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Sample records for lysine biosynthetic pathway

  1. Molecular evolution of the lysine biosynthetic pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velasco, A M; Leguina, J I; Lazcano, A

    2002-10-01

    Among the different biosynthetic pathways found in extant organisms, lysine biosynthesis is peculiar because it has two different anabolic routes. One is the diaminopimelic acid pathway (DAP), and the other over the a-aminoadipic acid route (AAA). A variant of the AAA route that includes some enzymes involved in arginine and leucine biosyntheses has been recently reported in Thermus thermophilus (Nishida et al. 1999). Here we describe the results of a detailed genomic analysis of each of the sequences involved in the two lysine anabolic routes, as well as of genes from other routes related to them. No evidence was found of an evolutionary relationship between the DAP and AAA enzymes. Our results suggest that the DAP pathway is related to arginine metabolism, since the lysC, asd, dapC, dapE, and lysA genes from lysine biosynthesis are related to the argB, argC, argD, argE, and speAC genes, respectively, whose products catalyze different steps in arginine metabolism. This work supports previous reports on the relationship between AAA gene products and some enzymes involved in leucine biosynthesis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle (Irvin and Bhattacharjee 1998; Miyazaki et al. 2001). Here we discuss the significance of the recent finding that several genes involved in the arginine (Arg) and leucine (Leu) biosynthesis participate in a new alternative route of the AAA pathway (Miyazaki et al. 2001). Our results demonstrate a clear relationship between the DAP and Arg routes, and between the AAA and Leu pathways.

  2. Flux through the tetrahydrodipicolinate succinylase pathway is dispensable for L-lysine production in Corynebacterium glutamicum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw-Reid, C A; McCormick, M M; Sinskey, A J; Stephanopoulos, G

    1999-03-01

    The N-succinyl-LL-diaminopimelate desuccinylase gene (dapE) in the four-step succinylase branch of the L-lysine biosynthetic pathway of Corynebacterium glutamicum was disrupted via marker-exchange mutagenesis to create a mutant strain that uses only the one-step meso-diaminopimelate dehydrogenase branch to overproduce lysine. This mutant strain grew and utilized glucose from minimal medium at the same rate as the parental strain. In addition, the dapE- strain produced lysine at the same rate as its parent strain. Transformation of the parental and dapE- strains with the amplified meso-diaminopimelate dehydrogenase gene (ddh) on a plasmid did not affect lysine production in either strain, despite an eightfold amplification of the activity of the enzyme. These results indicate that the four-step succinylase pathway is dispensable for lysine overproduction in shake-flask culture. In addition, the one-step meso-diaminopimelate dehydrogenase pathway does not limit lysine flux in Corynebacterium under these conditions.

  3. Lysine: Participation in life, production and biosynthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shah, A.H.; Hameed, A.

    2002-01-01

    Lysine plays a vital role in life. Its demands increase worldwide. It is in the interest of students to advertise the supreme importance of its productions. In this report, the mechanism and the biosynthetic pathway of lysine in corynebacterium glutamicum is illustrated, in a simple and ready understandable way. These will pave the way of lysine production. (author)

  4. Vanillin biosynthetic pathways in plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kundu, Anish

    2017-06-01

    The present review compiles the up-to-date knowledge on vanillin biosynthesis in plant systems to focus principally on the enzymatic reactions of in planta vanillin biosynthetic pathway and to find out its impact and prospect in future research in this field. Vanillin, a very popular flavouring compound, is widely used throughout the world. The principal natural resource of vanillin is the cured vanilla pods. Due to the high demand of vanillin as a flavouring agent, it is necessary to explore its biosynthetic enzymes and genes, so that improvement in its commercial production can be achieved through metabolic engineering. In spite of significant advancement in elucidating vanillin biosynthetic pathway in the last two decades, no conclusive demonstration had been reported yet for plant system. Several biosynthetic enzymes have been worked upon but divergences in published reports, particularly in characterizing the crucial biochemical steps of vanillin biosynthesis, such as side-chain shortening, methylation, and glucoside formation and have created a space for discussion. Recently, published reviews on vanillin biosynthesis have focused mainly on the biotechnological approaches and bioconversion in microbial systems. This review, however, aims to compile in brief the overall vanillin biosynthetic route and present a comparative as well as comprehensive description of enzymes involved in the pathway in Vanilla planifolia and other plants. Special emphasis has been given on the key enzymatic biochemical reactions that have been investigated extensively. Finally, the present standpoint and future prospects have been highlighted.

  5. Use of a bacteriophage lysin to identify a novel target for antimicrobial development.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raymond Schuch

    Full Text Available We identified an essential cell wall biosynthetic enzyme in Bacillus anthracis and an inhibitor thereof to which the organism did not spontaneously evolve measurable resistance. This work is based on the exquisite binding specificity of bacteriophage-encoded cell wall-hydrolytic lysins, which have evolved to recognize critical receptors within the bacterial cell wall. Focusing on the B. anthracis-specific PlyG lysin, we first identified its unique cell wall receptor and cognate biosynthetic pathway. Within this pathway, one biosynthetic enzyme, 2-epimerase, was required for both PlyG receptor expression and bacterial growth. The 2-epimerase was used to design a small-molecule inhibitor, epimerox. Epimerox prevented growth of several Gram-positive pathogens and rescued mice challenged with lethal doses of B. anthracis. Importantly, resistance to epimerox was not detected (<10(-11 frequency in B. anthracis and S. aureus. These results describe the use of phage lysins to identify promising lead molecules with reduced resistance potential for antimicrobial development.

  6. Bioengineering natural product biosynthetic pathways for therapeutic applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Ming-Cheng; Law, Brian; Wilkinson, Barrie; Micklefield, Jason

    2012-12-01

    With the advent of next-generation DNA sequencing technologies, the number of microbial genome sequences has increased dramatically, revealing a vast array of new biosynthetic gene clusters. Genomics data provide a tremendous opportunity to discover new natural products, and also to guide the bioengineering of new and existing natural product scaffolds for therapeutic applications. Notably, it is apparent that the vast majority of biosynthetic gene clusters are either silent or produce very low quantities of the corresponding natural products. It is imperative therefore to devise methods for activating unproductive biosynthetic pathways to provide the quantities of natural products needed for further development. Moreover, on the basis of our expanding mechanistic and structural knowledge of biosynthetic assembly-line enzymes, new strategies for re-programming biosynthetic pathways have emerged, resulting in focused libraries of modified products with potentially improved biological properties. In this review we will focus on the latest bioengineering approaches that have been utilised to optimise yields and increase the structural diversity of natural product scaffolds for future clinical applications. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Biosynthetic Pathway and Metabolic Engineering of Plant Dihydrochalcones.

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    Ibdah, Mwafaq; Martens, Stefan; Gang, David R

    2018-03-14

    Dihydrochalcones are plant natural products containing the phenylpropanoid backbone and derived from the plant-specific phenylpropanoid pathway. Dihydrochalcone compounds are important in plant growth and response to stresses and, thus, can have large impacts on agricultural activity. In recent years, these compounds have also received increased attention from the biomedical community for their potential as anticancer treatments and other benefits for human health. However, they are typically produced at relatively low levels in plants. Therefore, an attractive alternative is to express the plant biosynthetic pathway genes in microbial hosts and to engineer the metabolic pathway/host to improve the production of these metabolites. In the present review, we discuss in detail the functions of genes and enzymes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of the dihydrochalcones and the recent strategies and achievements used in the reconstruction of multi-enzyme pathways in microorganisms in efforts to be able to attain higher amounts of desired dihydrochalcones.

  8. An LL-diaminopimelate aminotransferase defines a novel variant of the lysine biosynthesis pathway in plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, André O; Singh, Bijay K; Leustek, Thomas; Gilvarg, Charles

    2006-01-01

    Although lysine (Lys) biosynthesis in plants is known to occur by way of a pathway that utilizes diaminopimelic acid (DAP) as a central intermediate, the available evidence suggests that none of the known DAP-pathway variants found in nature occur in plants. A new Lys biosynthesis pathway has been identified in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) that utilizes a novel transaminase that specifically catalyzes the interconversion of tetrahydrodipicolinate and LL-diaminopimelate, a reaction requiring three enzymes in the DAP-pathway variant found in Escherichia coli. The LL-DAP aminotransferase encoded by locus At4g33680 was able to complement the dapD and dapE mutants of E. coli. This result, in conjunction with the kinetic properties and substrate specificity of the enzyme, indicated that LL-DAP aminotransferase functions in the Lys biosynthetic direction under in vivo conditions. Orthologs of At4g33680 were identified in all the cyanobacterial species whose genomes have been sequenced. The Synechocystis sp. ortholog encoded by locus sll0480 showed the same functional properties as At4g33680. These results demonstrate that the Lys biosynthesis pathway in plants and cyanobacteria is distinct from the pathways that have so far been defined in microorganisms.

  9. [Advance in flavonoids biosynthetic pathway and synthetic biology].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Li-Qiu; Wang, Cai-Xia; Kuang, Xue-Jun; Li, Ying; Sun, Chao

    2016-11-01

    Flavonoids are the valuable components in medicinal plants, which possess a variety of pharmacological activities, including anti-tumor, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. There is an unambiguous understanding about flavonoids biosynthetic pathway, that is,2S-flavanones including naringenin and pinocembrin are the skeleton of other flavonoids and they can transform to other flavonoids through branched metabolic pathway. Elucidation of the flavonoids biosynthetic pathway lays a solid foundation for their synthetic biology. A few flavonoids have been produced in Escherichia coli or yeast with synthetic biological technologies, such as naringenin, pinocembrin and fisetin. Synthetic biology will provide a new way to get valuable flavonoids and promote the research and development of flavonoid drugs and health products, making flavonoids play more important roles in human diet and health. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  10. Dual biosynthetic pathways to phytosterol via cycloartenol and lanosterol in Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohyama, Kiyoshi; Suzuki, Masashi; Kikuchi, Jun; Saito, Kazuki; Muranaka, Toshiya

    2009-01-20

    The differences between the biosynthesis of sterols in higher plants and yeast/mammals are believed to originate at the cyclization step of oxidosqualene, which is cyclized to cycloartenol in higher plants and lanosterol in yeast/mammals. Recently, lanosterol synthase genes were identified from dicotyledonous plant species including Arabidopsis, suggesting that higher plants possess dual biosynthetic pathways to phytosterols via lanosterol, and through cycloartenol. To identify the biosynthetic pathway to phytosterol via lanosterol, and to reveal the contributions to phytosterol biosynthesis via each cycloartenol and lanosterol, we performed feeding experiments by using [6-(13)C(2)H(3)]mevalonate with Arabidopsis seedlings. Applying (13)C-{(1)H}{(2)H} nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques, the elucidation of deuterium on C-19 behavior of phytosterol provided evidence that small amounts of phytosterol were biosynthesized via lanosterol. The levels of phytosterol increased on overexpression of LAS1, and phytosterols derived from lanosterol were not observed in a LAS1-knockout plant. This is direct evidence to indicate that the biosynthetic pathway for phytosterol via lanosterol exists in plant cells. We designate the biosynthetic pathway to phytosterols via lanosterol "the lanosterol pathway." LAS1 expression is reported to be induced by the application of jasmonate and is thought to have evolved from an ancestral cycloartenol synthase to a triterpenoid synthase, such as beta-amyrin synthase and lupeol synthase. Considering this background, the lanosterol pathway may contribute to the biosynthesis of not only phytosterols, but also steroids as secondary metabolites.

  11. Heterologous Expression of the Oxytetracycline Biosynthetic Pathway in Myxococcus xanthus▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, D. Cole; Henry, Michael R.; Murphy, Kimberly A.; Boddy, Christopher N.

    2010-01-01

    New natural products for drug discovery may be accessed by heterologous expression of bacterial biosynthetic pathways in metagenomic DNA libraries. However, a “universal” host is needed for this experiment. Herein, we show that Myxococcus xanthus is a potential “universal” host for heterologous expression of polyketide biosynthetic gene clusters. PMID:20208031

  12. A nitrous acid biosynthetic pathway for diazo group formation in bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugai, Yoshinori; Katsuyama, Yohei; Ohnishi, Yasuo

    2016-02-01

    Although some diazo compounds have bioactivities of medicinal interest, little is known about diazo group formation in nature. Here we describe an unprecedented nitrous acid biosynthetic pathway responsible for the formation of a diazo group in the biosynthesis of the ortho-diazoquinone secondary metabolite cremeomycin in Streptomyces cremeus. This finding provides important insights into the biosynthetic pathways not only for diazo compounds but also for other naturally occurring compounds containing nitrogen-nitrogen bonds.

  13. Biosynthetic Pathways of Ergot Alkaloids

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    Nina Gerhards

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Ergot alkaloids are nitrogen-containing natural products belonging to indole alkaloids. The best known producers are fungi of the phylum Ascomycota, e.g., Claviceps, Epichloë, Penicillium and Aspergillus species. According to their structures, ergot alkaloids can be divided into three groups: clavines, lysergic acid amides and peptides (ergopeptines. All of them share the first biosynthetic steps, which lead to the formation of the tetracyclic ergoline ring system (except the simplest, tricyclic compound: chanoclavine. Different modifications on the ergoline ring by specific enzymes result in an abundance of bioactive natural products, which are used as pharmaceutical drugs or precursors thereof. From the 1950s through to recent years, most of the biosynthetic pathways have been elucidated. Gene clusters from several ergot alkaloid producers have been identified by genome mining and the functions of many of those genes have been demonstrated by knock-out experiments or biochemical investigations of the overproduced enzymes.

  14. An ll-Diaminopimelate Aminotransferase Defines a Novel Variant of the Lysine Biosynthesis Pathway in Plants1[W

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, André O.; Singh, Bijay K.; Leustek, Thomas; Gilvarg, Charles

    2006-01-01

    Although lysine (Lys) biosynthesis in plants is known to occur by way of a pathway that utilizes diaminopimelic acid (DAP) as a central intermediate, the available evidence suggests that none of the known DAP-pathway variants found in nature occur in plants. A new Lys biosynthesis pathway has been identified in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) that utilizes a novel transaminase that specifically catalyzes the interconversion of tetrahydrodipicolinate and ll-diaminopimelate, a reaction requiring three enzymes in the DAP-pathway variant found in Escherichia coli. The ll-DAP aminotransferase encoded by locus At4g33680 was able to complement the dapD and dapE mutants of E. coli. This result, in conjunction with the kinetic properties and substrate specificity of the enzyme, indicated that ll-DAP aminotransferase functions in the Lys biosynthetic direction under in vivo conditions. Orthologs of At4g33680 were identified in all the cyanobacterial species whose genomes have been sequenced. The Synechocystis sp. ortholog encoded by locus sll0480 showed the same functional properties as At4g33680. These results demonstrate that the Lys biosynthesis pathway in plants and cyanobacteria is distinct from the pathways that have so far been defined in microorganisms. PMID:16361515

  15. A simple biosynthetic pathway for large product generation from small substrate amounts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Djordjevic, Marko; Djordjevic, Magdalena

    2012-10-01

    A recently emerging discipline of synthetic biology has the aim of constructing new biosynthetic pathways with useful biological functions. A major application of these pathways is generating a large amount of the desired product. However, toxicity due to the possible presence of toxic precursors is one of the main problems for such production. We consider here the problem of generating a large amount of product from a potentially toxic substrate. To address this, we propose a simple biosynthetic pathway, which can be induced in order to produce a large number of the product molecules, by keeping the substrate amount at low levels. Surprisingly, we show that the large product generation crucially depends on fast non-specific degradation of the substrate molecules. We derive an optimal induction strategy, which allows as much as three orders of magnitude increase in the product amount through biologically realistic parameter values. We point to a recently discovered bacterial immune system (CRISPR/Cas in E. coli) as a putative example of the pathway analysed here. We also argue that the scheme proposed here can be used not only as a stand-alone pathway, but also as a strategy to produce a large amount of the desired molecules with small perturbations of endogenous biosynthetic pathways.

  16. A simple biosynthetic pathway for large product generation from small substrate amounts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Djordjevic, Marko [Institute of Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade (Serbia); Djordjevic, Magdalena [Institute of Physics Belgrade, University of Belgrade (Serbia)

    2012-10-01

    A recently emerging discipline of synthetic biology has the aim of constructing new biosynthetic pathways with useful biological functions. A major application of these pathways is generating a large amount of the desired product. However, toxicity due to the possible presence of toxic precursors is one of the main problems for such production. We consider here the problem of generating a large amount of product from a potentially toxic substrate. To address this, we propose a simple biosynthetic pathway, which can be induced in order to produce a large number of the product molecules, by keeping the substrate amount at low levels. Surprisingly, we show that the large product generation crucially depends on fast non-specific degradation of the substrate molecules. We derive an optimal induction strategy, which allows as much as three orders of magnitude increase in the product amount through biologically realistic parameter values. We point to a recently discovered bacterial immune system (CRISPR/Cas in E. coli) as a putative example of the pathway analysed here. We also argue that the scheme proposed here can be used not only as a stand-alone pathway, but also as a strategy to produce a large amount of the desired molecules with small perturbations of endogenous biosynthetic pathways. (paper)

  17. A simple biosynthetic pathway for large product generation from small substrate amounts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Djordjevic, Marko; Djordjevic, Magdalena

    2012-01-01

    A recently emerging discipline of synthetic biology has the aim of constructing new biosynthetic pathways with useful biological functions. A major application of these pathways is generating a large amount of the desired product. However, toxicity due to the possible presence of toxic precursors is one of the main problems for such production. We consider here the problem of generating a large amount of product from a potentially toxic substrate. To address this, we propose a simple biosynthetic pathway, which can be induced in order to produce a large number of the product molecules, by keeping the substrate amount at low levels. Surprisingly, we show that the large product generation crucially depends on fast non-specific degradation of the substrate molecules. We derive an optimal induction strategy, which allows as much as three orders of magnitude increase in the product amount through biologically realistic parameter values. We point to a recently discovered bacterial immune system (CRISPR/Cas in E. coli) as a putative example of the pathway analysed here. We also argue that the scheme proposed here can be used not only as a stand-alone pathway, but also as a strategy to produce a large amount of the desired molecules with small perturbations of endogenous biosynthetic pathways. (paper)

  18. Characterisation of the first enzymes committed to lysine biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael D W Griffin

    Full Text Available In plants, the lysine biosynthetic pathway is an attractive target for both the development of herbicides and increasing the nutritional value of crops given that lysine is a limiting amino acid in cereals. Dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS and dihydrodipicolinate reductase (DHDPR catalyse the first two committed steps of lysine biosynthesis. Here, we carry out for the first time a comprehensive characterisation of the structure and activity of both DHDPS and DHDPR from Arabidopsis thaliana. The A. thaliana DHDPS enzyme (At-DHDPS2 has similar activity to the bacterial form of the enzyme, but is more strongly allosterically inhibited by (S-lysine. Structural studies of At-DHDPS2 show (S-lysine bound at a cleft between two monomers, highlighting the allosteric site; however, unlike previous studies, binding is not accompanied by conformational changes, suggesting that binding may cause changes in protein dynamics rather than large conformation changes. DHDPR from A. thaliana (At-DHDPR2 has similar specificity for both NADH and NADPH during catalysis, and has tighter binding of substrate than has previously been reported. While all known bacterial DHDPR enzymes have a tetrameric structure, analytical ultracentrifugation, and scattering data unequivocally show that At-DHDPR2 exists as a dimer in solution. The exact arrangement of the dimeric protein is as yet unknown, but ab initio modelling of x-ray scattering data is consistent with an elongated structure in solution, which does not correspond to any of the possible dimeric pairings observed in the X-ray crystal structure of DHDPR from other organisms. This increased knowledge of the structure and function of plant lysine biosynthetic enzymes will aid future work aimed at improving primary production.

  19. Genetic determination of the meso-diaminopimelate biosynthetic pathway of mycobacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cirillo, J D; Weisbrod, T R; Banerjee, A; Bloom, B R; Jacobs, W R

    1994-07-01

    The increasing incidence of multiple-drug-resistant mycobacterial infections indicates that the development of new methods for treatment of mycobacterial diseases should be a high priority. meso-Diaminopimelic acid (DAP), a key component of a highly immunogenic subunit of the mycobacterial peptidoglycan layer, has been implicated as a potential virulence factor. The mycobacterial DAP biosynthetic pathway could serve as a target for design of new antimycobacterial agents as well as the construction of in vivo selection systems. We have isolated the asd, dapA, dapB, dapD, and dapE genes involved in the DAP biosynthetic pathway of Mycobacterium bovis BCG. These genes were isolated by complementation of Escherichia coli mutations with an expression library of BCG DNA. Our analysis of these genes suggests that BCG may use more than one pathway for biosynthesis of DAP. The nucleotide sequence of the BCG dapB gene was determined. The activity of the product of this gene in Escherichia coli provided evidence that the gene may encode a novel bifunctional dihydrodipicolinate reductase and DAP dehydrogenase.

  20. Blockage of the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway affects riboflavin production in Ashbya gossypii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Rui; Aguiar, Tatiana Q; Domingues, Lucília

    2015-01-10

    The Ashbya gossypii riboflavin biosynthetic pathway and its connection with the purine pathway have been well studied. However, the outcome of genetic alterations in the pyrimidine pathway on riboflavin production by A. gossypii had not yet been assessed. Here, we report that the blockage of the de novo pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway in the recently generated A. gossypii Agura3 uridine/uracil auxotrophic strain led to improved riboflavin production on standard agar-solidified complex medium. When extra uridine/uracil was supplied, the production of riboflavin by this auxotroph was repressed. High concentrations of uracil hampered this (and the parent) strain growth, whereas excess uridine favored the A. gossypii Agura3 growth. Considering that the riboflavin and the pyrimidine pathways share the same precursors and that riboflavin overproduction may be triggered by nutritional stress, we suggest that overproduction of riboflavin by the A. gossypii Agura3 may occur as an outcome of a nutritional stress response and/or of an increased availability in precursors for riboflavin biosynthesis, due to their reduced consumption by the pyrimidine pathway. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Targeting the GPI biosynthetic pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yadav, Usha; Khan, Mohd Ashraf

    2018-02-27

    The GPI (Glycosylphosphatidylinositol) biosynthetic pathway is a multistep conserved pathway in eukaryotes that culminates in the generation of GPI glycolipid which in turn anchors many proteins (GPI-APs) to the cell surface. In spite of the overall conservation of the pathway, there still exist subtle differences in the GPI pathway of mammals and other eukaryotes which holds a great promise so far as the development of drugs/inhibitors against specific targets in the GPI pathway of pathogens is concerned. Many of the GPI structures and their anchored proteins in pathogenic protozoans and fungi act as pathogenicity factors. Notable examples include GPI-anchored variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) in Trypanosoma brucei, GPI-anchored merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1) and MSP2 in Plasmodium falciparum, protein-free GPI related molecules like lipophosphoglycans (LPGs) and glycoinositolphospholipids (GIPLs) in Leishmania spp., GPI-anchored Gal/GalNAc lectin and proteophosphoglycans in Entamoeba histolytica or the GPI-anchored mannoproteins in pathogenic fungi like Candida albicans. Research in this active area has already yielded encouraging results in Trypanosoma brucei by the development of parasite-specific inhibitors of GlcNCONH 2 -β-PI, GlcNCONH 2 -(2-O-octyl)-PI and salicylic hydroxamic acid (SHAM) targeting trypanosomal GlcNAc-PI de-N-acetylase as well as the development of antifungal inhibitors like BIQ/E1210/gepinacin/G365/G884 and YW3548/M743/M720 targeting the GPI specific fungal inositol acyltransferase (Gwt1) and the phosphoethanolamine transferase-I (Mcd4), respectively. These confirm the fact that the GPI pathway continues to be the focus of researchers, given its implications for the betterment of human life.

  2. Elucidation and in planta reconstitution of the parthenolide biosynthetic pathway

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Qing; Manzano, David; Tanić, Nikola

    2014-01-01

    Parthenolide, the main bioactive compound of the medicinal plant feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), is a promising anti-cancer drug. However, the biosynthetic pathway of parthenolide has not been elucidated yet. Here we report on the isolation and characterization of all the genes from feverfew tha...

  3. Assembly of a novel biosynthetic pathway for production of the plant flavonoid fisetin in Escherichia coli.

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    Stahlhut, Steen G; Siedler, Solvej; Malla, Sailesh; Harrison, Scott J; Maury, Jérôme; Neves, Ana Rute; Forster, Jochen

    2015-09-01

    Plant secondary metabolites are an underutilized pool of bioactive molecules for applications in the food, pharma and nutritional industries. One such molecule is fisetin, which is present in many fruits and vegetables and has several potential health benefits, including anti-cancer, anti-viral and anti-aging activity. Moreover, fisetin has recently been shown to prevent Alzheimer's disease in mice and to prevent complications associated with diabetes type I. Thus far the biosynthetic pathway of fisetin in plants remains elusive. Here, we present the heterologous assembly of a novel fisetin pathway in Escherichia coli. We propose a novel biosynthetic pathway from the amino acid, tyrosine, utilizing nine heterologous enzymes. The pathway proceeds via the synthesis of two flavanones never produced in microorganisms before--garbanzol and resokaempferol. We show for the first time a functional biosynthetic pathway and establish E. coli as a microbial platform strain for the production of fisetin and related flavonols. Copyright © 2015 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Enhancement of Nucleoside Production in Hirsutella sinensis Based on Biosynthetic Pathway Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhi-Qiang; Zhang, Bo; Lin, Shan; Baker, Peter James; Chen, Mao-Sheng; Xue, Ya-Ping; Wu, Hui; Xu, Feng; Yuan, Shui-Jin; Teng, Yi; Wu, Ling-Fang

    2017-01-01

    To enhance nucleoside production in Hirsutella sinensis, the biosynthetic pathways of purine and pyrimidine nucleosides were constructed and verified. The differential expression analysis showed that purine nucleoside phosphorylase, inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase, and guanosine monophosphate synthase genes involved in purine nucleotide biosynthesis were significantly upregulated 16.56-fold, 8-fold, and 5.43-fold, respectively. Moreover, dihydroorotate dehydrogenase, uridine nucleosidase, uridine/cytidine monophosphate kinase, and inosine triphosphate pyrophosphatase genes participating in pyrimidine nucleoside biosynthesis were upregulated 4.53-fold, 10.63-fold, 4.26-fold, and 5.98-fold, respectively. To enhance the nucleoside production, precursors for synthesis of nucleosides were added based on the analysis of biosynthetic pathways. Uridine and cytidine contents, respectively, reached 5.04 mg/g and 3.54 mg/g when adding 2 mg/mL of ribose, resulting in an increase of 28.6% and 296% compared with the control, respectively. Meanwhile, uridine and cytidine contents, respectively, reached 10.83 mg/g 2.12 mg/g when adding 0.3 mg/mL of uracil, leading to an increase of 176.3% and 137.1%, respectively. This report indicated that fermentation regulation was an effective way to enhance the nucleoside production in H. sinensis based on biosynthetic pathway analysis. PMID:29333435

  5. A kinetic model for the penicillin biosynthetic pathway in

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jens; Jørgensen, Henrik

    1996-01-01

    A kinetic model for the first two steps in the penicillin biosynthetic pathway, i.e. the ACV synthetase (ACVS) and the isopenicillin N synthetase (IPNS) is proposed. The model is based on Michaelis-Menten type kinetics with non-competitive inhibition of the ACVS by ACV, and competitive inhibition...... of the IPNS by glutathione. The model predicted flux through the pathway corresponds well with the measured rate of penicillin biosynthesis. From the kinetic model the elasticity coefficients and the flux control coefficients are calculated throughout a fed-batch cultivation, and it is found...

  6. Linking metabolic QTLs with network and cis-eQTLs controlling biosynthetic pathways.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam M Wentzell

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Phenotypic variation between individuals of a species is often under quantitative genetic control. Genomic analysis of gene expression polymorphisms between individuals is rapidly gaining popularity as a way to query the underlying mechanistic causes of variation between individuals. However, there is little direct evidence of a linkage between global gene expression polymorphisms and phenotypic consequences. In this report, we have mapped quantitative trait loci (QTLs-controlling glucosinolate content in a population of 403 Arabidopsis Bay x Sha recombinant inbred lines, 211 of which were previously used to identify expression QTLs controlling the transcript levels of biosynthetic genes. In a comparative study, we have directly tested two plant biosynthetic pathways for association between polymorphisms controlling biosynthetic gene transcripts and the resulting metabolites within the Arabidopsis Bay x Sha recombinant inbred line population. In this analysis, all loci controlling expression variation also affected the accumulation of the resulting metabolites. In addition, epistasis was detected more frequently for metabolic traits compared to transcript traits, even when both traits showed similar distributions. An analysis of candidate genes for QTL-controlling networks of transcripts and metabolites suggested that the controlling factors are a mix of enzymes and regulatory factors. This analysis showed that regulatory connections can feedback from metabolism to transcripts. Surprisingly, the most likely major regulator of both transcript level for nearly the entire pathway and aliphatic glucosinolate accumulation is variation in the last enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway, AOP2. This suggests that natural variation in transcripts may significantly impact phenotypic variation, but that natural variation in metabolites or their enzymatic loci can feed back to affect the transcripts.

  7. Distribution of δ-aminolevulinic acid biosynthetic pathways among phototrophic and related bacteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Avissar, Y.J.; Beale, S.I.; Ormerod, J.G.

    1989-01-01

    Two biosynthetic pathways are known for the universal tetrapyrrole precursor, δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA): condensation of glycine and succinyl-CoA to form ALA with the loss of C-1 of glycine as CO 2 , and conversion of the intact carbon skeleton of glutamate to ALA in a process requiring tRNA Glu , ATP, Mg 2+ , NADPH, and pyridoxal phosphate. The distribution of the two ALA biosynthetic pathways among various bacterial genera was determined, using cell-free extracts obtained from representative organisms. Evidence for the operation of the glutamate pathway was obtained by the measurement of RNase-sensitive label incorporation from glutamate into ALA using 3,4-[ 3 H]glutamate and 1-[ 14 C]glutamate as substrate. The glycine pathway was indicated by RNase-insensitive incorporation of level from 2-[ 14 C]glycine into ALA. The distribution of the two pathways among the bacteria tested was in general agreement with their previously phylogenetic relationships and clearly indicates that the glutamate pathway is the more ancient process, whereas the glycine pathway probably evolved much later. The glutamate pathway is the more widely utilized one among bacteria, while the glycine pathway is apparently limited to the α subgroup of purple bacteria (including Rhodobacter, Rhodospirillum, and Rhizobium). E. coli was found ALA via the glutamate pathway. The ALA-requiring hemA mutant of E. coli was determined to lack the dehydrogenase activity that utilizes glutamyl-tRNA as a substrate

  8. Expanding lysine industry: industrial biomanufacturing of lysine and its derivatives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Jie; Chen, Peng; Song, Andong; Wang, Dan; Wang, Qinhong

    2018-04-13

    L-Lysine is widely used as a nutrition supplement in feed, food, and beverage industries as well as a chemical intermediate. At present, great efforts are made to further decrease the cost of lysine to make it more competitive in the markets. Furthermore, lysine also shows potential as a feedstock to produce other high-value chemicals for active pharmaceutical ingredients, drugs, or materials. In this review, the current biomanufacturing of lysine is first presented. Second, the production of novel derivatives from lysine is discussed. Some chemicals like L-pipecolic acid, cadaverine, and 5-aminovalerate already have been obtained at a lab scale. Others like 6-aminocaproic acid, valerolactam, and caprolactam could be produced through a biological and chemical coupling pathway or be synthesized by a hypothetical pathway. This review demonstrates an active and expansive lysine industry, and these green biomanufacturing strategies could also be applied to enhance the competitiveness of other amino acid industry.

  9. Enhancement of cordyceps polysaccharide production via biosynthetic pathway analysis in Hirsutella sinensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shan; Liu, Zhi-Qiang; Baker, Peter James; Yi, Ming; Wu, Hui; Xu, Feng; Teng, Yi; Zheng, Yu-Guo

    2016-11-01

    The addition of various sulfates for enhanced cordyceps polysaccharide (CP) production in submerged cultivation of H. sinensis was investigated, and manganese sulfate was found the most effective. 2mM of manganese sulfate on 0day (d) was investigated as the optimal adding condition, and the CP production reached optimum with 5.33%, increasing by 93.3% compared with the control. Furthermore, the consumption of three main precursors of CP was studied over cultivation under two conditions. Intracellular mannose content decreased by 43.1% throughout 6days cultivation, which corresponded to CP accumulation rate sharply increased from 0 d to 6 d, and mannose was considered as the most preferred precursor for generating CP. Subsequently, mannose biosynthetic pathway was constructed and verified for the first time in H. sinensis, which constituted the important part of CP biosynthesis, and transcriptional levels of the biosynthetic genes were studied. Transcriptional level of gene cpsA was significantly up-regulated 5.35-fold and it was a key gene involved both in mannose and CP biosynthesis. This study demonstrated that manganese sulfate addition is an efficient and simple way to improve CP production. Transcriptional analysis based on biosynthetic pathway was helpful to find key genes and better understand CP biosynthesis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Thermodynamics of metabolic pathways for penicillin production: Analysis of thermodynamic feasibility and free energy changes during fed-batch cultivation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pissarra, P.D.; Nielsen, Jens Bredal

    1997-01-01

    This paper describes the thermodynamic analysis of pathways related to penicillin production in Penicillium chrysogenum. First a thermodynamic feasibility analysis is performed of the L-lysine pathway of which one of the precursors for penicillin biosynthesis (alpha-aminoadipic acid......) is an intermediate. It is found that the L-lysine pathway in P. chrysogenum is thermodynamically feasible and that the calculated standard Gibbs free energy values of the two enzymes controlling the pathway flux indicate that they operate far from equilibrium. It is therefore proposed that the regulation of alpha......-aminoadipate reductase by lysine is important to maintain a high concentration of alpha-aminoadipate in order to direct the carbon flux to penicillin production. Secondly the changes in Gibbs free energy in the penicillin biosynthetic pathway during fed-batch cultivation were studied. The analysis showed that all...

  11. De Novo Biosynthesis of Glutarate via α-Keto Acid Carbon Chain Extension and Decarboxylation Pathway in Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jian; Wu, Yifei; Sun, Xinxiao; Yuan, Qipeng; Yan, Yajun

    2017-10-20

    Microbial based bioplastics are promising alternatives to petroleum based synthetic plastics due to their renewability and economic feasibility. Glutarate is one of the most potential building blocks for bioplastics. The recent biosynthetic routes for glutarate were mostly based on the l-lysine degradation pathway from Pseudomonas putida that required lysine either by feeding or lysine overproduction via genetic manipulations. Herein, we established a novel glutarate biosynthetic pathway by incorporation of a "+1" carbon chain extension pathway from α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) in combination with α-keto acid decarboxylation pathway in Escherichia coli. Introduction of homocitrate synthase (HCS), homoaconitase (HA) and homoisocitrate dehydrogenase (HICDH) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae into E. coli enabled "+1" carbon extension from α-KG to α-ketoadipate (α-KA), which was subsequently converted into glutarate by a promiscuous α-keto acid decarboxylase (KivD) and a succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase (GabD). The recombinant E. coli coexpressing all five genes produced 0.3 g/L glutarate from glucose. To further improve the titers, α-KG was rechanneled into carbon chain extension pathway via the clustered regularly interspersed palindromic repeats system mediated interference (CRISPRi) of essential genes sucA and sucB in tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. The final strain could produce 0.42 g/L glutarate, which was increased by 40% compared with the parental strain.

  12. Transcriptional repressor role of PocR on the 1,3-propanediol biosynthetic pathway by Lactobacillus panis PM1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Tae Sun; Korber, Darren R; Tanaka, Takuji

    2014-06-01

    The regulatory role of a transcriptional regulator (PocR) in the 1,3-propanediol biosynthetic pathway of Lactobacillus panis PM1 contributes to the optimization of 1,3-propanediol production by this strain, which potentially will lead to 1,3-propanediol manufacturing efficiencies. Lactobacillus panis PM1 can utilize a 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) biosynthetic pathway, consisting of diol dehydratase (PduCDE) and 1,3-PDO dehydrogenase, as a NADH recycling system, to survive under various environmental conditions. In this study, we identified a key transcriptional repressor (PocR) which was annotated as a transcriptional factor of AraC family as part of the 1,3-PDO biosynthetic pathway of L. panis PM1. The over-expression of the PocR gene resulted in the significant repression (81 %) of pduC (PduCDE large subunit) transcription, and subsequently, the decreased activity of PduCDE by 22 %. As a result of the regulation of PduCDE, production of both 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde and 1,3-PDO in the PocR over-expressing strain were significantly decreased by 40 % relative to the control strain. These results clearly demonstrate the transcriptional repressor role of PocR in the 1,3-PDO biosynthetic pathway.

  13. Construction of a controllable β-carotene biosynthetic pathway by decentralized assembly strategy in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Wenping; Liu, Min; Lv, Xiaomei; Lu, Wenqiang; Gu, Jiali; Yu, Hongwei

    2014-01-01

    Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an important platform organism for the synthesis of a great number of natural products. However, the assembly of controllable and genetically stable heterogeneous biosynthetic pathways in S. cerevisiae still remains a significant challenge. Here, we present a strategy for reconstructing controllable multi-gene pathways by employing the GAL regulatory system. A set of marker recyclable integrative plasmids (pMRI) was designed for decentralized assembly of pathways. As proof-of-principle, a controllable β-carotene biosynthesis pathway (∼16 kb) was reconstructed and optimized by repeatedly using GAL10-GAL1 bidirectional promoters with high efficiency (80-100%). By controling the switch time of the pathway, production of 11 mg/g DCW of total carotenoids (72.57 mg/L) and 7.41 mg/g DCW of β-carotene was achieved in shake-flask culture. In addition, the engineered yeast strain exhibited high genetic stability after 20 generations of subculture. The results demonstrated a controllable and genetically stable biosynthetic pathway capable of increasing the yield of target products. Furthermore, the strategy presented in this study could be extended to construct other pathways in S. cerevisisae. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Unravelling Protein-Protein Interaction Networks Linked to Aliphatic and Indole Glucosinolate Biosynthetic Pathways in Arabidopsis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian J. Nintemann

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Within the cell, biosynthetic pathways are embedded in protein-protein interaction networks. In Arabidopsis, the biosynthetic pathways of aliphatic and indole glucosinolate defense compounds are well-characterized. However, little is known about the spatial orchestration of these enzymes and their interplay with the cellular environment. To address these aspects, we applied two complementary, untargeted approaches—split-ubiquitin yeast 2-hybrid and co-immunoprecipitation screens—to identify proteins interacting with CYP83A1 and CYP83B1, two homologous enzymes specific for aliphatic and indole glucosinolate biosynthesis, respectively. Our analyses reveal distinct functional networks with substantial interconnection among the identified interactors for both pathway-specific markers, and add to our knowledge about how biochemical pathways are connected to cellular processes. Specifically, a group of protein interactors involved in cell death and the hypersensitive response provides a potential link between the glucosinolate defense compounds and defense against biotrophic pathogens, mediated by protein-protein interactions.

  15. Genetic determination of the meso-diaminopimelate biosynthetic pathway of mycobacteria.

    OpenAIRE

    Cirillo, J. D.; Weisbrod, T. R.; Banerjee, A.; Bloom, B. R.; Jacobs, W. R.

    1994-01-01

    The increasing incidence of multiple-drug-resistant mycobacterial infections indicates that the development of new methods for treatment of mycobacterial diseases should be a high priority. meso-Diaminopimelic acid (DAP), a key component of a highly immunogenic subunit of the mycobacterial peptidoglycan layer, has been implicated as a potential virulence factor. The mycobacterial DAP biosynthetic pathway could serve as a target for design of new antimycobacterial agents as well as the constru...

  16. Neurosteroid biosynthetic pathway changes in substantia nigra and caudate nucleus in Parkinson's disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luchetti, Sabina; Bossers, Koen; Frajese, Giovanni Vanni; Swaab, Dick F.

    2010-01-01

    There is emerging evidence from animal studies for a neuroprotective role of sex steroids in neurodegenerative diseases, but studies in human brain are lacking. We have carried out an extensive study of the neurosteroid biosynthetic pathways in substantia nigra (SN), caudate nucleus (CN) and putamen

  17. Reconstruction of the biosynthetic pathway for the core fungal polyketide scaffold rubrofusarin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rugbjerg, Peter; Naesby, Michael; Mortensen, Uffe Hasbro

    2013-01-01

    production in easily fermentable and genetically engineerable organisms, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli are desirable. Rubrofusarin is an orange polyketide pigment that is a common intermediate in many different fungal biosynthetic pathways. RESULTS: In this study, we established...

  18. Estimating P-coverage of biosynthetic pathways in DNA libraries and screening by genetic selection: biotin biosynthesis in the marine microorganism Chromohalobacter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Eun Jin; Angell, Scott; Janes, Jeff; Watanabe, Coran M H

    2008-06-01

    Traditional approaches to natural product discovery involve cell-based screening of natural product extracts followed by compound isolation and characterization. Their importance notwithstanding, continued mining leads to depletion of natural resources and the reisolation of previously identified metabolites. Metagenomic strategies aimed at localizing the biosynthetic cluster genes and expressing them in surrogate hosts offers one possible alternative. A fundamental question that naturally arises when pursuing such a strategy is, how large must the genomic library be to effectively represent the genome of an organism(s) and the biosynthetic gene clusters they harbor? Such an issue is certainly augmented in the absence of expensive robotics to expedite colony picking and/or screening of clones. We have developed an algorism, named BPC (biosynthetic pathway coverage), supported by molecular simulations to deduce the number of BAC clones required to achieve proper coverage of the genome and their respective biosynthetic pathways. The strategy has been applied to the construction of a large-insert BAC library from a marine microorganism, Hon6 (isolated from Honokohau, Maui) thought to represent a new species. The genomic library is constructed with a BAC yeast shuttle vector pClasper lacZ paving the way for the culturing of libraries in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts. Flow cytometric methods are utilized to estimate the genome size of the organism and BPC implemented to assess P-coverage or percent coverage. A genetic selection strategy is illustrated, applications of which could expedite screening efforts in the identification and localization of biosynthetic pathways from marine microbial consortia, offering a powerful complement to genome sequencing and degenerate probe strategies. Implementing this approach, we report on the biotin biosynthetic pathway from the marine microorganism Hon6.

  19. Elucidation of the biosynthetic pathway for the production of the pigment chrysogine by Penicillium chrysogenum

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Viggiano, Annarita; Salo, Oleksandr; Ali, Hazrat; Szymanski, Wiktor; Lankhorst, Peter P; Nygård, Yvonne; Bovenberg, Roel A L; Driessen, Arnold J M

    Chrysogine is a yellow pigment produced by Penicillium chrysogenum and other filamentous fungi. Although it was first isolated in 1973, the biosynthetic pathway has so far not been resolved. Here, we show that the deletion of the highly expressed non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) gene

  20. Metabolic engineering to simultaneously activate anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin biosynthetic pathways in Nicotiana spp.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Fresquet-Corrales

    Full Text Available Proanthocyanidins (PAs, or condensed tannins, are powerful antioxidants that remove harmful free oxygen radicals from cells. To engineer the anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin biosynthetic pathways to de novo produce PAs in two Nicotiana species, we incorporated four transgenes to the plant chassis. We opted to perform a simultaneous transformation of the genes linked in a multigenic construct rather than classical breeding or retransformation approaches. We generated a GoldenBraid 2.0 multigenic construct containing two Antirrhinum majus transcription factors (AmRosea1 and AmDelila to upregulate the anthocyanin pathway in combination with two Medicago truncatula genes (MtLAR and MtANR to produce the enzymes that will derivate the biosynthetic pathway to PAs production. Transient and stable transformation of Nicotiana benthamiana and Nicotiana tabacum with the multigenic construct were respectively performed. Transient expression experiments in N. benthamiana showed the activation of the anthocyanin pathway producing a purple color in the agroinfiltrated leaves and also the effective production of 208.5 nmol (- catechin/g FW and 228.5 nmol (- epicatechin/g FW measured by the p-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde (DMACA method. The integration capacity of the four transgenes, their respective expression levels and their heritability in the second generation were analyzed in stably transformed N. tabacum plants. DMACA and phoroglucinolysis/HPLC-MS analyses corroborated the activation of both pathways and the effective production of PAs in T0 and T1 transgenic tobacco plants up to a maximum of 3.48 mg/g DW. The possible biotechnological applications of the GB2.0 multigenic approach in forage legumes to produce "bloat-safe" plants and to improve the efficiency of conversion of plant protein into animal protein (ruminal protein bypass are discussed.

  1. Overexpression of the riboflavin biosynthetic pathway in Pichia pastoris

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mattanovich Diethard

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background High cell density cultures of Pichia pastoris grown on methanol tend to develop yellow colored supernatants, attributed to the release of free flavins. The potential of P. pastoris for flavin overproduction is therefore given, but not pronounced when the yeast is grown on glucose. The aim of this study is to characterize the relative regulatory impact of each riboflavin synthesis gene. Deeper insight into pathway control and the potential of deregulation is established by overexpression of the single genes as well as a combined deregulation of up to all six riboflavin synthesis genes. Results Overexpression of the first gene of the riboflavin biosynthetic pathway (RIB1 is already sufficient to obtain yellow colonies and the accumulation of riboflavin in the supernatant of shake flask cultures growing on glucose. Sequential deregulation of all the genes, by exchange of their native promoter with the strong and constitutive glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase promoter (PGAP increases the riboflavin accumulation significantly. Conclusion The regulation of the pathway is distributed over more than one gene. High cell density cultivations of a P. pastoris strain overexpressing all six RIB genes allow the accumulation of 175 mg/L riboflavin in the supernatant. The basis for rational engineering of riboflavin production in P. pastoris has thus been established.

  2. [Molecular cloning, expression and characterization of lysine decarboxylase gene of endophytic fungus Shiraia sp. Slf14 from Huperzia serrata].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Silu; Yang, Huilin; Zhu, Du; Zhang, Zhibin; Yan, Riming; Wang, Ya

    2016-04-14

    Huperzine A (HupA) was approved as a drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The HupA biosynthetic pathway was started from lysine decarboxylase (LDC), which catalyzes lysine to cadaverine. In this study, we cloned and expressed an LDC gene from a HupA-producing endophytic fungus, and tested LDC activities. An endophytic fungus Shiraia sp. Slf14 from Huperzia serrata was used. LDC gene was obtained by RT-PCR, and cloned into pET-22b(+) and pET-32a(+) vectors to construct recombinant plasmids pET- 22b-LDC and pET-32a-LDC. These two recombinant plasmids were transformed into E. coli BL21, cultured for 8 h at 24 °C, 200 r/min with 1×10–3 mol/L IPTG into medium to express the LDC proteins, respectively. LDC proteins were purified by Ni2+ affinity chromatography. Catalytic activities were measured by Thin Layer Chromatography. At last, the physicochemical properties and structures of these two LDCs were obtained by bioinformatics software. LDC and Trx-LDC were expressed in E. coli BL21 successfully. SDS-PAGE analysis shows that the molecular weight of LDC and Trx-LDC were 24.4 kDa and 42.7 kDa respectively, which are consistent with bioinformatics analysis. In addition, TLC analysis reveals that both LDC and Trx-LDC had catalytic abilities. This work can provide fundamental data for enriching LDC molecular information and reveal the HupA biosynthetic pathway in endophytic fungi.

  3. Functional Characterization of a Novel R2R3-MYB Transcription Factor Modulating the Flavonoid Biosynthetic Pathway from Epimedium sagittatum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenjun Huang

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Epimedium species have been widely used both as traditional Chinese medicinal plants and ornamental perennials. Both flavonols, acting as the major bioactive components (BCs and anthocyanins, predominantly contributing to the color diversity of Epimedium flowers belong to different classes of flavonoids. It is well-acknowledged that flavonoid biosynthetic pathway is predominantly regulated by R2R3-MYB transcription factor (TF as well as bHLH TF and WD40 protein at the transcriptional level. MYB TFs specifically regulating anthocyanin or flavonol biosynthetic pathway have been already isolated and functionally characterized from Epimedium sagittatum, but a R2R3-MYB TF involved in regulating both these two pathways has not been functionally characterized to date in Epimedium plants. In this study, we report the functional characterization of EsMYB9, a R2R3-MYB TF previously isolated from E. sagittatum. The previous study indicated that EsMYB9 belongs to a small subfamily of R2R3-MYB TFs containing grape VvMYB5a and VvMYB5b TFs, which regulate flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. The present studies show that overexpression of EsMYB9 in tobacco leads to increased transcript levels of flavonoid pathway genes and increased contents of anthocyanins and flavonols. Yeast two-hybrid assay indicates that the C-terminal region of EsMYB9 contributes to the autoactivation activity, and EsMYB9 interacts with EsTT8 or AtTT8 bHLH regulator. Transient reporter assay shows that EsMYB9 slightly activates the expression of EsCHS (chalcone synthase promoter in transiently transformed leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana, but the addition of AtTT8 or EsTT8 bHLH regulator strongly enhances the transcriptional activation of EsMYB9 against five promoters of the flavonoid pathway genes except EsFLS (flavonol synthase. In addition, co-transformation of EsMYB9 and EsTT8 in transiently transfected tobacco leaves strongly induces the expressions of flavonoid biosynthetic genes. The

  4. The immediate nucleotide precursor, guanosine triphosphate, in the riboflavin biosynthetic pathway

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitsuda, Hisateru; Nakajima, Kenji; Nadamoto, Tomonori

    1977-01-01

    In the present paper, the nucleotide precursor of riboflavin was investigated by experiments with labeled purines using non-growing cells of Eremothecium ashbyii. The added purines, at 10 -4 M, were effectively incorporated into riboflavin at an early stage of riboflavin biosynthesis under the experimental conditions. In particular, both labeled xanthine and labeled guanine were specifically transported to guanosine nucleotides, GMP, GDP, GDP-Mannose and GTP, in the course of the riboflavin biosynthesis. A comparison of specific activities of labeled guanosine nucleotides and labeled riboflavin indicated that the nucleotide precursor of riboflavin is guanosine triphosphate. From the results obtained, a biosynthetic pathway of riboflavin is proposed. (auth.)

  5. Synthesis of C-Glucosylated Octaketide Anthraquinones in Nicotiana benthamiana by Using a Multispecies-Based Biosynthetic Pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersen-Ranberg, Johan; Kongstad, Kenneth Thermann; Nafisi, Majse; Staerk, Dan; Okkels, Finn Thyge; Mortensen, Uffe Hasbro; Lindberg Møller, Birger; Frandsen, Rasmus John Normand; Kannangara, Rubini

    2017-10-05

    Carminic acid is a C-glucosylated octaketide anthraquinone and the main constituent of the natural dye carmine (E120), possessing unique coloring, stability, and solubility properties. Despite being used since ancient times, longstanding efforts to elucidate its route of biosynthesis have been unsuccessful. Herein, a novel combination of enzymes derived from a plant (Aloe arborescens, Aa), a bacterium (Streptomyces sp. R1128, St), and an insect (Dactylopius coccus, Dc) that allows for the biosynthesis of the C-glucosylated anthraquinone, dcII, a precursor for carminic acid, is reported. The pathway, which consists of AaOKS, StZhuI, StZhuJ, and DcUGT2, presents an alternative biosynthetic approach for the production of polyketides by using a type III polyketide synthase (PKS) and tailoring enzymes originating from a type II PKS system. The current study showcases the power of using transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana for efficient and rapid identification of functional biosynthetic pathways, including both soluble and membrane-bound enzymes. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Deciphering the sugar biosynthetic pathway and tailoring steps of nucleoside antibiotic A201A unveils a GDP-l-galactose mutase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Qinghua; Chen, Qi; Song, Yongxiang; Huang, Hongbo; Li, Jun; Ma, Junying; Li, Qinglian; Ju, Jianhua

    2017-05-09

    Galactose, a monosaccharide capable of assuming two possible configurational isomers (d-/l-), can exist as a six-membered ring, galactopyranose (Gal p ), or as a five-membered ring, galactofuranose (Gal f ). UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM) mediates the conversion of pyranose to furanose thereby providing a precursor for d-Gal f Moreover, UGM is critical to the virulence of numerous eukaryotic and prokaryotic human pathogens and thus represents an excellent antimicrobial drug target. However, the biosynthetic mechanism and relevant enzymes that drive l-Gal f production have not yet been characterized. Herein we report that efforts to decipher the sugar biosynthetic pathway and tailoring steps en route to nucleoside antibiotic A201A led to the discovery of a GDP-l-galactose mutase, MtdL. Systematic inactivation of 18 of the 33 biosynthetic genes in the A201A cluster and elucidation of 10 congeners, coupled with feeding and in vitro biochemical experiments, enabled us to: ( i ) decipher the unique enzyme, GDP-l-galactose mutase associated with production of two unique d-mannose-derived sugars, and ( ii ) assign two glycosyltransferases, four methyltransferases, and one desaturase that regiospecifically tailor the A201A scaffold and display relaxed substrate specificities. Taken together, these data provide important insight into the origin of l-Gal f -containing natural product biosynthetic pathways with likely ramifications in other organisms and possible antimicrobial drug targeting strategies.

  7. Metabolic engineering of biosynthetic pathway for production of renewable biofuels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Vijai; Mani, Indra; Chaudhary, Dharmendra Kumar; Dhar, Pawan Kumar

    2014-02-01

    Metabolic engineering is an important area of research that involves editing genetic networks to overproduce a certain substance by the cells. Using a combination of genetic, metabolic, and modeling methods, useful substances have been synthesized in the past at industrial scale and in a cost-effective manner. Currently, metabolic engineering is being used to produce sufficient, economical, and eco-friendly biofuels. In the recent past, a number of efforts have been made towards engineering biosynthetic pathways for large scale and efficient production of biofuels from biomass. Given the adoption of metabolic engineering approaches by the biofuel industry, this paper reviews various approaches towards the production and enhancement of renewable biofuels such as ethanol, butanol, isopropanol, hydrogen, and biodiesel. We have also identified specific areas where more work needs to be done in the future.

  8. Secondary metabolism in Fusarium fujikuroi: strategies to unravel the function of biosynthetic pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janevska, Slavica; Tudzynski, Bettina

    2018-01-01

    The fungus Fusarium fujikuroi causes bakanae disease of rice due to its ability to produce the plant hormones, the gibberellins. The fungus is also known for producing harmful mycotoxins (e.g., fusaric acid and fusarins) and pigments (e.g., bikaverin and fusarubins). However, for a long time, most of these well-known products could not be linked to biosynthetic gene clusters. Recent genome sequencing has revealed altogether 47 putative gene clusters. Most of them were orphan clusters for which the encoded natural product(s) were unknown. In this review, we describe the current status of our research on identification and functional characterizations of novel secondary metabolite gene clusters. We present several examples where linking known metabolites to the respective biosynthetic genes has been achieved and describe recent strategies and methods to access new natural products, e.g., by genetic manipulation of pathway-specific or global transcritption factors. In addition, we demonstrate that deletion and over-expression of histone-modifying genes is a powerful tool to activate silent gene clusters and to discover their products.

  9. Comprehensive Proteomic Analysis of Lysine Acetylation in the Foodborne Pathogen Trichinella spiralis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yong Yang

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Lysine acetylation is a dynamic and highly conserved post-translational modification that plays a critical role in regulating diverse cellular processes. Trichinella spiralis is a foodborne parasite with a considerable socio-economic impact. However, to date, little is known regarding the role of lysine acetylation in this parasitic nematode. In this study, we utilized a proteomic approach involving anti-acetyl lysine-based enrichment and highly sensitive mass spectrometry to identify the global acetylated proteome and investigate lysine acetylation in T. spiralis. In total, 3872 lysine modification sites were identified in 1592 proteins that are involved in a wide variety of biological processes. Consistent with the results of previous studies, a large number of the acetylated proteins appear to be involved in metabolic and biosynthetic processes. Interestingly, according to the functional enrichment analysis, 29 acetylated proteins were associated with phagocytosis, suggesting an important role of lysine acetylation in this process. Among the identified proteins, 15 putative acetylation motifs were detected. The presence of serine downstream of the lysine acetylation site was commonly observed in the regions surrounding the sites. Moreover, protein interaction network analysis revealed that various interactions are regulated by protein acetylation. These data represent the first report of the acetylome of T. spiralis and provide an important resource for further explorations of the role of lysine acetylation in this foodborne pathogen.

  10. The flavonoid biosynthetic pathway in plants: function and evolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koes, R.E.; Quattrocchio, F.; Mol, J.N.M.

    1994-01-01

    Flavonoids are a class of low molecular weight phenolic compounds that is widely distributed in the plant kingdom. They exhibit a diverse spectrum of biological functions and play an important role in the interaction between plants and their environment. Flavonoids not only protect the plant from the harmful effects of UV irradiation but also play a crucial role in the sexual reproduction process. A special class of flavonoid polymers, the tannins, plays a structural role in the plant. Yet other classes of flavonoids, flavonols and anthocyanins, have been implicated in the attraction of pollinators. Certain flavonoids participate in the interaction between plants and other organisms such as symbiotic bacteria and parasites. This raises the intriguing question as to how these different compounds arose and evolved. Based on taxonomy and molecular analysis of gene expression patterns it is possible to deduce a putative sequence of acquisition of the different branches of the biosynthetic pathway and their regulators. (author)

  11. The flavonoid biosynthetic pathway in plants: function and evolution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koes, R. E.; Quattrocchio, F.; Mol, J. N.M. [Department of Genetics, Institute for Molecular Biological Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, BioCentrum Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1087, 1081HV, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    1994-07-01

    Flavonoids are a class of low molecular weight phenolic compounds that is widely distributed in the plant kingdom. They exhibit a diverse spectrum of biological functions and play an important role in the interaction between plants and their environment. Flavonoids not only protect the plant from the harmful effects of UV irradiation but also play a crucial role in the sexual reproduction process. A special class of flavonoid polymers, the tannins, plays a structural role in the plant. Yet other classes of flavonoids, flavonols and anthocyanins, have been implicated in the attraction of pollinators. Certain flavonoids participate in the interaction between plants and other organisms such as symbiotic bacteria and parasites. This raises the intriguing question as to how these different compounds arose and evolved. Based on taxonomy and molecular analysis of gene expression patterns it is possible to deduce a putative sequence of acquisition of the different branches of the biosynthetic pathway and their regulators. (author)

  12. Expression of carotenoid biosynthetic pathway genes and changes in carotenoids during ripening in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Namitha, Kanakapura Krishnamurthy; Archana, Surya Narayana; Negi, Pradeep Singh

    2011-04-01

    To study the expression pattern of carotenoid biosynthetic pathway genes, changes in their expression at different stages of maturity in tomato fruit (cv. Arka Ahuti) were investigated. The genes regulating carotenoid production were quantified by a dot blot method using a DIG (dioxigenin) labelling and detection kit. The results revealed that there was an increase in the levels of upstream genes of the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway such as 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR), 4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl diphosphate reductase (Lyt B), phytoene synthase (PSY), phytoene desaturase (PDS) and ζ-carotene desaturase (ZDS) by 2-4 fold at the breaker stage as compared to leaf. The lycopene and β-carotene content was analyzed by HPLC at different stages of maturity. The lycopene (15.33 ± 0.24 mg per 100 g) and β-carotene (10.37 ± 0.46 mg per 100 g) content were found to be highest at 5 days post-breaker and 10 days post-breaker stage, respectively. The lycopene accumulation pattern also coincided with the color values at different stages of maturity. These studies may provide insight into devising gene-based strategies for enhancing carotenoid accumulation in tomato fruits.

  13. Optimization of lysine production in Corynebacteriumglutamicum ATCC15032 by Response surface methodology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehrnaz Haghi

    2017-03-01

    Discussion and conclusion: According to the results, the proposed culture media by response surface methodology causes 1400 times increase in the lysine production compared with M9 culture media and methionine had an important role in the production of lysine, probably by inhibiting the other metabolic pathway which has common metabolic precursor with lysine production metabolic pathway.

  14. Production of Odd-Carbon Dicarboxylic Acids in Escherichia coli Using an Engineered Biotin-Fatty Acid Biosynthetic Pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haushalter, Robert W; Phelan, Ryan M; Hoh, Kristina M; Su, Cindy; Wang, George; Baidoo, Edward E K; Keasling, Jay D

    2017-04-05

    Dicarboxylic acids are commodity chemicals used in the production of plastics, polyesters, nylons, fragrances, and medications. Bio-based routes to dicarboxylic acids are gaining attention due to environmental concerns about petroleum-based production of these compounds. Some industrial applications require dicarboxylic acids with specific carbon chain lengths, including odd-carbon species. Biosynthetic pathways involving cytochrome P450-catalyzed oxidation of fatty acids in yeast and bacteria have been reported, but these systems produce almost exclusively even-carbon species. Here we report a novel pathway to odd-carbon dicarboxylic acids directly from glucose in Escherichia coli by employing an engineered pathway combining enzymes from biotin and fatty acid synthesis. Optimization of the pathway will lead to industrial strains for the production of valuable odd-carbon diacids.

  15. A de novo NADPH generation pathway for improving lysine production of Corynebacterium glutamicum by rational design of the coenzyme specificity of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bommareddy, Rajesh Reddy; Chen, Zhen; Rappert, Sugima; Zeng, An-Ping

    2014-09-01

    Engineering the cofactor availability is a common strategy of metabolic engineering to improve the production of many industrially important compounds. In this work, a de novo NADPH generation pathway is proposed by altering the coenzyme specificity of a native NAD-dependent glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) to NADP, which consequently has the potential to produce additional NADPH in the glycolytic pathway. Specifically, the coenzyme specificity of GAPDH of Corynebacterium glutamicum is systematically manipulated by rational protein design and the effect of the manipulation for cellular metabolism and lysine production is evaluated. By a combinatorial modification of four key residues within the coenzyme binding sites, different GAPDH mutants with varied coenzyme specificity were constructed. While increasing the catalytic efficiency of GAPDH towards NADP enhanced lysine production in all of the tested mutants, the most significant improvement of lysine production (~60%) was achieved with the mutant showing similar preference towards both NAD and NADP. Metabolic flux analysis with (13)C isotope studies confirmed that there was no significant change of flux towards the pentose phosphate pathway and the increased lysine yield was mainly attributed to the NADPH generated by the mutated GAPDH. The present study highlights the importance of protein engineering as a key strategy in de novo pathway design and overproduction of desired products. Copyright © 2014 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Characterization of dapB, a gene required by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci BR2.024 for lysine and tabtoxinine-beta-lactam biosynthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, L; Shaw, P D

    1997-01-01

    The dapB gene, which encodes L-2,3-dihydrodipicolinate reductase, the second enzyme of the lysine branch of the aspartic amino acid family, was cloned and sequenced from a tabtoxin-producing bacterium, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci BR2.024. The deduced amino acid sequence shared 60 to 90% identity to known dapB gene products from gram-negative bacteria and 19 to 21% identity to the dapB products from gram-positive bacteria. The consensus sequence for the NAD(P)H binding site [(V/I)(A/G)(V/I)XGXXGXXG)] and the proposed substrate binding site (HHRHK) were conserved in the polypeptide. A BR2.024 dapB mutant is a diaminopimelate auxotroph and tabtoxin negative. The addition of a mixture of L-,L-, D,D-, and meso-diaminopimelate to defined media restored growth but not tabtoxin production. Cloned DNA fragments containing the parental dapB gene restored the ability to grow in defined media and tabtoxin production to the dapB mutant. These results indicate that the dapB gene is required for both lysine and tabtoxin biosynthesis, thus providing the first genetic evidence that the biosynthesis of tabtoxin proceeds in part along the lysine biosynthetic pathway. These data also suggest that L-2,3,4,5-tetrahydrodipicolinate is a common intermediate for both lysine and tabtoxin biosynthesis. PMID:8990304

  17. The Cremeomycin Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Encodes a Pathway for Diazo Formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldman, Abraham J; Pechersky, Yakov; Wang, Peng; Wang, Jennifer X; Balskus, Emily P

    2015-10-12

    Diazo groups are found in a range of natural products that possess potent biological activities. Despite longstanding interest in these metabolites, diazo group biosynthesis is not well understood, in part because of difficulties in identifying specific genes linked to diazo formation. Here we describe the discovery of the gene cluster that produces the o-diazoquinone natural product cremeomycin and its heterologous expression in Streptomyces lividans. We used stable isotope feeding experiments and in vitro characterization of biosynthetic enzymes to decipher the order of events in this pathway and establish that diazo construction involves late-stage N-N bond formation. This work represents the first successful production of a diazo-containing metabolite in a heterologous host, experimentally linking a set of genes with diazo formation. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Selectively improving nikkomycin Z production by blocking the imidazolone biosynthetic pathway of nikkomycin X and uracil feeding in Streptomyces ansochromogenes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Haihua

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Nikkomycins are a group of peptidyl nucleoside antibiotics and act as potent inhibitors of chitin synthases in fungi and insects. Nikkomycin X and Z are the main components produced by Streptomyces ansochromogenes. Of them, nikkomycin Z is a promising antifungal agent with clinical significance. Since highly structural similarities between nikkomycin Z and X, separation of nikkomycin Z from the culture medium of S. ansochromogenes is difficult. Thus, generating a nikkomycin Z selectively producing strain is vital to scale up the nikkomycin Z yields for clinical trials. Results A nikkomycin Z producing strain (sanPDM was constructed by blocking the imidazolone biosynthetic pathway of nikkomycin X via genetic manipulation and yielded 300 mg/L nikkomycin Z and abolished the nikkomycin X production. To further increase the yield of nikkomycin Z, the effects of different precursors on its production were investigated. Precursors of nucleoside moiety (uracil or uridine had a stimulatory effect on nikkomycin Z production while precursors of peptidyl moiety (L-lysine and L-glutamate had no effect. sanPDM produced the maximum yields of nikkomycin Z (800 mg/L in the presence of uracil at the concentration of 2 g/L and it was approximately 2.6-fold higher than that of the parent strain. Conclusion A high nikkomycin Z selectively producing was obtained by genetic manipulation combined with precursors feeding. The strategy presented here might be applicable in other bacteria to selectively produce targeted antibiotics.

  19. Spook and Spookier code for stage-specific components of the ecdysone biosynthetic pathway in Diptera

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ono, Hajime; Rewitz, Kim; Shinoda, Tetsu

    2006-01-01

    is eliminated in larvae carrying mutations in molting defective (mld), a gene encoding a nuclear zinc finger protein that is required for production of ecdysone during Drosophila larval development. Intriguingly, mld is not present in the Bombyx mori genome, and we have identified only one spook homolog in both...... Bombyx and Manduca that is expressed in both embryos and larva. These studies suggest an evolutionary split between Diptera and Lepidoptera in how the ecdysone biosynthetic pathway is regulated during development....

  20. Perturbations in the Photosynthetic Pigment Status Result in Photooxidation-Induced Crosstalk between Carotenoid and Porphyrin Biosynthetic Pathways

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joon-Heum Park

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Possible crosstalk between the carotenoid and porphyrin biosynthetic pathways under photooxidative conditions was investigated by using their biosynthetic inhibitors, norflurazon (NF and oxyfluorfen (OF. High levels of protoporphyrin IX (Proto IX accumulated in rice plants treated with OF, whereas Proto IX decreased in plants treated with NF. Both NF and OF treatments resulted in greater decreases in MgProto IX, MgProto IX methyl ester, and protochlorophyllide. Activities and transcript levels of most porphyrin biosynthetic enzymes, particularly in the Mg-porphyrin branch, were greatly down-regulated in NF and OF plants. In contrast, the transcript levels of GSA, PPO1, and CHLD as well as FC2 and HO2 were up-regulated in NF-treated plants, while only moderate increases in FC2 and HO2 were observed in the early stage of OF treatment. Phytoene, antheraxanthin, and zeaxanthin showed high accumulation in NF-treated plants, whereas other carotenoid intermediates greatly decreased. Transcript levels of carotenoid biosynthetic genes, PSY1 and PDS, decreased in response to NF and OF, whereas plants in the later stage of NF treatment exhibited up-regulation of BCH and VDE as well as recovery of PDS. However, perturbed porphyrin biosynthesis by OF did not noticeably influence levels of carotenoid metabolites, regardless of the strong down-regulation of carotenoid biosynthetic genes. Both NF and OF plants appeared to provide enhanced protection against photooxidative damage, not only by scavenging of Mg-porphyrins, but also by up-regulating FC2, HO2, and Fe-chelatase, particularly with increased levels of zeaxanthin via up-regulation of BCH and VDE in NF plants. On the other hand, the up-regulation of GSA, PPO1, and CHLD under inhibition of carotenogenic flux may be derived from the necessity to recover impaired chloroplast biogenesis during photooxidative stress. Our study demonstrates that perturbations in carotenoid and porphyrin biosynthesis coordinate

  1. Perturbations in the Photosynthetic Pigment Status Result in Photooxidation-Induced Crosstalk between Carotenoid and Porphyrin Biosynthetic Pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Joon-Heum; Tran, Lien H; Jung, Sunyo

    2017-01-01

    Possible crosstalk between the carotenoid and porphyrin biosynthetic pathways under photooxidative conditions was investigated by using their biosynthetic inhibitors, norflurazon (NF) and oxyfluorfen (OF). High levels of protoporphyrin IX (Proto IX) accumulated in rice plants treated with OF, whereas Proto IX decreased in plants treated with NF. Both NF and OF treatments resulted in greater decreases in MgProto IX, MgProto IX methyl ester, and protochlorophyllide. Activities and transcript levels of most porphyrin biosynthetic enzymes, particularly in the Mg-porphyrin branch, were greatly down-regulated in NF and OF plants. In contrast, the transcript levels of GSA, PPO1 , and CHLD as well as FC2 and HO2 were up-regulated in NF-treated plants, while only moderate increases in FC2 and HO2 were observed in the early stage of OF treatment. Phytoene, antheraxanthin, and zeaxanthin showed high accumulation in NF-treated plants, whereas other carotenoid intermediates greatly decreased. Transcript levels of carotenoid biosynthetic genes, PSY1 and PDS , decreased in response to NF and OF, whereas plants in the later stage of NF treatment exhibited up-regulation of BCH and VDE as well as recovery of PDS . However, perturbed porphyrin biosynthesis by OF did not noticeably influence levels of carotenoid metabolites, regardless of the strong down-regulation of carotenoid biosynthetic genes. Both NF and OF plants appeared to provide enhanced protection against photooxidative damage, not only by scavenging of Mg - porphyrins, but also by up-regulating FC2, HO2 , and Fe-chelatase, particularly with increased levels of zeaxanthin via up-regulation of BCH and VDE in NF plants. On the other hand, the up-regulation of GSA, PPO1 , and CHLD under inhibition of carotenogenic flux may be derived from the necessity to recover impaired chloroplast biogenesis during photooxidative stress. Our study demonstrates that perturbations in carotenoid and porphyrin biosynthesis coordinate the

  2. Reconstruction of cytosolic fumaric acid biosynthetic pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xu Guoqiang

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Fumaric acid is a commercially important component of foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and industrial materials, yet the current methods of production are unsustainable and ecologically destructive. Results In this study, the fumarate biosynthetic pathway involving reductive reactions of the tricarboxylic acid cycle was exogenously introduced in S. cerevisiae by a series of simple genetic modifications. First, the Rhizopus oryzae genes for malate dehydrogenase (RoMDH and fumarase (RoFUM1 were heterologously expressed. Then, expression of the endogenous pyruvate carboxylase (PYC2 was up-regulated. The resultant yeast strain, FMME-001 ↑PYC2 + ↑RoMDH, was capable of producing significantly higher yields of fumarate in the glucose medium (3.18 ± 0.15 g liter-1 than the control strain FMME-001 empty vector. Conclusions The results presented here provide a novel strategy for fumarate biosynthesis, which represents an important advancement in producing high yields of fumarate in a sustainable and ecologically-friendly manner.

  3. Biosynthetic pathway of the phytohormone auxin in insects and screening of its inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Hiroyoshi; Yokokura, Junpei; Ito, Tsukasa; Arai, Ryoma; Yokoyama, Chiaki; Toshima, Hiroaki; Nagata, Shinji; Asami, Tadao; Suzuki, Yoshihito

    2014-10-01

    Insect galls are abnormal plant tissues induced by galling insects. The galls are used for food and habitation, and the phytohormone auxin, produced by the insects, may be involved in their formation. We found that the silkworm, a non-galling insect, also produces an active form of auxin, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), by de novo synthesis from tryptophan (Trp). A detailed metabolic analysis of IAA using IAA synthetic enzymes from silkworms indicated an IAA biosynthetic pathway composed of a three-step conversion: Trp → indole-3-acetaldoxime → indole-3-acetaldehyde (IAAld) → IAA, of which the first step is limiting IAA production. This pathway was shown to also operate in gall-inducing sawfly. Screening of a chemical library identified two compounds that showed strong inhibitory activities on the conversion step IAAld → IAA. The inhibitors can be efficiently used to demonstrate the importance of insect-synthesized auxin in gall formation in the future. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Examination of triacylglycerol biosynthetic pathways via de novo transcriptomic and proteomic analyses in an unsequenced microalga.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael T Guarnieri

    Full Text Available Biofuels derived from algal lipids represent an opportunity to dramatically impact the global energy demand for transportation fuels. Systems biology analyses of oleaginous algae could greatly accelerate the commercialization of algal-derived biofuels by elucidating the key components involved in lipid productivity and leading to the initiation of hypothesis-driven strain-improvement strategies. However, higher-level systems biology analyses, such as transcriptomics and proteomics, are highly dependent upon available genomic sequence data, and the lack of these data has hindered the pursuit of such analyses for many oleaginous microalgae. In order to examine the triacylglycerol biosynthetic pathway in the unsequenced oleaginous microalga, Chlorella vulgaris, we have established a strategy with which to bypass the necessity for genomic sequence information by using the transcriptome as a guide. Our results indicate an upregulation of both fatty acid and triacylglycerol biosynthetic machinery under oil-accumulating conditions, and demonstrate the utility of a de novo assembled transcriptome as a search model for proteomic analysis of an unsequenced microalga.

  5. Modulation of guanosine nucleotides biosynthetic pathways enhanced GDP-L-fucose production in recombinant Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Won-Heong; Shin, So-Yeon; Kim, Myoung-Dong; Han, Nam Soo; Seo, Jin-Ho

    2012-03-01

    Guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) is the key substrate for biosynthesis of guanosine 5'-diphosphate (GDP)-L-fucose. In this study, improvement of GDP-L-fucose production was attempted by manipulating the biosynthetic pathway for guanosine nucleotides in recombinant Escherichia coli-producing GDP-L-fucose. The effects of overexpression of inosine 5'-monophosphate (IMP) dehydrogenase, guanosine 5'-monophosphate (GMP) synthetase (GuaB and GuaA), GMP reductase (GuaC) and guanosine-inosine kinase (Gsk) on GDP-L-fucose production were investigated in a series of fed-batch fermentations. Among the enzymes tested, overexpression of Gsk led to a significant improvement of GDP-L-fucose production. Maximum GDP-L-fucose concentration of 305.5 ± 5.3 mg l(-1) was obtained in the pH-stat fed-batch fermentation of recombinant E. coli-overexpressing Gsk, which corresponds to a 58% enhancement in the GDP-L-fucose production compared with the control strain overexpressing GDP-L-fucose biosynthetic enzymes. Such an enhancement of GDP-L-fucose production could be due to the increase in the intracellular level of GMP.

  6. Novel α-Oxoamide Advanced-Glycation Endproducts within the N6-Carboxymethyl Lysine and N6-Carboxyethyl Lysine Reaction Cascades.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldensperger, Tim; Jost, Tobias; Zipprich, Alexander; Glomb, Marcus A

    2018-02-28

    The highly reactive α-dicarbonyl compounds glyoxal and methylglyoxal are major precursors of posttranslational protein modifications in vivo. Model incubations of N 2 -t-Boc-lysine and either glyoxal or methylglyoxal were used to further elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the N 6 -carboxymethyl lysine and N 6 -carboxyethyl lysine reaction cascades. After independent synthesis of the authentic reference standards, we were able to detect N 6 -glyoxylyl lysine and N 6 -pyruvoyl lysine for the first time by HPLC-MS 2 analyses. These two novel amide advanced-glycation endproducts were exclusively formed under aerated conditions, suggesting that they were potent markers for oxidative stress. Analogous to the well-known Strecker degradation pathway, leading from amino acids to Strecker acids, the oxidation of an enaminol intermediate is suggested to be the key mechanistic step. A highly sensitive workup for the determination of AGEs in tissues was developed. In support of our hypothesis, the levels of N 6 -glyoxylyl lysine and N 6 -pyruvoyl lysine in rat livers indeed correlated with liver cirrhosis and aging.

