Cys-Flanked Cationic Peptides For Cell Delivery of the Herpes Simplex Virus Thymidine Kinase Gene for Suicide Gene Therapy of Uterine Leiomyoma

Molecular Biology - Uterine leiomyoma (UL) is the most common benign tumor in women of reproductive age. Gene therapy using suicidal genes appears to be a promising approach for UL treatment. One...     

Function,distribution, and annotation of characterized cellulases,xylanases, and chitinases from CAZy

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology - The enzymatic deconstruction of structural polysaccharides, which relies on the production of specific glycoside hydrolases (GHs), is an essential process...     

A checklist for choosing between R packages in ecology and evolution

1. The open source and free programming language R is a phenomenal mechanism to address a multiplicity of challenges in ecology and evolution. It is also a complex ecosystem because of the diversity of solutions available to the analyst.
2. Packages for R enhance and specialize the capacity to explore both niche data/experiments and more common needs. However, the paradox of choice or how we select between many seemingly similar options can be overwhelming and lead to different potential outcomes.
3. There is extensive choice in ecology and evolution between packages for both fundamental statistics and for more specialized domain‐level analyses.
4. Here, we provide a checklist to inform these decisions based on the principles of resilience, need, and integration with scientific workflows for evidence.
5. It is important to explore choices in any analytical coding environment—not just R—for solutions to challenges in ecology and evolution, and document this process because it advances reproducible science, promotes a deeper understand of the scientific evidence, and ensures that the outcomes are correct, representative, and robust.

     

PxdA interacts with the DipA phosphatase to regulate peroxisome hitchhiking on early endosomes

In canonical microtubule-based transport, adaptor proteins link cargoes to dynein and kinesin motors. Recently, an alternative mode of transport known as “hitchhiking” was discovered, where cargoes achieve motility by hitching a ride on already-motile cargoes, rather than attaching to a motor protein. Hitchhiking has been best studied in two filamentous fungi, Aspergillus nidulans and Ustilago maydis. In U. maydis, ribonucleoprotein complexes, peroxisomes, lipid droplets (LDs), and endoplasmic reticulum hitchhike on early endosomes (EEs). In A. nidulans, peroxisomes hitchhike using a putative molecular linker, peroxisome distribution mutant A (PxdA), which associates with EEs. However, whether other organelles use PxdA to hitchhike on EEs is unclear, as are the molecular mechanisms that regulate hitchhiking. Here we find that the proper distribution of LDs, mitochondria, and preautophagosomes do not require PxdA, suggesting that PxdA is a peroxisome-specific molecular linker. We identify two new pxdA alleles, including a point mutation (R2044P) that disrupts PxdA’s ability to associate with EEs and reduces peroxisome movement. We also identify a novel regulator of peroxisome hitchhiking, the phosphatase DipA. DipA colocalizes with EEs and its association with EEs relies on PxdA. Together, our data suggest that PxdA and the DipA phosphatase are specific regulators of peroxisome hitchhiking on EEs.     

Unwinding of supercoiled Col E1-DNA after covalent binding of the ultimate carcinogen N-acetoxy-N-2-acetylaminofluorene and its 7-iodo derivative

The unwinding of superhelical Col E1-DNA was studied by means of gel electrophoresis and electron microscopy after covalent binding of N-acetoxy-N-2-[14C]acetylaminofluorene (N-Aco-[14C]AAF) and its 7-iodo derivative (N-Aco-[14C]AAIF). Studies with both compounds indicated that complete unwinding of the supercoiled DNA required the binding of hydrocarbon residue to about 3% of the bases. Thus the unwinding angle per residue of N-2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) and its 7-iodo derivative was of 22 degrees +/- 3 and 18 degrees +/- 3 respectively. Our results are in good agreement with those obtained by Drinkwater et al. [9]. Precedent studies from this laboratory have shown that N-Aco-AAF and its 7-iodo derivative induce different local conformation change in native DNA (insertion-denaturation model and outside binding model respectively). The unexpected ability of the 7-iodo derivative to unwind supercoiled DNA is discussed.     

Macroscopic polarity of connective tissue is due to discrete polar structures

Applying scanning optical harmonic microscopy to biological tissue for the first time, we have discovered that the macroscopic polarity of rat-tail tendon is due to a coherent network of discrete polar structures. This finding permits isolation of these structures for further detailed analysis, which should lead to their complete characterization and thus to a solution of the twenty-year-old mystery of connective tissue polarity.