Polymorphism of the storage proteins in Portuguese rye (Secale cereale L.) populations

Currently, due to the abandonment of traditional agricultural practices and the decline of rye production in Portugal, there is a need to assess the genetic diversity of rye in order to preserve its biodiversity. Furthermore, a greater knowledge of rye secalins is important for rye bread-making quality and other crop breeding purposes. The genetic variation and diversity of storage proteins were estimated for fourteen populations of rye (Secale cereale L.) sampled in northern Portugal. The work showed the high genetic diversity within the Portuguese rye gene-pool as an important source for plant breeding and emphasized the necessity of an integrated resources genetic program to allow a more efficient management and conservation of these resources. The rye populations were compared with 'Picasso' and 'Marder' varieties. Several alleles were identified by the single electrophoretic mobility patterns. We studied a set of 1600 rye seeds, including regional populations and varieties, having observed a total of 24, 5, 21 and 47 alleles for HMW, 75k γ-, 40k γ- and ω-secalins, respectively. The coefficient of similarity within populations is presented using cluster representation. The mean value of genetic variation indices (H) for rye storage proteins was very high in regional populations, ranging from 0.67 to 0.78, while in the varieties ranged from 0.57 to 0.58. Knowledge of the diversity of secalins will increase our understanding of the quality differences between rye varieties, especially considering the relative small number of rye cultivars grown around the world.     

Insights from the Genome Sequence of a Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhi Strain Associated with a Sporadic Case of Typhoid Fever in Malaysia

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi is the causative agent of typhoid fever, which causes nearly 21.7 million illnesses and 217,000 deaths globally. Herein, we describe the whole-genome sequence of the Salmonella Typhi strain ST0208, isolated from a sporadic case of typhoid fever in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The whole-genome sequence and comparative genomics allow an in-depth understanding of the genetic diversity, and its link to pathogenicity and evolutionary dynamics, of this highly clonal pathogen that is endemic to Malaysia.     

Draft Genome Sequence of Paenibacillus polymyxa OSY-DF, Which Coproduces a Lantibiotic, Paenibacillin, and Polymyxin E1

Paenibacillus polymyxa OSY-DF is a Gram-positive rod-shaped bacterium isolated from a fermented vegetable food. This bacterial strain displays potent antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria, attributed to the production of the lantibiotic paenibacillin and the colistin peptide polymyxin E1. Here we report the draft genome sequence of Paenibacillus polymyxa OSY-DF.     

Isolation and characterisation of microsatellite loci in the wasp Mischocyttarus cassununga

Mischocyttarus cassununga, a primitively eusocial Brazilian wasp, commonly found in urban environments, is an interesting model for studies on the evolution of social behaviour in hymenopteran insects. In this study, we constructed a microsatellite-enriched genomic library and presented primers for 18 microsatellite loci. For the analysis, 20 unrelated females were screened and all loci obtained were polymorphic. PCR amplification revealed from 3 (Mcas5b) to 17 (Mcas53b) alleles per locus ( $ \overline{x} = 8.3 $ ). We detected the levels of observed (H _o) and expected (H _e) heterozygosities ranging from 0.150 to 0.950 and 0.261 to 0.920, respectively. The polymorphic information content ranged from 0.238 to 0.915, averaging 0.680. All loci were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and linkage disequilibrium was not detected after sequential Bonferroni correction (P?>?0.05). These molecular markers will allow further studies on sociogenetic structure, extensive population genetic analysis and diversity of M. cassununga and other Mischocyttarini species.     

Whole-Genome Sequences and Comparative Genomics of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhi Isolates from Patients with Fatal and Nonfatal Typhoid Fever in Papua New Guinea

Many of the developing countries of the Southeast Asian region are significantly affected by endemic typhoid fever, possibly as a result of marginal living standards. It is an important public health problem in countries such as Papua New Guinea, which is geographically close to some of the foci of endemicity in Asia. The severity of the disease varies in different regions, and this may be attributable to genetic diversity among the native strains. Genome sequence data on strains from different countries are needed to clearly understand their genetic makeup and virulence potential. We describe the genomes of two Salmonella Typhi isolates from patients with fatal and nonfatal cases of typhoid fever in Papua New Guinea. We discuss in brief the underlying sequencing methodology, assembly, genome statistics, and important features of the two draft genomes, which form an essential step in our functional molecular infection epidemiology program centering on typhoid fever. The comparative genomics of these and other isolates would enable us to identify genetic rearrangements and mechanisms responsible for endemicity and the differential severity of pathogenic salmonellae in Papua New Guinea and elsewhere.     

