Biotransformation of (−)‐(R)‐α‐Phellandrene: Antimicrobial Activity of Its Major Metabolite

Terpene derivatives converted by microbial biotransformation constitute an important resource for natural pharmaceutical, fragrance, and aroma substances. In the present study, the monoterpene α‐phellandrene was biotransformed by 16 different strains of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, and yeasts). The transformation metabolites were initially screened by TLC and GC/MS, and then further characterized by NMR spectroscopic techniques. Among the six metabolites characterized, 6‐hydroxypiperitone, α‐phellandrene epoxide, cis‐p‐menth‐2‐en‐1‐ol, and carvotanacetone, which originated from (?)‐(R)‐α‐phellandrene, are reported for the first time in this study. Additionally, the substrate and the metabolite 5‐p‐menthene‐1,2‐diol were subjected to in vitro antibacterial and anticandidal tests. The metabolite showed moderate‐to‐good inhibitory activities (MICs=0.125 to >4 mg/ml) against various bacteria and especially against Candida species in comparison with its substrate (?)‐(R)‐α‐phellandrene and standard antimicrobial agents.     

齐墩果醇-龙胆三糖苷雌激素样作用及其对肝癌HepG2细胞增殖的影响

肝癌目前已经成为世界第三大癌症,临床数据显示雌激素及其受体与肝癌关系密切.苯并呋喃类化合物有报道具有雌激素样作用.所以,作为苯并呋喃的一种,研究齐墩果醇-龙胆三糖苷雌激素样作用及其对HepG2细胞增殖的影响显得尤为重要.在瞬时转染有ERE(雌激素作用元件)报告基因的HepG2中,齐墩果醇-龙胆三糖苷显示了同17β-雌二醇一样激活ERE报告基因的作用;而在瞬时转染有CRE(cAMP 作用元件)报告基因的HepG2中,齐墩果醇-龙胆三糖苷也显示了升高cAMP浓度的作用,进一步提示齐墩果醇-龙胆三糖苷的类雌激素样作用.齐墩果醇-龙胆三糖苷对HepG2细胞增殖实验显示,30 μmol/L浓度时该化合物的雌激素样作用同17β-雌二醇一样有相似的促HepG2细胞增殖作用.     

Biotransformation of the Major Fungal Metabolite 3,5-Dichloro- p-Anisyl Alcohol under Anaerobic Conditions and Its Role in Formation of Bis(3,5-Dichloro-4-Hydroxyphenyl)methane

Higher fungi have a widespread capacity for biosynthesis of organohalogens. Commonly occurring chloroaromatic fungal metabolites can end up in anaerobic microniches at the boundary of fungal colonies and wetland soils. The aim of this study was to investigate the environmental fate of a major fungal metabolite, 3,5-dichloro-p-anisyl alcohol, under anaerobic conditions. This compound was incubated with methanogenic sludge to study its biotransformation reactions. Initially, 3,5-dichloro-p-anisyl alcohol was readily demethylated in stoichiometric quantities to 3,5-dichloro-4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol. The demethylated product was converted further via two routes: a biotic route leading to the formation of 3,5-dichloro-4-hydroxybenzoate and 2,6-dichlorophenol, as well as an abiotic route leading to the formation of bis(3,5-dichloro-4-hydroxyphenyl)methane. In the first route, the benzyl alcohol moiety on the aromatic ring was oxidized, giving 3,5-dichloro-4-hydroxybenzoate as a transient or accumulating product, depending on the type of methanogenic sludge used. In sludge previously adapted to low-molecular-weight lignin from straw, a part of the 3,5-dichloro-4-hydroxybenzoate was decarboxylated, yielding detectable levels of 2,6-dichlorophenol. In the second route, 3,5-dichloro-4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol dimerized, leading to the formation of a tetrachlorinated bisphenolic compound, which was identified as bis(3,5-dichloro-4-hydroxyphenyl)methane. Since formation of this dimer was also observed in incubations with autoclaved sludge spiked with 3,5-dichloro-4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, it was concluded that its formation was due to an abiotic process. However, demethylation of the fungal metabolite by biological processes was a prerequisite for dimerization. The most probable reaction mechanism leading to the formation of the tetrachlorinated dimer in the absence of oxygen is presented, and the possible environmental implications of its natural occurrence are discussed.     

