Cell Wall Teichoic Acids of Two Brevibacterium Strains

Structurally identical teichoic acids were detected in cell walls of two soil isolates assigned to Brevibacterium linens based on phylogenetic data. Both cell walls contain unsubstituted 1,3-poly(glycerol phosphate) and poly(glycosylglycerol phosphate). Repeating units of the latter--alpha-D-GlcpNAc-(1-->4)-beta-D-Galp-(1-->1)-Gro--are bound by phosphodiester bonds including OH-3 of galactose and OH-3 of glycerol. Some of the N-acetylglucosamine residues have 4,6-pyruvic acid acetal, amounts of the latter in the two strains being unequal. Species-specificity of the structures of teichoic acids in the genus Brevibacterium is discussed.     

Study on the conditions of Cell Transformation in Astragalus sinicus

The conditions of genetic transformation of cells in Astragalus sinicus were studied. The experimental results showed that Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58 (pKIW 105), when incubated in medium of low pH and low phosphate concentration in presence of acetosyringone could be induced and activated. When the activated bacteria were used to infect A. sinicus, the GUS gene transient expression in the hypocotyl protoplasts of A. sinicus was immediately and remarkably enhanced. This indicated that the vir gene of A. tumefaciens was activated under the above-mentioned incubation conditions which facilitated T-DNA transfer. In PEG-mediated DNA direct transfer, transient expression of GUS gene was promoted by higher pH and higher Ca2+ concentration of fusion medium. In the same experimental condition, expression of GUS gene under the control of MAS-CaMV 35S chimeric promoter was more effective than that under the control of CaMV 35S promoter, and intensity of GUS gene expression was positively correlated with the amount of foreign plasmid DNA in the range of 10--100 μg. Adventitious shoots were induced from cotyledon and hypocotyls explants treated with Agrobacterium turnefaciens strain PGV 2260 (pBI 121) and were subcultured on MS medium containing 50 mg/L kanamycin to select transformants, and then the transformed shoots were rooted. Stable expression of the foreign genes in the transformed plants was confirmed by assay of neomycin phosphotransferase Ⅱ (NPT Ⅱ ) and β-glucuronidase (GUS) activity.     

缺刻缘绿藻脂肪酸延长酶基因在拟南芥中的表达分析

缺刻缘绿藻(Myrmecia incisa)系单细胞淡水绿藻,能够大量合成并积累花生四烯酸(arachidonic acid,ArA,20:4ω6),尤其在氮饥饿条件下.基于该绿藻中的延长酶基因序列构建双元表达载体,通过根癌农杆菌(Agrobacterium tumefaciens)介导侵染拟南芥(Arabidopisis thaliana),筛选得到携带MiFAE基因的拟南芥转化株.在转基因第3代(T3)植株中应用PCR扩增目的基因片段和GUS染色,分别在DNA、mRNA和表达水平上均成功地检测到MiFAE基因的存在.GC-MS对不同组织甲酯化的脂肪酸进行检测,结果表明,在转基因的拟南芥营养生长期的叶片中,十六碳三烯酸(hexadecaterienoic acid,C16:3△7,10,13)和α-亚麻酸( α-linolenic acid,C18:3△9,12,15,ALA)在总脂肪酸中的百分含量与对照组相比明显下降,分别由10.5％和41.5％降到1.8％和19.6％.结合GUS染色结果,推测这些减少的产物可能通过外源MiFAE基因的作用,直接参与了蜡质或角质的合成代谢途径.     

