Cytokinins in Plant Pathogenic Bacteria and Developing Cereal Grains

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 621 ◽  
Author(s):  
RO Morris ◽  
DG Blevins ◽  
JT Dietrich ◽  
RC Durley ◽  
SB Gelvin ◽  
...  

Cytokinin analysis by immunoaffinity chromatography (IAC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and radioimmunoassay (RIA) or enzyme-linked immunosorption assay (ELISA) has been used to study two separate topics: the role of tRNA in bacterial cytokinin biosynthesis and the changes in cytokinin concentration which occur during cereal grain development. Transfer RNA isopentenylation in the gall-forming plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens is encoded by the chromosomal miaA locus. Mutation of miaA reduces tRNA isopentenylation significantly and preliminary data suggest that turnover of isopentenylated tRNA is responsible for low level secretion of free N6-isopentenyladenine (iP) by the bacteria. However, the major route of cytokinin biosynthesis by gall-forming plant patho- genic bacteria is not via tRNA turnover but by direct biosynthesis mediated by dimethylallylpyro- phosphate: 5'-AMP transferase (DMAPP :AMP transferase) encoded by such genes as ipt, tzs (from A, tumefaciens) or ptz (from Pseudomonas savastanoi). Analysis of cytokinin levels in developing wheat and rice grains in the period immediately following pollination showed large transient increases in zeatin (Z) and zeatin riboside (ZR) which coincided with the period of maximum endosperm cell division reported by others. Detailed analyses of maize kernels, where development can be staged readily, showed that Z and ZR concentrations peaked 9 days after pollination (DAP). During the period 8-10 DAP, cytokinin oxidase underwent a significant increase in specific activity, indicating that cytokinin catabolism was enhanced as endosperm cell division ended.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Changpeng Wang ◽  
Siwei Zhang ◽  
Yuefei Zou ◽  
Hongzhao Ma ◽  
Donglang Jiang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Some neuropsychological diseases are associated with abnormal thiamine metabolism, including Korsakoff–Wernicke syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease. However, in vivo detection of the status of brain thiamine metabolism is still unavailable and needs to be developed. Methods A novel PET tracer of 18F-deoxy-thiamine was synthesized using an automated module via a two-step route. The main quality control parameters, such as specific activity and radiochemical purity, were evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Radiochemical concentration was determined by radioactivity calibrator. Metabolic kinetics and the level of 18F-deoxy-thiamine in brains of mice and marmosets were studied by micro-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). In vivo stability, renal excretion rate, and biodistribution of 18F-deoxy-thiamine in the mice were assayed using HPLC and γ-counter, respectively. Also, the correlation between the retention of cerebral 18F-deoxy-thiamine in 60 min after injection as represented by the area under the curve (AUC) and blood thiamine levels was investigated. Results The 18F-deoxy-thiamine was stable both in vitro and in vivo. The uptake and clearance of 18F-deoxy-thiamine were quick in the mice. It reached the max standard uptake value (SUVmax) of 4.61 ± 0.53 in the liver within 1 min, 18.67 ± 7.04 in the kidney within half a minute. The SUV dropped to 0.72 ± 0.05 and 0.77 ± 0.35 after 60 min of injection in the liver and kidney, respectively. After injection, kidney, liver, and pancreas exhibited high accumulation level of 18F-deoxy-thiamine, while brain, muscle, fat, and gonad showed low accumulation concentration, consistent with previous reports on thiamine distribution in mice. Within 90 min after injection, the level of 18F-deoxy-thiamine in the brain of C57BL/6 mice with thiamine deficiency (TD) was 1.9 times higher than that in control mice, and was 3.1 times higher in ICR mice with TD than that in control mice. The AUC of the tracer in the brain of marmosets within 60 min was 29.33 ± 5.15 and negatively correlated with blood thiamine diphosphate levels (r = − 0.985, p = 0.015). Conclusion The 18F-deoxy-thiamine meets the requirements for ideal PET tracer for in vivo detecting the status of cerebral thiamine metabolism.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (10) ◽  
pp. 6185-6196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Spohn ◽  
Norbert Kirchner ◽  
Andreas Kulik ◽  
Angelika Jochim ◽  
Felix Wolf ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacteria within the last decades is one reason for the urgent need for new antibacterial agents. A strategy to discover new anti-infective compounds is the evaluation of the genetic capacity of secondary metabolite producers and the activation of cryptic gene clusters (genome mining). One genus known for its potential to synthesize medically important products isAmycolatopsis. However,Amycolatopsis japonicumdoes not produce an antibiotic under standard laboratory conditions. In contrast to mostAmycolatopsisstrains,A. japonicumis genetically tractable with different methods. In order to activate a possible silent glycopeptide cluster, we introduced a gene encoding the transcriptional activator of balhimycin biosynthesis, thebbrgene fromAmycolatopsis balhimycina(bbrAba), intoA. japonicum. This resulted in the production of an antibiotically active compound. Following whole-genome sequencing ofA. japonicum, 29 cryptic gene clusters were identified by genome mining. One of these gene clusters is a putative glycopeptide biosynthesis gene cluster. Using bioinformatic tools, ristomycin (syn. ristocetin), a type III glycopeptide, which has antibacterial activity and which is used for the diagnosis of von Willebrand disease and Bernard-Soulier syndrome, was deduced as a possible product of the gene cluster. Chemical analyses by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS), tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy confirmed thein silicoprediction that the recombinantA. japonicum/pRM4-bbrAbasynthesizes ristomycin A.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirin Ansari ◽  
James C. Walsh ◽  
Amy L. Bottomley ◽  
Iain G. Duggin ◽  
Catherine Burke ◽  
...  

