Surface metabolites of the brown alga Taonia atomaria have the ability to regulate epibiosis

This study aimed to improve understanding of the strategies developed by the Mediterranean seaweed Taonia atomaria to chemically control bacterial epibiosis. An experimental protocol was optimized to specifically extract algal surface-associated metabolites by a technique involving dipping in organic solvents whilst the integrity of algal cell membranes was assessed by fluorescent microscopy. This methodology was validated using mass spectrometry-based profiles of algal extracts and analysis of their principal components, which led to the selection of methanol as the extraction solvent with a maximum exposure time of 15 s. Six compounds (A–F) were identified in the resulting surface extracts. Two of these surface-associated compounds (B and C) showed selective anti-adhesion properties against reference bacterial strains isolated from artificial surfaces while remaining inactive against epibiotic bacteria of T. atomaria. Such specificity was not observed for commercial antifouling biocides and other molecules identified in the surface or whole-cell extracts of T. atomaria.     

Lipase‐Catalyzed Kinetic Resolution of Novel Antifungal N‐Substituted Benzimidazole Derivatives

A series of new N‐substituted benzimidazole derivatives was synthesized and their antifungal activity against Candida albicans was evaluated. The chemical step included synthesis of appropriate ketones containing benzimidazole ring, reduction of ketones to the racemic alcohols, and acetylation of alcohols to the esters. All benzimidazole derivatives were obtained with satisfactory yields and in relatively short times. All synthesized compounds exhibit significant antifungal activity against Candida albicans 900028 ATCC (% cell inhibition at 0.25 μg concentration > 98%). Additionally, racemic mixtures of alcohols were separated by lipase‐catalyzed kinetic resolution. In the enzymatic step a transesterification reaction was applied and the influence of a lipase type and solvent on the enantioselectivity of the reaction was studied. The most selective enzymes were Novozyme SP 435 and lipase Amano AK from Pseudomonas fluorescens (E > 100). Chirality 28:347–354, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Endoplasmic reticulium protein profiling of heat-stressed Jurkat cells by one dimensional electrophoresis and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Proteomic study on membrane-integrated proteins in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) fractions was performed. In this study, we examined the effects of heat stress on Jurkat cells. The ER fractions were highly purified by differential centrifugation with sodium carbonate washing and acetone methanol precipitations. The ER membrane proteins were separated by one dimensional electrophoresis (1-DE), and some of the protein bands changed their abundance by heat stress, 12 of the 14 bands containing 40 and 60 ribosomal proteins whose expression level were decreased, on the contrary, 2 of the 14 bands containing ubiquitin and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 were increased. Heat treatment of human Jurkat cells led to an increase in the phosphorylation of PERK and eIF2α within 30 min of exposure. This was followed by an increase in the expression of the GRP78. Protein ubiquitination and subsequent degradation by the proteasome are important mechanisms regulating cell cycle, growth and differentiation, the result showed that heat stress enhanced ubiquitination modification of the microsomal proteins. The data of this study strongly suggest that heat treatment led to a significant reduction in protein expression and activated UPR, concomitant with protein hyperubiqutination in ER.     

Efficient Detection of Leptosphaeria maculans from Infected Seed lots of Oilseed Rape

An efficient DNA extraction protocol and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for detecting Leptosphaeria maculans from infected seed lots of oilseed rape were developed. L. maculans, the causal agent of blackleg, a damaging disease in oilseeds rape/canola worldwide, was listed as a quarantine disease by China in 2009. China imports several millions of tons of oilseeds every year. So there is a high risk that this pathogen will be introduced to China via contaminated seeds. Seed contamination is one of the most significant factors in the global spread of phytopathogens. Detection of L. maculans in infected seed lots by PCR assay is difficult due to the low level of pathogen mycelium/spores on seeds and PCR inhibitors associated with the seeds of oilseed rape. In our study, these two major obstacles were overcome by the development of a two‐step extraction protocol combined with a nested PCR. This extraction protocol (kit extraction after CTAB method) can efficiently extract high‐quality DNA for PCR. Amplification results showed that the detection threshold for conventional PCR and nested PCR was, respectively, 1 ng and 10 fg of DNA per μl in mycelia samples. On contaminated seed lots of oilseed rape, the detection threshold of conventional and nested PCR was 709 fg/μl and 709 ag/μl of DNA, respectively. The DNA extraction protocol and PCR assay developed in this study can be used for rapid and reliable detection of L. maculans from infected seeds of oilseed rape .