Stability of a 24-meric homopolymer: comparative studies of assembly-defective mutants of Rhodobacter capsulatus bacterioferritin and the native protein

The stability of Rhodobacter capsulatus bacterioferritin, a 24-meric homopolymer, toward denaturation on variation in pH and temperature, and increasing concentrations of urea and guanidine.HCl was investigated with native PAGE, and CD and fluorescence spectroscopies. With temperature and urea, the wild-type protein denatured without discernible intermediates in the equilibrium experiments, but with guanidine.HCl (Gnd.HCl) one or more intermediate species were apparent at relatively low Gnd.HCl concentrations. Dissociated subunit monomers, or aggregates smaller than 24-mers containing the high alpha-helical content characteristic of the native protein were not obtained at any pH without a high proportion of the 24-mer being present, and taken together with the other denaturation experiments and the construction of stable subunit dimers by site-directed mutagenesis, this observation indicates that folding of the bacterioferritin monomer could be coupled to its association into a dimer. Glu 128 and Glu 135 were replaced by alanine and arginine in a series of mutants to determine their role in stabilizing the 24-meric oligomer. The Glu128Ala, Glu135Ala and Glu135Arg variants retained a 24-meric structure, but the Glu128Ala/Glu135Ala and Glu128Arg/Glu135Arg variants were stable subunit dimers. CD spectra of the Glu135Arg, Glu128Ala/Glu135Ala, and Glu128Arg/Glu135Arg variants showed that they retained the high alpha-helical content of the wild-type protein. The 24-meric Glu135Arg variant was less stable than the wild-type protein (T(m), [Urea](50%) and [Gnd.HCl](50%) of 59 degrees C, 4.9 M and 3.2 M compared with 73 degrees C, approximately 8 M and 4.3 M, respectively), and the dimeric Glu128Arg/Glu135Arg variant was less stable still (T(m), [Urea](50%) and [Gnd.HCl](50%) of 43 degrees C, approximately 3.2 M and 1.8 M, respectively). The differences in stability are roughly additive, indicating that the salt-bridges formed by Glu 128 and Glu 135 in the native oligomer, with Arg 61 and the amino-terminal amine of neighboring subunits, respectively, contribute equally to the stability of the subunit assembly. The additivity and assembly states of the variant proteins suggest that the interactions involving Glu 128 and Glu 135 contribute significantly to stabilizing the 24-mer relative to the subunit dimer.     

饲料中添加裂殖壶菌粉对凡纳滨对虾脂质沉积和血清生化成分的影响

以健康的凡纳滨对虾(Litopenaeus Vannamei)[初重(5.810.24) g]为研究对象,研究裂殖壶菌粉(Extracted-and-dried microfungi Schizochytrium sp.,EDMS)对凡纳滨对虾脂质转运、沉积以及血清生化成分的影响。在饲料中分别添加0、0.5%、1.0%、1.5%和2.0%的裂殖壶菌粉,制成5组(基础组、EMDS05、EMDS10、EMDS15、EMDS20)等氮等能饲料。将750尾健康的凡纳滨对虾随机分成5组(为每组3个平行,每个平行45尾虾),养殖时间45d。结果表明,随着饲料中DHA水平的提高,肌肉中水分、粗脂肪和粗蛋白质含量均无显著改变(P0.05),但灰分随着添加量的增加呈现上升趋势,且EMDS20组显著高于基础组和EMDS05组(P0.05);肌肉和肝胰脏中高不饱和脂肪酸(HUFA)含量显著升高(P0.05),血清总甘油三酯(TG)含量显著升高(P0.05),总胆固醇(TC)含量保持稳定(P0.05),EDMS15组高/低密度脂蛋白(HDL/LDL)显著高于其他各组(P0.05);超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)呈现先下降后升高的趋势,其中EMDS10组(1.0%添加组)显著低于其他各组(P0.05);丙二醛(MDA)含量显著升高(P0.05)。综上所述,饲料中添加EDMS促进了凡纳滨对虾肌肉中n-3 HUFA的沉积,同时也提高了虾体脂质过氧化压力。     