Glycoprotein Hypersecretion Alters the Cell Wall in Trichoderma reesei Strains Expressing the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Dolichylphosphate Mannose Synthase Gene

Expression of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae DPM1 gene (coding for dolichylphosphate mannose synthase) in Trichoderma reesei (Hypocrea jecorina) increases the intensity of protein glycosylation and secretion and causes ultrastructural changes in the fungal cell wall. In the present work, we undertook further biochemical and morphological characterization of the DPM1-expressing T. reesei strains. We established that the carbohydrate composition of the fungal cell wall was altered with an increased amount of N-acetylglucosamine, suggesting an increase in chitin content. Calcofluor white staining followed by fluorescence microscopy indicated changes in chitin distribution. Moreover, we also observed a decreased concentration of mannose and alkali-soluble β-(1,6) glucan. A comparison of protein secretion from protoplasts with that from mycelia showed that the cell wall created a barrier for secretion in the DPM1 transformants. We also discuss the relationships between the observed changes in the cell wall, increased protein glycosylation, and the greater secretory capacity of T. reesei strains expressing the yeast DPM1 gene.     

酿酒酵母中对抗真菌药物克霉唑敏感的突变菌株的筛选

克霉唑是一种临床上用于抗真菌感染的抗真菌药物,同时也具有治疗其他疾病如疟疾、脚气病、足癣和癌症的前景。通过96孔板液体培养及倍比稀释的方法,对模式真菌酿酒酵母双倍体单基因缺失株文库中的4 532个非必需基因缺失株进行初步筛选及表型验证,对筛选出的敏感菌株测定了加克霉唑和不加克霉唑细胞内的ROS水平变化。筛选得到了127个克霉唑敏感的单基因缺失株,127个敏感菌株缺失的基因,其功能分别参与细胞的代谢过程、细胞周期和DNA加工过程、转录过程、蛋白命运(折叠,修饰,靶向运输)、细胞运输、细胞通讯/信号转导机制、细胞命运、细胞组分的发生和起源、不同细胞类型的分化、细胞营救、防御及毒力、细胞与环境交流和调节代谢及蛋白功能的过程,也有33个基因的功能未知。ROS测定结果显示,加入克霉唑之后,和野生型相比,25个菌株细胞内ROS显著升高,13个菌株细胞内ROS水平反而显著降低。克霉唑的抗真菌作用可能是多个细胞过程的集合,研究结果为克霉唑的改进利用及新的抗真菌药物研发提供理论基础。     

两种质粒中gus基因在植物细胞和根癌农杆菌中的表达特性研究

以含有基因转化操作过程中常用的两种质粒载体pBI121和pCAMBIA2301的根癌农杆菌EHA105为材料,分别转化甜瓜子叶,应用组织化学方法检测了甜瓜子叶和子叶培养后的愈伤组织及根癌农杆菌菌液的瞬时转化效果,研究了两种不同的质粒载体上所含的gus基因在根癌农杆菌中和植物细胞中的表达特性.结果表明,不同质粒载体上所含的gus基因的表达特性不同,质粒载体pBI121上所含的gus基因既能在植物细胞中能表达,也能在根癌农杆菌细胞中表达,而质粒载体pCAMBIA2301上所含的gus基因能在植物细胞中表达,但是不能在根癌农杆菌细胞中表达.     

Architecture and Biosynthesis of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cell Wall

The wall gives a Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell its osmotic integrity; defines cell shape during budding growth, mating, sporulation, and pseudohypha formation; and presents adhesive glycoproteins to other yeast cells. The wall consists of β1,3- and β1,6-glucans, a small amount of chitin, and many different proteins that may bear N- and O-linked glycans and a glycolipid anchor. These components become cross-linked in various ways to form higher-order complexes. Wall composition and degree of cross-linking vary during growth and development and change in response to cell wall stress. This article reviews wall biogenesis in vegetative cells, covering the structure of wall components and how they are cross-linked; the biosynthesis of N- and O-linked glycans, glycosylphosphatidylinositol membrane anchors, β1,3- and β1,6-linked glucans, and chitin; the reactions that cross-link wall components; and the possible functions of enzymatic and nonenzymatic cell wall proteins.     

