Chemical and Physicochemical Properties of Phytase from Aspergillus terreus

Some chemical and physicochemical properties of the purified phytase preparation produced by Asp. terreus were investigated. From the results of the examination of amino acid analysis, it was suggested that there existed some components other than amino acids in the purified enzyme. Examination of the neutral sugar analysis, therefore, was made by gaschromatography, and it was found that the purified enzyme preparation contained mannose, galactose and a small amount of inositol.

The molecular weight of the enzyme was found to be 214,000 by the Archibald method, and 2.2~2.3×10⁵ by gel-filtration on a Sephadex G–200 column. It was found that by guanidine hydrochloride or by urea, the purified enzyme preparation was dissociated into only one kind of subunit. The native enzyme was supposed to be a homohexamer of the subunits whose molecular weight is 37,000.     

Development of a Gene Transfer System for the Mycelia of Flammulina velutipes Fv-1 Strain

To develop a gene transformation method for Flammulina velutipes, we constructed a vector with hph gene under control of the trp1 gene promoter. The vector was integrated into protoplast derived from mycelia by the calcium-polyethylene glycol method, as it has not been reported for F. velutipes. Transformation efficiency was much improved when transformation was performed by the restriction enzyme mediated integration method.     

An Acid- and Heat-stable β-Fructofuranosidase from Corticium rolfsii

We reported previously that an ndhB gene disruptant, ΔndhB, had the same phenotype as wild-type tobacco plants under normal growth conditions. Two other groups have reported conflicting phenotypes with each other for ndhCKJ operon disruptants. Here, we generated two transformants in which the ndhCKJ operon was disrupted, and found that new transformants had the same phenotype as ΔndhB. After illumination with visible light, all ndh disruptants had higher levels of steady-state fluorescence than wild-type controls when measured under weak light, suggesting that reduction of the plastoquinone pool in ndh disruptants was greater than that in wild-type controls. The weak light itself could not reduce the plastoquinone much, so the reduction in the plastoquinone in the mutant was due to electron donation from stromal reductants generated during illumination with the strong light. These results supported the hypothesis that NAD(P)H dehydrogenase prevents overreduction in chloroplasts and suggested that chlororespiratory oxidase did not function under low light or in the dark.     

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Guignardia citricarpa: An efficient tool to gene transfer and random mutagenesis

Guignardia citricarpa is the causal agent of Citrus Black Spot (CBS), an important disease in Citriculture. Due to the expressive value of this activity worldwide, especially in Brazil, understanding more about the functioning of this fungus is of utmost relevance, making possible the elucidation of its infection mechanisms, and providing tools to control CBS. This work describes for the first time an efficient and successful methodology for genetic transformation of G. citricarpa mycelia, which generated transformants expressing the gene encoding for the gfp (green fluorescent protein) and also their interaction with citrus plant. Mycelia of G. citricarpa were transformed via Agrobacterium tumefaciens, which carried the plasmid pFAT-gfp, contains the genes for hygromycin resistance (hph) as well as gfp. The optimization of the agrotransformation protocol was performed testing different conditions (type of membrane; inductor agent concentration [acetosyringone – AS] and cocultivation time). Results demonstrated that the best condition occurred with the utilization of cellulose's ester membrane; 200 μM of AS and 96 h as cocultivation time. High mitotic stability (82 %) was displayed by transformants using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique to confirm the hph gene insertion. In addition, the presence of gfp was observed inside mycelia by epifluorescence optical microscopy. This technique easy visualization of the behaviour of the pathogen interacting with the plant for the first time, allowing future studies on the pathogenesis of this fungus. The establishment of a transformation method for G. citricarpa opens a range of possibilities and facilitates the study of insertional mutagenesis and genetic knockouts, in order to identify the most important genes involved in the pathogenesis mechanisms and plant–pathogen interaction.     

一种费氏丙酸杆菌细胞离位转化生产维生素B_(12)的方法

为建立费氏丙酸杆菌的半连续耦合发酵工艺,克服DMB对维生素B_(12)连续发酵的不利影响,考察了费氏丙酸杆菌菌体细胞离位转化合成维生素B_(12)的可行性,优化了其离位转化工艺,确定了最佳的转化时机、转化体系及DMB添加方式,具体如下:当发酵进行至84 h时,将发酵液离心,收集菌体,然后用离心上清液重悬菌体,配成5倍浓度的菌液,加入终浓度为4.5 mg/L的DMB,于30℃条件下转化48 h,维生素B_(12)的产量达到108.06 mg/L,转化效率为2.26 mg/(Lh)。     

Cold chain and virus‐free chloroplast‐made booster vaccine to confer immunity against different poliovirus serotypes

