Die Bedeutung elektrophoretischer Proteinanalysen bei phytopathogenen Pilzen als Hilfsmittel zu ihrer taxonomischen Charakterisierung

Sunflower is one of the most important oilseed crops, which is grown in many countries. Increasing demand to use sunflower oil has expanded the under cultivation area throughout the world. Sunflower viruses have been reported as one of the pathogens that reduce the quantity and the quality of this product in a number of countries. In our research to study the occurrence and distribution of viruses in sunflower fields of Iran, 562 samples were collected from different fields in Kerman and Isfahan provinces during growing seasons from 2009 to 2011. Potato virus Y (PVY), Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) were detected by double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Also, numbers of samples were positive for infection to potyviruses (except PVY) in antigen-coated-plate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test using potyviruses general antiserum. Infected plants had symptoms like mosaic, yellowing, deformation, necrotic and chlorotic lesions and mottling on leaves and stunting. The infection rates of potyviruses, PVY, CMV and TSWV in Isfahan province were 33, 22, 4.18 and 3.25% of collected samples, respectively. The corresponding rates for samples from Kerman province were 15, 5, 0.8 and 0.4% of collected samples. According to these results, viral infection in Isfahan province was more than surveyed in Kerman province during the mentioned period of three years. Furthermore, generally there was a decrease in the percentage of viral infection during this three growing seasons in both provinces. This is the first report of the detection of CMV and TSWV in sunflower fields of Isfahan and Kerman and first report of PVY in Isfahan.     

Computational biomechanics of a lumbar motion segment in pure and combined shear loads

Anterior shear has been implicated as a risk factor in spinal injuries. A 3D nonlinear poroelastic finite element model study of a lumbar motion segment L4-L5 was performed to predict the temporal shear response under various single and combined shear loads. Effects of nucleotomy and facetectomy as well as changes in the posture and facet gap distance were analyzed as well.     

Lipid Segregation and Membrane Budding Induced by the Peripheral Membrane Binding Protein Annexin A2

The formation of dynamic membrane microdomains is an important phenomenon in many signal transduction and membrane trafficking events. It is driven by intrinsic properties of membrane lipids and integral as well as membrane-associated proteins. Here we analyzed the ability of one peripherally associated membrane protein, annexin A2 (AnxA2), to induce the formation of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P₂)-rich domains in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) of complex lipid composition. AnxA2 is a cytosolic protein that can bind PI(4,5)P₂ and other acidic phospholipids in a Ca²⁺-dependent manner and that has been implicated in cellular membrane dynamics in endocytosis and exocytosis. We show that AnxA2 binding to GUVs induces lipid phase separation and the recruitment of PI(4,5)P₂, cholesterol and glycosphingolipids into larger clusters. This property is observed for the full-length monomeric protein, a mutant derivative comprising the C-terminal protein core domain and for AnxA2 residing in a heterotetrameric complex with its intracellular binding partner S100A10. All AnxA2 derivatives inducing PI(4,5)P₂ clustering are also capable of forming interconnections between PI(4,5)P₂-rich microdomains of adjacent GUVs. Furthermore, they can induce membrane indentations rich in PI(4,5)P₂ and inward budding of these membrane domains into the lumen of GUVs. This inward vesiculation is specific for AnxA2 and not shared with other PI(4,5)P₂-binding proteins such as the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of phospholipase Cδ1. Together our results indicate that annexins such as AnxA2 can efficiently induce membrane deformations after lipid segregation, a mechanism possibly underlying annexin functions in membrane trafficking.     

EDTA-induced Membrane Fluidization and Destabilization： Biophysical Studies on Artificial Lipid Membranes

The molecular mechanism of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid （EDTA）-induced membrane destabilization has been studied using a combination of four biophysical techniques on artificial lipid membranes. Data from Langmuir film balance and epifluorescence microscopy revealed the fluidization and expansion effect of EDTA on phase behavior of monolayers of either 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine （DPPC） or mixtures of DPPC and metal-chelating lipids, such as N^a,N^a-Bis[carboxymethyl]-N^ε [（dioctadecylamino）succinyl]-L-lysine or 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-[N-（5-amino- 1 -carboxypentyl iminodiacetic acid） succinyl]. A plausible explanation could be drawn from the electrostatic interaction between negatively charged groups of EDTA and the positively charged choline head group of DPPC. Intercalation of EDTA into the lipid membrane induced membrane curvature as elucidated by atomic force microscopy. Growth in size and shape of the membrane protrusion was found to be time-dependent upon exposure to EDTA. Further loss of material from the lipid membrane surface was monitored in real time using a quartz crystal microbalance. This indicates membrane restabilization by exclusion of the protrusions from the surface. Loss of lipid components facilitates membrane instability, leading to membrane permeabilization and lysis.     

