Expression of the green fluorescent protein gene in conifer tissues

The gene coding for the green fluorescent protein (GFP) from jellyfish was introduced into conifer tissues by microprojectile bombardment and its transient expression was detected. Two versions of the GFP gene, wild-type GFP and modified GFP with a cryptic intron removed, were directly compared for their expression in black spruce pollen. While the wild-type GFP gene resulted in a low level of expression, the modified GFP gene gave a dramatic increase in amount of expression (>100 times). The expression of GFP was detected in all the tissues tested : pollen, embryonal masses, suspension culture, and somatic embryos. Also, the GFP gene was introduced and expressed in three different conifer species (black spruce, white spruce, and white pine). The successful expression of the GFP gene in various tissues and different species suggests that it will be a useful reporter/marker gene for conifers.Abbreviations GUS -glucuronidase - NOS nopaline synthase - NPTII neomycin phosphotransferase - CaMV cauliflower mosaic virus Communicated by S. Gleddie     

Heme oxidation in a chimeric protein of the alpha-selective Neisseriae meningitidis heme oxygenase with the distal helix of the delta-selective Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Heme oxygenases from the bacterial pathogens Neisseriae meningitidis (nm-HO) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (pa-HO) share significant sequence identity (37%). In nm-HO, biliverdin IXalpha is the sole product of the reaction, whereas pa-HO yields predominantly biliverdin IXdelta. We have previously shown by NMR that the in-plane conformation of the heme in pa-HO is significantly different from that of nm-HO as a result of distinct interactions of the heme propionates with the protein scaffold [Caignan, G. A., Deshmukh, R., Wilks, A., Zeng, Y., Huang, H. W., Moenne-Loccoz, P., Bunce, R. A., Eastman, M. A., and Rivera, M. (2002) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 124, 14879-14892]. In the report presented here, we have extended these studies to investigate the role of the distal helix by preparing a chimera of nm-HO (nm-HOch), in which distal helix residues 107-142 of nm-HO have been replaced with the corresponding residues of the delta-regioselective pa-HO (112-147). Electronic absorption spectra, resonance Raman and FTIR spectroscopic studies confirm that the orientation and hydrogen bonding properties of the proximal His ligand are not significantly altered in the chimera relative those of the wild-type proteins. The catalytic turnover of the nm-HOch-heme complex yields almost exclusively alpha-biliverdin and a small but reproducible amount of delta-biliverdin. NMR spectroscopic studies reveal that the altered regioselectivity in the chimeric protein likely stems from a dynamic equilibrium between two alternate in-plane conformations of the heme (in-plane heme disorder). Replacement of K16 with Ala and Met31 with Lys in the chimeric protein in an effort to tune key polypeptide-heme propionate contacts largely stabilizes the in-plane conformer conducive to delta-meso hydroxylation.     

Transepithelial potential in the Magadi tilapia, a fish living in extreme alkalinity

We investigated the transepithelial potential (TEP) and its responses to changes in the external medium in Alcolapia grahami, a small cichlid fish living in Lake Magadi, Kenya. Magadi water is extremely alkaline (pH = 9.92) and otherwise unusual: titratable alkalinity (290 mequiv L(-1), i.e. HCO(3) (-) and CO(3) (2-)) rather than Cl(-) (112 mmol L(-1)) represents the major anion matching Na(+) = 356 mmol L(-1), with very low concentrations of Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) (<1 mmol L(-1)). Immediately after fish capture, TEP was +4 mV (inside positive), but stabilized at +7 mV at 10-30 h post-capture when experiments were performed in Magadi water. Transfer to 250% Magadi water increased the TEP to +9.5 mV, and transfer to fresh water and deionized water decreased the TEP to -13 and -28 mV, respectively, effects which were not due to changes in pH or osmolality. The very negative TEP in deionized water was attenuated in a linear fashion by log elevations in [Ca(2+)]. Extreme cold (1 vs. 28°C) reduced the positive TEP in Magadi water by 60%, suggesting blockade of an electrogenic component, but did not alter the negative TEP in dilute solution. When fish were transferred to 350 mmol L(-1) solutions of NaHCO(3), NaCl, NaNO(3), or choline Cl, only the 350 mmol L(-1) NaHCO(3) solution sustained the TEP unchanged at +7 mV; in all others, the TEP fell. Furthermore, after transfer to 50, 10, and 2% dilutions of 350 mmol L(-1) NaHCO(3), the TEPs remained identical to those in comparable dilutions of Magadi water, whereas this did not occur with comparable dilutions of 350 mmol L(-1) NaCl-i.e. the fish behaves electrically as if living in an NaHCO(3) solution equimolar to Magadi water. We conclude that the TEP is largely a Na(+) diffusion potential attenuated by some permeability to anions. In Magadi water, the net electrochemical forces driving Na(+) inwards (+9.9 mV) and Cl(-) outwards (+3.4 mV) are small relative to the strong gradient driving HCO(3) (-) inwards (-82.7 mV). Estimated permeability ratios are P (Cl)/P (Na) = 0.51-0.68 and [Formula: see text] = 0.10-0.33. The low permeability to HCO(3) (-) is unusual, and reflects a unique adaptation to life in extreme alkalinity. Cl(-) is distributed close to Nernst equilibrium in Magadi water, so there is no need for lower P (Cl). The higher P (Na) likely facilitates Na(+) efflux through the paracellular pathway. The positive electrogenic component is probably due to active HCO(3) (-) excretion.     

