Disruption of a gene predicted to encode a solute binding protein of an ABC transporter reduces transmission of Spiroplasma citri by the leafhopper Circulifer haematoceps

Spiroplasma citri is transmitted from plant to plant by phloem-feeding leafhoppers. In an attempt to identify mechanisms involved in transmission, mutants of S. citri affected in their transmission must be available. For this purpose, transposon (Tn4001) mutagenesis was used to produce mutants which have been screened for their ability to be transmitted by the leafhopper vector Circulifer haematoceps to periwinkle plants. With one mutant (G76) which multiplied in leafhoppers as efficiently as S. citri wild-type (wt) strain GII-3, the plants showed symptoms 4 to 5 weeks later than those infected with wt GII-3. Thirty to fifty percent of plants exposed to leafhoppers injected with G76 remained symptomless, whereas for wt GII-3, all plants exposed to the transmission showed severe symptoms. This suggests that the mutant G76 was injected into plants by the leafhoppers less efficiently than wt GII-3. To check this possibility, the number of spiroplasma cells injected by a leafhopper through a Parafilm membrane into SP4 medium was determined. Thirty times less mutant G76 than wt GII-3 was transmitted through the membrane. These results suggest that mutant G76 was affected either in its capacity to penetrate the salivary glands and/or to multiply within them. In mutant G76, transposon Tn4001 was shown to be inserted into a gene encoding a putative lipoprotein (Sc76) In the ABCdb database Sc76 protein was noted as a solute binding protein of an ABC transporter of the family S1_b. Functional complementation of the G76 mutant with the Sc76 gene restored the wild phenotype, showing that Sc76 protein is involved in S. citri transmission by the leafhopper vector C. haematoceps.     

Thymulin and the neuroendocrine system

Thymulin is a thymic hormone exclusively produced by the thymic epithelial cells. It consists of a nonapeptide component coupled to the ion zinc, which confers biological activity to this molecule. After its discovery in the early 1970, thymulin was characterized as a thymic hormone involved in several aspects of intra- and extrathymic T-cell differentiation. Subsequently, it was demonstrated that thymulin production and secretion is strongly influenced by the neuroendocrine system. Conversely, an emerging core of information points to thymulin as a hypophysotropic peptide. Here we review the evidence supporting the hypothesis that thymulin is an important player in the hypophyso-thymic axis.     

Central and peripheral changes in catecholamine biosynthesis and turnover in rats after a short period of ozone exposure

We investigated in rat the effects of ozone exposure (0.7 ppm) for 5 h on the catecholamine biosynthesis and turnover in sympathetic efferents and various brain areas. For this purpose, the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis, was assessed in superior cervical ganglia and in two major noradrenergic cell groups, A2 and A6 (locus coeruleus). Tyrosine hydroxylase activity was estimated in vivo by measuring the accumulation of l-dihydroxyphenylalanine after pharmacological blockade of L-aromatic acid decarboxylases by NSD-1015 (100 mg/kg i.p.). The catecholamine turnover rate was measured after inhibition of tyrosine hydroxylase by alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine (AMPT, 250 mg/kg, i.p., 2.5 h) in peripheral sympathetic target organ (heart and lungs) as well as in some brain catecholamine terminal areas (cerebral cortex, hypothalamus and striatum). Ozone caused differential effects according to the structure. Catecholamine biosynthesis was stimulated in superior cervical ganglia (+44%, P < 0.05) and caudal A2 subset (+126%, P < 0.01), whereas catecholamine turnover was increased in heart (+183%, P < 0.01) and cortex (+22%, P < 0.05). On the other hand, catecholamine turnover was inhibited in lungs (-53%, P < 0.05) and striatum (-24%, P < 0.05). A brief exposure to ozone, at a concentration chosen to mimic pollution level encountered in urban areas, can modulate catecholamine biosynthesis and utilization rate in the sympathetic and central neurones.     

Isolation by distance and sharp discontinuities in gene frequencies: implications for the phylogeography of an alpine insect species, Carabus solieri

Analysis of genetic isolation by distance (IBD) is of prime importance for the study of processes responsible for spatial population genetic structure and is thus frequently used in case studies. However, the identification of a significant IBD pattern does not necessarily imply the absence of sharp discontinuities in gene frequencies. Therefore, identifying barriers to gene flow and/or secondary contact between differentiated entities remains a major challenge in population biology. Geographical genetic structure of 41 populations (1080 individuals) of an alpine insect species, Carabus solieri, was studied using 10 microsatellite loci. All populations were significantly differentiated and spatially structured according to IBD over the entire range. However, clustering analyses clearly identified three main clusters of populations, which correspond to geographical entities. Whereas IBD also occurs within each cluster, population structure was different according to which group of populations was considered. The southernmost cluster corresponds to the most fragmented part of the range. Consistently, it was characterized by relatively high levels of differentiation associated with low genetic diversity, and the slope of the regression of genetic differentiation against geographical distances was threefold those of the two other clusters. Comparisons of within-cluster and between-cluster IBD patterns revealed barriers to gene flow. A comparison of the two approaches, IBD and clustering analyses, provided us with valuable information with which to infer the phylogeography of the species, and in particular to propose postglacial colonization routes from two potential refugia located in Italy and in southeastern France. Our study highlights strongly the possible confounding contribution of barriers to gene flow to IBD pattern and emphasizes the utility of the model-based clustering analysis to identify such barriers.     

