Unraveling the Novel Structure and Biosynthetic Pathway of O-Linked Glycans in the Golgi Apparatus of the Human Pathogenic Yeast Cryptococcus neoformans

Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated basidiomycete causing cryptococcosis in immunocompromised humans. The cell surface mannoproteins of C. neoformans were reported to stimulate the host T-cell response and to be involved in fungal pathogenicity; however, their O-glycan structure is uncharacterized. In this study, we performed a detailed structural analysis of the O-glycans attached to cryptococcal mannoproteins using HPLC combined with exoglycosidase treatment and showed that the major C. neoformans O-glycans were short manno-oligosaccharides that were connected mostly by α1,2-linkages but connected by an α1,6-linkage at the third mannose residue. Comparison of the O-glycan profiles from wild-type and uxs1Δ mutant strains strongly supports the presence of minor O-glycans carrying a xylose residue. Further analyses of C. neoformans mutant strains identified three mannosyltransferase genes involved in O-glycan extensions in the Golgi. C. neoformans KTR3, the only homolog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae KRE2/MNT1 family genes, was shown to encode an α1,2-mannosyltransferase responsible for the addition of the second mannose residue via an α1,2-linkage to the major O-glycans. C. neoformans HOC1 and HOC3, homologs of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae OCH1 family genes, were shown to encode α1,6-mannosyltransferases that can transfer the third mannose residue, via an α1,6-linkage, to minor O-glycans containing xylose and to major O-glycans without xylose, respectively. Moreover, the C. neoformans ktr3Δ mutant strain, which displayed increased sensitivity to SDS, high salt, and high temperature, showed attenuated virulence in a mouse model of cryptococcosis, suggesting that the extended structure of O-glycans is required for cell integrity and full pathogenicity of C. neoformans.     

Differentiation and wall chemistry of Agaricus bisporus vegetative and aggregated micelia

Changes in the chemical composition of isolated cell walls and fractions were encountered during the differentiation of vegetative and aggregated mycelia of Agaricus bisporus.Differentiation was accompanied by quantitative variations of the wall polysaccharidic components. Neutral carbohydrates were composed of glucose, galactose, mannose and xylose and glucosamine as the only amino sugar. Differences in wall chemistry were correlated to the secondary and tertiary mycelial forms.     

栽培稻与其野生近缘种的可交配性研究

通过人工授粉方法研究栽培稻与二倍体和四倍体野生稻之间的可交配性.以栽培稻为对照,用光学显微镜观察不同野生稻花粉在同一栽培种柱头上的萌发生长情况.结果表明,在栽培稻柱头上普通野生稻(AA)花粉萌发最好,与对照萌发情况相近.药用野生稻(CC)萌发差,表现为柱头上花粉附着量少,开始萌发时间迟,萌发量少,花粉管扭曲、缠绕、伸长慢等.四倍体野生稻未观察到有萌发现象.说明普通野生稻与栽培稻亲缘关系近,可交配性好;药用野生稻与栽培稻可交配性差;四倍体野生稻与栽培稻可交配性极差.由此推断,转基因水稻与普通野生稻通过花粉途径发生基因漂移的可能性很大,而与药用野生稻和其他基因组野生稻发生基因漂移的可能性很小.     

小花清风藤的化学成分研究

利用Sephadex LH-20,硅胶柱色谱和硅胶制备薄层色谱等分离方法反复分离纯化,从小花清风藤（Sabia parviflora Wall．ex Roxb）中分离得到9个化合物,通过波谱数据分析分别鉴定它们为二十五烷酸（1）、木栓酮（2）、5-氧阿朴菲碱（3）、3-氧化齐墩果酸甲酯（4）、齐墩果酸（5）、羽扇豆-20（29）-烯-3-酮（6）、羽扇豆醇（7）、β-谷甾醇（8）、脱镁叶绿甲酯酸（9）。化合物2,6、7、9首次从该植物中分离得到。     

金线莲挥发油化学成分的研究

采用水蒸气蒸馏法提取花叶开唇兰挥发油,用GC毛细管柱进行分析,归一化法测定其相对含量,并用GC-MS法鉴定化学成分。检出182个成分,鉴定出73个化合物,占挥发油总量的92.64%,主要成分为:正十六烷酸(25.22%)、(Z,Z)-9,12-十八碳二烯酸甲酯(6.47%)、11,14,17-二十碳三烯酸甲酯(4.42%)、(Z,Z)-9,12-十八碳二烯酸(15.35%)和(Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-十八碳三烯酸甲酯(13.64%)。     

