中国小反刍兽疫疫情分析

为分析中国PPRV毒株分子演变特点和疫情传播路线,从NCBI下载中国和世界其他国家全部PPRV毒株N和F基因全序列,应用分子生物学软件,并结合疫情发生的地理位置进行系统分析。结果显示,中国西藏阿里地区PPRV毒株之间核苷酸同源性为100%,其与西藏那曲地区毒株核苷酸同源性为99.9%;中国毒株与其他国家毒株F基因核苷酸序列分析显示,同源性为89.7%～98.8%,同源性最低的为科特迪瓦1989年毒株,同源性最高的为孟加拉国2010年毒株;N 基因核苷酸序列分析显示,同源性为69.5%～98.5%,同源性最低的为朝鲜2002年毒株,同源性最高的为印度1995年毒株;F和N 基因系统进化关系分析均显示,中国西藏3株PPRV均属于基因Ⅳ系;截止2014年3月30日,中国由西至东9省份发生该疫情。更加全面的分析结果,有待于更多PPRV流行毒株N或F基因全序列在GenBank的公布。     

PPR蛋白调控植物细胞器RNA加工的分子功能

35肽重复（pentatricopeptide repeat, PPR）蛋白是2000年发现的一类由多个重复单位串联而成的核编码蛋白质。PPR蛋白广泛存在于真核生物中,在陆生植物中尤为普遍。PPR蛋白大多定位于线粒体或叶绿体。多项研究表明,PPR蛋 白为序列特异性RNA结合蛋白质,在细胞器RNA编辑、剪接、稳定、切割及翻译等转录后加工过程发挥重要作用。PPR蛋白功能缺陷导致植物生长发育异常,甚至胚胎致死。本文主要就PPR蛋白功能及作用机制进行综述,并对尚待解决的问题及研究前景加以探讨,以期为PPR蛋白的深入研究提供思路。     

粟酒裂殖酵母中ppr基因缺失引起细胞絮凝的机制研究

粟酒裂殖酵母中PPR蛋白在线粒体和叶绿体的RNA代谢中起重要作用,ppr基因的缺失会引起线粒体功能异常(ppr5除外)。旨在揭示粟酒裂殖酵母中ppr基因缺失引起细胞絮凝的机制。利用含有半乳糖的培养基分别培养WT、Δppr3、Δppr4、Δppr6和Δppr10,观察野生型和突变体的生长表型;通过添加不同的金属离子及改变细胞表面pH来探究诱导这类突变体出现絮凝的因素;采用RT-PCR技术检测缺陷菌中编码细胞表面絮凝因子及细胞壁重构酶基因的表达情况。研究结果表明:ppr3、ppr4、ppr6和ppr10的敲除会引起由Ca²⁺依赖型半乳糖结合蛋白参与的细胞絮凝;不同的pH和不同金属离子对这些缺陷菌的细胞絮凝有影响;ppr3、ppr4、ppr6和ppr10的缺失会使细胞内编码絮凝因子和细胞壁重构酶基因表达上调。线粒体功能异常会诱导絮凝基因表达上调和细胞壁属性发生改变,从而产生絮凝现象。     

Structure of a PLS-class Pentatricopeptide Repeat Protein Provides Insights into Mechanism of RNA Recognition

Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins are sequence-specific RNA-binding proteins that form a pervasive family of proteins conserved in yeast, plants, and humans. The plant PPR proteins are grouped mainly into the P and PLS classes. Here, we report the crystal structure of a PLS-class PPR protein from Arabidopsis thaliana called THA8L (THA8-like) at 2.0 Å. THA8L resembles THA8 (thylakoid assembly 8), a protein that is required for the splicing of specific group II introns of genes involved in biogenesis of chloroplast thylakoid membranes. The THA8L structure contains three P-type PPR motifs flanked by one L-type motif and one S-type motif. We identified several putative THA8L-binding sites, enriched with purine sequences, in the group II introns. Importantly, THA8L has strong binding preference for single-stranded RNA over single-stranded DNA or double-stranded RNA. Structural analysis revealed that THA8L contains two extensive patches of positively charged residues next to the residues that are proposed to comprise the RNA-binding codes. Mutations in these two positively charged patches greatly reduced THA8L RNA-binding activity. On the basis of these data, we constructed a model of THA8L-RNA binding that is dependent on two forces: one is the interaction between nucleotide bases and specific amino acids in the PPR motifs (codes), and the other is the interaction between the negatively charged RNA backbone and positively charged residues of PPR motifs. Together, these results further our understanding of the mechanism of PPR protein-RNA interactions.