A Historical Perspective for the Catalytic Reaction Mechanism of Glycosidase; So As to Bring about Breakthrough in Confusing Situation

Various catalytic reaction models have been proposed as the reaction mechanisms of glycosidases, but a reasonable and unitary model capable of interpreting both “inverting” and “retaining” glycosidase reactions remains to be established. As for the models proposed to date, the nucleophilic displacement mechanism and the oxocarbenium ion intermediate mechanism are widely known, but recently the former is widely accepted, and so the general tendency of world opinion appears to favor it. This reaction model, however, is considered to comprise some inconsistencies that cannot be neglected from the viewpoint of reactivity in organic chemistry. While the nucleophilic displacement mechanism is often applied to reactions of glycosidases, it appears unlikely that such reactions actually occur. This review argues that the oxocarbenium ion intermediate reaction mechanism is more rational than the nucleophilic displacement reaction mechanism, as the action mode of glycosidases and related enzymes.     

植物苯丙氨酸解氨酶(PAL)在细胞分化中的作用

烟草、丹参和甜叶菊愈伤组织在分化过程中一般都出现两个PAL活性高峰。第一高峰在培养第一、二、三天中出现;第二高峰在第十一天前后出现。前者在分化或不分化培养基中都存在,似与组织分化无关,后者只在分化条件下才有,似可作为组织启动分化的指示酶。分化程度不同的组织,PAL活性有很大差异,即将或刚分化的组织活性最高,随着分化的进程活性趋于降低,老化的组织甚至丧失活性。PAL活性、木质素合成和管状份子形成之间有着紧密的相关性。     

Insights into the evolution of lanthipeptide biosynthesis

Lanthipeptides are a group of posttranslationally modified peptide natural products that contain multiple thioether crosslinks. These crosslinks are formed by dehydration of Ser/Thr residues followed by addition of the thiols of Cys residues to the resulting dehydroamino acids. At least four different pathways to these polycyclic natural products have evolved, reflecting the high efficiency and evolvability of a posttranslational modification route to generate conformationally constrained peptides. The wealth of genomic information that has been made available in recent years has started to provide insights into how these remarkable pathways and their posttranslational modification machineries may have evolved. In this review, we discuss a model for the evolution of the lanthipeptide biosynthetic enzymes that has recently been developed based on the currently available data.     

Effect of culture conditions on the isocitrate dehydrogenase and isocitrate lyase activities in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

In the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii , nitrogen staravation induced a reversible increase (2-fold) in NAD-isocitrate dehydrogenase (NAD-IDH; EC 1.1.1.41) and NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP-IDH; EC 1.1.1.42) activities. Both enzymes were not affected by the concentration of CO₂, the dark or the nature of the nitrogen source (nitrate, nitrite, or ammonium). When cells growing autotrophically were transferred to heterotrophic conditions, a 40% reduction of the NAD-IDH activity was detected, a 2-fold increase of NADP-IDH was observed and isocitrate lyase (ICL; EC 4.1.3.1) activity was induced. The replacement of autotrophic conditions led to the initial activity levels. NAD- and NADP-IDH activities showed markedly different patterns of increase in synchronous cultures of this alga obtained by 12 h light/12 h dark transitions. While NAD-IDH increased in the last 4 h of the dark period, NADP-IDH increased during the last 4 h of the light period, remaining constant for the rest of the cycle.     

Fibroblast growth factor 2 and protein kinase C alpha are involved in syndecan-4 cytoplasmic domain modulation of turkey myogenic satellite cell proliferation

Syndecan-4 core protein is composed of extracellular, transmembrane, and cytoplasmic domains. The cytoplasmic domain functions in transmitting signals into the cell through the protein kinase C alpha (PKCα) pathway. The glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and N-linked glycosylated (N-glycosylated) chains attached to the extracellular domain influence cell proliferation. The current study investigated the function of syndecan-4 cytoplasmic domain in combination with GAG and N-glycosylated chains in turkey muscle cell proliferation, differentiation, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) responsiveness, and PKCα membrane localization. Syndecan-4 or syndecan-4 without the cytoplasmic domain and with or without the GAG and N-glycosylated chains were transfected or co-transfected with a small interfering RNA targeting syndecan-4 cytoplasmic domain into turkey muscle satellite cells. The overexpression of syndecan-4 mutants increased cell proliferation but did not change differentiation. Syndecan-4 mutants had increased cellular responsiveness to FGF2 during proliferation. Syndecan-4 increased PKCα cell membrane localization, whereas the syndecan-4 mutants decreased PKCα cell membrane localization compared to syndecan-4. However, compared to the cells without transfection, syndecan-4 mutants increased cell membrane localization of PKCα. These data indicated that the syndecan‐4 cytoplasmic domain and the GAG and N-glycosylated chains are critical in syndecan-4 regulating satellite cell proliferation, responsiveness to FGF2, and PKCα cell membrane localization.     

