Identification and localization of a protein immunologically related to Caltractin (Centrin) in the Myonemes and Membranelles of the Heterotrich ciliate Stentor coeruleus

The contractile properties of the myonemes of Stentor are very similar to caltractin (centrin)-containing fibers of other organisms. We investigated whether the calcium-binding protein caltractin was present in Stentor by using three different antibodies to caltractin or caltractin-related proteins, in conjunction with immunofluorescence microscopy and protein blotting. Immunofluorescence demonstrated that a protein immunologically similar to caltractin is present in the myonemes and in the bases of the membranelles of Stentor. The localization to the myonemes is observed in intact cells, osmotically lysed cells, and isolated cortices. Double-label immunofluorescence with anti-alpha-tubulin and anti-caltractin antibodies showed that the fluorescence in the myonemes was not in the overlying Km fibers. The myonemes in the posterior one-third of the cell appear as thick fibers with no cross-bridging. They become thinner as they approach the anterior end of the cell and show extensive cross-bridging here. Staining in the bases of the membranelles shows a distinct comma-like immunofluorescence pattern similar to that seen with protargol-stained cells and SEM views of the membranellar band reported by others. Western blots demonstrated that the caltractin-like protein in Stentor has an apparent molecular weight of 23 kDa compared with the 20-kDa protein from Chlamydomonas and is a calcium-binding protein.     

通过cDNARDA法分离和识别盐藻(Dunaliella salina)盐胁迫相关基因

采用cDNA代表性差异分析 (RDA)技术 ,对盐藻在盐胁迫时差异表达的基因进行了分离鉴定 .在分离到的 10个基因中 ,有 5个与已知基因同源 (包括叶绿素a b结合蛋白基因、蛋白磷酸酶I催化亚基基因和 3个核糖体蛋白基因 ) ,还有 5个未知功能基因则是首次在盐藻中被分离 .值得注意的是 ,所有这 5个已知基因的功能都与细胞分裂或盐胁迫有关 .结果表明 :取样时盐藻细胞仍处于恢复阶段 ,所分离到的基因对于盐藻耐盐可能具有重要意义 ;蛋白磷酸酶I的下调表达可能是盐藻调节离子平衡的一个重要过程和细胞分裂受阻的原因所在 ;盐藻减缓细胞分裂速度可能是为了减少能量消耗 ,以留出足够的能量来应对盐胁迫 ;其它 5个未知基因可能也与盐藻适应盐胁迫机制有关 .     

Dephosphorylation of cytoplasmic non-polysomal messenger ribonucleoproteins from cryptobiotic gastrulae of Artemia salina

Cytoplasmic non-polysomal mRNP from cryptobiotic gastrulae of the brine shrimp Artemia salina do not contain endogeneous protein phosphatase activity. However, both non-polysomal mRNP and purified mRNP proteins, phosphorylated by mRNP associated protein kinase, can be dephosphorylated by protein phosphatases purified from A. salina cytosol and rabbit skeletal muscle. The 38 kDa and 23.5 kDa poly(A) binding proteins (P38 and P23.5) and a 65 kDa protein are the major substrates of each protein phosphatase used. The reversible phosphorylation-dephosphorylation of mRNP may be involved in the regulation of mRNP metabolism, by altering the poly(A) binding capacities of the mRNP proteins.     

人canstatin基因转化新型生物反应器－杜氏盐藻(Dunaliella salina)的初步研究

本文采用RT-PCR技术从人的胎盘组织中克隆canstatin基因,定向连接到表达载体pUΩ上,然后与筛选标记bar盒连接得到真核表达载体pUΩ-Can-Bar。采用玻璃珠转化法将该表达载体转化杜氏盐藻（以下简称盐藻）,通过草丁膦固体平板筛选得到转化株,进而对转化株进行阳性鉴定。PCR结果显示,在盐藻转化株中均能够扩增出约700 bp特异的条带,而在阴性对照中没有扩增出该条带。Southern blot结果进一步证明人canstatin基因已经整合到盐藻细胞的基因组中。此外,本文对盐藻转化株的遗传稳定行进行了分析,结果表明canstatin基因能够在转化藻株中稳定遗传。人canstatin转基因盐藻株的成功制备为利用盐藻反应器大规模生产人canstatin蛋白提供了实验依据,为及早实现canstatin蛋白在治疗肿瘤上的临床应用提供了前期工作基础。     