不同提取溶剂和方法组合从落叶松毛虫蛹中提取的脂肪酸成分和含量的比较

落叶松毛虫Dendrolimus superans (Butler)蛹个体较大, 具有很高利用价值。为明确东北落叶松毛虫蛹中脂肪酸成分, 探讨最佳提取溶剂和提取方法的组合, 分别以正己烷、 石油醚和乙醚为提取溶剂, 结合超声波振荡萃取法、 索氏萃取法及溶剂萃取方法热浸和冷浸4种提取方法提取落叶松毛虫蛹油, 并采用毛细管色谱-质谱法分析提取物的脂肪酸种类和相对含量。结果表明： 正己烷溶剂与4种提取方法的组合中, 溶剂萃取热浸法提取率最高, 为25.60%。索氏萃取及溶剂萃取方法热浸和冷浸均检测到10种脂肪酸, 正己烷-超声波振荡萃取组合检测到9种脂肪酸。石油醚溶剂与4种提取方法的组合中, 索氏萃取提取率最高, 为29.31%, 均检测到10种脂肪酸。乙醚溶剂与4种提取方法的组合中, 溶剂萃取冷浸法提取率最高, 为29.11%, 检测到的脂肪酸种类为溶剂萃取冷浸法（13种）＞索氏萃取法（12种）＞溶剂萃取热浸法（11种）＞超声波振荡萃取法（9种）。在检测到的总脂肪酸中, 63%以上为不饱和脂肪酸, 其含量受提取溶剂和方法的影响不大。因此, 适合东北落叶松毛虫蛹中脂肪酸提取的最佳组合为石油醚溶剂 索氏萃取法。     

Substrate specificity and preference of Delta6-desaturase of Mucor rouxii

The Delta(6)-fatty acid desaturase is a key enzyme in the synthesis of an important fatty acid, gamma-linolenic acid. We have characterized, by heterologous expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, substrate specificity and preference of Delta(6)-desaturase of Mucor rouxii. Fatty acid supplementation was carried out based on the predicted enzyme topology, fatty acid phenotype and the corresponding metabolic pathway in M. rouxii. The enzyme has a broad substrate specificity as based on C15-C18. The result also supported classification of the M. rouxii Delta(6)-desaturase into a front-end desaturase. Interestingly, a relatively rare activity based on odd acyl chains and not described previously in other eukaryotic Delta(6)-desaturases was also observed.     

Spectroscopic detection of β ‐sheet structure in nascent Aβ oligomers

Deep‐UV resonance Raman (UVRR) spectroscopy and circular dichroism (CD) were employed to study the secondary structure of Aβ(1–42) in fresh samples with increasing fractions of oligomeric peptide. A feature with a minimum at ～217 nm appeared in CD spectra of samples containing oligomeric Aβ(1–42). UVRR spectra more closely resembled those of disordered proteins. The primary difference between UVRR spectra was the ratio of the 1236 cm^–1 to 1260 cm^–1 amide III peak intensities, which shifted in favor of the 1236 cm^–1 band as the fraction of oligomeric peptide increased. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Amyloid by Design: Intrinsic Regulation of Microbial Amyloid Assembly

The term amyloid has historically been used to describe fibrillar aggregates formed as the result of protein misfolding and that are associated with a range of diseases broadly termed amyloidoses. The discovery of “functional amyloids” expanded the amyloid umbrella to encompass aggregates structurally similar to disease-associated amyloids but that engage in a variety of biologically useful tasks without incurring toxicity. The mechanisms by which functional amyloid systems ensure nontoxic assembly has provided insights into potential therapeutic strategies for treating amyloidoses. Some of the most-studied functional amyloids are ones produced by bacteria. Curli amyloids are extracellular fibers made by enteric bacteria that function to encase and protect bacterial communities during biofilm formation. Here we review recent studies highlighting microbial functional amyloid assembly systems that are tailored to enable the assembly of non-toxic amyloid aggregates.     