Rod-shaped bacteria such as Escherichia coli can regulate cell division in response to stress, leading to filamentation, a process where cell growth and DNA replication continues in the absence of division, resulting in elongated cells. The classic example of stress is DNA damage which results in the activation of the SOS response. While the inhibition of cell division during SOS has traditionally been attributed to SulA in E. coli, a previous report suggests that the e14 prophage may also encode an SOS-inducible cell division inhibitor, previously named SfiC. However, the exact gene responsible for this division inhibition has remained unknown for over 35 years. A recent high-throughput over-expression screen in E. coli identified the e14 prophage gene, ymfM, as a potential cell division inhibitor. In this study, we show that the inducible expression of ymfM from a plasmid causes filamentation. We show that this expression of ymfM results in the inhibition of Z ring formation and is independent of the well characterised inhibitors of FtsZ ring assembly in E. coli, SulA, SlmA and MinC. We confirm that ymfM is the gene responsible for the SfiC phenotype as it contributes to the filamentation observed during the SOS response. This function is independent of SulA, highlighting that multiple alternative division inhibition pathways exist during the SOS response. Our data also highlight that our current understanding of cell division regulation during the SOS response is incomplete and raises many questions regarding how many inhibitors there actually are and their purpose for the survival of the organism. Importance: Filamentation is an important biological mechanism which aids in the survival, pathogenesis and antibiotic resistance of bacteria within different environments, including pathogenic bacteria such as uropathogenic Escherichia coli. Here we have identified a bacteriophage-encoded cell division inhibitor which contributes to the filamentation that occurs during the SOS response. Our work highlights that there are multiple pathways that inhibit cell division during stress. Identifying and characterising these pathways is a critical step in understanding survival tactics of bacteria which become important when combating the development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics and their pathogenicity.


2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jebur & et al.

This study was aimed to know the efficiency of partially purified L- asparaginase produced from local isolate from Erwinia spp. to reduce the percentage of acrylamide formed in Biscuit. Four types of biscuit from wheat flour were prepared (T1, T2, T3, T4),and T1 as control. High performance liquid chromatography technique was used to estimate acrylamide ratio in biscuit , Effect of enzyme addition  on flour chemical and rheological properties was studied, also dough behavior ,gluten percentage, water absorption and amylase enzyme activity was estimated. The results revealed  that  the  addition of  experimental asparaginase ( specific activity 20.5 unite mg-1 ) with 1% of flour weight lead to reduce in acrylamide formation in Biscuit  to 89 %  compared  to  control sample ( in absence of enzyme ) . Moreover, the addition of Asparagine to flour at 0.1 % of its weight, where L- asparaginase was available caused a negative effect on enzyme efficiency in reducing the acrylamide in biscuit. So the level of acrylamide was reduced to 57.7 %. In the other hand , the percentage of acryl amide in biscuit was increased to   233 % when the asparagine was added to mixture in absence of L- asparaginase .Addition of  the enzyme to flour have no effect on the percentage value of gluten but improved the  stability of dough .The  enzyme  addition also led to increase amylases activities.  Addition of experimental enzyme had no effect on quality and sensory evaluation of biscuit.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (DPC) ◽  
pp. 000334-000346
Author(s):  
Chet Palesko ◽  
E. Jan Vardaman ◽  
Alan Palesko

2.5D and 3D applications using through silicon vias (TSVs) are increasingly being considered as a packaging alternative. Miniaturization and high performance product requirements are driving this move – even though in many cases the cost of both 2.5D and 3D is still high. The primary applications for 2.5D interposers with TSVs are GPUs/CPUs, high-end ASICs, and FPGAs. Adoption for FPGAs has already started. The key to the performance gains in recently introduced FPGAs is the partitioning of an FPGA die into four “slices” that are mounted on a silicon interposer or what Xilinx calls its Stacked Silicon Interconnect technology. Applications for interposers include tablets, gaming, and high-end computing and network systems. The drivers are mainly partitioning large die, integrating single chips into a module, reducing die size where substrate density is the constraint, and using the interposer to minimize the stress on large die that are fabricated with extra-low-k (ELK) dielectrics. The primary applications for 3D solutions are stacked memory cubes and memory plus logic. The true 3D nature of stacking all active silicon allows better miniaturization, but yield issues can quickly drive the cost unacceptably high. This analysis examines the cost drivers for 2.5D and 3D applications. Activity based cost models will be used to analyze the complete cost of fabricating and assembling active die on a silicon interposer and active die stacking on other active die. Total product cost impact - not just the cost of a specific activity - is the focus of this analysis. Since yields play a major role in cost, a sensitivity analysis of the different yields including die yield before wafer probe, die yield after wafer probe, TSV yield, interposer yield, assembly yield, substrate yield, etc. will be presented. The critical yield points in the manufacturing flow and dominant activity cost drivers (equipment, material, and /or labor) will be presented as well as suggested minimum thresholds for 2.5D and 3D technology to be a cost effective technology.


