Evaluation of the impact of functional diversification on Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, and Pinaceae alcohol dehydrogenase enzymes

The plant alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) have been intensively studied in the last years in terms of phylogeny and they have been widely used as a molecular marker. However, almost no information about their three-dimensional structure is available. Several studies point to functional diversification of the ADH, with evidence of its importance, in different organisms, in the ethanol, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, and bile acid metabolism. Computational results demonstrated that in plants these enzymes are submitted to a functional diversification process, which is reinforced by experimental studies indicating distinct enzymatic functions as well as recruitment of specific genes in different tissues. The main objective of this article is to establish a correlation between the functional diversification occurring in the plant alcohol dehydrogenase family and the three-dimensional structures predicted for 17 ADH belonging to Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, and Pinaceae botanical families. Volume, molecular weight and surface areas are not markedly different among them. Important electrostatic and pI differences were observed with the residues responsible for some of them identified, corroborating the function diversification hypothesis. These data furnish important background information for future specific structure-function and evolutionary investigations.     

Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterizations of Campylobacter jejuni Isolated from the Broiler Meat Production Process

A set of C. jejuni isolates of different origins and flaA-genotypes obtained throughout the broiler meat production chain was tested in this study for a possible correlation of their origin, phylogenetic relationship, and phenotypic properties. Interestingly, the results showed a correlation of the origin and the phylogenetic relationship between the C. jejuni isolates and their ability to form biofilm, but not in their ability to survive at -18, 5, 20, and 48?°C. Two strains, a broiler cloacae isolate and a broiler fillet isolate, were unable to develop biofilm, while most of the C. jejuni isolates originating from meat and surfaces of the slaughterhouse readily formed biofilms after both 24, 48, and 72?h. Interestingly, these biofilm-forming strains were closely related. Furthermore, two strains that were isolated after disinfection developed significantly more biofilms after 24?h of incubation than the remaining strains. A comparative genomic analysis using DNA microarrays showed that the gene contents of strains that efficiently formed biofilms were different from those that did not. The study suggests that biofilm formation might be a lineage specific property, allowing C. jejuni to both survive environmental stress at the slaughterhouse and to attach to the surface of meat.     

Novel Transposable Elements in Solanaceae: Evolutionary Relationships among Tnt1-related Sequences in Wild Petunia Species

Transposable elements (TEs) are widespread in eukaryotic genomes. The diversity and abundance of TEs are highly variable among species and may correspond to particular relationships between a species and the elements in its genome. There are often many TE families within a single genome; thus, the amplification of one TE family may influence the amplification of other families. LTR retrotransposons (LTR-RTs) are extremely abundant in flowering plants, and Tnt1 is one of the most well known. First characterized in tobacco, Tnt1-related sequences have since been reported in other genera of Solanaceae. In this study, we investigated the profile of Tnt1-related sequences among the species of three Solanaceae genera through genomic amplification and the cloning of partial sequences. The analysis of these sequences revealed high levels of diversity and showed that the sequences are not as closely related to Tnt1 as had been previously hypothesized. The classification of the sequences yielded ten possible families of LTR-RTs, which are, in addition to Tnt1, all members of the Tork clade within the Copia superfamily. However, the sequences did not follow the phylogeny of the species and were not homogeneously distributed. One family includes only sequences of taxa that inhabit dry areas. These findings were consistent with previous suggestions of an early association of Tnt1-related elements with the evolution of several Solanaceae species.     

Control mechanisms in the acceleration of hepatic glycogen degradation during hypoxia

Hepatic glycogen metabolism in aerobic and hypoxic conditions has been assessed with respect to glycogenolysis, phosphorylase a activity and nucleotide content. Insulin did not inhibit glycogen breakdown nor stimulate lipogenesis in the aerobic perfused liver.Partial ischaemia induced glycogen breakdown, release of glucose and changes in nucleotide content in the perfused liver. Phosphorylase a content increased within 2 min in response to total ischaemia, in vivo and in the perfused liver. This change was paralleled by an increase in hepatic AMP. Glycogen synthase a activity decreased, as did the hepatic content of both cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP.     

