Acinetobacter baylyi Starvation-Induced Genes Identified through Incubation in Long-Term Stationary Phase

Acinetobacter species encounter cycles of feast and famine in nature. We show that populations of Acinetobacter baylyi strain ADP1 remain dynamic for 6 weeks in batch culture. We created a library of lacZ reporters inserted into SalI sites in the genome and then isolated 30 genes with lacZ insertions whose expression was induced by starvation during long-term stationary phase compared with their expression during exponential growth. The genes encode metabolic, gene expression, DNA maintenance, envelope, and conserved hypothetical proteins.Acinetobacter species are ubiquitous soil organisms. Starvation during long-term stationary phase (LTSP) can serve as a laboratory model for natural competitive conditions such as those found in soils (4). This model has been used to study Escherichia coli, and here, we have applied it to Acinetobacter baylyi strain ADP1 (8).During long-term batch culture, an initially clonal population of Escherichia coli experiences five growth stages: lag, exponential, and stationary phases and then death phase and LTSP (4). Prior to LTSP, most of the cells die and serve as nutrition for starving survivors (6, 13). In LTSP, the cell population remains almost steady, declining slowly over years (reviewed in reference 4): for each newly dead cell, slightly less than one new cell is “born.”Much of what is known about starvation physiology during LTSP has been determined through study of the growth advantage in stationary phase (GASP) phenotype. The phenotype arises from genetic changes that occur when cells experience LTSP. During LTSP, the population may have a mutation frequency approaching 1 in 600 base pairs per genome (5).Some physiological changes that take place during LTSP have been described, as have some genes necessary for the development of GASP (13, reviewed in reference 12). Some mutant strains that exhibit GASP have mutations that enhance catabolic efficiency for processing amino acids (14-16). Another nutrient consumed is DNA, which requires genes homologous to strain ADP1''s competence genes (6). Additionally, mutations that knock out SOS polymerases interfere with the formation of GASP mutants (11).     

Molecular Regulation of Renal Phosphate Transport

Received: 18 April 1996/Revised: 26 June 1996     

菠菜叶片蔗糖磷酸合成酶的调节

电泳均一的菠菜叶片蔗糖磷酸合成酶的活力受G6P,Mg~(2 ),Mn~(2 )的调节;G6P对此酶的促进作用在F6P浓度较低时表现得比较明显;此酶对Mn~(2 )较对Mg~(2 )敏感,Mg~(2 ),Mn~(2 )对此酶的促进作用可被EDTA解除。底物F6P的饱和曲线为S型,底物UDPG的饱和曲线为双曲线型。NADP是此酶的负效应剂,NADP对F6P表现为混合型抑制,使V_m(F6P)降低和K_m(F6P)增大,3mmol/L NADP使F6P的K_m值从2.5mmol/L上升至3.8mmol/L,但不影响希尔系数,n=1.3。NADP对UDPG表现为K_m不变的非竞争性抑制,K_m(UDPG)=3.8mmol/L。     

Phosphate Regulation of Nitrate Assimilation in Soybean

It is known that phosphorus deficiency results in alterationsin the assimilation of nitrogen. An experiment was conductedto investigate mechanisms involved in altered ¹⁵NO^–₃ uptake,endogenous ¹⁵N translocation, and amino acid accumulation insoybean (Glycine max L. Merrill, cv. Ransom) plants deprivedof an external phosphorus supply for 20 d in solution culture.Phosphorus deprivation led to decreased rates of ¹⁵NO^–₃uptake and increased accumulation of absorbed ¹⁵N in the root.Both effects became more pronounced with time. Asparagine, theprimary transport amino acid in soybean, accumulated in largeexcess in roots and stems. In roots of phosphorus-deprived plants,concentrations of ATP and inorganic phosphate declined rapidly,but dry weight accumulation was similar to or above that ofthe control even after 20 d of treatment. Arginine accumulationin leaves was greatly enhanced, even though ¹⁵N partitioninginto the insoluble reduced-N fraction of leaves was unaffected.The results suggest that decreases in NO^–₃ uptake in lowphosphorus plants could be caused by feedback control factorsand by limited ATP availability. The decline in endogenous Ntransport from the root to the shoot may be associated withchanges in membrane properties, which also result in paralleleffects on hydraulic conductance and the upward flow of waterthrough the plant. Key words: Phosphorus stress, nitrate uptake, nitrate translocation, arginine     

植物磷稳态的调控机制

磷是植物必需的重要营养元素之一,是生物大分子的重要组成部分,在植物生命过程中发挥着不可或缺的作用.维持体内磷稳态对于植物的生长发育和环境应答至关重要.多种信号分子参与调控植物对磷的吸收和转运.植物维持磷稳态主要包括土壤磷的活化、磷的吸收、转运、存储和再利用等过程,涉及磷胁迫响应、转录因子调节、miRNA调节、菌根共生、...     