Structural independence of the two EF-hand domains of caltractin

Caltractin (centrin) is a member of the calmodulin subfamily of EF-hand Ca2+-binding proteins that is an essential component of microtubule-organizing centers in many organisms ranging from yeast and algae to humans. The protein contains two homologous EF-hand Ca2+-binding domains linked by a flexible tether; each domain is capable of binding two Ca2+ ions. In an effort to search for domain-specific functional properties of caltractin, the two isolated domains were subcloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Ca2+ binding affinities and the Ca2+ dependence of biophysical properties of the isolated domains were monitored by UV, CD, and NMR spectroscopy. Comparisons to the corresponding results for the intact protein showed that the two domains function independently of each other in these assays. Titration of a peptide fragment from the yeast Kar1p protein to the isolated domains and intact caltractin shows that the two domains interact in a Ca2+-dependent manner, with the C-terminal domain binding much more strongly than the N-terminal domain. Measurements of the macroscopic Ca2+ binding constants show that only the N-terminal domain has sufficient apparent Ca2+ affinity in vitro (1-10 microm) to be classified as a traditional calcium sensor in signal transduction pathways. However, investigation of the microscopic Ca2+ binding events in the C-terminal domain by NMR spectroscopy revealed that the observed macroscopic binding constant likely results from binding to two sites with very different affinities, one in the micromolar range and the other in the millimolar range. Thus, the C-terminal domain appears to also be capable of sensing Ca2+ signals but is activated by the binding of a single ion.     

杜氏盐藻外源基因稳定表达系统的构建

建立了一种单细胞海水绿藻--杜氏盐藻(Dunaliella salina Teod.)的外源基因稳定表达系统.通过电激法将携带乙肝病毒表面抗原基因(HBsAg)和氯霉素乙酰转移酶基因(CAT)的质粒转入盐藻细胞内,CAT基因为筛选基因.PCR和Southern杂交结果显示,HBsAg基因已经整合到盐藻基因组中.Northern杂交结果表明,转化成功细胞内的该基因已转录成mRNA.HBsAgELISA和Western杂交检测证明,HBsAg蛋白在转化的盐藻细胞内稳定地表达.同时,PCR和Southern杂交显示,CAT基因也已整合到盐藻基因组中.且CATELISA检测证明,CAT蛋白在转化体中也已稳定地表达.进一步对转化盐藻进行无氯霉素筛选培养,60代后,HBsAg基因依然稳定地存在并表达.本实验第一次报道了外源基因在杜氏盐藻细胞内的稳定表达.     

Isolation and characterization of the acidic phosphoproteins of 60-S ribosomes from Artemia salina and rat liver.

Eucaryotic L7/L12-type proteins are present in ethanol/salt extracts (P1 protein) of ribosomes from Artemia salina and rat liver. These proteins are partially phosphorylated and occur in two forms of closely related structure: a major form eL12 having methionine at the N-terminal position and a minor form of eL12 (eL12') which seems slightly elongated and contains a blocked N terminus. Purification of the four different forms of this protein, eL12, eL12-P, eL12' and eL12'-P, was performed by ion-exchange chromatography on carboxymethyl-cellulose and DEAE-cellulose. Using a radioimmuno assay, 1.8 copies of eL12 and 0.9 of eL12' were found on the 80-S A. salina ribosome. In ribosomes of both rat liver and A. salina, eL12 is present in a larger quantity than eL12'. 40-S and 60-S ribosomal subunits extracted with ethanol/salt were essentially free of eL12 proteins. A large pool of eL12 was found in the cytosol after removal of the ribosomes by centrifugation or molecular sieving. The proteins of rat liver and A. salina are similar with regard to their isoelectric points and molecular weights. Sedimentation equilibrium studies indicated that the isolated protein eL12 occurs as a dimer.     

