Secondary Structure of Nuclease P1

The molecular conformation of nuclease P₁ in aqueous solution was investigated by measuring the optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) and circular dichroism (CD). The optical rotatory dispersion constant, λ was 281 nm. The Moffit-Yang parameters, a₀ and b₀, were ?2 and ?195, respectively. The ORD spectrum showed a minimum at 234 nm and the reduced mean residue rotation at 233 nm, [m]233, was ?5880. The CD spectrum showed a double minimum at 213 and 226 nm and the molecular ellipticity at 222 nm, [θ]22, was -11,900. From these data, the α-helix content was calculated to be 29 to 31 %. The computer fit of CD suggests that the α-structure is about 6% and the random coil is about 63%. The helical structure was found to be quite stable to denaturing reagents such as urea and guanidine hydrochloride. However, removal of zinc atoms from the enzyme resulted in disruption of the helical structure with inactivation.     

Comparison of Nuclease P1-Malonogalactan Complex with Nuclease P1

Properties of nuclease P₁-malonogalactan complex (P₁-MG) were compared with those of the polysaccharide-free nuclease P₁. Significant difference was not observed between them in phosphomonoester splitting activity, but marked differences were observed in nucleolytic activity as follows: (1) The pH optima of P₁-MG for RNA and heat-denatured DNA were lower than those of nuclease P₁. (2) At lower than 0.001 of ionic strength, RNA and heat- denatured DNA were attacked hardly by P₁-MG, but attacked well by nuclease P₁. (3) The increase in hydrolysis rate of RNA or heat-denatured DNA with an elevation of temperature from 37°C to 70°C was not so marked in P₁-MG as compared with nuclease P₁. (4) P₁-MG hydrolyzed polynucleotides, especially native DNA, much slower than nuclease P₁.

Influence of ionic strength, pH and temperature on the nucleolytic activity of nuclease P₁-galactan (P₁-G), which was prepared by demalonylating P₁-MG enzymatically, was similar to that of nuclease P₁, except that the activity of P₁-G for native DNA was much lower than nuclease P₁.     

香菇柄、平菇柄多糖的提取与测定

以香菇柄、平菇柄作为原料,用蒸馏水、0.5%的草酸铵溶液两种提取剂分别提取香菇柄、平菇柄粗多糖,并用硫酸-苯酚定糖法测定多糖的含量.结果表明,香菇柄、平菇柄多糖含量蒸馏水提取分别是0.103%、0.133%;用草酸铵溶液提取分别是0.164%、0.263%,证明香菇柄、平菇柄有一定的开发前景.     

Isolation of Trilobatin,a Sweet Dihydrochalcone-Glucoside from Leaves of Vitis piasezkii Maxim. and V. saccharifera Makino

The effect of melanoidin, prepared with a D-glucose and glycine system, on cholesterol metabolism in rats was examined. Male rats of the Wistar strain weighing ca. 140 g were fed a high-cholesterol diet supplemented with nondialyzable melanoidin for three weeks. The dietary melanoidin suppressed elevation of the cholesterol level in both plasma and liver, while the cholesterol levels in feces and the contents of the caecum decreased unexpectedly. Neutral steroids other than cholesterol also decreased. However, chromatograhy of fecal steroids indicated that melanoidin markedly affected the intestinal metabolism of neutral steroids, including cholesterol. On the other hand, the fecal recovery of radioactivity from orally ingested 26 [27]-¹⁴C cholesterol was promoted by the added melanoidin, although the radioactive species were not identified. This suggested that the cholesterol level decreased due to the interference of melanoidin in the intestinal absorption of cholesterol.     

花菇的冷冻干燥技术研究

实验研究用板层导热法研究了花菇的冻干特性,获得了新鲜花菇的冻干曲线,分析了花菇冻干过程,测定和比较了新鲜花菇和冻干花菇的营养成份。证实试验机的适应性并确定了花菇的冻干工艺,为工业生产提供了理论依据和参考价值。     

Participations of Iron and Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide on the Enzymatic Hydroxylation of p-Hydroxybenzoate.

The effects of oxygen and carbon dioxide in inosine fermentation were investigated from the industrial viewpoint. Oxygen supply at the rate of more than 5 × 10^-7 mole/ml-min was indispensable for maintaining the high productivity of inosine in jar fermentors as well as in shaking flasks. Oxygen deficiency due to insufficient oxygen supply, on the other hand, resulted in the inhibition of inosine production, even though glucose added to the medium was entirely assimilated. In addition to sufficient oxygen supply ventilation was also indispensable since an increased tension of carbon dioxide reduced the inosine-producing capability of the cells.     