  7. Decoding Biosynthetic Pathways in Plants by Pulse-Chase Strategies Using 13CO2 as a Universal Tracer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adelbert Bacher

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available 13CO2 pulse-chase experiments monitored by high-resolution NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry can provide 13C-isotopologue compositions in biosynthetic products. Experiments with a variety of plant species have documented that the isotopologue profiles generated with 13CO2 pulse-chase labeling are directly comparable to those that can be generated by the application of [U-13C6]glucose to aseptically growing plants. However, the application of the 13CO2 labeling technology is not subject to the experimental limitations that one has to take into account for experiments with [U-13C6]glucose and can be applied to plants growing under physiological conditions, even in the field. In practical terms, the results of biosynthetic studies with 13CO2 consist of the detection of pairs, triples and occasionally quadruples of 13C atoms that have been jointly contributed to the target metabolite, at an abundance that is well above the stochastic occurrence of such multiples. Notably, the connectivities of jointly transferred 13C multiples can have undergone modification by skeletal rearrangements that can be diagnosed from the isotopologue data. As shown by the examples presented in this review article, the approach turns out to be powerful in decoding the carbon topology of even complex biosynthetic pathways.

  8. Minimum Information about a Biosynthetic Gene cluster : commentary

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Medema, Marnix H; Kottmann, Renzo; Yilmaz, Pelin; Cummings, Matthew; Biggins, John B; Blin, Kai; de Bruijn, Irene; Chooi, Yit Heng; Claesen, Jan; Coates, R Cameron; Cruz-Morales, Pablo; Duddela, Srikanth; Dusterhus, Stephanie; Edwards, Daniel J; Fewer, David P; Garg, Neha; Geiger, Christoph; Gomez-Escribano, Juan Pablo; Greule, Anja; Hadjithomas, Michalis; Haines, Anthony S; Helfrich, Eric J N; Hillwig, Matthew L; Ishida, Keishi; Jones, Adam C; Jones, Carla S; Jungmann, Katrin; Kegler, Carsten; Kim, Hyun Uk; Kotter, Peter; Krug, Daniel; Masschelein, Joleen; Melnik, Alexey V; Mantovani, Simone M; Monroe, Emily A; Moore, Marcus; Moss, Nathan; Nutzmann, Hans-Wilhelm; Pan, Guohui; Pati, Amrita; Petras, Daniel; Reen, F Jerry; Rosconi, Federico; Rui, Zhe; Tian, Zhenhua; Tobias, Nicholas J; Tsunematsu, Yuta; Wiemann, Philipp; Wyckoff, Elizabeth; Yan, Xiaohui; Yim, Grace; Yu, Fengan; Xie, Yunchang; Aigle, Bertrand; Apel, Alexander K; Balibar, Carl J; Balskus, Emily P; Barona-Gomez, Francisco; Bechthold, Andreas; Bode, Helge B; Borriss, Rainer; Brady, Sean F; Brakhage, Axel A; Caffrey, Patrick; Cheng, Yi-Qiang; Clardy, Jon; Cox, Russell J; De Mot, Rene; Donadio, Stefano; Donia, Mohamed S; van der Donk, Wilfred A; Dorrestein, Pieter C; Doyle, Sean; Driessen, Arnold J M; Ehling-Schulz, Monika; Entian, Karl-Dieter; Fischbach, Michael A; Gerwick, Lena; Gerwick, William H; Gross, Harald; Gust, Bertolt; Hertweck, Christian; Hofte, Monica; Jensen, Susan E; Ju, Jianhua; Katz, Leonard; Kaysser, Leonard; Klassen, Jonathan L; Keller, Nancy P; Kormanec, Jan; Kuipers, Oscar P; Kuzuyama, Tomohisa; Kyrpides, Nikos C; Kwon, Hyung-Jin; Lautru, Sylvie; Lavigne, Rob; Lee, Chia Y; Linquan, Bai; Liu, Xinyu; Liu, Wen; Luzhetskyy, Andriy; Mahmud, Taifo; Mast, Yvonne; Mendez, Carmen; Metsa-Ketela, Mikko; Micklefield, Jason; Mitchell, Douglas A; Moore, Bradley S; Moreira, Leonilde M; Muller, Rolf; Neilan, Brett A; Nett, Markus; Nielsen, Jens; O'Gara, Fergal; Oikawa, Hideaki; Osbourn, Anne; Osburne, Marcia S; Ostash, Bohdan; Payne, Shelley M; Pernodet, Jean-Luc; Petricek, Miroslav; Piel, Jorn; Ploux, Olivier; Raaijmakers, Jos M; Salas, Jose A; Schmitt, Esther K; Scott, Barry; Seipke, Ryan F; Shen, Ben; Sherman, David H; Sivonen, Kaarina; Smanski, Michael J; Sosio, Margherita; Stegmann, Evi; Sussmuth, Roderich D; Tahlan, Kapil; Thomas, Christopher M; Tang, Yi; Truman, Andrew W; Viaud, Muriel; Walton, Jonathan D; Walsh, Christopher T; Weber, Tilmann; van Wezel, Gilles P; Wilkinson, Barrie; Willey, Joanne M; Wohlleben, Wolfgang; Wright, Gerard D; Ziemert, Nadine; Zhang, Changsheng; Zotchev, Sergey B; Breitling, Rainer; Takano, Eriko; Glockner, Frank Oliver

    A wide variety of enzymatic pathways that produce specialized metabolites in bacteria, fungi and plants are known to be encoded in biosynthetic gene clusters. Information about these clusters, pathways and metabolites is currently dispersed throughout the literature, making it difficult to exploit.

  9. [Construction of Corynebacterium crenatum AS 1.542 δ argR and analysis of transcriptional levels of the related genes of arginine biosynthetic pathway].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xuelan; Tang, Li; Jiao, Haitao; Xu, Feng; Xiong, Yonghua

    2013-01-04

    ArgR, coded by the argR gene from Corynebacterium crenatum AS 1.542, acts as a negative regulator in arginine biosynthetic pathway. However, the effect of argR on transcriptional levels of the related biosynthetic genes has not been reported. Here, we constructed a deletion mutant of argR gene: C. crenatum AS 1.542 Delta argR using marker-less knockout technology, and compared the changes of transcriptional levels of the arginine biosynthetic genes between the mutant strain and the wild-type strain. We used marker-less knockout technology to construct C. crenatum AS 1.542 Delta argR and analyzed the changes of the relate genes at the transcriptional level using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. C. crenatum AS 1.542 Delta argR was successfully obtained and the transcriptional level of arginine biosynthetic genes in this mutant increased significantly with an average of about 162.1 folds. The arginine biosynthetic genes in C. crenatum are clearly controlled by the negative regulator ArgR. However, the deletion of this regulator does not result in a clear change in arginine production in the bacteria.

  10. Leveraging microbial biosynthetic pathways for the generation of 'drop-in' biofuels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zargar, Amin; Bailey, Constance B; Haushalter, Robert W; Eiben, Christopher B; Katz, Leonard; Keasling, Jay D

    2017-06-01

    Advances in retooling microorganisms have enabled bioproduction of 'drop-in' biofuels, fuels that are compatible with existing spark-ignition, compression-ignition, and gas-turbine engines. As the majority of petroleum consumption in the United States consists of gasoline (47%), diesel fuel and heating oil (21%), and jet fuel (8%), 'drop-in' biofuels that replace these petrochemical sources are particularly attractive. In this review, we discuss the application of aldehyde decarbonylases to produce gasoline substitutes from fatty acid products, a recently crystallized reductase that could hydrogenate jet fuel precursors from terpene synthases, and the exquisite control of polyketide synthases to produce biofuels with desired physical properties (e.g., lower freezing points). With our increased understanding of biosynthetic logic of metabolic pathways, we discuss the unique advantages of fatty acid, terpene, and polyketide synthases for the production of bio-based gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Production of Odd-Carbon Dicarboxylic Acids in Escherichia coli Using an Engineered Biotin–Fatty Acid Biosynthetic Pathway

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haushalter, Robert W. [Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Physical Bioscience Division; Phelan, Ryan M. [Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Physical Bioscience Division; Hoh, Kristina M. [Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Physical Bioscience Division; Su, Cindy [Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Physical Bioscience Division; Wang, George [Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Physical Bioscience Division; Baidoo, Edward E. K. [Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Physical Bioscience Division; Keasling, Jay D. [Joint BioEnergy Inst. (JBEI), Emeryville, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Physical Bioscience Division

    2017-03-14

    Dicarboxylic acids are commodity chemicals used in the production of plastics, polyesters, nylons, fragrances, and medications. Bio-based routes to dicarboxylic acids are gaining attention due to environmental concerns about petroleum-based production of these compounds. Some industrial applications require dicarboxylic acids with specific carbon chain lengths, including odd-carbon species. Biosynthetic pathways involving cytochrome P450-catalyzed oxidation of fatty acids in yeast and bacteria have been reported, but these systems produce almost exclusively even-carbon species. Here in this paper we report a novel pathway to odd-carbon dicarboxylic acids directly from glucose in Escherichia coli by employing an engineered pathway combining enzymes from biotin and fatty acid synthesis. Optimization of the pathway will lead to industrial strains for the production of valuable odd-carbon diacids.

  12. Production of 2-deoxyribose 5-phosphate from fructose to demonstrate a potential of artificial bio-synthetic pathway using thermophilic enzymes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honda, Kohsuke; Maya, Shohei; Omasa, Takeshi; Hirota, Ryuichi; Kuroda, Akio; Ohtake, Hisao

    2010-08-02

    Six thermophilic enzymes from Thermus thermophilus were used to construct an 'artificial bio-synthetic pathway' for the production of 2-deoxyribose 5-phosphate from fructose. By a simple operation using six recombinant Escherichia coli strains producing the thermophilic enzymes, respectively, fructose was converted to 2-deoxyribose 5-phosphate with a molar yield of 55%. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. tRNA-dependent cysteine biosynthetic pathway represents a strategy to increase cysteine contents by preventing it from thermal degradation: thermal adaptation of methanogenic archaea ancestor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Ge; Wang, Wei; Chen, Ling-Ling; Qian, Shao-Song; Zhang, Hong-Yu

    2009-10-01

    Although cysteine (Cys) is beneficial to stabilize protein structures, it is not prevalent in thermophiles. For instance, the Cys contents in most thermophilic archaea are only around 0.7%. However, methanogenic archaea, no matter thermophilic or not, contain relatively abundant Cys, which remains elusive for a long time. Recently, Klipcan et al. correlated this intriguing property of methanogenic archaea with their unique tRNA-dependent Cys biosynthetic pathway. But, the deep reasons underlying the correlation are ambiguous. Considering the facts that free Cys is thermally labile and the tRNA-dependent Cys biosynthesis avoids the use of free Cys, we speculate that the unique Cys biosynthetic pathway represents a strategy to increase Cys contents by preventing it from thermal degradation, which may be relevant to the thermal adaptation of methanogenic archaea ancestor.

  14. In silico analysis and expression profiling of miRNAs targeting genes of steviol glycosides biosynthetic pathway and their relationship with steviol glycosides content in different tissues of Stevia rebaudiana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saifi, Monica; Nasrullah, Nazima; Ahmad, Malik Mobeen; Ali, Athar; Khan, Jawaid A; Abdin, M Z

    2015-09-01

    miRNAs are emerging as potential regulators of the gene expression. Their proven promising role in regulating biosynthetic pathways related gene networks may hold the key to understand the genetic regulation of these pathways which may assist in selection and manipulation to get high performing plant genotypes with better secondary metabolites yields and increased biomass. miRNAs associated with genes of steviol glycosides biosynthetic pathway, however, have not been identified so far. In this study miRNAs targeting genes of steviol glycosides biosynthetic pathway were identified for the first time whose precursors were potentially generated from ESTs and nucleotide sequences of Stevia rebaudiana. Thereafter, stem-loop coupled real time PCR based expressions of these miRNAs in different tissues of Stevia rebaudiana were investigated and their relationship pattern was analysed with the expression levels of their target mRNAs as well as steviol glycoside contents. All the miRNAs investigated showed differential expressions in all the three tissues studied, viz. leaves, flowers and stems. Out of the eleven miRNAs validated, the expression levels of nine miRNAs (miR319a, miR319b, miR319c, miR319d, miR319e, miR319f, miR319h, miRstv_7, miRstv_9) were found to be inversely related, while expression levels of the two, i.e. miR319g and miRstv_11 on the contrary, showed direct relation with the expression levels of their target mRNAs and steviol glycoside contents in the leaves, flowers and stems. This study provides a platform for better understanding of the steviol glycosides biosynthetic pathway and these miRNAs can further be employed to manipulate the biosynthesis of these metabolites to enhance their contents and yield in S. rebaudiana. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  15. Systems-wide metabolic pathway engineering in Corynebacterium glutamicum for bio-based production of diaminopentane.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kind, Stefanie; Jeong, Weol Kyu; Schröder, Hartwig; Wittmann, Christoph

    2010-07-01

    In the present work the Gram-positive bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum was engineered into an efficient, tailor-made production strain for diaminopentane (cadaverine), a highly attractive building block for bio-based polyamides. The engineering comprised expression of lysine decarboxylase (ldcC) from Escherichia coli, catalyzing the conversion of lysine into diaminopentane, and systems-wide metabolic engineering of central supporting pathways. Substantially re-designing the metabolism yielded superior strains with desirable properties such as (i) the release from unwanted feedback regulation at the level of aspartokinase and pyruvate carboxylase by introducing the point mutations lysC311 and pycA458, (ii) an optimized supply of the key precursor oxaloacetate by amplifying the anaplerotic enzyme, pyruvate carboxylase, and deleting phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase which otherwise removes oxaloacetate, (iii) enhanced biosynthetic flux via combined amplification of aspartokinase, dihydrodipicolinate reductase, diaminopimelate dehydrogenase and diaminopimelate decarboxylase, and (iv) attenuated flux into the threonine pathway competing with production by the leaky mutation hom59 in the homoserine dehydrogenase gene. Lysine decarboxylase proved to be a bottleneck for efficient production, since its in vitro activity and in vivo flux were closely correlated. To achieve an optimal strain having only stable genomic modifications, the combination of the strong constitutive C. glutamicum tuf promoter and optimized codon usage allowed efficient genome-based ldcC expression and resulted in a high diaminopentane yield of 200 mmol mol(-1). By supplementing the medium with 1 mgL(-1) pyridoxal, the cofactor of lysine decarboxylase, the yield was increased to 300 mmol mol(-1). In the production strain obtained, lysine secretion was almost completely abolished. Metabolic analysis, however, revealed substantial formation of an as yet unknown by-product. It was identified as an

  16. Evolutionary origins and functions of the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway in marine diatoms.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sacha Coesel

    Full Text Available Carotenoids are produced by all photosynthetic organisms, where they play essential roles in light harvesting and photoprotection. The carotenoid biosynthetic pathway of diatoms is largely unstudied, but is of particular interest because these organisms have a very different evolutionary history with respect to the Plantae and are thought to be derived from an ancient secondary endosymbiosis between heterotrophic and autotrophic eukaryotes. Furthermore, diatoms have an additional xanthophyll-based cycle for dissipating excess light energy with respect to green algae and higher plants. To explore the origins and functions of the carotenoid pathway in diatoms we searched for genes encoding pathway components in the recently completed genome sequences of two marine diatoms. Consistent with the supplemental xanthophyll cycle in diatoms, we found more copies of the genes encoding violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE and zeaxanthin epoxidase (ZEP enzymes compared with other photosynthetic eukaryotes. However, the similarity of these enzymes with those of higher plants indicates that they had very probably diversified before the secondary endosymbiosis had occurred, implying that VDE and ZEP represent early eukaryotic innovations in the Plantae. Consequently, the diatom chromist lineage likely obtained all paralogues of ZEP and VDE genes during the process of secondary endosymbiosis by gene transfer from the nucleus of the algal endosymbiont to the host nucleus. Furthermore, the presence of a ZEP gene in Tetrahymena thermophila provides the first evidence for a secondary plastid gene encoded in a heterotrophic ciliate, providing support for the chromalveolate hypothesis. Protein domain structures and expression analyses in the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum indicate diverse roles for the different ZEP and VDE isoforms and demonstrate that they are differentially regulated by light. These studies therefore reveal the ancient origins of several

  17. Evolutionary origins and functions of the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway in marine diatoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coesel, Sacha; Oborník, Miroslav; Varela, Joao; Falciatore, Angela; Bowler, Chris

    2008-08-06

    Carotenoids are produced by all photosynthetic organisms, where they play essential roles in light harvesting and photoprotection. The carotenoid biosynthetic pathway of diatoms is largely unstudied, but is of particular interest because these organisms have a very different evolutionary history with respect to the Plantae and are thought to be derived from an ancient secondary endosymbiosis between heterotrophic and autotrophic eukaryotes. Furthermore, diatoms have an additional xanthophyll-based cycle for dissipating excess light energy with respect to green algae and higher plants. To explore the origins and functions of the carotenoid pathway in diatoms we searched for genes encoding pathway components in the recently completed genome sequences of two marine diatoms. Consistent with the supplemental xanthophyll cycle in diatoms, we found more copies of the genes encoding violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE) and zeaxanthin epoxidase (ZEP) enzymes compared with other photosynthetic eukaryotes. However, the similarity of these enzymes with those of higher plants indicates that they had very probably diversified before the secondary endosymbiosis had occurred, implying that VDE and ZEP represent early eukaryotic innovations in the Plantae. Consequently, the diatom chromist lineage likely obtained all paralogues of ZEP and VDE genes during the process of secondary endosymbiosis by gene transfer from the nucleus of the algal endosymbiont to the host nucleus. Furthermore, the presence of a ZEP gene in Tetrahymena thermophila provides the first evidence for a secondary plastid gene encoded in a heterotrophic ciliate, providing support for the chromalveolate hypothesis. Protein domain structures and expression analyses in the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum indicate diverse roles for the different ZEP and VDE isoforms and demonstrate that they are differentially regulated by light. These studies therefore reveal the ancient origins of several components of the

  18. Heterologous expression of pikromycin biosynthetic gene cluster using Streptomyces artificial chromosome system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pyeon, Hye-Rim; Nah, Hee-Ju; Kang, Seung-Hoon; Choi, Si-Sun; Kim, Eung-Soo

    2017-05-31

    Heterologous expression of biosynthetic gene clusters of natural microbial products has become an essential strategy for titer improvement and pathway engineering of various potentially-valuable natural products. A Streptomyces artificial chromosomal conjugation vector, pSBAC, was previously successfully applied for precise cloning and tandem integration of a large polyketide tautomycetin (TMC) biosynthetic gene cluster (Nah et al. in Microb Cell Fact 14(1):1, 2015), implying that this strategy could be employed to develop a custom overexpression scheme of natural product pathway clusters present in actinomycetes. To validate the pSBAC system as a generally-applicable heterologous overexpression system for a large-sized polyketide biosynthetic gene cluster in Streptomyces, another model polyketide compound, the pikromycin biosynthetic gene cluster, was preciously cloned and heterologously expressed using the pSBAC system. A unique HindIII restriction site was precisely inserted at one of the border regions of the pikromycin biosynthetic gene cluster within the chromosome of Streptomyces venezuelae, followed by site-specific recombination of pSBAC into the flanking region of the pikromycin gene cluster. Unlike the previous cloning process, one HindIII site integration step was skipped through pSBAC modification. pPik001, a pSBAC containing the pikromycin biosynthetic gene cluster, was directly introduced into two heterologous hosts, Streptomyces lividans and Streptomyces coelicolor, resulting in the production of 10-deoxymethynolide, a major pikromycin derivative. When two entire pikromycin biosynthetic gene clusters were tandemly introduced into the S. lividans chromosome, overproduction of 10-deoxymethynolide and the presence of pikromycin, which was previously not detected, were both confirmed. Moreover, comparative qRT-PCR results confirmed that the transcription of pikromycin biosynthetic genes was significantly upregulated in S. lividans containing tandem

  19. Perturbations of carotenoid and tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathways result in differential alterations in chloroplast function and plastid signaling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Joon-Heum; Jung, Sunyo

    2017-01-01

    In this study, we used the biosynthetic inhibitors of carotenoid and tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathways, norflurazon (NF) and oxyfluorfen (OF), as tools to gain insight into mechanisms of photooxidation in rice plants. NF resulted in bleaching symptom on leaves of the treated plants, whereas OF treatment developed a fast symptom of an apparent necrotic phenotype. Both plants exhibited decreases in photosynthetic efficiency, as indicated by F v /F m . NF caused severe disruption in thylakoid membranes, whereas OF-treated plants exhibited disruption of chloroplast envelope and plasma membrane. Levels of Lhca and Lhcb proteins in photosystem I (PSI) and PSII were reduced by photooxidative stress in NF- and OF-treated plants, with a greater decrease in NF plants. The down-regulation of nuclear-encoded photosynthesis genes Lhcb and rbcS was also found in both NF- and OF-treated plants, whereas plastid-encoded photosynthetic genes including RbcL, PsaC, and PsbD accumulated normally in NF plants but decreased drastically in OF plants. This proposes that the plastids in NF plants retain their potential to develop thylakoid membranes and that photobleaching is mainly controlled by nuclear genes. Distinct photooxidation patterns between NF- and OF-treated plants developed differential signaling, which might enable the plant to coordinate the expression of photosynthetic genes from the nuclear and plastidic genomes. - Highlights: • Two modes of photooxidation by carotenoid and tetrapyrrole biosynthetic inhibitors. • We examine differential alterations in chloroplast function and plastid signaling. • NF and OF cause differential alterations in chloroplast ultrastructure and function. • Photooxidation coordinates photosynthetic gene expression from nucleus and plastid.

  20. A R2R3-MYB transcription factor regulates the flavonol biosynthetic pathway in a traditional Chinese medicinal plant, Epimedium sagittatum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenjun Huang

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Flavonols as plant secondary metabolites with vital roles in plant development and defense against UV light, have been demonstrated to be the main bioactive components in the genus Epimedium plants, several species of which are used as materials for Herba Epimedii, an important traditional Chinese medicine. The flavonol biosynthetic pathway genes had been already isolated from E. sagittatum, but a R2R3-MYB transcription factor regulating the flavonol synthesis has not been functionally characterized so far in Epimedium plants. In this study, we isolated and characterized the R2R3-MYB transcription factor EsMYBF1 involved in regulation of the flavonol biosynthetic pathway from E. sagittatum. Sequence analysis indicated that EsMYBF1 belongs to the subgroup 7 of R2R3-MYB family which contains the flavonol-specific MYB regulators identified to date. Transient reporter assay showed that EsMYBF1 strongly activated the promoters of EsF3H (flavanone 3-hydroxylase and EsFLS (flavonol synthase, but not the promoters of EsDFRs (dihydroflavonol 4-reductase and EsANS (anthocyanidin synthase in transiently transformed Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Both yeast two-hybrid assay and transient reporter assay validated EsMYBF1 to be independent of EsTT8, or AtTT8 bHLH regulators of the flavonoid pathway as cofactors. Ectopic expression of EsMYBF1 in transgenic tobacco resulted in the increased flavonol content and the decreased anthocyanin content in flowers. Correspondingly, the structural genes involved in flavonol synthesis were upregulated in the EsMYBF1 overexpression lines, including NtCHS (chalcone synthase, NtCHI (chalcone isomerase, NtF3H and NtFLS, whereas the late biosynthetic genes of the anthocyanin pathway (NtDFR and NtANS were remarkably downregulated, compared to the controls. These results suggest that EsMYBF1 is a flavonol-specific R2R3-MYB regulator, and involved in regulation of the biosynthesis of the flavonol-derived bioactive components in E

  1. Functional conservation of coenzyme Q biosynthetic genes among yeasts, plants, and humans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kazuhiro Hayashi

    Full Text Available Coenzyme Q (CoQ is an essential factor for aerobic growth and oxidative phosphorylation in the electron transport system. The biosynthetic pathway for CoQ has been proposed mainly from biochemical and genetic analyses of Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae; however, the biosynthetic pathway in higher eukaryotes has been explored in only a limited number of studies. We previously reported the roles of several genes involved in CoQ synthesis in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Here, we expand these findings by identifying ten genes (dps1, dlp1, ppt1, and coq3-9 that are required for CoQ synthesis. CoQ10-deficient S. pombe coq deletion strains were generated and characterized. All mutant fission yeast strains were sensitive to oxidative stress, produced a large amount of sulfide, required an antioxidant to grow on minimal medium, and did not survive at the stationary phase. To compare the biosynthetic pathway of CoQ in fission yeast with that in higher eukaryotes, the ability of CoQ biosynthetic genes from humans and plants (Arabidopsis thaliana to functionally complement the S. pombe coq deletion strains was determined. With the exception of COQ9, expression of all other human and plant COQ genes recovered CoQ10 production by the fission yeast coq deletion strains, although the addition of a mitochondrial targeting sequence was required for human COQ3 and COQ7, as well as A. thaliana COQ6. In summary, this study describes the functional conservation of CoQ biosynthetic genes between yeasts, humans, and plants.

  2. Lysine analoga; bereiding en enzymatische hydrolyse van peptide derivaten van lysine en lysine analoga

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tesser, Godefridus Ignatius

    1961-01-01

    De synthese van enkele structuuranaloga van lysine wordt beschreven. Aangetoond wordt dat zij lysine in substraten voor trypsine, cathepsine B en papaine kan vervangen. Daar de structuur van de analoga O-(Beta-aminoaethyl)serine en S-(Beta-aminoaethyl) cysteine die van lysine dicht nadert, wordt

  3. A Novel Antibiotic Mechanism of l-Cyclopropylalanine Blocking the Biosynthetic Pathway of Essential Amino Acid l-Leucine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bingji Ma

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The unusual amino acid l-cyclopropylalanine was isolated from the mushroom Amanita virgineoides after detection in an anti-fungal screening test. l-Cyclopropylalanine was found to exhibit broad-spectrum inhibition against fungi and bacteria. The anti-fungal activity was found to be abolished in the presence of the amino acid l-leucine, but not any other amino acids, indicating that l-cyclopropylalanine may block the biosynthesis of the essential amino acid l-leucine, thereby inhibiting fungal and bacteria growth. Further biochemical studies found l-cyclopropylalanine indeed inhibits α-isopropylmalate synthase (α-IMPS, the enzyme that catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the biosynthetic pathway of l-leucine. Inhibition of essential l-leucine synthesis in fungal and bacteria organisms, a pathway absent in host organisms such as humans, may represent a novel antibiotic mechanism to counter the ever-increasing problem of drug resistance to existing antibiotics.

  4. Sex pheromone biosynthetic pathways are conserved between moths and the butterfly Bicyclus anynana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liénard, Marjorie A; Wang, Hong-Lei; Lassance, Jean-Marc; Löfstedt, Christer

    2014-01-01

    Although phylogenetically nested within the moths, butterflies have diverged extensively in a number of life history traits. Whereas moths rely greatly on chemical signals, visual advertisement is the hallmark of mate finding in butterflies. In the context of courtship, however, male chemical signals are widespread in both groups although they likely have multiple evolutionary origins. Here, we report that in males of the butterfly Bicyclus anynana, courtship scents are produced de novo via biosynthetic pathways shared with females of many moth species. We show that two of the pheromone components that play a major role in mate choice, namely the (Z)-9-tetradecenol and hexadecanal, are produced through the activity of a fatty acyl Δ11-desaturase and two specialized alcohol-forming fatty acyl reductases. Our study provides the first evidence of conservation and sharing of ancestral genetic modules for the production of FA-derived pheromones over a long evolutionary timeframe thereby reconciling mate communication in moths and butterflies. PMID:24862548

  5. Expression profile of genes coding for carotenoid biosynthetic ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Expression profile of genes coding for carotenoid biosynthetic pathway during ripening and their association with accumulation of lycopene in tomato fruits. Shuchi Smita, Ravi Rajwanshi, Sangram Keshari Lenka, Amit Katiyar, Viswanathan Chinnusamy and. Kailash Chander Bansal. J. Genet. 92, 363–368. Table 1.

  6. Structural aspects of the solvation shell of lysine and acetylated lysine: A Car-Parrinello and classical molecular dynamics investigation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carnevale, V.; Raugei, S.

    2009-01-01

    Lysine acetylation is a post-translational modification, which modulates the affinity of protein-protein and/or protein-DNA complexes. Its crucial role as a switch in signaling pathways highlights the relevance of charged chemical groups in determining the interactions between water and biomolecules. A great effort has been recently devoted to assess the reliability of classical molecular dynamics simulations in describing the solvation properties of charged moieties. In the spirit of these investigations, we performed classical and Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations on lysine and acetylated-lysine in aqueous solution. A comparative analysis between the two computational schemes is presented with a focus on the first solvation shell of the charged groups. An accurate structural analysis unveils subtle, yet statistically significant, differences which are discussed in connection to the significant electronic density charge transfer occurring between the solute and the surrounding water molecules.

  7. Genome sequence of Thermofilum pendens reveals an exceptional loss of biosynthetic pathways without genome reduction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kyrpides, Nikos; Anderson, Iain; Rodriguez, Jason; Susanti, Dwi; Porat, Iris; Reich, Claudia; Ulrich, Luke E.; Elkins, James G.; Mavromatis, Kostas; Lykidis, Athanasios; Kim, Edwin; Thompson, Linda S.; Nolan, Matt; Land, Miriam; Copeland, Alex; Lapidus, Alla; Lucas, Susan; Detter, Chris; Zhulin, Igor B.; Olsen, Gary J.; Whitman, William; Mukhopadhyay, Biswarup; Bristow, James; Kyrpides, Nikos

    2008-01-01

    We report the complete genome of Thermofilum pendens, a deep-branching, hyperthermophilic member of the order Thermoproteales within the archaeal kingdom Crenarchaeota. T. pendens is a sulfur-dependent, anaerobic heterotroph isolated from a solfatara in Iceland. It is an extracellular commensal, requiring an extract of Thermoproteus tenax for growth, and the genome sequence reveals that biosynthetic pathways for purines, most amino acids, and most cofactors are absent. In fact T. pendens has fewer biosynthetic enzymes than obligate intracellular parasites, although it does not display other features common among obligate parasites and thus does not appear to be in the process of becoming a parasite. It appears that T. pendens has adapted to life in an environment rich in nutrients. T. pendens was known to utilize peptides as an energy source, but the genome reveals substantial ability to grow on carbohydrates. T. pendens is the first crenarchaeote and only the second archaeon found to have a transporter of the phosphotransferase system. In addition to fermentation, T. pendens may gain energy from sulfur reduction with hydrogen and formate as electron donors. It may also be capable of sulfur-independent growth on formate with formate hydrogenlyase. Additional novel features are the presence of a monomethylamine:corrinoid methyltransferase, the first time this enzyme has been found outside of Methanosarcinales, and a presenilin-related protein. Predicted highly expressed proteins do not include housekeeping genes, and instead include ABC transporters for carbohydrates and peptides, and CRISPR-associated proteins.

  8. The hedgehog pathway gene shifted functions together with the hmgcr-dependent isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway to orchestrate germ cell migration.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Girish Deshpande

    Full Text Available The Drosophila embryonic gonad is assembled from two distinct cell types, the Primordial Germ Cells (PGCs and the Somatic Gonadal Precursor cells (SGPs. The PGCs form at the posterior of blastoderm stage embryos and are subsequently carried inside the embryo during gastrulation. To reach the SGPs, the PGCs must traverse the midgut wall and then migrate through the mesoderm. A combination of local repulsive cues and attractive signals emanating from the SGPs guide migration. We have investigated the role of the hedgehog (hh pathway gene shifted (shf in directing PGC migration. shf encodes a secreted protein that facilitates the long distance transmission of Hh through the proteoglycan matrix after it is released from basolateral membranes of Hh expressing cells in the wing imaginal disc. shf is expressed in the gonadal mesoderm, and loss- and gain-of-function experiments demonstrate that it is required for PGC migration. Previous studies have established that the hmgcr-dependent isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway plays a pivotal role in generating the PGC attractant both by the SGPs and by other tissues when hmgcr is ectopically expressed. We show that production of this PGC attractant depends upon shf as well as a second hh pathway gene gγ1. Further linking the PGC attractant to Hh, we present evidence indicating that ectopic expression of hmgcr in the nervous system promotes the release/transmission of the Hh ligand from these cells into and through the underlying mesodermal cell layer, where Hh can contact migrating PGCs. Finally, potentiation of Hh by hmgcr appears to depend upon cholesterol modification.

  9. Engineering of the aspartate family biosynthetic pathway in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) by transformation with heterologous genes encoding feed-back-insensitive aspartate kinase and dihydrodipicolinate synthase

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brinch-Pedersen, H.; Galili, G.; Sørensen, K.

    1996-01-01

    In prokaryotes and plants the synthesis of the essential amino acids lysine and threonine is predominantly regulated by feed-back inhibition of aspartate kinase (AK) and dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHPS). In order to modify the flux through the aspartate family pathway in barley and enhance...... the accumulation of the corresponding amino acids, we have generated transgenic barley plants that constitutively express mutant Escherichia coli genes encoding lysine feed-back insensitive forms of AK and DHPS. As a result, leaves of primary transformants (T0) exhibited a 14-fold increase of free lysine and an 8......, no differences were observed in the composition of total amino acids. The introduced genes were inherited in the T1 generation where enzymic activities revealed a 2.3-fold increase of AK activity and a 4.0-9.5-fold increase for DHPS. T1 seeds of DHPS transformants showed the same changes in free amino acids...

  10. Effect of irradiation on Nε-carboxymethyl-lysine and Nε-carboxyethyl-lysine formation in cooked meat products during storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Ligang; He, Zhiyong; Zeng, Maomao; Zheng, Zongping; Chen, Jie

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of irradiation on N ε -carboxymethyl-lysine (CML) and N ε -carboxyethyl-lysine (CEL) formation in cooked red and white meats during storage. The results showed that irradiation did not affect CML/CEL formation (0 weeks). After 6 weeks, CML/CEL contents in the irradiated samples exhibited a higher growth rate than the non-irradiated samples, especially the red meat. The results of electron spin resonance spectrometry and 2-Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances suggested irradiation had induced free-radical reactions and accelerated lipid oxidation during storage. A linear correlation (r=0.810–0.906, p<0.01) was found between the loss of polyunsaturated fatty acids content and increase of CML/CEL content in the irradiated samples after 0 and 6 weeks of storage. The results indicate that irradiation-induced lipid oxidation promotes CML/CEL formation, and CML/CEL formation by the lipid oxidation pathways may be an important pathway for CML/CEL accumulation in irradiated meat products during storage. - Highlights: • The effect of irradiation on CML and CEL formation in meat products is investigated. • CML and CEL contents in irradiated meat products exhibit a higher growth rate than non-irradiated samples. • PUFAs oxidation induced by irradiation promotes CML and CEL formation. • Lipid oxidation pathways are an important pathway for CML and CEL accumulation in irradiated samples during storage.

  11. Regulation of Flavonoid Biosynthetic Genes in Germinating Arabidopsis Seedlings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubasek, WL; Shirley, BW; McKillop, A; Goodman, HM; Briggs, W; Ausubel, FM

    1992-01-01

    Many higher plants, including Arabidopsis, transiently display purple anthocyanin pigments just after seed germination. We observed that steady state levels of mRNAs encoded by four flavonoid biosynthetic genes, PAL1 (encoding phenylalanine ammonia-lyase 1), CHS (encoding chalcone synthase), CHI (encoding chalcone isomerase), and DFR (encoding dihydroflavonol reductase), were temporally regulated, peaking in 3-day-old seedlings grown in continuous white light. Except for the case of PAL1 mRNA, mRNA levels for these flavonoid genes were very low in seedlings grown in darkness. Light induction studies using seedlings grown in darkness showed that PAL1 mRNA began to accumulate before CHS and CHI mRNAs, which, in turn, began to accumulate before DFR mRNA. This order of induction is the same as the order of the biosynthetic steps in flavonoid biosynthesis. Our results suggest that the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway is coordinately regulated by a developmental timing mechanism during germination. Blue light and UVB light induction experiments using red light- and dark-grown seedlings showed that the flavonoid biosynthetic genes are induced most effectively by UVB light and that blue light induction is mediated by a specific blue light receptor. PMID:12297632

  12. Accumulation of Rutin and Betulinic Acid and Expression of Phenylpropanoid and Triterpenoid Biosynthetic Genes in Mulberry (Morus alba L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Shicheng; Park, Chang Ha; Li, Xiaohua; Kim, Yeon Bok; Yang, Jingli; Sung, Gyoo Byung; Park, Nam Il; Kim, Soonok; Park, Sang Un

    2015-09-30

    Mulberry (Morus alba L.) is used in traditional Chinese medicine and is the sole food source of the silkworm. Here, 21 cDNAs encoding phenylpropanoid biosynthetic genes and 21 cDNAs encoding triterpene biosynthetic genes were isolated from mulberry. The expression levels of genes involved in these biosynthetic pathways and the accumulation of rutin, betulin, and betulinic acid, important secondary metabolites, were investigated in different plant organs. Most phenylpropanoid and triterpene biosynthetic genes were highly expressed in leaves and/or fruit, and most genes were downregulated during fruit ripening. The accumulation of rutin was more than fivefold higher in leaves than in other organs, and higher levels of betulin and betulinic acid were found in roots and leaves than in fruit. By comparing the contents of these compounds with gene expression levels, we speculate that MaUGT78D1 and MaLUS play important regulatory roles in the rutin and betulin biosynthetic pathways.

  13. Perturbations of carotenoid and tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathways result in differential alterations in chloroplast function and plastid signaling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Joon-Heum; Jung, Sunyo

    2017-01-22

    In this study, we used the biosynthetic inhibitors of carotenoid and tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathways, norflurazon (NF) and oxyfluorfen (OF), as tools to gain insight into mechanisms of photooxidation in rice plants. NF resulted in bleaching symptom on leaves of the treated plants, whereas OF treatment developed a fast symptom of an apparent necrotic phenotype. Both plants exhibited decreases in photosynthetic efficiency, as indicated by F v /F m . NF caused severe disruption in thylakoid membranes, whereas OF-treated plants exhibited disruption of chloroplast envelope and plasma membrane. Levels of Lhca and Lhcb proteins in photosystem I (PSI) and PSII were reduced by photooxidative stress in NF- and OF-treated plants, with a greater decrease in NF plants. The down-regulation of nuclear-encoded photosynthesis genes Lhcb and rbcS was also found in both NF- and OF-treated plants, whereas plastid-encoded photosynthetic genes including RbcL, PsaC, and PsbD accumulated normally in NF plants but decreased drastically in OF plants. This proposes that the plastids in NF plants retain their potential to develop thylakoid membranes and that photobleaching is mainly controlled by nuclear genes. Distinct photooxidation patterns between NF- and OF-treated plants developed differential signaling, which might enable the plant to coordinate the expression of photosynthetic genes from the nuclear and plastidic genomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. A novel mechanism of sulfur transfer catalyzed by O-acetylhomoserine sulfhydrylase in the methionine-biosynthetic pathway of Wolinella succinogenes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tran, Timothy H. [Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-1301 (United States); Krishnamoorthy, Kalyanaraman; Begley, Tadhg P., E-mail: begley@tamu.edu [Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77842 (United States); Ealick, Steven E., E-mail: begley@tamu.edu [Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-1301 (United States)

    2011-10-01

    MetY is the first reported structure of an O-acetylhomoserine sulfhydrylase that utilizes a protein thiocarboxylate intermediate as the sulfur source in a novel methionine-biosynthetic pathway instead of catalyzing a direct sulfhydrylation reaction. O-Acetylhomoserine sulfhydrylase (OAHS) is a pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) dependent sulfide-utilizing enzyme in the l-cysteine and l-methionine biosynthetic pathways of various enteric bacteria and fungi. OAHS catalyzes the conversion of O-acetylhomoserine to homocysteine using sulfide in a process known as direct sulfhydrylation. However, the source of the sulfur has not been identified and no structures of OAHS have been reported in the literature. Here, the crystal structure of Wolinella succinogenes OAHS (MetY) determined at 2.2 Å resolution is reported. MetY crystallized in space group C2 with two monomers in the asymmetric unit. Size-exclusion chromatography, dynamic light scattering and crystal packing indicate that the biological unit is a tetramer in solution. This is further supported by the crystal structure, in which a tetramer is formed using a combination of noncrystallographic and crystallographic twofold axes. A search for structurally homologous proteins revealed that MetY has the same fold as cystathionine γ-lyase and methionine γ-lyase. The active sites of these enzymes, which are also PLP-dependent, share a high degree of structural similarity, suggesting that MetY belongs to the γ-elimination subclass of the Cys/Met metabolism PLP-dependent family of enzymes. The structure of MetY, together with biochemical data, provides insight into the mechanism of sulfur transfer to a small molecule via a protein thiocarboxylate intermediate.

  15. Metabolic engineering of the omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthetic pathway into transgenic plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz-López, Noemi; Sayanova, Olga; Napier, Johnathan A; Haslam, Richard P

    2012-04-01

    Omega-3 (ω-3) very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs) such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5 Δ5,8,11,14,17) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6 Δ4,7,10,13,16,19) have been shown to have significant roles in human health. Currently the primary dietary source of these fatty acids are marine fish; however, the increasing demand for fish and fish oil (in particular the expansion of the aquaculture industry) is placing enormous pressure on diminishing marine stocks. Such overfishing and concerns related to pollution in the marine environment have directed research towards the development of a viable alternative sustainable source of VLC-PUFAs. As a result, the last decade has seen many genes encoding the primary VLC-PUFA biosynthetic activities identified and characterized. This has allowed the reconstitution of the VLC-PUFA biosynthetic pathway in oilseed crops, producing transgenic plants engineered to accumulate ω-3 VLC-PUFAs at levels approaching those found in native marine organisms. Moreover, as a result of these engineering activities, knowledge of the fundamental processes surrounding acyl exchange and lipid remodelling has progressed. The application of new technologies, for example lipidomics and next-generation sequencing, is providing a better understanding of seed oil biosynthesis and opportunities for increasing the production of unusual fatty acids. Certainly, it is now possible to modify the composition of plant oils successfully, and, in this review, the most recent developments in this field and the challenges of producing VLC-PUFAs in the seed oil of higher plants will be described.

  16. Selectivity of Inhibition of N-Succinyl- l , l -Diaminopimelic Acid Desuccinylase in Bacteria: The product of dapE-gene Is Not the Target of l -Captopril Antimicrobial Activity

    OpenAIRE

    Uda, Narasimha Rao; Creus, Marc

    2011-01-01

    The emergence of bacterial strains that are resistant to virtually all currently available antibiotics underscores the importance of developing new antimicrobial compounds. N-succinyl-l,l-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE) is a metallohydrolase involved in the meso-diaminopimelate (mDAP)/lysine biosynthetic pathway necessary for lysine biosynthesis and for building the peptidoglycan cell wall. Because DapE is essential for Gram-negative and some Gram-positive bacteria, DapE has been pro...

  17. Widespread occurrence of lysine methylation in Plasmodium falciparum proteins at asexual blood stages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaur, Inderjeet; Zeeshan, Mohammad; Saini, Ekta; Kaushik, Abhinav; Mohmmed, Asif; Gupta, Dinesh; Malhotra, Pawan

    2016-10-20

    Post-transcriptional and post-translational modifications play a major role in Plasmodium life cycle regulation. Lysine methylation of histone proteins is well documented in several organisms, however in recent years lysine methylation of proteins outside histone code is emerging out as an important post-translational modification (PTM). In the present study we have performed global analysis of lysine methylation of proteins in asexual blood stages of Plasmodium falciparum development. We immunoprecipitated stage specific Plasmodium lysates using anti-methyl lysine specific antibodies that immunostained the asexual blood stage parasites. Using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry analysis, 570 lysine methylated proteins at three different blood stages were identified. Analysis of the peptide sequences identified 605 methylated sites within 422 proteins. Functional classification of the methylated proteins revealed that the proteins are mainly involved in nucleotide metabolic processes, chromatin organization, transport, homeostatic processes and protein folding. The motif analysis of the methylated lysine peptides reveals novel motifs. Many of the identified lysine methylated proteins are also interacting partners/substrates of PfSET domain proteins as revealed by STRING database analysis. Our findings suggest that the protein methylation at lysine residues is widespread in Plasmodium and plays an important regulatory role in diverse set of the parasite pathways.

  18. Biosynthetic pathway for γ-cyclic sarcinaxanthin in Micrococcus luteus: heterologous expression and evidence for diverse and multiple catalytic functions of C(50) carotenoid cyclases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Netzer, Roman; Stafsnes, Marit H; Andreassen, Trygve; Goksøyr, Audun; Bruheim, Per; Brautaset, Trygve

    2010-11-01

    We report the cloning and characterization of the biosynthetic gene cluster (crtE, crtB, crtI, crtE2, crtYg, crtYh, and crtX) of the γ-cyclic C(50) carotenoid sarcinaxanthin in Micrococcus luteus NCTC2665. Expression of the complete and partial gene cluster in Escherichia coli hosts revealed that sarcinaxanthin biosynthesis from the precursor molecule farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) proceeds via C(40) lycopene, C(45) nonaflavuxanthin, C(50) flavuxanthin, and C(50) sarcinaxanthin. Glucosylation of sarcinaxanthin was accomplished by the crtX gene product. This is the first report describing the biosynthetic pathway of a γ-cyclic C(50) carotenoid. Expression of the corresponding genes from the marine M. luteus isolate Otnes7 in a lycopene-producing E. coli host resulted in the production of up to 2.5 mg/g cell dry weight sarcinaxanthin in shake flasks. In an attempt to experimentally understand the specific difference between the biosynthetic pathways of sarcinaxanthin and the structurally related ε-cyclic decaprenoxanthin, we constructed a hybrid gene cluster with the γ-cyclic C(50) carotenoid cyclase genes crtYg and crtYh from M. luteus replaced with the analogous ε-cyclic C(50) carotenoid cyclase genes crtYe and crtYf from the natural decaprenoxanthin producer Corynebacterium glutamicum. Surprisingly, expression of this hybrid gene cluster in an E. coli host resulted in accumulation of not only decaprenoxanthin, but also sarcinaxanthin and the asymmetric ε- and γ-cyclic C(50) carotenoid sarprenoxanthin, described for the first time in this work. Together, these data contributed to new insight into the diverse and multiple functions of bacterial C(50) carotenoid cyclases as key catalysts for the synthesis of structurally different carotenoids.

  19. Efficient Production of Enantiopure d-Lysine from l-Lysine by a Two-Enzyme Cascade System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin Wang

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The microbial production of d-lysine has been of great interest as a medicinal raw material. Here, a two-step process for d-lysine production from l-lysine by the successive microbial racemization and asymmetric degradation with lysine racemase and decarboxylase was developed. The whole-cell activities of engineered Escherichia coli expressing racemases from the strains Proteus mirabilis (LYR and Lactobacillus paracasei (AAR were first investigated comparatively. When the strain BL21-LYR with higher racemization activity was employed, l-lysine was rapidly racemized to give dl-lysine, and the d-lysine yield was approximately 48% after 0.5 h. Next, l-lysine was selectively catabolized to generate cadaverine by lysine decarboxylase. The comparative analysis of the decarboxylation activities of resting whole cells, permeabilized cells, and crude enzyme revealed that the crude enzyme was the best biocatalyst for enantiopure d-lysine production. The reaction temperature, pH, metal ion additive, and pyridoxal 5′-phosphate content of this two-step production process were subsequently optimized. Under optimal conditions, 750.7 mmol/L d-lysine was finally obtained from 1710 mmol/L l-lysine after 1 h of racemization reaction and 0.5 h of decarboxylation reaction. d-lysine yield could reach 48.8% with enantiomeric excess (ee ≥ 99%.

  20. Genomic characterization of a new endophytic Streptomyces kebangsaanensis identifies biosynthetic pathway gene clusters for novel phenazine antibiotic production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juwairiah Remali

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Background Streptomyces are well known for their capability to produce many bioactive secondary metabolites with medical and industrial importance. Here we report a novel bioactive phenazine compound, 6-((2-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenoxy carbonyl phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (HCPCA extracted from Streptomyces kebangsaanensis, an endophyte isolated from the ethnomedicinal Portulaca oleracea. Methods The HCPCA chemical structure was determined using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We conducted whole genome sequencing for the identification of the gene cluster(s believed to be responsible for phenazine biosynthesis in order to map its corresponding pathway, in addition to bioinformatics analysis to assess the potential of S. kebangsaanensis in producing other useful secondary metabolites. Results The S. kebangsaanensis genome comprises an 8,328,719 bp linear chromosome with high GC content (71.35% consisting of 12 rRNA operons, 81 tRNA, and 7,558 protein coding genes. We identified 24 gene clusters involved in polyketide, nonribosomal peptide, terpene, bacteriocin, and siderophore biosynthesis, as well as a gene cluster predicted to be responsible for phenazine biosynthesis. Discussion The HCPCA phenazine structure was hypothesized to derive from the combination of two biosynthetic pathways, phenazine-1,6-dicarboxylic acid and 4-methoxybenzene-1,2-diol, originated from the shikimic acid pathway. The identification of a biosynthesis pathway gene cluster for phenazine antibiotics might facilitate future genetic engineering design of new synthetic phenazine antibiotics. Additionally, these findings confirm the potential of S. kebangsaanensis for producing various antibiotics and secondary metabolites.

  1. A genomics based discovery of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters in Aspergillus ustus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Borui Pi

    Full Text Available Secondary metabolites (SMs produced by Aspergillus have been extensively studied for their crucial roles in human health, medicine and industrial production. However, the resulting information is almost exclusively derived from a few model organisms, including A. nidulans and A. fumigatus, but little is known about rare pathogens. In this study, we performed a genomics based discovery of SM biosynthetic gene clusters in Aspergillus ustus, a rare human pathogen. A total of 52 gene clusters were identified in the draft genome of A. ustus 3.3904, such as the sterigmatocystin biosynthesis pathway that was commonly found in Aspergillus species. In addition, several SM biosynthetic gene clusters were firstly identified in Aspergillus that were possibly acquired by horizontal gene transfer, including the vrt cluster that is responsible for viridicatumtoxin production. Comparative genomics revealed that A. ustus shared the largest number of SM biosynthetic gene clusters with A. nidulans, but much fewer with other Aspergilli like A. niger and A. oryzae. These findings would help to understand the diversity and evolution of SM biosynthesis pathways in genus Aspergillus, and we hope they will also promote the development of fungal identification methodology in clinic.

  2. A Genomics Based Discovery of Secondary Metabolite Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in Aspergillus ustus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pi, Borui; Yu, Dongliang; Dai, Fangwei; Song, Xiaoming; Zhu, Congyi; Li, Hongye; Yu, Yunsong

    2015-01-01

    Secondary metabolites (SMs) produced by Aspergillus have been extensively studied for their crucial roles in human health, medicine and industrial production. However, the resulting information is almost exclusively derived from a few model organisms, including A. nidulans and A. fumigatus, but little is known about rare pathogens. In this study, we performed a genomics based discovery of SM biosynthetic gene clusters in Aspergillus ustus, a rare human pathogen. A total of 52 gene clusters were identified in the draft genome of A. ustus 3.3904, such as the sterigmatocystin biosynthesis pathway that was commonly found in Aspergillus species. In addition, several SM biosynthetic gene clusters were firstly identified in Aspergillus that were possibly acquired by horizontal gene transfer, including the vrt cluster that is responsible for viridicatumtoxin production. Comparative genomics revealed that A. ustus shared the largest number of SM biosynthetic gene clusters with A. nidulans, but much fewer with other Aspergilli like A. niger and A. oryzae. These findings would help to understand the diversity and evolution of SM biosynthesis pathways in genus Aspergillus, and we hope they will also promote the development of fungal identification methodology in clinic. PMID:25706180

  3. Carotenoid Biosynthetic Pathways Are Regulated by a Network of Multiple Cascades of Alternative Sigma Factors in Azospirillum brasilense Sp7.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rai, Ashutosh Kumar; Dubey, Ashutosh Prakash; Kumar, Santosh; Dutta, Debashis; Mishra, Mukti Nath; Singh, Bhupendra Narain; Tripathi, Anil Kumar

    2016-11-01

    Carotenoids constitute an important component of the defense system against photooxidative stress in bacteria. In Azospirillum brasilense Sp7, a nonphotosynthetic rhizobacterium, carotenoid synthesis is controlled by a pair of extracytoplasmic function sigma factors (RpoEs) and their cognate zinc-binding anti-sigma factors (ChrRs). Its genome harbors two copies of the gene encoding geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase (CrtE), the first critical step in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway in bacteria. Inactivation of each of two crtE paralogs found in A. brasilense caused reduction in carotenoid content, suggesting their involvement in carotenoid synthesis. However, the effect of crtE1 deletion was more pronounced than that of crtE2 deletion. Out of the five paralogs of rpoH in A. brasilense, overexpression of rpoH1 and rpoH2 enhanced carotenoid synthesis. Promoters of crtE2 and rpoH2 were found to be dependent on RpoH2 and RpoE1, respectively. Using a two-plasmid system in Escherichia coli, we have shown that the crtE2 gene of A. brasilense Sp7 is regulated by two cascades of sigma factors: one consisting of RpoE1and RpoH2 and the other consisting of RpoE2 and RpoH1. In addition, expression of crtE1 was upregulated indirectly by RpoE1 and RpoE2. This study shows, for the first time in any carotenoid-producing bacterium, that the regulation of carotenoid biosynthetic pathway involves a network of multiple cascades of alternative sigma factors. Carotenoids play a very important role in coping with photooxidative stress in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Although extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factors are known to directly regulate the expression of carotenoid biosynthetic genes in bacteria, regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis by one or multiple cascades of sigma factors had not been reported. This study provides the first evidence of the involvement of multiple cascades of sigma factors in the regulation of carotenoid synthesis in any bacterium by showing the

  4. Recent development of antiSMASH and other computational approaches to mine secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blin, Kai; Kim, Hyun Uk; Medema, Marnix H.

    2017-01-01

    Many drugs are derived from small molecules produced by microorganisms and plants, so-called natural products. Natural products have diverse chemical structures, but the biosynthetic pathways producing those compounds are often organized as biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) and follow a highly...... conserved biosynthetic logic. This allows for the identification of core biosynthetic enzymes using genome mining strategies that are based on the sequence similarity of the involved enzymes/genes. However, mining for a variety of BGCs quickly approaches a complexity level where manual analyses...... are no longer possible and require the use of automated genome mining pipelines, such as the antiSMASH software. In this review, we discuss the principles underlying the predictions of antiSMASH and other tools and provide practical advice for their application. Furthermore, we discuss important caveats...

  5. Differential hexosamine biosynthetic pathway gene expression with type 2 diabetes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megan Coomer

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HBP culminates in the attachment of O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc onto serine/threonine residues of target proteins. The HBP is regulated by several modulators, i.e. O-linked β-N-acetylglucosaminyl transferase (OGT and β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (OGA catalyze the addition and removal of O-GlcNAc moieties, respectively; while flux is controlled by the rate-limiting enzyme glutamine:fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase (GFPT, transcribed by two genes, GFPT1 and GFPT2. Since increased HBP flux is glucose-responsive and linked to insulin resistance/type 2 diabetes onset, we hypothesized that diabetic individuals exhibit differential expression of HBP regulatory genes. Volunteers (n = 60; n = 20 Mixed Ancestry, n = 40 Caucasian were recruited from Stellenbosch and Paarl (Western Cape, South Africa and classified as control, pre- or diabetic according to fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c levels, respectively. RNA was purified from leukocytes isolated from collected blood samples and OGT, OGA, GFPT1 and GFPT2 expressions determined by quantitative real-time PCR. The data reveal lower OGA expression in diabetic individuals (P < 0.01, while pre- and diabetic subjects displayed attenuated OGT expression vs. controls (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively. Moreover, GFPT2 expression decreased in pre- and diabetic Caucasians vs. controls (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively. We also found ethnic differences, i.e. Mixed Ancestry individuals exhibited a 2.4-fold increase in GFPT2 expression vs. Caucasians, despite diagnosis (P < 0.01. Gene expression of HBP regulators differs between diabetic and non-diabetic individuals, together with distinct ethnic-specific gene profiles. Thus differential HBP gene regulation may offer diagnostic utility and provide candidate susceptibility genes for different ethnic groupings.

  6. A complete structural characterization of the desferrioxamine E biosynthetic pathway from the fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salomone-Stagni, Marco; Bartho, Joseph D; Polsinelli, Ivan; Bellini, Dom; Walsh, Martin A; Demitri, Nicola; Benini, Stefano

    2018-02-08

    The Gram-negative bacterium Erwinia amylovora is the etiological agent of fire blight, a devastating disease which affects Rosaceae such as apple, pear and quince. The siderophore desferrioxamine E plays an important role in bacterial pathogenesis by scavenging iron from the host. DfoJ, DfoA and DfoC are the enzymes responsible for desferrioxamine production starting from lysine. We have determined the crystal structures of each enzyme in the desferrioxamine E pathway and demonstrate that the biosynthesis involves the concerted action of DfoJ, followed by DfoA and lastly DfoC. These data provide the first crystal structures of a Group II pyridoxal-dependent lysine decarboxylase, a cadaverine monooxygenase and a desferrioxamine synthetase. DfoJ is a homodimer made up of three domains. Each monomer contributes to the completion of the active site, which is positioned at the dimer interface. DfoA is the first structure of a cadaverine monooxygenase. It forms homotetramers whose subunits are built by two domains: one for FAD and one for NADP + binding, the latter of which is formed by two subdomains. We propose a model for substrate binding and the role of residues 43-47 as gate keepers for FAD binding and the role of Arg97 in cofactors turnover. DfoC is the first structure of a desferrioxamine synthetase and the first of a multi-enzyme siderophore synthetase coupling an acyltransferase domain with a Non-Ribosomal Peptide Synthetase (NRPS)-Independent Siderophore domain (NIS). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Spliced X-box binding protein 1 couples the unfolded protein response to hexosamine biosynthetic pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhao V; Deng, Yingfeng; Gao, Ningguo; Pedrozo, Zully; Li, Dan L; Morales, Cyndi R; Criollo, Alfredo; Luo, Xiang; Tan, Wei; Jiang, Nan; Lehrman, Mark A; Rothermel, Beverly A; Lee, Ann-Hwee; Lavandero, Sergio; Mammen, Pradeep P A; Ferdous, Anwarul; Gillette, Thomas G; Scherer, Philipp E; Hill, Joseph A

    2014-03-13

    The hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HBP) generates uridine diphosphate N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) for glycan synthesis and O-linked GlcNAc (O-GlcNAc) protein modifications. Despite the established role of the HBP in metabolism and multiple diseases, regulation of the HBP remains largely undefined. Here, we show that spliced X-box binding protein 1 (Xbp1s), the most conserved signal transducer of the unfolded protein response (UPR), is a direct transcriptional activator of the HBP. We demonstrate that the UPR triggers HBP activation via Xbp1s-dependent transcription of genes coding for key, rate-limiting enzymes. We further establish that this previously unrecognized UPR-HBP axis is triggered in a variety of stress conditions. Finally, we demonstrate a physiologic role for the UPR-HBP axis by showing that acute stimulation of Xbp1s in heart by ischemia/reperfusion confers robust cardioprotection in part through induction of the HBP. Collectively, these studies reveal that Xbp1s couples the UPR to the HBP to protect cells under stress. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Lysine-Rich Proteins in High-Lysine Hordeum Vulgare Grain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ingversen, J.; Køie, B.

    1973-01-01

    The salt-soluble proteins in barley grain selected for high-lysine content (Hiproly, CI 7115 and the mutants 29 and 86) and of a control (Carlsberg II) with normal lysine content, contain identical major proteins as determined by MW and electrophoretic mobility. The concentration of a protein gro...

  9. Identification of an unusual type II thioesterase in the dithiolopyrrolone antibiotics biosynthetic pathway

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhai, Ying; Bai, Silei; Liu, Jingjing; Yang, Liyuan [National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070 (China); Han, Li; Huang, Xueshi [Institute of Microbial Pharmaceuticals, College of Life and Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819 (China); He, Jing, E-mail: hejingjj@mail.hzau.edu.cn [National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070 (China)

    2016-04-22

    Dithiolopyrrolone group antibiotics characterized by an electronically unique dithiolopyrrolone heterobicyclic core are known for their antibacterial, antifungal, insecticidal and antitumor activities. Recently the biosynthetic gene clusters for two dithiolopyrrolone compounds, holomycin and thiomarinol, have been identified respectively in different bacterial species. Here, we report a novel dithiolopyrrolone biosynthetic gene cluster (aut) isolated from Streptomyces thioluteus DSM 40027 which produces two pyrrothine derivatives, aureothricin and thiolutin. By comparison with other characterized dithiolopyrrolone clusters, eight genes in the aut cluster were verified to be responsible for the assembly of dithiolopyrrolone core. The aut cluster was further confirmed by heterologous expression and in-frame gene deletion experiments. Intriguingly, we found that the heterogenetic thioesterase HlmK derived from the holomycin (hlm) gene cluster in Streptomyces clavuligerus significantly improved heterologous biosynthesis of dithiolopyrrolones in Streptomyces albus through coexpression with the aut cluster. In the previous studies, HlmK was considered invalid because it has a Ser to Gly point mutation within the canonical Ser-His-Asp catalytic triad of thioesterases. However, gene inactivation and complementation experiments in our study unequivocally demonstrated that HlmK is an active distinctive type II thioesterase that plays a beneficial role in dithiolopyrrolone biosynthesis. - Highlights: • Cloning of the aureothricin biosynthetic gene cluster from Streptomyces thioluteus DSM 40027. • Identification of the aureothricin gene cluster by heterologous expression and in-frame gene deletion. • The heterogenetic thioesterase HlmK significantly improved dithiolopyrrolones production of the aureothricin gene cluster. • Identification of HlmK as an unusual type II thioesterase.

  10. Identification of an unusual type II thioesterase in the dithiolopyrrolone antibiotics biosynthetic pathway

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhai, Ying; Bai, Silei; Liu, Jingjing; Yang, Liyuan; Han, Li; Huang, Xueshi; He, Jing

    2016-01-01

    Dithiolopyrrolone group antibiotics characterized by an electronically unique dithiolopyrrolone heterobicyclic core are known for their antibacterial, antifungal, insecticidal and antitumor activities. Recently the biosynthetic gene clusters for two dithiolopyrrolone compounds, holomycin and thiomarinol, have been identified respectively in different bacterial species. Here, we report a novel dithiolopyrrolone biosynthetic gene cluster (aut) isolated from Streptomyces thioluteus DSM 40027 which produces two pyrrothine derivatives, aureothricin and thiolutin. By comparison with other characterized dithiolopyrrolone clusters, eight genes in the aut cluster were verified to be responsible for the assembly of dithiolopyrrolone core. The aut cluster was further confirmed by heterologous expression and in-frame gene deletion experiments. Intriguingly, we found that the heterogenetic thioesterase HlmK derived from the holomycin (hlm) gene cluster in Streptomyces clavuligerus significantly improved heterologous biosynthesis of dithiolopyrrolones in Streptomyces albus through coexpression with the aut cluster. In the previous studies, HlmK was considered invalid because it has a Ser to Gly point mutation within the canonical Ser-His-Asp catalytic triad of thioesterases. However, gene inactivation and complementation experiments in our study unequivocally demonstrated that HlmK is an active distinctive type II thioesterase that plays a beneficial role in dithiolopyrrolone biosynthesis. - Highlights: • Cloning of the aureothricin biosynthetic gene cluster from Streptomyces thioluteus DSM 40027. • Identification of the aureothricin gene cluster by heterologous expression and in-frame gene deletion. • The heterogenetic thioesterase HlmK significantly improved dithiolopyrrolones production of the aureothricin gene cluster. • Identification of HlmK as an unusual type II thioesterase.

  11. Characterization and engineering of thermophilic aldolases : synthesizing nitrogen-heterocycles in biosynthetic routes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wolterink-van Loo, S.

    2009-01-01

    Aldolases are enzymes that catalyze reactions in both degradation and biosynthetic pathways in vivo and have been discovered in all domains of life. they. An interesting property of aldolases is that they can synthesize carbon-carbon bonds, generating a new stereogenic centre. As enzymes are

  12. Differential control of the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway in tumor versus liver: evidence for decontrolled tumor cholesterogenesis in a cell-free system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azrolan, N.

    1987-01-01

    Cholesterol biosynthesis was characterized in cell-free post-mitochondrial supernatant (PMS) systems prepared from both normal rat liver and Morris hepatoma 3924A. Per cell, the rate of cholesterol synthesis from either 14 C-citrate of 14 -acetate in the hepatoma system was 9-fold greater than that observed in the liver system. Furthermore, the ratio of sterol-to-fatty acid synthesis rates from 14 C-citrate was more than 3-fold greater in the tumor than in the normal liver system. Incubations using radiolabeled acetate and mevalonate have demonstrated the loss of a normally rate-limiting control site within the early portion of the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway in the tumor system. Upon analysis of the steady-state levels of early lipogenic intermediates, the specific site of decontrol in the tumor was identified as the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA → mevalonate site of this pathway. In contrast, this reaction appeared to retain its rate-limiting properties in the cell-free system from normal liver

  13. De Novo Assembly and Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Provide Insight into Lysine Biosynthesis in Toona sinensis Roem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xia; Song, Zhenqiao; Liu, Tian; Guo, Linlin; Li, Xingfeng

    2016-01-01

    Toona sinensis Roem is a popular leafy vegetable in Chinese cuisine and is also used as a traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, leaf samples were collected from the same plant on two development stages and then used for high-throughput Illumina RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq). 125,884 transcripts and 54,628 unigenes were obtained through de novo assembly. A total of 25,570 could be annotated with known biological functions, which indicated that the T. sinensis leaves and shoots were undergoing multiple developmental processes especially for active metabolic processes. Analysis of differentially expressed unigenes between the two libraries showed that the lysine biosynthesis was an enriched KEGG pathway, and candidate genes involved in the lysine biosynthesis pathway in T. sinensis leaves and shoots were identified. Our results provide a primary analysis of the gene expression files of T. sinensis leaf and shoot on different development stages and afford a valuable resource for genetic and genomic research on plant lysine biosynthesis.

  14. A R2R3-MYB transcription factor from Epimedium sagittatum regulates the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenjun Huang

    Full Text Available Herba epimedii (Epimedium, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used as a kidney tonic and antirheumatic medicine for thousands of years. The bioactive components in herba epimedii are mainly prenylated flavonol glycosides, end-products of the flavonoid pathway. Epimedium species are also used as garden plants due to the colorful flowers and leaves. Many R2R3-MYB transcription factors (TFs have been identified to regulate the flavonoid and anthocyanin biosynthetic pathways. However, little is known about the R2R3-MYB TFs involved in regulation of the flavonoid pathway in Epimedium. Here, we reported the isolation and functional characterization of the first R2R3-MYB TF (EsMYBA1 from Epimedium sagittatum (Sieb. Et Zucc. Maxim. Conserved domains and phylogenetic analysis showed that EsMYBA1 belonged to the subgroup 6 clade (anthocyanin-related MYB clade of R2R3-MYB family, which includes Arabidopsis AtPAP1, apple MdMYB10 and legume MtLAP1. EsMYBA1 was preferentially expressed in leaves, especially in red leaves that contain higher content of anthocyanin. Alternative splicing of EsMYBA1 resulted in three transcripts and two of them encoded a MYB-related protein. Yeast two-hybrid and transient luciferase expression assay showed that EsMYBA1 can interact with several bHLH regulators of the flavonoid pathway and activate the promoters of dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR and anthocyanidin synthase (ANS. In both transgenic tobacco and Arabidopsis, overexpression of EsMYBA1 induced strong anthocyanin accumulation in reproductive and/or vegetative tissues via up-regulation of the main flavonoid-related genes. Furthermore, transient expression of EsMYBA1 in E. sagittatum leaves by Agrobacterium infiltration also induced anthocyanin accumulation in the wounded area. This first functional characterization of R2R3-MYB TFs in Epimedium species will promote further studies of the flavonoid biosynthesis and regulation in medicinal plants.

  15. A R2R3-MYB transcription factor from Epimedium sagittatum regulates the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Wenjun; Sun, Wei; Lv, Haiyan; Luo, Ming; Zeng, Shaohua; Pattanaik, Sitakanta; Yuan, Ling; Wang, Ying

    2013-01-01

    Herba epimedii (Epimedium), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used as a kidney tonic and antirheumatic medicine for thousands of years. The bioactive components in herba epimedii are mainly prenylated flavonol glycosides, end-products of the flavonoid pathway. Epimedium species are also used as garden plants due to the colorful flowers and leaves. Many R2R3-MYB transcription factors (TFs) have been identified to regulate the flavonoid and anthocyanin biosynthetic pathways. However, little is known about the R2R3-MYB TFs involved in regulation of the flavonoid pathway in Epimedium. Here, we reported the isolation and functional characterization of the first R2R3-MYB TF (EsMYBA1) from Epimedium sagittatum (Sieb. Et Zucc.) Maxim. Conserved domains and phylogenetic analysis showed that EsMYBA1 belonged to the subgroup 6 clade (anthocyanin-related MYB clade) of R2R3-MYB family, which includes Arabidopsis AtPAP1, apple MdMYB10 and legume MtLAP1. EsMYBA1 was preferentially expressed in leaves, especially in red leaves that contain higher content of anthocyanin. Alternative splicing of EsMYBA1 resulted in three transcripts and two of them encoded a MYB-related protein. Yeast two-hybrid and transient luciferase expression assay showed that EsMYBA1 can interact with several bHLH regulators of the flavonoid pathway and activate the promoters of dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR) and anthocyanidin synthase (ANS). In both transgenic tobacco and Arabidopsis, overexpression of EsMYBA1 induced strong anthocyanin accumulation in reproductive and/or vegetative tissues via up-regulation of the main flavonoid-related genes. Furthermore, transient expression of EsMYBA1 in E. sagittatum leaves by Agrobacterium infiltration also induced anthocyanin accumulation in the wounded area. This first functional characterization of R2R3-MYB TFs in Epimedium species will promote further studies of the flavonoid biosynthesis and regulation in medicinal plants.

  16. Reconstitution of Biosynthetic Machinery for the Synthesis of the Highly Elaborated Indole Diterpene Penitrem

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Chengwei; Tagami, Koichi; Minami, Atsushi

    2015-01-01

    KULNJ). Importantly, without conventional gene disruption, reconstitution of the biosynthetic machinery provided sufficient data to determine the pathway. It was thus demonstrated that the Aspergillus oryzae reconstitution system is a powerful method for studying the biosynthesis of complex natural products....

  17. Characterization of the biosynthetic gene cluster for cryptic phthoxazolin A in Streptomyces avermitilis.

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    Dian Anggraini Suroto

    Full Text Available Phthoxazolin A, an oxazole-containing polyketide, has a broad spectrum of anti-oomycete activity and herbicidal activity. We recently identified phthoxazolin A as a cryptic metabolite of Streptomyces avermitilis that produces the important anthelmintic agent avermectin. Even though genome data of S. avermitilis is publicly available, no plausible biosynthetic gene cluster for phthoxazolin A is apparent in the sequence data. Here, we identified and characterized the phthoxazolin A (ptx biosynthetic gene cluster through genome sequencing, comparative genomic analysis, and gene disruption. Sequence analysis uncovered that the putative ptx biosynthetic genes are laid on an extra genomic region that is not found in the public database, and 8 open reading frames in the extra genomic region could be assigned roles in the biosynthesis of the oxazole ring, triene polyketide and carbamoyl moieties. Disruption of the ptxA gene encoding a discrete acyltransferase resulted in a complete loss of phthoxazolin A production, confirming that the trans-AT type I PKS system is responsible for the phthoxazolin A biosynthesis. Based on the predicted functional domains in the ptx assembly line, we propose the biosynthetic pathway of phthoxazolin A.

  18. Quantification of Nε-(2-Furoylmethyl)-L-lysine (furosine), Nε-(Carboxymethyl)-L-lysine (CML), Nε-(Carboxyethyl)-L-lysine (CEL) and total lysine through stable isotope dilution assay and tandem mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Troise, Antonio Dario; Fiore, Alberto; Wiltafsky, Markus; Fogliano, Vincenzo

    2015-12-01

    The control of Maillard reaction (MR) is a key point to ensure processed foods quality. Due to the presence of a primary amino group on its side chain, lysine is particularly prone to chemical modifications with the formation of Amadori products (AP), Nε-(Carboxymethyl)-L-lysine (CML), Nε-(Carboxyethyl)-L-lysine (CEL). A new analytical strategy was proposed which allowed to simultaneously quantify lysine, CML, CEL and the Nε-(2-Furoylmethyl)-L-lysine (furosine), the indirect marker of AP. The procedure is based on stable isotope dilution assay followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. It showed high sensitivity and good reproducibility and repeatability in different foods. The limit of detection and the RSD% were lower than 5 ppb and below 8%, respectively. Results obtained with the new procedure not only improved the knowledge about the reliability of thermal treatment markers, but also defined new insights in the relationship between Maillard reaction products and their precursors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Targeted Gene Disruption of the Cyclo (L-Phe, L-Pro Biosynthetic Pathway in Streptomyces sp. US24 Strain

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    Samiha Sioud

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available We have previously isolated a new actinomycete strain from Tunisian soil called Streptomyces sp. US24, and have shown that it produces two bioactive molecules including a Cyclo (L-Phe, L-Pro diketopiperazine (DKP. To identify the structural genes responsible for the synthesis of this DKP derivative, a PCR amplification (696 bp was carried out using the Streptomyces sp. US24 genomic DNA as template and two degenerate oligonucleotides designed by analogy with genes encoding peptide synthetases (NRPS. The detection of DKP derivative biosynthetic pathway of the Streptomyces sp. US24 strain was then achieved by gene disruption via homologous recombination using a suicide vector derived from the conjugative plasmid pSET152 and containing the PCR product. Chromatography analysis, biological tests and spectroscopic studies of supernatant cultures of the wild-type Streptomyces sp. US24 strain and three mutants obtained by this gene targeting disruption approach showed that the amplified DNA fragment is required for Cyclo (L-Phe, L-Pro biosynthesis in Streptomyces sp. US24 strain. This DKP derivative seems to be produced either directly via a nonribosomal pathway or as a side product in the course of nonribosomal synthesis of a longer peptide.

  20. Specificity determinants for lysine incorporation in Staphylococcus aureus peptidoglycan as revealed by the structure of a MurE enzyme ternary complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruane, Karen M; Lloyd, Adrian J; Fülöp, Vilmos; Dowson, Christopher G; Barreteau, Hélène; Boniface, Audrey; Dementin, Sébastien; Blanot, Didier; Mengin-Lecreulx, Dominique; Gobec, Stanislav; Dessen, Andréa; Roper, David I

    2013-11-15

    Formation of the peptidoglycan stem pentapeptide requires the insertion of both L and D amino acids by the ATP-dependent ligase enzymes MurC, -D, -E, and -F. The stereochemical control of the third position amino acid in the pentapeptide is crucial to maintain the fidelity of later biosynthetic steps contributing to cell morphology, antibiotic resistance, and pathogenesis. Here we determined the x-ray crystal structure of Staphylococcus aureus MurE UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanyl-D-glutamate:meso-2,6-diaminopimelate ligase (MurE) (E.C. 6.3.2.7) at 1.8 Å resolution in the presence of ADP and the reaction product, UDP-MurNAc-L-Ala-γ-D-Glu-L-Lys. This structure provides for the first time a molecular understanding of how this Gram-positive enzyme discriminates between L-lysine and D,L-diaminopimelic acid, the predominant amino acid that replaces L-lysine in Gram-negative peptidoglycan. Despite the presence of a consensus sequence previously implicated in the selection of the third position residue in the stem pentapeptide in S. aureus MurE, the structure shows that only part of this sequence is involved in the selection of L-lysine. Instead, other parts of the protein contribute substrate-selecting residues, resulting in a lysine-binding pocket based on charge characteristics. Despite the absolute specificity for L-lysine, S. aureus MurE binds this substrate relatively poorly. In vivo analysis and metabolomic data reveal that this is compensated for by high cytoplasmic L-lysine concentrations. Therefore, both metabolic and structural constraints maintain the structural integrity of the staphylococcal peptidoglycan. This study provides a novel focus for S. aureus-directed antimicrobials based on dual targeting of essential amino acid biogenesis and its linkage to cell wall assembly.

  1. The biology of lysine acetylation integrates transcriptional programming and metabolism

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    Mujtaba Shiraz

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The biochemical landscape of lysine acetylation has expanded from a small number of proteins in the nucleus to a multitude of proteins in the cytoplasm. Since the first report confirming acetylation of the tumor suppressor protein p53 by a lysine acetyltransferase (KAT, there has been a surge in the identification of new, non-histone targets of KATs. Added to the known substrates of KATs are metabolic enzymes, cytoskeletal proteins, molecular chaperones, ribosomal proteins and nuclear import factors. Emerging studies demonstrate that no fewer than 2000 proteins in any particular cell type may undergo lysine acetylation. As described in this review, our analyses of cellular acetylated proteins using DAVID 6.7 bioinformatics resources have facilitated organization of acetylated proteins into functional clusters integral to cell signaling, the stress response, proteolysis, apoptosis, metabolism, and neuronal development. In addition, these clusters also depict association of acetylated proteins with human diseases. These findings not only support lysine acetylation as a widespread cellular phenomenon, but also impel questions to clarify the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms governing target selectivity by KATs. Present challenges are to understand the molecular basis for the overlapping roles of KAT-containing co-activators, to differentiate between global versus dynamic acetylation marks, and to elucidate the physiological roles of acetylated proteins in biochemical pathways. In addition to discussing the cellular 'acetylome', a focus of this work is to present the widespread and dynamic nature of lysine acetylation and highlight the nexus that exists between epigenetic-directed transcriptional regulation and metabolism.