Use of RP4-prime plasmids constructed in vitro to promote a polarized transfer of the chromosome in Escherichia coli and Rhizobium meliloti.

Summary RP4-prime plasmids containing chromosomal fragments of either Escherichia coli or Rhizobium meliloti were constructed in vitro. When introduced into E. coli or R. meliloti respectively, they promoted a polarized transfer of the chromosome as demonstrated either by the gradient of transfer of various markers or by the study of the genetic constitution of recombinants. In E. coli, mobilization was shown to be dependent upon the presence of a functional rec A system. Inheritance of markers was due to their integration into the chromosome of the recipient as shown by the need for a functional rec A system in the recipient E. coli or by mobilization of recessive markers in R. meliloti. The system described could be applied to genetic mapping in any Gram negative bacteria.     

Identification of all steady states in large networks by logical analysis

The goal of generalized logical analysis is to model complex biological systems, especially so-called regulatory systems, such as genetic networks. This theory is mainly characterized by its capacity to find all the steady states of a given system and the functional positive and negative circuits, which generate multistationarity and a cycle in the state sequence graph, respectively. So far, this has been achieved by exhaustive enumeration, which severely limits the size of the systems that can be analysed. In this paper, we introduce a mathematical function, called image function, which allows the calculation of the value of the logical parameter associated with a logical variable depending on the state of the system. Thus the state table of the system is represented analytically. We then show how all steady states can be derived as solutions to a system of steady-state equations. Constraint programming, a recent method for solving constraint satisfaction problems, is applied for that purpose. To illustrate the potential of our approach, we present results from computer experiments carried out on very large randomly-generated systems (graphs) with hundreds, or even thousands, of interacting components, and show that these systems can be solved using moderate computing time. Moreover, we illustrate the approach through two published applications, one of which concerns the computation times of all steady states for a large genetic network.     

