Molecular species of oxidized phospholipids in brain differentiate between learning- and memory impaired and unimpaired aged rats

Amino Acids - Loss of cognitive function is a typical consequence of aging in humans and rodents. The extent of decline in spatial memory performance of rats, assessed by a hole-board test, reaches...     

Key challenges for the creation and maintenance of specialist protein resources

As the volume of data relating to proteins increases, researchers rely more and more on the analysis of published data, thus increasing the importance of good access to these data that vary from the supplemental material of individual articles, all the way to major reference databases with professional staff and long‐term funding. Specialist protein resources fill an important middle ground, providing interactive web interfaces to their databases for a focused topic or family of proteins, using specialized approaches that are not feasible in the major reference databases. Many are labors of love, run by a single lab with little or no dedicated funding and there are many challenges to building and maintaining them. This perspective arose from a meeting of several specialist protein resources and major reference databases held at the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus (Cambridge, UK) on August 11 and 12, 2014. During this meeting some common key challenges involved in creating and maintaining such resources were discussed, along with various approaches to address them. In laying out these challenges, we aim to inform users about how these issues impact our resources and illustrate ways in which our working together could enhance their accuracy, currency, and overall value. Proteins 2015; 83:1005–1013. © 2015 The Authors. Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The role of FlhF and HubP as polar landmark proteins in Shewanella putrefaciens CN‐32

Spatiotemporal regulation of cell polarity plays a role in many fundamental processes in bacteria and often relies on ‘landmark’ proteins which recruit the corresponding clients to their designated position. Here, we explored the localization of two multi‐protein complexes, the polar flagellar motor and the chemotaxis array, in Shewanella putrefaciens CN‐32. We demonstrate that polar positioning of the flagellar system, but not of the chemotaxis system, depends on the GTPase FlhF. In contrast, the chemotaxis array is recruited by a transmembrane protein which we identified as the functional ortholog of Vibrio cholerae HubP. Mediated by its periplasmic N‐terminal LysM domain, SpHubP exhibits an FlhF‐independent localization pattern during cell cycle similar to its Vibrio counterpart and also has a role in proper chromosome segregation. In addition, while not affecting flagellar positioning, SpHubP is crucial for normal flagellar function and is involved in type IV pili‐mediated twitching motility. We hypothesize that a group of HubP/FimV homologs, characterized by a rather conserved N‐terminal periplasmic section required for polar targeting and a highly variable acidic cytoplasmic part, primarily mediating recruitment of client proteins, serves as polar markers in various bacterial species with respect to different cellular functions.     

Ecotoxicity impact assessment of laundry products: a comparison of USEtox and critical dilution volume approaches

Purpose  

There is an increasing interest in the assessment and comparison of the environmental impacts of consumer products. Schemes such as Grenelle de l’Environnement, currently under development in France, aim to assess and communicate the life cycle impacts of consumer products. Freshwater ecotoxicity is one of the impact categories under consideration. This paper presents the results of a comparison of USEtox and critical dilution volume (CDV) approaches for assessing laundry products.