Cell Wall Alterations Associated with the Hyperproduction of Extracellular Enzymes in Neurospora crassa

A pleiotropic mutation in Neurospora (exo-1), which confers derepression of alpha-amylase, glucoamylase, beta-fructofuranosidase, and trehalase, appears to also affect the composition of the cell wall. Segregants resulting from the backcross of exo-1 to the wild-type strain from which it derived are altered in the ratio of galactosamine to glucosamine in hydrolysates of isolated cell walls. Conidial cell walls exhibit a marked decrease in the amount of galactosamine in both exo-1 and exo-1(+) strains. Increased levels (approximately sevenfold) of amylase are found in conidia of exo-1, as compared with those of exo-1(+).     

Identification of 3-deoxy-lyxo-2-heptulosaric acid in the core region of lipopolysaccharides from Rhizobiaceae

A 3-deoxy-2-heptulosaric acid (DHA), very probably with the lyxo-configuration, was identified in the R-core region of lipopolysaccharides from nodulating strains of Rhizobium leguminosarum, Rhizobium meliloti and from all three biovars of the phytopathogenic Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Its structure could be deduced from the fragmentation pattern of the corresponding alditol acetates obtained after reduction of the 2-keto and the 1.7-carboxy groups by sodium borohydride or sodium borodeuteride. DHA in lipopolysaccharide was not destroyed by periodate and is therefore not in a terminal position. Two DHA-containing oligosaccharides, namely glucosyl (1----4)-3-deoxy-2-heptulosaric acid and rhamnosyl-rhamnosyl-(1----5)-3-deoxy-2-heptulosaric acid could be tentatively identified by mass spectrometric methods amongst the products of mild acidic hydrolysis of lipopolysaccharides of Rhizobium leguminosarum strain 24. The two types of non-nodulating mutants of Rhizobium leguminosarum included in this study did not contain 3-deoxy-2-heptulosaric acid.     

Membrane location of the Ti plasmid VirB proteins involved in the biosynthesis of a pilin-like conjugative structure on Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Abstract The virB operon of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens Ti plasmid encodes 11 proteins. Specific antisera to VirB2, VirB3 and VirB9 were used to locate these virulence proteins in the A. tumefaciens cell. Immunoblot analysis located VirB2 protein to the inner and outer membranes; VirB3 and VirB9 were likewise associated with both membranes, but mainly in the outer membrane. VirB2 is processed from a 12.3-kDa protein into a 7.2-kDa polypeptide. Such sized protein results from cleavage at residue Ala⁴⁷, upstream of which two additional alanine residues Ala⁴⁵-Ala⁴⁶ are contained and bearing resemblance to a signal peptide peptidase-I cleavage sequence. VirB2 and VirB3 sequences are strikingly similar to the pilin biosynthetic proteins TraA and TraL encoded by the tra operon of F and R1-19 plasmids. Since traA encodes a propilin that is cleaved into a 7.2-kDa conjugative pilin product and since this cleavage site is present in both TraA and VirB2, we propose that virB2 encodes a pilin-like protein which together with VirB3 and VirB9 as well as other VirB proteins may be used for interkingdom T-DNA transfer between bacteria and plants.     

水稻转化体系的改进及转os-miR398基因植株的获得

针对根癌农杆菌介导的愈伤转化技术在实际应用中转化效率低及农杆菌污染等问题,对该方法在水稻转化过程进行改良:(1)在转化前将空白愈伤从培养基取出,于室温放置在空白皿中约24 h,使之处于饥饿状态,以利于T-DNA转化并提高转化率;(2)在愈伤与农杆菌共培养并经无菌洗脱后,在转移到相应培养基之前,将其于室温下继续放置在含有滤纸的培养皿里约24 h,从而有效地抑制农杆菌生长.采用本改良措施,成功将所克隆构建的os-miR398(水稻microRNA398)前体基因表达载体转化入水稻,与对照相比,改良后水稻转化效率可提高10%.     