Substrate Specificity of Nuclease P1

Nuclease P₁ cleaved substantially all phosphodiester bonds in rRNA, tRNA, poly(I), poly(U), poly(A), poly(C), poly(G), poly(I)·poly(C), native DNA and heat-denatured DNA to produce exclusively 5′-mononucleotides. Single-stranded polynucleotides were much more susceptible than double-stranded ones. Influence of pH and ionic strength on the hydrolysis rate significantly varied with the kind of polynucleotides. The enzyme also hydrolyzed 3′-phosphomonoester bonds in 3′-AMP, 3′-GMP, 3′-UMP, 3′-CMP, 3′-dAMP, 3′-dGMP, 3′-dCMP and 3′-dTMP. Ribonucleoside 3′-monophosphates were hydrolyzed 20 to 50 times faster than the corresponding 3′-deoxyribonucleotides. Base preference of the enzyme for 3′-ribonucleotides was in the order of G>A>C≧U, whereas that for 3′-deoxyribo-nucleotides was in the order of C≧T>A≧G. The 3′-phosphomonoester bonds in nucleoside 3′, 5′-diphosphates, coenzyme A and dinucleotides bearing 3′-phosphate were hydrolyzed at a rate similar to that for the corresponding 3′-mononucleotides. Adenosine 2′-monophosphate was highly resistant, being split at less than 1/3,000 the rate at which 3′-AMP was split.     

Occurrence of Nuclease P1-Malonogalactan Complex

Nuclease P₁ from Penicillium citrinum was found to be produced in a form of complex with malonogalactan (a galactan, 1, 5-β-galactofuranoside polymer esterfied with malonic acid at position 3) in the culture on wheat bran. Neither nuclease P₁-malonogalactan complex nor malonogalactan was produced in a liquid medium. Nuclease P₁-malonogalactan complexes, P₁-MG I, II, and III were purified from an aqueous extract of the culture on wheat bran. The most anionic complex, P₁-MG III, was composed of the protein, carbohydrate and malonic acid in the ratio of 1: 2.6: 0.5 (w/w). The complex was not dissociated by purification procedures including fractionations with acetone and ammonium sulfate, gel filtration and DEAE-cellulose chromatography. A malonogalactan-specific carboxylesterase was found in culture of the same mold on wheat bran. Nuclease P₁-malonogalactan was demalonylated by the esterase to yield nuclease P₁-galactan. The binding of nuclease P₁ to galactan was rather loose so that nuclease P₁-galactan complex was partially dissociated by DEAE-cellulose chromatography. Attempt to reconstitute the complex from nuclease P₁ and malonogalactan upon mixing was unsuccessful. Exogenously supplemented nuclease P₁ did not associate with malonogalactan in the growing culture on wheat bran, either.

Several extracellular enzymes such as RNase, β-galactosidase and protease were also found in a form of complex with malonogalactan in the culture on wheat bran.     

Increased Plasma Homocysteine Concentration in Rats from a Low Casein Diet

Rats were fed on a 10% casein (10C) diet, 30% casein (30C) diet, 10C+0.5% methionine diet, or 30C+0.5% methionine diet for 14 d to investigate the relationship between the dietary protein level and plasma homocysteine concentration. The plasma homocysteine concentration was significantly higher in the rats fed on the 10C diet than in the rats fed on the 30C diet, and this phenomenon persisted even under the condition of methionine supplementation. The activity of hepatic cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) was significantly lower in the rats fed on the 10% casein diets than in the rats fed on the 30% casein diets, irrespective of methionine supplementation. This is the first demonstration of a low-protein diet increasing the plasma homocysteine concentration in experimental animals. It is suggested that the decreased CBS activity might be associated, at least in part, with the hyperhomocysteinemia caused by the low-casein diet.     

Production and isolation of chitosan by submerged and solid-state fermentation from Lentinus edodes

A method for the laboratory-scale production and isolation of chitosan (polyglucosamine) by liquid and solidstate fermentation from Lentinus edodes was developed. The yields of isolated chitosan were 120 mg/L of fermentation medium under liquid fermentation conditions and 6.18 g/kg of fermentation medium under solid-state fermentation conditions. The latter method, which gives up to 50 times yields than other chitosan production methods from fungi, provides a new flexible and easily scaledup procedure for the production of low acetylation degree chitosan. (c) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Isolation of Triterpenoid Glycosides (Saikosaponins) from Bupleurum polyclonum Y. Li et S. L. Pan and Their Chemical Structures

Sixteen triterpenoid glycosides, named S13 to S25, S37, S38 and S40, were isolated from the root of Bupleurum polyclonum Y. Li et S. L. Pan, and their structures were determined from NMR spectral analyses. Among them, S24, S37 and S38 were found to be new substances, their structures being established as 30-β-d-glucopyranosyl 30-hydroxysaikosaponin-b₂, 2″-O-acetylsaikosaponin-b₂ and 3″-O>-acetylsaikosaponin-b₂, respectively.     

