A unique error signature for human DNA polymerase nu

Human DNA polymerase nu (pol nu) is one of three A family polymerases conserved in vertebrates. Although its biological functions are unknown, pol nu has been implicated in DNA repair and in translesion DNA synthesis (TLS). Pol nu lacks intrinsic exonucleolytic proofreading activity and discriminates poorly against misinsertion of dNTP opposite template thymine or guanine, implying that it should copy DNA with low base substitution fidelity. To test this prediction and to comprehensively examine pol nu DNA synthesis fidelity as a clue to its function, here we describe human pol nu error rates for all 12 single base-base mismatches and for insertion and deletion errors during synthesis to copy the lacZ alpha-complementation sequence in M13mp2 DNA. Pol nu copies this DNA with average single-base insertion and deletion error rates of 7 x 10(-5) and 17 x 10(-5), respectively. This accuracy is comparable to that of replicative polymerases in the B family, lower than that of its A family homolog, human pol gamma, and much higher than that of Y family TLS polymerases. In contrast, the average single-base substitution error rate of human pol nu is 3.5 x 10(-3), which is inaccurate compared to the replicative polymerases and comparable to Y family polymerases. Interestingly, the vast majority of errors made by pol nu reflect stable misincorporation of dTMP opposite template G, at average rates that are much higher than for homologous A family members. This pol nu error is especially prevalent in sequence contexts wherein the template G is preceded by a C-G or G-C base pair, where error rates can exceed 10%. Amino acid sequence alignments based on the structures of more accurate A family polymerases suggest substantial differences in the O-helix of pol nu that could contribute to this unique error signature.     

Laccase detoxification of steam-exploded wheat straw for second generation bioethanol

In this work we compared the efficiency of a laccase treatment performed on steam-exploded wheat straw pretreated under soft conditions (water impregnation) or harsh conditions (impregnation with diluted acid). The effect of several enzymatic treatment parameters (pH, time of incubation, laccase origin and loading) was analysed. The results obtained indicated that severity conditions applied during steam explosion have an influence on the efficiency of detoxification. A reduction of the toxic effect of phenolic compounds by laccase polymerization of free phenols was demonstrated. Laccase treatment of steam-exploded wheat straw reduced sugar recovery after enzymatic hydrolysis, and it should be better performed after hydrolysis with cellulases. The fermentability of hydrolysates was greatly improved by the laccase treatment in all the samples. Our results demonstrate the action of phenolic compounds as fermentation inhibitors, and the advantages of a laccase treatment to increase the ethanol production from steam-exploded wheat straw.     

The plant glycosyltransferase clone collection for functional genomics

The glycosyltransferases (GTs) are an important and functionally diverse family of enzymes involved in glycan and glycoside biosynthesis. Plants have evolved large families of GTs which undertake the array of glycosylation reactions that occur during plant development and growth. Based on the Carbohydrate‐Active enZymes (CAZy) database, the genome of the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana codes for over 450 GTs, while the rice genome (Oryza sativa) contains over 600 members. Collectively, GTs from these reference plants can be classified into over 40 distinct GT families. Although these enzymes are involved in many important plant specific processes such as cell‐wall and secondary metabolite biosynthesis, few have been functionally characterized. We have sought to develop a plant GTs clone resource that will enable functional genomic approaches to be undertaken by the plant research community. In total, 403 (88%) of CAZy defined Arabidopsis GTs have been cloned, while 96 (15%) of the GTs coded by rice have been cloned. The collection resulted in the update of a number of Arabidopsis GT gene models. The clones represent full‐length coding sequences without termination codons and are Gateway^® compatible. To demonstrate the utility of this JBEI GT Collection, a set of efficient particle bombardment plasmids (pBullet) was also constructed with markers for the endomembrane. The utility of the pBullet collection was demonstrated by localizing all members of the Arabidopsis GT14 family to the Golgi apparatus or the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Updates to these resources are available at the JBEI GT Collection website http://www.addgene.org/ .     

