence of DNA secondary structures and DNA-binding proteins. Under these conditions, the replication fork stalls, generating replication stress. Stalled forks are prone to collapse, posing serious threats to genomic integrity. It is generally thought that the replication checkpoint functions to stabilize the replisome and replication fork structure upon replication stress. This is important in order to allow DNA replication to resume once the problem is solved. However, our recent studies demonstrated that some replisome components undergo proteasome-dependent degradation during DNA replication in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Our investigation has revealed the involvement of the SCF^Pof3 (Skp1-Cullin/Cdc53-F-box) ubiquitin ligase in replisome regulation. We also demonstrated that forced accumulation of the replisome components leads to abnormal DNA replication upon replication stress. Here we review these findings and present additional data indicating the importance of replisome degradation for DNA replication. Our studies suggest that cells activate an alternative pathway to degrade replisome components in order to preserve genomic integrity.     

Plant F-box Proteins – Judges between Life and Death

Selective protein degradation through the ubiquitin–26S proteasome system is a key mechanism for post-translational control of regulatory proteins in all eukaryotes. The pivotal components in this system are the multi-subunit E3 Ub-ligase enzymes responsible for specific recognition and ubiquitination of degradation targets. In this review, we focus on plant F-box proteins which confer specificity to the SCF-type E3 enzyme complexes. F-box proteins represent one of the largest and most heterogeneous superfamilies in plants, with hundreds of different representatives exposing an extensive variability of C-terminal target-binding domains, and as such, modulating almost every aspect of plant growth and development. Since the first reports on plant F-box proteins over a decade ago, a lot of progress has been made in our understanding of their relevance for plant physiology. In this review, we combine well-established knowledge with the most recent advances related to plant F-box proteins and their role in plant development, hormone signaling and defense pathways. We also elaborate on the yet poorly described carbohydrate-binding plant F-box proteins presumably targeting glycoproteins for proteasomal degradation.     

植物花粉S基因及其应用研究进展

自交不亲和性(self-incompatibility)研究是探讨植物遗传机制和植物育种的重要基础.在显花植物中,配子体自交不亲和由花柱S基因S-RNase和花粉S基因两个基因控制,这两个基因都具有较高的多态性和序列多样性的特征.花粉自交不亲和性是由花粉特异表达的F-box基因控制,命名为SFB(S haplotype-specific F-box protein)基因,并认为它就是花粉S基因的首选.就SFB基因的克隆、结构特点和作用机理以及应用予以综述.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">RNase</Emphasis>-Based Gametophytic Self-Incompatibility Evolution: Questioning the Hypothesis of Multiple Independent Recruitments of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis>-Pollen Gene

Multiple independent recruitments of the S-pollen component (always an F-box gene) during RNase-based gametophytic self-incompatibility evolution have recently been suggested. Therefore, different mechanisms could be used to achieve the rejection of incompatible pollen in different plant families. This hypothesis is, however, mainly based on the interpretation of phylogenetic analyses, using a small number of divergent nucleotide sequences. In this work we show, based on a large collection of F-box S-like sequences, that the inferred relationship of F-box S-pollen and F-box S-like sequences is dependent on the sequence alignment software and phylogenetic method used. Thus, at present, it is not possible to address the phylogenetic relationship of F-box S-pollen and S-like sequences from different plant families. In Petunia and Malus/Pyrus the putative S-pollen gene(s) show(s) variability patterns different than expected for an S-pollen gene, raising the question of false identification. Here we show that in Petunia, the unexpected features of the putative S-pollen gene are not incompatible with this gene’s being the S-pollen gene. On the other hand, it is very unlikely that the Pyrus SFBB-gamma gene is involved in specificity determination. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

OsCOI1,水稻中一个受茉莉酸甲酯和脱落酸诱导表达的F-box家族基因

利用Blast检索、EST分析和RT-PCR,在水稻中分离到一个与拟南芥COI1同源的新基因,命名为OsCOI1.OsCOI1编码595个氨基酸.推测的OsCOI1编码蛋白有一个F-boxmotif和16个富含亮氨酸的重复序列,这与拟南芥COI1相似.OsCOI1在氨基酸水平上和COI1有很高的同源性(74%).经半定量RT-PCR法和RNA印迹分析,表明水稻中OsCOI1表达水平在经茉莉酸甲酯和脱落酸处理后呈明显变化,但不受水杨酸和乙烯的影响,说明OsCOI1可能在茉莉酸信号途径和脱落酸途径中具有特定功能.     

Role of SKP1-CUL1-F-Box-Protein (SCF) E3 Ubiquitin Ligases in Skin Cancer

Many biological processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, and cell death depend precisely on the timely synthesis anddegradation of key regulatory proteins. While protein synthesis can be regulated at multiple levels, protein degradation is mainlycontrolled by the ubiquitineproteasome system (UPS), which consists of two distinct steps: (1) ubiquitylation of targeted protein by E1ubiquitin-activating enzyme, E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme and E3 ubiquitin ligase, and (2) subsequent degradation by the 26Sproteasome. Among all E3 ubiquitin ligases, the SCF (SKP1-CUL1-F-box protein) E3 ligases are the largest family and are responsiblefor the turnover of many key regulatory proteins. Aberrant regulation of SCF E3 ligases is associated with various human diseases, such ascancers, including skin cancer. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of all currently published data to define a promotingrole of SCF E3 ligases in the development of skin cancer. The future directions in this area of research are also discussed with an ultimategoal to develop small molecule inhibitors of SCF E3 ligases as a novel approach for the treatment of human skin cancer. Furthermore,altered components or substrates of SCF E3 ligases may also be developed as the biomarkers for early diagnosis or predicting prognosis.     

Purification and Some Properties of α-Galactosidase from Tubers of Stachys affinis

An α-galactosidase from tubers of S. affinis was purified about 130 fold by ammonium sulfate fractionation, chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and gel filtration on Sephadex G-75. The purified enzyme showed a single protein band on disc gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the enzyme was determined to be approximately 42,000 by gel filtration and 44,000 by SDS disc gel electrophoresis. The optimum reaction pH was 5.2. The enzyme hydrolyzed raffinose more rapidly than planteose. The activation energy of raffinose and planteose by the enzyme was estimated to be 7.89 and 11.4 kcal/mol, respectively. The enzyme activity was inhibited by various galactosides and structural analogs of d-galactose. Besides hydrolytic activity, the enzyme also catalyzed the transfer reaction of d-galactosyl residue from raffinose to methanol.