Occurrence of Conjugated Dienoic Fatty Acids in the Cellular Lipids of Pediococcus homari

Ninety-two thiolcarbamates with various substituents at the nitrogen and sulfur atoms, and their related compounds were synthesized, and their fungicidal activity against rice blast, Piricularia oryzae, and herbicidal activity against barnyardgrass, Echinochloa crus-galli, were determined in laboratory tests. The thiolcarbamate structure was necessary for the high fungicidal and herbicidal activities. The hydrophobicity of the substituents at the nitrogen atom was shown by the adaptive least-squares (ALS) method to be favorable to the fungicidal activity. The bulkier the substituents at the nitrogen atom, the less was the fungicidal activity. However, bulkiness of the substituents at the nitrogen and sulfur atoms was unfavorable to the herbicidal activity. The existence of a hydrogen atom at the nitrogen atom was favorable to fungicidal activity, but not to herbicidal activity. Correlation analyses were made to find compounds with both fungicidal and herbicidal activities against rice pests.     

Lipolytic Activity and the Utilization of Fatty Acids Associated with Bat Sebum by Pseudogymnoascus destructans

Mycopathologia - Pseudogymnoascus destructans is the causative agent of a fungal infection of bats known as white-nose syndrome (WNS). Since its discovery in 2006, it has been responsible for...     

Studies on the Cell Wall of Chlorella V. Comparison of the Cell Wall Chemical Compositions in Strains of Chlorella ellipsoidea

Cell walls of four strains of Chlorella ellipsoidea (IAM C-27,C-87, C-102 and C-183) were compared as to their chemical compositions.Many differences were found: (1) The sugar composition of alkali-soluble cell walls differedin quantity as well as quality with glucuronic acid being foundonly in C-27 and C-87. (2) In alkali-insoluble cell walls glucosamine was found onlyin C-27. The other three strains contained mainly glucose. (3) The amino acid compositions of the alkali-insoluble cellwalls markedly differed among the four strains. The cell wallof C-102 contained more amino acids than carbohydrates, butC-27 and C-87 contained extremely little amino acid. In addition to the variation in cell wall composition, the opticalanisotropy findings also differed for these cell walls of Chlorellastrains which had been grouped as the same species. (Received August 16, 1983; Accepted December 27, 1983)     

农杆菌介导番茄铁载体蛋白基因(LeIRT2)转化烟草的研究

构建了含有目的基因(LeIRT2)的双元载体pYF840,并成功地将植物性内含子构建到筛选标记基因新霉素磷酸转移酶基因(nptⅡ)和gus报告基因中。利用农杆菌介导法,将铁载体蛋白(LeIRT2)基因导入革新一号烟草,PCR、PCR-Southern blotting及Southern blottlng检测结果显示,有3个烟草株系的基因组中整合了完整的铁载体基因(LeIRT2)。水培试验结果显示转基因株系1、3不但提高了植株的铁吸收能力,而且还促进了植株的生长,但转基因株系2却与对照无明显区别。     

禾本科植物细胞壁的木质化和阿魏酰化

介绍了禾本科植物细胞壁木质化和阿魏酰化的过程及其生理意义,并阐述了木质化和阿魏酰化在细胞壁分子网络形成过程中的作用。     

Transformation of the entomopathogenic fungus Paecilomyces fumosoroseus with Agrobacterium tumefaciens

AIMS: To test the suitability of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (AMT) method with Paecilomyces fumosoroseus, a fungal pathogen that causes diseases in a wide range of insects including whiteflies. METHODS AND RESULTS: Conidia of P. fumosoroseus were successfully transformed to hygromycin B resistance using the hph gene of Escherichia coli as the selectable marker. Transformation frequencies were 58.3 +/- 18.5, 98.3 +/- 24.8 and 169.7 +/- 35.5 (+/-SEM) transformants per 10(5), 10(6) and 10(7) target conidia respectively. After confirmation by PCR, transformants were subjected to Southern analysis, and the results revealed that 45% (four of nine) of the transformants contained single-copy integration of the T-DNA. CONCLUSIONS: In our AMT system, we efficiently transformed conidia of P. fumosoroseus. The employment of this method circumvents time-consuming protoplast preparation and allows the isolation of transformants containing single-copy integration of the T-DNA. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Considering the efficiency of Ag. tumefaciens-mediated transformation, this method represents a useful tool for insertional mutagenesis to characterize genes that are important for the pathogenicity of P. fumosoroseus.     

