Periodic change in DO concentration for efficient poly-β-hydroxy-butyrate production using temperature-inducible recombinant<Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> with proteome analysis

RecombinantEscherichia coli strain harboring the λp _R-p _L promotor and heterologus poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) biosynthesis genes was used to investigate the effect of culture conditions on the efficient PHB production. The expression ofphb genes was induced by a temperature upshift from 33°C to 38°C. The protein expression levels were measured by using two-dimensional electrophoresis, and the enzyme activities were also measured to understand the effect of culture temperature, carbon sources, and the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration on the metabolic regulations. AcetylCoA is an important branch point for PHB production. The decrease in DO concentration lowers the citrate synthase activity, thus limit the flux toward the TCA cycle, and increase the flux for PHB production. Since NADPH is required for PHB production, the PHB production does not continue leading the overproduction of acetate and lactate. Based on these observations, a new operation was considered where DO concentration was changed periodically, and it was verified its usefulness for the efficient PHB production by experiments.     

Microtubules mediate germ-nuclear behavior after meiosis in conjugation of Paramecium caudatum

Microtubule dynamics in Paramecium caudatum were investigated with an anti-alpha-tubulin antibody and a microinjection technique to determine the function of microtubules on micronuclear behavior during conjugation. After meiosis, all four haploid micronuclei were connected by microtubular filaments to the paroral region and moved close to this region. This nuclear movement was micronucleus-specific, because some small macronuclear fragments transplanted from exconjugants never moved to the region. Only one of the four germ nuclei moved into the paroral cone and was covered by microtubule assembly (the so-called first assembly of microtubules, AM-I). This nucleus survived there, while the other three not in this region degenerated. The movement of germ nucleus was inhibited by the injection of the anti-alpha-tubulin antibody. The surviving germ nucleus divided once and produced a migratory pronucleus and a stationary pronucleus. Prior to the reciprocal exchange of the migratory nuclei, microtubules assembled around the migratory pronuclei again (the so-called second assembly of microtubules, AM-II). Then, the migratory pronucleus moved into the partner cell and fused with the stationary pronucleus. Thus, microtubules appear to be indispensable for nuclear behavior: they enable migration of postmeiotic nuclei to the paroral region and they permit the survival of the nucleus at the paroral cone.     

Optimization of a coagulation factor VIIa inhibitor found in factor Xa inhibitor library

An inhibitor of the complex of factor VIIa and tissue factor (fVIIa/TF), 2-substituted-4-amidinophenylpyruvic acid 1a, was structurally modified with the aim of increasing its potency and selectivity. The lead compound 1a was originally found in our factor Xa (fXa) inhibitor library on the basis of structural similarity of the primary binding sites of fVIIa and fXa. The design was based on computational docking studies using the extracted active site of fVIIa. Compound 1j was found to inhibit factor VIIa/TF at nanomolar concentration with improved selectivity versus fXa and thrombin and it preferentially prolonged the clotting time in the TF-dependent extrinsic pathway.     

Sound imaging of nocturnal animal calls in their natural habitat

We present a novel method for imaging acoustic communication between nocturnal animals. Investigating the spatio-temporal calling behavior of nocturnal animals, e.g., frogs and crickets, has been difficult because of the need to distinguish many animals’ calls in noisy environments without being able to see them. Our method visualizes the spatial and temporal dynamics using dozens of sound-to-light conversion devices (called “Firefly”) and an off-the-shelf video camera. The Firefly, which consists of a microphone and a light emitting diode, emits light when it captures nearby sound. Deploying dozens of Fireflies in a target area, we record calls of multiple individuals through the video camera. We conduct two experiments, one indoors and the other in the field, using Japanese tree frogs (Hyla japonica). The indoor experiment demonstrates that our method correctly visualizes Japanese tree frogs’ calling behavior. It has confirmed the known behavior; two frogs call synchronously or in anti-phase synchronization. The field experiment (in a rice paddy where Japanese tree frogs live) also visualizes the same calling behavior to confirm anti-phase synchronization in the field. Experimental results confirm that our method can visualize the calling behavior of nocturnal animals in their natural habitat.     

