Papaya fruit softening, endoxylanase gene expression, protein and activity

Papaya ( Carica papaya L.) cell wall matrix polysaccharides are modified as the fruit starts to soften during ripening and an endoxylanase is expressed that may play a role in the softening process. Endoxylanase gene expression, protein amount and activity were determined in papaya cultivars that differ in softening pattern and in one cultivar where softening was modified by the ethylene receptor inhibitor 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP). Antibodies to the endoxylanase catalytic domain were used to determine protein accumulation. The three papaya varieties used in the study, 'Line 8', 'Sunset', and 'Line 4-16', differed in softening pattern, respiration rate, ethylene production and showed similar parallel relationships during ripening and softening in endoxylanase expression, protein level and activity. When fruit of the three papaya varieties showed the respiratory climacteric and started to soften, the level of endoxylanase gene expression increased and this increase was related to the amount of endoxylanase protein at 32 kDa and its activity. Fruit when treated at less than 10% skin yellow stage with 1-MCP showed a significant delay in the respiratory climacteric and softening, and reduced ethylene production, and when ripe was firmer and had a 'rubbery' texture. The 1-MCP-treated fruit that had the 'rubbery' texture showed suppressed endoxylanase gene expression, protein and enzymatic activity. Little or no delay occurred between endoxylanase gene expression and the appearance of activity during posttranslational processing from 65 to 32 kDa. The close relationship between endoxylanase gene expression, protein accumulation and activity in different varieties and the failure of the 1-MCP-treated fruit to fully soften, supported de novo synthesis of endoxylanase, rapid posttranslation processing and a role in papaya fruit softening.     

Impact of Mycoplasma hyorhinis infection on L-arginine metabolism: differential regulation of the human and murine iNOS gene

Infection with mycoplasma is a common problem in cell cultures, with Mycoplasma hyorhinis being the predominant species. Here we investigate the effect of M. hyorhinis infection on L-arginine metabolism, with focus on iNOS-mediated NO synthesis in murine keratinocytes and the human colon cancer cell line DLD-1. iNOS and arginase are L-arginine-metabolizing enzymes involved in the regulation of inflammatory processes, with NO contributing to innate immunity. In murine cells, M. hyorhinis infection enhances cytokine-induced iNOS expression and augments iNOS activity, whereas in the absence of cytokines it causes de novo induction of iNOS mRNA without subsequent translation into iNOS protein. In turn, arginase-1 mRNA expression is diminished in M. hyorhinis-infected murine keratinocytes, resulting in decreased arginase activity. One of the underlying upstream mechanisms is NF-kappaB activation. In contrast, in human cells neither iNOS mRNA nor protein expression is affected by M. hyorhinis infection, but NO synthesis is enhanced, which may be caused by increased L-arginine import. This demonstrates that infection with M. hyorhinis leads to different effects on gene regulation of the murine and human iNOS gene. Our study underlines the importance of routine checking of cell cultures for mycoplasma contamination, particularly in studies on NO-mediated effects or inflammatory processes.     

基于高通量测序的阿尔泰蝠蛾(鳞翅目:蝙蝠蛾科)幼虫转录组分析

本研究采用Illumina HiSeq TM 2500测序平台对阿尔泰蝠蛾Hepialus altaicola Wang幼虫进行转录组测序及生物信息学分析.经序列拼接后共获得100133个Unigenes,总长度86319112 bp,平均长度862 bp,N50长度1628 bp.将Unigenes与NR、COG/KOG、Pfam、Swiss-Prot、GO、KEGG数据库比对,共获得38198条Unigenes,其中Nr数据库注释的Unigenes最多,为32381条,占32.34％.通过GO功能分类,共有13216个Unigenes在GO数据库中细胞组分、分子功能和生物学过程等3大类57个分支中找到注释;KEGG通路分析,共有15058条Unigenes被注释,归属于305条代谢通路.CDS预测发现54002条序列可被编码,占全部基因的53.93％.基因注释进一步获得311个与冷适应相关的代谢调节基因,并用FPKM值对基因表达量进行评估.本研究获得的转录组信息及分析结果,为进一步研究阿尔泰蝠蛾的基因功能及低温生态适应性奠定分子基础.