Free Fatty Acids of Surface Film of Water in the Sydinsky Bay of the Krasnoyarsk Reservoir

During the summer of 1990 composition and concentrations of free fatty acids (FFA) in the surface film of water were investigated. 23 FFA species were identified. Using cluster analysis in conjunction with ANOVAR correspondence of FFA contents in the surface film with seasonal patterns of pelagic plankton was proved. Three different groups of FFA were revealed, acids of every group had similar seasonal dynamics and presumably were of similar origination. Data obtained gave a chance to suppose that main part of FFA were originated by exudation of living cells of phytoplankton as well as postmortal exudation of bacterioplankton. On the basis of FFA contents in a single sample from the surface film identification of sign of derivatives of phytoplankton biomass was suggested. This express-assay may be useful for monitoring.     

An experimental assessment of the factors influencing Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in tomato

Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 carrying a binary vector pTOK233, which contained the GUS reporter gene and a kanamycin-resistance gene nptII, was employed for optimizing the transformation efficiency evaluated by a GUS gene transient expression level. Eight factors including explant types, explant size and source, the concentration of cytokinin, inoculation time, pH of inoculation and cocultivation media, bacterial concentration, acetosyringone concentration, and cocultivation duration were investigated in detail. This optimized protocol was then adopted to obtain transgenic tomato plants resistant to cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens, strain LBA4404, carrying a binary vector pR-ΔGDD containing the kanamy cin-resistance gene and CMV replicase gene with GDD deletion. The presence of the CMV-RNA2 gene was confirmed by genomic DNA Southern blot analysis in all transformants analyzed. Field spray test showed that the transgenic tomato plants were resistant to 100 mg/l kanamycin. Published in Russian in Fiziologiya Rastenii, 2006, Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 280–284. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Nature of the Elements Transporting Long-Chain Fatty Acids Through the Red Cell Membrane

Docosahexaenoic acid is found to be bound to three equivalent sites on albumin with the same affinities as palmitic acid at 0–38°C, which demonstrates that ethene-1,2-diyl- and methylene-groups contribute equally to the affinity. The equilibrium dissociation constants (K _dm s) for red cell membrane binding sites of linoleic- and docosahexaenoic acid at pH 7.3 are determined at temperatures between 0 and 37°C. The temperature-independent capacities for binding are 12 ± 1 and 25.4 ± 3.0 nmoles g⁻¹ ghosts respectively. Double isotope binding experiments reveal that the unsaturated fatty acids: arachidonic-, linoleic-, docosahexaenoic-, and oleic acid have partially shared capacities in ratios approximately 1:2:4:5, in contrast to the noncompetitive binding of palmitic acid. The observations suggest a two-tier binding limitation. One is the number of protein sites binding fatty acid anions electrostatically and the other is the number of suitable annular lipids adaptively selected among membrane lipids by the hydrocarbon chain. These competition conditions are confirmed by measurements of the tracer exchange efflux at near 0°C from albumin-free and albumin-filled ghosts of linoleic- and docosahexaenoic acid, either alone or in the presence of arachidonic- and palmitic acid. Under equilibrium conditions, the calculated ratios of inside to outside membrane binding is below 0.5 for four unsaturated fatty acids. The unidirectional rate constants of translocation between the inside and the outside correlate with the number of double bonds in these fatty acids, which are also correlated with the dissociation rate constants of the complexes with albumin. The membrane permeation occurs presumably by binding of the anionic unsaturated fatty acids to an integral protein followed by channeling of the neutral form between opposite binding sites of the protein through annular lipids encircling the protein. Received: 30 June 1997/Revised: 23 February 1998