Mustard NPR1, a mammalian IκB homologue inhibits NF-κB activation in human GBM cell lines

NF-κB activity is tightly regulated by IκB class of proteins. IκB proteins possess ankyrin repeats for binding to and inhibiting NF-κB. The regulatory protein, NPR1 from Brassica juncea possesses ankyrin repeats with sequence similarity to IκBα subgroup. Therefore, we examined whether stably expressed BjNPR1 could function as IκB in inhibiting NF-κB in human glioblastoma cell lines. We observed that BjNPR1 bound to NF-κB and inhibited its nuclear translocation. Further, BjNPR1 expression down-regulated the NF-κB target genes iNOS, Cox-2, c-Myc and cyclin D1 and reduced the proliferation rate of U373 cells. Finally, BjNPR1 decreased the levels of pERK, pJNK and PKCα and increased the Caspase-3 and Caspase-8 activities. These results suggested that inhibition of NF-κB activation by BjNPR1 can be a promising therapy in NF-κB dependent pathologies.     

Atmospheric water vapor as driver of litter decomposition in Mediterranean shrubland and grassland during rainless seasons

Litter production in many drought‐affected ecosystems coincides with the beginning of an extended season of no or limited rainfall. Because of lack of moisture litter decomposition during such periods has been largely ignored so far, despite potential importance for the overall decay process in such ecosystems. To determine drivers and extent of litter decay in rainless periods, a litterbag study was conducted in Mediterranean shrublands, dwarf shrublands and grasslands. Heterogeneous local and common straw litter was left to decompose in open and shaded patches of various field sites in two study regions. Fresh local litter lost 4–18% of its initial mass over about 4 months without rainfall, which amounted to 15–50% of total annual decomposition. Lab incubations and changes in chemical composition suggested that litter was degraded by microbial activity, enabled by absorption of water vapor from the atmosphere. High mean relative humidity of 85% was measured during 8–9 h of most nights, but the possibility of fog deposition or dew formation at the soil surface was excluded. Over 95% of the variation in mass loss and changes in litter nitrogen were explained by characteristics of water‐vapor uptake by litter. Photodegradation induced by the intense solar radiation was an additional mechanism of litter decomposition as indicated by lignin dynamics. Lignin loss from litter increased with exposure to ultraviolet radiation and with initial lignin concentration, together explaining 90%–97% of the variation in lignin mass change. Our results indicate that water vapor, solar radiation and litter quality controlled decomposition and changes in litter chemistry during rainless seasons. Many regions worldwide experience transient periods without rainfall, and more land area is expected to undergo reductions in rainfall as a consequence of climate change. Therefore, absorption of water vapor might play a role in decomposition and nutrient cycling in an increasing number of ecosystems.     

Evidence that the phytochrome gene family in black cottonwood has one PHYA locus and two PHYB loci but lacks members of the PHYC/F and PHYE subfamilies

The phytochrome photoreceptors play important roles in the photoperiodic control of vegetative bud set, growth cessation, dormancy induction, and cold-hardiness in trees. Interestingly, ecotypic differences in photoperiodic responses are observed in many temperate- zone tree species. Northern and southern ecotypes of black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa Torr. & Gray), for example, exhibit marked differences in the timing of short-day-induced bud set and growth cessation, and these responses are controlled by phytochrome. Therefore, as a first step toward determining the molecular genetic basis of photoperiodic ecotypes in trees, we characterized the phytochrome gene (PHY) family in black cottonwood. We recovered fragments of one PHYA and two PHYB using PCR-based cloning and by screening a genomic library. Results from Southern analyses confirmed that black cottonwood has one PHYA locus and two PHYB loci, which we arbitrarily designated PHYB1 and PHYB2. Phylogenetic analyses which included PHY from black cottonwood, Arabidopsis thaliana and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) suggest that the PHYB/D duplications in these species occurred independently. When Southern blots were probed with PHYC, PHYE, and PHYE heterologous probes, the strongest bands that we detected were those of black cottonwood PHYA and/or PHYB. These results suggest that black cottonwood lacks members of the PHYC/F and PHYE subfamilies. Although black cottonwood could contain additional PHY that are distantly related to known angiosperm PHY, our results imply that the PHY family of black cottonwood is less complex than that of other well-characterized dicot species such as Arabidopsis and tomato. Based on Southern analyses of five black cottonwood genotypes representing three photoperiodic ecotypes, substantial polymorphism was detected for at least one of the PHYB loci but not for the PHYA locus. The novel character of the PHY family in black cottonwood, as well as the differences in polymorphism we observed between the PHYA and PHYB subfamilies, indicates that a number of fundamental macro- and microevolutionary questions remain to be answered about the PHY family in dicots.      