A New Fungal Metabolite and Root Growth-stimulating Activity of Its Methyl Ester

Escherichia coli rodA mutant AOS151 grows as round cells at 30 and 42°C (H. Matsuzawa, K. Hayakawa, T. Sato, and K. Imahori, J. Bacteriol., 115, 436–442 (1973)). The mutant was found to be resistant to mecillinam at both temperatures. lip⁺ transductants were prepared by Pl phage transduction via strain AOS151, the cotransduction frequency of round morphology (Rod^?) at 42°C with the lip gene being about 90%. At 42°C all 54 Rod^? transductants tested were resistant to mecillinam. At 30°C all but two of these Rod^? (at 42°C)-type transductants were rod-shaped, and all were sensitive to mecillinam; the two strains grew as ovoid cells. The original rodA mutant AOS151 probably involves an additional mutation(s), that expresses the round cell shape at lower temperature, whereas the rodA51 mutation alone seems to result in temperature-sensitive expression of round cell morphology and mecillinam resistance. rodA mutant cells cultured at either 30 or 42°C had wild-type penicillin-binding protein 2, judging from penicillin-binding activity, electrophoretic mobility, and thermosensitivity.     

Ecological Risk Assessment for Irgarol 1051 and Its Major Metabolite in United States Surface Waters

The objective of this study was to determine the ecological risk of the antifoulant Irgarol 1051 and its major metabolite (GS26575) in United States surface waters by using a probabilistic approach. Distributions of environmental exposure data were compared with the distribution of species response data from laboratory studies to quantify the likelihood and significance of ecological risk. Water monitoring data from both the Chesapeake Bay (2001) and southeast Florida (1999–2001) were used to characterize exposure. Toxicity testing has demonstrated that plants are much more sensitive to Irgarol and GS26575 than animals; therefore, the conservative effects benchmark used to characterize risk was the plant 10th centile for both Irgarol (251 ng/L) and GS26575 (12,500 ng/L). Ecological risk from Irgarol exposure in Chesapeake Bay marinas, a river, and a mainstem area was generally low with the possible exception of the Port Annapolis marina in Annapolis, Maryland. This enclosed marina has a high density of boats, a low flushing rate, and has historically been reported as a “worst case scenario” for other antifoulants such as tributyltin. Ecological risk from GS26575 exposure at Chesapeake Bay sites was judged to be very low as all environmental concentrations were an order of magnitude below the effects threshold for plants. Ecological risk from Irgarol exposure in southeast Florida surface waters was found to be low at various marina, port, river, bay/embayment, channel, and ocean areas. Even the highest Irgarol concentration reported in southeast Florida waters (182 ng/L) was less than the conservative Irgarol effects benchmark of 251 ng/L (plant 10th centile). Ecological risk from GS26575 exposure in southeast Florida waters was also very low.     

邻苯二甲酸酯类污染物雌激素结合活性筛查

以倏逝波光纤荧光生物传感器为平台,以邻苯二甲酸酯类(PAEs)污染物为靶标,优化了基于受体作用理论的生物传感分析技术,实现了PAEs雌激素结合活性的定性筛查。对7种典型邻苯二甲酸酯的雌激素结合活性测试结果为BBP>DBP>DIPP,其他4种物质几乎无雌激素结合活性,结果与文献广泛报道结论相一致,验证了所建立方法的准确性。在最优测试条件下,光纤传感界面可再生300次以上,为雌激素活性污染物的筛查提供了一种低成本、自动化方法。     

Mouse Leydig Cells with Different Androgen Production Potential Are Resistant to Estrogenic Stimuli but Responsive to Bisphenol A Which Attenuates Testosterone Metabolism