  2. Regulation of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway by the TTG1/bHLH/Myb transcriptional complex in Arabidopsis seedlings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, Antonio; Zhao, Mingzhe; Leavitt, John M; Lloyd, Alan M

    2008-03-01

    In all higher plants studied to date, the anthocyanin pigment pathway is regulated by a suite of transcription factors that include Myb, bHLH and WD-repeat proteins. However, in Arabidopsis thaliana, the Myb regulators remain to be conclusively identified, and little is known about anthocyanin pathway regulation by TTG1-dependent transcriptional complexes. Previous overexpression of the PAP1 Myb suggested that genes from the entire phenylpropanoid pathway are targets of regulation by Myb/bHLH/WD-repeat complexes in Arabidopsis, in contrast to other plants. Here we demonstrate that overexpression of Myb113 or Myb114 results in substantial increases in pigment production similar to those previously seen as a result of over-expression of PAP1, and pigment production in these overexpressors remains TTG1- and bHLH-dependent. Also, plants harboring an RNAi construct targeting PAP1 and three Myb candidates (PAP2, Myb113 and Myb114) showed downregulated Myb gene expression and obvious anthocyanin deficiencies. Correlated with these anthocyanin deficiencies is downregulation of the same late anthocyanin structural genes that are downregulated in ttg1 and bHLH anthocyanin mutants. Expression studies using GL3:GR and TTG1:GR fusions revealed direct regulation of the late biosynthetic genes only. Functional diversification between GL3 and EGL3 with regard to activation of gene targets was revealed by GL3:GR studies in single and double bHLH mutant seedlings. Expression profiles for Myb and bHLH regulators are also presented in the context of pigment production in young seedlings.

  3. Molecular and structural insight into lysine selection on substrate and ubiquitin lysine 48 by the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Cdc34

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Suryadinata, Randy; Holien, Jessica K; Yang, George

    2013-01-01

    , the mechanisms of lysine selection are not clearly understood. The positioning of lysine(s) toward the E2/E3 active site and residues proximal to lysines are critical in their selection. We investigated determinants of lysine specificity of the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Cdc34, toward substrate and Ub lysines....... Evaluation of the relative importance of different residues positioned -2, -1, +1 and +2 toward ubiquitination of its substrate, Sic1, on lysine 50 showed that charged residues in the -1 and -2 positions negatively impact on ubiquitination. Modeling suggests that charged residues at these positions alter...... the native salt-bridge interactions in Ub and Cdc34, resulting in misplacement of Sic1 lysine 50 in the Cdc34 catalytic cleft. During polyubiquitination, Cdc34 showed a strong preference for Ub lysine 48 (K48), with lower activity towards lysine 11 (K11) and lysine 63 (K63). Mutating the -2, -1, +1 and +2...

  4. Overexpression of wild-type aspartokinase increases L-lysine production in the thermotolerant methylotrophic bacterium Bacillus methanolicus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jakobsen, Oyvind M; Brautaset, Trygve; Degnes, Kristin F; Heggeset, Tonje M B; Balzer, Simone; Flickinger, Michael C; Valla, Svein; Ellingsen, Trond E

    2009-02-01

    Aspartokinase (AK) controls the carbon flow into the aspartate pathway for the biosynthesis of the amino acids l-methionine, l-threonine, l-isoleucine, and l-lysine. We report here the cloning of four genes (asd, encoding aspartate semialdehyde dehydrogenase; dapA, encoding dihydrodipicolinate synthase; dapG, encoding AKI; and yclM, encoding AKIII) of the aspartate pathway in Bacillus methanolicus MGA3. Together with the known AKII gene lysC, dapG and yclM form a set of three AK genes in this organism. Overexpression of dapG, lysC, and yclM increased l-lysine production in wild-type B. methanolicus strain MGA3 2-, 10-, and 60-fold (corresponding to 11 g/liter), respectively, without negatively affecting the specific growth rate. The production levels of l-methionine (less than 0.5 g/liter) and l-threonine (less than 0.1 g/liter) were low in all recombinant strains. The AK proteins were purified, and biochemical analyses demonstrated that they have similar V(max) values (between 47 and 58 micromol/min/mg protein) and K(m) values for l-aspartate (between 1.9 and 5.0 mM). AKI and AKII were allosterically inhibited by meso-diaminopimelate (50% inhibitory concentration [IC(50)], 0.1 mM) and by l-lysine (IC(50), 0.3 mM), respectively. AKIII was inhibited by l-threonine (IC(50), 4 mM) and by l-lysine (IC(50), 5 mM), and this enzyme was synergistically inhibited in the presence of both of these amino acids at low concentrations. The correlation between the impact on l-lysine production in vivo and the biochemical properties in vitro of the individual AK proteins is discussed. This is the first example of improving l-lysine production by metabolic engineering of B. methanolicus and also the first documentation of considerably increasing l-lysine production by overexpression of a wild-type AK.

  5. Lysine purification with cation exchange resin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khayati, GH.; Mottaghi Talab, M.; Hamooni Hagheeghat, M.; Fatemi, M.

    2003-01-01

    L-lysine is an essential amino acid for the growth most of animal species and the number one limiting amino acid for poultry. After production and biomass removal by filtration and centrifugation, the essential next step is the lysine purification and recovery. There are different methods for lysine purification. The ion exchange process is one of the most commonly used purification methods. Lysine recovery was done from broth by ion exchange resin in three different ways: repeated passing, resin soaking and the usual method. Impurities were isolated from the column by repeated wash with distilled water. Recovery and purification was done with NH 4 OH and different alcohol volumes respectively. The results showed that repeated passing is the best method for lysine absorption (maximum range 86.21 %). Washing with alkali solution revealed that most of lysine is obtained in the first step of washing. The highest degree of lysine purification was achieved with the use of 4 volumes of alcohol

  6. Catabolism of lysine by mixed rumen bacteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Onodera, Ryoji; Kandatsu, Makoto.

    1975-01-01

    Metabolites arising from the catabolism of lysine by the mixed rumen bacteria were chromatographically examined by using radioactive lysine. After 6 hr incubation, 241 nmole/ml of lysine was decomposed to give ether-soluble substances and CO 2 by the bacteria and 90 nmole/ml of lysine was incorporated unchanged into the bacteria. delta-Aminovalerate, cadaverine or pipecolate did not seem to be produced from lysine even after incubation of the bacteria with addition of those three amino compounds to trap besides lysine and radioactive lysine. Most of the ether-soluble substances produced from radioactive lysine was volatile fatty acids (VFAs). Fractionation of VFAs revealed that the peaks of butyric and acetic acids coincided with the strong radioactive peaks. Small amounts of radioactivities were detected in propionic acid peak and a peak assumed to be caproic acid. The rumen bacteria appeared to decompose much larger amounts of lysine than the rumen ciliate protozoa did. (auth.)

  7. Proteomic Analysis of Lysine Acetylation Sites in Rat Tissues Reveals Organ Specificity and Subcellular Patterns

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    Alicia Lundby

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Lysine acetylation is a major posttranslational modification involved in a broad array of physiological functions. Here, we provide an organ-wide map of lysine acetylation sites from 16 rat tissues analyzed by high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. We quantify 15,474 modification sites on 4,541 proteins and provide the data set as a web-based database. We demonstrate that lysine acetylation displays site-specific sequence motifs that diverge between cellular compartments, with a significant fraction of nuclear sites conforming to the consensus motifs G-AcK and AcK-P. Our data set reveals that the subcellular acetylation distribution is tissue-type dependent and that acetylation targets tissue-specific pathways involved in fundamental physiological processes. We compare lysine acetylation patterns for rat as well as human skeletal muscle biopsies and demonstrate its general involvement in muscle contraction. Furthermore, we illustrate that acetylation of fructose-bisphosphate aldolase and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase serves as a cellular mechanism to switch off enzymatic activity.

  8. Genome mining of the sordarin biosynthetic gene cluster from Sordaria araneosa Cain ATCC 36386: characterization of cycloaraneosene synthase and GDP-6-deoxyaltrose transferase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kudo, Fumitaka; Matsuura, Yasunori; Hayashi, Takaaki; Fukushima, Masayuki; Eguchi, Tadashi

    2016-07-01

    Sordarin is a glycoside antibiotic with a unique tetracyclic diterpene aglycone structure called sordaricin. To understand its intriguing biosynthetic pathway that may include a Diels-Alder-type [4+2]cycloaddition, genome mining of the gene cluster from the draft genome sequence of the producer strain, Sordaria araneosa Cain ATCC 36386, was carried out. A contiguous 67 kb gene cluster consisting of 20 open reading frames encoding a putative diterpene cyclase, a glycosyltransferase, a type I polyketide synthase, and six cytochrome P450 monooxygenases were identified. In vitro enzymatic analysis of the putative diterpene cyclase SdnA showed that it catalyzes the transformation of geranylgeranyl diphosphate to cycloaraneosene, a known biosynthetic intermediate of sordarin. Furthermore, a putative glycosyltransferase SdnJ was found to catalyze the glycosylation of sordaricin in the presence of GDP-6-deoxy-d-altrose to give 4'-O-demethylsordarin. These results suggest that the identified sdn gene cluster is responsible for the biosynthesis of sordarin. Based on the isolated potential biosynthetic intermediates and bioinformatics analysis, a plausible biosynthetic pathway for sordarin is proposed.

  9. Modulation of flavonoid biosynthetic pathway genes and anthocyanins due to virus infection in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. leaves

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    Gutha Linga R

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Symptoms of grapevine leafroll disease (GLRD in red-fruited wine grape (Vitis vinifera L. cultivars consist of green veins and red and reddish-purple discoloration of inter-veinal areas of leaves. The reddish-purple color of symptomatic leaves may be due to the accumulation of anthocyanins and could reflect an up-regulation of genes involved in their biosynthesis. Results We examined six putative constitutively expressed genes, Ubiquitin, Actin, GAPDH, EF1-a, SAND and NAD5, for their potential as references for normalization of gene expression in reverse transcription-quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR. Using the geNorm program, a combination of two genes (Actin and NAD5 was identified as the stable set of reference genes for normalization of gene expression data obtained from grapevine leaves. By using gene-specific RT-qPCR in combination with a reliable normalization factor, we compared relative expression of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway genes between leaves infected with Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3 and exhibiting GLRD symptoms and virus-free green leaves obtained from a red-fruited wine grape cultivar (cv. Merlot. The expression levels of these different genes ranged from two- to fifty-fold increase in virus-infected leaves. Among them, CHS3, F3'5'H, F3H1, LDOX, LAR1 and MybA1 showed greater than 10-fold increase suggesting that they were expressed at significantly higher levels in virus-infected symptomatic leaves. HPLC profiling of anthocyanins extracted from leaves indicated the presence of cyanidin-3-glucoside and malvidin-3-glucoside only in virus-infected symptomatic leaves. The results also showed 24% higher levels of flavonols in virus-infected symptomatic leaves than in virus-free green leaves, with quercetin followed by myricetin being the predominant compounds. Proanthocyanidins, estimated as total tannins by protein precipitation method, were 36% higher in virus

  10. In situ localization of phenylpropanoid biosynthetic mRNAs and proteins in Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reinold, S.; Hahlbrock, K.

    1997-01-01

    Using in situ RNA/RNA hybridization, enzyme immunolocalization, and histochemical techniques, several phenylpropanoid biosynthetic activities and products were localized in tissue sections from various aerial parts of parsley (Petroselinum crispum) plants at different developmental stages. The enzymes and corresponding mRNAs analyzed included two representatives of general phenylpropanoid metabolism: phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and 4-coumarate: CoA ligase (4CL), and one representative each from two distinct branch pathways: chalcone synthase (CHS; flavonoids) and S-adenosyl-L-methionine: bergaptol O-methyltransferase (BMT; furanocoumarins). In almost all cases, the relative timing of accumulation differed greatly for mRNA and protein and indicated short expression periods and short half-lives for all mRNAs as compared to the proteins. PAL and 4CL occurred almost ubiquitously in cell type-specific patterns, and their mRNAs and proteins were always coordinately expressed, whereas the cell type-specific localization of flavonoid and furanocoumarin biosynthetic activities was to a large extent mutually exclusive. However, the distribution patterns of CHS and BMT, when superimposed, closely matched those of PAL and 4CL in nearly all tissues analysed, suggesting that the flavonoid and furanocoumarin pathways together constituted a large majority of the total phenylpropanoid biosynthetic activity. Differential sites of synthesis and accumulation indicating intercellular translocation were observed both for flavonoids and for furanocoumarins in oil ducts and the surrounding tissue. The widespread occurrence of both classes of compounds, as well as selected, pathway-specific mRNAs and enzymes, in many cell types of all parsley organs including various flower parts suggests additional functions beyond the previously established roles of flavonoids in UV protection and furanocoumarins in pathogen defence. (author)

  11. Studies of lysine cyclodeaminase from Streptomyces pristinaespiralis: Insights into the complex transition NAD+ state.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ying, Hanxiao; Wang, Jing; Shi, Ting; Zhao, Yilei; Wang, Xin; Ouyang, Pingkai; Chen, Kequan

    2018-01-01

    Lysine cyclodeaminase (LCD) catalyzes the piperidine ring formation in macrolide-pipecolate natural products metabolic pathways from a lysine substrate through a combination of cyclization and deamination. This enzyme belongs to a unique enzyme class, which uses NAD + as the catalytic prosthetic group instead of as the co-substrate. To understand the molecular details of NAD + functions in lysine cyclodeaminase, we have determined four ternary crystal structure complexes of LCD-NAD + with pipecolic acid (LCD-PA), lysine (LCD-LYS), and an intermediate (LCD-INT) as ligands at 2.26-, 2.00-, 2.17- and 1.80 Å resolutions, respectively. By combining computational studies, a NAD + -mediated "gate keeper" function involving NAD + /NADH and Arg49 that control the binding and entry of the ligand lysine was revealed, confirming the critical roles of NAD + in the substrate access process. Further, in the gate opening form, a substrate delivery tunnel between ε-carboxyl moiety of Glu264 and the α-carboxyl moiety of Asp236 was observed through a comparison of four structure complexes. The LCD structure details including NAD + -mediated "gate keeper" and substrate tunnel may assist in the exploration the NAD + function in this unique enzyme class, and in regulation of macrolide-pipecolate natural product synthesis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Rational engineering of p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase to enable efficient gallic acid synthesis via a novel artificial biosynthetic pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Zhenya; Shen, Xiaolin; Wang, Jian; Wang, Jia; Yuan, Qipeng; Yan, Yajun

    2017-11-01

    Gallic acid (GA) is a naturally occurring phytochemical that has strong antioxidant and antibacterial activities. It is also used as a potential platform chemical for the synthesis of diverse high-value compounds. Hydrolytic degradation of tannins by acids, bases or microorganisms serves as a major way for GA production, which however, might cause environmental pollution and low yield and efficiency. Here, we report a novel approach for efficient microbial production of GA. First, structure-based rational engineering of PobA, a p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, generated a new mutant, Y385F/T294A PobA, which displayed much higher activity toward 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3,4-DHBA) than the wild-type and any other reported mutants. Remarkably, expression of this mutant in Escherichia coli enabled generation of 1149.59 mg/L GA from 1000 mg/L 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA), representing a 93% molar conversion ratio. Based on that, we designed and reconstituted a novel artificial biosynthetic pathway of GA and achieved 440.53 mg/L GA production from simple carbon sources in E. coli. Further enhancement of precursor supply through reinforcing shikimate pathway was able to improve GA de novo production to 1266.39 mg/L in shake flasks. Overall, this study not only led to the development of a highly active PobA variant for hydroxylating 3,4-DHBA into GA via structure-based protein engineering approach, but also demonstrated a promising pathway for bio-based manufacturing of GA and its derived compounds. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 2571-2580. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Biosynthetic Studies of 13-Desmethylspirolide C Produced by Alexandrium ostenfeldii (= A. peruvianum): Rationalization of the Biosynthetic Pathway Following Incorporation of (13)C-Labeled Methionine and Application of the Odd-Even Rule of Methylation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anttila, Matthew; Strangman, Wendy; York, Robert; Tomas, Carmelo; Wright, Jeffrey L C

    2016-03-25

    Understanding the biosynthesis of dinoflagellate polyketides presents many unique challenges. Because of the remaining hurdles to dinoflagellate genome sequencing, precursor labeling studies remain the only viable way to investigate dinoflagellate biosynthesis. However, prior studies have shown that polyketide chain assembly does not follow any of the established processes. Additionally, acetate, the common precursor for polyketides, is frequently scrambled, thus compromising interpretation. These factors are further compounded by low production yields of the compounds of interest. A recent report on the biosynthesis of spirolides, a group belonging to the growing class of toxic spiroimines, provided some insight into the polyketide assembly process based on acetate labeling studies, but many details were left uncertain. By feeding (13)C methyl-labeled methionine to cultures of Alexandrium ostenfeldii, the producing organism of 13-desmethylspirolide C, and application of the odd-even methylation rule, the complete biosynthetic pathway has been established.

  14. Novel NAD+-Farnesal Dehydrogenase from Polygonum minus Leaves. Purification and Characterization of Enzyme in Juvenile Hormone III Biosynthetic Pathway in Plant.

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    Ahmad-Faris Seman-Kamarulzaman

    Full Text Available Juvenile Hormone III is of great concern due to negative effects on major developmental and reproductive maturation in insect pests. Thus, the elucidation of enzymes involved JH III biosynthetic pathway has become increasing important in recent years. One of the enzymes in the JH III biosynthetic pathway that remains to be isolated and characterized is farnesal dehydrogenase, an enzyme responsible to catalyze the oxidation of farnesal into farnesoic acid. A novel NAD+-farnesal dehydrogenase of Polygonum minus was purified (315-fold to apparent homogeneity in five chromatographic steps. The purification procedures included Gigacap S-Toyopearl 650M, Gigacap Q-Toyopearl 650M, and AF-Blue Toyopearl 650ML, followed by TSK Gel G3000SW chromatographies. The enzyme, with isoelectric point of 6.6 is a monomeric enzyme with a molecular mass of 70 kDa. The enzyme was relatively active at 40°C, but was rapidly inactivated above 45°C. The optimal temperature and pH of the enzyme were found to be 35°C and 9.5, respectively. The enzyme activity was inhibited by sulfhydryl agent, chelating agent, and metal ion. The enzyme was highly specific for farnesal and NAD+. Other terpene aldehydes such as trans- cinnamaldehyde, citral and α- methyl cinnamaldehyde were also oxidized but in lower activity. The Km values for farnesal, citral, trans- cinnamaldehyde, α- methyl cinnamaldehyde and NAD+ were 0.13, 0.69, 0.86, 1.28 and 0.31 mM, respectively. The putative P. minus farnesal dehydrogenase that's highly specific towards farnesal but not to aliphatic aldehydes substrates suggested that the enzyme is significantly different from other aldehyde dehydrogenases that have been reported. The MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS/MS spectrometry further identified two peptides that share similarity to those of previously reported aldehyde dehydrogenases. In conclusion, the P. minus farnesal dehydrogenase may represent a novel plant farnesal dehydrogenase that exhibits distinctive substrate

  15. Elucidating the biosynthetic and regulatory mechanisms of flavonoid-derived bioactive components in Epimedium sagittatum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenjun eHuang

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Herba epimedii (Epimedium, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used as a kidney tonic and antirheumatic medicine for thousands of years. In Epimedium, flavonoids have been demonstrated to be the main bioactive components (BCs. However, the molecular biosynthetic and regulatory mechanisms of flavonoid-derived BCs remain obscure. In this study, we isolated twelve structural genes and two putative transcription factors (TFs in the flavonoid pathway. Phytochemical analysis showed that the total content of four representative BCs (epimedin A, B, C and icariin decreased slightly or dramatically in two lines of E. sagittatum during leaf development. Transcriptional analysis revealed that two R2R3-MYB TFs (EsMYBA1 and EsMYBF1, together with a bHLH TF (EsGL3 and WD40 protein (EsTTG1, were supposed to coordinately regulate the anthocyanin and flavonol-derived BCs biosynthesis in leaves. Overexpression of EsFLS (flavonol synthase in tobacco resulted in increased flavonols content and decreased anthocyanins content in flowers. Moreover, EsMYB12 negatively correlated with the accumulation of the four BCs, and might act as a transcriptional repressor in the flavonoid pathway. Therefore, the anthocyanin pathway may coordinate with the flavonol-derived BCs pathway in Epimedium leaves. A better understanding of the flavonoid biosynthetic and regulatory mechanisms in E. sagittatum will facilitate functional characterization, metabolic engineering and molecular breeding studies of Epimedium species.

  16. Quantification of Nε-(2-Furoylmethyl)-L-lysine (furosine), Nε-(Carboxymethyl)-L-lysine (CML), Nε-(Carboxyethyl)-L-lysine (CEL) and total lysine through stable isotope dilution assay and tandem mass spectrometry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Troise, A.D.; Fiore, A.; Wiltafsky, M.; Fogliano, V.

    2015-01-01

    The control of Maillard reaction (MR) is a key point to ensure processed foods quality. Due to the presence of a primary amino group on its side chain, lysine is particularly prone to chemical modifications with the formation of Amadori products (AP), Nε-(Carboxymethyl)-L-lysine (CML),

  17. Thermodynamic analysis of computed pathways integrated into the metabolic networks of E. coli and Synechocystis reveals contrasting expansion potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asplund-Samuelsson, Johannes; Janasch, Markus; Hudson, Elton P

    2018-01-01

    Introducing biosynthetic pathways into an organism is both reliant on and challenged by endogenous biochemistry. Here we compared the expansion potential of the metabolic network in the photoautotroph Synechocystis with that of the heterotroph E. coli using the novel workflow POPPY (Prospecting Optimal Pathways with PYthon). First, E. coli and Synechocystis metabolomic and fluxomic data were combined with metabolic models to identify thermodynamic constraints on metabolite concentrations (NET analysis). Then, thousands of automatically constructed pathways were placed within each network and subjected to a network-embedded variant of the max-min driving force analysis (NEM). We found that the networks had different capabilities for imparting thermodynamic driving forces toward certain compounds. Key metabolites were constrained differently in Synechocystis due to opposing flux directions in glycolysis and carbon fixation, the forked tri-carboxylic acid cycle, and photorespiration. Furthermore, the lysine biosynthesis pathway in Synechocystis was identified as thermodynamically constrained, impacting both endogenous and heterologous reactions through low 2-oxoglutarate levels. Our study also identified important yet poorly covered areas in existing metabolomics data and provides a reference for future thermodynamics-based engineering in Synechocystis and beyond. The POPPY methodology represents a step in making optimal pathway-host matches, which is likely to become important as the practical range of host organisms is diversified. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Molecular and Biochemical Analysis of Chalcone Synthase from Freesia hybrid in flavonoid biosynthetic pathway.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Sun

    Full Text Available Chalcone synthase (CHS catalyzes the first committed step in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. In this study, the cDNA (FhCHS1 encoding CHS from Freesia hybrida was successfully isolated and analyzed. Multiple sequence alignments showed that both the conserved CHS active site residues and CHS signature sequence were found in the deduced amino acid sequence of FhCHS1. Meanwhile, crystallographic analysis revealed that protein structure of FhCHS1 is highly similar to that of alfalfa CHS2, and the biochemical analysis results indicated that it has an enzymatic role in naringenin biosynthesis. Moreover, quantitative real-time PCR was performed to detect the transcript levels of FhCHS1 in flowers and different tissues, and patterns of FhCHS1 expression in flowers showed significant correlation to the accumulation patterns of anthocyanin during flower development. To further characterize the functionality of FhCHS1, its ectopic expression in Arabidopsis thaliana tt4 mutants and Petunia hybrida was performed. The results showed that overexpression of FhCHS1 in tt4 mutants fully restored the pigmentation phenotype of the seed coats, cotyledons and hypocotyls, while transgenic petunia expressing FhCHS1 showed flower color alteration from white to pink. In summary, these results suggest that FhCHS1 plays an essential role in the biosynthesis of flavonoid in Freesia hybrida and may be used to modify the components of flavonoids in other plants.

  19. Quantitative evaluation of the biosynthetic pathways leading to δ-aminolevulinic acid from the Shemin precursor glycine via the C5 pathway in Arthrobacter hyalinus by analysis of 13C-labeled coproporphyrinogen III biosynthesized from [2-13C]glycine, [1-13C]acetate, and [2-13C]acetate using 13C NMR spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Katsumi Iida

    2013-01-01

    The biosynthetic pathways leading to δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) from the Shemin precursor glycine via the C5 pathway in Arthrobacter hyalinus were quantitatively evaluated by means of feeding experiments with [2- 13 C]glycine, sodium [1- 13 C]acetate, and sodium [2- 13 C]acetate, followed by analysis of the labeling patterns of coproporphyrinogen III (Copro'gen III) (biosynthesized from ALA) using 13 C NMR spectroscopy. Two biosynthetic pathways leading to ALA from glycine via the C5 pathway were identified: i.e., transformation of glycine to l-serine catalyzed by glycine hydroxymethyltransferase, and glycine synthase-catalyzed catabolism of glycine to N 5 , N 10 -methylene-tetrahydrofolic acid (THF), which reacts with another molecule of glycine to afford l-serine. l-Serine is transformed to acetyl-CoA via pyruvic acid. Acetyl-CoA enters the tricarboxylic acid cycle, affording 2-oxoglutaric acid, which in turn is transformed to l-glutamic acid. The l-glutamic acid enters the C5 pathway, affording ALA in A. hyalinus. A 13 C NMR spectroscopic comparison of the labeling patterns of Copro'gen III obtained after feeding of [2- 13 C]glycine, sodium [1- 13 C]acetate, and sodium [2- 13 C]acetate showed that [2- 13 C]glycine transformation and [2- 13 C]glycine catabolism in A. hyalinus proceed in the ratio of 52 and 48 %. The reaction of [2- 13 C]glycine and N 5 , N 10 -methylene-THF, that of glycine and N 5 , N 10 -[methylene- 13 C]methylene-THF generated from the [2- 13 C]glycine catabolism, and that of [2- 13 C]glycine and N 5 , N 10 -[methylene- 13 C]methylene-THF transformed the fed [2- 13 C]glycine to [1- 13 C]acetyl-CoA, [2- 13 C]acetyl-CoA, and [1,2- 13 C 2 ]acetyl-CoA in the ratios of 42, 37, and 21 %, respectively. These labeled acetyl-CoAs were then incorporated into ALA. Our results provide a quantitative picture of the pathways of biosynthetic transformation to ALA from glycine in A. hyalinus. (author)

  20. EPA, DHA, and Lipoic Acid Differentially Modulate the n-3 Fatty Acid Biosynthetic Pathway in Atlantic Salmon Hepatocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bou, Marta; Østbye, Tone-Kari; Berge, Gerd M; Ruyter, Bente

    2017-03-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate how EPA, DHA, and lipoic acid (LA) influence the different metabolic steps in the n-3 fatty acid (FA) biosynthetic pathway in hepatocytes from Atlantic salmon fed four dietary levels (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0%) of EPA, DHA or a 1:1 mixture of these FA. The hepatocytes were incubated with [1- 14 C] 18:3n-3 in the presence or absence of LA (0.2 mM). Increased endogenous levels of EPA and/or DHA and LA exposure both led to similar responses in cells with reduced desaturation and elongation of [1- 14 C] 18:3n-3 to 18:4n-3, 20:4n-3, and EPA, in agreement with reduced expression of the Δ6 desaturase gene involved in the first step of conversion. DHA production, on the other hand, was maintained even in groups with high endogenous levels of DHA, possibly due to a more complex regulation of this last step in the n-3 metabolic pathway. Inhibition of the Δ6 desaturase pathway led to increased direct elongation to 20:3n-3 by both DHA and LA. Possibly the route by 20:3n-3 and then Δ8 desaturation to 20:4n-3, bypassing the first Δ6 desaturase step, can partly explain the maintained or even increased levels of DHA production. LA increased DHA production in the phospholipid fraction of hepatocytes isolated from fish fed 0 and 0.5% EPA and/or DHA, indicating that LA has the potential to further increase the production of this health-beneficial FA in fish fed diets with low levels of EPA and/or DHA.

  1. The heme biosynthetic pathway of the obligate Wolbachia endosymbiont of Brugia malayi as a potential anti-filarial drug target.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bo Wu

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Filarial parasites (e.g., Brugia malayi, Onchocerca volvulus, and Wuchereria bancrofti are causative agents of lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis, which are among the most disabling of neglected tropical diseases. There is an urgent need to develop macro-filaricidal drugs, as current anti-filarial chemotherapy (e.g., diethylcarbamazine [DEC], ivermectin and albendazole can interrupt transmission predominantly by killing microfilariae (mf larvae, but is less effective on adult worms, which can live for decades in the human host. All medically relevant human filarial parasites appear to contain an obligate endosymbiotic bacterium, Wolbachia. This alpha-proteobacterial mutualist has been recognized as a potential target for filarial nematode life cycle intervention, as antibiotic treatments of filarial worms harboring Wolbachia result in the loss of worm fertility and viability upon antibiotic treatments both in vitro and in vivo. Human trials have confirmed this approach, although the length of treatments, high doses required and medical counter-indications for young children and pregnant women warrant the identification of additional anti-Wolbachia drugs.Genome sequence analysis indicated that enzymes involved in heme biosynthesis might constitute a potential anti-Wolbachia target set. We tested different heme biosynthetic pathway inhibitors in ex vivo B. malayi viability assays and report a specific effect of N-methyl mesoporphyrin (NMMP, which targets ferrochelatase (FC, the last step. Our phylogenetic analysis indicates evolutionarily significant divergence between Wolbachia heme genes and their human homologues. We therefore undertook the cloning, overexpression and analysis of several enzymes of this pathway alongside their human homologues, and prepared proteins for drug targeting. In vitro enzyme assays revealed a approximately 600-fold difference in drug sensitivities to succinyl acetone (SA between Wolbachia and human 5

  2. Differential lysine acetylation profiles of Erwinia amylovora strains revealed by proteomics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Xia; Vellaichamy, Adaikkalam; Wang, Dongping; Zamdborg, Leonid; Kelleher, Neil L.; Huber, Steven C.; Zhao, Youfu

    2015-01-01

    Protein lysine acetylation (LysAc) has recently been demonstrated to be widespread in E. coli and Salmonella, and to broadly regulate bacterial physiology and metabolism. However, LysAc in plant pathogenic bacteria is largely unknown. Here we first report the lysine acetylome of Erwinia amylovora, an enterobacterium causing serious fire blight disease of apples and pears. Immunoblots using generic anti-lysine acetylation antibodies demonstrated that growth conditions strongly affected the LysAc profiles in E. amylovora. Differential LysAc profiles were also observed for two E. amylovora strains, known to have differential virulence in plants, indicating translational modification of proteins may be important in determining virulence of bacterial strains. Proteomic analysis of LysAc in two E. amylovora strains identified 141 LysAc sites in 96 proteins that function in a wide range of biological pathways. Consistent with previous reports, 44% of the proteins are involved in metabolic processes, including central metabolism, lipopolysaccharide, nucleotide and amino acid metabolism. Interestingly, for the first time, several proteins involved in E. amylovora virulence, including exopolysaccharide amylovoran biosynthesis- and type III secretion-associated proteins, were found to be lysine acetylated, suggesting that LysAc may play a major role in bacterial virulence. Comparative analysis of LysAc sites in E. amylovora and E. coli further revealed the sequence and structural commonality for LysAc in the two organisms. Collectively, these results reinforce the notion that LysAc of proteins is widespread in bacterial metabolism and virulence. PMID:23234799

  3. Reactive lysine content in commercially available pet foods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rooijen, van C.; Bosch, G.; Poel, van der A.F.B.; Wierenga, P.A.; Alexander, L.; Hendriks, W.H.

    2014-01-01

    The Maillard reaction can occur during processing of pet foods. During this reaction, the e-amino group of lysine reacts with reducing sugars to become unavailable for metabolism. The aim of the present study was to determine the reactive lysine (RL; the remaining available lysine) to total lysine

  4. Draft genome sequence of Streptomyces coelicoflavus ZG0656 reveals the putative biosynthetic gene cluster of acarviostatin family α-amylase inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, X; Geng, P; Bai, F; Bai, G; Sun, T; Li, X; Shi, L; Zhong, Q

    2012-08-01

    The aims of this study are to obtain the draft genome sequence of Streptomyces coelicoflavus ZG0656, which produces novel acarviostatin family α-amylase inhibitors, and then to reveal the putative acarviostatin-related gene cluster and the biosynthetic pathway. The draft genome sequence of S. coelicoflavus ZG0656 was generated using a shotgun approach employing a combination of 454 and Solexa sequencing technologies. Genome analysis revealed a putative gene cluster for acarviostatin biosynthesis, termed sct-cluster. The cluster contains 13 acarviostatin synthetic genes, six transporter genes, four starch degrading or transglycosylation enzyme genes and two regulator genes. On the basis of bioinformatic analysis, we proposed a putative biosynthetic pathway of acarviostatins. The intracellular steps produce a structural core, acarviostatin I00-7-P, and the extracellular assemblies lead to diverse acarviostatin end products. The draft genome sequence of S. coelicoflavus ZG0656 revealed the putative biosynthetic gene cluster of acarviostatins and a putative pathway of acarviostatin production. To our knowledge, S. coelicoflavus ZG0656 is the first strain in this species for which a genome sequence has been reported. The analysis of sct-cluster provided important insights into the biosynthesis of acarviostatins. This work will be a platform for producing novel variants and yield improvement. © 2012 The Authors. Letters in Applied Microbiology © 2012 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  5. Characterization of the gene encoding serine acetyltransferase, a regulated enzyme of cysteine biosynthesis from the protist parasites Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar. Regulation and possible function of the cysteine biosynthetic pathway in Entamoeba.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nozaki, T; Asai, T; Sanchez, L B; Kobayashi, S; Nakazawa, M; Takeuchi, T

    1999-11-05

    The enteric protist parasites Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar possess a cysteine biosynthetic pathway, unlike their mammalian host, and are capable of de novo production of L-cysteine. We cloned and characterized cDNAs that encode the regulated enzyme serine acetyltransferase (SAT) in this pathway from these amoebae by genetic complementation of a cysteine-auxotrophic Escherichia coli strain with the amoebic cDNA libraries. The deduced amino acid sequences of the amoebic SATs exhibited, within the most conserved region, 36-52% identities with the bacterial and plant SATs. The amoebic SATs contain a unique insertion of eight amino acids, also found in the corresponding region of a plasmid-encoded SAT from Synechococcus sp., which showed the highest overall identities to the amoebic SATs. Phylogenetic reconstruction also revealed a close kinship of the amoebic SATs with cyanobacterial SATs. Biochemical characterization of the recombinant E. histolytica SAT revealed several enzymatic features that distinguished the amoebic enzyme from the bacterial and plant enzymes: 1) inhibition by L-cysteine in a competitive manner with L-serine; 2) inhibition by L-cystine; and 3) no association with cysteine synthase. Genetically engineered amoeba strains that overproduced cysteine synthase and SAT were created. The cysteine synthase-overproducing amoebae had a higher level of cysteine synthase activity and total thiol content and revealed increased resistance to hydrogen peroxide. These results indicate that the cysteine biosynthetic pathway plays an important role in antioxidative defense of these enteric parasites.

  6. Digestible lysine levels in diets supplemented with ractopamine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evelar de Oliveira Souza

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available In order evaluate digestible lysine levels in diets supplemented with 20 ppm of ractopamine on the performance and carcass traits, 64 barrows with high genetic potential at finishing phase were allotted in a completely randomized block design with four digestible lysine levels (0.80, 0.90, 1.00, and 1.10%, eight replicates and two pigs per experimental unit. Initial body weight and pigs' kinship were used as criteria in the blocks formation. Diets were mainly composed of corn and soybean meal supplemented with minerals, vitamins and amino acids to meet pigs' nutritional requirements at the finishing phase, except for digestible lysine. No effect of digestible lysine levels was observed in animal performance. The digestible lysine intake increased linearly by increasing the levels of digestible lysine in the diets. Carcass traits were not influenced by the dietary levels of digestible lysine. The level of 0.80% of digestible lysine in diets supplemented with 20 ppm ractopamine meets the nutritional requirements of castrated male pigs during the finishing phase.

  7. [Effect of the lysine guanidination on proteomic analysis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Hao; Mao, Jiawei; Pan, Yanbo; Liu, Zhongshan; Liu, Zheyi; Ye, Mingliang; Zou, Hanfa

    2014-04-01

    The guanidination of lysine side chain was paid great attention in recent years. It plays an important role in qualitative and quantitative proteomics. In this study, based on the results of separated peptides extracted from HeLa cells before and after the guanidination by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), the effect of the guanidination of three different kinds of peptides was systematically analyzed. It was found that the selectivity of the guanidination of the lysine side chain was as high as 96.8%. The ratio of identified peptides with lysine at C-term to all peptides increased from 51.7% to 57.3% and more new peptides were identified, while the ratio of peptides with lysine in the middle or without lysine changed little. Further study on the ratio of b and y ions indicated that there were more y ions of peptides with lysine at C-term after the guanidination. The results proved that the selective conversion of lysine to homoarginine by the guanidination could increase the sensitivity and selectivity of mass spectrum. The increased basicity and ability to sequester proton of lysine produced more y ions fragmentation information, which contributed to more identified peptides. It concluded that the lysine guanidination can improve the coverage of proteomic analysis.

  8. Topological dispositions of lysine α380 and lysine γ486 in the acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo californica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dwyer, B.P.

    1991-01-01

    The locations have been determined, with respect to the plasma membrane, of lysine α380 and lysine γ486 in the α subunit and the γ subunit, respectively, of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo californica. Immunoadsorbents were constructed that recognize the carboxy terminus of the peptide GVKYIAE released by proteolytic digestion from positions 378-384 in the amino acid sequence of the α subunit of the acetylcholine receptor and the carboxy terminus of the peptide KYVP released by proteolytic digestion from positions 486-489 in the amino acid sequence of the γ subunit. They were used to isolate these peptides from proteolytic digests of polypeptides from the acetylcholine receptor. Sealed vesicles containing the native acetylcholine receptor were labeled with pyridoxal phosphate and sodium [ 3 H]-borohydride. The effect of saponin on the incorporation of pyridoxamine phosphate into lysine α380 and lysine γ486 from the acetylcholine receptor in these vesicles was assessed with the immunoadsorbents. The conclusions that follow from these results are that lysine α380 is on the inside surface of a vesicle and lysine γ486 is on the outside surface. Because a majority (85%) of the total binding sites for α-bungarotoxin bind the toxin in the absence of saponin, the majority of the vesicles are right side out with the inside of the vesicle corresponding to the cytoplasmic surface and the outside of the vesicle corresponding to the extracytoplasmic, synaptic surface. Because lysine α380 and lysine γ486 lie on opposite sides of the membrane, a membrane-spanning segment must be located between the two positions occupied by these two amino acids in the common sequence of a polypeptide of the acetylcholine receptor

  9. Regulation of the Omega-3 Fatty Acid Biosynthetic Pathway in Atlantic Salmon Hepatocytes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marte Avranden Kjær

    Full Text Available Limited availability of the n-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA have led to an interest in better understanding of the n-3 biosynthetic pathway and its regulation. The biosynthesis of alpha-linolenic acid to EPA and DHA involves several complex reaction steps including desaturation-, elongation- and peroxisomal beta-oxidation enzymes. The aims of the present experiments were to gain more knowledge on how this biosynthesis is regulated over time by different doses and fatty acid combinations. Hepatocytes isolated from salmon were incubated with various levels and combinations of oleic acid, EPA and DHA. Oleic acid led to a higher expression of the Δ6 fatty acid desaturase (fad genes Δ6fad_a, Δ6fad_b, Δ6fad_c and the elongase genes elovl2 compared with cells cultured in medium enriched with DHA. Further, the study showed rhythmic variations in expression over time. Levels were reached where a further increase in specific fatty acids given to the cells not stimulated the conversion further. The gene expression of Δ6fad_a_and Δ6fad_b responded similar to fatty acid treatment, suggesting a co-regulation of these genes, whereas Δ5fad and Δ6fad_c showed a different regulation pattern. EPA and DHA induced different gene expression patterns, especially of Δ6fad_a. Addition of radiolabelled alpha-linolenic acid to the hepatocytes confirmed a higher degree of elongation and desaturation in cells treated with oleic acid compared to cells treated with DHA. This study suggests a complex regulation of the conversion process of n-3 fatty acids. Several factors, such as that the various gene copies are differently regulated, the gene expression show rhythmic variations and gene expression only affected to a certain level, determines when you get the maximum conversion of the beneficial n-3 fatty acids.

  10. Role of L-lysine-alpha-ketoglutarate aminotransferase in catabolism of lysine as a nitrogen source for Rhodotorula glutinis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinzel, J J; Winston, M K; Bhattacharjee, J K

    1983-01-01

    Wild-type and saccharopine dehydrogenaseless mutant strains of Rhodotorula glutinis grew in minimal medium containing lysine as the sole nitrogen source and simultaneously accumulated, in the culture supernatant, large amounts of a product identified as alpha-aminoadipic-delta-semialdehyde. The saccharopine dehydrogenase and pipecolic acid oxidase levels remained unchanged in wild-type cells grown in the presence of ammonium or lysine as the nitrogen source. Lysine-alpha-ketoglutarate aminotransferase activity was demonstrated in ammonium-grown cells. This activity was depressed in cells grown in the presence of lysine as the sole source of nitrogen. PMID:6408065

  11. Effect of overall feedback inhibition in unbranched biosynthetic pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alves, R; Savageau, M A

    2000-11-01

    We have determined the effects of control by overall feedback inhibition on the systemic behavior of unbranched metabolic pathways with an arbitrary pattern of other feedback inhibitions by using a recently developed numerical generalization of Mathematically Controlled Comparisons, a method for comparing the function of alternative molecular designs. This method allows the rigorous determination of the changes in systemic properties that can be exclusively attributed to overall feedback inhibition. Analytical results show that the unbranched pathway can achieve the same steady-state flux, concentrations, and logarithmic gains with respect to changes in substrate, with or without overall feedback inhibition. The analytical approach also shows that control by overall feedback inhibition amplifies the regulation of flux by the demand for end product while attenuating the sensitivity of the concentrations to the same demand. This approach does not provide a clear answer regarding the effect of overall feedback inhibition on the robustness, stability, and transient time of the pathway. However, the generalized numerical method we have used does clarify the answers to these questions. On average, an unbranched pathway with control by overall feedback inhibition is less sensitive to perturbations in the values of the parameters that define the system. The difference in robustness can range from a few percent to fifty percent or more, depending on the length of the pathway and on the metabolite one considers. On average, overall feedback inhibition decreases the stability margins by a minimal amount (typically less than 5%). Finally, and again on average, stable systems with overall feedback inhibition respond faster to fluctuations in the metabolite concentrations. Taken together, these results show that control by overall feedback inhibition confers several functional advantages upon unbranched pathways. These advantages provide a rationale for the prevalence of this

  12. Characterization of cyanobacterial hydrocarbon composition and distribution of biosynthetic pathways.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R Cameron Coates

    Full Text Available Cyanobacteria possess the unique capacity to naturally produce hydrocarbons from fatty acids. Hydrocarbon compositions of thirty-two strains of cyanobacteria were characterized to reveal novel structural features and insights into hydrocarbon biosynthesis in cyanobacteria. This investigation revealed new double bond (2- and 3-heptadecene and methyl group positions (3-, 4- and 5-methylheptadecane for a variety of strains. Additionally, results from this study and literature reports indicate that hydrocarbon production is a universal phenomenon in cyanobacteria. All cyanobacteria possess the capacity to produce hydrocarbons from fatty acids yet not all accomplish this through the same metabolic pathway. One pathway comprises a two-step conversion of fatty acids first to fatty aldehydes and then alkanes that involves a fatty acyl ACP reductase (FAAR and aldehyde deformylating oxygenase (ADO. The second involves a polyketide synthase (PKS pathway that first elongates the acyl chain followed by decarboxylation to produce a terminal alkene (olefin synthase, OLS. Sixty-one strains possessing the FAAR/ADO pathway and twelve strains possessing the OLS pathway were newly identified through bioinformatic analyses. Strains possessing the OLS pathway formed a cohesive phylogenetic clade with the exception of three Moorea strains and Leptolyngbya sp. PCC 6406 which may have acquired the OLS pathway via horizontal gene transfer. Hydrocarbon pathways were identified in one-hundred-forty-two strains of cyanobacteria over a broad phylogenetic range and there were no instances where both the FAAR/ADO and the OLS pathways were found together in the same genome, suggesting an unknown selective pressure maintains one or the other pathway, but not both.

  13. Multiplex PCR analysis of fumonisin biosynthetic genes in fumonisin-nonproducing Aspergillus niger and A. awamori strains

    Science.gov (United States)

    In order to determine the genetic basis for loss of fumonisin B¬2 (FB2) biosynthesis in FB2 non-producing A. niger strains, we developed multiplex PCR primer sets to amplify fragments of eight fumonisin biosynthetic pathway (fum) genes. Fragments of all eight fum genes were amplified in FB2-produci...

  14. Ascidian Sperm Lysin System

    OpenAIRE

    Hitoshi, Sawada; Department of Biochemistry, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University

    2002-01-01

    Fertilization is a precisely controlled process involving many gamete molecules in sperm binding to and penetration through the extracellular matrix of the egg. After sperm bind to the extracellular matrix (vitelline coat), they undergo the acrosome reaction which exposes and partially releases a lytic agent called "lysin" to digest the vitelline coat for the sperm penetration. The vitelline coat sperm lysin is generally a protease in deuterostomes. The molecular mechanism of the actual degra...

  15. Global Analysis of Protein Lysine Succinylation Profiles and Their Overlap with Lysine Acetylation in the Marine Bacterium Vibrio parahemolyticus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Jianyi; Chen, Ran; Li, Chuchu; Li, Weiyan; Ye, Zhicang

    2015-10-02

    Protein lysine acylation, including acetylation and succinylation, has been found to be a major post-translational modification (PTM) and is associated with the regulation of cellular processes that are widespread in bacteria. Vibrio parahemolyticus is a model marine bacterium that causes seafood-borne illness in humans worldwide. The lysine acetylation of V. parahemolyticus has been extensively characterized in our previous work, and here, we report the first global analysis of lysine succinylation and the overlap between the two types of acylation in this bacterium. Using high-accuracy nano liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry combined with affinity purification, we identified 1931 lysine succinylated peptides matched on 642 proteins, with the quantity of the succinyl-proteins accounting for 13.3% of the total proteins in cells. Bioinformatics analysis results showed that these succinylated proteins are involved in almost every cellular process, particularly in protein biosynthesis and metabolism, and are distributed in diverse subcellular compartments. Moreover, several sequence motifs were identified, including succinyl-lysine flanked by a lysine or arginine residue at the -8, -7, or +7 position and without these residues at the -1 or +2 position, and these motifs differ from those found in other bacteria and eukaryotic cells. Furthermore, a total of 517 succinyl-lysine sites (26.7%) on 288 proteins (44.9%) were also found to be acetylated, suggesting extensive overlap between succinylation and acetylation in this bacterium. This systematic analysis provides a promising starting point for further investigations of the physiologic and pathogenic roles of lysine succinylation and acetylation in V. parahemolyticus.

  16. Integration of Fermentation and Organic Synthesis: Studies of Roquefortine C and Biosynthetic Derivatives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gober, Claire Marie

    Roquefortine C is one of the most ubiquitous indoline alkaloids of fungal origin. It has been isolated from over 30 different species of Penicillium fungi and has garnered attention in recent years for its role as a biosynthetic precursor to the triazaspirocyclic natural products glandicoline B, meleagrin, and oxaline. The triazaspirocyclic motif, which encompasses three nitrogen atoms attached to one quaternary carbon forming a spirocyclic scaffold, is a unique chemical moiety that has been shown to impart a wide array of biological activity, from anti-bacterial activity and antiproliferative activity against cancer cell lines to anti-biofouling against marine organisms. Despite the promise of these compounds in the pharmaceutical and materials industries, few syntheses of triazaspirocycles exist in the literature. The biosynthesis of roquefortine C-derived triazaspirocycles, however, provides inspiration for the synthesis of these compounds, namely through a nitrone-promoted transannular rearrangement. This type of internal rearrangement has never been carried out synthetically and would provide an efficient stereoselective synthesis of triazaspirocycles. This work encompasses efforts towards elucidating the biosynthetic pathway of roquefortine C-derived triazaspirocycles as well as synthetic efforts towards the construction of triazaspirocycles. Chapter 1 will discuss a large-scale fermentation procedure for the production of roquefortine C from Penicillium crustosum. Chapters 2 and 3 explore (through enzymatic and synthetic means, respectively) the formation of the key indoline nitrone moiety required for the proposed transannular rearrangement. Finally, chapter 4 will discuss synthetic efforts towards the synthesis of triazaspirocycles. This work has considerably enhanced our understanding of the roquefortine C biosynthetic pathway and the unique chemistry of this natural product, and our efforts towards the synthesis of triazaspirocycles will facilitate the

  17. Optimization of lysine metabolism in Corynebacterium glutamicum

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rytter, Jakob Vang

    ,000,000 tons. The aim of this project is to optimize the yield of lysine in C. glutamicum using metabolic engineering strategies. According to a genome scale model of C. glutamicum, theoretically there is much room for increasing the lysine yield (Kjeldsen and Nielsen 2009). Lysine synthesis requires NADPH......Commercial pig and poultry production use the essential amino acid lysine as a feed additive with the purpose of optimizing the feed utilization. Lysine is produced by a fermentation process involving either Corynebacterium glutamicum or Escherichia coli. The global annual production is around 1...... the project intends to eliminate. PGI catalyzes the conversion of alpha-D-glucose-6-phosphate to fructose-6-phosphate just downstream of the branch in the glycolysis, but it also catalyzes the reverse reaction. It is unknown whether up- or down-regulation of the pgi is required to increase the flux through...

  18. Arctic mustard flower color polymorphism controlled by petal-specific downregulation at the threshold of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cynthia A Dick

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Intra- and interspecific variation in flower color is a hallmark of angiosperm diversity. The evolutionary forces underlying the variety of flower colors can be nearly as diverse as the colors themselves. In addition to pollinator preferences, non-pollinator agents of selection can have a major influence on the evolution of flower color polymorphisms, especially when the pigments in question are also expressed in vegetative tissues. In such cases, identifying the target(s of selection starts with determining the biochemical and molecular basis for the flower color variation and examining any pleiotropic effects manifested in vegetative tissues. Herein, we describe a widespread purple-white flower color polymorphism in the mustard Parrya nudicaulis spanning Alaska. The frequency of white-flowered individuals increases with increasing growing-season temperature, consistent with the role of anthocyanin pigments in stress tolerance. White petals fail to produce the stress responsive flavonoid intermediates in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway (ABP, suggesting an early pathway blockage. Petal cDNA sequences did not reveal blockages in any of the eight enzyme-coding genes in white-flowered individuals, nor any color differentiating SNPs. A qRT-PCR analysis of white petals identified a 24-fold reduction in chalcone synthase (CHS at the threshold of the ABP, but no change in CHS expression in leaves and sepals. This arctic species has avoided the deleterious effects associated with the loss of flavonoid intermediates in vegetative tissues by decoupling CHS expression in petals and leaves, yet the correlation of flower color and climate suggests that the loss of flavonoids in the petals alone may affect the tolerance of white-flowered individuals to colder environments.

  19. Biotinylation of lysine method identifies acetylated histone H3 lysine 79 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a substrate for Sir2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bheda, Poonam; Swatkoski, Stephen; Fiedler, Katherine L; Boeke, Jef D; Cotter, Robert J; Wolberger, Cynthia

    2012-04-17

    Although the biological roles of many members of the sirtuin family of lysine deacetylases have been well characterized, a broader understanding of their role in biology is limited by the challenges in identifying new substrates. We present here an in vitro method that combines biotinylation and mass spectrometry (MS) to identify substrates deacetylated by sirtuins. The method permits labeling of deacetylated residues with amine-reactive biotin on the ε-nitrogen of lysine. The biotin can be utilized to purify the substrate and identify the deacetylated lysine by MS. The biotinyl-lysine method was used to compare deacetylation of chemically acetylated histones by the yeast sirtuins, Sir2 and Hst2. Intriguingly, Sir2 preferentially deacetylates histone H3 lysine 79 as compared to Hst2. Although acetylation of K79 was not previously reported in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we demonstrate that a minor population of this residue is indeed acetylated in vivo and show that Sir2, and not Hst2, regulates the acetylation state of H3 lysine 79. The in vitro biotinyl-lysine method combined with chemical acetylation made it possible to identify this previously unknown, low-abundance histone acetyl modification in vivo. This method has further potential to identify novel sirtuin deacetylation substrates in whole cell extracts, enabling large-scale screens for new deacetylase substrates.

  20. antiSMASH 3.0—a comprehensive resource for the genome mining of biosynthetic gene clusters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weber, Tilmann; Blin, Kai; Duddela, Srikanth

    2015-01-01

    Microbial secondary metabolism constitutes a rich source of antibiotics, chemotherapeutics, insecticides and other high-value chemicals. Genome mining of gene clusters that encode the biosynthetic pathways for these metabolites has become a key methodology for novel compound discovery. In 2011, we...... introduced antiSMASH, a web server and stand-alone tool for the automatic genomic identification and analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters, available at http://antismash.secondarymetabolites.org. Here, we present version 3.0 of antiSMASH, which has undergone major improvements. A full integration...... of the recently published ClusterFinder algorithm now allows using this probabilistic algorithm to detect putative gene clusters of unknown types. Also, a new dereplication variant of the ClusterBlast module now identifies similarities of identified clusters to any of 1172 clusters with known end products...

  1. Metabolic and functional diversity of saponins, biosynthetic intermediates and semi-synthetic derivatives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moses, Tessa; Papadopoulou, Kalliope K.

    2014-01-01

    Saponins are widely distributed plant natural products with vast structural and functional diversity. They are typically composed of a hydrophobic aglycone, which is extensively decorated with functional groups prior to the addition of hydrophilic sugar moieties, to result in surface-active amphipathic compounds. The saponins are broadly classified as triterpenoids, steroids or steroidal glycoalkaloids, based on the aglycone structure from which they are derived. The saponins and their biosynthetic intermediates display a variety of biological activities of interest to the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food sectors. Although their relevance in industrial applications has long been recognized, their role in plants is underexplored. Recent research on modulating native pathway flux in saponin biosynthesis has demonstrated the roles of saponins and their biosynthetic intermediates in plant growth and development. Here, we review the literature on the effects of these molecules on plant physiology, which collectively implicate them in plant primary processes. The industrial uses and potential of saponins are discussed with respect to structure and activity, highlighting the undoubted value of these molecules as therapeutics. PMID:25286183

  2. Engineering the spatial organization of metabolic pathways

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Albertsen, Line; Maury, Jerome; Bach, Lars Stougaard

    One of the goals of metabolic engineering is to optimize the production of valuable metabolites in cell factories. In this context, modulating the gene expression and activity of enzymes are tools that have been extensively used. Another approach that is gaining interest is the engineering...... of the spatial organization of biosynthetic pathways. Several natural systems for ensuring optimal spatial arrangement of biosynthetic enzymes exist. Sequentially acting enzymes can for example be positioned in close proximity by attachment to cellular structures, up-concentration in membrane enclosed organelles...... or assembly into large complexes. The vision is that by positioning sequentially acting enzymes in close proximity, the cell can accelerate reaction rates and thereby prevent loss of intermediates through diffusion, degradation or competing pathways. The production of valuable metabolites in cell factories...

  3. PENILAIAN PENGARUH PENAMBAHAN LYSINE PADA NASI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ignatius Tarwotjo

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Pengaruh penambahan lysine pada mutu protein nasi dilakukan pada tikus putih dengan mengukur Protein Efficiency Ratio. Nasi dan Nasi dengan sayur beserta laukpauk, seperti dikonsumsi oleh kebanyakan keluarga di Indonesia, yang berasnya lebih dulu ditambahi butiran premix berisi lysine, thiamine dan riboflavin ternaya menghasilkan Protein Efficiency Ratio lebih tinggi dari pada yang tidak ditambahi.

  4. Flg22-Triggered Immunity Negatively Regulates Key BR Biosynthetic Genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez-Góngora, Tamara; Kim, Seong-Ki; Lozano-Durán, Rosa; Zipfel, Cyril

    2015-01-01

    In plants, activation of growth and activation of immunity are opposing processes that define a trade-off. In the past few years, the growth-promoting hormones brassinosteroids (BR) have emerged as negative regulators of pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP)-triggered immunity (PTI), promoting growth at the expense of defense. The crosstalk between BR and PTI signaling was described as negative and unidirectional, since activation of PTI does not affect several analyzed steps in the BR signaling pathway. In this work, we describe that activation of PTI by the bacterial PAMP flg22 results in the reduced expression of BR biosynthetic genes. This effect does not require BR perception or signaling, and occurs within 15 min of flg22 treatment. Since the described PTI-induced repression of gene expression may result in a reduction in BR biosynthesis, the crosstalk between PTI and BR could actually be negative and bidirectional, a possibility that should be taken into account when considering the interaction between these two pathways.

  5. In silico approach towards identification of potential inhibitors of Helicobacter pylori DapE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandal, Rahul Shubhra; Das, Santasabuj

    2015-01-01

    Helicobacter pylori is a gastric mucosal pathogen and is associated with diseases like peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. To combat H. pylori infection, there is an urgent need for new class of antibiotics due to the emergence of drug-resistant strains. Enzymes involved in bacterial lysine biosynthetic pathways may be potential targets for antibacterial drug development, since lysine is an essential component of the bacterial peptidoglycan cell wall. No pathway exists for lysine biosynthesis in humans; hence, the inhibitors targeting bacterial enzymes may have selective toxicity. dapE-encoded N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE) is a critical enzyme of this pathway and deletion of DapE gene is lethal to H. pylori, since the organism has no alternative pathway for lysine biosynthesis. In this study, we reported a 3D model structure of H. pylorie DapE, which consisted of a catalytic domain and a dimerization domain generated by MODELLER software. We also confirmed the stability of the modeled structure through 10 ns molecular dynamics simulation using GROMACS software. Next, to identify potential small molecule inhibitors of DapE, drug-like small molecule-screening library was generated. This was performed by Tanimoto-based similarity searching in the PubChem Database with DapE substrate L,L-SDAP as a query molecule, followed by fragment-based docking approach using GLIDE XP. This approach identified two potential substrate-competitive small molecule inhibitors of DapE. These new molecules may provide a starting point to search for novel therapeutics.

  6. Biosynthetic origin of acetic acid using SNIF-NMR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boffo, Elisangela Fabiana; Ferreira, Antonio Gilberto

    2006-01-01

    The main purpose of this work is to describe the use of the technique Site-Specific Natural Isotopic Fractionation of hydrogen (SNIF-NMR), using 2 H and 1 H NMR spectroscopy, to investigate the biosynthetic origin of acetic acid in commercial samples of Brazilian vinegar. This method is based on the deuterium to hydrogen ratio at a specific position (methyl group) of acetic acid obtained by fermentation, through different biosynthetic mechanisms, which result in different isotopic ratios. We measured the isotopic ratio of vinegars obtained through C 3 , C 4 , and CAM biosynthetic mechanisms, blends of C 3 and C 4 (agrins) and synthetic acetic acid. (author)

  7. Effect of vitamins and bivalent metals on lysine yield in Bacillus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The effects of vitamins and bivalent metals on lysine accumulation in Bacillus strains were investigated. Biotin enhanced lysine production in all the Bacillus strains, while folic acid and riboflavin stimulated lysine yields in Bacillus megaterium SP 86 only. All bivalent metals stimulated lysine accumulation in B. megaterium ...

  8. The purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of dihydrodipicolinate synthase from Clostridium botulinum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobson, Renwick C. J.; Atkinson, Sarah C.; Gorman, Michael A.; Newman, Janet M.; Parker, Michael W.; Perugini, Matthew A.

    2008-01-01

    Dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS), an enzyme in the lysine-biosynthetic pathway, is a promising target for antibiotic development against pathogenic bacteria. Here, the expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary diffraction analysis of DHDPS from C. botulinum are reported. In recent years, dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS; EC 4.2.1.52) has received considerable attention from both mechanistic and structural viewpoints. This enzyme, which is part of the diaminopimelate pathway leading to lysine, couples (S)-aspartate-β-semialdehyde with pyruvate via a Schiff base to a conserved active-site lysine. In this paper, the expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of DHDPS from Clostridium botulinum, an important bacterial pathogen, are presented. The enzyme was crystallized in a number of forms, predominantly using PEG precipitants, with the best crystal diffracting to beyond 1.9 Å resolution and displaying P4 2 2 1 2 symmetry. The unit-cell parameters were a = b = 92.9, c = 60.4 Å. The crystal volume per protein weight (V M ) was 2.07 Å 3 Da −1 , with an estimated solvent content of 41%. The structure of the enzyme will help guide the design of novel therapeutics against the C. botulinum pathogen

  9. The oxylipin pathway in Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creelman, Robert A; Mulpuri, Rao

    2002-01-01

    Oxylipins are acyclic or cyclic oxidation products derived from the catabolism of fatty acids which regulate many defense and developmental pathways in plants. The dramatic increase in the volume of publications and reviews on these compounds since 1997 documents the increasing interest in this compound and its role in plants. Research on this topic has solidified our understanding of the chemistry and biosynthetic pathways for oxylipin production. However, more information is still needed on how free fatty acids are produced and the role of beta-oxidation in the biosynthetic pathway for oxylipins. It is also becoming apparent that oxylipin content and composition changes during growth and development and during pathogen or insect attack. Oxylipins such as jasmonic acid (JA) or 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid modulate the expression of numerous genes and influence specific aspects of plant growth, development and responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. Although oxylipins are believed to act alone, several examples were presented to illustrate that JA-induced responses are modulated by the type and the nature of crosstalk with other signaling molecules such as ethylene and salicylic acid. How oxylipins cause changes in gene expression and instigate a physiological response is becoming understood with the isolation of mutations in both positive and negative regulators in the jasmonate signaling pathway and the use of cDNA microarrays.

  10. Beyond Histones: New Substrate Proteins of Lysine Deacetylases in Arabidopsis Nuclei

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdalena Füßl

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The reversible acetylation of lysine residues is catalyzed by the antagonistic action of lysine acetyltransferases and deacetylases, which can be considered as master regulators of their substrate proteins. Lysine deacetylases, historically referred to as histone deacetylases, have profound functions in regulating stress defenses and development in plants. Lysine acetylation of the N-terminal histone tails promotes gene transcription and decondensation of chromatin, rendering the DNA more accessible to the transcription machinery. In plants, the classical lysine deacetylases from the RPD3/HDA1-family have thus far mainly been studied in the context of their deacetylating activities on histones, and their versatility in molecular activities is still largely unexplored. Here we discuss the potential impact of lysine acetylation on the recently identified nuclear substrate proteins of lysine deacetylases from the Arabidopsis RPD3/HDA1-family. Among the deacetylase substrate proteins, many interesting candidates involved in nuclear protein import, transcriptional regulation, and chromatin remodeling have been identified. These candidate proteins represent key starting points for unraveling new molecular functions of the Arabidopsis lysine deacetylases. Site-directed engineering of lysine acetylation sites on these target proteins might even represent a new approach for optimizing plant growth under climate change conditions.

  11. Evolution and Diversity of Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in Fusarium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koen Hoogendoorn

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Plant pathogenic fungi in the Fusarium genus cause severe damage to crops, resulting in great financial losses and health hazards. Specialized metabolites synthesized by these fungi are known to play key roles in the infection process, and to provide survival advantages inside and outside the host. However, systematic studies of the evolution of specialized metabolite-coding potential across Fusarium have been scarce. Here, we apply a combination of bioinformatic approaches to identify biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs across publicly available genomes from Fusarium, to group them into annotated families and to study gain/loss events of BGC families throughout the history of the genus. Comparison with MIBiG reference BGCs allowed assignment of 29 gene cluster families (GCFs to pathways responsible for the production of known compounds, while for 57 GCFs, the molecular products remain unknown. Comparative analysis of BGC repertoires using ancestral state reconstruction raised several new hypotheses on how BGCs contribute to Fusarium pathogenicity or host specificity, sometimes surprisingly so: for example, a gene cluster for the biosynthesis of hexadehydro-astechrome was identified in the genome of the biocontrol strain Fusarium oxysporum Fo47, while being absent in that of the tomato pathogen F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici. Several BGCs were also identified on supernumerary chromosomes; heterologous expression of genes for three terpene synthases encoded on the Fusarium poae supernumerary chromosome and subsequent GC/MS analysis showed that these genes are functional and encode enzymes that each are able to synthesize koraiol; this observed functional redundancy supports the hypothesis that localization of copies of BGCs on supernumerary chromosomes provides freedom for evolutionary innovations to occur, while the original function remains conserved. Altogether, this systematic overview of biosynthetic diversity in Fusarium paves the way for

  12. antiSMASH 3.0-a comprehensive resource for the genome mining of biosynthetic gene clusters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Tilmann; Blin, Kai; Duddela, Srikanth; Krug, Daniel; Kim, Hyun Uk; Bruccoleri, Robert; Lee, Sang Yup; Fischbach, Michael A; Müller, Rolf; Wohlleben, Wolfgang; Breitling, Rainer; Takano, Eriko; Medema, Marnix H

    2015-07-01

    Microbial secondary metabolism constitutes a rich source of antibiotics, chemotherapeutics, insecticides and other high-value chemicals. Genome mining of gene clusters that encode the biosynthetic pathways for these metabolites has become a key methodology for novel compound discovery. In 2011, we introduced antiSMASH, a web server and stand-alone tool for the automatic genomic identification and analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters, available at http://antismash.secondarymetabolites.org. Here, we present version 3.0 of antiSMASH, which has undergone major improvements. A full integration of the recently published ClusterFinder algorithm now allows using this probabilistic algorithm to detect putative gene clusters of unknown types. Also, a new dereplication variant of the ClusterBlast module now identifies similarities of identified clusters to any of 1172 clusters with known end products. At the enzyme level, active sites of key biosynthetic enzymes are now pinpointed through a curated pattern-matching procedure and Enzyme Commission numbers are assigned to functionally classify all enzyme-coding genes. Additionally, chemical structure prediction has been improved by incorporating polyketide reduction states. Finally, in order for users to be able to organize and analyze multiple antiSMASH outputs in a private setting, a new XML output module allows offline editing of antiSMASH annotations within the Geneious software. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  13. Molecular basis of the evolution of alternative tyrosine biosynthetic routes in plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schenck, Craig A.; Holland, Cynthia K.; Schneider, Matthew R.; Men, Yusen; Lee, Soon Goo; Jez, Joseph M.; Maeda , Hiroshi A. (UW); (WU)

    2017-06-26

    L-Tyrosine (Tyr) is essential for protein synthesis and is a precursor of numerous specialized metabolites crucial for plant and human health. Tyr can be synthesized via two alternative routes by different key regulatory TyrA family enzymes, prephenate dehydrogenase (PDH, also known as TyrAp) or arogenate dehydrogenase (ADH, also known as TyrAa), representing a unique divergence of primary metabolic pathways. The molecular foundation underlying the evolution of these alternative Tyr pathways is currently unknown. Here we characterized recently diverged plant PDH and ADH enzymes, obtained the X-ray crystal structure of soybean PDH, and identified a single amino acid residue that defines TyrA substrate specificity and regulation. Structures of mutated PDHs co-crystallized with Tyr indicate that substitutions of Asn222 confer ADH activity and Tyr sensitivity. Reciprocal mutagenesis of the corresponding residue in divergent plant ADHs further introduced PDH activity and relaxed Tyr sensitivity, highlighting the critical role of this residue in TyrA substrate specificity that underlies the evolution of alternative Tyr biosynthetic pathways in plants.

  14. The Arabidopsis histone chaperone FACT is required for stress-induced expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfab, Alexander; Breindl, Matthias; Grasser, Klaus D

    2018-03-01

    The histone chaperone FACT is involved in the expression of genes encoding anthocyanin biosynthetic enzymes also upon induction by moderate high-light and therefore contributes to the stress-induced plant pigmentation. The histone chaperone FACT consists of the SSRP1 and SPT16 proteins and associates with transcribing RNAPII (RNAPII) along the transcribed region of genes. FACT can promote transcriptional elongation by destabilising nucleosomes in the path of RNA polymerase II, thereby facilitating efficient transcription of chromatin templates. Transcript profiling of Arabidopsis plants depleted in SSRP1 or SPT16 demonstrates that only a small subset of genes is differentially expressed relative to wild type. The majority of these genes is either up- or down-regulated in both the ssrp1 and spt16 plants. Among the down-regulated genes, those encoding enzymes of the biosynthetic pathway of the plant secondary metabolites termed anthocyanins (but not regulators of the pathway) are overrepresented. Upon exposure to moderate high-light stress several of these genes are up-regulated to a lesser extent in ssrp1/spt16 compared to wild type plants, and accordingly the mutant plants accumulate lower amounts of anthocyanin pigments. Moreover, the expression of SSRP1 and SPT16 is induced under these conditions. Therefore, our findings indicate that FACT is a novel factor required for the accumulation of anthocyanins in response to light-induction.

  15. The histone lysine methyltransferase KMT2D sustains a gene expression program that represses B cell lymphoma development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortega-Molina, Ana; Boss, Isaac W; Canela, Andres; Pan, Heng; Jiang, Yanwen; Zhao, Chunying; Jiang, Man; Hu, Deqing; Agirre, Xabier; Niesvizky, Itamar; Lee, Ji-Eun; Chen, Hua-Tang; Ennishi, Daisuke; Scott, David W; Mottok, Anja; Hother, Christoffer; Liu, Shichong; Cao, Xing-Jun; Tam, Wayne; Shaknovich, Rita; Garcia, Benjamin A; Gascoyne, Randy D; Ge, Kai; Shilatifard, Ali; Elemento, Olivier; Nussenzweig, Andre; Melnick, Ari M; Wendel, Hans-Guido

    2015-10-01

    The gene encoding the lysine-specific histone methyltransferase KMT2D has emerged as one of the most frequently mutated genes in follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B cell lymphoma; however, the biological consequences of KMT2D mutations on lymphoma development are not known. Here we show that KMT2D functions as a bona fide tumor suppressor and that its genetic ablation in B cells promotes lymphoma development in mice. KMT2D deficiency also delays germinal center involution and impedes B cell differentiation and class switch recombination. Integrative genomic analyses indicate that KMT2D affects methylation of lysine 4 on histone H3 (H3K4) and expression of a set of genes, including those in the CD40, JAK-STAT, Toll-like receptor and B cell receptor signaling pathways. Notably, other KMT2D target genes include frequently mutated tumor suppressor genes such as TNFAIP3, SOCS3 and TNFRSF14. Therefore, KMT2D mutations may promote malignant outgrowth by perturbing the expression of tumor suppressor genes that control B cell-activating pathways.

  16. Myeloperoxidase-mediated protein lysine oxidation generates 2-aminoadipic acid and lysine nitrile in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Hongqiao; Levison, Bruce S; Buffa, Jennifer A; Huang, Ying; Fu, Xiaoming; Wang, Zeneng; Gogonea, Valentin; DiDonato, Joseph A; Hazen, Stanley L

    2017-03-01

    Recent studies reveal 2-aminoadipic acid (2-AAA) is both elevated in subjects at risk for diabetes and mechanistically linked to glucose homeostasis. Prior studies also suggest enrichment of protein-bound 2-AAA as an oxidative post-translational modification of lysyl residues in tissues associated with degenerative diseases of aging. While in vitro studies suggest redox active transition metals or myeloperoxidase (MPO) generated hypochlorous acid (HOCl) may produce protein-bound 2-AAA, the mechanism(s) responsible for generation of 2-AAA during inflammatory diseases are unknown. In initial studies we observed that traditional acid- or base-catalyzed protein hydrolysis methods previously employed to measure tissue 2-AAA can artificially generate protein-bound 2-AAA from an alternative potential lysine oxidative product, lysine nitrile (LysCN). Using a validated protease-based digestion method coupled with stable isotope dilution LC/MS/MS, we now report protein bound 2-AAA and LysCN are both formed by hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and the MPO/H 2 O 2 /Cl - system of leukocytes. At low molar ratio of oxidant to target protein N ε -lysine moiety, 2-AAA is formed via an initial N ε -monochloramine intermediate, which ultimately produces the more stable 2-AAA end-product via sequential generation of transient imine and semialdehyde intermediates. At higher oxidant to target protein N ε -lysine amine ratios, protein-bound LysCN is formed via initial generation of a lysine N ε -dichloramine intermediate. In studies employing MPO knockout mice and an acute inflammation model, we show that both free and protein-bound 2-AAA, and in lower yield, protein-bound LysCN, are formed by MPO in vivo during inflammation. Finally, both 2-AAA and to lesser extent LysCN are shown to be enriched in human aortic atherosclerotic plaque, a tissue known to harbor multiple MPO-catalyzed protein oxidation products. Collectively, these results show that MPO-mediated oxidation of protein lysyl

  17. Microbial production of lysine from sustainable feedstock

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Zhihao; Grishkova, Maria; Solem, Christian

    2014-01-01

    Lysine is produced in a fermentation process using Corynebacterium glutamicum. And even though production strains have been improved for decades, there is still room for further optimization.......Lysine is produced in a fermentation process using Corynebacterium glutamicum. And even though production strains have been improved for decades, there is still room for further optimization....

  18. Regulatory structure of the biosynthetic pathway for the aspartate family of amino acids in Lemna paucicostata Hegelm. 6746, with special reference to the role of aspartokinase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giovanelli, J.; Mudd, S.H.; Datko, A.H.

    1989-01-01

    Comprehensive studies were made with Lemna paucicostate Hegelm. 6746 of the effects of combinations of lysine, methionine, and threonine on growth rates, soluble amino acid contents, aspartokinase activities, and fluxes of 4-carbon moieties from aspartate through the aspartokinase step into the amino acids of the aspartate family. These studies show that flux in vitro through the aspartokinase step is insensitive to inhibition by lysine or threonine, and confirm previous in vitro data in establishing that aspartokinase in vivo is present in two orders of magnitude excess of its requirements. No evidence of channeling of the products of the lysine- and threonine-sensitive aspartokinases was obtained, either form of the enzyme along being more than adequate for the combined in vivo flux through the aspartokinase step. The marked insensitivity of flux through the aspartokinase step to inhibition by lysine or threonine strongly suggests that inhibition of aspartokinase by these amino acids is not normally a major factor in regulation of entry of 4-carbon units into the aspartate family of amino acids. Direct measurement of fluxes of 4-carbon units demonstrated that: (a) Lysine strongly feedback regulates its own synthesis, probably at the step catalyzed by dihydrodipicolinate synthase. (b) Threonine alone does not regulate its own synthesis in vivo, thereby confirming previous studies of the metabolism of [ 14 C]threonine and [ 14 C]homoserine in Lemna

  19. Lysine and Leucine Deficiencies Affect Myocytes Development and IGF Signaling in Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus aurata.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheida Azizi

    Full Text Available Optimizing aquaculture production requires better knowledge of growth regulation and improvement in diet formulation. A great effort has been made to replace fish meal for plant protein sources in aquafeeds, making necessary the supplementation of such diets with crystalline amino acids (AA to cover the nutritional requirements of each species. Lysine and Leucine are limiting essential AA in fish, and it has been demonstrated that supplementation with them improves growth in different species. However, the specific effects of AA deficiencies in myogenesis are completely unknown and have only been studied at the level of hepatic metabolism. It is well-known that the TOR pathway integrates the nutritional and hormonal signals to regulate protein synthesis and cell proliferation, to finally control muscle growth, a process also coordinated by the expression of myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs. This study aimed to provide new information on the impact of Lysine and Leucine deficiencies in gilthead sea bream cultured myocytes examining their development and the response of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs, MRFs, as well as key molecules involved in muscle growth regulation like TOR. Leucine deficiency did not cause significant differences in most of the molecules analyzed, whereas Lysine deficiency appeared crucial in IGFs regulation, decreasing significantly IGF-I, IGF-II and IGF-IRb mRNA levels. This treatment also down-regulated the gene expression of different MRFs, including Myf5, Myogenin and MyoD2. These changes were also corroborated by a significant decrease in proliferation and differentiation markers in the Lysine-deficient treatment. Moreover, both Lysine and Leucine limitation induced a significant down-regulation in FOXO3 gene expression, which deserves further investigation. We believe that these results will be relevant for the production of a species as appreciated for human consumption as it is gilthead sea bream and demonstrates

  20. Methodical investigations on the determination of metabolic lysine requirements in broiler chickens. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bergner, H.; Nguyen Thi Nhan; Wilke, A.

