Phytopathological and molecular genetic identification of leaf rust resistance genes in common wheat accessions with alien genetic material

Leaf rust resistance genes were sought in 23 resistant common wheat accessions with alien genetic material of Aegilops speltoides, Ae. triuncialis, and Triticum kiharae from the Arsenal collection. The genes were identified by common phytopathological tests and PCR analysis with STS markers linked with the known Lr genes. None of the methods identified the resistance genes in two accessions. In the other accessions, the combination of the two methods broadened the spectrum of detectable genes and, in some cases, allowed double verification of the presence of a resistance gene. Most accessions proved to contain several leaf rust resistance genes, combining juvenile and adult plant ones. The accessions were found to contain gene combinations that ensured field resistance (Lr13 + Lr10 and Lr12 + Lr34) and immunity under the conditions of the Non-Chernozem region. Accessions with alien genetic material contained a unique combination of five or six resistance genes. Since the accessions were rich in leaf rust resistance genes, including effective ones, and carried rare combinations of these genes, they were proposed as donors to be universally employed in breeding for immunity in all regions of Russia.     

Ligand-dependent differences in estrogen receptor beta-interacting proteins identified in lung adenocarcinoma cells corresponds to estrogenic responses

Background

A recent epidemiological study demonstrated a reduced risk of lung cancer mortality in breast cancer patients using antiestrogens. These and other data implicate a role for estrogens in lung cancer, particularly nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Approximately 61% of human NSCLC tumors express nuclear estrogen receptor β (ERβ); however, the role of ERβ and estrogens in NSCLC is likely to be multifactorial. Here we tested the hypothesis that proteins interacting with ERβ in human lung adenocarcinoma cells that respond proliferatively to estradiol (E₂) are distinct from those in non-E₂-responsive cells.

Methods

FLAG affinity purification of FLAG-ERβ-interacting proteins was used to isolate ERβ-interacting proteins in whole cell extracts from E₂ proliferative H1793 and non-E₂-proliferative A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. Following trypsin digestion, proteins were identified using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Proteomic data were analyzed using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Select results were confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation.

Results

LC-MS/MS identified 27 non-redundant ERβ-interacting proteins. ERβ-interacting proteins included hsp70, hsp60, vimentin, histones and calmodulin. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis of the ERβ-interacting proteins revealed differences in molecular and functional networks between H1793 and A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments in these and other lung adenocarcinoma cells confirmed that ERβ and EGFR interact in a gender-dependent manner and in response to E₂ or EGF. BRCA1 interacted with ERβ in A549 cell lines and in human lung adenocarcinoma tumors, but not normal lung tissue.

Conclusion

Our results identify specific differences in ERβ-interacting proteins in lung adenocarcinoma cells corresponding to ligand-dependent differences in estrogenic responses.

     

Level of daily physical activity in individuals with COPD compared with healthy controls

Background

Persons with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), performing some level of regular physical activity, have a lower risk of both COPD-related hospital admissions and mortality. COPD patients of all stages seem to benefit from exercise training programs, thereby improving with respect to both exercise tolerance and symptoms of dyspnea and fatigue. Physical inactivity, which becomes more severe with increasing age, is a point of concern in healthy older adults. COPD might worsen this scenario, but it is unclear to what degree. This literature review aims to present the extent of the impact of COPD on objectively-measured daily physical activity (DPA). The focus is on the extent of the impact that COPD has on duration, intensity, and counts of DPA, as well as whether the severity of the disease has an additional influence on DPA.

Results

A literature review was performed in the databases PubMed [MEDLINE], Picarta, PEDRO, ISI Web of Knowledge and Google scholar. After screening, 11 studies were identified as being relevant for comparison between COPD patients and healthy controls with respect to duration, intensity, and counts of DPA. Four more studies were found to be relevant to address the subject of the influence the severity of the disease may have on DPA. The average percentage of DPA of COPD patients vs. healthy control subjects for duration was 57%, for intensity 75%, and for activity counts 56%. Correlations of DPA and severity of the disease were low and/or not significant.

