金花茶类黄酮糖基转移酶基因的克隆和功能初步研究

类黄酮糖基转移酶(UDP flavonoid glycosyltransferase, UFGT)催化黄酮醇、花青素等形成稳定的糖苷,是黄酮醇苷、花青素苷合成的最后一步反应的关键。该研究以金花茶的花瓣为材料,采用PCR扩增的方法,获得了2个金花茶转录组中筛选到的类黄酮糖基转移酶基因。结果显示：(1)CnUFGT14基因(登录号为MT370521)全长1 562 bp,开放阅读框1 380 bp,编码459个氨基酸;CnUFGT15基因(登录号为MT370520)全长1 546 bp,开放阅读框1 368 bp,编码455个氨基酸;两个蛋白序列均具有UFGT蛋白特有的 PSPG 保守区域。(2)系统进化树分析发现,CnUFGT14和CnUFGT15分别与茶树UFGT78A14和UFGT78A15亲缘关系最近。(3) 荧光定量PCR分析发现,CnUFGT14基因的表达量与多种多酚组分的含量呈正相关,CnUFGT15基因的表达量与花瓣黄酮醇、多酚等的含量相关性不显著。(4)亚细胞定位研究发现,CnUFGT14、CnUFGT15蛋白在细胞核膜、细胞质、细胞膜部位均呈现明显的定位。(5)叶盘法转化烟草发现,CnUFGT14基因表达量较高的转基因株系中总多酚含量及多种多酚组分含量升高,而CnUFGT15基因的转基因株系中黄酮、多酚组分变化不显著。研究表明,CnUFGT14基因具有促进多酚合成的作用,而CnUFGT15基因对类黄酮通路不具有明显作用。     

Crystal Structures of Glycosyltransferase UGT78G1 Reveal the Molecular Basis for Glycosylation and Deglycosylation of (Iso)flavonoids

The glycosyltransferase UGT78G1 from Medicago truncatula catalyzes the glycosylation of various (iso)flavonoids such as the flavonols kaempferol and myricetin, the isoflavone formononetin, and the anthocyanidins pelargonidin and cyanidin. It also catalyzes a reverse reaction to remove the sugar moiety from glycosides. The structures of UGT78G1 bound with uridine diphosphate or with both uridine diphosphate and myricetin were determined at 2.1 Å resolution, revealing detailed interactions between the enzyme and substrates/products and suggesting a distinct binding mode for the acceptor/product. Comparative structural analysis and mutagenesis identify glutamate 192 as a key amino acid for the reverse reaction. This information provides a basis for enzyme engineering to manipulate substrate specificity and to design effective biocatalysts with glycosylation and/or deglycosylation activity.     

Simultaneous determination of nucleosides and nucleotides in dietary foods and beverages using ion-pairing liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry

A method using ion-pairing liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization (ESI)-mass spectrometry (MS) was developed for the simultaneous determination of 23 types of purine or pyrimidine nucleosides and nucleotides in dietary foods and beverages. Dihexylammonium acetate (DHAA) was used as an ion-pairing agent and an ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC™) system with a reversed-phase column and a gradient program was employed for the separation of nucleosides and nucleotides. Positive-ion ESI-MS was applied for the detection of nucleosides, and negative-ion ESI-MS was used for nucleotides. Lower limits of quantitation ranged from 0.02 μmol/L (UMP and AMP) to 1.3 μmol/L (CDP). The present method was validated, and sufficient reproducibility and accuracy was obtained for the quantitative measurement of the 23 types of nucleosides and nucleotides. The method was subsequently applied to their determination in a range of Japanese foods and beverages that are considered to contain significant amounts of umami flavor compounds. Because dietary purine nucleosides and nucleotides are known to be related to hyperuricemia and gout, the determination of their concentrations in dietary foods is useful for both evaluating umami flavor and assessing the effects of dietary food on purine metabolism.     

祁连圆柏和圆柏色素含量及其花青苷合成酶活性的季节性变化

以祁连圆柏（Sabina przewalskii）和圆柏（S.chinensis）为材料,测定2种植物花青苷、类黄酮、紫松果黄素、叶绿素和类胡萝卜素的含量及花青苷合成过程中关键酶苯丙氨酸解氨酶（PAL）和类黄酮糖基转移酶（UFGT）的活性,并分析了各值的季节性变化。结果表明,祁连圆柏和圆柏叶片中PAL及UFGT的活性、花青苷、类黄酮﹑紫松果黄素以及类胡萝卜素的含量在低温季节均明显高于其它季节;叶绿素含量在低温季节低于其它季节;并且祁连圆柏中花青苷含量及其合成酶PAL和UFGT的活性以及类黄酮、紫松果黄素和叶绿素含量始终高于圆柏。结果说明花青苷是圆柏属植物中具有抗冻特性的重要次生代谢物,是抵御低温和辐射胁迫的一种重要保护物质;紫松果黄素等色素对圆柏属植物抵抗低温诱导的光抑制起重要作用。     

Assay of UDP, GDP, CDP, and ADP reductase activities by column chromatography on polyethyleneimine cellulose

Deoxyribonucleosides were separated from ribonucleosides by chromatography on polyethyleneimine cellulose columns (Pasteur pipettes. The deoxyribonucleosides were quantitatively eluted with 25 mM boric acid in less than 10 ml while the ribonucleosides were retained. The ribonucleosides were eluted with 1 M NaCl. This method was utilized to assay for GDP, UDP, ADP, and CDP reductase activities after hydrolysis of the substrate and product nucleotides to the corresponding nucleosides. All four reductase activities were assayed using identical conditions of column size, eluting solution (25 mM boric acid), and elution volume. The use of polyethyleneimine cellulose columns with boric acid can be adapted to other enzyme assays such as purine nucleoside phosphorylase and for the isolation of deoxyribonucleotides from cellular extracts.     

