甘薯质体中的乙酰辅酶A羧化酶亚基基因accD的克隆与序列分析

依据烟草质体全基因组序列设计引物,以甘薯质体基因组DNA为模板,PCR扩增包含质体accD基因完整编码区在内的一段序列（GenBank登录号为GQ395771）。序列分析表明：该片段全长为2209bp,包括1548bp的nccD基因编码序列,推测编码515个氨基酸的蛋白质,该蛋白序列具有异质型β-CT中保守的锌指结构和C末端5个基元。同时绘制了该DNA片段的限制性酶切图谱。相似性比较显示,甘薯accD基因与大豆、马铃薯、拟南芥、人参、莴苣、葡萄、海岛棉、甘蓝、辣椒、菠菜、番茄和烟草的accD基因核苷酸相似性为72％-87％,氨基酸相似性为58％-83％。     

Structural biology of heme monooxygenases

Over the past few years the number of crystal structures available for heme monooxygenases has substantially increased. Those most closely related to one another are cytochrome P450, nitric oxide synthase, and heme oxygenase. The present mini-review provides a summary of some recently published work on how crystallography and solution studies have provided new insights on function and especially the oxygen activation process. It now appears that in all three monooxygenases highly ordered solvent in the active site serves as direct proton donors to the iron-linked dioxygen; a requirement for splitting the O-O bond. This is in sharp contrast to the related peroxidase family of enzymes where strategically positioned amino acid side chains serve the function of shuttling protons. The P450cam-oxy-complex as well as various mutants in a complex with either oxygen or carbon monoxide have enabled a fairly detailed picture to be developed on the role of specific amino acids and conformational changes in both electron transfer and oxygen activation.     

Sensing the host environment: recognition of hemoglobin by the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans

Adhesion to host cells and tissues is important for several steps in the pathogenesis of disseminated Candida albicans infections. Although such adhesion is evident in vivo and for C. albicans grown in vitro in complex medium, some adhesive activities are absent when cultures are grown in defined media. However, addition of hemoglobin to defined media restores binding and adhesion to several host proteins. This activity of hemoglobin is independent of iron acquisition and is mediated by a cell surface hemoglobin receptor. In addition to regulating expression of adhesion receptors, hemoglobin rapidly induces expression of several genes. One of these, a heme oxygenase, allows the pathogen to utilize exogenous heme or hemoglobin to acquire iron and to produce the cytoprotective molecules alpha-biliverdin and carbon monoxide. The specific recognition of and responses to hemoglobin demonstrate a unique adaptation of C. albicans to be both a commensal and an opportunistic pathogen in humans.     

Changes of photosynthetic activities of maize (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Zea mays</Emphasis> L.) seedlings in response to cadmium stress

Maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings were grown in nutrient solution culture containing 0, 5, and 20 μM cadmium (Cd) and the effects on various aspects of photosynthesis were investigated after 24, 48, 96 and 168 h of Cd treatments. Photosynthetic rate (P _N) decreased after 48 h of 20 μM Cd and 96 h of 5μM Cd addition, respectively. Chl a and total Chl content in leaves declined under 48 h of Cd exposure. Chl b content decreased on extending the period of Cd exposure to 96 h. The maximum quantum efficiency and potential photosynthetic capacity of PSII, indicated by F_v/F_m and F_v/F_o, respectively, were depressed after 96 h onset of Cd exposure. After 48 h of 5μM Cd and 24 h of 20 μM Cd treatments, the activities of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco, EC 4.1.39) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC, EC 4.1.1.31) in the leaves started to decrease, respectively. We found that the limitation of photosynthetic capacity in Cd stressed maize leaves was associated with Cd toxicity on the light and the dark stages. However, Cd stress initially reduced the activities of Rubisco and PEPC and subsequently affected the PSII electron transfer, suggesting that the Calvin cycle reactions in maize plants are the primary target of the Cd toxic effect rather than PSII.     

