甜叶菊葡糖基转移酶基因UGT76G2的克隆及生物信息学分析

本研究利用RT-PCR方法从甜叶菊(Stevia rebaudian)叶片中分离了与甜叶菊UGT76G1高度同源的UGT76G2基因,该基因编码一条分子量为52.029 kD的由458个氨基酸残基组成的多肽,含有c-端所特有的高度保守的信号序列PSPG基序和N-端膜结合序列,属于植物中特有PSPG基序的UGT家族成员.半定量RT-PCR分析表明:UGT76G2在甜叶菊根、茎、叶、花不同组织中具有组织表达特异性,在叶组织中的表达丰度略高,在根中不表达而在茎中表达较低.推断的UGT76G2编码产物与其它参与植物次级代谢产物的糖基转移相关酶同源比对和系统发生分析表明该蛋白与康乃馨(Dianthus caryophyllus)DicGT4、棉花(Gossypi-um hirsutum)GhUGT1、甜叶菊(Stevia rebaudian)UGT76H1及玉米(Zea mays)BX8的一致性较高,分别为41%、35%、35%和32%.对UGT76G2和UGT76G1的次级结构和立体结构分析发现,苜蓿(Medicago sativa)UGT71G1与二者的一致性皆为23%,它们有类似的次级结构.在C-端的PSPG信号区内具有10个相同的基质结合位点.但在UGT76G2和UGT76G1之间也有个别位置氨基酸存在差异.它们的N-端含有保守的组氨酸H25和天冬氨酸D124残基,可能与受体的结合有关.     

Phosphoproteomic Profiling of Selenate-Treated Alzheimer's Disease Model Cells

The reversible phosphorylation of proteins regulates most biological processes, while abnormal phosphorylation is a cause or consequence of many diseases including Alzheimer''s disease (AD). One of the hallmarks of AD is the formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), which is composed of hyperphosphorylated tau proteins. Sodium selenate has been recently found to reduce tau hyperphosphorylation and NFTs formation, and to improve spatial learning and motor performance in AD mice. In the current study, the phosphoproteomics of N2aSW cells treated with selenate were investigated. To avoid missing low-abundance phosphoproteins, both the total proteins of cells and the phosphor-enriched proteins were extracted and subjected to the two-dimensional gel electrophoresis with Pro-Q diamond staining and then LC-MS/MS analysis. A total of 65 proteins were altered in phosphorylation level, of which 39 were up-regulated and 26 were down-regulated. All identified phosphoproteins were bioinformatically annotated according to their physiochemical features, subcellular location, and biological function. Most of these significantly changed phosphoproteins are involved in crucial neural processes such as protesome activity, oxidative stress, cysteine and methionine metabolism, and energy metabolism. Furthermore, decreases were found in homocysteine, phosphor-tau and amyloid β upon selenate treatment. Our results suggest that selenate may intervene in the pathological process of AD by altering the phosphorylation of some key proteins involved in oxidative stress, energy metabolism and protein degradation, thus play important roles in maintaining redox homeostasis, generating ATP, and clearing misfolded proteins and aggregates. The present paper provides some new clues to the mechanism of selenate in AD prevention.     

Altered Proteomic Polymorphisms in the Caterpillar Body and Stroma of Natural Cordyceps sinensis during Maturation

Objective

To examine the maturational changes in proteomic polymorphisms resulting from differential expression by multiple intrinsic fungi in the caterpillar body and stroma of natural Cordyceps sinensis (Cs), an integrated micro-ecosystem.

Methods

The surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS) biochip technique was used to profile the altered protein compositions in the caterpillar body and stroma of Cs during its maturation. The MS chromatograms were analyzed using density-weighted algorithms to examine the similarities and cluster relationships among the proteomic polymorphisms of the Cs compartments and the mycelial products Hirsutella sinensis (Hs) and Paecilomyces hepiali (Ph). Results: SELDI-TOF MS chromatograms displayed dynamic proteomic polymorphism alterations among samples from the different Cs compartments during maturation. More than 1,900 protein bands were analyzed using density-weighted ZUNIX similarity equations and clustering methods, revealing integral polymorphism similarities of 57.4% between the premature and mature stromata and 42.8% between the premature and mature caterpillar bodies. The across-compartment similarity was low, ranging from 10.0% to 18.4%. Consequently, each Cs compartment (i.e., the stroma and caterpillar body) formed a clustering clade, and the 2 clades formed a Cs cluster. The polymorphic similarities ranged from 0.51% to 1.04% between Hs and the Cs compartments and were 2.8- to 4.8-fold higher (1.92%–4.34%) between Ph and the Cs compartments. The Hs and Ph mycelial samples formed isolated clades outside of the Cs cluster.