Metabolic detoxification of capsaicin by UDP-glycosyltransferase in three Helicoverpa species

Capsaicin β-glucoside was isolated from the feces of Helicoverpa armigera, Helicoverpa assulta, and Helicoverpa zea that fed on capsaicin-supplemented artificial diet. The chemical structure was identified by NMR spectroscopic analysis as well as by enzymatic hydrolysis. The excretion rates of the glucoside were different among the three species; those in the two generalists, H. armigera and H. zea, were higher than in a specialist, H. assulta. UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGT) enzyme activities measured from the whole larval homogenate of the three species with capsaicin and UDP-glucose as substrates were also higher in the two generalists. Compared among five different larval tissues (labial glands, testes from male larvae, midgut, the Malpighian tubules (MT), and fat body) from the three species, the formation of the capsaicin glucoside by one or more UGT is high in the fat body of all the three species as expected, as well as in H. assulta MT. Optimization of the enzyme assay method is also described in detail. Although the lower excretion rate of the unaltered capsaicin in H. assulta indicates higher metabolic capacity toward capsacin than in the other two generalists, the glucosylation per se seems to be insufficient to explain the decrease in capsaicin in the specialist, suggesting that H. assulta might have another important mechanism to deal with capsaicin more specifically.     

Role of α-phosphoglucomutase and phosphoglucose isomerase activities at the branching point between sugar catabolism and anabolism in Lactobacillus casei

Aims: To evaluate the role of α‐phosphoglucomutase (α‐Pgm) and phosphoglucose isomerase (Pgi) activities in growth rate, sugar‐phosphates, UDP‐sugars and lactate biosynthesis in Lactobacillus casei. Methods and Results: The pgm and pgi genes coding for α‐Pgm and Pgi activities in L. casei BL23, respectively, were identified, cloned and shown to be functional by homologous overexpression. In MRS fermentation medium with glucose, overexpression of pgm gene in L. casei resulted in a growth rate reduced to 75% and glucose‐6P levels reduced to 47%. By contrast, with lactose, the growth rate was raised to 119%. An increment of α‐Pgm activity had no significant effect on UDP‐sugar levels. Remarkably, Pgi overexpression in L. casei grown in lactose or galactose resulted in almost a double growth rate with respect to the control strain. The increased Pgi activity also resulted in glucose‐6P levels reduced to 25 and 59% of control strain cultured in glucose and lactose, respectively, and the fructose‐6P levels were increased to 128% on glucose. UDP‐glucose and UDP‐galactose levels were reduced to 66 and 55%, respectively, of control strain levels cultured in galactose. In addition, the lactate yield increased to 115% in the strain overproducing Pgi grown in galactose. Conclusions: The physiological amount of α‐Pgm and Pgi activities is limited for L. casei growth on lactose, and lactose and galactose, respectively, and that limitation was overcome by pgm and pgi gene overexpression. The increment of α‐Pgm and Pgi activities, respectively, resulted in modified levels of sugar‐phosphates, sugar‐nucleotides and lactate showing the modulation capacity of the carbon fluxes in L. casei at the level of the glycolytic intermediate glucose‐6P. Significance and Impact of the Study: Knowledge of the role of key enzymes in metabolic fluxes at the branching point between anabolic and catabolic pathways would allow a rational design of engineering strategies in L. casei.     

Involvement of vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein in UDP-induced microglial actin aggregation via PKC- and Rho-dependent pathways

Microglia are major immunocompetent cells in the central nervous system and retain highly dynamic motility. The processes which allow these cells to move, such as chemotaxis and phagocytosis, are considered part of their functions and are closely related to purinergic signaling. Previously, we reported that the activation of the P2Y₆ receptor by UDP stimulation in microglia evoked dynamic cell motility which enhanced their phagocytic capacity, as reported by Koizumi et al. (Nature 446(7139):1091–1095, 2007). These responses require actin cytoskeletal rearrangement, which is seen after UDP stimulation. However, the intracellular signaling pathway has not been defined. In this study, we found that UDP in rat primary microglia rapidly induced the transient phosphorylation at Ser157 of vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP). VASP, one of actin binding protein, accumulated at the plasma membrane where filamentous (F)-actin aggregated in a time-dependent manner. The phosphorylation of VASP was suppressed by inhibition of PKC. UDP-induced local actin aggregations were also abrogated by PKC inhibitors. The Rho inhibitor CT04 and the expression of p115-RGS, which suppresses G_12/13 signaling, attenuated UDP-induced phosphorylation of VASP and actin aggregation. These results indicate that PKC- and Rho-dependent phosphorylation of VASP is involved in UDP-induced actin aggregation of microglia.