The Structure of NtdA,a Sugar Aminotransferase Involved in the Kanosamine Biosynthetic Pathway in Bacillus subtilis,Reveals a New Subclass of Aminotransferases

NtdA from Bacillus subtilis is a sugar aminotransferase that catalyzes the pyridoxal phosphate-dependent equatorial transamination of 3-oxo-α-d-glucose 6-phosphate to form α-d-kanosamine 6-phosphate. The crystal structure of NtdA shows that NtdA shares the common aspartate aminotransferase fold (Type 1) with residues from both monomers forming the active site. The crystal structures of NtdA alone, co-crystallized with the product α-d-kanosamine 6-phosphate, and incubated with the amine donor glutamate reveal three key structures in the mechanistic pathway of NtdA. The structure of NtdA alone reveals the internal aldimine form of NtdA with the cofactor pyridoxal phosphate covalently attached to Lys-247. The addition of glutamate results in formation of pyridoxamine phosphate. Co-crystallization with kanosamine 6-phosphate results in the formation of the external aldimine. Only α-d-kanosamine 6-phosphate is observed in the active site of NtdA, not the β-anomer. A comparison of the structure and sequence of NtdA with other sugar aminotransferases enables us to propose that the VI_β family of aminotransferases should be divided into subfamilies based on the catalytic lysine motif.     

Cyclic Di-AMP Homeostasis in Bacillus subtilis: BOTH LACK AND HIGH LEVEL ACCUMULATION OF THE NUCLEOTIDE ARE DETRIMENTAL FOR CELL GROWTH*

The genome of the Gram-positive soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis encodes three potential diadenylate cyclases that may synthesize the signaling nucleotide cyclic di-AMP (c-di-AMP). These enzymes are expressed under different conditions in different cell compartments, and they localize to distinct positions in the cell. Here we demonstrate the diadenylate cyclase activity of the so far uncharacterized enzymes CdaA (previously known as YbbP) and CdaS (YojJ). Our work confirms that c-di-AMP is essential for the growth of B. subtilis and shows that an excess of the molecule is also harmful for the bacteria. Several lines of evidence suggest that the diadenylate cyclase CdaA is part of the conserved essential cda-glm module involved in cell wall metabolism. In contrast, the CdaS enzyme seems to provide c-di-AMP for spores. Accumulation of large amounts of c-di-AMP impairs the growth of B. subtilis and results in the formation of aberrant curly cells. This phenotype can be partially suppressed by elevated concentrations of magnesium. These observations suggest that c-di-AMP interferes with the peptidoglycan synthesis machinery. The activity of the diadenylate cyclases is controlled by distinct molecular mechanisms. CdaA is stimulated by a regulatory interaction with the CdaR (YbbR) protein. In contrast, the activity of CdaS seems to be intrinsically restricted, and a single amino acid substitution is sufficient to drastically increase the activity of the enzyme. Taken together, our results support the idea of an important role for c-di-AMP in B. subtilis and suggest that the levels of the nucleotide have to be tightly controlled.     

A study of wall shear stress in 12 aneurysms with respect to different viscosity models and flow conditions

Recent computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies relate abnormal blood flow to rupture of cerebral aneurysms. However, it is still debated how to model blood flow with sufficient accuracy. Common assumptions made include Newtonian behaviour of blood, traction free outlet boundary conditions and inlet boundary conditions based on available literature. These assumptions are often required since the available patient specific data is usually restricted to the geometry of the aneurysm and the surrounding vasculature. However, the consequences of these assumptions have so far been inadequately addressed.     

Pulsatile Flow Inside Moderately Elastic Arteries,Its Modelling and Effects of Elasticity

Pulsatile flow inside a moderately elastic circular conduit with a smooth expansion is studied as a model to understand the influence of wall elasticity in artery flow. The solution of the simultaneous fluid-wall evolution is evaluated by a perturbative method, where the zeroth order solution is represented by the flow in a rigid vessel; the first order correction gives the wall motion and induced flow modification without the need to solve the difficult coupled problem. Such an approach essentially assumes a locally infinite celerity, therefore it represent a good approximation for the fluid-wall interaction in sites of limited extent (branches, stenosis, aneurism, etc.), which include typical situations associated with vascular diseases. The problem is solved numerically in the axisymmetric approximation; the influence of wall elasticity on the flow and on the unsteady wall shear stress is studied in correspondence of parameters taken from realistic artery flow. Attention is posed to the role of phase difference between the incoming pressure and flow pulses.