Barnase-barstar high affinity interaction phenomenon as the base for the heterogenous bioluminescence pseudorabies virus' immunoassay

The effective new variant of "sandwich" bioluminescent enzyme immunoassay (BEIA) for the sensitive detection of glycoprotein B (gB) of pseudorabies virus (PrV) was presently developed. The high affinity interaction of barnase-barstar protein pair and photoprotein obelin as bioluminescent marker were for the first time successfully applied to BEIA development. Preliminary the two monoclonal antibodies, 11/5 and 34/2, were raised against gB for ELISA PrV detection. Presently we used the same immuno-"sandwich" principle for BEIA. To do this the two different bioconjugates were elaborated. Recombinant barnase was chemically conjugated with monoclonal anti-PrV's gB IgG, and also barstar was fused in frame to obelin. The characteristics of BEIA method have been compared to ELISA PrV detection. We have shown the proposed here gB-BEIA was 40-fold more sensitive as opposed to gB-ELISA test. The construction might have a broad promise in multiple potential immunological applications.     

Exogenous HSP70 and Signaling Pathways Involved in the Inhibition of LPS-Induced Neurotoxicity of Neuroblastoma Cells

Molecular Biology - Neuroinflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Microglial cells are the main immune cells of the central nervous system. On exposure to...     

Eremosaldula Vinokurov et Luo,a New Shore Bug Genus (Heteroptera,Leptopodomorpha: Saldidae) from North-Western China

Entomological Review - A new genus, Eremosaldula Vinokurov et Luo, gen. n. with one species E. roborowskii (Jakovlev, 1889), comb. n., the family Saldidae, endemic to North-Western China, is...     

A Catecholic Siderophore Produced by the Thermoresistant Bacillus licheniformis VK21 Strain

Thermophilic and thermoresistant strains of bacilli were screened on a medium containing Chrome Azurol S for the producers of siderophores. It was found that the Bacillus licheniformis VK21 strain dramatically increases secretion of the metabolite, a chelator of Fe³⁺, in response to addition of manganese(II) salts. The growth of the producer on a minimal medium containing MnSO₄ under the conditions of iron deficiency is accompanied by the accumulation of a catecholic product, the content of which reaches maximum at the beginning of the stationary growth phase of culture. In the presence of FeCl₃, the amount of the catecholic product in the medium considerably decreases. The siderophore, called S_VK21, was isolated from the cultural medium and purified by reversed phase HPLC, and its siderophore function was confirmed by the test for the restoration of growth of producer cells in a medium containing EDTA. The UV spectrum of the siderophore has absorption maxima at 248 and 315 nm. According to the amino acid analysis and NMR spectrometry, the metabolite S_VK21 is 2,3-dihydroxybenzoyl-glycyl-threonine.     

Links between plant and fungal communities across a deforestation chronosequence in the Amazon rainforest

Understanding the interactions among microbial communities, plant communities and soil properties following deforestation could provide insights into the long-term effects of land-use change on ecosystem functions, and may help identify approaches that promote the recovery of degraded sites. We combined high-throughput sequencing of fungal rDNA and molecular barcoding of plant roots to estimate fungal and plant community composition in soil sampled across a chronosequence of deforestation. We found significant effects of land-use change on fungal community composition, which was more closely correlated to plant community composition than to changes in soil properties or geographic distance, providing evidence for strong links between above- and below-ground communities in tropical forests.     

Codon usage bias and the evolution of influenza A viruses. Codon Usage Biases of Influenza Virus

Background  

The influenza A virus is an important infectious cause of morbidity and mortality in humans and was responsible for 3 pandemics in the 20^th century. As the replication of the influenza virus is based on its host's machinery, codon usage of its viral genes might be subject to host selection pressures, especially after interspecies transmission. A better understanding of viral evolution and host adaptive responses might help control this disease.     

Excess amino acid polymorphism in mitochondrial DNA: contrasts among genes from Drosophila, mice, and humans

Recent studies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation in mammals and Drosophila have shown an excess of amino acid variation within species (replacement polymorphism) relative to the number of silent and replacement differences fixed between species. To examine further this pattern of nonneutral mtDNA evolution, we present sequence data for the ND3 and ND5 genes from 59 lines of Drosophila melanogaster and 29 lines of D. simulans. Of interest are the frequency spectra of silent and replacement polymorphisms, and potential variation among genes and taxa in the departures from neutral expectations. The Drosophila ND3 and ND5 data show no significant excess of replacement polymorphism using the McDonald-Kreitman test. These data are in contrast to significant departures from neutrality for the ND3 gene in mammals and other genes in Drosophila mtDNA (cytochrome b and ATPase 6). Pooled across genes, however, both Drosophila and human mtDNA show very significant excesses of amino acid polymorphism. Silent polymorphisms at ND5 show a significantly higher variance in frequency than replacement polymorphisms, and the latter show a significant skew toward low frequencies (Tajima's D = -1.954). These patterns are interpreted in light of the nearly neutral theory where mildly deleterious amino acid haplotypes are observed as ephemeral variants within species but do not contribute to divergence. The patterns of polymorphism and divergence at charge-altering amino acid sites are presented for the Drosophila ND5 gene to examine the evolution of functionally distinct mutations. Excess charge-altering polymorphism is observed at the carboxyl terminal and excess charge-altering divergence is detected at the amino terminal. While the mildly deleterious model fits as a net effect in the evolution of nonrecombining mitochondrial genomes, these data suggest that opposing evolutionary pressures may act on different regions of mitochondrial genes and genomes.