The potato StMKK5-StSIPK module enhances resistance to Phytophthora pathogens through activating the salicylic acid and ethylene signalling pathways

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades play pivotal roles in plant responses to both biotic and abiotic stress. A screen of a Nicotiana benthamiana cDNA virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) library for altered plant responses to inoculation with Phytophthora infestans previously identified an NbMKK gene, encoding a clade D MAPKK that we renamed as NbMKK5, which is involved in immunity to P. infestans. To study the role of the potato orthologous gene, referred to as StMKK5, in the response to P. infestans, we transiently overexpressed StMKK5 in N. benthamiana and observed that cell death occurred at 2 days postinfiltration. Silencing of the highly conserved eukaryotic protein SGT1 delayed the StMKK5-induced cell death, whereas silencing of the MAPK-encoding gene NbSIPK completely abolished the cell death response. Further investigations showed that StMKK5 interacts with, and directly phosphorylates, StSIPK. Furthermore, both StMKK5 and StSIPK trigger salicylic acid (SA)- and ethylene (Eth)-related gene expression, and co-expression of the salicylate hydroxylase NahG with the negative regulator of Eth signalling CTR1 hampers StSIPK-triggered cell death. This observation indicates that the cell death triggered by StMKK5-StSIPK is dependent on the combination of SA- and Eth-signalling. By introducing point mutations, we showed that the kinase activity of both StMKK5 and StSIPK is required for triggering cell death. Genetic analysis showed that StMKK5 depends on StSIPK to trigger plant resistance. Thus, our results define a potato StMKK5-SIPK module that positively regulates immunity to P. infestans via activation of both the SA and Eth signalling pathways.     

Monitoring growth and acetic acid secretion by a thermotolerantBacillus using conduction microcalorimetry

Summary A method is described to determine power of heat-time curves by conduction microcalorimetry in order to monitor the viability and ability of a thermotolerantBacillus strain to secrete acetic acid both during exponential growth and during stationary-phase. In this system secreted acetic acid is neutralized by an insoluble source of lime (dolime) which results in a poor correlation between optical density and culture dry weight. As an alternative, cells and residual dolime were rapidly resuspended in isothermal fresh medium with glucose in a conduction microcalorimeter. Heat evolution was rapid over a period of 200–800 s. Steady state heat evolution rate decreased as a function of culture time and did not correlate with: 1) specific growth rate: 2) viable cell number: 3) glucose consumption rate; or 4) acetic acid secretion rate. Glucose consumption and acetic acid secretion during the stationary growth phase were correlated with specific heat evolution rate. These initial results indicate that this technique may be useful for further development as an on-line flow or stopped-flow method to monitor the physiology of bacilli in response to nutrient depletion or growth inhibition.     

The Role of Protons in the Auxin-induced Root Growth Inhibition - A Critical Reexamination

According to the acid growth theory of auxin action, it has been proposed that auxin decreases root growth by inhibiting the proton pump, thus causing an alkalinization of the apoplast. This paper critically tests this hypothesis with corn (Zea mays L.) roots. It was found that: i) the pH-growth curve for roots exhibits a broad optimum ranging from pH 4.5 to 9. ii) Any acid-induced growth is of very short duration, iii) The low sensitivity of root growth to external pH is independent of both the pump activity and the buffer capacity of the bathing solution, iv) Neither incubation in acidic buffer nor stimulation of the proton pump reverts the auxin-induced root growth inhibition. It is concluded that the auxin-induced root growth inhibition is not mediated by cell wall alkalinization.     

High-temperature stress in crops: male sterility,yield loss and potential remedy approaches

Global food security is one of the utmost essential challenges in the 21st century in providing enough food for the growing population while coping with the already stressed environment. High temperature (HT) is one of the main factors affecting plant growth, development and reproduction and causes male sterility in plants. In male reproductive tissues, metabolic changes induced by HT involve carbohydrates, lipids, hormones, epigenetics and reactive oxygen species, leading to male sterility and ultimately reducing yield. Understanding the mechanism and genes involved in these pathways during the HT stress response will provide a new path to improve crops by using molecular breeding and biotechnological approaches. Moreover, this review provides insight into male sterility and integrates this with suggested strategies to enhance crop tolerance under HT stress conditions at the reproductive stage.     

Cumulus expansion is impaired with advanced reproductive age due to loss of matrix integrity and reduced hyaluronan

Reproductive aging is associated with ovulatory defects. Age-related ovarian fibrosis partially contributes to this phenotype as short-term treatment with anti-fibrotic compounds improves ovulation in reproductively old mice. However, age-dependent changes that are intrinsic to the follicle may also be relevant. In this study, we used a mouse model to demonstrate that reproductive aging is associated with impaired cumulus expansion which is accompanied by altered morphokinetic behavior of cumulus cells as assessed by time-lapse microscopy. The extracellular matrix integrity of expanded cumulus–oocyte complexes is compromised with advanced age as evidenced by increased penetration of fluorescent nanoparticles in a particle exclusion assay and larger open spaces on scanning electron microscopy. Reduced hyaluronan (HA) levels, decreased expression of genes encoding HA-associated proteins (e.g., Ptx3 and Tnfaip6), and increased expression of inflammatory genes and matrix metalloproteinases underlie this loss of matrix integrity. Importantly, HA levels are decreased with age in follicular fluid of women, indicative of conserved reproductive aging mechanisms. These findings provide novel mechanistic insights into how defects in cumulus expansion contribute to age-related infertility and may serve as a target to extend reproductive longevity.     