杜氏盐藻外源基因稳定表达系统的构建(英文)

A stable transformation system for the expression of foreign genes in the unicellular greenmarine alga (Dunaliella salina Teod.) was established. Using electroporation, the alga was transformed witha plasmid containing the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg） gene and the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase(CAT) gene as a selectable gene. PCR and Southern blotting analysis indicated that the HBsAEgene wasintegrated into the D. salina genome. Northern dotting analysis showed that the HBsAg gene was expressedat the mRNA level. The stable expression of HBsAg protein in transformants was confirmed by HBsAgenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (HBsAg EUSA) and Western blotting analysis. Also, PCR and Southernblotting analyses showed that the CA Tgene was integrated into the D, salina genome, and CAT EUSAindicated that CAT protein was stably expressed in the cells. The introduced HBsAg DNA and HBsAgprotein expression were stably maintained for at least 60 generations in media devoid of chloramphenicol.This is the first report of the stable expression of foreign genes in D. salina.     

丁草胺对杜氏盐藻生理生化的影响

采用室内模拟培养试验方法,研究了酰胺类除草剂丁草胺对杜氏盐藻(Dunaliella salina)生长和生理生化的影响。结果表明,低浓度的丁草胺对杜氏盐藻生长速率有促进作用,而高浓度的丁草胺对杜氏盐藻生长速率有显著的抑制作用,且随着浓度的加大,杜氏盐藻生长速率逐渐降低。丁草胺对杜氏盐藻藻细胞的光合色素含量、可溶性蛋白、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)和过氧化物酶(POD)活性等也有影响。     

mRNA methylation and protein synthesis in extracts from embryos of brine shrimp, Artemia salina.

Cell-free protein-synthesizing extracts prepared from the brine shrimp, Artemia salina, translate methylated mRNAs. Reovirus unmethylated mRNA is inactive as a template when methylation is prevented by the inhibitor, S-adenosylhomocysteine. A salina mRNAs from both undeveloped and developed embryos contain 5'-terminal 7-methylguanosine in an inverted 5'-5' linkage through three phosphate groups to the rest of the polynucleotide chain. Removal of the 7-methylguanosine by beta elimination converts the mRNA from an active form to one inactive in protein synthesis in extracts of A. salina or wheat germ. Extracts of undeveloped and developed embryos methylate reovirus unmethylated mRNA at the 5' ends to form 5'-terminal structures of the type, m7G(5')ppp(5')G and m7G(5')ppp(5')Gm.     

Identification of a gene encoding the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b proteins of photosystem I in green alga Dunaliella salina.

There are four LhcII genes of Dunaliella salina have been submitted to the database of GenBank. However, little is known about Lhca genes of this green alga, although this knowledge might be available to study the composition and phylogenesis of Lhc gene family. Recently, one Lhca gene was been cloned from the green alga D. salina by PCR amplification using degenerate primers. This cDNA, designated as DsLhca1, contains an open reading frame encoded a protein of 222 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 27.8 kDa. DsLhca1 is predicted to contain three transmembrane domains and a N-terminal chloroplast transit peptide (cTP) with length of 33 amino acids. The genomic sequence of DsLhca1 is composed of five introns. The deduced polypeptide sequence of this gene showed a lower degree of identity (less than 30%) with LHCII proteins from D. salina. But its homology to Lhca proteins of other algae (Volvox carteri Lhca_AF110786) was higher with pairwise identities of up to 67.1%. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that DsLhcal protein cannot be assigned to any types of Lhca proteins in higher plants or in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.     