    1987-01-01

    For the estimation of lysine requirement 128 male broiler chickens were used at an age of 7 to 21 days posthatching. They received a lysine-deficient diet composed of wheat and wheat gluten. To this basal diet L-lysine-HCL was supplemented successively resulting in 8 lysine levels ranging from 5.8 to 23.3 g lysine per kg dry matter (DM) (2.2 to 8.7 g lysine per 16 g N). At the end of the two-week feeding period of the experimental diets 14 C-lysine was injected intravenously 1.5 and 5.5 hours after feed withdrawal. During the following 4 hours the exretion of CO 2 and 14 CO 2 was measured. The highest daily gain of 21.5 g was observed in animals fed 13.3 g lysine-kg DM. Lysine concentrations exceeding 18.3 g/kg DM depressed body weight gain. The CO 2 excretion was not influenced by lysine intake. 14 CO 2 excretion was low with diets low in lysine content and increased 3 to 4 times with diets meeting the lysine requirement. Based on measurements 1.5 to 5.5 hours after feed withdrawal the saturation value for lysine was reached at 13.3 g/kg DM. This value was lowered (10.8 g/kg DM), however, if the estimation was carried out 5.5 to 9.5 hours after feed withdrawal. These results suggest a higher metabolic lysine requirement during the earlier period after feed intake. Both, reduced weight gain and non linearity in 14 CO 2 excretion in diets exceeding a lysine content of 18.3 g/kg DM indicate a limited capacity of the organism to degrade excessive lysine. According to the results a lysine requirement betwen 10.8 and 13.3 g/kg DM (27% CP and 660 EFU/sub hen//kg DM) was estimated for broiler chickens 3 weeks posthatching. (author)

  1. Maintenance requirement and deposition efficiency of lysine in pigs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Speroni Ceron

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this work was to determine the maintenance requirement and the deposition efficiency of lysine in growing pigs. It was used the incomplete changeover experimental design, with replicates over time. Twelve castrated pigs with average body weight (BW of 52±2 kg were kept in metabolism crates with a controlled temperature of 22ºC. The diets were formulated to supply 30, 50, 60, and 70% of the expected requirements of standardized lysine, and provided at 2.6 times the energy requirements for maintenance. The trial lasted 24 days and was divided into two periods of 12 days: seven days for animal adaptation to the diet and five days for sample collection. The increasing content of lysine in the diet did not affect dry matter intake of the pigs. The amount of nitrogen excreted was 47% of the nitrogen intake, of which 35% was excreted through feces and 65% through urine. The estimated endogenous losses of lysine were 36.4 mg kg-1 BW0.75. The maintenance requirement of lysine for pigs weighing around 50 kg is 40.4 mg kg-1 BW0.75, and the deposition efficiency of lysine is 90%.

  2. Kristallstruktur der Methylornithin-Synthase (PylB): Einblicke in die Biosynthese von Pyrrolysin

    KAUST Repository

    Quitterer, Felix

    2011-11-16

    Made by the barrel load: The biosynthetic pathway of the recently discovered 22nd amino acid, pyrrolysine, starts with an isomerization of lysine to methylornithine, catalyzed by PylB. The X-ray crystal structure of PylB is determined (see picture) and shows it has a TIM barrel fold. The sealed central cavity contains a [4Fe-4S] cluster, S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), and methylornithine, whose 2R,3R configuration could be confirmed. The data suggest a fragmentation–recombination mechanism via a glycyl radical intermediate.

  3. The growing landscape of lysine acetylation links metabolism and cell signalling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Choudhary, Chuna Ram; Weinert, Brian Tate; Nishida, Yuya

    2014-01-01

    Lysine acetylation is a conserved protein post-translational modification that links acetyl-coenzyme A metabolism and cellular signalling. Recent advances in the identification and quantification of lysine acetylation by mass spectrometry have increased our understanding of lysine acetylation...

  4. Transcriptome and metabolome analysis of Ferula gummosa Boiss. to reveal major biosynthetic pathways of galbanum compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sobhani Najafabadi, Ahmad; Naghavi, Mohammad Reza; Farahmand, Hamid; Abbasi, Alireza

    2017-11-01

    Ferula gummosa Boiss. is an industrial and pharmaceutical plant that has been highly recognized for its valuable oleo-gum-resin, namely galbanum. Despite the fabulous value of galbanum, very little information on the genetic and biochemical mechanisms of its production existed. In the present study, the oleo-gum-resin and four organs (root, flower, stem, and leaf) of F. gummosa were assessed in terms of metabolic compositions and the expression of genes involved in their biosynthetic pathways. Results showed that the most accumulation of resin and essential oils were occurred in the roots (13.99 mg/g) and flowers (6.01 mg/g), respectively. While the most dominant compound of the resin was β-amyrin from triterpenes, the most abundant compounds of the essential oils were α-pinene and β-pinene from monoterpenes and α-eudesmol and germacrene-D from sesquiterpenes. Transcriptome analysis was performed by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) for the plant roots and flowers. Differential gene expression analysis showed that 1172 unigenes were differential between two organs that 934 (79.6%) of them were up-regulated in the flowers and 238 (20.4%) unigenes were up-regulated in the roots (FDR ≤0.001). The most important up-regulated unigenes in the roots were involved in the biosynthesis of the major components of galbanum, including myrcene, germacrene-D, α-terpineol, and β-amyrin. The results obtained by RNA-Seq were confirmed by qPCR. These analyses showed that different organs of F. gummosa are involved in the production of oleo-gum-resin, but the roots are more active than other organs in terms of the biosynthesis of triterpenes and some mono- and sesquiterpenes. This study provides rich molecular and biochemical resources for further studies on molecular genetics and functional genomics of oleo-gum-resin production in F. gummosa.

  5. Systematic analysis of the lysine acetylome in Vibrio parahemolyticus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Jianyi; Ye, Zhicang; Cheng, Zhongyi; Peng, Xiaojun; Wen, Liangyou; Zhao, Fukun

    2014-07-03

    Lysine acetylation of proteins is a major post-translational modification that plays an important regulatory role in almost every aspect of cells, both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Vibrio parahemolyticus, a model marine bacterium, is a worldwide cause of bacterial seafood-borne illness. Here, we conducted the first lysine acetylome in this bacterium through a combination of highly sensitive immune-affinity purification and high-resolution LC-MS/MS. Overall, we identified 1413 lysine acetylation sites in 656 proteins, which account for 13.6% of the total proteins in the cells; this is the highest ratio of acetyl proteins that has so far been identified in bacteria. The bioinformatics analysis of the acetylome showed that the acetylated proteins are involved in a wide range of cellular functions and exhibit diverse subcellular localizations. More specifically, proteins related to protein biosynthesis and carbon metabolism are the preferential targets of lysine acetylation. Moreover, two types of acetylation motifs, a lysine or arginine at the +4/+5 positions and a tyrosine, histidine, or phenylalanine at the +1/+2 positions, were revealed from the analysis of the acetylome. Additionally, protein interaction network analysis demonstrates that a wide range of interactions are modulated by protein acetylation. This study provides a significant beginning for the in-depth exploration of the physiological role of lysine acetylation in V. parahemolyticus.

  6. Impact of Variety and Agronomic Factors on Crude Protein and Total Lysine in Chicory; N(ε)-Carboxymethyl-lysine-Forming Potential during Drying and Roasting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loaëc, Grégory; Niquet-Léridon, Céline; Henry, Nicolas; Jacolot, Philippe; Jouquand, Céline; Janssens, Myriam; Hance, Philippe; Cadalen, Thierry; Hilbert, Jean-Louis; Desprez, Bruno; Tessier, Frédéric J

    2015-12-02

    During the heat treatment of coffee and its substitutes some compounds potentially deleterious to health are synthesized by the Maillard reaction. Among these, N(ε)-carboxymethyl-lysine (CML) was detected at high levels in coffee substitutes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of changes in agricultural practice on the lysine content present in chicory roots and try to limit CML formation during roasting. Of the 24 varieties analyzed, small variations in lysine content were observed, 213 ± 8 mg/100 g dry matter (DM). The formation of lysine tested in five commercial varieties was affected by the nitrogen treatment with mean levels of 176 ± 2 mg/100 g DM when no fertilizer was added and 217 ± 7 mg/100 g DM with a nitrogen supply of 120 kg/ha. The lysine content of fresh roots was significantly correlated to the concentration of CML formed in roasted roots (r = 0.51; p < 0.0001; n = 76).

  7. Expanding the chemical diversity of natural esters by engineering a polyketide-derived pathway into Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menendez-Bravo, Simón; Comba, Santiago; Sabatini, Martín; Arabolaza, Ana; Gramajo, Hugo

    2014-07-01

    Microbial fatty acid (FA)-derived molecules have emerged as promising alternatives to petroleum-based chemicals for reducing dependence on fossil hydrocarbons. However, native FA biosynthetic pathways often yield limited structural diversity, and therefore restricted physicochemical properties, of the end products by providing only a limited variety of usually linear hydrocarbons. Here we have engineered into Escherichia coli a mycocerosic polyketide synthase-based biosynthetic pathway from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and redefined its biological role towards the production of multi-methyl-branched-esters (MBEs) with novel chemical structures. Expression of FadD28, Mas and PapA5 enzymes enabled the biosynthesis of multi-methyl-branched-FA and their further esterification to an alcohol. The high substrate tolerance of these enzymes towards different FA and alcohol moieties resulted in the biosynthesis of a broad range of MBE. Further metabolic engineering of the MBE producer strain coupled this system to long-chain-alcohol biosynthetic pathways resulting in de novo production of branched wax esters following addition of only propionate. Copyright © 2014 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Human borna disease virus infection impacts host proteome and histone lysine acetylation in human oligodendroglia cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Xia [Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016 (China); Department of Neurology, The Fifth People' s Hospital of Shanghai, School of Medicine, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200240 (China); Zhao, Libo [Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016 (China); Department of Neurology, The Third People' s Hospital of Chongqing, 400014 (China); Yang, Yongtao [Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016 (China); Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016 (China); Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016 (China); Bode, Liv [Bornavirus Research Group affiliated to the Free University of Berlin, Berlin (Germany); Huang, Hua [Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016 (China); Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016 (China); Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016 (China); Liu, Chengyu [Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016 (China); Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016 (China); Huang, Rongzhong [Department of Rehabilitative Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400010 (China); Zhang, Liang [Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016 (China); Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016 (China); Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016 (China); and others

    2014-09-15

    Background: Borna disease virus (BDV) replicates in the nucleus and establishes persistent infections in mammalian hosts. A human BDV strain was used to address the first time, how BDV infection impacts the proteome and histone lysine acetylation (Kac) of human oligodendroglial (OL) cells, thus allowing a better understanding of infection-driven pathophysiology in vitro. Methods: Proteome and histone lysine acetylation were profiled through stable isotope labeling for cell culture (SILAC)-based quantitative proteomics. The quantifiable proteome was annotated using bioinformatics. Histone acetylation changes were validated by biochemistry assays. Results: Post BDV infection, 4383 quantifiable differential proteins were identified and functionally annotated to metabolism pathways, immune response, DNA replication, DNA repair, and transcriptional regulation. Sixteen of the thirty identified Kac sites in core histones presented altered acetylation levels post infection. Conclusions: BDV infection using a human strain impacted the whole proteome and histone lysine acetylation in OL cells. - Highlights: • A human strain of BDV (BDV Hu-H1) was used to infect human oligodendroglial cells (OL cells). • This study is the first to reveal the host proteomic and histone Kac profiles in BDV-infected OL cells. • BDV infection affected the expression of many transcription factors and several HATs and HDACs.

  9. Human borna disease virus infection impacts host proteome and histone lysine acetylation in human oligodendroglia cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Xia; Zhao, Libo; Yang, Yongtao; Bode, Liv; Huang, Hua; Liu, Chengyu; Huang, Rongzhong; Zhang, Liang

    2014-01-01

    Background: Borna disease virus (BDV) replicates in the nucleus and establishes persistent infections in mammalian hosts. A human BDV strain was used to address the first time, how BDV infection impacts the proteome and histone lysine acetylation (Kac) of human oligodendroglial (OL) cells, thus allowing a better understanding of infection-driven pathophysiology in vitro. Methods: Proteome and histone lysine acetylation were profiled through stable isotope labeling for cell culture (SILAC)-based quantitative proteomics. The quantifiable proteome was annotated using bioinformatics. Histone acetylation changes were validated by biochemistry assays. Results: Post BDV infection, 4383 quantifiable differential proteins were identified and functionally annotated to metabolism pathways, immune response, DNA replication, DNA repair, and transcriptional regulation. Sixteen of the thirty identified Kac sites in core histones presented altered acetylation levels post infection. Conclusions: BDV infection using a human strain impacted the whole proteome and histone lysine acetylation in OL cells. - Highlights: • A human strain of BDV (BDV Hu-H1) was used to infect human oligodendroglial cells (OL cells). • This study is the first to reveal the host proteomic and histone Kac profiles in BDV-infected OL cells. • BDV infection affected the expression of many transcription factors and several HATs and HDACs

  10. Novel metabolic pathways in Archaea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Takaaki; Atomi, Haruyuki

    2011-06-01

    The Archaea harbor many metabolic pathways that differ to previously recognized classical pathways. Glycolysis is carried out by modified versions of the Embden-Meyerhof and Entner-Doudoroff pathways. Thermophilic archaea have recently been found to harbor a bi-functional fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase/phosphatase for gluconeogenesis. A number of novel pentose-degrading pathways have also been recently identified. In terms of anabolic metabolism, a pathway for acetate assimilation, the methylaspartate cycle, and two CO2-fixing pathways, the 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate cycle and the dicarboxylate/4-hydroxybutyrate cycle, have been elucidated. As for biosynthetic pathways, recent studies have clarified the enzymes responsible for several steps involved in the biosynthesis of inositol phospholipids, polyamine, coenzyme A, flavin adeninedinucleotide and heme. By examining the presence/absence of homologs of these enzymes on genome sequences, we have found that the majority of these enzymes and pathways are specific to the Archaea. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. An R2R3 MYB transcription factor associated with regulation of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in Rosaceae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin-Wang, Kui; Bolitho, Karen; Grafton, Karryn; Kortstee, Anne; Karunairetnam, Sakuntala; McGhie, Tony K; Espley, Richard V; Hellens, Roger P; Allan, Andrew C

    2010-03-21

    The control of plant anthocyanin accumulation is via transcriptional regulation of the genes encoding the biosynthetic enzymes. A key activator appears to be an R2R3 MYB transcription factor. In apple fruit, skin anthocyanin levels are controlled by a gene called MYBA or MYB1, while the gene determining fruit flesh and foliage anthocyanin has been termed MYB10. In order to further understand tissue-specific anthocyanin regulation we have isolated orthologous MYB genes from all the commercially important rosaceous species. We use gene specific primers to show that the three MYB activators of apple anthocyanin (MYB10/MYB1/MYBA) are likely alleles of each other. MYB transcription factors, with high sequence identity to the apple gene were isolated from across the rosaceous family (e.g. apples, pears, plums, cherries, peaches, raspberries, rose, strawberry). Key identifying amino acid residues were found in both the DNA-binding and C-terminal domains of these MYBs. The expression of these MYB10 genes correlates with fruit and flower anthocyanin levels. Their function was tested in tobacco and strawberry. In tobacco, these MYBs were shown to induce the anthocyanin pathway when co-expressed with bHLHs, while over-expression of strawberry and apple genes in the crop of origin elevates anthocyanins. This family-wide study of rosaceous R2R3 MYBs provides insight into the evolution of this plant trait. It has implications for the development of new coloured fruit and flowers, as well as aiding the understanding of temporal-spatial colour change.

  12. An R2R3 MYB transcription factor associated with regulation of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in Rosaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McGhie Tony K

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The control of plant anthocyanin accumulation is via transcriptional regulation of the genes encoding the biosynthetic enzymes. A key activator appears to be an R2R3 MYB transcription factor. In apple fruit, skin anthocyanin levels are controlled by a gene called MYBA or MYB1, while the gene determining fruit flesh and foliage anthocyanin has been termed MYB10. In order to further understand tissue-specific anthocyanin regulation we have isolated orthologous MYB genes from all the commercially important rosaceous species. Results We use gene specific primers to show that the three MYB activators of apple anthocyanin (MYB10/MYB1/MYBA are likely alleles of each other. MYB transcription factors, with high sequence identity to the apple gene were isolated from across the rosaceous family (e.g. apples, pears, plums, cherries, peaches, raspberries, rose, strawberry. Key identifying amino acid residues were found in both the DNA-binding and C-terminal domains of these MYBs. The expression of these MYB10 genes correlates with fruit and flower anthocyanin levels. Their function was tested in tobacco and strawberry. In tobacco, these MYBs were shown to induce the anthocyanin pathway when co-expressed with bHLHs, while over-expression of strawberry and apple genes in the crop of origin elevates anthocyanins. Conclusions This family-wide study of rosaceous R2R3 MYBs provides insight into the evolution of this plant trait. It has implications for the development of new coloured fruit and flowers, as well as aiding the understanding of temporal-spatial colour change.

  13. A novel deconvolution method for modeling UDP-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine biosynthetic pathways based on 13C mass isotopologue profiles under non-steady-state conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Belshoff Alex C

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Stable isotope tracing is a powerful technique for following the fate of individual atoms through metabolic pathways. Measuring isotopic enrichment in metabolites provides quantitative insights into the biosynthetic network and enables flux analysis as a function of external perturbations. NMR and mass spectrometry are the techniques of choice for global profiling of stable isotope labeling patterns in cellular metabolites. However, meaningful biochemical interpretation of the labeling data requires both quantitative analysis and complex modeling. Here, we demonstrate a novel approach that involved acquiring and modeling the timecourses of 13C isotopologue data for UDP-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc synthesized from [U-13C]-glucose in human prostate cancer LnCaP-LN3 cells. UDP-GlcNAc is an activated building block for protein glycosylation, which is an important regulatory mechanism in the development of many prominent human diseases including cancer and diabetes. Results We utilized a stable isotope resolved metabolomics (SIRM approach to determine the timecourse of 13C incorporation from [U-13C]-glucose into UDP-GlcNAc in LnCaP-LN3 cells. 13C Positional isotopomers and isotopologues of UDP-GlcNAc were determined by high resolution NMR and Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometry. A novel simulated annealing/genetic algorithm, called 'Genetic Algorithm for Isotopologues in Metabolic Systems' (GAIMS was developed to find the optimal solutions to a set of simultaneous equations that represent the isotopologue compositions, which is a mixture of isotopomer species. The best model was selected based on information theory. The output comprises the timecourse of the individual labeled species, which was deconvoluted into labeled metabolic units, namely glucose, ribose, acetyl and uracil. The performance of the algorithm was demonstrated by validating the computed fractional 13C enrichment in these subunits

  14. An R2R3 MYB transcription factor associated with regulation of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in Rosaceae (on linr)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, Kui-Lin; Bolitho, Karen; Grafton, Karryn; Kortstee, A.J.; Karunairetnam, Sakuntala; McGhie, T.K.; Espley, R.V.; Hellens, R.P.; Allan, A.C.

    2010-01-01

    Background - The control of plant anthocyanin accumulation is via transcriptional regulation of the genes encoding the biosynthetic enzymes. A key activator appears to be an R2R3 MYB transcription factor. In apple fruit, skin anthocyanin levels are controlled by a gene called MYBA or MYB1, while the

  15. CPLA 1.0: an integrated database of protein lysine acetylation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zexian; Cao, Jun; Gao, Xinjiao; Zhou, Yanhong; Wen, Longping; Yang, Xiangjiao; Yao, Xuebiao; Ren, Jian; Xue, Yu

    2011-01-01

    As a reversible post-translational modification (PTM) discovered decades ago, protein lysine acetylation was known for its regulation of transcription through the modification of histones. Recent studies discovered that lysine acetylation targets broad substrates and especially plays an essential role in cellular metabolic regulation. Although acetylation is comparable with other major PTMs such as phosphorylation, an integrated resource still remains to be developed. In this work, we presented the compendium of protein lysine acetylation (CPLA) database for lysine acetylated substrates with their sites. From the scientific literature, we manually collected 7151 experimentally identified acetylation sites in 3311 targets. We statistically studied the regulatory roles of lysine acetylation by analyzing the Gene Ontology (GO) and InterPro annotations. Combined with protein-protein interaction information, we systematically discovered a potential human lysine acetylation network (HLAN) among histone acetyltransferases (HATs), substrates and histone deacetylases (HDACs). In particular, there are 1862 triplet relationships of HAT-substrate-HDAC retrieved from the HLAN, at least 13 of which were previously experimentally verified. The online services of CPLA database was implemented in PHP + MySQL + JavaScript, while the local packages were developed in JAVA 1.5 (J2SE 5.0). The CPLA database is freely available for all users at: http://cpla.biocuckoo.org.

  16. Genealogy profiling through strain improvement by using metabolic network analysis: metabolic flux genealogy of several generations of lysine-producing corynebacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittmann, Christoph; Heinzle, Elmar

    2002-12-01

    A comprehensive approach of metabolite balancing, (13)C tracer studies, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry, and isotopomer modeling was applied for comparative metabolic network analysis of a genealogy of five successive generations of lysine-producing Corynebacterium glutamicum. The five strains examined (C. glutamicum ATCC 13032, 13287, 21253, 21526, and 21543) were previously obtained by random mutagenesis and selection. Throughout the genealogy, the lysine yield in batch cultures increased markedly from 1.2 to 24.9% relative to the glucose uptake flux. Strain optimization was accompanied by significant changes in intracellular flux distributions. The relative pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) flux successively increased, clearly corresponding to the product yield. Moreover, the anaplerotic net flux increased almost twofold as a consequence of concerted regulation of C(3) carboxylation and C(4) decarboxylation fluxes to cover the increased demand for lysine formation; thus, the overall increase was a consequence of concerted regulation of C(3) carboxylation and C(4) decarboxylation fluxes. The relative flux through isocitrate dehydrogenase dropped from 82.7% in the wild type to 59.9% in the lysine-producing mutants. In contrast to the NADPH demand, which increased from 109 to 172% due to the increasing lysine yield, the overall NADPH supply remained constant between 185 and 196%, resulting in a decrease in the apparent NADPH excess through strain optimization. Extrapolated to industrial lysine producers, the NADPH supply might become a limiting factor. The relative contributions of PPP and the tricarboxylic acid cycle to NADPH generation changed markedly, indicating that C. glutamicum is able to maintain a constant supply of NADPH under completely different flux conditions. Statistical analysis by a Monte Carlo approach revealed high precision for the estimated fluxes, underlining the

  17. Threonine and lysine requirements for maintenance in chickens ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The maintenance requirement for threonine and lysine were estimated in two different experiments by measuring the nitrogen balance of adult male cockerels. Measured amounts of a diet first-limiting in threonine or lysine were fed by intubation each day for 4 d to give a range of intakes (unbalanced series) of from 0 to 239 ...

  18. Novel key metabolites reveal further branching of the roquefortine/meleagrin biosynthetic pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ries, Marco I; Ali, Hazrat; Lankhorst, Peter P; Hankemeier, Thomas; Bovenberg, Roel A L; Driessen, Arnold J M; Vreeken, Rob J

    2013-12-27

    Metabolic profiling and structural elucidation of novel secondary metabolites obtained from derived deletion strains of the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum were used to reassign various previously ascribed synthetase genes of the roquefortine/meleagrin pathway to their corresponding products. Next to the structural characterization of roquefortine F and neoxaline, which are for the first time reported for P. chrysogenum, we identified the novel metabolite roquefortine L, including its degradation products, harboring remarkable chemical structures. Their biosynthesis is discussed, questioning the exclusive role of glandicoline A as key intermediate in the pathway. The results reveal that further enzymes of this pathway are rather unspecific and catalyze more than one reaction, leading to excessive branching in the pathway with meleagrin and neoxaline as end products of two branches.

  19. Conformational Studies of ε- CBz- L- Lysine and L- Valine Block Copolypeptides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ajay Kumar

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Conformational studies of ε-CBz-L-lysine and L-valine block copoylpeptides using x- ray diffraction and CD spectra are described. The block copolypeptides contain valine block in the center and on both side of the valine are ε-CBz-L-lysine blocks. The conformation of the copolypeptides changes with increases in the chain length of ε- CBz-L- lysine blocks. When length of ε- CBZ- L- lysine blocks is 9, the block copolypeptide has exclusive beta sheet structure. With the increase in chain length of ε-CBz-L-lysine blocks from 9 to 14, the block copolypeptide shows presence of both alpha helix and beta sheet components. With further increase in chain length of ε- CBz- L- lysine blocks, the beta sheet component disappears and block copolypeptides exhibits exclusive α -helix conformation.

  20. Bioavailability of lysine in heat-treated foods and feedstuffs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    McArtney Rutherfurd, S.

    2010-01-01

    During the processing of foodstuffs, lysine can react with other compounds present to form nutritionally unavailable derivatives, the most common example of which are Maillard products. Maillard products can cause serious problems when determining the available lysine content of processed foods or

  1. Chemical mechanisms of histone lysine and arginine modifications

    OpenAIRE

    Smith, Brian C.; Denu, John M.

    2008-01-01

    Histone lysine and arginine residues are subject to a wide array of post-translational modifications including methylation, citrullination, acetylation, ubiquitination, and sumoylation. The combinatorial action of these modifications regulates critical DNA processes including replication, repair, and transcription. In addition, enzymes that modify histone lysine and arginine residues have been correlated with a variety of human diseases including arthritis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, an...

  2. ß-Lysine discrimination by lysyl-tRNA synthetase

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gilreath, Marla S; Roy, Hervé; Bullwinkle, Tammy J

    2011-01-01

    guided by the PoxA structure. A233S LysRS behaved as wild type with a-lysine, while the G469A and A233S/G469A variants decreased stable a-lysyl-adenylate formation. A233S LysRS recognized ß-lysine better than wildtype, suggesting a role for this residue in discriminating a- and ß-amino acids. Both...

  3. Molecular characterization and functional analysis of chalcone synthase from Syringa oblata Lindl. in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yu; Dou, Ying; Wang, Rui; Guan, Xuelian; Hu, Zenghui; Zheng, Jian

    2017-11-30

    The flower color of Syringa oblata Lindl., which is often modulated by the flavonoid content, varies and is an important ornamental feature. Chalcone synthase (CHS) catalyzes the first key step in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. However, little is known about the role of S. oblata CHS (SoCHS) in flavonoid biosynthesis in this species. Here, we isolate and analyze the cDNA (SoCHS1) that encodes CHS in S. oblata. We also sought to analyzed the molecular characteristics and function of flavonoid metabolism by SoCHS1. We successfully isolated the CHS-encoding genomic DNA (gDNA) in S. oblata (SoCHS1), and the gene structural analysis indicated it had no intron. The opening reading frame (ORF) sequence of SoCHS1 was 1170bp long and encoded a 389-amino acid polypeptide. Multiple sequence alignment revealed that both the conserved CHS active site residues and CHS signature sequence were in the deduced amino acid sequence of SoCHS1. Crystallographic analysis revealed that the protein structure of SoCHS1 is highly similar to that of FnCHS1 in Freesia hybrida. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) performed to detect the SoCHS1 transcript expression levels in flowers, and other tissues revealed the expression was significantly correlated with anthocyanin accumulation during flower development. The ectopic expression results of Nicotiana tabacum showed that SoCHS1 overexpression in transgenic tobacco changed the flower color from pale pink to pink. In conclusion, these results suggest that SoCHS1 plays an essential role in flavonoid biosynthesis in S. oblata, and could be used to modify flavonoid components in other plant species. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  4. Molecular interaction of the first 3 enzymes of the de novo pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway of Trypanosoma cruzi

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nara, Takeshi; Hashimoto, Muneaki; Hirawake, Hiroko; Liao, Chien-Wei; Fukai, Yoshihisa; Suzuki, Shigeo; Tsubouchi, Akiko; Morales, Jorge; Takamiya, Shinzaburo; Fujimura, Tsutomu; Taka, Hikari; Mineki, Reiko; Fan, Chia-Kwung; Inaoka, Daniel Ken; Inoue, Masayuki; Tanaka, Akiko; Harada, Shigeharu; Kita, Kiyoshi

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► An Escherichia coli strain co-expressing CPSII, ATC, and DHO of Trypanosoma cruzi was constructed. ► Molecular interactions between CPSII, ATC, and DHO of T. cruzi were demonstrated. ► CPSII bound with both ATC and DHO. ► ATC bound with both CPSII and DHO. ► A functional tri-enzyme complex might precede the establishment of the fused enzyme. -- Abstract: The first 3 reaction steps of the de novo pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway are catalyzed by carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase II (CPSII), aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATC), and dihydroorotase (DHO), respectively. In eukaryotes, these enzymes are structurally classified into 2 types: (1) a CPSII-DHO-ATC fusion enzyme (CAD) found in animals, fungi, and amoebozoa, and (2) stand-alone enzymes found in plants and the protist groups. In the present study, we demonstrate direct intermolecular interactions between CPSII, ATC, and DHO of the parasitic protist Trypanosoma cruzi, which is the causative agent of Chagas disease. The 3 enzymes were expressed in a bacterial expression system and their interactions were examined. Immunoprecipitation using an antibody specific for each enzyme coupled with Western blotting-based detection using antibodies for the counterpart enzymes showed co-precipitation of all 3 enzymes. From an evolutionary viewpoint, the formation of a functional tri-enzyme complex may have preceded—and led to—gene fusion to produce the CAD protein. This is the first report to demonstrate the structural basis of these 3 enzymes as a model of CAD. Moreover, in conjunction with the essentiality of de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis in the parasite, our findings provide a rationale for new strategies for developing drugs for Chagas disease, which target the intermolecular interactions of these 3 enzymes.

  5. Higher transcription levels in ascorbic acid biosynthetic and recycling genes were associated with higher ascorbic acid accumulation in blueberry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Fenghong; Wang, Lei; Gu, Liang; Zhao, Wei; Su, Hongyan; Cheng, Xianhao

    2015-12-01

    In our preliminary study, the ripe fruits of two highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) cultivars, cv 'Berkeley' and cv 'Bluecrop', were found to contain different levels of ascorbic acid. However, factors responsible for these differences are still unknown. In the present study, ascorbic acid content in fruits was compared with expression profiles of ascorbic acid biosynthetic and recycling genes between 'Bluecrop' and 'Berkeley' cultivars. The results indicated that the l-galactose pathway was the predominant route of ascorbic acid biosynthesis in blueberry fruits. Moreover, higher expression levels of the ascorbic acid biosynthetic genes GME, GGP, and GLDH, as well as the recycling genes MDHAR and DHAR, were associated with higher ascorbic acid content in 'Bluecrop' compared with 'Berkeley', which indicated that a higher efficiency ascorbic acid biosynthesis and regeneration was likely to be responsible for the higher ascorbic acid accumulation in 'Bluecrop'. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. The preliminary research for biosynthetic engineering by radiation fusion technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roh, Chang Hyun; Jung, U Hee; Park, Hae Ran [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-01-15

    The purpose of this project is to elucidate the solution to the production of bioactive substance using biotransformation process from core technology of biosynthetic engineering by radiation fusion technology. And, this strategy will provide core technology for development of drugs as new concept and category. Research scopes and contents of project include 1) The development of mutant for biosynthetic engineering by radiation fusion technology 2) The development of host for biosynthetic engineering by radiation fusion technology 3) The preliminary study for biosynthetic engineering of isoflavone by radiation fusion technology. The results are as follows. Isoflavone compounds(daidzein, hydroxylated isoflavone) were analyzed by GC-MS. The study of radiation doses and p-NCA high-throughput screening for mutant development were elucidated. And, it was carried out the study of radiation doses for host development. Furthermore, the study of redox partner and construction of recombinant strain for region-specific hydroxylation(P450, redox partner). In addition, the biological effect of 6,7,4'-trihydroxyisoflavone as an anti-obesity agent was elucidated in this study.

  7. Metabolic profiling of alternative NAD biosynthetic routes in mouse tissues.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valerio Mori

    Full Text Available NAD plays essential redox and non-redox roles in cell biology. In mammals, its de novo and recycling biosynthetic pathways encompass two independent branches, the "amidated" and "deamidated" routes. Here we focused on the indispensable enzymes gating these two routes, i.e. nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase (NMNAT, which in mammals comprises three distinct isozymes, and NAD synthetase (NADS. First, we measured the in vitro activity of the enzymes, and the levels of all their substrates and products in a number of tissues from the C57BL/6 mouse. Second, from these data, we derived in vivo estimates of enzymes'rates and quantitative contributions to NAD homeostasis. The NMNAT activity, mainly represented by nuclear NMNAT1, appears to be high and nonrate-limiting in all examined tissues, except in blood. The NADS activity, however, appears rate-limiting in lung and skeletal muscle, where its undetectable levels parallel a relative accumulation of the enzyme's substrate NaAD (nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide. In all tissues, the amidated NAD route was predominant, displaying highest rates in liver and kidney, and lowest in blood. In contrast, the minor deamidated route showed higher relative proportions in blood and small intestine, and higher absolute values in liver and small intestine. Such results provide the first comprehensive picture of the balance of the two alternative NAD biosynthetic routes in different mammalian tissues under physiological conditions. This fills a gap in the current knowledge of NAD biosynthesis, and provides a crucial information for the study of NAD metabolism and its role in disease.

  8. Global analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters reveals vast potential of secondary metabolite production in Penicillium species

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jens Christian; Grijseels, Sietske; Prigent, Sylvain

    2017-01-01

    Filamentous fungi produce a wide range of bioactive compounds with important pharmaceutical applications, such as antibiotic penicillins and cholesterol-lowering statins. However, less attention has been paid to fungal secondary metabolites compared to those from bacteria. In this study, we...... sequenced the genomes of 9 Penicillium species and, together with 15 published genomes, we investigated the secondary metabolism of Penicillium and identified an immense, unexploited potential for producing secondary metabolites by this genus. A total of 1,317 putative biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) were......-referenced the predicted pathways with published data on the production of secondary metabolites and experimentally validated the production of antibiotic yanuthones in Penicillia and identified a previously undescribed compound from the yanuthone pathway. This study is the first genus-wide analysis of the genomic...

  9. Antibiotic and surfactant effects on lysine accumulation by Bacillus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The effects of antibiotics and surfactants on lysine accumulation in the culture broth of three strains of Bacillus megaterium (B. megaterium SP 86, B. megaterium SP 76 and B. megaterium SP 14) were investigated. Lincomycin, neomycin and tetracycline stimulated lysine increase in B. megaterium SP 76 and B. megaterium ...

  10. Copper nanoclusters as probes for turn-on fluorescence sensing of L-lysine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Mingming; Qiao, Juan; Zhang, Shufeng; Qi, Li

    2018-05-15

    Herein, a unique protocol based on copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) probe for turn-on fluorescence sensing of L-lysine was developed. The fluorescent CuNCs with ovalbumin as the stabilizer was prepared by a simple, one-step and green method. When 370 nm was used as the excitation wavelength, the resultant CuNCs exhibited a pale blue fluorescence with the maximum emission at 440 nm. Interestingly, existence of L-lysine evoked the obvious fluorescence intensity increase of CuNCs. The detection limit of the proposed method for L-lysine was 5.5 μM, with a good linear range from 10.0 μM to 1.0 mM (r 2 = 0.999). Moreover, the possible mechanism for enhanced fluorescence intensity of CuNCs by addition of L-lysine was explored and discussed briefly. Further, the as-prepared fluorescent CuNCs was successfully applied in detection of L-lysine in urine. Our results demonstrated that L-lysine could be monitored by the probe, providing new path for construction of CuNCs as fluorescent probes and showing great potential in quantification of L-lysine in real samples. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. SnapShot: O-Glycosylation Pathways across Kingdoms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Joshi, Hiren J.; Narimatsu, Yoshiki; Schjoldager, Katrine T.

    2018-01-01

    O-glycosylation is one of the most abundant and diverse types of post-translational modifications of proteins. O-glycans modulate the structure, stability, and function of proteins and serve generalized as well as highly specific roles in most biological processes. This ShapShot presents types of......-glycans found in different organisms and their principle biosynthetic pathways...

  12. Surface biomimetic modification with laminin-loaded heparin/poly-L-lysine nanoparticles for improving the biocompatibility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Tao, E-mail: 11140021@hyit.edu.cn [Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Interventional Medical Devices, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huai' an (China); Hu, Youdong [Department of Geriatrics, The Affiliated Huai' an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College, Huai' an (China); Tan, Jianying [Key Lab. of Advanced Technology for Materials of Chinese Education Ministry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu (China); Liu, Shihui [Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Interventional Medical Devices, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huai' an (China); Chen, Junying [Key Lab. of Advanced Technology for Materials of Chinese Education Ministry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu (China); Guo, Xin; Pan, Changjiang [Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Interventional Medical Devices, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huai' an (China); Li, Xia, E-mail: xial_li@qq.com [Department of Geriatrics, The Affiliated Huai' an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College, Huai' an (China)

    2017-02-01

    Late thrombus and restenosis caused by delayed endothelialization and insufficient biocompatibility of polymer coating continue to be the greatest limitations of drug-eluting stents. In this study, based on the specific structure of vascular basement membrane, a novel biomimetic nano-coating was constructed by incorporating laminin into electrostatic-assembled heparin/poly-L-lysine nanoparticles. Alteration of heparin and poly-L-lysine concentration ratio in a certain range has no significantly influence nanoparticle size, uniformity and stability, but may affect the chemical property and subsequently the binding efficiency to dopamine-coated titanium surface. By use of this feature, four different nanoparticles were synthesized and immobilized on titanium surface for creating gradient nanoparticle binding density. According to in vitro biocompatibility evaluation, the nanoparticle modified surfaces were found to effectively block coagulation pathway and reduce thrombosis formation. Moreover, NP10L and NP15L modified surface with relatively low heparin exposing density (4.9 to 7.1 μg/cm2) showed beneficial effect in selective promoting EPCs and ECs proliferation, as well as stimulating cell migration and NO synthesis. - Highlights: • A novel laminin-loaded anticoagulant nanoparticle was prepared and used for titanium surface modification. • The nanoparticle binding density was adjustable by alteration the concentration ratio of heparin and poly-L-lysine. • In a certain range of NPs density, the surface was found to selectively direct platelet and vascular cells behavior.

  13. Surface biomimetic modification with laminin-loaded heparin/poly-L-lysine nanoparticles for improving the biocompatibility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Tao; Hu, Youdong; Tan, Jianying; Liu, Shihui; Chen, Junying; Guo, Xin; Pan, Changjiang; Li, Xia

    2017-01-01

    Late thrombus and restenosis caused by delayed endothelialization and insufficient biocompatibility of polymer coating continue to be the greatest limitations of drug-eluting stents. In this study, based on the specific structure of vascular basement membrane, a novel biomimetic nano-coating was constructed by incorporating laminin into electrostatic-assembled heparin/poly-L-lysine nanoparticles. Alteration of heparin and poly-L-lysine concentration ratio in a certain range has no significantly influence nanoparticle size, uniformity and stability, but may affect the chemical property and subsequently the binding efficiency to dopamine-coated titanium surface. By use of this feature, four different nanoparticles were synthesized and immobilized on titanium surface for creating gradient nanoparticle binding density. According to in vitro biocompatibility evaluation, the nanoparticle modified surfaces were found to effectively block coagulation pathway and reduce thrombosis formation. Moreover, NP10L and NP15L modified surface with relatively low heparin exposing density (4.9 to 7.1 μg/cm2) showed beneficial effect in selective promoting EPCs and ECs proliferation, as well as stimulating cell migration and NO synthesis. - Highlights: • A novel laminin-loaded anticoagulant nanoparticle was prepared and used for titanium surface modification. • The nanoparticle binding density was adjustable by alteration the concentration ratio of heparin and poly-L-lysine. • In a certain range of NPs density, the surface was found to selectively direct platelet and vascular cells behavior.

  14. Biosynthetic origin of the isoprene units in chromenes of Piper aduncum (Piperaceae)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leite, Ana C.; Lopes, Adriana A.; Bolzani, Vanderlan da S.; Furlan, Maysa; Kato, Massuo J.

    2007-01-01

    Metabolic studies involving the incorporation of [1- 13 C]-D-glucose into intact leaves of Piper aduncum (Piperaceae) have indicated that both the mevalonate (MVA) and the pyruvate-triose (MEP) non-mevalonate pathways are implicated in the biosynthesis of isoprene moieties present in methyl 2,2-dimethyl-2H-1-chromene-6-carboxylate (1) and methyl 2,2-dimethyl-8-(3'-methyl- 2'-butenyl)-2H-1-chromene-6-carboxylate (2). The pattern of incorporation of label from [1- 13 C]-D-glucose into these chromenes was determined by quantitative 13 C NMR spectroscopy. The results confirmed that biosynthetic compartment of 1 and 2 could either be the plastid and/ or the cytosol or, possibly, an additional compartment such as the plastid inter-membrane space. (author)

  15. Use of acetimidation in the NMR identification of neurophysin lysine protons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sardana, V.; Breslow, E.

    1986-01-01

    Acetimidation of the two lysine residues of neurophysin (NP) results in localized changes in the proton magnetic resonance spectrum, allowing identification of lysine side-chain resonances. Neither peptide-binding nor protein self-association appeared to be significantly altered by acetimidation. Additionally, no significant effect of either peptide-binding or self-association on lysine epsilon-CH 2 protons was seen. However, dimerization-induced NMR changes in the 1.6-1.8 ppm region, associated with lysine β,γ,σ protons, were altered in the acetimidated protein. In particular, while the spectrum of the acetimidated NP monomer was almost identical to that of the native protein, a shoulder at 1.72 ppm in the native protein dimer was shifted upfield in the modified dimer. Additionally the direction of NMR shifts in the 1.6-1.8 ppm region normally associated with peptide binding to the NP dimer appeared to be reversed in the acetimidated protein. Binding-induced and dimerization-induced changes in all other regions of the spectrum were identical in the native and modified proteins. These results suggest that one or both NP lysine residues may be near the dimer subunit interface and indicate an effect of peptide-binding on lysine side-chain environment

  16. Effect of terbinafine on the biosynthetic pathway of isoprenoid compounds in carrot suspension cultured cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miras-Moreno, Begoña; Almagro, Lorena; Pedreño, María Angeles; Sabater-Jara, Ana Belén

    2018-04-21

    Terbinafine induced a significant increase of squalene production. Terbinafine increased the expression levels of squalene synthase. Cyclodextrins did not work as elicitors due to the gene expression levels obtained. Plant sterols are essential components of membrane lipids, which contributing to their fluidity and permeability. Besides their cholesterol-lowering properties, they also have anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and anticancer activities. Squalene, which is phytosterol precursor, is widely used in medicine, foods and cosmetics due to its anti-tumor, antioxidant and anti-aging activities. Nowadays, vegetable oils constitute the main sources of phytosterols and squalene, but their isolation and purification involve complex extraction protocols and high costs. In this work, Daucus carota cell cultures were used to evaluate the effect of cyclodextrins and terbinafine on the production and accumulation of squalene and phytosterols as well as the expression levels of squalene synthase and cycloartenol synthase genes. D. carota cell cultures were able to produce high levels of extracellular being phytosterols in the presence of cyclodextrins (12 mg/L), these compounds able to increase both the secretion and accumulation of phytosterols in the culture medium. Moreover, terbinafine induced a significant increase in intracellular squalene production, as seen after 168 h of treatment (497.0 ± 23.5 µg g dry weight -1 ) while its extracellular production only increased in the presence of cyclodextrins.The analysis of sqs and cas gene expression revealed that cyclodextrins did not induce genes encoding enzymes involved in the phytosterol biosynthetic pathway since the expression levels of sqs and cas genes in cyclodextrin-treated cells were lower than in control cells. The results, therefore, suggest that cyclodextrins were only able to release phytosterols from the cells to the extracellular medium, thus contributing to their acumulation. To sum up, D. carota

  17. Excited-State Dynamics of Melamine and Its Lysine Derivative Investigated by Femtosecond Transient Absorption Spectroscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuyuan Zhang

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Melamine may have been an important prebiotic information carrier, but its excited-state dynamics, which determine its stability under UV radiation, have never been characterized. The ability of melamine to withstand the strong UV radiation present on the surface of the early Earth is likely to have affected its abundance in the primordial soup. Here, we studied the excited-state dynamics of melamine (a proto-nucleobase and its lysine derivative (a proto-nucleoside using the transient absorption technique with a UV pump, and UV and infrared probe pulses. For melamine, the excited-state population decays by internal conversion with a lifetime of 13 ps without coupling significantly to any photochemical channels. The excited-state lifetime of the lysine derivative is slightly longer (18 ps, but the dominant deactivation pathway is otherwise the same as for melamine. In both cases, the vast majority of excited molecules return to the electronic ground state on the aforementioned time scales, but a minor population is trapped in a long-lived triplet state.

  18. Characterization of Agronomy, Grain Physicochemical Quality, and Nutritional Property of High-Lysine 35R Transgenic Rice with Simultaneous Modification of Lysine Biosynthesis and Catabolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Qingqing; Wu, Hongyu; Li, Qianfeng; Duan, Ruxu; Zhang, Changquan; Sun, Samuel Saiming; Liu, Qiaoquan

    2017-05-31

    Lysine is the first limiting essential amino acid in rice. We previously constructed a series of transgenic rice lines to enhance lysine biosynthesis (35S), down-regulate its catabolism (Ri), or simultaneously achieve both metabolic effects (35R). In this study, nine transgenic lines, three from each group, were selected for both field and animal feeding trials. The results showed that the transgene(s) caused no obvious effects on field performance and main agronomic traits. Mature seeds of transgenic line 35R-17 contained 48-60-fold more free lysine than in wild type and had slightly lower apparent amylose content and softer gel consistency. Moreover, a 35-day feeding experiment showed that the body weight gain, food efficiency, and protein efficiency ratio of rats fed the 35R-17 transgenic rice diet were improved when compared with those fed wild-type rice diet. These data will be useful for further evaluation and potential commercialization of 35R high-lysine transgenic rice.

  19. Integrating computational methods to retrofit enzymes to synthetic pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunk, Elizabeth; Neri, Marilisa; Tavernelli, Ivano; Hatzimanikatis, Vassily; Rothlisberger, Ursula

    2012-02-01

    Microbial production of desired compounds provides an efficient framework for the development of renewable energy resources. To be competitive to traditional chemistry, one requirement is to utilize the full capacity of the microorganism to produce target compounds with high yields and turnover rates. We use integrated computational methods to generate and quantify the performance of novel biosynthetic routes that contain highly optimized catalysts. Engineering a novel reaction pathway entails addressing feasibility on multiple levels, which involves handling the complexity of large-scale biochemical networks while respecting the critical chemical phenomena at the atomistic scale. To pursue this multi-layer challenge, our strategy merges knowledge-based metabolic engineering methods with computational chemistry methods. By bridging multiple disciplines, we provide an integral computational framework that could accelerate the discovery and implementation of novel biosynthetic production routes. Using this approach, we have identified and optimized a novel biosynthetic route for the production of 3HP from pyruvate. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Metabolic flux distributions in Corynebacterium glutamicum during growth and lysine overproduction. Reprinted from Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Vol. 41, Pp 633-646 (1993).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vallino, J J; Stephanopoulos, G

    2000-03-20

    The two main contributions of this article are the solidification of Corynebacterium glutamicum biochemistry guided by bioreaction network analysis, and the determination of basal metabolic flux distributions during growth and lysine synthesis. Employed methodology makes use of stoichiometrically based mass balances to determine flux distributions in the C. glutamicum metabolic network. Presented are a brief description of the methodology, a thorough literature review of glutamic acid bacteria biochemistry, and specific results obtained through a combination of fermentation studies and analysis-directed intracellular assays. The latter include the findings of the lack of activity of glyoxylate shunt, and that phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PPC) is the only anaplerotic reaction expressed in C. glutamicum cultivated on glucose minimal media. Network simplifications afforded by the above findings facilitated the determination of metabolic flux distributions under a variety of culture conditions and led to the following conclusions. Both the pentose phosphate pathway and PPC support significant fluxes during growth and lysine overproduction, and that flux partitioning at the glucosa-6-phosphate branch point does not appear to limit lysine synthesis. Copyright 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  1. Extending the biosynthetic repertoires of cyanobacteria and chloroplasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nielsen, Agnieszka Zygadlo; Mellor, Silas Busck; Vavitsas, Konstantinos; Wlodarczyk, Artur Jacek; Gnanasekaran, Thiyagarajan; Perestrello Ramos H de Jesus, Maria; King, Brian Christopher; Bakowski, Kamil; Jensen, Poul Erik

    2016-07-01

    Chloroplasts in plants and algae and photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria are emerging hosts for sustainable production of valuable biochemicals, using only inorganic nutrients, water, CO2 and light as inputs. In the past decade, many bioengineering efforts have focused on metabolic engineering and synthetic biology in the chloroplast or in cyanobacteria for the production of fuels, chemicals and complex, high-value bioactive molecules. Biosynthesis of all these compounds can be performed in photosynthetic organelles/organisms by heterologous expression of the appropriate pathways, but this requires optimization of carbon flux and reducing power, and a thorough understanding of regulatory pathways. Secretion or storage of the compounds produced can be exploited for the isolation or confinement of the desired compounds. In this review, we explore the use of chloroplasts and cyanobacteria as biosynthetic compartments and hosts, and we estimate the levels of production to be expected from photosynthetic hosts in light of the fraction of electrons and carbon that can potentially be diverted from photosynthesis. The supply of reducing power, in the form of electrons derived from the photosynthetic light reactions, appears to be non-limiting, but redirection of the fixed carbon via precursor molecules presents a challenge. We also discuss the available synthetic biology tools and the need to expand the molecular toolbox to facilitate cellular reprogramming for increased production yields in both cyanobacteria and chloroplasts. © 2016 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Evolutionary systems biology of amino acid biosynthetic cost in yeast.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael D Barton

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Every protein has a biosynthetic cost to the cell based on the synthesis of its constituent amino acids. In order to optimise growth and reproduction, natural selection is expected, where possible, to favour the use of proteins whose constituents are cheaper to produce, as reduced biosynthetic cost may confer a fitness advantage to the organism. Quantifying the cost of amino acid biosynthesis presents challenges, since energetic requirements may change across different cellular and environmental conditions. We developed a systems biology approach to estimate the cost of amino acid synthesis based on genome-scale metabolic models and investigated the effects of the cost of amino acid synthesis on Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene expression and protein evolution. First, we used our two new and six previously reported measures of amino acid cost in conjunction with codon usage bias, tRNA gene number and atomic composition to identify which of these factors best predict transcript and protein levels. Second, we compared amino acid cost with rates of amino acid substitution across four species in the genus Saccharomyces. Regardless of which cost measure is used, amino acid biosynthetic cost is weakly associated with transcript and protein levels. In contrast, we find that biosynthetic cost and amino acid substitution rates show a negative correlation, but for only a subset of cost measures. In the economy of the yeast cell, we find that the cost of amino acid synthesis plays a limited role in shaping transcript and protein expression levels compared to that of translational optimisation. Biosynthetic cost does, however, appear to affect rates of amino acid evolution in Saccharomyces, suggesting that expensive amino acids may only be used when they have specific structural or functional roles in protein sequences. However, as there appears to be no single currency to compute the cost of amino acid synthesis across all cellular and environmental

  3. Glycated Lysine Residues: A Marker for Non-Enzymatic Protein Glycation in Age-Related Diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadeem A. Ansari

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Nonenzymatic glycosylation or glycation of macromolecules, especially proteins leading to their oxidation, play an important role in diseases. Glycation of proteins primarily results in the formation of an early stage and stable Amadori-lysine product which undergo further irreversible chemical reactions to form advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs. This review focuses these products in lysine rich proteins such as collagen and human serum albumin for their role in aging and age-related diseases. Antigenic characteristics of glycated lysine residues in proteins together with the presence of serum autoantibodies to the glycated lysine products and lysine-rich proteins in diabetes and arthritis patients indicates that these modified lysine residues may be a novel biomarker for protein glycation in aging and age-related diseases.

  4. An Update on Lysine Deacylases Targeting the Expanding “Acylome”

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Christian Adam

    2013-01-01

    Lysine e-amino acetylation has long been recognized as an epigenetically relevant post-translational modification of multiple residues in histone proteins. However, it has become clear that lysine acetylation is not restricted to histones, and therefore, it may be involved in the regulation of a ...

  5. METHODS FOR DETERMINATION REACTIVE LYSINE IN HEAT-TREATED FOODS AND FEEDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matej Brestenský

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Lysine is an essential amino acid, which is limited in foods of plant origin, especially in cereals. The heat-treatment of products containing proteins and reducing sugars results in formation of Maillard reactions during which the cross-linkages among epsilon amino groups (ε-NH2 and reducing sugars are created. Thus the protein-carbohydrate complex is formed. This complex contains an unreactive (unavailable lysine, which is bound to reducing sugars and is not available in body. Hereby, the nutritive value of feeds and foods decreases. When a standard analytical method for analyses of amino acids is used, in products containing protein-carbohydrate complexes, it is not possible to analyze the content of reactive (available and unreactive (unavailable lysine, but only the content of total lysine. Therefore, when the standard amino acid analysis is used, the content of lysine in heat-treated feeds and foods is overestimated. In order to avoid this, some methods for determination of reactive lysine were developed. Among the best known, the homoarginine and furosine methods are included. Using these methods, in evaluation of nutritive value of feeds and foods, is of great importance because they allow to determine the extent of proteins, which were damaged during the heat treatment and thus we obtain information on objective nutritional protein quality of the product.

  6. Linking fungal secondary metabolites and pathways to their genes in Aspergillus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Lene Maj

    . oryzae metabolites, however, revealed the chemical link between the two species. In two parallel projects, involving A. niger and A. aculeatus respectively, the polyketide 6-methyl salicylic acid (6-MSA), and corresponding biosynthetic pathways, were investigated. In A. niger, 6-MSA was converted...

  7. Modulation of benzodiazepine by lysine and pipecolic acid on pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Y.F.; Hargest, V.; Chen, J.S.

    1988-01-01

    L-lysine and its metabolite pipecolic acid (PA) have been studied for their effects on pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures in mice. L-Lysine of L-Pa i.p. significantly increased clonic and tonic latencies in a dose-dependent manner against 90 mg/kg PTZ-induced seizures. L-Lysine but not L-Pa enhanced the anticonvulsant effect of diazepam (DZ). L-Pa i.c.v. showed a slight decrease in clonic latency; it did not enhance the antiseizure activity of DZ; it caused seizures at 0.6 mmol/kg. D-PA i.c.v. displayed an opposite effect compared to its L-isomer. The anticonvulsant effect of L-lysine in terms of increase in seizure latency and survival was even more amplified when tested with a submaximal PTZ concentration. L-Lysine showed an enhancement of specific 3 H-flunitrazepam(FZ) binding to mouse brain membranes both in vitro an din vivo. The possibility of L-lysine acting as a modulator for the GABA/benzodiazepine receptors was demonstrated. Since L-PA showed enhancement of 3 H-FZ binding only in vitro but not in vivo, the anticonvulsant effect of L-PA may not be linked to the GABA/benzodiazepine receptor

  8. Crystal Structure of Methylornithine Synthase (PylB): Insights into the Pyrrolysine Biosynthesis

    KAUST Repository

    Quitterer, Felix

    2011-11-16

    Made by the barrel load: The biosynthetic pathway of the recently discovered 22nd amino acid, pyrrolysine, starts with an isomerization of lysine to methylornithine, catalyzed by PylB. The X-ray crystal structure of PylB is determined (see picture) and shows it has a TIM barrel fold. The sealed central cavity contains a [4Fe-4S] cluster, S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), and methylornithine, whose 2R,3R configuration could be confirmed. The data suggest a fragmentation-recombination mechanism via a glycyl radical intermediate. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. Next Generation Sequencing and Transcriptome Analysis Predicts Biosynthetic Pathway of Sennosides from Senna (Cassia angustifolia Vahl., a Non-Model Plant with Potent Laxative Properties.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nagaraja Reddy Rama Reddy

    Full Text Available Senna (Cassia angustifolia Vahl. is a world's natural laxative medicinal plant. Laxative properties are due to sennosides (anthraquinone glycosides natural products. However, little genetic information is available for this species, especially concerning the biosynthetic pathways of sennosides. We present here the transcriptome sequencing of young and mature leaf tissue of Cassia angustifolia using Illumina MiSeq platform that resulted in a total of 6.34 Gb of raw nucleotide sequence. The sequence assembly resulted in 42230 and 37174 transcripts with an average length of 1119 bp and 1467 bp for young and mature leaf, respectively. The transcripts were annotated using NCBI BLAST with 'green plant database (txid 33090', Swiss Prot, Kyoto Encylcopedia of Genes & Genomes (KEGG, Cluster of Orthologous Gene (COG and Gene Ontology (GO. Out of the total transcripts, 40138 (95.0% and 36349 (97.7% from young and mature leaf, respectively, were annotated by BLASTX against green plant database of NCBI. We used InterProscan to see protein similarity at domain level, a total of 34031 (young leaf and 32077 (mature leaf transcripts were annotated against the Pfam domains. All transcripts from young and mature leaf were assigned to 191 KEGG pathways. There were 166 and 159 CDS, respectively, from young and mature leaf involved in metabolism of terpenoids and polyketides. Many CDS encoding enzymes leading to biosynthesis of sennosides were identified. A total of 10,763 CDS differentially expressing in both young and mature leaf libraries of which 2,343 (21.7% CDS were up-regulated in young compared to mature leaf. Several differentially expressed genes found functionally associated with sennoside biosynthesis. CDS encoding for many CYPs and TF families were identified having probable roles in metabolism of primary as well as secondary metabolites. We developed SSR markers for molecular breeding of senna. We have identified a set of putative genes involved in

  10. Next Generation Sequencing and Transcriptome Analysis Predicts Biosynthetic Pathway of Sennosides from Senna (Cassia angustifolia Vahl.), a Non-Model Plant with Potent Laxative Properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rama Reddy, Nagaraja Reddy; Mehta, Rucha Harishbhai; Soni, Palak Harendrabhai; Makasana, Jayanti; Gajbhiye, Narendra Athamaram; Ponnuchamy, Manivel; Kumar, Jitendra

    2015-01-01

    Senna (Cassia angustifolia Vahl.) is a world's natural laxative medicinal plant. Laxative properties are due to sennosides (anthraquinone glycosides) natural products. However, little genetic information is available for this species, especially concerning the biosynthetic pathways of sennosides. We present here the transcriptome sequencing of young and mature leaf tissue of Cassia angustifolia using Illumina MiSeq platform that resulted in a total of 6.34 Gb of raw nucleotide sequence. The sequence assembly resulted in 42230 and 37174 transcripts with an average length of 1119 bp and 1467 bp for young and mature leaf, respectively. The transcripts were annotated using NCBI BLAST with 'green plant database (txid 33090)', Swiss Prot, Kyoto Encylcopedia of Genes & Genomes (KEGG), Cluster of Orthologous Gene (COG) and Gene Ontology (GO). Out of the total transcripts, 40138 (95.0%) and 36349 (97.7%) from young and mature leaf, respectively, were annotated by BLASTX against green plant database of NCBI. We used InterProscan to see protein similarity at domain level, a total of 34031 (young leaf) and 32077 (mature leaf) transcripts were annotated against the Pfam domains. All transcripts from young and mature leaf were assigned to 191 KEGG pathways. There were 166 and 159 CDS, respectively, from young and mature leaf involved in metabolism of terpenoids and polyketides. Many CDS encoding enzymes leading to biosynthesis of sennosides were identified. A total of 10,763 CDS differentially expressing in both young and mature leaf libraries of which 2,343 (21.7%) CDS were up-regulated in young compared to mature leaf. Several differentially expressed genes found functionally associated with sennoside biosynthesis. CDS encoding for many CYPs and TF families were identified having probable roles in metabolism of primary as well as secondary metabolites. We developed SSR markers for molecular breeding of senna. We have identified a set of putative genes involved in various

  11. Lysine-Grafted MCM-41 Silica as an Antibacterial Biomaterial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villegas, María F; Garcia-Uriostegui, Lorena; Rodríguez, Ofelia; Izquierdo-Barba, Isabel; Salinas, Antonio J; Toriz, Guillermo; Vallet-Regí, María; Delgado, Ezequiel

    2017-09-26

    This paper proposes a facile strategy for the zwitterionization of bioceramics that is based on the direct incorporation of l-lysine amino acid via the ε-amino group onto mesoporous MCM-41 materials. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) studies of lysine-grafted MCM-41 (MCM-LYS) simultaneously showed bands at 3080 and 1540 cm -1 and bands at 1625 and 1415 cm -1 corresponding to -NH 3+ /COO - pairs, which demonstrate the incorporation of the amino acid on the material surface keeping its zwitterionic character. Both elemental and thermogravimetric analyses showed that the amount of grafted lysine was 8 wt. % based on the bioceramic total weight. Moreover, MCM-LYS exhibited a reduction of adhesion of S. aureus and E. coli bacteria in 33% and 50%, respectively at physiological pH, as compared with pristine MCM-41. Biofilm studies onto surfaces showed that lysine functionalization elicited a reduction of the area covered by S. aureus biofilm from 42% to only 5% (88%). This research shows a simple and effective approach to chemically modify bioceramics using single amino acids that provides zwitterionic functionality, which is useful to develop new biomaterials that are able to resist bacterial adhesion.

  12. Lysine-Grafted MCM-41 Silica as an Antibacterial Biomaterial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María F. Villegas

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a facile strategy for the zwitterionization of bioceramics that is based on the direct incorporation of l-lysine amino acid via the ε-amino group onto mesoporous MCM-41 materials. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR studies of lysine-grafted MCM-41 (MCM-LYS simultaneously showed bands at 3080 and 1540 cm−1 and bands at 1625 and 1415 cm−1 corresponding to -NH3+/COO− pairs, which demonstrate the incorporation of the amino acid on the material surface keeping its zwitterionic character. Both elemental and thermogravimetric analyses showed that the amount of grafted lysine was 8 wt. % based on the bioceramic total weight. Moreover, MCM-LYS exhibited a reduction of adhesion of S. aureus and E. coli bacteria in 33% and 50%, respectively at physiological pH, as compared with pristine MCM-41. Biofilm studies onto surfaces showed that lysine functionalization elicited a reduction of the area covered by S. aureus biofilm from 42% to only 5% (88%. This research shows a simple and effective approach to chemically modify bioceramics using single amino acids that provides zwitterionic functionality, which is useful to develop new biomaterials that are able to resist bacterial adhesion.

  13. Functional analysis of aromatic biosynthetic pathways in Pseudomonas putida KT2440

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molina‐Henares, M. Antonia; García‐Salamanca, Adela; Molina‐Henares, A. Jesús; De La Torre, Jesús; Herrera, M. Carmen; Ramos, Juan L.; Duque, Estrella

    2009-01-01

    Summary Pseudomonas putida KT2440 is a non‐pathogenic prototrophic bacterium with high potential for biotechnological applications. Despite all that is known about this strain, the biosynthesis of essential chemicals has not been fully analysed and auxotroph mutants are scarce. We carried out massive mini‐Tn5 random mutagenesis and screened for auxotrophs that require aromatic amino acids. The biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids was analysed in detail including physical and transcriptional organization of genes, complementation assays and feeding experiments to establish pathway intermediates. There is a single pathway from chorismate leading to the biosynthesis of tryptophan, whereas the biosynthesis of phenylalanine and tyrosine is achieved through multiple convergent pathways. Genes for tryptophan biosynthesis are grouped in unlinked regions with the trpBA and trpGDE genes organized as operons and the trpI, trpE and trpF genes organized as single transcriptional units. The pheA and tyrA gene‐encoding multifunctional enzymes for phenylalanine and tyrosine biosynthesis are linked in the chromosome and form an operon with the serC gene involved in serine biosynthesis. The last step in the biosynthesis of these two amino acids requires an amino transferase activity for which multiple tyrB‐like genes are present in the host chromosome. PMID:21261884

  14. Lysine acetylation targets protein complexes and co-regulates major cellular functions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Choudhary, Chuna Ram; Kumar, Chanchal; Gnad, Florian

    2009-01-01

    Lysine acetylation is a reversible posttranslational modification of proteins and plays a key role in regulating gene expression. Technological limitations have so far prevented a global analysis of lysine acetylation's cellular roles. We used high-resolution mass spectrometry to identify 3600......, cell cycle, splicing, nuclear transport, and actin nucleation. Acetylation impaired phosphorylation-dependent interactions of 14-3-3 and regulated the yeast cyclin-dependent kinase Cdc28. Our data demonstrate that the regulatory scope of lysine acetylation is broad and comparable with that of other...

  15. Chapter 7. Cloning and analysis of natural product pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gust, Bertolt

    2009-01-01

    The identification of gene clusters of natural products has lead to an enormous wealth of information about their biosynthesis and its regulation, and about self-resistance mechanisms. Well-established routine techniques are now available for the cloning and sequencing of gene clusters. The subsequent functional analysis of the complex biosynthetic machinery requires efficient genetic tools for manipulation. Until recently, techniques for the introduction of defined changes into Streptomyces chromosomes were very time-consuming. In particular, manipulation of large DNA fragments has been challenging due to the absence of suitable restriction sites for restriction- and ligation-based techniques. The homologous recombination approach called recombineering (referred to as Red/ET-mediated recombination in this chapter) has greatly facilitated targeted genetic modifications of complex biosynthetic pathways from actinomycetes by eliminating many of the time-consuming and labor-intensive steps. This chapter describes techniques for the cloning and identification of biosynthetic gene clusters, for the generation of gene replacements within such clusters, for the construction of integrative library clones and their expression in heterologous hosts, and for the assembly of entire biosynthetic gene clusters from the inserts of individual library clones. A systematic approach toward insertional mutation of a complete Streptomyces genome is shown by the use of an in vitro transposon mutagenesis procedure.

  16. Lysine-Less Variants of Spinal Muscular Atrophy SMN and SMNΔ7 Proteins Are Degraded by the Proteasome Pathway

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raúl Sánchez-Lanzas

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Spinal muscular atrophy is due to mutations affecting the SMN1 gene coding for the full-length protein (survival motor neuron; SMN and the SMN2 gene that preferentially generates an exon 7-deleted protein (SMNΔ7 by alternative splicing. To study SMN and SMNΔ7 degradation in the cell, we have used tagged versions at the N- (Flag or C-terminus (V5 of both proteins. Transfection of those constructs into HeLa cells and treatment with cycloheximide showed that those protein constructs were degraded. Proteasomal degradation usually requires prior lysine ubiquitylation. Surprisingly, lysine-less variants of both proteins tagged either at N- (Flag or C-terminus (V5 were also degraded. The degradation of the endogenous SMN protein, and the protein constructs mentioned above, was mediated by the proteasome, as it was blocked by lactacystin, a specific and irreversible proteasomal inhibitor. The results obtained allowed us to conclude that SMN and SMNΔ7 proteasomal degradation did not absolutely require internal ubiquitylation nor N-terminal ubiquitylation (prevented by N-terminal tagging. While the above conclusions are firmly supported by the experimental data presented, we discuss and justify the need of deep proteomic techniques for the study of SMN complex components (orphan and bound turn-over to understand the physiological relevant mechanisms of degradation of SMN and SMNΔ7 in the cell.

  17. Biosynthetic origin of the isoprene units in chromenes of Piper aduncum (Piperaceae)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leite, Ana C.; Lopes, Adriana A.; Bolzani, Vanderlan da S.; Furlan, Maysa [UNESP, Araraquara, SP (Brazil). Inst. de Quimica]. E-mail: maysaf@iq.unesp.br; Kato, Massuo J. [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), SP (Brazil). Inst. de Quimica

    2007-07-01

    Metabolic studies involving the incorporation of [1-{sup 13}C]-D-glucose into intact leaves of Piper aduncum (Piperaceae) have indicated that both the mevalonate (MVA) and the pyruvate-triose (MEP) non-mevalonate pathways are implicated in the biosynthesis of isoprene moieties present in methyl 2,2-dimethyl-2H-1-chromene-6-carboxylate (1) and methyl 2,2-dimethyl-8-(3'-methyl- 2'-butenyl)-2H-1-chromene-6-carboxylate (2). The pattern of incorporation of label from [1- {sup 13}C]-D-glucose into these chromenes was determined by quantitative {sup 13}C NMR spectroscopy. The results confirmed that biosynthetic compartment of 1 and 2 could either be the plastid and/ or the cytosol or, possibly, an additional compartment such as the plastid inter-membrane space. (author)

  18. Plasmid-encoded biosynthetic genes alleviate metabolic disadvantages while increasing glucose conversion to shikimate in an engineered Escherichia coli strain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Alberto; Martínez, Juan A; Millard, Pierre; Gosset, Guillermo; Portais, Jean-Charles; Létisse, Fabien; Bolivar, Francisco

    2017-06-01

    Metabolic engineering strategies applied over the last two decades to produce shikimate (SA) in Escherichia coli have resulted in a battery of strains bearing many expression systems. However, the effects that these systems have on the host physiology and how they impact the production of SA are still not well understood. In this work we utilized an engineered E. coli strain to determine the consequences of carrying a vector that promotes SA production from glucose with a high-yield but that is also expected to impose a significant cellular burden. Kinetic comparisons in fermentors showed that instead of exerting a negative effect, the sole presence of the plasmid increased glucose consumption without diminishing the growth rate. By constitutively expressing a biosynthetic operon from this vector, the more active glycolytic metabolism was exploited to redirect intermediates toward the production of SA, which further increased the glucose consumption rate and avoided excess acetate production. Fluxomics and metabolomics experiments revealed a global remodeling of the carbon and energy metabolism in the production strain, where the increased SA production reduced the carbon available for oxidative and fermentative pathways. Moreover, the results showed that the production of SA relies on a specific setup of the pentose phosphate pathway, where both its oxidative and non-oxidative branches are strongly activated to supply erythrose-4-phosphate and balance the NADPH requirements. This work improves our understanding of the metabolic reorganization observed in E. coli in response to the plasmid-based expression of the SA biosynthetic pathway. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 1319-1330. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies to near-atomic resolution of dihydrodipicolinate synthase from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burgess, Benjamin R.; Dobson, Renwick C. J.; Dogovski, Con; Jameson, Geoffrey B.; Parker, Michael W.; Perugini, Matthew A.

    2008-01-01

    Dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS), an enzyme of the lysine-biosynthetic pathway, is a promising target for antibiotic development against pathogenic bacteria. Here, the expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary diffraction analysis to 1.45 Å resolution of DHDPS from methicillin-resistant S. aureus is reported. In recent years, dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS; EC 4.2.1.52) has received considerable attention from both mechanistic and structural viewpoints. DHDPS is part of the diaminopimelate pathway leading to lysine, coupling (S)-aspartate-β-semialdehyde with pyruvate via a Schiff base to a conserved active-site lysine. In this paper, the cloning, expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of DHDPS from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, an important bacterial pathogen, are reported. The enzyme was crystallized in a number of forms, predominantly from PEG precipitants, with the best crystal diffracting to beyond 1.45 Å resolution. The space group was P1 and the unit-cell parameters were a = 65.4, b = 67.6, c = 78.0 Å, α = 90.1, β = 68.9, γ = 72.3°. The crystal volume per protein weight (V M ) was 2.34 Å 3 Da −1 , with an estimated solvent content of 47% for four monomers per asymmetric unit. The structure of the enzyme will help to guide the design of novel therapeutics against the methicillin-resistant S. aureus pathogen

  20. Small molecule inhibitors of bromodomain-acetyl-lysine interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brand, Michael; Measures, Angelina R; Measures, Angelina M; Wilson, Brian G; Cortopassi, Wilian A; Alexander, Rikki; Höss, Matthias; Hewings, David S; Rooney, Timothy P C; Paton, Robert S; Conway, Stuart J

    2015-01-16

    Bromodomains are protein modules that bind to acetylated lysine residues. Their interaction with histone proteins suggests that they function as "readers" of histone lysine acetylation, a component of the proposed "histone code". Bromodomain-containing proteins are often found as components of larger protein complexes with roles in fundamental cellular process including transcription. The publication of two potent ligands for the BET bromodomains in 2010 demonstrated that small molecules can inhibit the bromodomain-acetyl-lysine protein-protein interaction. These molecules display strong phenotypic effects in a number of cell lines and affect a range of cancers in vivo. This work stimulated intense interest in developing further ligands for the BET bromodomains and the design of ligands for non-BET bromodomains. Here we review the recent progress in the field with particular attention paid to ligand design, the assays employed in early ligand discovery, and the use of computational approaches to inform ligand design.

  1. Enhanced Amelioration of High-Fat Diet-Induced Fatty Liver by Docosahexaenoic Acid and Lysine Supplementations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsin-Yu Lin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Fatty liver disease is the most common pathological condition in the liver. Here, we generated high-fat diet-(HFD- induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD in mice and tested the effects of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA and lysine during a four-week regular chow (RCfeeding. Our results showed that 1% lysine and the combination of 1% lysine + 1% DHA reduced body weight. Moreover, serum triglyceride levels were reduced by 1% DHA and 1% lysine, whereas serum alanine transaminase activity was reduced by 1% DHA and 1% DHA + 0.5% lysine. Switching to RC reduced hepatic lipid droplet accumulation, which was further reduced by the addition of DHA or lysine. Furthermore, the mRNA expressions of hepatic proinflammatory cytokines were suppressed by DHA and combinations of DHA + lysine, whereas the mRNA for the lipogenic gene, acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1, was suppressed by DHA. In the gonadal adipose tissues, combinations of DHA and lysine inhibited mRNA expression of lipid metabolism-associated genes, including ACC1, fatty acid synthase, lipoprotein lipase, and perilipin. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that, in conjunction with RC-induced benefits, supplementation with DHA or lysine further ameliorated the high-fat diet-induced NAFLD and provided an alternative strategy to treat, and potentially prevent, NAFLD.

  2. Recent advances in biosynthetic modeling of nitric oxide reductases and insights gained from nuclear resonance vibrational and other spectroscopic studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chakraborty, Saumen; Reed, Julian; Sage, Timothy; Branagan, Nicole C.; Petrik, Igor D.; Miner, Kyle D.; Hu, Michael Y.; Zhao, Jiyong; Alp, E. Ercan; Lu, Yi

    2015-10-05

    This Forum Article focuses on recent advances in structural and spectroscopic studies of biosynthetic models of nitric oxide reductases (NORs). NORs are complex metalloenzymes found in the denitrification pathway of Earth's nitrogen cycle where they catalyze the proton-dependent twoelectron reduction of nitric oxide (NO) to nitrous oxide (N2O). While much progress has been made in biochemical and biophysical studies of native NORs and their variants, a. clear mechanistic understanding of this important metalloenzyme related to its function is still elusive. We report herein UV vis and nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy (NRVS) studies of mononitrosylated intermediates of the NOR reaction of a biosynthetic model. The ability to selectively substitute metals at either heme or nonheme metal sites allows the introduction of independent 57Fe probe atoms at either site, as well as allowing the preparation of analogues of stable reaction intermediates by replacing either metal with a redox inactive metal. Together with previous structural and spectroscopic results, we summarize insights gained from studying these biosynthetic models toward understanding structural features responsible for the NOR activity and its mechanism. As a result, the outlook on NOR modeling is also discussed, with an emphasis on the design of models capable of catalytic turnovers designed based on close mimics of the secondary coordination sphere of native NORs.

  3. The tRNA synthetase paralog PoxA modifies elongation factor-P with (R)-ß-lysine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roy, Hervé; Zou, S Betty; Bullwinkle, Tammy J

    2011-01-01

    The lysyl-tRNA synthetase paralog PoxA modifies elongation factor P (EF-P) with a-lysine at low efficiency. Cell-free extracts containing non-a-lysine substrates of PoxA modified EF-P with a change in mass consistent with addition of ß-lysine, a substrate also predicted by genomic analyses. EF......-P was efficiently functionally modified with (R)-ß-lysine but not (S)-ß-lysine or genetically encoded a-amino acids, indicating that PoxA has evolved an activity orthogonal to that of the canonical aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases....

  4. Modules of co-regulated metabolites in turmeric (Curcuma longa) rhizome suggest the existence of biosynthetic modules in plant specialized metabolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Zhengzhi; Ma, Xiaoqiang; Gang, David R

    2009-01-01

    Turmeric is an excellent example of a plant that produces large numbers of metabolites from diverse metabolic pathways or networks. It is hypothesized that these metabolic pathways or networks contain biosynthetic modules, which lead to the formation of metabolite modules-groups of metabolites whose production is co-regulated and biosynthetically linked. To test whether such co-regulated metabolite modules do exist in this plant, metabolic profiling analysis was performed on turmeric rhizome samples that were collected from 16 different growth and development treatments, which had significant impacts on the levels of 249 volatile and non-volatile metabolites that were detected. Importantly, one of the many co-regulated metabolite modules that were indeed readily detected in this analysis contained the three major curcuminoids, whereas many other structurally related diarylheptanoids belonged to separate metabolite modules, as did groups of terpenoids. The existence of these co-regulated metabolite modules supported the hypothesis that the 3-methoxyl groups on the aromatic rings of the curcuminoids are formed before the formation of the heptanoid backbone during the biosynthesis of curcumin and also suggested the involvement of multiple polyketide synthases with different substrate selectivities in the formation of the array of diarylheptanoids detected in turmeric. Similar conclusions about terpenoid biosynthesis could also be made. Thus, discovery and analysis of metabolite modules can be a powerful predictive tool in efforts to understand metabolism in plants.

