Effect of plant growth regulators on evolution of ethylene and methane by different explants of chickpea

Shoot tips, cotyledonary nodes and hypocotyls of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) were grown on 3 media: plant induction medium (PIM), callus induction medium (CIM), and shoot induction medium (SIM). Maximum growth and differentiation was seen in PIM, whereas minimum was observed in CIM. Shoot tips which differentiated to multiple shoots evolved negligible amounts of ethylene. Maximum ethylene evolution was recorded by hypocotyls in PIM. Ethylene appears to have stimulatory effect on shoot bud differentiation in cotyledonary nodes. But in hypocotyls, increased ethylene inhibited growth and differentiation. Calli on media containing only auxin (PIM) evolved significantly more ethylene, whereas those on media with cytokinin (SIM) evolved more methane. Callus forming explants like cotyledonary nodes and hypocotyls evolve more ethylene than shoot tips. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Resolution des VIII. Internationalen Pflanzenschutzkongresses

Abstract

In Anbetracht der weitreichenden Bedeutung des VIII. Internationalen Pflanzenschutzkongresses, der in der Zeit vom 22. bis 26. August 1975 in Moskau stattfand, hält es die Redaktion für erforderlich, die anläßlich des Kongresses verabschiedete Resolution im Wortlaut wiederzugeben.     

Cryo-electron microscopy reveals the membrane insertion mechanism of V. cholerae hemolysin

Vibrio cholerae hemolysin (HlyA) is a 65?kDa pore-forming toxin which causes lysis of target eukaryotic cells by forming heptameric channels in the plasma membrane. Deletion of the 15?kDa C-terminus β-prism carbohydrate-binding domain generates a 50?kDa truncated variant (HlyA50) with 1000-fold-reduced pore-forming activity. Previously, we showed by cryo-electron microscopy that the two toxin oligomers have central channels, but the 65?kDa toxin oligomer is a seven-fold symmetric structure with bowl-, ring-, and arm-like domains, whereas the 50?kDa oligomer is an asymmetric jar-like heptamer. In the present study, we determined three-dimensional(3D) structures of HlyA and HlyA50 in presence of erythrocyte stroma and observed that interaction of the 65?kDa toxin with the stroma induced a significant decrease in the height of the β-barrel oligomer with a change in conformation of the ring- and arm-like domains of HlyA. These features were absent in interaction of HlyA50 with stroma. We propose that this conformational transition is critical for membrane-insertion of the toxin.     

EhCoactosin Stabilizes Actin Filaments in the Protist Parasite Entamoeba histolytica

Entamoeba histolytica is a protist parasite that is the causative agent of amoebiasis, and is a highly motile organism. The motility is essential for its survival and pathogenesis, and a dynamic actin cytoskeleton is required for this process. EhCoactosin, an actin-binding protein of the ADF/cofilin family, participates in actin dynamics, and here we report our studies of this protein using both structural and functional approaches. The X-ray crystal structure of EhCoactosin resembles that of human coactosin-like protein, with major differences in the distribution of surface charges and the orientation of terminal regions. According to in vitro binding assays, full-length EhCoactosin binds both F- and G-actin. Instead of acting to depolymerize or severe F-actin, EhCoactosin directly stabilizes the polymer. When EhCoactosin was visualized in E. histolytica cells using either confocal imaging or total internal reflectance microscopy, it was found to colocalize with F-actin at phagocytic cups. Over-expression of this protein stabilized F-actin and inhibited the phagocytic process. EhCoactosin appears to be an unusual type of coactosin involved in E. histolytica actin dynamics.     

RUNX1T1, a potential prognostic marker in breast cancer,is co-ordinately expressed with ERα, and regulated by estrogen receptor signalling in breast cancer cells

Molecular Biology Reports - RUNX1T1 is extensively studied in the context of AML1-RUNX1T1 fusion protein in acute myeloid leukemia. Little is known about the function of RUNX1T1 itself, although...     

MicroRNA profiles in Sorghum exposed to individual drought or heat or their combination

Sorghum is largely grown for food, fodder and for biofuel production in semi-arid regions where the drought or high temperature or their combination co-occur. Plant microRNAs (miRNAs) are integral to the gene regulatory networks that control almost all biological processes including adaptation to stress conditions. Thus far, plant miRNA profiles under separate drought or heat stresses have been reported but not under combined drought and heat. In this study, we report miRNA profiles in leaves of sorghum exposed to individual drought or heat or their combination. Approximately 29 conserved miRNA families represented by 80 individual miRNAs, 26 families represented by 47 members of less conserved or sorghum-specific miRNA families as well as 8 novel miRNA families have been identified. Of these, 25 miRNAs were found to be differentially regulated in response to stress treatments. The comparative profiling revealed that the miRNA regulation was stronger under heat or combination of heat and drought compared to the drought alone. Furthermore, using degradome sequencing, 48 genes were confirmed as targets for the miRNAs in sorghum. Overall, this study provides a framework for understanding of the miRNA-guided gene regulations under combined stresses.

     

Characterization of modeled inhibitory binding sites on isoform one of the Na+/H+ exchanger

Mammalian Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger isoform one (NHE1) is a plasma membrane protein responsible for pH regulation in mammalian cells. Excess activity of the protein promotes heart disease and is a trigger of metastasis in cancer. Inhibitors of the protein exist but problems in specificity have delayed their clinical application. Here we examined amino acids involved in two modeled inhibitor binding sites (A, B) in human NHE1. Twelve mutations (Asp159, Phe348, Ser351, Tyr381, Phe413, Leu465, Gly466, Tyr467, Leu468, His473, Met476, Leu481) were made and characterized. Mutants S351A, F413A, Y467A, L468A, M476A and L481A had 40–70% of wild type expression levels, while G466A and H473A expressed 22% ~ 30% of the wild type levels. Most mutants, were targeted to the cell surface at levels similar to wild type NHE1, approximately 50–70%, except for F413A and G466A, which had very low surface targeting. Most of the mutants had measurable activity except for D159A, F413A and G466A. Resistance to inhibition by EMD87580 was elevated in mutants F438A, L465A and L468A and reduced in mutants S351A, Y381A, H473A, M476A and L481A. All mutants with large alterations in inhibitory properties showed reduced Na⁺ affinity. The greatest changes in activity and inhibitor sensitivity were in mutants present in binding site B which is more closely associated with TM4 and C terminal of extracellular loop 5, and is situated between the putative scaffolding domain and transport domain. The results help define the inhibitor binding domain of the NHE1 protein and identify new amino acids involved in inhibitor binding.     

A detailed model and Monte Carlo simulation for predicting DIP genome length distribution in baculovirus infection of insect cells

Baculoviruses have enormous potential for use as biopesticides to control insect pest populations without the adverse environmental effects posed by the widespread use of chemical pesticides. However, continuous baculovirus production is susceptible to DNA mutation and the subsequent production of defective interfering particles (DIPs). The amount of DIPs produced and their genome length distribution are of great interest not only for baculoviruses but for many other DNA and RNA viruses. In this study, we elucidate this aspect of virus replication using baculovirus as an example system and both experimental and modeling studies. The existing mathematical models for the virus replication process consider DIPs as a lumped quantity and do not consider the genome length distribution of the DIPs. In this study, a detailed population balance model for the cell‐virus culture is presented, which predicts the genome length distribution of the DIP population along with their relative proportion. The model is simulated using the kinetic Monte Carlo algorithm, and the results agree well with the experimental results. Using this model, a practical strategy to maintain the DIP fraction to near to its maximum and minimum limits has been demonstrated.