The CPH1 gene of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii encodes two forms of cryptochrome whose levels are controlled by light-induced proteolysis

Cryptochromes are proteins related to DNA photolyases and have been shown to function as blue-light photoreceptors and to play important roles in circadian rhythms in both plants and animals. The CPH1 gene from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was originally predicted to encode a putative cryptochrome protein of 867 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 91 kD (Small et al., 1995). However, western blotting with antibodies specific to the CPH1 protein revealed the presence of two proteins that migrate at apparent molecular mass of approximately 126 and 143 kD. A reexamination of the assigned intron-exon boundaries has shown that the previously assigned intron 7 is in fact part of exon 7 which leads to a predicted protein of 1,007 amino acids corresponding to a size of 104.6 kD. The two forms of CPH1 that migrate slower on SDS-PAGE presumably result from unknown posttranslational modifications. In C. reinhardtii cells synchronized by light to dark cycles, the two slow migrating forms of CPH1 protein accumulate in the dark and disappear rapidly in the light. Both red and blue light are effective at inducing the degradation of the CPH1 proteins. Proteasomes are implicated because degradation is inhibited by MG132, a proteasome inhibitor. Studies with deletion mutants indicate that the C-terminal region is important for both the posttranslational modification and the protein's stability under both light and dark conditions.     

The amino acid sequences of two 13 kDa polypeptides and partial amino acid sequence of 30 kDa polypeptide of complex I from bovine heart mitochondria: possible location of iron-sulfur clusters

Mitochondrial NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) is the most complicated system in the respiratory chain. It consists of many subunits, some of which hold iron-sulfur clusters, but structural information is still limited. The amino acid sequences of two 13 kDa polypeptides, 13 kDa-A and 13 kDa-B polypeptides, of iron-sulfur protein fraction (IP) of bovine heart mitochondrial complex I were determined by a combination of protease digestion, Edman degradation, and carboxypeptidase digestion. The 13 kDa-A polypeptide was composed of 96 amino acids with a molecular weight of 10,536. The 13 kDa-B polypeptide consisted of 114 amino acids and had an acetylated amino terminus. The molecular weight of this protein was calculated to be 13,130 including the acetyl group. These proteins had no obvious sequence similarity to other known proteins. The partial amino acid sequence of 30 kDa-B polypeptide of IP was also determined to reveal a characteristic arrangement of cysteine residues that could be involved in iron-sulfur cluster formation.     

Signature amino acids enable the archaeal L7Ae box C/D RNP core protein to recognize and bind the K-loop RNA motif

The archaeal L7Ae and eukaryotic 15.5kD protein homologs are members of the L7Ae/15.5kD protein family that characteristically recognize K-turn motifs found in both archaeal and eukaryotic RNAs. In Archaea, the L7Ae protein uniquely binds the K-loop motif found in box C/D and H/ACA sRNAs, whereas the eukaryotic 15.5kD homolog is unable to recognize this variant K-turn RNA. Comparative sequence and structural analyses, coupled with amino acid replacement experiments, have demonstrated that five amino acids enable the archaeal L7Ae core protein to recognize and bind the K-loop motif. These signature residues are highly conserved in the archaeal L7Ae and eukaryotic 15.5kD homologs, but differ between the two domains of life. Interestingly, loss of K-loop binding by archaeal L7Ae does not disrupt C′/D′ RNP formation or RNA-guided nucleotide modification. L7Ae is still incorporated into the C′/D′ RNP despite its inability to bind the K-loop, thus indicating the importance of protein–protein interactions for RNP assembly and function. Finally, these five signature amino acids are distinct for each of the L7Ae/L30 family members, suggesting an evolutionary continuum of these RNA-binding proteins for recognition of the various K-turn motifs contained in their cognate RNAs.     