Spasmin and a Putative Spasmin Binding Protein(s) Isolated from Solubilized Spasmonemes1

ABSTRACT The amino acid composition and hydrophobicity scale (hydropathy) of calcium-binding proteins contained in the contractile spasmoneme of Carchesium polypinum was compared with other calcium-binding proteins from eukaryotes. Spasmins which may hind at most 4 calcium ions simultaneously and initiate spasmoneme contraction cooperatively belong to a super family of proteins including; centrin/caltractin and calmodulin. Based on chemical modification of tryptophan and methionine, these residues are involved in contraction but the spasmin proteins contain little or none of these amino acids. Based on this evidence, it is suggested that another, non-calcium binding protein(s) is involved in spasmoneme contraction.     

Salt-induced redox-independent phosphorylation of light harvesting chlorophyll a/b proteins in Dunaliella salina thylakoid membranes

This study investigated the regulation of the major light harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein (LHCII) phosphorylation in Dunaliella salina thylakoid membranes. We found that both light and NaCl could induce LHCII phosphorylation in D. salina thylakoid membranes. Treatments with oxidants (ferredoxin and NADP) or photosynthetic electron flow inhibitors (DCMU, DBMIB, and stigmatellin) inhibited LHCII phosphorylation induced by light but not that induced by NaCl. Furthermore, neither addition of CuCl(2), an inhibitor of cytochrome b(6)f complex reduction, nor oxidizing treatment with ferricyanide inhibited light- or NaCl-induced LHCII phosphorylation, and both salts even induced LHCII phosphorylation in dark-adapted D. salina thylakoid membranes as other salts did. Together, these results indicate that the redox state of the cytochrome b(6)f complex is likely involved in light- but not salt-induced LHCII phosphorylation in D. salina thylakoid membranes.     

盐生杜氏藻3-磷酸甘油脱氢酶基因克隆及其蛋白质结构预测

本文通过对盐生杜氏藻(Dunaliella salina) cDNA文库进行大规模EST测序并结合RACE实验克隆了盐生杜氏藻3-磷酸甘油脱氢酶基因, 并且通过Southern blotting实验确定了该基因在这个物种中拷贝数。通过生物信息学的方法, 预测该基因所编码的蛋白质结构, 验证了该蛋白质具有3-磷酸甘油脱氢酶完整的功能性结构域和磷酸水解酶类结构域。本实验为解释盐生杜氏藻在面临高渗胁迫下快速合成甘油的机制提供了帮助。     

盐生杜氏藻3-磷酸甘油脱氢酶基因克隆及其蛋白质结构预测

本文通过对盐生杜氏藻（Dunaliella salina）cDNA文库进行大规模EST测序并结合RACE实验克隆了盐生杜氏藻3-磷酸甘油脱氢酶基因,并且通过Southern blotting实验确定了该基因在这个物种中拷贝数。通过生物信息学的方法,预测该基因所编码的蛋白质结构,验证了该蛋白质具有3-磷酸甘油脱氢酶完整的功能性结构域和磷酸水解酶类结构域。本实验为解释盐生杜氏藻在面临高渗胁迫下快速合成甘油的机制提供了帮助。     

Characterization of cDNA of lycopene beta-cyclase responsible for a high level of beta-carotene accumulation in Dunaliella salina.