牛脾转移因子的提取工艺研究

目的：比较从牛脾中提取活性ＴＦ的不同方法。方法：分别利用Ｌａｗｒｅｎｃｅ－－透析法、Ｌａｗｒｅｎｃｅ－超滤法、超离心－超滤法提取,再以蛋白反应、红外及紫外扫描予以鉴定比较。结果：Ｌａｗｒｅｎｃｅ－超滤法和超离心－超滤法效果较好。结论：工业化生产中应采用Ｌａｗｒｅｎｃｅ－超滤法。     

Functional diversity of reef molluscs along a tropical-to-temperate gradient

Coral Reefs - Global warming is leading to range shifts of marine species, threatening the structure and functioning of ecological communities and human populations that rely on them. The largest...     

Membrane lipids and ethanol tolerance in the mouse. The influence of dietary fatty acid composition

Mice of the TO Swiss strain received diets containing different amounts of saturated or unsaturated fat throughout life. These diets produced characteristic changes in cardiac phospholipid fatty acid composition, but produced no significant differences in fatty acid composition of phospholipids from a crude membrane fraction of brain. When littermates of these animals were exposed to ethanol vapour in an inhalation chamber it was observed that mice which had received a diet high in saturated fat lost the righting reflex at an estimated concentration of ethanol in blood higher than that required for mice receiving a control diet, or a diet rich in polyunsaturated fat. Analysis of the brain membrane fraction from those animals which had received ethanol revealed that mice receiving the highly saturated fat diet now had a significantly greater proportion of saturated fatty acids in brain membrane phospholipids. These results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that brain membrane lipid composition may influence the behavioural response to ethanol.     

Phylogenetic relationships among prokaryotic and eukaryotic catalases

Seventy-four catalase protein sequences, including 29 bacterial, 8 fungal, 7 animal, and 30 plant sequences, were compiled, and 70 were used for phylogenetic reconstruction. The core of the resulting tree revealed unique, separate groups of plant and animal catalases, two groups of fungal catalases, and three groups of bacterial catalases. The only overlap of kingdoms occurred within one branch and involved fungal and bacterial large-subunit enzymes. The other fungal branch was closely linked to the group of animal enzymes. Group I bacterial catalases were more closely related to the plant enzymes and contained such diverse taxa as the Gram-positive Listeria seeligeri, Deinocococcus radiodurans, and gamma-proteobacteria. Group III bacterial sequences were more closely related to fungal and animal sequences and included enzymes from a broad range of bacteria including high- and low-GC Gram positives, proteobacteria, and a bacteroides species. Group II was composed of large-subunit catalases from diverse sources including Gram positives (low-GC Bacilli and high-GC Mycobacteria), proteobacteria, and species of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus. These data can be interpreted in terms of two gene duplication events that produced a minimum of three catalase gene family members that subsequently evolved in response to environmental demands. Horizontal gene transfer may have been responsible for the group II mixture of bacterial and fungal large-subunit catalases.      

Vice-anvil use in nut processing by two Corvus species

Woodpeckers and certain passerine species secure encased food in the environment in various ways to facilitate the extraction of the contents with their bills. They do this by securing the food items in locations such as crevices and holes, newly defined in this paper as ‘vice-anvils’. Here I report that free-living New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) and rooks (Corvus frugilegus, in New Zealand) also use vice-anvils to process candlenuts and walnuts, respectively. New Caledonian crows placed candlenut sections in vice-anvils to aid kernel extraction, after the candlenuts had been dropped onto an anvil to break them open. In contrast, rooks used vice-anvils to secure walnuts while they broke the shell with their bills. Long-term use by rooks of a vice-anvil in a tree had produced a ‘purpose-made’ nut-cracking site. My findings extend the persistent use of specific vice-anvils to Corvus species and further demonstrate their innovative and flexible foraging behaviour.     

ACUTE EFFECTS OF MOVEMENT VELOCITY ON BLOOD LACTATE AND GROWTH HORMONE RESPONSES AFTER ECCENTRIC BENCH PRESS EXERCISE IN RESISTANCE-TRAINED MEN

This study aimed to compare the effects of different velocities of eccentric muscle actions on acute blood lactate and serum growth hormone (GH) concentrations following free weight bench press exercises performed by resistance-trained men. Sixteen healthy men were divided into two groups: slow eccentric velocity (SEV; n = 8) and fast eccentric velocity (FEV; n = 8). Both groups performed four sets of eight eccentric repetitions at an intensity of 70% of their one repetition maximum eccentric (1RMecc) test, with 2-minute rest intervals between sets. The eccentric velocity was controlled to 3 seconds per range of motion for SEV and 0.5 seconds for the FEV group. There was a significant difference (P < 0.001) in the kinetics of blood lactate removal (at 3, 6, 9, 15, and 20 min) and higher mean values for peak blood lactate (P = 0.001) for the SEV group (9.1 ± 0.5 mM) compared to the FEV group (6.1 ± 0.4 mM). Additionally, serum GH concentrations were significantly higher (P < 0.001) at 15 minutes after bench press exercise in the SEV group (1.7 ± 0.6 ng · mL⁻¹) relative to the FEV group (0.1 ± 0.0 ng · mL⁻¹). In conclusion, the velocity of eccentric muscle action influences acute responses following bench press exercises performed by resistance-trained men using a slow velocity resulting in a greater metabolic stress and hormone response.