<Emphasis Type="Italic">Halobacillus hunanensis</Emphasis> sp. nov., a moderately halophilic bacterium isolated from a subterranean brine

A moderately halophilic, Gram-positive, catalase- and oxidase-positive, rod-shaped, aerobic bacterium, designated strain JSM 071077^T, was isolated from a subterranean brine sample collected from a salt mine in Hunan Province, China. Cells were motile by means of peritrichous flagella and formed ellipsoidal endospores lying in subterminal swollen sporangia. Strain JSM 071077^T was able to grow with 2–25% (w/v) total salts (optimum, 5–10%), at pH 6.0–10.0 (optimum, pH 7.5) and 10–40°C (optimum, 25–30°C). meso-Diaminopimelic acid was present in the cell-wall peptidoglycan. The predominant menaquinone was MK-7, and the major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C_15:0, anteiso-C_17:0 and iso-C_15:0. The genomic DNA G+C content was 41.8 mol%. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons revealed that strain JSM 071077^T should be assigned to the genus Halobacillus, being related most closely to the type strain of Halobacillus naozhouensis (98.8% sequence similarity), and the two strains formed a distinct subline in the neighbor-joining, minimum-evolution and maximum-parsimony phylogenetic trees. The sequence similarities between the novel isolate and the type strains of other recognized Halobacillus species ranged from 97.6% (with Halobacillus alkaliphilus) to 95.2% (with Halobacillus kuroshimensis). The results of the phylogenetic analyses, combined with DNA–DNA relatedness data, phenotypic characteristics and chemotaxonomic information, support that strain JSM 071077^T represents a new species of the genus Halobacillus, for which the name Halobacillus hunanensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JSM 071077^T (=DSM 21184^T = KCTC 13235^T).     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Arthrobacter halodurans</Emphasis> sp. nov., a new halotolerant bacterium isolated from sea water

A novel Gram-positive, halotolerant, non-sporulating, non-motile, catalase-positive, oxidase-negative and aerobic bacterium, designated strain JSM 078085^T, was isolated from sea water collected from the South China Sea. Strain JSM 078085^T exhibited a rod-coccus growth cycle and produced a yellow pigment. The strain was able to grow in the presence of 0–12% (w/v) NaCl and at pH 6.0–9.5 and 4–35°C; optimum growth was observed at pH 7.0 and 25–30°C in the absence of NaCl. The peptidoglycan type was A4α (l-Lys–l-Ala–l-Glu). Cell-wall sugars contained galactose and glucose. Strain JSM 078085^T contained menaquinone MK-9(H₂) as the major respiratory quinone and diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol as the major polar lipids. The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C_15:0, iso-C_15:0 and anteiso-C_17:0 and the DNA G + C content was 63.3 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons revealed that strain JSM 078085^T should be assigned to the genus Arthrobacter, being most closely related to the type strain of Arthrobacter rhombi (sequence similarity 97.1%), and the two strains formed a distinct lineage in the phylogenetic tree. The level of DNA–DNA relatedness between strain JSM 078085^T and the type strain of Arthrobacter rhombi was 10.6%. The combination of phylogenetic analysis, DNA–DNA relatedness, phenotypic characteristics and chemotaxonomic data supported the view that strain JSM 078085^T represents a novel species of the genus Arthrobacter, for which the name Arthrobacter halodurans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JSM 078085^T (=DSM 21081^T=KCTC 19430^T). The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain JSM 078085^T is EU583729.     