Genome Editing by CRISPR/Cas9: A Game Change in the Genetic Manipulation of Protists

Genome editing by CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas9 (CRISPR‐associated gene 9) system has been transformative in biology. Originally discovered as an adaptive prokaryotic immune system, CRISPR/Cas9 has been repurposed for genome editing in a broad range of model organisms, from yeast to mammalian cells. Protist parasites are unicellular organisms producing important human diseases that affect millions of people around the world. For many of these diseases, such as malaria, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis and cryptosporidiosis, there are no effective treatments or vaccines available. The recent adaptation of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology to several protist models will be playing a key role in the functional study of their proteins, in the characterization of their metabolic pathways, and in the understanding of their biology, and will facilitate the search for new chemotherapeutic targets. In this work we review recent studies where the CRISPR/Cas9 system was adapted to protist parasites, particularly to Apicomplexans and trypanosomatids, emphasizing the different molecular strategies used for genome editing of each organism, as well as their advantages. We also discuss the potential usefulness of this technology in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.     

Effects of endogenous and exogenous processes on aboveground biomass stocks and dynamics in Andean forests

Tropical forests are paramount in regulating the global carbon cycle due to the storage of large amounts of carbon in their biomass. Using repeat censuses of permanent plots located at 15 sites in the Andes Mountains of northwest Colombia, we evaluate: (1) the relationship between aboveground biomass (AGB) stocks, AGB dynamics (mortality, productivity, and net change), and changes in temperature across a ca. 3000-m elevational gradient (≈?16.1 °C); (2) how AGB mortality and AGB productivity interact to determine net AGB change; and (3) the extent to which either fine-grain (0.04-ha) or coarse-grain (1-ha) processes determine the AGB dynamics of these forests. We did not find a significant relationship between elevation/temperature and biomass stocks. The net AGB sequestered each year by these forests (2.21?±?0.51 Mg ha^?1 year^?1), equivalent to approximately 1.09% of initial AGB, was primarily determined by tree growth. Both forest structural properties and global warming influenced AGB mortality and net change. AGB productivity increases with greater inequality of tree sizes, a pattern characteristic of forest patches recovering from disturbances. Overall, we find that global warming is triggering directional changes in species composition by thermophilization via increased tree mortality of species in the lower portions of their thermal ranges and that the inclusion of small-scale forest structural changes can effectively account for endogenous processes such as changes in forest structure. The inclusion of fine-grain processes in assessments of AGB dynamics could provide additional insights about the effects that ongoing climate change has on the functioning of tropical montane forests.     

Protein Paucimannosylation Is an Enriched N‐Glycosylation Signature of Human Cancers

While aberrant protein glycosylation is a recognized characteristic of human cancers, advances in glycoanalytics continue to discover new associations between glycoproteins and tumorigenesis. This glycomics‐centric study investigates a possible link between protein paucimannosylation, an under‐studied class of human N‐glycosylation [Man_1‐3GlcNAc₂Fuc_0‐1], and cancer. The paucimannosidic glycans (PMGs) of 34 cancer cell lines and 133 tissue samples spanning 11 cancer types and matching non‐cancerous specimens are profiled from 467 published and unpublished PGC‐LC‐MS/MS N‐glycome datasets collected over a decade. PMGs, particularly Man_2‐3GlcNAc₂Fuc₁, are prominent features of 29 cancer cell lines, but the PMG level varies dramatically across and within the cancer types (1.0–50.2%). Analyses of paired (tumor/non‐tumor) and stage‐stratified tissues demonstrate that PMGs are significantly enriched in tumor tissues from several cancer types including liver cancer (p = 0.0033) and colorectal cancer (p = 0.0017) and is elevated as a result of prostate cancer and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia progression (p < 0.05). Surface expression of paucimannosidic epitopes is demonstrated on human glioblastoma cells using immunofluorescence while biosynthetic involvement of N‐acetyl‐β‐hexosaminidase is indicated by quantitative proteomics. This intriguing association between protein paucimannosylation and human cancers warrants further exploration to detail the biosynthesis, cellular location(s), protein carriers, and functions of paucimannosylation in tumorigenesis and metastasis.     