It is well known that estrogens and estrogen-like endocrine disruptors can suppress steroidogenic gene expression, attenuate androgen production and decrease differentiation of adult Leydig cell lineage. However, there is no information about the possible link between the potency of Leydig cells to produce androgens and their sensitivity to estrogenic stimuli. Thus, the present study explored the relationship between androgen production potential of Leydig cells and their responsiveness to estrogenic compounds. To investigate this relationship we selected mouse genotypes contrasting in sex hormone levels and differing in testosterone/estradiol (T/E₂) ratio. We found that two mouse genotypes, CBA/Lac and C57BL/6j have the highest and the lowest serum T/E₂ ratio associated with increased serum LH level in C57BL/6j compared to CBA/Lac. Analysis of steroidogenic gene expression demonstrated significant upregulation of Cyp19 gene expression but coordinated suppression of LHR, StAR, 3βHSDI and Cyp17a1 in Leydig cells from C57BL/6j that was associated with attenuated androgen production in basal and hCG-stimulated conditions compared to CBA/Lac mice. These genotype-dependent differences in steroidogenesis were not linked to changes in the expression of estrogen receptors ERα and Gpr30, while ERβ expression was attenuated in Leydig cells from C57BL/6j compared to CBA/Lac. No effects of estrogenic agonists on steroidogenesis in Leydig cells from both genotypes were found. In contrast, xenoestrogen bisphenol A significantly potentiated hCG-activated androgen production by Leydig cells from C57BL/6j and CBA/Lac mice by suppressing conversion of testosterone into corresponding metabolite 5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol. All together our data indicate that developing mouse Leydig cells with different androgen production potential are resistant to estrogenic stimuli, while xenoestrogen BPA facilitates hCG-induced steroidogenesis in mouse Leydig cells via attenuation of testosterone metabolism. This cellular event can cause premature maturation of Leydig cells that may create abnormal intratesticular paracrine milieu and disturb proper development of germ cells.     

Leucine Signals to mTORC1 via Its Metabolite Acetyl-Coenzyme A

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Flavonoids from Seeds of Camellia semiserrata Chi. and Their Estrogenic Activity

Two new flavonol glycosides and three known flavonoids were isolated from seeds of Camellia semiserrata Chi. The structures of these new flavonol glycosides were established as kaempferol 3-O-[(2'''',3'''',4''''-triacetyl)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→3)(2''',4'''-diacetyl)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside] and kaempferol 3-O-[(3'''',4''''-diacetyl)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→3)(2''',4'''-diacetyl)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside] by spectroscopic methods. The estrogenic activity of these compounds was investigated by a recombinant yeast screening assay.     

Identification and Validation of Urinary Metabolite Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a widespread and debilitating mental disorder. However, there are no biomarkers available to aid in the diagnosis of this disorder. In this study, a nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy–based metabonomic approach was employed to profile urine samples from 82 first-episode drug-naïve depressed subjects and 82 healthy controls (the training set) in order to identify urinary metabolite biomarkers for MDD. Then, 44 unselected depressed subjects and 52 healthy controls (the test set) were used to independently validate the diagnostic generalizability of these biomarkers. A panel of five urinary metabolite biomarkers—malonate, formate, N-methylnicotinamide, m-hydroxyphenylacetate, and alanine—was identified. This panel was capable of distinguishing depressed subjects from healthy controls with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.81 in the training set. Moreover, this panel could classify blinded samples from the test set with an AUC of 0.89. These findings demonstrate that this urinary metabolite biomarker panel can aid in the future development of a urine-based diagnostic test for MDD.Major depressive disorder (MDD)¹ is a debilitating mental disorder affecting up to 15% of the general population and accounting for 12.3% of the global burden of disease (1, 2). Currently, the diagnosis of MDD still relies on the subjective identification of symptom clusters rather than empirical laboratory tests. The current diagnostic modality results in a considerable error rate (3), as the clinical presentation of MDD is highly heterogeneous and the current symptom-based method is not capable of adequately characterizing this heterogeneity (4). An approach that can be used to circumvent these limitations is to identify disease biomarkers to support objective diagnostic laboratory tests for MDD.Metabonomics, which can measure the small molecules in given biosamples such as plasma and urine without bias (5), has been extensively used to characterize the metabolic changes of diseases and thus facilitate the identification of novel disease-specific signatures as putative biomarkers (6–10). Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy–based metabonomic approaches characterized by sensitive, high-throughput molecular screening have been employed previously in identifying novel biomarkers for a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, including stroke, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia (11–13).Specifically with regard to MDD, several animal studies have already characterized the metabolic changes in the blood and urine (14–19). These studies provide valuable clues as to the pathophysiological mechanism of MDD. However, no study has been designed with the aim of diagnosing this disease. Recently, using an NMR-based metabonomic approach, this research group identified a unique plasma metabolic signature that enables the discrimination of MDD from healthy controls with both high sensitivity and specificity (20). These findings motivated further study on urinary diagnostic metabolite biomarkers for MDD, which would be more valuable from a clinical applicability standpoint, as urine can be more non-invasively collected. Moreover, previous studies have also demonstrated the feasibility of identifying diagnostic metabolite biomarkers of psychiatric disorders in the urine. For example, using an NMR-based metabonomics approach, Yap et al. (21) identified a unique urinary metabolite signature that clearly discriminated autism patients from healthy controls. As systemic metabolic disturbances have been observed in the urine of a depressed animal model, it is likely that diagnostic metabolite markers for MDD can be detected in human urine.Therefore, in this study, NMR spectroscopy combined with multivariate pattern recognition techniques were used to profile 82 first-episode drug-naïve MDD subjects and 82 healthy controls (the training set) in order to identify potential metabolite biomarkers for MDD. Furthermore, 44 unselected MDD subjects and 52 healthy controls (the test set) were employed to independently validate the diagnostic performance of these urinary metabolite biomarkers.     

