Redescription of Eatonisca tertiaria Meunier 1905 from Baltic amber (Diptera: Psychodidae: Trichomyiinae)

Eatonisca tertiaria Meunier 1905, is redescribed from the Eocene Baltic amber, with details of the eyes, antennae and male genitalia structure provided. This fossil is placed within Trichomyiinae, and shares several plesiomorphies with Psychodinae, Phlebotominae, and Sycoracinae.     

A new genus of sphaeropsocid bark lice from the Early Cretaceous amber of Lebanon (Psocodea: Sphaeropsocidae)

A new genus and species of sphaeropsocid bark louse is described and figured from a single individual in Early Cretaceous amber from Hammana, central Lebanon. Asphaeropsocites neli gen. n., sp. n. is the second sphaeropsocid described from Lebanese amber. Like Sphaeropsocites lebanensis Grimaldi & Engel 2006, it has a basal phylogenetic position within Sphaeropsocidae, and adds evidence that these insects were once widespread and global, in the past. The new species is distinguished from related taxa, and a discussion and checklist of sphaeropsocids are provided.     

Inhibitory effect of Trichoderma isolates on growth of Alternaria alternata,the causal agent of leaf spot disease on sunflower,under laboratory conditions

Several species of the genus Alternaria are involved in leaf spot disease of sunflower, with Alternaria alternata being the dominant species responsible for this disease in Iran and many other sunflower-producing areas, worldwide. The disease causes a progressive destruction of the photosynthetic apparatus, resulting in annual yield loss. The routine disease management strategies are not effective for disease control; hence, alternative measures for disease management are of great interest. In the present study, the efficacy of Trichoderma harzianum T22 and Trichoderma sp. on biological control of the causal agent was evaluated under laboratory conditions. The effect of Trichoderma isolates on dry weight (DW) and radial growth (RG) rate of A. alternata was evaluated using dual culture, volatile and non-volatile cellular metabolites. The results obtained in this study revealed that in both Trichoderma isolates, non-volatile cellular metabolites had the highest inhibitory effect on DW and RG rate of the causal agent. Owing to explicit inhibitory effect of non-volatile cellular metabolites on A. alternata, the inhibitory effects of different concentrations of non-volatile cellular metabolites were evaluated on DW and RG rate of the A. alternata. The obtained results showed that non-autoclaved 75 and 50% concentrations and undiluted (100%) autoclaved non-volatile cellular metabolites from Trichoderma sp. had the highest inhibitory effect on DW and RG rate of the causal agent. The overall results of this study reveal that Trichoderma spp. have excellent efficacy on biological control of A. alternata under laboratory condition; such that, further studies on the potential of Trichoderma spp. in biological control of Alternaria leaf spot disease of sunflower under green house and field conditions are necessary.     

Molecular aspects of pancreatic β-cell dysfunction: Oxidative stress,microRNA, and long noncoding RNA

Metabolic syndrome is known as a frequent precursor of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). This disease could affect 8% of the people worldwide. Given that pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and loss have central roles in the initiation and progression of the disease, the understanding of cellular and molecular pathways associated with pancreatic β-cell dysfunction can provide more information about the underlying pathways involved in T2D. Multiple lines evidence indicated that oxidative stress, microRNA, and long noncoding RNA play significant roles in various steps of diseases. Oxidative stress is one of the important factors involved in T2D pathogenesis. This could affect the function and survival of the β cell via activation or inhibition of several processes and targets, such as receptor-signal transduction, enzyme activity, gene expression, ion channel transport, and apoptosis. Besides oxidative stress, microRNAs and noncoding RNAs have emerged as epigenetic regulators that could affect pancreatic β-cell dysfunction. These molecules exert their effects via targeting a variety of cellular and molecular pathways involved in T2D pathogenesis. Here, we summarized the molecular aspects of pancreatic β-cell dysfunction. Moreover, we highlighted the roles of oxidative stress, microRNAs, and noncoding RNAs in pancreatic β-cell dysfunction.     

Fusion Protein Strategy to Increase Expression and Solubility of Hypervariable Region of VP2 Protein of Infectious Bursal Disease Virus in Escherichia coli

Infectious bursal disease is one of the most important viral diseases in the young chickens. VP2 protein is the major host protective immunogen of the virus. A hypervariable region is present in VP2 protein (hvVP2) that contains immunodominant epitops. The high hydrophobicity of hvVP2 region causes protein aggregation in Escherichia coli (E. coli). The objective of the present study was to improve the expression and the solubility of the hvVP2 protein in E. coli. The effects of fusion partners on the solubility of hvVP2 protein were studied. The protein was expressed in forms of unfused and N-terminally fused to GST and NusA. The results showed that the unfused hvVP2 protein was expressed in very low level. But, N-terminally fused hvVP2 protein to GST (glutathione-S-transferase) and NusA (N utilization substance A) showed significantly enhanced protein expression. The fusion of GST and hvVP2 was produced in aggregated form while in the presence of NusA, the hvVP2 protein was expressed in a soluble form. The NusA-hvVP2 protein was detected by a neutralizing monoclonal antibody, 1A6, in antigen-capture ELISA. In conclusion, the NusA protein is a suitable fusion partner to improve expression and solubility of the hvVP2 protein in E. coli.     