Constitutive secretion of β-trace protein by cultivated porcine choroid plexus epithelial cells: Elucidation of its complete amino acid and cDNA sequences

Primary porcine choroid plexus epithelial cells cultivated in chemically defined medium maintain their epithelial characteristics and form confluent monolayers. They produce a fluid the composition of which resembles cerebrospinal fluid. The present study demonstrates constitutive secretion of large amounts of β-trace protein. This intrathecally synthesized protein is a prominent polypeptide constituent of natural cerebrospinal fluid. According to the identity of amino acid sequences it has previously been tentatively identified as a prostaglandin-D synthase and as a member of the lipocalin protein family. β-Trace was purified from cell culture supernatants and was subjected to tryptic digestion and amino acid sequencing of the resulting peptides. The complete primary structure of the protein was obtained by additional isolation of the cDNA from cultured epithelial cells. The porcine 163-amino acid polypeptide showed 69% identity with the human β-trace and contained two N-glycosylation sites occupied by complex-type oligosaccharides as is the case for the human protein. The amino acid sequences around the N-glycosylation sites of mammalian β-trace proteins (porcine, human, murine, and rat) were highly conserved. The nucleotide sequence was found to be less conserved; the porcine cDNA had a strikingly high GC-content (67%). The constitutive secretion of β-trace protein from the in vitro cultivated porcine choroid plexus epithelial cells demonstrates that the cells have retained their major in vivo physiological properties: secretion of cerebrospinal fluid proteins. Therefore, this in vitro culture system may be used as a versatile tool for studying the regulation of the formation of cerebrospinal fluid. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Fruktifikationen der Gattung Hemitrapa Miki (Trapellaceae) in den Ablagerungen der Oberen Süßwasser-Molasse Bayerns (mit Bemerkungen zu den fossilen Vorkommen Eurasiens)

In contrast to the opinion of Miki (1952 b, p. 349) the genus Hemitrapa Miki (Trapellaceae) is not only found in Asia and America but also in Europe. Wrongly determined fossils of the type „Trapa silesiaca Goeppert”︁ (the original species from Schoßnitz in Poland is under research by M. Lancucka-Srodoniowa, Krakow) belong to the genus Hemitrapa Miki. Some other Bavarian fossils are newly decribed here as Hemitrapa heissigii sp. nov. Hemitrapa fossils grew not only in the Senftenberg area (Menzel 1906), in Silesia (Kräusel 1920) or the Niederlausitz area (Menzel in Gothan & Sapper 1933), at Konin (Raniecka-Bobrowska 1954), but possibly also near Cologne (Kilpper 1969 and Kramer 1974) and at Ponholz (Gregor 1980). Especially in the Middle Miocene Upper Freshwater Molasse of Bavaria the fossil species Hemitrapa heissigii is found in numerous specimens near Eberstetten, Haag a. d. Amper and Rauscheröd (all in southern Bavaria). Hemitrapa heissigii can be used as an index-fossil and signs Uppermost Miocene sediments (Badenian, Samartian). The occurence in Pliocene localities is to be prooved. The whole group around Hemitrapa is considered to be a “late element” (Upper Miocene) in Europe.     

Bacterial catabolism of sulfanilic acid via catechol-4-sulfonic acid

Abstract A sulfanilic acid (4-aminobenzenesulfonic acid) degrading culture consisting of two strains (strain S1 and S2), was studied. Only strain S1 was able to attack sulfanilic acid. When strain S1 was cultavated in a mineral medium with sulfanilic acid an intensive violet colour was observed. The accumulating metabolite was isolated from the culture supernatant. By comparison with an authentic compound the metabolite was identified as catechol-4-sulfonic acid by thin layer and high performance liquid chromatography and by UV- and H-NMR spectroscopy. The occurrence of catechol-4-sulfonic acid indicates that there is no release of the sulfonic group before ring cleavage.     

A Common Structural Motif in Elongation Factor Ts and Ribosomal Protein L7/12 May Be Involved in the Interaction with Elongation Factor Tu

Elongation factor (EF) Tu alternates between two interaction partners, EF-Ts and the ribosome, during its functional cycle. On the ribosome, the interaction involves, among others, ribosomal protein L7/12. Here we compare EF-Ts and L7/12 with respect to the conservation of sequence and structure. There is significant conservation of functionally important residues in the N-terminal domain of EF-Ts and in the C-terminal domain of L7/12. The structure alignment based on the crystal structures of the two domains suggests a high degree of similarity between the αA–βD–αB motif in L7/12 and the h1–turn–h2 motif in EF-Ts which defines a common structural motif. The motif is remarkably similar with respect to fold, bulkiness, and charge distribution of the solution surface, suggesting that it has a common function in binding EF-Tu. Received: 12 June 2000 / Accepted: 10 October 2000     

The 2.15 A crystal structure of CG-16, the developmentally regulated homodimeric chicken galectin

Differential developmental regulation of expression, fine-specificity differences in ligand recognition and disparate capacity for homodimerization are characteristics of the two currently known proto-type chicken galectins. The X-ray crystal structure of the first avian galectin, the homodimeric agglutinin from chicken liver (CG-16), has been solved in the absence of ligand in two crystal forms. Although the arrangement of lectin dimers in the two crystals is different, the structure of the monomers and their association into the extended beta-sandwich that characterises the dimer are virtually identical. The fold establishes a beta-sandwich motif composed of a five-stranded and a six-stranded beta-sheet evocative of proto-type mammalian galectins. The carbohydrate-binding site is occupied by six water molecules that take the place of the sugar in the complex. They help to stabilise in the absence of the ligand the spatial arrangement of the amino acid side-chains involved in sugar recognition. Docking of N-acetyllactosamine into the binding site reveals that three of these water molecules, which are in direct contact with the protein, occupy positions equivalent to the key sugar hydroxyl groups, namely the hydroxyls at positions 4 and 6 of the galactose unit and at position 3 of the N-acetylglucosamine unit. Crystallographic data are fully consistent with the binding features in solution previously derived from chemical mapping with deoxy, fluoro and O-methyl derivatives and laser photo-CIDNP (chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarisation) studies. The possible molecular basis for the monomeric character of the chicken intestinal galectin as well as potential mechanisms of oxidative inactivation by disulphide bridging are evaluated on the basis of the given structural information concerning the CG-16 dimer interface and the cysteine residues, respectively.