Plastidial Expression of Type II NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase Increases the Reducing State of Plastoquinones and Hydrogen Photoproduction Rate by the Indirect Pathway in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Biological conversion of solar energy into hydrogen is naturally realized by some microalgae species due to a coupling between the photosynthetic electron transport chain and a plastidial hydrogenase. While promising for the production of clean and sustainable hydrogen, this process requires improvement to be economically viable. Two pathways, called direct and indirect photoproduction, lead to sustained hydrogen production in sulfur-deprived Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cultures. The indirect pathway allows an efficient time-based separation of O₂ and H₂ production, thus overcoming the O₂ sensitivity of the hydrogenase, but its activity is low. With the aim of identifying the limiting step of hydrogen production, we succeeded in overexpressing the plastidial type II NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (NDA2). We report that transplastomic strains overexpressing NDA2 show an increased activity of nonphotochemical reduction of plastoquinones (PQs). While hydrogen production by the direct pathway, involving the linear electron flow from photosystem II to photosystem I, was not affected by NDA2 overexpression, the rate of hydrogen production by the indirect pathway was increased in conditions, such as nutrient limitation, where soluble electron donors are not limiting. An increased intracellular starch was observed in response to nutrient deprivation in strains overexpressing NDA2. It is concluded that activity of the indirect pathway is limited by the nonphotochemical reduction of PQs, either by the pool size of soluble electron donors or by the PQ-reducing activity of NDA2 in nutrient-limited conditions. We discuss these data in relation to limitations and biotechnological improvement of hydrogen photoproduction in microalgae.A number of microalgal and cyanobacterial species are able to convert solar energy into hydrogen by photobiological processes and are therefore considered promising organisms for developing clean and sustainable hydrogen production (Benemann, 2000; Ghirardi et al., 2000; Rupprecht et al., 2006). In microalgae, hydrogen photoproduction results from coupling the photosynthetic electron transport chain and a plastidial [FeFe] hydrogenase. Under most conditions, hydrogen photoproduction is a transient phenomenon that lasts from several seconds to a few minutes (Ghirardi et al., 2000; Melis and Happe, 2001). It has been considered a relic of evolution that may now serve, under certain environmental conditions, such as induction of photosynthesis in anoxia (Ghysels et al., 2013), as a safety valve that protects the photosynthetic electron transport chain from photodamage that results from overreduction of electron acceptors (Kessler, 1973; Tolleter et al., 2011). A major limitation to sustained hydrogen photoproduction is due to the oxygen sensitivity of the [FeFe] hydrogenase (Happe et al., 2002; Stripp et al., 2009). Melis et al. (2000) proposed an elegant way to overcome this oxygen sensitivity through a time-based separation of hydrogen and oxygen production phases occurring, for instance, in response to sulfur deficiency in a closed environment. Another limitation is related to the electron supply for the hydrogenase coming from the photosynthetic electron transport chain (Cournac et al., 2002). This limitation is partly due to the fact that other metabolic pathways, such as ferredoxin-NADP⁺ reductase and CO₂ fixation, compete with the hydrogenase for the use of reduced ferredoxin (Gaffron and Rubin, 1942; Hemschemeier et al., 2008). This is also due to upstream regulation of the electron transport chain, recently evidenced from the study of a Chlamydomonas reinhardtii mutant affected in proton gradient regulation-like1 (PGRL1)-mediated cyclic electron flow (CEF) around PSI. The strong enhancement of hydrogen production rates observed in the pgrl1 mutant was interpreted as the release of a control exerted by the transthylakoidal pH gradient on electron supply to the hydrogenase (Tolleter et al., 2011).Two pathways, direct or indirect, can supply electrons to the hydrogenase (Benemann, 2000; Melis and Happe, 2001; Chochois et al., 2009). In the direct pathway, the whole electron transport chain is engaged, with PSII supplying electrons to the plastoquinone (PQ) pool, the cytochrome b₆/f complex, and, in turn, PSI, ferredoxin, and the [FeFe] hydrogenase. Due to the high oxygen sensitivity of the [FeFe] hydrogenase and to the fact that O₂ is produced during photosynthesis at PSII, the direct pathway only operates when PSII activity is lower than mitochondrial respiration, thereby allowing anaerobiosis to be maintained. Such conditions can be obtained by decreasing PSII activity either by means of sulfur deprivation (Melis et al., 2000) or by decreasing light intensity in the photobioreactor (Degrenne et al., 2010). In the indirect pathway, reducing equivalents, stored as starch during the aerobic phase, are subsequently used to fuel hydrogen production. This implies a nonphotochemical reduction of the PQ pool that is at least in part mediated by NDA2, a type II NADH dehydrogenase discovered in C. reinhardtii chloroplasts (Desplats et al., 2009). RNA interference lines expressing lower levels of NDA2 show lower hydrogen production rates, and it was concluded that NDA2 is involved in hydrogen production by the indirect pathway (Jans et al., 2008; Mignolet et al., 2012). The indirect pathway allows for an efficient time-based separation of O₂- and H₂-producing phases because it does not involve PSII activity and does not produce O₂. However, the indirect pathway has a much lower rate than the direct pathway (Cournac et al., 2002; Antal et al., 2009; Chochois et al., 2009). With the aim to identify limiting steps of hydrogen production in microalgae, we attempted to overexpress NDA2 in C. reinhardtii chloroplasts. We report that algal strains displaying a 2-fold increase in NDA2 show an increased nonphotochemical reduction of PQs and an increased rate of hydrogen production by the indirect pathway, the latter being only observed in conditions where stromal reducing equivalents are available in sufficient amounts.     

Genetic erosion in wild populations makes resistance to a pathogen more costly

Populations that have suffered from genetic erosion are expected to exhibit reduced average trait values or decreased variation in adaptive traits when experiencing periodic or emergent stressors such as infectious disease. Genetic erosion may consequentially modify the ability of a potential host population to cope with infectious disease emergence. We experimentally investigate this relationship between genetic variability and host response to exposure to an infectious agent both in terms of susceptibility to infection and indirect parasite-mediated responses that also impact fitness. We hypothesized that the deleterious consequences of exposure to the pathogen (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) would be more severe for tadpoles descended from European treefrog (Hyla arborea) populations lacking genetic variability. Although all exposed tadpoles lacked detectable infection, we detected this relationship for some indirect host responses, predominantly in genetically depleted animals, as well as an interaction between genetic variability and pathogen dose on life span during the postmetamorphic period. Lack of infection and a decreased mass and postmetamorphic life span in low genetic diversity tadpoles lead us to conclude that genetic erosion, while not affecting the ability to mount effective resistance strategies, also erodes the capacity to invest in resistance, increased tadpole growth rate, and metamorphosis relatively simultaneously.