Increased HO-1 expression and decreased iNOS expression in the hippocampus from adult spontaneously hypertensive rats

Brain expression of heme oxygenase (HO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in hypertension may participate in the pathogenesis of hypertension-related neuronal disorders, such as vascular dementia. In the present study, expression levels of HO and NOS in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were investigated using Western immunoblotting assay. Expression level of inducible HO-1 in hippocampus of 4-wk prehypertensive SHR was about twofold of that in age-matched Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (p<0.01). In 23-wk SHR with fully developed hypertension, hippocampal HO-1 level was significantly greater than that of age-matched SD rats (p<0.05), but not different from 4-wk SHR. There was no difference in expression levels of hippocampal HO-2 between SHR and SD rats at different ages. Total enzymatic activity of hippocampal HO was significantly greater in 23-wk SHR than in age-matched SD rats or 4-wk SD/SHR (p<0.01). Although hippocampal expression of nNOS protein was relatively unchanged, iNOS expression in 23-wk SHR was about fourfold lower than that in age-matched SD rats and 4-wk SD/SHR (p<0.01). Total enzymatic activity of hippocampal NOS was significantly lower in 23-wk SHR than in age-matched SD rats or 4-wk SD/SHR (p<0.01). Significantly suppressed Morris water maze performance was found in 23-wk SHR in comparison with age-matched SD rats. Because SHR has been used as a model of vascular dementia and hippocampus is essential for spatial learning and memory, understanding of altered HO/CO and NOS/NO systems in the hippocampus of adult SHR may shed light on the pathogenic development of memory deficits associated with vascular dementia.     

Rhizobium strain effects on pea: The relation between nitrogen accumulation, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity in nodules and asparagine in root bleeding sap

Pisum sativum L. cv. Bodil was infected with various strains of Rhizobium leguminosarum (R501, 128c53, B155, 18a or 1044). The Rhizobium genotype influenced the activity of the plant enzyme phosphoenoipyruvate (PEP) carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.31), and the assimilation of fixed N in the root nodules. The specific activity of nodule PEP carboxylase was lowest in the symbioses, which accumulated the least total N (R501 and 128c53). The root bleeding sap of the less effective symbioses contained a lower proportion of asparagine and a higher proportion of glutamine than the more effective symbioses (B155,18a and 1044). The N yield of the symbioses was related neither to the net respiratory CO₂ evolution of the root system nor to the nitrogenase linked nodule respiration. The lower yielding symbioses accumulated a larger proportion of the fixed N in the nodules due to a higher proportion of total dry weight contained in the nodule tissue. However, the concentration of soluble protein in the nodules of the lower-yielding symbioses was lower than that recorded for the higher yileding symbioses. The effect of the Rhizobium strains on N yield was maintained at maturity, and reflected in seed yields.     

Gene expression profile analysis of the mouse liver during bacteria-induced fulminant hepatitis by a cDNA microarray system

Fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) is a disease characterized by sudden and severe impairment of liver function. To elucidate the mechanism involved in FHF, we adopted a murine model of FHF by administrating mice with heat-killed Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes), followed by a low dose of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and analyzed the dynamic change of gene expression profile of the murine liver using an in-house cDNA microarray system which contained most of the cDNAs encoding chemokines/cytokines and their receptors (33 chemokines/21 chemokine receptors, 28 cytokines/35 cytokine receptors) as well as 230 liver related proteins mostly selected by serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE). Among them, 335 genes were found to differ by more than 2-fold in at least one time point comparing with normal liver. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that except for a few genes, such as heme oxygenase (HO)-1 and nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) of which expression increased, the expression of most of the genes encoding drug metabolizing enzymes decreased with the progress of the disease. The expression of the genes encoding chemokines/cytokines was dramatically changed, such as Mig, IP-10, RANTES, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma. In addition, the expression of those that were not previously linked to this murine model was also identified to be changed. These include endogenous IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP), CXCL16 (the ligand of Bonzo, CXCR6) as well as ESTs. Taken together this study has shown the systemic and comprehensive gene expression profile during FHF and may contribute to better understanding of the mechanism of FHF.