A Metabolomic Approach to Study Major Metabolite Changes during Acclimation to Limiting CO2 in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-time of flight technique, we determined major metabolite changes during induction of the carbon-concentrating mechanism in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. In total, 128 metabolites with significant differences between high- and low-CO₂-grown cells were detected, of which 82 were wholly or partially identified, including amino acids, lipids, and carbohydrates. In a 24-h time course experiment, we show that the amino acids serine and phenylalanine increase transiently while aspartate and glutamate decrease after transfer to low CO₂. The biggest differences were typically observed 3 h after transfer to low-CO₂ conditions. Therefore, we made a careful metabolomic examination at the 3-h time point, comparing low-CO₂ treatment to high-CO₂ control. Five metabolites involved in photorespiration, 11 amino acids, and one lipid were increased, while six amino acids and, interestingly, 21 lipids were significantly lower. Our conclusion is that the metabolic pattern during early induction of the carbon-concentrating mechanism fit a model where photorespiration is increasing.Most microalgae express a carbon-concentrating mechanism (CCM; Raven et al., 2005). The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is one of the species with a CCM (Giordano et al., 2005). The CCM in C. reinhardtii is typically induced when the concentration of CO₂ in the air bubbled through the cultures is decreased to around 0.5% or lower (Vance and Spalding, 2005). Within the first few hours after starting the induction, numerous genes are either up- or down-regulated (Miura et al., 2004; Yamano et al., 2008; Yamano and Fukuzawa, 2009). However, the change in gene expression is only manifested as rather limited detectable changes in the abundance of proteins (Manuel and Moroney, 1988; Spalding and Jeffrey, 1989). Even though the response to decreased concentrations of inorganic carbon (C_i) is fast (Eriksson et al., 1998), the algal cells go through a transient phase before the CCM is fully operational.Many genes coding for enzymes of the photorespiratory pathway are up-regulated (Marek and Spalding, 1991; Miura et al., 2002, 2004) within 20 min and show a transient expression pattern (Tural and Moroney, 2005; Yamano et al., 2008). A decline in starch content is also detectable within 30 min after transfer to low CO₂ (Kuchitsu et al., 1988). This decline in starch is followed, after about 2 h, by a net synthesis of starch (Thyssen et al., 2001) that is mainly deposited around the pyrenoid, rather than as the starch grains distributed in the stroma normally found in high-CO₂-grown cells. When the CCM is fully induced, the alga can concentrate C_i inside the cell/chloroplast against a free-energy gradient. Accumulation of C_i increases the CO₂-oxygen ratio at the site of Rubisco (Giordano et al., 2005), with a corresponding increase in photosynthesis, a decrease in photorespiration, and a greater capacity for net organic carbon production at low external C_i (Giordano et al., 2003).Induction of the CCM is thus known to affect genes of many different pathways, and especially the photorespiratory pathway has been studied extensively (Moroney et al., 1986; Tural and Moroney, 2005). The aim of this work was to screen for metabolic changes in order to find key metabolites that could trigger the expression of genes that regulate the CCM. We have extended the analyses by using metabolomics to detect changes in major metabolites, particularly in the beginning of the induction period but also in preliminary experiments, over a 24-h time period. The resulting metabolic changes have enabled us to propose a working model for the coordinated regulation of cellular metabolism during the induction of the CCM in C. reinhardtii.     

