Selective disruption of energy flow from phycobilisomes to Photosystem I

Efficient production of ATP and NADPH by the light reactions of oxygen-evolving photosynthesis demands continuous adjustment of transfer of absorbed light energy from antenna complexes to Photosystem I (PS I) and II (PS II) reaction center complexes in response to changes in light quality. Treatment of intact cyanobacterial cells with N-ethylmaleimide appears to disrupt energy transfer from phycobilisomes to Photosystem I (PS I). Energy transfer from phycobilisomes to Photosystem II (PS II) is unperturbed. Spectroscopic analysis indicates that the individual complexes (phycobilisomes, PS II, PS I) remain functionally intact under these conditions. The results are consistent with the presence of connections between phycobiliproteins and both PS II and PS I, but they do not support the existence of direct contacts between the two photosystems.Abbreviations Chl chlorophyll - EPR electron paramagnetic resonance - NEM N-ethylmaleimide - PBS phycobilisome - PS photosystem     

密码结构域及其功能表现

能组织成超级结构的各种序列组块,因其具有特定一级序列、或者具有某种卷曲的螺旋构象和某种非β螺旋结构,可以作为有特异功能的结构域、被特异的结合蛋白质识别和结合,因而可称为密码结构域,密码结构域作为特异的分子相互作用和过程的遗传指令,参与细胞周期的各种事件乃至发育和分化过程中基因有区别的表达.     

H1° and H3.3B mRNA levels in developing rat brain

Two overlapping rat cDNAs, covering a continuous region of 1107 base pairs, have been isolated and sequenced. The clones contain identical open reading frames, encoding a 136 amino acid long polypeptide which exhibits 100% identity to other mammalian H3.3 histone variants. We show that the inserts derive, in particular, from the H3.3B gene. We used these inserts and an insert from an H1° encoding clone, previously described (6), as probes to study the accumulation of mRNAs encoding the corresponding histone replacement variants (namely, H1° and H3.3) during rat brain development. We found that the concentration of both H1° and H3.3B mRNAs decreases from the embryonal day 18 (E18) to the postnatal day 10 (P10), with inverse correlation to protein accumulation.This paper is dedicated to our friend Paolo Carbone who devoted his life to research and teaching in Genetics. We will always remember him for scientific honesty and for his unique qualities of humanity.     

Zn2＋参与遗传调控的研究进展

Zn^2＋在遗传调控中的作用十分广泛而显著.结合新近的研究资料,着重从染色质结构与功能、核酸的生物合成、DNA的结构及构象、基因表达的调控等四个主要方面来反映Zn^2＋与遗传调控的相关性,并阐述Zn^2＋在其中发挥作用的机理.     

Osmium tetroxide footprinting of a scaffold attachment region in the maizeAdh1 promoter

Osmium tetroxide (OsO₄) reacts with the thymine residues of double-stranded DNA, but thymines that are unpaired or under torsional stress are hyperreactive. Although OsO₄ hyperreactivity has been primarily utilized to identify Z-DNA structures in supercoiled plasmids, OsO₄ will also identify other torsional perturbations of DNA. In this study, OsO₄ was used to footprint an AT-rich region (between –780 and –500) of the maizeAdh1 promoter. Hyperreactive sites were identified bothin vitro andin vivo in an area that coincides with AT motifs similar to those found in scaffold attachment regions. Further, the region of OsO₄ hyperreactivity lies within a fragment of DNA that is associated with the nuclear scaffold in histone-depleted nuclei.     

Pore formation by the sea anemone cytolysin equinatoxin II in red blood cells and model lipid membranes

Summary The interaction ofActinia equina equinatoxin II (EqT-II) with human red blood cells (HRBC) and with model lipid membranes was studied. It was found that HRBC hemolysis by EqT-II is the result of a colloid-osmotic shock caused by the opening of toxin-induced ionic pores. In fact, hemolysis can be prevented by osmotic protectants of adequate size. The functional radius of the lesion was estimated to be about 1.1 nm. EqT-II increased also the permeability of calcein-loaded lipid vesicles comprised of different phospholipids. The rate of permeabilization rised when sphingomyelin was introduced into the vesicles, but it was also a function of the pH of the medium, optimum activity being between pH 8 and 9; at pH 10 the toxin became markedly less potent. From the dose-dependence of the permeabilization it was inferred that EqT-II increases membrane permeability by forming oligomeric channels comprising several copies of the cytolysin monomer. The existence of such oligomers was directly demonstrated by chemical cross-linking. Addition of EqT-II to one side of a planar lipid membrane (PLM) increases the conductivity of the film in discrete steps of defined amplitude indicating the formation of cation-selective channels. The conductance of the channel is consistent with the estimated size of the lesion formed in HRBC. High pH and sphingomyelin promoted the interaction even in this system. Chemical modification of lysine residues or carboxyl groups of this protein changed the conductance, the ion selectivity and the current-voltage characteristic of the pore, suggesting that both these groups were present in its lumen.     

Examination of DNA sequences undergoing chromatin conformation changes at a variegating breakpoint in Drosophila melanogaster

Position effect variegation in Drosophila melanogaster is associated with the inability of certain genes to be correctly expressed in a proportion of cells, giving a mosaic phenotype. The lack of expression is thought to be due to alterations in the gene's chromatin structure due to its proximity to a region of heterochromatin. Because of the difficulties involved, there is little biochemical data to support the intuitively appealing model of heterochromatin spreading used to explain this phenomenon.Differences in restriction fragment length were used to distinguish DNA regions from either normal (non-position affected) or rearranged (position affected) chromosomes so as to examine possible changes in gene copy number and the effects of endogenous nucleases. DNA sequences at the breakpoint of In (1)w ^m4, which variegates for the white gene, were assayed under conditions where the chromatin conformation was altered using second site modifier mutations (Su(var) or En(var)). No change in the DNA sequerice copy number was observed at either chromosome breakpoint, relative to wild type, when either suppressor or enhancer mutations were present. Therefore copy number change, through differential polyploidization or somatic gene loss, is not affected by Su(var) or En(var) induced changes in the chromatin conformation.Initial experiments showed a gross difference in the sensitivity of DNA to endogenous nucleases that appeared associated with Su(var) and En(var) mutations. En(var) mutation bearing samples appeared delayed in the digestion, relative to Su(var). This differential sensitivity seemed to be genome-wide as there was no detectable difference between either breakpoint of In(1)w ^m4 or the sequences on the homologous w ^- chromosome. However, after isogenizing the genetic background, the previously noted difference between the Su(var) and En(var) mutations was eliminated. In studies dealing with nuclease digestion of chromatin, the isogenization of genetic background is essential before meaningful comparisons can be made.