1987 ◽  
Vol 252 (2) ◽  
pp. G276-G280
Author(s):  
R. H. Collins ◽  
L. Lack ◽  
P. G. Killenberg

Rat liver bile sulfotransferase activity can be divided into a fraction that reacts with a monoclonal antibody (PK1B) and another fraction that does not. This work was performed to analyze the known response of hepatic bile acid sulfotransferase activity to androgens and estrogens by determining the effect of treatment on the proportion of bile acid sulfotransferase activity that possessed the epitope for PK1B monoclonal antibody. Activity in treated animals was further characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis following purification by PK1B-immunoadsorption chromatography. The results indicate that estrogens and androgens affect the subset of enzyme activity that has the PK1B epitope more than the population that does not. HPLC demonstrates that increases and decreases in activity that follow treatment with androgens and estrogens are mirrored by the proportion of the PK1B-reactive protein that exhibits a relative molecular weight (Mr) greater than 170,000. Radial immunodiffusion assays of hepatic supernatant using a polyclonal antibody raised against PK1B-reactive bile acid sulfotransferase show that changes in specific activity that follow treatment are the result of changes in enzyme protein concentration.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Qin Zhou ◽  
Chen Ling ◽  
Hui Zhou ◽  
Xiang Wang ◽  
Joseph Liao ◽  
...  

Abstract The efficiency of sunlight-driven reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2), a process mimicking the photosynthesis in nature that integrates the light harvester and electrolysis cell to convert CO2 into valuable chemicals, is greatly limited by the sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution in pH-neutral conditions. Current non-noble metal oxide catalysts developed to drive oxygen evolution in alkaline solution have poor performance in neutral solutions. Here we report a highly active and stable oxygen evolution catalyst in neutral pH, Brownmillerite Sr2GaCoO5, with the specific activity about one order of magnitude higher than that of widely used iridium oxide catalyst. Using Sr2GaCoO5 to catalyze oxygen evolution, the integrated CO2 reduction achieves the average solar-to-CO efficiency of 13.9% with no appreciable performance degradation in 19 h of operation. Our results not only set a record for the efficiency in sunlight-driven CO2 reduction, but open new opportunities towards the realization of practical CO2 reduction systems.


2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (16) ◽  
pp. 4975-4981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorena Rodríguez-Rubio ◽  
Hans Gerstmans ◽  
Simon Thorpe ◽  
Stéphane Mesnage ◽  
Rob Lavigne ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBacteriophage-encoded endolysins are highly diverse enzymes that cleave the bacterial peptidoglycan layer. Current research focuses on their potential applications in medicine, in food conservation, and as biotechnological tools. Despite the wealth of applications relying on the use of endolysin, little is known about the enzymatic properties of these enzymes, especially in the case of endolysins of bacteriophages infecting Gram-negative species. Automated genome annotations therefore remain to be confirmed. Here, we report the biochemical analysis and cleavage site determination of a novelSalmonellabacteriophage endolysin, Gp110, which comprises an uncharacterizeddomain ofunknownfunction (DUF3380; pfam11860) in its C terminus and shows a higher specific activity (34,240 U/μM) than that of 14 previously characterized endolysins active against peptidoglycan from Gram-negative bacteria (corresponding to 1.7- to 364-fold higher activity). Gp110 is a modular endolysin with an optimal pH of enzymatic activity of pH 8 and elevated thermal resistance. Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) analysis coupled to mass spectrometry showed that DUF3380 hasN-acetylmuramidase (lysozyme) activity cleaving the β-(1,4) glycosidic bond betweenN-acetylmuramic acid andN-acetylglucosamine residues. Gp110 is active against directly cross-linked peptidoglycans with various peptide stem compositions, making it an attractive enzyme for developing novel antimicrobial agents.IMPORTANCEWe report the functional and biochemical characterization of theSalmonellaphage endolysin Gp110. This endolysin has a modular structure with an enzymatically active domain and a cell wall binding domain. The enzymatic activity of this endolysin exceeds that of all other endolysins previously characterized using the same methods. A domain of unknown function (DUF3380) is responsible for this high enzymatic activity. We report that DUF3380 hasN-acetylmuramidase activity against directly cross-linked peptidoglycans with various peptide stem compositions. This experimentally verified activity allows better classification and understanding of the enzymatic activities of endolysins, which mostly are inferred by sequence similarities. Three-dimensional structure predictions for Gp110 suggest a fold that is completely different from that of known structures of enzymes with the same peptidoglycan cleavage specificity, making this endolysin quite unique. All of these features, combined with increased thermal resistance, make Gp110 an attractive candidate for engineering novel endolysin-based antibacterials.


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