  5. Gene transcript profiles of the TIA biosynthetic pathway in response to ethylene and copper reveal their interactive role in modulating TIA biosynthesis in Catharanthus roseus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Ya-Jie; Liu, Jia; Guo, Xiao-Rui; Zu, Yuan-Gang; Tang, Zhong-Hua

    2015-05-01

    Research on transcriptional regulation of terpenoid indole alkaloid (TIA) biosynthesis of the medicinal plant, Catharanthus roseus, has largely been focused on gene function and not clustering analysis of multiple genes at the transcript level. Here, more than ten key genes encoding key enzyme of alkaloid synthesis in TIA biosynthetic pathways were chosen to investigate the integrative responses to exogenous elicitor ethylene and copper (Cu) at both transcriptional and metabolic levels. The ethylene-induced gene transcripts in leaves and roots, respectively, were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and the results showed the overall expression of TIA pathway genes indicated as the Q value followed a standard normal distribution after ethylene treatments. Peak gene expression was at 15-30 μM of ethephon, and the pre-mature leaf had a higher Q value than the immature or mature leaf and root. Treatment with elicitor Cu found that Cu up-regulated overall TIA gene expression more in roots than in leaves. The combined effects of Cu and ethephon on TIA gene expression were stronger than their separate effects. It has been documented that TIA gene expression is tightly regulated by the transcriptional factor (TF) ethylene responsive factor (ERF) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. The loading plot combination with correlation analysis for the genes of C. roseus showed that expression of the MPK gene correlated with strictosidine synthase (STR) and strictosidine b-D-glucosidase(SGD). In addition, ERF expression correlated with expression of secologanin synthase (SLS) and tryptophan decarboxylase (TDC), specifically in roots, whereas MPK and myelocytomatosis oncogene (MYC) correlated with STR and SGD genes. In conclusion, the ERF regulates the upstream pathway genes in response to heavy metal Cu mainly in C. roseus roots, while the MPK mainly participates in regulating the STR gene in response to ethylene in pre-mature leaf. Interestingly, the

  6. Responses of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 to heterologous biosynthetic pathways

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vavitsas, Konstantinos; Rue, Emil Østergaard; Stefánsdóttir, Lára Kristín

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: There are an increasing number of studies regarding genetic manipulation of cyanobacteria to produce commercially interesting compounds. The majority of these works study the expression and optimization of a selected heterologous pathway, largely ignoring the wholeness and complexity...... different compounds, the cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin and the diterpenoid 13R-manoyl oxide in Synechocystis PCC 6803. We used genome-scale metabolic modelling to study fluxes in individual reactions and pathways, and we determined the concentrations of key metabolites, such as amino acids, carotenoids...

  7. Structure, function and regulation of the enzymes in the starch biosynthetic pathway.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geiger, Jim

    2013-11-30

    structure of ADP- Glucose pyrophosphorylase from potato in its inhibited conformation, and bound to both ATP and ADP-glucose. In addition, we have determined the first structure of glycogen synthase in its "closed", catalytically active conformation bound to ADP-glucose. We also determined the structure of glycogen synthase bound to malto-oligosaccharides, showing for the first time that an enzyme in the starch biosynthetic pathway recognizes glucans not just in its active site but on binding sites on the surface of the enzyme ten’s of Angstroms from the active site. In addition our structure of a glycogen branching enzyme bound to malto-oligosaccharides identified seven distinct binding sites distributed about the surface of the enzyme. We will now determine the function of these sites to get a molecular-level picture of exactly how these enzymes interact with their polymeric substrates and confer specificity leading to the complex structure of the starch granule. We will extend our studies to other isoforms of the enzymes, to understand how their structures give rise to their distinct function. Our goal is to understand what accounts for the various functional differences between SS and SBE isoforms at a molecular level.

  8. Structural Basis for Recognition of L-lysine, L-ornithine, and L-2,4-diamino Butyric Acid by Lysine Cyclodeaminase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Min, Kyungjin; Yoon, Hye-Jin; Matsuura, Atsushi; Kim, Yong Hwan; Lee, Hyung Ho

    2018-04-30

    L-pipecolic acid is a non-protein amino acid commonly found in plants, animals, and microorganisms. It is a well-known precursor to numerous microbial secondary metabolites and pharmaceuticals, including anticancer agents, immunosuppressants, and several antibiotics. Lysine cyclodeaminase (LCD) catalyzes β-deamination of L-lysine into L-pipecolic acid using β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide as a cofactor. Expression of a human homolog of LCD, μ-crystallin, is elevated in prostate cancer patients. To understand the structural features and catalytic mechanisms of LCD, we determined the crystal structures of Streptomyces pristinaespiralis LCD (SpLCD) in (i) a binary complex with NAD + , (ii) a ternary complex with NAD + and L-pipecolic acid, (iii) a ternary complex with NAD + and L-proline, and (iv) a ternary complex with NAD + and L-2,4-diamino butyric acid. The overall structure of SpLCD was similar to that of ornithine cyclodeaminase from Pseudomonas putida . In addition, SpLCD recognized L-lysine, L-ornithine, and L-2,4-diamino butyric acid despite differences in the active site, including differences in hydrogen bonding by Asp236, which corresponds with Asp228 from Pseudomonas putida ornithine cyclodeaminase. The substrate binding pocket of SpLCD allowed substrates smaller than lysine to bind, thus enabling binding to ornithine and L-2,4-diamino butyric acid. Our structural and biochemical data facilitate a detailed understanding of substrate and product recognition, thus providing evidence for a reaction mechanism for SpLCD. The proposed mechanism is unusual in that NAD + is initially converted into NADH and then reverted back into NAD + at a late stage of the reaction.

  9. Determining Antifungal Target Sites in the Sterol Pathway of the Yeast Candida and Saccharomyces

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Bard, Martin

    1998-01-01

    ... as in topical infections which lead to significant losses in work-place productivity. The work reported here seeks to identify new target sites in the sterol biosynthetic pathway against which new antifungal compounds might be developed...

  10. Antimicrobial activity of bovine NK-lysin-derived peptides on bovine respiratory pathogen Histophilus somni

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bovine NK-lysins, which are functionally and structurally similar to human granulysin and porcine NK-lysin, are predominantly found in the granules of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes and NK-cells. Although antimicrobial activity of bovine NK-lysin has been assessed for several bacterial pathogens, not all t...

  11. Protein design for pathway engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eriksen, Dawn T; Lian, Jiazhang; Zhao, Huimin

    2014-02-01

    Design and construction of biochemical pathways has increased the complexity of biosynthetically-produced compounds when compared to single enzyme biocatalysis. However, the coordination of multiple enzymes can introduce a complicated set of obstacles to overcome in order to achieve a high titer and yield of the desired compound. Metabolic engineering has made great strides in developing tools to optimize the flux through a target pathway, but the inherent characteristics of a particular enzyme within the pathway can still limit the productivity. Thus, judicious protein design is critical for metabolic and pathway engineering. This review will describe various strategies and examples of applying protein design to pathway engineering to optimize the flux through the pathway. The proteins can be engineered for altered substrate specificity/selectivity, increased catalytic activity, reduced mass transfer limitations through specific protein localization, and reduced substrate/product inhibition. Protein engineering can also be expanded to design biosensors to enable high through-put screening and to customize cell signaling networks. These strategies have successfully engineered pathways for significantly increased productivity of the desired product or in the production of novel compounds. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. (R)-β-lysine-modified elongation factor P functions in translation elongation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bullwinkle, Tammy J; Zou, S Betty; Rajkovic, Andrei

    2013-01-01

    Post-translational modification of bacterial elongation factor P (EF-P) with (R)-β-lysine at a conserved lysine residue activates the protein in vivo and increases puromycin reactivity of the ribosome in vitro. The additional hydroxylation of EF-P at the same lysine residue by the YfcM protein has......-(β)-lysyl-EF-P showed 30% increased puromycin reactivity but no differences in dipeptide synthesis rates when compared with the β-lysylated form. Unlike disruption of the other genes required for EF-P modification, deletion of yfcM had no phenotypic consequences in Salmonella. Taken together, our findings indicate...

  13. Minoxidil specifically decreases the expression of lysine hydroxylase in cultured human skin fibroblasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hautala, T; Heikkinen, J; Kivirikko, K I; Myllylä, R

    1992-01-01

    The levels of lysine hydroxylase protein and the levels of the mRNAs for lysine hydroxylase and the alpha- and beta-subunits of proline 4-hydroxylase were measured in cultured human skin fibroblasts treated with 1 mM-minoxidil. The data demonstrate that minoxidil decreases the amount of lysine hydroxylase protein, this being due to a decrease in the level of lysine hydroxylase mRNA. The effect of minoxidil appears to be highly specific, as no changes were observed in the amounts of mRNAs for the alpha- and beta-subunits of proline 4-hydroxylase. Images Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. PMID:1314568

  14. Natural Product Biosynthetic Diversity and Comparative Genomics of the Cyanobacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dittmann, Elke; Gugger, Muriel; Sivonen, Kaarina; Fewer, David P

    2015-10-01

    Cyanobacteria are an ancient lineage of slow-growing photosynthetic bacteria and a prolific source of natural products with intricate chemical structures and potent biological activities. The bulk of these natural products are known from just a handful of genera. Recent efforts have elucidated the mechanisms underpinning the biosynthesis of a diverse array of natural products from cyanobacteria. Many of the biosynthetic mechanisms are unique to cyanobacteria or rarely described from other organisms. Advances in genome sequence technology have precipitated a deluge of genome sequences for cyanobacteria. This makes it possible to link known natural products to biosynthetic gene clusters but also accelerates the discovery of new natural products through genome mining. These studies demonstrate that cyanobacteria encode a huge variety of cryptic gene clusters for the production of natural products, and the known chemical diversity is likely to be just a fraction of the true biosynthetic capabilities of this fascinating and ancient group of organisms. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  15. Selection and Characterization of a Lysine Yielding Mutant of Corynebacterium glutamicum - a Soil Isolate from Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Habib-ur-Rehman§٭, Abdul Hameed and Safia Ahmed

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available L-lysine is the second limiting amino acid for poultry and supplemented in broiler feed for optimal performance. Lysine can be produced by inducing mutation in glutamate producing bacteria. The study was conducted to enhance lysine production from a local strain of Corynebacterium glutamicum. The bacterium was mutated by exposure to UV. Mutants resistant to s-2-aminoethyle L-cystein (AEC and showing auxotrophy for L-homoserine were screened for lysine production qualitatively and quantitatively. A mutant showing highest production of lysine (8.2 mg/mL was selected for optimization of physical and nutritional parameters for maximum production of lysine in shake flask. An initial pH 7.6, 30˚C temperature, 300 rpm and 60 h incubation time were the optimized values of physical requirements. Cane molasses and corn starch hydrolysate were required at 15% (w/v in the fermentation media which provided around 9% total sugars to produce maximum lysine (17 to 18 mg/mL. When amonium sulphate was used at 3.5% (w/v level in molasses or corn starch hydrolysate based fermentation media, production of lysine slightly increased above 18 mg/mL. It is concluded that industrial by products like cane molasses, corn steep liquor, and corn starch hydrolysate can be used as carbon and organic nitrogen sources in fermentation medium for scale up process of lysine production and this lysine enriched broth may be used in broiler feed later. However, more potent lysine producing mutant and additional in vivo trials would be required to commercialize this product.

  16. Key roles of Arf small G proteins and biosynthetic trafficking for animal development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Francisco F; Harris, Tony J C

    2017-04-14

    Although biosynthetic trafficking can function constitutively, it also functions specifically for certain developmental processes. These processes require either a large increase to biosynthesis or the biosynthesis and targeted trafficking of specific players. We review the conserved molecular mechanisms that direct biosynthetic trafficking, and discuss how their genetic disruption affects animal development. Specifically, we consider Arf small G proteins, such as Arf1 and Sar1, and their coat effectors, COPI and COPII, and how these proteins promote biosynthetic trafficking for cleavage of the Drosophila embryo, the growth of neuronal dendrites and synapses, extracellular matrix secretion for bone development, lumen development in epithelial tubes, notochord and neural tube development, and ciliogenesis. Specific need for the biosynthetic trafficking system is also evident from conserved CrebA/Creb3-like transcription factors increasing the expression of secretory machinery during several of these developmental processes. Moreover, dysfunctional trafficking leads to a range of developmental syndromes.

  17. Antimicrobial activity of bovine NK-lysin-derived peptides on Mycoplasma bovis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a diverse group of molecules which play an important role in the innate immune response. Bovine NK-lysins, a type of AMP, have been predominantly found in the granules of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes and NK-cells. Bovine NK-lysin-derived peptides demonstrate antimicrobia...

  18. Global profiling of lysine reactivity and ligandability in the human proteome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hacker, Stephan M.; Backus, Keriann M.; Lazear, Michael R.; Forli, Stefano; Correia, Bruno E.; Cravatt, Benjamin F.

    2017-12-01

    Nucleophilic amino acids make important contributions to protein function, including performing key roles in catalysis and serving as sites for post-translational modification. Electrophilic groups that target amino-acid nucleophiles have been used to create covalent ligands and drugs, but have, so far, been mainly limited to cysteine and serine. Here, we report a chemical proteomic platform for the global and quantitative analysis of lysine residues in native biological systems. We have quantified, in total, more than 9,000 lysines in human cell proteomes and have identified several hundred residues with heightened reactivity that are enriched at protein functional sites and can frequently be targeted by electrophilic small molecules. We have also discovered lysine-reactive fragment electrophiles that inhibit enzymes by active site and allosteric mechanisms, as well as disrupt protein-protein interactions in transcriptional regulatory complexes, emphasizing the broad potential and diverse functional consequences of liganding lysine residues throughout the human proteome.

  19. Global profiling of lysine reactivity and ligandability in the human proteome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hacker, Stephan M; Backus, Keriann M; Lazear, Michael R; Forli, Stefano; Correia, Bruno E; Cravatt, Benjamin F

    2017-12-01

    Nucleophilic amino acids make important contributions to protein function, including performing key roles in catalysis and serving as sites for post-translational modification. Electrophilic groups that target amino-acid nucleophiles have been used to create covalent ligands and drugs, but have, so far, been mainly limited to cysteine and serine. Here, we report a chemical proteomic platform for the global and quantitative analysis of lysine residues in native biological systems. We have quantified, in total, more than 9,000 lysines in human cell proteomes and have identified several hundred residues with heightened reactivity that are enriched at protein functional sites and can frequently be targeted by electrophilic small molecules. We have also discovered lysine-reactive fragment electrophiles that inhibit enzymes by active site and allosteric mechanisms, as well as disrupt protein-protein interactions in transcriptional regulatory complexes, emphasizing the broad potential and diverse functional consequences of liganding lysine residues throughout the human proteome.

  20. Detection of DNA and poly-l-lysine using CVD graphene-channel FET biosensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kakatkar, Aniket; Craighead, H G; Abhilash, T S; Alba, R De; Parpia, J M

    2015-01-01

    A graphene channel field-effect biosensor is demonstrated for detecting the binding of double-stranded DNA and poly-l-lysine. Sensors consist of chemical vapor deposition graphene transferred using a clean, etchant-free transfer method. The presence of DNA and poly-l-lysine are detected by the conductance change of the graphene transistor. A readily measured shift in the Dirac voltage (the voltage at which the graphene’s resistance peaks) is observed after the graphene channel is exposed to solutions containing DNA or poly-l-lysine. The ‘Dirac voltage shift’ is attributed to the binding/unbinding of charged molecules on the graphene surface. The polarity of the response changes to positive direction with poly-l-lysine and negative direction with DNA. This response results in detection limits of 8 pM for 48.5 kbp DNA and 11 pM for poly-l-lysine. The biosensors are easy to fabricate, reusable and are promising as sensors of a wide variety of charged biomolecules. (paper)

  1. An R2R3 MYB transcription factor associated with regulation of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in Rosaceae (on linr)

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Kui-Lin; Bolitho, Karen; Grafton, Karryn; Kortstee, A.J.; Karunairetnam, Sakuntala; McGhie, T.K.; Espley, R.V.; Hellens, R.P.; Allan, A.C.

    2010-01-01

    Background - The control of plant anthocyanin accumulation is via transcriptional regulation of the genes encoding the biosynthetic enzymes. A key activator appears to be an R2R3 MYB transcription factor. In apple fruit, skin anthocyanin levels are controlled by a gene called MYBA or MYB1, while the gene determining fruit flesh and foliage anthocyanin has been termed MYB10. In order to further understand tissue-specific anthocyanin regulation we have isolated orthologous MYB genes from all th...

  2. Extensive Lysine Methylation in Hyperthermophilic Crenarchaea: Potential Implications for Protein Stability and Recombinant Enzymes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine H. Botting

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available In eukarya and bacteria, lysine methylation is relatively rare and is catalysed by sequence-specific lysine methyltransferases that typically have only a single-protein target. Using RNA polymerase purified from the thermophilic crenarchaeum Sulfolobus solfataricus, we identified 21 methyllysines distributed across 9 subunits of the enzyme. The modified lysines were predominantly in α-helices and showed no conserved sequence context. A limited survey of the Thermoproteus tenax proteome revealed widespread modification with 52 methyllysines in 30 different proteins. These observations suggest the presence of an unusual lysine methyltransferase with relaxed specificity in the crenarchaea. Since lysine methylation is known to enhance protein thermostability, this may be an adaptation to a thermophilic lifestyle. The implications of this modification for studies and applications of recombinant crenarchaeal enzymes are discussed.

  3. The effect of gamma irradiation on the lysine content of plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benedekne-Lazar, M.

    1979-01-01

    It has been proved by studies on the physiological effect of ionizing irradiation that in plant metabolism important changes take place. From the endosperm of seven-day-old seedlings 14 C-L-Lysine is transported faster to organs, especially to shoots and its incorporation into protein is also more intensive. The animation of the growth of roots and shoots can be observed on 14-day-old plants grown in water culture. In sand culture a surplus in dry weight can be experienced after 56 days for maize, under the influence of 100 rad. Two soybean varieties (Merit, Clay) responded different to irradiation. The dry weight of the Merit variety was increased significantly by 500 and 1000 rad, whereas that of the Clay variety decreased or did not change significantly. The lysine content of plants changes in the function of growth. In the case of the two maize varieties (Szegedi sarga, KSC 360) treatments with 1000 and 5000 rad resulted in an essential surplus of the total lysine content (46.25 and 31.21%, respectively). The total lysine content of the Merit variety has been increased by about 23.9% and 20.92%, respectively. 5000 rad treatment resulted in a negative correlation (-0.77) in the shoots. The total lysine content of the Clay plants was lower than that of the control. Under the influence of 500 and 1000 rad treatments the total lysine content of the shoots of the Merit variety grown in fields increased to a lesser extent (16.82 and 3.19 respectively) than that of plants grown in a climate room. (author)

  4. A Proteomic Approach to Analyze the Aspirin-mediated Lysine Acetylome*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tatham, Michael H.; Cole, Christian; Scullion, Paul; Wilkie, Ross; Westwood, Nicholas J.; Stark, Lesley A.; Hay, Ronald T.

    2017-01-01

    Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid is widely used to control pain, inflammation and fever. Important to this function is its ability to irreversibly acetylate cyclooxygenases at active site serines. Aspirin has the potential to acetylate other amino acid side-chains, leading to the possibility that aspirin-mediated lysine acetylation could explain some of its as-yet unexplained drug actions or side-effects. Using isotopically labeled aspirin-d3, in combination with acetylated lysine purification and LC-MS/MS, we identified over 12000 sites of lysine acetylation from cultured human cells. Although aspirin amplifies endogenous acetylation signals at the majority of detectable endogenous sites, cells tolerate aspirin mediated acetylation very well unless cellular deacetylases are inhibited. Although most endogenous acetylations are amplified by orders of magnitude, lysine acetylation site occupancies remain very low even after high doses of aspirin. This work shows that while aspirin has enormous potential to alter protein function, in the majority of cases aspirin-mediated acetylations do not accumulate to levels likely to elicit biological effects. These findings are consistent with an emerging model for cellular acetylation whereby stoichiometry correlates with biological relevance, and deacetylases act to minimize the biological consequences of nonspecific chemical acetylations. PMID:27913581

  5. Human 14-3-3 paralogs differences uncovered by cross-talk of phosphorylation and lysine acetylation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina Uhart

    Full Text Available The 14-3-3 protein family interacts with more than 700 different proteins in mammals, in part as a result of its specific phospho-serine/phospho-threonine binding activity. Upon binding to 14-3-3, the stability, subcellular localization and/or catalytic activity of the ligands are modified. Seven paralogs are strictly conserved in mammalian species. Although initially thought as redundant, the number of studies showing specialization is growing. We created a protein-protein interaction network for 14-3-3, kinases and their substrates signaling in human cells. We included information of phosphorylation, acetylation and other PTM sites, obtaining a complete representation of the 14-3-3 binding partners and their modifications. Using a computational system approach we found that networks of each 14-3-3 isoform are statistically different. It was remarkable to find that Tyr was the most phosphorylatable amino acid in domains of 14-3-3 epsilon partners. This, together with the over-representation of SH3 and Tyr_Kinase domains, suggest that epsilon could be involved in growth factors receptors signaling pathways particularly. We also found that within zeta's network, the number of acetylated partners (and the number of modify lysines is significantly higher compared with each of the other isoforms. Our results imply previously unreported hidden differences of the 14-3-3 isoforms interaction networks. The phosphoproteome and lysine acetylome within each network revealed post-transcriptional regulation intertwining phosphorylation and lysine acetylation. A global understanding of these networks will contribute to predict what could occur when regulatory circuits become dysfunctional or are modified in response to external stimuli.

  6. Effect of lysine clonixinate on the pharmacokinetics and anticoagulant activity of phenprocoumon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russmann, S; Dilger, K; Trenk, D; Nagyivanyi, P; Jähnchen, E

    2001-11-01

    The effect of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug lysine clonixinate ([2-(3-chloro-o-toluidino)nicotinic acid]-L-lysinate, CAS 55837-30-4) on the pharmacokinetics and anticoagulant activity of phenprocoumon (4-hydroxy-3-(1-phenylpropyl)-coumarin, CAS 435-97-2) was investigated in an open, randomised, two-fold, cross-over study in 12 healthy male volunteers. These subjects received a single dose of 18 mg phenprocoumon without or with concomitant treatment with lysine clonixinate (125 mg five times a day for 3 days before and 13 days after ingestion of a single dose of phenprocoumon). Pharmacokinetic parameters of phenprocoumon following oral administration were: CL/f: 0.779 +/- 0.157 ml/min, half-life of elimination: 147.2 +/- 19.9 h; free fraction in serum: 0.51 +/- 0.20%. These parameters were not significantly altered by concomitant treatment with lysine clonixinate. Prothrombin time increased from 13.3 +/- 1.3 s (at time 0) to 17.7 +/- 2.7 s following phenprocoumon and from 13.3 +/- 1.2 s to 18.0 +/- 2.2 s following combined administration. Prothrombin time returned to the pretreatment values 240 h after administration of phenprocoumon. The integrated effect (AUEC0-288 h) was identical following both treatments (4.303 +/- 461 and 4.303 +/- 312 s x h for phenprocoumon alone and phenprocoumon with lysine clonixinate, respectively). Thus, lysine clonixinate administered in therapeutic doses does not affect the pharmacokinetics and anticoagulant activity of phenproxoumon.

  7. Aspergillus nidulans as a platform for discovery and characterization of complex biosynthetic pathways

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Anyaogu, Diana Chinyere

    in industrial applications for the productionof these bioactive compounds and other chemicals as well as for enzyme production. Especially Aspergillusniger and Aspergillus oryzae are used as industrial workhorses for the production of various enzymes. Manyof the secreted proteins are glycosylated, indicating...... aspharmaceuticals. Access to this unexploited reservoir is hampered as many of the clusters are silent orbarely expressed under laboratory conditions. Methods for activating these pathways are thereforeessential for pathway discovery and elucidation.  Filamentous fungi and Aspergillus species in particular are used...... that glycosylation plays an important role in thesecretory pathway. Thus, understanding the role and process of glycosylation will enable directedglycoengineering in Aspergilli to improve protein production and expand the repertoire of proteins, whichcan be produced by these fungi. Aspergillus nidulans has been used...

  8. Estimation of Digestible Lysine Requirements of Japanese Quail during the Starter Period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Ashoori

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was the estimation of digestible lysine requirements of Japanese quail during the 7-21d period. Graduation level of L-lysine.HCL were added to the basal diet at the expense of corn starch to create different levels of digestible lysine ranged from 0.75 to 1.35% of diet. Growth performance and carcass composition were evaluated during the experiment. The results showed that incremental levels of digestible lysine significantly affected the body weight gain (BWG, feed conversion ratio (FCR, feed intake (FI, breast meat yield (BMY and thigh meat yield (TMY. Either linear broken- line or quadratic broken line model were used to get break points of digestible lysine as a requirement. Based on linear broken line analysis, the break points for FCR and BMY were 0.99 and 1.04 % of diet, respectively. Using the quadratic broken-line model, the estimated Lys requirements for BWG, FCR, and BMY were 1.11, 1.04, and 1.15% of diet, respectively. The results showed that the Lys needs for optimum BMY was higher than BWG and FCR.

  9. An indigoidine biosynthetic gene cluster from Streptomyces chromofuscus ATCC 49982 contains an unusual IndB homologue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Dayu; Xu, Fuchao; Valiente, Jonathan; Wang, Siyuan; Zhan, Jixun

    2013-01-01

    A putative indigoidine biosynthetic gene cluster was located in the genome of Streptomyces chromofuscus ATCC 49982. The silent 9.4-kb gene cluster consists of five open reading frames, named orf1, Sc-indC, Sc-indA, Sc-indB, and orf2, respectively. Sc-IndC was functionally characterized as an indigoidine synthase through heterologous expression of the enzyme in both Streptomyces coelicolor CH999 and Escherichia coli BAP1. The yield of indigoidine in E. coli BAP1 reached 2.78 g/l under the optimized conditions. The predicted protein product of Sc-indB is unusual and much larger than any other reported IndB-like protein. The N-terminal portion of this enzyme resembles IdgB and the C-terminal portion is a hypothetical protein. Sc-IndA and/or Sc-IndB were co-expressed with Sc-IndC in E. coli BAP1, which demonstrated the involvement of Sc-IndB, but not Sc-IndA, in the biosynthetic pathway of indigoidine. The yield of indigoidine was dramatically increased by 41.4 % (3.93 g/l) when Sc-IndB was co-expressed with Sc-IndC in E. coli BAP1. Indigoidine is more stable at low temperatures.

  10. Giant virus Megavirus chilensis encodes the biosynthetic pathway for uncommon acetamido sugars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piacente, Francesco; De Castro, Cristina; Jeudy, Sandra; Molinaro, Antonio; Salis, Annalisa; Damonte, Gianluca; Bernardi, Cinzia; Abergel, Chantal; Tonetti, Michela G

    2014-08-29

    Giant viruses mimicking microbes, by the sizes of their particles and the heavily glycosylated fibrils surrounding their capsids, infect Acanthamoeba sp., which are ubiquitous unicellular eukaryotes. The glycans on fibrils are produced by virally encoded enzymes, organized in gene clusters. Like Mimivirus, Megavirus glycans are mainly composed of virally synthesized N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). They also contain N-acetylrhamnosamine (RhaNAc), a rare sugar; the enzymes involved in its synthesis are encoded by a gene cluster specific to Megavirus close relatives. We combined activity assays on two enzymes of the pathway with mass spectrometry and NMR studies to characterize their specificities. Mg534 is a 4,6-dehydratase 5-epimerase; its three-dimensional structure suggests that it belongs to a third subfamily of inverting dehydratases. Mg535, next in the pathway, is a bifunctional 3-epimerase 4-reductase. The sequential activity of the two enzymes leads to the formation of UDP-l-RhaNAc. This study is another example of giant viruses performing their glycan synthesis using enzymes different from their cellular counterparts, raising again the question of the origin of these pathways. © 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  11. Synthesis and Phase Behavior of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-b- Poly(L-Lysine Hydrochloride and Poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide- co-Acrylamide-b-Poly(L-Lysine Hydrochloride

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milica Spasojević

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The synthesis of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-b-poly(L-lysine and poly(N- isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylamide-b-poly(L-lysine copolymers was accomplished by combining atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP and ring opening polymerization (ROP. For this purpose, a di-functional initiator with protected amino group was successfully synthetized. The ATRP of N-isopropylacrylamide yielded narrowly dispersed polymers with consistent high yields (~80%. Lower yields (~50% were observed when narrowly dispersed random copolymers of N-isopropylacrylamide and acrylamide where synthesized. Amino-terminated poly(N-isopropylacrylamide and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide- co-acrylamide were successfully used as macroinitiators for ROP of N6-carbobenzoxy-L- lysine N-carboxyanhydride. The thermal behavior of the homopolymers and copolymers in aqueous solutions was studied by turbidimetry, dynamic light scattering (DLS and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR.

  12. Effect of sulfur analogue of lysine on bacterial protein biosynthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, Hidehiko; Soda, Kenji.

    1976-01-01

    S-(beta-Aminoethyl)-L-cysteine, a sulfur analogue of lysine inhibited strongly growth of Escherichia coli A-19, and weakly that of Corynebacterium sp. isolated from soil, but did not inhibit growth of Aerobacter aerogenes. In Corynebacterium sp. the inhibitory effect was markedly enhanced in the presence of L-threonine. The inhibition of growth by S-(beta-aminoethyl)-L-cysteine was rapidly reversed by the addition of L-lysine. S-(beta-Aminoethyl)-L-cysteine inhibited protein synthesis and the activity of lysyl-tRNA synthetase from E. coli and A. aerogenes. All the other lysine analogues tested inhibited the activity of enzyme, but S-(beta-aminoethyl)-L-cysteine derivatives, S-(beta-N-acetyl-aminoethyl)-L-cysteine and S-(beta-aminoethyl)-alpha-N-acetyl-L-cysteine were not effective. (auth.)

  13. Lysine Rich Proteins in the Salt-Soluble Protein Fraction of Barley

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ingversen, J.; Køie, B.

    1973-01-01

    Fractionation of the protein complex from Emir barley showed that the salt-soluble fraction accounts for 44% of the total lysine content but only for 2.......Fractionation of the protein complex from Emir barley showed that the salt-soluble fraction accounts for 44% of the total lysine content but only for 2....

  14. Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of diaminopimelate epimerase from Escherichia coli

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hor, Lilian; Dobson, Renwick C. J.; Dogovski, Con; Hutton, Craig A.; Perugini, Matthew A.

    2009-01-01

    Diaminopimelate (DAP) epimerase, an enzyme in the lysine-biosynthetic pathway, is a promising target for antibiotic development against pathogenic bacteria. Here, the cloning, expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary diffraction analysis of DAP epimerase from E. coli are reported. Diaminopimelate (DAP) epimerase (EC 5.1.1.7) catalyzes the penultimate step of lysine biosynthesis in bacteria and plants, converting l,l-diaminopimelate to meso-diaminopimelate. Here, the cloning, expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of DAP epimerase from Escherichia coli are presented. Crystals were obtained in space group P4 1 2 1 2 and diffracted to 2.0 Å resolution, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 89.4, c = 179.6 Å. Molecular replacement was conducted using Bacillus anthracis DAP epimerase as a search model and showed the presence of two molecules in the asymmetric unit, with an initial R free of 0.456 and R work of 0.416

  15. The conserved Lysine69 residue plays a catalytic role in Mycobacterium tuberculosis shikimate dehydrogenase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigues Valnês

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The shikimate pathway is an attractive target for the development of antitubercular agents because it is essential in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, but absent in humans. M. tuberculosis aroE-encoded shikimate dehydrogenase catalyzes the forth reaction in the shikimate pathway. Structural and functional studies indicate that Lysine69 may be involved in catalysis and/or substrate binding in M. tuberculosis shikimate dehydrogenase. Investigation of the kinetic properties of mutant enzymes can bring important insights about the role of amino acid residues for M. tuberculosis shikimate dehydrogenase. Findings We have performed site-directed mutagenesis, steady-state kinetics, equilibrium binding measurements and molecular modeling for both the wild-type M. tuberculosis shikimate dehydrogenase and the K69A mutant enzymes. The apparent steady-state kinetic parameters for the M. tuberculosis shikimate dehydrogenase were determined; the catalytic constant value for the wild-type enzyme (50 s-1 is 68-fold larger than that for the mutant K69A (0.73 s-1. There was a modest increase in the Michaelis-Menten constant for DHS (K69A = 76 μM; wild-type = 29 μM and NADPH (K69A = 30 μM; wild-type = 11 μM. The equilibrium dissociation constants for wild-type and K69A mutant enzymes are 32 (± 4 μM and 134 (± 21, respectively. Conclusion Our results show that the residue Lysine69 plays a catalytic role and is not involved in substrate binding for the M. tuberculosis shikimate dehydrogenase. These efforts on M. tuberculosis shikimate dehydrogenase catalytic mechanism determination should help the rational design of specific inhibitors, aiming at the development of antitubercular drugs.

  16. Lysine Deacetylases and Regulated Glycolysis in Macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shakespear, Melanie R; Iyer, Abishek; Cheng, Catherine Youting; Das Gupta, Kaustav; Singhal, Amit; Fairlie, David P; Sweet, Matthew J

    2018-06-01

    Regulated cellular metabolism has emerged as a fundamental process controlling macrophage functions, but there is still much to uncover about the precise signaling mechanisms involved. Lysine acetylation regulates the activity, stability, and/or localization of metabolic enzymes, as well as inflammatory responses, in macrophages. Two protein families, the classical zinc-dependent histone deacetylases (HDACs) and the NAD-dependent HDACs (sirtuins, SIRTs), mediate lysine deacetylation. We describe here mechanisms by which classical HDACs and SIRTs directly regulate specific glycolytic enzymes, as well as evidence that links these protein deacetylases to the regulation of glycolysis-related genes. In these contexts, we discuss HDACs and SIRTs as key control points for regulating immunometabolism and inflammatory outputs from macrophages. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Nε-(carboxymethyl)lysine and Nε-(carboxyethyl)lysine in tea and the factors affecting their formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiao, Ye; He, Jialiang; Li, Fengli; Tao, Guanjun; Zhang, Shuang; Zhang, Shikang; Qin, Fang; Zeng, Maomao; Chen, Jie

    2017-10-01

    The levels of N ε -(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) and N ε -(carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL) in 99 tea samples from 14 geographic regions, including 44 green, 7 oolong, 41 black, and 7 dark teas were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The CML and CEL contents varied from 11.0 to 1701μg/g tea and 4.6 to 133μg/g tea, respectively. Dark tea presented the highest levels of CML and CEL, whereas green and oolong teas presented the lowest levels. Five kinds of catechins in the tea were also analyzed, and spearman's correlation coefficients showed that all the catechins negatively correlated with CML and CEL. The results suggested that withering, fermentation and pile fermentation may facilitate the formation of CML and CEL. Catechins might inhibit the formation of CML and CEL, but their inhibitory effects may be affected by tea processing. The results of this study are useful for the production of healthier tea. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  18. Systematic Analysis of the Functions of Lysine Acetylation in the Regulation of Tat Activity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Minghao He

    Full Text Available The Tat protein of HIV-1 has several well-known properties, such as nucleocytoplasmic trafficking, transactivation of transcription, interaction with tubulin, regulation of mitotic progression, and induction of apoptosis. Previous studies have identified a couple of lysine residues in Tat that are essential for its functions. In order to analyze the functions of all the lysine residues in Tat, we mutated them individually to alanine, glutamine, and arginine. Through systematic analysis of the lysine mutants, we discovered several previously unidentified characteristics of Tat. We found that lysine acetylation could modulate the subcellular localization of Tat, in addition to the regulation of its transactivation activity. Our data also revealed that lysine mutations had distinct effects on microtubule assembly and Tat binding to bromodomain proteins. By correlation analysis, we further found that the effects of Tat on apoptosis and mitotic progression were not entirely attributed to its effect on microtubule assembly. Our findings suggest that Tat may regulate diverse cellular activities through binding to different proteins and that the acetylation of distinct lysine residues in Tat may modulate its interaction with various partners.

  19. Self-degradation of tissue adhesive based on oxidized dextran and poly-L-lysine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsumura, Kazuaki; Nakajima, Naoki; Sugai, Hajime; Hyon, Suong-Hyu

    2014-11-26

    We have developed a low-toxicity bioadhesive based on oxidized dextran and poly-L-lysine. Here, we report that the mechanical properties and degradation of this novel hydrogel bioadhesive can be controlled by changing the extent of oxidation of the dextran and the type or concentration of the anhydride species in the acylated poly-L-lysine. The dynamic moduli of the hydrogels can be controlled from 120 Pa to 20 kPa, suggesting that they would have mechanical compatibility with various tissues, and could have applications as tissue adhesives. Development of the hydrogel color from clear to brown indicates that the reaction between the dextran aldehyde groups and the poly-L-lysine amino groups may be induced by a Maillard reaction via Schiff base formation. Degradation of the aldehyde dextran may begin by reaction of the amino groups in the poly-L-lysine. The gel degradation can be ascribed to degradation of the aldehyde dextran in the hydrogel, although the aldehyde dextran itself is relatively stable in water. The oxidized dextran and poly-L-lysine, and the degraded hydrogel showed low cytotoxicities. These findings indicate that a hydrogel consisting of oxidized dextran and poly-L-lysine has low toxicity and a well-controlled degradation rate, and has potential clinical applications as a bioadhesive. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. A Proteomic Approach to Analyze the Aspirin-mediated Lysine Acetylome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tatham, Michael H; Cole, Christian; Scullion, Paul; Wilkie, Ross; Westwood, Nicholas J; Stark, Lesley A; Hay, Ronald T

    2017-02-01

    Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid is widely used to control pain, inflammation and fever. Important to this function is its ability to irreversibly acetylate cyclooxygenases at active site serines. Aspirin has the potential to acetylate other amino acid side-chains, leading to the possibility that aspirin-mediated lysine acetylation could explain some of its as-yet unexplained drug actions or side-effects. Using isotopically labeled aspirin-d 3 , in combination with acetylated lysine purification and LC-MS/MS, we identified over 12000 sites of lysine acetylation from cultured human cells. Although aspirin amplifies endogenous acetylation signals at the majority of detectable endogenous sites, cells tolerate aspirin mediated acetylation very well unless cellular deacetylases are inhibited. Although most endogenous acetylations are amplified by orders of magnitude, lysine acetylation site occupancies remain very low even after high doses of aspirin. This work shows that while aspirin has enormous potential to alter protein function, in the majority of cases aspirin-mediated acetylations do not accumulate to levels likely to elicit biological effects. These findings are consistent with an emerging model for cellular acetylation whereby stoichiometry correlates with biological relevance, and deacetylases act to minimize the biological consequences of nonspecific chemical acetylations. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  1. Promzea: a pipeline for discovery of co-regulatory motifs in maize and other plant species and its application to the anthocyanin and phlobaphene biosynthetic pathways and the Maize Development Atlas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liseron-Monfils, Christophe; Lewis, Tim; Ashlock, Daniel; McNicholas, Paul D; Fauteux, François; Strömvik, Martina; Raizada, Manish N

    2013-03-15

    The discovery of genetic networks and cis-acting DNA motifs underlying their regulation is a major objective of transcriptome studies. The recent release of the maize genome (Zea mays L.) has facilitated in silico searches for regulatory motifs. Several algorithms exist to predict cis-acting elements, but none have been adapted for maize. A benchmark data set was used to evaluate the accuracy of three motif discovery programs: BioProspector, Weeder and MEME. Analysis showed that each motif discovery tool had limited accuracy and appeared to retrieve a distinct set of motifs. Therefore, using the benchmark, statistical filters were optimized to reduce the false discovery ratio, and then remaining motifs from all programs were combined to improve motif prediction. These principles were integrated into a user-friendly pipeline for motif discovery in maize called Promzea, available at http://www.promzea.org and on the Discovery Environment of the iPlant Collaborative website. Promzea was subsequently expanded to include rice and Arabidopsis. Within Promzea, a user enters cDNA sequences or gene IDs; corresponding upstream sequences are retrieved from the maize genome. Predicted motifs are filtered, combined and ranked. Promzea searches the chosen plant genome for genes containing each candidate motif, providing the user with the gene list and corresponding gene annotations. Promzea was validated in silico using a benchmark data set: the Promzea pipeline showed a 22% increase in nucleotide sensitivity compared to the best standalone program tool, Weeder, with equivalent nucleotide specificity. Promzea was also validated by its ability to retrieve the experimentally defined binding sites of transcription factors that regulate the maize anthocyanin and phlobaphene biosynthetic pathways. Promzea predicted additional promoter motifs, and genome-wide motif searches by Promzea identified 127 non-anthocyanin/phlobaphene genes that each contained all five predicted promoter

  2. The Preventive Effect of L-Lysine on Lysozyme Glycation in Type 2 Diabetes

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    Hossein Mirmiranpour

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Lysozyme is a bactericidal enzyme whose structure and functions change in diabetes. Chemical chaperones are small molecules including polyamines (e.g. spermine, amino acids (e.g. L-lysine and polyols (e.g. glycerol. They can improve protein conformation in several stressful conditions such as glycation. In this study, the authors aimed to observe the effect of L-lysine as a chemical chaperone on structure and function of glycated lysozyme. In this study, in vitro and in vivo effects of L-lysine on lysozyme glycation were investigated. Lysozyme was incubated with glucose and/or L-lysine, followed by an investigation of its structure by electrophoresis, fluorescence spectroscopy, and circular dichroism spectroscopy and also assessment of its bactericidal activity against M. lysodeikticus. In the clinical trial, patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM were randomly divided into two groups of 25 (test and control. All patients received metformin and glibenclamide for a three months period. The test group was supplemented with 3 g/day of L-lysine. The quantity and activity of lysozyme and other parameters were then measured. Among the test group, L-lysine was found to reduce the advanced glycation end products (AGEs in the sera of patients with T2DM and in vitro condition. This chemical chaperone reversed the alteration in lysozyme structure and function due to glycation and resulted in increased lysozyme activity. Structure and function of glycated lysozyme are significantly improved by l-lysine; therefore it can be considered an effective therapeutic supplementation in T2DM, decreasing the risk of infection in these patients.

  3. Preliminary studies of the toxic effects of non-ionic surfactants derived from lysine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macián, M; Seguer, J; Infante, M R; Selve, C; Vinardell, M P

    1996-01-08

    The toxic effects of new synthetic monodisperse non-ionic long-chain N alpha, N epsilon-diacyl lysine polyoxyethylene glycol amide compounds with a structural resemblance to natural lecithin phospholipids were studied by the haemolytic method and the test of the chorioallantoic membrane of the hen's egg (HET-CAM). The following compounds were tested: symmetrical N alpha,N epsilon-diacyl lysine homologues (N alpha,N epsilon-dihexanoyl, N alpha,N epsilon-dioctanoyl and N alpha,N epsilon-didecanoyl lysine) with one methyl ether polyoxyethylene glycol chain of different oxyethylene units (dioxyethylene glycol, tetraoxyethylene glycol and hexaoxyethylene glycol) as headgroup; symmetrical N alpha,N epsilon-diacyl lysine homologues with two methyl ether dioxyethylene glycol chains and the asymmetrical N alpha-butanoyl, N epsilon-dodecyl lysine with two hydrophilic methyl ether dioxyethylene glycol chains as headgroup. A commercial (polydisperse) oleoyl polyoxyethylene glycol diethanolamide with an average of eight units of ethylene oxide was used as control. All the synthesized tested compounds appeared to be less haemolytic and less irritant than the control. The synthesized products were studied with regard to their hydrophobic and hydrophilic chains in order to evaluate the influence of their structure on their haemolytic and irritative action. The results of this study show that the acyl chain distribution of these compounds greatly influence toxic effects: the asymmetrical compound N alpha-butanoyl,N epsilon-dodecyl lysine-bis[methyl ether diethylene glycol]amide was found to be the most haemolytic and irritating compound. Among the symmetrical homologues, the shortest-chain compounds N alpha,N epsilon-dihexanoyl lysine methyl ether polyoxyethylene glycol amides present the least haemolytic and irritating activity, independently of the number and length of the hydrophilic methyl ether polyoxyethylene glycol chains. Taking into account their surface activity

  4. Aflatoxin B1-lysine adduct in dried blood spot samples of animals and humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Kathy S; Cai, Wenjie; Tang, Lili; Wang, Jia-Sheng

    2016-12-01

    Dried blood spots (DBS) were proposed as potentially viable method for exposure assessment of environmental toxicants in infant and young children. For this study, we validated an experimental protocol to quantify AFB 1 -lysine adduct in DBS samples of AFB 1 -treated F344 rats, as well as samples from human field study. Significant dose-response relationships in AFB 1 -lysine adduct formation were found in DBS samples of rats treated with single- and repeated-dose AFB 1 . AFB 1 -lysine levels in DBS samples were highly correlated with corresponding serum sample levels. The Person coefficients were 0.997 for the single-dose exposure, and 0.996 for the repeated-dose exposure. Levels of AFB 1 -lysine adduct had also good agreement between DBS and serum samples as shown by Bland-Altman plot analysis. For human field study samples (n = 36), a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.784 was found between AFB 1 -lysine adduct levels of DBS and corresponding serum samples. Bland-Altman plots showed the distribution of the log differences between DBS and serum AFB 1 -lysine levels are within 95% confidence intervals. These results showed AFB 1 -lysine adduct levels in DBS cards and serum samples from animals and human samples are comparable, and the DBS technique and analytical protocol is a good means to assess AFB 1 exposure in infant and children populations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Voluntary wheel running is beneficial to the amino acid profile of lysine-deficient rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagao, Kenji; Bannai, Makoto; Seki, Shinobu; Kawai, Nobuhiro; Mori, Masato; Takahashi, Michio

    2010-06-01

    Rats voluntarily run up to a dozen kilometers per night when their cages are equipped with a running wheel. Daily voluntary running is generally thought to enhance protein turnover. Thus, we sought to determine whether running worsens or improves protein degradation caused by a lysine-deficient diet and whether it changes the utilization of free amino acids released by proteolysis. Rats were fed a lysine-deficient diet and were given free access to a running wheel or remained sedentary (control) for 4 wk. Amino acid levels in plasma, muscle, and liver were measured together with plasma insulin levels and tissue weight. The lysine-deficient diet induced anorexia, skeletal muscle loss, and serine and threonine aminoacidemia, and it depleted plasma insulin and essential amino acids in skeletal muscle. Allowing rats to run voluntarily improved these symptoms; thus, voluntary wheel running made the rats less susceptible to dietary lysine deficiency. Amelioration of the declines in muscular leucine and plasma insulin observed in running rats could contribute to protein synthesis together with the enhanced availability of lysine and other essential amino acids in skeletal muscle. These results indicate that voluntary wheel running under lysine-deficient conditions does not enhance protein catabolism; on the contrary, it accelerates protein synthesis and contributes to the maintenance of muscle mass. The intense nocturnal voluntary running that characterizes rodents might be an adaptation of lysine-deficient grain eaters that allows them to maximize opportunities for food acquisition.

  6. Genetic and metabolomic dissection of the ergothioneine and selenoneine biosynthetic pathway in the fission yeast, S. pombe, and construction of an overproduction system.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomáš Pluskal

    Full Text Available Ergothioneine is a small, sulfur-containing metabolite (229 Da synthesized by various species of bacteria and fungi, which can accumulate to millimolar levels in tissues or cells (e.g. erythrocytes of higher eukaryotes. It is commonly marketed as a dietary supplement due to its proposed protective and antioxidative functions. In this study we report the genes forming the two-step ergothioneine biosynthetic pathway in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We identified the first gene, egt1+ (SPBC1604.01, by sequence homology to previously published genes from Neurospora crassa and Mycobacterium smegmatis. We showed, using metabolomic analysis, that the Δegt1 deletion mutant completely lacked ergothioneine and its precursors (trimethyl histidine/hercynine and hercynylcysteine sulfoxide. Since the second step of ergothioneine biosynthesis has not been characterized in eukaryotes, we examined four putative homologs (Nfs1/SPBC21D10.11c, SPAC11D3.10, SPCC777.03c, and SPBC660.12c of the corresponding mycobacterial enzyme EgtE. Among deletion mutants of these genes, only one (ΔSPBC660.12c, designated Δegt2 showed a substantial decrease in ergothioneine, accompanied by accumulation of its immediate precursor, hercynylcysteine sulfoxide. Ergothioneine-deficient strains exhibited no phenotypic defects during vegetative growth or quiescence. To effectively study the role of ergothioneine, we constructed an egt1+ overexpression system by replacing its native promoter with the nmt1+ promoter, which is inducible in the absence of thiamine. We employed three versions of the nmt1 promoter with increasing strength of expression and confirmed corresponding accumulations of ergothioneine. We quantified the intracellular concentration of ergothioneine in S. pombe (0.3, 157.4, 41.6, and up to 1606.3 µM in vegetative, nitrogen-starved, glucose-starved, and egt1+-overexpressing cells, respectively and described its gradual accumulation under long

  7. Tuning a Protein-Labeling Reaction to Achieve Highly Site Selective Lysine Conjugation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pham, Grace H; Ou, Weijia; Bursulaya, Badry; DiDonato, Michael; Herath, Ananda; Jin, Yunho; Hao, Xueshi; Loren, Jon; Spraggon, Glen; Brock, Ansgar; Uno, Tetsuo; Geierstanger, Bernhard H; Cellitti, Susan E

    2018-04-16

    Activated esters are widely used to label proteins at lysine side chains and N termini. These reagents are useful for labeling virtually any protein, but robust reactivity toward primary amines generally precludes site-selective modification. In a unique case, fluorophenyl esters are shown to preferentially label human kappa antibodies at a single lysine (Lys188) within the light-chain constant domain. Neighboring residues His189 and Asp151 contribute to the accelerated rate of labeling at Lys188 relative to the ≈40 other lysine sites. Enriched Lys188 labeling can be enhanced from 50-70 % to >95 % by any of these approaches: lowering reaction temperature, applying flow chemistry, or mutagenesis of specific residues in the surrounding protein environment. Our results demonstrated that activated esters with fluoro-substituted aromatic leaving groups, including a fluoronaphthyl ester, can be generally useful reagents for site-selective lysine labeling of antibodies and other immunoglobulin-type proteins. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Histone Lysine Methylation and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

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    Jeong-Hoon Kim

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Methylation of several lysine residues of histones is a crucial mechanism for relatively long-term regulation of genomic activity. Recent molecular biological studies have demonstrated that the function of histone methylation is more diverse and complex than previously thought. Moreover, studies using newly available genomics techniques, such as exome sequencing, have identified an increasing number of histone lysine methylation-related genes as intellectual disability-associated genes, which highlights the importance of accurate control of histone methylation during neurogenesis. However, given the functional diversity and complexity of histone methylation within the cell, the study of the molecular basis of histone methylation-related neurodevelopmental disorders is currently still in its infancy. Here, we review the latest studies that revealed the pathological implications of alterations in histone methylation status in the context of various neurodevelopmental disorders and propose possible therapeutic application of epigenetic compounds regulating histone methylation status for the treatment of these diseases.

  9. Purification and properties of fructosyl lysine oxidase from Fusarium oxysporum S-1F4.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakai, Y; Yoshida, N; Isogai, A; Tani, Y; Kato, N

    1995-03-01

    Fructosyl lysine oxidase (FLOD) was examined for its use in the enzymatic measurement of the level of glycated albumin in blood serum. To isolate microorganisms having such an enzyme activity, we used N epsilon-fructosyl N alpha-Z-lysine (epsilon-FL) as a sole nitrogen source in the enrichment culture medium. The isolated fungus, strain S-1F4, showed a high FLOD activity in the cell-free extract and was identified as Fusarium oxysporum. FLOD was purified to an apparent homogeneity on SDS-PAGE. The molecular mass of the subunit was 50 kDa on SDS-PAGE and seemed to exist in a monomeric form. The enzyme had an absorption spectrum characteristic of a flavoprotein and the flavin was found to be covalently bound to the enzyme. The enzyme acted against N epsilon-fructosyl N alpha-Z-lysine and N alpha-fructosyl N epsilon-Z-lysine and showed specificity for fructosyl lysine residues.

  10. Analysis of occludin trafficking, demonstrating continuous endocytosis, degradation, recycling and biosynthetic secretory trafficking.

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    Sarah J Fletcher

    Full Text Available Tight junctions (TJs link adjacent cells and are critical for maintenance of apical-basolateral polarity in epithelial monolayers. The TJ protein occludin functions in disparate processes, including wound healing and Hepatitis C Virus infection. Little is known about steady-state occludin trafficking into and out of the plasma membrane. Therefore, we determined the mechanisms responsible for occludin turnover in confluent Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK epithelial monolayers. Using various biotin-based trafficking assays we observed continuous and rapid endocytosis of plasma membrane localised occludin (the majority internalised within 30 minutes. By 120 minutes a significant reduction in internalised occludin was observed. Inhibition of lysosomal function attenuated the reduction in occludin signal post-endocytosis and promoted co-localisation with the late endocytic system. Using a similar method we demonstrated that ∼20% of internalised occludin was transported back to the cell surface. Consistent with these findings, significant co-localisation between internalised occludin and recycling endosomal compartments was observed. We then quantified the extent to which occludin synthesis and transport to the plasma membrane contributes to plasma membrane occludin homeostasis, identifying inhibition of protein synthesis led to decreased plasma membrane localised occludin. Significant co-localisation between occludin and the biosynthetic secretory pathway was demonstrated. Thus, under steady-state conditions occludin undergoes turnover via a continuous cycle of endocytosis, recycling and degradation, with degradation compensated for by biosynthetic exocytic trafficking. We developed a mathematical model to describe the endocytosis, recycling and degradation of occludin, utilising experimental data to provide quantitative estimates for the rates of these processes.

  11. The Distribution of Coumarins and Furanocoumarins in Citrus Species Closely Matches Citrus Phylogeny and Reflects the Organization of Biosynthetic Pathways.

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    Audray Dugrand-Judek

    Full Text Available Citrus plants are able to produce defense compounds such as coumarins and furanocoumarins to cope with herbivorous insects and pathogens. In humans, these chemical compounds are strong photosensitizers and can interact with medications, leading to the "grapefruit juice effect". Removing coumarins and furanocoumarins from food and cosmetics imply additional costs and might alter product quality. Thus, the selection of Citrus cultivars displaying low coumarin and furanocoumarin contents constitutes a valuable alternative. In this study, we performed ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry analyses to determine the contents of these compounds within the peel and the pulp of 61 Citrus species representative of the genetic diversity all Citrus. Generally, Citrus peel contains larger diversity and higher concentrations of coumarin/furanocoumarin than the pulp of the same fruits. According to the chemotypes found in the peel, Citrus species can be separated into 4 groups that correspond to the 4 ancestral taxa (pummelos, mandarins, citrons and papedas and extended with their respective secondary species descendants. Three of the 4 ancestral taxa (pummelos, citrons and papedas synthesize high amounts of these compounds, whereas mandarins appear practically devoid of them. Additionally, all ancestral taxa and their hybrids are logically organized according to the coumarin and furanocoumarin pathways described in the literature. This organization allows hypotheses to be drawn regarding the biosynthetic origin of compounds for which the biogenesis remains unresolved. Determining coumarin and furanocoumarin contents is also helpful for hypothesizing the origin of Citrus species for which the phylogeny is presently not firmly established. Finally, this work also notes favorable hybridization schemes that will lead to low coumarin and furanocoumarin contents, and we propose to select mandarins and Ichang papeda as Citrus

  12. Radioactive Lysine in Protein Metabolism Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, L. L.; Bale, W. F.; Yuile, C. L.; Masters, R. E.; Tishkoff, G. H.; Whipple,, G. H.

    1950-01-09

    Studies of incorporation of DL-lysine in various body proteins of the dog; the time course of labeled blood proteins; and apparent rate of disappearance of labeled plasma proteins for comparison of behavior of the plasma albumin and globulin fractions; shows more rapid turn over of globulin fraction.

  13. Extraction and LC determination of lysine clonixinate salt in water/oil microemulsions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pineros, I; Ballesteros, P; Lastres, J L

    2002-02-01

    A new reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography method has been developed and validated for the quantitative determination of lysine clonixinate salt in water/oil microemulsions. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-buffer phosphate pH 3.3. Detection was UV absorbance at 252 nm. The precision and accurately of the method were excellent. The established linearity range was 5-60 microg ml(-1) (r(2)=0.999). Microemulsions samples were dispersed with chloroform and extracted lysine clonixinate salt with water. This easy method employing chloroformic extraction has been done three times. The recovery of lysine clonixinate salt from spiked placebo and microemulsion were >90% over the linear range.

  14. Insight into the collagen assembly in the presence of lysine and glutamic acid: An in vitro study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Xinhua; Dan, Nianhua [Key Laboratory for Leather Chemistry and Engineering of the Education Ministry, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065 (China); Research Center of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065 (China); Dan, Weihua, E-mail: danweihua_scu@126.com [Key Laboratory for Leather Chemistry and Engineering of the Education Ministry, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065 (China); Research Center of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065 (China)

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of two different charged amino acids in collagen chains, lysine and glutamic acid, on the fibrillogenesis process of collagen molecules. The turbidity, zeta potential, and fiber diameter analysis suggest that introducing the positively charged lysine into collagen might improve the sizes or amounts of the self-assembled collagen fibrils significantly. Conversely, the negatively charged glutamic acid might restrict the self-assembly of collagen building blocks into a higher order structure. Meanwhile, the optimal fibrillogenesis condition is achieved when the concentration of lysine reaches to 1 mM. Both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) analysis indicates that compared to pure collagen fibrils, the reconstructed collagen-lysine co-fibrils exhibit a higher degree of inter-fiber entanglements with more straight and longer fibrils. Noted that the specific D-period patterns of the reconstructed collagen fibrils could be clearly discernible and the width of D-banding increases steadily after introducing lysine. Besides, the kinetic and thermodynamic collagen self-assembly analysis confirms that the rate constants of both the first and second assembly phase decrease after introducing lysine, and lysine could promote the process of collagen fibrillogenesis obeying the laws of thermodynamics. - Highlights: • The effects of two different charged amino acids in collagen chains on the collagen fibrillogenesis were evaluated. • The positively charged lysine could improve the sizes or amounts of self-assembled collagen fibrils. • The width of D-banding of the collagen-lysine co-fibrils increased steadily after introducing lysine. • The optimal fibrillogenesis was achieved when the concentration of lysine reached to 1 mM. • The kinetic and thermodynamic collagen self-assembly were both analyzed.

  15. Critical lysine residues of Klf4 required for protein stabilization and degradation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lim, Key-Hwan; Kim, So-Ra; Ramakrishna, Suresh; Baek, Kwang-Hyun, E-mail: baek@cha.ac.kr

    2014-01-24

    Highlights: • Klf4 undergoes the 26S proteasomal degradation by ubiquitination on its multiple lysine residues. • Essential Klf4 ubiquitination sites are accumulated between 190–263 amino acids. • A mutation of lysine at 232 on Klf4 elongates protein turnover. • Klf4 mutants dramatically suppress p53 expression both under normal and UV irradiated conditions. - Abstract: The transcription factor, Krüppel-like factor 4 (Klf4) plays a crucial role in generating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). As the ubiquitination and degradation of the Klf4 protein have been suggested to play an important role in its function, the identification of specific lysine sites that are responsible for protein degradation is of prime interest to improve protein stability and function. However, the molecular mechanism regulating proteasomal degradation of the Klf4 is poorly understood. In this study, both the analysis of Klf4 ubiquitination sites using several Klf4 deletion fragments and bioinformatics predictions showed that the lysine sites which are signaling for Klf4 protein degradation lie in its N-terminal domain (aa 1–296). The results also showed that Lys32, 52, 232, and 252 of Klf4 are responsible for the proteolysis of the Klf4 protein. These results suggest that Klf4 undergoes proteasomal degradation and that these lysine residues are critical for Klf4 ubiquitination.

  16. Polyketide synthase chemistry does not direct biosynthetic divergence between 9- and 10-membered enediynes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horsman, Geoff P.; Chen, Yihua; Thorson, Jon S.; Shen, Ben

    2010-01-01

    Enediynes are potent antitumor antibiotics that are classified as 9- or 10-membered according to the size of the enediyne core structure. However, almost nothing is known about enediyne core biosynthesis, and the determinants of 9- versus 10-membered enediyne core biosynthetic divergence remain elusive. Previous work identified enediyne-specific polyketide synthases (PKSEs) that can be phylogenetically distinguished as being involved in 9- versus 10-membered enediyne biosynthesis, suggesting that biosynthetic divergence might originate from differing PKSE chemistries. Recent in vitro studies have identified several compounds produced by the PKSE and associated thioesterase (TE), but condition-dependent product profiles make it difficult to ascertain a true catalytic difference between 9- and 10-membered PKSE-TE systems. Here we report that PKSE chemistry does not direct 9- versus 10-membered enediyne core biosynthetic divergence as revealed by comparing the products from three 9-membered and two 10-membered PKSE-TE systems under identical conditions using robust in vivo assays. Three independent experiments support a common catalytic function for 9- and 10-membered PKSEs by the production of a heptaene metabolite from: (i) all five cognate PKSE-TE pairs in Escherichia coli; (ii) the C-1027 and calicheamicin cognate PKSE-TEs in Streptomyces lividans K4-114; and (iii) selected native producers of both 9- and 10-membered enediynes. Furthermore, PKSEs and TEs from different 9- and 10-membered enediyne biosynthetic machineries are freely interchangeable, revealing that 9- versus 10-membered enediyne core biosynthetic divergence occurs beyond the PKSE-TE level. These findings establish a starting point for determining the origins of this biosynthetic divergence. PMID:20534556

  17. PLMD: An updated data resource of protein lysine modifications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Haodong; Zhou, Jiaqi; Lin, Shaofeng; Deng, Wankun; Zhang, Ying; Xue, Yu

    2017-05-20

    Post-translational modifications (PTMs) occurring at protein lysine residues, or protein lysine modifications (PLMs), play critical roles in regulating biological processes. Due to the explosive expansion of the amount of PLM substrates and the discovery of novel PLM types, here we greatly updated our previous studies, and presented a much more integrative resource of protein lysine modification database (PLMD). In PLMD, we totally collected and integrated 284,780 modification events in 53,501 proteins across 176 eukaryotes and prokaryotes for up to 20 types of PLMs, including ubiquitination, acetylation, sumoylation, methylation, succinylation, malonylation, glutarylation, glycation, formylation, hydroxylation, butyrylation, propionylation, crotonylation, pupylation, neddylation, 2-hydroxyisobutyrylation, phosphoglycerylation, carboxylation, lipoylation and biotinylation. Using the data set, a motif-based analysis was performed for each PLM type, and the results demonstrated that different PLM types preferentially recognize distinct sequence motifs for the modifications. Moreover, various PLMs synergistically orchestrate specific cellular biological processes by mutual crosstalks with each other, and we totally found 65,297 PLM events involved in 90 types of PLM co-occurrences on the same lysine residues. Finally, various options were provided for accessing the data, while original references and other annotations were also present for each PLM substrate. Taken together, we anticipated the PLMD database can serve as a useful resource for further researches of PLMs. PLMD 3.0 was implemented in PHP + MySQL and freely available at http://plmd.biocuckoo.org. Copyright © 2017 Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Genetics Society of China. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. The Global Acetylome of the Human Pathogen Vibrio cholerae V52 Reveals Lysine Acetylation of Major Transcriptional Regulators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jers, Carsten; Ravikumar, Vaishnavi; Lezyk, Mateusz Jakub

    2018-01-01

    Protein lysine acetylation is recognized as an important reversible post translational modification in all domains of life. While its primary roles appear to reside in metabolic processes, lysine acetylation has also been implicated in regulating pathogenesis in bacteria. Several global lysine...... acetylome analyses have been carried out in various bacteria, but thus far there have been no reports of lysine acetylation taking place in the important human pathogen Vibrio cholerae. In this study, we analyzed the lysine acetylproteome of the human pathogen V. cholerae V52. By applying a combination...... in direct regulation of virulence in V. cholerae were acetylated. In conclusion, this is the first global protein lysine acetylome analysis of V. cholerae and should constitute a valuable resource for in-depth studies of the impact of lysine acetylation in pathogenesis and other cellular processes....

  19. Lysine Acetylation of CREBH Regulates Fasting-Induced Hepatic Lipid Metabolism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyunbae; Mendez, Roberto; Chen, Xuequn; Fang, Deyu

    2015-01-01

    Cyclic AMP-responsive element-binding protein 3-like 3, hepatocyte specific (CREBH), is a hepatic transcription factor that functions as a key regulator of energy homeostasis. Here, we defined a regulatory CREBH posttranslational modification process, namely, lysine-specific acetylation, and its functional involvement in fasting-induced hepatic lipid metabolism. Fasting induces CREBH acetylation in mouse livers in a time-dependent manner, and this event is critical for CREBH transcriptional activity in regulating hepatic lipid homeostasis. The histone acetyltransferase PCAF-mediated acetylation and the deacetylase sirtuin-1-mediated deacetylation coexist to maintain CREBH acetylation states under fasting conditions. Site-directed mutagenesis and functional analyses revealed that the lysine (K) residue at position 294 (K294) within the bZIP domain of the CREBH protein is the site where fasting-induced acetylation/deacetylation occurs. Introduction of the acetylation-deficient (K294R) or acetylation-mimicking (K294Q) mutation inhibited or enhanced CREBH transcriptional activity, respectively. Importantly, CREBH acetylation at lysine 294 was required for the interaction and synergy between CREBH and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) in activating their target genes upon fasting or glucagon stimulation. Introduction of the CREBH lysine 294 mutation in the liver leads to hepatic steatosis and hyperlipidemia in animals under prolonged fasting. In summary, our study reveals a molecular mechanism by which fasting or glucagon stimulation modulates lipid homeostasis through acetylation of CREBH. PMID:26438600

  20. Crosstalk of Autophagy and the Secretory Pathway and Its Role in Diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zahoor, Muhammad; Farhan, Hesso

    2018-01-01

    The secretory and autophagic pathways are two fundamental, evolutionary highly conserved endomembrane processes. Typically, secretion is associated with biosynthesis and delivery of proteins. In contrast, autophagy is usually considered as a degradative pathway. Thus, an analogy to metabolic pathways is evident. Anabolic (biosynthetic) and catabolic (degradative) pathways are usually intimately linked and intertwined, and likewise, the secretory and autophagy pathways are intertwined. Investigation of this link is an emerging area of research, and we will provide an overview of some of the major advances that have been made to contribute to understanding of how secretion regulates autophagy and vice versa. Finally, we will highlight evidence that supports a potential involvement of the autophagy-secretion crosstalk in human diseases. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Emergent biosynthetic capacity in simple microbial communities.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsuan-Chao Chiu

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Microbes have an astonishing capacity to transform their environments. Yet, the metabolic capacity of a single species is limited and the vast majority of microorganisms form complex communities and join forces to exhibit capabilities far exceeding those achieved by any single species. Such enhanced metabolic capacities represent a promising route to many medical, environmental, and industrial applications and call for the development of a predictive, systems-level understanding of synergistic microbial capacity. Here we present a comprehensive computational framework, integrating high-quality metabolic models of multiple species, temporal dynamics, and flux variability analysis, to study the metabolic capacity and dynamics of simple two-species microbial ecosystems. We specifically focus on detecting emergent biosynthetic capacity--instances in which a community growing on some medium produces and secretes metabolites that are not secreted by any member species when growing in isolation on that same medium. Using this framework to model a large collection of two-species communities on multiple media, we demonstrate that emergent biosynthetic capacity is highly prevalent. We identify commonly observed emergent metabolites and metabolic reprogramming patterns, characterizing typical mechanisms of emergent capacity. We further find that emergent secretion tends to occur in two waves, the first as soon as the two organisms are introduced, and the second when the medium is depleted and nutrients become limited. Finally, aiming to identify global community determinants of emergent capacity, we find a marked association between the level of emergent biosynthetic capacity and the functional/phylogenetic distance between community members. Specifically, we demonstrate a "Goldilocks" principle, where high levels of emergent capacity are observed when the species comprising the community are functionally neither too close, nor too distant. Taken together

  2. Induction of monooxygenases and incorporation of radioactivity from 2-14C-lysine into hepatic microsomes of phenobarbital-treated rats fed a diet deficient in lysine, methionine, threonine and vitamines A, C, E

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nurmagambetov, T.Zh.; Amirov, B.B.; Kuanysheva, T.G.; Sharmanov, T.Sh.

    1992-01-01

    The effect of diet on induction of monooxygenases and distribution of radioactivity from 2- 14 C-lysine in fractions of liver homogenate, muscle homogenate and blood of male rats treated with phenobarbital was studied. 2- 14 C-lysin was injected intraperitoneally 24 h before the first injection of phenobarbital. It was demonstrated that monooxygenase induction, increase of relative liver weight and incorporation of radioactivity from 2- 14 C-lysine into fractions of liver homogenate in phenobarbital-treated rats fed diet deficient in lysine, methionine, threonine and vitamins A, C, E were more pronounced as compared with the similarly treated rats which were fed a balanced diet. The possibility of mobilization of deficient essencial components to liver from other organs and tissues for maintenance of monooxygenase induction iis discussed

  3. Lysine supplementation in late gestation of gilts: effects on piglet birth weight, and gestational and lactational performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diogo Magnabosco

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Lysine requirements for gain in maternal body reserves and piglet birth weight, during pregnancy, in contemporary prolific genotypes, are not well established. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary lysine in late pregnancy on piglet birth weight, and on the gestational and lactational performance of gilts. Pregnant gilts were uniformly distributed into two groups and received, from 85 to 110 days of gestation, either of two lysine levels in their diet: Control group - 28g lysine/day (n=136, and Lysine group - 35g lysine/day (n=141. There were no effects (P>0.10 of supplemental lysine on body weight and backfat (BF gain of females or on piglet birth weight. Gilts supplemented with lysine tended to have a lower percentage of stillbirths (P=0.077, reduced within-litter birth weight variation (P=0.094 and a lower percentage of piglets weighing less than 1100g (P=0.082 than in the Control group. During lactation, the performance of sows and litters was also evaluated in a subgroup of sows (n=26/group. There were no differences between the Control and Lysine groups (P>0.10 in voluntary feed intake, body reserve losses (weight and BF, weaning-to-estrus interval of the sows, and litter weaning weight. In conclusion, an increase in lysine (from 28 to 35g/day in late gestation of gilts (85 to 110 days tends to reduce the rate of stillbirths and to improve the uniformity of litter weight at birth, but does not affect the performance of females until farrowing or during subsequent lactation.

  4. Effect of exogenous CNT on kinetics of 3H-lysine in haerbin white rabbits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Dengke; Zan Linsen; Liu Yongfeng

    2007-01-01

    Haerbin White rabbits was used as testimonial and trace kinetics and radioimmunoassay and other techniques were used to study the distribution, transportation and metabolism of 3 H-Lysine in the animal. The metabolic kinetics of 3 H-Lysine could be described by the follows equation: (Y-circumflex) (t) =983.6281e -0.021935t + 1773.9999e -0.083932t - 983.6281e -0.432590t - 0773.9999e -0.050399t + 300.2820. Experimental results showed that 3 H-Lysine was accumulated mainly in kidney, heart, liver, spleen and muscle in check group; accumulated mainly in muscle, stomach, liver, heart and genitalia in cAMP treated group; accumulated in bladder, muscle, lung and intestine in cGMP treated group; and accumulated mainly in muscle, bladder, genitalia an fat in cAMP + cGMP treated group, respectively. The distribution of 3 H-Lysine was of evidently variations being treated with exogenous CNT. The results indicated that the distribution, transportation and metabolism of 3 H-Lysine were significantly affected by exogenous CNT in the Haerbin White rabbit. (authors)

  5. Effects of fortified lysine on the amino acid profile and sensory qualities of deep-fried and dried noodles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polpuech, C; Chavasit, V; Srichakwal, P; Paniangvait, P

    2011-08-01

    Lysine fortification of wheat flour has been used toward reducing protein energy malnutrition in developing countries. The feasibility of fortifying instant noodles with lysine was evaluated based on sensory qualities and the residual lysine content. Fifty grams of deep-fried and dried instant noodles were fortified with 0.23 and 0.21 g lysine, respectively. The production temperatures used for deep-frying were 165-175 degrees C and for drying, 80-105 degrees C; these are the temperatures used in the industrial production of both kinds of noodles. Lysine fortification was then performed at the local factories using the commercial production lines and packaging for both types of instant noodles. Both fortified and unfortified deep-fried and dried instant noodles were stored at 50 degrees C under fluorescent light for 2 and 4 months, respectively. The fortified products were tested for residual lysine content and sensory qualities as compared with unfortified noodles. The results show fortified products from the tested processing temperatures were all accepted. After storage, significant losses of lysine were not found in both types of noodles analysed. The lysine-fortified noodles had amino acid scores of 102% and 122%, respectively. After 2 months, the sensory quality of fortified deep-fried noodles was still acceptable; however, the dried noodles turned to an unacceptable dark colour. This study shows that it is feasible to fortify deep-fried instant noodles with lysine, though lysine fortification exhibited an undesirable colour in the dried instant noodles after storage.

  6. Evolutionary origins and functions of the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway in marine diatoms

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Coesel, S.; Oborník, Miroslav; Varela, J.; Falciatore, A.; Bowler, C.

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 3, č. 8 (2008), s. 1-16 E-ISSN 1932-6203 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA500220502 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60220518 Keywords : marine diatoms * carotenoid pathway * evolution Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology

  7. Lysine-functionalized nanodiamonds: synthesis, physiochemical characterization, and nucleic acid binding studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaur, Randeep; Chitanda, Jackson M; Michel, Deborah; Maley, Jason; Borondics, Ferenc; Yang, Peng; Verrall, Ronald E; Badea, Ildiko

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Detonation nanodiamonds (NDs) are carbon-based nanomaterials that, because of their size (4–5 nm), stable inert core, alterable surface chemistry, fluorescence, and biocompatibility, are emerging as bioimaging agents and promising tools for the delivery of biochemical molecules into cellular systems. However, diamond particles possess a strong propensity to aggregate in liquid formulation media, restricting their applicability in biomedical sciences. Here, the authors describe the covalent functionalization of NDs with lysine in an attempt to develop nanoparticles able to act as suitable nonviral vectors for transferring genetic materials across cellular membranes. Methods: NDs were oxidized and functionalized by binding lysine moieties attached to a three-carbon-length linker (1,3-diaminopropane) to their surfaces through amide bonds. Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential measurement, dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopic imaging, and thermogravimetric analysis were used to characterize the lysine-functionalized NDs. Finally, the ability of the functionalized diamonds to bind plasmid DNA and small interfering RNA was investigated by gel electrophoresis assay and through size and zeta potential measurements. Results: NDs were successfully functionalized with the lysine linker, producing surface loading of 1.7 mmol g−1 of ND. These modified NDs formed highly stable aqueous dispersions with a zeta potential of 49 mV and particle size of approximately 20 nm. The functionalized NDs were found to be able to bind plasmid DNA and small interfering RNA by forming nanosized “diamoplexes”. Conclusion: The lysine-substituted ND particles generated in this study exhibit stable aqueous formulations and show potential for use as carriers for genetic materials. PMID:22904623

  8. Effects of single oral doses of lysine clonixinate and acetylsalicylic acid on platelet functions in man.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pallapies, D; Muhs, A; Bertram, L; Rohleder, G; Nagyiványi, P; Peskar, B A

    1996-01-01

    Lysine clonixinate is an analgesic drug with a so far unknown mechanism of action. We have determined its effect on platelet cyclooxygenase in man. Biosynthesis of thromboxane (TX)B2 and prostaglandin (PG)F2 alpha in clotting whole blood ex vivo as well as collagen-induced platelet aggregation measured before and at various time points after oral administration of 125 mg lysine clonixinate were compared to results obtained with 500 mg acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). While biosynthesis of both TXB2 and PGF2 alpha measured radioimmunologically was inhibited significantly 2.5 h, but not 6 h, after administration of lysine clonixinate, inhibition by ASA was much greater and still highly significant after 48 h. Similarly, collagen-induced aggregation of platelet-rich plasma was inhibited for a longer period and to a greater extent after administration of ASA than after lysine clonixinate. Our results indicate that lysine clonixinate is a cyclooxygenase inhibitor of moderate potency. It remains to be investigated whether mechanisms other than inhibition of cyclooxygenase contribute to the analgesic activity of lysine clonixinate.

  9. Tracking the behavior of Maillard browning in lysine/arginine-sugar model systems under high hydrostatic pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Xiao-Juan; Gao, Jin-Yan; Tong, Ping; Li, Xin; Chen, Hong-Bing

    2017-12-01

    High-pressure processing is gaining popularity in the food industry. However, its effect on the Maillard reaction during high-pressure-assisted pasteurization and sterilization is not well documented. This study aimed to investigate the effects of high hydrostatic pressure on the Maillard reaction during these processes using amino acid (lysine or arginine)-sugar (glucose or fructose) solution models. High pressure retarded the intermediate and final stages of the Maillard reaction in the lysine-sugar model. For the lysine-glucose model, the degradation rate of Amadori compounds was decelerated, while acceleration was observed in the arginine-sugar model. Increased temperature not only accelerated the Maillard reaction over time but also formed fluorescent compounds with different emission wavelengths. Lysine reacted with the sugars more readily than arginine under the same conditions. In addition, it was easier for lysine to react with glucose, whereas arginine reacted more readily with fructose under high pressure. High pressure exerts different effects on lysine-sugar and arginine-sugar models. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  10. High lysine and high yielding mutants in wheat (Triticum aestivum) L

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohammad, T.; Mahmood, F.; Ahmad, A.; Sattar, A.; Khan, I.