The WHO recommends complete withdrawal of oral polio vaccine (OPV) type 2 by April 2016 globally and replacing with at least one dose of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV). However, high‐cost, limited supply of IPV, persistent circulating vaccine‐derived polioviruses transmission and need for subsequent boosters remain unresolved. To meet this critical need, a novel strategy of a low‐cost cold chain‐free plant‐made viral protein 1 (VP1) subunit oral booster vaccine after single IPV dose is reported. Codon optimization of the VP1 gene enhanced expression by 50‐fold in chloroplasts. Oral boosting of VP1 expressed in plant cells with plant‐derived adjuvants after single priming with IPV significantly increased VP1‐IgG1 and VP1‐IgA titres when compared to lower IgG1 or negligible IgA titres with IPV injections. IgA plays a pivotal role in polio eradication because of its transmission through contaminated water or sewer systems. Neutralizing antibody titres (~3.17–10.17 log₂ titre) and seropositivity (70–90%) against all three poliovirus Sabin serotypes were observed with two doses of IPV and plant‐cell oral boosters but single dose of IPV resulted in poor neutralization. Lyophilized plant cells expressing VP1 stored at ambient temperature maintained efficacy and preserved antigen folding/assembly indefinitely, thereby eliminating cold chain currently required for all vaccines. Replacement of OPV with this booster vaccine and the next steps in clinical translation of FDA‐approved antigens and adjuvants are discussed.     

Changes of physiological rhythms of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors in the chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta: effect of seawater acclimation during the parr-smolt transformation

We examined changes on N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NRs) in different growth stages (early parr, parr, and early smolt) of chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, during parr-smolt transformation from freshwater to seawater. Expression levels of NR genes mRNA and concentration of cortisol, T₃, T₄, dopamine and Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity significantly increased at salinity change condition. Moreover, in cultured brain cells, NRs were significantly lower in all groups treated with MK-801 (an antagonist of NRs) than in the early parr stage group in the FW treatment. We confirmed that the reduction in mRNA expression levels of NRs increased from the early parr to the early smolt stage. The information reported here should be taken into account in future studies on the relationship between memory factors of natal streams and homing mechanisms in Salmonidae.     

不同抗生素对金发草愈伤组织生长分化的影响

该研究以金发草愈伤组织为材料,通过分析比较不同抗生素种类(卡那霉素、潮霉素、头孢噻呋钠和氨苄青霉素)和浓度对金发草愈伤组织生长分化的影响,来确定适用于金发草遗传转化体系中的抗性筛选剂和抑菌剂。结果表明：(1)金发草愈伤组织对卡那霉素很敏感,且其分化率随着卡那霉素浓度的增加显著减少( P＝0.01)。当卡那霉素浓度为10 mg·L-1时,金发草愈伤组织的生长分化受到明显抑制,且有大量的白化苗形成,但分化率仍有36.56％;当卡那霉素浓度为15 mg·L-1时,金发草愈伤组织的分化率为11.94％,只有很少部分的愈伤分化出绿色的丛生苗;当卡那霉素浓度为20 mg·L-1时,金发草愈伤组织基本褐化死亡,分化率仅为2.26％。因此,浓度为15 mg·L-1的卡那霉素适合作为金发草遗传转化体系中的抗性筛选剂。(2)金发草愈伤组织对潮霉素的敏感性要比卡那霉素弱,且潮霉素对金发草愈伤组织分化率的影响小,但毒害作用大。因此,潮霉素不适合作为金发草遗传转化体系中的抗性筛选剂。(3)300 mg·L-1的头孢霉素和氨苄青霉素对金发草愈伤组织生长分化影响很小且能有效抑制杂菌的生长,较高浓度的氨苄青霉素对金发草愈伤组织的抑制作用不太明显。因此,300 mg·L-1的头孢霉素和较高浓度的氨苄青霉素均可作为金发草遗传转化体系中的抑菌剂。该研究确定了适用于农杆菌介导的金发草遗传转化体系中的抗性筛选剂和抑菌剂,为金发草的遗传改良及功能性基因的研究奠定了基础。     

High efficiency Agrobacterium‐mediated site‐specific gene integration in maize utilizing the FLP‐FRT recombination system

An efficient Agrobacterium‐mediated site‐specific integration (SSI) technology using the flipase/flipase recognition target (FLP/FRT) system in elite maize inbred lines is described. The system allows precise integration of a single copy of a donor DNA flanked by heterologous FRT sites into a predefined recombinant target line (RTL) containing the corresponding heterologous FRT sites. A promoter‐trap system consisting of a pre‐integrated promoter followed by an FRT site enables efficient selection of events. The efficiency of this system is dependent on several factors including Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain, expression of morphogenic genes Babyboom (Bbm) and Wuschel2 (Wus2) and choice of heterologous FRT pairs. Of the Agrobacterium strains tested, strain AGL1 resulted in higher transformation frequency than strain LBA4404 THY‐ (0.27% vs. 0.05%; per cent of infected embryos producing events). The addition of morphogenic genes increased transformation frequency (2.65% in AGL1; 0.65% in LBA4404 THY‐). Following further optimization, including the choice of FRT pairs, a method was developed that achieved 19%–22.5% transformation frequency. Importantly, >50% of T0 transformants contain the desired full‐length site‐specific insertion. The frequencies reported here establish a new benchmark for generating targeted quality events compatible with commercial product development.