Biological effects of Trichoderma harzianum peptaibols on mammalian cells

Trichoderma species isolated from water-damaged buildings were screened for toxicity by using boar sperm cells as indicator cells. The crude methanolic cell extract from Trichoderma harzianum strain ES39 inhibited the boar sperm cell motility at a low exposure concentration (50% effective concentration, 1 to 5 microg [dry weight] ml of extended boar semen(-1)). The same exposure concentration depleted the boar sperm cells of NADH(2). Inspection of the exposed boar sperm cells by transmission electron microscopy revealed damage to the plasma membrane. By using the black lipid membrane technique, it was shown that the semipurified metabolites (eluted from a SepPak C(18) cartridge) of T. harzianum strain ES39 induced voltage-dependent conductivity. The high-performance liquid chromatography-purified metabolites of T. harzianum strain ES39 dissipated the mitochondrial membrane potential (Deltapsi(m)) of human lung epithelial carcinoma cells (cell line A549). The semipurified metabolites (eluted from a SepPak C(18) cartridge) of T. harzianum strain ES39 were analyzed by mass spectrometry (MS). Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization and nanoflow electrospray ionization MS revealed five major peptaibols, each of which contained 18 residues and had a mass ranging from 1,719 to 1,775 Da. Their partial amino acid sequences were determined by collision-induced dissociation tandem MS.     

Division of Labor during Biofilm Matrix Production

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The archaeal elongation factor 1alpha bound to GTP forms a ternary complex with eubacterial and eukaryal aminoacyl-tRNA.

The archaeal Sulfolobus solfataricus elongation factor 1alpha (SsEF-1alpha) bound to GTP or to its analogue guanyl-5'-yl imido diphosphate [Gpp(NH)p] formed a ternary complex with either Escherichia coli Val-tRNAVal or Saccharomyces cerevisiae Phe-tRNAPhe as demonstrated by gel-shift and gel-filtration experiments. Evidence of such an interaction also came from the observation that SsEF-1alphaz.rad;Gpp(NH)p was able to display a protective effect against either the spontaneous deacylation or the digestion of aminoacyl-tRNA by RNase A. Protection against the deacylation of aminoacyl-tRNA allowed evaluatation of the affinity of SsEF-1alphaz. rad;Gpp(NH)p for both aminoacyl-tRNAs used. The K'd values of the ternary complex containing S. cerevisiae Phe-tRNAPhe or E. coli Val-tRNAVal were 0.3 microM and 4.4 microM, respectively. In both cases, the affinity of SsEF-1alphaz.rad;Gpp(NH)p for aminoacyl-tRNA was three orders of magnitude lower than that of the homologous eubacterial ternary complexes, but comparable with the affinity shown by the ternary complex involving eukaryal EF-1alpha [Negrutskii, B.S. & El'skaya, A.V. (1998) Prog. Nucleic Acids Res. 60, 47-77]. As already observed with eukaryal EF-1alpha, SsEF-1alpha in its GDP-bound form was also able to protect the ester bond of aminoacyl-tRNA, even though with a 10-fold lower efficiency compared with SsEF-1alphaz.rad;Gpp(NH)p. The overall results indicated that the archaeal elongation factor 1alpha shares several properties with eukaryal EF-1alpha but not with eubacterial EF-Tu.     

Mouse liver P450Coh: genetic regulation of the pyrazole-inducible enzyme and comparison with other P450 isoenzymes

