Glucose transport was studied in a methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha . Two kinetically different glucose transport systems were revealed in cells grown under different growth conditions. Glucose-repressed cells exhibited a low-affinity transport system ( K m for glucose 1.75 mM) while glucose-derepressed and ethanol-grown cells had a high-affinity transport system ( K m for glucose 0.05–0.06 mM). The high- and low-affinity transport systems differed in substrate specificity, sensitivity to pH, dinitrophenol and protonophore carbonyl cyanide- m -chlorophenyl-hydrazone. The kinetic rearrangement of the glucose transport system in response to altered growth conditions was dependent on de novo protein synthesis. 相似文献
In this study, the effects of the electric charges and fields on the viability of airborne microorganisms were investigated. The electric charges of different magnitude and polarity were imparted on airborne microbial cells by a means of induction charging. The airborne microorganisms carrying different electric charge levels were then extracted by an electric mobility analyzer and collected using a microbial sampler. It was found that the viability of Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria, used as a model for sensitive bacteria, carrying a net charge from 4100 negative to 30 positive elementary charges ranged between 40% and 60%; the viability of the cells carrying >2700 positive charges was below 1.5%. In contrast, the viability of the stress-resistant spores of Bacillus subtilis var. niger (used as simulant of anthrax-causing Bacillus anthracis spores when testing bioaerosol sensors in various studies), was not affected by the amount of electric charges on the spores. Because bacterial cells depend on their membrane potential for basic metabolic activities, drastic changes occurring in the membrane potential during aerosolization and the local electric fields induced by the imposed charges appeared to affect the sensitive cells' viability. These findings facilitate applications of electric charging for environmental control purposes involving sterilization of bacterial cells by imposing high electric charges on them. The findings from this study can also be used in the development of new bioaerosol sampling methods based on electrostatic principles. 相似文献
In Chara-dominated shallow eutrophic Lake Prossa (Estonia), the collapse of spring phytoplankton community occurred in late May after which both primary production (PP) and phytoplankton biomass (B&pinf;) stayed at a very low level. By mid-June the Secchi depth had increased up to 2.6 m indicating the achievement of the `clear water phase', which persisted thoughout the rest of the vegetation period. The biomass of `edible' phytoplankton formed on average 53% of the total phytoplankton biomass, and the share of herbivorous zooplankton was on average 61% of the total zooplankton biomass. In spring zooplankton removed daily 27% of the total B&pinf; and 29% of PP by grazing while in summer these values rarely exceeded 5%. Zooplankton grazing was responsible for the decrease of `edible' (<31 μm) phytoplankton after its spring peak as well as for maintaining its biomass at a very low level during the whole vegetation period. Depletion of mineral forms of nitrogen and phosphorus that occurred most probably because of the development of charophytes by the end of May supported the collapse of the whole phytoplankton community and kept the water clear throughout the summer and autumn.
Reindeer β‐lactoglobulin (βLG) belongs to the lipocalin superfamily. Its DNA and protein sequences have been determined and showed that it had nine residue changes from bovine βLG. Reindeer βLG, the structure of which was finally determined at 2.1 Å resolution in space group P1, crystallized in a unit cell that is both P2‐like and P21‐like owing to the presence of an almost perfect (but noncrystallographic) body‐centring vector. The non‐body‐centred data could only be observed using a very bright synchrotron beam and a novel refinement strategy was adopted to enable us to use the weak h + k + l = 2n + 1 reflections. 相似文献
Plexins are the receptors for semaphorins, a large family of axon guidance cues. Accordingly, the role of plexins in the development of the nervous system was the first to be acknowledged. However, the expression of plexins is not restricted to neuronal cells, and recent research has been increasingly focused on the roles of plexin-semaphorin signalling outside of the nervous system. During embryogenesis, plexins regulate the development of many organs, including the cardiovascular system, skeleton and kidney. They have also been shown to be involved in immune system functions and tumour progression. Analyses of the plexin signalling in different tissues and cell types have provided new insight to the versatility of plexin interactions with semaphorins and other cell-surface receptors. In this review we try to summarise the current understanding of the roles of plexins in non-neural development and immunity. 相似文献
A previously isolated cDNA molecule from Gerbera hybrida (Asteraceae) codes for a new chalcone synthase-like polyketide synthase, 2-pyrone synthase (2PS). 2PS is able to synthesise 4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2-pyrone (triacetolactone), a putative precursor for gerberin and parasorboside, two abundant glucosides in gerbera. In this study, we show that gerbera plants transformed with the gene for 2PS in an antisense orientation and unable to synthesise gerberin and parasorboside are susceptible to Botrytis cinerea infection. In addition to the preformed glucosides, the transgenic plants also lack several compounds that are induced in control plants when infected with the mould. Some of these induced substances are effective in inhibiting fungal growth both in vitro and in vivo. Two of the phytoalexins were identified as the aglycones of gerberin and trans-parasorboside. The third phytoalexin is a rare coumarin, 4-hydroxy-5-methylcoumarin; however, it is typical of many plants of the sunflower family Asteraceae. The coumarin cannot be structurally derived from either gerberin or parasorboside, but may be derived from a related polyketide intermediate. 相似文献
The elongation step of translation is a key contributor to the abundance, folding and quality of proteins and to the stability of mRNA. However, control over translation elongation has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, a Renilla–firefly luciferase fusion reporter system was further developed to investigate the in vitro elongation rate and processivity of ribosomes independent of the initiation and termination steps. The reporter mRNA was constructed to contain a single ORF encoding in-frame Renilla luciferase, a specific domain moiety and firefly luciferase. Such a reporter structure enables the quantitative and individual evaluation of the synthesis of a specific domain. As a proof of principle, the synthesis of three protein domains of different lengths and structures was analyzed. Using a cell-free translation assay, both the elongation rate and processivity of ribosomes were shown to vary depending on the domain synthesized. Additionally, a stalling sequence consisting of ten rare arginine codons notably reduced the elongation rate and the processivity of the ribosomes. All these results are consistent with the previously known dynamics of elongation in vivo. Overall, the methodology presented in this report provides a framework for studying aspects that contribute to the elongation step of translation. 相似文献