The use of quantitative imaging to investigate regulators of membrane trafficking in Arabidopsis stomatal closure

Expansion of gene families facilitates robustness and evolvability of biological processes but impedes functional genetic dissection of signalling pathways. To address this, quantitative analysis of single cell responses can help characterize the redundancy within gene families. We developed high‐throughput quantitative imaging of stomatal closure, a response of plant guard cells, and performed a reverse genetic screen in a group of Arabidopsis mutants to five stimuli. Focussing on the intersection between guard cell signalling and the endomembrane system, we identified eight clusters based on the mutant stomatal responses. Mutants generally affected in stomatal closure were mostly in genes encoding SNARE and SCAMP membrane regulators. By contrast, mutants in RAB5 GTPase genes played specific roles in stomatal closure to microbial but not drought stress. Together with timed quantitative imaging of endosomes revealing sequential patterns in FLS2 trafficking, our imaging pipeline can resolve non‐redundant functions of the RAB5 GTPase gene family. Finally, we provide a valuable image‐based tool to dissect guard cell responses and outline a genetic framework of stomatal closure.      

丝状真菌液体深层发酵过程菌丝聚集的调控机制

丝状真菌是微生物发酵产品的重要表达体系,其液体深层发酵过程的典型特征是环境因素显著影响菌丝聚集,菌丝聚集影响发酵体系流变特性,进而影响质量传递、热量传递和动量传递,最终影响目标产物生物合成和生产效率。文中首先综述了丝状真菌形态调控的方法和策略,在此基础上针对丝状真菌菌丝生长和聚集过程的两大典型特征——顶端延伸生长和分枝生长,综述和展望了钙信号传导途径和几丁质生物合成途径对调控菌体聚集这一形态的重要意义。     

发酵透明质酸寡糖兽疫链球菌工程菌株的构建

透明质酸(HA)广泛应用于医学、化妆品、食品等领域。HA的生物活性取决于其分子量(M_w)。透明质酸寡糖由于具有重要的生理活性与特殊生理功能,在医药领域具有重要的应用前景。兽疫链球菌因其发酵周期短、生产强度较强的特点,在商业生产HA上具有广泛的应用。为了高效发酵合成透明质酸寡糖和解决发酵过程的溶氧问题,文中通过在兽疫链球菌WSH-24中过表达透明质酸合酶HasA以及优化表达水蛭来源的透明质酸酶LHAase。重组菌株摇瓶发酵24h,透明质酸寡糖积累至0.97g/L,比野生菌提高了182.0%。在3L发酵罐中发酵24 h,透明质酸寡糖生产强度为294.2 mg/(L·h),HA积累至7.06 g/L,比野生菌的罐上水平提高了112.4%。文中所构建的发酵合成透明质酸寡糖的兽疫链球菌重组菌株具有重要的应用前景。     

The C-terminal sequence from common bugle leaf galactan:galactan galactosyltransferase is a non-sequence-specific vacuolar sorting determinant

The Ajuga reptans L. galactan:galactan galactosyltransferase (ArGGT) is a vacuolar enzyme that synthesizes long-chain raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs), the major storage carbohydrates of this plant. ArGGT is structurally and functionally related to acid plant alpha-galactosidases (alpha-Gals) of the glycosylhydrolase family 27, present in the apoplast or the vacuole. Sequence comparison of acid alpha-Gals with ArGGT revealed that they all contain an N-terminal signal sequence and a highly similar core sequence. Additionally, ArGGT and some acid alpha-Gals contain C-terminal extensions with low sequence similarities to each other. Here, we show that the C-terminal pentapeptide, SLQMS, is a non-sequence-specific vacuolar sorting determinant. Analogously, we demonstrate that the C-terminal extensions of selected acid alpha-Gals from Arabidopsis, barley, and rice, are also non-sequence-specific vacuolar sorting determinants, suggesting the presence of at least one vacuolar form of acid alpha-Gal in every plant species.     

Structural basis of the strict specificity of a bacterial GH31 α-1,3-glucosidase for nigerooligosaccharides

Carbohydrate-active enzymes are involved in the degradation, biosynthesis, and modification of carbohydrates and vary with the diversity of carbohydrates. The glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 31 is one of the most diverse families of carbohydrate-active enzymes, containing various enzymes that act on α-glycosides. However, the function of some GH31 groups remains unknown, as their enzymatic activity is difficult to estimate due to the low amino acid sequence similarity between characterized and uncharacterized members. Here, we performed a phylogenetic analysis and discovered a protein cluster (GH31_u1) sharing low sequence similarity with the reported GH31 enzymes. Within this cluster, we showed that a GH31_u1 protein from Lactococcus lactis (LlGH31_u1) and its fungal homolog demonstrated hydrolytic activities against nigerose [α-D-Glcp-(1→3)-D-Glc]. The k_cat/K_m values of LlGH31_u1 against kojibiose and maltose were 13% and 2.1% of that against nigerose, indicating that LlGH31_u1 has a higher specificity to the α-1,3 linkage of nigerose than other characterized GH31 enzymes, including eukaryotic enzymes. Furthermore, the three-dimensional structures of LlGH31_u1 determined using X-ray crystallography and cryogenic electron microscopy revealed that LlGH31_u1 forms a hexamer and has a C-terminal domain comprising four α-helices, suggesting that it contributes to hexamerization. Finally, crystal structures in complex with nigerooligosaccharides and kojibiose along with mutational analysis revealed the active site residues involved in substrate recognition in this enzyme. This study reports the first structure of a bacterial GH31 α-1,3-glucosidase and provides new insight into the substrate specificity of GH31 enzymes and the physiological functions of bacterial and fungal GH31_u1 members.     

Recognition and degradation of chitin by streptomycetes

Chitin is the second most abundant renewable polysaccharide, as it is a component of the exoskeleton of many organisms and of the cell walls of numerous fungi. Most streptomycetes secrete a number of chitinases, hydrolyzing chitin to oligomers, chitobiose or N-acetylglucosamine which can be utilized as carbon or nitrogen source. The chitinases of several streptomycetes have been shown to have a modular arrangement comprising catalytic, substrate binding as well as linker domains. Moreover, during growth in the presence of chitin-containing substrates, many Streptomycesstrains have been shown to secrete formerly unknown, small (about 200 aa) chitin binding proteins (CHBs) which lack enzymatic activity and specifically target and invade chitin. Several motifs, including the relative location and spacing of four tryptophan residues, are conserved in the investigated CHB types, CHB1 and CHB2. The affinity of CHB1 to crab shell chitin is two times higher than that of CHB2. Comparative studies of various generated mutant CHB1 proteins led to the conclusion that it is one of the exposed tryptophan residues that directly contributes to the interaction with chitin. On the basis of immunological, biochemical and physiological studies, it can be concluded that the CHBs act like a glue with which streptomycetes target chitin-containing samples or organisms. The ecological implications of these findings are discussed.