一株放线菌代谢产物除草活性的初步研究

从土壤中分离筛选出1株编号为Z40的链霉菌菌株,其代谢产物具有明显的除草活性。室内生物测定结果表明,Z40菌株发酵液干物质的除草活性主要表现为抑制生长作用。对反枝苋的主根和主茎生长抑制中浓度(EC50)分别为276.76 mg/L和1 609.37 mg/L,对狗尾草的主根和主茎生长抑制中浓度分别为501.81mg/L和629.01 mg/L。浓度为10 000 mg/L对油菜的萌发抑制率和主茎生长抑制率均为100.00%,而对小麦的生长发育没有明显影响。田间试验结果表明,Z40菌株代谢产物对稗、狗尾草、铁苋菜的防治效果均在80%以上,抑制率分别为80.30%,81.59%和88.71%。     

Biotransformation of Trichoderma spp. and Their Tolerance to Aromatic Amines,a Major Class of Pollutants

Trichoderma spp. are cosmopolitan soil fungi that are highly resistant to many toxic compounds. Here, we show that Trichoderma virens and T. reesei are tolerant to aromatic amines (AA), a major class of pollutants including the highly toxic pesticide residue 3,4-dichloroaniline (3,4-DCA). In a previous study, we provided proof-of-concept remediation experiments in which another soil fungus, Podospora anserina, detoxifies 3,4-DCA through its arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT), a xenobiotic-metabolizing enzyme that enables acetyl coenzyme A-dependent detoxification of AA. To assess whether the N-acetylation pathway enables AA tolerance in Trichoderma spp., we cloned and characterized NATs from T. virens and T. reesei. We characterized recombinant enzymes by determining their catalytic efficiencies toward several toxic AA. Through a complementary approach, we also demonstrate that both Trichoderma species efficiently metabolize 3,4-DCA. Finally, we provide evidence that NAT-independent transformation is solely (in T. virens) or mainly (in T. reesei) responsible for the observed removal of 3,4-DCA. We conclude that T. virens and, to a lesser extent, T. reesei likely utilize another, unidentified, metabolic pathway for the detoxification of AA aside from acetylation. This is the first molecular and functional characterization of AA biotransformation in Trichoderma spp. Given the potential of Trichoderma for cleanup of contaminated soils, these results reveal new possibilities in the fungal remediation of AA-contaminated soil.     

Task-Driven Activity Reduces the Cortical Activity Space of the Brain: Experiment and Whole-Brain Modeling

How a stimulus or a task alters the spontaneous dynamics of the brain remains a fundamental open question in neuroscience. One of the most robust hallmarks of task/stimulus-driven brain dynamics is the decrease of variability with respect to the spontaneous level, an effect seen across multiple experimental conditions and in brain signals observed at different spatiotemporal scales. Recently, it was observed that the trial-to-trial variability and temporal variance of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals decrease in the task-driven activity. Here we examined the dynamics of a large-scale model of the human cortex to provide a mechanistic understanding of these observations. The model allows computing the statistics of synaptic activity in the spontaneous condition and in putative tasks determined by external inputs to a given subset of brain regions. We demonstrated that external inputs decrease the variance, increase the covariances, and decrease the autocovariance of synaptic activity as a consequence of single node and large-scale network dynamics. Altogether, these changes in network statistics imply a reduction of entropy, meaning that the spontaneous synaptic activity outlines a larger multidimensional activity space than does the task-driven activity. We tested this model’s prediction on fMRI signals from healthy humans acquired during rest and task conditions and found a significant decrease of entropy in the stimulus-driven activity. Altogether, our study proposes a mechanism for increasing the information capacity of brain networks by enlarging the volume of possible activity configurations at rest and reliably settling into a confined stimulus-driven state to allow better transmission of stimulus-related information.     

Simultaneous Measurement of Nicotinic Acid and Its Major Metabolite,Nicotinuric Acid in Blood and Urine by a Reversed-phase High-performance Liquid Chromatography

The linear chromosome of Streptomyces griseus IFO13350 contains not only atypical telomere sequences but also probable pseudogenes for two typical telomeric proteins. Two identical operons (SGR98t-SGR97t near one telomere and SGR7041t-SGR7042t near the other telomere) in the terminal inverted repeat sequence were predicted to encode a novel pair of telomeric proteins. SGR97t, a 185-amino-acid protein showing only 18% amino acid sequence identity to typical terminal proteins of Streptomyces, was found to be attached to the chromosomal ends, as determined by immunological analysis. On the other hand, electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that SGR98t, an 837-amino-acid protein having a DnaB-like helicase C-terminal domain, was capable of binding specifically to the single-stranded terminal DNA corresponding to the 3′ overhang of the replication intermediate. These results indicate that SGR97t (and SGR7042t) and SGR98t (and SGR7041t) were the functional telomeric proteins in the replication of the linear chromosome of S. griseus IFO13350.     