Role of receptor-attached phosphates in binding of visual and non-visual arrestins to G protein-coupled receptors

Arrestins are a small family of proteins that regulate G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Arrestins specifically bind to phosphorylated active receptors, terminating G protein coupling, targeting receptors to endocytic vesicles, and initiating G protein-independent signaling. The interaction of rhodopsin-attached phosphates with Lys-14 and Lys-15 in β-strand I was shown to disrupt the interaction of α-helix I, β-strand I, and the C-tail of visual arrestin-1, facilitating its transition into an active receptor-binding state. Here we tested the role of conserved lysines in homologous positions of non-visual arrestins by generating K2A mutants in which both lysines were replaced with alanines. K2A mutations in arrestin-1, -2, and -3 significantly reduced their binding to active phosphorhodopsin in vitro. The interaction of arrestins with several GPCRs in intact cells was monitored by a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET)-based assay. BRET data confirmed the role of Lys-14 and Lys-15 in arrestin-1 binding to non-cognate receptors. However, this was not the case for non-visual arrestins in which the K2A mutations had little effect on net BRET(max) values for the M2 muscarinic acetylcholine (M2R), β(2)-adrenergic (β(2)AR), or D2 dopamine receptors. Moreover, a phosphorylation-deficient mutant of M2R interacted with wild type non-visual arrestins normally, whereas phosphorylation-deficient β(2)AR mutants bound arrestins at 20-50% of the level of wild type β(2)AR. Thus, the contribution of receptor-attached phosphates to arrestin binding varies depending on the receptor-arrestin pair. Although arrestin-1 always depends on receptor phosphorylation, its role in the recruitment of arrestin-2 and -3 is much greater in the case of β(2)AR than M2R and D2 dopamine receptor.     

Changes in the water status and osmotic solute contents in response to drought and salicylic acid treatments in four different cultivars of wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum aestivum</Emphasis>)

Salicylic acid (SA) controls growth and stress responses in plants. It also induces drought tolerance in plants. In this paper, four wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars with different drought responses were treated with SA in three levels of drain (90, 60, 30% of maximum field capacity) to examine its interactive effects on drought responses and contents of osmotic solutes that may be involved in growth and osmotic adjustment. Under drought condition, the cultivars Geza 164 and Sakha 69 had the plant biomass and leaf relative water content (LRWC) greater than the cultivars Gemaza 1 and Gemaza 3. In all cultivars, drought stress decreased the biomass, LRWC, and the contents of inorganic solutes (Ca, K, Mg) and largely increased the contents of organic solutes (soluble sugars and proline). By contrast, SA increased the biomass, LRWC and the inorganic and organic solute contents, except proline. Correlation analysis revealed that the LRWC correlated positively with the inorganic solute contents but negatively with proline in all cultivars. SA caused maximum accumulations of soluble sugars in roots under drought. These results indicated that SA-enhanced tolerance might involve solute accumulations but independently of proline biosynthesis. Drought-sensitive cultivars had a trait lowering Ca and K levels especially in shoots. Possible functions of the ions and different traits of cultivars were discussed.     

Inhibition of hepatitis C virus NS5A by fluoro-olefin based γ-turn mimetics

The HCV non-structural protein NS5A has been established as a viable target for the development of direct acting antiviral therapy. From computational modeling studies strong intra-molecular hydrogen bonds were found to be a common structural moiety within known NS5A inhibitors that have low pico-molar replicon potency. Efforts to reproduce these γ-turn-like substructures provided a novel NS5A inhibitor based on a fluoro-olefin isostere. This fluoro-olefin containing inhibitor exhibited picomolar activity (EC(50)=79 pM) against HCV genotype 1b replicon without measurable cytotoxicity. This level of activity is comparable to the natural peptide-based inhibitors currently under clinic evaluation, and demonstrates that a peptidomimetic approach can serve as a useful strategy to produce potent and structurally unique inhibitors of HCV NS5A.