Conclusion

Proteomic polymorphisms in the caterpillar body and stroma of Cs change dynamically during maturation. The proteomic polymorphisms in Hs and Ph differ from those in Cs, suggesting the presence of multiple Cs-associated fungi and multiple Ophiocordyceps sinensis genotypes with altered differential protein expression in the Cs compartments during maturation. In conjunction with prior mycological and molecular observations, the findings from this proteomic study support the integrated micro-ecosystem hypothesis for natural Cs.     

Novel Virtual Screening Approach for the Discovery of Human Tyrosinase Inhibitors

Tyrosinase is the key enzyme involved in the human pigmentation process, as well as the undesired browning of fruits and vegetables. Compounds inhibiting tyrosinase catalytic activity are an important class of cosmetic and dermatological agents which show high potential as depigmentation agents used for skin lightening. The multi-step protocol employed for the identification of novel tyrosinase inhibitors incorporated the Shape Signatures computational algorithm for rapid screening of chemical libraries. This algorithm converts the size and shape of a molecule, as well its surface charge distribution and other bio-relevant properties, into compact histograms (signatures) that lend themselves to rapid comparison between molecules. Shape Signatures excels at scaffold hopping across different chemical families, which enables identification of new actives whose molecular structure is distinct from other known actives. Using this approach, we identified a novel class of depigmentation agents that demonstrated promise for skin lightening product development.     

MMP-7 is Upregulated by COX-2 and Promotes Proliferation and Invasion of Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been implicated in a variety of pathophysiological conditions, of which MMP-7 is expressed by tumor cells of epithelial and mesenchymal origin. However, the function of MMP-7 in human lung adenocarcinoma (LAC) is unclear. In the present study the expression of MMP-7 in LAC was examined by immunohistochemical assay using a tissue microarray procedure. A loss-of-function experiment was performed to explore the effects and molecular mechanisms of lentiviral vector-mediated MMP-7 siRNA (siMMP-7) on cell proliferation and invasive potential in LAC A549 cells, measured by MTT and Transwell assays, respectively. It was found that, the expression of MMP-7 protein in LAC was significantly increased compared with that in adjacent non-cancerous tissues (ANCT) (76.0% vs 44.0%, P<0.001), and positively correlated with lymph node metastases of the tumor (P=0.014). Furthermore, targeted inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) by siRNA downregulated the expression of MMP-7 and inhibited invasion of LAC cells, and knockdown of MMP-7 suppressed tumor proliferation and invasion in LAC cells. Taken together, our findings indicate that increased expression of MMP-7 is associated with lymph node metastasis and upregulated by COX-2, and promotes the tumorigenesis of LAC, suggesting that MMP-7 may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer.Key words: MMP-7, COX-2, lung adenocarcinoma     

Molecular mapping of a recessive powdery mildew resistance gene in spelt wheat cultivar Hubel

Wheat powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), is one of the most important wheat diseases worldwide. The basis for wheat powdery mildew resistance breeding consists of screening diversified host genetic resources with a range of races of the powdery mildew pathogen. Spelt wheat (Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta 2n = 6x = 42, AABBDD) is a close relative of common wheat (T. aestivum ssp. aestivum) and contains several known disease resistance genes, including Pm1d, Yr5, and Lr65. Here, we report the identification and mapping of a powdery mildew resistance gene in spelt wheat cultivar Hubel, which was introduced to China from Europe and is resistant to Chinese Bgt isolate E09 at the seedling stage. Genetic analysis of a recombinant inbred line population derived from a cross of Hubel and a susceptible early maturing mutant line indicated that Hubel possessed a recessive powdery mildew resistance gene (temporarily designated MlHubel). Markers linked to MlHubel were identified using bulked segregant analysis, simple sequence repeat, and expressed sequence tag-derived sequence tagged site methods. The linked markers were physically located on wheat chromosome 2D. Comparative genomic analysis indicated that the genetic interval covering MlHubel in wheat is highly colinear with the corresponding regions on Brachypodium distachyon chromosome 5 and Oryza sativa chromosome 4. Accordingly, the genetic map of MlHubel was established in comparison with B. distachyon 5L and O. sativa 4L, with the closest marker Xgwm265 being 0.4 cM from MlHubel. The identification of the recessive powdery mildew gene in spelt wheat suggests the potential of this accession along with its closely linked markers in breeding for resistance to powdery mildew.     

Definition and stabilisation of the quiescent centre in rice roots

The definition of a quiescent centre (QC) in Arabidopsis has been adequately demonstrated. However, the QC structure of rice has not yet been described in detail. In this research, using histological and marker gene expression analysis, we concluded that the rice QC is very small, and is similar to that of Arabidopsis. Next we investigated the stability of the rice QC during nutrient deficiencies or external hormone treatments, and found that nutrient deficiencies, auxin treatment and cytokinin treatment did not change the cell patterns of the QC. However, ethylene induced irregular transverse cell divisions in the QC and changed formative cell divisions of the ground tissue stem cells (GTSCs) in rice.