Oxylipin Pathway in Rice and Arabidopsis

Plants have evolved complex signaling pathways to coordinate responses to developmental and environmental Information. The oxylipin pathway Is one pivotal lipid-based signaling network, composed of several competing branch pathways, that determines the plant＇s ability to adapt to various stimuli. Activation of the oxyllpln pathway Induces the de novo synthesis of biologically active metabolltes called ＂oxyllplns＂. The relative levels of these metabolltes are a distinct indicator of each plant species and determine the ability of plants to adapt to different stimuli. The two major branches of the oxyllpln pathway, allene oxide synthase （AOS） and hydroperoxlde lyase （HPL） are responsible for production of the signaling compounds, jasmonates and aldehydes respectively. Here, we compare and contrast the regulation of AOS and HPL branch pathways In rice and Arabidopsis as model monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous systems. These analyses provide new Insights Into the evolution of JAs and aldehydes signaling pathways, and the complex network of processes responsible for stress adaptations In monocots and dicots.     

北京油鸡ADSL基因的克隆、表达及其结构与功能分析

采用RT-PCR与RACE方法扩增出北京油鸡腺苷酸琥珀酸裂解酶(ADSL)基因全长cDNA序列,亚克隆和序列分析结果表明:该基因开放阅读框长为1455个碱基,编码485个氨基酸;5'端非转录调控区具有典型管家基因的特征,在临近起始密码子27号碱基发生C→T突变,该突变使得本来小是核呼吸因子2(NRF-2)结合位点的CTCC突变为NRF-2结合位点CTTC.将ADSL基因完整斤放阅读框重组至融合表达载体pGEX-4T-l中,构建成北京油鸡ADSL基因融合表达载体pOEX-ADSL,转化大肠杆菌BL21(DE3),筛选阳性克隆,IPTG诱导表达.经SDS-PAGE电泳显示重组融合蛋白在约80.5kD处有特异蛋白条带出现,与预期分子量大小一致,等电点为6.79.该蛋白的表达最随诱导时间的延长而增加,5h达最高值,达到细胞总蛋白的26.9%,且主要以不可溶的包涵体形式存在,经优化表达条件,成功地获得了可溶性的融合蛋白,经Glutathione Sepharase 4B凝胶纯化后Western blotting检测表明其为北京油鸡ADSL蛋白,为其进一步的生物学功能及其应用研究鉴定基础.     

Sphingosine 1-phosphate lyase enzyme assay using a BODIPY-labeled substrate

Sphingosine 1-phosphate lyase (SPL) is responsible for the irreversible catabolism of sphingosine 1-phosphate, which signals through five membrane receptors to mediate cell stress responses, angiogenesis, and lymphocyte trafficking. The standard assay for SPL activity utilizes a radioactive dihydrosphingosine 1-phosphate substrate and is expensive and cumbersome. In this study, we describe an SPL assay that employs an ω-labeled BODIPY-sphingosine 1-phosphate substrate, allowing fluorescent product detection by HPLC and incorporating advantages of the BODIPY fluorophore. The major aldehyde product is confirmed by reaction with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine. The SPL-catalyzed reaction is linear over a 30 min time period and yields a K_m of 35 μM for BODIPY-sphingosine 1-phosphate.     

Dark-mediated dormancy release in stratified Lolium rigidum seeds is associated with higher activities of cell wall-modifying enzymes and an apparent increase in gibberellin sensitivity

Dormancy release in freshly matured, imbibed annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) seeds is inhibited by light and involves a decrease in seed sensitivity to abscisic acid. Other processes involved in dormancy release in the dark were investigated by measuring seed storage compound mobilisation and the activity of cell wall-degrading enzymes. Activities of endo-β-mannanase and total peroxidase were higher in dark-stratified compared to light-stratified seeds, indicating that weakening of the structures constraining the embryo was accelerated in the dark. A dramatic degradation of storage proteins in light-stratified seeds, accompanied by induction of a high molecular mass protease, suggests that maintenance of storage(-like) proteins is also important in dark-mediated dormancy release. α-Amylase activity was induced in dark-stratified seeds at least 48 h prior to radicle emergence upon transfer to conditions permitting germination, or in light-stratified seeds supplied with exogenous gibberellin A₄. This suggests that (a) α-amylase is involved in stimulation of germination of non-dormant L. rigidum seeds, and (b) dark-stratified seeds have an increased sensitivity to gibberellins which permits the rapid induction of α-amylase activity upon exposure to germination conditions. Overall, it appears that a number of processes, although possibly minor in themselves, occur in concert during dark-stratification to contribute to dormancy release.     

不同番木瓜品种植株感染环斑花叶病毒后PAL、PPO、POD活性的变化

对不同品种番木瓜接种环斑花叶病毒后,测定植株苯丙氨酸解氨酶(PAL)、多酚氧化酶(PPO)、过氧化物酶(POD)的活性变化,比较各品种的抗病性。结果表明,未接种的5个品种间PAL、PPO、POD活性差异较小,其酶活性水平次序为马来10号> 蜜红3号> 马来6号> 马来2号> 台农2号。接种后,5个品种的PAL、PPO、POD活性明显高于各对照水平,其中马来10号变化最突出,台农2号变化最缓慢。