Identification of a novel PSR as the substrate of an SR protein kinase in the true slime mold

Here, a novel cDNA encoding a serine/arginine (SR)-rich protein, designated PSR, was isolated from the true slime mold Physarum polycephalum and expressed in Escherichia coli. The deduced amino acid (aa) sequence reveals that PSR contains RS repeats at its C-terminus, similar to the conventional PSRPK substrate ASF/SF2. To study the novel protein, we generated a variety of mutant constructs by PCR and site-directed mutagenesis. Our analysis indicated that the purified recombinant PSR was phosphorylated by PSRPK in vitro and the SR-rich domain (amino acids 460-469) in the PSR protein was required for phosphorylation. In addition, removal of the docking motif (amino acids 424-450) from PSR significantly reduced the overall catalytic efficiency of the phosphorylation reaction. We also found that the conserved ATP-binding region (62)LGWGHFSTVWLAIDEKNGGREVALK(86) and the serine/threonine protein kinases active-site signature (184)IIHTDLKPENVLL(196) of PSRPK played a crucial role in substrate phosphorylation and Lys(86) and Asp(188) were crucial for PSRPK phosphorylation of PSR. These results suggest that PSR is a novel SR-related protein that is phosphorylated by PSRPK.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Streptomyces serianimatus</Emphasis> sp. nov., isolated from a rhizophere soil

A novel actinomycete strain, designated YIM 45720^T, was isolated from a Cephalotaxus fortunei rhizophere soil sample collected from Yunnan Province, southwest China. The strain formed well-differentiated aerial and substrate mycelia. Chemotaxonomically, it contained LL-diaminopimelic acid in the cell wall. The cell-wall sugars contained ribose, mannose, and galactose with traces of glucose and xylose. Phospholipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylinositol. MK-9 (H₈) was the predominant menaquinone. The major fatty acids (>10%) were iso-C_16:0, iso-C_15:1 and anteiso-C_15:0. The G + C content of the DNA was 70 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis data based on 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain YIM 45720^T formed a distinct branch with the type strain of Streptomyces scabrisporus JCM 11712^T within the genus Streptomyces. On the basis of the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, strain YIM 45720^T (=DSM 41883^T = CCTCC AA 206006^T) is proposed as the type strain of a novel species, Streptomyces serianimatus sp. nov.     

Direct electrochemistry of hemoglobin based on chitosan–ionic liquid–ferrocene/graphene composite film

This paper described an ingenious approach for the fabrication of a promising biosensor, hemoglobin (Hb)/chitosan (Chit)–ionic liquid (IL)–ferrocene (Fc)/graphene (Gr)/glassy carbon electrode (GCE), that exploited the synergistic beneficial characteristics of Fc, Gr and IL for Hb. The proposed biosensor showed a strong electrocatalytic activity toward the reduction of H₂O₂, which could be attributed to the favored orientation of Hb in the well-confined surface as well as the high electrical conductivity of the resulting Chit–IL–Fc/Gr inorganic hybrid composite. The developed biosensor exhibited a fast amperometric response (2 s), a good linear response toward H₂O₂ over a wide range of concentration from 50 μM to 1200 μM, and a low detection limit of 3.8 μM. The apparent Michaelis–Menten constant (K_m) of Hb on the composite medium was 0.16 mM, showing high bioelectrocatalytic activity of immobilized protein toward H₂O₂ reduction. High sensitivity and stability, technically simple and possibility of preparation at short period of time are of great advantages of the developed biosensors.     

New 2-arylbenzofurans with selective cytotoxicity from Morus wittiorum

Four new 2-arylbenzofuran derivatives wittifurans O, N, K and L (1–4) were isolated from the stem bark of Morus wittiorum. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. Compounds 1–3 were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against five human cancer cell lines. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited selective cytotoxicity against human ovarian cancer cell line A2780 with IC₅₀ (μM) values of 1.80 and 1.32, respectively.     

不同月龄长爪沙鼠视上核加压素分泌的实验

血管加压素(arginine vasopressin,AVP)是下丘脑视上核和室旁核神经元分泌的九肽激素。关于长爪沙鼠不同月龄加压素的分泌状况少见报道。作者采用光镜和电镜、免疫细胞化学和图像分析技术,对不同月龄长爪沙鼠视上核(SON)加压素能神经元加压素的分泌进行了比较研究。结果表明：在H．E染色切片中,各组均可见视上核团呈三角形。免疫细胞化学标记的各组长爪沙鼠中均可见AVP阳性细胞。图像分析数据经统计学处理表明：成龄长爪沙鼠血管加压素的分泌能力较强,幼龄及老龄组分泌能力减弱。     