The Lesion Simulating Disease (LSD) gene family as a variable in soybean response to Phakopsora pachyrhizi infection and dehydration

The Lesion Simulating Disease (LSD) genes encode a family of zinc finger proteins that are reported to play an important role in the hypersensitive response and programmed cell death (PCD) that are caused by biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present study, 117 putative LSD family members were identified in Viridiplantae. Genes with one, two, or three conserved LSD domains were identified. Proteins with three LSD domains were highly represented in the species analyzed and were present in basal organisms. Proteins with two LSD domains were identified only in the Embryophyte clade, and proteins possessing one LSD domain were highly represented in grass species. Expression analyses of Glycine max LSD (GmLSD) genes were performed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results indicated that GmLSD genes are not ubiquitously expressed in soybean organs and that their expression patterns are instead organ-dependent. The expression of the majority of GmLSD genes is modulated in soybean during Phakopsora pachyrhizi infection. In addition, the expression of some GmLSD genes is modulated in plants under dehydration stress. These results suggest the involvement of GmLSD genes in the response of soybean to both biotic and abiotic stresses.     

Dynamics of amino acids in the conditioning film developed on glass panels immersed in the surface seawaters of Dona Paula Bay

The conditioning film developed on glass panels immersed in surface seawater over a period of 24?h was analysed for total organic carbon (OC), total organic nitrogen (ON), and total hydrolyzable amino acid (THAA) concentrations and composition. The concentrations of C and N and THAA increased, whereas the C/N ratio decreased over the period of immersion. The amino acid-C and N accounted for 3.7?–?6.7% and 10.3?–?65.3% of OC and ON, respectively. The relative contribution of glycine plus threonine and serine to the total amino acids decreased while that of valine, phenylalanine, isoleucine and leucine increased over the period of immersion. Principal component analysis (PCA) based on mole% amino acid composition showed that the degradation indices (DI) for the conditioning film organic matter increased over the period of immersion. A high C/N ratio, a low %THAA-C, % THAA-N and DI values and the abundance of glycine plus threonine and serine in the conditioning film organic matter during the first few hours following immersion imply that the adsorbed organic matter was mostly derived from degraded organic matter.     

Differential organellar inheritance in Passiflora’s (Passifloraceae) subgenera

Four chloroplast (cp), one mitochondrial (mt), and one ribosomal nuclear (ITS) DNA regions were studied in four artificial and one natural interspecific Passiflora hybrids. The ITS results confirmed their hybrid origin and all mtDNAs were maternally inherited. The same, however, was not true for cpDNA. The four hybrids (three artificial and one natural) derived from species of the Passiflora subgenus showed a cpDNA paternal inheritance, while the one involving taxa of the Decaloba subgenus gave evidence of maternal transmission. These results are of significance for the ongoing studies which are being performed on the molecular evolution of this genus and furnish important background for investigations aimed at clarifying the factors which determine cpDNA inheritance.     

Microsatellites in Aureliana fasciculata var. fasciculata (Solanaceae), a shrub that inhabits the Atlantic Rainforest

? Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were developed in Aureliana fasciculata var. fasciculata, a shrub that inhabits the Atlantic Rainforest, to investigate the intraspecific genetic structure of the species. ? Methods and Results: Nine pairs of microsatellite primers were designed that were based on a simple sequence repeat (SSR)-enriched library. Seven loci were amplified successfully. Two populations of A. fasciculata var. fasciculata were genotyped and all loci were polymorphic, with two to five alleles per locus per population detected. Cross-species amplification was achieved in other members of the genus and members of the sister genus Athenaea. ? Conclusions: The development of these microsatellite markers will contribute to future population genetic studies in A. fasciculata var. fasciculata. Cross-amplification among other species in the genus and in the sister genus Athenaea might be a useful tool to establish patterns of genetic variability within the Atlantic Rainforest.