Negative Regulation of Notch Signaling by Xylose

The Notch signaling pathway controls a large number of processes during animal development and adult homeostasis. One of the conserved post-translational modifications of the Notch receptors is the addition of an O-linked glucose to epidermal growth factor-like (EGF) repeats with a C-X-S-X-(P/A)-C motif by Protein O-glucosyltransferase 1 (POGLUT1; Rumi in Drosophila). Genetic experiments in flies and mice, and in vivo structure-function analysis in flies indicate that O-glucose residues promote Notch signaling. The O-glucose residues on mammalian Notch1 and Notch2 proteins are efficiently extended by the addition of one or two xylose residues through the function of specific mammalian xylosyltransferases. However, the contribution of xylosylation to Notch signaling is not known. Here, we identify the Drosophila enzyme Shams responsible for the addition of xylose to O-glucose on EGF repeats. Surprisingly, loss- and gain-of-function experiments strongly suggest that xylose negatively regulates Notch signaling, opposite to the role played by glucose residues. Mass spectrometric analysis of Drosophila Notch indicates that addition of xylose to O-glucosylated Notch EGF repeats is limited to EGF14–20. A Notch transgene with mutations in the O-glucosylation sites of Notch EGF16–20 recapitulates the shams loss-of-function phenotypes, and suppresses the phenotypes caused by the overexpression of human xylosyltransferases. Antibody staining in animals with decreased Notch xylosylation indicates that xylose residues on EGF16–20 negatively regulate the surface expression of the Notch receptor. Our studies uncover a specific role for xylose in the regulation of the Drosophila Notch signaling, and suggest a previously unrecognized regulatory role for EGF16–20 of Notch.     

Toll样受体信号通路的负调控

综述了Toll样受体(Toll-like receptors,TLRs)介导炎症反应信号通路的负调控机理．TLRs可以被病原体激活并迅速启动炎症反应,对先天性和获得性免疫反应起着重要调节作用．TLRs介导的免疫反应必须受到严格的调控,持续激活状态可长时间高表达炎症因子,导致机体产生慢性炎症、自身免疫紊乱和其他TLRs相关疾病．正常生理状态下,机体存在着多种TLRs的负调控机制,以维持免疫反应的平衡．该领域的研究近年来取得了重要进展,为许多免疫相关疾病的治疗提供了线索．     

Starvation-Induced Effects on Bacterial Surface Characteristics

Changes in bacterial surface hydrophobicity, charge, and degree of irreversible binding to glass surfaces of seven marine isolates were followed during starvation. The degree of hydrophobicity was measured by hydrophobic interaction chromatography and by two-phase separation in a hexadecane-water system, whereas changes in charge were measured by electrostatic interaction chromatography. All isolates underwent the starvation-induced responses of fragmentation, which is defined as division without growth, and continuous size reduction, which results in populations with increased numbers of smaller cells. The latter process was also responsible for a significant proportion of the total drop in cell volume; this was observed by noting the biovolume (the average cell multiplied by the number of bacteria) of a population after various times of starvation. Four strains exhibited increases in both hydrophobicity and irreversible binding, initiated after different starvation times. The most hydrophilic and most hydrophobic isolates both showed a small increase in the degree of irreversible binding after only 5 h, followed by a small decrease after 22 h. Their hydrophobicity remained constant, however, throughout the entire starvation period. On the other hand, one strain, EF190, increased its hydrophobicity after 5 h of starvation, although the degree of irreversible binding remained constant. Charge effects could not be generally related to the increase in irreversible binding. Scanning electron micrographs showed a large increase in surface roughness throughout the starvation period for all strains that showed marked changes in physicochemical characteristics.     

植物果实成熟相关基因的转录调控

本文综述了番茄和苹果的一些果实成熟相关基因启动子的结构和作用特点,以及植物果实相关基因转录调控机制的研究现状。     

Regulation of Phosphate Accumulation in the Unicellular Cyanobacterium Synechococcus

The phosphorus contents of acid-soluble pools, lipid, ribonucleic acid, and acid-insoluble polyphosphate were lowered in Synechococcus in proportion to the reduction in growth rate in phosphate-limited but not in nitrate-limited continuous culture. Phosphorus in these cell fractions was lost proportionately during progressive phosphate starvation of batch cultures. Acid-insoluble polyphosphate was always present in all cultural conditions to about 10% of total cell phosphorus and did not turn over during balanced exponential growth. Extensive polyphosphate formation occurred transiently when phosphate was given to cells which had been phosphate limited. This material was broken down after 8 h even in the presence of excess external orthophosphate, and its phosphorus was transferred into other cell fractions, notably ribonucleic acid. Phosphate uptake kinetics indicated an invariant apparent K(m) of about 0.5 muM, but V(max) was 40 to 50 times greater in cells from phosphate-limited cultures than in cells from nitrate-limited or balanced batch cultures. Over 90% of the phosphate taken up within the first 30 s at 15 degrees C was recovered as orthophosphate. The uptake process is highly specific, since neither phosphate entry nor growth was affected by a 100-fold excess of arsenate. The activity of polyphosphate synthetase in cell extracts increased at least 20-fold during phosphate starvation or in phosphate-restricted growth, but polyphosphatase activity was little changed by different growth conditions. The findings suggest that derepression of the phosphate transport and polyphosphate-synthesizing systems as well as alkaline phosphatase occurs in phosphate shortage, but that the breakdown of polyphosphate in this organism is regulated by modulation of existing enzyme activity.