Overexpression of CaDSR6 increases tolerance to drought and salt stresses in transgenic Arabidopsis plants

The partial CaDSR6 (Capsicum annuum Drought Stress Responsive 6) cDNA was previously identified as a drought-induced gene in hot pepper root tissues. However, the cellular role of CaDSR6 with regard to drought stress tolerance was unknown. In this report, full-length CaDSR6 cDNA was isolated. The deduced CaDSR6 protein was composed of 234 amino acids and contained an approximately 30 amino acid-long Asp-rich domain in its central region. This Asp-rich domain was highly conserved in all plant DSR6 homologs identified and shared a sequence identity with the N-terminal regions of yeast p23^fyp and human hTCTP, which contain Rab protein binding sites. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing CaDSR6 (35S:CaDSR6-sGFP) were tolerant to high salinity, as identified by more vigorous root growth and higher levels of total chlorophyll than wild type plants. CaDSR6-overexpressors were also more tolerant to drought stress compared to wild type plants. The 35S:CaDSR6-sGFP leaves retained their water content and chlorophyll more efficiently than wild type leaves in response to dehydration stress. The expression of drought-induced marker genes, such as RD20, RD22, RD26, RD29A, RD29B, RAB18, KIN2, ABF3, and ABI5, was markedly increased in CaDSR6-overexpressing plants relative to wild type plants under both normal and drought conditions. These results suggest that overexpression of CaDSR6 is associated with increased levels of stress-induced genes, which, in turn, conferred a drought tolerant phenotype in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Overall, our data suggest that CaDSR6 plays a positive role in the response to drought and salt stresses.     

Molecular characterization and transcriptional analysis of non-mammalian type Toll like receptor (TLR21) from rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus)

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a large family of pattern recognition receptors, which are involved in triggering host immune responses against various pathogens by detecting their evolutionarily conserved pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). TLR21 is a non-mammalian type TLR, which recognizes unmethylated CpG DNA, and is considered as a functional homolog of mammalian TLR9. In this study, we attempted to identify and characterize a novel TLR21 counterpart from rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) designated as RbTLR21, at molecular level. The complete coding sequence of RbTLR21 was 2919 bp in length, which encodes a polypeptide of 973 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 112 kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 8.6. The structure of the deduced RbTLR21 protein is similar to that of the members of typical TLR family, and includes the ectodomain, which consists of 16 leucine rich repeats (LRRs), a transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain. According to the pairwise sequence analysis data, RbTLR21 was homologous to that of the orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) with 76.9% amino acid identity. Furthermore, our phylogenetic analysis revealed that RbTLR21 is closely related to E. coioides TLR21. The RbTLR21 was ubiquitously expressed in all the tissues tested, but the highest expression was found in spleen. Additionally, upon stimulation with Streptococcus iniae, rock bream iridovirus (RBIV), and Edwardsiella tarda, RbTLR21 mRNA was significantly up-regulated in spleen tissues. Collectively, our findings suggest that RbTLR21 is indeed an ortholog of the TLR21 family and may be important in mounting host immune responses against pathogenic infections.     

Chloroquine interferes with dengue‐2 virus replication in U937 cells

The objective of this study was to investigate the use of chloroquine (CLQ) as an antiviral agent against dengue. Chloroquine, an amine acidotropic drug known to affect intracellular exocytic pathways by increasing endosomal pH, was used in the in vitro treatment of U937 cells infected with dengue virus type 2 (DENV‐2). Viral replication was assessed by quantification of virus produced through detection of copy numbers of DENV‐2 RNA, plaque assay and indirect immunofluorescence. qRT‐PCR and plaque assays were used to quantify the DENV‐2 load in infected U937 cells after CLQ treatment. It was found that a dose of 50 μg/mL of CLQ was not toxic to the cells and resulted in significantly less virus production in infected U937 cells than occurred in untreated cells. In the present work, CLQ was effective against DENV‐2 replication in U937 cells, and also caused a statistically significant reduction in expression of proinflammatory cytokines. The present study indicates that CLQ may be used to reduce viral yield in U937 cells.     

桔小实蝇细胞凋亡基因hid的克隆及不同发育阶段表达分析

【目的】细胞凋亡是一个细胞自动结束生命的过程,也称为程序性细胞死亡（programmed cell death, PCD）。头部退化缺陷基因 (head involution defective, hid )是昆虫细胞凋亡基因RHG家族的成员,该家族基因通过克服凋亡蛋白抑制因子（inhibitor of apoptosis proteins, IAPs）的保护作用来保证PCD的发生。本研究旨在克隆和分析桔小实蝇Bactrocera dorsalis的hid基因,并研究其在各发育阶段的表达情况。【方法】利用RT-PCR和RACE技术获得了桔小实蝇hid基因的cDNA全长序列。利用荧光定量PCR对hid基因在桔小实蝇不同发育阶段的转录水平进行分析。【结果】克隆获得桔小实蝇hid cDNA序列,将其命名为Bdhid (GenBank登录号为KJ461670),其开放阅读框长1 029 bp,编码342个氨基酸。氨基酸序列分析显示其具有一个短的N-端肽基元( IAP-binding-motif, IBM) 和C-端Grim Helix 3 (GH3) 结构域,与其他已知的双翅目昆虫hid基因有较高的同源性。实时荧光定量PCR检测结果表明,该基因在桔小实蝇的幼虫期表达水平较低,蛹期及成虫期表达量显著升高。【结论】这些结果为进一步研究hid基因在桔小实蝇细胞凋亡途径中的功能及其转基因条件致死品系的获得奠定了基础。