Analysis of the activity rhythm of the predatory bug Orius sauteri (Poppius) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) for optimizing its selective light attraction

Applied Entomology and Zoology - The minute pirate bug Orius sauteri (Poppius) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) is a major natural enemy of micro-pests and is expected to be an effective pest-control...     

Absence of intervening sequences and point mutations in the V domain within 23S rRNA in Campylobacter lari isolates

Although the absence of intervening sequences (IVSs) within the 23S rRNA genes in Campylobacter lari isolates has been described, there are apparently no reports regarding correlations between the nucleotide sequences of 23S rRNA genes and erythromycin (Ery) susceptibility in C. lari isolates. Here, we determined the minimum inhibitory concentrations of 35 C. lari isolates [n?=?19 for urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter (UPTC); n?=?16 urease-negative (UN) C. lari] obtained from Asia, Europe, and North America. We found that the 18 isolates were resistant to the Ery (defined as ≧8 μg/mL), and three isolates, UPTC A1, UPTC 92251, and UPTC 504, showed increased resistance (16 μg/mL). No correlations between the IVSs in the helix 45 region within the 23S rRNA gene sequences and Ery resistance were identified in the C. lari isolates examined. In addition, no point mutations occurred at any expected or putative position within the V domain in the isolates. In conclusion, antibiotic resistance against the macrolide erythromycin is mediated through an alternative pathway to that described above.     

Validity of ultrasound muscle thickness measurements for predicting leg skeletal muscle mass in healthy Japanese middle-aged and older individuals

Background

The skeletal muscle mass of the lower limb plays a role in its mobility during daily life. From the perspective of physical resources, leg muscle mass dominantly decreases after the end of the fifth decade. Therefore, an accurate estimate of the muscle mass is important for the middle-aged and older population. The present study aimed to clarify the validity of ultrasound muscle thickness (MT) measurements for predicting leg skeletal muscle mass (SM) in the healthy Japanese middle-aged and older population.

Findings

MTs at four sites of the lower limb and the bone-free lean tissue mass (LTM) of the right leg were determined using brightness-mode ultrasonography and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), respectively, in 44 women and 33 men, 52- to 78-years old. LTM was used as a representative variable of leg skeletal muscle mass. In the model-development group (30 women and 22 men), regression analysis produced an equation with R² and standard error of the estimate (SEE) of 0.958 and 0.3 kg, respectively: LTM (kg) = 0.01464 × (MT_SUM×L) (cm²) - 2.767, where MT_SUM is the sum of the product of MTs at four sites, and L is length of segment where MT is determined. The estimated LTM (7.0 ± 1.7 kg) did not significantly differ from the measured LTM (7.0 ± 1.7 kg), without a significant systematic error on a Bland-Altman plot. The application of this equation for the cross-validation group (14 women and 11 men) did not yield a significant difference between the measured (7.2 ± 1.6 kg) or estimated (7.2 ± 1.6 kg) LTM and systematic error.

Conclusion

The developed prediction equation may be useful for estimating the lean tissue mass of the lower extremity for the healthy Japanese middle-aged and older population.     

Gliclazide inhibits proliferation but stimulates differentiation of white and brown adipocytes

Gliclazide, a second-generation sulfonylurea, has anti-oxidant properties as well as hypoglycemic activities. In the present study, we investigated whether gliclazide affected proliferation and/or differentiation of HW white and HB2 brown adipocyte cell lines. Gliclazide inhibited proliferation of HW and HB2 cells in the medium containing fetal calf serum or epidermal growth factor (EGF). Gliclazide inhibited phosphorylation of EGF receptor and of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 stimulated by EGF. Gliclazide increased lipid accumulation and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) expression in the early stage of differentiation of adipocytes. A K(ATP) channel activator, diazoxide, did not inhibit the increase of lipid accumulation by gliclazide. Furthermore, gliclazide inhibited the DNA-binding activity of PPARgamma in mature adipocytes. On the other hand, glibenclamide, other sulfonylurea, did not show these effects. These results indicate gliclazide inhibits proliferation and stimulates differentiation of adipocytes via down-regulation of the EGFR signalling. Gliclazide may have preventive and therapeutic effects on obesity, as well as on type 2 diabetes.     

Structural basis of different substrate preferences of two old yellow enzymes from yeasts in the asymmetric reduction of enone compounds

Old yellow enzymes (OYEs) are potential targets of protein engineering for useful biocatalysts because of their excellent asymmetric reductions of enone compounds. Two OYEs from different yeast strains, Candida macedoniensis AKU4588 OYE (CmOYE) and Pichia sp. AKU4542 OYE (PsOYE), have a sequence identity of 46%, but show different substrate preferences; PsOYE shows 3.4-fold and 39-fold higher catalytic activities than CmOYE toward ketoisophorone and (4S)-phorenol, respectively. To gain insights into structural basis of their different substrate preferences, we have solved a crystal structure of PsOYE, and compared its catalytic site structure with that of CmOYE, revealing the catalytic pocket of PsOYE is wider than that of CmOYE due to different positions of Phe²⁴⁶ (PsOYE)/Phe²⁵⁰ (CmOYE) in static Loop 5. This study shows a significance of 3D structural information to explain the different substrate preferences of yeast OYEs which cannot be understood from their amino acid sequences.