Generation of Food-Grade Recombinant Lactic Acid Bacterium Strains by Site-Specific Recombination

The construction of a delivery and clearing system for the generation of food-grade recombinant lactic acid bacterium strains, based on the use of an integrase (Int) and a resolvo-invertase (β-recombinase) and their respective target sites (attP-attB and six, respectively) is reported. The delivery system contains a heterologous replication origin and antibiotic resistance markers surrounded by two directly oriented six sites, a multiple cloning site where passenger DNA could be inserted (e.g., the cI gene of bacteriophage A2), the int gene, and the attP site of phage A2. The clearing system provides a plasmid-borne gene encoding β-recombinase. The nonreplicative vector-borne delivery system was transformed into Lactobacillus casei ATCC 393 and, by site-specific recombination, integrated as a single copy in an orientation- and Int-dependent manner into the attB site present in the genome of the host strain. The transfer of the clearing system into this strain, with the subsequent expression of the β-recombinase, led to site-specific DNA resolution of the non-food-grade DNA. These methods were validated by the construction of a stable food-grade L. casei ATCC 393-derived strain completely immune to phage A2 infection during milk fermentation.     

The Crystal Structure and Small-Angle X-Ray Analysis of CsdL/TcdA Reveal a New tRNA Binding Motif in the MoeB/E1 Superfamily

Cyclic N⁶-threonylcarbamoyladenosine (‘cyclic t⁶A’, ct⁶A) is a non-thiolated hypermodification found in transfer RNAs (tRNAs) in bacteria, protists, fungi and plants. In bacteria and yeast cells ct⁶A has been shown to enhance translation fidelity and efficiency of ANN codons by improving the faithful discrimination of aminoacylated tRNAs by the ribosome. To further the understanding of ct⁶A biology we have determined the high-resolution crystal structures of CsdL/TcdA in complex with AMP and ATP, an E1-like activating enzyme from Escherichia coli, which catalyzes the ATP-dependent dehydration of t⁶A to form ct⁶A. CsdL/TcdA is a dimer whose structural integrity and dimer interface depend critically on strongly bound K⁺ and Na⁺ cations. By using biochemical assays and small-angle X-ray scattering we show that CsdL/TcdA can associate with tRNA with a 1:1 stoichiometry and with the proper position and orientation for the cyclization of t⁶A. Furthermore, we show by nuclear magnetic resonance that CsdL/TcdA engages in transient interactions with CsdA and CsdE, which, in the latter case, involve catalytically important residues. These short-lived interactions may underpin the precise channeling of sulfur atoms from cysteine to CsdL/TcdA as previously characterized. In summary, the combination of structural, biophysical and biochemical methods applied to CsdL/TcdA has afforded a more thorough understanding of how the structure of this E1-like enzyme has been fine tuned to accomplish ct⁶A synthesis on tRNAs while providing support for the notion that CsdA and CsdE are able to functionally interact with CsdL/TcdA.     

A BASIC microcomputer program to calculate the secondary structure of proteins from their circular dichroism spectrum

A BASIC program (CDPROT) has been developed to calculate thesecondary structure of proteins from their far UV circular dichroismspectrum. This implementation can use different reference spectra,calculated either from model polypeptides or proteins of knowntertiary structure. Apart from obtaining the a-helical, ß-structure,ß-turns or random percentages which would generatethe spectrum of best fit with respect to the experimental measures,CDPROT represents on screen both theoretical and experimentalspectra indicating the root-mean-square error. The provisionof additional reference spectra by the user is also considered,and another program (STOREREF) performs the editing in an adequateformat for CDPROT. Received on March 8, 1988; accepted on June 3, 1988     

Cardiac sodium channel Na(v)1.5 interacts with and is regulated by the protein tyrosine phosphatase PTPH1

In order to identify proteins interacting with the cardiac voltage-gated sodium channel Na(v)1.5, we used the last 66 amino acids of the C-terminus of the channel as bait to screen a human cardiac cDNA library. We identified the protein tyrosine phosphatase PTPH1 as an interacting protein. Pull-down experiments confirmed the interaction, and indicated that it depends on the PDZ-domain binding motif of Na(v)1.5. Co-expression experiments in HEK293 cells showed that PTPH1 shifts the Na(v)1.5 availability relationship toward hyperpolarized potentials, whereas an inactive PTPH1 or the tyrosine kinase Fyn does the opposite. The results of this study suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation destabilizes the inactivated state of Na(v)1.5.