Lycopene beta-cyclase (Lyc-B) is the key enzyme in the catalysis of linear lycopene to form cyclic beta-carotene, an indispensable part of the photosynthetic apparatus and an important source of vitamin A in human and animal nutrition. Studies showing that the microalga Dunaliella salina can accumulate a high level of beta-carotene are lacking. We hypothesize that D. salina is closely involved with the catalytic mechanism of Lyc-B and the molecular regulation of its gene. In this study, we used RT-PCR and RACE-PCR to isolate a 2475 bp cDNA with a 1824 bp open reading frame, encoding a putative Lyc-B, from D. salina. Homology studies showed that the deduced amino acid sequence had a significant overall similarity with sequences of other green algae and higher plants, and that it shared the highest sequence identity, up to 64%, with Lyc-B of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Codon analysis showed that synonymous codon usage in the enzyme has a strong bias towards codons ending with adenosine. Two motifs were found in the Lyc-B sequence, one at the N terminus, for binding the hypothetical cofactor FAD, and the other was a substrate carrier motif in oxygenic organisms shared by an earlier carotenogenesis enzyme, phytoene desaturase, and Lyc-B. A tertiary structure prediction suggested that the catalytic or binding site structure within LycB from D. salina is superior to that of both H. pluvialis and C. reinhardtii. The LycB protein from D. salina was quite removed from that of H. pluvialis and C. reinhardtii in the phylogenetic tree. Taken as a whole, this information provides insight into the regulatatory mechanism of Lyc-B at the molecular level and the high level of beta-carotene accumulation in the microalga D. salina.     

高浓度钾抑制杜氏盐藻生长的生理机制

在含１ｍｏｌ／ＬＮａＣｌ的杜氏盐藻（Ｄｕｎａｌｉｅｌａｓａｌｉｎａ（Ｄｕｎａｌ）Ｔｅｏｄ．）培养液中加入５０ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌ以上的ＫＣｌ可观察到Ｋ＋对杜氏盐藻生长有明显的抑制作用,而当ＫＣｌ达１００ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌ时,杜氏盐藻的生长被完全抑制。另一方面,当培养液中缺乏Ｋ＋时,杜氏盐藻的生长也被显著抑制。在正常培养条件下,伴随着杜氏盐藻的生长,培养液的ｐＨ由８左右升高至１０左右,而高浓度Ｋ＋则显著抑制杜氏盐藻培养液ｐＨ的升高;而在培养液ｐＨ为７．０至１０．０的范围内,不同ｐＨ对杜氏盐藻的生长无明显影响。将杜氏盐藻在高浓度Ｋ＋条件下预处理１２ｈ以上,杜氏盐藻的光合放氧速率显著下降,光合速率下降的程度与Ｋ＋浓度的高低和预处理的时间长短呈正相关。高浓度Ｋ＋处理也引起杜氏盐藻叶绿素含量的显著下降。对经高浓度Ｋ＋预处理的杜氏盐藻的光合放氧速率与培养液中ｐＨ变化同时进行测定的结果表明,Ｋ＋抑制杜氏盐藻光合速率的同时也显著抑制了光照条件引起的培养液ｐＨ的上升。实验结果表明,Ｋ＋抑制杜氏盐藻光合作用以及抑制杜氏盐藻生长与Ｋ＋影响跨盐藻质膜的质子运输之间可能存在一定关系。     

A comparative study on 40S ribosomal proteins of Artemia salina and rat liver: micro analysis of amino acid composition by high-performance liquid chromatography

The amino acid compositions of 24 proteins of 40S ribosomal subunits of Artemia salina cysts were determined and compared with those of rat liver. The basic proteins of A. salina 40S ribosomes were separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and extracted with 70% formic acid. Samples were freed from contaminants by gel-filtration through a high-performance liquid chromatography column. Amino acid compositions were determined for individual proteins by pre-column derivatization with N,N-dimethylaminoazobenzenesulfonyl chloride followed by reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The similarity of amino acid compositions between A. salina and rat liver 40S ribosomal proteins was evaluated by the method of Cornish-Bowden (Cornish-Bowden, A. (1980) Anal. Biochem. 105, 233-238), and possible relationships between A. salina and rat were detected for 16 protein species (S2, S3, S4, S6, S7, S8, S15a, S16, S17, and S18, strongly related and S14, S15, S20, S23, S24, and S26, weakly related), indicating a conservative nature of eukaryotic ribosomal proteins.