低氧胁迫对黄瓜幼苗根系无氧呼吸酶和抗氧化酶活性的影响

对两个抗低氧胁迫能力不同的黄瓜品种进行营养液水培,研究了低氧胁迫下植株根系中无氧呼吸酶和抗氧化酶活性的变化。结果表明,低氧胁迫下,黄瓜植株生长受到抑制,鲜重和干重显著降低,根系中蛋白质含量降低,而根系中乳酸脱氢酶（LDH）、丙酮酸脱羧酶（PDC）、乙醇脱氢酶（ADH）、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化物酶（POD）和过氧化氢酶（CAT）活性在低氧胁迫下显著提高,且提高的幅度与品种抗低氧胁迫能力的强弱有关,与“中农8号”相比,抗低氧性胁迫能力较强的“绿霸春四号”根系内LDH活性增幅较小,而ADH、PDC、SOD、POD和CAT活性增幅较大。说明较高的ADH、PDC、SOD、POD、CAT活性和较低的LDH活性有利于增强幼苗植株抗低氧胁迫的能力。     

海水胁迫对菠菜（Spinacia olerancea L.）叶绿体活性氧和叶绿素代谢的影响

以海水敏感品种圆叶菠菜和耐海水品种‘荷兰3号'为试材,采用水培方法,研究了海水胁迫对菠菜(Spinacia olerancea L.)叶绿体活性氧(ROS)和叶绿素(Chl)代谢的影响.结果表明,海水胁迫下,2个菠菜品种叶绿体内超氧阴离子(O-·2)产生速率、过氧化氢(H2O2)和丙二醛(MDA)含量显著升高,并且圆叶菠菜的提高幅度大于‘荷兰3号';圆叶菠菜叶绿体内的超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、抗坏血酸过氧化物酶(APX)、谷胱甘肽还原酶(GR)活性和抗坏血酸(AsA)、还原型谷胱甘肽(GSH)含量均低于‘荷兰3号',而过氧化物酶(POD)活性高于‘荷兰3号';光氧化剂甲基紫精(MV)进一步使2个菠菜品种叶绿体内O-·2产生速率加快、H2O2含量提高、膜质过氧化加重,活性氧清除剂AsA明显降低了菠菜叶绿体内ROS水平,缓解了由MV造成的严重的膜质过氧化伤害.海水胁迫下,2个菠菜品种叶片叶绿素b(Chlb)、叶绿素a(Chla)及其合成前体物质原叶绿素酸(Pchl)、镁原卟啉Ⅸ(Mg-protoIX)、原卟啉Ⅸ(ProtoⅨ)和尿卟啉原Ⅲ(UroⅢ)含量明显降低,而胆色素原(PBG)和δ-氨基酮戊酸(ALA)积累,Chl合成受到阻碍,并且圆叶菠菜的受阻程度大于‘荷兰3号';MV进一步加剧了这种受阻程度,而AsA部分缓解了由海水胁迫和MV造成的阻碍作用.海水胁迫明显提高了圆叶菠菜叶片叶绿素酶(Chlase)活性而对‘荷兰3号'没有影响,MV处理对圆叶菠菜Chlase活性的影响程度大于‘荷兰3号',但AsA对2个品种叶片Chlase活性没有明显影响.上述结果说明,海水胁迫下,菠菜叶绿体内ROS与Chl代谢密切相关,不仅通过叶绿体膜的氧化伤害使Chl降解,而且使Chl合成的PBG向UroⅢ转化步骤受阻.耐海水品种‘荷兰3号'叶绿体清除ROS主要通过SOD和AsA-GSH循环系统,清除能力较强,减轻了ROS对叶绿体膜的氧化损伤和Chl合成的受阻程度,并且海水胁迫对其Chlase活性的影响较小;而海水敏感品种圆叶菠菜叶绿体清除ROS主要依赖于SOD和POD,对ROS的清除能力有限,从而导致了ROS大量积累,叶绿体膜的氧化损伤和Chl合成的受阻程度严重,并且海水胁迫显著提高了Chlase活性,加剧了Chl降解.