Biochemical and photochemical changes in response to triacontanol in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Triacontanol (TRIA) increased the contents of total chlorophyll (Chl), Chl a and Chl b by 25.1%, 26.1% and 22.4% respectively 4 h after treatment in rice seedlings. The minimal fluorescence (F₀), the maximal fluorescence (Fm) and Fv/Fm were also higher in TRIA-treated plants. In actinic light, other Chl fluorescence parameters were measured at different photon flux densities (PFD) to construct light response curves of the quantum yield of PSII electron transport (_PSII), light response curves of photochemical quenching (qp), and light response curves of non-photochemical quenching (qN), respectively. The _PSII and qp declined with the increasing PFD with a higher level present in TRIA-treated plants. The qN increased with the increasing PFD with a lower level present in TRIA-treated plants. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis indicated a protein expression difference between TRIA-treated materials and the controls at the total-soluble-protein level. Rubisco was 30% higher in TRIA-treated plants than in controls. The quantity of other proteins was unchanged in response to TRIA. These data provide biochemical and photochemical evidence for the effects of TRIA on photosynthesis.     

Dynamics of ethanol translocation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as detected by (13)C-NMR

(13)C-NMR has yielded to the dynamics study of ethanol as carbon and energy source in the metabolic oscillation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Three ethanol fractions such as media, cytoplasm and mitochondria were observed and characterised by different longitudinal relaxation times and chemical shifts.     

Development of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers for the assessment of gene flow and genetic diversity in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan)

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) is an important subsistence crop in India where traditional landraces and improved hybrids are grown alongside each other. Gene flow may result in genetic erosion of these landraces and their wild relatives, whilst transgene escape from future genetically engineered varieties is another potential hazard. To assess the impact of these factors gene flow needs to be measured. A set of 10 simple sequence repeat markers have been developed, which exhibit polymorphism across a range of pigeonpea varieties. Use of these markers also offers an efficient system for the assessment of genetic diversity within populations of pigeonpea.     

Campylobacter jejuni adenosine triphosphate phosphoribosyltransferase is an active hexamer that is allosterically controlled by the twisting of a regulatory tail

Adenosine triphosphate phosphoribosyltransferase (ATP‐PRT) catalyzes the first committed step of the histidine biosynthesis in plants and microorganisms. Here, we present the functional and structural characterization of the ATP‐PRT from the pathogenic ε‐proteobacteria Campylobacter jejuni (CjeATP‐PRT). This enzyme is a member of the long form (HisG_L) ATP‐PRT and is allosterically inhibited by histidine, which binds to a remote regulatory domain, and competitively inhibited by AMP. In the crystalline form, CjeATP‐PRT was found to adopt two distinctly different hexameric conformations, with an open homohexameric structure observed in the presence of substrate ATP, and a more compact closed form present when inhibitor histidine is bound. CjeATP‐PRT was observed to adopt only a hexameric quaternary structure in solution, contradicting previous hypotheses favoring an allosteric mechanism driven by an oligomer equilibrium. Instead, this study supports the conclusion that the ATP‐PRT long form hexamer is the active species; the tightening of this structure in response to remote histidine binding results in an inhibited enzyme.     

Alterations and Mechanism of Gut Microbiota in Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

To explore the role of gut microbiota in Graves’ disease (GD) and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT). Seventy fecal samples were collected, including 27 patients with GD, 27 with HT, and 16 samples from healthy volunteers. Chemiluminescence was used to detect thyroid function and autoantibodies (FT3, FT4, TSH, TRAb, TGAb, and TPOAb); thyroid ultrasound and 16S sequencing were used to analyze the bacteria in fecal samples; KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) and COG (Clusters of Orthologous Groups) were used to analyze the functional prediction and pathogenesis. The overall structure of gut microbiota in the GD and HT groups was significantly different from the healthy control group. Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria contents were the highest in the HT group. Compared to the control group, the GD and HT groups had a higher abundance of Erysipelotrichia, Cyanobacteria, and Ruminococcus_2 and lower levels of Bacillaceae and Megamonas. Further analysis of KEGG found that the “ABC transporter” metabolic pathway was highly correlated with the occurrence of GD and HT. COG analysis showed that the GD and HT groups were enriched in carbohydrate transport and metabolism compared to the healthy control group but not in amino acid transport and metabolism. Our data suggested that Bacillus, Blautia, and Ornithinimicrobium could be used as potential markers to distinguish GD and HT from the healthy population and that “ABC transporter” metabolic pathway may be involved in the pathogenesis of GD and HT.