Conclusions

From the results of this review, it appears that patients with COPD have a significantly reduced duration, intensity, and counts of DPA when compared to healthy control subjects. The intensity of DPA seems to be less affected by COPD than duration and counts. Judging from the results, it seems that severity of COPD is not strongly correlated with level of DPA. Future research should focus in more detail on the relation between COPD and duration, intensity, and counts of DPA, as well as the effect of disease severity on DPA, so that these relations become more understandable.     

GObar: A Gene Ontology based analysis and visualization tool for gene sets

Background  

Microarray experiments, as well as other genomic analyses, often result in large gene sets containing up to several hundred genes. The biological significance of such sets of genes is, usually, not readily apparent.     

Structural organization and interactions of transmembrane domains in tetraspanin proteins

Background  

Proteins of the tetraspanin family contain four transmembrane domains (TM1-4) linked by two extracellular loops and a short intracellular loop, and have short intracellular N- and C-termini. While structure and function analysis of the larger extracellular loop has been performed, the organization and role of transmembrane domains have not been systematically assessed.     

Theoretical study of volume changes associated with the helix-coil transition of an alanine-rich peptide in aqueous solution

The changes in the partial molar volume (PMV) associated with the conformational transition of an alanine-rich peptide AK16 from the alpha-helix structure to various random coil structures are calculated by the three-dimensional interaction site model (3D-RISM) theory coupled with the Kirkwood-Buff theory. The volume change is analyzed by decomposing it into contributions from geometry and hydration: the changes in the van der Waals, void, thermal, and interaction volume. The total change in the PMV is positive. This is primarily due to the growth of void space within the peptide, which is canceled in part by the volume reduction resulting from the increase in the electrostatic interaction between the peptide and water molecules. The changes in the void and thermal volume of the coil structures are widely distributed and tend to compensate each other. Additionally, the relations between the hydration volume components and the surface properties are investigated. We categorize coil structures into extended coils with the PMV smaller than helix and general coils with the PMV larger than helix. The pressure therefore can both stabilize and destabilize the coil structures. The latter seems to be a more proper model of random coil structures of the peptide.     

Physicochemical properties of the microbial exopolysaccharide ethapolan synthesized on a mixture of growth substrates

Some physicochemical properties of the microbial exopolysaccharide (EPS) ethapolan synthesized by Acinetobacter sp. 12S depended on whether the producer was grown on a mixture of ethanol and glucose or on single substrates. Irrespective of the carbon source in the nutrient medium, the contents of carbohydrates, pyruvic acid, uronic acids, and mineral components in the EPS remained unchanged. The EPS were also identical in their monosaccharide composition: the molar ratio of glucose, mannose, galactose, and rhamnose was 3:2:1:1. EPS with a higher proportion of fatty acids was synthesized during growth on the mixture of ethanol and glucose. Average molecular weight and the proportion of high-molecular (over two million) fractions were greater in ethapolan produced on the substrate mixture. In the presence of 0.1 M KCl, after transformation into the H+ form, and in the Cu(2+)-glycine system, solutions of these EPS showed higher viscosity than solutions of EPS synthesized on single substrates. The reasons for the improved rheological properties of the EPS produced on the substrate mixture are discussed.     

Transposition of the hobo element in Drosophila melanogaster somatic cells

Somatic mutation and recombination test on wing cells of Drosophila melanogaster showed that the recombination frequency in the somatic tissues of strains studied correlated with the presence of a full-length copy of the hobo transposable element in the genome. Transposition of hobo in somatic tissue cells at a frequency 3.5 x 10-2 per site per X chromosome was shown by fluorescence in situ hybridization with salivary gland polytene chromosomes of larvae of one of the D. melanogaster strains having a full-length hobo copy.