Abbreviations: OYE: Old yellow enzymes, CmOYE: Candida macedoniensis AKU4588 OYE, PsOYE: Pichia sp. AKU4542 OYE     

Notes on some plant-inhabiting fungi collected from the Nansei Islands (1)

In the course of a survey on plant diseases and their pathogenic fungi in the Nansei Islands, some noteworthy fungi were collected. Among them, four fungi newly found in Japan were described with some mycological and pathological notes. These species are Septoria gardeniae Savelli, causing circular leaf spot of Gardenia; Phyllosticta cordylinophila Young apud Stevens, causing brown leaf spot of Cordyline; Phyllosticta drummondii Vanef et van der Aa, causing brown needle blight of Araucaria; and Phyllachora minuta Hennings, causing tar spot of Hibiscus.     

Characteristic domain motion in the ribosome recycling factor revealed by 15N NMR relaxation experiments and molecular dynamics simulations

The backbone dynamics of ribosome recycling factor (RRF) from Escherichia coli in water were characterized by (15)N NMR relaxation analysis and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. RRF is composed of two domains connected by a joint region that consists of two peptide chains, such that the overall structure seems to mimic that of tRNA. MD trajectories indicated that the relative orientation of domains varies on the nanosecond time scale. We analyzed the observed (15)N T(1), T(2), and NOE using an extended model-free spectral density function in which the domain motions with a nanosecond time scale were considered. At 30 degrees C, the order parameters of slow motion () were determined to be approximately 0.9 for domain I and 0.7 for domain II, respectively. These values indicate that domain I is nearly fixed on the molecular diffusion frame, and domain II is wobbling in a cone for which the semi-angle is about 30 degrees.     

The role of log-normal dynamics in the evolution of biochemical pathways

The study of the scale-free topology in non-biological and biological networks and the dynamics that can explain this fascinating property of complex systems have captured the attention of the scientific community in the last years. Here, we analyze the biochemical pathways of three organisms (Methanococcus jannaschii, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae) which are representatives of the main kingdoms Archaea, Bacteria and Eukaryotes during the course of the biological evolution. We can consider two complementary representations of the biochemical pathways: the enzymes network and the chemical compounds network. In this article, we propose a stochastic model that explains that the scale-free topology with exponent in the vicinity of gamma approximately 3/2 found across these three organisms is governed by the log-normal dynamics in the evolution of the enzymes network. Precisely, the fluctuations of the connectivity degree of enzymes in the biochemical pathways between evolutionary distant organisms follow the same conserved dynamical principle, which in the end is the origin of the stationary scale-free distribution observed among species, from Archaea to Eukaryotes. In particular, the log-normal dynamics guarantees the conservation of the scale-free distribution in evolving networks. Furthermore, the log-normal dynamics also gives a possible explanation for the restricted range of observed exponents gamma in the scale-free networks (i.e., gamma > or = 3/2). Finally, our model is also applied to the chemical compounds network of biochemical pathways and the Internet network.     

Characterization of the acidic and basic limbs of a bell-shaped pH profile in the inhibitory activity of bromelain inhibitor VI

Bromelain inhibitor VI (BI-VI) is a cysteine proteinase inhibitor from pineapple stem and a unique two-chain inhibitor composed of two distinct domains. BI-VI's inhibitory activity toward the target enzyme bromelain is maximal at pH 4 and shows a bell-shaped pH profile with pKa values of about 2.5 and 5.3. This pH profile is quite different from that of bromelain, which is optimally active around pH 7. In the present article, to characterize the acidic limb, we first expressed the recombinant inhibitors designed to lose two putative hydrogen bonds of Ser7(NH)-Asp28(beta-CO2H) and Lys38(NH)-Asp51(beta-CO2H) and confirmed the existence of the hydrogen bonds by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Moreover, it was revealed that these hydrogen bonds are not the essential electrostatic factor and some ionizable groups would be responsible for the acidic limb in the pH-inhibition profile. On the other hand, to characterize the basic limb, we examined the pH-dependent inhibition using the cysteine proteinase papain, some of whose properties differ from those of bromelain, and compared the data with the corresponding data for bromelain. The result suggests that the basic limb would be affected by some electrostatic factors, probably some carboxyl groups in the target proteinase.