Multistimuli-responsive fluorescence behaviours of aggregation-induced emission small-molecule and electrospun nanofibre films for acid–base vapour sensing

Multistimuli-responsive fluorescent materials have garnered great research interest benefited from their practical applications. Two twisted-structure compounds containing tetraphenylethylene (TPE) as the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) group and a pyridine unit as the acid reaction site to obtain new multistimuli-responsive fluorescent compounds (namely, TPECNPy: TPECNPy-2 and TPECNPy-3) were successfully synthesized through a one-step Knoevenagel condensation reaction. The multiple-stimuli response process of TPECNPy was investigated by means of photoluminescence (PL) spectra and emission colour. The results showed that both TPECNPy compounds with excellent AIE abilities displayed reversible emission wavelength and colour changes in response to multiple external stimuli, including grinding–fuming by CH₂Cl₂ or annealing and HCl-NH₃ vapour fuming. More importantly, fluorescent nanofibre films were prepared by electrospinning a solution of TPECNPy mixed with cellulose acetate (CA), and these exhibited reversible acid-induced discolouration, even with only 1 wt% TPECNPy. The results of this study may inspire strategies for designing multistimuli-responsive materials and preparing fluorescent sensing nanofibre films.     

L-苹果酸产生菌筛选及高产突变株诱变选育

通过广泛收集和分离,获得根霉属(Rhizopus)、曲霉属(Aspergillus)及裂褶菌属(Schizophyllum)等属菌株897株。产酸指示平板上的变色圈测定结果表明,它们中间628株为产酸菌。通过纸层析对产酸菌发酵液酸谱的分析,获得129株L-苹果酸产生菌,经进一步测定发酵液中L-苹果酸的含量,筛选出以葡萄糖为原料,摇瓶发酵140小时,L-苹果酸产率48．37g／L,对糖转化率48．37×10^-2 的菌株LMO2。经初步鉴定,这一菌株为曲霉(Asper-gillus sp.)以LM02作为出发株,采用亚硝基胍、自然污染细菌、甲基磺酸乙酯及紫外线进行诱变处理,选育出葡萄糖为原料,L-苹果酸产率较高的突变抹N1-14、N1-14、NE1412、NU1416及NU1419。其中N1-14 的L-苹果酸产量最高,比出发株提高46．2×10^-2。N1-14 的菌丝生长速度快,产孢能力强,摇瓶发酵葡萄糖140小时,平均L-苹果酸产率为72．53g／L,对糖转化率53．74×10^-2。全发酵液经薄层层析测定,不含黄曲霉毒素。发酵产物分离提纯后,得到白色粉末状结晶,经纸层析、质谱及红外光谱测定,证明为L-苹果酸。     

Primary structure of a photoactive yellow protein from the phototrophic bacterium Ectothiorhodospira halophila,with evidence for the mass and the binding site of the chromophore.

The complete amino acid sequence of the 125-residue photoactive yellow protein (PYP) from Ectothiorhodospira halophila has been determined to be MEHVAFGSEDIENTLAKMDDGQLDGLAFGAIQLDGDGNILQYNAAEGDITGRDPKEVIGKNFFKDVAP+ ++ CTDSPEFYGKFKEGVASGNLNTMFEYTFDYQMTPTKVKVHMKKALSGDSYWVFVKRV. This is the first sequence to be reported for this class of proteins. There is no obvious sequence homology to any other protein, although the crystal structure, known at 2.4 A resolution (McRee, D.E., et al., 1989, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86, 6533-6537), indicates a relationship to the similarly sized fatty acid binding protein (FABP), a representative of a family of eukaryotic proteins that bind hydrophobic molecules. The amino acid sequence exhibits no greater similarity between PYP and FABP than for proteins chosen at random (8%). The photoactive yellow protein contains an unidentified chromophore that is bleached by light but recovers within a second. Here we demonstrate that the chromophore is bound covalently to Cys 69 instead of Lys 111 as deduced from the crystal structure analysis. The partially exposed side chains of Tyr 76, 94, and 118, plus Trp 119 appear to be arranged in a cluster and probably become more exposed due to a conformational change of the protein resulting from light-induced chromophore bleaching. The charged residues are not uniformly distributed on the protein surface but are arranged in positive and negative clusters on opposite sides of the protein. The exact chemical nature of the chromophore remains undetermined, but we here propose a possible structure based on precise mass analysis of a chromophore-binding peptide by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and on the fact that the chromophore can be cleaved off the apoprotein upon reduction with a thiol reagent. The molecular mass of the chromophore, including an SH group, is 147.6 Da (+/- 0.5 Da); the cysteine residue to which it is bound is at sequence position 69.     

Regulated expression of the rat medium chain hydrolase gene in transgenic rape seed

Medium chain hydrolase (MCH) is an enzyme which regulates the chain length of fatty acid synthesis specifically in the mammary gland of the rat. During lactation, MCH interacts with fatty acid synthase (FAS) to cause premature release of acyl chains, thus providing medium chain fatty acids for synthesis of milk fat. In this study we have investigated the ability of rat MCH to interact with the phylogenetically more distant FAS structure present in plant systems and to cause a perturbation of fatty acid synthesis. Inin vitro experiments, addition of purified MCH to rapeseed homogenates was found to cause a significant perturbation of fatty acid synthesis towards medium chain length products. The rat MCH gene was expressed in transgenic oilseed rape using a seed specific rape acyl carrier protein (ACP) promoter and a rape ACP plastid targeting sequence. Western analysis showed MCH protein to be present in transgenic seed and for its expression to be developmentally regulated in concert with storage lipid synthesis. The chimaeric preprotein was correctly processed and immunogold labelling studies confirmed MCH to be localized within plastid organelles. However, fatty acid analysis of oil from MCH-expressing rape seed showed no significant differences to that from control seed.