草地藏系绵羊乳游离氨基酸质量分数及蛋白遗传多态性研究

用反相高效液相色谱法检测草地藏系绵羊乳游离氨基酸质量分数,用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳法研究乳蛋白组分及其遗传多态性。结果表明:草地藏系绵羊乳中检测到17种游离氨基酸,其中质量分数最高的为Arg;与金堂黑山羊乳比较17种游离氨基酸中,甲硫氨酸的质量分数极显著高于金堂黑山羊(p<0.01),而天冬氨酸、甘氨酸、赖氨酸、谷氨酸、苏氨酸、丙氨酸和缬氨酸的质量分数均显著低于金堂黑山羊(p<0.05),其余9种游离氨基酸质量分数未发现明显差异,但两种羊乳中的必需氨基酸总量基本相同,差异不明显(p>0.05)。草地藏系绵羊乳蛋白组分主要包括α-La、β-Lg、CN、IgG等,CN的相对质量分数约50%~52%;研究还发现4种分子量类型的乳上皮粘蛋白MUC1,分子量分别为214kD、209kD、207kD、205kD;CN、β-Lg均未检测到多态性,说明草地藏系绵羊乳蛋白遗传多态性较为贫乏。     

Biological Characterization of Heat-stable Antifreeze Proteins from Leaves of Ammopiptanthus mongolicus

Antifreeze protein(afp) was purified from the heat stable proteins in the leaves of Ammopiptanthus mongolicus (Maxim.) Cheng f. by two-dimensional electrophoresis-electrophoretic elution. Its molecular weight and pi are about 40 kD and 9.0 respectively, and its thermal hysteresis activity (THA) is 0.9 ℃ at 20 g/L. afp is different from other antifreeze proteins. The N-terminal 20 amino acids of afp is SDDLSFTFNKFVPCQTDILF. alp is abundant in leaves and may play an important role in the antifreeze process in A. mongolicus during the period of ovenwintering.     

Changes of amino acid sequence in PEST-like area and QEEET motif affect degradation rate of D1 polypeptide in photosystem II

The degradation rate of the D1 polypeptide was measured in threeSynechocystis PCC 6803 mutantsin vivo. Mutations were introduced into a putative cleavage area of the D1 polypeptide (QEEET motif) and into the PEST-like area. PEST sequences are often found in proteins with a high turnover rate. The QEEET-motif mutants are CA1 [(E242-E244);Q241H] and E243K, and the third mutation, E229D, was directed to the PEST-like area. During high-light illumination (1500 mol photons m^-2s^-1) that induced photoinhibition of photosystem II (PSII), the half-life time of the D1 polypeptide in mutant E229D (t _1/2=35 min) was about twice as long as in AR (control strain) cells (t _1/2=19 min). In growth light (40 mol photons m^-2s^-1), the degradation rate of the D1 polypeptide in E229D and AR strains was the same (t _1/25 h). In growth light the D1 polypeptide was degraded faster in both QEEET-motif mutants than in the AR strain, but in photoinhibitory light the degradation rates were similar. According to these results, the highly conservative QEEET motif as such is not required for the proteolytic cut of the D1 polypeptide, but it does affect the rate of degradation. No simple correlation existed between the degradation rate of the D1 polypeptide and the susceptibility of PSII to photoinhibition in mutant and AR cells under our experimental conditions.     

烟实夜蛾信息素结合蛋白3 cDNA的克隆、序列分析与原核表达

利用RT-PCR技术从烟实夜蛾Helicoverpa assulta (Hass) 雄虫触角中扩增得到了信息素结合蛋白3(Hass PBP3)。克隆和测序结果表明,该基因核苷酸序列全长495 bp,编码164个氨基酸残基,预测分子量18.5 kD。并预测N-末端疏水区包含由22个氨基酸组成的信号肽。因此,成熟蛋白应包括142个氨基酸,预测分子量为16.1 kD,等电点为5.44。经氨基酸序列同源性分析发现,此序列与已知昆虫PBP3有较高的同源性,而且具有气味结合蛋白的典型特征。将该基因重组到表达载体pGEX-4T-2中进行原核表达。经IPTG诱导、SDS-PAGE分析和Western印迹检测,结果表明烟实夜蛾PBP3基因能在大肠杆菌BL21中表达,电泳检测到一条大约42 kD的外源蛋白,与预测的融合蛋白分子量相符。     

Turnover of the aggregates and cross-linked products of the D1 protein generated by acceptor-side photoinhibition of photosystem II.

