scholarly journals Evolution of ‘pollinator’- attracting signals in fungi

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian P Schiestl ◽  
Fabrizio Steinebrunner ◽  
Claudia Schulz ◽  
Stephan von Reuß ◽  
Wittko Francke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Volatile Compound ◽  
Floral Scent ◽  
Biological Significance ◽  
Interspecific Communication ◽  
Communication Signals ◽  
Primary Function ◽  
Insect Attraction ◽  
Evolutionary Pathways

Fungi produce a plethora of secondary metabolites yet their biological significance is often little understood. Some compounds show well-known antibiotic properties, others may serve as volatile signals for the attraction of insects that act as vectors of spores or gametes. Our investigations in an outcrossing, self-incompatible fungus show that a fungus-produced volatile compound with fungitoxic activities is also responsible for the attraction of specific insects that transfer gametes. We argue that insect attraction using this compound is likely to have evolved from its primary function of defence—as has been suggested for floral scent in the angiosperms. We, thus, propose that similar yet convergent evolutionary pathways have lead to interspecific communication signals in both fungi and plants.

Biological significance of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase in a cestode parasite, Raillietina echinobothrida and effect of phytoestrogens on the enzyme from the parasite and its host, Gallus domesticus

Parasitology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 144 (9) ◽  
pp. 1264-1274 ◽  
Author(s):  
RAMNATH ◽  
ASIM KUMAR DUTTA ◽  
BARILIN DKHAR ◽  
VEENA TANDON ◽  
BIDYADHAR DAS
Keyword(s):  
Drug Target ◽  
Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase ◽  
Biological Significance ◽  
Gallus Domesticus ◽  
Anthelmintic Drug ◽  
Functional Differences ◽  
Cestode Parasite ◽  
Primary Function ◽  
Decarboxylation Reaction ◽  
Raillietina Echinobothrida

SUMMARYPhosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is involved in glycolysis in the cestode parasite, Raillietina echinobothrida; whereas, it executes a gluconeogenic role in its host, Gallus domesticus. Because of its differing primary function in the cestode parasite and its host, this enzyme is regarded as a plausible anthelmintic target. Hence, the biological significance of PEPCK in the parasite was analysed using siRNA against PEPCK from R. echinobothrida (RePEPCK). In order to find out the functional differences between RePEPCK and GdPEPCK (PEPCK from its host, G. domesticus), PEPCK genes from both sources were cloned, over-expressed, characterized, and some properties of the purified enzymes were compared. RePEPCK and GdPEPCK showed a standard Michaelis-Menten kinetics with Kmapp of 46.9 and 22.9 µm, respectively, for phosphoenolpyruvate and Kmapp of 15.4 µm for oxaloacetate in GdPEPCK decarboxylation reaction. Here, we report antagonist behaviours of recombinant PEPCKs derived from the parasite and its host. In search of possible modulators for PEPCK, few phytoestrogens were examined on the purified enzymes and their inhibitory constants were determined and discussed. This study stresses the potential of these findings to validate PEPCK as the anthelmintic drug target for parasitism management.

Buddleja caryopteridifolia (Scrophulariaceae), a species to be recognized based on morphology, floral scent and AFLP data

Phytotaxa ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 161 (3) ◽  
pp. 181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Gao Chen ◽  
Weichang Gong ◽  
Weibang Sun
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Compound ◽  
Fragment Length Polymorphism ◽  
Floral Scent ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Aflp Data ◽  
Principal Coordinates Analysis ◽  
Separate Species ◽  
Principal Coordinates ◽  
Flora Of China ◽  
Independent Species

Buddleja caryopteridifolia was treated as a synonym of B. crispa in Flora of China. However, it was found that the two entities had different phenologies as well as morphology in the sympatric habitat investigated. Buddleja crispa flowers from mid-March to mid-May while B. caryopteridifolia blooms from early June to mid-September. In this study, the comprehensive comparative analyses of morphological traits, floral scent composition and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) data were utilized to determine whether B. caryopteridifolia should be recognized as a separate species. Among 13 morphological characters, all but calyx length were significantly different (all p<0.05, t-test) between the two species. Both cluster analysis and principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) of AFLP markers produced two distinct clusters for B. crispa and B. caryopteridifolia. The results of floral scent indicated several differences between B. crispa and B. caryopteridifolia. The main volatile compound of B. crispa was Benzaldehyde, while that of B. caryopteridifolia mostly consisted of trans-β-Ocimene. Therefore, all analyses supported the rehabilitation of B. caryopteridifolia as an independent species.

scholarly journals Mechanism of Pharmacological Action of Chromones in Radix Saposhnikoviae Based on Biological Significance of Secondary Metabolites