Antimalarial activity of endoperoxide compound 6-(1,2,6,7-tetraoxaspiro[7.11]nonadec-4-yl)hexan-1-ol

Plasmodium falciparum, the major causative parasite for the disease, has acquired resistance to most of the antimalarial drugs used today, presenting an immediate need for new antimalarial drugs. Here, we report the in vitro and in vivo antimalarial activities of 6-(1,2,6,7-tetraoxaspiro[7.11]nonadec-4-yl)hexan-1-ol (N-251) against P. falciparum and Plasmodium berghei parasites. The N-251 showed high antimalarial potencies both in the in vitro and the in vivo tests (EC₅₀ 2.3 × 10⁻⁸ M; ED₅₀ 15 mg/kg (per oral)). The potencies were similar to that of artemisinin in vitro and greater than artemisinin's activity in vivo (p.o.). In addition, N-251 has little toxicity: a single oral administration at 2000 mg/kg to a rat gave no health problems to it. Administration of N-251 to mice bearing 1% of parasitemia (per oral 68 mg/kg, 3 times a day for 3 consecutive days) resulted in a dramatic decrease in the parasitemia: all the 5 mice given N-251 were cured without any recurrence, with no diarrhea or weight loss occurring in the 60 days of experiment. N-251 deserves more extensive clinical evaluation, desirably including future trials in the human.     

A delicate interplay of structure, dynamics, and thermodynamics for function: a high pressure NMR study of outer surface protein A

Outer surface protein A (OspA) is a crucial protein in the infection of Borrelia burgdorferi causing Lyme disease. We studied conformational fluctuations of OspA with high-pressure ¹⁵N/¹H two-dimensional NMR along with high-pressure fluorescence spectroscopy. We found evidence within folded, native OspA for rapid local fluctuations of the polypeptide backbone in the nonglobular single layer β-sheet connecting the N- and C-terminal domains with τ << ms, which may give the two domains certain independence in mobility and thermodynamic stability. Furthermore, we found that folded, native OspA is in equilibrium (τ >> ms) with a minor conformer I, which is almost fully disordered and hydrated for the entire C-terminal part of the polypeptide chain from β8 to the C-terminus. Conformer I is characterized with ΔG⁰ = 32 ± 9 kJ/mol and ΔV⁰ = −140 ± 40 mL/mol, populating only ∼0.001% at 40°C at 0.1 MPa, pH 5.9. Because in the folded conformer the receptor binding epitope of OspA is buried in the C-terminal domain, its transition into conformer I under in vivo conditions may be critical for the infection of B. burgdorferi. The formation and stability of the peculiar conformer I are apparently supported by a large packing defect or cavity located in the C-terminal domain.     

Worker demography in a large-colony,swarm-founding wasp

Neotropical swarm-founding wasps build nests enclosed in a covering envelope, which makes it difficult to count individual births and deaths. Thus, knowledge of worker demography is very limited for swarm-founding species compared with that for independent-founding species. In this study, we explored the worker demography of the swarm-founding wasp Polybia paulista, the colony size of which usually exceeds several thousand adults. We considered each wasp colony as an open-population and estimated the survival probability, recruitment rate, and population size of workers using the developments of the Cormack–Jolly–Seber model. We found that capture probability varied considerably among the workers, probably due to age polyethism and/or task specialization. The daily survival rate of workers was high (around 0.97) throughout the season and was not related to the phase of colony development. On the other hand, the recruitment rate ranged from 0 to 0.37, suggesting that worker production was substantially less important than worker survival in determining worker population fluctuations. When we compared survival rates among worker groups of one colony, the mean daily survival rate was lower for founding workers than for progeny workers and tended to be higher in progeny workers that emerged in winter. These differences in survivorship patterns among worker cohorts would be related to worker foraging activity and/or level of parasitism.