It is known that the reaction-center binding protein D1 in photosystem (PS) II is degraded significantly during photoinhibition. The D1 protein also cross-links covalently or aggregates non-covalently with the nearby polypeptides in PS II complexes by illumination. In the present study, we detected the adducts between the D1 protein and the other reaction-center binding protein D2 (D1/D2), the alpha-subunit of cyt b(559) (D1/cyt b(559)), and the antenna chlorophyll-binding protein CP43 (D1/CP43) by SDS/urea-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting with specific antibodies. The adducts were observed by weak and strong illumination (light intensity: 50-5000 microE m(-2) s(-1)) of PS II membranes, thylakoids and intact chloroplasts from spinach, under aerobic conditions. These results indicate that the cross-linking or aggregation of the D1 protein is a general phenomenon which occurs in vivo as well as in vitro with photodamaged D1 proteins. We found that the formation of the D1/D2, D1/cyt b(559) and D1/CP43 adducts is differently dependent on the light intensity; the D1/D2 heterodimers and D1/cyt b(559) were formed even by illumination with weak light, whereas generation of the D1/CP43 aggregates required strong illumination. We also detected that these D1 adducts were efficiently removed by the addition of stromal components, which may contain proteases, molecular chaperones and the associated proteins. By two-dimensional SDS/urea-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, we found that several stromal proteins, including a 15-kDa protein are effective in removing the D1/CP43 aggregates, and that their activity is resistant to SDS.     

Enzymatic degradation of Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin 3D scaffolds and fibers

In this study, the in vitro enzymatic degradation behavior of the regenerated Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin (Ap-SF) three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds and the natural Ap-SF fibers exposed to enzyme solutions of α-chymotrypsin, collagenase IA and protease XIV were investigated. The results indicated that all three proteases could degrade the Ap-SF 3D scaffolds, and the degradation ability was in the order protease XIV>collagenase IA>α-chymotrypsin. The regenerated Ap-SF 3D scaffold could be degraded completely in 18 days when exposed to 1.0 U/ml protease XIV at 37°C, whereas under the same condition, the natural Ap-SF fiber only lost 5.6% of its weight, revealing its long-term degradation characteristics. There were abundant peptides and some free amino acids in the Ap-SF degradation products, but no free alanine. We suggested that the polyalanine block in the regenerated Ap-SF 3D scaffolds had strong resistance to enzyme attack. The proteolytic attack occurred in the non-polyalanine block of Ap-SF. The degradation rate of Ap-SF materials depended on the molecular conformation of Ap-SF, which could be controlled in the manufacturing process.     

Light-Induced Damage of Histidine Residues in Photosystem II Reaction Center D1/D2/cyt b559 Complex

Histidine residue content of photosystem Ⅱ reaction center D1/D2/cytochrome b559 complex decreased by about 26% after illumination. The result suggests that some histidine residues are damaged by illumination. The damage of histidine residues may be related to the changes of the spectra properties during the incubation in the dark following preillumination of the reaction center complex.     

Implication of D1 degradation in phosphorylation-induced state transitions

State transitions and lateral migration of phosphorylated mobile-LHC II upon thylakoid unstacking have been reported as being interdependent. However, now the thyakoid unstacking event can be separated from the thyakoid phosphorylation and the associated F730/F685 enhancement by using the serine-type-protease inhibitor benzamidine. Thus, lateral migration appears not be necessary, and it can be shown that LHC II-rich fragments, originating in peripheral granal membranes, can be released by digitonin although in reduced amounts. On the other hand, phosphorylation of thylakoid proteins greatly stimulates the light-induced D1 degradation, which is observed in chloroplasts phosphorylated even at very low light (15 µmol m^–2s^–1). Thylakoid pretreatment with FSBA (the PS II protein-kinase inhibitor) blocks the light-induced and ATP-stimulated D1 degradation, and the F730/F685 ratio increase; this suggests that the dissociation of the PS II unit, resulting from the introduction of repulsive negative charges ( ATP groups) into LHC II and PS II core proteins, leads to D1 degradation. In chloroplast samples transferred to darkness following short-time phosphorylation, the D1 level is recovered. The results suggest that disassembly of PS II and D1 degradation occur parallel to State transitions. The removal of outer phospho-LHC II from PS II and its association with PS I at the periphery of grana may allow D1 degradation and increased light utilization by PS I, while net de novo synthesis of D1, stimulated by ATP, may lead to the assembly of new PS II units which could bind dephosphorylated LHC II in the dark, resulting in increased light utilization by PS II.     