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Si-Si Cao ◽  
Lei Shi ◽  
Ying Shen ◽  
Jing-Ming Yang ◽  
Xiang-Cai Meng
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Biological Significance ◽  
Pharmacological Action ◽  
Biological Action ◽  
The Body ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Anti Inflammatory ◽  
Scavenging Efficiency

Abstract According to origin of species, both animals and plants come from a common ancestor, so they all possess similar/same metabolic activities. Plants adapt to stress conditions by eliminating reactive oxygen species (ROS) partly with secondary metabolites, which are often the medicinal ingredients. With this, the mechanism of pharmacological action and biological action of secondary metabolites may be the same. Radix saposhnikoviae the root of Saposhnikovia divaricata, has antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. It was analyzed that the correlation between fever, analgesia and inflammation and the activities of POD, CAT, the H2O2 contents in serum before and after intravenous administration for cimicifugin, an active component. For the antipyretic, the correlation coefficient between the body temperature and the H2O2 contents was 0.9689 in the model group and 0.5221 in the treatment group, indicating that fever was closely related to the H2O2. In the presence of electron donor, POD can eliminate ROS, the correlation coefficient between POD activities and H2O2 content before and after administration were 0.8085 and -0.5070, respectively, indicating that cimicifugin can eliminate ROS through POD. At 39.5 ℃, POD activity was about 1.47 times that of normal body temperature, and the scavenging efficiency of POD was 2.94 times that of CAT, which indicated that cimicifugin enhanced the elimination of H2O2 mainly through POD. For the analgesic and anti-inflammatory, the correlation coefficients of POD activity with analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects were 0.6685 and 0.4466, respectively, indicating that they were closely related to the H2O2. In this paper, we found the ROS is an important factor of fever, pain and inflammation, the pharmacological actions of Radix Saposhnikoviae also is elimination of ROS through the synergistic action of chromone and POD, the mechanism of pharmacological action of Chromones being the same as the biological action of secondary metabolites.

scholarly journals The variation of volatile compounds emitted from aromatic orchid (Phalaenopsis bellina) at different timing and flowering stages

Plant Omics ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 78-85
Author(s):  
Ahmad Asnawi Mus ◽  
Jualang Azlan Gansau ◽  
Vijay Subbiah Kumar ◽  
Nor Azizun Rusdi
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Compounds ◽  
Volatile Compound ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Floral Scent ◽  
Gene Isolation ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Full Bloom ◽  
Flower Bud ◽  
Orchid Species

Phalaenopsis bellina, is an orchid widely known for their distinctive fragrance. Of late, fragrant orchids are getting more attention from Orchid breeders for their horticultural market value. Although volatile compounds have been identified in several orchid species, the floral scent emission of P. bellina is far from understood. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the influence of different timing and floral development stages on the volatile emissions from P. bellina flowers using Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The volatile compound was extracted during morning and afternoon sessions from three different floral developmental stages. The volatile compounds emitted from flowers from two different sessions were trapped with SPME fiber for 30 minutes before directly injected into GC-MS for identification. Results showed that approximately 79 volatile compounds were identified, with the terpenoid presented as the major compound class. P. bellina had the highest number of volatiles during the morning and full bloom (41), with 29.82% monoterpene and 23.33% sesquiterpenes accounted in total. α-farnesene (19.56%) was abundance during morning emission and remains as the highest volatile in afternoon emission (44.08%), even higher when compared to morning emission. However, a decrease in the volatile compound was observed in afternoon emission, in which only 34 volatile compounds detected. Meanwhile, partial bloom developmental stage revealed linalool as the major terpenoid volatile compounds (25.89%), with only 20 volatile compounds recorded. On the other hand, no volatile compounds were recorded and profiled from flower bud stage. The establishment of a floral scent study provides a brief overview of the regulation of fragrance in P. bellina, which can be continued through gene isolation or fragrance-related enzymes study. This information will provide necessary information on orchid floral scent research that useful in boosting horticultural trade of the scented orchids and their function in pollination ecology study

Transport of substrates into peroxisomes: the paradigm of β-lactam biosynthetic intermediates

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan-Francisco Martín ◽  
Carlos García-Estrada ◽  
Ricardo V. Ullán
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Antimicrobial Agents ◽  
Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽  
Fluorescence Labeling ◽  
Penicillin Biosynthesis ◽  
Extracellular Medium ◽  
Peroxisomal Membrane ◽  
Communication Signals ◽  
Major Facilitator