Overexpression of high molecular weight FGF-2 forms inhibits glioma growth by acting on cell-cycle progression and protein translation

In order to clarify the role of HMW FGF-2 in glioma development and angiogenesis, we over-expressed different human FGF-2 isoforms in C6 rat glioma cell line using a tetracycline-regulated expression system. Phenotypic modifications were analyzed in vitro and compared to untransfected cells or to cells over-expressing 18 kDa FGF-2 or all FGF-2 isoforms. In particular, we demonstrate that HMW FGF-2 has unique features in inhibiting glioma cell proliferation. HMW FGF-2 expressing cells showed a cell-cycle arrest at the G2M, demonstrating a role of HMW FGF-2 in controlling the entry in mitosis. Moreover, hydroxyurea was ineffective in blocking cells at the G1S boundary when HMW FGF-2 was expressed. We also show that the HMW FGF-2 isoforms inhibit 4E-BP1 phosphorylation at critical sites restoring the translation inhibitory activity of 4E-BP1. In vivo, inhibition of tumor growth was observed when cells expressed HMW FGF-2. This indicates that HMW FGF-2 inhibits tumor growth in glioma cells by acting on cell-cycle progression and protein translation.     

Hypercalcemia in glioblastoma multiforme

Hypercalcemia is commonly associated with cancer, occurring in around 10-20% of cancer patients. Hypercalcemia is usually related to solid and non-solid malignancies specifically breast cancer, lung cancer and multiple myeloma. Hypercalcemia has been reported to occur in association with astrocytomas, and uncommonly in gliomas. We report a case of a previously healthy man presenting with glioblastoma multiforme . He was found to have persistently elevated serum calcium and calcitriol with normal parathyroid function. This is the first reported case of hypercalcemia associated with glioblastoma multiforme.     

The NADPH-dependent thioredoxin reductase/thioredoxin system in germinating barley seeds: gene expression, protein profiles, and interactions between isoforms of thioredoxin h and thioredoxin reductase

The NADPH-dependent thioredoxin reductase (NTR)/thioredoxin (Trx) system catalyzes disulfide bond reduction in the cytoplasm and mitochondrion. Trx h is suggested to play an important role in seed development, germination, and seedling growth. Plants have multiple isoforms of Trx h and NTR; however, little is known about the roles of the individual isoforms. Trx h isoforms from barley (Hordeum vulgare) seeds (HvTrxh1 and HvTrxh2) were characterized previously. In this study, two NTR isoforms (HvNTR1 and HvNTR2) were identified, enabling comparison of gene expression, protein appearance, and interaction between individual NTR and Trx h isoforms in barley embryo and aleurone layers. Although mRNA encoding both Trx h isoforms is present in embryo and aleurone layers, the corresponding proteins differed in spatiotemporal appearance. HvNTR2, but not HvNTR1, gene expression seems to be regulated by gibberellic acid. Recombinant HvNTR1 and HvNTR2 exhibited virtually the same affinity toward HvTrxh1 and HvTrxh2, whereas HvNTR2 has slightly higher catalytic activity than HvNTR1 with both Trx h isoforms, and HvNTR1 has slightly higher catalytic activity toward HvTrxh1 than HvTrxh2. Notably, both NTRs reduced Trx h at the acidic conditions residing in the starchy endosperm during germination. Interspecies reactions between the barley proteins and Escherichia coli Trx or Arabidopsis thaliana NTR, respectively, occurred with 20- to 90-fold weaker affinity. This first investigation of regulation and interactions between members of the NTR/Trx system in barley seed tissues suggests that different isoforms are differentially regulated but may have overlapping roles, with HvNTR2 and HvTrxh1 being the predominant isoforms in the aleurone layer.     

Effect of glucose oxidase on decolorization efficiency of crystal violet by Phanerochaete chrysosporium cultures

An enzymatic reaction using glucose oxidase (GOx) was applied for continues production of hydrogen peroxide and organic acid in Phanerochaete chrysosporium cultures for use simultaneously in catalytic cycle of peroxidases. Decolorization efficiency of crystal violet (CV) as a model pollutant was investigated in 16 d old cultures which overproduced manganese peroxidase (MnP) in response to daily GOx addition and control cultures (i.e. no GOx was added). However, the ability of overproduced cultures in decolorization of CV was not increased significantly, through addition of GOx (300?U/L)?+?glucose (10?Mm) to the culture medium at the start of decolorization, the time needed to obtain 87?±?0.5% removal of CV was reduced 10.7-fold in compared with the control culture. The best GOx concentration in culture medium for more efficient decolorization was obtained to be 300?U/L. These findings indicated that GOx in the presence of glucose could increase the degradation of CV not only by inducing ligninolytic activity in cultures but also as a subsidiary source for in situ H₂O₂ and organic acid production for catalytic activity of peroxidases in P. chrysosporium cultures.