Molecular cloning,characterization and expression analysis of BcHHP3 under abiotic stress in Pak-choi (Brassica rapa ssp. Chinensis)

In this study, BcHHP3 was isolated from Pak-choi; it has an open-reading frame (ORF) of 1044 base pairs, encoding 347 amino acids, a molecular weight of 39.35?kDa, isoelectric point (pI) of 9.08, an instability index of 48.35, and grand average of hydropathicity of 0.382. Multi-alignment and phylogenetic analysis showed that BcHHP3 bears a high similarity to AtHHP2. As predicted by SOMPA and SWISS-MODEL databases, the structure of the BcHHP3 protein is relatively stable and highly conservative. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that BcHHP3 was induced to co-express under cold and abscisic acid (ABA) stresses. The BcHHP3-GFP fusion protein was localized on the cell membrane and nuclear membrane. This work might be useful for future analysis of other HHP-like genes in Pak-choi.     

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) synthesis in fed-batch culture of Ralstonia eutropha with phosphate limitation under different glucose concentrations

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) was produced by fed-batch cultures of Ralstonia eutropha with phosphate limitation under different glucose concentrations. When glucose was kept at 2.5 g l^–1, cell growth and PHB synthesis were limited due to the shortage of carbon source but a higher PHB content occurred in the cell-growth stage. This shows that a low glucose concentration is favorable for PHB accumulation in R. eutropha. PHB obtained with glucose at 9 g l^–1 is 1.6 times that obtained with 40 g l^–1. When glucose was in the range of 9 to 40 g l^–1, PHB concentration and productivity decreased significantly with the increase of glucose concentration. The highest PHB productivity was obtained with glucose at 9 g l^–1.     

Gene expression analysis in LLC-PK1 renal tubular cells by atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP): correlation of homologous human genes with renal response

We used human DNA microarray to explore the differential gene expression profiling of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP)-stimulated renal tubular epithelial kidney cells (LLC-PK1) in order to understand the biological effect of ANP on renal kidney cell's response. Gene expression profiling revealed 807 differentially expressed genes, consisting of 483 up-regulated and 324 down-regulated genes. The bioinformatics tool was used to gain a better understanding of differentially expressed genes in porcine genome homologous with human genome and to search the gene ontology and category classification, such as cellular component, molecular function and biological process. Four up-regulated genes of ATP1B1, H3F3A, ITGB1 and RHO that were typically validated by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis serve important roles in the alleviation of renal hypertrophy as well as other related effects. Therefore, the human array can be used for gene expression analysis in pig kidney cells and we believe that our findings of differentially expressed genes served as genetic markers and biological functions can lead to a better understanding of ANP action on the renal protective system and may be used for further therapeutic application.