AbstractPeroxisomes are ubiquitous organelles that enclose catalases, fatty acid-oxidizing enzymes, and a variety of proteins involved in different cellular processes. Interestingly, the late enzymes involved in penicillin biosynthesis, and the isopenicillin N epimerization enzymes involved in cephalosporin biosynthesis are located inside peroxisomes in the producer fungi Penicillium chrysogenum and Acremonium chrysogenum. Peroxisome proteins are targeted to those organelles by peroxisomal targeting signals located at the C-terminus (PTS1) or near the N-terminal end (PTS2) of those proteins. Peroxisomal membrane proteins (PMPs) are largely recruited by the interaction with specific sequences in the Pex19 protein. The compartmentalization into peroxisomes of several steps of the biosynthesis of penicillin, cephalosporin, and other secondary metabolites raises the question of how the precursors and/or intermediates of the biosynthesis of β-lactam antibiotics are transported into peroxisomes and the mechanisms of secretion of the final products (penicillin or cephalosporin) from peroxisomes to the extracellular medium. Recent advances in peroxisome proteomics, immunoelectron microscopy, and fluorescence labeling have shown that the transport of these intermediates is mediated by membrane proteins of the major facilitator superfamily class (drug/H+ antiporters) containing 12 transmembrane-spanning domains (TMS). In some cases, the transport of the substrates (e.g., fatty acids) or intermediates may be mediated by ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. Knowledge on the transport and secretion mechanisms is of paramount importance to understand the complex mechanisms of cell differentiation and their crosstalk with the biosynthesis of different secondary metabolites that act as biochemical signals between the producer cells and also as communication signals with competing microorganisms (e.g., antimicrobial agents or plant elicitors).

Microstructural morphology of sphingolipid dispersions as investigated by freeze-fracture EM

1995 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 944-945
Author(s):  
Vitthal S. Kulkarni ◽  
Wayne H. Anderson ◽  
Rhoderick E. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Acyl Chain ◽  
Biological Significance ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Fatty Acyl ◽  
Fatty Acyl Moiety ◽  
Aqueous Dispersions ◽  
Head Groups ◽  
Lipid Species ◽  
Microstructural Morphology ◽  
Layer Chromatography

The biological significance of the sphingomyelins (SM) and monoglycosylated sphingolipids like galactosylceramides (GalCer) are well documented Our recent investigation showed tubular bilayers in the aqueous dispersions of N-nervonoyl GalCer [N-(24:lΔ15,cls) GalCer] (a major fatty acyl moiety of natural GalCer). To determine the influence of lipid head groups on the resulting mesophasic morphology, we investigated microstructural self-assemblies of N-nervonoyl-SM [N-(24:1 Δ15,cls) SM; the second most abundant sphingomyelin in mammalian cell membranes], 1- palmitoyl-2-nervonoyl phosphatidylcholine [PNPC] (the lipid species with the same acyl chain configuration as in N-(24: 1) GalCer) and also compared it with egg-SM by freeze-fracture EM.Procedures for synthesizing and purifying N-(24:1) GalCer, N-(24:1) SM, and PNPC have been reported . Egg-SM was purchased from Avanti Polar Lipids, Alabaster AL. All lipids were >99% pure as checked by thin layer chromatography. Lipid dispersions were prepared by hydrating dry lipid with phosphate buffer (pH 6.6) at 80-90°C (3-5 min), vigorously vortexing (1 min) and repeating this procedure for three times prior to three freeze-thaw cycles.

Ultrastructural Localization Study of Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) in Gastric Cancer: Immunoelectron Microscopic Observation

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-253
Author(s):  
Dong Yuming ◽  
Yang Guanglin ◽  
Wu Jifeng ◽  
Chen Xiaolin
Keyword(s):  
Gastric Cancer ◽  
Intestinal Metaplasia ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Microscopic Observation ◽  
Biological Significance ◽  
Ultrastructural Localization ◽  
Mucinous Carcinoma ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Tubular Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Pap Method

On the basis of light microscopic observation, the ultrastructural localization of CEA in gastric cancer was studied by immunoelectron microscopic technique. The distribution of CEA in gastric cancer and its biological significance and the mechanism of abnormal distribution of CEA were further discussed.Among 104 surgically resected specimens of gastric cancer with PAP method at light microscopic level, the incidence of CEA(+) was 85.58%. All of mucinous carcinoma exhibited CEA(+). In tubular adenocarcinoma the incidence of CEA(+) showed a tendency to rising with the increase of degree of differentiation. In normal epithelia and intestinal metaplasia CEA was faintly present and was found only in the luminal surface. The CEA staining patterns in cancer cells were of three types--- cytoplasmic, membranous and weak reactive type. The ultrastructural localization of CEA in 14 cases of gastric cancer was studied by immunoelectron microscopic technique.There was a little or no CEA in the microvilli of normal epithelia. In intestinal metaplasia CEA was found on the microvilli of absorptive cells and among the mucus particles of goblet cells. In gastric cancer CEA was also distributed on the lateral and basal surface or even over the entire surface of cancer cells and lost their polarity completely. Many studies had proved that the alterations in surface glycoprotein were characteristic changes of tumor cells. The antigenic determinant of CEA was glycoprotein, so the alterations of tumor-associated surface glycoprotein opened up a new way for the diagnosis of tumors.

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