小麦TaLhca基因的克隆及表达分析

为了从分子水分研究小麦的光合作用,该研究采用RT-PCR方法,从小麦品种‘百农207’的叶中克隆到1个捕光叶绿素a/b结合蛋白基因,命名为TaLhca。序列分析结果表明,TaLhca的编码区序列(coding DNA sequence,CDS)长810 bp,编码269个氨基酸,推测分子量为29.31 kD,等电点为8.69。TaLhca被定位于叶绿体,无信号肽,存在3个明显的跨膜区域,预测其蛋白结构含有典型的捕光叶绿素a/b结合蛋白功能域(chlorophyll a/b binding domain),为亲水性非分泌蛋白。蛋白序列比对和进化树分析表明,小麦与二穗短柄草(Brachypodium distachyon)和水稻(Oryza sativa)中的Lhca序列相似性最高,亲缘关系最近。启动子顺式作用元件预测表明,启动子区域包含多个光响应元件及逆境响应元件。实时荧光定量PCR分析表明,TaLhca基因在小麦根、茎、叶中均有表达。其中在叶中表达量最高,在根中表达量最低,且受NaCl、干旱、ABA、H2O2和低温胁迫表达增强,受黑暗胁迫表达降低。该研究结果为进一步解析小麦光合作用机理及其相关基因的诱导表达特性提供了依据。     

序列特异的三锌指多肽的构建及其在大肠杆菌中的表达

在获得单一锌指突变体的基础上,以小鼠转录因子Zif268的三锌指DNA结合区为模板,利用重叠(Over-lap)PCR技术,获得了关键氨基酸位点同时突变的三锌指突变体ZF123、2ZF123。ZF123、2ZF123分别克隆进pUC-18质粒,序列测定正确后,以pGEX-2T为表达质粒,在大肠杆菌JM109中实现了功能性的表达。经SDS-PAGE分析,表达出了分子量34.0kD的融合蛋白,扫描分析其含量在20%左右。菌体经超声波破碎后,对可溶性融合蛋白进行了纯化得到了游离的目的蛋白,为进一步的DNA结合特性分析、杂交转录因子的构建等奠定了基础。     

Structural proteins of Amsacta moorei,Euxoa auxiliaris, and Melanoplus sanguinipes entomopoxviruses

The structural proteins of Amsacta moorei, Euxoa auxiliaris, and Melanoplus sanguinipes entomopoxviruses (EPVs) were separated by electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gels. More than 35 structural proteins were detected in each virus. Based on the distribution and the variation in the molecular weights of the virus structural proteins little homology was detected between the EPVs and vaccinia virus. The molecular weight of Amsacta EPV occlusion body matrix protein (110,000) was determined by SDS-acrylamide gel electrophoresis. The occlusion body matrix protein of Amsacta EPV occluded virus isolated from infected E. acrea larvae was rapidly degraded at pH 10.6 to peptides of approximately 94,000 and 60,000 daltons. After 2 hr incubation at alkaline pH, Amsacta EPV occlusion body protein was degraded to approximately 56,000 daltons. Proteolysis of occlusion body protein was inhibited by SDS. No proteolytic degradation was detected in occlusion body matrix protein isolated from Amsacta EPV infected BTI-EAA cells. Amino acid analysis indicates that entomopoxvirus occlusion body matrix protein consists of approximately 20% acidic amino acids and 9% of the sulfur-containing amino acids cysteine and methionine.     

