Isolation and characterization of photosystem II from the filamentous sporophyte of Porphyra yezoensis

Thylakoid membranes were isolated and purified from diploid filamentous sporophytes of Porphyra yezoensis Ueda using sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation (SDGUC). After thylakoid membranes were solubilized with SDS, the phtosystem II (PSII) particles with high 2, 6-dichloroindophenol (DCIP) photoreduction activity were isolated by SDGUC. The absorption and fluorescence spectra, DCIP photoreduction activity and oxygen evolution activity of the thylakoid membranes and PSII particles were determined. The polypeptide composition of purified PSII particles was distinguished by SDS-PAGE. Results showed that PSII particles of sporophytes differed from the gametophytes in spectral properties and polypeptide composition. Apart from 55 kDa D1-D2 heterodimer, CP47, CP43, 33 kDa protein, D1, D2, cyt b559 and 12 kDa protein were identified from PSII particles from sporophytes; a new 102 kDa protein was also detected. However, cyt c-550, 20 kDa, 14 kDa and 16 kDa proteins found in PSII particles from gametophytes were not detected in the sporophytes.     

亚洲小车蝗痘病毒与化学杀虫剂混用的杀虫效果及对寄主主要解毒酶活性的影响

亚洲小车蝗痘病毒（Oedaleus asiaticus entomopoxvirus, OaEPV）作为一种增效剂,分别与马拉硫磷、毒死蜱、高效氯氰菊酯、氟氯氰菊酯 、溴氰菊酯化学杀虫剂混合饲喂亚洲小车蝗若虫,统计致死中浓度 LC₅₀ 和其混合使用后的增效比;测定虫体内与抗性有关的两种重要酶——羧酸酯酶（CarE）和谷胱甘肽 S-转移酶（GSTs）的比活力。结果表明：OaEPV 与化学杀虫剂混合饲喂亚洲小车蝗,OaEPV 与毒死蜱 、高效氯氰菊酯、氟氯氰菊酯、溴氰菊酯混用对亚洲小车蝗无明显的增效作用,OaEPV 与马拉硫磷混用,具有一定的增效作用,增效比为 1.42 倍。混剂感染亚洲小车蝗,除与溴氰菊酯混用外,虫体的中肠部位 CarE 的比活力都受到了明显的抑制作用,其中 OaEPV 与马拉硫磷混用下降了 4.21 倍,抑制作用最大。当 OaEPV 与氟氯氰菊酯、溴氰菊酯化学杀虫剂混用后,中肠部位 GSTs 受到了明显的抑制作用,而其脂肪体部位 CarE 和 GSTs 的变化无一定的规律性。结果提示痘病毒与农药混合处理时,病毒主要通过抑制中肠部位 CarE 比活力而增加了农药的杀虫效果。     

The Arabidopsis small G protein ROP2 is activated by light in guard cells and inhibits light-induced stomatal opening

ROP small G proteins function as molecular switches in diverse signaling processes. Here, we investigated signals that activate ROP2 in guard cells. In guard cells of Vicia faba expressing Arabidopsis thaliana constitutively active (CA) ROP2 fused to red fluorescent protein (RFP-CA-ROP2), fluorescence localized exclusively at the plasma membrane, whereas a dominant negative version of RFP-ROP2 (DN-ROP2) localized in the cytoplasm. In guard cells expressing green fluorescent protein-ROP2, the relative fluorescence intensity at the plasma membrane increased upon illumination, suggesting that light activates ROP2. Unlike previously reported light-activated factors, light-activated ROP2 inhibits rather than accelerates light-induced stomatal opening; stomata bordered by guard cells transformed with CA-rop2 opened less than controls upon light irradiation. When introduced into guard cells together with CA-ROP2, At RhoGDI1, which encodes a guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor, inhibited plasma membrane localization of CA-ROP2 and abolished the inhibitory effect of CA-ROP2 on light-induced stomatal opening, supporting the negative effect of active ROP2 on stomatal opening. Mutant rop2 Arabidopsis guard cells showed phenotypes similar to those of transformed V. faba guard cells; CA-rop2 stomata opened more slowly and to a lesser extent, and DN-rop2 stomata opened faster than wild-type stomata in response to light. Moreover, in rop2 knockout plants, stomata opened faster and to a greater extent than wild-type stomata in response to light. Thus, ROP2 is a light-activated negative factor that attenuates the extent of light-induced changes in stomatal aperture. The inhibition of light-induced stomatal opening by light-activated ROP2 suggests the existence of feedback regulatory mechanisms through which stomatal apertures may be finely controlled.     

苔藓植物孢子形态的研究(一)——几种泥炭藓(Sphagnum)孢子的光学研究和电子显微镜观察

泥炭藓(Sphagnum)是水湿或沼泽地区丛生藓类。其植物体形态和构造分化简单,孢子体仅具由配子体组织发育的假蒴柄;孢蒴球形,盖裂,无蒴轴及蒴齿分化,因而为鲜纲中一个独立的亚纲,在苔藓系统排列中,列为原始的类型之一。     

Association of PON1, P2Y12 and COX1 with Recurrent Ischemic Events in Patients with Extracranial or Intracranial Stenting

Background and Purpose

Short-term combined use of clopidogrel and aspirin improves cerebrovascular outcomes in patients with symptomatic extracranial or intracranial stenosis. Antiplatelet non-responsiveness is related to recurrent ischemic events, but the culprit genetic variants responsible for the non-responsiveness have not been well studied. We aimed to identify the genetic variants associated with poor clinical outcomes.