Genetic experiments with two inbred strains of mice, AKR/J and DBA/2N, show a single major gene inheritance of additive mode for pyrazole-inducible coumarin 7-hydroxylase. Intragroup variation in the enzyme activity further suggests the contribution of minor modifying genes to the final enzyme activity. Western blot analysis with a polyclonal antibody raised against the purified isozyme P450Coh (highly active in the 7-hydroxylation of coumarin) showed that a difference in the amounts of P450Coh protein between the D2 and AKR mice is the reason for the differences in the enzyme activity between the two mouse strains. Accordingly, changes at the regulatory level rather than at the structural gene would explain the genetic difference in the activity of coumarin 7-hydroxylase. This hypothesis is further supported by the identical Km values of the basal and induced enzyme. The inducibility of coumarin 7-hydroxylase by phenobarbital (PB) and its genetic regulation have been previously studied by A. W. Wood and colleagues ((1974) Science 185, 612-614; (1979); J. Biol. Chem. 254, 5641-5646 and 5647-5651). Our present experiments show that the regulation is the same for the pyrazole-inducible enzyme. Furthermore the experiments with anti-P450Coh antibody show that the PB- and pyrazole-inducible proteins have the same molecular weight and are immunologically indistinguishable. This suggests that PB and pyrazole may induce the same enzyme. Immunoinhibition of microsomal coumarin 7-hydroxylase is practically 100% for control animals and after pretreatment with pyrazole or PB. This suggests that in each case the same or immunologically closely related proteins are metabolizing coumarin and that the P450Coh may be the only P450 isoenzyme in mouse liver microsomes catalyzing the 7-hydroxylation of coumarin. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of P450Coh was found to be identical with those from Type I and Type II genes of the mouse P45015 alpha family for the first 21 amino acids. With rat PB-inducible P450b the homology is only 33%. Also the immunological properties of P450Coh are different from those of P450b. This may suggest that P450Coh has a closer association to the steroid 15 alpha-hydroxylase gene family than to the P450IIB subfamily of phenobarbital-inducible isoenzymes.     

A feasibility study of altered spatial distribution of losses induced by eddy currents in body composition analysis

Background  

Tomographic imaging has revealed that the body mass index does not give a reliable state of overall fitness. However, high measurement costs make the tomographic imaging unsuitable for large scale studies or repeated individual use. This paper reports an experimental investigation of a new electromagnetic method and its feasibility for assessing body composition. The method is called body electrical loss analysis (BELA).     

Effects of sugar beet chitinase IV on root-associated fungal community of transgenic silver birch in a field trial

Heterogenous chitinases have been introduced in many plant species with the aim to increase the resistance of plants to fungal diseases. We studied the effects of the heterologous expression of sugar beet chitinase IV on the intensity of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) colonization and the structure of fungal communities in the field trial of 15 transgenic and 8 wild-type silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) genotypes. Fungal sequences were separated in denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and identified by sequencing the ITS1 region to reveal the operational taxonomic units. ECM colonization was less intense in 7 out of 15 transgenic lines than in the corresponding non-transgenic control plants, but the slight decrease in overall ECM colonization in transgenic lines could not be related to sugar beet chitinase IV expression or total endochitinase activity. One transgenic line showing fairly weak sugar beet chitinase IV expression without significantly increased total endochitinase activity differed significantly from the non-transgenic controls in the structure of fungal community. Five sequences belonging to three different fungal genera (Hebeloma, Inocybe, Laccaria) were indicative of wild-type genotypes, and one sequence (Lactarius) indicated one transgenic line. In cluster analysis, the non-transgenic control grouped together with the transgenic lines indicating that genotype was a more important factor determining the structure of fungal communities than the transgenic status of the plants. With the tested birch lines, no clear evidence for the effect of the heterologous expression of sugar beet chitinase IV on ECM colonization or the structure of fungal community was found.     

Central boreal mire plant communities along soil nutrient potential and water content gradients

Peatlands have traditionally been exploited in forestry and agriculture over the boreal region, yet they also provide substantial source of fuel production. The large-scale exploitation of peatlands has raised a concern about the diversity of mire plant communities. We studied composition of mire plant communities along soil nutrient potential and water content gradients, to recognize the areas with the high plant diversity. Soil electrical conductivity (EC_b) was measured to characterise soil nutrient regimes and soil dielectric permittivity (DP) the soil (volumetric) water regimes. A total of 115 mire sites were studied in the central boreal region of south-western Finnish Lapland. We found that Ward’s hierarchical cluster analysis produced eight stable EC_b and DP clusters with discrete vegetation compositions. On the basis of a locally weighted regression analysis (Loess), Carex dioica L., Comarum palustre L., Equisetum fluviatile L., Menyanthes trifoliata L., and Scorpidium scorpioides (Hedw.) Limpr. were found as indicator species for nutrient-rich regimes as designated by high soil EC_b. The soil EC_b is a diagnostic measure of plant diversity as EC_b?>?7 mSm^?1 resulted in a considerable increase in species richness. Our classification method, based on electrical measurements, provides a simple way to classify mires and focus detailed research to areas with potentially high conservation value.