Visualization of gene expression of prolactin-receptor (PRL-R) by in situ hybridization in reproductive organs of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Typhlonectes compressicauda</Emphasis>, a gymnophionan amphibian

The expression of the long form of prolactin receptor (PRL-R) mRNAs was studied in reproductive organs from both male and female Typhlonectes compressicauda, an amphibian, by quantitative in situ hybridization. These PRL-R mRNAs were expressed in all the organs studied. In ovarian tissue, mRNAs coding for the long form of PRL-R were strongly expressed in ovaries with compact and vascularized corpora lutea, i.e., during the middle and the end of pregnancy. During the other periods of cycle, sexual rest, vitellogenesis and beginning of pregnancy, expression of these mRNAs was lower than in other periods. In the testis, mRNAs coding for the long form of PRL-R were expressed in germ cells as well as in Leydig and Sertoli cells. In müllerian glands, important variations of expression in these mRNAs have been observed with a large increase during the breeding period and a decrease during sexual rest. Variations of gene expression of the long form of PRL-R for all tissues studied are correlated to synthesis of PRL in the pituitary in both male and female Typhlonectes compressicauda.     

Transposases are responsible for the target specificity of IS1397 and ISKpn1 for two different types of palindromic units (PUs)

Insertion sequences (IS)1397 and ISKpn1, found in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, respectively, are IS3 family members that insert specifically into short palindromic repeated sequences (palindromic units or PUs). In this paper, we first show that although PUs are naturally absent from extrachromosomal elements, both ISs are able to transpose from the chromosome or from a plasmid into PUs artificially introduced into target plasmids. We also show that ISKpn1 target specificity is restricted to K.pneumoniae Z¹ PU type, whereas IS1397 target specificity is less stringent since the IS targets the three E.coli Y, Z¹ and Z² PU types indifferently. Experiments of transposition of both ISs driven by both transposases demonstrate that the inverted repeats flanking the ISs are not responsible for this target specificity, which is entirely due to the transposase itself. Implications on ISs evolution are presented.     

Solution structure of the recombinant penaeidin-3, a shrimp antimicrobial peptide

Penaeidins are a family of antimicrobial peptides of 47-63 residues isolated from several species of shrimp. These peptides display a proline-rich domain (N-terminal part) and a cysteine-rich domain (C-terminal part) stabilized by three conserved disulfide bonds whose arrangement has not yet been characterized. The recombinant penaeidin-3a of Litopenaeus vannamei (63 residues) and its [T8A]-Pen-3a analogue were produced in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and showed similar antimicrobial activity. The solution structure of the [T8A]-Pen-3a analogue was determined by using two-dimensional 1H NMR and simulated annealing calculations. The proline-rich domain, spanning residues 1-28 was found to be unconstrained. In contrast, the cysteine-rich domain, spanning residues 29-58, displays a well defined structure, which consists of an amphipathic helix (41-50) linked to the upstream and the downstream coils by two disulfide bonds (Cys32-Cys47 and Cys48-Cys55). These two coils are in turn linked together by the third disulfide bond (Cys36-Cys54). Such a disulfide bond packing, which is in agreement with the analysis of trypsin digests by ESI-MS, contributes to the highly hydrophobic core. Side chains of Arg45 and Arg50, which belong to the helix, and side chains of Arg37 and Arg53, which belong to the upstream and the downstream coils, are located in two opposite parts of this globular and compact structure. The environment of these positively charged residues, either by hydrophobic clusters at the surface of the cysteine-rich domain or by sequential hydrophobic residues in the unconstrained proline-rich domain, gives rise to the amphipathic character required for antimicrobial peptides. We hypothesize that the antimicrobial activity of penaeidins can be explained by a cooperative effect between the proline-rich and cysteine-rich features simultaneously present in their sequences.     