    1988-01-01

    The dry seeds of the variety Lu-26 were irradiated with 20 krad of gamma rays. In M 2 about 300 mutant plants were selected for short stature, rust resistance and other desirable traits. As a result of further selection, in M 6 , eight superior lines were finally identified. The agronomic characteristics of these mutants, the parent variety (Lu-26) and a standard check variety (Pak-81) are shown. The selected mutants and commercially grown cultivars (Lu-26 and Pak-81) were studied for total protein content and amino acid pattern. The mutants WM-89-1, WM-6-17 and WM-81-2 showing high yield also contained comparatively high amounts of methionine and lysine. The lysine contents were 565, 410, and 370 mg/100g in the mutants WM-89-1, WM-6-17 and WM-81-2, respectively against a range value of 210-370 mg/100g in other mutants and 250-320 in the commercial cultivars. The mutant WM-81-2 was comparable to WM-56-1-5 in lysine content. The results of these experiments show a possibility of developing varieties having high yield and high amounts of essential amino acids such as lysine and methionine

  11. In silico tools for the analysis of antibiotic biosynthetic pathways

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weber, Tilmann

    2014-01-01

    Natural products of bacteria and fungi are the most important source for antimicrobial drug leads. For decades, such compounds were exclusively found by chemical/bioactivity-guided screening approaches. The rapid progress in sequencing technologies only recently allowed the development of novel...... screening methods based on the genome sequences of potential producing organisms. The basic principle of such genome mining approaches is to identify genes, which are involved in the biosynthesis of such molecules, and to predict the products of the identified pathways. Thus, bioinformatics methods...... and tools are crucial for genome mining. In this review, a comprehensive overview is given on programs and databases for the identification and analysis of antibiotic biosynthesis gene clusters in genomic data....

  12. Salicylic acid induces vanillin synthesis through the phospholipid signaling pathway in Capsicum chinense cell cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodas-Junco, Beatriz A; Cab-Guillén, Yahaira; Muñoz-Sánchez, J Armando; Vázquez-Flota, Felipe; Monforte-González, Miriam; Hernández-Sotomayor, S M Teresa

    2013-10-01

    Signal transduction via phospholipids is mediated by phospholipases such as phospholipase C (PLC) and D (PLD), which catalyze hydrolysis of plasma membrane structural phospholipids. Phospholipid signaling is also involved in plant responses to phytohormones such as salicylic acid (SA). The relationships between phospholipid signaling, SA, and secondary metabolism are not fully understood. Using a Capsicum chinense cell suspension as a model, we evaluated whether phospholipid signaling modulates SA-induced vanillin production through the activation of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), a key enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway. Salicylic acid was found to elicit PAL activity and consequently vanillin production, which was diminished or reversed upon exposure to the phosphoinositide-phospholipase C (PI-PLC) signaling inhibitors neomycin and U73122. Exposure to the phosphatidic acid inhibitor 1-butanol altered PLD activity and prevented SA-induced vanillin production. Our results suggest that PLC and PLD-generated secondary messengers may be modulating SA-induced vanillin production through the activation of key biosynthetic pathway enzymes.

  13. Comprehensive assessment of the L-lysine production process from fermentation of sugarcane molasses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anaya-Reza, Omar; Lopez-Arenas, Teresa

    2017-07-01

    L-Lysine is an essential amino acid that can be produced by chemical processes from fossil raw materials, as well as by microbial fermentation, the latter being a more efficient and environmentally friendly procedure. In this work, the production process of L-lysine-HCl is studied using a systematic approach based on modeling and simulation, which supports decision making in the early stage of process design. The study considers two analysis stages: first, the dynamic analysis of the fermentation reactor, where the conversion of sugars from sugarcane molasses to L-lysine with a strain of Corynebacterium glutamicum is carried out. In this stage, the operation mode (either batch or fed batch) and operating conditions of the fermentation reactor are defined to reach the maximum technical criteria. Afterwards, the second analysis stage relates to the industrial production process of L-lysine-HCl, where the fermentation reactor, upstream processing, and downstream processing are included. In this stage, the influence of key parameters on the overall process performance is scrutinized through the evaluation of several technical, economic, and environmental criteria, to determine a profitable and sustainable design of the L-lysine production process. The main results show how the operating conditions, process design, and selection of evaluation criteria can influence in the conceptual design. The best plant design shows maximum product yield (0.31 g L-lysine/g glucose) and productivity (1.99 g/L/h), achieving 26.5% return on investment (ROI) with a payback period (PBP) of 3.8 years, decreasing water and energy consumption, and with a low potential environmental impact (PEI) index.

  14. On the biosynthetic origin of carminic acid

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Silas A.; Kongstad, Kenneth T; Khorsand-Jamal, Paiman

    2018-01-01

    provides solid evidence of a polyketide, rather than a shikimate, origin of coccid pigments. Based on the newly identified compounds, we present a detailed biosynthetic scheme that accounts for the formation of carminic acid (CA) in D. coccus and all described coccid pigments which share a flavokermesic...... distribution suggests a common evolutionary origin for the trait in all coccid dye producing insect species....

  15. Chapter 3: Omics Advances of Biosynthetic Pathways of Isoprenoid Production in Microalgae

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paniagua-Michel, J.; Subramanian, Venkataramanan

    2017-01-01

    In this chapter, the current status of microalgal isoprenoids and the role of omics technologies, or otherwise specified, in bioproducts optimization and applications are reviewed. Emphasis is focused in the metabolic pathways of microalgae involved in the production of commercially important products, namely, hydrocarbons and biofuels, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals.

  16. Formal modeling and analysis of the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway: role of O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase in oncogenesis and cancer progression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Tariq Saeed

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The alteration of glucose metabolism, through increased uptake of glucose and glutamine addiction, is essential to cancer cell growth and invasion. Increased flux of glucose through the Hexosamine Biosynthetic Pathway (HBP drives increased cellular O-GlcNAcylation (hyper-O-GlcNAcylation and contributes to cancer progression by regulating key oncogenes. However, the association between hyper-O-GlcNAcylation and activation of these oncogenes remains poorly characterized. Here, we implement a qualitative modeling framework to analyze the role of the Biological Regulatory Network in HBP activation and its potential effects on key oncogenes. Experimental observations are encoded in a temporal language format and model checking is applied to infer the model parameters and qualitative model construction. Using this model, we discover step-wise genetic alterations that promote cancer development and invasion due to an increase in glycolytic flux, and reveal critical trajectories involved in cancer progression. We compute delay constraints to reveal important associations between the production and degradation rates of proteins. O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT, an enzyme used for addition of O-GlcNAc during O-GlcNAcylation, is identified as a key regulator to promote oncogenesis in a feedback mechanism through the stabilization of c-Myc. Silencing of the OGT and c-Myc loop decreases glycolytic flux and leads to programmed cell death. Results of network analyses also identify a significant cycle that highlights the role of p53-Mdm2 circuit oscillations in cancer recovery and homeostasis. Together, our findings suggest that the OGT and c-Myc feedback loop is critical in tumor progression, and targeting these mediators may provide a mechanism-based therapeutic approach to regulate hyper-O-GlcNAcylation in human cancer.

  17. Proteomic investigations of lysine acetylation identify diverse substrates of mitochondrial deacetylase sirt3

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sol, E-ri Maria; Wagner, Sebastian A; Weinert, Brian T

    2012-01-01

    Lysine acetylation is a posttranslational modification that is dynamically regulated by the activity of acetyltransferases and deacetylases. The human and mouse genomes encode 18 different lysine deacetylases (KDACs) which are key regulators of many cellular processes. Identifying substrates...... of KDACs and pinpointing the regulated acetylation sites on target proteins may provide important information about the molecular basis of their functions. Here we apply quantitative proteomics to identify endogenous substrates of the mitochondrial deacetylase Sirtuin 3 (Sirt3) by comparing site...... by modulating acetylation on diverse substrates. The experimental strategy described here is generic and can be applied to identify endogenous substrates of other lysine deacetylases....

  18. Structural Diversification of Lyngbyatoxin A by Host-Dependent Heterologous Expression of the tleABC Biosynthetic Gene Cluster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lihan; Hoshino, Shotaro; Awakawa, Takayoshi; Wakimoto, Toshiyuki; Abe, Ikuro

    2016-08-03

    Natural products have enormous structural diversity, yet little is known about how such diversity is achieved in nature. Here we report the structural diversification of a cyanotoxin-lyngbyatoxin A-and its biosynthetic intermediates by heterologous expression of the Streptomyces-derived tleABC biosynthetic gene cluster in three different Streptomyces hosts: S. lividans, S. albus, and S. avermitilis. Notably, the isolated lyngbyatoxin derivatives, including four new natural products, were biosynthesized by crosstalk between the heterologous tleABC gene cluster and the endogenous host enzymes. The simple strategy described here has expanded the structural diversity of lyngbyatoxin A and its biosynthetic intermediates, and provides opportunities for investigation of the currently underestimated hidden biosynthetic crosstalk. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. Lysine supplementation is not effective for the prevention or treatment of feline herpesvirus 1 infection in cats: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bol, Sebastiaan; Bunnik, Evelien M

    2015-11-16

    Feline herpesvirus 1 is a highly contagious virus that affects many cats. Virus infection presents with flu-like signs and irritation of ocular and nasal regions. While cats can recover from active infections without medical treatment, examination by a veterinarian is recommended. Lysine supplementation appears to be a popular intervention (recommended by > 90 % of veterinarians in cat hospitals). We investigated the scientific merit of lysine supplementation by systematically reviewing all relevant literature. NCBI's PubMed database was used to search for published work on lysine and feline herpesvirus 1, as well as lysine and human herpesvirus 1. Seven studies on lysine and feline herpesvirus 1 (two in vitro studies and 5 studies with cats), and 10 publications on lysine and human herpesvirus 1 (three in vitro studies and 7 clinical trials) were included for qualitative analysis. There is evidence at multiple levels that lysine supplementation is not effective for the prevention or treatment of feline herpesvirus 1 infection in cats. Lysine does not have any antiviral properties, but is believed to act by lowering arginine levels. However, lysine does not antagonize arginine in cats, and evidence that low intracellular arginine concentrations would inhibit viral replication is lacking. Furthermore, lowering arginine levels is highly undesirable since cats cannot synthesize this amino acid themselves. Arginine deficiency will result in hyperammonemia, which may be fatal. In vitro studies with feline herpesvirus 1 showed that lysine has no effect on the replication kinetics of the virus. Finally, and most importantly, several clinical studies with cats have shown that lysine is not effective for the prevention or the treatment of feline herpesvirus 1 infection, and some even reported increased infection frequency and disease severity in cats receiving lysine supplementation. We recommend an immediate stop of lysine supplementation because of the complete lack of

  20. Insight into the collagen assembly in the presence of lysine and glutamic acid: An in vitro study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xinhua; Dan, Nianhua; Dan, Weihua

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of two different charged amino acids in collagen chains, lysine and glutamic acid, on the fibrillogenesis process of collagen molecules. The turbidity, zeta potential, and fiber diameter analysis suggest that introducing the positively charged lysine into collagen might improve the sizes or amounts of the self-assembled collagen fibrils significantly. Conversely, the negatively charged glutamic acid might restrict the self-assembly of collagen building blocks into a higher order structure. Meanwhile, the optimal fibrillogenesis condition is achieved when the concentration of lysine reaches to 1mM. Both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) analysis indicates that compared to pure collagen fibrils, the reconstructed collagen-lysine co-fibrils exhibit a higher degree of inter-fiber entanglements with more straight and longer fibrils. Noted that the specific D-period patterns of the reconstructed collagen fibrils could be clearly discernible and the width of D-banding increases steadily after introducing lysine. Besides, the kinetic and thermodynamic collagen self-assembly analysis confirms that the rate constants of both the first and second assembly phase decrease after introducing lysine, and lysine could promote the process of collagen fibrillogenesis obeying the laws of thermodynamics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Fabrication of biosynthetic vascular prostheses by 193-nm excimer laser radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Husinsky, Wolfgang; Csek, Ch.; Bartel, A.; Grabenwoeger, M.; Fitzal, F.; Wolner, Ernst

    1998-05-01

    This study was undertaken to investigate the feasibility of transmural capillary ingrowth into the inner surface of biosynthetic vascular prostheses (OmniflowTM) through perforations created by an excimer-laser, thus inducing an endothelial cell coverage. The biosynthetic vascular prostheses (10 cm length, 6 mm (phi) ) were perforated with an excimer laser ((phi) of the holes 50 - 100 micrometer, distance 4 mm) and implanted into the carotid arteries of 8 sheep. The laser tissue interaction process of 193 nm radiation ensures minimal thermal damage to the prostheses. They were compared to untreated OmniflowTM prostheses implanted at the contralateral side. Three months after implantation the prostheses were explanted and evaluated by gross morphology, histological examination and scanning electron microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy showed endothelial cells in the midgraft portion of all perforated prostheses, whereas collagen fibers, fibrin meshwork and activated platelets formed the inner layer in 6 out of 8 untreated OmniflowTM prostheses. It can be concluded, that spontaneous endothelialization of biosynthetic vascular prostheses can be achieved by transmural capillary ingrowth through perforations in the wall of the prostheses in an experimental sheep model.

  2. What is the evidence for the use of biologic or biosynthetic meshes in abdominal wall reconstruction?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Köckerling, F; Alam, N N; Antoniou, S A; Daniels, I R; Famiglietti, F; Fortelny, R H; Heiss, M M; Kallinowski, F; Kyle-Leinhase, I; Mayer, F; Miserez, M; Montgomery, A; Morales-Conde, S; Muysoms, F; Narang, S K; Petter-Puchner, A; Reinpold, W; Scheuerlein, H; Smietanski, M; Stechemesser, B; Strey, C; Woeste, G; Smart, N J

    2018-04-01

    Although many surgeons have adopted the use of biologic and biosynthetic meshes in complex abdominal wall hernia repair, others have questioned the use of these products. Criticism is addressed in several review articles on the poor standard of studies reporting on the use of biologic meshes for different abdominal wall repairs. The aim of this consensus review is to conduct an evidence-based analysis of the efficacy of biologic and biosynthetic meshes in predefined clinical situations. A European working group, "BioMesh Study Group", composed of invited surgeons with a special interest in surgical meshes, formulated key questions, and forwarded them for processing in subgroups. In January 2016, a workshop was held in Berlin where the findings were presented, discussed, and voted on for consensus. Findings were set out in writing by the subgroups followed by consensus being reached. For the review, 114 studies and background analyses were used. The cumulative data regarding biologic mesh under contaminated conditions do not support the claim that it is better than synthetic mesh. Biologic mesh use should be avoided when bridging is needed. In inguinal hernia repair biologic and biosynthetic meshes do not have a clear advantage over the synthetic meshes. For prevention of incisional or parastomal hernias, there is no evidence to support the use of biologic/biosynthetic meshes. In complex abdominal wall hernia repairs (incarcerated hernia, parastomal hernia, infected mesh, open abdomen, enterocutaneous fistula, and component separation technique), biologic and biosynthetic meshes do not provide a superior alternative to synthetic meshes. The routine use of biologic and biosynthetic meshes cannot be recommended.

  3. Fortification of lysine for improving protein quality in multiple-fortified quick cooking rice : Review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wongmetinee, T.; Boonstra, A.; Zimmermann, M.B.; Chavasit, V.

    2009-01-01

    Previous studies in Thailand indicated that rice-based complementary foods of breast-fed infants normally provided inadequate iron and calcium. Quick-cooking rice fortified with different nutrients was therefore developed. The idea of lysine fortification was based on the fact that lysine is a

  4. Lysine-vasopressin analogues with glycoconjugates in position 8

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Marcinkowska, A.; Borovičková, Lenka; Slaninová, Jiřina; Grzonka, Z.

    2006-01-01

    Roč. 80, č. 5 (2006), s. 759-766 ISSN 0137- 5083 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40550506 Keywords : glycoconjugates * glycopeptides * lysine-vasopressin analogues Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 0.491, year: 2006

  5. [Expression of the genes for lysine biosynthesis of Bacillus subtilis in Escherichia coli cells].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shevchenko, T N; Okunev, O V; Aleksieva, Z M; Maliuta, S S

    1984-01-01

    Hybrid plasmids pLRS33 and pLRB4 containing Bac. subtilis genes coding lysin biosynthesis were subjected to genetical analysis. It is shown that after pLRS33- and pLRB4- transformation of E. coli strains, auxotrophic relative to lysin and diaminopimelic acid, there occurs complementation of dapA, dapB, dapC, dapD, dapE, lysA mutations by plasmid pLRS33 and of dapC, dapB, lysA mutations by plasmid pLRB4. The plasmids are studied for their influence on the level of lysin and its precurror synthesis in E. coli strains.

  6. Integrating nitric oxide into salicylic acid and jasmonic acid/ ethylene plant defense pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mur, Luis A J; Prats, Elena; Pierre, Sandra; Hall, Michael A; Hebelstrup, Kim H

    2013-01-01

    Plant defense against pests and pathogens is known to be conferred by either salicylic acid (SA) or jasmonic acid (JA)/ethylene (ET) pathways, depending on infection or herbivore-grazing strategy. It is well attested that SA and JA/ET pathways are mutually antagonistic allowing defense responses to be tailored to particular biotic stresses. Nitric oxide (NO) has emerged as a major signal influencing resistance mediated by both signaling pathways but no attempt has been made to integrate NO into established SA/JA/ET interactions. NO has been shown to act as an inducer or suppressor of signaling along each pathway. NO will initiate SA biosynthesis and nitrosylate key cysteines on TGA-class transcription factors to aid in the initiation of SA-dependent gene expression. Against this, S-nitrosylation of NONEXPRESSOR OF PATHOGENESIS-RELATED PROTEINS1 (NPR1) will promote the NPR1 oligomerization within the cytoplasm to reduce TGA activation. In JA biosynthesis, NO will initiate the expression of JA biosynthetic enzymes, presumably to over-come any antagonistic effects of SA on JA-mediated transcription. NO will also initiate the expression of ET biosynthetic genes but a suppressive role is also observed in the S-nitrosylation and inhibition of S-adenosylmethionine transferases which provides methyl groups for ET production. Based on these data a model for NO action is proposed but we have also highlighted the need to understand when and how inductive and suppressive steps are used.

  7. Structural Basis of Histone Demethylase KDM6B Histone 3 Lysine 27 Specificity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jones, Sarah E; Olsen, Lars; Gajhede, Michael

    2018-01-01

    KDM subfamily 6 enzymes KDM6A and KDM6B specifically catalyze demethylation of di- and trimethylated lysine on histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3/2) and play an important role in repression of developmental genes. Despite identical amino acid sequence in the immediate surroundings of H3K9me3/2 (ARKS...

  8. Conservation of complete trimethylation of lysine-43 in the rotor ring of c-subunits of metazoan adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walpole, Thomas B; Palmer, David N; Jiang, Huibing; Ding, Shujing; Fearnley, Ian M; Walker, John E

    2015-04-01

    The rotors of ATP synthases turn about 100 times every second. One essential component of the rotor is a ring of hydrophobic c-subunits in the membrane domain of the enzyme. The rotation of these c-rings is driven by a transmembrane proton-motive force, and they turn against a surface provided by another membrane protein, known as subunit a. Together, the rotating c-ring and the static subunit a provide a pathway for protons through the membrane in which the c-ring and subunit a are embedded. Vertebrate and invertebrate c-subunits are well conserved. In the structure of the bovine F1-ATPase-c-ring subcomplex, the 75 amino acid c-subunit is folded into two transmembrane α-helices linked by a short loop. Each bovine rotor-ring consists of eight c-subunits with the N- and C-terminal α-helices forming concentric inner and outer rings, with the loop regions exposed to the phospholipid head-group region on the matrix side of the inner membrane. Lysine-43 is in the loop region and its ε-amino group is completely trimethylated. The role of this modification is unknown. If the trimethylated lysine-43 plays some important role in the functioning, assembly or degradation of the c-ring, it would be expected to persist throughout vertebrates and possibly invertebrates also. Therefore, we have carried out a proteomic analysis of c-subunits across representative species from different classes of vertebrates and from invertebrate phyla. In the twenty-nine metazoan species that have been examined, the complete methylation of lysine-43 is conserved, and it is likely to be conserved throughout the more than two million extant metazoan species. In unicellular eukaryotes and prokaryotes, when the lysine is conserved it is unmethylated, and the stoichiometries of c-subunits vary from 9-15. One possible role for the trimethylated residue is to provide a site for the specific binding of cardiolipin, an essential component of ATP synthases in mitochondria. © 2015 by The American

  9. Adsorption of Lysine on Na-Montmorillonite and Competition with Ca(2+): A Combined XRD and ATR-FTIR Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yanli; Wang, Shengrui; Liu, Jingyang; Xu, Yisheng; Zhou, Xiaoyun

    2016-05-17

    Lysine adsorption at clay/aqueous interfaces plays an important role in the mobility, bioavailability, and degradation of amino acids in the environment. Knowledge of these interfacial interactions facilitates our full understanding of the fate and transport of amino acids. Here, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) measurements were used to explore the dynamic process of lysine adsorption on montmorillonite and the competition with Ca(2+) at the molecular level. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were employed to determine the peak assignments of dissolved lysine in the solution phase. Three surface complexes, including dicationic, cationic, and zwitterionic structures, were observed to attach to the clay edge sites and penetrate the interlayer space. The increased surface coverage and Ca(2+) competition did not affect the interfacial lysine structures at a certain pH, whereas an elevated lysine concentration contributed to zwitterionic-type coordination at pH 10. Moreover, clay dissolution at pH 4 could be inhibited at a higher surface coverage with 5 and 10 mM lysine, whereas the inhibition effect was inconspicuous or undetected at pH 7 and 10. The presence of Ca(2+) not only could remove a part of the adsorbed lysine but also could facilitate the readsorption of dissolved Si(4+) and Al(3+) and surface protonation. Our results provide new insights into the process of lysine adsorption and its effects on montmorillonite surface sites.

  10. Bioconversion of Agricultural By-Products to Lysin by brevibacterium flavum and physico-chemical optimization for hyper-production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Irshad, S.; Hashmi, A. S.; Babar, M. E.; Awan, A. R.; Anjum, A. A.; Javed, M. M.

    2015-01-01

    Poultry and agriculture industry has a great role in the development of food sector in Pakistan. Whole of the Lysine required for poultry feed is imported to fulfil the desired dietary needs. Present study was designed to utilize different agricultural by-products like molasses, wheat bran, rice polishing and corn steep liquor. Different Physico-Chemical parameters were optimized to have hyper-production of Lysine through fermentation by using Brevibacterium flavum as a fermentative agent. From wheat bran, rice polishing and molasses (as best carbon source), significantly high concentrations of lysine (10.4 g/L) after 72h of incubation was observed with molasses (4 percentage) with 3 percentage (v/v) inoculum size at 30 degree C and pH 7. Among different nitrogen sources, 0.25 percentage (NH/sub 4/)2SO/sub 4/ showed significantly (P< 0.05) high yield of Lysine (16.89 g/L). Addition of different optimum levels of ionic salts; 4 percentage CaCO/sub 3/, 0.4 percentage MgSO/sub 4/.7H/sub 2/O, 0.1 percentage NaCl and 0.2 percentage KH/sub 2/PO/sub 4/ gave significantly (P< 0.05) higher quantity of Lysine 19.01 g/L. Inclusion of 0.6 percentage corn steep liquor and 0.4 mg/100mL biotin significantly (P< 0.05) raised the Lysine from 19.4 g/L - 19.45 g/L. The presence of Lysine in fermented broth was detected by TLC. Thus a cheap and practical bioprocess of Lysine production was concluded, that can be exploited commercially to save foreign exchange. (author)

  11. Biological significance of lysine mono-, di- and trimethylation on histone and non-histone proteins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez-Burgos, L.

    2006-01-01

    Histones are the proteins that compact DNA into the repeating unit of chromatin known as the nucleosome. The N-termini of histones are subject to a series of post-translational modifications, one of which is methylation. This modification is termed 'epigenetic' because it extends the information encoded in the genome. Lysines can be mono-, di- or tri-methylated at different positions on histones H1, H3 and H4. In order to study the biological role of histone lysine methylation, antibodies were generated against mono-, di- and trimethylated H3-K9 and H3-27. Indeed, different chromatin domains in the mouse nucleus are enriched in distinct forms of histone lysine methylation, such as pericentric heterochromatin and the inactive X chromosome. Interestingly, heterochromatin in Arabidopsis thaliana is enriched in the mono- and di-, but not the trimethylated form of H3-K9. Furthermore, there exists a hierarchy of epigenetic modifications in which H3-K9 trimethylation is found to be upstream of DNA methylation on mouse major satellites. Histone lysine methylation is also involved in gene regulation upon development. One example is the chicken 61538;-globin locus, a region of facultative chromatin that undergoes a loss of di- and trimethylated H3-K27 in mature red blood cells, concomitant with expression of the 61538;-globin genes. SET-domain proteins are enzymes that methylate histones, but some of them are also able to methylate non-histone substrates. In particular, p53 is methylated by Set9 on lysine 372, G9a and Glp-1 on lysine 373 and by Smyd2 on lysine 370. Smyd2 transcript levels are greatly increased upon irradiation and dimethylated p53-370 specifically binds to 53BP1, a protein involved in recognizing DNA double-stranded breaks upon ionizing radiation. These results argue for a novel role of p53-K370 methylation in the biology of DNA damage. In summary, lysine methylation is a post-translational modification that can occur both on histone and non-histone proteins

  12. Proteome-wide analysis of lysine acetylation suggests its broad regulatory scope in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, Peter; Wagner, Sebastian Alexander; Weinert, Brian Tate

    2012-01-01

    Post-translational modification of proteins by lysine acetylation plays important regulatory roles in living cells. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a widely used unicellular eukaryotic model organism in biomedical research. S. cerevisiae contains several evolutionary conserved lysine...... acetyltransferases and deacetylases. However, only a few dozen acetylation sites in S. cerevisiae are known, presenting a major obstacle for further understanding the regulatory roles of acetylation in this organism. Here we use high resolution mass spectrometry to identify about 4000 lysine acetylation sites in S....... cerevisiae. Acetylated proteins are implicated in the regulation of diverse cytoplasmic and nuclear processes including chromatin organization, mitochondrial metabolism, and protein synthesis. Bioinformatic analysis of yeast acetylation sites shows that acetylated lysines are significantly more conserved...

  13. Effect of varying dietary concentrations of lysine on growth performance of the Pearl Grey guinea fowl.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhogoju, S; Nahashon, S N; Donkor, J; Kimathi, B; Johnson, D; Khwatenge, C; Bowden-Taylor, T

    2017-05-01

    Lysine is the second limiting essential amino acid in poultry nutrition after methionine. Understanding the lysine requirement of poultry is necessary in guiding formulation of least cost diets that effectively meet the nutritional needs of individual birds. The lysine requirement of the Pearl Grey guinea fowl (PGGF) is not known. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the appropriate lysine levels required for optimal growth attributes of the PGGF. In a 12-week study, 512 one-day-old Pearl Grey guinea keets were weighed individually and randomly assigned to electrically heated battery brooders. Each battery contained 12 compartments housing 15 birds each. Eight diets fed to the experimental birds consisted of corn-soybean meal and contained 0.80 to 1.22 digestible lysine in 0.06% increments. Feed and water were provided at free choice and the diets were replicated twice. Experimental diets contained 3,100 Kcal metabolizable energy (ME)/kg diet and 23% crude protein (CP), 3,150 ME Kcal ME/kg diet and 21% CP, and 3,100 ME/kg and 17% CP, at zero to 4, 5 to 10, and 11 to 12 weeks of age (WOA), respectively. Birds were provided water ad libitum and a 23:1 and 8:16-hr (light:dark) regimen at zero to 8 and 9 to 12 WOA, respectively. Birds were weighed weekly, and body weight gain, feed consumption, and feed conversions were determined. Data were analyzed using the General Linear Model (GLM) procedures of SAS (2002) with dietary lysine as treatment effect. Females responded better to diets containing 1.04 and 0.8% lysine from hatch to 4 and 5 to 12 WOA, respectively. Males responded better to diets containing 1.10 and 0.8% lysine at hatch to 4 WOA and 5 to 12 WOA, respectively. Therefore, we recommend that PGGF females and males be fed diets containing 1.04 and 1.10%, respectively, at hatch to 4 WOA and 0.80% lysine at 5 to 12 WOA. The diets should be supplied in phases. © 2016 Poultry Science Association Inc.

  14. Insulin Biosynthetic Interaction Network Component, TMEM24, Facilitates Insulin Reserve Pool Release

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anita Pottekat

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Insulin homeostasis in pancreatic β cells is now recognized as a critical element in the progression of obesity and type II diabetes (T2D. Proteins that interact with insulin to direct its sequential synthesis, folding, trafficking, and packaging into reserve granules in order to manage release in response to elevated glucose remain largely unknown. Using a conformation-based approach combined with mass spectrometry, we have generated the insulin biosynthetic interaction network (insulin BIN, a proteomic roadmap in the β cell that describes the sequential interacting partners of insulin along the secretory axis. The insulin BIN revealed an abundant C2 domain-containing transmembrane protein 24 (TMEM24 that manages glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from a reserve pool of granules, a critical event impaired in patients with T2D. The identification of TMEM24 in the context of a comprehensive set of sequential insulin-binding partners provides a molecular description of the insulin secretory pathway in β cells.

  15. SucStruct: Prediction of succinylated lysine residues by using structural properties of amino acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López, Yosvany; Dehzangi, Abdollah; Lal, Sunil Pranit; Taherzadeh, Ghazaleh; Michaelson, Jacob; Sattar, Abdul; Tsunoda, Tatsuhiko; Sharma, Alok

    2017-06-15

    Post-Translational Modification (PTM) is a biological reaction which contributes to diversify the proteome. Despite many modifications with important roles in cellular activity, lysine succinylation has recently emerged as an important PTM mark. It alters the chemical structure of lysines, leading to remarkable changes in the structure and function of proteins. In contrast to the huge amount of proteins being sequenced in the post-genome era, the experimental detection of succinylated residues remains expensive, inefficient and time-consuming. Therefore, the development of computational tools for accurately predicting succinylated lysines is an urgent necessity. To date, several approaches have been proposed but their sensitivity has been reportedly poor. In this paper, we propose an approach that utilizes structural features of amino acids to improve lysine succinylation prediction. Succinylated and non-succinylated lysines were first retrieved from 670 proteins and characteristics such as accessible surface area, backbone torsion angles and local structure conformations were incorporated. We used the k-nearest neighbors cleaning treatment for dealing with class imbalance and designed a pruned decision tree for classification. Our predictor, referred to as SucStruct (Succinylation using Structural features), proved to significantly improve performance when compared to previous predictors, with sensitivity, accuracy and Mathew's correlation coefficient equal to 0.7334-0.7946, 0.7444-0.7608 and 0.4884-0.5240, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Bacterial natural product biosynthetic domain composition in soil correlates with changes in latitude on a continent-wide scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemetre, Christophe; Maniko, Jeffrey; Charlop-Powers, Zachary; Sparrow, Ben; Lowe, Andrew J; Brady, Sean F

    2017-10-31

    Although bacterial bioactive metabolites have been one of the most prolific sources of lead structures for the development of small-molecule therapeutics, very little is known about the environmental factors associated with changes in secondary metabolism across natural environments. Large-scale sequencing of environmental microbiomes has the potential to shed light on the richness of bacterial biosynthetic diversity hidden in the environment, how it varies from one environment to the next, and what environmental factors correlate with changes in biosynthetic diversity. In this study, the sequencing of PCR amplicons generated using primers targeting either ketosynthase domains from polyketide biosynthesis or adenylation domains from nonribosomal peptide biosynthesis was used to assess biosynthetic domain composition and richness in soils collected across the Australian continent. Using environmental variables collected at each soil site, we looked for environmental factors that correlated with either high overall domain richness or changes in the domain composition. Among the environmental variables we measured, changes in biosynthetic domain composition correlate most closely with changes in latitude and to a lesser extent changes in pH. Although it is unclear at this time the exact mix of factors that may drive the relationship between biosynthetic domain composition and latitude, from a practical perspective the identification of a latitudinal basis for differences in soil metagenome biosynthetic domain compositions should help guide future natural product discovery efforts. Published under the PNAS license.

  17. Controllable synthesis of functional nanocomposites: Covalently functionalize graphene sheets with biocompatible L-lysine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mo, Zunli; Gou, Hao; He, Jingxian; Yang, Peipei; Feng, Chao; Guo, Ruibin

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► The biocompatible L-lysine functionalized graphene sheets (Gs/Lys) were synthesized controllably using a novel method. ► The Gs/Lys nanocomposites are water-soluble, biocompatible and chiral. ► A chiral graphene derivative was proposed. - Abstract: In this paper a novel method to synthesize functionalize graphene sheets (Gs) by biocompatible L-lysine (Gs/Lys) is reported. The method was composed of two steps: (1) we controllably synthesized self-assembly Gs/Lys-Cu-Lys through the terminal amino of copper L-lysine (Lys-Cu-Lys) attaching to graphite oxide (GO) and then reducing. (2) Obtained the Gs/Lys by eliminating the copper ion. This method could also be used to functionalize other nanomaterials by L-lysine. The Gs/Lys nanocomposites are water-soluble, biocompatible, and above all, it is a chiral material of graphene, which is proposed by us. This novel material will be promising for more applications of graphene. The formation of Gs/Lys nanocomposites were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermal gravimetric (TG) analysis.

  18. Overlapping riboflavin supply pathways in bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Angulo, Víctor Antonio

    2017-03-01

    Riboflavin derivatives are essential cofactors for a myriad of flavoproteins. In bacteria, flavins importance extends beyond their role as intracellular protein cofactors, as secreted flavins are a key metabolite in a variety of physiological processes. Bacteria obtain riboflavin through the endogenous riboflavin biosynthetic pathway (RBP) or by the use of importer proteins. Bacteria frequently encode multiple paralogs of the RBP enzymes and as for other micronutrient supply pathways, biosynthesis and uptake functions largely coexist. It is proposed that bacteria shut down biosynthesis and would rather uptake riboflavin when the vitamin is environmentally available. Recently, the overlap of riboflavin provisioning elements has gained attention and the functions of duplicated paralogs of RBP enzymes started to be addressed. Results point towards the existence of a modular structure in the bacterial riboflavin supply pathways. Such structure uses subsets of RBP genes to supply riboflavin for specific functions. Given the importance of riboflavin in intra and extracellular bacterial physiology, this complex array of riboflavin provision pathways may have developed to contend with the various riboflavin requirements. In riboflavin-prototrophic bacteria, riboflavin transporters could represent a module for riboflavin provision for particular, yet unidentified processes, rather than substituting for the RBP as usually assumed.

  19. Hemoglobin Labeled by Radioactive Lysine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bale, W. F.; Yuile, C. L.; DeLaVergne, L.; Miller, L. L.; Whipple, G. H.

    1949-12-08

    This paper reports on the utilization of tagged epsilon carbon of DL-lysine by a dog both anemic and hypoproteinemic due to repeated bleeding plus a diet low in protein. The experiment extended over period of 234 days, a time sufficient to indicate an erythrocyte life span of at least 115 days based upon the rate of replacement of labeled red cell proteins. The proteins of broken down red cells seem not to be used with any great preference for the synthesis of new hemoglobin.

  20. Effect of Selected Plant Extracts and D- and L-Lysine on the Cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lurling, M.F.L.L.W.; Oosterhout, J.F.X.

    2014-01-01

    We tested extracts from Fructus mume, Salvia miltiorrhiza and Moringa oleifera as well as L-lysine and D-Lysine as curative measures to rapidly suppress the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa NIVA-CYA 43. We tested these compounds under similar conditions to facilitate comparisons. We

  1. Genetic analysis of diaminopimelic acid- and lysine-requiring mutants of Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bukhari, A I; Taylor, A L

    1971-03-01

    Several diaminopimelic acid (DAP)- and lysine-requiring mutants of Escherichia coli were isolated and studied by genetic, physiological, and biochemical means. The genes concerned with DAP-lysine synthesis map at several different sites on the E. coli chromosome and, therefore, do not constitute a single operon. Three separate loci affecting DAP synthesis are located in the 0 to 2.5 min region of the genetic map. The order of the loci in this region is thr-dapB-pyrA-ara-leu-pan-dapC-tonA-dapD. Two additional DAP genes map in the region between min 47 and 48, with the gene order being gua-dapA-dapE-ctr. The lys locus at min 55 determines the synthesis of the enzyme DAP decarboxylase, which catalyzes the conversion of DAP into lysine. The order of the genes in this region is serA-lysA-thyA.

  2. Energy and lysine requirements and balances of sows during transition and lactation: A factorial approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Feyera, Takele; Theil, Peter Kappel

    2017-01-01

    components (including uterus wall, placenta and membrane fluids) and maintenance were estimated. It was estimated that maintenance, additional heat loss, colostrum production, fetal growth, mammary growth and uterine components accounted for 66.8%, 19.3%, 7.2%, 5.0%, 1.3% and 0.5% of total ME requirements......, respectively, in the last 12 days of gestation. Oxidation/transamination, fetal growth, mammary growth, colostrum production, maintenance and uterine components were estimated to account for 29.5%, 22.7%, 16.8%, 16.1%, 10.4% and 4.5% of total SID lysine requirements, respectively, in the last 12 days...... of gestation. After parturition, ME and SID lysine requirements increased daily until peak lactation (day 17). At peak lactation, 95% and 72% of total required SID lysine and ME, respectively, were associated with milk production (including oxidation). Relative to day 104 of gestation, ME and SID lysine...

  3. Histidine-lysine peptides as carriers of nucleic acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leng, Qixin; Goldgeier, Lisa; Zhu, Jingsong; Cambell, Patricia; Ambulos, Nicholas; Mixson, A James

    2007-03-01

    With their biodegradability and diversity of permutations, peptides have significant potential as carriers of nucleic acids. This review will focus on the sequence and branching patterns of peptide carriers composed primarily of histidines and lysines. While lysines within peptides are important for binding to the negatively charged phosphates, histidines are critical for endosomal lysis enabling nucleic acids to reach the cytosol. Histidine-lysine (HK) polymers by either covalent or ionic bonds with liposomes augment transfection compared to liposome carriers alone. More recently, we have examined peptides as sole carriers of nucleic acids because of their intrinsic advantages compared to the bipartite HK/liposome carriers. With a protocol change and addition of a histidine-rich tail, HK peptides as sole carriers were more effective than liposomes alone in several cell lines. While four-branched polymers with a primary repeating sequence pattern of -HHK- were more effective as carriers of plasmids, eight-branched polymers with a sequence pattern of -HHHK- were more effective as carriers of siRNA. Compared to polyethylenimine, HK carriers of siRNA and plasmids had reduced toxicity. When injected intravenously, HK polymers in complex with plasmids encoding antiangiogenic proteins significantly decreased tumor growth. Furthermore, modification of HK polymers with polyethylene glycol and vascular-specific ligands increased specificity of the polyplex to the tumor by more than 40-fold. Together with further development and insight on the structure of HK polyplexes, HK peptides may prove to be useful as carriers of different forms of nucleic acids both in vitro and in vivo.

  4. Enzyme organization in the proline biosynthetic pathway of Escherichia coli

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gamper, H; Moses, V

    1974-01-01

    The conversion of glutamic acid to proline by an Escherichia coli extract was studied. The activity was dependent upon the presence of ATP and NADPH and was largely unaffected by the presence of NH/sub 3/ or imidazole. The first two pathway enzymes appear to exist as a complex which stabilizes a labile intermediate postulated as ..gamma..-glutamyl phosphate. Attempted synthesis of this compound was unsuccessful due to its spontaneous cyclization to 2-pyrrolidone 5-carboxylate. Dissociation of the enzyme complex upon dilution of the extract is presumed responsible for an experimentally observed dilution effect. E. coli pro/sub A//sup -/ and pro/sub B//sup -/ auxotroph extracts failed to complement one another in the biosynthesis of proline. This is attributed to the lack of a dynamic equilibrium between the complex and its constituent enzymes. In vivo studies with E. coli showed no evidence for metabolic channeling in the final reaction of proline synthesis, the reduction of ..delta../sup 1/-pyrroline 5-carboxylate.

  5. Lysine metabolism in antisense C-hordein barley grains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Daiana; Rizzi, Vanessa; Gaziola, Salete A

    2015-01-01

    The grain proteins of barley are deficient in lysine and threonine due to their low concentrations in the major storage protein class, the hordeins, especially in the C-hordein subgroup. Previously produced antisense C-hordein transgenic barley lines have an improved amino acid composition, with ...

  6. Effect of feeding three lysine to energy diets on growth, body composition and age at puberty in replacement gilts

    Science.gov (United States)

    This study evaluated the effect of diets differing in standard ileal digestible (SID) lysine on lysine intake, growth rate, body composition and age at puberty on maternal line gilts. Crossbred Large White×Landrace gilts (n =641) were fed corn-soybean diets differing in SID lysine concentration (%, ...

  7. Regulation of eukaryotic elongation factor 1 alpha (eEF1A) by dynamic lysine methylation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jakobsson, Magnus E; Małecki, Jędrzej; Falnes, Pål Ø

    2018-01-01

    Lysine methylation is a frequent post-translational protein modification, which has been intensively studied in the case of histone proteins. Lysine methylations are also found on many non-histone proteins, and one prominent example is eukaryotic elongation factor 1 alpha (eEF1A). Besides its...... essential role in the protein synthesis machinery, a number of non-canonical functions have also been described for eEF1A, such as regulation of the actin cytoskeleton and the promotion of viral replication. The functional significance of the extensive lysine methylations on eEF1A, as well as the identity...

  8. Report: Bioconversion of agriculture waste to lysine with UV mutated strain of brevibacterium flavum and its biological evaluation in broiler chicks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabassum, Alia; Hashmi, Abu Saeed; Masood, Faiza; Iqbal, Muhammad Aamir; Tayyab, Muhammad; Nawab, Amber; Nadeem, Asif; Sadeghi, Zahra; Mahmood, Adeel

    2015-07-01

    Lysine executes imperative structural and functional roles in body and its supplementation in diet beneficial to prevent the escalating threat of protein deficiency. The physical mutagenesis offers new fascinating avenues of research for overproduction of lysine through surplus carbohydrate containing agriculture waste especially in developing countries. The current study was aimed to investigate the potential of UV mutated strain of Brevibacterium flavum at 254 nm for lysine production. The physical and nutritional parameters were optimized and maximum lysine production was observed with molasses (4% substrate water ratio). Moreover, supplementation of culture medium with metal cations (i.e. 0.4% CaSO₄, 0.3% NaCl, 0.3% KH₂PO₄, 0.4% MgSO₄, and 0.2% (NH₄) ₂SO₄w/v) together with 0.75% v/v corn steep liquor significantly enhanced the lysine production up to 26.71 ± 0.31 g/L. Though, concentrations of urea, ammonium nitrate and yeast sludge did not exhibit any profound effect on lysine production. Biological evaluation of lysine enriched biomass in terms of weight gain and feed conversion ratio reflected non-significant difference for experimental and control (+ve) groups. Conclusively, lysine produced in the form of biomass was compatible to market lysine in its effectiveness and have potential to utilize at commercial scale.

  9. Effect of Selected Plant Extracts and D- and L-Lysine on the Cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miquel Lürling

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available We tested extracts from Fructus mume, Salvia miltiorrhiza and Moringa oleifera as well as L-lysine and D-Lysine as curative measures to rapidly suppress the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa NIVA-CYA 43. We tested these compounds under similar conditions to facilitate comparisons. We hypothesized that for each compound, relatively low concentrations—i.e., 5–50 mg L−1, would reduce M. aeruginosa biomass. At these low concentrations, only L-lysine caused a decline in M. aeruginosa biomass at ≥4.3 mg L−1. F. mume extract was effective to do so at high concentrations, i.e., at ≥240 mg L−1, but the others were virtually non-effective. Low pH caused by organic acids is a probable explanation for the effect of F. mume extract. No complete wipe-outs of the experimental population were achieved as Photosystem II efficiency showed a recovery after six days. L-lysine may be effective at low concentrations—meaning low material costs. However, the effect of L-lysine seems relatively short-lived. Overall, the results of our study did not support the use of the tested plant extracts and amino-acid as promising candidates for curative application in M. aeruginosa bloom control.

  10. Evidence for a Saponin Biosynthesis Pathway in the Body Wall of the Commercially Significant Sea Cucumber Holothuria scabra.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitu, Shahida Akter; Bose, Utpal; Suwansa-Ard, Saowaros; Turner, Luke H; Zhao, Min; Elizur, Abigail; Ogbourne, Steven M; Shaw, Paul Nicholas; Cummins, Scott F

    2017-11-07

    The sea cucumber (phylum Echinodermata) body wall is the first line of defense and is well known for its production of secondary metabolites; including vitamins and triterpenoid glycoside saponins that have important ecological functions and potential benefits to human health. The genes involved in the various biosynthetic pathways are unknown. To gain insight into these pathways in an echinoderm, we performed a comparative transcriptome analysis and functional annotation of the body wall and the radial nerve of the sea cucumber Holothuria scabra ; to define genes associated with body wall metabolic functioning and secondary metabolite biosynthesis. We show that genes related to signal transduction mechanisms were more highly represented in the H. scabra body wall, including genes encoding enzymes involved in energy production. Eight of the core triterpenoid biosynthesis enzymes were found, however, the identity of the saponin specific biosynthetic pathway enzymes remains unknown. We confirm the body wall release of at least three different triterpenoid saponins using solid phase extraction followed by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry. The resource we have established will help to guide future research to explore secondary metabolite biosynthesis in the sea cucumber.

  11. Evidence for a Saponin Biosynthesis Pathway in the Body Wall of the Commercially Significant Sea Cucumber Holothuria scabra

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahida Akter Mitu

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The sea cucumber (phylum Echinodermata body wall is the first line of defense and is well known for its production of secondary metabolites; including vitamins and triterpenoid glycoside saponins that have important ecological functions and potential benefits to human health. The genes involved in the various biosynthetic pathways are unknown. To gain insight into these pathways in an echinoderm, we performed a comparative transcriptome analysis and functional annotation of the body wall and the radial nerve of the sea cucumber Holothuria scabra; to define genes associated with body wall metabolic functioning and secondary metabolite biosynthesis. We show that genes related to signal transduction mechanisms were more highly represented in the H. scabra body wall, including genes encoding enzymes involved in energy production. Eight of the core triterpenoid biosynthesis enzymes were found, however, the identity of the saponin specific biosynthetic pathway enzymes remains unknown. We confirm the body wall release of at least three different triterpenoid saponins using solid phase extraction followed by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry. The resource we have established will help to guide future research to explore secondary metabolite biosynthesis in the sea cucumber.

  12. Impact of lysine-fortified wheat flour on morbidity and immunologic variables among members of rural families in northwest Syria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, Shibani; Pellett, Peter L; Aw-Hassan, Aden; Mouneime, Youssef; Smriga, Miro; Scrimshaw, Nevin S

    2008-09-01

    Previous studies have shown an effect of lysine fortification on nutrition and immunity of poor men, women, and children consuming a predominantly wheat-based diet. To examine the lysine value of diets and the effect of lysine fortification on functional protein status, anthropometry, and morbidity of men, women, and children in rural Syria. At baseline of a two-phase study using 7-day household food intake inventories (n = 98), nutrient availabilities per adult male equivalent were estimated. In the intervention phase, a 16-week double-blind trial, households (n = 106) were randomly assigned to control and lysine groups. Hematologic and anthropometric data were collected from men (n = 69; 31 control, 38 lysine), women (n = 99; 51 control, 48 lysine), and children (n = 69; 37 control, 32 lysine) at baseline, 12 weeks, and 16 weeks. Total CD3 T lymphocytes as well as T lymphocytes bearing the receptors CD4, CD8, and CD56, IgM, IgG, IgA, complement C3, C-reactive protein, serum albumin, prealbumin, transferrin, retinol-binding protein, hemoglobin, and hepatitis B surface antigen were determined. Health status and flour usage were monitored. Paired- and independent-sample t-tests and chi-square tests were performed. Mean nutrient availability per adult equivalent was 2,650 +/- 806 kcal, 70.1 +/- 26.4 g protein, 65 +/- 14% cereal protein, and 41.9 +/- 0.8 mg lysine per gram of protein. Complement C3 was significantly higher in men receiving lysine than in controls (p children, who have much higher morbidity and mortality rates from this disease than school-age children or adults.

  13. Comparison of transcripts in Phalaenopsis bellina and Phalaenopsis equestris (Orchidaceae flowers to deduce monoterpene biosynthesis pathway

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wu Tian-Shung

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Floral scent is one of the important strategies for ensuring fertilization and for determining seed or fruit set. Research on plant scents has hampered mainly by the invisibility of this character, its dynamic nature, and complex mixtures of components that are present in very small quantities. Most progress in scent research, as in other areas of plant biology, has come from the use of molecular and biochemical techniques. Although volatile components have been identified in several orchid species, the biosynthetic pathways of orchid flower fragrance are far from understood. We investigated how flower fragrance was generated in certain Phalaenopsis orchids by determining the chemical components of the floral scent, identifying floral expressed-sequence-tags (ESTs, and deducing the pathways of floral scent biosynthesis in Phalaneopsis bellina by bioinformatics analysis. Results The main chemical components in the P. bellina flower were shown by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to be monoterpenoids, benzenoids and phenylpropanoids. The set of floral scent producing enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway from glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P to geraniol and linalool were recognized through data mining of the P. bellina floral EST database (dbEST. Transcripts preferentially expressed in P. bellina were distinguished by comparing the scent floral dbEST to that of a scentless species, P. equestris, and included those encoding lipoxygenase, epimerase, diacylglycerol kinase and geranyl diphosphate synthase. In addition, EST filtering results showed that transcripts encoding signal transduction and Myb transcription factors and methyltransferase, in addition to those for scent biosynthesis, were detected by in silico hybridization of the P. bellina unigene database against those of the scentless species, rice and Arabidopsis. Altogether, we pinpointed 66% of the biosynthetic steps from G3P to geraniol, linalool and their derivatives

  14. Comparison of transcripts in Phalaenopsis bellina and Phalaenopsis equestris (Orchidaceae) flowers to deduce monoterpene biosynthesis pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsiao, Yu-Yun; Tsai, Wen-Chieh; Kuoh, Chang-Sheng; Huang, Tian-Hsiang; Wang, Hei-Chia; Wu, Tian-Shung; Leu, Yann-Lii; Chen, Wen-Huei; Chen, Hong-Hwa

    2006-07-13

    Floral scent is one of the important strategies for ensuring fertilization and for determining seed or fruit set. Research on plant scents has hampered mainly by the invisibility of this character, its dynamic nature, and complex mixtures of components that are present in very small quantities. Most progress in scent research, as in other areas of plant biology, has come from the use of molecular and biochemical techniques. Although volatile components have been identified in several orchid species, the biosynthetic pathways of orchid flower fragrance are far from understood. We investigated how flower fragrance was generated in certain Phalaenopsis orchids by determining the chemical components of the floral scent, identifying floral expressed-sequence-tags (ESTs), and deducing the pathways of floral scent biosynthesis in Phalaneopsis bellina by bioinformatics analysis. The main chemical components in the P. bellina flower were shown by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to be monoterpenoids, benzenoids and phenylpropanoids. The set of floral scent producing enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway from glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P) to geraniol and linalool were recognized through data mining of the P. bellina floral EST database (dbEST). Transcripts preferentially expressed in P. bellina were distinguished by comparing the scent floral dbEST to that of a scentless species, P. equestris, and included those encoding lipoxygenase, epimerase, diacylglycerol kinase and geranyl diphosphate synthase. In addition, EST filtering results showed that transcripts encoding signal transduction and Myb transcription factors and methyltransferase, in addition to those for scent biosynthesis, were detected by in silico hybridization of the P. bellina unigene database against those of the scentless species, rice and Arabidopsis. Altogether, we pinpointed 66% of the biosynthetic steps from G3P to geraniol, linalool and their derivatives. This systems biology program combined

  15. Arabidopsis brassinosteroid biosynthetic mutant dwarf7-1 exhibits slower rates of cell division and shoot induction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schulz Burkhard

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Plant growth depends on both cell division and cell expansion. Plant hormones, including brassinosteroids (BRs, are central to the control of these two cellular processes. Despite clear evidence that BRs regulate cell elongation, their roles in cell division have remained elusive. Results Here, we report results emphasizing the importance of BRs in cell division. An Arabidopsis BR biosynthetic mutant, dwarf7-1, displayed various characteristics attributable to slower cell division rates. We found that the DWARF4 gene which encodes for an enzyme catalyzing a rate-determining step in the BR biosynthetic pathways, is highly expressed in the actively dividing callus, suggesting that BR biosynthesis is necessary for dividing cells. Furthermore, dwf7-1 showed noticeably slower rates of callus growth and shoot induction relative to wild-type control. Flow cytometric analyses of the nuclei derived from either calli or intact roots revealed that the cell division index, which was represented as the ratio of cells at the G2/M vs. G1 phases, was smaller in dwf7-1 plants. Finally, we found that the expression levels of the genes involved in cell division and shoot induction, such as PROLIFERATING CELL NUCLEAR ANTIGEN2 (PCNA2 and ENHANCER OF SHOOT REGENERATION2 (ESR2, were also lower in dwf7-1 as compared with wild type. Conclusions Taken together, results of callus induction, shoot regeneration, flow cytometry, and semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis suggest that BRs play important roles in both cell division and cell differentiation in Arabidopsis.

  16. Increase of rutin antioxidant activity by generating Maillard reaction products with lysine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ru; Zhang, Bian-Ling; He, Ting; Yi, Ting; Yang, Ji-Ping; He, Bin

    2016-06-01

    Rutin exists in medicinal herbs, fruits, vegetables, and a number of plant-derived sources. Dietary sources containing rutin are considered beneficial because of their potential protective roles in multiple diseases related to oxidative stresses. In the present study, the change and antioxidation activity of rutin in Maillard reaction with lysine through a heating process were investigated. There is release of glucose and rhamnose that interact with lysine to give Maillard reaction products (MRPs), while rutin is converted to less-polar quercetin and a small quantity of isoquercitrin. Because of their high cell-membrane permeability, the rutin-lysine MRPs increase the free radical-scavenging activity in HepG2 cells, showing cellular antioxidant activity against Cu(2+)-induced oxidative stress higher than that of rutin. Furthermore, the MRPs significantly increased the Cu/Zn SOD (superoxide dismutase) activity and Cu/Zn SOD gene expression of HepG2 cells, consequently enhancing antioxidation activity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Aspects of the selection, design and use of high lysine cereals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munck, L.

    1976-01-01

    A discussion of the need for and the considerations involved in the breeding of high lysine cereals is presented. Progress in the discovery and exploitation of genotypes with high lysine characters in maize and barley are briefly reviewed. The role and some of the characteristics of the dye-binding capacity (DBC) methods are evaluated along with the ways in which DBC results should be used in combination with other information. Lastly, the changes in attitudes and procedures associated with the acceptance of a product of a new technology such as nutritionally improved cereals is discussed. (author)

  18. Bioenergetic coupling between membrane transport systems and biosynthetic pathways essential for cell cycle progression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leister, K.J.; Cutry, A.F.; Wenner, C.E.

    1986-01-01

    Recently, it has been shown that there exists a point in the cell cycle (approximately 2 h prior to S phase entry) when (Na + /K + )ATPase pump activity is no longer needed for progression through the cycle. These data suggests that pump activity is critical in the biosynthetic processes which enables the cell to proceed through the G 1 phase. A scheme is proposed which is currently being tested that (Na + /K + )ATPase pump activity serves as the driving force in the regulation of other membrane transport processes critical for cell proliferation. For example, in post-confluent quiescent C3H-10T1/2 fibroblasts, when [K + ]/sub o/ is lowered just below the K/sub m/ of the pump for K + there is a 10-fold increase in 3 H-uridine uptake into both acid soluble and insoluble cell fractions. By modulation of the pump in this manner, glucose utilization is enhanced whereas inhibition of the pump by ouabain suppresses glucose utilization. In both methods of affecting the pump, 3 H-leucine incorporation is inhibited. Electron acceptors that influence the redox state of the cell have been shown to both stimulate or inhibit cell cycle progression. Under conditions where [K + ]/sub o/ is lowered, the nucleoside uptake responses observed were modified by electron acceptors depending on the ability to oxidize NAD(P)H directly or to interact with a cytochrome-like component, (e.g. phenazine methosulfate) reversed the enhanced uridine uptake and p-phenylene diamine further enhanced the uridine uptake response. These findings suggest that a plasma membrane redox system (presumably cyt-c like) is linked to nucleoside transport which is subject to (Na + /K + )ATPase activity

  19. Effect of different levels of lysine in the diet of broilers on the metabolism of /sup 35/S-methionine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stanchev, Kh; Venkov, T; Dzharova, M [Akademiya na Selskostopanskite Nauki, Sofia-Kostinbrod (Bulgaria). Inst. po Zhivotnovydstvo

    1974-01-01

    The lack of balance of the ration with respect to lysine leads to a decrease in the rate of incorporation of /sup 35/S-methionine in the liver, pancreas, kidney and femoral muscle. Most intensive protein synthesis in the liver of chickens is observed in the group receiving ration balanced with respect to lysine while in the case of a deficiency or excess of lysine the protein biosynthesis drops. The deficiency or excess of lysine leads to an increase in the excretion rate and decreases the assimilability of radioactive methionine in the chickens organisms. (INIS)

  20. 78 kDa receptor for Man6P-independent lysosomal enzyme targeting: Biosynthetic transport from endoplasmic reticulum to 'high-density vesicles'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzalez-Noriega, Alfonso; Ortega Cuellar, Daniel D.; Michalak, Colette

    2006-01-01

    Recent work has shown that the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate and the 78 kDa receptors for lysosomal enzyme targeting are located in different cell compartments. While the mannose 6-phosphate receptor is enriched in the Percoll fractions that contain Golgi apparatus, most of the 78 kDa receptor is localized in a heavy fraction at the bottom of the Percoll gradient. This report presents the biosynthetic transport of the 78 kDa receptor. Newly synthesized 78 kDa receptor was transported to Golgi from endoplasmic reticulum with a half life of 5 min. From the Golgi apparatus, the receptor takes two routes; about 15-25% is transported to the plasma membrane, and the rest migrates to late endosomes, subsequently to prelysosomes and finally to the dense vesicles. The 78 kDa receptor starts appearing at the dense vesicles 120 min after biosynthesis and reaches a maximum of 40-50% of the total receptor. Treatment of cells with NH 4 Cl causes depletion of the receptor from the dense vesicles and prelysosomes and corresponding augmentation in endosomes and plasma membrane. These results suggest that the 78 kDa receptor cycles between compartments and that the dense vesicles seem to represent the most distal compartment in the biosynthetic pathway of this receptor

  1. Differential effects of 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol on the neutral and acidic pathways of bile salt synthesis in the rat

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koopen, NR; Post, SM; Wolters, H; Havinga, R; Stellaard, F; Boverhof, R; Kuipers, F; Princen, HMG

    Effects of 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE) on the neutral and acidic biosynthetic pathways of bile salt (BS) synthesis were evaluated in rats with an intact enterohepatic circulation and in rats with long-term bile diversion to induce BS synthesis, For this purpose, bile salt pool composition,

  2. Acid dissociation constant and apparent nucleophilicity of lysine-501 of the alpha-polypeptide of sodium and potassium ion activated adenosinetriphosphatase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, K.Y.

    1989-01-01

    A combination of competitive labeling with [ 3 H]acetic anhydride and immunoaffinity chromatography is described that permits the assignment of the acid dissociation constant and the absolute nucleophilicity of individual lysines in a native enzyme. The acid dissociation constant of lysine-501 of the alpha-polypeptide in native (Na+ + K+)-ATPase was determined. This lysine had a normal pKa of 10.4. The rate constant for the reaction of the free base of lysine-501 with acetic anhydride at 10 degrees C is 400 M-1 s-1. This value is only 30% that for a fully accessible lysine in a protein. The lower than normal apparent nucleophilicity suggests that lysine-501 is hindered from reacting with its intrinsic nucleophilicity by the tertiary structure of the enzyme and is consistent with its location within a pocket that forms the active site upon the surface of the native protein

  3. Genes encoding enzymes of the lignin biosynthesis pathway in Eucalyptus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Harakava

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Eucalyptus ESTs libraries were screened for genes involved in lignin biosynthesis. This search was performed under the perspective of recent revisions on the monolignols biosynthetic pathway. Eucalyptus orthologues of all genes of the phenylpropanoid pathway leading to lignin biosynthesis reported in other plant species were identified. A library made with mRNAs extracted from wood was enriched for genes involved in lignin biosynthesis and allowed to infer the isoforms of each gene family that play a major role in wood lignin formation. Analysis of the wood library suggests that, besides the enzymes of the phenylpropanoids pathway, chitinases, laccases, and dirigent proteins are also important for lignification. Colocalization of several enzymes on the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, as predicted by amino acid sequence analysis, supports the existence of metabolic channeling in the phenylpropanoid pathway. This study establishes a framework for future investigations on gene expression level, protein expression and enzymatic assays, sequence polymorphisms, and genetic engineering.

  4. A Genetics Laboratory Module Involving Selection and Identification of Lysine Synthesis Mutants in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jill B. Keeney

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available We have developed a laboratory exercise, currently being used with college sophomores, which uses the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to convey the concepts of amino acid biosynthesis, mutation, and gene complementation. In brief, selective medium is used to isolate yeast cells carrying a mutation in the lysine biosynthesis pathway. A spontaneous mutation in any one of three separate genetic loci will allow for growth on selective media; however, the frequency of mutations isolated from each locus differs. Following isolation of a mutated strain, students use complementation analysis to identify which gene contains the mutation. Since the yeast genome has been mapped and sequenced, students with access to the Internet can then research and develop hypotheses to explain the differences in frequencies of mutant genes obtained.

  5. Antibacterial activity of a newly developed peptide-modified lysin against Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hang eYang

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The global emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR bacteria is a growing threat to public health worldwide. Natural bacteriophage lysins are promising alternatives in the treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive pathogens, but not Gram-negative ones, like Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, due to the barriers posed by their outer membranes. Recently, modifying a natural lysin with an antimicrobial peptide was found able to break the barriers, and to kill Gram-negative pathogens. Herein, a new peptide-modified lysin (PlyA was constructed by fusing the cecropin A peptide residues 1–8 (KWKLFKKI with the OBPgp279 lysin and its antibacterial activity was studied. PlyA showed good and broad antibacterial activities against logarithmic phase A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa, but much reduced activities against the cells in stationary phase. Addition of outer membrane permeabilizers (EDTA and citric acid could enhance the antibacterial activity of PlyA against stationary phase cells. Finally, no antibacterial activity of PlyA could be observed in some bio-matrices, such as culture media, milk, and sera. In conclusion, we reported here a novel peptide-modified lysin with significant antibacterial activity against both logarithmic (without OMPs and stationary phase (with OMPs A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa cells in buffer, but further optimization is needed to achieve broad activity in diverse bio-matrices.

  6. Induction of monooxygenases and incorporation of radioactivity from 2-14C-lysine into hepatic microsomes of phenobarbital-treated rats fed a diet deficient in lysine, methionine, threonine and vitamine A, C and E

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nurmagambetov, T.Zh.; Amirov, B.B.; Kuanysheva, T.K.; Sharmanov, T.Sh.

    1991-01-01

    The effect of diet on induction of monooxygenases and distribution of label from 2- 14 C-lysine in fractions of liver homogenate, muscle homogenate and blood of male rats treated with phenobarbital (80 mg/rg, three days) was studied. 2- 14 C-lysine was injected intraperitoneally 24 h before the first injection of phenobarbital. It was demonstrated that monooxygenase induction, increase of relative liver weight and incorporation of label from 2- 14 C-lysine into fractions of liver homogenate in phenobarbital-treated rats were more pronounced as compared with the similarly trated rats that were fed a balanced diet. The possibility of mobilization of deficient essential components to liver from other organs and tissues for maintenance of monooxygenase induction is discussed

  7. Lysine-functionalized nanodiamonds: synthesis, physiochemical characterization, and nucleic acid binding studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaur R

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Randeep Kaur,1 Jackson M Chitanda,2 Deborah Michel,1 Jason Maley,3 Ferenc Borondics,2,4 Peng Yang,5 Ronald E Verrall,2 Ildiko Badea11Drug Design and Discovery Research Group, College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, 2Department of Chemistry, University of Saskatchewan, 3Saskatchewan Structural Sciences Centre, University of Saskatchewan, 4Canadian Light Source, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; 5Department of Organic Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, People's Republic of ChinaPurpose: Detonation nanodiamonds (NDs are carbon-based nanomaterials that, because of their size (4–5 nm, stable inert core, alterable surface chemistry, fluorescence, and biocompatibility, are emerging as bioimaging agents and promising tools for the delivery of biochemical molecules into cellular systems. However, diamond particles possess a strong propensity to aggregate in liquid formulation media, restricting their applicability in biomedical sciences. Here, the authors describe the covalent functionalization of NDs with lysine in an attempt to develop nanoparticles able to act as suitable nonviral vectors for transferring genetic materials across cellular membranes.Methods: NDs were oxidized and functionalized by binding lysine moieties attached to a three-carbon-length linker (1,3-diaminopropane to their surfaces through amide bonds. Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential measurement, dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopic imaging, and thermogravimetric analysis were used to characterize the lysine-functionalized NDs. Finally, the ability of the functionalized diamonds to bind plasmid DNA and small interfering RNA was investigated by gel electrophoresis assay and through size and zeta potential measurements.Results: NDs were successfully functionalized with the lysine linker, producing surface loading of 1.7 mmol g-1 of ND

  8. Lysine and pipecolic acid and some of their derivatives show anticonvulsant activity, and stimulation of benzodiazepine receptor activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Yung-Feng; Gao, Xue-Min

    1989-01-01

    Benzodiazepines are one of the most widely prescribed drugs in the treatment of anxiety, epilepsy and muscle tension. The natural products lysine and pipecolic acid known to be present in the animal, plant and microorganism, have been shown to be anticonvulsant against pentetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures in mice. Methyl and ethyl esters of L-lysine and the N-isopropanol derivative of pipecolic acid appear to increase the anticonvulsant potency of the parent compounds, presumably due to their increase in hydrophobicity. Lysine and pipecolic acid showed significant stimulation of specific [ 3 H]flunitrazepam (FZ) binding to mouse brain membranes. This stimulation was enhanced by chloride ions and stereospecific with L-isomer having higher effect. The dose-dependent anticonvulsant activity of lysine and pipecolic acid, and their stimulation of [ 3 H]FZ binding appear to be correlated. The antiepileptic activity lysine, pipecolic acid and their derivatives therefore may be mediated through the γ-aminobutyric acid-benzodiazepine receptor complex

  9. Structure of the Bacillus anthracis dTDP- L -rhamnose-biosynthetic enzyme glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase (RfbA)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baumgartner, Jackson; Lee, Jesi; Halavaty, Andrei S.; Minasov, George; Anderson, Wayne F.; Kuhn, Misty L. (NWU); (SFSU)

    2017-10-30

    L-Rhamnose is a ubiquitous bacterial cell-wall component. The biosynthetic pathway for its precursor dTDP-L-rhamnose is not present in humans, which makes the enzymes of the pathway potential drug targets. In this study, the three-dimensional structure of the first protein of this pathway, glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase (RfbA), fromBacillus anthraciswas determined. In other organisms this enzyme is referred to as RmlA. RfbA was co-crystallized with the products of the enzymatic reaction, dTDP-α-D-glucose and pyrophosphate, and its structure was determined at 2.3 Å resolution. This is the first reported thymidylyltransferase structure from a Gram-positive bacterium. RfbA shares overall structural characteristics with known RmlA homologs. However, RfbA exhibits a shorter sequence at its C-terminus, which results in the absence of three α-helices involved in allosteric site formation. Consequently, RfbA was observed to exhibit a quaternary structure that is unique among currently reported glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase bacterial homologs. These structural analyses suggest that RfbA may not be allosterically regulated in some organisms and is structurally distinct from other RmlA homologs.

  10. Giant linear plasmids in Streptomyces: a treasure trove of antibiotic biosynthetic clusters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinashi, Haruyasu

    2011-01-01

    Many giant linear plasmids have been isolated from Streptomyces by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and some of them were found to carry an antibiotic biosynthetic cluster(s); SCP1 carries biosynthetic genes for methylenomycin, pSLA2-L for lankacidin and lankamycin, and pKSL for lasalocid and echinomycin. Accumulated data suggest that giant linear plasmids have played critical roles in genome evolution and horizontal transfer of secondary metabolism. In this review, I summarize typical examples of giant linear plasmids whose involvement in antibiotic production has been studied in some detail, emphasizing their finding processes and interaction with the host chromosomes. A hypothesis on horizontal transfer of secondary metabolism involving giant linear plasmids is proposed at the end.

  11. protein, tryptophan and lysine contents in quality protien maize

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    owner

    From the human nutrition view point, lysine is the ... latitude and 79.3°E longitude and at an altitude of ... transferred to boiling tubes. ... mixtures were heated until the color changes to ... water was added into the digestion tube carefully.

  12. De novo transcriptome assembly and the putative biosynthetic pathway of steroidal sapogenins of Dioscorea composita.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xia Wang

    Full Text Available The plant Dioscorea composita has important applications in the medical and energy industries, and can be used for the extraction of steroidal sapogenins (important raw materials for the synthesis of steroidal drugs and bioethanol production. However, little is known at the genetic level about how sapogenins are biosynthesized in this plant. Using Illumina deep sequencing, 62,341 unigenes were obtained by assembling its transcriptome, and 27,720 unigenes were annotated. Of these, 8,022 unigenes were mapped to 243 specific pathways, and 531 unigenes were identified to be involved in 24 secondary metabolic pathways. 35 enzymes, which were encoded by 79 unigenes, were related to the biosynthesis of steroidal sapogenins in this transcriptome database, covering almost all the nodes in the steroidal pathway. The results of real-time PCR experiments on ten related transcripts (HMGR, MK, SQLE, FPPS, DXS, CAS, HMED, CYP51, DHCR7, and DHCR24 indicated that sapogenins were mainly biosynthesized by the mevalonate pathway. The expression of these ten transcripts in the tuber and leaves was found to be much higher than in the stem. Also, expression in the shoots was low. The nucleotide and protein sequences and conserved domains of four related genes (HMGR, CAS, SQS, and SMT1 were highly conserved between D. composita and D. zingiberensis; but expression of these four genes is greater in D. composita. However, there is no expression of these key enzymes in potato and no steroidal sapogenins are synthesized.

  13. Deregulation of histone lysine methyltransferases contributes to oncogenic transformation of human bronchoepithelial cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoda Satoshi

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Alterations in the processing of the genetic information in carcinogenesis result from stable genetic mutations or epigenetic modifications. It is becoming clear that nucleosomal histones are central to proper gene expression and that aberrant DNA methylation of genes and histone methylation plays important roles in tumor progression. To date, several histone lysine methyltransferases (HKMTs have been identified and histone lysine methylation is now considered to be a critical regulator of transcription. However, still relatively little is known about the role of HKMTs in tumorigenesis. Results We observed differential HKMT expression in a lung cancer model in which normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE cells expressing telomerase, SV40 large T antigen, and Ras were immortal, formed colonies in soft agar, and expressed specific HKMTs for H3 lysine 9 and 27 residues but not for H3 lysine 4 residue. Modifications in the H3 tails affect the binding of proteins to the histone tails and regulate protein function and the position of lysine methylation marks a gene to be either activated or repressed. In the present study, suppression by siRNA of HKMTs (EZH2, G9A, SETDB1 and SUV39H1 that are over-expressed in immortalized and transformed cells lead to reduced cell proliferation and much less anchorage-independent colony growth. We also found that the suppression of H3-K9, G9A and SUV39H1 induced apoptosis and the suppression of H3-K27, EZH2 caused G1 arrest. Conclusion Our results indicate the potential of these HKMTs in addition to the other targets for epigenetics such as DNMTs and HDACs to be interesting therapeutic targets.

  14. [Studies with 15N-labeled lysine in colostomized hens. 2. 15N excretion in feces].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gruhn, K; Wiefel, P

    1983-05-01

    Over a period of four days colostomised hens were given 15N-lysine, and the development of 15N-excretion both in the TCA-soluble and the TCA-precipitable fraction of the faeces was measured over eight days. In both fractions the total, lysine, histidine and arginine N and 15N-excess (15N') was determined. The average apparent digestibility of 14N was 81.2% +/- 1.1% and of 15N' 93.2% +/- 0.7%. Labelled N is already excreted in faeces 3 hours after its application. The TCA-precipitable N is less strongly labelled than the TCA-soluble N. During the application of 15N' the labelling in faecal lysine is nearly one power of ten higher than in total N. The atom-% 15N' of the lysine could also be distinctly detected in arginine and histidine. The quotas of the total 15N' in faeces were 3.5% for arginine-15N' and 0.8% for histidine 15N'; 15N' can mainly be detected in the soluble fraction.

  15. Effect of low protein diets and lysine supplementation on growth ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr. Ajit

    2012-07-17

    Jul 17, 2012 ... 3Division of Livestock Product Technology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar – 243 ... Key words: Carcass trait, low protein, lysine, meat quality, pigs. ... functional activities, reproduction and disease resistance.

  16. Effects of polyamines and polyamine biosynthetic inhibitors on mitotic activity of Allium cepa root tips.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unal, Meral; Palavan-Unsal, Narcin; Tufekci, M A

    2008-03-01

    The genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of exogenous polyamines (PAs), putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd), spermine (Spm) and PA biosynthetic inhibitors, alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), cyclohexilamine (CHA), methylglioxal bis-(guanylhydrazone) (MGBG) were investigated in the root meristems of Allium cepa L. The reduction of mitotic index and the induction of chromosomal aberrations such as bridges, stickiness, c-mitotic anaphases, micronuclei, endoredupliction by PAs and PA biosynthetic inhibitors were observed and these were used as evidence of genotoxicity and cytotoxicity.

  17. A Toolbox of Genetically Encoded FRET-Based Biosensors for Rapid l-Lysine Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victoria Steffen

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: The fast development of microbial production strains for basic and fine chemicals is increasingly carried out in small scale cultivation systems to allow for higher throughput. Such parallelized systems create a need for new rapid online detection systems to quantify the respective target compound. In this regard, biosensors, especially genetically encoded Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET-based biosensors, offer tremendous opportunities. As a proof-of-concept, we have created a toolbox of FRET-based biosensors for the ratiometric determination of l-lysine in fermentation broth. Methods: The sensor toolbox was constructed based on a sensor that consists of an optimized central lysine-/arginine-/ornithine-binding protein (LAO-BP flanked by two fluorescent proteins (enhanced cyan fluorescent protein (ECFP, Citrine. Further sensor variants with altered affinity and sensitivity were obtained by circular permutation of the binding protein as well as the introduction of flexible and rigid linkers between the fluorescent proteins and the LAO-BP, respectively. Results: The sensor prototype was applied to monitor the extracellular l-lysine concentration of the l-lysine producing Corynebacterium glutamicum (C. glutamicum strain DM1933 in a BioLector® microscale cultivation device. The results matched well with data obtained by HPLC analysis and the Ninhydrin assay, demonstrating the high potential of FRET-based biosensors for high-throughput microbial bioprocess optimization.

  18. Systematic replacement of lysine with glutamine and alanine in Escherichia coli malate synthase G: effect on crystallization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anstrom, David M.; Colip, Leslie; Moshofsky, Brian; Hatcher, Eric; Remington, S. James

    2005-01-01

    Alanine and glutamine mutations were made to the same 15 lysine positions on the surface of E. coli malate synthase G and the impact on crystallization observed. The results support lysine replacement for improvement of crystallization and provide insight into site selection and type of amino-acid replacement. Two proposals recommend substitution of surface lysine residues as a means to improve the quality of protein crystals. In proposal I, substitution of lysine by alanine has been suggested to improve crystallization by reducing the entropic cost of ordering flexible side chains at crystal contacts. In proposal II, substitution of lysine by residues more commonly found in crystal contacts, such as glutamine, has been proposed to improve crystallization. 15 lysine residues on the surface of Escherichia coli malate synthase G, distributed over a variety of secondary structures, were individually mutated to both alanine and glutamine. For 28 variants, detailed studies of the effect on enzymatic activity and crystallization were conducted. This has permitted direct comparison of the relative effects of the two types of mutations. While none of the variants produced crystals suitable for X-ray structural determination, small crystals were obtained in a wide variety of conditions, in support of the general approach. Glutamine substitutions were found to be more effective than alanine in producing crystals, in support of proposal II. Secondary structure at the site of mutation does not appear to play a major role in determining the rate of success

  19. Strain differences in the response to morphine on incorporation of 3H-lysine into rat brain protein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ford, D.H.; Rhines, R.K.; Levi, M.A.