Methods

Patients with symptomatic extracranial or intracranial stenosis scheduled for stenting and receiving dual antiplatelets (clopidogrel 75 mg and aspirin 100 mg daily) for at least 5 days before intervention were enrolled. Ischemic events including recurrent transient ischemic attack, stroke, myocardial infarction, and vascular-related mortality within 12 months follow-up were recorded. We examined the influence of genetic polymorphisms on treatment outcome in our patients.

Results

A total of 268 patients were enrolled into our study and ischemic events were observed in 39 patients. For rs662 of paraoxonase 1 (PON1), allele C was associated with an increased risk of ischemic events (OR = 1.64, 95%CI = 1.03–2.62, P = 0.029). The A-allele carriers of rs2046934 of P2Y12 had a significant association with adverse events (OR = 2.01, 95%CI = 1.10–3.67, P = 0.041). The variant T-allele of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX1) rs1330344 significantly increased the risk of recurrent clinical events (OR = 1.85, 95%CI = 1.12–3.03, P = 0.017). The other single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) had no association with ischemic events.

Conclusions

PON1, P2Y12 and COX1 polymorphisms were associated with poorer vascular outcomes. Testing for these polymorphisms may be valuable in the identification of patients at risk for recurrent ischemic events.     

细菌漆酶的生物信息学分析

漆酶是一种含铜的多酚氧化酶。本研究利用生物信息学分析工具对细菌的漆酶蛋白序列的基本性质、保守结构域、系统发育树以及结构等进行了分析。所分析细菌主要分布在变形菌门、放线菌和厚壁菌门。细菌漆酶的物理化学性质相似,但不同细菌来源的漆酶之间序列相似性较低,但其仍然具有容易识别的保守结构域特征。二级结构及三级结构具有明显的相似性。细菌漆酶的生物信息分析为其功能研究及在其他微生物中研究该类酶提供了基础。     

Expression of a Leishmaniadonovani nucleotide sugar transporter in Leishmaniamajor enhances survival in visceral organs

Leishmania donovani and Leishmaniainfantum infections cause fatal visceral leishmaniasis, and Leishmaniamajor causes self healing cutaneous lesions. It is poorly understood what genetic differences between these Leishmania species are responsible for the different pathologies of infection. To investigate whether L.donovani species-specific genes are involved in visceral Leishmania infection, we have examined a L.donovani species-specific gene Ld1590 (ortholog of LinJ15_V3.0900) that is a pseudogene in L.major. We have previously shown that transgenic expression of L.donovani Ld1590 in L.major significantly increased the liver and spleen parasite burdens in infected BALB/c mice. In this study we report that Ld1590 potentially encodes a nucleotide sugar transporter (NST) which localizes in the L.donovani Golgi apparatus. Surprisingly, although transgenic expression of the Ld1590 NST increased L.major survival in visceral organs, deletion of Ld1590 NST in L.donovani had no significant effect on L.donovani survival in mice. These observations suggest that loss of the functional Ld1590 gene in L.major may have been associated with reduced virulence in visceral organs in its animal reservoir and could have contributed to L.major’s tropism for cutaneous infections.     

Enhancement of the direct antimicrobial activity of Lysep3 against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> by inserting cationic peptides into its C terminus

Phage lysins are considered promising antimicrobials against resistant bacterial infections. Some lysins have been reported for the prevention and treatment of Gram-positive bacterial infection. Gram-negative bacterial phage lysins, however, can only destroy the bacterial cell wall from inside because of the obstruction of the bacterial outer membrane that prevents direct hydrolysis of the bacterial wall peptidoglycan from the outside, severely restricting the development of lysins against Gram-negative bacteria. In this study, genetic engineering techniques were used to fuse a 5 cationic amino acid polypeptide (KRKRK), a 10 cationic amino acid polypeptide (KRKRKRKRKR), a 15 cationic amino acid polypeptide (KRKRKRKRKRKRKRK), and a polypeptide including both cationic and hydrophobic amino acids (KRKRKFFVAIIP) to the C-terminus of the Escherichia coli phage lysin Lysep3 to obtain four fusion lysins (5aa, 10aa, 15aa, Mix). The bactericidal effects of those four lysins on E. coli were then compared in vitro. Our results showed that the fusion of hydrophobic and positively charged amino acids, Mix, can kill E. coli effectively; the fusion of positively charged amino acids alone at the C-terminus (5aa, 10aa, 15aa) also showed bactericidal activity against E. coli from the outside, with the bactericidal activity gradually increasing with the positive charge at the C-terminus of the lysin. Collectively, improving the positive charge at the C-terminus of E. coli bacteriophage lysin Lysep3 increases its bactericidal ability from outside E. coli, providing a new practical method for the development of anti-Gram-negative bacterial lysins.