甲硫氨酸诱导高Hcy血症的抗氧化作用研究

为探讨甲硫氨酸在诱导高Hcy血症过程中的抗氧化作用,将Wistar大鼠随机分为正常组和1%甲硫氨酸组,喂养6周后,采用高效液相色谱法测定血清中同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)和谷胱甘肽含量(GSH),全自动氨基酸分析仪测定蛋氨酸和牛磺酸含量,转氨酶活性采用试剂盒测定。肝组织丙二醛(MDA)含量采用硫代巴比妥酸法,黄嘌呤氧化酶法和比色法测定肝组织超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性、总抗氧化能力(FRAP值)和还原性谷胱甘肽含量。结果表明,1%甲硫氨酸组血清Hcy和牛磺酸含量分别为3.56±0.68μmol·L-1和568.68±57.02μmol·L-1,较正常组显著升高(p<0.05)。1%甲硫氨酸组肝组织GSH含量和SOD活性分别为132.19±25.49mg·g-1和6.86±1.46U·mg-1,较正常组103.97±16.30mg·g-1和5.01±1.24U·mg-1显著升高(p<0.05)。1%甲硫氨酸组较正常组肝组织FRAP值亦升高而MDA含量降低。结果表明,甲硫氨酸在诱导高Hcy血症过程中同时具有抗氧化作用。     

Some Physical and Chemical Properties of Nuclease P1

The inhibitory action of compressed hydrocarbon gases on the growth of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated quantitatively by microcalorimetry. Both the 50% inhibitory pressure (IP₅₀) and the minimum inhibitory pressure (MIP), which are regarded as indices of the toxicity of hydrocarbon gases, were determined from growth thermograms. Based on these values, the inhibitory potency of the hydrocarbon gases increased in the order methane << ethane < propane < i-butane < n-butane. The toxicity of these hydrocarbon gases correlated to their hydrophobicity, suggesting that hydrocarbon gases interact with some hydrophobic regions of the cell membrane. In support of this, we found that UV absorbing materials at 260 nm were released from yeast cells exposed to compressed hydrocarbon gases. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy indicated that morphological changes occurred in these cells.     

香菇蛋白的分级纯化和结构分析

香菇粉经10℃pH 10的水提取制备香菇蛋白,得率13.1%,其蛋白含量47.5%,多糖含量24.2%.香菇蛋白经DEAE Sepharose CL-6B柱层析分级得5个级分,收集级分F1、F2、F3、F4,它们都是由蛋白和多糖构成的复合物.Sepharose CL-6B凝胶色谱显示,F2和F4的分子量分布较为均匀,且以蛋白为主,多糖含量很低;F3主要由两个分子量不同的蛋白级分构成,含有一定的多糖;F1中多糖含量较高,蛋白含量较少,且多糖分子量分布均匀.香菇蛋白的分子量主要集中在20 kDa～40 kDa之间.F1、F3、F4都属于酸性蛋白质,含有除色氨酸之外的7种必需氨基酸,除蛋氨酸含量较低外,其余必需氮基酸含量接近,且赖氨酸含量较高.红外光谱分析表明,香菇蛋白的二级结构主要为α-螺旋和无规卷曲.     

Distribution of P1 Type Nuclease in the Genus Penicillium

P₁ type nuclease, which hydrolyzes RNA and heat-denatured DNA completely into 5’-mononucleotides and also shows 3’-nucleotidase activity, was widely distributed among various species belonging to the genus Penicillium such as P. expansum, P. notatum, P. steckii and P. meleagrinum. P₁ type nucleases isolated from these strains were produced in a form of complex with malonogalactan when molds were grown on wheat bran. These enzymes showed similar characters in heat-stability (stable at 60°C), temperature optimum (60 to 70°C for RNA and heat denatured DNA, and 70°C for 3’-AMP) and sensitivity to EDTA. The enzymes from P. steckii and P. expansum were immunologically co-related to nuclease P₁.

In addition, many strains of Penicillium produced base-nonspecific RNases forming 3’-mononucleotides via 2’: 3 ’-cyclic nucleotides. These RNases showed similarity in heat-lability (completely inactivated at 60°C), temperature optimum (45 to 50°C), sensitivity to Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺, and relative hydrolysis rate toward 2’: 3’-cyclic nucleotides (A?C>U?G).     