Crystal structure of the measles virus phosphoprotein domain responsible for the induced folding of the C-terminal domain of the nucleoprotein

Measles virus is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the Mononegavirales order which comprises several human pathogens such as Ebola, Nipah, and Hendra viruses. The phosphoprotein of measles virus is a modular protein consisting of an intrinsically disordered N-terminal domain (Karlin, D., Longhi, S., Receveur, V., and Canard, B. (2002) Virology 296, 251-262) and of a C-terminal moiety (PCT) composed of alternating disordered and globular regions. We report the crystal structure of the extreme C-terminal domain (XD) of measles virus phosphoprotein (aa 459-507) at 1.8 A resolution. We have previously reported that the C-terminal domain of measles virus nucleoprotein, NTAIL, is intrinsically unstructured and undergoes induced folding in the presence of PCT (Longhi, S., Receveur-Brechot, V., Karlin, D., Johansson, K., Darbon, H., Bhella, D., Yeo, R., Finet, S., and Canard, B. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 18638-18648). Using far-UV circular dichroism, we show that within PCT, XD is the region responsible for the induced folding of NTAIL. The crystal structure of XD consists of three helices, arranged in an anti-parallel triple-helix bundle. The surface of XD formed between helices alpha2 and alpha3 displays a long hydrophobic cleft that might provide a complementary hydrophobic surface to embed and promote folding of the predicted alpha-helix of NTAIL. We present a tentative model of the interaction between XD and NTAIL. These results, beyond presenting the first measles virus protein structure, shed light both on the function of the phosphoprotein at the molecular level and on the process of induced folding.     

Reversible inhibition of the human xenobiotic-metabolizing enzyme arylamine N-acetyltransferase 1 by S-nitrosothiols

Human arylamine N-acetyltransferase 1 (NAT1) is a polymorphic phase II xenobiotic-metabolizing enzyme which catalyzes the biotransformation of primary aromatic amines, hydrazine drugs, and carcinogens. Structural and functional studies have shown that the NAT1 and factor XIII transglutaminase catalytic pockets are structurally related with the existence of a conserved catalytic triad (Cys-His-Asp). In addition, it has been reported that factor XIII transglutaminase activity could be regulated by nitric oxide (NO), in particular S-nitrosothiols (RSNO). We thus tested whether NAT1 could be a target of S-nitrosothiols. We show here that human NAT1 is reversibly inactivated by S-nitrosothiols such as SNAP (S-nitroso-N-acetyl-DL-penicillamine). A second-order rate constant for the inactivation of NAT1 by SNAP was determined (k(inact)=270M(-1)min(-1)) and shown to be in the same range of values reported for other enzymes. The inhibition of NAT1 by S-nitrosothiols was reversed by dithiothreitol and reduced glutathione, but not by ascorbate. As reported for some reactive cysteine-containing enzymes, our results suggest that inactivation of NAT1 by S-nitrosothiols is due to direct attack of the highly reactive cysteine residue in the enzyme active site on the sulfur of S-nitrosothiols to form a mixed disulfide between these NO-derived oxidants and NAT1. Finally, our findings suggest that, in addition to the polymorphic-dependent variation of NAT1 activity, NO-derived oxidants, in particular S-nitrosothiols, could also regulate NAT1 activity.     

Predicting the conformational states of cyclic tetrapeptides

Biologically active cyclic tetrapeptides, usually found among fungi metabolites, exhibit phytotoxic or cytostatic activities that are likely to be governed by specific conformations adopted in solution. For conformational studies and drug design, there is a strong interest in using fast and reliable methods to determine correctly the conformational population of cyclotetrapeptides. We show here that standard molecular mechanics computational approach gives satisfactory results. The method was validated step by step by experimental data either obtained after synthesis and NMR analysis, or found in the literature. The cyclo(Gly)(4), cyclo(Ala)(4), cyclo(Sar)(4), and cyclo(SarGly)(2) peptides were used to evaluate the prediction of the peptide backbone conformation, and the detailed conformational analysis of tentoxin, a natural phytotoxic cyclotetrapeptide in which N-alkylated peptide bonds alternate with regular secondary ones, was used to validate the computation of conformers proportions. From the knowledge of an initial cyclic primary structure and of the D or L configuration of the amino acids, we show that it is possible to determine the exact orientation of carbonyl groups and to predict the nature of conformers present in solution. The proportion of each conformer can be inferred from a statistical thermodynamics approach by using the potential energy values of each conformer, computed by molecular mechanics methods with the TRIPOS force field, which allowed us to account for the solvent. The solvent contribution was processed by two different methods according to the nature of the interactions: whether through the dielectric constant introduced in the electrostatic potential, when interaction with solute molecules are weak or negligible, or through the computation of free energy of solvation using the algorithm SILVERWARE for solvents explicitly interacting with the solute. When applied to tentoxin, this conformational analysis yielded results in very good agreement with the experimental data reported by Pinet et al. (Biopolymers, 1995, Vol. 36, pp. 135-152), on both the nature of existing conformers and their relative proportions, whatever the nature of the considered solvent.