Isolation and Physiological Activity of Sclerin,a Metabolite of Sclerotinia Fungus

Sclerin, a colorless crystalline, C₁₃H₁₄O₄ compound melting at 123°C was at first isolated as a lipase formation stimulating constituent of Sclerotinia libertiana, from its own mycelial extract, and infrared spectrum showed the presence a hydroxyl group and a lactone ring. Sclerin was found to promote also the enzyme formation and growth of various plant seedlings such as those of castor bean-, mung bean-, and rice seedlings. In the growth of the sclerin-treated plant, promotion of root formation and increase of dry weight per unit shoot length were noticed, and the combined use of sclerin and gibberellin brought about a synergistic effect on the growth of rice seedlings. The relationship between sclerin and some other plant growth regulators in the enzyme formation of germinating seeds was also described.     

Proline Reduces Creatine Kinase Activity in the Brain Cortex of Rats

Type II hyperprolinemia is an inherited disorder caused by a deficiency of ¹-pyrroline-5-carboxilic acid dehydrogenase, whose biochemical hallmark is proline accumulation in plasma and tissues. Although neurological symptoms occur in most patients, the neurotoxicity of proline is still controversial. The main objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of acute and chronic administration of proline on creatine kinase activity of brain cortex of Wistar rats. Acute treatment was performed by subcutaneous administration of one injection of proline to 22-day-old rats. For chronic treatment, proline was administered twice a day from the 6th to the 21st postpartum day. The results showed that creatine kinase activity was significantly inhibited in the brain cortex of rats subjected to acute proline administration. In contrast, this activity was increased in animals subjected to chronic administration. We also measured the in vitro effect of proline on creatine kinase activity in cerebral cortex of 22-day-old nontreated rats. Proline significantly inhibited creatine kinase activity. Considering the importance of creatine kinase forthe maintenance of energy homeostasis in the brain, it is conceivable that an alteration of this enzyme activity in the brain may be one of the mechanisms by which proline might be neurotoxic.     

Peroxisomal Import Reduces the Proapoptotic Activity of Deubiquitinating Enzyme USP2

The human deubiquitinating enzyme ubiquitin-specific protease 2 (USP2) regulates multiple cellular pathways, including cell proliferation and apoptosis. As a result of alternative splicing four USP2 isoenzymes are expressed in human cells of which all contain a weak peroxisome targeting signal of type 1 (PTS1) at their C-termini. Here, we systematically analyzed apoptotic effects induced by overexpression and intracellular localization for each isoform. All isoforms exhibit proapoptotic activity and are post-translationally imported into the matrix of peroxisomes in a PEX5-dependent manner. However, a significant fraction of the USP2 pool resides in the cytosol due to a weaker PTS1 and thus low affinity to the PTS receptor PEX5. Blocking of peroxisomal import did not interfere with the proapoptotic activity of USP2, suggesting that the enzyme performs its critical function outside of this compartment. Instead, increase of the efficiency of USP2 import into peroxisomes either by optimization of its peroxisomal targeting signal or by overexpression of the PTS1 receptor did result in a reduction of the apoptotic rate of transfected cells. Our studies suggest that peroxisomal import of USP2 provides additional control over the proapoptotic activity of cytosolic USP2 by spatial separation of the deubiquitinating enzymes from their interaction partners in the cytosol and nucleus.     

Seed Bacterization with Bacillus subtilis AF 1 Increases Phenylalanine Ammonia-lyase and Reduces the Incidence of Fusarial Wilt in Pigeonpea

Cell free culture filtrate of a biocontrol PGPR strain of Bacillus subtilis showed a concentration-dependent growth and conidiation inhibition of Fusarium udum . the incitant of pigeonpea wilt. In vitro interaction of cell free filtrate of AF 1 induced bulb-like structures in the hyphae of F. udum . Seed treatment with B. subtilis significantly reduced the incidence of pigeonpea wilt, but not with the cell free culture filtrate of AF 1. Seeds bacterized with B. subtilis AF 1 showed an increase in phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) from day 1, while the peroxidase activity increased from day 6. The results are discussed in terms of induction of host plant resistance in biological control of plant pathogens.