The S-methylmethionine cycle in angiosperms: ubiquity, antiquity and activity

Angiosperms synthesize S-methylmethionine (SMM) from methionine (Met) and S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) in a unique reaction catalyzed by Met S-methyltransferase (MMT). SMM serves as methyl donor for Met synthesis from homocysteine, catalyzed by homocysteine S-methyltransferase (HMT). MMT and HMT together have been proposed to constitute a futile SMM cycle that stops the free Met pool from being depleted by an overshoot in AdoMet synthesis. Arabidopsis and maize have one MMT gene, and at least three HMT genes that belong to two anciently diverged classes and encode enzymes with distinct properties and expression patterns. SMM, and presumably its cycle, must therefore have originated before dicot and monocot lineages separated. Arabidopsis leaves, roots and developing seeds all express MMT and HMTs, and can metabolize [35S]Met to [35S]SMM and vice versa. The SMM cycle therefore operates throughout the plant. This appears to be a general feature of angiosperms, as digital gene expression profiles show that MMT and HMT are co-expressed in leaves, roots and reproductive tissues of maize and other species. An in silico model of the SMM cycle in mature Arabidopsis leaves was developed from radiotracer kinetic measurements and pool size data. This model indicates that the SMM cycle consumes half the AdoMet produced, and suggests that the cycle serves to stop accumulation of AdoMet, rather than to prevent depletion of free Met. Because plants lack the negative feedback loops that regulate AdoMet pool size in other eukaryotes, the SMM cycle may be the main mechanism whereby plants achieve short-term control of AdoMet level.     

香菇多糖产生菌的原生质体诱变选育

对香菇原生质体进行不同时间紫外线照射诱变,实验结果表明：采用紫外线照射120S,可获得高产突变株,该突变株BM－43的多糖产量由出发菌株B15的235mg/100ml提高到278.75mg/100ml,产多糖能力提高了18.62%,经连续传代3次,产多糖能力仍保持稳定。说明原生质体诱变5技术用于大型真菌多糖高产菌株的选育是一条行之有效的途径。     

Purification and characterization of type I DNA topoisomerase from Lentinus edodes

Abstract Type I DNA topoisomerase was purified from the lower eukaryote Lentinus edodes . Like the topoisomerase I from other eukaryotic cells, the L. edodes enzyme removed both positive and negative superhelical turns. The M _r of the enzyme was determined to be 71,500 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). On gel filtration by Sephacryl S-200, the enzyme appeared to be an aggregate with a native M _r of about 235 000 daltons. No energy cofactor was required and ATP did not affect the enzyme. Activity was enhanced about 10-fold by Mg²⁺ (10 mM) and about 8-fold by KCl (100 mM).     

高效液相法测定香菇菇柄麦角甾醇的含量

采用高效液相色谱法(High performance liquid chromatography,HPLC)建立了测定菇柄麦角甾醇的含量测定方法。确定提取过程中皂化剂的种类和醇碱比后,将样品皂化,萃取后蒸干溶剂,乙醇定容测定。采用Phe-nomenex-C18色谱柱,V(流动相甲醇)∶V(水)=98∶2,流速1.0 mL/min,检测波长282 nm。结果表明:麦角甾醇线性回归方程为Y=9E+9×106X-8919.9(X:质量浓度,mg/mL),R2=0.998 9,0.01~0.30 mg/mL范围内线性关系良好,回收率为97.31%~101.95%。与紫外分光光度法所测结果比较,HPLC法测定菇柄中麦角甾醇含量灵敏、快速、准确,适用菇柄中麦角甾醇的含量测定。     

The detection of single-stranded RNA in an isometric virus-like particle from Shiitake mushroom [Lentinus edodes (Berk.) Sing.]

Isometric virus-like particles (VLPs) with diameter of approximately 34 nm containing ss-RNA were purified from abnormal mycelium of Shiitake mushroom, Lentinus edodes (Berk.) Sing. SDS-polyacrylamide gel elec-trophoresis demonstrated that the virions contain a single capsid polypeptide with molecular weight of about 22 000 daltons. The nucleic acid extract from purified VLPs preparations showed only one band with a size of approximately 7.3 kilobases. The susceptibility to RNase 1 and S1 digestions, resistance to DNase and thermal denaturation behaviour of the viral genome indicated that it is a single-stranded RNA. To our knowledge, isometric single-stranded RNA VLPs isolated from Shiitake mushroom mycelia have not been reported before.