    1977-01-01

    The effect of morphine on the specific activity (SA) of lysine in the plasma free amino acid (FFA) fraction and in the cerebral cortical FAA and protein fractions, as well as on the specific accumulation and incorporation, was determined in male Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats at various time intervals after intravenous injection of drug and amino acid into unanesthetized animals. The lysine SA was higher in Sprague-Dawley than in Wistar rats in the plasma and brain FAA fraction and in the protein fraction. In the SD strain, morphine decreased the SA of plasma FAA significantly, but had only slight effects in the Wistar strain. In the cortical gray matter, morphine elevated the SA of lysine significantly in both strains. SA of the lysine in cerebral cortical protein increased in both strains with time. When the data for the free amino acids were expressed in terms of specific accumulation, the observed rates were higher in the Sprague-Dawley animals and reached a point of maximal concentration, which was not observed in animals of the Wistar strain. Morphine elevated the levels of specific accumulation of lysine into the cortical free amino acid pool in both strains of rat. It is concluded that Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats are not equivalent in relation to the accumulation of an amino acid in the brain FAA pool from the plasma and that the effect of morphine on specific incorporation of lysine into brain protein is greater in Wistar rats. (author)

  20. Lysine and glutamate transport in the erythrocytes of common brushtail possum, Tammar Wallaby and eastern grey, kangaroo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogawa, E; Kuchel, P W; Agar, N S

    1998-04-01

    It was recently coincidentally discovered, using 1H NMR spectroscopy, that the erythrocytes of two species of Australian marsupials, Tammar Wallaby (Macropus eugenii) and Bettong (Bettongia penicillata), contain relatively high concentrations of the essential amino acid lysine (Agar NS, Rae CD, Chapman BE, Kuchel PW. Comp Biochem Physiol 1991;99B:575-97). Hence, in the present work the rates of transport of lysine into the erythrocytes from the Common Brushtail Possum (Dactylopsilia trivirgata) and Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) (which both have low lysine concentrations), and Tammar Wallaby were studied, to explore the mechanistic basis of this finding. The concentration-dependence of the uptake was studied with lysine alone and in the presence of arginine, which may be a competitor of the transport in some species. In relation to GSH metabolism, glutamate uptake was determined in the presence and absence of Na+. The data was analysed to yield estimates of the maximal velocity (Vmax) and the Km in each of the species. Erythrocytes from Tammar Wallaby lacked saturable lysine transport in contrast to the other two species. The glutamate uptake was normal in all three animals for adequate GSH biosynthesis.

  1. Ribosomes slide on lysine-encoding homopolymeric A stretches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koutmou, Kristin S; Schuller, Anthony P; Brunelle, Julie L; Radhakrishnan, Aditya; Djuranovic, Sergej; Green, Rachel

    2015-01-01

    Protein output from synonymous codons is thought to be equivalent if appropriate tRNAs are sufficiently abundant. Here we show that mRNAs encoding iterated lysine codons, AAA or AAG, differentially impact protein synthesis: insertion of iterated AAA codons into an ORF diminishes protein expression more than insertion of synonymous AAG codons. Kinetic studies in E. coli reveal that differential protein production results from pausing on consecutive AAA-lysines followed by ribosome sliding on homopolymeric A sequence. Translation in a cell-free expression system demonstrates that diminished output from AAA-codon-containing reporters results from premature translation termination on out of frame stop codons following ribosome sliding. In eukaryotes, these premature termination events target the mRNAs for Nonsense-Mediated-Decay (NMD). The finding that ribosomes slide on homopolymeric A sequences explains bioinformatic analyses indicating that consecutive AAA codons are under-represented in gene-coding sequences. Ribosome ‘sliding’ represents an unexpected type of ribosome movement possible during translation. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05534.001 PMID:25695637

  2. Genetic Analysis of Diaminopimelic Acid- and Lysine-Requiring Mutants of Escherichia coli1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bukhari, Ahmad I.; Taylor, Austin L.

    1971-01-01

    Several diaminopimelic acid (DAP)- and lysine-requiring mutants of Escherichia coli were isolated and studied by genetic, physiological, and biochemical means. The genes concerned with DAP-lysine synthesis map at several different sites on the E. coli chromosome and, therefore, do not constitute a single operon. Three separate loci affecting DAP synthesis are located in the 0 to 2.5 min region of the genetic map. The order of the loci in this region is thr-dapB-pyrA-ara-leu-pan-dapC-tonA-dapD. Two additional DAP genes map in the region between min 47 and 48, with the gene order being gua-dapA-dapE-ctr. The lys locus at min 55 determines the synthesis of the enzyme DAP decarboxylase, which catalyzes the conversion of DAP into lysine. The order of the genes in this region is serA-lysA-thyA. PMID:4926684

  3. Predicting post-translational lysine acetylation using support vector machines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gnad, Florian; Ren, Shubin; Choudhary, Chunaram

    2010-01-01

    spectrometry to identify 3600 lysine acetylation sites on 1750 human proteins covering most of the previously annotated sites and providing the most comprehensive acetylome so far. This dataset should provide an excellent source to train support vector machines (SVMs) allowing the high accuracy in silico...

  4. CYLD, a deubiquitinase specific for lysine63-linked polyubiquitins, accumulates at the postsynaptic density in an activity-dependent manner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dosemeci, Ayse; Thein, Soe; Yang, Yijung; Reese, Thomas S.; Tao-Cheng, Jung-Hwa

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► CYLD is a deubiquitinase specific for lysine63-linked polyubiquitins. ► Presence of CYLD in PSDs is established by biochemistry and immunoEM. ► CYLD accumulates on PSDs upon depolarization of neurons. ► Accumulation of CYLD at PSDs may regulate trafficking/degradation of synaptic proteins. -- Abstract: Polyubiquitin chains on proteins flag them for distinct fates depending on the type of polyubiquitin linkage. While lysine48-linked polyubiquitination directs proteins to proteasomal degradation, lysine63-linked polyubiquitination promotes different protein trafficking and is involved in autophagy. Here we show that postsynaptic density (PSD) fractions from adult rat brain contain deubiquitinase activity that targets both lysine48 and lysine63-linked polyubiquitins. Comparison of PSD fractions with parent subcellular fractions by Western immunoblotting reveals that CYLD, a deubiquitinase specific for lysine63-linked polyubiquitins, is highly enriched in the PSD fraction. Electron microscopic examination of hippocampal neurons in culture under basal conditions shows immunogold label for CYLD at the PSD complex in approximately one in four synapses. Following depolarization by exposure to high K+, the proportion of CYLD-labeled PSDs as well as the labeling intensity of CYLD at the PSD increased by more than eighty percent, indicating that neuronal activity promotes accumulation of CYLD at the PSD. An increase in postsynaptic CYLD following activity would promote removal of lysine63-polyubiquitins from PSD proteins and thus could regulate their trafficking and prevent their autophagic degradation.

  5. The course of protein synthesis during grain filling in normal and high lysine barley

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giese, H.; Andersen, B.

    1984-01-01

    A study of the course of protein synthesis during grain filling in Bomi and the high lysine barleys Hily 82/3 and Risoe 56 showed that the four salt-soluble proteins, protein Z, β-amylase and the chymotrypsin inhibitors CI-1 and CI-2, are synthesized in greater amounts earlier in the high lysine lines than in Bomi. On the other hand, the hordeins are synthesized in greater amounts earlier during grain filling in Bomi than in Hily 82/3 and Risoe 56. There is no indication of a significant reduction of total protein synthesis in the high lysine lines compared with the standard lines Bomi and Pirrka. Hily 82/3 and Risoe 56 are very similar in protein composition in that they have a lower hordein content and higher levels, particularly of β-amylase and the chymotrypsin inhibitors, than Bomi. (author)

  6. Germline mutations in lysine specific demethylase 1 (LSD1/KDM1A) confer susceptibility to multiple myeloma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Xiaomu; Calvo-Vidal, M Nieves; Chen, Siwei; Wu, Gang; Revuelta, Maria V; Sun, Jian; Zhang, Jinghui; Walsh, Michael F; Nichols, Kim E; Joseph, Vijai; Snyder, Carrie; Vachon, Celine M; McKay, James D; Wang, Shu-Ping; Jayabalan, David S; Jacobs, Lauren M; Becirovic, Dina; Waller, Rosalie G; Artomov, Mykyta; Viale, Agnes; Patel, Jayeshkumar; Phillip, Jude M; Chen-Kiang, Selina; Curtin, Karen; Salama, Mohamed; Atanackovic, Djordje; Niesvizky, Ruben; Landgren, Ola; Slager, Susan L; Godley, Lucy A; Churpek, Jane; Garber, Judy E; Anderson, Kenneth C; Daly, Mark J; Roeder, Robert G; Dumontet, Charles; Lynch, Henry T; Mullighan, Charles G; Camp, Nicola J; Offit, Kenneth; Klein, Robert J; Yu, Haiyuan; Cerchietti, Leandro; Lipkin, Steven M

    2018-03-20

    Given the frequent and largely incurable occurrence of multiple myeloma (MM), identification of germline genetic mutations that predispose cells to MM may provide insight into disease etiology and the developmental mechanisms of its cell of origin, the plasma cell. Here we identified familial and early-onset MM kindreds with truncating mutations in lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1/KDM1A), an epigenetic transcriptional repressor that primarily demethylates histone H3 on lysine 4 and regulates hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal. Additionally, we found higher rates of germline truncating and predicted deleterious missense KDM1A mutations in MM patients unselected for family history compared to controls. Both monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS) and MM cells have significantly lower KDM1A transcript levels compared with normal plasma cells. Transcriptome analysis of MM cells from KDM1A mutation carriers shows enrichment of pathways and MYC target genes previously associated with myeloma pathogenesis. In mice, antigen challenge followed by pharmacological inhibition of KDM1A promoted plasma cell expansion, enhanced secondary immune response, elicited appearance of serum paraprotein, and mediated upregulation of MYC transcriptional targets. These changes are consistent with the development of MGUS. Collectively, our findings show KDM1A is the first autosomal dominant MM germline predisposition gene, providing new insights into its mechanistic roles as a tumor suppressor during post-germinal center B cell differentiation. Copyright ©2018, American Association for Cancer Research.

  7. Distribution of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters in 343 Fusarium genomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fusarium consists of over 200 phylogenetically distinct species, many of which cause important crop diseases and/or produce mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites (SMs). Some fusaria also cause opportunistic infections in humans and other animals. To investigate the distribution of biosynthetic ...

  8. Glycated Lysine Residues: A Marker for Non-Enzymatic Protein Glycation in Age-Related Diseases

    OpenAIRE

    Ansari, Nadeem A.; Moinuddin,; Ali, Rashid

    2011-01-01

    Nonenzymatic glycosylation or glycation of macromolecules, especially proteins leading to their oxidation, play an important role in diseases. Glycation of proteins primarily results in the formation of an early stage and stable Amadori-lysine product which undergo further irreversible chemical reactions to form advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs). This review focuses these products in lysine rich proteins such as collagen and human serum albumin for their role in aging and age-related dise...

  9. Biosynthetic routes of hydroxylated carotenoids (xanthophylls) in Marchantia polymorpha, and production of novel and rare xanthophylls through pathway engineering in Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takemura, Miho; Maoka, Takashi; Misawa, Norihiko

    2015-03-01

    MpBHY codes for a carotene β-ring 3(,3')-hydroxylase responsible for both zeaxanthin and lutein biosynthesis in liverwort. MpCYP97C functions as an ε-ring hydroxylase (zeinoxanthin 3'-hydroxylase) to produce lutein in liverwort. Xanthophylls are oxygenated or hydroxylated carotenes that are most abundant in the light-harvesting complexes of plants. The plant-type xanthophylls consist of α-xanthophyll (lutein) and β-xanthophylls (zeaxanthin, antheraxanthin, violaxanthin and neoxanthin). The α-xanthophyll and β-xanthophylls are derived from α-carotene and β-carotene by carotene hydroxylase activities, respectively. β-Ring 3,3'-hydroxylase that mediates the route of zeaxanthin from β-carotene via β-cryptoxanthin is present in higher plants and is encoded by the BHY (BCH) gene. On the other hand, CYP97A (or BHY) and CYP97C genes are responsible for β-ring 3-hydroxylation and ε-ring 3'-hydroxylation, respectively, in routes from α-carotene to lutein. To elucidate the evolution of the biosynthetic routes of such hydroxylated carotenoids from carotenes in land plants, we identified and functionally analyzed carotenoid hydroxylase genes of liverwort Marchantia polymorpha L. Three genes homologous to higher plants, BHY, CYP97A, and CYP97C, were isolated and named MpBHY, MpCYP97A, and MpCYP97C, respectively. MpBHY was found to code for β-ring hydroxylase, which is responsible for both routes starting from β-carotene and α-carotene. MpCYP97C functioned as an ε-ring hydroxylase not for α-carotene but for zeinoxanthin, while MpCYP97A showed no hydroxylation activity for β-carotene or α-carotene. These findings suggest the original functions of the hydroxylation enzymes of carotenes in land plants, which are thought to diversify in higher plants. In addition, we generated recombinant Escherichia coli cells, which produced rare and novel carotenoids such as α-echinenone and 4-ketozeinoxanthin, through pathway engineering using bacterial carotenogenic genes

  10. A chloroplast pathway for the de novo biosynthesis of triacylglycerol in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fan, J.; Xu, C.; Andre, C.

    2011-06-23

    Neutral lipid metabolism has been extensively studied in yeast, plants and mammals. In contrast, little information is available regarding the biochemical pathway, enzymes and regulatory factors involved in the biosynthesis of triacylglycerol (TAG) in microalgae. In the conventional TAG biosynthetic pathway widely accepted for yeast, plants and mammals, TAG is assembled in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) from its immediate precursor diacylglycerol (DAG) made by ER-specific acyltransferases, and is deposited exclusively in lipid droplets in the cytosol. Here, we demonstrated that the unicellular microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii employs a distinct pathway that uses DAG derived almost exclusively from the chloroplast to produce TAG. This unique TAG biosynthesis pathway is largely dependent on de novo fatty acid synthesis, and the TAG formed in this pathway is stored in lipid droplets in both the chloroplast and the cytosol. These findings have wide implications for understanding TAG biosynthesis and storage and other areas of lipid metabolism in microalgae and other organisms.

  11. Non-enzymatic N-acetylation of Lysine Residues by AcetylCoA Often Occurs via a Proximal S-acetylated Thiol Intermediate Sensitive to Glyoxalase II

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew M. James

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Summary: Acetyl coenzyme A (AcCoA, a key intermediate in mitochondrial metabolism, N-acetylates lysine residues, disrupting and, in some cases, regulating protein function. The mitochondrial lysine deacetylase Sirtuin 3 (Sirt3 reverses this modification with benefits reported in diabetes, obesity, and aging. We show that non-enzymatic lysine N-acetylation by AcCoA is greatly enhanced by initial acetylation of a cysteine residue, followed by SN-transfer of the acetyl moiety to a nearby lysine on mitochondrial proteins and synthetic peptides. The frequent occurrence of an S-acetyl intermediate before lysine N-acetylation suggests that proximity to a thioester is a key determinant of lysine susceptibility to acetylation. The thioesterase glyoxalase II (Glo2 can limit protein S-acetylation, thereby preventing subsequent lysine N-acetylation. This suggests that the hitherto obscure role of Glo2 in mitochondria is to act upstream of Sirt3 in minimizing protein N-acetylation, thus limiting protein dysfunction when AcCoA accumulates. : James et al. show that the non-enzymatic N-acetylation of lysine residues in mitochondrial proteins frequently occurs via a proximal S-acetylated thiol intermediate. Glutathione equilibrates with this intermediate, allowing the thioesterase glyoxalase II to limit protein lysine N-acetylation. These findings expand our understanding of how protein acetylation arises. Keywords: AcetylCoA, lysine acetylation, glyoxalase

  12. Metabolic responses to pyruvate kinase deletion in lysine producing Corynebacterium glutamicum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wittmann Christoph

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Pyruvate kinase is an important element in flux control of the intermediate metabolism. It catalyzes the irreversible conversion of phosphoenolpyruvate into pyruvate and is under allosteric control. In Corynebacterium glutamicum, this enzyme was regarded as promising target for improved production of lysine, one of the major amino acids in animal nutrition. In pyruvate kinase deficient strains the required equimolar ratio of the two lysine precursors oxaloacetate and pyruvate can be achieved through concerted action of the phosphotransferase system (PTS and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC, whereby a reduced amount of carbon may be lost as CO2 due to reduced flux into the tricarboxylic acid (TCA cycle. In previous studies, deletion of pyruvate kinase in lysine-producing C. glutamicum, however, did not yield a clear picture and the exact metabolic consequences are not fully understood. Results In this work, deletion of the pyk gene, encoding pyruvate kinase, was carried out in the lysine-producing strain C. glutamicum lysCfbr, expressing a feedback resistant aspartokinase, to investigate the cellular response to deletion of this central glycolytic enzyme. Pyk deletion was achieved by allelic replacement, verified by PCR analysis and the lack of in vitro enzyme activity. The deletion mutant showed an overall growth behavior (specific growth rate, glucose uptake rate, biomass yield which was very similar to that of the parent strain, but differed in slightly reduced lysine formation, increased formation of the overflow metabolites dihydroxyacetone and glycerol and in metabolic fluxes around the pyruvate node. The latter involved a flux shift from pyruvate carboxylase (PC to PEPC, by which the cell maintained anaplerotic supply of the TCA cycle. This created a metabolic by-pass from PEP to pyruvate via malic enzyme demonstrating its contribution to metabolic flexibility of C. glutamicum on glucose. Conclusion The metabolic

  13. Signal Transduction Pathways that Regulate CAB Gene Expression

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chory, Joanne

    2004-12-31

    The process of chloroplast differentiation, involves the coordinate regulation of many nuclear and chloroplast genes. The cues for the initiation of this developmental program are both extrinsic (e.g., light) and intrinsic (cell-type and plastid signals). During this project period, we utilized a molecular genetic approach to select for Arabidopsis mutants that did not respond properly to environmental light conditions, as well as mutants that were unable to perceive plastid damage. These latter mutants, called gun mutants, define two retrograde signaling pathways that regulate nuclear gene expression in response to chloroplasts. A major finding was to identify a signal from chloroplasts that regulates nuclear gene transcription. This signal is the build-up of Mg-Protoporphyrin IX, a key intermediate of the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway. The signaling pathways downstream of this signal are currently being studied. Completion of this project has provided an increased understanding of the input signals and retrograde signaling pathways that control nuclear gene expression in response to the functional state of chloroplasts. These studies should ultimately influence our abilities to manipulate plant growth and development, and will aid in the understanding of the developmental control of photosynthesis.

  14. Signal Transduction Pathways that Regulate CAB Gene Expression

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chory, Joanne

    2006-01-16

    The process of chloroplast differentiation, involves the coordinate regulation of many nuclear and chloroplast genes. The cues for the initiation of this developmental program are both extrinsic (e.g., light) and intrinsic (cell-type and plastid signals). During this project period, we utilized a molecular genetic approach to select for Arabidopsis mutants that did not respond properly to environmental light conditions, as well as mutants that were unable to perceive plastid damage. These latter mutants, called gun mutants, define two retrograde signaling pathways that regulate nuclear gene expression in response to chloroplasts. A major finding was to identify a signal from chloroplasts that regulates nuclear gene transcription. This signal is the build-up of Mg-Protoporphyrin IX, a key intermediate of the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway. The signaling pathways downstream of this signal are currently being studied. Completion of this project has provided an increased understanding of the input signals and retrograde signaling pathways that control nuclear gene expression in response to the functional state of chloroplasts. These studies should ultimately influence our abilities to manipulate plant growth and development, and will aid in the understanding of the developmental control of photosynthesis.

  15. Biosynthetic multitasking facilitates thalassospiramide structural diversity in marine bacteria

    KAUST Repository

    Ross, Avena C.

    2013-01-23

    Thalassospiramides A and B are immunosuppressant cyclic lipopeptides first reported from the marine α-proteobacterium Thalassospira sp. CNJ-328. We describe here the discovery and characterization of an extended family of 14 new analogues from four Tistrella and Thalassospira isolates. These potent calpain 1 protease inhibitors belong to six structure classes in which the length and composition of the acylpeptide side chain varies extensively. Genomic sequence analysis of the thalassospiramide-producing microbes revealed related, genus-specific biosynthetic loci encoding hybrid nonribosomal peptide synthetase/polyketide synthases consistent with thalassospiramide assembly. The bioinformatics analysis of the gene clusters suggests that structural diversity, which ranges from the 803.4 Da thalassospiramide C to the 1291.7 Da thalassospiramide F, results from a complex sequence of reactions involving amino acid substrate channeling and enzymatic multimodule skipping and iteration. Preliminary biochemical analysis of the N-terminal nonribosomal peptide synthetase module from the Thalassospira TtcA megasynthase supports a biosynthetic model in which in cis amino acid activation competes with in trans activation to increase the range of amino acid substrates incorporated at the N terminus. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

  16. Biosynthetic multitasking facilitates thalassospiramide structural diversity in marine bacteria

    KAUST Repository

    Ross, Avena C.; Xü , Ying; Lu, Liang; Kersten, Roland D.; Shao, Zongze; Al-Suwailem, Abdulaziz M.; Dorrestein, Pieter C.; Qian, Peiyuan; Moore, Bradley S.

    2013-01-01

    Thalassospiramides A and B are immunosuppressant cyclic lipopeptides first reported from the marine α-proteobacterium Thalassospira sp. CNJ-328. We describe here the discovery and characterization of an extended family of 14 new analogues from four Tistrella and Thalassospira isolates. These potent calpain 1 protease inhibitors belong to six structure classes in which the length and composition of the acylpeptide side chain varies extensively. Genomic sequence analysis of the thalassospiramide-producing microbes revealed related, genus-specific biosynthetic loci encoding hybrid nonribosomal peptide synthetase/polyketide synthases consistent with thalassospiramide assembly. The bioinformatics analysis of the gene clusters suggests that structural diversity, which ranges from the 803.4 Da thalassospiramide C to the 1291.7 Da thalassospiramide F, results from a complex sequence of reactions involving amino acid substrate channeling and enzymatic multimodule skipping and iteration. Preliminary biochemical analysis of the N-terminal nonribosomal peptide synthetase module from the Thalassospira TtcA megasynthase supports a biosynthetic model in which in cis amino acid activation competes with in trans activation to increase the range of amino acid substrates incorporated at the N terminus. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

  17. Transcription factor VdCmr1 is required for pigment production, protection from UV irradiation, and regulates expression of melanin biosynthetic genes in Verticillium dahliae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yonglin; Hu, Xiaoping; Fang, Yulin; Anchieta, Amy; Goldman, Polly H; Hernandez, Gustavo; Klosterman, Steven J

    2018-04-01

    Verticillium dahliae is a soilborne fungus that causes vascular wilt diseases on numerous plant species worldwide. The production of darkly melanized microsclerotia is crucial in the disease cycle of V. dahliae, as these structures allow for long-term survival in soil. Previously, transcriptomic and genomic analysis identified a cluster of genes in V. dahliae that encodes some dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN) melanin biosynthetic pathway homologues found in related fungi. In this study, we explored the roles of cluster-specific transcription factor VdCmr1, as well as two other genes within the cluster encoding a polyketide synthase (VdPKS1) and a laccase (VdLac1), enzymes at initial and endpoint steps in DHN melanin production. The results revealed that VdCmr1 and VdPKS1 are required for melanin production, but neither is required for microsclerotia production. None of the three genes were required for pathogenesis on tobacco and lettuce. Exposure of ΔVdCmr1 and wild-type strains to UV irradiation, or to high temperature (40 °C), revealed an approx. 50 % reduction of survival in the ΔVdCmr1 strain, relative to the wild-type strain, in response to either condition. Expression profiles revealed that expression of some melanin biosynthetic genes are in part dependent on VdCmr1. Combined data indicate VdCmr1 is a key regulator of melanin biosynthesis, and that via regulation of melanogenesis, VdCmr1 affects survival of V. dahliae in response to abiotic threats. We conclude with a model showing regulation of VdCmr1 by a high osmolarity glycerol response (Hog)-type MAP kinase pathway.

  18. Global Insight into Lysine Acetylation Events and Their Links to Biological Aspects in Beauveria bassiana, a Fungal Insect Pathogen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhi-Kang; Cai, Qing; Liu, Jin; Ying, Sheng-Hua; Feng, Ming-Guang

    2017-01-01

    Lysine acetylation (Kac) events in filamentous fungi are poorly explored. Here we show a lysine acetylome generated by LC-MS/MS analysis of immunoaffinity-based Kac peptides from normal hyphal cells of Beauveria bassiana, a fungal entomopathogen. The acetylome comprised 283 Kac proteins and 464 Kac sites. These proteins were enriched to eight molecular functions, 20 cellular components, 27 biological processes, 20 KEGG pathways and 12 subcellular localizations. All Kac sites were characterized as six Kac motifs, including a novel motif (KacW) for 26 Kac sites of 17 unknown proteins. Many Kac sites were predicted to be multifunctional, largely expanding the fungal Kac events. Biological importance of identified Kac sites was confirmed through functional analysis of Kac sites on Pmt1 and Pmt4, two O-mannosyltransferases. Singular site mutations (K88R and K482R) of Pmt1 resulted in impaired conidiation, attenuated virulence and decreased tolerance to oxidation and cell wall perturbation. These defects were close to or more severe than those caused by the deletion of pmt1. The Pmt4 K360R mutation facilitated colony growth under normal and stressful conditions and enhanced the fungal virulence. Our findings provide the first insight into the Kac events of B. bassiana and their links to the fungal potential against insect pests. PMID:28295016

  19. Ex-vivo absorption study of lysine R-lipoate salt, a new pharmaceutical form of R-ALA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amenta, Francesco; Buccioni, Michela; Ben, Diego Dal; Lambertucci, Catia; Navia, Aleix Martí; Ngouadjeu Ngnintedem, Michael A; Ricciutelli, Massimo; Spinaci, Andrea; Volpini, Rosaria; Marucci, Gabriella

    2018-06-15

    Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) oral supplements were used in many pathologies associated with increased oxidative stress. Although only R-ALA is considered the biologically active form, R,S-ALA is used in therapeutic applications even showing poor water solubility. The aim of this work was to study the absorption and transport mechanism across the intestinal barrier of new R-ALA stable and water soluble form, consisting in the lysine R-ALA salt, in presence and absence of specific inhibitors of Na + /multivitamin (SMVT) and monocarboxylic acids (MCT). The absorption of a new ALA form was investigated at rat everted sacs in comparison with R-ALA, S-ALA, and R,S-ALA. Results showed that duodenum is the best portion of intestine for ALA forms absorption. The absorption percentage of R-ALA, S-ALA, R,S-ALA, and lysine R-ALA salt was 66%, 43%, 55%, and 70%, respectively. The modest effect of the SMVT inhibitor biotin demonstrated that this transporter system is not principally involved in the absorption of lysine R-lipoate salt across the rat intestinal barrier. On the contrary, the MCT inhibitor octanoic acid significantly reduced the transport of this salt, whit an absorption decrease of R-ALA and lysine R-lipoate salt of 28% and 24%, respectively. Since the highest concentration of these inhibitors did not completely inhibit the absorption of lysine R-lipoate salt, other transport mechanisms probably operate for its intracellular delivery. The new form of ALA, lysine R-lipoate salt, was the most absorbed respect to the other ALA forms demonstrating that this compound is more suitable for oral administration. This new salt could represent a promising candidate for ALA oral supplementation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Desensitization to inhaled aztreonam lysine in an allergic patient with cystic fibrosis using a novel approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guglani, Lokesh; Abdulhamid, Ibrahim; Ditouras, Joanna; Montejo, Jenny

    2012-10-01

    To report the successful desensitization of a highly allergic patient with cystic fibrosis (CF) to inhaled aztreonam lysine using the novel approach of intravenous desensitization followed by full-dose inhaled therapy without any adverse reactions. A 19-year-old woman with CF had persistent Pseudomonas aeruginosa-positive cultures and a history of type I hypersensitivity reactions to multiple medications, including aztreonam and tobramycin (intravenous and inhaled). To start therapy with an inhaled antipseudomonal antibiotic on a chronic basis, she underwent rapid desensitization to intravenous aztreonam followed by initiation of inhaled aztreonam lysine. Following intravenous desensitization with aztreonam, there was no adverse reaction or decline in lung function noted with inhaled aztreonam lysine and the chronic therapy was continued at home, with a modified regimen to maintain desensitization. Aztreonam lysine has been used for treatment of patients with CF with chronic P. aeruginosa colonization. Previous allergic reaction to intravenous aztreonam is considered a contraindication for use of aztreonam lysine. Our patient had a history of hives and facial swelling following administration of intravenous aztreonam (type I hypersensitivity reaction) as well as hypersensitivity to tobramycin. Rapid desensitization can be done for drugs that mediate a type I hypersensitivity reaction, with mast cells and basophils being the cellular targets. There are a few case reports of desensitization to inhaled antibiotics such as tobramycin and colistin, but desensitization to aztreonam lysine has not previously been reported. Desensitization of a patient with CF who is allergic to intravenous aztreonam was successfully accomplished with the novel approach of rapid intravenous desensitization followed by inhaled therapy. As inhaled antibiotics are being increasingly used for patients with CF, this novel strategy can be used for desensitizing allergic patients with CF to

  1. Transcriptome analysis of bitter acid biosynthesis and precursor pathways in hop (Humulus lupulus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clark Shawn M

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Bitter acids (e.g. humulone are prenylated polyketides synthesized in lupulin glands of the hop plant (Humulus lupulus which are important contributors to the bitter flavour and stability of beer. Bitter acids are formed from acyl-CoA precursors derived from branched-chain amino acid (BCAA degradation and C5 prenyl diphosphates from the methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP pathway. We used RNA sequencing (RNA-seq to obtain the transcriptomes of isolated lupulin glands, cones with glands removed and leaves from high α-acid hop cultivars, and analyzed these datasets for genes involved in bitter acid biosynthesis including the supply of major precursors. We also measured the levels of BCAAs, acyl-CoA intermediates, and bitter acids in glands, cones and leaves. Results Transcripts encoding all the enzymes of BCAA metabolism were significantly more abundant in lupulin glands, indicating that BCAA biosynthesis and subsequent degradation occurs in these specialized cells. Branched-chain acyl-CoAs and bitter acids were present at higher levels in glands compared with leaves and cones. RNA-seq analysis showed the gland-specific expression of the MEP pathway, enzymes of sucrose degradation and several transcription factors that may regulate bitter acid biosynthesis in glands. Two branched-chain aminotransferase (BCAT enzymes, HlBCAT1 and HlBCAT2, were abundant, with gene expression quantification by RNA-seq and qRT-PCR indicating that HlBCAT1 was specific to glands while HlBCAT2 was present in glands, cones and leaves. Recombinant HlBCAT1 and HlBCAT2 catalyzed forward (biosynthetic and reverse (catabolic reactions with similar kinetic parameters. HlBCAT1 is targeted to mitochondria where it likely plays a role in BCAA catabolism. HlBCAT2 is a plastidial enzyme likely involved in BCAA biosynthesis. Phylogenetic analysis of the hop BCATs and those from other plants showed that they group into distinct biosynthetic (plastidial and

  2. CYLD, a deubiquitinase specific for lysine63-linked polyubiquitins, accumulates at the postsynaptic density in an activity-dependent manner

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dosemeci, Ayse, E-mail: dosemeca@mail.nih.gov [Laboratory of Neurobiology, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 (United States); Thein, Soe; Yang, Yijung; Reese, Thomas S. [Laboratory of Neurobiology, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 (United States); Tao-Cheng, Jung-Hwa [EM Facility, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 (United States)

    2013-01-04

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer CYLD is a deubiquitinase specific for lysine63-linked polyubiquitins. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Presence of CYLD in PSDs is established by biochemistry and immunoEM. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer CYLD accumulates on PSDs upon depolarization of neurons. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Accumulation of CYLD at PSDs may regulate trafficking/degradation of synaptic proteins. -- Abstract: Polyubiquitin chains on proteins flag them for distinct fates depending on the type of polyubiquitin linkage. While lysine48-linked polyubiquitination directs proteins to proteasomal degradation, lysine63-linked polyubiquitination promotes different protein trafficking and is involved in autophagy. Here we show that postsynaptic density (PSD) fractions from adult rat brain contain deubiquitinase activity that targets both lysine48 and lysine63-linked polyubiquitins. Comparison of PSD fractions with parent subcellular fractions by Western immunoblotting reveals that CYLD, a deubiquitinase specific for lysine63-linked polyubiquitins, is highly enriched in the PSD fraction. Electron microscopic examination of hippocampal neurons in culture under basal conditions shows immunogold label for CYLD at the PSD complex in approximately one in four synapses. Following depolarization by exposure to high K+, the proportion of CYLD-labeled PSDs as well as the labeling intensity of CYLD at the PSD increased by more than eighty percent, indicating that neuronal activity promotes accumulation of CYLD at the PSD. An increase in postsynaptic CYLD following activity would promote removal of lysine63-polyubiquitins from PSD proteins and thus could regulate their trafficking and prevent their autophagic degradation.

  3. The functions Of LysM Proteins And Chitin Tetra-Saccarides Signaling Pathway in Zebrafish Embryos

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laroche, Fabrice Jean Francois

    Chitin is an ancient organic bio-polymer, found in abundance on land and at sea. However, knowledge on chitin functions in animals is lacking. In his research project, Fabrice Laroche studied responses to chitin in zebrafish embryos, and he described chitin signalling pathways. Proteins related...... to chitin responses are increasingly being associated with human diseases. Recently, several lysin motif (LysM)-containing proteins were highlighted for their molecular affinity to chitin-like compounds. Addressing these matters, Fabrice Laroche identified zebrafish and human lysin motif-encoding genes...... and studied their roles – at the cellular level and during zebrafish development. To improve the experimental methods, he developed nanotechnological strategies to genetically modify human embryonic kidney cells and zebrafish. The PhD degree was completed at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics...

  4. Efficacy and tolerance of lysine clonixinate versus paracetamol/codeine following inguinal hernioplasty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de los Santos, A R; Di Girolamo, G; Martí, M L

    1998-01-01

    In this study lysine clonixinate, a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agent with selective inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 and 5-lipooxygenase in in vitro and in vivo pharmacodynamic studies, was evaluated in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy clinical study versus paracetamol/codeine, in 151 patients with pain following inguinal hernioplasty. Patients were treated with one 125 mg tablet of lysine clonixinate or paracetamol/codeine (500 mg + 30 mg) administered at fixed doses every 4 h during 2 days. Controls were carried out 1, 2 and 4 h after the first intake of day 1 and day 2. Each control included assessment of pain at rest, when coughing, sitting and upon moderate pressure. Both treatment groups (lysine clonixinate, 77 patients and paracetamol/codeine, 74 patients) were comparable in terms of demographic and baseline pain intensities. Spontaneous pain was reduced significantly in both treatment groups from the 1st-h control. The following values were recorded in the lysine clonixinate group during day 1: baseline: 6.86 +/- 1.24; 1st h: 4.49 +/- 1.77; 2nd h: 2.96 +/- 1.74; 4th h: 2.23 +/- 1.51. The following values for the same group during day 2 were: predose: 1.70 +/- 1.64; 1st h: 1.16 +/- 1.17; 2nd h: 0.78 +/- 1.06; 4th h: 0.63 +/- 1.05. The paracetamol/codeine group revealed the following values: day 1: baseline: 6.72 +/- 1.22; 1st h: 4.57 +/- 1.72; 2nd h: 2.97 +/- 1.68; 4th h: 2.47 +/- 1.68 and day 2: predose: 2.02 +/- 1.57; 1st h: 1.32 +/- 1.23; 2nd h: 0.82 +/- 0.99; 4th h: 0.66 +/- 0.89. Reduction of pain induced by coughing, sitting and pressure showed similar behavior patterns. No significant differences between both treatment groups were encountered in terms of analgesic efficacy. Incidence of adverse effects was significantly higher in the paracetamol/codeine group (X2: p lysine clonixinate group four out of 77 patients showed side effects but these did not require treatment discontinuation.

  5. Effect of Low Protein-Methionine-and-Lysine-Supplemented Diets ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of supplementing low CP diets with methionine and lysine on broiler performance, carcass measure and their immune response against Infectious Bursa Disease (IBD) virus. In Experiment 1, ten diets were formulated. Diet 1 (control diet) contained 23.0% CP and ...

  6. DNA Damage-Induced Acetylation of Lysine 3016 of ATM Activates ATM Kinase Activity▿ †

    OpenAIRE

    Sun, Yingli; Xu, Ye; Roy, Kanaklata; Price, Brendan D.

    2007-01-01

    The ATM protein kinase is essential for cells to repair and survive genotoxic events. The activation of ATM's kinase activity involves acetylation of ATM by the Tip60 histone acetyltransferase. In this study, systematic mutagenesis of lysine residues was used to identify regulatory ATM acetylation sites. The results identify a single acetylation site at lysine 3016, which is located in the highly conserved C-terminal FATC domain adjacent to the kinase domain. Antibodies specific for acetyl-ly...

  7. Structural basis for the site-specific incorporation of lysine derivatives into proteins.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veronika Flügel

    Full Text Available Posttranslational modifications (PTMs of proteins determine their structure-function relationships, interaction partners, as well as their fate in the cell and are crucial for many cellular key processes. For instance chromatin structure and hence gene expression is epigenetically regulated by acetylation or methylation of lysine residues in histones, a phenomenon known as the 'histone code'. Recently it was shown that these lysine residues can furthermore be malonylated, succinylated, butyrylated, propionylated and crotonylated, resulting in significant alteration of gene expression patterns. However the functional implications of these PTMs, which only differ marginally in their chemical structure, is not yet understood. Therefore generation of proteins containing these modified amino acids site specifically is an important tool. In the last decade methods for the translational incorporation of non-natural amino acids using orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS:tRNAaaCUA pairs were developed. A number of studies show that aaRS can be evolved to use non-natural amino acids and expand the genetic code. Nevertheless the wild type pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase (PylRS from Methanosarcina mazei readily accepts a number of lysine derivatives as substrates. This enzyme can further be engineered by mutagenesis to utilize a range of non-natural amino acids. Here we present structural data on the wild type enzyme in complex with adenylated ε-N-alkynyl-, ε-N-butyryl-, ε-N-crotonyl- and ε-N-propionyl-lysine providing insights into the plasticity of the PylRS active site. This shows that given certain key features in the non-natural amino acid to be incorporated, directed evolution of this enzyme is not necessary for substrate tolerance.

  8. Proteome-wide mapping of the Drosophila acetylome demonstrates a high degree of conservation of lysine acetylation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weinert, Brian T; Wagner, Sebastian A; Horn, Heiko

    2011-01-01

    Posttranslational modification of proteins by acetylation and phosphorylation regulates most cellular processes in living organisms. Surprisingly, the evolutionary conservation of phosphorylated serine and threonine residues is only marginally higher than that of unmodified serines and threonines....... With high-resolution mass spectrometry, we identified 1981 lysine acetylation sites in the proteome of Drosophila melanogaster. We used data sets of experimentally identified acetylation and phosphorylation sites in Drosophila and humans to analyze the evolutionary conservation of these modification sites...... between flies and humans. Site-level conservation analysis revealed that acetylation sites are highly conserved, significantly more so than phosphorylation sites. Furthermore, comparison of lysine conservation in Drosophila and humans with that in nematodes and zebrafish revealed that acetylated lysines...

  9. Ancient horizontal gene transfer from bacteria enhances biosynthetic capabilities of fungi.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imke Schmitt

    Full Text Available Polyketides are natural products with a wide range of biological functions and pharmaceutical applications. Discovery and utilization of polyketides can be facilitated by understanding the evolutionary processes that gave rise to the biosynthetic machinery and the natural product potential of extant organisms. Gene duplication and subfunctionalization, as well as horizontal gene transfer are proposed mechanisms in the evolution of biosynthetic gene clusters. To explain the amount of homology in some polyketide synthases in unrelated organisms such as bacteria and fungi, interkingdom horizontal gene transfer has been evoked as the most likely evolutionary scenario. However, the origin of the genes and the direction of the transfer remained elusive.We used comparative phylogenetics to infer the ancestor of a group of polyketide synthase genes involved in antibiotic and mycotoxin production. We aligned keto synthase domain sequences of all available fungal 6-methylsalicylic acid (6-MSA-type PKSs and their closest bacterial relatives. To assess the role of symbiotic fungi in the evolution of this gene we generated 24 6-MSA synthase sequence tags from lichen-forming fungi. Our results support an ancient horizontal gene transfer event from an actinobacterial source into ascomycete fungi, followed by gene duplication.Given that actinobacteria are unrivaled producers of biologically active compounds, such as antibiotics, it appears particularly promising to study biosynthetic genes of actinobacterial origin in fungi. The large number of 6-MSA-type PKS sequences found in lichen-forming fungi leads us hypothesize that the evolution of typical lichen compounds, such as orsellinic acid derivatives, was facilitated by the gain of this bacterial polyketide synthase.

  10. Comparative Analysis of Proteome-Wide Lysine Acetylation in Juvenile and Adult Schistosoma japonicum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qing Li

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Schistosomiasis is a devastating parasitic disease caused by tremotodes of the genus Schistosoma. Eggs produced by sexually mature schistosomes are the causative agents of for pathogenesis and transmission. Elucidating the molecular mechanism of schistosome development and sexual maturation would facilitate the prevention and control of schistosomiasis. Acetylation of lysine is a dynamic and reversible post-translational modification playing keys role in many biological processes including development in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. To investigate the impacts of lysine acetylation on Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum development and sexual maturation, we used immunoaffinity-based acetyllysine peptide enrichment combined with mass spectrometry (MS, to perform the first comparative analysis of proteome-wide lysine acetylation in both female and male, juvenile (18 days post infection, 18 dpi and adult (28 dpi schistosome samples. In total, we identified 874 unique acetylated sites in 494 acetylated proteins. The four samples shared 47 acetylated sites and 46 proteins. More acetylated sites and proteins shared by both females and males were identified in 28 dpi adults (189 and 143, respectively than in 18 dpi schistosomula (76 and 59, respectively. More stage-unique acetylated sites and proteins were also identified in 28 dpi adults (494 and 210, respectively than in 18 dpi schistosomula (73 and 44, respectively. Functional annotation showed that in different developmental stages and genders, a number of proteins involving in muscle movement, glycometabolism, lipid metabolism, energy metabolism, environmental stress resistance, antioxidation, etc., displayed distinct acetylation profiles, which was in accordance with the changes of their biological functions during schistosome development, suggesting that lysine acetylation modification exerted important regulatory roles in schistosome development. Taken together, our data provided the first

  11. Rational modification of Corynebacterium glutamicum dihydrodipicolinate reductase to switch the nucleotide-cofactor specificity for increasing l-lysine production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jian-Zhong; Yang, Han-Kun; Liu, Li-Ming; Wang, Ying-Yu; Zhang, Wei-Guo

    2018-03-25

    l-lysine is an important amino acid in animals and humans and NADPH is a vital cofactor for maximizing the efficiency of l-lysine fermentation. Dihydrodipicolinate reductase (DHDPR), an NAD(P)H-dependent enzyme, shows a variance in nucleotide-cofactor affinity in bacteria. In this study, we rationally engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum DHDPR (CgDHDPR) to switch its nucleotide-cofactor specificity resulting in an increase in final titer (from 82.6 to 117.3 g L -1 ), carbon yield (from 0.35 to 0.44 g [g glucose] -1 ) and productivity (from 2.07 to 2.93 g L -1  hr -1 ) of l-lysine in JL-6 ΔdapB::Ec-dapB C115G,G116C in fed-batch fermentation. To do this, we comparatively analyzed the characteristics of CgDHDPR and Escherichia coli DHDPR (EcDHDPR), indicating that hetero-expression of NADH-dependent EcDHDPR increased l-lysine production. Subsequently, we rationally modified the conserved structure of cofactor-binding motif, and results indicated that introducing the mutation K11A or R13A in CgDHDPR and introducing the mutation R16A or R39A in EcDHDPR modifies the nucleotide-cofactor affinity of DHDPR. Lastly, the effects of these mutated DHDPRs on l-lysine production were investigated. The highest increase (26.2%) in l-lysine production was observed for JL-6 ΔdapB::Ec-dapB C115G,G116C , followed by JL-6 Cg-dapB C37G,G38C (21.4%) and JL-6 ΔdapB::Ec-dapB C46G,G47C (15.2%). This is the first report of a rational modification of DHDPR that enhances the l-lysine production and yield through the modulation of nucleotide-cofactor specificity. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Effect of amino acids lysine and arginine on fracture healing in rabbits: A radiological and histomorphological analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sinha Shivam

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Amino acids like arginine and lysine have been suggested to hasten the process of fracture healing by improving the local blood supply, supplementing growth factors, and improving collagen synthesis. We studied the role of lysine and arginine in the fracture repair process with regard to the rate of healing, probable mechanisms involved in the process, and mutual synergism between these agents. Materials and Methods: In an experimental study, 40 rabbits were subjected to ulnar osteotomy. They were distributed in control (14 and test groups (26. Twenty-six animals in the test group were fed with a diet rich in lysine and arginine. Both the groups were followed radiologically and histologically till union. Results: There was better healing of osteotomy in terms of better vascularization, callus formation, and mineralization in the test group. The time of healing in the test group was reduced by a period of 2 weeks. Conclusion: We conclude that amino acids like arginine and lysine may hasten fracture healing.

  13. Involvement of 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate pathway in biosynthesis of aphidicolin-like tetracyclic diterpene of Scoparia dulcis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nkembo, Marguerite Kasidimoko; Lee, Jung-Bum; Nakagiri, Takeshi; Hayashi, Toshimitsu

    2006-05-01

    Specific inhibitors of the MVA pathway (pravastatin) and the MEP pathway (fosmidomycin) were used to interfere with the biosynthetic flux which leads to the production of aphidicolin-like diterpene in leaf organ cultures of Scoparia dulcis. Treatment of leaf organs with fosmidomycin resulted in dose dependent inhibition of chlorophylls, carotenoids, scopadulcic acid B (SDB) and phytol production, and no effect on sterol production was observed. In response to the pravastatin treatment, a significant decrease in sterol and perturbation of SDB production was observed.

  14. Internalization and Subcellular Trafficking of Poly-l-lysine Dendrimers Are Impacted by the Site of Fluorophore Conjugation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avaritt, Brittany R; Swaan, Peter W

    2015-06-01

    Internalization and intracellular trafficking of dendrimer-drug conjugates play an important role in achieving successful drug delivery. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the endocytosis mechanisms and subcellular localization of poly-l-lysine (PLL) dendrimers in Caco-2 cells. We also investigated the impact of fluorophore conjugation on cytotoxicity, uptake, and transepithelial transport. Oregon green 514 (OG) was conjugated to PLL G3 at either the dendrimer periphery or the core. Chemical inhibitors of clathrin-, caveolin-, cholesterol-, and dynamin-mediated endocytosis pathways and macropinocytosis were employed to establish internalization mechanisms, while colocalization with subcellular markers was used to determine dendrimer trafficking. Cell viability, internalization, and uptake were all influenced by the site of fluorophore conjugation. Uptake was found to be highly dependent on cholesterol- and dynamin-mediated endocytosis as well as macropinocytosis. Dendrimers were trafficked to endosomes and lysosomes, and subcellular localization was impacted by the fluorophore conjugation site. The results of this study indicate that PLL dendrimers exploit multiple pathways for cellular entry, and internalization and trafficking can be impacted by conjugation. Therefore, design of dendrimer-drug conjugates requires careful consideration to achieve successful drug delivery.

  15. Digestible threonine to lysine ratio in diets for laying hens aged 24-40 weeks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana Cristina da Rocha

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Two-hundred sixteen white laying hens were used to assess the ideal ratio of digestible threonine:lysine in diets for laying hens at 24 to 40 weeks of age. Birds were assigned to a randomized block design, with six treatments, six replicates per treatment and six birds per experimental unit. The cage was used as the blocking criterion. Experimental diets contained different digestible threonine:digestible lysine ratios (65, 70, 75, 80, 85 and 90% with 142 g/kg of crude protein. Experimental diets were formulated to be isonitrogenous and isocaloric with different contents of L-glutamic acid. Feed intake (g/hen/d, egg production (%, egg weight (g, egg mass (g/hen/d, feed conversion ratio (kg/dozen and kg/kg egg, eggshell weight (g, albumen weight (g, yolk weight (g and body weight gain (g were assessed. The maximum egg production was observed at 78% digestible threonine:digestible lysine ratio, while the best values of feed conversion ratio (kg/dozen egg and feed conversion ratio (kg/kg of egg were observed at 77.6% and 75%, respectively. Feed intake, egg mass and egg contents (yolk, albumen and eggshell were not affected by treatments. The estimated digestible threonine:digestible lysine ratio of Hy-Line W36 laying hens at 24 to 40 weeks of age is 78%, corresponding to 5.70 g/kg of dietary digestible threonine.

  16. Aflatoxin exposure during the first 1000 days of life in rural South Asia assessed by aflatoxin B₁-lysine albumin biomarkers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groopman, John D; Egner, Patricia A; Schulze, Kerry J; Wu, Lee S-F; Merrill, Rebecca; Mehra, Sucheta; Shamim, Abu A; Ali, Hasmot; Shaikh, Saijuddin; Gernand, Alison; Khatry, Subarna K; LeClerq, Steven C; West, Keith P; Christian, Parul

    2014-12-01

    Aflatoxin B1 is a potent carcinogen, occurring from mold growth that contaminates staple grains in hot, humid environments. In this investigation, aflatoxin B1-lysine albumin biomarkers were measured by mass spectrometry in rural South Asian women, during the first and third trimester of pregnancy, and their children at birth and at two years of age. These subjects participated in randomized community trials of antenatal micronutrient supplementation in Sarlahi District, southern Nepal and Gaibandha District in northwestern Bangladesh. Findings from the Nepal samples demonstrated exposure to aflatoxin, with 94% detectable samples ranging from 0.45 to 2939.30 pg aflatoxin B1-lysine/mg albumin during pregnancy. In the Bangladesh samples the range was 1.56 to 63.22 pg aflatoxin B1-lysine/mg albumin in the first trimester, 3.37 to 72.8 pg aflatoxin B1-lysine/mg albumin in the third trimester, 4.62 to 76.69 pg aflatoxin B1-lysine/mg albumin at birth and 3.88 to 81.44 pg aflatoxin B1-lysine/mg albumin at age two years. Aflatoxin B1-lysine adducts in cord blood samples demonstrated that the fetus had the capacity to convert aflatoxin into toxicologically active compounds and the detection in the same 2-year-old children illustrates exposure over the first 1000 days of life. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Rational synthetic pathway refactoring of natural products biosynthesis in actinobacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Gao-Yi; Liu, Tiangang

    2017-01-01

    Natural products (NPs) and their derivatives are widely used as frontline treatments for many diseases. Actinobacteria spp. are used to produce most of NP antibiotics and have also been intensively investigated for NP production, derivatization, and discovery. However, due to the complicated transcriptional and metabolic regulation of NP biosynthesis in Actinobacteria, especially in the cases of genome mining and heterologous expression, it is often difficult to rationally and systematically engineer synthetic pathways to maximize biosynthetic efficiency. With the emergence of new tools and methods in metabolic engineering, the synthetic pathways of many chemicals, such as fatty acids and biofuels, in model organisms (e.g. Escherichia coli ), have been refactored to realize precise and flexible control of production. These studies also offer a promising approach for synthetic pathway refactoring in Actinobacteria. In this review, the great potential of Actinobacteria as a microbial cell factory for biosynthesis of NPs is discussed. To this end, recent progress in metabolic engineering of NP synthetic pathways in Actinobacteria are summarized and strategies and perspectives to rationally and systematically refactor synthetic pathways in Actinobacteria are highlighted. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Lysine demethylase inhibition protects pancreatic β cells from apoptosis and improves β-cell function

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Backe, Marie Balslev; Andersson, Jan Legaard; Bacos, Karl

    2018-01-01

    ) protects β cells from cytokine-induced apoptosis and reduces type 1 diabetes incidence in animals. We hypothesized that also lysine demethylases (KDMs) regulate β-cell fate in response to inflammatory stress. Expression of the demethylase Kdm6B was upregulated by proinflammatory cytokines suggesting......Transcriptional changes control β-cell survival in response to inflammatory stress. Posttranslational modifications of histone and non-histone transcriptional regulators activate or repress gene transcription, but the link to cell-fate signaling is unclear. Inhibition of lysine deacetylases (KDACs...

  19. Piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties of DL-alanine and L-lysine amino-acid polymer nanofibres

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Matos Gomes, Etelvina; Viseu, Teresa; Belsley, Michael; Almeida, Bernardo; Costa, Maria Margarida R.; Rodrigues, Vitor H.; Isakov, Dmitry

    2018-04-01

    The piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties of electrospun polyethylene oxide nanofibres embedded with polar amino acids DL-alanine and L-lysine hemihydrate are reported. A high pyroelectric coefficient of 150 μC m‑2 K‑1 was measured for L-lysine hemihydrate and piezoelectric current densities up to 7 μA m‑2 were obtained for the nanofibres. The study reveals a potential for polymer amino-acid nanofibres to be used as biocompatible energy harvesters for autonomous circuit applications like in implantable electronics.

  20. Differential gene expression in liver and small intestine from lactating rats compared to age-matched virgin controls detects increased mRNA of cholesterol biosynthetic genes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jungsuwadee Paiboon

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Lactation increases energy demands four- to five-fold, leading to a two- to three-fold increase in food consumption, requiring a proportional adjustment in the ability of the lactating dam to absorb nutrients and to synthesize critical biomolecules, such as cholesterol, to meet the dietary needs of both the offspring and the dam. The size and hydrophobicity of the bile acid pool increases during lactation, implying an increased absorption and disposition of lipids, sterols, nutrients, and xenobiotics. In order to investigate changes at the transcriptomics level, we utilized an exon array and calculated expression levels to investigate changes in gene expression in the liver, duodenum, jejunum, and ileum of lactating dams when compared against age-matched virgin controls. Results A two-way mixed models ANOVA was applied to detect differentially expressed genes. Significance calls were defined as a p Cyp7a1, which catalyzes the rate limiting step in the bile acid biosynthetic pathway, was also significantly increased in liver. In addition, decreased levels of mRNA associated with T-cell signaling were found in the jejunum and ileum. Several members of the Solute Carrier (SLC and Adenosine Triphosphate Binding Cassette (ABC superfamilies of membrane transporters were found to be differentially expressed; these genes may play a role in differences in nutrient and xenobiotic absorption and disposition. mRNA expression of SLC39a4_predicted, a zinc transporter, was increased in all tissues, suggesting that it is involved in increased zinc uptake during lactation. Microarray data are available through GEO under GSE19175. Conclusions We detected differential expression of mRNA from several pathways in lactating dams, including upregulation of the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway in liver and intestine, consistent with Srebp activation. Differential T-Cell signaling in the two most distal regions of the small intestine (ileum and

  1. Biodistribution and catabolism of 18F-labelled isopeptide N(epsilon)-(gamma-glutamyl)-L-lysine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hultsch, C; Bergmann, R; Pawelke, B; Pietzsch, J; Wuest, F; Johannsen, B; Henle, T

    2005-12-01

    Isopeptide bonds between the epsilon-amino group of lysine and the gamma-carboxamide group of glutamine are formed during strong heating of pure proteins or, more important, by enzymatic reaction mediated by transglutaminases. Despite the wide use of a microbial transglutaminase in food biotechnology, up to now little is known about the metabolic fate of the isopeptide N(epsilon)-(gamma-glutamyl)-L-lysine. In the present study, N-succinimidyl-4-[(18)F]fluorobenzoate was used to modify N(epsilon)-(gamma-glutamyl)-L-lysine at each of its two alpha-amino groups, resulting in the 4-[(18)F]fluorobenzoylated derivatives, for which biodistribution, catabolism, and elimination were investigated in male Wistar rats. A significant different biochemical behavior of the two labelled isopeptides was observed in terms of in vitro stability, in vivo metabolism as well as biodistribution. The results suggest that the metabolic fate of isopeptides is likely to be dependent on how they are reabsorbed - free or peptide bound.

  2. Chemical modification of lysine residues in lysozyme may dramatically influence its amyloid fibrillation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morshedi, Dina; Ebrahim-Habibi, Azadeh; Moosavi-Movahedi, Ali Akbar; Nemat-Gorgani, Mohsen

    2010-04-01

    Studies on the aggregation of mutant proteins have provided new insights into the genetics of amyloid diseases and the role of the net charge of the protein on the rate, extent, and type of aggregate formation. In the present work, hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) was employed as the model protein. Acetylation and (separately) citraconylation were employed to neutralize the charge on lysine residues. Acetylation of the lysine residues promoted amyloid formation, resulting in more pronounced fibrils and a dramatic decline in the nucleation time. In contrast, citraconylation produced the opposite effect. In both cases, native secondary and tertiary structures appeared to be retained. Studies on the effect of pH on aggregation suggested greater possibilities for amorphous aggregate formation rather than fibrillation at pH values closer to neutrality, in which the protein is known to take up a conformation more similar to its native form. This is in accord with reports in the literature suggesting that formation of amorphous aggregates is more favored under relatively more native conditions. pH 5 provided a critical environment in which a mixture of amorphous and fibrillar structures were observed. Use of Tango and Aggrescan software which describe aggregation tendencies of different parts of a protein structure suggested critical importance of some of the lysine residues in the aggregation process. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of the net charge in control of protein-protein interactions leading to aggregate formation and possible specific roles of lysine residues 96 and 97. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Diurnal and circadian expression profiles of glycerolipid biosynthetic genes in Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Yuki; Andrés, Fernando; Kanehara, Kazue; Liu, Yu-chi; Coupland, George; Dörmann, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Glycerolipid composition in plant membranes oscillates in response to diurnal change. However, its functional significance remained unclear. A recent discovery that Arabidopsis florigen FT binds diurnally oscillating phosphatidylcholine molecules to promote flowering suggests that diurnal oscillation of glycerolipid composition is an important input in flowering time control. Taking advantage of public microarray data, we globally analyzed the expression pattern of glycerolipid biosynthetic genes in Arabidopsis under long-day, short-day, and continuous light conditions. The results revealed that 12 genes associated with glycerolipid metabolism showed significant oscillatory profiles. Interestingly, expression of most of these genes followed circadian profiles, suggesting that glycerolipid biosynthesis is partially under clock regulation. The oscillating expression profile of one representative gene, PECT1, was analyzed in detail. Expression of PECT1 showed a circadian pattern highly correlated with that of the clock-regulated gene GIGANTEA. Thus, our study suggests that a considerable number of glycerolipid biosynthetic genes are under circadian control.

  4. Effect of dietary nutrients on ileal endogenous losses of threonine, cysteine, methionine, lysine, leucine and protein in broiler chicks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerrate, S; Vignale, S K; Ekmay, R; England, J; Coon, C

    2018-04-01

    An isotope dose technique was utilized (i) to determine endogenous amino acid (AA) and protein losses and (ii) to propose adjusted values for AA requirements. The endogenous flow rate was calculated from the pool of enrichment in plasma AA, assuming similitude to enrichment of endogenous AA. In experiment 1, chicks were orally administered D4-lysine at 2% of estimated lysine intake from 16 to 24 days to find the isotopic steady state of the atom percent excess (APE) of lysine for plasma and jejunal and ileal digesta. The APE of D4-lysine in plasma, jejunal digesta and ileal digesta reached the isotopic steady state at 5.5, 3.4 and 2.0 days, respectively, by using the broken-line model. It was assumed that the isotopic steady state at 5 days identified for D4-lysine is also representative for the 15N-labeled AA. In experiment 2, chicks were fed diets from 1 to 21 days with increasing levels of fat (6%, 8%, 12%, 13% extract ether), protein (26%, 28.5%, 31% CP) or fiber (14%, 16%, 18% NDF) by adding poultry fat, soybean meal, blended animal protein or barley. Chicks were orally administered 15N-threonine, 15N-cysteine, 15N-methionine, 15N-lysine and 15N-leucine at 2% of estimated daily intake for 5 days from 17 to 21 days of age. Dietary nutrients influenced endogenous losses (EL), where dietary fat stimulated EL of lysine (P=0.06), leucine and protein (P=0.07); dietary protein enhanced EL of leucine and protein; and finally the dietary fiber increased EL of leucine. Dietary nutrients also affected apparent ileal digestibility (AID). Dietary fat increased AID of cysteine but decreased AID of lysine. Dietary protein reduced AID of protein, threonine, lysine and leucine, and similarly dietary fiber decreased AID of protein, threonine, methionine, lysine and leucine. In contrast, dietary fat or protein did not affect real ileal digestibility (RID) of protein and AA except threonine and leucine. The dietary fiber reduced the RID of protein, threonine and leucine. This

  5. Effects of lysine clonixinate and ketorolac tromethamine on prostanoid release from various rat organs incubated ex vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pallapies, D; Salinger, A; Meyer zum Gottesberge, A; Atkins, D J; Rohleder, G; Nagyiványi, P; Peskar, B A

    1995-01-01

    The release of prostanoids from rat brain, gastric mucosa, lungs and kidneys incubated ex vivo has been investigated for up to 5 h after oral administration of 10 mg/kg lysine clonixinate or 1 mg/kg ketorolac tromethamine. Additionally, 60 min after drug administration, a time point of near-maximal inhibition of prostanoid release, the effects of 2.5, 10 and 30 mg/kg lysine clonixinate and of 0.0225, 0.15 and 1 mg/kg ketorolac tromethamine were compared. In all organs investigated both drugs inhibited fatty acid cyclooxygenase (COX) in a dose-dependent manner, but ketorolac tromethamine was more potent and had a longer-lasting effect than lysine clonixinate. While the ID50 values for lysine clonixinate were in the same order of magnitude for all 4 organs investigated, ketorolac tromethamine exhibited some organ selectivity with a particularly high activity in the kidneys. This effect might be related to the renal toxicity of ketorolac tromethamine. On the other hand, the difference in potency was smallest in brain suggesting that inhibition of central prostanoid biosynthesis could contribute to the rapid and effective inhibition of pain by both drugs. IC50 values for inhibition of purified COX-1 and COX-2 in vitro were slightly lower for lysine clonixinate (2.4 and 24.6 micrograms/ml, respectively) than for ketorolac tromethamine (3.7 and 25.6 micrograms/ml, respectively).

  6. Enantioselective adsorption of ibuprofen and lysine in metal-organic frameworks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bueno-Perez, R.; Martin-Calvo, A.; Gómez-Álvarez, P.; Gutiérrez-Sevillano, J.J.; Merkling, P.J.; Vlugt, T.J.H.; van Erp, T.S.; Dubbeldam, D.; Calero, S.

    2014-01-01

    This study reveals the efficient enantiomeric separation of bioactive molecules in the liquid phase. Chiral structure HMOF-1 separates racemic mixtures whereas heteroselectivity is observed for scalemic mixtures of ibuprofen using non-chiral MIL-47 and MIL-53. Lysine enantiomers are only separated

  7. Amino acid nutrition beyond methionine and lysine for milk protein

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amino acids are involved in many important physiological processes affecting the production, health, and reproduction of high-producing dairy cows. Most research and recommendations for lactating dairy cows has focused on methionine and lysine for increasing milk protein yield. This is because these...

  8. A nuclear-receptor-dependent phosphatidylcholine pathway with antidiabetic effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jae Man; Lee, Yoon Kwang; Mamrosh, Jennifer L; Busby, Scott A; Griffin, Patrick R; Pathak, Manish C; Ortlund, Eric A; Moore, David D

    2011-05-25

    Nuclear hormone receptors regulate diverse metabolic pathways and the orphan nuclear receptor LRH-1 (also known as NR5A2) regulates bile acid biosynthesis. Structural studies have identified phospholipids as potential LRH-1 ligands, but their functional relevance is unclear. Here we show that an unusual phosphatidylcholine species with two saturated 12 carbon fatty acid acyl side chains (dilauroyl phosphatidylcholine (DLPC)) is an LRH-1 agonist ligand in vitro. DLPC treatment induces bile acid biosynthetic enzymes in mouse liver, increases bile acid levels, and lowers hepatic triglycerides and serum glucose. DLPC treatment also decreases hepatic steatosis and improves glucose homeostasis in two mouse models of insulin resistance. Both the antidiabetic and lipotropic effects are lost in liver-specific Lrh-1 knockouts. These findings identify an LRH-1 dependent phosphatidylcholine signalling pathway that regulates bile acid metabolism and glucose homeostasis.

  9. Succinyl-proteome profiling of Dendrobium officinale, an important traditional Chinese orchid herb, revealed involvement of succinylation in the glycolysis pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Shangguo; Jiao, Kaili; Guo, Hong; Jiang, Mengyi; Hao, Juan; Wang, Huizhong; Shen, Chenjia

    2017-08-10

    Lysine succinylation is a ubiquitous and important protein post-translational modification in various eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. However, its functions in Dendrobium officinale, an important traditional Chinese orchid herb with high polysaccharide contents, are largely unknown. In our study, LC-MS/MS was used to identify the peptides that were enriched by immune-purification with a high-efficiency succinyl-lysine antibody. In total, 314 lysine succinylation sites in 207 proteins were identified. A gene ontology analysis showed that these proteins are associated with a wide range of cellular functions, from metabolic processes to stimuli responses. Moreover, two types of conserved succinylation motifs, '***K suc ******K**' and '****EK suc ***', were identified. Our data showed that lysine succinylation occurred on five key enzymes in the glycolysis pathway. The numbers of average succinylation sites on these five enzymes in plants were lower than those in bacteria and mammals. Interestingly, two active site amino acids residues, K103 and K225, could be succinylated in fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, indicating a potential function of lysine succinylation in the regulation of glycolytic enzyme activities. Furthermore, the protein-protein interaction network for the succinylated proteins showed that several functional terms, such as glycolysis, TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation and ribosome, are consisted. Our results provide the first comprehensive view of the succinylome of D. officinale and may accelerate future biological investigations of succinylation in the synthesis of polysaccharides, which are major active ingredients.

  10. Acetyl-Phosphate Is a Critical Determinant of Lysine Acetylation in E. coli

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weinert, Brian T; Iesmantavicius, Vytautas; Wagner, Sebastian A

    2013-01-01

    Lysine acetylation is a frequently occurring posttranslational modification in bacteria; however, little is known about its origin and regulation. Using the model bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli), we found that most acetylation occurred at a low level and accumulated in growth-arrested cells...... acetylate lysine residues in vitro and that AcP levels are correlated with acetylation levels in vivo, suggesting that AcP may acetylate proteins nonenzymatically in cells. These results uncover a critical role for AcP in bacterial acetylation and indicate that most acetylation in E. coli occurs at a low...

  11. Alteration of Mevalonate Pathway in Rat Splenic Lymphocytes: Possible Role in Cytokines Secretion Regulated by L-Theanine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chengjian Li

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available L-Theanine is a nonprotein amino acid in tea, and its immunomodulatory function has been confirmed. This study aimed to investigate the effect of L-theanine addition on cytokines secretion in rat splenic lymphocytes and explore its potential immunomodulatory effects on the mevalonate biosynthetic pathway. Our results showed that L-theanine treatment did not influence the proliferation and division indexes of the splenic lymphocytes subsets. Interestingly, L-theanine treatment had regulated the contents of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, and TNF-α  (P<0.001 except IL-6 and upregulated the mRNA and protein expression of Ras-related protein Rap-1A (Rap1A, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR, and farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FDPs (P<0.001. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between Rap1A and HMGCR proteins expression and IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-6 levels. In conclusion, L-theanine regulated the secretion of cytokines probably by activating expression of Rap1A and HMGCR proteins involved in the mevalonate biosynthetic pathway in rat splenic lymphocytes. Therefore, L-theanine might be a promising potential drug candidate as immunopotentiator.

  12. Irbesartan treatment does not influence plasma levels of the advanced glycation end products N(epsilon)(1-carboxymethyl)lysine and N(epsilon)(1-carboxyethyl)lysine in patients with type 2 diabetes and microalbuminuria. A randomized controlled trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engelen, Lian; Persson, Frederik; Ferreira, Isabel

    2011-01-01

    to confirm such beneficial effects of ARBs on AGEs are lacking. Therefore, we investigated the effects of irbesartan treatment on plasma levels of the AGEs N(e)(1-carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) and N(e)(1-carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL) in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes and microalbuminuria. METHODS: We...... and -0.10 µmol/mol lysine (-0.76 to 0.56) for CEL. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term irbesartan treatment does not influence plasma levels of the AGE CML and CEL in patients with type 2 diabetes and microalbuminuria.......BACKGROUND: In vitro and animal experiments have shown inhibiting effects of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) on the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are known to be involved in the development of cardiovascular complications in diabetes. However, sufficient human data...

  13. Boosting Anaplerotic Reactions by Pyruvate Kinase Gene Deletion and Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase Desensitization for Glutamic Acid and Lysine Production in Corynebacterium glutamicum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yokota, Atsushi; Sawada, Kazunori; Wada, Masaru

    In the 1980s, Shiio and coworkers demonstrated using random mutagenesis that the following three phenotypes were effective for boosting lysine production by Corynebacterium glutamicum: (1) low-activity-level citrate synthase (CS L ), (2) phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) resistant to feedback inhibition by aspartic acid (PEPC R ), and (3) pyruvate kinase (PYK) deficiency. Here, we reevaluated these phenotypes and their interrelationship in lysine production using recombinant DNA techniques.The pyk deletion and PEPC R (D299N in ppc) independently showed marginal effects on lysine production, but both phenotypes synergistically increased lysine yield, demonstrating the importance of PEPC as an anaplerotic enzyme in lysine production. Similar effects were also found for glutamic acid production. CS L (S252C in gltA) further increased lysine yield. Thus, using molecular techniques, the combination of these three phenotypes was reconfirmed to be effective for lysine production. However, a simple CS L mutant showed instabilities in growth and lysine yield.Surprisingly, the pyk deletion was found to increase biomass production in wild-type C. glutamicum ATCC13032 under biotin-sufficient conditions. The mutant showed a 37% increase in growth (based on OD 660 ) compared with the ATCC13032 strain in a complex medium containing 100 g/L glucose. Metabolome analysis revealed the intracellular accumulation of excess precursor metabolites. Thus, their conversion into biomass was considered to relieve the metabolic distortion in the pyk-deleted mutant. Detailed physiological studies of various pyk-deleted mutants also suggested that malate:quinone oxidoreductase (MQO) is important to control both the intracellular oxaloacetic acid (OAA) level and respiration rate. These findings may facilitate the rational use of C. glutamicum in fermentation industries.

  14. Effect of lysine addition on growth of black iguana (Ctenosaura pectinata).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guzmán, Juan José Ortiz; Luis, Arcos-García José; Martínez, Germán D Mendoza; Pérez, Fernando Xicoténcatl Plata; Mascorro, Gisela Fuentes; Inzunza, Gabriela Ruelas

    2013-01-01

    The effects of the addition of lysine to commercial feed given to captive black iguana (Ctenosaura pectinata) were evaluated in terms of growth and feed digestibility. Twenty-eight-day-old black iguana with an initial weight of 5.5 ± 0.3 g were housed individually in cages measuring 45 × 45 × 45 cm. The experiment lasted 150 days. The ambient temperature ranged from 28 to 35°C with a relative humidity of 60 to 95%. Treatments consisted of the addition of different percentages of lysine to the feed (0.0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3%, dry matter [DM] base). There was a linear response (P iguana diet in the first months of life is important to stimulate growth and intake. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Identification and analysis of the paulomycin biosynthetic gene cluster and titer improvement of the paulomycins in Streptomyces paulus NRRL 8115.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jine Li

    Full Text Available The paulomycins are a group of glycosylated compounds featuring a unique paulic acid moiety. To locate their biosynthetic gene clusters, the genomes of two paulomycin producers, Streptomyces paulus NRRL 8115 and Streptomyces sp. YN86, were sequenced. The paulomycin biosynthetic gene clusters were defined by comparative analyses of the two genomes together with the genome of the third paulomycin producer Streptomyces albus J1074. Subsequently, the identity of the paulomycin biosynthetic gene cluster was confirmed by inactivation of two genes involved in biosynthesis of the paulomycose branched chain (pau11 and the ring A moiety (pau18 in Streptomyces paulus NRRL 8115. After determining the gene cluster boundaries, a convergent biosynthetic model was proposed for paulomycin based on the deduced functions of the pau genes. Finally, a paulomycin high-producing strain was constructed by expressing an activator-encoding gene (pau13 in S. paulus, setting the stage for future investigations.

  16. Expression of Xanthophyll Biosynthetic Genes during Light-Dependent Chloroplast Differentiation1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woitsch, Sonja; Römer, Susanne

    2003-01-01

    In higher plants, etioplast to chloroplast differentiation is characterized by dramatic ultrastructural changes of the plastid and a concomitant increase in chlorophylls and carotenoids. Whereas the formation and function of carotenes and their oxygenated derivatives, the xanthophylls, have been well studied, little is known about the regulation of the genes involved in xanthophyll biosynthesis. Here, we analyze the expression of three xanthophyll biosynthetic genes (i.e. β-carotene hydroxylase [bhy], zeaxanthin epoxidase [zep], and violaxanthin de-epoxidase [vde]) during de-etiolation of seedlings of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv Samsun) under different light conditions. White-light illumination caused an increase in the amount of all corresponding mRNAs. The expression profiles of bhy and zep not only resembled each other but were also similar to the pattern of a gene encoding a major light-harvesting protein of photosystem II. This finding indicates a coordinated synthesis during formation of the antenna complex. In contrast, the expression pattern of vde was clearly different. Furthermore, the gene expression of bhy was shown to be modulated after illumination with different white-light intensities. The expression of all xanthophyll biosynthetic genes under examination was up-regulated upon exposure to red, blue, and white light. Gene expression of bhy and vde but not of zep was more pronounced under red-light illumination, pointing at an involvement of the phytochrome system. Expression analysis in the presence of the photosynthetic electron transport inhibitors 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl-urea and 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropyl-p-benzoquinone indicated a redox control of transcription of two of the xanthophyll biosynthetic genes (bhy and zep). PMID:12857831

  17. Quantification of Lysine Acetylation and Succinylation Stoichiometry in Proteins Using Mass Spectrometric Data-Independent Acquisitions (SWATH)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Jesse G.; D'Souza, Alexandria K.; Sorensen, Dylan J.; Rardin, Matthew J.; Wolfe, Alan J.; Gibson, Bradford W.; Schilling, Birgit

    2016-11-01

    Post-translational modification of lysine residues by NƐ-acylation is an important regulator of protein function. Many large-scale protein acylation studies have assessed relative changes of lysine acylation sites after antibody enrichment using mass spectrometry-based proteomics. Although relative acylation fold-changes are important, this does not reveal site occupancy, or stoichiometry, of individual modification sites, which is critical to understand functional consequences. Recently, methods for determining lysine acetylation stoichiometry have been proposed based on ratiometric analysis of endogenous levels to those introduced after quantitative per-acetylation of proteins using stable isotope-labeled acetic anhydride. However, in our hands, we find that these methods can overestimate acetylation stoichiometries because of signal interferences when endogenous levels of acylation are very low, which is especially problematic when using MS1 scans for quantification. In this study, we sought to improve the accuracy of determining acylation stoichiometry using data-independent acquisition (DIA). Specifically, we use SWATH acquisition to comprehensively collect both precursor and fragment ion intensity data. The use of fragment ions for stoichiometry quantification not only reduces interferences but also allows for determination of site-level stoichiometry from peptides with multiple lysine residues. We also demonstrate the novel extension of this method to measurements of succinylation stoichiometry using deuterium-labeled succinic anhydride. Proof of principle SWATH acquisition studies were first performed using bovine serum albumin for both acetylation and succinylation occupancy measurements, followed by the analysis of more complex samples of E. coli cell lysates. Although overall site occupancy was low (<1%), some proteins contained lysines with relatively high acetylation occupancy.

  18. Non-enzymatic N-acetylation of Lysine Residues by AcetylCoA Often Occurs via a Proximal S-acetylated Thiol Intermediate Sensitive to Glyoxalase II.

