Biological Characterization of Heat-stable Antifreeze Proteins from Leaves of Ammopiptanthus mongolicus

Antifreeze protein(afp) was purified from the heat stable proteins in the leaves of Ammopiptanthus mongolicus (Maxim.) Cheng f. by two-dimensional electrophoresis-electrophoretic elution. Its molecular weight and pi are about 40 kD and 9.0 respectively, and its thermal hysteresis activity (THA) is 0.9 ℃ at 20 g/L. afp is different from other antifreeze proteins. The N-terminal 20 amino acids of afp is SDDLSFTFNKFVPCQTDILF. alp is abundant in leaves and may play an important role in the antifreeze process in A. mongolicus during the period of ovenwintering.     

美洲拟鲽抗冻蛋白基因转化番茄的形态学与苹果酸脱氢酶同工酶检测

将带有afp基因的Ti质粒pMon(232),作为供体DNA,用花柱道和子房注射DNA的方法转化番茄品种“中蔬四号”对D1D2代进行田间抗寒性观察,发现在春季平均气温低于正常年分4．4℃条件下,有些组分田间长势明显好于对照。初步确认已获得抗寒性。对D2代转基因植株进行MDH同工酶分析,均与对照有明显差异,间接验证了外源DNA的导入,说明同工酶分析,可作为转基因植株早期筛选的生化指标。     

Phenotypic changes and the fate of digestive enzymes during induction of amber disease in larvae of the New Zealand grass grub (Costelytra zealandica)

Amber disease of the New Zealand grass grub Costelytra zealandica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) is caused by ingestion of pADAP plasmid carrying isolates of Serratia entomophila or Serratia proteamaculans (Enterobacteriaceae) and causes infected larvae to cease feeding and clear their midgut to a pale amber colour where midgut serine protease activities are virtually eliminated. Using bacterial strains and mutants expressing combinations of the anti-feeding (afp) and gut clearance (sep) gene clusters from pADAP, we manipulated the disease phenotype and demonstrated directly the relationship between gene clusters, phenotype and loss of enzyme activity. Treatment with afp-expressing strains caused cessation of feeding without gut clearance where midgut protease activity was maintained at levels similar to that of healthy larvae. Treatment with strains expressing sep-genes caused gut clearance followed by a virtual elimination of trypsin and chymotrypsin titre in the midgut indicating both the loss of pre-existing enzyme from the lumen and a failure to replenish enzyme levels in this region by secretion from the epithelium. Monitoring of enzymatic activity through the alimentary tract during expression of disease showed that loss of serine protease activity in the midgut was matched by a surge of protease activity in the hindgut and frass pellets, indicating a flushing and elimination of the midgut contents. The blocking of enzyme secretion through amber disease appears to be selective as leucine aminopeptidase and α-amylase were still detected in the midgut of diseased larvae.     

美洲拟鲽抗冻蛋白基因(afp)导入番茄的研究

将整合在Ｔｉ质粒上的ａｆｐ基因作为供体ＤＮＡ,用花粉管通道和子房注射方法导入番茄品种“中蔬四号”中,对Ｄ１、Ｄ２代进行Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ杂交获得杂交带;田间抗寒性试验表明,在春季平均气温低于正常年份４·４℃条件下,转基因组植株生长势优于对照;致死温度也比对照降低２℃．说明ａｆｐ基因已整合到转化番茄基因组并获得表达     

Model for the three-dimensional structure of vitronectin: predictions for the multi-domain protein from threading and docking.

The structure of vitronectin, an adhesive protein that circulates in high concentrations in human plasma, was predicted through a combination of computational methods and experimental approaches. Fold recognition and sequence-structure alignment were performed using the threading program PROSPECT for each of three structural domains, i.e., the N-terminal somatomedin B domain (residues 1-53), the central region that folds into a four-bladed beta-propeller domain (residues 131-342), and the C-terminal heparin-binding domain (residues 347-459). The atomic structure of each domain was generated using MODELLER, based on the alignment obtained from threading. Docking experiments between the central and C-terminal domains were conducted using the program GRAMM, with limits on the degrees of freedom from a known inter-domain disulfide bridge. The docked structure has a large inter-domain contact surface and defines a putative heparin-binding groove at the inter-domain interface. We also docked heparin together with the combined structure of the central and C-terminal domains, using GRAMM. The predictions from the threading and docking experiments are consistent with experimental data on purified plasma vitronectin pertaining to protease sensitivity, ligand-binding sites, and buried cysteines.     

沙冬青叶片热稳定抗冻蛋白特性分析

用双向电泳电泳回收法从沙冬青（ Ａｍｍｏｐｉｐｔａｎｔｈｕｓ ｍｏｎｇｏｌｉｃｕｓ（Ｍａｘｉｍ ．） Ｃｈｅｎｇｆ．） 叶片热稳定蛋白质中分离到一种抗冻蛋白ａｆｐ,其分子量为４０ ｋＤ,ｐＩ为９．０ ,热滞活性为０ ．９ ℃（２０ ｍｇ／ｍＬ） ,和其他抗冻蛋白进行比较,没有发现相同的类型。ａｆｐ Ｎ 端序列为ＳＤＤＬＳＦＴＦＮＫＦＶＰＣＱＴＤＩＬＦ。ａｆｐ 在沙冬青体内广泛分布且叶片含量较高,可能是沙冬青抗冻生理过程中的主要物质,对于沙冬青抵御冬季冷冻温度具有重要的作用。