饲料中n-3 HUFA含量对花尾胡椒鲷亲鱼的生殖性能及血浆性类固醇激素水平季节变化的影响

以n-3 HUFA含量为0．16％、1．27％、2．36％和3．47％的4种人工配合饲料(D1～D4)及天然饲料(冰鲜杂鱼,D5)饲养花尾胡椒鲷(Plectorhynchus cinctus)雌亲鱼一周年,通过比较各饲料组亲鱼的产卵量、卵和仔鱼质量以及各月份的血浆性类固醇激素水平,研究n-3 HUFA对生殖性能及性类固醇激素水平季节性变化的影响。平均每kg雌鱼的产卵量、卵受精率、仔鱼存活率、开口仔鱼体长等,D2和D3组与D5组相近,但D1和D4组显著低于D5组;饲料中n-3 HUFA含量对血浆17β-雌二醇(E2)和睾酮(T)水平的季节性变化规律无明显影响,但亲鱼性腺发育与成熟时期的E2和T水平．D1和D4组较D5组显著降低。n-3 HUFA含量对亲鱼离体卵泡E2和T的分泌也有一定影响：D4组卵泡E2的基础分泌很少;绒毛膜促性腺激素(HCG,100IU／mL)可刺激D2-D5组卵泡分泌E2和T,但D1组卵泡对HCG无反应。结果提示,花尾胡椒鲷亲鱼饲料中n-3 HUFA的适宜含量为1．27％-2．36％,不足或过高对亲鱼的生殖性能均有不利影响;通过影响性类固醇激素的产生可能是饲料中n-3 HUFA含量影响鱼类生殖性能的机制之一。     

Synthetic symmetrization in the crystallization and structure determination of CelA from Thermotoga maritima

Protein crystallization continues to be a major bottleneck in X‐ray crystallography. Previous studies suggest that symmetric proteins, such as homodimers, might crystallize more readily than monomeric proteins or asymmetric complexes. Proteins that are naturally monomeric can be made homodimeric artificially. Our approach is to create homodimeric proteins by introducing single cysteines into the protein of interest, which are then oxidized to form a disulfide bond between the two monomers. By introducing the single cysteine at different sequence positions, one can produce a variety of synthetically dimerized versions of a protein, with each construct expected to exhibit its own crystallization behavior. In earlier work, we demonstrated the potential utility of the approach using T4 lysozyme as a model system. Here we report the successful application of the method to Thermotoga maritima CelA, a thermophilic endoglucanase enzyme with low sequence identity to proteins with structures previously reported in the Protein Data Bank. This protein had resisted crystallization in its natural monomeric form, despite a broad survey of crystallization conditions. The synthetic dimerization of the CelA mutant D188C yielded well‐diffracting crystals with molecules in a packing arrangement that would not have occurred with native, monomeric CelA. A 2.4 Å crystal structure was determined by single anomalous dispersion using a seleno‐methionine derivatized protein. The results support the notion that synthetic symmetrization can be a useful approach for enlarging the search space for crystallizing monomeric proteins or asymmetric complexes.     

Interaction of arginine oligomer with model membrane

Short oligomers of arginine (R8) have been shown to cross readily a variety of biological barriers. A hypothesis was put forward that inverted micelles form in biological membranes in the presence of arginine oligomer peptides, facilitating their transfer through the membranes. In order to define the role of peptide-lipid interaction in this mechanism, we prepared liposomes as the model membrane to study the ability of R8 inducing calcein release from liposomes, the fusion of liposomes, R8 binding to liposomes and membrane disturbing activity of the bound R8. The results show that R8 binding to liposome membrane depends on lipid compositions, negative surface charge density and interior water phase pH values of liposomes. R8 has no activity to induce the leakage of calcein from liposomes or improve liposome fusion. R8 does not permeabilize through the membrane spontaneously. These peptides delivering drugs through membranes may depend on receptors and energy.     

叶绿素寡聚体的光化学性质及其水悬浮液在光下的pH变化

单体叶绿素α在含水的石油醚中形成叶绿素α-水寡聚体,在含二氧六圜的石油醚中形成叶绿素α-二氧六圜寡聚体。两者除吸收光谱有所不同外,其光化学性质也有明显区别:叶绿素α-二氧六圜寡聚体的延迟发光强度比叶绿素α-水寡聚体的大一个数量级;叶绿素α-二氧六圜寡聚体带有负电荷,电镀时趋向正极,叶绿素α-水寡聚体带正电荷,电镀时趋向负极;两种寡聚体电镀所成的膜在光下产生相反的光电位。叶绿素α-水寡聚体水悬浮液在照光时有pH值变化,变化幅度0.2—0.3pH单位,停止照光pH恢复原值。