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, Andrew M; Hoogewijs, Kurt; Logan, Angela; Hall, Andrew R; Ding, Shujing; Fearnley, Ian M; Murphy, Michael P

    2017-02-28

    Acetyl coenzyme A (AcCoA), a key intermediate in mitochondrial metabolism, N-acetylates lysine residues, disrupting and, in some cases, regulating protein function. The mitochondrial lysine deacetylase Sirtuin 3 (Sirt3) reverses this modification with benefits reported in diabetes, obesity, and aging. We show that non-enzymatic lysine N-acetylation by AcCoA is greatly enhanced by initial acetylation of a cysteine residue, followed by SN-transfer of the acetyl moiety to a nearby lysine on mitochondrial proteins and synthetic peptides. The frequent occurrence of an S-acetyl intermediate before lysine N-acetylation suggests that proximity to a thioester is a key determinant of lysine susceptibility to acetylation. The thioesterase glyoxalase II (Glo2) can limit protein S-acetylation, thereby preventing subsequent lysine N-acetylation. This suggests that the hitherto obscure role of Glo2 in mitochondria is to act upstream of Sirt3 in minimizing protein N-acetylation, thus limiting protein dysfunction when AcCoA accumulates. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Mutation of a Rice Gene Encoding a Phenylalanine Biosynthetic Enzyme Results in Accumulation of Phenylalanine and Tryptophan[W

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamada, Tetsuya; Matsuda, Fumio; Kasai, Koji; Fukuoka, Shuichi; Kitamura, Keisuke; Tozawa, Yuzuru; Miyagawa, Hisashi; Wakasa, Kyo

    2008-01-01

    Two distinct biosynthetic pathways for Phe in plants have been proposed: conversion of prephenate to Phe via phenylpyruvate or arogenate. The reactions catalyzed by prephenate dehydratase (PDT) and arogenate dehydratase (ADT) contribute to these respective pathways. The Mtr1 mutant of rice (Oryza sativa) manifests accumulation of Phe, Trp, and several phenylpropanoids, suggesting a link between the synthesis of Phe and Trp. Here, we show that the Mtr1 mutant gene (mtr1-D) encodes a form of rice PDT with a point mutation in the putative allosteric regulatory region of the protein. Transformed callus lines expressing mtr1-D exhibited all the characteristics of Mtr1 callus tissue. Biochemical analysis revealed that rice PDT possesses both PDT and ADT activities, with a preference for arogenate as substrate, suggesting that it functions primarily as an ADT. The wild-type enzyme is feedback regulated by Phe, whereas the mutant enzyme showed a reduced feedback sensitivity, resulting in Phe accumulation. In addition, these observations indicate that rice PDT is critical for regulating the size of the Phe pool in plant cells. Feeding external Phe to wild-type callus tissue and seedlings resulted in Trp accumulation, demonstrating a connection between Phe accumulation and Trp pool size. PMID:18487352

  20. The effects of acute morphine treatment on the incorporation of [3H]L-lysine by normal and regenerating facial nucleus neurons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinatra, R.S.; Ford, D.H.; Rhines, R.K.

    1979-01-01

    The effect of morphine on the incorporation of [ 3 H]L-lysine into proteins of facial nucleus neurons was examined by light microscopic radioautography. Silver grains present within various compartments of normal and regenerating (3-, 7-. 14- and 21 days post-axotomy) neurons from saline-treated Wistar rats were compared with the amount present in similar cells from animals receiving 40 mg/kg morphine sulfate i.v. At 14- and 21-days post-axotomy, regenerating neurons were larger and the grain count in the emulsion over these cells was greater than that observed in normal (unoperated) neurons. In normal facial neurons, the accumulation of lysine into the nucleus and nucleolus was significantly lower 60 min after morphine adminstration. However, morphine's inhibition of lysine incorporation was even more pronounced in regenerating neurons. In these cells, nuclear lysine uptake was depressed at 3 and 7 days, while maximum inhibition of cytoplasmic incorporation occurred at 14-days post-axotomy. Morphine adminstration decreased nucleolar lysine incorporation at all survival intervals. (Auth.)

  1. Evolutionary rate patterns of the Gibberellin pathway genes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Fu-min

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Analysis of molecular evolutionary patterns of different genes within metabolic pathways allows us to determine whether these genes are subject to equivalent evolutionary forces and how natural selection shapes the evolution of proteins in an interacting system. Although previous studies found that upstream genes in the pathway evolved more slowly than downstream genes, the correlation between evolutionary rate and position of the genes in metabolic pathways as well as its implications in molecular evolution are still less understood. Results We sequenced and characterized 7 core structural genes of the gibberellin biosynthetic pathway from 8 representative species of the rice tribe (Oryzeae to address alternative hypotheses regarding evolutionary rates and patterns of metabolic pathway genes. We have detected significant rate heterogeneity among 7 GA pathway genes for both synonymous and nonsynonymous sites. Such rate variation is mostly likely attributed to differences of selection intensity rather than differential mutation pressures on the genes. Unlike previous argument that downstream genes in metabolic pathways would evolve more slowly than upstream genes, the downstream genes in the GA pathway did not exhibited the elevated substitution rate and instead, the genes that encode either the enzyme at the branch point (GA20ox or enzymes catalyzing multiple steps (KO, KAO and GA3ox in the pathway had the lowest evolutionary rates due to strong purifying selection. Our branch and codon models failed to detect signature of positive selection for any lineage and codon of the GA pathway genes. Conclusion This study suggests that significant heterogeneity of evolutionary rate of the GA pathway genes is mainly ascribed to differential constraint relaxation rather than the positive selection and supports the pathway flux theory that predicts that natural selection primarily targets enzymes that have the greatest control on fluxes.

  2. Nicotinamide riboside kinase structures reveal new pathways to NAD+.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolfram Tempel

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available The eukaryotic nicotinamide riboside kinase (Nrk pathway, which is induced in response to nerve damage and promotes replicative life span in yeast, converts nicotinamide riboside to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+ by phosphorylation and adenylylation. Crystal structures of human Nrk1 bound to nucleoside and nucleotide substrates and products revealed an enzyme structurally similar to Rossmann fold metabolite kinases and allowed the identification of active site residues, which were shown to be essential for human Nrk1 and Nrk2 activity in vivo. Although the structures account for the 500-fold discrimination between nicotinamide riboside and pyrimidine nucleosides, no enzyme feature was identified to recognize the distinctive carboxamide group of nicotinamide riboside. Indeed, nicotinic acid riboside is a specific substrate of human Nrk enzymes and is utilized in yeast in a novel biosynthetic pathway that depends on Nrk and NAD+ synthetase. Additionally, nicotinic acid riboside is utilized in vivo by Urh1, Pnp1, and Preiss-Handler salvage. Thus, crystal structures of Nrk1 led to the identification of new pathways to NAD+.

  3. Prokaryotic Heme Biosynthesis: Multiple Pathways to a Common Essential Product.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dailey, Harry A; Dailey, Tamara A; Gerdes, Svetlana; Jahn, Dieter; Jahn, Martina; O'Brian, Mark R; Warren, Martin J

    2017-03-01

    The advent of heme during evolution allowed organisms possessing this compound to safely and efficiently carry out a variety of chemical reactions that otherwise were difficult or impossible. While it was long assumed that a single heme biosynthetic pathway existed in nature, over the past decade, it has become clear that there are three distinct pathways among prokaryotes, although all three pathways utilize a common initial core of three enzymes to produce the intermediate uroporphyrinogen III. The most ancient pathway and the only one found in the Archaea converts siroheme to protoheme via an oxygen-independent four-enzyme-step process. Bacteria utilize the initial core pathway but then add one additional common step to produce coproporphyrinogen III. Following this step, Gram-positive organisms oxidize coproporphyrinogen III to coproporphyrin III, insert iron to make coproheme, and finally decarboxylate coproheme to protoheme, whereas Gram-negative bacteria first decarboxylate coproporphyrinogen III to protoporphyrinogen IX and then oxidize this to protoporphyrin IX prior to metal insertion to make protoheme. In order to adapt to oxygen-deficient conditions, two steps in the bacterial pathways have multiple forms to accommodate oxidative reactions in an anaerobic environment. The regulation of these pathways reflects the diversity of bacterial metabolism. This diversity, along with the late recognition that three pathways exist, has significantly slowed advances in this field such that no single organism's heme synthesis pathway regulation is currently completely characterized. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

  4. Sequences of digestible lysine for gilts from 60 to 148 days of age

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veredino Louzada da Silva Júnior

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The experiment was conducted to evaluate five nutritional plans based on sequences of standardized ileal digestible lysine: 0.90-0.80-0.70, 1.00-0.90-0.80, 1.10-1.00-0.90, 1.20-1.10-1.00, and 1.30-1.20-1.10% fed to gilts from 60 to 99, 129 to 100, and 130 to 148 days of age, respectively. Eighty commercial hybrid gilts, selected for lean gain, with initial weight of 23.46±0.27kg were allotted in a randomized block design, with five treatments, eight replicates, and two pigs per experimental unit. No effect (P>0.05 of the nutritional plans was verified on daily feed intake, daily weight gain and feed conversion. The nutritional plans had no influence (P>0.05 on any of the carcass traits evaluated (carcass yield, meat amount, and meat yield. The nutritional plan of 0.90-0.80-0.70% standardized ileal digestible lysine fed to gilts from 60 to 99, 100 to 129, and 130 to 148 days of age, respectively, meets the standardized ileal digestible lysine requirements of gilts from 60 to 148 days of age.

  5. Distinct Paths for Basic Amino Acid Export in Escherichia coli: YbjE (LysO) Mediates Export of L-Lysine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pathania, Amit; Sardesai, Abhijit A

    2015-06-15

    In Escherichia coli, argO encodes an exporter for L-arginine (Arg) and its toxic analogue canavanine (CAN), and its transcriptional activation and repression, by Arg and L-lysine (Lys), respectively, are mediated by the regulator ArgP. Accordingly argO and argP mutants are CAN supersensitive (CAN(ss)). We report the identification of ybjE as a gene encoding a predicted inner membrane protein that mediates export of Lys, and our results confirm the previous identification with a different approach of YbjE as a Lys exporter, reported by Ueda and coworkers (T. Ueda, Y. Nakai, Y. Gunji, R. Takikawa, and Y. Joe, U.S. patents 7,629,142 B2 [December 2009] and 8,383,363 B1 [February 2013] and European patent 1,664,318 B1 [September 2009]). ybjE was isolated as a multicopy suppressor of the CAN(ss) phenotype of a strain lacking ArgO. The absence of YbjE did not confer a CAN(ss) phenotype but instead conferred hypersensitivity to the lysine antimetabolite thialysine and led to growth inhibition by the dipeptide lysylalanine, which is associated with elevated cellular Lys content. YbjE overproduction resulted in Lys excretion and syntrophic cross-feeding of a Lys auxotroph. Constitutive overexpression of argO promoted Lys cross-feeding that is indicative of a latent Lys export potential of ArgO. Arg modestly repressed ybjE transcription in an ArgR-dependent manner, and ArgR displayed Arg-sensitive binding to the ybjE promoter region in vitro. Our studies suggest that the reciprocal repression of argO and ybjE, respectively, by Lys and Arg confers the specificity for basic amino acid export by distinct paths and that such cross-repression contributes to maintenance of cytoplasmic Arg/Lys balance. We propose that YbjE be redesignated LysO. This work ascribes a lysine export function to the product of the ybjE gene of Escherichia coli, leading to a physiological scenario wherein two proteins, ArgO and YbjE, perform the task of separately exporting arginine and lysine

  6. Non-enzymatic N -acetylation of Lysine Residues by AcetylCoA Often Occurs via a Proximal S -acetylated Thiol Intermediate Sensitive to Glyoxalase II

    OpenAIRE

    James, Andrew M.; Hoogewijs, Kurt; Logan, Angela; Hall, Andrew R.; Ding, Shujing; Fearnley, Ian M.; Murphy, Michael P.

    2017-01-01

    Summary: Acetyl coenzyme A (AcCoA), a key intermediate in mitochondrial metabolism, N-acetylates lysine residues, disrupting and, in some cases, regulating protein function. The mitochondrial lysine deacetylase Sirtuin 3 (Sirt3) reverses this modification with benefits reported in diabetes, obesity, and aging. We show that non-enzymatic lysine N-acetylation by AcCoA is greatly enhanced by initial acetylation of a cysteine residue, followed by SN-transfer of the acetyl moiety to a nearby lysin...

  7. Lysine and Glutamic Acids as the End Products of Multi-response of Optimized Fermented Medium by Mucor mucedo KP736529.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Hersh, Mohammed S; Saber, WesamEldin I A; El-Fadaly, Husain A; Mahmoud, Mohammed K

    Amino acids are important for living organisms, they acting as crucial for metabolic activities and energy generation, wherein the deficiency in these amino acids cause various physiological defects. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of some nutritional factors on the amino acids production by Mucor mucedo KP736529 during fermentation intervals. Mucor mucedo KP736529 was selected according to proteolytic activity. Corn steep liquor and olive cake were used in the fermented medium during Placket-Burman and central composite design to maximize the production of lysine and glutamic acids. During the screening by Plackett-Burman design, olive cake and Corn Steep Liquor (CSL) had potential importance for the higher production of amino acids. The individual fractionation of total amino acids showed both lysine and glutamic as the major amino acids associated with the fermentation process. Moreover, the Central Composite Design (CCD) has been adopted to explain the interaction between olive cake and CSL on the production of lysine and glutamic acids. The model recorded significant F-value, with high values of R 2, adjusted R 2 and predicted R 2 for both lysine and glutamic, indicating the validity of the data. Solving equation for maximum production of lysine recorded theoretical levels of olive cake and CSL, being 2.58 and 1.83 g L -1, respectively, with predicting value of lysine at 1.470 μg mL -1, whereas the predicting value of glutamic acid reached 0.805 mg mL -1 at levels of 2.49 and 1.93 g L -1 from olive cake and CSL, respectively. The desirability function (D) showed the actual responses being 1.473±0.009 and 0.801±0.004 μg mL -1 for lysine and glutamic acids, respectively. The model showed adequate validity to be applied in a large-scale production of both lysine and glutamic acids.

  8. Tat proteins as novel thylakoid membrane anchors organize a biosynthetic pathway in chloroplasts and increase product yield 5-fold

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriques de Jesus, Maria Perestrello Ramos; Nielsen, Agnieszka Janina Zygadlo; Mellor, Silas Busck

    2017-01-01

    to their complex structures. Some of the crucial enzymes catalyzing their biosynthesis are the cytochromes P450 (P450s) situated in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), powered by electron transfers from NADPH. Dhurrin is a cyanogenic glucoside and its biosynthesis involves a dynamic metabolon formed by two P450s....... Nevertheless, translocation of the pathway from the ER to the chloroplast creates other difficulties, such as the loss of metabolon formation and intermediate diversion into other metabolic pathways. We show here that co-localization of these enzymes in the thylakoid membrane leads to a significant increase...... in product formation, with a concomitant decrease in off-pathway intermediates. This was achieved by exchanging the membrane anchors of the dhurrin pathway enzymes to components of the Twin-arginine translocation pathway, TatB and TatC, which have self-assembly properties. Consequently, we show 5-fold...

  9. Therapeutic use of chimeric bacteriophage (phage) lysins in staphylococcal endophthalmitis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purpose: Phage endolysins are peptidoglycan hydrolases that are produced at the end of the phage lytic cycle to digest the host bacterial cell wall, facilitating the release of mature phage progeny. The aim of this study is to determine the antimicrobial activity of chimeric phage lysins against cli...

  10. Monitoring lysin motif-ligand interactions via tryptophan analog fluorescence spectroscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Petrovic, Dejan M.; Leenhouts, Kees; van Roosmalen, Maarten L.; KleinJan, Fenneke; Broos, Jaap

    2012-01-01

    The lysin motif (LysM) is a peptidoglycan binding protein domain found in a wide range of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Various techniques have been used to study the LysM-ligand interaction, but a sensitive spectroscopic method to directly monitor this interaction has not been reported. Here a

  11. Increased expression of pyruvate carboxylase and biotin protein ligase increases lysine production in a biotin prototrophic Corynebacterium glutamicum strain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Zhihao; Moslehi-Jenabian, Soloomeh; Solem, Christian

    2015-01-01

    , and achieved biotin prototrophy. We found that AHP-3, containing pBIO, was able to produce lysine in a medium lacking biotin and that the lysine yield on glucose was similar to what is obtained when using a medium containing biotin. However, there was a decrease in specific growth rate of 20% when the strain...... pimeloyl-Acyl Carrier Protein [ACP]) formation. Pyruvate carboxylase (pycA), a biotin-dependent enzyme needed for lysine biosynthesis and biotin ligase (birA), which is responsible for attaching biotin to pyruvate carboxylase, were overexpressed by replacing the native promoters with the strong superoxide...... dismutase (sod) promoter, to see whether growth could be restored. Neither pycA nor birA overexpression, whether alone or in combination, had an effect on specific growth rate, but they did have a positive effect on lysine yield, which increased by 55% in the strain overexpressing both enzymes....

  12. Expression and functional analysis of the lysine decarboxylase and copper amine oxidase genes from the endophytic fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides ES026.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiangmei; Wang, Zhangqian; Jan, Saad; Yang, Qian; Wang, Mo

    2017-06-05

    Huperzine A (HupA) isolated from Huperzia serrata is an important compound used to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recently, HupA was reported in various endophytic fungi, with Colletotrichum gloeosporioides ES026 previously isolated from H. serrata shown to produce HupA. In this study, we performed next-generation sequencing and de novo RNA sequencing of C. gloeosporioides ES026 to elucidate the molecular functions, biological processes, and biochemical pathways of these unique sequences. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes assignments allowed annotation of lysine decarboxylase (LDC) and copper amine oxidase (CAO) for their conversion of L-lysine to 5-aminopentanal during HupA biosynthesis. Additionally, we constructed a stable, high-yielding HupA-expression system resulting from the overexpression of CgLDC and CgCAO from the HupA-producing endophytic fungus C. gloeosporioides ES026 in Escherichia coli. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis confirmed CgLDC and CgCAO expression, and quantitative determination of HupA levels was assessed by liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry, which revealed that elevated expression of CgLDC and CgCAO produced higher yields of HupA than those derived from C. gloeosporioides ES026. These results revealed CgLDC and CgCAO involvement in HupA biosynthesis and their key role in regulating HupA content in C. gloeosporioides ES026.

  13. N-epsilon-(carboxyethyl)lysine, a product of the chemical modification of proteins by methylglyoxal, increases with age in human lens proteins.

    OpenAIRE

    Ahmed, M U; Brinkmann Frye, E; Degenhardt, T P; Thorpe, S R; Baynes, J W

    1997-01-01

    Advanced glycation end-products and glycoxidation products, such as Nepsilon-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) and pentosidine, accumulate in long-lived tissue proteins with age and are implicated in the aging of tissue proteins and in the development of pathology in diabetes, atherosclerosis and other diseases. In this paper we describe a new advanced glycation end-product, Nepsilon-(carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL), which is formed during the reaction of methylglyoxal with lysine residues in model compo...

  14. Transcriptome analysis of responses to rhodomyrtone in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wipawadee Sianglum

    Full Text Available Rhodomyrtone, purified from Rhodomyrtus tomentosa (Aiton Hassk, exhibits a high degree of potency against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA. We recently demonstrated that exposure of MRSA to a subinhibitory concentration (0.174 µg/ml of rhodomyrtone resulted in the alteration of expression of several functional classes of bacterial proteins. To provide further insight into the antibacterial mode of action of this compound, we determined the impact of exposure to rhodomyrtone on the gene transcriptional profile of MRSA using microarray analysis. Exposure of MRSA to subinhibitory concentrations (0.5MIC; 0.5 µg/ml of rhodomyrtone revealed significant modulation of gene expression, with induction of 64 genes and repression of 35 genes. Prominent changes in response to exposure to rhodomyrtone involved genes encoding proteins essential to metabolic pathways and processes such as amino acid metabolism, membrane function, ATP-binding cassette (ABC transportation and lipoprotein and nucleotide metabolism. Genes involved in the synthesis of the aspartate family of amino acids, in particular proteins encoded by the dap operon were prominent. The diaminopimelate (DAP biosynthetic pathway is the precursor of lysine synthesis and is essential for peptidoglycan biosynthesis. However, phenotypic analysis of the peptidoglycan amino acid content of rhodomyrtone-treated MRSA did not differ significantly from that extracted from control cells. Genes involved in the biosynthesis of amino acids and peptidoglycan, and a high affinity ATP-driven K ((+ transport system, were investigated by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR using EMRSA-16 1, 4, or 18 h after exposure to rhodomyrtone and in general the data concurred with that obtained by microarray, highlighting the relevance of the DAP biosynthetic pathway to the mode of action of rhodomyrtone.

  15. Detection of salt bridges to lysines in solution in barnase

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Poul Erik; Williamson, Michael P.; Hounslow, Andrea M.

    2013-01-01

    We show that salt bridges involving lysines can be detected by deuterium isotope effects on NMR chemical shifts of the sidechain amine. Lys27 in the ribonuclease barnase is salt bridged, and mutation of Arg69 to Lys retains a partially buried salt bridge. The salt bridges are functionally important....

  16. Metabolism-oriented amino acid requirement determination by means of the catabolic rates of 14C- and 15N-labelled lysine under maintenance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simon, O.; Bergner, H.; Adam, K.

    1977-01-01

    Male Wistar rats (of 60 g live weight) allotted in 10 groups were fed diets with gradually increasing lysine levels ranging from 1.4 to 7.4 g lysine/16 g N. Feed intake was restricted so much that the experimental animals did not change their live weights during the last 3 days of the 8-day experimental period. On the 7the experimental day, 4 animals of each group were injected, i. p. 14 C-L-lysine, the 14 CO 2 -excretion being subsequently measured over a period of 2 hours. On the next day, 6 animals of each group were applied an i. p. injection of 15 N-L-lysine, the urine being collected over the following 24-hour period to measure the 15 N-frequency. Applying both labelling methods, an increased catabolisation of the amino acid was observed after the metabolically necessary lysine requirement had been covered. The methods are very sensitive and revealed, under the experimental conditions chosen, a lysine requirement coverage of about 3 g lysine/16 g N. The possibility of using also 15 N-labelled compounds in the metabolism-oriented amino acid requirement determination is likely to facilitate the transfer of the methodology to farm animals would thus allow to study the amino acid requirement of man. The metabolism-oriented amino acid requirement determination will likewise allow to estimate exact amino acid requirement data under conditions that cannot be rated on the basis of productive yields. (author)

  17. Effects of lysine residues on structural characteristics and stability of tau proteins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Myeongsang; Baek, Inchul; Choi, Hyunsung; Kim, Jae In; Na, Sungsoo

    2015-01-01

    Pathological amyloid proteins have been implicated in neuro-degenerative diseases, specifically Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Lewy-body diseases and prion related diseases. In prion related diseases, functional tau proteins can be transformed into pathological agents by environmental factors, including oxidative stress, inflammation, Aβ-mediated toxicity and covalent modification. These pathological agents are stable under physiological conditions and are not easily degraded. This un-degradable characteristic of tau proteins enables their utilization as functional materials to capturing the carbon dioxides. For the proper utilization of amyloid proteins as functional materials efficiently, a basic study regarding their structural characteristic is necessary. Here, we investigated the basic tau protein structure of wild-type (WT) and tau proteins with lysine residues mutation at glutamic residue (Q2K) on tau protein at atomistic scale. We also reported the size effect of both the WT and Q2K structures, which allowed us to identify the stability of those amyloid structures. - Highlights: • Lysine mutation effect alters the structure conformation and characteristic of tau. • Over the 15 layers both WT and Q2K models, both tau proteins undergo fractions. • Lysine mutation causes the increment of non-bonded energy and solvent accessible surface area. • Structural instability of Q2K model was proved by the number of hydrogen bonds analysis.

  18. Effects of lysine residues on structural characteristics and stability of tau proteins

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Myeongsang; Baek, Inchul; Choi, Hyunsung; Kim, Jae In; Na, Sungsoo, E-mail: nass@korea.ac.kr

    2015-10-23

    Pathological amyloid proteins have been implicated in neuro-degenerative diseases, specifically Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Lewy-body diseases and prion related diseases. In prion related diseases, functional tau proteins can be transformed into pathological agents by environmental factors, including oxidative stress, inflammation, Aβ-mediated toxicity and covalent modification. These pathological agents are stable under physiological conditions and are not easily degraded. This un-degradable characteristic of tau proteins enables their utilization as functional materials to capturing the carbon dioxides. For the proper utilization of amyloid proteins as functional materials efficiently, a basic study regarding their structural characteristic is necessary. Here, we investigated the basic tau protein structure of wild-type (WT) and tau proteins with lysine residues mutation at glutamic residue (Q2K) on tau protein at atomistic scale. We also reported the size effect of both the WT and Q2K structures, which allowed us to identify the stability of those amyloid structures. - Highlights: • Lysine mutation effect alters the structure conformation and characteristic of tau. • Over the 15 layers both WT and Q2K models, both tau proteins undergo fractions. • Lysine mutation causes the increment of non-bonded energy and solvent accessible surface area. • Structural instability of Q2K model was proved by the number of hydrogen bonds analysis.

  19. Lysine methyltransferase SMYD2 promotes cyst growth in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Linda Xiaoyan; Fan, Lucy X; Zhou, Julie Xia; Grantham, Jared J; Calvet, James P; Sage, Julien; Li, Xiaogang

    2017-06-30

    Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is driven by mutations in PKD1 and PKD2 genes. Recent work suggests that epigenetic modulation of gene expression and protein function may play a role in ADPKD pathogenesis. In this study, we identified SMYD2, a SET and MYND domain protein with lysine methyltransferase activity, as a regulator of renal cyst growth. SMYD2 was upregulated in renal epithelial cells and tissues from Pkd1-knockout mice as well as in ADPKD patients. SMYD2 deficiency delayed renal cyst growth in postnatal kidneys from Pkd1 mutant mice. Pkd1 and Smyd2 double-knockout mice lived longer than Pkd1-knockout mice. Targeting SMYD2 with its specific inhibitor, AZ505, delayed cyst growth in both early- and later-stage Pkd1 conditional knockout mouse models. SMYD2 carried out its function via methylation and activation of STAT3 and the p65 subunit of NF-κB, leading to increased cystic renal epithelial cell proliferation and survival. We further identified two positive feedback loops that integrate epigenetic regulation and renal inflammation in cyst development: SMYD2/IL-6/STAT3/SMYD2 and SMYD2/TNF-α/NF-κB/SMYD2. These pathways provide mechanisms by which SMYD2 might be induced by cyst fluid IL-6 and TNF-α in ADPKD kidneys. The SMYD2 transcriptional target gene Ptpn13 also linked SMYD2 to other PKD-associated signaling pathways, including ERK, mTOR, and Akt signaling, via PTPN13-mediated phosphorylation.

  20. Adenovirus small E1A employs the lysine acetylases p300/CBP and tumor suppressor Rb to repress select host genes and promote productive virus infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrari, Roberto; Gou, Dawei; Jawdekar, Gauri; Johnson, Sarah A; Nava, Miguel; Su, Trent; Yousef, Ahmed F; Zemke, Nathan R; Pellegrini, Matteo; Kurdistani, Siavash K; Berk, Arnold J

    2014-11-12

    Oncogenic transformation by adenovirus small e1a depends on simultaneous interactions with the host lysine acetylases p300/CBP and the tumor suppressor RB. How these interactions influence cellular gene expression remains unclear. We find that e1a displaces RBs from E2F transcription factors and promotes p300 acetylation of RB1 K873/K874 to lock it into a repressing conformation that interacts with repressive chromatin-modifying enzymes. These repressing p300-e1a-RB1 complexes specifically interact with host genes that have unusually high p300 association within the gene body. The TGF-β, TNF-, and interleukin-signaling pathway components are enriched among such p300-targeted genes. The p300-e1a-RB1 complex condenses chromatin in a manner dependent on HDAC activity, p300 lysine acetylase activity, the p300 bromodomain, and RB K873/K874 and e1a K239 acetylation to repress host genes that would otherwise inhibit productive virus infection. Thus, adenovirus employs e1a to repress host genes that interfere with viral replication. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Genetic analysis of the capsular biosynthetic locus from all 90 pneumococcal serotypes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen D Bentley

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Several major invasive bacterial pathogens are encapsulated. Expression of a polysaccharide capsule is essential for survival in the blood, and thus for virulence, but also is a target for host antibodies and the basis for effective vaccines. Encapsulated species typically exhibit antigenic variation and express one of a number of immunochemically distinct capsular polysaccharides that define serotypes. We provide the sequences of the capsular biosynthetic genes of all 90 serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae and relate these to the known polysaccharide structures and patterns of immunological reactivity of typing sera, thereby providing the most complete understanding of the genetics and origins of bacterial polysaccharide diversity, laying the foundations for molecular serotyping. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that a complete repertoire of capsular biosynthetic genes has been available, enabling a holistic analysis of a bacterial polysaccharide biosynthesis system. Remarkably, the total size of alternative coding DNA at this one locus exceeds 1.8 Mbp, almost equivalent to the entire S. pneumoniae chromosomal complement.

  2. Diversity of Culturable Thermophilic Actinobacteria in Hot Springs in Tengchong, China and Studies of their Biosynthetic Gene Profiles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lan; Salam, Nimaichand; Jiao, Jian-Yu; Jiang, Hong-Chen; Zhou, En-Min; Yin, Yi-Rui; Ming, Hong; Li, Wen-Jun

    2016-07-01

    The class Actinobacteria has been a goldmine for the discovery of antibiotics and has attracted interest from both academics and industries. However, an absence of novel approaches during the last few decades has limited the discovery of new microbial natural products useful for industries. Scientists are now focusing on the ecological aspects of diverse environments including unexplored or underexplored habitats and extreme environments in the search for new metabolites. This paper reports on the diversity of culturable actinobacteria associated with hot springs located in Tengchong County, Yunnan Province, southwestern China. A total of 58 thermophilic actinobacterial strains were isolated from the samples collected from ten hot springs distributed over three geothermal fields (e.g., Hehua, Rehai, and Ruidian). Phylogenetic positions and their biosynthetic profiles were analyzed by sequencing 16S rRNA gene and three biosynthetic gene clusters (KS domain of PKS-I, KSα domain of PKS-II and A domain of NRPS). On the basis of 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis, the 58 strains were affiliated with 12 actinobacterial genera: Actinomadura Micromonospora, Microbispora, Micrococcus, Nocardiopsis, Nonomuraea, Promicromonospora, Pseudonocardia, Streptomyces, Thermoactinospora, Thermocatellispora, and Verrucosispora, of which the two novel genera Thermoactinospora and Thermocatellisopora were recently described from among these strains. Considering the biosynthetic potential of these actinobacterial strains, 22 were positive for PCR amplification of at least one of the three biosynthetic gene clusters (PKS-I, PKS-II, and NRPS). These actinobacteria were further subjected to antimicrobial assay against five opportunistic human pathogens (Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus faecalis). All of the 22 strains that were positive for PCR amplification of at least one of the biosynthetic gene domains exhibited

  3. MiYA, an efficient machine-learning workflow in conjunction with the YeastFab assembly strategy for combinatorial optimization of heterologous metabolic pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yikang; Li, Gang; Dong, Junkai; Xing, Xin-Hui; Dai, Junbiao; Zhang, Chong

    2018-05-01

    Facing boosting ability to construct combinatorial metabolic pathways, how to search the metabolic sweet spot has become the rate-limiting step. We here reported an efficient Machine-learning workflow in conjunction with YeastFab Assembly strategy (MiYA) for combinatorial optimizing the large biosynthetic genotypic space of heterologous metabolic pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using β-carotene biosynthetic pathway as example, we first demonstrated that MiYA has the power to search only a small fraction (2-5%) of combinatorial space to precisely tune the expression level of each gene with a machine-learning algorithm of an artificial neural network (ANN) ensemble to avoid over-fitting problem when dealing with a small number of training samples. We then applied MiYA to improve the biosynthesis of violacein. Feed with initial data from a colorimetric plate-based, pre-screened pool of 24 strains producing violacein, MiYA successfully predicted, and verified experimentally, the existence of a strain that showed a 2.42-fold titer improvement in violacein production among 3125 possible designs. Furthermore, MiYA was able to largely avoid the branch pathway of violacein biosynthesis that makes deoxyviolacein, and produces very pure violacein. Together, MiYA combines the advantages of standardized building blocks and machine learning to accelerate the Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycle for combinatorial optimization of metabolic pathways, which could significantly accelerate the development of microbial cell factories. Copyright © 2018 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Mechanisms of mono- and poly-ubiquitination: Ubiquitination specificity depends on compatibility between the E2 catalytic core and amino acid residues proximal to the lysine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sadowski Martin

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Ubiquitination involves the attachment of ubiquitin to lysine residues on substrate proteins or itself, which can result in protein monoubiquitination or polyubiquitination. Ubiquitin attachment to different lysine residues can generate diverse substrate-ubiquitin structures, targeting proteins to different fates. The mechanisms of lysine selection are not well understood. Ubiquitination by the largest group of E3 ligases, the RING-family E3 s, is catalyzed through co-operation between the non-catalytic ubiquitin-ligase (E3 and the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2, where the RING E3 binds the substrate and the E2 catalyzes ubiquitin transfer. Previous studies suggest that ubiquitination sites are selected by E3-mediated positioning of the lysine toward the E2 active site. Ultimately, at a catalytic level, ubiquitination of lysine residues within the substrate or ubiquitin occurs by nucleophilic attack of the lysine residue on the thioester bond linking the E2 catalytic cysteine to ubiquitin. One of the best studied RING E3/E2 complexes is the Skp1/Cul1/F box protein complex, SCFCdc4, and its cognate E2, Cdc34, which target the CDK inhibitor Sic1 for K48-linked polyubiquitination, leading to its proteasomal degradation. Our recent studies of this model system demonstrated that residues surrounding Sic1 lysines or lysine 48 in ubiquitin are critical for ubiquitination. This sequence-dependence is linked to evolutionarily conserved key residues in the catalytic region of Cdc34 and can determine if Sic1 is mono- or poly-ubiquitinated. Our studies indicate that amino acid determinants in the Cdc34 catalytic region and their compatibility to those surrounding acceptor lysine residues play important roles in lysine selection. This may represent a general mechanism in directing the mode of ubiquitination in E2 s.

  5. Effect of low protein diets and lysine supplementation on growth ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The present study was to assess the effect of feeding low protein diet with or without supplemental lysine to meet NRC (1998) requirement on growth performance, carcass trait, meat composition, and meat quality of pigs. An experiment of 126 days was conducted on 21 crossbred Landrace pigs (average weight 11.72 ...

  6. Targeting of SUMO substrates to a Cdc48-Ufd1-Npl4 segregase and STUbL pathway in fission yeast

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Køhler, Julie Bonne; Tammsalu, Triin; Jørgensen, Maria Louise Mønster

    2015-01-01

    48/p97-Ufd1-Npl4 facilitates this process. However, the extent to which the two pathways overlap, and how substrates are selected, remains unknown. Here we address these questions in fission yeast through proteome-wide analyses of SUMO modification sites. We identify over a thousand sumoylated...... lysines in a total of 468 proteins and quantify changes occurring in the SUMO modification status when the STUbL or Ufd1 pathways are compromised by mutations. The data suggest the coordinated processing of several classes of SUMO conjugates, many dynamically associated with centromeres or telomeres...

  7. New insights into the interplay between the lysine transporter LysP and the pH sensor CadC in Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rauschmeier, Martina; Schüppel, Valentina; Tetsch, Larissa; Jung, Kirsten

    2014-01-09

    The coordination of signal transduction and substrate transport represents a sophisticated way to integrate information on metabolite fluxes into transcriptional regulation. This widely distributed process involves protein-protein interactions between two integral membrane proteins. Here we report new insights into the molecular mechanism of the regulatory interplay between the lysine-specific permease LysP and the membrane-integrated pH sensor CadC, which together induce lysine-dependent adaptation of E. coli under acidic stress. In vivo analyses revealed that, in the absence of either stimulus, the two proteins form a stable association, which is modulated by lysine and low pH. In addition to its transmembrane helix, the periplasmic domain of CadC also participated in the interaction. Site-directed mutagenesis pinpointed Arg265 and Arg268 in CadC as well as Asp275 and Asp278 in LysP as potential periplasmic interaction sites. Moreover, a systematic analysis of 100 LysP variants with single-site replacements indicated that the lysine signal is transduced from co-sensor to sensor via lysine-dependent conformational changes (upon substrate binding and/or transport) of LysP. Our results suggest a scenario in which CadC is inhibited by LysP via intramembrane and periplasmic contacts under non-inducing conditions. Upon induction, lysine-dependent conformational changes in LysP transduce the lysine signal via a direct conformational coupling to CadC without resolving the interaction completely. Moreover, concomitant pH-dependent protonation of periplasmic amino acids in both proteins dissolves their electrostatic connections resulting in further destabilization of the CadC/LysP interaction. © 2013.

  8. Tumor accumulation of {epsilon}-poly-lysines-based polyamines conjugated with boron clusters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Umano, Masayuki; Uechi, Kazuhiro; Uriuda, Takatoshi; Murayama, Sayuri; Azuma, Hideki [Department of Applied Chemistry and Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka City University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 5588585 (Japan); Shinohara, Atsuko [Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 1138421 (Japan); Liu, Young; Ono, Koji [Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, 2-1010 Asashiro-nishi, Kumatori 5900494 (Japan); Kirihata, Mitsunori [Department of Bioscience and Informatics, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Sakai 5998531 (Japan); Yanagie, Hironobu [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Management, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 1138656 (Japan); Nagasaki, Takeshi, E-mail: nagasaki@bioa.eng.osaka-cu.ac.jp [Department of Applied Chemistry and Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka City University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 5588585 (Japan)

    2011-12-15

    Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is one of the potent cancer radiotherapies using nuclear reaction between {sup 10}B atoms and the neutron. Whether BNCT will succeed or not depends on tumor selective delivery of {sup 10}B compounds. {epsilon}-Poly-L-lysine is a naturally occurring polyamine characterized by the peptide linkages between the carboxyl and {epsilon}-amino groups of L-lysine. Because of high safety {epsilon}-PLL is applied practically as a food additive due to its strong antimicrobial activity. In this study, we focus on a development of a novel polymeric delivery system for BNCT using biodegradable {epsilon}-PLL conjugated with {sup 10}B-containing clusters (BSH). This polymeric boron carrier will be expected to deliver safely and efficiently into tumor tissues based on Enhanced Permeability and Retention (EPR) effect.

  9. Design and Application of Synthetic Receptors for Recognition of Methylated Lysine and Supramolecular Affinity Labeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gober, Isaiah Nathaniel

    This dissertation involves the design and synthesis of new synthetic receptors and their application in the molecular recognition of methylated lysine and their use as tools for chemical biology. The dissertation is divided into four parts. The first section focuses on the development of a novel labeling method that is based on ligand-directed affinity labeling principles. In this labeling method, a synthetic receptor that binds to trimethyl lysine (Kme3) is attached through a linker to an electrophilic tag group that can react with a nucleophilic amine in a histone peptide. This affinity labeling probe, which we called CX4-ONBD, is equipped with an electrophilic tag that allows for turn-on fluorescence labeling of Kme3 histone peitdes. We show that the probe gives a pronounced turn-on fluorescence response when it is incubated with a histone peptide that contains Kme3 and a nearby reactive lysine. This probe also displays >5-fold selectivity in covalent labeling over an unmethylated lysine peptide. This represents the first time a synthetic receptor has been used for affinity labeling purposes, and it also expands on the chemical toolkit that is available for sensing PTMs like lysine methylation. In the second section, the supramolecular affinity labeling method that was optimized using CX4-ONBD was applied to the development of a real-time assay for measuring enzymatic activity. More specifically, the probe was used to create a turn-on fluorescence assay for histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity and for inhibitor screening and IC50 determination. Most commercial kits for HDAC activity have limited substrate scope, and other common methods used for characterizing enzymatic activity often require chromatographic separation and are therefore not high-throughput. This small molecule receptor-mediated affinity labeling strategy allowed for facile readout of HDAC activity and inhibition. Overall, this application of supramolecular affinity labeling expands on the

  10. Genipin-cross-linked poly(L-lysine)-based hydrogels: synthesis, characterization, and drug encapsulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Steven S S; Hsieh, Ping-Lun; Chen, Pei-Shan; Chen, Yu-Tien; Jan, Jeng-Shiung

    2013-11-01

    Genipin-cross-linked hydrogels composed of biodegradable and pH-sensitive cationic poly(L-lysine) (PLL), poly(L-lysine)-block-poly(L-alanine) (PLL-b-PLAla), and poly(L-lysine)-block-polyglycine (PLL-b-PGly) polypeptides were synthesized, characterized, and used as carriers for drug delivery. These polypeptide hydrogels can respond to pH-stimulus and their gelling and mechanical properties, degradation rate, and drug release behavior can be tuned by varying polypeptide composition and cross-linking degree. Comparing with natural polymers, the synthetic polypeptides with well-defined chain length and composition can warrant the preparation of the hydrogels with tunable properties to meet the criteria for specific biomedical applications. These hydrogels composed of natural building blocks exhibited good cell compatibility and enzyme degradability and can support cell attachment/proliferation. The evaluation of these hydrogels for in vitro drug release revealed that the controlled release profile was a biphasic pattern with a mild burst release and a moderate release rate thereafter, suggesting the drug molecules were encapsulated inside the gel matrix. With the versatility of polymer chemistry and conjugation of functional moieties, it is expected these hydrogels can be useful for biomedical applications such as polymer therapeutics and tissue engineering. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Insights into secondary metabolism from a global analysis of prokaryotic biosynthetic gene clusters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cimermancic, P.; Medema, Marnix; Claesen, J.; Kurika, K.; Wieland Brown, L.C.; Mavrommatis, K.; Pati, A.; Godfrey, P.A.; Koehrsen, M.; Clardy, J.; Birren, B. W.; Takano, Eriko; Sali, A.; Linington, R.G.; Fischbach, M.A.

    2014-01-01

    Although biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) have been discovered for hundreds of bacterial metabolites, our knowledge of their diversity remains limited. Here, we used a novel algorithm to systematically identify BGCs in the extensive extant microbial sequencing data. Network analysis of the

  12. Detergent insolubility of alkaline phosphatase during biosynthetic transport and endocytosis. Role of cholesterol

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cerneus, D. P.; Ueffing, E.; Posthuma, G.; Strous, G. J.; van der Ende, A.

    1993-01-01

    Alkaline phosphatase is anchored to the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane by a covalently attached glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol anchor. We have studied the biosynthetic transport and endocytosis of alkaline phosphatase in the choriocarcinoma cell line BeWo, which endogenously expresses this

  13. Evaluation of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells labeling with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles coated with dextran and complexed with Poly-L-Lysine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sibov, Tatiana Tais; Mamani, Javier Bustamante; Pavon, Lorena Favaro; Cardenas, Walter Humberto; Gamarra, Lionel Fernel; Miyaki, Liza Aya Mabuchi; Marti, Luciana Cavalheiro; Sardinha, Luiz Roberto; Oliveira, Daniela Mara de

    2012-01-01

    Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the labeling of umbilical cord vein derived mesenchymal stem cells with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles coated with dextran and complexed to a non-viral transfector agent transfector poly-L-lysine. Methods: The labeling of mesenchymal stem cells was performed using the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles/dextran complexed and not complexed to poly-L-lysine. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles/dextran was incubated with poly-L-lysine in an ultrasonic sonicator at 37 deg C for 10 minutes for complex formation superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles/dextran/poly-L-lysine by electrostatic interaction. Then, the mesenchymal stem cells were incubated overnight with the complex superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles/dextran/poly-L-lysine and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles/dextran. After the incubation period the mesenchymal stem cells were evaluated by internalization of the complex superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles/dextran/polyL-lysine and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles/dextran by Prussian Blue stain. Cellular viability of labeled mesenchymal stem cells was evaluated by cellular proliferation assay using 5,6-carboxyfluorescein-succinimidyl ester method and apoptosis detection by Annexin V- Propidium Iodide assay. Results: mesenchymal stem cells labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles/ dextran without poly-L-lysine not internalized efficiently the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles due to its low presence detected within cells. Mesenchymal stem cells labeled with the complex superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles/dextran/polyL-lysine efficiently internalized the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles due to greater presence in the cells interior. The viability and apoptosis assays demonstrated that the mesenchymal stem cells labeled and not labeled respectively with the superparamagnetic iron oxide

  14. Synthesis of L-lysine imprinted cryogels for immunoglobulin G adsorption

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Çulha, Senem; Armutcu, Canan; Uzun, Lokman; Şenel, Serap, E-mail: senel@hacettepe.edu.tr; Denizli, Adil

    2015-07-01

    L-Lysine imprinted poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-N-methacryloyl-L-aspartic acid) [P(HEMA-co-MAAsp)] cryogels were synthesized and characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, surface area measurements, swelling, and squeezing tests. Specific surface area for imprinted cryogel was 34.2 m{sup 2}/g while the value was 21.3 m{sup 2}/g for non-imprinted cryogel. IgG adsorption from aqueous solution was examined in continuous mode examining the factors effecting adsorption capacity such as pH, concentration, flow rate, temperature, ionic strength, and incubation time. 0.5 M NaCl was used as desorption agent. The IgG adsorption capacity was determined as 55.1 mg/g for 1.0 mg/mL IgG original concentration at 25.0 °C while pH and flow rate were 7.0 and 0.5 mL/min, respectively. When human serum was used as IgG source, the removal of 90.4% of crude IgG was attained for 1/20 diluted plasma sample. The imprinted cryogel was used in ten successive cycles without significant loss in adsorption capacity. The cryogel was determined to be 1.79 times more selective to IgG than albumin and 1.45 times more selective than hemoglobin. The adsorption behavior well suited to Langmuir isotherm and the kinetics followed pseudo-second-order model. Thermodynamic parameters ΔH°, ΔS° and ΔG° for this adsorption process were also calculated. - Highlights: • L-Lysine imprinted cryogels through epitope imprinting approach • Optimization of recognition conditions for template (L-lysine) and target (IgG) biomolecules • Efficient reusability (upto 10 cycles) without any significant change in capacity • A great potential for specific and selective IgG purification • Promising, cost-friendly, specific and selective adsorbent • IgG separation/purification from complex feeding solutions like human serum.

  15. Chromatin landscaping in algae reveals novel regulation pathway for biofuels production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ngan, Chew Yee; Wong, Chee-Hong; Choi, Cindy; Pratap, Abhishek; Han, James; Wei, Chia-Lin

    2013-02-19

    The diminishing reserve of fossil fuels calls for the development of biofuels. Biofuels are produced from renewable resources, including photosynthetic organisms, generating clean energy. Microalgae is one of the potential feedstock for biofuels production. It grows easily even in waste water, and poses no competition to agricultural crops for arable land. However, little is known about the algae lipid biosynthetic regulatory mechanisms. Most studies relied on the homology to other plant model organisms, in particular Arabidopsis or through low coverage expression analysis to identify key enzymes. This limits the discovery of new components in the biosynthetic pathways, particularly the genetic regulators and effort to maximize the production efficiency of algal biofuels. Here we report an unprecedented and de novo approach to dissect the algal lipid pathways through disclosing the temporal regulations of chromatin states during lipid biosynthesis. We have generated genome wide chromatin maps in chlamydomonas genome using ChIP-seq targeting 7 histone modifications and RNA polymerase II in a time-series manner throughout conditions activating lipid biosynthesis. To our surprise, the combinatory profiles of histone codes uncovered new regulatory mechanism in gene expression in algae. Coupled with matched RNA-seq data, chromatin changes revealed potential novel regulators and candidate genes involved in the activation of lipid accumulations. Genetic perturbation on these candidate regulators further demonstrated the potential to manipulate the regulatory cascade for lipid synthesis efficiency. Exploring epigenetic landscape in microalgae shown here provides powerful tools needed in improving biofuel production and new technology platform for renewable energy generation, global carbon management, and environmental survey.

  16. Hemlock alkaloids from Socrates to poison aloes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynolds, Tom

    2005-06-01

    Hemlock (Conium maculatum L. Umbelliferae) has long been known as a poisonous plant. Toxicity is due to a group of piperidine alkaloids of which the representative members are coniine and gamma-coniceine. The latter is the more toxic and is the first formed biosynthetically. Its levels in relation to coniine vary widely according to environmental conditions and to provenance of the plants. Surprisingly, these piperidine alkaloids have turned up in quite unrelated species in the monocotyledons as well as the dicotyledons. Aloes, for instance, important medicinal plants, are not regarded as poisonous although some species are very bitter. Nevertheless a small number of mostly local species contain the alkaloids, especially gamma-coniceine and there have been records of human poisoning. The compounds are recognized by their characteristic mousy smell. Both acute and chronic symptoms have been described. The compounds are neurotoxins and death results from respiratory failure, recalling the effects of curare. Chronic non-lethal ingestion by pregnant livestock leads to foetal malformation. Both acute and chronic toxicity are seen with stock in damp meadows and have been recorded as problems especially in North America. The alkaloids derive biosynthetically from acetate units via the polyketide pathway in contrast to other piperidine alkaloids which derive from lysine.

  17. Comparative pharmacokinetics of cefuroxime lysine after single intravenous, intraperitoneal, and intramuscular administration to rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Long-shan; Yin, Ran; Wei, Bin-bin; Li, Qing; Jiang, Zhen-yuan; Chen, Xiao-hui; Bi, Kai-shun

    2012-11-01

    To compare the pharmacokinetic parameters of cefuroxime lysine, a new second-generation of cephalosporin antibiotics, after intravenous (IV), intraperitoneal (IP), or intramuscular (IM) administration. Twelve male and 12 virgin female Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing from 200 to 250 g, were divided into three groups (n=4 for each gender in each group). The rats were administered a single dose (67.5 mg/kg) of cefuroxime lysine via IV bolus or IP or IM injection. Blood samples were collected and analyzed with a validated UFLC-MS/MS method. The concentration-time data were then calculated by compartmental and non-compartmental pharmacokinetic methods using DAS software. After IV, IP or IM administration, the plasma cefuroxime lysine disposition was best described by a tri-compartmental, bi-compartmental or mono-compartmental open model, respectively, with first-order elimination. The plasma concentration profiles were similar through the 3 administration routes. The distribution process was rapid after IV administration [t(1/2(d)), 0.10 ± 0.11 h vs 1.36 ± 0.65 and 1.25 ± 1.01 h]. The AUMC(0-∞) is markedly larger, and mean residence time (MRT) is greatly longer after IP administration than that in IV, or IM routes (AUMC(0-∞): 55.33 ± 20.34 vs 16.84 ± 4.85 and 36.17 ± 13.24 mg·h(2)/L; MRT: 0.93 ± 0.10 h vs 0.37 ± 0.07 h and 0.65 ± 0.05 h). The C(max) after IM injection was significantly higher than that in IP injection (73.51 ± 12.46 vs 49.09 ± 7.06 mg/L). The AUC(0-∞) in male rats were significantly higher than that in female rats after IM administration (66.38 ± 16.5 vs 44.23 ± 6.37 mg·h/L). There was no significantly sex-related difference in other pharmacokinetic parameters of cefuroxime lysine between male and female rats. Cefuroxime lysine shows quick absorption after IV injection, a long retension after IP injection, and a high C(max) after IM injection. After IM administration the AUC(0-∞) in male rats was significantly larger than that in

  18. Elicitin-induced distal systemic resistance in plants is mediated through the protein-protein interactions influenced by selected lysine residues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hana eUhlíková

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Elicitins are a family of small proteins with sterol-binding activity that are secreted by Phytophthora and Pythium spp. classified as oomycete PAMPs. Although alfa- and beta-elicitins bind with the same affinity to one high affinity binding site on the plasma membrane, beta-elicitins (possessing 6-7 lysine residues are generally 50- to 100-fold more active at inducing distal HR and systemic resistance than the alfa-isoforms (with only 1-3 lysine residues.To examine the role of lysine residues in elicitin biological activity, we employed site-directed mutagenesis to prepare a series of beta-elicitin cryptogein variants with mutations on specific lysine residues. In contrast to direct infiltration of protein into leaves, application to the stem revealed a rough correlation between protein’s charge and biological activity, resulting in protection against Phytophthora parasitica. A detailed analysis of proteins’ movement in plants showed no substantial differences in distribution through phloem indicating differences in consequent apoplastic or symplastic transport. In this process, an important role of homodimer formation together with the ability to form a heterodimer with potential partner represented by endogenous plants LTPs is suggested. Our work demonstrates a key role of selected lysine residues in these interactions and stresses the importance of processes preceding elicitin recognition responsible for induction of distal systemic resistance.

  19. The synthesis of chlorophyll-a biosynthetic precursors and methyl substituted iron porphyrins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matera, K.M.

    1988-01-01

    The biosynthetic intermediates were incubated in a plant system. The activity levels calculated show that magnesium 6-acrylate porphyrins and one of the magnesium 6-β-hydroxypropionate porphyrins are not intermediates. In addition, plant systems incubated with 18 O 2 were found to synthesize magnesium 2,4-divinyl pheoporphyrin-a 5 incorporated with 18 O at the 9-carbonyl oxygen. Mass spectroscopy confirmed the presence of the oxygen label, thus eliminating one of two hypothesized pathways to chlorophyll-a. An overall description is given of iron porphyrins and iron porphyrin containing proteins. The function of the propionic side chains of the heme prosthetic group during electron transport reactions will be investigated. The synthesis of a series of iron(III) hexamethyl porphyrins with increasingly longer substituents in the remaining two peripheral positions of the porphyrin is described. Models for NMR studies of iron chlorin containing enzymes are discussed. Iron(III) pyropheophorbide-a and methyl pyropheophorbide-a were synthesized in addition to 5-CD 3 , 10-CD 2 iron(III) pyropheophorbide-a and methyl pyropheophorbide-a. Together, these pyropheophorbides were used to assign NMR resonances and ultimately provide a model for other iron chlorins. The synthesis of nickel(II) anhydro-mesorhodoporphyrin from zinc(III) anhydromesorhodochlorin is described; this nickel porphyrin was used as a standard for ring current calculations of reduced nickel analogs of anhydromesorhodoporphyrin

  20. Lysine-Directed Post-translational Modifications of Tau Protein in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Tauopathies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christiana Kontaxi

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Tau is a microtubule-associated protein responsible mainly for stabilizing the neuronal microtubule network in the brain. Under normal conditions, tau is highly soluble and adopts an “unfolded” conformation. However, it undergoes conformational changes resulting in a less soluble form with weakened microtubule stabilizing properties. Altered tau forms characteristic pathogenic inclusions in Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies. Although, tau hyperphosphorylation is widely considered to be the major trigger of tau malfunction, tau undergoes several post-translational modifications at lysine residues including acetylation, methylation, ubiquitylation, SUMOylation, and glycation. We are only beginning to define the site-specific impact of each type of lysine modification on tau biology as well as the possible interplay between them, but, like phosphorylation, these modifications are likely to play critical roles in tau's normal and pathobiology. This review summarizes the latest findings focusing on lysine post-translational modifications that occur at both endogenous tau protein and pathological tau forms in AD and other tauopathies. In addition, it highlights the significance of a site-dependent approach of studying tau post-translational modifications under normal and pathological conditions.

  1. In Silico Genome-Scale Reconstruction and Validation of the Corynebacterium glutamicum Metabolic Network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjeldsen, Kjeld Raunkjær; Nielsen, J.

    2009-01-01

    A genome-scale metabolic model of the Gram-positive bacteria Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 was constructed comprising 446 reactions and 411 metabolite, based on the annotated genome and available biochemical information. The network was analyzed using constraint based methods. The model...... was extensively validated against published flux data, and flux distribution values were found to correlate well between simulations and experiments. The split pathway of the lysine synthesis pathway of C. glutamicum was investigated, and it was found that the direct dehydrogenase variant gave a higher lysine...... yield than the alternative succinyl pathway at high lysine production rates. The NADPH demand of the network was not found to be critical for lysine production until lysine yields exceeded 55% (mmol lysine (mmol glucose)(-1)). The model was validated during growth on the organic acids acetate...

  2. The structure, vibrational spectra and nonlinear optical properties of the L-lysine × tartaric acid complex—Theoretical studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drozd, M.; Marchewka, M. K.

    2006-05-01

    The room temperature X-ray studies of L-lysine × tartaric acid complex are not unambiguous. The disorder of three atoms of carbon in L-lysine molecule is observed. These X-ray studies are ambiguous. The theoretical geometry study performed by DFT methods explain the most doubts which are connected with crystallographic measurements. The theoretical vibrational frequencies and potential energy distribution (PED) of L-lysine × tartaric acid were calculated by B3LYP method. The calculated frequencies were compared with experimental measured IR spectra. The complete assignment of the bands has been made on the basis of the calculated PED. The restricted Hartee-Fock (RHF) methods were used for calculation of the hyperpolarizability for investigated compound. The theoretical results are compared with experimental value of β.

  3. New insights into the organization and regulation of trichothecene biosynthetic genes in Trichoderma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collectively, species of the genus Trichoderma can produce numerous structurally diverse secondary metabolites (SM). This ability is conferred by the presence of SM biosynthetic gene clusters in their genomes. Species of Trichoderma in the Brevicompactum clade are able to produce trichothecenes, a f...

  4. Use of [75Se]selenomethionine in immunoglobulin biosynthetic studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gutman, G.A.; Warner, N.L.; Harris, A.W.; Bowles, A.

    1978-01-01

    The gamma-emitting amino acid analog, [ 75 Se] selenomethionine, has been used as a biosynthetic label for immunoglobulins secreted by plasmacytomas in tissue culture. The secreted products are structurally intact with respect to their antibody combining sites and their class and allotype antigenic specificities. A component of [ 75 Se] selenomethionine preparations was found to bind to fetal calf serum proteins, in a manner releasable by mercaptoethanol, but not by sodium dodecyl sulfate and urea. Methods for circumventing the problems caused by this binding are described. (Auth.)

  5. Effect Of Sprouting On Available Lysine Content Of Cowpea ( Vigna ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was conducted to determine the effect of sprouting on available Lysine content of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) flour and the performance of the flour used for producing “moi – moi” (steamed bean cake). Cowpea seed was subjected to sprouting for different periods of 1 day, 2 days and 3 days for samples B, C and ...

  6. Identification of altered metabolic pathways in plasma and CSF in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease using metabolomics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugenia Trushina

    Full Text Available Alzheimer's Disease (AD currently affects more than 5 million Americans, with numbers expected to grow dramatically as the population ages. The pathophysiological changes in AD patients begin decades before the onset of dementia, highlighting the urgent need for the development of early diagnostic methods. Compelling data demonstrate that increased levels of amyloid-beta compromise multiple cellular pathways; thus, the investigation of changes in various cellular networks is essential to advance our understanding of early disease mechanisms and to identify novel therapeutic targets. We applied a liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry-based non-targeted metabolomics approach to determine global metabolic changes in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF from the same individuals with different AD severity. Metabolic profiling detected a total of significantly altered 342 plasma and 351 CSF metabolites, of which 22% were identified. Based on the changes of >150 metabolites, we found 23 altered canonical pathways in plasma and 20 in CSF in mild cognitive impairment (MCI vs. cognitively normal (CN individuals with a false discovery rate <0.05. The number of affected pathways increased with disease severity in both fluids. Lysine metabolism in plasma and the Krebs cycle in CSF were significantly affected in MCI vs. CN. Cholesterol and sphingolipids transport was altered in both CSF and plasma of AD vs. CN. Other 30 canonical pathways significantly disturbed in MCI and AD patients included energy metabolism, Krebs cycle, mitochondrial function, neurotransmitter and amino acid metabolism, and lipid biosynthesis. Pathways in plasma that discriminated between all groups included polyamine, lysine, tryptophan metabolism, and aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis; and in CSF involved cortisone and prostaglandin 2 biosynthesis and metabolism. Our data suggest metabolomics could advance our understanding of the early disease mechanisms shared in progression from CN to

  7. Heterologous expression and transcript analysis of gibberellin biosynthetic genes of grasses reveals novel functionality in the GA3ox family.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearce, Stephen; Huttly, Alison K; Prosser, Ian M; Li, Yi-dan; Vaughan, Simon P; Gallova, Barbora; Patil, Archana; Coghill, Jane A; Dubcovsky, Jorge; Hedden, Peter; Phillips, Andrew L

    2015-06-05

    The gibberellin (GA) pathway plays a central role in the regulation of plant development, with the 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases (2-ODDs: GA20ox, GA3ox, GA2ox) that catalyse the later steps in the biosynthetic pathway of particularly importance in regulating bioactive GA levels. Although GA has important impacts on crop yield and quality, our understanding of the regulation of GA biosynthesis during wheat and barley development remains limited. In this study we identified or assembled genes encoding the GA 2-ODDs of wheat, barley and Brachypodium distachyon and characterised the wheat genes by heterologous expression and transcript analysis. The wheat, barley and Brachypodium genomes each contain orthologous copies of the GA20ox, GA3ox and GA2ox genes identified in rice, with the exception of OsGA3ox1 and OsGA2ox5 which are absent in these species. Some additional paralogs of 2-ODD genes were identified: notably, a novel gene in the wheat B genome related to GA3ox2 was shown to encode a GA 1-oxidase, named as TaGA1ox-B1. This enzyme is likely to be responsible for the abundant 1β-hydroxylated GAs present in developing wheat grains. We also identified a related gene in barley, located in a syntenic position to TaGA1ox-B1, that encodes a GA 3,18-dihydroxylase which similarly accounts for the accumulation of unusual GAs in barley grains. Transcript analysis showed that some paralogs of the different classes of 2-ODD were expressed mainly in a single tissue or at specific developmental stages. In particular, TaGA20ox3, TaGA1ox1, TaGA3ox3 and TaGA2ox7 were predominantly expressed in developing grain. More detailed analysis of grain-specific gene expression showed that while the transcripts of biosynthetic genes were most abundant in the endosperm, genes encoding inactivation and signalling components were more highly expressed in the seed coat and pericarp. The comprehensive expression and functional characterisation of the multigene families encoding the 2-ODD

  8. Redox Impact on Starch Biosynthetic Enzymes in Arabidopsis thaliana

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skryhan, Katsiaryna

    Summary The thesis provides new insight into the influence of the plant cell redox state on the transient starch metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana with a focus on starch biosynthetic enzymes. Two main hypotheses forms the basis of this thesis: 1) photosynthesis and starch metabolism are coordina......Summary The thesis provides new insight into the influence of the plant cell redox state on the transient starch metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana with a focus on starch biosynthetic enzymes. Two main hypotheses forms the basis of this thesis: 1) photosynthesis and starch metabolism...... are coordinated by the redox state of the cell via post-translational modification of the starch metabolic enzymes containing redox active cysteine residues and these cysteine residues became cross-linked upon oxidation providing a conformational change leading to activity loss; 2) cysteine residues...... of chloroplast enzymes can play a role not only in enzyme activity and redox sensitivity but also in protein folding and stability upon oxidation. Several redox sensitive enzymes identified in this study can serve as potential targets to control the carbon flux to and from starch during the day and night...

  9. Quantification of nitrogen in the liquid fraction and in vitro assessment of lysine bioavailability in the solid fraction of soybean meal hydrolysates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luján-Rhenals, D; Morawicki, R; Shi, Z; Ricke, S C

    2018-01-02

    Soybean meal (SBM) is a product generated from the manufacture of soybean oil and has the potential for use as a source of fermentable sugars for ethanol production or as a protein source for animal feeds. Knowing the levels of nitrogen available from ammonium is a necessary element of the ethanolic fermentation process while identifying the levels of essential amino acids such as lysine is important in determining usage as a feed source. As such the purpose of this study was to quantify total nitrogen and ammonium in the liquid fraction of hydrolyzed SBM and to evaluate total and bioavailable lysine in the solid fraction of the hydrolyzed SBM. The effects of acid concentration, cellulase and β-glucosidase on total and ammonium nitrogen were studied with analysis indicating that higher acid concentrations increased nitrogen compounds with ammonium concentrations ranging from 0.20 to 1.24 g L -1 while enzymatic treatments did not significantly increase nitrogen levels. Total and bioavailable lysine was quantified by use of an auxotrophic gfpmut3 E.coli whole-cell bioassay organism incapable of lysine biosynthesis. Acid and enzymatic treatments were applied with lysine bioavailability increasing from a base of 82% for untreated SBM to up to 97%. Our results demonstrated that SBM has the potential to serve in ethanolic fermentation and as an optimal source essential amino acid lysine.

  10. Duplicate Abalone Egg Coat Proteins Bind Sperm Lysin Similarly, but Evolve Oppositely, Consistent with Molecular Mimicry at Fertilization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aagaard, Jan E.; Springer, Stevan A.; Soelberg, Scott D.; Swanson, Willie J.

    2013-01-01

    Sperm and egg proteins constitute a remarkable paradigm in evolutionary biology: despite their fundamental role in mediating fertilization (suggesting stasis), some of these molecules are among the most rapidly evolving ones known, and their divergence can lead to reproductive isolation. Because of strong selection to maintain function among interbreeding individuals, interacting fertilization proteins should also exhibit a strong signal of correlated divergence among closely related species. We use evidence of such molecular co-evolution to target biochemical studies of fertilization in North Pacific abalone (Haliotis spp.), a model system of reproductive protein evolution. We test the evolutionary rates (d N/d S) of abalone sperm lysin and two duplicated egg coat proteins (VERL and VEZP14), and find a signal of co-evolution specific to ZP-N, a putative sperm binding motif previously identified by homology modeling. Positively selected residues in VERL and VEZP14 occur on the same face of the structural model, suggesting a common mode of interaction with sperm lysin. We test this computational prediction biochemically, confirming that the ZP-N motif is sufficient to bind lysin and that the affinities of VERL and VEZP14 are comparable. However, we also find that on phylogenetic lineages where lysin and VERL evolve rapidly, VEZP14 evolves slowly, and vice versa. We describe a model of sexual conflict that can recreate this pattern of anti-correlated evolution by assuming that VEZP14 acts as a VERL mimic, reducing the intensity of sexual conflict and slowing the co-evolution of lysin and VERL. PMID:23408913

  11. Duplicate abalone egg coat proteins bind sperm lysin similarly, but evolve oppositely, consistent with molecular mimicry at fertilization.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan E Aagaard

    Full Text Available Sperm and egg proteins constitute a remarkable paradigm in evolutionary biology: despite their fundamental role in mediating fertilization (suggesting stasis, some of these molecules are among the most rapidly evolving ones known, and their divergence can lead to reproductive isolation. Because of strong selection to maintain function among interbreeding individuals, interacting fertilization proteins should also exhibit a strong signal of correlated divergence among closely related species. We use evidence of such molecular co-evolution to target biochemical studies of fertilization in North Pacific abalone (Haliotis spp., a model system of reproductive protein evolution. We test the evolutionary rates (d(N/d(S of abalone sperm lysin and two duplicated egg coat proteins (VERL and VEZP14, and find a signal of co-evolution specific to ZP-N, a putative sperm binding motif previously identified by homology modeling. Positively selected residues in VERL and VEZP14 occur on the same face of the structural model, suggesting a common mode of interaction with sperm lysin. We test this computational prediction biochemically, confirming that the ZP-N motif is sufficient to bind lysin and that the affinities of VERL and VEZP14 are comparable. However, we also find that on phylogenetic lineages where lysin and VERL evolve rapidly, VEZP14 evolves slowly, and vice versa. We describe a model of sexual conflict that can recreate this pattern of anti-correlated evolution by assuming that VEZP14 acts as a VERL mimic, reducing the intensity of sexual conflict and slowing the co-evolution of lysin and VERL.

  12. The use of crude protein content to predict concentrations of lysine ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Correlations were determined between the crude protein (CP) and lysine or methionine concentrations of grain from wheat (cultivar: palmiet), barley (cultivar: clipper) and triticale (cultivar: usgen 19) grown in the Western Cape region of South Africa. Twenty samples of varying CP content were collected for each grain type ...

  13. Evolutionary Diversification of Alanine Transaminases in Yeast: Catabolic Specialization and Biosynthetic Redundancy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ximena Escalera-Fanjul

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Gene duplication is one of the major evolutionary mechanisms providing raw material for the generation of genes with new or modified functions. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae originated after an allopolyploidization event, which involved mating between two different ancestral yeast species. ScALT1 and ScALT2 codify proteins with 65% identity, which were proposed to be paralogous alanine transaminases. Further analysis of their physiological role showed that while ScALT1 encodes an alanine transaminase which constitutes the main pathway for alanine biosynthesis and the sole pathway for alanine catabolism, ScAlt2 does not display alanine transaminase activity and is not involved in alanine metabolism. Moreover, phylogenetic studies have suggested that ScALT1 and ScALT2 come from each one of the two parental strains which gave rise to the ancestral hybrid. The present work has been aimed to the understanding of the properties of the ancestral type Lacchancea kluyveri LkALT1 and Kluyveromyces lactis KlALT1, alanine transaminases in order to better understand the ScALT1 and ScALT2 evolutionary history. These ancestral -type species were chosen since they harbor ALT1 genes, which are related to ScALT2. Presented results show that, although LkALT1 and KlALT1 constitute ScALT1 orthologous genes, encoding alanine transaminases, both yeasts display LkAlt1 and KlAlt1 independent alanine transaminase activity and additional unidentified alanine biosynthetic and catabolic pathway(s. Furthermore, phenotypic analysis of null mutants uncovered the fact that KlAlt1 and LkAlt1 have an additional role, not related to alanine metabolism but is necessary to achieve wild type growth rate. Our study shows that the ancestral alanine transaminase function has been retained by the ScALT1 encoded enzyme, which has specialized its catabolic character, while losing the alanine independent role observed in the ancestral type enzymes. The fact that ScAlt2 conserves 64

  14. Molecular cloning and expression of human L-pipecolate oxidase

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    IJlst, L.; de Kromme, I.; Oostheim, W.; Wanders, R. J.

    2000-01-01

    In higher eukaryotes L-lysine can be degraded via two distinct routes including the saccharopine pathway and the L-pipecolate pathway. The saccharopine pathway is the primary route of degradation of lysine in most tissues except the brain in which the L-pipecolate pathway is most active.

  15. Lysine Restriction and Pyridoxal Phosphate Administration in a NADK2 Patient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tort, Frederic; Ugarteburu, Olatz; Torres, Maria Angeles; García-Villoria, Judit; Girós, Marisa; Ruiz, Angeles; Ribes, Antonia

    2016-11-01

    We report the case of a 10-year-old Spanish girl with mutations in NADK2 Prenatal central nervous system abnormalities showed ventriculomegaly, colpocephaly, and hypoplasia of the corpus callosum. At birth, axial hypotonia, uncoordinated movements, microcephaly, and generalized cerebellar atrophy were detected. Metabolic investigations revealed high lysine, lactate, and pipecolic acid levels in blood and cerebrospinal fluid. Pyruvate carboxylase and pyruvate dehydrogenase activity in fibroblasts were normal. Beginning at birth she received biotin, thiamine, and carnitine supplementation. A lysine-restricted diet was started when she was 1 month old. Because pipecolic acid was high, pyridoxine was added to treatment. At 3 years old, astatic myoclonic epilepsy appeared, with no response to levetiracetam. We switched pyridoxine to pyridoxal phosphate, with electroclinical improvement. Because the activity of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes III and IV was slightly low in muscle, other cofactors such as ubidecarenone, idebenone, vitamin E, and creatine were added to the treatment. At 8 years old, plasma acylcarnitine testing was performed, and high levels of 2-trans, 4-cis-decadienoylcarnitine were found. Whole exome sequencing identified a homozygous splice site mutation in NADK2 (c.956+6T>C; p.Trp319Cysfs*21). This substitution generates exon skipping, leading to a truncated protein. In fact, NADK2 messenger RNA and the corresponding protein were almost absent. Now, at 10 years of age she presents with ataxia and incoordination. She has oromotor dysphasia but is able to understand fluid language and is a very friendly girl. We hypothesize that the patient's clinical improvement could be due to her lysine-restricted diet together with cofactors and pyridoxal phosphate administration. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  16. Sequence diversity and differential expression of major phenylpropanoid-flavonoid biosynthetic genes among three mango varieties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoang, Van L T; Innes, David J; Shaw, P Nicholas; Monteith, Gregory R; Gidley, Michael J; Dietzgen, Ralf G

    2015-07-30

    Mango fruits contain a broad spectrum of phenolic compounds which impart potential health benefits; their biosynthesis is catalysed by enzymes in the phenylpropanoid-flavonoid (PF) pathway. The aim of this study was to reveal the variability in genes involved in the PF pathway in three different mango varieties Mangifera indica L., a member of the family Anacardiaceae: Kensington Pride (KP), Irwin (IW) and Nam Doc Mai (NDM) and to determine associations with gene expression and mango flavonoid profiles. A close evolutionary relationship between mango genes and those from the woody species poplar of the Salicaceae family (Populus trichocarpa) and grape of the Vitaceae family (Vitis vinifera), was revealed through phylogenetic analysis of PF pathway genes. We discovered 145 SNPs in total within coding sequences with an average frequency of one SNP every 316 bp. Variety IW had the highest SNP frequency (one SNP every 258 bp) while KP and NDM had similar frequencies (one SNP every 369 bp and 360 bp, respectively). The position in the PF pathway appeared to influence the extent of genetic diversity of the encoded enzymes. The entry point enzymes phenylalanine lyase (PAL), cinnamate 4-mono-oxygenase (C4H) and chalcone synthase (CHS) had low levels of SNP diversity in their coding sequences, whereas anthocyanidin reductase (ANR) showed the highest SNP frequency followed by flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase (F3'H). Quantitative PCR revealed characteristic patterns of gene expression that differed between mango peel and flesh, and between varieties. The combination of mango expressed sequence tags and availability of well-established reference PF biosynthetic genes from other plant species allowed the identification of coding sequences of genes that may lead to the formation of important flavonoid compounds in mango fruits and facilitated characterisation of single nucleotide polymorphisms between varieties. We discovered an association between the extent of sequence variation and

  17. Reduced Histone H3 Lysine 9 Methylation Contributes to the Pathogenesis of Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults via Regulation of SUV39H2 and KDM4C

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xi-yu Liu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Aims. Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA is an autoimmune disease of which the mechanism is not clear. Emerging evidence suggests that histone methylation contributes to autoimmunity. Methods. Blood CD4+ T lymphocytes from 26 LADA patients and 26 healthy controls were isolated to detect histone H3 lysine 4 and H3 lysine 9 methylation status. Results. Reduced global H3 lysine 9 methylation was observed in LADA patients’ CD4+ T lymphocytes, compared to healthy controls (P < 0.05. H3 lysine 4 methylation was not statistically different. The reduced H3 lysine 9 methylation was associated with GADA titer but not correlated with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c. When the LADA patient group was divided into those with complication and those without, relatively reduced global H3 lysine 9 methylation was observed in LADA patients with complication (P < 0.05. The expression of histone methyltransferase SUV39H2 for H3 lysine 9 methylation was downregulated in LADA patients, and the expression of histone demethylase KDM4C which made H3 lysine 9 demethylation was upregulated. Conclusion. The reduction of histone H3 lysine 9 methylation which may due to the downregulation of methyltransferase SUV39H2 and the upregulation of demethylase KDM4C was found in CD4+ T lymphocytes of LADA patients.

  18. A plug-and-play pathway refactoring workflow for natural product research in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Hengqian; Hu, Pingfan; Zhao, Huimin

    2017-08-01

    Pathway refactoring serves as an invaluable synthetic biology tool for natural product discovery, characterization, and engineering. However, the complicated and laborious molecular biology techniques largely hinder its application in natural product research, especially in a high-throughput manner. Here we report a plug-and-play pathway refactoring workflow for high-throughput, flexible pathway construction, and expression in both Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Biosynthetic genes were firstly cloned into pre-assembled helper plasmids with promoters and terminators, resulting in a series of expression cassettes. These expression cassettes were further assembled using Golden Gate reaction to generate fully refactored pathways. The inclusion of spacer plasmids in this system would not only increase the flexibility for refactoring pathways with different number of genes, but also facilitate gene deletion and replacement. As proof of concept, a total of 96 pathways for combinatorial carotenoid biosynthesis were built successfully. This workflow should be generally applicable to different classes of natural products produced by various organisms. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 1847-1854. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Synthesis of aldehyde-linked nucleotides and DNA and their bioconjugations with lysine and peptides through reductive amination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raindlová, Veronika; Pohl, Radek; Hocek, Michal

    2012-03-26

    5-(5-Formylthienyl)-, 5-(4-formylphenyl)- and 5-(2-fluoro-5-formylphenyl)cytosine 2'-deoxyribonucleoside mono- (dC(R)MP) and triphosphates (dC(R)TP) were prepared by aqueous Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of 5-iodocytosine nucleotides with the corresponding formylarylboronic acids. The dC(R)TPs were excellent substrates for DNA polymerases and were incorporated into DNA by primer extension or PCR. Reductive aminations of the model dC(R)MPs with lysine or lysine-containing tripeptide were studied and optimized. In aqueous phosphate buffer (pH 6.7) the yields of the reductive aminations with tripeptide III were up to 25 %. Bioconjugation of an aldehyde-containing DNA with a lysine-containing tripeptide was achieved through reductive amination in yields of up to 90 % in aqueous phosphate buffer. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. Uptake of tritiated lysine by fresh water alga, Scenedesmus obliquus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gogate, S.S.; Krishnamoorthy, T.M.

    1983-01-01

    Tritium uptake by fresh water alga. S.obliquus was studied using tritium labelled lysine, and a sequential solvent extraction procedure was used to study the distribution of tritium in different organic constituents of the algal cells. The accumulation of tritium in the algal cells was found to be 3-4 orders of magnitude more than that obtained for tritiated water. (author)