Tenuibacillus halotolerans sp. nov., a novel bacterium isolated from a soil sample from a salt lake in Xinjiang, China and emended description of the genus Tenuibacillus

A Gram-positive, moderately halotolerant, rod-shaped bacterium, designated YIM 94025^T, was isolated from a soil sample from a salt lake in Xinjiang province, north-west China. Strain YIM 94025^T was observed to grow at 25–45 °C (optimum 37 °C), 0–22 % NaCl (optimum 2–10 %) and pH 6.0–9.0 (optimum pH 8.0). Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the organism belongs to the genus Tenuibacillus and exhibited sequence similarity of 98.0 % to the closest type strain, Tenuibacillus multivorans AS 1.3442^T. The predominant menaquinone was found to be MK-7; the cell-wall peptidoglycan diamino acid was meso-diaminopimelic acid; the polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, an unidentified phospholipid and an unknown lipid; and the major fatty acids were found to contain iso-C_15:0, anteiso-C_15:0 and iso-C_16:0. The chemotaxonomic characteristics of strain YIM 94025^T are consistent with those of the genus Tenuibacillus. The level of DNA–DNA relatedness value between YIM 94025^T and T. multivorans AS 1.3442^T was 36.6 ± 4.5 %. The G+C content of the strain YIM 94025^T was determined to be 38.5 %. Based on the comparative analysis of physiological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic data, as well as DNA–DNA hybridization results, the isolate is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Tenuibacillus, for which the name Tenuibacillus halotolerans sp. nov., is proposed, with the type strain of YIM 94025^T (=CCTCC AB 2012860^T = KCTC 33046^T).     

Ancient Substructure in Early mtDNA Lineages of Southern Africa

Among the deepest-rooting clades in the human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) phylogeny are the haplogroups defined as L0d and L0k, which are found primarily in southern Africa. These lineages are typically present at high frequency in the so-called Khoisan populations of hunter-gatherers and herders who speak non-Bantu languages, and the early divergence of these lineages led to the hypothesis of ancient genetic substructure in Africa. Here we update the phylogeny of the basal haplogroups L0d and L0k with 500 full mtDNA genome sequences from 45 southern African Khoisan and Bantu-speaking populations. We find previously unreported subhaplogroups and greatly extend the amount of variation and time-depth of most of the known subhaplogroups. Our major finding is the definition of two ancient sublineages of L0k (L0k1b and L0k2) that are present almost exclusively in Bantu-speaking populations from Zambia; the presence of such relic haplogroups in Bantu speakers is most probably due to contact with ancestral pre-Bantu populations that harbored different lineages than those found in extant Khoisan. We suggest that although these populations went extinct after the immigration of the Bantu-speaking populations, some traces of their haplogroup composition survived through incorporation into the gene pool of the immigrants. Our findings thus provide evidence for deep genetic substructure in southern Africa prior to the Bantu expansion that is not represented in extant Khoisan populations.     

Discovery of a small molecular compound simultaneously targeting RXR and HADC: Design,synthesis, molecular docking and bioassay

Retinoid X receptor (RXR) and Histone deacetylase (HDAC) are considered important targets for anti-cancer therapy due to their crucial roles in genetic or epigenetic regulations of cancer development and progression. Here, we have designed and synthesized a novel compound which targets both RXR and HADC. This dual-targeting agent is derived from bexarotene and suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), prototypical RXR agonist and HDAC inhibitor, respectively. Molecular docking studies demonstrate that this agent has a relatively strong affinity to RXR and HADC. Importantly, it presents the potentials of activation of RXR and inhibition of HDAC in both cell-free and whole-cell assays, and displays anti-proliferative effect on representative cancer cell lines and drug-resistant cancer cell lines.     

A plant derived multifunctional tool for nanobiotechnology based on Tomato bushy stunt virus

Structure, size, physicochemical properties and production strategies make many plant viruses ideal protein based nanoscaffolds, nanocontainers and nano-building blocks expected to deliver a multitude of applications in different fields such as biomedicine, pharmaceutical chemistry, separation science, catalytic chemistry, crop pest control and biomaterials science. Functionalization of viral nanoparticles through modification by design of their external and internal surfaces is essential to fully exploit the potentiality of these objects. In the present paper we describe the development of a plant derived multifunctional tool for nanobiotechnology based on Tomato bushy stunt virus. We demonstrate the ability of this system to remarkably sustain genetic modifications and in vitro chemical derivatizations of its outer surface, which resulted in the successful display of large chimeric peptides fusions and small chemical molecules, respectively. Moreover, we have defined physicochemical conditions for viral swelling and reversible viral pore gating that we have successfully employed for foreign molecules loading and retention in the inner cavity of this plant virus nanoparticles system. Finally, a production and purification strategy from Nicotiana benthamiana plants has been addressed and optimized.     

Characterization of Tudor-sn-containing granules in the silkworm,Bombyx mori

The Tudor-sn protein, which contains four staphylococcal nuclease domains and a Tudor domain, is a ubiquitous protein found in almost all organisms. It has been reported that Tudor-sn in mammals participates in various cellular pathways involved in gene regulation, cell growth, and development. In insects, we have previously identified a Tudor-sn ortholog in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, and detected its interactions between with Argonaute proteins. The role of Tudor-sn in silkworm, however, still remains largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that silkworm Tudor-sn is a stress granule (SG) protein, and determined its interactions with other SG proteins using Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation assay and Insect Two-Hybrid method. Depletions of Argonaute proteins and SG-marker protein Tia1 by RNAi impaired the involvement of Tudor-sn in the SG formation. Protein domain deletion analysis of Tudor-sn demonstrated that SN2 is the key domain required for the aggregation of Tudor-sn in SGs.     

Synthesis,antiproliferative and mitochondrial impairment activities of bis-alkyl-amino transplatinum complexes

A convenient synthetic route and the characterization of complexes trans-[PtCl₂(L)(PPh₃)] (L = Et₂NH (2), (PhCH₂)₂NH (3), (HOCH₂CH₂)₂NH) (4) are reported. The antiproliferative activity was evaluated on three human tumor cell lines. The investigation on the mechanism of action highlighted for the most active complex 4 the capacity to affect mitochondrial functions. In particular, both the induction of the mitochondrial permeability transition phenomenon and an aspecific membrane damage occurred, depending on concentration.     

响应面分析法优化当归粗多糖提取工艺

选取岷县当归药材为原料,采用水提醇沉法进行多糖提取,以当归粗多糖得率为指标,探讨加水量、回流提取时间、水提液的浓缩比、醇沉后所达含醇比例对当归多糖得率的影响。在单因素分析的基础上,采用响应面分析法(RSM)确定了当归粗多糖最佳提取条件为:加水量837.6 mL/100 g,浓缩后溶液体积为228.12 mL,最终含乙醇浓度为65.80%,回流提取时间2 h,在此条件下预测当归粗多糖得率理论的最佳值为10.44%,实际验证值为10.40%,两者相符,说明RSM法分析的可靠性。