人R_O蛋白(60kD)编码序列的PCR产物在E.coli中的克隆与表达

通过聚合酶链反应 ( PCR)自人脾 c DNA扩增 RO 蛋白 ( 60 k D)编码 DNA片段 .将该片段定向插入麦芽糖结合蛋白 ( MBP)融合系统的 p MALTM- c载体中并转化 E.coli ( DH5α) ,通过酶联免疫印迹 ( IBT)筛选出具有 RO 抗原性的阳性克隆 .绝大部分阳性克隆表达完整的 RO 融合蛋白 ( 1 0 0k D) .但在传代过程中表达水平很快降低 ;少数阳性克隆虽然表达非完整 RO 融合蛋白 (分子量 <80k D) ,但表达水平却高而且稳定 .同时保留了很强的 RO 抗原性 .产生非完整融合蛋白的一个原因是 ,PCR碱基错配引起 RO 编码 DNA的序列缺失 ;另一原因是融合蛋白在表达过程中被降解     

The Arabidopsis PsbO2 protein regulates dephosphorylation and turnover of the photosystem II reaction centre D1 protein

The extrinsic photosystem II (PSII) protein of 33 kDa (PsbO), which stabilizes the water-oxidizing complex, is represented in Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) by two isoforms. Two T-DNA insertion mutant lines deficient in either the PsbO1 or the PsbO2 protein were retarded in growth in comparison with the wild type, while differing from each other phenotypically. Both PsbO proteins were able to support the oxygen evolution activity of PSII, although PsbO2 was less efficient than PsbO1 under photoinhibitory conditions. Prolonged high light stress led to reduced growth and fitness of the mutant lacking PsbO2 as compared with the wild type and the mutant lacking PsbO1. During a short period of treatment of detached leaves or isolated thylakoids at high light levels, inactivation of PSII electron transport in the PsbO2-deficient mutant was slowed down, and the subsequent degradation of the D1 protein was totally inhibited. The steady-state levels of in vivo phosphorylation of the PSII reaction centre proteins D1 and D2 were specifically reduced in the mutant containing only PsbO2, in comparison with the mutant containing only PsbO1 or with wild-type plants. Phosphorylation of PSII proteins in vitro proceeded similarly in thylakoid membranes from both mutants and wild-type plants. However, dephosphorylation of the D1 protein occurred much faster in the thylakoids containing only PsbO2. We conclude that the function of PsbO1 in Arabidopsis is mostly in support of PSII activity, whereas the interaction of PsbO2 with PSII regulates the turnover of the D1 protein, increasing its accessibility to the phosphatases and proteases involved in its degradation.     

拮抗菌TG26的鉴定及其抗菌蛋白BI的纯化和部分特性

从丝瓜根部分离出来的桔抗菌ＴＧ２６,根据形态特征和生理生化特性,鉴定为枯草芽抱杆菌（Ｂａｃｉｌｌｕｓｓｕｂｔｉｌｉｓ）。该菌株能分泌大量的抗菌蛋白,经ＳｅｐｈａｄｅｘＧ－１５０柱和ＦＰＬＣＭｏｎｏＱ柱层析后得到单一组分的抗菌蛋白,命名为ＢＩ。ＢＩ能抑制多种植物病原菌的生长,对热稳定,对蛋白酶部分敏感。经ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ和等电聚焦电泳测定其分子量约１４．５ｋＤ,等电点为５．５８。氨基酸组成分析表明,该蛋白宫含谷氨酸、酪氨酸和脯氨酸;并测定了Ｎ末端氨基酸的部分序列。     

Thylakoid protein phosphorylation is suppressed by 'free radical scavengers'. Correlation between PS II core protein degradation and thylakoid protein phosphorylation

Recent work has shown that the light-induced PS II core protein degradation, as monitored by immunostain reduction on Western blots, was stimulated even at low light during phosphorylation of thylakoid proteins in the presence of NaF, and that the thylakoid kinase inhibitor FSBA blocked completely the light- and ATP-stimulated degradation [Georgakopoulos and Argyroudi-Akoyunoglou (1997) Photosynth Res 53: 185–195]. To assess whether D1, D2 or both proteins are degraded, antibodies raised against D1/D2, or the D-E loop of D1 were used. Greatest immunostain reduction was observed with antibodies raised against D1/D2, immunostaining a 34 kDa protein on blots of 15% polyacrylamide-6 M urea gels, suggesting that the phosphorylation-induced degradation may be mainly directed against D2. To see how protein phosphorylation might be implicated in PS II core protein degradation we further tested the effect of free radical scavengers, on thylakoid protein phosphorylation. Active oxygen scavengers like n-propyl gallate, histidine, and imidazole, shown earlier to inhibit high light-induced D1 degradation, also suppressed the phosphorylation of thylakoid proteins; on the other hand, NaN3 and D-mannitol, known to stimulate light- induced D1 degradation did not suppress protein phosphorylation, whereas superoxide dismutase and catalase, known also to inhibit high light-induced D1 degradation, did not affect thylakoid protein phosphorylation. In addition, the ATP-induced degradation was also observed in the dark under conditions of kinase activation, and in the light under anaerobic conditions, that block light-induced degradation, whereas it was reduced in the absence of NaF, the phosphatase inhibitor. The results point to the involvement of a proteolytic system in PS II core protein degradation, which is active in its phosphorylated state.     

Microheterogeneous Cytosolic High-Mobility Group Proteins from Broccoli Co-Purify with and Are Phosphorylated by Casein Kinase II

A group of low molecular weight protein substrates was found to co-purify with casein kinase II from broccoli (Brassica oleracea var italica). These substrates showed very high affinity toward casein kinase II and were efficiently phosphorylated even in the presence of an excess of exogenous substrates. The broccoli substrates were purified from cytosolic extracts as a double band of related proteins migrating at 18.7 and 20 kD. Further microheterogeneity was revealed by anion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy. The actual molecular masses of the three major components identified by mass spectroscopy were determined to be 12,691, 13,256, and 14,128 D. The substrates showed characteristic amino acid composition with a high content of polar amino acids, including about 20% each of acidic and basic amino acids. They were soluble in 2% trichloroacetic acid. The substrates cross-reacted with an antibody against wheat high-mobility group protein d (HMGd) but not HMGa. The isolated broccoli HMGs showed general DNA-binding activity without preference for AT-rich DNA. The presence of these HMG proteins in the cytosolic fraction is similar to the distribution characteristics of the animal HMG-1 subgroup. On the basis of amino acid composition and DNA-binding specificity, the isolated broccoli HMGs resemble other plant HMGs homologous to the HMG-1 subgroup.     

Furin as proprotein convertase and its role in normal and pathological biological processes

Furin belongs to intracellular serine Ca²⁺-dependent endopeptidases of the subtilisin family, also known as proprotein convertases (PC). Human furin is synthesized as a zymogen with a molecular weight of 104 kDа, which is then autocatalytically activated in two stages. This process occurs during zymogen migration from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus, where a large part of furin is accumulated. The molecular weight of the active furin is 98 kDа. Furin is the enzyme with narrow substrate specificity: it hydrolyzes peptide bonds at the site of paired basic amino acids and is active in a wide range of pH (5.0–8.0). The main biological function of furin as PC consists in activation of functionally important protein precursors. This is accompanied by initiation of cascades of reactions, which lead to appearance of biologically active molecules involved in realization of specific biological functions both in normal and in some pathological processes. The list of furin substrates includes biologically important proteins such as enzymes, hormones, growth/differentiation, receptors, adhesion proteins, plasma proteins. Furin plays an important role in the development of such processes as proliferation, invasion, cell migration, survival, maintenance of homeostasis, embryogenesis, as well as the development of a number of pathologies, including cardiovascular, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Furin and furin-like proprotein convertases are key factors in the realization of the regulatory functions of proteolytic enzymes; the latter is currently considered as the most important function (compared with well recognized protease function in degradation of proteins).